NationStates Jolt Archive

I am in serious lack of 'reading-food' (yeah, I used literal translation of the German expression Lesefutter intentionally here). Can you recommend some good Sci-fi to me? I do not like Space Operas, I value innovative ideas more than violence and generally avoid large series. It is far harder to keep up with things like Star Trek than with smaller storylines like the one from Singularity Sky. Feel free to suggest weird and/or foreign books to me.

The last book I read was "City - der unwahrscheinlichste aller Orte" (in the slowak original: "Plyŝ") by Michal Hvorecky.

You should look into sci-fi fantasy stuff, some of the later stuff from Feist is very good, I don't go much for regular sci-fi stuff though, other than Dr Who material mostly.

„Dune” by Frank Herbert
„To Say Nothing of the Dog” by Connie Willis

Screw you and your no space operas
Starship Troopers and War with the Newts. Dunno if that is science fiction or fiction, not that it matters much any more.

Anything by Phillip K Dick.
Isaac Asimov is also very good.
I really enjoy Jack Vance novels. They're sort of pulpy but a fun way to while away a few hours.


edit: another positive about P.K.Dick for the OP is that he wrote a lot of his stuff in German then translated them into English.

Anything by Phillip K Dick.
Isaac Asimov is also good.

Plus Iain M. Banks.

I've just got through the 6th (latest of what is going to be 7) out of Kevin Anderson's 'Saga of the Seven Suns' series, and have enjoyed them.
Linky to first book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hidden-Empire-Saga-Seven-Suns/dp/0743430654/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/202-6350879-2491019?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185198261&sr=8-1
From one of the reviews (and v similar comparisons at other places): "combining the politics of Frank Herbert's DUNE, the scope of Peter F. Hamilton's NIGHT'S DAWN trilogy, and the pageantry and romance of STAR WARS"

Another set I would recomend as a good read is Stephen Baxter's Time/Space/Origin/Phase Space series (The books are related stories, but serparate - almost like Asimov's I-Robot collection)
And recomendation for Asimov's books in general seconded/thirded/wherever it is now

Plus Iain M. Banks.
oh yes! forgot about him. His Culture books are awesome.

I really, really, REALLY recommend The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin. It's truly fantastic and a deep story. A must-read if you ask me. And if you're into long reads I can recommend the Otherland Series by Tad Williams, which is about the best Sci-fi I've ever read. Happy reading.

Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear.
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.
Helliconia by Brian Aldiss.

I am in serious lack of 'reading-food' (yeah, I used literal translation of the German expression Lesefutter intentionally here). Can you recommend some good Sci-fi to me? I do not like Space Operas, I value innovative ideas more than violence and generally avoid large series. It is far harder to keep up with things like Star Trek than with smaller storylines like the one from Singularity Sky. Feel free to suggest weird and/or foreign books to me.

The last book I read was "City - der unwahrscheinlichste aller Orte" (in the slowak original: "Plyŝ") by Michal Hvorecky.

Alastair Reynolds, "Revelation Space" then "Redemption Ark"

Stanislaw Lem has a lot of good stuff. "His Masters Voice" is good.

I give a second for "Left hand of Darkness."

Anything from the Holy Trinity (Asimov, Clarke, Heinlein). I like the short-stories from these guys.

Damon Knight has some good stuff (as an author, not an editor). "Rule Golden" was excellent.

Harlan Ellison (although he doens't consider it SF). The 60's were his best era. "The Beast That Shouted 'Love!' at the Heart of the World" is my favorite.

Conrwainer (SP?) Smith had some good stuff. "A game of Rat and Dragon," I think, its been a while for his stuff.

A second for "Dune" assuming you haven't read it already. The original, anyway, I didn't really care for the sequels.

Stanislaw Lem has a lot of good stuff. "His Masters Voice" is good.

"Fiasco" too, although it's very pessimistic.
A second for "Dune" assuming you haven't read it already. The original, anyway, I didn't really care for the sequels.
Oh, right, agreed, beware the sequels. I read them and I regret it.
Also, the Gaea trilogy by John Varley (Titan, Wizard, Demon) is amongst the best hard SF I ever read.
Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress is good sociological sf.
Anything by Strugacki brothers if you are into exotic settings.

edit: another positive about P.K.Dick for the OP is that he wrote a lot of his stuff in German then translated them into English.

Really? I don't remember any mention of this in Lawrence Sutin's biography of the man.

Ooh, ooh "The Time Machine" by Jules Verne.

Ooh, ooh "The Time Machine" by Jules Verne.

