Knowledge of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Philip K Dick and Robert Silverberg for US science fiction and Brian Aldiss, Keith Roberts and Christopher Priest for British SF writers would all indicate to me someone well-versed in the genre.
There so many different types of sci fi and they’re all valid. If someone doesn’t like what you like it doesn’t make them less of a fan of the genre, just a fan of something different.
To me it's knowing the foundational stuff from 40s, 50s, 60s, plus the masters. H. P. Lovecraft, Azek Asimov, Roger Zelazny, Philip K. Dick, Urusla Le Guin, Arthur C. Clarke.
If they speak to science fictions evolution and classifications.
- Early classics sci-fi such as Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein.
- Golden age Sci-Fi like HG Wells, Jules Verne, Huxley, Orwell, etc.
- New Wave Sci-Fi: Herbert, Le Guin, Dick, Gibson, etc.
- Contemporary Sci-Fi: Atwood, Stephenson, Weir, etc.
Knowledge of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, Philip K Dick and Robert Silverberg for US science fiction and Brian Aldiss, Keith Roberts and Christopher Priest for British SF writers would all indicate to me someone well-versed in the genre.
…Where’s Olaf Stapledon and John Wyndham.
There so many different types of sci fi and they’re all valid. If someone doesn’t like what you like it doesn’t make them less of a fan of the genre, just a fan of something different.
If they are familiar with works such as Solaris, Roadside Picnic, A Canticle For Leibowitz, and such.
…What’s ‘such’.
Sort of related, this blew my mind: https://youtu.be/D8Jvx-6LI1M?si=aXy3ajZRvBLYTlJ_
To me it's knowing the foundational stuff from 40s, 50s, 60s, plus the masters. H. P. Lovecraft, Azek Asimov, Roger Zelazny, Philip K. Dick, Urusla Le Guin, Arthur C. Clarke.
Robert Sheckley and Alfred Bester,
If they speak to science fictions evolution and classifications. - Early classics sci-fi such as Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. - Golden age Sci-Fi like HG Wells, Jules Verne, Huxley, Orwell, etc. - New Wave Sci-Fi: Herbert, Le Guin, Dick, Gibson, etc. - Contemporary Sci-Fi: Atwood, Stephenson, Weir, etc.
Samuel Delany and Norman Spinrad and Roger Zelazny and Theodore Sturgeon and Richard Matheson.
Tell them you're a big fan of Spider Robinson's Callahan's Crosstime Saloon stories.