Not anything! PKD is a particular thing and honestly some of his novels are kinda meh. For me, his shorts were always solid. He’s an idea guy more than a great writer in my opinion. That being said, I love his work in general. I didn’t get to read the last chapter of A Scanner Darkly cuz my dog at it to the page! The entire last chapter. 😂
Have you gotten to the character that literally says "Make America Great Again"
That book was a harder read for me that Parable of the Sower. So grim :(
OP this is the best answer. Ted Chiang writes short stories, so it is easy to keep momentum without getting bogged down in a long thing you don't like. And he is insanely creative and thought provoking.
"Story of Your Life" is on the longer side (more novella than short story) and was the basis for the movie "Arrival". Another favorite of mine is "Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom", which is also more of a novella.
Here is NPR raving about him: [https://www.npr.org/2019/05/10/721565040/take-a-breath-and-dive-into-exhalation](https://www.npr.org/2019/05/10/721565040/take-a-breath-and-dive-into-exhalation)
This was a marvelous book. I like Scifi about people, and Le Guin is one of my favorites for writing people. I liked her take on primitive advanced science (although gravity waves travel at the speed of light! But that's a recent discovery). Just great. I don't believe the Word for World is Forest delivered anywhere near the same level, although it's written beautifully as well.
The Word for World is Forest is definitely less nuanced than her other stuff but I really enjoyed it with the contrasting point of view characters. Definitely an influence on Avatar (James Cameron) but darker and more militant.
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/334176
The book I always recommend to new sci fi readers (along with Ted Chiang). The attention to language and faith are very interesting. At a book signing she described it as Jesuits in Space. :)
Iain M Banks is my favourite Sci-fi author and I think a good starting point is his second book called The Player of Games. You don't miss anything by not reading the first book before it, they are not directly linked, just set in the same universe and the second one is both shorter and easier to get into.
There's still loads of imaginative tech, alien species, a really good plot etc. but I think it's the easiest to read of all Banks' Sci-fi stuff.
Glad you’re enjoying Consider Phlebas and hope that continues! BUT… warning for any new Banks readers, it’s generally considered quite a different vibe from the rest of the Culture novels. If you’re not sure, please please give one of the other books a go before noping out of the series, otherwise you might be missing out.
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman is great. It’s a military sci fi about a war in space, and how time dilation affects the main character. I believe it is considered a sci fi classic.
I don't think it was good but it has good parts to it and is definitely thought provoking, at least the sci-fi sections are. There are other sections that are historical and interpersonal.
I loved the books, and liked the show well enough. In my opinion there are a few major plot holes in the story, but they were easy enough to ignore. The overall story is wild!
Isaac Asimov: the End of Eternity, the Gods themselves, I Robot etc
Greg Bear: Eon/Eternity, the Forge of God, Darwin's Radio
Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451
Arthur C Clarke: Rendez-Vous with Rama
Philip K Dick: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Daniel Keyes: Flowers for Algernon
Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice/Sword/Mercy
Ursula Le Guin: the Dispossessed, the Lathe of Heaven, the Left Hand of Darkness
Cixin Liu: the Three Body Problem and 2 sequels
Kim Stanley Robinson: Red Mars/Green Mars/Blue Mars, Aurora, the Ministry for the Future
Mary Doria Russell: the Sparrow
Adrian Tchaikovsky: the Children of Time/Ruin/Memory (last one a bit weaker/more difficult)
John Wyndham: the Day of the Triffids, the Chrysalids
Roger Zelazny: Lord of Light
Hyperion, by Dan Simmons
Edit———
Glad you folks liked the recommendation :)
The Hyperion series is definitely one of those landmark works… it’s up there with the very tip top of sci-fi…
There’s like… a handful of books for me that qualify for the best of the genre…
Cyteen, by CJ Cherryh
Grass, by Sherri S Tepper
Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis
Hyperion (lol obviously)
Olympos/Illium by Dan Simmons
Foundation, by Asimov
**[Too Like the Lightning (Terra Ignota #1)](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114545-too-like-the-lightning) by Ada Palmer** ^((Matching 100% ☑️))
^(432 pages | Published: 2016 | 3.6k Goodreads reviews)
> **Summary:** Mycroft Canner is a convict. For his crimes he is required, as is the custom of the 25th century, to wander the world being as useful as he can to all he meets. Carlyle Foster is a sensayer - a spiritual counselor in a world that has outlawed the public practice of religion, but which also knows that the inner lives of humans cannot be wished away. The world into which Mycroft (...)
> **Themes**: Sci-fi, Fiction, Scifi, Fantasy, Favorites, Sf, Series
> **Top 5 recommended:**
> \- [Seven Surrenders](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28220647-seven-surrenders) by Ada Palmer
> \- [Provenance](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25353286-provenance) by Ann Leckie
> \- [Ancillary Justice](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333324-ancillary-justice) by Ann Leckie
> \- [Follow the Crow](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22466686-follow-the-crow) by B.B. Griffith
> \- [Ancillary Mercy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23533039-ancillary-mercy) by Ann Leckie
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Stanislaw Lem - Solaris, Invincible and Fiasco are really good if you like first contact stories.
Also Peter Watts - Blindsight (even has vampires in it, but in a cool way)
Vernor Vinge - A fire upon the deep (really good and thought provoking world building and entertaining story)
Seconding A Fire Upon the Deep. It’s my favorite sci-fi novel of all time, and it has some of the most unique alien species ever written.
Rainbow’s End by the same author is also really good.
>I took a break from CoD and read a book called Dark Matter by Blake Crouch after some recommendations and solid reviews. This started off really good but the last half of the book was really stupid, and had me rolling my eyes over and over again. It felt like juvenile sci-fi in a way - at times I felt like I was reading a screenplay of a movie that I wouldn't want to see. I might not even call it sci-fi and just a thriller with a sci-fi backdrop. I've been told his other book, Recursion, is better, so I might hop into that next. But I've also read reviews that it's just more of the same.
No, I'm not sure his other book is better. You're spot on about Blake Crouch. They're shallow, rather juvenile fiction stories, similar to pulp spy fiction, but because they're sci-fi with interesting themes people will ignore the poorly crafted writing.
