Science Fiction Books

[shiroth]

I haven't read a good book in a while, so i'm in the mood for a good Science Fiction read. All i ask is that you post about your favorite Science Fiction book, and a few thoughts as to why it's your favorite. I'm sure to find some gems that way.

Thanks guys.

[Dynaman]

I haven't read a good book in a while, so i'm in the mood for a good Science Fiction read. All i ask is that you post about your favorite Science Fiction book, and a few thoughts as to why it's your favorite. I'm sure to find some gems that way.

Science Fiction Covers a lot of topics, and I have so many I like - plus I am a military SciFi kind of guy, so here is my list.

Starship Troopers - well written argument for a different kind of government (even if I don't agree with it), and powered armor, nuff said. (movie is crap, fun to watch, but crap)

Childhood's End - An oddball on my list since there is no military connection as such. Well written and interesting, saying more give the plot away.

Enders Game/Ender's War - Both feature clear sharp writing (no endless detail, I like that). Ender's Game is about how far you are willing to go to win a war, characters are well drawn and interesting.

Ender's War includes a sequal about a meeting of worlds between humans and an alien species. It deals with forgiveness and understanding of alien cultures.

It also has a good take on what time dilation can do to someone who travels a lot at near-c

In the Balance - First of the World War titles by Harry Turtledove, lizard like aliens with modern technology attack the Earth in the middle of WWII. Good characterization and excellent battle accounts.

Ends up being four books total - and then another series of books follows up during the sixties.

Guns of the South - South African racists use a time machine to give the Confederates AK-47 rifles during the Civil War. Interesting for the characterizations of Lee and other historical figures.

This is more of a What-if then science fiction. Hardly any mention (if any) of how the Time Machine works if that is important to you.

The Lost Fleet book series (I think Dauntless is the first). Almost didn't like this one, some of the characters get downright annoyingly stupid or pigeonholed. The Space battles take into account proper communication time lag though. The plot gets better over the course of the second and third books (enough so that I bought the 4th and 5th books...)

On Basilisk Station - Age of Sail naval warfare, IN SPACE!!!!, the tech is written in such a way that old style broadside to broadside battles are a possability. The character of Honor Harrington is very interesting in this book - and has not become the uber duper super woman she becomes in the later novels. If you want an old fashion naval battle in science fiction garb this is a good book.

Old Man's War - Old fart joins the Colonial Marines, saying more gives it away. The author is darn good with jokes and characterization, the medical technology is well done, the jump drive sounds silly. The plot zings along and dialog goes at a rapid pace, only major problem is the number of times he writes "She Says" or "He Says", eventually it feels like getting slapped - the writer HAS to find a better way to note that a character is saying something...

[Dynaman]

Forgot to mention Miles Vorkosigan novels - just about any of them.

Cordelia's Honor - Deals with his father and Mother. It is two novels in one, first one is damsel in distress stuff (but the characters are interesting) - the Second one though is excellent. It is an action story, but hidden in that is what artificial gestation can mean to a society (and what it means to be a mother). It also deals with euthanasia and how hard it can be for society to catch up with technological progress (all the Miles Vorkosigan novels seem to do this to some extent)

The Mountains of Mourning - Miles has to adjudicate a case of murder. In this instance a father killed his infant child who had a cleft lip (I think, it was something we recognize as minor). The law had recently changed making that illegal, but the old customs demanded that any "mutant" be killed at birth (for good reasons, the planet had been in some kind of nuclear/biological attack a few generations back and was cutoff from the rest of the galaxy).

Lest I forget to mention - Miles is a hunchback dwarf from birth (hyperactive too)...

[Gubaba]

Hmm...since I know you like Macross and Orguss, I'm going to tailor my recommendations a bit. You may have read these before (none of them are obscure); if so, I apologize.

1. Rendezvous with Rama (Arthur C. Clarke): a massive 50 km spaceship (with apparently no life forms aboard) approaches earth, and the astronauts who happen to be the closest to it are sent to investigate it before it gets too close to the sun. Don't bother with the sequels, which Clarke merely edited, but the first is a must-read.

2. October the First Is Too Late (Sir Fred Hoyle): A strange catastrophe occurs which results in different geographical areas of the earth simultaneously occupying different time periods: only England and Hawaii remain in the "present"; western and central Europe are in the midst of WWI, North America is in the 1700s, and Asia is nothing but a massive sheet of glass. I really wonder if the Artland guys read this book before they came up with the idea for Orguss...

