Good Sci-Fi

[pmrid]

I've exhausted my known science fiction authors. So much of what passes for SF these days is adolescent merdre - if it isn't a Star Trek episode, it's some bodice-ripping nonsense with absolutely zero literary merit.
So, a call for suggstions. Adult SF, Who'se your favourite?
Peter

[RickS]

What authors did you like, Peter? Just trying to get an idea of the sort of stuff you might like.

[el_draco]

Personally, I'm still young enough not to have an issue with that... :rofl:

[vlazg]

Hi Peter, i have been reading SF for 50 years and my favourites are
Frederik Pohl esp the Heechee Saga
and my absolute favourite is Iain M Banks who sadly died.

[glend]

It would help if you can give us some perspective on the authors whose stories you have exhausted. I share your dismay of available 'new' material. And most of the really good book writers are dead now.

Are you after a more techical look at the future, or space adventure type stuff?. Personally i think scifi book writing is a dying art form, being replaced by adolescent space cowboy stuff made for movies and tv.

[DarkArts]

No real favourites here, but have you tried James P. Hogan? He writes at the science end of sci-fi, and few seem to have heard of him, but I find his ideas and stories quite interesting.

Otherwise there are many in my bookcase:
Raymond E. Fiest
Kim Stanley Robinson
Peter F. Hamilton
Anne McCaffrey
Julian May
William Gibson
Alan Dean Foster
Harry Harrison
Charles Sheffield
Larry Niven
Jerry Pournelle
Robert L. Forward
H. Beam Piper
Greg Bear
David Weber
Ben Bova
Bob Shaw
etc.
plus I kinda like Christopher Stasheff's works if more on the fantasy side.

Maybe it's time to revisit the classics ... Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein, Herbert ... ?

[iasuka]

+1 for Heinlein, he's my all-time favorite sci-fi writer. I basically grew up reading his novels. You _might_ not like it though if you don't like libertarian values.

Another good name to add to the list is Robert Sheckley. He's definitely worth checking. And re-checking. :lol:

Yet another great one is a Polish writer Stanislaw Lem. He wrote a whole lot of very deep and philosophical (but still quite fun to read) sci-fi books. Your experience may vary depending on a translation quality.

Ah, and don't forget about Kurt Vonnegut. Not exactly sci, but worth trying. Who knows, you might love it. :)

[redbeard]

Hi Peter,

I'm not a big reader, more of a SF movie buff, BUT, my friend has read more science fiction than anyone I know, so, give him an email on dblood@finder.net.au and ask him. Let him know Damien sent you.
His name is Warrick.
All cool.

Cheers,

Damien.

[csb]

This link is to a list of Science Fiction books in which the authors have used real or realistic physics/science in the stories. There is a brief synopsis of what the story is about and the list is categorised by subject.

The website is the Astronomical Society of The Pacific. Perhaps 100 books listed.

https://www.astrosociety.org/education/astronomy-resource-guides/science-fiction-stories-with-good-astronomy-physics-a-topical-index/#topic

There's a possibility you may have read some - let us know.

[cfranks]

If you like 'Navy battles but transmuted to the future and into space' type of yarn, Jack Campbell writes some excellent ones. The science is very good and very believable. 'The Lost Fleet' is the first series of 6 books and I thoroughly recommend them.
Charles

[wavelandscott]

Several good authors already listed...

I'd add
Orson Scott Card
Fred Saberhagen

[silv]

Hugh Howey - Wool Series (https://www.amazon.com/Wool-Omnibus-Silo-Hugh-Howey-ebook/dp/B0071XO8RA/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1472272790&sr=1-1#nav-subnav)
He doesn't go much into the science of his post-apocalyptic earth world and the little he does is kept foggy but it's still questionable...
it's an intriguing society, nonetheless!
So maybe it's more like a "social-fi" rather than a sci-fi.
Same goes for his stand-alone novel Sand. Also very intriguing socially - but vague on the tech side of things.

