I enjoyed the Three Body Problem trilogy too. Was hugely epic in scope, and unlike anything I'd ever read. It is being adapted into a TV series for Netflix, by the two showrunners who made Game of Thrones.Iorek wrote: ↑Sat Apr 24, 2021 1:07 pm I read the Three Body Problem (1st in a trilogy by a Chinese author) and thought it was very good. I think it's based on a lot of "real" physics-- I saw an afterword or an interview where the author said he thinks the world as it is is much more interesting that anything he could imagine.
Good Modern Science Fiction
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I'm part way into The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers which is the latest in her space opera "wayfarers" series.
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
For fans of the Martha Wells Murderbot series the publisher has provided a free short work in that series:
https://www.tor.com/2021/04/19/home-hab ... tha-wells/
https://www.tor.com/2021/04/19/home-hab ... tha-wells/
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
The Long Run, by Daniel Keys Moran. A cyberpunk classic that preceded Snow Crash with many of the same themes.
If you have never heard of it, check out the reviews. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004X ... 055&sr=1-4
I read it in the early nineties though it took me years to find a copy (same with his other books, many of which were selling for hundreds used on the internet when the internet became a "Thing". They have recently been released as mass market paperbacks and in Kindle form and can be purchased for reasonable prices on Amazon. Emerald Eyes and The Last Dancer (same series) are also excellent but they need not be read in order, and The Long Run is the best. Armageddon Blues was OK (earlier attempt- if you get into the whole Continuing Time thing you will probably enjoy it despite its weaknesses). The AI War was written recently after decades of not writing, and imho does not compare with his earlier work.
Why The Long Run is still relatively unknown, and never made into a movie, is beyond me. Bad marketing I suppose. Read it.
If you have never heard of it, check out the reviews. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004X ... 055&sr=1-4
I read it in the early nineties though it took me years to find a copy (same with his other books, many of which were selling for hundreds used on the internet when the internet became a "Thing". They have recently been released as mass market paperbacks and in Kindle form and can be purchased for reasonable prices on Amazon. Emerald Eyes and The Last Dancer (same series) are also excellent but they need not be read in order, and The Long Run is the best. Armageddon Blues was OK (earlier attempt- if you get into the whole Continuing Time thing you will probably enjoy it despite its weaknesses). The AI War was written recently after decades of not writing, and imho does not compare with his earlier work.
Why The Long Run is still relatively unknown, and never made into a movie, is beyond me. Bad marketing I suppose. Read it.
Last edited by protagonist on Wed Apr 28, 2021 9:08 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Not so much books but entertaining shows! Netflix and Amazon has a lot of programs that are very good.gatorman wrote: ↑Sun Sep 07, 2014 4:43 pm I'm looking for some recommendations. When I was younger I liked Heinlein and A.E. Van Vogt. I wasn't much of a Bradbury fan and found reading Arthur C. Clarke to be tedious. I liked Asimov ok and liked the first few Dune books. I haven't read a lot of modern science fiction, but my daughter gave me some Orson Scott Card books for my birthday a couple of years ago, and I found them interesting in spots, but by the end I was pushing myself to finish. With that as background, can you suggest some authors and titles? I went by Barnes & Noble today and looked at a few, but everything I picked up seemed formulaic, so I left without making a purchase.
Thanks,
gatorman
Tony
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Me too. I listened to all three books as audiobooks.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (6th in the Murderbot series). Well that was a disappointment. I got bummed out at the $11.99 price when I saw that it's only 176 pages long. I didn't realize it was that short until my reading progress percent was going to fast and checked. It's a novella.
I'm only half-way through and wish I didn't purchase it. The whole tone of this novella is nothing but snide comments. I get the impression the author is getting paid by the word and is using the comments for filler.
Also, this novella takes place in-between books. It's not a sequel.
Looking at the Amazon reviews now, I'm not alone in my opinion.
I'm only half-way through and wish I didn't purchase it. The whole tone of this novella is nothing but snide comments. I get the impression the author is getting paid by the word and is using the comments for filler.
