Can you recommend any futuristic literature that involves a serious romance?

Question

I posted a question earlier today about futuristic/dystopian fiction (the link for this is below) and had lots of really good responses, but...
I'd also like to know of any books with similar dystopian/utopian/futuristic/political themes but that also have a serious passion/romance running through them. There seem to be lots of sci-fi novels that fit most of the bill, but not so many with a little more poetry and emotional depth to them (without being melodramatic), or with first person, intense narratives.
Any more ideas?

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=Am_u7fNRay6vz90hKEJzdsvwBwx.?link=ask&menu=396545299

I'm thinking of something more literary than sci-fi. I've read Huxley, Orwell, Lessing, Ballard, etc. I also enjoy ancient Gothic tomes and wordmeisters like Nabokov. Mix these together and you get... something that doesn't seem to exist.

Answer 1

You should definitely check out Karin Lowachee's books Warchild, Burndive, and Cagebird. There's not much romance in the first novel, but Burndive and Cagebird both introduce important romantic angles. I highly recommend this series because it's some of the most emotional SF out there, definitely driven by character, not plot. I consider it more of literary fiction that uses SF as an outlet for character and emotional exploration. I really can't recommend this series highly enough. Lowachee loves playing with perspective, too. The first book begins in second person, then switches soon to first person, where it remains for the rest of the novel. She also plays around with the past and present tense to give a sense of immediacy. Very cool read, there's nothing quite like this series on the market today.

You may also want to check out A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick. Dick is an SF/philosophy master. A Scanner Darkly is one of his best books ever, narrated by an undercover narc trying to bust a drug ring in the future. He actually uses the drug to keep his cover, and one side-effect is the slow split of psyche. He's also very much in love with a woman he's spying on. This is a haunting, grim novel. Once again, it's pretty unique on the SF shelf. If you like this, you may want to check out some of Dick's other work. He was a very prolific author and wrote many novels and short stories.

Idlewild by Nick Sagan is another good book with a romantic subplot for the main character. It's another first-person narrative with great character development and it's also a page-turner that keeps you guessing. Sagan follows in Dick's footsteps, questioning the nature of reality. Nothing is quite what it seems, but the book is very well-written and emotional. The sequel, Edenborn, is a worthy read, too, though not quite as good as Idlewild.

Answer 2

This book won't be available for awhile (7 or 8 years maybe), but it might have what you're looking for.

The novel in question is of a futuristic literature and has serious to erotic romance elements mixed in.

But it's not a utopia that you and I would be comfortable living in--that's for sure!

Anyway, the book is called The Price of Freedom. The storyline centers around a long-standing/generational war between the human race and the mysterious Neos.

2 unlikely people hatch a plan to travel back in time in order to find the source of the invasion--and stop it if they can. But first they must journey through enemy-held terrorities, human sympathizers, and people who are more suspicious and distrustful of them than they are of the Neos.

All because on is a human male fighting with the Free Earth Movement, and the other is a techno-organic. A living weapon of mass destruction fashioned into the form of a woman--all based on a previously deceased genetic donor.

You can read what's posted at your leisure.

http://survivingmassextinction.blogspot.com/2005/03/price-of-freedom-chapter-1.html

Answer 3

Have you tried The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood? It's a dystopian novel set in the near future where the US has become a theocracy. I don't want to give too much away but there is a romance involved, although it's not the focus of the plot. But if you like dystopias you may enjoy it.

Also, you might try reading some of Sheri S Tepper's books. Grass and Beauty are two that come to mind. She writes fairly unique science fiction that's kind of a sci-fi/fantasy fusion.

Kage Baker is another author who writes science fiction with some romantic elements. Her Novels of the Company are pretty good - the first one is called In the Garden of Iden.

Answer 4

Try 'A Civil Campaign' by Lois McMaster Bujold. This is part of the Miles Vorkosigan saga but can be read alone. In the previous novels Miles has overcome physical disabilities and prejudice on a militarised world by sheer determination and very out-of-the -box genius. This title changes focus to the romances of several of the main characters and has a feel similar to the Regency romances of Georgette Heyer. One of Heyer's novels is called 'A Civil Contract' so I suspect the resemblance is an intentional tribute to romances inestimably superior to the many imitators.

Answer 5

My personal choice would be
Coming of Age in Karhide (1995) - in The Birthday of the World (2002)
by Ursula Le Guin
but I have a strange idea of romance because I'm an alien and I'm not in kemmer all the time.

Answer 6

Have you tried fantasy? Their are tons of books with romance in the fantasy genre. You might try David Weber's "Honor Harrington" series. Good reads and their is a love interest. Or maybe try the earlier books by H. Rider Haggard the man who wrote the definitive book 'King Solomon's Mines'.

Answer 7

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Answer 8

Flowers for Algernon comes to my mind as I'm writing this. Slightly futuristic, a bit of romance, and tragedy. Big tragedy. It's got slightly "mature" themes though. I still love the book and wish it were a bit longer than it actually was.

Answer 9

Catherine Asaro fits that description. Imagine a nuclear physicist/ballet dancer in real life. She knows how to put romance in her futuristic literature!

Another good choice is Anne McCaffrey. Her Pern books have romance.

Answer 10

1984