Support NeoGAF

[Burger]

Very soon I would have finished "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson (not scifi, but recommended none the less)

So, I want a new Sci-Fi book to read. Preferably reasonably new (no Asimov or Clarke).

I have read the following books and enjoyed them:

Anything by Alistair Reynolds (haven't read Absolution Gap - not heard good things)
Redemption Ark by Peter F. Hamilton (Neutronium Alchemist was worse, don't want to continue to next book)
Some Greg Bear, and some Ben Bova
Mars series by Kim Stanley Robinson

So what are you reading and do you recommend it ?

 

[Deku Tree]

Have you read anything by Robert Anton Wilson?

 

[Burger]

Nope

 

[Fatghost]

Not new, but the original six Dune books are awesome.

 

[Deku Tree]

I thought the illuminatus trilogy (sp) was fun in a very drugged out 70's kind of way.
It might be kind of hard to find though.
The rest of Robert Anton Wilsons books that I read were pretty bad though.

 

[BastardSamurai]

Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan.

"William Gibson crossed with Raymond Chandler" is pretty accurate.

 

[pops619]

I've been reading the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, which has all five books in the series. Does that count as sci-fi? I've also been reading the second volume of Philip K. Dick's short stories. I definitely recommend all of it. Dick in general is very good. He was a very prolific writer, so there's plenty of his stuff out there to read.

 

[kumanoki]

I recommend Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

Also Perdito Street Station and The Scar by China Mieville. The Scar is by far the better story, but you should read PSS first.

 

[Error Macro]

I started reading Stranger In A Strange Land several months ago... I barely read the first part. I need to start over now that I've forgotten everything.

 

[J2 Cool]

Armor, finished part 1. Quite a bad ass book but part 2 isn't about the same guy so it's kinda hard to jump right back in. It's like another story. But everything I read thus far of it's been fantastic.

 

[nitewulf]

Very soon I would have finished "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson (not scifi, but recommended none the less)

So, I want a new Sci-Fi book to read. Preferably reasonably new (no Asimov or Clarke).

I have read the following books and enjoyed them:

Anything by Alistair Reynolds (haven't read Absolution Gap - not heard good things)
Redemption Ark by Peter F. Hamilton (Neutronium Alchemist was worse, don't want to continue to next book)
Some Greg Bear, and some Ben Bova
Mars series by Kim Stanley Robinson

So what are you reading and do you recommend it ?

redemption ark is by alistair reynolds, second novel in the revelation space trilogy, absolution gap being the third.
i have just finished revelation space and redemption ark, both utterly fantastic. cant wait for absolution gap and chasm city. i'm also thinking of buying two of his novellas that just came out bound together.
currently im reading altered carbon by richard morgan and king rat by china mieville, next up is perdido street station by the same author.
contemporary brit sci-fi is kicking my ass.

 

[MC Safety]

Homeward Bound by Harry Turtledove.

It's the last part of a fairly good series. Aliens invade Earth during World War II, and the books follow history up until present day and beyond to the early 21st century.

 

[kumanoki]

If you're even slightly interested in a Sci-Fi story involving religion, I highly recommend the twin novels The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. Not quite what I expected, but a well-written, thought-provoking Sc-Fi read.

 

[Burger]

redemption ark is by alistair reynolds, second novel in the revelation space trilogy, absolution gap being the third.
i have just finished revelation space and redemption ark, both utterly fantastic. cant wait for absolution gap and chasm city. i'm also thinking of buying two of his novellas that just came out bound together.
currently im reading altered carbon by richard morgan and king rat by china mieville, next up is perdido street station by the same author.
contemporary brit sci-fi is kicking my ass.

Sorry, I mean't The Reality Dysfunction, which was good. Redemption Ark kicked ass.

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days by AR are very very very good. Diamond Dogs is one of my favorite stories ever.

Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone.

 

[Jak140]

After trying to get through The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and giving up after about 100 pages, I'm currently attempting to read Job. I'm finding Heinlein to be greatly overrated. Sure he gets no demerits from me in the imagination department, but his prose leaves a lot to be desired and his characterization and dialogue just plain fucking suck.

 

[Spike]

Ender Saga by Orson Scott Card:

Ender's Game
Speaker for the Dead
Xenocide
Children of the Mind

Hyperion Saga by Dan Simmons

Hyperion
The Fall of Hyperion
Endymion
Rise of Endymion

Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

Dune - Frank Herbert

 

[android]

I'm reading Harry Turtledove's World War series. Neat twists on the past we all know if an alien force struck at the height of humanity's hatred during the Second World War.

Tad Williams sadly continues to plod through the Otherland series. It should have been two giant books rather than four.

I enjoyed David Brin's Kiln People, which was a interesting take on a mystery novel. I also like I am Legend by Richard Matheson, which is more horror but still has a scifi base.
Gridlinked by Neal Asher is pretty good.

 

[Mama Smurf]

Some rather loose sci-fi definitions here.

I can't admit to reading too much sci-fi, and I wasn't particularly impressed by Redemption Ark while you were, so maybe our tastes are different, but I just recently finished the first Dune book and liked it. Probably helps that it's as much fantasy as sci-fi, it's pretty hard to define.

 

[Brimstone]

Sten Allan Cole & Chris Bunch
Emergence David R. Palmer
A Matter For Men David Gerrold

 

[6.8]

Hitchhicker's guide to the galaxy

 

[Prospero]

James Morrow is pretty neglected these days--science fiction as religious satire.

