Support NeoGAF

[HotHamBoy]

I just finished The Forever War by Joe Halderman. I really enjoyed it, although I'm not really sure how I was supposed to take the homophobia...

Anyway, I'm feelin in the mood for more, would love some recommendations.

Here are some SciFi books I've already read:

Robert Heinland:
Stranger in A Strange Land
Starship Troopers
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Farnham's Freehold

Isaac Asimov:
Foundation (first book)
The End of Eternity

Ray Bradbury:
The Martian Chronicles
Fahrenheit 451

Kurt Vonnegut:
Slaughterhouse Five
Time Quake
The Sirens of Titan
Breakfast of Champions
Godbless you, Mr. Rosewater
Cat's Cradle

Larry Niven:
Ringworld (first book)
The Magic Goes Away

Jack Vance:
The Caldwell Chronicles Trilogy
The Demon Princes series
The Planet of Adventure series
Various short stories

H.G. Wells:
The Time Machine
The War of the Worlds

Michael Chricton:
Jurassic Park
The Lost World
The Andromeda Strain
Sphere
Congo

Stephen King:
The Gunslinger

Tons of H.P. Lovecraft

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Complete Series by Douglas Adams
All 6 Dune novels by Frank Herbert
Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson
Neuromancer by William Gibson
1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Alduos Huxley
The Stars, My Destination by Alfred Bester
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Philip K. Dick
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clark
The Road - Cormac McCarthy

It's hard to remember everything, lol, I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff. Obvious stuff.

Anyway, here are some books I'm considering but I'd love to know where you think I should start and what else I should at to the list:

The Left Hand of Darkness by Usula K. LeGuin
Gene Wolf's Book of the New Sun
More Neil Stephenson but not sure what
Rendezvous with Rama by Clarke (Oops! Misattributed to Asimov originally!)
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Neil Gaiman?

 

[Stasis]

Old man's war and follow-ups. John Scalzi. Prolly my favorite sci-fi series. Check reviews.

Pandora's Star, and then Judas Unchained and other novels in the universe. Peter F. Hamilton.

Go!

Also Culture novels from Iain M. Banks.

And The Expanse series from James S.A. Corey (actually Ty Franck and Daniel Abraham) which has a pretty good new TV series to boot, just entering season 2 soon-ish. Book 6 was just released.

 

[RS4-]

The Hyperion Cantos books aren't bad. Same with the Three Body Problem and the other two books by Cixin Liu.

There's the Mars stuff from Kim Stanley Robertson.
The Expanse series and novellas.
The Culture series by Iain Banks.

 

[Wensih]

Well you're missing Samuel R. Delany in your sci-fi canon so you should probably start there.

I'd recommend Babel 17, Dhalgren, or Stars in My Pockets Like Grains of Sand.

 

[dionysus]

Pretty comprehensive list and you have identified a lot of recommendations for your next step.

Maybe narrow down what you enjoy? Space Opera? Military? Hard Science?

But someone I would recommend to anyone because she is an awesome author is Lois McMaster Bujold. I'd probably start with her Vorkosigan series and read them in chronological order. She has won multiple Hugo awards so it is not just me that thinks she is great!

 

[AndersK]

Currently reading Book of The New Sun.

Remarkably unique so far, though i am not entirely sure what is happening due to some esoteric prose/way of framing/storytelling, but i feel like it'll make sense in the end. Just very different and i very much like that, plus Wolfe has a way to make rather mundane events very transfixing, which is certainly a good thing.

 

[Cyan]

That's quite a list. A lot of classics. Have you considered just going through, say, the list of Hugo winners and reading all of them? If you enjoyed all of these that might be worth your time.

Of the ones you mention at the end, Fire Upon the Deep is great, Hyperion is great, Book of the New Sun is amazing (also read the coda, Urth of the New Sun), Rama is pretty meh, I haven't read Left Hand of Darkness, and you might like Stephenson's Diamond Age. Not sure what to recommend from Gaiman, I don't really classify his work as scifi.

New Sun is a challenging read so do that only if you're ready for it. Otherwise I'd jump into Hyperion or Fire Upon the Deep.

 

[weemadarthur]

I understand being unimpressed with Asimov, but you should finish the Foundation series anyway.

Then read Jules Verne's stuff.

And Ender's Game, unless it's one of the obvious things you forgot.

 

[Octavianus]

You should read The Culture series by Iain Banks.

 

[Kill3r7]

The Hyperion Cantos books aren't bad. Same with the Three Body Problem and the other two books by Cixin Liu.

There's the Mars stuff from Kim Stanley Robertson.
The Expanse series and novellas.
The Culture series by Iain Banks.

Seconded. The Expanse and Culture series are also worthwhile.

