I read a number of 1950s Heinlein, Bester, and van Vogt novels when I was in junior high, oh so long ago, and I would consider those to be good "boys' books". For that matter, much of the stuff that was published in 1940s and 1950s sci-fi pulp magazines falls into that category, so any collection of those stories would be good reading for the younger crowd (although probably a lot of it might seem dated by now).
Fred Saberhagen's Berserker series.
The Riverworld series by Philip Jose Farmer.
The New Sun series by Gene Wolfe.
Creatures of Light and Darkness, Lord of Light, and The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
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"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis
“It’s your party and you can cry if you want to.” - Captain Europe
Frankenstein, to me, is not really scifi. Its got elements of scifi, but its really more of a typical 19th century gothic romance novel. The monster is more like elephant man than he is a monster and the central theme has to do with individual responsibility. Science is more of a bit player than the main actor.
Has anyone mentioned Wells? Read Wells. War of the Worlds, Invisible Man, Time Machine.
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I completely disagree. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein uses the emerging science of the day, Galvanism and electricity, which was seen in the way we see atomic, particle, quantum physics today. Using the latest science as an explanation and foundation for the creation of a new being, and also the reanimation of the dead, is something that hadn't really been done in that kind of fiction.
Obviously Frankenstein was influenced by gothic novels (but then so was practically everything and everyone in the 19th Century) but being influenced by something doesn't mean Mary Shelley didn't introduce or add in stuff that wasn't done before.
Practically every major writer of science-fiction identified Frankenstein as their precedent.
The OP asked for "sci-fi novels that are fast-paced... easy to read (to me this generally means it's light on description)."
That's not Frankenstein. Its a great book, one of my all-time favorites. But its not light on description or very easy to read. Its deep.
Every day is a gift, not a given right.
I wholeheartedly agree with this. Niven is a favorite of mine from way back. He's also a mathematician so his books often include real-world physics as well.
Other recommendations are the Stainless Steel Rat books and Deathworld series by Harry Harrison.
This thread is making me want to dig some of my old books out of storage.
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"When fascism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." - Sinclair Lewis
“It’s your party and you can cry if you want to.” - Captain Europe
Right. Well I figure its not science fiction in the sense the OP was looking for, which was my original comment's purpose. I still don't consider it sci fi primarily, even though it has those elements to it. For Mary Shelley, she was really inspired by Darwin's discoveries and philosophical discussions she was having with Byron and P. Shelley about the nature of life. Darwin's discoveries had quite the ripple effect on the known world of the 1800s. You are correct in that Mary Shelley was using methods of the time to write the novel, so it comes across as very 1800s. How could it not? But I still think of it more as a springboard to true scifi than scifi itself.
Every day is a gift, not a given right.
Heinlein's name came up already, but I didn't see Friday on anybody's list, and it should be. Good, ripping adventure yarn that includes espionage, military action and space travel all in one story. Seems to me it was also one of the earlist classic Sci-Fi novels with a female protagonist.