+1 for Peter F Hamilton's series. They have that epic feel of having a great back story with history, interesting thoughts on how things would pan out with people having unending life spans, etc.
This far in and no mention of Asimov's Robot series?
I jsut finished reading "The Death of Grass" by John Christopher and I recommend it very highly. Also a very quick read if anyone is on the lookout for something snappy.
Dune +1. It's truly epic, and has barely aged, where as the likes of Asimov et al really have, and makes it a little twee these days.
Dragons Egg is a good, undemanding read.
The lensman series by E.E. Doc Smith is good fun too, if you can forgive its age and original pulp style.
Anyone remember going to a shop and buying books? 😛 I miss a nice trip to waterstones....
I still do! Getting through a couple of books a week on the commute. Nothing better than spending most of a lunch hour deciding what's next.
Anyone remember going to a shop and buying books? I miss a nice trip to waterstones....
My mother used to leave me in the John Smiths SF section while she went off to do other things (shopping? work? I can't remember) - couldn't do that with an 8-year-old nowadays.
Too many favorites, though if I had to choose maybe Dune is, as I've read it so many times. So can only add endorsement for authors rather than particular books, already suggested: Neal Stephenson, Iain M Banks, Alastair Reynolds, Peter F. Hamilton, China Melville, Dan Simmons, Richard K Morgan I don't think they been mentioned yet David Brin & John Scalzi.
Though will note I am enjoying new stuff from Hugh Howey, James S. A Corey (pen name of a pair of authors), Isla K Bick, Marcus Sakey, Justin Cronin (sneaking in from horror) & Marko Kloos
I could go on for hours, I like my sci-fi & particular enjoying audiobooks, as I can 'read' and do otherstuff too!
New Model Army by Adam Roberts is chilling, compliments the early Ken MacLeod books in some ways.
Writers of Wyndam's generation? Poul Anderson, Heinlein, Moorcock all have echoes/familiarities. Bob Shaw and Keith Roberts are good UK authors.
I keep returning to [i]Excession[/i] by Ian M Banks but also Matter, Surface Detail and The Hydrogen Sonata. So sad to lose him, there was another Culture book.
I jsut finished reading "The Death of Grass" by John Christopher and I recommend it very highly. Also a very quick read if anyone is on the lookout for something snappy.
Death of Grass is a great book. Another excellent work in a similar vein of mid-century apocalyptica is On The Beach by Nevil Shute.
Venus on the half shell by Kilgore Trout (actually written by Phillip Jose Farmer)
The Iron Dream by Nirman Spinrad.
Everything by William Gibdon
Heavy Weather and Darwins Radio by Alan Dean Foster
The list is endless
Asimovs Foundation trilogy but not the extra books he bolted on afterwards. Stranger in a Strange Land from Heinlein, some stainless steel rat from Harry Harrison, Ringworld by Larry Niven, plus a bundle of stuff mentioned above.
Death of Grass is a great book. Another excellent work in a similar vein of mid-century apocalyptica is On The Beach by Nevil Shute.
Thanks, I'll give that a go.
Blimey, forgot David Brin!
Everything by him, the Uplift series first three (not sure about the second set of three), Earth, the Practice Effect.
No mention for either of these so far so here's my tuppence:
Mike Freeman - Redemption Protocol, Contact 1 - 4 books in the series so far, great ideas, big story.
Sam Landstrom - MetaGame, very relevant to today social media and gaming and dark.
Neale Stephenson - Anathem worth a read.
In the 'young adult' section, check out the Mortal Engines quartet and the prequels Fever Crumb (waiting for book 4 to be written) - excellent stuff. reading them to my 8 year old as much for my pleasure as his.
I struggle to read anything that isn't non fiction these days. But i love audiobooks at work, and they're 90 percent sci fi. Hyperion was excellent, so good it left me hollow once finished in the way that good books do. Speaking of hollow,theres a book called Hollow world thats also worth seeking out.
I always thought it would be great if someone wrote all of Kilgore Trouts' novels!
On The Beach is a fantastic book, very bleak, but hasn't dated at all.
Asimov, Clark and Niven: biologist, electronics engineer and mathematician, so a complete absence of dragons.
Larry Niven wrote 'Lucifer's Hammer' with Jerry Pournelle of NASA, it's a very real story.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer%27s_Hammer
Stephenson's Anathem +1 Wouldnt really call Cryptonomicon SF (although def one of my favourite books). Snow Crash i also rate highly.
wyndums The Crysalids +1
Gibsons later stuff (Spook Country springs to mind, I really enjoyed his early stuff but at the time. Not sure how it would read now).
