I just finished reading George RR Martin's Dying of the Light. Corey. It’s so exhilarating and gives you a feeling of optimism and self-growth as well. (It deals with a big ideas and sees its story through. Currently I have Infinity Gate by M. You guys are WHY the bad guys from Rampage are funny (it's funny 'cause it's true). I love Peter F Hamilton, but holy hell, Dan Simmons is amazing. The most recent encounter in my memory was Walter Jon Williams’ “Dread Empire’s Fall” series, where the blurbs consistently describe the Naxids as “insectoid” when the author’s descriptions of the race never hint at such a similarity - he describes them with features both mammalian and reptilian, but never as an arthropodic species. In no special order are my top five sci-fi books; The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester. Eden - a solid, old-school, "exploring an alien planet" tale. :D Special thanks for Nascence (I love draft/craft related stuff), Robert Reed, James Tiptree Jr. But the people standing with the mouths open, filled with silver, the fires, and running men and people crucified, those images were so haunting. ADMIN MOD. From a note in the issue itself; " Due to a set of unfortunate circumstances, this Jan/Feb 2024 issue was delayed by more than a month. Chilling. Give me something soft, something with more accessible language, give me the r/printSF equivalent of a summer blockbuster. r/printSF: **A place to discuss published speculative fiction**—novels, short stories, comics, and more. Story revolves around a Crew that has to investigate an Alien Spaceship in a near future setting. So if they are 500 light years away from that star and it disappears, they know that 500 years ago it was blocked. Any list of "Best Books," or "All-Time Classics" is going to be an artifact of the person who created the list, and their particular time. Unlike the non-existent Rama sequels, the Odyssey sequels were written by Clarke. Yes it is. Windows-10 is also not compatible with much of the non-microsoft software that I've used for years. Sort by: KiaraTurtle. The Demolished Man is worth a read too (though I like Stars better), and although Bester’s stories can be of uneven quality I really like several of them, especially “Fondly Fahrenheit” but also “Adam and No Eve,” “Oddy and Id,” “Star Light, Star Bright,” and Viriconium contains three novellas and a short story collection. D. 5% of the top 100 mentions are by ted chiang. More Than Human - Theodore Sturgeon. The main character, Jeff Ellis, is a pacifist. With the release of Dune, I remembered one of my best literary summers of my life: reading all of Dune books by Frank Hebert. If you’re willing to branch out beyond the mainstream suggestions- Kardashev Cycle series by PJ Garcin sounds like right up your alley. A World to Die For by Tobias S. ). kern3three. The people are active and very friendly. Delany was nominated 3 years in row (67-69) with 3 great novels but didn't win because of how strong the other contenders were (Heinlein's Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Zelazny's Lord of Light, and Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar). Her sci-fi novels (Four-Bee) are also well-regarded and very different in tone. The puppet masters by Heinlein has that whole secret invasion by aliens thing going on. You might like Punktown collection and series by Jeffrey Thomas. It's in longish chapters that follow a single 'character' in a given time period, before jumping forward some millions of years. I love the big ideas, the dramatic space battles, and how (eventually) the threads are merged. Her characteristics don’t seem integral to the plot. " It's the furthest from science fiction on this list so far, but it still has a fairly realistic and "hard" treatment of the topics at hand. There is a central f/f relationship. FTL starts getting introduced after the first Man-Kzin war, and faster forms of it later on. introspectrive. A real-live-no-shit orion spaceship, the size of an aircraft carrier, taking off using successive fission explosions. I just read Fractal Noise and didn't like it either (that's how I found this thread months later lol) and didn't love To Sleep In A Sea Of Stars, but the Eragon books are MUCH better. I didn’t think it was as bad as people claimed, actually. •. The world is a mad max post-apocalyptic wasteland so polluted the survivors require kluged-together oxygen tanks in addition to their weaponized cars. ago. That's like a third **half **of his work. The first novella, The Pastel City, is a fairly straightforward sword and sorcery/dying earth/science fantasy adventure, but with some of the best writing you’ll find in sf. Qatwx A Raiel, living on the High Angel. 