Newer Sci-fi

[Hampshire Nanny]

I have picked up a couple of pretty-good SF novels by less-known authors. Best of those have been Fire with Fire by Charles Gannon and Constitution by Nick Webb. Both are space fiction. Fire with Fire is a free book from Amazon, so nothing lost but your time if you don't like it. I thought it felt a little bit unfinshed at the end, but since it's the first of a series, that may have been intentional. Constitution is available through Kindle Lending Library and Kindle Unlimited, so it can be inexpensive to check out.

And a book that I *just* finished and thought was marvelous is Harmony by C. F. Bentley. This was quite different from the other two in that it had very little technology in it and dealt more with human interactions -- a lost colony kind of story with a smattering of aliens.

One other author and series that I've found enjoyable has been Old Man's War by John Scalzi and its sequels.

[thb]

Hi,

may I suggest James P. Hogan's "Giant" books?

To quote from the blurb: "The man on the moon was dead. They called him Charlie. He had big eyes, abundant body hair and fairly long nostrils. His skeletal body was found clad in a bright red spacesuit, hidden in a rocky grave. They didn't know who he was, how he got there, or what had killed him. All they knew was that his corpse was 50,000 years old -- and that meant that this man had somehow lived long before he ever could have existed!"

Rdgs,
Thomas

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by thb

may I suggest James P. Hogan's "Giant" books?

Urghh... no. They just rub me the wrong way entirely. Immanuel Velikovsky's ideas do not make good science fiction.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Urghh... no. They just rub me the wrong way entirely. Immanuel Velikovsky's ideas do not make good science fiction.

I really enjoyed them .

[kennyc]

To each moderator his own eh?

[Alpha o]

Thanks everyone. I can't tell you what the reader decided, he hasn't read through all the list yet.

Seriously - I gave him one of the first Rokus when they came out and he let it sit for 2 years since he was too lazy to figure out what it was for. I finally installed it for MLB, and by that time the Roku 3 was out!

[kyteflyer]

I've been a scifi fan since I was 12 (I'm now 65) and have eventually come down on the side of what seems to be Hard SF, so I read Stephen Baxter (I loved Flood, and Ark) and Ben Bova (the Grand Tour series which I sadly read out of order, starting with the Mars books). The authors are both very knowledgeable in terms of physics/science and don't step too far beyond the bounds of a possible future for this planet and solar system, so no bug-eyed monsters and the like. There are many others, as well, but those two are my absolute favourites.

[kennyc]

Not Hard-Hard SF but one of the truly enjoyable new SF books I've read in the last few years is Faith by John Love it didn't seem to make much of an impact on the community though.

[Teknikal]

I just read the Troy Rising series by John Ringo and enjoyed it. I tend to enjoy Military Scifi mostly though. Actually just started on the Frontiers Saga by Ryk Brown it has the feel of a darker star trek in my opinion I'm liking that as well though.

[Alpha o]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I recommend the Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton.

1. Pandora's Star
2. Judas Unchained

He didn't like Pandora's Star. I grabbed it and am currently enjoying it, so thanks.

[mewmartigan]

Originally Posted by Alpha o

He didn't like Pandora's Star. I grabbed it and am currently enjoying it, so thanks.

I thought Pandora's Star started a little slow and had a ridiculous amount of threads/characters going in the beginning. It picks up near the middle/end though and Judas Unchained is great.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Alpha o

He didn't like Pandora's Star. I grabbed it and am currently enjoying it, so thanks.

I really liked them. The next two books in order are...

Commonwealth: Chronicle of the Fallers
1. The Abyss Beyond Dreams (2014)
2. A Night Without Stars (2016)

A Night Without Stars is due out the end of September.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I really liked them. The next two books in order are...

Commonwealth: Chronicle of the Fallers
1. The Abyss Beyond Dreams (2014)
2. A Night Without Stars (2016)

A Night Without Stars is due out the end of September.

Why on earth would you suggest that those are "the next" books? The Void Trilogy are the next books set in Hamilton's Commonwealth Universe. And "Misspent Youth" was the first. None of which really hold a candle to Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained, in my opinion.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Teknikal

I just read the Troy Rising series by John Ringo and enjoyed it. I tend to enjoy Military Scifi mostly though. Actually just started on the Frontiers Saga by Ryk Brown it has the feel of a darker star trek in my opinion I'm liking that as well though.

I'll have to check those out.

Darker than Star Trek: Deep Space 9?

That could be pretty dark ("In the Pale Moonlight" is one of the best episodes, I think.)

But all in all what like about most ST is lightness.

[Teknikal]

Originally Posted by ApK

I'll have to check those out.

Darker than Star Trek: Deep Space 9?

That could be pretty dark ("In the Pale Moonlight" is one of the best episodes, I think.)

But all in all what like about most ST is lightness.

I'd put it closer to voyager (at least the first half of the story) but basically think a less advanced than voyager warship, it does quite a good job with making you like the crew and adding new characters to keep things fresh.

It's a lot more military style than any of the star treks but apart from that I did get the same kind of vibe.