[Books] Sci-fi / Science Fiction Novels

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:34 am

Anonymous Bosch wrote:The first three books of David Brin's Uplift saga would definitely rank amongst my favourite 1980s SF.

The first book, Sundiver, reads more like a mystery or SF detective novel, but it serves as a decent a opening chapter to the broader Uplift Universe. The second and third books, Startide Riding and Uplift War, are much more action-packed, with great characters and thoroughly gripping plots. Certainly worth your time if you've not yet read 'em.

Seconded with a ton of enthusiasm.

Hyperion I never casted for much - the writing left me with no energy. It felt far too dry and the characters lifeless. It was kind of a slog.

I didn't see Dune on your list either. ..

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 8:36 am

TheMix wrote:
RuperT wrote:I'll say either one of Vernor Vinge's first two books.
While I really liked all of his books, that I've read of course. I'm not sure I'd classify him as light sci-fi. I thought his stuff was pretty hard.

Im a fan of his as well but if youre going to read one Vernor Vinge book, get A Fire Upon The Deep. It is excellent.

A nonny mouse · Post by **A nonny mouse** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 9:37 am

I'll third (or whatever number is next) for Andy Weir's The Martian.

Ben Bova's planet books are good, but all people interaction (and to paraphrase Asimov, Science Fiction is fiction and about the characters, and not just science-y spaceship stuff). Much like the Foundation trilogy in that sense.

I really, really enjoyed Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of Seven suns series. Kept me interested through all the books. He also got props from Neil Peart (of Rush fame) and wrote a book with him- take it for what it is worth.

Mote in God's eye is good, as are the Ringworld books. But I like Larry Niven stuff.

time is short this morning but I'll plug for more when I get a chance

Covenant72 · Post by **Covenant72** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 11:49 am

Mission Earth series by L. Ron Hubbard. Characters are all pretty two dimensional and not much growth happens, but I always found the action and plotting to be great lighthearted fun.

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:48 pm

I'd recommend The Uplift War by Brin, anything by Vernor Vinge, and the Virga series (starts with Sun of Suns) by Karl Schroeder.

David Weber and Lois McMaster Bujold are not quite as highly recommended. In both cases I've found that I just burn out on their writing and their characters. Worth seeking out but not worth reading all at once.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:56 pm

Fans of The Martian should definitely pick up Hal Clement's Mission of Gravity, one of the first serious hard-SF explorations of survival on an alien world. It's from 1954, but it holds up.

Wikipedia wrote:The story is set on a highly oblate planet named Mesklin, which has surface gravity that varies between 700 g at the poles and 3 g at the equator. The story is told from the points of view of one of the local intelligent life forms and a human explorer.

...

It is most often praised for the thoroughness and care with which Clement designed and described Mesklin — even today, it is considered one of the definitive examples of worldbuilding. Although Clement has stated that his original calculations concerning the polar gravity of Mesklin were inaccurate (he later estimated the polar gravity should have been ~250 g instead of 700), the exploration of what existence might be like in such extreme conditions is detailed, convincing, and persuasive. The novel is frequently invoked in discussions of the sense of wonder, the sensation of dawning comprehension and understanding of a larger context for a given experience, that many readers of science fiction point to as the reason why they pursue the genre.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 2:18 pm

Highly recommend The Martian.

Cylus Maxii · Post by **Cylus Maxii** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 2:35 pm

+1 for Lois McMasters Bujold - I especially like the Vorkosigan saga, they are very character and plot driven.

RuperT · Post by **RuperT** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 3:30 pm

Madmarcus wrote:I'd recommend The Uplift War by Brin, anything by Vernor Vinge, and the Virga series (starts with Sun of Suns) by Karl Schroeder.

David Weber and Lois McMaster Bujold are not quite as highly recommended. In both cases I've found that I just burn out on their writing and their characters. Worth seeking out but not worth reading all at once.

