Anyone recommend any Sci-Fi books ?

[Lamp]

Im only interested in pure science fiction books in this thread.

I'm kinda new to the sci-fi book scene, having read The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton. I loved it ! Complex, intelligently written, and played across a massive backdrop, it had me page turning like crazy!

Can anyone recommend some really good sci-fi books ?

Thanks

 

[cHodAX]

I am reading Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton at the moment, very very slow to start off with but a truely epic story.

Would recommend Eon by Greg Bear, an absolute sci-fi classic.

 

[Lamp]

Eon by Greg Bear

Cool. Thx m8. Will write that one down.

 

[cHodAX]

Cool. Thx m8. Will write that one down.

There are a couple of follow-ups to Eon that are decent but the first really is a great great book. After that I would recommend the Foundation books by Isaac Asimov if you haven't already read them.

 

[Aiteal]

Ian M Banks
Excession, Look to Windward,

If by pure sci-fi you mena what reviewers call hard sci-fi
Big spaceships, gadgets, alien cultures, AI's etc

you can get a bit of background on his novels here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture

 

[cHodAX]

Ian M Banks
Excession, Look to Windward,

If by pure sci-fi you mena what reviewers call hard sci-fi
Big spaceships, gadgets, alien cultures, AI's etc

you can get a bit of background on his novels here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture

Banks is highly critically acclaimed and I really like the ideas he bases the books on but his writting style just leaves me cold.

 

[Lamp]

Ian M Banks
Excession, Look to Windward,

If by pure sci-fi you mena what reviewers call hard sci-fi
Big spaceships, gadgets, alien cultures, AI's etc

you can get a bit of background on his novels here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture

Yeah that kinda stuff. Especially the whole alien worlds / monsters / culture thing.

 

[Aiteal]

Banks is highly critically acclaimed and I really like the ideas he bases the books on but his writting style just leaves me cold.

Sometimes it can be really heavy going yeah
Reread the algebraist a few weeks back, and forgot how heavy going it could be at times, altough it isn't one of the culture novels.
Which I think are better written.

But mostly I like the "socialist" politics of the culture and absolutly love some of the ship names.

He's probably the only hard sci fi authour I read and enjoy.
I tend to prefer hazy sci fi like Kurt Vonnegut, Michael Moorcock and Neal Stephenson, and near future post-human/cyberpunk authors like Gibson and Sterling.


Vonnegut is a wonderful writer, everything from slaughterhouse 5 to his current memoirs man without a country is uplifting to read, and agreeing with his politics makes it more pleasurable.


Bruce Sterlings novel Holy Fire is really good, it's easy to relate to if you look at the situation here in the west, people living longer and a drop in the birth rate.
Take the current situation and add 40 years on and you have a society where baby boomers have pretty much all the wealth and power in society tied up in property etc, and the younger people have to work to support them and yet are underrepresented in politics and have little money.
With all teh money they have, the baby boomers have invested in life prolonging medical techology that lets them live not only for much longer but makes them look like 20 somethings, and with all their wealth lead lives of leisure.

Intresting read and like all good sci fi makes you think.

 

[Alan]

Try a classic like Ringworld and the Man-Kzin wars books by Larry Niven

 

[Shagrat]

Anything by Philip K Dick is good (Bladerunner was based on one of his books, as have a number of other films been).

The Hyperion and Endymion series, by Dan Simmons, are both good but very heavy reads.

Peter Hamilton is good (as the first poster said), got all his books, very much in the epic sci-fi/space opera mould

 

[Yshynsin]

My grandfather got me reading the Riverworld Series by Philip Jose Farmer

Seems pretty good, sci-fi/fantasy

 

[Adrianicus]

Does Star Wars count?

Some of the best books I've read and if only they made the films based on these rather than the tripe of the last 3.

They are really good and most are based after the return of the jedi.

Lots of new characters, some deaths too.

Try them for something different especially if your a star wars fan.

 

[Svartmetall]

The 'Gap' series by Stephen Donaldson is some of the best sci-fi I have ever read. Also buy 'The Forge Of God' by Greg Bear, fucking incredible...and every one of the Culture books by Iain M. Banks, sheer genius.

 

[Svartmetall]

Ian M Banks
Excession, Look to Windward,

If by pure sci-fi you mena what reviewers call hard sci-fi
Big spaceships, gadgets, alien cultures, AI's etc

you can get a bit of background on his novels here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Culture

The Culture novels just completely fucking own...anyone who can come up with the idea of a 50-kilometre-long ship called 'No More Mr. Nice Guy' is good in my book...