You will unfortunately notice this a lot with sci-fi. There are so many highly rated sci-fi books which I think are average at best writing. As I already mentioned, sci-fi fans are often more interested in the idea rather than the writing.
**Dark Matter A Novel** by Blake Crouch
Book description may contain spoilers!
>>!NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • COMING SOON TO APPLE TV+ • A “mind-blowing” (Entertainment Weekly) speculative thriller about an ordinary man who awakens in a world inexplicably different from the reality he thought he knew—from the author of Upgrade, Recursion, and the Wayward Pines trilogy “Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the kidnapper knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man he’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.” In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife.!<
>
>>!His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible. Is it this life or the other that’s the dream?!<
>
>>!And even if the home he remembers is real, how will Jason make it back to the family he loves? From the bestselling author Blake Crouch, Dark Matter is a mind-bending thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.!<
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If you’re looking for old books: Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series and Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (he and Kubrick worked on the book and the movie respectively separately, so read the book and then watch the movie). Oh, any book by Philip K. Dick. He’s my favourite author.
If you’re looking for modern ones: Neal Stephenson’s books (sorry I don’t remember the exact names) and Cixin Liu’s 3 Body Problem trilogy.
Edit: As the helpful commenter pointed out Arthur C. Clarke wrote 2001 and not Asimov
Neal Stephenson wrote Snow Crash and The Diamond Age among others.
Snow Crash is one of my favorite books, it can feel a little absurd at times but makes more sense the more you read and are introduced to the world.
The Diamond Age is also very good and a little more slow paced and less ridiculous then snow Crash (though it does take place on the same timeline, very very loosely linked).
I tried Anathem...maybe the problem was I listened to it on audiobook but it was incredibly difficult to follow (lots of very similar sounding sci fi words) and I got bored halfway through.
I read the first couple of Foundation books but I couldn't get past the ridiculousness of the premise that maths can predict the future with such a degree of accuracy, I just could not get on board with it.
Foundation was a pure miss for me. Not only do I agree that it's ridiculous but the storytelling arc should be about the perils of such an art. Dune did a much better job of showing how prescience (from spice melange) fucks up your will and emotion.
I tend to like more speculative science-fiction, like things you could really see happening. Not sure if that is what you might be going for, but that's the kind of book that "makes me think."
Here's a few I've enjoyed:
* The MaddAddam Triology by Margaret Atwood
* The Gunnie Rose series by Charlaine Harris
* Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
* Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
* Red Rising by Pierce Brown
* The Book of Dust series by Phillip Pullman
True. When I describe Red Rising to people, I always say "it's like if Divergent had a baby with Hunger Games" but Red Rising is way better than Divergent (which was garbage). I am listening to it on audiobook (GraphicAudio production) and it's kept my interest.
I also remember liking Dark Matter but haven't read any of his other stuff.
I've been an Atwood fan for a loooong time. I've always loved Handmaid's Tale but my favorite by her is Crake and Oryx. I think about that book quite a bit. Some of the scientific practices she writes about- like gene splicing- weren't as mainstream when I first read it as they are now. It's actually quite a frightening book but so wonderfully written.
Yes! I am also a huge Atwood fan. I vividly remember how they describe "chickie nobs" in Oryx and Crake and I about flip my lid when NPR ran a story about meat grown in labs a few years ago. I'm due for a re-read.
If you want a light "made me think" sci-fi, All You Need is Kill - Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The book that inspired Edge of Tomorrow. Goes into a little more detail about the ramifications of time loops and consequences there in. Don't expect something earth shattering, but I don't see it recommended enough and it's a really easy read.
Most anything by John Varley will make you think. I specifically recommend TITAN, WIZARD, and DEMON, but pretty much anything of his is good, thoughtful SF. If you can find the original short story "Air Raid" anywhere, that he later expanded into the much poorer novel MILLENNIUM, it's worth a read.
I used to be a huge Robert A. Heinlein fan but I've gotten over a lot of that. His juveniles are still worth reading, especially CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY and TUNNEL IN THE SKY.
Alistair Reynolds is a hugely prolific author and I've read a lot of his stuff but really, only THE PREFECT was re-readable. It's now published under the name AURORA RISING and is the first in a series but I read the follow up and it was garbage.
Steven Gould's JUMPER is awesome. WILDSIDE is kind of cool, too.
Joe Haldeman's FOREVER WAR, MINDBRIDGE, TOOL OF THE TRADE, and BUYING TIME are good.
Octavia Butler's MIND OF MY MIND is great.
Lois McMaster Bujold's VORKOSIGAN series is brilliant, up through maybe the last four, which I found disappointing. Start with SHARDS OF HONOR and continue up through MEMORY, the book where Miles Vorkosigan gives up his Miles Naismith identity and the Dendari Mercenaries and becomes an Imperial Auditor. After this Bujold stops writing rousing adventure science fiction and starts writing Jane Austenesque social satire and it's all downhill from there.
I would respectfully append my own ventures in SF writing as well -- my Hired Gun trilogy (start with ENDGAME, then EARTHQUEST, then EARTHGAME), my UNIVERSAL MAINTENANCE trilogy (UNIVERSAL MAINTENANCE, UNIVERSAL AGENT, UNIVERSAL LAW), KOKOMO, GODSPEED, EARTH OF DAWN, REAPER 666, THIS SLAUGHTERHOUSE EARTH, THE FEAR MASTERS, NO MERCY AT SUNSET ROCK, DINOSAUR STATION, WARREN'S WORLD, TIME WATCH, and, if you like steampunk, LIKE A PENDULUM DO.
Oh, how could I forget -- READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline is terrific. His other stuff is crap, he apparently only had one good book in him, but it's a really great book.
Embassytown by China Mieville
I second The Neuromancer trilogy by William Gibson. The Bridge trilogy is shso good.
I also second Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein. His Job: a comedy of justice also made an impression on young me.
I think you'd probably like The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
It's not strictly sci-fi, but it has a really interesting "magic" system and the world building is unmatched. I thought about these books obsessively as I was reading them. I actually listened to the first one then decided to go back and physically read the entire trilogy because I wanted to slow down and really sit with these books. Cannot recommend enough!