Initially I began reading Howey because he is self-published without the middle-man publisher - a newly made possible concept of authorship which I have a lot of respect for.

A thriller with sci-fi and a bit more science and technology than Howey that I enjoyed lately was A.G. Riddle - The Atlantis Gene (https://www.amazon.com/Atlantis-Gene-Thriller-Origin-Mystery/dp/1940026016/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472274279&sr=8-1&keywords=A.G.+Riddle) .
part 1 and 2 are set on earth, part 3 goes into space, as well.


Great topic. Will come back here for inspiration.

[pfitzgerald]

Joe Haldeman (the Forever War)
Elizabeth Moon
Arthur C. Clarke (Fountains Of Paradise)
and
Frank Herbert

Are two authors worthy of addition to the above list.

Paul

[ZeroID]

The Quantum Thief, Hannu Rajaniemi.
And if you want some true SciFi read The Skies Dark Labyrinth Trilogy. It reads as good as any scifi. I'm re-reading it at present.

[billdan]

Hi Peter,
I was researching Omega Centauri and Wikipedia mentioned this novel.


Singularity (2012), by Ian Douglas.
The novel presents as fact that Omega Centauri and Kapteyn's star originate from a disrupted dwarf galaxy, and this origin is central to the novel's plot. A number of scientific aspects of Omega Centauri are discussed as the story progresses, including the likely radiation environment inside the cluster and what the sky might look like from inside the cluster.

Regards
Bill

[guipago]

Don't forget the Dune series by Frank Herbert & his son Brian Herbert, they come up with a lotta a-hole's that should be dropped out of an airlock(which might be too good for 'em)

[Andy01]

My #1 is Larry Niven, who's latest book is a wonderful Conan type fantasy "the Seascape Tattoo", all his hard sci-fi Known space series are well worth reading.
Try Ben Bova, his Mars novels and The Farside Observatory (on the dark side of the moon) was also a wonderful read.
Everything Heinlein, Herbert's Dune series, Brian Herbert's Hellhole series, the rock & rollicking Honor Harrington series by David Weber, most things Greg Bear, Arthur C. Clarke, Stephen Baxter, Sheckley, and Stephen Donaldson's Gap series is epic.
Hope that's useful 👍

[The_bluester]

An interesting one (Though somewhat odd) was "the long earth" (Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter)

It revolved around "Parallel" earths that were essentially "Discovered" on what was termed "Step day" when plans for a device to enable you to step from one to another were published worldwide. Very different to anything else with Terry Pratchett's name on it as he was more of a humorous fantasy author. It ended up as a series of related books.

I need a new SciFi writer too, many of my favourites have died so I will be looking over this thread a bit! I was prone to A.C. Clarke, Asimov, Anne McCaffery, Greg Bear, Orson Scott Card (Provided I look past his personal politics) Alice Mary Norton (Though like some of the classic writers her work has suffered a bit in the last decade or so and looks really out of date sometimes!)

[silv]

that's what I thought re-watching Total Recall, yesterday.

Picking a novel for example from Craig's list :) (https://www.astrosociety.org/education/astronomy-resource-guides/science-fiction-stories-with-good-astronomy-physics-a-topical-index/#topic), I make sure it is younger than 1990.

I'm a sucker for characters and authors with enough empathy to make me care for their action(s).
Sci-Fi is not famous for those traits - so at least I want to be intrigued by currently futuristic ideas and concepts.
Reading dead sci-fi authors, to me, seems a waste of precious reading time.

[GeoffW1]

Hi,

My all time favourite is still Jack Vance. He often leans toward Science Fantasy, and does not do much pure cosmology. His last 2 or 3 though are not so good.

Another one is Dan Simmons, especially the Hyperion Cantos, where he plays with concepts of time distortion.

If you like Stephen King's style (I don't) try his Dark Tower series, featuring Roland the gunslinger.

