Sci-Fi Fan needs some recommendations

[OverHaze]

Hi

Since I finished reading Spin by Robert Charles Wilson I have been casting about unable to find a new sci-fi novel to sink my teeth into. I put a unfortunate amount of time into The Reality Disfunction before I realized I found the central conceit of the villains too stupid to take the book or its universe seriously. So now I need recommendations.

My favorite books are Anathem, A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky, The Forever War and Hyperion.

Basically I love an intelligent Space Opera, the exploration of a strange yet believable world and the struggle of a soldier caught in the stupidity of war.

Any ideas?

[JSWolf]

Give John Scalzi's Old man's War series a go. I think you'll enjoy it.

[Graham]

Old Man's War, by John Scalzi.

More detective Noir than war, but Chasm City, by Alistair Reynolds (and Reynolds generally for sweeping space opera).

Various books from Iain Banks's Culture series. Consider Phlebas is a good place to start.

Graham

[HarryT]

I'd 2nd the recommendation for Iain Bank's "Culture" series. Space Opera at its intelligent best.

[euro traveler]

Hi OverHaze,

I also love sci-fi and space opera.

Several years ago I read Rebecca Ore's Saga of Tom Red-Clay,
now seemingly retitled The Alien Trilogy. The three novels are:

1. Becoming Alien
2. Being Alien
3. Human to Human

There's some info at: http://www.aqueductpress.com/books/A...#becomingalien
and they're also available on Amazon.

I read the hardcover versions and have been waiting for them to become available as ebooks and they just recently have.

And if you love space operas, Orson Scott Card's stories in his Ender series are really good. Read Ender's Game to start and you'll know if it's for you. Same goes for the first book in The Alien Trilogy.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by euro traveler

And if you love space operas, Orson Scott Card's stories in his Ender series are really good. Read Ender's Game to start and you'll know if it's for you.

I'd be a little wary of saying that, because "Ender's Game" is absolutely NOTHING like the rest of the series. Anyone who reads "Ender's Game" and then buys "Speaker for the Dead", thinking that it's going to be "more of the same", is probably in for a disappointment. I'm not saying the SFTD is any less good, but it's a totally different type of book.

[Ninjalawyer]

I'd probably read The Fall of Hyperion in case you haven't already. Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion are effectively one book split into two. The sequels to Spin, being Axis and Vortex, are disappointing and fantastic respectively.

I would also recommend the books Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan, and maybe Dark Eden if you're interested in something different. Altered Carbon takes is a detective novel of sorts that involves a future Earth changed by the fact that most people have continuous backups of their personalities. Dark Eden involves the descendants of a crashed ship making their way on a planet that has no sunlight, only light from bio-luminescent plants and animals.

Peter F. Hamilton's space operas get steadily better, and his Commonwealth series of books do not involve the ghost of Al Capone.

Edit

I also recommend Chasm City. That book was enjoyable, although the series does not have a particularly satisfying (IMO) resolution.

[OverHaze]

Thanks, great recommendations so far.

Thing about Ender's Game is even though I'm sure I would enjoy the book I just can't bring myself to buy something written by Orson Scott Card.

Still though card and his prejudices have nothing to do with this thread so moving right along!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

Peter F. Hamilton's space operas get steadily better, and his Commonwealth series of books do not involve the ghost of Al Capone.

That's a big let down not to have Al Capone's ghost.

[OverHaze]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

I'd probably read The Fall of Hyperion in case you haven't already. Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion are effectively one book split into two. The sequels to Spin, being Axis and Vortex, are disappointing and fantastic respectively.

I would also recommend the books Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan, and maybe Dark Eden if you're interested in something different. Altered Carbon takes is a detective novel of sorts that involves a future Earth changed by the fact that most people have continuous backups of their personalities. Dark Eden involves the descendants of a crashed ship making their way on a planet that has no sunlight, only light from bio-luminescent plants and animals.

Peter F. Hamilton's space operas get steadily better, and his Commonwealth series of books do not involve the ghost of Al Capone.

Edit

I also recommend Chasm City. That book was enjoyable, although the series does not have a particularly satisfying (IMO) resolution.

I enjoyed the Commonwealth series, thats what made me go back and look at his earlier stuff. Flipping ghosts! All that build up and the unstoppable invaders are ghosts!

[fjtorres]

Adventure stories with a hard SF edge:
James P. Hogan - Inherit the Stars (and sequels), Thrice upon a time, Voyage from yesteryear, Proteus Operation
Niven & Pournelle - Mote in God's Eye
Poul Anderson - Tau Zero, There will be time, Brain Wave
Gordon R. Dickson - Time Storm
James Blish - Cities in flight, Quincunx of time
Alan Dean Foster - Flinx/Humanx Commonwealth series

[AndrewH]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

I would also recommend the books Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan

Another vote for the Takeshi Kovacs series! I've only read the first two so far, the first is more detective noir while the second is military sci fi.

How about the Dune series by Frank Herbert?

[usuallee]

Ya gotta read The Risen Empire & The Killing of Worlds by Scott Westerfeld. Best space opera I ever read, it's phenomenal.

I'd also recommend The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Excellent, literate, nuanced (albeit dark) first contact story.

[Rizla]

Robert Charles Wilson is a really good writer.
Definitely try Iain Banks.
I would also highly recommend Andrei and Boris Strugatsky. Wonderful writers. You can find their most well-known text online here: http://lib.ru/STRUGACKIE/engl_picnic.txt

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by usuallee

I'd also recommend The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Excellent, literate, nuanced (albeit dark) first contact story.

Speaking of Russell:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...list-novelist/

The Sparrow may be coming to TV.
(She also had to find a new publisher because Random House wasn't interested in her "literate, nuanced" work.)
Both are signs of the times...