A Reading List of Books on Psionics

The Telepath in Society

    • Schmitz, James H. The Witches of Karres (1949) -- Society based on mystic psi powers produces precocious children who kidnap a space captain and his ship
    • Bester, Alfred. The Demolished Man (1953; winner of first Hugo) -- Murder is hard to accomplish in a world policed by telepaths
    • ---. The Stars My Destination (1956) -- Marooned in space, Gully Foyle manages to teleport himself to safety, thus opening up the possibilities for many new markets
    • Tucker, Wilson. Wild Talent (1954) -- Espers used by the FBI
    • Heinlein, Robert. Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) -- Human comes back from Mars having been taught psi powers and shares them with other humans
    • Henderson, Zenna. Pilgrimage: The Book of the People (1961) The People: No Different Flesh (1967) -- Collection of short stories about genial humanoid aliens who live quietly among us, hiding their telepathic powers
    • Schmitz, James H. Telezy Amberdon Series: The Universe Against Her (1964), The Telzey Toy (1975), The Lion Game (1975)-- Young girl with telepathic affinity for animals recruited as a government agent
    • Delany, Samuel. Babel-17 (1966) -- Spaceship flown by telepathic bond
    • LeGuin, Ursula. Three Hanish Novels: Rocannon' s World (1966), Planet of Exile(1966), City of Illusions (1967) -- Human colonist learns Mindspeech, then must deal with aliens capable of telepathic lying
    • Butler, Octavia. Patternist Series: Patternmaster (1976), Mind of My Mind (1977) -- Future telepathic society, not always utopian
    • Sargent, Pamela. Watchstar (1980) --Post-holocaust, pastoral world where telepathy replaces technology
    • Card, Orson Scott. Speaker for the Dead (1986) -- Ender Wiggin in telepathic contact with hive mind of the species humans destroyed in previous book
    • Aiken, Jim. The Wall at the Edge of the World (1993) -- A society of telepaths has put up walls to protect themselves from the chaos Outside.
    • Cherryh, C. J. Rider at the Gate (1995) and Cloud' s Rider (1996) -- Colonists on a world whose organisms are telepathically linked are befriended by horselike telepaths

The Telepath as Superman/ Next Stage

  • Stapeldon, Olaf. Odd John (1935)
  • Van Vogt, A. E. Slan (1940) --New member of a mutant race is persecuted by humans
  • Clarke, Arthur C. Childhood' s End (1953) --Humans are shepherded to the next stage in cosmic evolution
  • Sturgeon, Theodore. More Than Human (1953) --Formation of homo gestalt from union of various outcasts
  • Constantine, Storm. The Book of Wraeththu: Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit (1987), The Bewitchments of ove and Hate (1988), The Fulfillments of fate and Desire (1989) -- mutant, telepathic hermaphrodites begin to create new gothic-punk culture

  • Brunner, John. Children of Thunder (1988) -- Children with new talents may save a chaotic world

What Telepathy Feels Like from Inside

  • Lindsay, David. Voyage to Arcturus (1920) -- Early and very weird story of psychic traveler who develops new organ
  • Blish, James. Jack of Eagles (1952) --
  • Brunner, John, The Whole Man (1964)
  • Harness, Charles, "The Rose " (1966)
  • Zelazny, Roger. "He Who Shapes " (1966)
  • Russ, Joanna And Chaos Died (1970)
  • DelRey, Lester. Pstalemate (1971)
  • Silverberg, Robert. Dying Inside (1972) -- What it feels like to loose telepathic senses
  • Varley, John. "The Persistence of Vision " (1978) --Award-winning novella about giving up sight for telepathy
  • Vinge, Joan. Psion (1988), Catspaw (1989) -- Classic adolescent Bildungsroman

Pre-Cognition

  • Dick, Philip K. The World Jones Made (1965)
  • Herbert, Frank. Dune (1965)
  • Silverberg, Robert. The Stochastic Man (1975)

Authors Who Build Extensive Series and Worlds Based on Telepathy

Bradley, Marion Zimmer

DARKOVER SERIES -- Colonists interbreed with natives, establish culture based on telepathic gifts; then confront Earth' s technology again

  • Darkover Landfall 1972

  • Stormqueen! 1978

  • Hawkmistress! 1982

  • Two to Conquer 1980

  • The Heirs of Hammerfell 1989

  • The Shattered Chain (Part I) 1976

  • Rediscovery (wi Mercedes Lackey) 1993

  • The Spell Sword 1974

  • The Forbidden Tower 1977

  • The Shattered Chain (Part II) 1976

  • Thendara House 1983

  • City of Sorcery 1984

  • Star of Danger 1965

  • The Winds of Darkover 1970

  • The Bloody Sun 1964/1979

  • Planet Savers 1962

  • The Heritage of Hastur 1975

  • Sword of Aldones 1962

  • Sharra's Exile 1981

  • The World Wreckers 1971

  • Exile' s Song 1996

McCaffrey, Anne.

