A good fast moving science fiction novel should stimulate and create a want and need from the reader to read more, to experience the new world or universe the author has created with all the twists and turns of the unexpected. This would be a consideration in being one of the best science fiction books that is timeless and classic.

But unfortunately our new writers who break out into the published world and have the creditable right to call themselves authors are responsible for making more people look at the back of their eyelids for six to eight hours than most politicians speeches or even church ministers delivering a sermon. When it comes to becoming the author of the best science fiction books around, many fall short.

Some of these books could be prescribed in lieu of sleeping tablets. They could be advertised as 'non-addictive, but don't operate any heavy machinery after reading.' I could give you a list of those books I think would really help one drift to dreamland, but alas, I can't remember any of the titles. I certainly can't recommend any of them for nomination to the Best Science Fiction Book Hall of Fame.

My advice to writers hoping to write one of the best science fiction books: be creative. Don't wallow in predictability. Readers want more we don't want to force ourselves to read to the last page, in desperate hope of finding something surprising and original, only to find the same drivel we've read in the past ten books. After the same disappointments, it is hard not to just skip to the last chapter and see if it is worth our while!

While there are formulas to follow that have been used by generations of writers to build their stories around, they may not be the best way to write one of the best science fiction books. It isn't groundbreaking or bringing science fiction up to a whole new level, but the good guy will always win, the hero will get the girl, and the downtrodden minority will overcome the evil overlords with the help of a hidden file or a sock and a safety pin.

It is no shock when the lights go out, the shields are failing fast, and a child with a ballpoint pen can repair the massive engine that is about to explode and blow up the entire town, while the knowledgeable technicians and scientists are running for their lives. Does that sound like one of the best science fiction books to you?

If you are going to write and intend to be published try and take your readers into your new dimension with the intention of keeping them awake or at least stimulating some exciting dreams in their nocturnal shutdown. Stimulate their imagination by using your own creative and new themes not the old and obvious.

If you must stick to a formula, at least pop in a few surprises here and there. Take a leaf from "No Second Chance", when the hero boldly states, "Always expect the unexpected because the unexpected is only the expected when you least expect it." If you keep that in mind, you may still write one of the best science fiction books.