3. The Galactic Center Saga, starting with In the Ocean of Night (Gregory Benford): Benford is an astrophysicist, and a lot of the science that ends up in his books is genuine, or a not-very-far extrapolation. This series begins in the near future, with (again) the discovery of what appears to be an asteroid but is actually an alien spaceship, and then goes farther and farther into the future. There's a space elevator in the second book, and by the end of the six-book series, tens of thousands of years have passed, and some humans (some of the last remaining...?) make a desperate attempt to reach the galactic center, where all sorts of surprises await them, including what happens to time, space, and the fabric of reality itself so near the massive black hole that resides at the core of our galaxy.

Again, these aren't my favorite books of all time (I just read the Hoyle book this week...WAY too soon to tell if it's a favorite or not), but they seem to be along the lines of the stuff you're currently enjoying.

And oh yeah...if you haven't read Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, do so immediately. Just the trilogy, mind you.

EDIT: And the first three Dune books, as well.

Edited November 17, 2010 by Gubaba

[F-ZeroOne]

Peter F. Hamiliton, Alistair Reynolds and Neal Asher all have multi-book, hard SF series that are well worth a read (the last even including "Prador Moon", in which Giant Enemy Crabs actually do attack for Massive Damage).

Charles Stross is another favourite, even if he will make your head hurt occasionally.

Classic Arthur C. Clarke short stories. And though I haven't read much of his SF, Isaac Asimovs many, many, many non-fiction works are always worth a read, if only to marvel at the kind of wide-ranging intellect and popular communicator we just don't seem to see much of these days.

Towards the more bonkers end of the scale, theres China Mieville, who doesn't exactly write SF but then its not exactly fantasy either. His book Perdido Street Station starts by introducing you to a man who is in love with a beetle-headed woman. And because that sentence often causes confusion, allow me to clarify - thats a beetle-headed woman, wings, legs, the lot. And it only gets stranger from there on.

Also on the bonkers end, theres Philip Palmer, who somehow manages to turn ideas from 50s pulp SF magazine covers into whole books.

Edited November 17, 2010 by F-ZeroOne

[Funkenstein]

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut is a good choice. Basically, aliens, out of body time travel, World War 2 and perhaps LSD mixed into a strange tale.

[spacemanoeuvres]

Another vote for the Foundation Trilogy, epic epic masterpiece. The Robot series, also Asimov, is quite good as well.

Dune is another wonderful series. I enjoyed some of the books after the original trilogy but the first three are the best.

Old Mans War and the first two sequels are fantastic. Loads of references to classic sci fi tales; core story reminds me of Starship Troopers. Haven't read Zoe's Tale yet but I'll get there.

Another fave is The Stars My Destination by Bester. So many things to love about this book, the main character undergoes a drastic change from beginning to end and it's an entertaining read.

edit: forgot The Peace War and Marooned in Realtime by Vinge (in a word bobbles!).

So many more but these are a great start.

Edited November 17, 2010 by spacemanoeuvres

[Grand Admiral]

Red Mars and sequels by Kim Stanley Robinson - Excellent "hard" SF depiction of a not-too-distant future Earth and colonization of Mars.

And seconding The Atrocity Archives and sequels by Charles Stross. SF meets Lovecraftian horror meets Office Space. Very enjoyable.

Edited November 17, 2010 by Grand Admiral

[shiroth]

Thanks a lot for the replies guys. So far i can already see quite a handful of books i want to read, especially:

Rendezvous with Rama

October the First Is Too Late

The Galactic Center Saga

Slaughterhouse Five

Dune

he Stars My Destination by Bester

Been meaning to read Asimov's robot series for a while now, so i'll also add the Foundation Trilogy. Think i might start with those first actually.

Doing an amazon.uk search on all the books mentioned so far, and i shouldn't have much trouble finding copies. Thanks again people, and keep those recommendations coming.

Edited November 17, 2010 by shiroth

[taksraven]

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut is a good choice. Basically, aliens, out of body time travel, World War 2 and perhaps LSD mixed into a strange tale.

Great book, one of the best. Even though it is SF it really only uses SF as a plot device. Its *not* nerdy SF. (reverse the polarity of the neutron flow shite)

Taksraven

[buddhafabio]

since Dynaman listed a few of my most favorite series

Off Armageddon reef- is a good one about humans having to dumb down technology to hide itself from extermination from aliens.