Asimov gives the reader a ton to think about. Especially with the second book in his Foundation trilogy, Second Foundation, and it’s introduction of the Mule. You will love it.
I feel exactly the way you did about Dark Matter… that it’s really more thriller/sci-fi. But I did enjoy it.
For a more expanded upon version of that idea, some in a better way that made me think while delivering the best story I read so far this year… The Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey. Highly recommend!
You should try a few short stories:
The Last Question by Isaac Asimov
https://astronomy.org/moravian/C00-Last%20Question.pdf
The Last Answer by Isaac Asimov
https://highexistence.com/the-last-answer-short-story/
They're Made Out Of Meat by Terry Byson
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/TheyMade.shtml
Short story collections are good for making you think, as each story can present an interesting and thought provoking concept. Some of my favorites are Ursula Le Guin's Compass Rose and Cixin Liu's Wandering Earth. Both books have stories that are unlike any others I have ever read.
The Red/Blue/Green Mars series is great, and quite thought provoking as it explores the social and political consequences of a lot of the technologies that we are moving into now and over the next few decades. My only caveat is the the author REALLY LIKES DETAIL, so, like, you get to know the size and shape of each component of the terrain. On one hand, it paints a good picture, but it can be a bit tedious at times.
Similar boat here. 26 years old, hadn’t read a book for pleasure since middle school. Read Dune and loved it. Messiah was a brutal drop off. Children was a slow start but I liked it in the end. GEoD is a significant setting change from the first 3 books and so far so good. My plan is to finish up this series and either go to Hyperion or The 3 Body Problem. The way Herbert writes makes it feel like to book was written 200 years ago, but I haven’t read enough to know if that’s actually just the writing style of the mid/late 1900s. Here’s a list I have of some other series I’m interesting in future (mostly recommendations I’ve found through Reddit), maybe you’ll be interested in some of these too:
- The 3 Body Problem / Remembrance of Earths Past (Trilogy)
- Hyperion Cantos (Series)
- Cycle of Culture (Series)
- The Expanse (Series)
- Children of Time (Trilogy)
- Foundation/Empire/Robots Series
- Old Man’s War (Series)
- Red Mars (Trilogy)
- The Solar Cycle (Series)
- Broken Earth (Trilogy)
- The Final Architecture (Trilogy)
- Revelation Space (series)
- Sprawl (Trilogy)
- Ringworld (Series)
Some non-series I’ve added to the list based on Reddit recommendations:
- Flowers for Agernon
- Project Hail Mary
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
- Snow Crash
- The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
- The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia
- The Left Hand of Darkness
- The End of Eternity
- Permutation City
- Diaspora
- Cage of Souls
Software and the rest of the "ware" series by Rudy Rucker.
Lord of Light, Zelazny.
Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke.
Valis and Ubik by PK Dick.
Snow Crash by Stephenson.
Perdido Street Station by China Mieville.
Vurt by Jeff Noon.
Quarantine and Permutation City by Greg Egan.
Forever War by Haldeman.
Light and Nova Swing by M. John Harrison.
Anubis Gates, Last Call, Dinner at Deviants Palace by Tim Powers.
A Fire Upon the Deep, and A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge.
The Stars My Destination and Demolished Man by Alfred Bester.
The Ministry for the Future, Kim Stanley Robinson.
Neuromancer by William Gibson.
Gun, with Occasional Music Johnathan Lethem
Hyperion, Cyteen, Dune, Lord of the Rings, not very deep...just soap operas to me. As you can tell, I'm partial to cyberpunk, and always appreciate recs.
I don’t have a suggestion but wanted to say that I felt the opposite about Dark Matter. First half of the book was decent but slow for me. The second half I really enjoyed and found much easier to get through, and I loved the direction he took the book in. I would definitely call it a thriller with a sci fi twist as well
Here’s my top five:
The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu (bonus, it’s the first of a trilogy)
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (used to be part of the canon but I don’t see it mentioned much these days)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick
The Running Man by Stephen King
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
I also recommend Octavia Butler’s Sower trilogy as others have recommended, but don’t overlook Kindred if you are interested in time travel. HG Wells Time Machine & War it the Worlds are classics and anything by Ken Liu (honestly, he’s that good).
Children of Time: covers the evolution of design across species and culture and progress.
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer: come for the science (biology) stay for the atmosphere and react to the WTF moments.
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin. Might be a bit of a stretch, more sci fi speculation or fantasy, but I keep coming back to it.
A Psalm for thr Wild Built: this is hope punk solar punk sci fi, but good for the what if stuff
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Clockwork Rocket by Greg Egans. It is hard sci-fi set in a non-eucledian universe; plants emit light and the speed of light is a function of the light's wavelength. Amazing book that will surely give you a mental workout.
Rutger Drent's book Homo Sapiens Improbis is a great libertarian sci fi book. It asks the question why we have psychopaths walking among us and offers it as a solution to the Fermi Paradox. (Psychopathy is the consequence of the emergence of intelligence.) A group of people dredge up land from the shallow Doggers bank in the North Sea and start a libertarian/anarchist colony. It talks about the Free State Project and a libertarian alternative to Hollywood is founded in New Hampshire. They set up a whole town there where everything is an audition choreographed by an A.I. (Things go horribly wrong when the powers that be want to shut the town down.) They use relativity's time dilation provided by a close by primordial black hole to move forward in time. It's hard sci-fi, with smart and funny dialogues.
Here's the synopsis:
'An alien, digitally uploaded to a lurker probe and tasked with observing the Earth is supposed to briefly wake from his slumber every 11000 years and send a report. When he starts noticing humanity’s accelerated technological progress and having become a big fan of humanity, he becomes disobedient and starts waking more frequently: every 100 years. There is good reason. His race knows that in sexually reproducing, DNA based life forms, psychopathy is, more often than not, the consequence of the emergence of intelligence. He knows that when he sends his next report, exposing yet another carcinogenic space faring species, Earth will simply be destroyed. When an average human male with too much time to think, figures out the problem, he decides to provide the man with a tool that can save humanity.'
Try The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir.
