Recommend some sci-fi

[ríomhaire]

I've always been more of a fantasy reader but I want to try my hand at some sci-fi. These are some sci-fi books I've read:

Liked:
The Time Machine - H. G. Wells
Day of the Triffids - Currently reading but can't remember the author's name
A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick
Fall of Reach - Halo novel and I don't know the author's name
Strata - Terry Pratchett
Dark Side of the Sun - Terry Pratchett

Loved:
War of the Worlds - H. G. Wells
Hitchhicker's Guide - Douglas Adams
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick


By the way, I don't like Star Wars or Star Trek or any of that stuff. And I haven't actually read anything by Arthur C. Clarke.

 

[theotherguy]

The Penultimate Truth (sucks, don't read it)

Read every single part of the Ender's Game series! It may be a young adult series, but its a very good series indeed.

Prima's Lens (it was alright, just a little weird)


That's all I can think of at the moment.

 

[knut]

For a fantastic portrayal of a grim future try some of the Warhammer 40k/Black Libary books. There are the more action based books based around the Imperial Guard, like the Gaunts Ghosts books by Dan Abnett (recommended if you like The Fall of Reach and other such soldier-based sci-fi books), which are really good, but for something a bit more in depth with more detail towards the Warhammer universe then I suggest Eisenhorn/Inquistor books Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus also by Dan Abnett.

''Originally a rigidly puritanical member of the Imperial Inquisition (specifically Ordos Xenos), the height of Eisenhorn's early career was the hunting and destruction of the renegade Inquisitor Quixos.'' (from Wiki)

Be you familar with the Warhammer 40k games or not, it has a really, really good universe behind it. Very interesting stuff. The Eisenhorn books are fantastically imaginative be it may quite Witchfinder General like. Sort've.

 

[Asknoone]

Jurassic Park and the Lost World are excellent.

 

[Jintor]

Hyperion.

 

[Ennui]

The Penultimate Truth (sucks, don't read it)

Never again dare to speak unkindly of PKD!

Go the library and get all the Philip K Dick books they have, and then read them. He's fantastic. Also, check out The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect.

 

[Narvi]

For Arthur C. Clarke... 2001: A Space Odyssey is much better than the movie.

The Culture novels are recommendable, but I don't like them much for some reason. Try Consider Phlebas first, and then move on to Look To Windward.

And definitely try Isaac Asimov's short story collections. The Foundation series is alright, but he really shines in short story form.

If you liked Fall of Reach, try First Strike and Ghosts of Onyx by the same author. Skip The Flood. It's not good and you know what happens anyway.

 

[repiV]

Hyperion.

Yeah. This. It's amesome.

 

[Eejit]

Day of the Triffids - Currently reading but can't remember the author's name

John Wyndham. Great author, read others of his!

Hyperion, by Dan Simmons. Ilium and Olympos by the same author are great.

 

[simonjedi]

For a fantastic portrayal of a grim future try some of the Warhammer 40k/Black Libary books. There are the more action based books based around the Imperial Guard, like the Gaunts Ghosts books by Dan Abnett (recommended if you like The Fall of Reach and other such soldier-based sci-fi books), which are really good, but for something a bit more in depth with more detail towards the Warhammer universe then I suggest Eisenhorn/Inquistor books Xenos, Malleus and Hereticus also by Dan Abnett.

QFT.

I also recommend the Horus heresy novels especially Horus rising by Dan Abnett.

 

[repiV]

I read Space Wolf and it was like reading a twelve year old's school project. I haven't bothered reading any 40k books since.

 

[knut]

I wouldn't know, I've only read a few books that were done by anyone else other than Dan Abnett. Space Wolf, and other such tales involving the Space Wolves chapter, were done by William King I do believe. Not a clue on his style or works.

Regardless, the Inquistor and other books by Dan Abnett aren't like that of a 12 year olds writing, I know that. The Guants Ghosts books are very action orientated but it's Warhammer 40k - huge, ridiculous size planetside battles have always there. Even so, there's still a lot of insight into the universe and beliefs that aren't quite shown in the tabletop games, and the chracters are very well looked into, if perhaps maybe there are a few too many in the same vein as the TV show Heroes.

But for science fiction, I can't think of a better fictional universe than the Warhammer 40k universe.

 

[repiV]

It depends on what you want out of science fiction. Strictly speaking, 40k isn't even really sci-fi - it's fantasy set in the future.
If you seek some kind of deep, meaningful social/sociological commentary out of your sci-fi, as the OP appears to be after, WH40k ain't gonna cut it. It's entertainment for the sake or entertainment - nothing wrong with that, it's just a different genre entirely.