"The Time Machine" by Jules Verne is no "Journey To The Centre Of The Earth" by HG Wells.

You should look into sci-fi fantasy stuff, some of the later stuff from Feist is very good, I don't go much for regular sci-fi stuff though, other than Dr Who material mostly.
Magic, elves and eldar are ruining any story IMNHO.
„Dune” by Frank Herbert
„To Say Nothing of the Dog” by Connie Willis
Dune... nah... it seemed rather... weird and magical.
Anything by Phillip K Dick.
Isaac Asimov is also very good.
I really enjoy Jack Vance novels. They're sort of pulpy but a fun way to while away a few hours.


edit: another positive about P.K.Dick for the OP is that he wrote a lot of his stuff in German then translated them into English.I agree on Asimov, but not on Dick. his stories never caught me.
I really, really, REALLY recommend The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin. It's truly fantastic and a deep story. A must-read if you ask me. And if you're into long reads I can recommend the Otherland Series by Tad Williams, which is about the best Sci-fi I've ever read. Happy reading.I have read Otherland (in 4 weeks), but LeGuin... I do own the Disposessed so I guess I should try the 2nd as well.
Ooh, ooh "The Time Machine" by Jules Verne.
Wasn't it Wells? :)

Roadside Picnic by Boris Strugatsky & Arkady Strugatsky
It was the basis for the amazing movie Stalker and later on the game.

I always liked Ender's Game, though the rest of Card's work is by and by large crap.

It was the basis for the amazing movie Stalker and later on the game.
You liked the movie??? I saw it after reading the book but could make neither head nor tails of it, it was too weird. (The game is great although shares almost nothing with the book. And it doesn't like my X1950 :().

You liked the movie??? I saw it after reading the book but could make neither head nor tails of it, it was too weird. (The game is great although shares almost nothing with the book. And it doesn't like my X1950 :().

I loved the movie, it took me a few days to fully grasp it but it was worth it in the long run. I mean I got 100% on it for my movie review.
It's an abstract movie that's for sure and it's best viewed late at night so your mind can process it overnight.
Now that game, oh god how many years was I waiting for that freaking game! But it was so worth it in the long run.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Heinlein
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
Most stuff by Philip K Dick - I like The Penultimate Truth, among others.

I really, really, REALLY recommend The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin. It's truly fantastic and a deep story. A must-read if you ask me. I third it, it's good. Also check out her other stuff as well, including The Dispossessed (a great novel as well).

I've recently been reading David Weber's Honor Harrington series. It's military scifi, so be warned if you don't like that type of thing, but it's a fun read.

Also: In the Ocean of Night by Gregory Benford was quite fun. More idea/philosophical oriented than anything else (for scifi anyway). I don't know how the other books in the series are, but I am definitely interested in finding out.

I finished reading The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Heinlein a while back. I really enjoyed the first 7/8ths of the book - then he just seemed to abandon that entire storyline and start writing a new book. WELLL, that's lame and it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as it could have been. But - The first part of the book is quite good, quite entertaining and little "action" - it's mostly a guy and his wife bickering almost continuously. :D

„Dune” by Frank Herbert
„To Say Nothing of the Dog” by Connie Willis

anything by connie willis. "doomsday book" is my favorite of hers but "the dog" is good too.

have you read any sheri tepper? i recommend "plague of angels". she treads the line between science fiction and fantasy.

david brin is a great author. his uplift "trilogy" is an innovative a universe as exists in science fiction. "glory season" is an interesting take on societal sex roles.

david drake has a "lord of the isles" series that is mostly fantasy but reads right along.

I would agree on PK Dick, Ursula LeGuin and Iain M Banks and would also
recomend Eric Frank Russel especialy "the wasp" and anything by Olaf Stapeldon.

The best pastiche of space opera has got to be "starsmashers of the galaxy rangers" by harry harrison.

anything by connie willis.
I wanted to write that too. Connie Willis for Prez! (of Earth!) :D

I third it, it's good. Also check out her other stuff as well, including The Dispossessed (a great novel as well).

I've recently been reading David Weber's Honor Harrington series. It's military scifi, so be warned if you don't like that type of thing, but it's a fun read.

Also: In the Ocean of Night by Gregory Benford was quite fun. More idea/philosophical oriented than anything else (for scifi anyway). I don't know how the other books in the series are, but I am definitely interested in finding out.