Also, this novella takes place in-between books. It's not a sequel.
Looking at the Amazon reviews now, I'm not alone in my opinion.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
No body mentioned andy weir. He just came out with project hail mary and i love it so far. He did the martian book…
I also got into the bob series. Pretty out there. Check it out.
I also got into the bob series. Pretty out there. Check it out.
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
As I said above I liked this and price wasn't a consideration because I got the e-book from the library.LadyGeek wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 10:42 am Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (6th in the Murderbot series). Well that was a disappointment. I got bummed out at the $11.99 price when I saw that it's only 176 pages long. I didn't realize it was that short until my reading progress percent was going to fast and checked. It's a novella.
I'm only half-way through and wish I didn't purchase it. The whole tone of this novella is nothing but snide comments. I get the impression the author is getting paid by the word and is using the comments for filler.
Also, this novella takes place in-between books. It's not a sequel.
Looking at the Amazon reviews now, I'm not alone in my opinion.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I was disappointed in the length per price as well, but I liked the story fine. I noticed that Martha Wells had a short story Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory: A Tor.com Original Kindle Edition that you can buy for $1 where they mention something to the effect that she was trying to give this away for free to purchasers of her other Muderbot stories. I imagine the greedy publisher versus the magnanimous artist theme is at play in all of this.placeholder wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 12:57 pmAs I said above I liked this and price wasn't a consideration because I got the e-book from the library.LadyGeek wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 10:42 am Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (6th in the Murderbot series). Well that was a disappointment. I got bummed out at the $11.99 price when I saw that it's only 176 pages long. I didn't realize it was that short until my reading progress percent was going to fast and checked. It's a novella.
I'm only half-way through and wish I didn't purchase it. The whole tone of this novella is nothing but snide comments. I get the impression the author is getting paid by the word and is using the comments for filler.
Also, this novella takes place in-between books. It's not a sequel.
Looking at the Amazon reviews now, I'm not alone in my opinion.
Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory was originally given free to readers who pre-ordered Martha's Murderbot novel, Network Effect. The story is set just after the 4th novella, Exit Strategy.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Then ’tis like the breath of an unfee’d lawyer.
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I don't read much science fiction, but a few have stood out:
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon is about a high functioning autistic adult in the near future. Should he have a medical procedure which will "cure" him? (Not to be confused with the movie about something else.)
Old Man's War and subsequent books in the series John Scalzi.
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon is about a high functioning autistic adult in the near future. Should he have a medical procedure which will "cure" him? (Not to be confused with the movie about something else.)
Old Man's War and subsequent books in the series John Scalzi.
"History is the memory of time, the life of the dead and the happiness of the living." Captain John Smith 1580-1631
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
There are many great replies here and I haven't read them all, so I don't know if Stanislaw Lem has been mentioned.
He is a Polish author and has written a number of sci-fi books, but my favorite by far is 'The Cyberiad' (1974).
I find it amazing that it reads so well given it is a translation from Polish.
It is a series of relatively independent stories about two 'constructors' that are friends/competitors traveling the galaxies.
I would call it a bit of a light-hearted book but most stories get across some larger lesson (people are important no matter how small (sounds like Horton hears a Who) and how we often take in much more information/data/news/etc. than we will ever use).
He is a Polish author and has written a number of sci-fi books, but my favorite by far is 'The Cyberiad' (1974).
I find it amazing that it reads so well given it is a translation from Polish.
It is a series of relatively independent stories about two 'constructors' that are friends/competitors traveling the galaxies.
I would call it a bit of a light-hearted book but most stories get across some larger lesson (people are important no matter how small (sounds like Horton hears a Who) and how we often take in much more information/data/news/etc. than we will ever use).
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I finally finished Fugitive Telemetry and was in a rush to read something new. I downloaded Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I ignored the $14.99 price (only $9.99 if you read Spanish). It's 496 pages long, so I don't feel as bad as the Martha Wells novella (what I just finished).*
I've read the Martian, so I wasn't too worried. Right off the bat, the second math question had a very innovative solution. You gotta be kidding. I laughed and knew I'd like this book. I haven't read enough to compare it to the Martian, but I don't think I'll be disappointed.