I really liked Sun of Suns, but have not read the sequel. I did actually put down one of his other books, Ventus, which wasn't getting anywhere (rare for me).
I can't argue much about Vinge being hard sci fi, especially since I haven't read him lately, but also as the science is indeed more a component of the narrative, rather than a backdrop. I probably tend to think of 'hard' sci fi as meaning that its 'hard' to stay alive in space.
If you want to try Asimov again, Caves of Steel has a deliberately more grounded narrative.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:32 pm

A nonny mouse wrote:.
Ben Bova's planet books are good, but all people interaction (and to paraphrase Asimov, Science Fiction is fiction and about the characters, and not just science-y spaceship stuff). Much like the Foundation trilogy in that sense.

Speaking of Ben Bova, my favourite of his is his first Mars book. The following sequels were never quite as good, but Mars was easily one of my favourite pieces of fiction set on Mars for a long time.

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:37 pm

RuperT wrote: I really liked Sun of Suns, but have not read the sequel. I did actually put down one of his other books, Ventus, which wasn't getting anywhere (rare for me).

True. While I recommend Sun of Suns and its equal (a quick Googling says there are more books in the series than I thought) I also bounced off of Ventus.

Madmarcus · Post by **Madmarcus** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:42 pm

Jag wrote:Highly recommend The Martian.

Just go into it with the idea that its light and fun. I enjoyed reading it, found a problem solving interesting, and had a couple of laugh out loud moments but I still felt that it would have been improved with a more realistic look at the thoughts of a person in that situation.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 5:38 pm

A nonny mouse wrote: I really, really enjoyed Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of Seven suns series. Kept me interested through all the books. He also got props from Neil Peart (of Rush fame) and wrote a book with him- take it for what it is worth.

I almost bailed after the first book -- too many things were going on and I was confused. It settled down and was good...I always wondered if the first book would seem better now that I know what it was trying to setup.

Mote in God's eye is good, as are the Ringworld books. But I like Larry Niven stuff.

I like his stuff too, but maybe it was the many years between the initial trilogy and the last few books, but I found the last two to be a crushing bore (same with The Gripping Hand, the sequel to Mote in God's Eye).

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 6:44 pm

Thanks for all of the suggestions, by the way. There is a lot of stuff here to go on my reading list.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 6:57 pm

If you like Timothy Zahn you've probably already read his Conqueror's trilogy which is excellent, but if not I highly recommend it.

To mash up a couple of previous suggestions: if the Honor Harrington book sound interesting there's a new series of prequel novels in the same setting that are co-written by David Weber and Timothy Zahn. I've only read the first book, but it was very good.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 7:28 pm

AWS260 wrote:John Scalzi's Old Man's War series is very good. Mostly believable characters, weird aliens and tech, clever plots, great action scenes.

The first book was good enough that I will be continuing the series. I also enjoyed Forever War enough to pick up the second book at the library today.

McNutt · Post by **McNutt** » Mon Feb 09, 2015 11:14 pm

I never knew there was a sequel to The Forever War. I'll have to check that one out

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 1:13 am

McNutt wrote:I never knew there was a sequel to The Forever War. I'll have to check that one out

There are two. Somewhat different from the original but quite good.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:18 am

My reading of scifi varies greatly, from the grand sagas like the Honor Harrington series (aka the "Honorverse") to most Star Trek novels (haven't kept up for years, as they went off into the boonies trying to continue where the TV series left off)

But the following are a good list of the books I enjoyed:

Hammer's Slammers series aka Hammerverse by David Drake -- basically, 101st Airborne with rayguns and lots of armor, shooting lots of people, sometimes against natives, sometimes other armies, sometimes other mercs, but always... grim. This is what war in the future will be like.

The Martian by Andy Weir -- an expedition to Mars met with disaster and had to left one of their own behind and retreated... Except that person was not dead. He was able to retreat and establish shelter... But now he's all alone on Mars, and his attempt at jury-rig his way to survival until the rescue mission only causes one problem after another. As disaster after disaster forced him to consider his dwindling options, will he ever live to return to Earth? Absolutely scientific and accurate, this book was originally self-published on website before being picked up by publisher. It is a MUST-read if you have ANY geek tendencies.

vN and iD -- aka Machine Dynasty series by Madeline Ashby -- von Neumann machines walk among us, live among us. They even eat like us (albeit, with their special diet). If you over feed them, they reproduce. And they have a built-in failsafe that prevents them from harming any humans. Amy Peterson is one such vN, aka a synthetic. She knew nothing of her synthetic mother. So when her grandma arrived and attacked her biological mother... she ate her grandma... literally. Now a little voice.. grandma's voice, lives in Amy's head, and she's on the run, because she needed to find out her origins... her clade, as she carries a huge secret... she has no failsafe...