Empire of Man-is a tale of how a space faring prince is marooned on a primitive planet and has to escape to save his empire

1632 series- a modern coal mining town in west virginia experiences a phenomenon where the whole town is transported to 1632 germany and has to defend it self.

the phul series is a good read about a rich brat given a space platoon to appease his powerfull family and get him to quit

forever war- is good and has time dilation

hell the id4 books were good reads

some of the starwars books are ok.

Edited November 18, 2010 by buddhafabio

[Chowser]

If you like the Ender series, don't forget about the Bean side of the story.

My son borrowed First Meetings in Ender's Universe for school and lost it. I ended up finding it when we moved and read it since I paid for it already. It got me hooked. I went out and got the complete Ender series and then the Bean series.

[taksraven]

some of the starwars books are ok.

Splinter of the Minds Eye was a great little SW book. No way was it canon, but it was an interesting read.

[Gubaba]

If you like the Ender series, don't forget about the Bean side of the story.

My son borrowed First Meetings in Ender's Universe for school and lost it. I ended up finding it when we moved and read it since I paid for it already. It got me hooked. I went out and got the complete Ender series and then the Bean series.

I dunno...I find it hard to recommend the series to anybody these days. Personally, I thought Ender's Game was great and Speaker for the Dead was better. But Xenocide wasn't as good as the previous books, and Children of the Mind was the least of the quartet. None of them were bad, mind you, I just didn't like the last two books as much, as I was glad that Card finished the story there, rather than continuing ad infinitum.

Then Ender's Shadow came out, and I read it and liked it...okay. I thought it was better than Children of the Mind, at any rate. And so I picked up Shadow of the Hegemon, and never finished it. By now the series has gotten so long and unwieldy that diving back into it is a daunting prospect...and with diminishing returns on every volume, I don't see why I'd want to dive back into it. I reread the first two books every once in a while, but that's about it.

[Gui]

Some good recommendations here for you, shiroth, but when you'll have finished reading "outdated" SF (Clarke, Asimov, Van Vogt & co.), you'll be ready for some real trips, such as:

- by Robert Silverberg: Dying Inside (a telepath whose only quality resides into his ability to read minds sees this one collapsing), The World Inside (one planet and 70 billions of citizens living in tower of several kilometers high, in a total sexual freedom: madness is at every corner...)

- by Norman Spinrad: The Iron Dream (ever wondered what sort of guy a science-fiction writer is? Here is the answer...), Bug Jack Barron (heavy criticism of the civilization of the mass media; still pertinent...)

- by Brian Aldiss: Hothouse (in this faaar future, sun is almost a giant red and plants have gone crazy: what remains of humans live in this endless forest where everything can be a deadly trap...), Non-Stop (colonization of very distant worlds has produced strange results onto the ship crews...)

- by Samuel Delanny: Babel 17 (the problem of communicating with aliens who think in a completely different way: explores the limits of language), Nova (one of the finest space opera ever)

- by Ursula K. Le Guin: The Left Hand of Darkness (some great thoughts about difference between individuals)

- by Thomas Disch: The Genocides (invasion of Earth by aliens can go really wrong for humans), Camp Concentration (here, the drug induces the greatest intelligence, right before madness then death)

- by Daniel Keyes: Flowers for Algernon (speaking of intelligence: here, a mentally impaired idiot is treated to become intelligent and become a true genius who makes amazing discoveries; then the treatment ceases to be effective and the guy feels the terror of becoming less than a beast again... Do NOT read the very latest sentence of the book before begining your reading)

- by Frederik Pohl: Gateway (the twilight of space opera: Earth is now a hell because of global warming, poors embark into alien space ships discovered onto an asteroïd and go to unknown locations of the galaxy to get rare artifacts – they can find glory and fortune like madness, if not death)

- by Dan Simmons: Hyperion (a masterpiece: all of the themes of the genre cross each other here, in a very surprisingly effective manner; you can avoid reading the sequels, but if you choose to read them, read them to the very last novel)

- by Iain M. Banks: do not miss the Culture series which was a revolution for space opera; you can avoid beginning with Consider Phlebas and go directly for Player of Game then The Use of weapons – after these two, read the rest in whatever order you want although it'd make sense to read preferably in the publication order.

- by Peter F. Hamilton: Fallen Dragon (you love mechas? Well, you'll get power armors, but they're cult in their own very way – very Guyver-esque...)

- by Scott Westerfeld: Evolution's Darling (mind blowing in more ways than one...); if you're into military space op' then give a try to The Risen Empire and its sequel The Killing of Worlds: these two can be funny at times

Well, I'll stop here for now: I still have a life...