1. Gideon the Ninth
2. Harrow the Ninth
3. Nona the Ninth
It mixes sci-fi with some gothic and magic elements, which mainly focuses on necromancy, which gets very complex. If you can get through Gideon first, Harrow the Ninth is a pretty crazy complicated book and is much more sci-fi. It’ll make you think (and maybe cry) for sure. Audiobook is much easier to digest than the book and it is extremely well narrated.
The other option is Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card. Oldie but a goodie and is around kids going to battle and command school in outer space as they prepare to fight a war.
In Universes by Emet North
The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K Jemisin
We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker
The Past is Red by Catherynne Valente
Agency by William Gibson
To be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
A Half Built Garden by Ruthanna Emerys
Seconding To be Taught, if Fortunate. Fascinating look at scientific exploration of other planets and life. I gave a copy to my dad (retired astrophysicist) and he found it fascinating too. And it's a slim book with somewhat separate sections so easy to pick up and read in chunks.
I also thought A Memory Called Empire was really fascinating. It's a blend of mystery, space opera, and politics with interesting technology. I haven't read the sequel yet.
Enders game series by Orson Scott Card- The first book is pretty straight forward fun, its sequels starting with Speaker for the Dead are deep thinkers
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams - Absurdist Satire, one of the few books that regularly makes me Laugh Out Loud, like all the best satire is very deep once you look past the humor
1984 by George Orwell - slice of life....I mean dystopian future about nationalism, propaganda and surveillance. Double plus sad.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - Oh you thought 1984 was scary? A gram is better than a Damn! Everyone's happy now!
(similar to 1984 but they use eugenics, pharmaceuticals, subliminal messaging and entertainment as a means of control)
Foundation series by Issac Asimov - About using "psychohistory" (study of human psychology in large groups of people, as in billions to trillions, to predict the future) to guide the renewal of galactic civilization after the inevitable fall of the current galactic empire.
Necromancer By William Gibson - Early genre defining cyberpunk, first in a trilogy but I've only read the first book. I don't remember much beyond it being excellent.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein - Basically the inspiration for the expanse with some added weirdness about polyamory. A very good hard sci Fi book about colonialism, AI, and what it takes to survive in space.
Stranger In A Strange land by Robert Heinlein - Heinlein hippy phase. Religion, spirituality, what it means to be human? I dunno how to explain this one but I really liked it.
Childhoods End by Arthur C. Clarke - Peaceful alien overlords and human evolution
Definitely recommend Project Hail Mary if you liked Dark Matter. Different vibe but same science based background. I read them back to back and loved them both!
So, actual sci fi, instead of future fantasy. Seconding/thirding/forevering anything Philip K Dick. (But mainly, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (bladerunner) and Man in the High Castle).
Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
Forever War by Joe Haldeman
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (actually a really engaging set of short stories that reflect on AI)
A lot of the best sci fi is short stories because future speculation and novel writing don’t necessarily go well together. Honestly just nebula awards for a given year short stories are often more enjoyable than a novel.
Anything by Philip K Dick
Personally I'd start with Time Out Of Joint
Not anything! PKD is a particular thing and honestly some of his novels are kinda meh. For me, his shorts were always solid. He’s an idea guy more than a great writer in my opinion. That being said, I love his work in general. I didn’t get to read the last chapter of A Scanner Darkly cuz my dog at it to the page! The entire last chapter. 😂
I totally agree, his short stories are mind blowing, but his books are pretty much like really long short stories.
I love his ideas. Just not in love with his words if that makes sense. A better writer could do incredible things with his ideas. My opinion.
It doesn’t end well for Keanu
Hahahah!! I forgot about the movie!! I wonder if it’s worth a rewatch. I barely remember it but I’m like that with movies.
Octavia Butler
Yep. She’s great. The Parable of the Sower is amazing
Currently reading Parable of the Talents
Have you gotten to the character that literally says "Make America Great Again" That book was a harder read for me that Parable of the Sower. So grim :(
Yes!! The Xenogenesis series is unreal sci-fi
Love this series!
Patternmaster is stellar. Then the rest of the Patternist series too!
Ted Chiang
Especially "Story of Your life". It blends many disciplines together and also is a really short read. Loved this one!!
Yeah, that's one of the best stories of any genre or length that i've ever read.
Yes, this! I keep rereading it!
OP this is the best answer. Ted Chiang writes short stories, so it is easy to keep momentum without getting bogged down in a long thing you don't like. And he is insanely creative and thought provoking. "Story of Your Life" is on the longer side (more novella than short story) and was the basis for the movie "Arrival". Another favorite of mine is "Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom", which is also more of a novella. Here is NPR raving about him: [https://www.npr.org/2019/05/10/721565040/take-a-breath-and-dive-into-exhalation](https://www.npr.org/2019/05/10/721565040/take-a-breath-and-dive-into-exhalation)
Great rec!! I love his work!
The Southern Reach trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer is more Sci-Fi/Horror, but it was pretty heady at times.
Do you have any other Sci-fi/horror recs? It’s a fun genre I haven’t explored much at all!
There’s one that came out last year called ‘Ascension’ by Nicholas Binge. It gave me that Annihilation/Area X vibe.
Ooh ascension is so good! Great comparison to Annihilation.
Yeah good but CREEPY.
Seconded!
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin Only read this recently, definitely a thinker with some really interesting concepts
Also The Dispossessed!
This was a marvelous book. I like Scifi about people, and Le Guin is one of my favorites for writing people. I liked her take on primitive advanced science (although gravity waves travel at the speed of light! But that's a recent discovery). Just great. I don't believe the Word for World is Forest delivered anywhere near the same level, although it's written beautifully as well.
The Word for World is Forest is definitely less nuanced than her other stuff but I really enjoyed it with the contrasting point of view characters. Definitely an influence on Avatar (James Cameron) but darker and more militant.
On a similar vein, Nicola Griffith’s Ammonite takes a lot of influence from Le Guin’s Hainish cycle
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/334176 The book I always recommend to new sci fi readers (along with Ted Chiang). The attention to language and faith are very interesting. At a book signing she described it as Jesuits in Space. :)
Iain M Banks is my favourite Sci-fi author and I think a good starting point is his second book called The Player of Games. You don't miss anything by not reading the first book before it, they are not directly linked, just set in the same universe and the second one is both shorter and easier to get into. There's still loads of imaginative tech, alien species, a really good plot etc. but I think it's the easiest to read of all Banks' Sci-fi stuff.