I have the sequel, iD, but I haven't started yet.

Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse series, up to book 4 now) -- Humanity has colonized the solar system, but so far, no interstellar travel. And relations between the outer planets and Earth are getting worse, and the Corporations are playing both sides. In this mess is Jim Holden, a little ice miner, and he came upon the Scopuli a derelict ship, and chance upon a secret so ancient and so dangerous, everybody is willing to kill for... and a cause for war. While on Earth, Detective Miller is looking for a girl that had gone missing, and her last trail was toward the Scopuli. Together, Miller and Holden are small against the forces gathering for conflict, but the right people at the right place and the right time can make a difference...

I haven't read the other three books yet. I understand they should be just as good.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 2:24 am

Kasey Chang wrote: Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse series, up to book 4 now) -- Humanity has colonized the solar system, but so far, no interstellar travel. And relations between the outer planets and Earth are getting worse, and the Corporations are playing both sides. In this mess is Jim Holden, a little ice miner, and he came upon the Scopuli a derelict ship, and chance upon a secret so ancient and so dangerous, everybody is willing to kill for... and a cause for war. While on Earth, Detective Miller is looking for a girl that had gone missing, and her last trail was toward the Scopuli. Together, Miller and Holden are small against the forces gathering for conflict, but the right people at the right place and the right time can make a difference...

I haven't read the other three books yet. I understand they should be just as good.

I read the first 3 and could not put it down. I will have to check out the 4th installment.

Jaddison · Post by **Jaddison** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 10:11 am

Am about half way through http://www.amazon.com/Call-Duty-Mantico ... avid+weber this and so far it is a pretty good read. Weber has teamed up with Timothy Zahn and the results are a very brisk and interesting read.
Starts out not long after Manticore becomes a kingdom and has an interesting set of dual stories running, one from an enlisted point of view and one from inside the government as it struggles to justify having a Navy.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 2:44 pm

Kurth wrote:How about Ready Player One by Ernest Cline?

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.
But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

If you love video games or the 1980s, it's definitely worth a read. If you love video games and the 1980s, it's an absolute lock.

How about if you love 80s movies directed by Steven Spielberg often referenced in the book?

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/03/steven ... -one-movie

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:01 pm

I will 4th Bujold as a writer, but never read her sci-fi.

But after reading her 'Curse of Chalion', I will be. Apparently her sci-fi is even better than her fantasy.

paulbaxter · Post by **paulbaxter** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 5:02 pm

Just some that *I* really liked:

All of Jack Vance's sci-fi, particularly the Alastor trilogy. Much more humor than most sci-fi writers.
More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon (This story totally kicks ass)
John C Wright's trilogy that starts with The Golden Age
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
George Alec Effinger's set that starts with When Gravity Fails (sci-fi set in the Muslim world)
I liked Richard Morgan's Altered Carbon, but somehow didn't care for the follow ups
Cordwainer Smith remains one of my favorites, though his stuff is probably hard to find today. Lots of stories, all set within the same universe. Just a great, intelligent story teller.

I got started on Stephen Donaldson's Gap series. It is certainly very straight forward sci-fi story telling, but it just got too disturbing for me. Others may enjoy it more than I.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 5:28 pm

paulbaxter wrote:Cordwainer Smith remains one of my favorites, though his stuff is probably hard to find today. Lots of stories, all set within the same universe. Just a great, intelligent story teller.

I have a collection of his stories and it was indeed excellent. Also, Harlan Ellison loved him.

Speaking of, Harlan Ellison is a pretty fantastic writer.

Another I was reading semi-recently is Frederik Pohl. Short stories, I wouldn't know what to recommend for novels.

Scuzz · Post by **Scuzz** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 6:19 pm

silverjon wrote:
paulbaxter wrote:Cordwainer Smith remains one of my favorites, though his stuff is probably hard to find today. Lots of stories, all set within the same universe. Just a great, intelligent story teller.
I have a collection of his stories and it was indeed excellent. Also, Harlan Ellison loved him.