I finished reading The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Heinlein a while back. I really enjoyed the first 7/8ths of the book - then he just seemed to abandon that entire storyline and start writing a new book. WELLL, that's lame and it wasn't nearly as enjoyable as it could have been. But - The first part of the book is quite good, quite entertaining and little "action" - it's mostly a guy and his wife bickering almost continuously. :D

Heinlein does that quite a lot. Have you ever read Stranger in a Strange Land? It would work as about 4 shortish stories, but as it is it jumps and changes between plots and styles far too much.

Interesting book however.

I wanted to write that too. Connie Willis for Prez! (of Earth!) :D

my son read "to say nothing of the dog" so many times that we had to buy a new copy.

The classics of course - Heinlein (too many to mention), Azimov (I, Robot -[not to be confused with the movie of the same name), Clarke (the Deep Range), Herbert (Dune - but not the rest of the series) - otherwise almost anything they've written
Then we have - Bujold (the Vorkosigan Saga), Weber (the Honor Harrington Series), Flynn (Rogue Star, Lodestar, etc.)
Kapek - R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)

Also, the Gaea trilogy by John Varley (Titan, Wizard, Demon) is amongst the best hard SF I ever read.

Love that Varley! I liked the Eight Worlds stories better though.

Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress is good sociological sf.

I was just about to mention that one.

"The Time Machine" by Jules Verne is no "Journey To The Centre Of The Earth" by HG Wells.

Indeed, indeed.

My reccomendations:
John Varley's "Eight Worlds" stories, in particular The Ophiuchi Hotline
Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age
Rudy Rucker's "Ware" books"
Everything by Bruce Sterling, but especially Islands in the Net and Distraction
George Alec Effinger's When Gravity Fails, A Fire in the Sun, and The Exile Kiss
John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up
Charles Stross' Accelerando

For some reason my old-timer's syndrome is kicking in and I can't remember the author, but try Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the novella that was the basis for Blade Runner)

Ender's Game, Speaker For The Dead, Xenocide and the Shadow series by Orson Scott Card.

Low on fighting, big on characters.

I fully recommend Charles Stross's Singularity Sky/Iron Sunrise. Brilliant semi-hard sci-fi with physics you might never fully wrap your head around. Look into Philip K Dick's and Asimov's short story collections - their full length novels tend to drag somewhat, I feel they were at their element writing shorter prose.

You may also appreciate Orson Scott Card.

For some reason my old-timer's syndrome is kicking in and I can't remember the author, but try Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (the novella that was the basis for Blade Runner)

Dick, and it was a full novel, not a novella.

Neal Asher - The Skinner
Peter F Hamilton - Mindstar Rising (and others)
Ian Irvine - View from the mirror set - although probably too much "fantasy"
Daniel Keyes - Flowers for Algernon

I fully recommend Charles Stross's Singularity Sky/Iron Sunrise. Brilliant semi-hard sci-fi with physics you might never fully wrap your head around. Look into Philip K Dick's and Asimov's short story collections - their full length novels tend to drag somewhat, I feel they were at their element writing shorter prose.

You may also appreciate Orson Scott Card.I have never met you, but I like you. If only by the books you selected. Singularity Sky, Iron Sunrise and Accelerando are great! Isaac Asimov's short stories as well (at least those which I read in translation)

http://a6.vox.com/6a00b8ea0675d6dece00cdf7ecc396094f-500pi

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.

Seconded. I cannot recommend Kim Stanley Robinson highly enough.
Alastair Reynolds, "Revelation Space" then "Redemption Ark"
Chasm City and Absolution Gap finish off the sequence nicely, though if you want the full story, his short stories are a must as well.

Peter Hamilton: Pandora Star & Judas Unchained. (The Commonwealth Saga.)

His "Night's Dawn" trilogy is very long, and excellent right up to the ending. The ending sucked. Still worth a read though.

Peter Hamilton: Pandora Star & Judas Unchained. (The Commonwealth Saga.).

Hell yes.

Robert Sheckley,status civilization, immortality inc, great stories. NightsDawn is a big space opera style thing, so it may not be your thing, although in its defence its packed with really cool scientific ideas and its not the standard evil race of aliens/meglomaniac wants to take over galaxy, que ponderous political scenarios among the heros etc.

I liked the Ender's game series.

I also enjoyed a few of Ben Bova's books - but got bored of his style after awhile.

I would second a number of suggestions so far, but to add something I don't think I've seen: The two "Uplift" trilogies by David Brin. Easily among the best science fiction of the last twenty years or so.

Also, the "Foundation" series by Isaac Asimov, with additions by others (including Brin) since. Epic, masterful, intriguing... but not so long that you feel like you'll never finish.