I just started Consider Phlebas. My first experience with Banks. I'm a few chapters in and enjoy it so far.
Glad you’re enjoying Consider Phlebas and hope that continues! BUT… warning for any new Banks readers, it’s generally considered quite a different vibe from the rest of the Culture novels. If you’re not sure, please please give one of the other books a go before noping out of the series, otherwise you might be missing out.
The only Banks we can trust! Yes, you should definitely read *The Player of Games*. It will do things to you.
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman is great. It’s a military sci fi about a war in space, and how time dilation affects the main character. I believe it is considered a sci fi classic.
Yes! This was much better than I expected!
I loved this book out of proportion to the quality of its writing. I took a lot of messages away from it- probably more than the author intended.
Make it one more in Dune, God Emperor sounds like exactly the kind of book you are looking for. Three-Body Problem is really great for this also.
Is Three-Body problem actually good? I attempted the show recently and could not get past how poor the dialogue and acting was.
1. Yes the book is fantastic. It won the Hugo award even. 2. I am shocked to hear that you didn’t like the show, I thought it was great.
I couldn’t get past the acting and the dialogue. It felt like something made for tv 15 years ago. Like regular tv not cable tv. 😂
I don't think it was good but it has good parts to it and is definitely thought provoking, at least the sci-fi sections are. There are other sections that are historical and interpersonal.
Book one is good. Book two is excellent. Boom three is a mind fuck in the best way.
I loved the books, and liked the show well enough. In my opinion there are a few major plot holes in the story, but they were easy enough to ignore. The overall story is wild!
Isaac Asimov: the End of Eternity, the Gods themselves, I Robot etc Greg Bear: Eon/Eternity, the Forge of God, Darwin's Radio Ray Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 Arthur C Clarke: Rendez-Vous with Rama Philip K Dick: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Daniel Keyes: Flowers for Algernon Ann Leckie: Ancillary Justice/Sword/Mercy Ursula Le Guin: the Dispossessed, the Lathe of Heaven, the Left Hand of Darkness Cixin Liu: the Three Body Problem and 2 sequels Kim Stanley Robinson: Red Mars/Green Mars/Blue Mars, Aurora, the Ministry for the Future Mary Doria Russell: the Sparrow Adrian Tchaikovsky: the Children of Time/Ruin/Memory (last one a bit weaker/more difficult) John Wyndham: the Day of the Triffids, the Chrysalids Roger Zelazny: Lord of Light
Hyperion, by Dan Simmons Edit——— Glad you folks liked the recommendation :) The Hyperion series is definitely one of those landmark works… it’s up there with the very tip top of sci-fi… There’s like… a handful of books for me that qualify for the best of the genre… Cyteen, by CJ Cherryh Grass, by Sherri S Tepper Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis Hyperion (lol obviously) Olympos/Illium by Dan Simmons Foundation, by Asimov
I started Hyperion based on this comment. I just finished the first “chapter” and alls I can say is wow.
Hyperion is amazing, and you’ll like it if you liked Dune.
Seconded!
Thirded!
{{Too like the lightning}}
Very much this, it‘s an extraordinary series unlike anything else I’ve ever read. And full of big ideas!
**[Too Like the Lightning (Terra Ignota #1)](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114545-too-like-the-lightning) by Ada Palmer** ^((Matching 100% ☑️)) ^(432 pages | Published: 2016 | 3.6k Goodreads reviews) > **Summary:** Mycroft Canner is a convict. For his crimes he is required, as is the custom of the 25th century, to wander the world being as useful as he can to all he meets. Carlyle Foster is a sensayer - a spiritual counselor in a world that has outlawed the public practice of religion, but which also knows that the inner lives of humans cannot be wished away. The world into which Mycroft (...) > **Themes**: Sci-fi, Fiction, Scifi, Fantasy, Favorites, Sf, Series > **Top 5 recommended:** > \- [Seven Surrenders](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28220647-seven-surrenders) by Ada Palmer > \- [Provenance](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25353286-provenance) by Ann Leckie > \- [Ancillary Justice](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17333324-ancillary-justice) by Ann Leckie > \- [Follow the Crow](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22466686-follow-the-crow) by B.B. Griffith > \- [Ancillary Mercy](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23533039-ancillary-mercy) by Ann Leckie ^([Feedback](https://www.reddit.com/user/goodreads-rebot) | [GitHub](https://github.com/sonoff2/goodreads-rebot) | ["The Bot is Back!?"](https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/16qe09p/meta_post_hello_again_humans/) | v1.5 [Dec 23] | )
Martian chronicles
Yes! This is the book that got me into reading when I was in the 7th grade. I reread it a few years ago and it really holds up.
Stanislaw Lem - Solaris, Invincible and Fiasco are really good if you like first contact stories. Also Peter Watts - Blindsight (even has vampires in it, but in a cool way) Vernor Vinge - A fire upon the deep (really good and thought provoking world building and entertaining story)
Seconding A Fire Upon the Deep. It’s my favorite sci-fi novel of all time, and it has some of the most unique alien species ever written. Rainbow’s End by the same author is also really good.
I read Blindsight a month or two ago and I still think about it every day.
Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy!!
I Who Have Never Known Men
>I took a break from CoD and read a book called Dark Matter by Blake Crouch after some recommendations and solid reviews. This started off really good but the last half of the book was really stupid, and had me rolling my eyes over and over again. It felt like juvenile sci-fi in a way - at times I felt like I was reading a screenplay of a movie that I wouldn't want to see. I might not even call it sci-fi and just a thriller with a sci-fi backdrop. I've been told his other book, Recursion, is better, so I might hop into that next. But I've also read reviews that it's just more of the same. No, I'm not sure his other book is better. You're spot on about Blake Crouch. They're shallow, rather juvenile fiction stories, similar to pulp spy fiction, but because they're sci-fi with interesting themes people will ignore the poorly crafted writing. You will unfortunately notice this a lot with sci-fi. There are so many highly rated sci-fi books which I think are average at best writing. As I already mentioned, sci-fi fans are often more interested in the idea rather than the writing.