Speaking of, Harlan Ellison is a pretty fantastic writer.

Another I was reading semi-recently is Frederik Pohl. Short stories, I wouldn't know what to recommend for novels.

Isn't the "Heechee Saga" Fredrick Pohl? I remember that as a decent series that starts well and then has it's ups and downs. But a good read. Now I will have to see if I am right.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 6:22 pm

Scuzz wrote:Isn't the "Heechee Saga" Fredrick Pohl? I remember that as a decent series that starts well and then has it's ups and downs. But a good read. Now I will have to see if I am right.

That is his, but not something I've read.

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 6:24 pm

silverjon wrote:
Scuzz wrote:Isn't the "Heechee Saga" Fredrick Pohl? I remember that as a decent series that starts well and then has it's ups and downs. But a good read. Now I will have to see if I am right.
That is his, but not something I've read.

I read them. I recall enjoying them. However, either they weren't particularly memorable or, more likely, my memory is failing as I get older. I figure pretty soon I'll be able to go back and read all the books I've collected over the years because I won't remember any of them.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Mar 26, 2015 6:30 pm

paulbaxter wrote:Just some that *I* really liked:
...
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
...

+1

Alfred Bester pretty much invented modern SF (SF less concerned with hard science than with sociology and character and the future as a weird foreign country) with The Stars My Destination. It's 1956 but it's still fresh.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Wed May 27, 2015 7:40 pm

(I'll post this here because I can't seem to find a "General SF" thread.)

John Scalzi, Science Fiction Writer, Signs $3.4 Million Deal for 13 Books

Holy cow! That's an unbelievable amount of money for any writer, especially a genre writer, and especially not a writer aiming for the teen movie market. (Apparently a number of YA books are part of the plan--perhaps there's an understanding that these should be adaptable to film.)

It couldn't happen to cooler guy, and I hope it inspires him to great things.

Scalzi blogs about the deal and offers a roadmap here.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Wed May 27, 2015 7:43 pm

Very smart guy who writes well. Congratulations to him -- I'm looking forward to more books already.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Wed May 27, 2015 7:59 pm

LordMortis wrote:
Kurth wrote:How about Ready Player One by Ernest Cline?

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines—puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them.
But when Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

If you love video games or the 1980s, it's definitely worth a read. If you love video games and the 1980s, it's an absolute lock.
How about if you love 80s movies directed by Steven Spielberg often referenced in the book?

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2015/03/steven ... -one-movie

It was probably cheaper to pay Spielberg to direct than try to secure all the needed usage rights to his referenced material.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Wed May 27, 2015 9:48 pm

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed May 27, 2015 10:49 pm

Holman wrote:(I'll post this here because I can't seem to find a "General SF" thread.)

Since the original post has served its purpose, I've edited the title to make this thread into exactly that.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu May 28, 2015 2:39 am

Re-reading "In Fury Born", by David Weber, in his "Cadreverse". This is actually a rewrite / expanded edition of his previous book: Path of the Fury, about one girl, Alicia DeVries... former Cadre, and survivor of the worst engagement in Cadre History.

Part 1 of this book, was about Alicia's training, basically her Marine Corp and Recon tour.

Part 2 of the book was about the Shallingsworth engagement, the one that made DeVries winner of Banner of Terra, highest award in the empire. A company of 300+ Cadre went in... they planned for 75 bad guys holding 600+ hostages. They ran into over three THOUSAND bad guys, complete with heavy weapons, power armor, entrenched positions, anti-air defenses, and air support. In the end, 9 came back out, but they accomplished their mission, obliterated the enemies, and saved over 95% of the hostages held by the bad guys. And she was the commander when all of her senior officers and non-coms went down.