Cheers

[Shano592]

+1 for The Dark Tower. I read all seven books in under a week. What I love about King is that he gives his characters a full back-story, and builds them up so that you can identify with them.

I also like Alan Dean Foster's work. He did a few of the Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, and his writing is very good.

[pmrid]

Thanks one and all for your suggestions.
I had a house full of in-laws all weekend and didn't get an opportunity to get back online to catch up with all your suggestions.
Plenty there to explore.
My thanks again.
Peter

[bugeater]

Yeah Iain M Bank's Culture novels are generally excellent. It's sad we won't get any more of them.

[Renato1]

Amazon's 100 science fiction and fantasy books that you must read is fairly subjective, but may give you some ideas.

First Pub Title Author
1949 1984 (Signet Classics) George Orwell
2001: a Space Odyssey Arthur C. Clarke
1960 A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M. Miller Jr.
1996 A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) George R. R. Martin
1968 A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle) Ursula K. Le Guin
1962 A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet) Madeleine L’Engle
2003 Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs Novels) Richard K. Morgan
2001 American Gods Neil Gaiman
2011 Among Others (Hugo Award Winner – Best Novel) Jo Walton
2013 Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch) Ann Leckie
2014 Annihilation: A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy) Jeff VanderMeer
Assassin’s Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1) Robin Hobb
1985 Blood Music Greg Bear
1932 Brave New World Aldous Huxley
1953 Childhood’s End Arthur C. Clarke
2004 Cloud Atlas: A Novel David Mitchell
1998 Daughter of the Blood (Black Jewels, Book 1) Anne Bishop
1975 Dhalgren Samuel R. Delany
1968 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick
1992 Doomsday Book Connie Willis
1968 Dragonflight (Dragonriders of Pern – Volume 1) Anne McCaffrey
1965 Dune Frank Herbert
1985 Ender’s Game (The Ender Quintet) Orson Scott Card
1953 Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury
1994 Foreigner: (10th Anniversary Edition) C. J. Cherryh
1818 Frankenstein Mary Shelley
1990 Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch Neil Gaiman
2008 Graceling Kristin Cashore
1989 Grass Sheri S. Tepper
2002 Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 1) Laurell K. Hamilton
2005* H. P. Lovecraft: Tales (Library of America) H. P. Lovecraft
1997 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone J.K. Rowling
2010 How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe: A Novel Charles Yu
1986 Howl’s Moving Castle Diana Wynne Jones
1989 Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos) Dan Simmons
1954 I Am Legend Richard Matheson
1950 I, Robot Isaac Asimov
1976 Interview with the Vampire Anne Rice
2004 Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel Susanna Clarke
2003 Kindred Octavia E. Butler
2001 Kushiel’s Dart (Kushiel’s Legacy) Jacqueline Carey
1977 Lord Foul’s Bane (The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Book 1) Stephen R. Donaldson
1984 Neuromancer William Gibson
1984 Nights at the Circus Angela Carter
2005 Old Man’s War John Scalzi
1991 Outlander Diana Gabaldon
1982 Pawn of Prophecy (Belgariad) David Eddings
2000 Perdido Street Station China Miéville
2011 Ready Player One: A Novel Ernest Cline
1993 Red Mars (Mars Trilogy) Kim Stanley Robinson
2014 Red Rising Pierce Brown
1976 Riddle-Master Patricia A. McKillip
1970 Ringworld (A Del Rey book) Larry Niven
1995 Sabriel (Old Kingdom) Garth Nix
2009 Sandman Slim: A Novel Richard Kadrey
1969 Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut
1992 Snow Crash Neal Stephenson
1961 Solaris Stanislaw Lem
1959 Starship Troopers Robert A. Heinlein
2010 Stories of Your Life and Others Ted Chiang
1961 Stranger in a Strange Land Robert A. Heinlein
1983 The Color of Magic (Discworld) Terry Pratchett
2001 The Curse of Chalion (Chalion series) Lois McMaster Bujold
1984 The Dark is Rising (The Dark is Rising Sequence) Susan Cooper
1974 The Dispossessed (Hainish Cycle) Ursula K. Le Guin
1988 The Dragonbone Chair: Book One of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn Tad Williams
1990 The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1) Robert Jordan
1974 The Forever War Joe Haldeman
1995 The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials Philip Pullman
2013 The Golem and the Jinni: A Novel (P.S.) Helene Wecker
1982 The Gunslinger: (The Dark Tower #1)(Revised Edition) Stephen King
1990 The Handmaid’s Tale Margaret Atwood
1979 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
1937 The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien
2008 The Hunger Games (Book 1) Suzanne Collins
1968 The Last Unicorn Peter S. Beagle
1969 The Left Hand of Darkness (Ace Science Fiction) Ursula K. Le Guin
1984 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 2) C. S. Lewis
1954 The Lord of the Rings: 50th Anniversary, One Vol. Edition J.R.R. Tolkien
2009 The Magicians: A Novel (Magicians Trilogy) Lev Grossman
2014 The Martian Andy Weir
1950 The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury
1983 The Mists of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley
2007 The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicle) Patrick Rothfuss
1987 The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure William Goldman
2009 The Road Cormac McCarthy
2012 The Rook: A Novel Daniel O’Malley
1996 The Sparrow: A Novel (Ballantine Reader’s Circle) Mary Doria Russell
2003 The Speed of Dark (Ballantine Reader’s Circle) Elizabeth Moon
1956 The Stars My Destination Alfred Bester
1977 The Sword of Shannara Terry Brooks
1895 The Time Machine H. G. Wells
2003 The Time Traveler’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger
2010 The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, The) Brandon Sanderson
2009 The Windup Girl Paolo Bacigalupi
1870 Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne
2005 Uglies Scott Westerfeld
2015 Uprooted Naomi Novik
2011 Wool Hugh Howey
2006 World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War Max Brooks