Vonneguts Sirens of Titan
Iain M Banks I've enjoyed too.
Rather fell out of love with SciFi novels. In my youth Arthur C Clark, Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein were favourites, and I was just starting to head off the 'golden age' of SciFi from the 30s and 40s, when I got distracted. Try the short stories rather than novels. Ideas that work well in short stories, don't translate well into novels, but can be very impressive in short story.
Kim Stanley Robinson for sure - science fiction with the emphasis on the science.
No mention of Harry Harrison? The Stainless Steel Rat is too funny.
metalheart - Member
Wouldnt really call Cryptonomicon SF (although def one of my favourite books).
Yeah, it's not SF at all. It's a strange book though - it starts off brilliantly, well written, compelling etc. Then after about 400 pages I thought it completely fell apart and the second half of the book is a total mess. The writing felt almost like a different author, the plot is messy and the ending is incredibly rushed for such a long book.
grenosteve - MemberAlastair Reynolds for me.
if you like space opera, try the Revelation Space series of books - very out there, but it's an awesome universe that’s created and spans over 5 books (3 in the main story, lots of short stories and 2 spin off novels in the same universe).
I've got to admit that I thought Revelation Space was one of the worst books, of any genre, that I've ever had the misfortune of reading. Poorly written, appalling - actually non-existent - characterisation and stupid, stupid 'hard SF' concepts considering that the author is an astrophysicist. I gave up at a point where he went into detail describing a hand-rail (as in the thing you hold onto when walking down steps) in detail. The hand-rail then played no further part in the story. Apparently Reynolds got better as an author after this book, but I haven't tried anything else.
After that negativity 🙂 I'd +1 a lot of the above. I have been re-reading Dick's early short stories lately, some of which are great. I also read Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon The Deep which has some interesting ideas. I also have recently found a love of Jack Vance's short stories.
I've read quite a lot on the list. Clarke was an amazing visionary with a fair amount of tongue in cheek wit to boot, but his characters were dull. I thoroughly enjoyed Contact, the world needs more Eleanor Arroways.
I can highly recommend Lucifer's Hammer and Footfall both by Niven & Pournelle for their sheer grittiness. Their take on the tired alien invasion scenario was well executed and would lend itself to a modern film interpretation.
Right now though, I'm working my way through Iain M Banks. He combines the visionary style and wit of Clarke with an excellent backstory. The characters are well realised too - Use of Weapons is the high water mark of the genre for me.
Yes, it's hard to say if Cryptonomicon is SF or not - and the sort-of sequels, the Baroque Cycle. Though they're set in the past, there's also some things which are more SF-ish, and there's lots of science, so they're sort-of historical SF.
Steampunk? William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's The Difference Engine is marvellous. Or going back to Stephenson the overlooked sequel (ish) to Snow Crash is The Diamond Age, set in a neo-Victorian future full of nanomachines.
Probably the most sci-fi book I've ever read is Poul Anderson's [i]Tau Zero[/i]. Not one for those who like laser blasters and witty robots, it's quite literally fiction based on physics. Without giving the plot away too much it's sort of Dark Star for people who've read Einstein.
In the 'young adult' section, check out the Mortal Engines quartet and the prequels Fever Crumb (waiting for book 4 to be written) - excellent stuff. reading them to my 8 year old as much for my pleasure as his.
Not just me then! Great stories!
wordnumb - Member
Without giving the plot away too much it's sort of Dark Star for people who've read Einstein
As long as it's got a beachball with claws I'm in! 😀
IdleJon - Sorry to be the intergalactic ambassador of bad news but I believe the comedy alien had to be sacrificed for the explanation of what happens to mass as an object approaches the speed of light.
I've got to admit that I thought Revelation Space was one of the worst books, of any genre, that I've ever had the misfortune of reading
I seen that before (from you?) & I totally disagree, if anything it's how long Reynolds takes setting the charaters/scene that fustrates me, though it pay off massively IMO (of course). I've thoroughly enjoyed all his books, though I like being entertained by a story and am not above enjoying a bit of space opera 'trash' (not that Reynolds fits that description). Luckily were all different though.
z1ppy - MemberI've got to admit that I thought Revelation Space was one of the worst books, of any genre, that I've ever had the misfortune of reading
I seen that before (from you?) & I totally disagree, if anything it's how long Reynolds takes setting the charaters/scene that fustrates me, though it pay off massively IMO (of course). I've thoroughly enjoyed all his books, though I like being entertained by a story and am not above enjoying a bit of space opera 'trash' (not that Reynolds fits that description). Luckily were all different though.