George R. R. Martin edited a mosaic novel series set in a shared-world Earth called Wild Cards. It's about an alien virus released on Earth (New York City) on September 16th, 1946 to test its effects. The virus is called the Wild Card because the effects are somewhat random. 90% die after being mutated into horrible and unsustainable life forms (drawing the Black Queen). 8.5% survive their mutations but are disfigured (Jokers). 1/2% receive a miniscule enhancement (Deuces). And 1% receive what can be termed "powers" (Aces). The novels follow the same timeline as Earth from 1946 on, with some changes due to the interference of the Aces as both heroes and villains, and due to the presence of a mutated minority demanding to be treated fairly ("Jokers' Rights).

Over a dozen authors contribute to the series (12 books + 3 follow-ups). I like the series because, though it can be uneven, the parallels of real history (Joe McCarthy takes on mutants as opposed to commies) are tackled and the human side of such transformations are explored. The series, were it a film, would be rated R for sure, but the ingenious ideas for the virus acting upon the subconscious of those exposed to determine the mutation is fascinating. The sheer range of powers and mutations is intriguing (as is the heredity involved once mutants start having kids in the timeline), and involvement of the alien who crashed on Earth trying to stop the original test adds a "space" element without getting absorbed in it.

I recommend at least the first two novels. I've read them all, but the series begins to weaken right around book 8.

Good stuff.

Really? I don't remember any mention of this in Lawrence Sutin's biography of the man.
I'm prob mistaken then. thinking of someone else.

If you haven't read Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson then you're behind the times.

Other people have mentioned him but the actual book to read is Excession by Iain M. Banks.

I am in serious lack of 'reading-food' (yeah, I used literal translation of the German expression Lesefutter intentionally here). Can you recommend some good Sci-fi to me? I do not like Space Operas, I value innovative ideas more than violence and generally avoid large series. It is far harder to keep up with things like Star Trek than with smaller storylines like the one from Singularity Sky. Feel free to suggest weird and/or foreign books to me.

I'm in the middle of River of Gods: August 15, 2047 - Happy birthday, India (http://www.amazon.com/River-Gods-Ian-McDonald/dp/1591024366/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-1353605-4823338?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185250862&sr=8-2) by: Ian McDonald right now. Excellent cyberpunk book. One of the best Sci-Fi novels I've read in a long time. Highly recommended.

Magic, elves and eldar are ruining any story IMNHO. Its obvious you haven't read any of the Bas Lag books by China Miéville. While I would normally agree with you about magic ruining a story, I really liked the way he presented it as a science instead of a gift, or an archaic art. If you decide to give him a chance start with Perdido Street Station (http://www.amazon.com/Perdido-Street-Station-China-Mieville/dp/0345459407/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1353605-4823338?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185251350&sr=8-1), and then read The Scar (http://www.amazon.com/Scar-China-Mieville/dp/0345460014/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/102-1353605-4823338?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185251350&sr=8-2), which is in my opnion the best of the series. I'd skip Iron Council if I were you, unless you happen to be a socialist, which in that case you might find it enjoyable.

Also, check out The Diamond Age (http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Age-Illustrated-Primer-Spectra/dp/0553380966/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1353605-4823338?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185251564&sr=1-1) by: Neal Stephenson. Great if you like cyberpunk, and still an excellent read even if you don't (if you have even a passing interest in nanotechnology then this is a must read!).

Try Joel Shepherd's Cassandra Kresnov novels. Action-packed, but also with some very interesting concepts on bio-tech and the nature of intelligence.

Crossover and Killswitch are the first two in the series.

I value innovative ideas more than violence...


Read (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_is_a_Harsh_Mistress) Heinlein (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starship_Troopers) for generous helpings of both.


My personal favorites are Brave New World and Island by Aldous Huxley. Brave New World is probably the most famous of Huxley's works and most certainly falls into the science fiction genre. I'm not sure if Island is science fiction; I'm inclined to say that it does to the extent that it serves as a foil to the dystopia presented in Brave New World. They really are one book.

(EDIT: I'll have to watch this thread closely, as I'm not well read in the genre. My time is monopolized by non-fiction social science textbooks and such. Reality is strange enough as it is...)

I do not like Space Operas

And this is why you fail.

I'm not sure if Island is science fiction; I'm inclined to say that it does to the extent that it serves as a foil to the dystopia presented in Brave New World. They really are one book.

Island had me cheering for the barbarians at the gate. I'm not sure if this was the intention or not. The problem with novels of utopian nature is their distinct lack of conflict.