[brian nordstrom]

:sadeyes: Yes such a shame .

I am into the last 100 pages of the 1300 page Judus Unchained by Peter F Hamilton awesome saga that continues the story on from the equally awesome Pandora,s Star.
Brian.

[Neutronstar]

Another 4 thumbs up :thumbsup: for Larry Niven. Tales of Known Space and the epic Ringworld series books are just screaming to be made into movies and are going to waste.
Hollywood could make a series of movies with Ringworld rather than that super hero trash they keep churning out (I boycott them, as they are science fantasy at best). Oh, no, not another batman movie.

Nivens stories are much better than Star Wars/Treks could hope to be. So much more depth to them.

[pfitzgerald]

One of Niven's best is Protector - certainly worthy of turning into a movie.

Some more: Artur C Clarke - Fountains of Paradise, The Hammer Of God, Rendezvous with Rama

[pmrid]

Well, I'm off and running. I've got access to a pretty large eBook library and I've just loaded up a few dozen of Iain Banks, Peter Hamilton and Larry Niven. Some I've read but I'm now good for a few solid months reading. Woohoo!

Thanks again for all the input.

Peter

[pfitzgerald]

Happy reading Peter.

Paul

[iasuka]

Breaks my heart. :sadeyes:

I don't think characters in sci-fi books can get much better or livelier than in "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlen. Would you miss it simply because Mr. Heinlein passed away a long time ago?

[silv]

probably :(


BUT: because of this thread, I began reading Asimov's The God's Themselves, my first Asimov.
WOW! Now that's a REAL treat! His language alone is beautiful! Let alone the characters and the story... and the scientific fiction, too, is nice

I'll be giving Heinlein's harsh mistress a go, soon, too. Let's see why you suggested it. Book recommendations tell something about people ... he he he heee :D

[Mick]

E. E. "Doc" Smith, Skylark series is a good read.
His Lensman series is also another favorite.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylark_(series)

[iasuka]

That's old school for you mate. :) The true Golden Age of sci-fi.