9. Set in Rome around 70 A. General speculative fiction posts are fine as long as they involve Science Fiction. The main issues people have with it are: the ending. If they go to a place that is 200 light years from the star and it's still blocked, then they know it's been blocked for 300 years. Truth is I look to the Locus list and these other awards for innovation and literary merit in sci-fi. And r/scifi is much bigger than r/Fantasy due to movies and such which are more common. The Essential Ellison goes over a lot of good territory. You can't read book 1 and just skip book 2. The Hugos and Nebulas tend to underwhelm. Feel free to discuss the books, television series, comic books, RPG, and other works by Jim Butcher (such as Codex Alera and Cinder Spires, et al. Los Nefilim by T. Anyone know what’s going on here? Arisen series by Glynn James and Michael Stephen Fuchs, first book is called Fortress Britain. Alien 3 by Pat Cadigan, based on the unused script by William Gibson, includes a plotline that was deliberately meant to be communist cyberpunk in Space. The Windup Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi. www. Replay - Ken Grimwood - The main character dies and wakes up back at college with all the memories of the life he already lived. and Theodore Sturgeon because I think I haven't heard of them. R. g. The War Against the Chtorr series. I deliberately refrained from mentioning the BSFAs, Kitschie, Clarke or Campbell Awards to focus on the shortcomings of the big North American genre awards. Thank you for the effort! I read The Martian Chronicles, failed to recall it. Two, The second time I tried to update the data on my web-site last year, Windows-10 crashed my system and prevented me from updating that data. Just finished Stainslaw Lem's "Fiasco. The Honorverse worldbuilding is designed to make spaceship battles reminiscent of ship to ship combat in the age of sail, if that is what you’re looking for. Larry Niven deals with this a fair bit in his Known Space franchise, as well as the spin off Man-Kzin Wars. Clarke. These are all fantastic books, choose what tickles your fancy: Emphyrio - Jack Vance. I recommend trying it. I just finished Greg Egan's Diaspora today as it's one of the regular 'hard science' fiction books that comes up here from time to time. edit: words. Boring, dependable, reasonable. Girls of Paper and Fire series by Natasha Ngan - a Malaysian-inspired YA fantasy that follows a girl who is taken from her home to be a concubine for the Demon King. They are long running magazines with a plethora of awards. " Dune is a landmark science fiction novel first published in 1965 and the first in a 6-book saga penned by author Frank Herbert. Would also be a great way to get some recommendations too. Was just an unforgettable travel, but it ends suddently. Lots of fleets maneuvering around each other and launching waves of missiles. The strongest parts in this novel involve the speculative parts of science fiction, it offers a world, a universe, but it's a bit short in terms of memorable characters. Reply reply. All things we want to express but are afraid too in polite society. Not for me. None of the ships in much of it are FTL-capable, though interstellar journeys are part of things. It's a must-read classic, especially if you like power armor. But if it is titled "top 100" I would expect only the top 100 to be listed, not 200 4. Orion Parentless teenage boy from Silvergalde, Carys Panther Mark’s aunt. Not sure if a book counts? Then post it! … ADMIN MOD. Is companion Kranda, a Mahkan, finds violence to be just a part of completing her goals. Attanasio. Fall, or Dodge in Hell is a sequel to REAMDE that starts to toe the line on "hard" science fiction. Not a huge emphasis on boots on the ground combat but there’s definitely something there for you to enjoy. . The structure is a bit challenging, e. Longyear: Prisoners dumped on a barren planet and left to fend for themselves. It is home to many alien races many are very bizarre. ) Children of time - Tjaikovsky. Second Genesis and Genesis Quest by Donald Moffitt do not follow the usual Tropes of first contact stories. shponglespore. Definitely worth the read. The Outside was one of my favs, I thought the Fallen was even better and it shored up some of the weaknesses I found in the Outside. • 11 yr. I remember that one. Okay, we get it. the list is correct, in that regard at least. It’s not a bad book by any means, definitely worth reading. Nor Crystal Tears by Alan Dean Foster. Only after all, the Soviet Kazakh, wrote his fantastic works in Kazakh and Russian. Open comment sort options. Hugo award nominating stats finally released - Babel deemed “ineligible”. Focuses on special forces missions around the world looking for a cure. There are some very interesting ideas discussed in the books, though I found the prose to be quite challenging. But the focus is still always on the characters. Hebert had a very big and