Sci-Fi: Which authors, series and books have you read & would recommend?

[Blunderbuss]

I've got quite a bit in my collection, but I've read and re-read the good ones. I'm looking for some fresh pages! Here are some of my recos (some are not entirely sci-fi, but who's splitting hairs?):

 

Jack McDevitt, the Academy series and Alex Benedict series, and some of his standalone books

William C. Dietz, the Legion series and Sauron duology

Harry Turtledove, the Worldwar/Colonization series, the Days of Infamy duology, and Guns of the South

Larry Niven, et. al., the Man-Kzin Wars series

Stephen R. Donaldson, The Gap series

Jim Butcher, The Dresden Files series

Stephen King, The Dark Tower series

 

Whatchoo got?   

[IncongruousGoat]

Hmmm...

Isaac Asimov: Foundation trilogy

Alan Dean Foster: Nor Crystal Tears

David Brin: Sundiver, Startide Rising, and The Uplift War

That's all I can think of right off the top of my head.

Hopefully you like at least some of these.

[Superfluous J]

Isaac Asimov, pretty much everything but the Foundation series is my favorite. Don't read the prequels though. They're like the Star Wars prequels. And the Elijah Bailey books that were so much better than that Will Smith movie.

Robert Heinlein. Everything he wrote. Every. Single. Word. But if i had to pick something, I'd say The Man Who Sold The Moon.

Oh! And Larry Niven's The Integral Trees and The Smoke Ring. Anybody who plays KSP should read those, as these people's entire lives are lived with orbital mechanics.

Edited May 9, 2016 by 5thHorseman

[Spaceception]

Ark, Stephen Baxter

Proxima, Stephen Baxter

Do you have the Martian?

Time Riders, Alex Scarrow

Childhood's end, Arthur C. Clark

Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clark

That's all I've got

[Andem]

Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card. It was my favorite book for several years, and is a must-read.

[Just Jim]

Frank Herbert's Dune series!

And since the OP mentioned Stephen King, I would also add anything by H.P. Lovecraft into the mix.  While Lovecraft wrote mostly short stories, and is normally considered horror, there is a lot of really good science fiction in his work as well. 

[adsii1970]

I do not know if they've already been mentioned, but I would recommend Issac Asimov's Foundation series, the Robot series (since the last novel does tie into the Foundation series), Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey series (2001, 2010, 2016, and 3001 <-- sucked), and of course, the Rama series. Don't bother to read Clarke's A Time Odyssey Series with co-author Stephen Baxter... it's really, really bad...

Edited May 9, 2016 by adsii1970

[Snark]

Arthur C. Clarke, The Fountains of Paradise  (space elevator story)

Larry Niven, Ringworld, Protector, several others from around that era

Vernor Vinge:  The Peace War, Marooned in Realtime, A Fire Upon the Deep

L. Sprague de Camp, Lest Darkness Fall

Peter F. Hamilton, Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained

Joe Haldeman, Tool of the Trade

Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash

...And plenty more, but that's all I have time to type at the moment. 

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter: The long Earth series.

The Martian.

 

[HebaruSan]

Limiting myself to avoid duplicating the many good recommendations above...

• Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Footfall
• Larry Niven, A World Out of Time
• Robert L Forward, Dragon's Egg
• Robert L Forward, Timemaster
• Poul Anderson, The Boat of a Million Years
• Pick a few things by Philip K Dick at random
• Harry Turtledove and L Sprague de Camp, Down in the Bottomlands (found by thinking of its premise independently and googling it )

If you can make time for one non sci fi book:

• Joseph Heller, Catch-22

[razark]

2 hours ago, 5thHorseman said:

Robert Heinlein. Everything he wrote. Every. Single. Word.

Came here to say this.  Aside from his novels, I've really enjoyed his short stories, as well.

[Mad Rocket Scientist]

Oh, and A Wrinkle in Time and the associated series.

[StrandedonEarth]

Stephen King, you say? Gotta read The Stand. Edit: And have you read The Green Mile?

 Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Michael Flynn collaborated on a fun little salute to fandom, Fallen Angels

Some may differ, but I enjoyed The DragonRiders of Pern series by Anne McAffrey (don't bother with the later ones written or co-written by her son Todd), as well as her "Talent" series (especially the first 3, the Pegasus trilogy)

For an enjoyable taste of of intrigue and warfare in Ancient Egypt, I highly recommend River God, Warlock, and The Quest by Wilbur Smith. I was somehow disappointed by Desert God (written fourth, but chronologically second), and I'm not really sure why.

 

Edited May 10, 2016 by StrandedonEarth

[CAKE99]

H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden

I haven't read any actual paper books in MONTHS so I can't think of anything else 

If fan fiction counts then Charlie and the Flagship Factory by the FTL forum user stylesrj

[Dispatcher]

All the authors I had in mind were already mentioned.  Oh well, to reiterate:  Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke.  Also Poul Anderson, Herbert, Card.

There is also a short story by Haldeman which became the nucleus of "Forever War".  If you can find it; "Hero".

But first ... definitely find and read "First Contact" by Murray Leinster.  Not the "First Contact" you are thinking of by Sagan.  Leinster's goes way back to 1945 and it still holds up pretty well.

 

[Mjp1050]

If you haven't already, read Jules Verne's:

     Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

     Journey to the Center of the Earth

     From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon

A bit dated, but still fun to read.

Edited May 10, 2016 by Mjp1050
Apparently pushing space multiple times automatically posts. Who knew?

[legoclone09]

Well duuuh Xenocide was goo, well terrible. Go read Ender's Game though, loved the book. Not the ones after it, they weren't very good. I also loved the Martian and well, crap. That's all I've really read. I'm probably forgetting something, though. But look around in the sci-fi section of a library or a bookstore and read the back cover or inside flap, see what you like.

[Robotengineer]

Neal Stephenson, Seveneves. The Martian on steroids, set at the end of the world. Certainly read the first two parts, the latter is incredibly slow and uneventful, and could have been an appendix.

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game series, through Children of the Mind (Haven't read past CotM). There are a crap ton of other sequels and books in the same universe. 

The ABC's of mid 20th century sci-fi, Asimov, Bradbury (The Martian Chronicles) and of course, Clarke. I need to read more Heinlein (I read Have space suit, will travel a while back.) 

I'm disappointed to see no mention of Bradbury thus far. 

If you are in the mood for swashbuckling, steampunk, space-opera-esque books, check out the Mortal Engines quartet and the Larklight trilogy, by Phillip Reeve. Haven't read them in a while, but I thoroughly enjoyed them when I did.

The Martian is a no brainier. 

 

[StrandedonEarth]

6 minutes ago, Robotengineer said:

I need to read more Heinlein (I read Have space suit, will travel a while back.) 

I read that for English class, back in Grade 8 or 9. Around 30+ years ago. I should go find a copy

[RainDreamer]

A Requiem for Homo Sapiens by David Zindell. Slow paced and very philosophical, an adult novel series for a reader that prefer to think, than to be swept away by action. Very much not hard sci-fi, but don't let it deter you.

Also there's Dust by Elizabeth Bear, along with the others in the series(I have only read Dust though). Really nice novel exploring various aspects of humanity in far far future on a generation ship orbiting a dying sun. Still a quite adult novel, but accessible for younger audience.

Finally, Rocket Girls by Housuke Nojiri. It's an anime in word format, with funny hijink and action, but also emotional at times. Really fun and is intended for a young audience, but also is a hard sci-fi novel with technology matching our own, and actually show proper space stuff.

Edited May 10, 2016 by RainDreamer

[Creature]

Another vote for Vernor Vinge, especially A Deepness in the Sky is my favourite.

Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space -series is pretty great, it has minimal amount of hand-waving as far as space operas go. Main series (in this order) is Revelation Space, Chasm City, Redemption Ark, Absolution Gap and The Prefect. There's also some books in different universes and short stories from him, but Revelation Space is the best series IMO.

Iain M Banks of course! Read at least Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games, and Use of Weapons before making up your mind. Consider Phlebas is not that great but they get better and better.

Also from the more recent ones Hugh Howey's Silo series is interesting too.

For old school, read pretty much anyhing by Stanislaw Lem, Solaris being probably the most famous one.

[DMSP]

Well, I have a few, all from Kim Stanley Robinson:

-Red Mars Trilogy
-2312
-Icehenge
-Aurora (really liked this)

Nomad by (I can't remember his name) is also pretty ok.

[Harry Rhodan]

*cough*

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Rhodan

Obviously. Of course not everything, that'd be insane. Would I recommend it? Not really. Especially not from the beginning and sadly that is the only part available in english. It's just your regular cheap scifi with plots jumping from one plot device to plot device until they arrive at some deus ex machina that will help them against the current enemy. Think Doctor Who or Babylon 5 with less wit, extremely big ships, stuff that threatens entire galaxies or time itself and an insane amount of technobabble that would make Star Trek cower in shame.

[GoSlash27]

Pretty much anything from Heinlein.

Ender's Game (the book, not the series)

Jules Verne

Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

Wool (the series) - Hugh Howey

The Martian - Andy Weir

I'm also big into alternate history stories like Resurrection Day by Brendan DuBois

 

[Blunderbuss]

Great rec's everyone! Many of them I've read, most not; now I have a massive shopping list for my next few trips to Half-Price Books (I can, and have, spent hours at a time in their various area stores browsing the stacks).  Shame there isn't a printable option for this forum, unless I've gone blind, which, in my dotage, is certainly within the realm of possibility.  

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Piers Anthony or Roger Zelazny; if they have, I missed it. Some great stuff by those gents.

Please, keep 'em coming!