 PEGASUS SERIES -- Short stories about the establishment of a telepath' s guild

  • To Ride Pegasus

  • Pegasus in Flight

DRAGONRIDERS OF PERN ---- Colonists breed telepathic dragons to help them fight alien parasitic invasions. HARPER's HALL-- concentrates on Harper' s Guild

  • Dragonseye (DRP) 1997 -- early days of Pern, to the second fall of Thread

  • Dragonflight (DRP) 1968

  • Dragonquest (DRP) 1971

  • Dragonsong (HH) 1976

  • Dragonsinger (HH) 1977

  • Dragondrums (HH) 1979

  • The White Dragon (DRP) 1978

  • Moreta: Dragonlady of Pern (DRP) 1983

  • Nerilka's Story (DRP) 1986

  • Dragonsdawn (DRP) 1988

  • The Renegades of Pern (DRP) 1989

  • All the Weyrs of Pern (DRP) 1992

  • The Chronicles of Pern : First Fall 1994 -- short stories

  • The Dolphins of Pern (DRP) 1994 --About a decade after the events of All the Weyrs of Pern. Two boys, one a dragonrider, reestablish crucial contact with the sapient dolphins--the legendary "shipfish"--of Pern.

The Rowan and Damia' s Children -- Powerful telepaths deal with alien invaders

  • The Rowan 1991

  • Damia 1993

  • Lyon' s Pride 1995 -- The Rowan's descendants combine forces to face once and for all the threat of the alien Hivers

  • Damia' s Children 1996 --The children of the legendary Damia are coming of age and learning to master their own remarkable powers of telepathy. Each has a special Talent, and their combined abilities are even greater than those of their powerful mother. Now they must face the next generation of their enemy--an alien race more insect than human.

Norton Andre

    SHAN LANTEE/WARLOCK/Forerunner

    • Storm Over Warlock (SL1) 1960

    • Ordeal in Otherwhere (SL2) 1964

    • Forerunner Foray (SL3/FR1) 1973

    • Forerunner (FR2) 1981

    • Forerunner: the Second Venture (FR3) 1985

    HOLSTEEN STORM/ BEAST MASTER

    • The Beast Master (HS1) 1959

    • Lord of Thunder (HS2) 1962

    >WITCH WORLD

    • Witch World (WW1) 1963

    • Web of the Witch World (WW2) 1964

    • Three Against Witch World (WW3) 1965

    • Year of the Unicorn (WW4) 1965

    • Warlock of the Witch World (WW5) 1967

    • Sorceress of the Witch World (WW6) 1968

    • The Crystal Gryphon (WW7) 1972

    • Spell of the Witch World (WW8) 1972

    • Jargoon Pard (WW9) 1974

    • Trey of Swords (WW10) 1977

    • Zarsthor's Bane (WW11) 1978

    • Lore of the Witchworld (WW12) 1980

    • Gryphon in Glory (WW13?) 1981

    • Horn Crown (WW 13/14) 1981

    • 'Ware Hawk (WW15) 1983

    • Gryphon' s Eyrie (wi A.C. Crispin) (WW16) 1984

    • The Gate of the Cat (WW17) 1987

    • Tales of The Witch World 1 (ss) 1987}

    • Tales of The Witch World 2 (ss) 1988}

    • Storms of Victory (wi P.M. Griffin) (WW: The Turning 1) 1991

    • Flight of Vengeance (wi PM Griffin )(WW: The Turning 2) 1992

    • Songsmith : A Witch World Novel 1992

    • (Wthi A.C. Crispin)The Key of the Keplian (Secrets of the Witch World 1) 1995

    • With Lyn McConchie The Magestone (Secrets of the Witch World 2) 1995

    • With Mary H. Schaub On Wings of Magic (Witch World : The Turning, Book 3) 1995

    • With Patricia Mathews, Sasha Miller The Warding of Witch World (Secrets of the Witch World 3) 1996

Critical Works on Psionics

  • Godshalk,-William-L. " Alfred Bester: Science Fiction or Fantasy? " Extrapolation, 16, 149-55

  • Lowentrout,-Peter-M. "PsiFi: The Domestication of Psi in Science Fiction. " Extrapolation 30:4 (1989 Winter), 388-400.

  • Pierce, John. "Psi-Fi " Great Themes of Science Fiction. Greenwood Popular Press, 1987.., pp. 55-62.
  • Stone-Blackburn,-Susan. " Adult Telepathy: Babel-17 and The Left Hand of Darkness." Extrapolation 30:3 (1989 Fall), 243-253.

  • Stone-Blackburn,-Susan. " Consciousness Evolution and Early Telepathic Tales. " Science-Fiction-Studies. 20:2 (60) 1993 July,, 241-50 About 19th uses of telepathy in Bulwer Lytton etc.


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