13 sci-fi series starters to break in your new ebook reader

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Which is funny, because I was born in the seventies. But I do tend to prefer older stuff.



Give it time

I figured you were a love child. Oops.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I figured you were a love child. Oops.

I hope all children are love children

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I figured you were a love child. Oops.

Another funny answer: No. I was planned.

[pwalker8]

I've either read, or tried to read about half of them. The thing that ties them together is that they appeal to readers who read the Verge. So, can't say that I'm particularly surprised by the choices. I suspect that I would give a different set of recommendations.

[HLS]

I reccomend Seveneves. Its only one book but a potential for a sequel.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

I reccomend Seveneves. Its only one book but a potential for a sequel.

There's potential for a LOT of books in the middle too.

[HLS]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

There's potential for a LOT of books in the middle too.

Yep. Neal Stephenson can do a lot with that story. He can turn it into quite a series. I hear that Ron Howard was wanting to make a movie of it. i do not know how true that is

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

The question becomes are they good?
@ZodWallop, most appeared to be independent authors.

Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks is awful. Don't bother with it. Major waste of time.

Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh is an odd book. I cannot say if you'll like it. I did and didn't.

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey is good and so is the TV series.

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin is good, but overrated.

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie is excellent. Well worth reading.

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson is OK. But if you do read this, you'll want to continue to find out what happens.

Old Man’s War by John Scalzi is excellent. Well worth reading.

The rest I have not read.

[Penforhire]

Opinions vary. I quite liked 'Consider Phlebas' and most of his other Culture series.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Opinions vary. I quite liked 'Consider Phlebas' and most of his other Culture series.

I read it as part of a book club (in person) and most people disliked it. It didn't go over well at all. It's no sense reading a series when the first book is not good. It started out good and got worse as it went along.

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I read it as part of a book club (in person) and most people disliked it. It didn't go over well at all. It's no sense reading a series when the first book is not good. It started out good and got worse as it went along.

Perhaps Consider Phlebas is not representative of the series as a whole. My husband reads very little other than science fiction (or science fact) and Iain M Banks' Culture series is one of his all-time favourites.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

Perhaps Consider Phlebas is not representative of the series as a whole. My husband reads very little other than science fiction (or science fact) and Iain M Banks' Culture series is one of his all-time favourites.

it's not representative of a good book as well. The problem is that when the first book of a series is as bad as that, there's no reason to read any more.

[bgalbrecht]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

it's not representative of a good book as well. The problem is that when the first book of a series is as bad as that, there's no reason to read any more.

Obviously, tastes differ, but I would like to point out that unlike most series, Bank's Culture series basically have no characters in common between novels, and the main thing they have in common is a post-scarcity galactic civilization with multiple alien races, the civilization is basically run by a bunch of AIs with quirky names, and that often the AIs call on human-like characters to interact with alien races which are not part of their civilization. While Consider Phlebas, the first Culture novel published appears not to be up for any awards, most of the rest of the series were either award finalist or winners, and there is no compelling reason, other than first published to read it first, or at all.

Personally, I hated Seveneves. I felt it was bloated with infodumps, I hated most of the characters that survived the destruction of Earth's surface, and I didn't care that much for the societies that emerged in the final segment of the book. I thought the chained links and whips were cool though, and I'd love to see NASA experiment with that on the ISS, if they haven't already done so.

[DrNefario]

Opinions definitely vary. The Culture series is excellent. I didn't actually start with Consider Phlebas myself, but with the second book, and still my favourite, Player of Games. And it's not so much a series as a set of standalones in the same setting.

Downbelow Station is also one my less preferred entries in its series. Another series which isn't a series, and can be started almost anywhere.

And I didn't get much out of Old Man's War and Leviathan's Wake myself - I much prefer the TV version of the Expanse - but I know they have their fans.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Hey guys.

This article just came up on my phone and thought it would be of interest here. The Verge is recommending 13 sci-fi series for folks that got a new e-reader.

Many of the series I didn't recognize and I couldn't believe Dune wasn't on there. But then, I guess I'm just old.

Do you read many 21st century F/SF books? I've heard of all but one of them, and have read I think six. At least three contain Hugo winners, and one has been adapted into a major TV series.