Can you recommend some science fiction books that involve paradoxes?

In 'Ender's Game', the paradox of Ender's training is quite interesting. He is being trained to fight an alien race, but in the process, he is being manipulated and lied to. He believes he is in simulations when in fact he is actually commanding real battles. It's a paradox of perception and reality. Another is the paradox of the buggers. The humans think they are a threat, but later find out they may not have been as malicious as thought, which makes the whole premise of the war a paradoxical situation.

One cause could be the manipulation of time. For example, the grandfather paradox. If you go back in time and kill your grandfather before he has children, it creates a contradiction. This is because in normal logic, your existence depends on your grandfather having children. Science fiction often plays with such time - travel concepts, and the paradoxes arise from the conflict between the rules of time as we know them and the fictional scenarios created.

One cause is the manipulation of time. For example, in time - travel stories. If you go back in time and change something, it can create a paradox like the grandfather paradox. If you kill your grandfather before he has children, how can you exist to go back in time in the first place? Another cause could be the different physical laws assumed in science fiction universes that conflict with our known real - world physics, leading to paradoxical situations.

They can also be caused by the blurring of identity. In some stories, characters might be cloned or have their minds transferred. If a clone has the exact same memories and experiences as the original, which one is the'real' person? This identity paradox is common in science fiction and is caused by the exploration of the boundaries of what it means to be an individual. It challenges our basic concepts of self - hood and uniqueness.

The main causes of paradoxes in science fiction? Firstly, time travel. If you go back and change things, it can create all sorts of logical loops. Secondly, postulating technologies that violate fundamental scientific laws. For example, if a story has a device that can instantaneously teleport across the galaxy without any energy source, that's a problem. And finally, when the story plays around with concepts like infinity. If a character has infinite power or knowledge, it can lead to situations where the normal rules of cause and effect break down, creating paradoxes.

One common time travel paradox is the grandfather paradox. If you travel back in time and kill your grandfather before he has children, then you couldn't be born to go back in time in the first place. Another is the bootstrap paradox, like a person going back in time and giving Shakespeare the plays he wrote, but then where did the plays originally come from? And then there's the predestination paradox, where events in the past seem to be fated because of time travel, for example, a time traveler goes back to save someone, but it turns out that their very presence there was what caused the situation that needed saving in the first place.

One great book is 'The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction'. It delves into various aspects of the history of science fiction, exploring different eras and significant works. Another is 'A History of Science Fiction' which comprehensively traces the development of the genre from its early roots to modern times.

Sure. 'Rendezvous with Rama' by Arthur C. Clarke is a great one. It tells the story of a huge, mysterious alien spacecraft that enters the solar system and the human exploration of it.

Another one could be 'Dhalgren' by Samuel R. Delany. This book is complex and takes the reader on a journey through a strange and changing city. It has elements of surrealism and is quite thought - provoking. There are various characters and sub - plots that all come together to create a unique science - fiction experience. It challenges the reader's perception of reality and the future.