In the mean time, I'll look at the authors mentioned earlier in this thread.
* I don't mind paying for good quality content. It's just that I really didn't like the low-quality writing style in Fugitive Telemetry and thought it was far too short for the price I paid.
I've read the Martian, so I wasn't too worried. Right off the bat, the second math question had a very innovative solution. You gotta be kidding. I laughed and knew I'd like this book. I haven't read enough to compare it to the Martian, but I don't think I'll be disappointed.
In the mean time, I'll look at the authors mentioned earlier in this thread.
* I don't mind paying for good quality content. It's just that I really didn't like the low-quality writing style in Fugitive Telemetry and thought it was far too short for the price I paid.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Same. I like all the murderbot books, and thought this was good. But yeah also got Kindle version from library book.placeholder wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 12:57 pmAs I said above I liked this and price wasn't a consideration because I got the e-book from the library.LadyGeek wrote: ↑Fri May 21, 2021 10:42 am Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (6th in the Murderbot series). Well that was a disappointment. I got bummed out at the $11.99 price when I saw that it's only 176 pages long. I didn't realize it was that short until my reading progress percent was going to fast and checked. It's a novella.
I'm only half-way through and wish I didn't purchase it. The whole tone of this novella is nothing but snide comments. I get the impression the author is getting paid by the word and is using the comments for filler.
Also, this novella takes place in-between books. It's not a sequel.
Looking at the Amazon reviews now, I'm not alone in my opinion.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Solaris by Stansilaw Lem is a remarkable piece of literature AND science fiction.EyeOnTheSparrow wrote: ↑Sun May 23, 2021 3:51 pm There are many great replies here and I haven't read them all, so I don't know if Stanislaw Lem has been mentioned.
He is a Polish author and has written a number of sci-fi books, but my favorite by far is 'The Cyberiad' (1974).
I find it amazing that it reads so well given it is a translation from Polish.
It is a series of relatively independent stories about two 'constructors' that are friends/competitors traveling the galaxies.
I would call it a bit of a light-hearted book but most stories get across some larger lesson (people are important no matter how small (sounds like Horton hears a Who) and how we often take in much more information/data/news/etc. than we will ever use).
Forget the fact they made a movie about it - read the book and you'll see. It's head and shoulders in literary grace (very hard to find in scifi!), original ideas, and a compelling story. One of my top scifi book (and perhaps all books) for sure.
If you haven't read this and enjoy scifi, put this as the next on your reading list, you won't regret it.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Same. I really liked most of the Culture books. Player of Games and Matter were two of my favorites.
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
It's free on the tor.com site:Dude2 wrote: ↑Sun May 23, 2021 10:35 am I noticed that Martha Wells had a short story Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory: A Tor.com Original Kindle Edition that you can buy for $1 where they mention something to the effect that she was trying to give this away for free to purchasers of her other Muderbot stories. I imagine the greedy publisher versus the magnanimous artist theme is at play in all of this.
https://www.tor.com/2021/04/19/home-hab ... tha-wells/
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
+2 My pandemic read this past year was to get caught up on the expanse books and finally read ahead of the show. I powered though 5 of them. A couple of the mid series books area little slow but the action REALLY picks up in the last couple and I cant wait for the final book to come out this fall and see how it ends.mall0c wrote: ↑Mon Feb 08, 2021 9:57 am+1 on this, probably been mentioned earlier in the thread too but The Expanse is probably the best "modern" sci-fi I've read in the last five years. Love that it takes a more realistic treatment of gravity without handwaving around magical "inertial dampeners"
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I'm a big fan of Anne McCaffrey. All her Pern books are good and they can stand alone if you don't want to collect the large set. I also like Mercedes Lackey. Her Heralds of Valdemar books are awesome! I'm currently reading her Bardic Series and enjoying it tremendously.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Welcome! I agree. You got me thinking.