 

[DocWolfe]

The "Dune" series by Frank Herbert is always worthwhile

The original novel, Dune, was rejected by twenty publishers; it has since become the bestselling science fiction novel of all time, selling more than twelve million copies, including millions more of the five sequels.

 

[DocWolfe]

oooh, just read on Wikipedia that Frank Herberts son, is releasing a further two books in the saga this year and next year (apparently). He's a best selling author himself so I cant see them being crap. They're based on his fathers notes and the conversations he had with his father on the subject.

 

[Zede]

Ken MacLeod : The Cassini Division / Cosmonaut Keep

Stephen Baxter : Time / Space / Origin

Neal Stephenson : Snow Crash

& any early gibson -: Burning Chrome/MonaLisa Overdrive/Nueromancer/Count Zero

 

[Svartmetall]

Meep, yes, I forgot about Baxter's 'Xeelee' sequence, all worth reading; 'Ring' may be the best of them.

 

[crispy]

Hear alot of good critique about the Dune series. The series the game Dune was built on.

 

[Darzil]

The trick for Dune for me is to start reading it, and just continue. The first few pages make no sense at all, but if you let it wash over you it makes sense in time.

Can just echo much of the other sentiments, really. I enjoy the Peter F Hamilton stuff (think I have them all now), and always find I can't put Iain Banks stuff down (even if I sometimes don't exactly enjoy it).

Used to play a sci-fi play-by-mail, and had great fun with Culture style ship names - My horribly beweaponed cruiser 'Peacemonger' sticks in the mind.

Darzil

 

[Cyrsur]

Starship troopers by heinrich or something like that.

 

[Serbitar]

aye the dune series is very good.

Also try:

Of Man and Manta by Piers Anthony
Fractal Mode also by Piers Anthony (I think)
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, also his Space Ranger Series are quite good and easy reading
Hot Sky at Midnight by Robert Silverberg

 

[Lamp]

Today I bought Eon (Greg Bear) and Coalescent (Stephen Baxter). Just started reading Eon

 

[Roalith]

Virtually any book by Robert A Heinlein (Including Starship Troopers, as noted by Cyrsur above). Best of his I've read I'd have to say is Time Enough for Love - might have a soppy title, not that soppy a book.

Problem with the Big Three as they were known (Robert A Heinlein, Arthur C Clarke, Isaac Asimov were amongst the best known bestselling Sci-Fi authors. They all began writing in the 40s - I believe) is that they haven't aged particularly well compared to a lot of the more modern Sci-fi.

Another vote for Stephen Donaldson's Gap series. If you're a fantasy fan too, it'd be worth looking at the Thomas Covenant series too. In a similar vein to Bank's Culture series, however, he is a very cold and disturbing writer.

Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos are amongst my absolute favourites. Guy is a stunning writer, and some of his theorising on religion is well worth sparing a thought for.

And of course there's Peter F Hamilton's Reality Dysfunction series, as well as the newer Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained pair of books. His Greg Mandelson series is pretty good for near-future fiction too.

Oh, and mustn't forget Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and the series following it. Absolute classic relatively modern sci-fi, very accessible even for younger children.

 

[old.Tohtori]

The Bible!

 

[[GOA]Erivoss]

Like others have mentioned:

Iain M Banks is good (if you like his style) - just finished The Algebraist and really enjoyed it.

Gap series very good as is the Reality Dysfunction.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons is excellent.

Also find that the short stories written by Arthur C. Clark are always excellent (his novels too but sometimes it's nice just to read short stories too ).

 

[Lamp]

I could never get into Iain Banks style of writing. Maybe I should try again...

 

[old.windforce]

Ender series, starting with Enders game by Orson Scot Card
anything by Orson Scot Card is good

Read most of the books mentioned here and i find the original Dune serie best. If you are a fanboi of DUne the books of his son are problaly an insult. I liked them because the breath the atmosphere.
The Ender serie is very nice.

Also

Foundation series by Isac Isamov (spelling?)
Robot serie (robots and Imperium etc.) same autor

 

[Mikah75]

im reading the bible currently
some good stories, i wont say much more as i dont want to offend people and start an arguement
you learn a lot of stuff though

 

[Jiggs]

Of the ones mentioned, I liked the sci-fi of Banks, Simmons and Bear. I didn't see anyone mention Neuromancer by Gibson, which is also a good read - haven't read any of his other books though. I liked the Red Dwarf books a lot too.