Part 3 of the book was the original "path of the fury", where Alicia DeVries, retired was hunting out on the frontier world when a pirate raiding party landed and killed her entire family and nearby homesteads, but she killed them right back... But was mortally wounded in the process. She cried for a chance to avenge her family, as she bled away in the snow... and her cry was answered... by the last Fury, who somehow kept her alive until Imperial patrol came and found her, somehow still alive in the snow a week later. And she now has a voice in her head. The empire kept her on watch, hoping to discover how she survived, but she can't avenge herself cooped up, so she escaped... and somehow found herself on an Alpha Synth, sort of AI-driven brainship, and she somehow bonded with the ship, and they escaped, to start tracking down her family's killers... the one REALLY responsible...

Just finished part 1 and 2. I actually have the original AND the reissue on hardcopy, but I got tired of digging them out.

So here's a re-read. Weber knows how to weave universes, and this one is a lot of fun to read.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Thu May 28, 2015 3:16 am

Moliere wrote:The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

A good book (far better than the 2nd), but not really SF.

tiny ogre · Post by **tiny ogre** » Sat May 30, 2015 10:13 pm

I'm about 2/3rds through Neal Stephenson's new one, Seveneves. It's a hard (his hardest by far) sci-fi end of the world novel.

I'm really enjoying it, but then he's never written anything I didn't like (Actually that's a lie, I couldn't make it through the Baroque cycle. But I've read and enjoyed everything else.) I'd be hesitant about mentioning it not having finished it, but his endings have always sucked anyway, so I am not expecting much

(And frankly I think he could've ended it at one point already, had his strongest ending ever, and left the rest for a sequel... but there's still a third of the book left. Typical.

) I do think it's a more focused book that some of his other works, which is both good and bad. Some of my favorite things in his books are the little side excursions that have little to do with the main story, and there's less of that here, which I miss. But the result is a stronger narrative than he usually produces.

I will say that having played Kerbal Space Program extensively is actually paying off big time with this novel, but I also think he does a good job explaining what's going on with orbital mechanics. I'm just not sure if I would think that if I hadn't played so much KSP. It might be a bit long winded for some, but that comes with the territory in a Stephenson novel.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Sat May 30, 2015 10:33 pm

Ive been working through Seveneves, myself.

It might be a bit long winded for some, but that comes with the territory in a Stephenson novel.

I like the premise and story-line but damn, he takes 3 pages of text to describe a technical process where a sentence or two would do.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun May 31, 2015 12:13 pm

Finished reading "Fire with Fire" by Richard Gannon. (current price: $0.00) book 1 of Caine Riordan series.

The book started with an interesting premise: an investigative reporter and a bit of know-it-all Caine Riordan was rendered unconscious on Moonbase and dumped into coldsleep... and woke up 14 years later, with 100 hours of his memories missing just before he went to "sleep". He got revived and was promptly asked to "help out" investigate an alien planet in a strictly UNOfficial capacity... for evidence of intelligent life on a planet that was settled by humans.

Somehow this book just doesn't work for me. The main premise, his lost memory, turned out to be complete bust

Spoiler:

and the conspiracies surrounding him (and tried to kill him multiple times) stopped making sense when it happened about 5th or 6th time. Explanations were offered, but somehow they felt... contrived. 4 out of 8 tentacles.

rshetts2 · Post by **rshetts2** » Sun May 31, 2015 1:15 pm

Kasey Chang wrote:Finished reading "Fire with Fire" by Richard Gannon. (current price: $0.00) book 1 of Caine Riordan series.

The book started with an interesting premise: an investigative reporter and a bit of know-it-all Caine Riordan was rendered unconscious on Moonbase and dumped into coldsleep... and woke up 14 years later, with 100 hours of his memories missing just before he went to "sleep". He got revived and was promptly asked to "help out" investigate an alien planet in a strictly UNOfficial capacity... for evidence of intelligent life on a planet that was settled by humans.

Somehow this book just doesn't work for me. The main premise, his lost memory, turned out to be complete bust
Spoiler:
He was trying to date general's daughter
and the conspiracies surrounding him (and tried to kill him multiple times) stopped making sense when it happened about 5th or 6th time. Explanations were offered, but somehow they felt... contrived. 4 out of 8 tentacles.

The whole book is contrived. I accepted that in part because I read it as if it was '40s pulp fiction, which it basically is. Its not a bad read but it does use a lot of literary "tricks" and cliches to hold it up.