I need to get some new books

[TdC]

As title.

I'm pretty much a sci-fi nerd but pretend to have an open mind. I tend to read things like Alastair Reynolds, Ian Banks (which I consider "modern") and I have an errrr.... foundation in Azimov, Heinlein, Herbert, Dick, et al. I've read things like A. E. van Vogt, Ursula le Guin, and my guilty pleasure is Jack Vance (awesome btw if you've never read his work. I read cyberpunk stuff, where you could say I might actually want to be Cage from Neuromancer, at least I have the destructive part of his persona down pfff.

Anyway, that aside, I just realized that I don't seem to own a book that I've not yet read at least 10 times. I prefer physical books. Any recommendations from you all?

 

[Zarjazz]

You seem to have a fondness for Space Opera so maybe some Peter F. Hamilton or Neil Asher. Some more recent series are The Expanse books, Yoon Ha Lee (Ninefox Gambit), John Scalzi (Old Man’s War), Cixin Liu (The Three-Body Problem), Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time)

As for Cyberpunk: Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash & The Diamond Age), Richard Morgan (Altered Carbon)

Some slightly more out-there books: Peter Watts (Blindsight), Jeff VanderMeer (Annihilation),

But if you are after physical books have you looked into the S.F.Masterworks collection? You'll find a bit of everything there.

 

[SilverHood]

But if you are after physical books have you looked into the S.F.Masterworks collection? You'll find a bit of everything there.

I love the SF Masterworks collection. I try to read a book on there every year.

For more recent stuff:
The Last Watch / The Divide Series by J.S. Dewes
The Terran Fleet Command Saga by Tori L. Harris. These might be Amazon kindle only, I picked the first one up for a free somehow, bought the others.
The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell. Fantastic fleet stuff.

I have another series in my book collection somewhere, but I can't for the life of me remember the name of it. Will try to find it tomorrow.

 

[DaGaffer]

New Neal Stephenson is just out, Polostan, very good (especially if you like his stuff like Cryptonomicon) but be aware it's the first in a trilogy.

 

[Gwadien]

I've been binging Joe Abercrombie, but game of thronesy type stuff rather than sci-fi, 2 trilogies and 3 stand alone books in between over a probably 30 year period, tres bien.

 

[TdC]

You seem to have a fondness for Space Opera so maybe some Peter F. Hamilton or Neil Asher. Some more recent series are The Expanse books, Yoon Ha Lee (Ninefox Gambit), John Scalzi (Old Man’s War), Cixin Liu (The Three-Body Problem), Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children of Time)

As for Cyberpunk: Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash & The Diamond Age), Richard Morgan (Altered Carbon)

Some slightly more out-there books: Peter Watts (Blindsight), Jeff VanderMeer (Annihilation),

But if you are after physical books have you looked into the S.F.Masterworks collection? You'll find a bit of everything there.

Cheers! I've read the Nights Dawn stuff by Hamilton but got put off by some of the more dodgy torture and shit. I've had multiple different people recommend Cixin Liu and Adrian Tchaikovsky.

I love the SF Masterworks collection. I try to read a book on there every year.

For more recent stuff:
The Last Watch / The Divide Series by J.S. Dewes
The Terran Fleet Command Saga by Tori L. Harris. These might be Amazon kindle only, I picked the first one up for a free somehow, bought the others.
The Lost Fleet by Jack Campbell. Fantastic fleet stuff.

I have another series in my book collection somewhere, but I can't for the life of me remember the name of it. Will try to find it tomorrow.

Hmm both of you mentioned the SF Masterworks thing. I'll look it up thanks! Also that Lost Fleet thing seems pretty sweet!

New Neal Stephenson is just out, Polostan, very good (especially if you like his stuff like Cryptonomicon) but be aware it's the first in a trilogy.

Ooh yeah man I destroyed Cryptonomicon! Read it so much I had to get a new copy. I'll look into Polostan and also The Diamond Age as Zarjazz mentioned.

I've been binging Joe Abercrombie, but game of thronesy type stuff rather than sci-fi, 2 trilogies and 3 stand alone books in between over a probably 30 year period, tres bien.

Oh aye I can read other things. I have the WoT series, and GoT too, but the series kinda-sorta put me off for a bit. I'll check out Abercrombie's work, thanks!

 

[Vae]

I’d second Neal Stephenson. I’d add Anathem and Seveneves to those already recommended. I’d also recommend the Rivers of London series (magic in modern day London) which are a lot easier reading in comparison! I’m also very fond of Anne McCaffrey’s Talent and Crystal Singer series but they are at the light end of Sci-fi.

 

[old.Osy]

Sylvain Neuvel
Megan E. O'Keefe

and for non-scifi classics... Serge Brussolo

 

[Scouse]

John Scalzi (Old Man’s War), Cixin Liu (The Three-Body Problem),

+1 Scalzi, -1 Three Body Problem (massively overrated IMO - the first few chapters are good, the rest annoyed me).

Departing from Sci-Fi? Maybe some Dickens (Tale of Two Cities would be my pick). Or the Count of Monte Christo. Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd?

 

[SilverHood]

For non Sci-Fi, the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch is peak story telling.