Yeah, could have been me z1ppy, I think I've said it before on here. Funnily enough I was probably looking for 'space opera trash' and still haven't found anything worth reading. But [i]vive la difference[/i], as you say! 🙂
Have you tried Brin's Uplift books? Sundiver is maybe a bit simple (space detective) but I enjoyed the uplift trilogy a lot
just finished 'consider phlebas'- the first (?) culture novel.
are they all that bad?
anyway, i enjoyed 'the forever war'
Reynolds can't do pacing imo. 1/10th is too rushed, 9/10ths takes too long. The lighthugger chase scene in Absolution Gap, aaargh. 100 pages of "Wait... time passes". And don't start me on greenfly, right, because I will totally lose it and it's really unseemly.
Which is a shame because some of it's absolutely brilliant. Golden age ideas and hard black sf logic. I just wanted more Clavain, more Nostalgia For Infinity, less endless dreary nothing.
ahwiles - Memberjust finished 'consider phlebas'- the first (?) culture novel.
are they all that bad?
anyway, i enjoyed 'the forever war'
I re-read Consider Phlebas a few months ago and while it was ok (I thought), it wasn't a patch on his last few Culture novels.
+1 on The Forever War.
Working my way through the Baroque Cycle at the moment. Taken me two months to get to the third book.Yes, it's hard to say if Cryptonomicon is SF or not - and the sort-of sequels, the Baroque Cycle.
He's more or less unique, definitely not mainstream SciFi. Historical Science Fiction (HiSciFi?), or Alchemical Fiction. Absolutely fascinating none the less.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was superb and hopefully will be made into a film before too long. Set in the near future but with loads of eighties references.
+1 for the first two Hyperion books. Books 3 and 4 went off the boil.
Northwind - Member
Reynolds ...... less endless dreary nothing.
😆 As I said up there, I gave up when he started describing a hand-rail in detail. Basically, wtf?
z1ppy - Member
Have you tried Brin's Uplift books? Sundiver is maybe a bit simple (space detective) but I enjoyed the uplift trilogy a lot
I've looked at them but never read them. Maybe I'll try.
just finished 'consider phlebas'- the first (?) culture novel.
It probably takes a 2nd read to get the most from it but I think his other Culture novels are all much better. Player of games & Excession are both great for showing the vast power (when pushed) of such a "benign" race..
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline was superb and hopefully will be made into a film before too long. Set in the near future but with loads of eighties references.
A load? The whole book is basically a worship of the eighties (thoughly enjoyable for a 70's child)... I have little doubt that the film will generate a lot of royalties for some long retired artists. Though do wonder if the author has time for any interests outside the eighties, to be able to write anything else (new book due next year)
IdleJon - MemberAs I said up there, I gave up when he started describing a hand-rail in detail. Basically, wtf?
I quite liked Blue Remembered Earth (an Iain (no M) Banks novel set in a Kim Stanley Robinson sideplot, doesn't really go anywhere but does it interestingly) and Terminal World (so China Mielvelley that you can ignore the tedious Reynoldsy bits)
Northwind - Member
I quite liked Blue Remembered Earth (an Iain (no M) Banks novel set in a Kim Stanley Robinson sideplot, doesn't really go anywhere but does it interestingly) and Terminal World (so China Mielvelley that you can ignore the tedious Reynoldsy bits)
My only experience of Mieville was Perdido St Station, another mess of a book. It hasn't put me off him in the way that Revelation Space put me off Reynolds though!
Northwind - Member
I quite liked Blue Remembered Earth (an Iain (no M) Banks novel set in a Kim Stanley Robinson sideplot, doesn't really go anywhere but does it interestingly) and Terminal World (so China Mielvelley that you can ignore the tedious Reynoldsy bits)
umm, both 'blue remembered earth' and 'terminal world' are by reynolds.
any of Iain Banks' books, 'm' or no, are good IME. 'state of the art', which is a collection of shorts, might be a good way in, but i haven't read that in some time. excession is awesome but i wouldn't recommend anyone to start there.
reynolds' stuff i enjoyed.
peter hamilton's stuff i waded through and begrudged every minute of the last two books of a trilogy i read, desperately hoping it was going to get better. it didn't, and his writing style i found completely un-engaging. i had no interest in his characters at all really. shame.
neil asher - the agent cormac books are good, his current 'owner' series is building nicely too.
I think he means it was written in a Mievilley style?
umm, both 'blue remembered earth' and 'terminal world' are by reynolds.
Saw on an Ian M Banks interview, he loved Consider Phlebas and really wanted to see it made into a big budget movie....As lots of people have said Phillip K Dick (especially Ubik), Ursula Le Guin, Alfred Bester, and lets not forget Arthur C Clarke..