[Seto Kaiba]

I haven't read a good book in a while, so i'm in the mood for a good Science Fiction read. All i ask is that you post about your favorite Science Fiction book, and a few thoughts as to why it's your favorite. I'm sure to find some gems that way.

Personally, I've never been able to get into the more serious SF like Frank Herbert's Dune or Issac Asimov's Foundation trilogy. Usually when I sit down to read a book, I'm trying to relax and unwind... and tend to lean towards the lighter stuff. The one new series that I've been following and really enjoying is the Ciaphas Cain series of Warhammer 40,000 novels. I actually looked into them after reading the TVTropes article about the series. The stories are presented as chunks of the titular character's autobiography, which takes a little bit of getting used to, but the author approaches it all in a style that reads like a halfway point between Blackadder and Flashman. It's a funny little deconstruction of all the grimdark SF tropes 40K relies on, particularly in making the main character a self-effacing, cowardly Commissar who achieves victory and fame through a mix of opportunism, unabashed cowardice, dumb luck, and his aide's horrific body odor.

[Dynaman]

Usually when I sit down to read a book, I'm trying to relax and unwind... and tend to lean towards the lighter stuff.

You might like the Vorkosigan novels, although usually something serious is lurking in the subtext the foreground action can be very funny, in addition to being Hyperactive and a hunchback dwarf, Miles also gets the girls (instead of his dashing, charming cousin), and he is nuerotic - saying one thing and thinking something entirely different. Unlike Flashy Miles *IS* a genuine hero though, but he certainly has his faults.

If any of that sounds interesting find the Novella "Labyrinth", it is short but brings up all the items I mention above. Interesting take on a "dungeon" adventure too.

[Chowser]

I only read the Ender stuff once, but for some reason, I keep rereading my silly old Battletech novels. Especially the Michael Stackpole ones (the main storyline)

[F-ZeroOne]

Oh, Iain M. Banks definitely - you've got love a kilometres-long sentient starship that can destroy solar systems with a name like "What Are The Civilian Applications?"; "Player of Games" is essentially want would happen if "Magic: The Gathering" tournaments were how you decided who gets to run a planet and "Use of Weapons" has one of the best laugh-out loud jokes in SF, though it needs the context of the events to work...

[buddhafabio]

I dunno...I find it hard to recommend the series to anybody these days. Personally, I thought Ender's Game was great and Speaker for the Dead was better. But Xenocide wasn't as good as the previous books, and Children of the Mind was the least of the quartet. None of them were bad, mind you, I just didn't like the last two books as much, as I was glad that Card finished the story there, rather than continuing ad infinitum.

Then Ender's Shadow came out, and I read it and liked it...okay. I thought it was better than Children of the Mind, at any rate. And so I picked up Shadow of the Hegemon, and never finished it. By now the series has gotten so long and unwieldy that diving back into it is a daunting prospect...and with diminishing returns on every volume, I don't see why I'd want to dive back into it. I reread the first two books every once in a while, but that's about it.

i got as far as you did. so at least i wasnt the only one.

[shiroth]

Oh wow, so many more great recommendations. It's a good thing the local book shop as a 3 for 2 on sci-fi novels.

Picked up Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke today. Couldn't find October the First Is Too Late which totally sucks. Not finding it on the usual online sites either. Shall keep searching though.

I'm loving the list you made Gui. Some very interested titles which i'll be sure to have a look into. I wanna go buy a few more books tomorrow, so shall keep that list in hand while i'm searching.

Personally, I've never been able to get into the more serious SF like Frank Herbert's Dune or Issac Asimov's Foundation trilogy. Usually when I sit down to read a book, I'm trying to relax and unwind... and tend to lean towards the lighter stuff.

Pretty much depends on the mood i'm in, though i'm usually alright when it comes to such heavy themes in books. Plus i do a lot of reading while out and about (on the train, in a coffee shop etc).

Would i need much knowledge on Warhammer 40,000 to enjoy the books you mentioned?

Edited November 18, 2010 by shiroth

[eugimon]

If you find you enjoy the social and political aspects of the Dune books, check out Kim Stanley Robinson. He writes more "hard' science fiction and his narratives are more frameworks for his examination of sociology and science.

His California trilogy and the Mars trilogy are worth checking out.

[Frogze]

Overall I don't read a lot of SF but Hyperion by Dan Simmons is a very good book, well written and great storyline.

Back in the 90's I also had a great time reading "Striper Assassin" from Nyx Smith. That was a Shadowrun book btw which isn't generally a sign of good writing but this one is the exception, I really loved it, even more than William Gibson's books I read afterwards.