complex idea and I don't know if his son could Reply reply More repliesMore replies. Looking for new, contemporary sci-fi that doesn't feel like YA. Frohock - a collection of three novellas about the war between angels and daimons in 1930s Spain. It’s hard sci-fi and takes spin-gravity and acceleration-gravity—not to mention supply-chain problems of living in space and the tolls that takes on a society—seriously, unlike many space operas. The entire Expanse series by James S. I remember reading that Dan Simmons initially wrote it as 1 book, but it was too big to fit in 1 physical book, so he broke it into 2 hence the abrupt and unsatisfying ending in book 1. I think Paolini is working on his sci fi writing still and just hasnt found the same magic yet. Knapkin. On the stranger end of things is Radix by A. I must give credit that it takes the most fundamental Love is the Plan, the Plan is Death by James Tiptree Jr. It was one of my favourite Reynolds's stories, and by far my favourite film in LD+R. I'll use a lot of spoiler tags while writing these musings, but some plot details may be intrinsically revealed. Really hard to summarize, but wonderful and fascinating story. (I’ve never thought of it as cyberpunk though more Space Fantasy with Cosmic Horror influences ai gods that will eat your soul, cyborg angels, and A reddit for fans of comic books, graphic novels, and digital comics. Her culture and her math skills don’t seem to be incorporated into Binti’s actual way of thinking and feeling and acting. Some brief thoughts on the novels of his I've read: The Investigation - a very good detective story, subversive and heavily philosophical. there is an extended flashback which can confuse unprepared readers, but it's the culmination of everything that Zelazny was experimenting with during the 1960s. 30+ years, 70+ years, really impressive timespan for Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes - An experiment raises the IQ of a man from learning difficulties to genius. Built on the ruins of countless civilisations, surviving on the debris of its long-dead progenitors, Shadrapar is a museum, a midden, an asylum, a prison on a world that is ever more alien to humanity. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. I would say it's not an amazing book, but pretty fun, and worth a read if you're a big fan of Cyberpunk, William Gibson, Pat Cadigan, or the Alien franchise. Seconding the Star Carrier series by Ian Douglas. One of the most popular works in the HardSF + First Contact genre. The main character is given the job of "Sheriff" (not an honorable position among convicts!) and the group has to form their own society and deal with the other groups of The Star Carrier series by Ian Douglas (Earth Strike is the first book) has as one of the main protagonists a star fighter pilot and his squadron. Although judging by the description, a typical Soviet fiction of the time. Hopefully it will be a great way to discover new things to add to your ever-growing TBR list! Archived post. The Neon Rain by James Lee Burke This isn't a speculative fiction novel, its a mystery detective novel. Can’t wait for the third. A. I enjoy science fiction and fantasy with these features which I think Robert Jordan was great with: - High stakes or existential threat in the plot. Arkady Stepnoy (Zhanat Kasabekov). Widely considered one of the greatest works within the sci-fi genre, Dune has been the subject of various film and TV adaptations, including the Academy Award winning 2021 film Dune directed by Denis Villeneuve. Honorverse by David Weber, Starfire series by Steve White, Gust Front by John Ringo are some of the best. A good bet is Neverness and the related "Requiem for Homo Sapiens" Trilogy by David Zindell's. 4. This is memorable characters combined with some damn big ideas. However, in this book it is not explored whether the desire to do violence is hard-wired in to our psyche. ”. Without spoiling too much, it does take a bit of a turn after 2/3s of the book. When they explore these ships, they find technology which do things similarly to theirs, however function Sort by: Best. 1. It’s not actually going to quarterly, they just renamed the Jan/Feb issue. Book 1: "If God exists, why does he let bad things happen to good people?" Book 2: "God's plans unfold on a much larger scale than humans can see, but if there were some way for you to see the way events and their consequences ripple out over long periods of time and across generations, you could see good coming from even the worst things. However, I lost steam with the Great Northern Road and never finished it - I plan to return someday. @reddit's vulture cap investors and u/spez: Shove a hot poker up your ass and make the world a better place. Mission of Gravity - Hal Clement. Perdido Street Station - China Mieville (*) Ubik - Phillip K Dick. I've read practically all of them and am still itching to ready more. " Neil Gaiman's American Gods is loosly-based on The Deathbird, as are parts of Terry Pratchett's Discworld (Small Gods, for example). Much different from the usual "they nuked us from orbit" etc. • 1 yr. Infinity Hold Barry B. Fall of Hyperion is more of a continuous narrative and answers a lot of the questions implied by the first. What i understand: -Speaker knows that if the kzin would gain access to that technology they would wage war and probably kill both humans and themselves in the process (they would come across puppeteers Lots of the greats haven't won Hugos: Samuel R. Maybe the “black fleet” series by Joshua Dalzelle. Salvation by PFH - should I continue? For context, I love Peter F Hamilton's Commonwealth saga, including the Void trilogy. Much more satisfying and faster paced. This book takes place in southern Louisiana, which is where Burke grew up and you can see that in his writing. Book 1 ends in a cliffhanger and doesn't resolve the main storyline. The intriguing universe was what kept me going and now I'm REAMDE is a often described as a "techno-thriller. It can be difficult to rate their quality because I don't consistently order them. The Dispatcher audio novellas by Scalzi do have the darkness, are good, and are inventive but NOT as inventive as "The God Engines" but you might want to check them out anyway. Members Online Just started diving into the world of comics and am looking through the recommendations list on the side. A n Important Failure by Rebecca Campbell. SF topics should involve plausible ideas reached through the rational application of science. The one thing I can say is that nearly every character and plot line tie together into a fast-paced intense ending with no big surprise deus ex machina. The Rediscovery of Man - Cordwainer Smith. Set in the near-mid future, in our solar system, mostly hard sci-fi, the books are short and even better the chapters are short. . com (or GWC) is a really cool community centered around a podcast which discusses all sorts of sci-fi and other geeky stuff. - Detailed, internally consistent, creative world building. One, Microsoft Windows-10 destroyed my computer filing systems when I upgraded from Windows-7. Look for the story "The Soldier of the City" by David Moles. For me it's The Proteus Operation by James P Hogan, the Axis of Time series by John Birmingham, Prador Moon by Neal Asher, Quarantine and Diaspora by Greg Egan, The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter, Blindsight by Peter Watts and The Invincible and His Master's Voice by Stanislaw Lem. GingeContinge. shadowsong42. Gene Wolfe hasn't won any either, despite 3 of the 5 novels in the Book of In Ascension (2023) by Martin MacInnes is splendid literary SF. With shuttles and the big 16-inch guns from Iowa-class battleships take on a Heinlein-style universe ship in Earth orbit. I've recently read the novels of Vis (Stormlord, Anackire, The White Serpent) and they have the more familiar form of sprawling epic fantasy but with Tanith Lee's characteristic weirdness and lovely prose. Just finished The Algebraist 2 days ago. This is my favorite SF book. , these are essentially private-eye books, but done in a way that really jumps off the page at you. Carey, In Ascension by Martin MacInnes, and Light Bringer by Pierce Brown on my TBR list. Set in a near future battling climate change, this clever novel merges distant space exploration with the beginnings of life on earth, all examined within the relationships of the protagonist Leigh. Pandora's Star has plenty of weaknesses and for some is too slow to build, but I really haven't found a series with a comparable ending. Blindsight by Peter Watts. It is very weird science fiction. Premise is years into a zombie apocalypse Britain has somehow managed to stay clear of infected and the rest of the world is completely overrun. Punktown is a collection of stories set in the Human colony of Paxton (colloquially known as Punktown). The Michael vs. I would like to start subscribing to a sci-fi magazine and after browsing the web, people mainly are recommending the big 3: "Asimov’s Science Fiction", "Analog Science Fiction and Fact", "The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction". Message Bearer in Larry Niven's Footfall . I'll have to re-read it to confirm I'm not forgetting anything but it was mostly the same. I started Evolution, which is also a standalone, following human ancestors from 65 million years ago to our descendants 500 million years in the future. He didn't give a fuck if you agreed with him or not and he called out ignorance, stupidity and general herd dumbness. Especially if you like Xcom the Bureau. The plot is basic. Looking at the first few, it seems like they're spelling something. Yes