Hothouse [vt Long Afternoon of Earth]
by Brian Aldiss (1962)

Aldiss set the stage for the 'New Wave' with this psychedelic far-future tale of evolution gone mad. Conventional hard sci-fi gives way to a huge 'banyan' tree covering one face of the Earth. Incarnations of humans survive - but with the sun nearing nova, they compete with intelligent plants, insects and fungi for space. Cutting edge Aldiss.

The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch
by Philip K Dick (1964)

Con-man Palmer Eldritch plays god when he peddles new immortality drug Chew-Z. Users are transported into another dimension where all their wishes are fulfilled - all while Earth time stands still. The catch, however, is that Eldritch gets to be god in everyone's private universe. 'Out-there' stuff from the somewhat troubled mind of a now-legendary sci-fi writer.

The Einstein Intersection
by Samuel R Delany (1966)

Delany's first acknowledged masterpiece is the retelling of the Orpheus myth with all the trappings of popular culture. In a far-future world of metaphysical existence, a musically-gifted telepathic mutant sets out to find his lost love and bring her back from the dead. One of Delany's most adventurous and exuberant early outings.

The Crystal World
by J G Ballard (1966)

The first two novels in Ballard's elemental cycle dealt with water and fire. When living things in an African jungle begin to crytalise, things take a decided turn towards the bizarre. Does the forest offer immortality, or do things simply turn to stone? A doctor sets out to save a diseased ex-lover from finding out. As usual, dark and downbeat.

Camp Concentration
by Thomas Disch (1968)

One of the first conventional SF writers to take up the New Wave mantle. US Army armaments researchers experiment on political prisoners, turning them into geniuses. The catch is that the drug used to do it kills them within months. The prisoners revolt and there's a lot of body-swapping. Told as a series of journal entries. Serious sci-fi.

Slaughterhouse 5
by Kurt Vonnegut (1969)

Autobiographical hero Billy Pilgrim is deeply affected by his WWII experiences as a POW during the fire-bombing of Dresden. Consequently, he ends up time-travelling between Dresden, a typically meaningless upper-middle class existence, and the planet Tralfamadore where he is a zoo display. Darkly comic work of pure genius.

Bug Jack Barron
by Norman Spinrad (1969)

Obscene language in the serialised version led to a newsagency ban that managed to get Michael Moorcock's New Worlds magazine in dire financial trouble. Near-future story of a popular TV talk-show host who fights a cryogenic 'immortality' company's racial prejudice. Company boss fights back with an offer Jack Barron can't refuse.

To Your Scattered Bodies Go
by Philip José Farmer (1971)

The first book in Farmer's popular Riverworld series. Humanity has been mysteriously resurrected on a world where the central feature is a seemingly endless river. A Victorian adventurer sets out to discover its source and find out more about his new existence. Full of all the gratuitous sex and violence which are PJF's trademarks.