Edited November 19, 2010 by Frogze

[shiroth]

Picked up thee more books today.

First Dune book by Frank Herbert, The Complete Robot by Issac Asimov and Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. Also ordered a copy of October the First is Too Late off Ebay, so hopefully that will arrive shortly.

Planning to buy the three Foundation books next week.

[spacemanoeuvres]

Picked up thee more books today.

First Dune book by Frank Herbert, The Complete Robot by Issac Asimov and Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. Also ordered a copy of October the First is Too Late off Ebay, so hopefully that will arrive shortly.

Planning to buy the three Foundation books next week.

Excellent; I think you'll dig Dune.

Curious how you'll enjoy the Ender books. I thought they were amazing when I read them in college but I tried reading them again recently and couldn't get past the first handful of chapters (meh). Didn't hold up as well in my opinion but you will prob dig them the first time through.

Happy reading!

[shiroth]

Excellent; I think you'll dig Dune.

Pretty sure i will going by the summary alone. Seriously tempted to just jump straight into it first. We'll see.

I'll have quite a bit to read, so might be a while before i finally get to Enders. Then again Dune might completely pull me in, and i'll end up reading that series before anything else.

Edited November 19, 2010 by shiroth

[Seto Kaiba]

Would i need much knowledge on Warhammer 40,000 to enjoy the books you mentioned?

Nah... all you really need is a basic understanding of the Warhammer 40,000 setting. It might help to know a bit about some of the factions from the game (mostly the Tyranids), but it's not really required.

[shiroth]

Nah... all you really need is a basic understanding of the Warhammer 40,000 setting. It might help to know a bit about some of the factions from the game (mostly the Tyranids), but it's not really required.

That's good to hear then. Could easily just read a little bit on Wikipedia before reading the books. They'll be added to the list, thanks again.

[Max Jenius]

Dune is my favorite book. As others have said, the first 3 books are very good. I do like God Emperor as well, and the rest after that are worth reading if you like the Duniverse.

The ones that his son wrote aren't bad persay, but there is a definite decline in quality. I just read them(hunters/sandworms) for some closure. I haven't read any of the other stuff that Herbert's son wrote & don't really care to.

[Gubaba]

Dune is my favorite book. As others have said, the first 3 books are very good. I do like God Emperor as well, and the rest after that are worth reading if you like the Duniverse.

The ones that his son wrote aren't bad persay, but there is a definite decline in quality. I just read them(hunters/sandworms) for some closure. I haven't read any of the other stuff that Herbert's son wrote & don't really care to.

The existence of the cynical little cottage industry Brian Herbert (and New York Times Bestselling Author Kevin J. Anderson™) have created around faux-Dune books angers me no end...it's much worse than Christopher Tolkien and his empire, since he mostly just edited his father's works.

[shiroth]

You guys are really making me want to start reading Dune. I've only read the first few chapters of Rendezvous with Rama, though i dislike placing a book i'm already reading on hold.

[Max Jenius]

The existence of the cynical little cottage industry Brian Herbert (and New York Times Bestselling Author Kevin J. Anderson™) have created around faux-Dune books angers me no end...it's much worse than Christopher Tolkien and his empire, since he mostly just edited his father's works.

Yeah, I was kind of annoyed at how suspicious links to the Prequel series just happened to show up in something supposedly based on Frank's notes.

Also, don't judge Dune based on the movies or Miniseries. It's got too much going on to ever make a good movie out of imo.

Rama is awesome too btw.

Edited November 21, 2010 by Max Jenius

[eugimon]

The existence of the cynical little cottage industry Brian Herbert (and New York Times Bestselling Author Kevin J. Anderson™) have created around faux-Dune books angers me no end...it's much worse than Christopher Tolkien and his empire, since he mostly just edited his father's works.

Don't let it get to you. Just treat it like I treat the Star Wars prequels, Macross II and Star Trek Voyager: really elaborate fan fiction.

[Dynaman]

Also, don't judge Dune based on the movies or Miniseries. It's got too much going on to ever make a good movie out of imo.

The movie was terrible, but the miniseries wasn't bad. It only had a SciFi channel budget but it followed the book pretty well.

[shiroth]

Also, don't judge Dune based on the movies or Miniseries. It's got too much going on to ever make a good movie out of imo.

Going by the size alone of the story, yeah i had a feeling the film wouldn't be that good. Still it's something i wouldn't mind watching after i've done with the series.

Edited November 21, 2010 by shiroth