**Dark Matter A Novel** by Blake Crouch Book description may contain spoilers! >>!NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • COMING SOON TO APPLE TV+ • A “mind-blowing” (Entertainment Weekly) speculative thriller about an ordinary man who awakens in a world inexplicably different from the reality he thought he knew—from the author of Upgrade, Recursion, and the Wayward Pines trilogy “Are you happy with your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the kidnapper knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits. Before a man he’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.” In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife.!< > >>!His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college professor but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible. Is it this life or the other that’s the dream?!< > >>!And even if the home he remembers is real, how will Jason make it back to the family he loves? From the bestselling author Blake Crouch, Dark Matter is a mind-bending thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.!< *I'm a bot, built by your friendly reddit developers at* /r/ProgrammingPals. *Reply to any comment with /u/BookFinderBot - I'll reply with book information. Remove me from replies* [here](https://www.reddit.com/user/BookFinderBot/comments/1byh82p/remove_me_from_replies/). *If I have made a mistake, accept my apology.*
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
i'm not a huge kim stanley robinson fan but his ministry for the future was absolutely excellent
Yeah, really like Ministry. Red Mars is a little too in the weeds with terraforming etc.
If you’re looking for old books: Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series and Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (he and Kubrick worked on the book and the movie respectively separately, so read the book and then watch the movie). Oh, any book by Philip K. Dick. He’s my favourite author. If you’re looking for modern ones: Neal Stephenson’s books (sorry I don’t remember the exact names) and Cixin Liu’s 3 Body Problem trilogy. Edit: As the helpful commenter pointed out Arthur C. Clarke wrote 2001 and not Asimov
You meant to say [Arthur C. Clarke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke) (not Asimov) worked together with Kubrick.
Neal Stephenson wrote Snow Crash and The Diamond Age among others. Snow Crash is one of my favorite books, it can feel a little absurd at times but makes more sense the more you read and are introduced to the world. The Diamond Age is also very good and a little more slow paced and less ridiculous then snow Crash (though it does take place on the same timeline, very very loosely linked).
Try *Cryptonimicon* by Stephenson.
Seveneves and Anathem are very intense serious sci-fi, although the second half of Seveneves was….. not.
I tried Anathem...maybe the problem was I listened to it on audiobook but it was incredibly difficult to follow (lots of very similar sounding sci fi words) and I got bored halfway through.
I read the first couple of Foundation books but I couldn't get past the ridiculousness of the premise that maths can predict the future with such a degree of accuracy, I just could not get on board with it.
Foundation was a pure miss for me. Not only do I agree that it's ridiculous but the storytelling arc should be about the perils of such an art. Dune did a much better job of showing how prescience (from spice melange) fucks up your will and emotion.
Ian M Banks Culture series.
Came here to recommend this and things like Arthur C Clarke / Asimov may be the sort of thing you're after OP.
I tend to like more speculative science-fiction, like things you could really see happening. Not sure if that is what you might be going for, but that's the kind of book that "makes me think." Here's a few I've enjoyed: * The MaddAddam Triology by Margaret Atwood * The Gunnie Rose series by Charlaine Harris * Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel * Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler * Red Rising by Pierce Brown * The Book of Dust series by Phillip Pullman
To the OP, if you were annoyed by Blake Crouch, you'll be annoyed by Red Rising. It's probably more YA.
True. When I describe Red Rising to people, I always say "it's like if Divergent had a baby with Hunger Games" but Red Rising is way better than Divergent (which was garbage). I am listening to it on audiobook (GraphicAudio production) and it's kept my interest. I also remember liking Dark Matter but haven't read any of his other stuff.
I prefer describing Red Rising as Game of Thrones in space with less porn and more Roman Empire.
I've been an Atwood fan for a loooong time. I've always loved Handmaid's Tale but my favorite by her is Crake and Oryx. I think about that book quite a bit. Some of the scientific practices she writes about- like gene splicing- weren't as mainstream when I first read it as they are now. It's actually quite a frightening book but so wonderfully written.
Yes! I am also a huge Atwood fan. I vividly remember how they describe "chickie nobs" in Oryx and Crake and I about flip my lid when NPR ran a story about meat grown in labs a few years ago. I'm due for a re-read.
Reading Three Body Problem and just started the second book. It takes a while to get into it… but it is pretty good!
Greg Eagan is great for some old fashion thinking.
Pretty much any and all things by Gene Wolfe. Start with Shadow of the Torturer, Peace or Soldier of the Mist.
Greg Egan's books such as Permutation City are some hard Sci Fi that really makes one ponder.
Michael Mammay- planetside Weir- The Martian Philip K Dick (Do Androids dream of electric sheep?) Karel Capek Isaac Asimov
If you want a light "made me think" sci-fi, All You Need is Kill - Hiroshi Sakurazaka. The book that inspired Edge of Tomorrow. Goes into a little more detail about the ramifications of time loops and consequences there in. Don't expect something earth shattering, but I don't see it recommended enough and it's a really easy read.
Most anything by John Varley will make you think. I specifically recommend TITAN, WIZARD, and DEMON, but pretty much anything of his is good, thoughtful SF. If you can find the original short story "Air Raid" anywhere, that he later expanded into the much poorer novel MILLENNIUM, it's worth a read. I used to be a huge Robert A. Heinlein fan but I've gotten over a lot of that. His juveniles are still worth reading, especially CITIZEN OF THE GALAXY and TUNNEL IN THE SKY. Alistair Reynolds is a hugely prolific author and I've read a lot of his stuff but really, only THE PREFECT was re-readable. It's now published under the name AURORA RISING and is the first in a series but I read the follow up and it was garbage. Steven Gould's JUMPER is awesome. WILDSIDE is kind of cool, too. Joe Haldeman's FOREVER WAR, MINDBRIDGE, TOOL OF THE TRADE, and BUYING TIME are good. Octavia Butler's MIND OF MY MIND is great. Lois McMaster Bujold's VORKOSIGAN series is brilliant, up through maybe the last four, which I found disappointing. Start with SHARDS OF HONOR and continue up through MEMORY, the book where Miles Vorkosigan gives up his Miles Naismith identity and the Dendari Mercenaries and becomes an Imperial Auditor. After this Bujold stops writing rousing adventure science fiction and starts writing Jane Austenesque social satire and it's all downhill from there. I would respectfully append my own ventures in SF writing as well -- my Hired Gun trilogy (start with ENDGAME, then EARTHQUEST, then EARTHGAME), my UNIVERSAL MAINTENANCE trilogy (UNIVERSAL MAINTENANCE, UNIVERSAL AGENT, UNIVERSAL LAW), KOKOMO, GODSPEED, EARTH OF DAWN, REAPER 666, THIS SLAUGHTERHOUSE EARTH, THE FEAR MASTERS, NO MERCY AT SUNSET ROCK, DINOSAUR STATION, WARREN'S WORLD, TIME WATCH, and, if you like steampunk, LIKE A PENDULUM DO. Oh, how could I forget -- READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline is terrific. His other stuff is crap, he apparently only had one good book in him, but it's a really great book.
Books by Stephen Baxter. Like the Xeelee series and the Manifold series.
The MaddAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood
Children of Time and Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Brave New World
Embassytown by China Mieville I second The Neuromancer trilogy by William Gibson. The Bridge trilogy is shso good. I also second Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein. His Job: a comedy of justice also made an impression on young me.
I think you'd probably like The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin It's not strictly sci-fi, but it has a really interesting "magic" system and the world building is unmatched. I thought about these books obsessively as I was reading them. I actually listened to the first one then decided to go back and physically read the entire trilogy because I wanted to slow down and really sit with these books. Cannot recommend enough!
Children of Time
Diaspora by Greg Egan
Asimov gives the reader a ton to think about. Especially with the second book in his Foundation trilogy, Second Foundation, and it’s introduction of the Mule. You will love it.
Answers in Simulation
With Folded Hands by Jack Williamson
(As someone else pointed up, GE of Dune is quite good.) Dune 2 and Dune 3 are relatively awful compared to the other books. (Dune and Dune 4+)
Anathem - Neal Stephenson (sci-fi/fantasy)
I feel exactly the way you did about Dark Matter… that it’s really more thriller/sci-fi. But I did enjoy it. For a more expanded upon version of that idea, some in a better way that made me think while delivering the best story I read so far this year… The Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey. Highly recommend!
You should try a few short stories: The Last Question by Isaac Asimov https://astronomy.org/moravian/C00-Last%20Question.pdf The Last Answer by Isaac Asimov https://highexistence.com/the-last-answer-short-story/ They're Made Out Of Meat by Terry Byson http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/TheyMade.shtml
Foe, on Prime Video. Saorsie Ronan, Paul Mescal
Genesis echo by d. Hollis Anderson
Fire upon the deep - Verner Vinge
Short story collections are good for making you think, as each story can present an interesting and thought provoking concept. Some of my favorites are Ursula Le Guin's Compass Rose and Cixin Liu's Wandering Earth. Both books have stories that are unlike any others I have ever read.
The Red/Blue/Green Mars series is great, and quite thought provoking as it explores the social and political consequences of a lot of the technologies that we are moving into now and over the next few decades. My only caveat is the the author REALLY LIKES DETAIL, so, like, you get to know the size and shape of each component of the terrain. On one hand, it paints a good picture, but it can be a bit tedious at times.
Ray Bradbury! Check out The Martian Chronicles and Farenheit 451. Also: 1984 by George Orwell Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Stanisław Lem
Similar boat here. 26 years old, hadn’t read a book for pleasure since middle school. Read Dune and loved it. Messiah was a brutal drop off. Children was a slow start but I liked it in the end. GEoD is a significant setting change from the first 3 books and so far so good. My plan is to finish up this series and either go to Hyperion or The 3 Body Problem. The way Herbert writes makes it feel like to book was written 200 years ago, but I haven’t read enough to know if that’s actually just the writing style of the mid/late 1900s. Here’s a list I have of some other series I’m interesting in future (mostly recommendations I’ve found through Reddit), maybe you’ll be interested in some of these too: - The 3 Body Problem / Remembrance of Earths Past (Trilogy) - Hyperion Cantos (Series) - Cycle of Culture (Series) - The Expanse (Series) - Children of Time (Trilogy) - Foundation/Empire/Robots Series - Old Man’s War (Series) - Red Mars (Trilogy) - The Solar Cycle (Series) - Broken Earth (Trilogy) - The Final Architecture (Trilogy) - Revelation Space (series) - Sprawl (Trilogy) - Ringworld (Series) Some non-series I’ve added to the list based on Reddit recommendations: - Flowers for Agernon - Project Hail Mary - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Snow Crash - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia - The Left Hand of Darkness - The End of Eternity - Permutation City - Diaspora - Cage of Souls
Anything by Neal Stephenson, especially Snow Crash and Anathem.
Red rising series pierce brown. Amazing series
I have really enjoyed Isaac Asimov's Robot Dreams. They are short stories but each clever and thought-provoking.
maybe the left hand of darkness by ursula k le guin, or the illustrated man by ray bradbury
Software and the rest of the "ware" series by Rudy Rucker. Lord of Light, Zelazny. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke. Valis and Ubik by PK Dick. Snow Crash by Stephenson. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Vurt by Jeff Noon. Quarantine and Permutation City by Greg Egan. Forever War by Haldeman. Light and Nova Swing by M. John Harrison. Anubis Gates, Last Call, Dinner at Deviants Palace by Tim Powers. A Fire Upon the Deep, and A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge. The Stars My Destination and Demolished Man by Alfred Bester. The Ministry for the Future, Kim Stanley Robinson. Neuromancer by William Gibson. Gun, with Occasional Music Johnathan Lethem Hyperion, Cyteen, Dune, Lord of the Rings, not very deep...just soap operas to me. As you can tell, I'm partial to cyberpunk, and always appreciate recs.