Try This is the Way the World Ends first, but you should also look at Towing Jehovah and Only Begotten Daughter.

 

[Manics]

I'm currently reading "Dune: The Butlerian Jihad" (still)

I recommend: "The Forever War" - Joe Haldeman just because it's a damn good read.

 

[Kseutron]

Ender Saga by Orson Scott Card:

Ender's Game
Speaker for the Dead
Xenocide
Children of the Mind

Hyperion Saga by Dan Simmons

Hyperion
The Fall of Hyperion
Endymion
Rise of Endymion

Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

Dune - Frank Herbert

ender's saga > very very good

 

[Manics]

ender's saga > very very good

The original Ender's books are very good I agree. I was totally into both Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide. I also read the parallel Ender novels with Bean as the protagonist. Not as good but still a decent read. The first one of those is Ender's Shadow.

 

[FnordChan]

I recommend Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

Seconded!

If you're even slightly interested in a Sci-Fi story involving religion, I highly recommend the twin novels The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell.

I'd never heard of those, but will defiantely be checking them out. Meanwhile, my own religious SF recommendation, which I flog every time one of these threads comes up, is James Morrow's Towing Jehovah. The title is literal and the book is excellent. Glad to see Prospero's down with the Morrow sound as well.

Meanwhile, I just finished reading a bunch of ultra-fluffy space opera that's so Star Wars it features the female royalty of a destroyed planet who hooks up with a loveable rogue flying a disc shapped starship with a Wookie engineer. That said, Debra Doyle and James MacDonald's Mageworld series is a lot of fun, in an ephemeral sort of way. Star with The Price of the Stars.

After trying to get through The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and giving up after about 100 pages, I'm currently attempting to read Job.

I've always considered The Moon is a Harsh Mistress to be Heinlein's best, most accessable (well, outside of his juvinilles) book, so if you aren't digging on it I can't recommend you keep trying to get through Job. However, you may enjoy one of the many heirs to Heinlein that are declared every few years. I'm particularly fond of John Barnes, particularly his Meme Wars (loose) series. Orbital Resonance is about kids growing up in space and is a fast, fantastic read.

What, no love for Vernor Vinge? Granted, A Fire Upon The Deep is beginning to show it's age after 14 years, but it's still a truly glorious novel. Vinge busts out his Singularity routine to excellent effect, creates one of the best alien species ever, and throws in highly amusing bits about the galactic Usenet, just for kicks. What's not to love? Highest possible recommendation; the follow-up novel A Deepenss in the Sky - a very, very loose prequel - is perhaps even better, and certainly a whole lot harsher.

And, for final proof that I'm a whore for serial fiction, I highly recommend Lois Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan books, which is what happens when you write military SF with truly wonderful characterization, humor, and even a bit of romance. And, since folks keep giving Bujold the Hugo awards, it obviously isn't just me. Start with the omnibus Young Miles; if you enjoy it, backtrack to Cordellia's Honor and go from there.

FnordChan

 

[Kola]

Stanislaw Lem - Solaris
H.G. Wells - The War of the Worlds
Card - Ender's Game

The first two are great books, especially Solaris. Ender's Game was nice, but compared to the other two it's quite lame.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Actually, I just finished reading The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy not more than five minutes ago. Lovely book.

 

[hiryu]

Armor, finished part 1. Quite a bad ass book but part 2 isn't about the same guy so it's kinda hard to jump right back in. It's like another story. But everything I read thus far of it's been fantastic.

I read Armor back in high school and enjoyed it very much. I didn't know there was a sequel. I will have to check that out.

 

[Falch]

+

+

Great, great books.

 

[Manics]

+

+

Great, great books.

Is that the correct order to read them in?

 

[Ford Prefect]

I second the love of both Hitchhiker's Guide and Ender/Bean series, but when it comes to truly mind-blowing Sci-Fi:

Arthur C. Clarke is a God among men!

 

[nitewulf]

by the way, here's a short story by alastair reynolds, if you are interested in his writing style, you can check it out.
A Spy in Europa
and king rat isn't a sci-fi novel, i mentioned it because china mieville does write sci-fi. king rat is an urban fantasy tale.

 

[SD-Ness]

Like others have said, the Ender Saga, by Orson Scott Card, is very good. Card is definitely my favorite science fiction author so I'm going to have to recommend his other novels too.

Ender's Saga
Ender's Game
Speaker for the Dead
Xenocide
Children of the Mind
-----
Shadow Saga
Ender's Shadow
Shadow of the Hegemon
Shadow Puppets
Shadow of the Giant (Being released in March.)
-----
First Meetings : In the Enderverse

Homecoming Saga
The Memory of Earth
The Call of Earth
The Ships of Earth
Earthbound
Earthfall

Tales of Alvin Maker
Seventh Son
Red Prophet
Prentice Alvin
Alvin Journeyman
Heartfire
The Crystal City

Pastwatch
Enchantment
The Worthing Saga

 

[J2 Cool]

I read Armor back in high school and enjoyed it very much. I didn't know there was a sequel. I will have to check that out.

I don't think there is. It's just broken into 4 parts, the whole book, and from the beginning of this other story arc it's completely unrelated to everything they built on but supposedly some characters return so. But yeah, it's really good. The writing style keeps me interested even when it's not very action heavy.

 

[Star Power]

I'm not reading a Sci-Fi book...