 

[Lamp]

The Joy of Sex - Anne Widdecombe & Susan Boyle

 

[DaGaffer]

After reading this thread last autumn I've binged all nine Joe Abercrombie First Law books (I'd meant to read the first trilogy decades ago and never got around to it).

Awesome, and I can't recommend the audiobooks read by Stephen Pacey highly enough. I'm assuming there will be more since Wisdom of Crowds finished on a fairly explosive cliffhanger.

But now I don't know what to start next....

 

[Gwadien]

After reading this thread last autumn I've binged all nine Joe Abercrombie First Law books (I'd meant to read the first trilogy decades ago and never got around to it).

Awesome, and I can't recommend the audiobooks read by Stephen Pacey highly enough. I'm assuming there will be more since Wisdom of Crowds finished on a fairly explosive cliffhanger.

But now I don't know what to start next....

Yeah, I did the same, I read through the first two books of The Broken Empire but it's nowhere near as good... I've also started reading Mythos by Stephen Fry and am wanting to get through the whole Greece series but I already know a large amount of it so am finding it difficult to commit.

 

[Scouse]

After reading this thread last autumn I've binged all nine Joe Abercrombie First Law books (I'd meant to read the first trilogy decades ago and never got around to it).

Awesome, and I can't recommend the audiobooks read by Stephen Pacey highly enough. I'm assuming there will be more since Wisdom of Crowds finished on a fairly explosive cliffhanger.

But now I don't know what to start next....

Magic stuff? I don't tend to do fantasy but if both you and @Gwadien loved it then maybe it's worth a blast.

I binged all the Expanse novels (on audiobook). Very much enjoyed it all and was worth it - great world building, but I felt at points it wasn't teaching me anything like some of the very best sci-fi does. (But got over it and carried on - better than the TV series, of course (which I loved)).

I've been expanding my range from lots and lots of sci-fi into stuff other people read. And it's been properly worth it:

• Dickens has been a lot of fun - Tale of Two Cities is absolutely astonishing.
• I enjoyed Hugh Grant's audiobook version of Christmas Carol.
• Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy was very satisfying.
• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky was actually as good as I imagined it was 'supposed' to be.
• It was hard work at points but I really really loved The Count Of Monte Cristo. All 79 fucking hours of it.

If I had to pick one from the above (and there's plenty more) - Tale of Two Cities, if only for the quotes you know by heart being given their emotional punch through the story, and realising why I know the quotes. But also because A) the story's great and B) you kind of live what the general public will be like during a revolution - and you won't love 'em. You'll understand them, but sheesh. And it's not surprising either.

Will think of more. (Other than the non-sci-fi Banks. Did Crow Road and Wasp Factory. Great. Of course.)

 

[Zarjazz]

After reading this thread last autumn I've binged all nine Joe Abercrombie First Law books (I'd meant to read the first trilogy decades ago and never got around to it).

Awesome, and I can't recommend the audiobooks read by Stephen Pacey highly enough. I'm assuming there will be more since Wisdom of Crowds finished on a fairly explosive cliffhanger.

But now I don't know what to start next....

Unfortunately there aren't any other series quite like his stuff. But they wouldn't exist without the clear influence of The Black Company books by Glen Cook. Those are the closest I can think of if you haven't read those already.

 

[Gwadien]

The Devils is coming out soon - first book in a new Abercrombie series set in an alternative medieval Europe.

 

[Raven]

The Rigante Series - David Gemmell. (Starts with Sword in the Storm)

Set in a facsimile Roman Britain, starts in "Roman" Britain, ends in ~Napoleonic (I guess) period.

Heroic Fantasy, at its best.

 

[DaGaffer]

The Devils is coming out soon - first book in a new Abercrombie series set in an alternative medieval Europe.

It's not bad. The world building honestly doesn't make a lick of sense, but Joe Abercrombie's books are more about the characters and dialogue anyway, and that's all present and correct.

And apparently James Cameron likes it so much that he's bought the rights and wants it to be his next movie after he's done with Avatar

 

[Gwadien]

It's not bad. The world building honestly doesn't make a lick of sense, but Joe Abercrombie's books are more about the characters and dialogue anyway, and that's all present and correct.

And apparently James Cameron likes it so much that he's bought the rights and wants it to be his next movie after he's done with Avatar

Yeah I got a copy, gonna get on it when I'm done with Gary Stevensons book

 

[Zarjazz]

I'm not normally one for the whole comicbook superhero stuff, especially jaded after the Marvel overload of recent years, but I was looking for something new to read a while back and came across this after I saw several recommendations - Worm - Web Serial

Think Watchmen but with a younger teenage cast but it is about as far from a kids book as you can get. It's dark, really dark in places, and does a similar thing to Watchmen in deconstructing the superhero genre. It starts out a little rough, it was the author's first work, but it just keeps getting better and better as it progresses. Some of the battles are genuinely epic and with extremely creative uses of superpowers. Be warned though, it's a very long read. Just over 3x times the length of Lord of the Rings, but just the scale and events that happen in the story, from where it starts to where it ends, it's almost required to have the word count. All in all it's probably the best thing I've read this year.

Oh, and there's no (e)book version of the story so if you don't want to read it via the website there are tools like Worm Novel Scraper that exist to download the website into an ebook version (that's what I did).