 

[HStallion]

The Absolution Space series by Alistair Reynolds is pretty good. A bit slow paced at times but full of some rather head scifi concepts and tons of space opera goodness.

 

[andythinkpad]

I just finished The Forever War by Joe Halderman. I really enjoyed it, although I'm not really sure how I was supposed to take the homophobia...

Anyway, I'm feelin in the mood for more, would love some recommendations.

Here are some SciFi books I've already read:

Robert Heinland:
Stranger in A Strange Land
Starship Troopers
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Farnham's Freehold

I would read more Heinlein "teenager" series, I prefer them over his more famous works
Citizen of the Galaxy, Farmer in the Sky, Have Space Suit Will Travel etc.

Also I love Friday, read it many times.

Isaac Asimov:
Foundation (first book)
The End of Eternity

Ray Bradbury:
The Martian Chronicles
Fahrenheit 451

Kurt Vonnegut:
Slaughterhouse Five
Time Quake
The Sirens of Titan
Breakfast of Champions
Godbless you, Mr. Rosewater
Cat's Cradle

Larry Niven:
Ringworld (first book)
The Magic Goes Away

Jack Vance:
The Caldwell Chronicles Trilogy
The Demon Princes series
The Planet of Adventure series
Various short stories

H.G. Wells:
The Time Machine
The War of the Worlds

Michael Chricton:
Jurassic Park
The Lost World
The Andromeda Strain
Sphere
Congo

Stephen King:
The Gunslinger

Tons of H.P. Lovecraft

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Complete Series by Douglas Adams
All 6 Dune novels by Frank Herbert
Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson
Neuromancer by William Gibson
1984 by George Orwell
Brave New World by Alduos Huxley
The Stars, My Destination by Alfred Bester
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Philip K. Dick
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
I Am Legend - Richard Matheson
Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clark
The Road - Cormac McCarthy

It's hard to remember everything, lol, I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff. Obvious stuff.

Anyway, here are some books I'm considering but I'd love to know where you think I should start and what else I should at to the list:

The Left Hand of Darkness by Usula K. LeGuin
Gene Wolf's Book of the New Sun
More Neil Stephenson but not sure what
Rendezvous with Rama by Asimov (though I'm not that into him)
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Neil Gaiman?

You don't like Cyberpunk novels? I find them to be the best sci-fi works in the last 30 years.

These are IMO the best works of Gibson, Neuromancer is a must read for any reader, the 2 sequels are not as strong. The Blue Ant Trilogy (Pattern Recogniztion, Spook Country and Zeo History) is great but they are very "near future" sci-fi. Also The Peripheral is great. It's kind of a Matrix ripoff with a multiverse twist.

As for Stephenson, Snow Crash is a must read, although is dated. The Diamond Age is a masterpiece. Most of his other works are too wordy. I would recommend Anathem as a stand alone long read.

One author that write solid sci-fi stories that don't belonged to any trend or genre is Joel Haldeman.

I recommend The Forever War. The Accidental Time Machine and Old Twentieth

 

[Alex Connolly]

Heechee Saga by Frederick Pohl is a must, but I've a feeling you might have already read it, going by your list of classics.

Otherwise, the Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie is a slow but fine burn.

I'll add the Dead Things trilogy by Richard Calder, because it's my fav bit of baroque post-cyberpunk sci-fi grot.

 

[DieH@rd]

Pushing Ice by Alstair Reynolds is really good. A single story, quick read, satisfying from start to end. I also liked his other standalone SF works [House of Suns and Terminal World].

edit - OMG he has a new one out!!! Revenger.

 

[HotHamBoy]

I understand being unimpressed with Asimov, but you should finish the Foundation series anyway.

Then read Jules Verne's stuff.

And Ender's Game, unless it's one of the obvious things you forgot.

I've been debating Ender's Game but I understood it to be more of a kid's book and I'm apprehensive about the author's worldview.

I would read more Heinlein "teenager" series, I prefer them over his more famous works
CItizen of the Galaxy, Farmer in the Sky, Have Space Suit Will Travel etc.

Also I love Friday, read it many times.




You don't like Cyberpunk novels? I find them to be the best sci-fi works in the last 30 years.

I do like cyberpunk! I just haven't read much. Really enjoyed Neuromancer and need to get to the sequels. Snow Crash is one of my favorite books ever.

Thanks for all the recomendations so far, I'll look into everything!

Feel free to add more, I'll be bookmarking my thread

I have 2015's Kindle so nothing is out of reach.

 

[dionysus]

Also, David Brin's Uplift Saga starting with Sundiver.

I've been debating Ender's Game but I understood it to be more of a kid's book and I'm apprehensive about the author's worldview.

It is not a kid's book. Not sure what you think might be in Ender's Game. I'd say in general the tone is anti-military anti-authoritarianism. Doesn't really cover many modern day hot button social issues, just the stuff a lot of sci-fi covered after the Vietnam war with pretty much the same conclusions as several of the other sci-fi authors you have read. Haven't read the sequels though.