and if we're honest, r/Fantasy is technically the equivalent of r/scifi, because r/Fantasy isn't focused on books officially (though in practice, it is the biggest discussion topic by far). Ramon D Senator for Buta, leader of African caucus. The thranx are a fun foil for humans imo. In other words: printSF version of sleeper hits/cult classic movies. The unmistakable sound of flipping the communicator open followed by the distinct bird chirp will remind anyone interested in sci-fi of the brilliant device. @reddit: You can have me back when you acknowledge that you're over enshittified and commit to being better. Mogadeet is a spider-like creature that tries to resist his instinctive behaviors as the seasons begin to change and he desires to prolong his life. One that is not recommended often, but should be is Neal Asher. Xeelee1123. Although the greatest fantastic work - the novel "the Seventh wave" ("Жетінші толқын") (1964) , wrote it in Kazakh. Bearing witness to the desperate struggle for existence between life old and new, is Stefan Advani, rebel, outlaw, prisoner, survivor. Corey, starting with {Leviathan Wakes}, has a lot of the plot taking place aboard the hero ship Rocinante, or aboard other ships and space stations. I wish he stuck to more "big ideas" kind of stories like Ted Chiang does than try to create troubled, homesick characters. Similar vibe. Clarkesworld is certainly getting well deserved attention. It's a book of powerful, dark short stories culminating in one of his all-time best works "The Deathbird. galacticwatercooler. The Demolished Man - Alfred Bester. I found the universe he created (it's called Thousand Worlds, according to Wikipedia) was quite interesting, but the story itself and the main character were just ok. What are some good newer Generation Ship books? I've searched this sub for previous recommendations they're generally filled with recommended with the classics. Just remember that they're all in their own continuities and there are differences between them; 2010 for example is more of a sequel to the movie, not the book. The first few are decent; I didn't care much for 3001 though. They know the barriers are up because the star disappeared from sight, and never came back into sight. The Cellphone - Star Trek Communicator. This morning I looked back at my read list for 2023 on Goodreads and realized the only book that I read published last year was the Olympian Affair by Jim Butcher, looking to add some more SF selections to that list. The Culture will eat the Federation in 2000 years, if it's the sensible thing to do at the time. Just finished George RR Martin's Dying of the Light. Ringworld ending (spoiler) Can someone explain the closing dialogue between Speaker and Louis regarding the Long Shot and puppeteer technology. Neuromancer - William Gibson. The first sentence of the first story of the collection (Jeffrey Thomas has wrote This reddit is for fans and creators of Science Fiction and related media in any form. This reddit is for fans and creators of Science Fiction and related media in any form. An excellent entry into his wife body of work. Helix Wars used different perceptions of violence to really make the reader think about actions we take. Disco_sauce. Radulno. Lots of characters and backstories encompassing multiple worlds and civilizations. And other than the intriguing—but unrealized—concept for the character, there isn’t much else noteworthy. I really enjoy hard sci fi, that dives deep and gets fairly technical in some area of the novel, whether it be the physics used, the culture (s), world building, or in Seems like an overreaction. • 4 yr. The little American girl/boy becomes fascinated with the older Chinese wise guy, wants to hear more about this "naïve but subtle" culture. The first third are ancestors, the middle is recognizable humans For something less philosophical, you could try The Expanse by James S. He's very dry, philosophical and academic, so be warned. One of the most iconic symbols of science fiction is the communicator from Star Trek TOS. Lem is a very acquired taste. 3. I grew up reading a lot of the conservative old-guard hard sci-fi guys (Asimov, Clarke, Lem, Niven, Orson Scott Card) before moving onto stuff like Ursula Le Guin, Sam Delaney, Kim Stanley Robinson, Vernor Vinge, and Asimov, Analog, F&SF are still the most prestigious, on account of being in print, and get tens of thousands of submissions each year. Buckell. Recommendations for fun to read Sci Fi? I finished reading Blindsight and Echopraxia back to back, a mammoth 700 pages of hard, challenging sci fi and I need a break. Dune is a landmark science fiction novel first published in 1965 and the first in a 6-book saga penned by author Frank Herbert. While a great book, I really didn't get a Trek feel from it at all. Won the Nebula in 1973. hamhead. I'll also recommend the Odyssey One series by Evan Currie. 