I'm glad you are going to read it after all. I really hope you'll like it. :prey:
If you do I'd be happy to supply a list of other Heinlein's great works for your enjoyment, those written in more traditional style and language. :lol:

[pmrid]

Heinlein is certainly a must read! He won the Hugo 4 times - more than any other author I think. No slouch. His other Hugo winners included Double Star and Stranger in a Strange Land. Get reading!
Peter

[silv]

okay! thanks a million! :)

[pfitzgerald]

Here are a few you more - assuming that you haven't already read them.

The Dragon In The Sea - Frank Herbert
The Integral Trees - Larry Niven
The Smoke Ring - Larry Niven

Paul

[barx1963]

Good to see someone else likes The Forever War!! One must be careful as Haldeman insisted on regularly updating his book, so later editions are quiote different to the original. I had a copy and it went walkabout so a bought a new one and it was noticeably altered.
Still one of the best!! Has everything, interstellar war, time travel, lots of sex, anti war sentiment. All round good fun!!
Malcolm

[barx1963]

Ah ha! Another Sheckley fan! I managed to track down a nearly perfect copy of his "Store of Infinity" collection from a 1960 imprint with "The Store of the Worlds" in it. Read it when I was a teenager and been looking for it ever since. One of the great SF short stories of all time.

Malcolm

[barx1963]

Quite a few have mentioned Heinlein. Read almost all his books as a teenager, still grab one out every now and then. Best ones would be:

Orphans of the Sky
Methuselahs Children
Starship Troopers (enjoy the read and the adventure, not the message so much)
Time for the Stars
Tunnel in the Sky
Starman Jones
Farnhams Freehold (interesting but controversial read!!)
Citizen of the Galaxy

There are more but ones to avoid are:
Time Enough for love
Friday
Stranger in a Strange Land

Malcolm

[Renato1]

Interesting - I'd have said Time Enough for Love and Stranger in a Strange Land were very avoidable to (I guess I missed what other people "got") but I thought Friday was very refreshing, with Heinlein getting back to something very readable the way he used to write.
Regards,
Renato

[Andy01]

I loved "Stranger in a Strange Land", and "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and many of the aforementioned others. :thumbsup:

My mum got me into Heinlein & sci-fi as a 10 y/o kid when she brought home "Space Cadet". That was followed by "Farmer in the Sky", "Podkayne of Mars", "Red Planet", "Tunnel in the Sky", "Starman Jones" etc.

His fantasy novel "glory Road" was also very cool.

Trivia time - "The Puppet Masters" was also the basis for an episode of Star Trek TOS "Operation: Annihilate!" :)

[iasuka]

Interesting, I happen to quite like "Time Enough for Love" and "Stranger in a Strange Land".

At the same time it's perfectly understandable why many sci-fi fans don't like those books. Mostly because those are not really sci. Rather it's almost pure and deep philosophizing and libertarian moralizing in the guise of sci-fi. Almost like "War and Peace" in the future, you know. :) I'd still recommend those books for die-hard Heinlein fans though.

[iasuka]

Haha, thanks. I'm not really a die-hard fan, but I still like Shekley's twists a lot. I can easily remember the first time I read "Mindswap" being an early teenager. It was a mind-boggling experience. Really blew my head off. :lol:




Really nice. :thumbsup:

[alocky]

Another heinlein that was a little different was the cat who walks through walls. That was quite funny and clever.
Not many votes for Philip Dick, considering how many of his books were the basis for some of the best sci-fi movies! I can't think of one of his I didn't like.
Then there's the stainless steel rat series ( Harry Harrison I think) - light but funny.
Cheers
Andrew.

[bert]

If you like Peter F. Hamiltons work, Then you will like Alastair Reynolds also. They are my 2 favourites sci-fi authors.