 

[RS4-]

Pushing Ice by Alstair Reynolds is really good. A single story, quick read, satisfying from start to end. I also liked his other standalone SF works [House of Suns and Terminal World].

edit - OMG he has a new one out!!! Revenger.

Oh yeah, forgot about the Alastair Reynolds books.

and re: Enders Game, only the first one is worth reading, sort of. The rest of the series is shit.

 

[nailbombxx]

Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon

A man astral projects himself through space and the universe and is able to see "humanity" in all of its different forms, and ultimately seeks to find the meaning of God.

Amazing book.

 

[SciencePilot]

The Three Body Problem trilogy is great. I've only read the first two so far but the second one is my favorite sci-fi novel ever. It's so unique, grand, and meticulously crafted all at once.

Right now I'm in the middle of reading The Fifth Season and it's also super good. More fantasy then sci-fi though. Also it's written by a black woman in case you wanted to expand your authorship beyond white males.

 

[hobblygobbly]

Out of your list, Larry Niven's Ringworld series, they're classics.

Also as others have said, The Culture series by Iain Banks (RIP) is excellent.

 

[DagnastyEp]

Lots of great books mentioned so far in this thread!

A series I didn't see mentioned was the Saga of Seven Suns by Kevin J. Anderson. First book (of 7) is Hidden Empire.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Out of your list, Larry Niven's Ringworld series, they're classics.

Also as others have said, The Culture series by Iain Banks (RIP) is excellent.

I didn't really like Ringworld, tbh!

 

[toweringinferno]

I'll echo what a few posters have already recommended and say The Expanse series.

 

[Cyan]

But someone I would recommend to anyone because she is an awesome author is Lois McMaster Bujold. I'd probably start with her Vorkosigan series and read them in chronological order. She has won multiple Hugo awards so it is not just me that thinks she is great!

Seconded. Lois McMaster Bujold is one of my absolute favorites. The Vorkosigan series is mostly space opera and so lighter than many of the recommendations here, but she's a wonderful writer whose characters are fascinating and full of heart, and she always touches on deeper themes.

 

[Hazmat]

Check out A Canticle for Leibowitz.

 

[sans_pants]

In a vague order from best to worst, some big ones you are missing. The Soviets did some of the best scifi and you don't seem to have much from them.

Strugatsky Bros
Roadside Picnic
Hard to be a God
(If you like these, pretty much everything I've read of them is great: Definitely Maybe, Final Circle of Paradise, The Doomed City, Noon: 22nd Century)

Bester
The Demolished Man

Lem
Solaris

Stephenson
The Diamond Age

Zelazny
Lord of Light

Theodore Sturgeon
More Than Human

Niven and Pournelle
The Mote in God's Eye

Wyndham
Chocky
The Chrysalids

Niven
Ringworld

Clarke
The Fountains of Paradise

Anderson
Tau Zero

Glukhovsky
Metro 2033

 

[Screaming Meat]

Not enough Dick.

Ubik.

 

[Hellers]

I'll give the same answer I always give. The Number of the Beast by good old Rob Heinlein

 

[LayLa]

Rendezvous With Rama is good, but stay away from the terrible sequels ugh.
Culture books by Iain M Banks. All of them.
Alistair Reynolds is uneven, I really liked House Of Suns and his short stories.
Stanislaw Lem is very 70s but good stuff, most famous for Solaris.
Carrying on the Tarkovsky connection Roadside Picnic by Strugatsky brothers is short but well worth reading.
If you really want a trip try Hannu Rajaniemi, his books are insane!

 

[SJRB]

Currently reading Kim Stanley Robinson's Aurora.

Critically acclaimed, but I'm not entirely sure if I actually like it though, haha.

 

[andythinkpad]

I've been debating Ender's Game but I understood it to be more of a kid's book and I'm apprehensive about the author's worldview.



I do like cyberpunk! I just haven't read much. Really enjoyed Neuromancer and need to get to the sequels. Snow Crash is one of my favorite books ever.

Thanks for all the recomendations so far, I'll look into everything!

Feel free to add more, I'll be bookmarking my thread

I have 2015's Kindle so nothing is out of reach.

I have edited my previous post so you can see my additional recommendation list. Just a comment on you want to read list.

Left hand of the Darkness is not much of a sci-fi novel, just so your know. I think Le Guin write much better fantasy stories (Earthsea series) than sci-fi stories.

Hyperion is very great, even the sequal is pretty good. But the 3rd and 4th books are absolutely terrible. But book 1 is great.

I have a pet theory that some novelists only has 1 or 2 great sci-fi novel in them. I would check out Iain M. Banks's early Culture series, particular Player of the Game and Use of Weapons. You can leave the rest.

