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sndrtj

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sndrtj

sndrtj

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Any other (sci-fi) book worms here?

I'm looking for some new books to read, as I'm through my own bookshelf. I've read all of Alastair Reynolds, Iain M Banks, Peter F Hamilton and Kim Stanley Robinson, and most of David Brin, so there's my taste in books (obviously space-opera :P). Does anyone have a suggestion for some more reading?

Thanks! :-)

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LordFerret

LordFerret

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I've not read in a while, but many years back I couldn't get enough Sci-Fi. Arthur C. Clarke was my favorite, I've read practically every book and novelette he's ever written... and many of his technical journals as well.

A few names outta the hat: Asimov (Foundation Trilogy - of course), Heinlein, Herbert, Niven & Pournelle (Ringworld / Mote In God's Eye), Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker seriers), Poul Anderson, H.G. Wells, Vonnegut, Jules Verne, Le Guin, Fredrick Pohl, Harlan Ellison (I'm Looking For Kadak), David Gerrold (When Harlie Was One), Haldeman (Mindbridge). There's just too many to name... many, the author I can't remember, but only the title... and even more only the plot and story. I had/still have a special love for authors of the 1930's & 40's ... so many great books, and as was popular back in that era - short novelettes.

I wish I still had my library. I had close to maybe 500? books (hardcovers & paperbacks), yes, belonged to a book club for many years. They were all sold off at a flea market back in 1984. (Yea, big dummy me.)

Nice to know people still read Sci-Fi books! :cool:

Edited by LordFerret
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sndrtj

sndrtj

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I've not read in a while, but many years back I couldn't get enough Sci-Fi. Arthur C. Clarke was my favorite, I've read practically every book and novelette he's ever written... and many of his technical journals as well.

A few names outta the hat: Asimov (Foundation Trilogy - of course), Heinlein, Herbert, Niven & Pournelle (Ringworld / Mote In God's Eye), Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker seriers), Poul Anderson, H.G. Wells, Vonnegut, Jules Verne, Le Guin, Fredrick Pohl, Harlan Ellison (I'm Looking For Kadak), David Gerrold (When Harlie Was One), Haldeman (Mindbridge). There's just too many to name... many, the author I can't remember, but only the title... and even more only the plot and story. I had/still have a special love for authors of the 1930's & 40's ... so many great books, and as was popular back in that era - short novelettes.

I wish I still had my library. I had close to maybe 500? books (hardcovers & paperbacks), yes, belonged to a book club for many years. They were all sold off at a flea market back in 1984. (Yea, big dummy me.)

Nice to know people still read Sci-Fi books! :cool:

Damn. I wasn't even born when you threw away all those books! :P For some reason tho, I've been somewhat hesitant to read the 1930s stuff, though I've recently read some Arthur C Clarke (The Last Theorem). I guess the advantage of the golden oldies is that there's a decent chance my local library will have them; the never seem to have the new stuff! And of course the Hitchhiker "trilogy" lines my bookshelf! :P.

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LordFerret

LordFerret

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Damn. I wasn't even born when you threw away all those books! :P For some reason tho, I've been somewhat hesitant to read the 1930s stuff, though I've recently read some Arthur C Clarke (The Last Theorem). I guess the advantage of the golden oldies is that there's a decent chance my local library will have them; the never seem to have the new stuff! And of course the Hitchhiker "trilogy" lines my bookshelf! :P.

Might I suggest for you "Before The Golden Age" by Isaac Asimov ... it's actually a collection of science fiction stories from the 1930's by various different authors. That should give you a good taste of some of the creative minds from back then. Your local library indeed should have it, and if not I'm sure they can order it for you from another branch.

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Ravenchant

Ravenchant

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I third (fourth?) Weir's The Martian. If you haven't read Rendezvous with Rama yet, do it! I actually went through it in a day, it's captivating :)

As for author suggestions- Greg Egan's work is brilliant IMHO, but he mostly deals with transhumanism and/or speculative physics so if that isn't your cup of tea it might not be worth it.

Edited by Ravenchant
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  • 1 year later...
Robotengineer

Robotengineer

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Posted

Seveneves — Neal Stephenson. Parts 1 and 2 are kind of like the Martian on steroids, except with a more realistic view of near future space achievements than the Martian. Part 3 is somewhat interesting, but sort of weakens the argument of the first two parts and is a slog to read. I'd give it 5/5 if Part 3 were better or dropped, but with part 3 it's still a 4/5. 

Just about anything by Clark, though I haven't read all of his books yet. The Martian Chronicles by Bradbury is interesting, albeit not very Sci-Fi-y. One can't forget Asimov, again not particularly hard Sci-Fi but interesting, Nightfall is good. You might call Asimov, Bradbury, and Clark the ABC's of classic Sci-Fi. 

Ender's Game, and it's direct sequels,  Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide (and Children of the Mind I suppose), I haven't read the other sequels yet. 

For non-fiction, I would select Voyager, by Stephen J. Pyne, it is an eloquently written book about the Voyager missions and quite enjoyable to read. 

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RizzoTheRat

RizzoTheRat

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Yet another vote for The Martian.  Loved Enders Game but reviews of the rest of his series seem pretty mixed.

Thanks to a discussion on another thread of this forum I'm currently reading Jules Verne From the Earth to the Moon.  Takes me a while to get in to his writing style but I'm enjoying it so far.

Other space related SciFi I've enjoyed over the years:

  • Ben Bova's Kinsman series (first permanent Lunar base)
  • Ben Bova's Voyagers series (first alien contact)
  • Greg Bear, Eon (kind of set on a space station, ish)
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Kinglet

Kinglet

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On 9. März 2016 at 11:57 PM, GoSlash27 said:

I have some more titles to add to the list:

Ready Player One - Ernest Kline

Wool- Hugh Howey

Ender's Game- Orson Scott Card

Breaking the Chains of Gravity- Amy Shira Teitel (non fiction)

 

I absolutely love the wool series. The author shows us the same main events from different perspectives throughout the series's, and it's never the same.

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11of10

11of10

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Regarding Ender's... hmm.. I read the first book, it was interesting, if somewhat strange for me (still can't put my finger on how exactly) but Speaker just bored me..

Currently, I'm re-reading Vorkosigan saga, for who knows which time. I discovered it long time ago, when my two friends bought me Shards of Honor and Barrayar for the same birthday, and got hooked.

Also, one book by Clarke that I like: 

Earthlight

Rendesvous with Rama is very good, but later books not so much, for my taste at least.

I'll add some other stuff later, as it comes to mind.

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