I love a good space opera, I just sense that isn't what interests riomhaire.

Also, I'll throw in a recommendation for the Kovacs trilogy - Altered Carbon, Broken Angels and Woken Furies. Awesome books.

 

[knut]

I guess I'm being biased towards my own likes here then really, because I don't usually set myself up for certain sub-genres to get in the way of this that and the other, but fair enough. I can't speak for what we define as deep or meaningful as it's opinions - horses for courses n' all that - and even so I don't like it get in the way of my enjoyment, but I'd say out of anything 40k, the Inquistor books are certainly in a different league to everything else 40k, esp. the war/battle elements of it all. It's very much underside stuff, focusing much more on the more finer details of the universe.

I'd still call it sci-fi, though fantasy as well just as much so. You can't deny it still fills the quota for typical things to be found in everyday sci-fi.

 

[repiV]

I guess I'm being biased towards my own likes here then really, because I don't usually set myself up for certain sub-genres to get in the way of this that and the other, but fair enough. I can't speak for what we define as deep or meaningful as it's opinions - horses for courses n' all that - and even so I don't like it get in the way of my enjoyment, but I'd say out of anything 40k, the Inquistor books are certainly in a different league to everything else 40k, esp. the war/battle elements of it all. It's very much underside stuff, focusing much more on the more finer details of the universe.

I'd still call it sci-fi, though fantasy as well just as much so. You can't deny it still fills the quota for typical things to be found in everyday sci-fi.

Read Hyperion. You'll see what I mean.

Science fiction is traditionally used as a mechanism to explore the nature of the human race, to provide the reader with a unique perspective on our world.
The Kovacs trilogy, for example, is set in a world full of incredible, almost magical technologies - every human being is implanted with a chip at birth that records the entire content of their brains - and it can be swapped between bodies, theoretically ensuring eternal life.
People travel between worlds by transmitting the data contained within instantaneously and getting into a different body at the other end, because traditional space travel would take decades or longer.
Instead of being a wonderful, beautiful place though, it's a brutal, ultra-violent world of corruption, criminality and oppression. The protagonist himself is a ruthless, almost sociopathic killer - although he develops over the course of the series and actually ends up fighting against a younger copy of himself.
It's set several hundred years from now, but really it's there to tell us something about our world today. Any kind of novel which deals in concepts and change is usually science fiction - it's not really about the future, but about possibilities.

You might want to read the Saga of Seven Suns series, by the way - it's excellent.

 

[Polaris]

Novels:
Stanislaw Lem - The Invincible
A.C. Clarke - Songs of Distant Earth
Philip K. Dick - The Man in the High Castle
Michael Crichton - Jurassic Park, Prey
William Gibson - Neuromancer
Joe Haldeman - Forever War


Short stories:
A.C. Clarke - The Star
A.C. Clarke - The Nine Billion Names of God
Philip K. Dick - Paycheck

 

[Eejit]

Oh, anything by Iain M. Banks is worth a look too.
Make sure the M is there, or it's one of his non-science fiction books. They're good too but not what you seem to be looking for

 

[lame-o]

Check out Stanislaw Lem, he's credited for elevating sci-fi to a literature (don't know what that means, sci-fi is literature already isn't it?)... Anyways, he's still a really great author and he wrote Solaris, The Cyberiad, and Tales of Pyrx the Pilot among others. I read those and they are truly bizarre and great. His writing is almost like poetry, and has a lot of meaning.

 

[Ennui]

everything by william gibson

dhalgren by samuel delany

cormac mccarthy - the road

robert charles wilson - the spin

 

[xombine]

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson is an excellent read, too. It's pretty short so it's easy to get through.

 

[theotherguy]

reading hyperion right now.

Its alright so far, I suppose. There is just too much terminology to get a handle of, and I'm not much of a fan of Yeats, which is unfortunate because the author obviously was. The entire book is based on Yeats poems, and one of the charachters clearly is supposed to represent Yeats himself.

 

[Geogaddi]

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein

 

[baka-raven]

I would say something like

Dan Simmons - Hyperion Cantos
Dan Simmons - Illium / Olympos

Peter F. Hamilton - The Night Dawn trilogy (3 massive books weighting at about 1200 pages each)

Peter F. Hamilton - Pandoras Star / Judas Unchained
Peter F. Hamilton - The Dreaming Void (this is a new trilogy set in the universe of Pandoras star/Judas unchined. aprox. 1000 years later)

And then im reading Kevin J. Anderson - Saga of Seven suns.. Really nice books, though i cant help but hate a certain Chairman hehe

 

[Kula Meenur]

The Death of Grass - John Christopher


And to a lesser extent; The Taking - Dean Koontz

 

[Laivasse]

My personal pick of sci-fi would be something by Vernor Vinge. Not all that many people know who he is, but he's won the prestigious (in sci-fi, at least) Hugo Award 4 times with his novels.

Of all of his books, I'd say go for A Fire Upon the Deep - as repiv says, I dunno if riom would like space opera, but this is as good as it gets. If you're at all interested in Technological Singularity theory then it is a must. A Deepness In The Sky, the prequel to this novel, is a great read also.

An honourable mention should go to Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, even though it is more cyberpunk than sci-fi. Diamond Age is great too, for futuristic thingies, but if you want to learn some history while reading, his Baroque Cycle (comprised of 3 books: Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World) is fantastic (and hilarious) historical fiction.

Side note for Riom: btw, I wouldn't judge Terry Pratchett off of those 2 books you read. Aside from Good Omens, which is superb, I strongly disliked his non-Discworld stuff.

Jurassic Park and the Lost World are excellent.

This is true, actually. Very good books, very different from the films.

Also, check out The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect.

This is also a good read for anyone interested in artificial intelligence and the technological singularity, +laziness points since it's all online.

 

[Herr Mike]

The Death of Grass - John Christopher

The same guy who wrote the Tripod books? I love those.

I don't read a whole lot of sci-fi but I'll recommend Asimov's Foundation series. Great.

Most of Crichton's books are great and sci-fi-ish. The dino books are great, also Sphere.

And I'm a Neal Stephenson junkie. Cryptonomicon is pretty much the best book ever.

 

[repiV]

I would say something like

Dan Simmons - Hyperion Cantos
Dan Simmons - Illium / Olympos

Peter F. Hamilton - The Night Dawn trilogy (3 massive books weighting at about 1200 pages each)

Peter F. Hamilton - Pandoras Star / Judas Unchained
Peter F. Hamilton - The Dreaming Void (this is a new trilogy set in the universe of Pandoras star/Judas unchined. aprox. 1000 years later)

And then im reading Kevin J. Anderson - Saga of Seven suns..

Damn, looks just like the list I would write.

Really nice books, though i cant help but hate a certain Chairman hehe

You'll hate him more and more as time goes on.

 

[Kadayi]

Frank Herbert - Dune, just epic. the sequels were ass and best avoided though.
Gene Wolfe- The Book of the New Sun series.

Jack Vance - tales of the dying Earth. Not strictly sci-fi (more far future fantasy) but quality stuff nevertheless, and balls out funny at times.

JG Ballard:- High Rise, Crash, Vermilion Sands, Cocaine nights (awesome) Super Cannes. The short stories are quality.

Iain M. Banks - The culture novels (Consider Phlebas is a must), after those he loses the plot tbh.

William Gibson - More futuristic thriller writer than strict Sci-fi, but the man who famously coined the phrase cyberspace early works should be read for sure.

PKD - The man in the high Castle, and any of his short story collections.

 

[Narvi]

Frank Herbert - Dune, just epic. the sequels were ass and best avoided though.

Read up to God Emperor. Then stop.

Iain M. Banks - The culture novels (Consider Phlebas is a must), after those he loses the plot tbh.

Erk.

Spoiler

Consider Phlebas felt so pointless at the ending.

I prefer Look To Windward.

 

[Sulkdodds]

I double-recommend Michael Chrichton and Prime Intellect.

Iain M Banks is brilliant for intelligent, brutal and funny space opera. You can't go wrong.

William Gibson probably deserves his prophet reputation and both the Sprawl and Bridge trilogies are great, although in both cases the first instance is the best.

Corey Doctorow is a cyberpunk for the noughties, theorising post-scarcity economics and an entirely linked human species at a zippy pace. Best of all, his stuff is readable online.

Neal Stevenson is just great. Zodiac's worth a look even if not sci-fi.

Philip Reeve is a lot of fun if you don't mind reading children's books. His Mortal Engines cycle is based on the high-concept: 'what if giant cities went about on wheels and ate each other?' And, similarly, Larklight is 'Victorians in Space'. Both fast, both witty, and both unexpectedly nasty.

And finally, Riddley Walker. That's the name of the book and not the author (who is Russell Hoban). Just believe me.. I don't hold out much hope for you buying it. I have ceaselessly trumpeted it since I read it and three people have gone on to do so. But I will not stop, because it's really cool.

 

[Eejit]

Iain M. Banks - The culture novels (Consider Phlebas is a must), after those he loses the plot tbh.

Culture are the best yeah but some of the others are great too. Like Against a Dark Background and The Algebraist.
Feersum Endjinn is a headache to read, but good if you can get past that.