 

[Harlock]

 

[Spanx McFranks]

Read This Perfect Day by Ira Levin. It was a very good book in the vein of Brave New World.

 

[Dog Problems]

Not enough Dick.

Ubik.

Definitely.

I'll add The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Flow My Tears the Policeman Said, and A Maze of Death.

 

[MrOogieBoogie]

The Hyperion Cantos.

My favorite sci-fi book. Shocked to not see it on your already extensive list. You must read it.

 

[andythinkpad]

I didn't really like Ringworld, tbh!

What are your favorite sci-fi books so people can recommend based on them.

Only the first Ringworld book is good anyway.

 

[Weetrick]

Was going to recommend The Stars My Destination but you already got it covered. Good job OP.

 

[Gabriel_Logan]

If you like Mass Effect read Revelation Space, the book Mass Effect borrowed its ideas from.

 

[HotHamBoy]

.

Hey buddy, I think you misunderstood. My OP is a lost of books I already read, that includes Neuromancer and Snow Crash.

Was going to recommend The Stars My Destination but you already got it covered. Good job OP.

One of my favorites, so good!

What are your favorite sci-fi books so people can recommend based on them.

Only the first Ringworld book is good anyway.

Well, I loved the Dune series and Heinland's stuff. Huge fan of Jack Vance's prose style. Loved Snow Crash. Vonnegut's great. The Road was fantastic.

I like a lot of the stuff I have read, I don't remember some of it very well because it has been awhile.

But I like some authors' prose more than others.

 

[whatsinaname]

Rendezvous With Rama is good, but stay away from the terrible sequels ugh.
Culture books by Iain M Banks. All of them.
Alistair Reynolds is uneven, I really liked House Of Suns and his short stories.
Stanislaw Lem is very 70s but good stuff, most famous for Solaris.
Carrying on the Tarkovsky connection Roadside Picnic by Strugatsky brothers is short but well worth reading.
If you really want a trip try Hannu Rajaniemi, his books are insane!

Another vote from my end for Rajaniemi's le Flambeur trilogy. (And all of LayLa's other suggestions!)

 

[Rudimental]

Dayworld by Philip Jose Farmer (rest of the series is a bit hit and miss, but first book is great), or the Riverworld books if you want a series, starts with To Your Scattered Bodies Go.
A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg
Permutation City by Greg Egan, also Diaspora

 

[Uzzy]

I recommend Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie. It won practically every award in Sci-Fi books the year it came out, and is really top-notch. The other two books in the series, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy, are also highly recommended.

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Vernor Vinge. A Fire Upon the Deep, A Deepness in the Sky.

 

[Timeaisis]

You've only read one Clarke and one PKD? Well, there's your answer, OP.

 

[HotHamBoy]

You've only read one Clarke and one PKD? Well, there's your answer, OP.

Yeah, what other Clarke and PKD books are considered the best? I was thinking The Man In The High Castle should be on that list.

Hey, should I watch The Expanse tv show or just read the books? I do need a new show and I haven't seen a good scifi show in a loooong time. But if the books are a lot better I guess I don't want to ruin them by watching the show first.

As for my next book, I think I'm leaning towards A Fire Upon the Deep.

 

[andythinkpad]

Hey buddy, I think you misunderstood. My OP is a lost of books I already read, that includes Neuromancer and Snow Crash.

No I know. I was just writing those 2 paragraphs for any GAFer who is not familiar with Gibson or Stephenson.

 

[Mareg]

I'm currently investing all my reading hours into the Horus Heresy. I think I'm on book 18 or so.
I highly recommend it if you want to get into the lore of space marines. It is nice to have all that background when going into games made within the same lore.

Emperor protects ! The only truth is the imperial truth. Burn all other books. They are the works of heretics.

 

[DragonGirl]

Might I suggest C.J. Cherryh? I love her Chanur saga books.

 

[Any Questions]

The Hyperion Cantos.

My favorite sci-fi book. Shocked to not see it on your already extensive list. You must read it.

Have read it twice. Really good. Also some great books in this list. Glad to say have also read most already suggested. So.... Where is all the....

Neal Asher. Go look now! Totally hooked on these. The Cormack novels are fantastic

 

[Hesemonni]

IAnyway, here are some books I'm considering but I'd love to know where you think I should start and what else I should at to the list:

The Left Hand of Darkness by Usula K. LeGuin
Gene Wolf's Book of the New Sun
More Neil Stephenson but not sure what
Rendezvous with Rama by Asimov (though I'm not that into him)
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Neil Gaiman?

You're set here. Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion blow my mind pretty much everytime I read 'em. Can't go wrong with Vinge either.

Also Culture novels from Iain M. Banks.

And also what this scholar and a gentleman here suggests.