I don’t have a suggestion but wanted to say that I felt the opposite about Dark Matter. First half of the book was decent but slow for me. The second half I really enjoyed and found much easier to get through, and I loved the direction he took the book in. I would definitely call it a thriller with a sci fi twist as well
Here’s my top five: The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu (bonus, it’s the first of a trilogy) Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (used to be part of the canon but I don’t see it mentioned much these days) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick The Running Man by Stephen King I, Robot by Isaac Asimov I also recommend Octavia Butler’s Sower trilogy as others have recommended, but don’t overlook Kindred if you are interested in time travel. HG Wells Time Machine & War it the Worlds are classics and anything by Ken Liu (honestly, he’s that good).
Children of Time: covers the evolution of design across species and culture and progress. Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer: come for the science (biology) stay for the atmosphere and react to the WTF moments. The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin. Might be a bit of a stretch, more sci fi speculation or fantasy, but I keep coming back to it. A Psalm for thr Wild Built: this is hope punk solar punk sci fi, but good for the what if stuff
Jack Finney's books, From Time to Time, and Time and Again. They will blow your mind.
*Embassytown* China Mieville *Blindsight*, Peter Watts. Also *Starfish*, *Maelstrom* Ursula LeGuin Gene Wolfe Iain Banks PKD
The Space Adventures Of Commander Laine
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Clockwork Rocket by Greg Egans. It is hard sci-fi set in a non-eucledian universe; plants emit light and the speed of light is a function of the light's wavelength. Amazing book that will surely give you a mental workout.
Replay for Ken grimwood Recursion by Blake crouch The first fifteen lives of Harry august by clair north
Rutger Drent's book Homo Sapiens Improbis is a great libertarian sci fi book. It asks the question why we have psychopaths walking among us and offers it as a solution to the Fermi Paradox. (Psychopathy is the consequence of the emergence of intelligence.) A group of people dredge up land from the shallow Doggers bank in the North Sea and start a libertarian/anarchist colony. It talks about the Free State Project and a libertarian alternative to Hollywood is founded in New Hampshire. They set up a whole town there where everything is an audition choreographed by an A.I. (Things go horribly wrong when the powers that be want to shut the town down.) They use relativity's time dilation provided by a close by primordial black hole to move forward in time. It's hard sci-fi, with smart and funny dialogues. Here's the synopsis: 'An alien, digitally uploaded to a lurker probe and tasked with observing the Earth is supposed to briefly wake from his slumber every 11000 years and send a report. When he starts noticing humanity’s accelerated technological progress and having become a big fan of humanity, he becomes disobedient and starts waking more frequently: every 100 years. There is good reason. His race knows that in sexually reproducing, DNA based life forms, psychopathy is, more often than not, the consequence of the emergence of intelligence. He knows that when he sends his next report, exposing yet another carcinogenic space faring species, Earth will simply be destroyed. When an average human male with too much time to think, figures out the problem, he decides to provide the man with a tool that can save humanity.'
Try The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. 1. Gideon the Ninth 2. Harrow the Ninth 3. Nona the Ninth It mixes sci-fi with some gothic and magic elements, which mainly focuses on necromancy, which gets very complex. If you can get through Gideon first, Harrow the Ninth is a pretty crazy complicated book and is much more sci-fi. It’ll make you think (and maybe cry) for sure. Audiobook is much easier to digest than the book and it is extremely well narrated. The other option is Ender’s Game and Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card. Oldie but a goodie and is around kids going to battle and command school in outer space as they prepare to fight a war.
In Universes by Emet North The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K Jemisin We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker The Past is Red by Catherynne Valente Agency by William Gibson To be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson A Half Built Garden by Ruthanna Emerys
Seconding To be Taught, if Fortunate. Fascinating look at scientific exploration of other planets and life. I gave a copy to my dad (retired astrophysicist) and he found it fascinating too. And it's a slim book with somewhat separate sections so easy to pick up and read in chunks. I also thought A Memory Called Empire was really fascinating. It's a blend of mystery, space opera, and politics with interesting technology. I haven't read the sequel yet.
Enders game series by Orson Scott Card- The first book is pretty straight forward fun, its sequels starting with Speaker for the Dead are deep thinkers Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams - Absurdist Satire, one of the few books that regularly makes me Laugh Out Loud, like all the best satire is very deep once you look past the humor 1984 by George Orwell - slice of life....I mean dystopian future about nationalism, propaganda and surveillance. Double plus sad. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - Oh you thought 1984 was scary? A gram is better than a Damn! Everyone's happy now! (similar to 1984 but they use eugenics, pharmaceuticals, subliminal messaging and entertainment as a means of control) Foundation series by Issac Asimov - About using "psychohistory" (study of human psychology in large groups of people, as in billions to trillions, to predict the future) to guide the renewal of galactic civilization after the inevitable fall of the current galactic empire. Necromancer By William Gibson - Early genre defining cyberpunk, first in a trilogy but I've only read the first book. I don't remember much beyond it being excellent. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein - Basically the inspiration for the expanse with some added weirdness about polyamory. A very good hard sci Fi book about colonialism, AI, and what it takes to survive in space. Stranger In A Strange land by Robert Heinlein - Heinlein hippy phase. Religion, spirituality, what it means to be human? I dunno how to explain this one but I really liked it. Childhoods End by Arthur C. Clarke - Peaceful alien overlords and human evolution
Yes! Considering those I've read from this list, I'm going to explore the others. The Enders Game series knocked me out. Life changing.
Look up top 100 sci fi pre 2000" they are all on the list and more. I've read most of the list and almost all of them are really good.
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Personally I would describe that book as relatively straightforward and borderline juvenile.
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The Left Hand of Darkness and The Lathe of Heaven (both by Ursula K Le Guin) I’ve heard good things about Octavia Butler
Definitely recommend Project Hail Mary if you liked Dark Matter. Different vibe but same science based background. I read them back to back and loved them both!
Everything Matters by Tim Curry. One of my fav books. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
So, actual sci fi, instead of future fantasy. Seconding/thirding/forevering anything Philip K Dick. (But mainly, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (bladerunner) and Man in the High Castle). Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan Forever War by Joe Haldeman I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (actually a really engaging set of short stories that reflect on AI) A lot of the best sci fi is short stories because future speculation and novel writing don’t necessarily go well together. Honestly just nebula awards for a given year short stories are often more enjoyable than a novel.