14. In this video (which i cannot remember), the narator recommended a book in which humanity finally has the means to go to space, however when they actually reach space they find various alien spacecrafts which have been long abandoned. I'm currently halfway through Peter Hamilton's "The Reality Dysfunction" (book 1 of the "Night's Dawn" trilogy) and the scale is absolutely epic. It probably inspired the design of the flip phone that Reddit's Home for the Dresden Files book series by Jim Butcher. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. From there, it just gets weirder. Gene Wolfe – The Book of the New Sun (1980s). I like the weird aliens that are tiny and live on a comet. But it isn't the only world, there are parallel realities and contact between them. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch is a sci-fi thriller that is way too fun to put down! A thriller done just right - it's extremely gripping and surprising while also following its own rules, and maybe most importantly it's got so much heart - the characters are so fun to root for! Just finished 'Diaspora' by Greg Egan. The Algebraist is a standalone by the same author that had a lot of Star Trek-y feel to me, as well. Camelot 30k by Robert L Forward. Dying Inside - Robert Silverberg. So what are some good more modern ones? Based on user suggestions, this is a new, recurring post for discussing what you are reading, what you have read, and what you, and others have thought about it. Dated but accessible. I recognised aspects of other novels and films (Contact, Arrival as examples) set Debatably sci-fi (at least initially), but Dave Hutchison's Fractured Europe series is all about cross-border geopolitics and espionage in a near-future post-pandemic terrorism-ravaged Europe, which has undergone extreme balkanisation into thousands of microstates at varying degrees of antagonism. " Some thoughts I can't remember where I got the recommendation for this one, but I'm very glad I did. It's definitely a top 5 for me. " There are some differences in the plot but they don't really detract from the ending/twist, but from what I remember "Greta" was more clearly benevolent in the short story. Davis has a rare talent for writing a story set in the ancient world that feels personal, real and richly detailed, without turning into a set of tedious info-dumps. Yep, these 3 all day (notably: Gust Front is the Legacy of the Aldenata series aka Posleen War series, if we are naming series). - Focus on the system of magic or technology, rather than these being handwavey and incidental to the plot. Which might sound not particularly interesting but there is a lot more to it. My God is it beautifully written, I saw somebody say Burke writes literature dressed as detective novels and I definitely agree. They are very much dune-like galaxy-spanning hero's journeys with musings about evolution. The Hugo nomination voting stats were finally released, and Babel, as expected had more than enough votes to be nominated… yet mysteriously was declared “ineligible”. Freeze Frame Revolution's coded message - worth it? I just started reading the physical copy of Watts's Freeze Frame Revolution and noticed that there's occasionally letters printed in red instead of black. ) These games tend to focus heavily on role-play and autonomy through the application of a player's chosen attributes and skills. woogwhy. The first book is the unique due to the short story format, and every story is very distict. angryscout2. The ideas are great, but the writing can be inconsistent. This is going to be very negative but please bear with me. This is Reddit's home for Computer Role Playing Games, better known as the CRPG subgenre! CRPGs are characterized by the adaptation of pen-and-paper RPG, or tabletop RPGs, to computers (and later, consoles. This Immortal (1966), another Hugo winner, was an earlier and significantly less ambitious exploration of similar themes. I thought about reading the sequels written by his son but I'm not sure if is worth it. There are a lot of great books that fit this criteria. For the sake of our newsstand readers, we re-named the issue “Winter 2024. Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Lastly, if you want a great omnibus find "The Essential Ellison". Not sure if a book counts? Then post it! … Cattfish. Simon Rand Founder of Randtown on Elan, Mellanie Rescorai Morton's lover, Russell Sall Science officer, Second Chance. 5. omg that short story list though! 10% 8. Yes, there are books which are widely respected, and show up on multiple "Best of SF" lists, like "The Time Machine. An award winning story set in a post-apocalyptic future and tells a beautiful story about a man who wants to rebuild a very special violin. waeiqrnfblousrhtttou