When I had my paperback collection,* I very much enjoyed the Pern series as well as many books by Mercedes Lackey. I may revisit these authors with my Kindle.
Around the same time frame, I was also reading C. J. Cherryh - notably Downbelow Station and Cyteen.
* Many years ago, I gave all of my paperbacks to a friend's son. He grew up reading those books and still has the collection today.
When I had my paperback collection,* I very much enjoyed the Pern series as well as many books by Mercedes Lackey. I may revisit these authors with my Kindle.
Around the same time frame, I was also reading C. J. Cherryh - notably Downbelow Station and Cyteen.
* Many years ago, I gave all of my paperbacks to a friend's son. He grew up reading those books and still has the collection today.
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Project Hail Mary was a fantastic read IMO - Weir got a bit of grief for his second book (Artemis) not living up to expectations after The Martian (IMO it was still a decent read), but with Project Hail Mary he was more in line with the "I am going to science the heck out of this" theme of The Martian
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I came across Artemis in the library on order books and couldn't understand why there was such a wait list for it until I realized he was the author of The Martian.life in slices wrote: ↑Mon May 24, 2021 7:42 am Project Hail Mary was a fantastic read IMO - Weir got a bit of grief for his second book (Artemis) not living up to expectations after The Martian (IMO it was still a decent read), but with Project Hail Mary he was more in line with the "I am going to science the heck out of this" theme of The Martian
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
(@telemark: Ha -- not how I would have summarized the plot, but accurate and funny.)mrb09 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 12:04 pmFor a fun homage to this book, see also John Scalzi’s Fuzzy Nationtelemark wrote: ↑Sat Nov 28, 2020 10:07 pm H. Beam Piper, Little Fuzzy
Piper was a student of history, and this is one of the oldest of recurring historical patterns: a shift in climate causes northern nomads to come wandering south, where they encounter city dwellers, whom they first conquer and then assimilate into. In this case the new arrivals are short, cute, and covered in silky fur, but other than that everything goes pretty much by the book. It's also that rarest of birds, the science fiction courtroom drama, and a good one too.
For those who enjoy what has recently been called "competence porn", give Little Fuzzy a try. The principal protagonist and his supporting cast, as well as the antagonist leader and most of the bit players are all strong.
(Which, incidentally, is my principal complaint about Scalzi's homage/rewrite -- perhaps I owe it a re-read, but the protagonist is turned from a Kimball Kinnison to a Caspar Milquetoast.)
This series has a peculiar history: Piper's agent failed to notify him of several sales, leading Piper to believe his writing career failed; he then committed suicide. (After shutting off the utilities and covering the furniture with dropcloths.) At the time, two novels set around the Little Fuzzy situation had been published ("Little Fuzzy" and "The Other Human Race"); subsequently, another author wrote a sequel, and a third author wrote a tangent. Then, a third unpublished Piper book was discovered ("Fuzzies and Other People") which, of course, has inconsistencies with the sequel. Then, in the 2010s, three more sequels have been published.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I just finished Project Hail Mary and absolutely loved it. Without introducing a spoiler, all I'll say is that the ending was very much like the final scene of a TV series I streamed. Excellent.
So, what to read next? First, I looked at Solaris by Stansilaw Lem, but decided the genre wasn't for me.
Next, I looked at The Expanse series. Since I had already watched the series on Amazon Prime, I wasn't sure I wanted to revisit this now. I understand that it helped to see the TV series first.
Based on the comments in this thread (read anything by Alastair Reynolds), I settled on Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds. The book is described as "Cybergoth". So far, it's interesting.
FYI - The suggested reading order is at the bottom of this page: Novels | Alastair Reynolds
So, what to read next? First, I looked at Solaris by Stansilaw Lem, but decided the genre wasn't for me.
Next, I looked at The Expanse series. Since I had already watched the series on Amazon Prime, I wasn't sure I wanted to revisit this now. I understand that it helped to see the TV series first.
Based on the comments in this thread (read anything by Alastair Reynolds), I settled on Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds. The book is described as "Cybergoth". So far, it's interesting.
FYI - The suggested reading order is at the bottom of this page: Novels | Alastair Reynolds
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I enjoyed the revelation space series but they are a bit grim at times and some other series of his that I have read are:
Revenger/Shadow Captain/Bone Silence: set in at much transformed solar system where long ago the planets and moons were converted into thousands of habitats and small planetoids and people travel between worlds with somewhat steampunk solar craft.
Aurora Rising (The Prefect)/Elysium Fire: These are prequels to the revelation space books and are sort of police thrillers.
Revenger/Shadow Captain/Bone Silence: set in at much transformed solar system where long ago the planets and moons were converted into thousands of habitats and small planetoids and people travel between worlds with somewhat steampunk solar craft.
Aurora Rising (The Prefect)/Elysium Fire: These are prequels to the revelation space books and are sort of police thrillers.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Yes, one of the book reviews said that Alastair Reynolds was the "Bad twin" of Peter F. Hamilton. Both write space opera with complex worlds. But Reynolds writes from the perspective that the universe is a dark and scary place, while Hamilton focuses on a future that is "Bright and shiny". (Source)
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
My absolute top sci fi recommendation is the short stories of Ted Chiang. He has been writing for 30 years, averaging a story per year. About 1/3 of them have won Hugo and/or Nebula awards. They are collected in two books: “Story of your Life and Others”, and “Exhalation”. Spins together speculative fiction, philosophy, and religion into phenomenal stories. The movie “Arrival” is based on one of his stories. His primary profession is as a technical writer and thus the stories are extremely well written and easy to read.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Boundary by Eric Flintlife in slices wrote: ↑Mon May 24, 2021 7:42 amProject Hail Mary was a fantastic read IMO - Weir got a bit of grief for his second book (Artemis) not living up to expectations after The Martian (IMO it was still a decent read), but with Project Hail Mary he was more in line with the "I am going to science the heck out of this" theme of The Martian
Charles Soule - anyone
Gene doucette - the apocalypse seven
Dan Frey - the future is yours
Douglas Richards - the enigma cube
Last edited by nalor511 on Sun Jun 13, 2021 2:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Also by Ryk E. Spoor who is "sea wasp" on rec.arts.sf.written and who wrote the entertaining space opera series Grand Central Arena:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0727NVFYN/
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I'll check those out...nalor511 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 06, 2021 6:21 pmBoundary by Eric Flintlife in slices wrote: ↑Mon May 24, 2021 7:42 amProject Hail Mary was a fantastic read IMO - Weir got a bit of grief for his second book (Artemis) not living up to expectations after The Martian (IMO it was still a decent read), but with Project Hail Mary he was more in line with the "I am going to science the heck out of this" theme of The Martian
Charles Soule - anyone
Mark doucette - the apocalypse seven
Dan Frey - the future is yours
Douglas Richards - the enigma cube
Have read the Enigma Cube and thought it was one of his better books; I like Richards but sometimes can't finish some his books - he usually starts strong but then fades out a bit in the middle and I sometimes loose interest - might just be me though
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
My summer non-fiction science reading:
- The Genome Odyssey by Euan Ashly, looks to be a good read about genomics and it direct application in medicine to date
- The Next 500 years (Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds) by Christoper Mason - a bit out there perhaps, but I am 3 or 4 chapters in and it has been a good read so far about what we know about space-faring biology (from our astronaut program) and will start to dive into what humans might need to do to explore and/or live on other planets in the future
- Something Deeply Hidden, by Sean Carroll - what summer would be complete without a book on quantum mechanics
- The Genome Odyssey by Euan Ashly, looks to be a good read about genomics and it direct application in medicine to date
- The Next 500 years (Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds) by Christoper Mason - a bit out there perhaps, but I am 3 or 4 chapters in and it has been a good read so far about what we know about space-faring biology (from our astronaut program) and will start to dive into what humans might need to do to explore and/or live on other planets in the future
- Something Deeply Hidden, by Sean Carroll - what summer would be complete without a book on quantum mechanics
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
For books that don't fit the sci-fi category, feel free to post in: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I read this in 10 minutes, and it wasn't worth a dime. Definitely suggest people pay 0 for it, essentially a few thoughts that probably got dropped on the cutting room floor that any reader could connect the dots anyway.placeholder wrote: ↑Sun May 23, 2021 9:13 pmIt's free on the tor.com site:Dude2 wrote: ↑Sun May 23, 2021 10:35 am I noticed that Martha Wells had a short story Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory: A Tor.com Original Kindle Edition that you can buy for $1 where they mention something to the effect that she was trying to give this away for free to purchasers of her other Muderbot stories. I imagine the greedy publisher versus the magnanimous artist theme is at play in all of this.
https://www.tor.com/2021/04/19/home-hab ... tha-wells/
Then ’tis like the breath of an unfee’d lawyer.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I just finished Project Hail Mary and I agree. It was fantastic! Any recommendations for something similar to Hail Mary in terms of science fiction that isn't too science-fictiony?
Also, would you mind DM'ing me that TV series? I don't care if the series' ending is spoiled.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Sure. PM containing the spoiler sent.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I didn't realize Weir written another book so I know what I'm reading next.LadyGeek wrote: ↑Sat Jun 05, 2021 8:31 pm I just finished Project Hail Mary and absolutely loved it. Without introducing a spoiler, all I'll say is that the ending was very much like the final scene of a TV series I streamed. Excellent.
So, what to read next? First, I looked at Solaris by Stansilaw Lem, but decided the genre wasn't for me.
Next, I looked at The Expanse series. Since I had already watched the series on Amazon Prime, I wasn't sure I wanted to revisit this now. I understand that it helped to see the TV series first.
Based on the comments in this thread (read anything by Alastair Reynolds), I settled on Revelation Space, by Alastair Reynolds. The book is described as "Cybergoth". So far, it's interesting.
FYI - The suggested reading order is at the bottom of this page: Novels | Alastair Reynolds
Anywho, around the same time the Martian came out (I got it for 99cents on Amazon before he got famous) I read all the Hugh Howey Silo books and loved them too.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
From the "You can't make this stuff up" department, both the book I just finished (Project Hail Mary) and the book I'm reading now (Revelation Space) take place in the same star system. Without giving any spoilers, it makes perfect sense.
A quick search on Wikipedia shows that quite a number of sci-fi books, TV series, and games use this same star system.
A quick search on Wikipedia shows that quite a number of sci-fi books, TV series, and games use this same star system.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Vacuum Flowers by Michael Swanwick
There's an old Peanuts cartoon that starts with Charlie Brown complaining about some perceived personal defect. The other character tells him not to worry, because your personality isn't set in stone until about the age of five. Charlie Brown says "But I am five. I'm more than five!", and the other character says something like "Oh well, that's just the way it goes."
In the world of Vacuum Flowers, this is a fixable problem: you can visit any wetware technician and get any aspect of your personality changed, or get a whole new personality: there's a brisk market in licensed copies of popular personalities, along with the inevitable knockoffs. Or the change may be involuntary, leading to fairly predictable political abuses. And the human race, no longer entirely human by our standards, has expanded through the solar system while the Earth has been taken over by a mass mind that hardly seems human at all.
It's all extremely imaginative and clever, verging on brilliance, but somewhat difficult for me to relate to as a story. Perhaps because I'm stuck as a plain old human, version 1.0, who has just had to learn to live with himself, faults and all.
There's an old Peanuts cartoon that starts with Charlie Brown complaining about some perceived personal defect. The other character tells him not to worry, because your personality isn't set in stone until about the age of five. Charlie Brown says "But I am five. I'm more than five!", and the other character says something like "Oh well, that's just the way it goes."
In the world of Vacuum Flowers, this is a fixable problem: you can visit any wetware technician and get any aspect of your personality changed, or get a whole new personality: there's a brisk market in licensed copies of popular personalities, along with the inevitable knockoffs. Or the change may be involuntary, leading to fairly predictable political abuses. And the human race, no longer entirely human by our standards, has expanded through the solar system while the Earth has been taken over by a mass mind that hardly seems human at all.
It's all extremely imaginative and clever, verging on brilliance, but somewhat difficult for me to relate to as a story. Perhaps because I'm stuck as a plain old human, version 1.0, who has just had to learn to live with himself, faults and all.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Michael Swanwick is super creative with wonderful ideas, but I find his writing style hard to read. I've finished some of his books, at least 3, and they pay off, but are a slog for me.telemark wrote: ↑Sun Jun 13, 2021 2:47 pm Vacuum Flowers by Michael Swanwick
There's an old Peanuts cartoon that starts with Charlie Brown complaining about some perceived personal defect. The other character tells him not to worry, because your personality isn't set in stone until about the age of five. Charlie Brown says "But I am five. I'm more than five!", and the other character says something like "Oh well, that's just the way it goes."
In the world of Vacuum Flowers, this is a fixable problem: you can visit any wetware technician and get any aspect of your personality changed, or get a whole new personality: there's a brisk market in licensed copies of popular personalities, along with the inevitable knockoffs. Or the change may be involuntary, leading to fairly predictable political abuses. And the human race, no longer entirely human by our standards, has expanded through the solar system while the Earth has been taken over by a mass mind that hardly seems human at all.
It's all extremely imaginative and clever, verging on brilliance, but somewhat difficult for me to relate to as a story. Perhaps because I'm stuck as a plain old human, version 1.0, who has just had to learn to live with himself, faults and all.
I find Andy Weir, Eric Flint, Roger Zelazny, super easy to read.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Just finished Weir's Hail Mary and I enjoyed it. One of the better alien characters in some time.
If you enjoyed this one, an old ~1980 novel "Dragon's Egg" by the late Robert Forward might be a good read. Great science, rigorous and a very good "life as we do NOT know it" set of aliens.
If you enjoyed this one, an old ~1980 novel "Dragon's Egg" by the late Robert Forward might be a good read. Great science, rigorous and a very good "life as we do NOT know it" set of aliens.
- Ozonewanderer
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I can tell you what I don't recommend: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. He is the author of The Martian which was made into a great movie with Matt Damon, so I thought this book would be good too. But unfortunately this plot is preposterous, and, worse, the author's language is so stilted It drives me crazy.
Every sentence is short. They all sound the same. You will want some variety. He really needs a ghost writer.
Get the idea?
Every sentence is short. They all sound the same. You will want some variety. He really needs a ghost writer.
Get the idea?
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Just finished:
Old Mans War - John Scalzi
I'm sure this book is going to be familiar to most SciFi readers. An easy read, military sci-fi about 75-year olds being drafted into a space military outfit intended to fight against enemy aliens attacking our interstellar human colonies.
The Long Run - Daniel Keys Moran
This is a hard book to classify. It's actually the middle book of a somewhat obscure trilogy, that I picked up used. It was not hard to pick up the background from the first book, and once I got used to some of the terminology/flow , for me it became a compelling read. At its core it is about a superbly gifted computer hacker living in some dystopian future USA who turns about be a lot more then he seems - and apparently the authorities think so also, as the book is about his struggle to avoid capture and death at the hands of a deadly elite adversary.
Old Mans War - John Scalzi
I'm sure this book is going to be familiar to most SciFi readers. An easy read, military sci-fi about 75-year olds being drafted into a space military outfit intended to fight against enemy aliens attacking our interstellar human colonies.
The Long Run - Daniel Keys Moran
This is a hard book to classify. It's actually the middle book of a somewhat obscure trilogy, that I picked up used. It was not hard to pick up the background from the first book, and once I got used to some of the terminology/flow , for me it became a compelling read. At its core it is about a superbly gifted computer hacker living in some dystopian future USA who turns about be a lot more then he seems - and apparently the authorities think so also, as the book is about his struggle to avoid capture and death at the hands of a deadly elite adversary.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Redemption Ark, by Alastair Reynolds. Book #2 of the Revelation Space trilogy. I'm finding it better than Book #1 (Revelation Space) and will keep going.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
I'm working my way through Stephen King's 11/22/63 and really enjoying it. This is marginally "science fiction", but a very interesting period piece and commentary on causality, the immutability of the time stream of events, and morality. It reminds me somewhat of Lewis Shiner's "Glimpses", another hard to categorize but excellent book.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
So I finished my pandemic project reading the Expanse up to the end of book 7.
Trying to decide what to do next... I had a change of heart and am going back to the very beginning. Seeing as Apple TV is finally making a screen adaptation of the grandad of them all,I went up in the attic and dug out my old copies of the Foundation series to re-read.
Yes they are dated and yes the character development leaves a bit to be desired. And it is almost comical now to read of people smoking cigars and reading paper newspapers in space... but the basic story is still timeless and they are very fast reads. I plowed though the first one in a weekend and my usual pace is about a book a month.
Trying to decide what to do next... I had a change of heart and am going back to the very beginning. Seeing as Apple TV is finally making a screen adaptation of the grandad of them all,I went up in the attic and dug out my old copies of the Foundation series to re-read.
Yes they are dated and yes the character development leaves a bit to be desired. And it is almost comical now to read of people smoking cigars and reading paper newspapers in space... but the basic story is still timeless and they are very fast reads. I plowed though the first one in a weekend and my usual pace is about a book a month.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Moran has new books for sale, including the full Trent series, and TLR's sequel - AI War: The Big Boost. All are available on Amazon.Barkingsparrow wrote: ↑Mon Jul 05, 2021 10:57 am
The Long Run - Daniel Keys Moran
This is a hard book to classify. It's actually the middle book of a somewhat obscure trilogy, that I picked up used. It was not hard to pick up the background from the first book, and once I got used to some of the terminology/flow , for me it became a compelling read. At its core it is about a superbly gifted computer hacker living in some dystopian future USA who turns about be a lot more then he seems - and apparently the authorities think so also, as the book is about his struggle to avoid capture and death at the hands of a deadly elite adversary.
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Thanks. I'll look for these. I just happened to rummage around at an used book store in the Sci-FI section and found this book. Surprised it never was on my radar before.Sandi_k wrote: ↑Wed Jul 07, 2021 7:24 pmMoran has new books for sale, including the full Trent series, and TLR's sequel - AI War: The Big Boost. All are available on Amazon.Barkingsparrow wrote: ↑Mon Jul 05, 2021 10:57 am
The Long Run - Daniel Keys Moran
This is a hard book to classify. It's actually the middle book of a somewhat obscure trilogy, that I picked up used. It was not hard to pick up the background from the first book, and once I got used to some of the terminology/flow , for me it became a compelling read. At its core it is about a superbly gifted computer hacker living in some dystopian future USA who turns about be a lot more then he seems - and apparently the authorities think so also, as the book is about his struggle to avoid capture and death at the hands of a deadly elite adversary.
Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Fair enough. I am a bit into it as an audio book. The short sentences may actually be more about the guy's personality type. IMO it works well as a spoken tone.Ozonewanderer wrote: ↑Mon Jun 14, 2021 3:25 pm I can tell you what I don't recommend: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. He is the author of The Martian which was made into a great movie with Matt Damon, so I thought this book would be good too. But unfortunately this plot is preposterous, and, worse, the author's language is so stilted It drives me crazy.
Every sentence is short. They all sound the same. You will want some variety. He really needs a ghost writer.
Get the idea?
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Re: Good Modern Science Fiction
Ha. I just read this book and loved it. I didn’t know he had written The Martian when I bought it. I’m going to read that next even though I’ve seen Damon’s movie several times now.