Anyone have some really good Science Fiction Book recommendations?

Kesomir

Kesomir

Kesomir

Associate
Joined
24 Sep 2020
Posts
109
I read a lot of Sci-Fi and Fantasy along side Nautical, Action Adventure, Crime / Police Procedural and Thriller (Like Jack Reacher). Most of the books I've collected recently have been Fantasy, so I am looking for recommendations of well written engaging sci fi. I'm not averse to the Hornblower in space stuff like Honor Harrington or Jack Campbell's JAG in space (or the Lost Fleet). Quite like Military Sci Fi, but not into sci-fi romance like 'Hunt the Stars - Jessie Mihalik'.

I love every Neal Asher book I've read and prefer them generally to Iain M. Banks. Recent picks I've particularly enjoyed:
  • Artifact Space by Miles Cameron
  • Old Man's War by John Scalzi (I find this author hit and miss, some great books and some I don't really get on with)
  • Children of Time / Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt
  • Embers of War by Gareth L Powell
 
MadMossy said:
Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson is a great series.
Click to expand...
oooh very nice suggestion. Excellent ratings, the excerpt looks intriguing and there are 14 books in the series :)

Added to wishlist.

Edit: Looks like they are also available to read on kindle unlimited.
 
Turns out I already own `We are legion`, so will bump that up the reading list.

Looks like Ruins of the Galaxy 1-9 can be had for just over £4. Although I prefer to read them broken up, at that price it's too tempting to just get the omnibus.

Thanks MadMossy!
 
Shamikebab said:
Murderbot series is worth checking out
Click to expand...
I'd wholeheartedly second that.

The first chapter of the first book is up on tor.com to read.
opethian said:
This thread has reminded me to start reading the Foundation series.
Click to expand...
It's good, but it is at times very much a product of it's time (1940's), I reread the first three books for the first time in ~20 years last year and they were not as good as I remembered but still good especially if you read all the related books.
Kesomir said:
I read a lot of Sci-Fi and Fantasy along side Nautical, Action Adventure, Crime / Police Procedural and Thriller (Like Jack Reacher). Most of the books I've collected recently have been Fantasy, so I am looking for recommendations of well written engaging sci fi. I'm not averse to the Hornblower in space stuff like Honor Harrington or Jack Campbell's JAG in space (or the Lost Fleet). Quite like Military Sci Fi, but not into sci-fi romance like 'Hunt the Stars - Jessie Mihalik'.

I love every Neal Asher book I've read and prefer them generally to Iain M. Banks. Recent picks I've particularly enjoyed:
  • Artifact Space by Miles Cameron
  • Old Man's War by John Scalzi (I find this author hit and miss, some great books and some I don't really get on with)
  • Children of Time / Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt
  • Embers of War by Gareth L Powell
Click to expand...
It may be worth trying some of the Peter F Hamilton books, possibly try "A second chance at Eden" first as it's short stories with a link to his first big Trilogy (the Confederation/Nights Dawn Trilogy which starts off with The Reality Dysfunction), whilst his Commonwealth books are from memory a standalone prequal type thing, a duo (Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained), then a trilogy set later, then another duology.

They can take some getting into, but they are very good imo.

Some of the David Weber books are good, but by the end of his Honor Harrington series I was struggling a bit, he did Out of the Shadows and Into the light which are a good pair of alien invasion books with a twist.

I can enjoy John Ringo's stuff as pulp military sci-fi, it's generally fun stuff but I suspect it's very much love it or hate it and unfortunately he's done several series that got to about book 4 and it felt like they could have done more. Troy Rising is I think meant to be sort of a prequel to Schlock Mercenary (I vaguely remember there being an acknowledgement about it being set in the far past and so things may not have been remembered correctly).
 
You have mentioned him already, but I enjoy Anything by Ian m Banks. I am currently enjoying rereading use of weapons.

Or for something different (if you enjoy the war in space theme) try some of the books set in the 40k universe like the horus heresy series. As a pair A thousand sons, and prospero burns were two I enjoyed as audio books.
 
EdwardTeach said:
You have mentioned him already, but I enjoy Anything by Ian m Banks. I am currently enjoying rereading use of weapons.

Or for something different (if you enjoy the war in space theme) try some of the books set in the 40k universe like the horus heresy series. As a pair A thousand sons, and prospero burns were two I enjoyed as audio books.
Click to expand...
The Gaunts Ghost books (well generally almost anything by Dan Abnett) are good.
 
If you haven't read them already then it sounds as though David Feintuch's Midshipman's Hope (The Seafort Saga) would be right up your street. I read them some years ago and found the series to be a page turner. Would second the recommendation for Peter F Hamilton and also to check out some Niven/Niven and Pournelle (e.g. Ring World, Footfall, Mote in God's Eye). Another author I used to like was Philip José Farmer, such as the Riverworld series.
 
Ok, gonna dump a load from my kindle list, ignoring those already mentioned.

Orson Scott Card: Ender's Game
James S. A. Corey: The Expanse series
Evan Currie: Odyssey Series
Hugh Howey: Wool Trilogy
Marko Kloos: Frontlines Series
Cixin Lui: The Three-Body Problem
Richard Morgan: Altered Carbon
Alastair Reynolds: Revelation Space series
Kim Stanley Robinson: Red, Green, Blue Mars
 
Werewolf said:
The Gaunts Ghost books (well generally almost anything by Dan Abnett) are good.
Click to expand...
As are the Ciaphas Cain books by Sandy Mitchell if you like a little humour in a WH40K story. An Imperial Commisar who, despite his best efforts to stay as far away from danger and as near to comfort as possible, always finds himself in the thick of the action.
 
Walter Jon Williams: The Dread Empire's Fall trilogy - it's well enough written and is mostly space combat and civil war type stuff it's not Iain M Banks but pretty entertaining.

Some of the others I was going to mention have already been suggested.
 
Terminal_Boy said:
As are the Ciaphas Cain books by Sandy Mitchell if you like a little humour in a WH40K story. An Imperial Commisar who, despite his best efforts to stay as far away from danger and as near to comfort as possible, always finds himself in the thick of the action.
Click to expand...
Still think the Inquisitor trilogies by Abnett have the most 'non-40k fan' appeal of the 40k novels.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom