What books are you reading at the moment?
I'm currently reading the Wool omnibus by Hugh Howey. It's pretty decent I've been making very rapid progress as it's been too hot to sleep here recently now the summer has arrived.
I haven't seen the Apple show, but maybe I'll watch it in the future when I've finished all the books (I had Shift and Dust as well).
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. Was a recommendation on the R site.
Complex, eon spanning, hard sci-fi. I'm loving it!
Amazing book! Loved it +1
If you could, what other sci-fi works would you compare it to? I am wrapping up the Children of Time series and could use something else.
I sold Seveneves to a friend by saying it is like Neal Stephenson wrote The Martian. Well, at least the first 2/3 of it. It talks a lot about the science how how an event like the one described in the book might happen but with the kind if granularity and verbosity you would expect from NS.
Not sure. Tried a couple of Adrian Tchaikovsky and couldn't really get on. Could be because they were audiobooks.
Have been 'off' of reading for a while, but have realised a new found love for my Kindle.
Andy Wier's Hail Mary might fit your bill.
Or Iain Banks' Culture series.
Working my way through some Hugo winners past— reading A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M Miller.
I really liked Canticle, but I really felt like it suffered from being a fix-up novel. It’s three acts are not equal and don’t totally fit together in my opinion. It really starts off strong though! Hope you like it!
I'm really trying to read Three Body Problem, but I'm having a hard time following
There is a YouTube series that has adapted the book really well amazing https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMX26aiIvX5rFSYPXtcqda3tWd6pGVD5Q
Stick with it. I loved the series, but the first book is unfortunately the most confusing and, in my opinion, the worst of the three.
Really? I loved the first book, but felt the translator for the second had a different enough style that it was hard for me to stay engaged. Maybe I'll have to give it a second try
I'm currently reading Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey, which is the first book of the Expanse series. I haven't watched the TV series, since I wanted to dive into the books without previous knowledge.
I've read all of them. The TV series is incredible as well and had the full involvement of the authors. Some stuff is done better in the books (like the stuff that doesn't translate so well to screen such as the lanky belters and zero-gravity) and some stuff is done better in the TV show (they had an incredibly good cast of actors, all of whom really added to the roles - Krisjen, Ashford and Drummer in particular were amazing).
It was a really really good adaptation and it's quite rare you see that.
And they are magnificent.
So is the TV series ; -)
Amazing series of books that are up in my top three, still trying to find time to read Leviathan Falls (the final book). The story gets crazy.
Right? It starts off all very hard sci-fi, the only "magic" is a rocket motor that makes travel around the solar system doable on story-friendly timelines.
That expectation gets broken pretty quickly, and it really is amazing how far the story goes after such a simple beginning as the incident with the Canterbury!
I'm rereading Asimov's complete saga in "internal story chronological order":
I'm currently on "Forward the foundation"
The Foundation series is absolutely amazing, and I am jealous of you if this is your first reading. One of my formative series growing up. You're inspiring me to do the whole Asimov read through like your doing, because I don't believe I ever read the Empire books and never read Robot beyond I, Robot.
Honestly, has to be my favourite series. There's just so much to it.
I'm surprised The Caves of Steel is so early as it seemed really futuristic compared to most of The Complete Robot, but I read it a long time ago so maybe I'm not remembering correctly.
Well all short stories in The complete robot are with "normal humans" and their interactions with the first "robots" on earth when there was no faster than lights spaceships.
The Caves of Steel instead is the first of the robot saga where humanity is divided between human from earth that lives inside the big underground cities and the "spacers" which lived on several different planets and are almost a new spieces because they have been separated from earth for several centuries.
I did this last year. It's quite amazing to read through.
Just finished The Dispossessed, by Ursula Le Guin and going to look for a library where I can buy the next book in the Hain cycle !
"The complete robot" by Isaac Asimov.
Those are some of my favourite stories. Although if I remember correctly, it contains the short story version of The Bicentennial Man and you may wish to read the novella version instead which he wrote later, having developed the story some more.
Broken Earth Trilogy. I finished reading the entire Wool series many years back and gave it a 3.5/5. Really strong start but unfortunately the pacing for the rest of it wasn't quite to my liking.
Wool was great. And the show was good too. You can basically watch the first season after finishing Wool, if you’d like.
I’m reading He Who Fights With Monsters but I’m going to dig through this thread and find a good scifi novel to read next!
I just started HWFWM and it's my first LitRPG. Very different from what I'm used to reading but I really like so far. Going to try and finish it before I start Brandon Sanderson secret novel #3
It was my first LitRPG too. I wasn’t sure I’d like it but I do. I’m on the 3rd book, actually.
I haven’t read anything by Sanderson yet but I follow him on social media and I really like him.
I've been working through The Expanse books, and have just started Leviathan Falls.
I'm about halfway through Persepolis Rising. That prologue was one hell of a jolt!
How do you like the expanse? I’ve heard they are awesome!
Not science fiction, but I’m loving Carl Sagans “The Demon-Haunted World”. He really was a brilliant dude.
Yeah, I really liked that book. Pale Blue Dot is really good as well and he reads part of the audiobook himself, although unfortunately not all of it as he was already quite ill by that point. He was taken far too young.
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine.
I really loved the first book in the series, A Memory Called Empire, but I find the second one harder to get through. The writing really gets into the protagonist's head, and with all the stress she's in, it gets... claustrophobic, I guess, for me. I wish there was a bit more focus on the plot about the cool mysterious aliens.
Currently on The Hydrogen Sonata of a The Culture marathon.
I’m working my way through both the Murderbot Diaries (just started Network Effect) and the Rivers of London series (just finished Broken Homes, though this series is more urban fantasy). Both and very enjoyable!
The murderbot stories get so much praise but I was never able to get into them. I binge read (well, actually binge listened) to the Rivers of London books a few months ago and thought they were first-rate.
I just finished the new Ann Leckie book, Translation State, which I liked very much. If you couldn't get enough of the the Imperial Radch universe it's a must read.
Oooh thanks for the rec, I’ll put it on the list! I do tend to lean towards more fantasy/horror and less sci-fi, but I very much liked Murderbot’s voice as a narrator (and the universe is fascinating).
My wife and I just ran through the whole murderbot series. They are such a fun read. I'm convinced that the author plays/has played a ton of Shadowrun.
I love murderbot, this is probably one of my most favorite series of all time! Honestly, I can’t get enough. The seventh is due out this year too, I believe!
Just started The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, too early to see if I like it yet. I’ve got some pretty high hopes though, Station Eleven was absolutely fantastic!
I just finished the Watchmaker of Filigree Street series, and loved that as well! IMO, the second was better than the first, but don’t read the second without reading the first since you need the context.
Currently reading Foundation and Earth by Asimov, I absolutely loved the original trilogy so I’ve been reading through the sequels and plan on going back to the prequels after. In my opinion the sequels have a big shift in pacing and sort of the way that the plot develops… not sure how I feel about that. On one hand it is easier to keep up with with less characters, but on the other it feels like the scale of things is much smaller. Trying to not spoil anything. The series is a fantastic read nevertheless!
I've only read the original Foundation trilogy, would you recommend the others?
I am a fan of Isaac Asimov. I definitely suggest the books The End of Eternity and Nightfall.
Difficult to say. If you keep in mind, that he wrote the sequels 30 years or so later and acknowledge that one's views change over such a period, then go ahead. If you, however, expect the same flavor as the trilogy, then I wouldn't recommend reading foundation's edge and foundation and earth. And although these are meant as an introduction to the men behind time, that one makes no reference to the foundation trilogy. So it's fine to just read the end of eternity on its own.
I'm reading Nemesis by Isaac Asimov, slow (not much time to read) but steady.
I'm currently reading Chibola Burn, the forth book in The Expanse series. Really enjoying it, specially since the third one was my least favorite of the first three. So it feels good to be loving a book in the series again.
I would recommend the series to fans of somewhat believable sci-fi.
Cibola Burn was my favorite as well! Seems like it’s one people either really love or hate. My favorite was probably the last book in the series, Leviathan Falls, but Cibola was a close second.
The Expanse is the best piece of sci-fi I have read in a long time!
One of the greatest of all time. It deserves every accolade it receives.
Reading Noor right now. Very enjoyable and it will be quick read.
Based on the posts in this thread, I see a lot of overlap between urban fantasy fans and science fiction fans. With the exception of Lord of the Rings, I've never cared much for high fantasy, but I've really enjoyed the urban fantasy series I've read. If anyone is interested, I've enjoyed...
undefined> I see a lot of overlap between urban fantasy fans and science fiction fans.
This makes a certain amount of sense, I think: to me, the defining line between science and magic is that, at core, scientific phenomena have an explanation, while magic ones don't. You may not understand how Star Trek phasers work, but the premise is that in-universe, there's a good explanation that someone understands. Whereas the reason Harry Potter can wave his wand and make an object levitate is Just Because. There's no ultimate explanation.
I'm simplifying to make the distinction clear, but of course human literature is vast and varied. And urban fantasy, in particular, tends to straddle the line between SF and fantasy: the action doesn't take place in A Land Far, Far Away, where the rules are different; it's London, or Chicago, or Mogadishu, where guns and cars obey Boyle's law, and carpets don't just hover in the air without a really good reason.
I'm not familiar with all of the worlds you cite, but in The Dresden Files, for instance, magic obeys certain rules, so that if you know how a spell works, but you don't have all the components, you can figure out a substitution. Or in The Laundry Files, you start with the premise that there are Lovecraftian horrors out there and work out the consequences, in the finest tradition of SF, and come to the conclusion that there will be paperwork.
Seconding both recommendations for the Dresden Files and Rivers of London.
I know Butcher gets a lot of flack for the Dresden Files and how he writes Harry, which always baffles me - it’s meant to be a (old-school and chauvinistic) hard-boiled detective noir series. I’ve quite enjoyed watching Harry grow up and develop as a more nuanced and complete character through the series.
(And I’ll have to check out that Jamison title - I loved her Broken Earth novels).
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. Book 3 in the Words of Radiance series.
I'm waiting to start the 4th book and reading the Mistborn series first - I want to learn more about the Cosmere! I love the storm light archive but a friend convinced me I would get more out of it if I read Warbreaker and then the Mistborn series first. Warbreaker lets you learn some about characters that appear on Roshar.
I mean I absolutely adore mistborn but I don't see why you would need to read it before stormlight... certainly won't hurt because it's a pretty good series but the connections are very few and exceptionally far between. I didn't even recognize any connections at all until I read some post pointing out like a single sentence here and there that mentions a character or a vague reference to a place or event that might be from mistborn
I am currently reading "Wool - Silo, book 1" by Hugh Howey. It's an incredible post-apocalyptic story about a fully functioning society that resides inside a massive silo. Nobody can venture outside due to the toxic environment outside that make survival impossible, even with protective clothing.
I am reading the same book haha.. I think maybe I will finish it this evening.
Just ended with 'Children of Time' by Adrian Tchaikovsky and will now start 'Children of Ruin' (the second in the series). I liked it a lot,... the gist of it:
The story is told through the eyes of the spiders and the surviving humans and how they try to communicate, think in different terms, fight for the last habitable planet,....
I liked the idea, but felt it feared losing the readers and kept over explaining the spider point of view in human terms. I would have liked the spider society be more "other" and more to be left for the reader to figure out and experience the otherness. In contrast Quantum Thief is set in a human society, but it felt actually foreign and more fascinating since the reader is the only fish out of water and the characters don't go out of their way to explain aspects of the word obvious to them.
I recently finished Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and Wool by Hugh Howey, currently reading Shift. We had the Silo trilogy in our bookshelf for years, but it was only after watching the Apple TV show I decided to read it.
I have a somewhat newfound low for hard sci-fi and would love any recommendations folks have.
Have you read The Expanse series? That's incredible.
I recommend the TV show too as it is different in some ways and the cast is absolutely amazing (genuinely one of the best sci-fi shows ever made).
I bought the two Asimov sets of the Robot books and Foundation books, but still need to finish The Stranger Times (Urban fantasy) before delving into that. Read The Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky before that.
The Caves of Steel by Asimov is really good as well. I think it's a standalone novel and isn't included in the Robot books, but I read it after reading the Robot collection as I liked them so much.
Thankfully, it's included in the collection I got. It has all the short story collections and novels from the "Robot-Verse" (Which means some stuff like "I, Robot" is also included twice)
The Apple TV show for me to start Foundation! Enjoying it so much
Roadside Picnic by brothers Strugatsky.
It's really fun, with a cool premise. It's a classic though. Basically: Aliens come to Earth for a fraction of second and dump their garbage there. The places of impact are basically turned into paranormal zones and people are actively trying to scavenge the wonders of the civilisation so alien to us we couldn't even catch a glimpse of what they are.
For all its alien backdrop, it was the human element of Roadside Picnic that I found more terrifying. I needed a more cheerful and upbeat story as a palate cleanser from its dismal outlook.
I'm on Tiamats Wake in the Expanse series, love it
I listened to the 2nd and 3rd books of the Murderbot series on a car ride recently. I had read them before, but it was the first time that he did. I really enjoyed laughing with him.
I'm currently nostalgia-reading Robert Rankin's Dance Of The Voodoo Handbag but that's more far fetched fiction than sci-fi. Silly, entertaining and lots of tall tales. I'm also reading The Quantum Magician by Derek Künsken. I was hoping for it to be the start of a good series of books to read over the summer but it's not very good. I will probably not bother with the rest of the series.
Currently I'm reading the Space Odyssey series by Arthur C. Clark
I loved it and also the following ones. Peak hard scifi
Just finished Inversions by Iain M Banks. Classic series. Stupendous world building.
I'm on the last book of the riftwat-series by Raymond E Feist. Truly a masterpiece, even some 30-odd books into it.
I am reading currently Snow Crash. A great example how pioneers of a genre seem to lose their originality over time, but the book hasn't changed, everyone else has just copied it to death.
Previously I read some if the Culture series and got surprised by the genuine atrocities popping up in them. The books were interesting and the horrible things had a reason to be there, but I just became overwhelmed.
I've recently finished reading "Nemesis" by Isaac Asimov. It's one of Asimov's latest works and even though it's not a masterpiece it deserves more
Re-reading Ready Player One. I want to forget how bad the sequel is and how they butchered all character development at the beginning of the book.
I may be in the minority here, but I hated the way Ready Player One ended. I was just so pissed off with the one character, ugh.
I just started reading "The Curse of Chalion" bu Lois McMaster Bujold, following a rather specific fantasy itch that was most recently scratched by "The Goblin Emperor" (by Sarah Monette) and before that by the Valdemar series, particularly the Arrows of the Queen and Winds of Fate series. I hope it delivers!
Chalion delivers, as do all of the World of the Five Gods books.
The short stories and novellas of the Penric and Desdemona series are more variable in quality, but the three main novels are Bujold at her absolute peak.
Currently reading “The Exiled Fleet” by J. S. Dewes. This is the second in her “The Divide” series. It is pretty good. I picked up the first book because she did a release event with Scalzi during that time we were all locked in our homes and the story sounded interesting. The first one was compelling enough for me to see the series through although she has not announced the publication of the third book yet and has just released a standalone novel unrelated to the series.
I DNFed Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan. I had high hopes because the concept was reminiscent of Philip K Dick's stories but I found the book to be a confusing slog with characters seemingly pulled from nowhere and with the plot muddling along with coincidences and revelations. There are a few gems of ideas in there, just takes too long to unpack.
One of the few books I’ve DNFed as-well, I just stopped listening to it at some point. Found it very hard to follow. Maybe, because I was listening to the Audiobook? The text format might be easier to follow.
Just started reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons.
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. First forray into his books. So far very enjoyable.
It's really good. I didn't get through all of the second trilogy but the first trilogy is amazing.
I'm rereading, after along time, Druss the Legend.
Once I'm done with that I'll work my through all of Gemmels other books.
For We Are Many Bobiverse book 2
Man the bobiverse is amazing! I'm anxious for the next one to come out
I’m anxious for the next one to come out
Me too, I otter read the last one again while I wait!
When is it coming out!? I feel like I've been waiting forever
I'm really enjoying the second one and I've already bought the third and fourth. I'm listening to them on Audible and only have 3 hours left on this one.
I'm loving all of the different stories going on and the different names the Bobs keep choosing, and how each one is different.
I'm halfway through Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson. I didn't know anything about this book other than it was about a generation ship but I'm really enjoying it. Every time I pick up one of his books I can't believe how good the science is, dude really digs into everything
I loved this one! Such an interesting story. I love how he really nails humanity in it as well.
I know I'm late to reading them and I'm not sure if graphic novels count here, but "kill six billion demons" is a fantastic series with a unique art style and direction that I genuinely cannot get enough of
Though it might be more science fantasy than science fiction I guess?
Just started listening to "The Galaxy, and the Ground Within" by Becky Chambers, the fourth and last novel in the Wayfarers series.
This is a great one! Loved the whole series, honestly. Have you read To Be Taught, If Fortunate? Also by Becky Chambers, and also highly recommended!
I'm currently reading The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott. It's part of the High Republic saga of Star Wars, and I'm really enjoying it so far :D
It was quite a challenge to read a book in English for the first time with Light of the Jedi (the first book of the series). But I feel like I've gotten way better and can now understand more while reading faster.
After this, I'm planning on reading The Prince of Milk by Exurb1a. Which I have wanted to read for a long time.
I just finished up a first time read of Wheel of Time series. Solid 8 months of reading but 100% worth it. Mat Cauthon is my second favorite character ever written I think.
I could never keep the "chosen" straight. Some die, then get reincarnated, but as someone else that you kinda new. Maybe If O had crushed the series im 8 months instead of book by book as they were released if would have been easier to follow.
And yes, Mat is GREAT, which made Perrin super unlikable for me, just due to the unintentional comparison.
Honestly, same with Perrin for me. By the end of the series I wanted to skip Perrin chapters. He's just so....Perrin.
As for the Chosen I couldn't keep them straight at all. I had to look them up on the WoT wiki and try to keep from spoilering myself.
Who is your first favourite character ever written?
Teft from the Stormlight Archive.
I have a couple things on deck:
Light From Uncommon Stars is the most memorable book I've read in years. It's a beautifully-written, extremely ambitious novel about demons, found family, donuts, Asian cuisine, interstellar war, gender identity, the violin, loyalty, good and evil, beauty, fear and love. Plus, it takes place in the San Gabriel Valley, which is my old stomping ground. It may not be to everyone's taste, but I absolutely loved it.
There you go, another strong recommendation! I just have to wrap up Mexican Gothica and then I'm all in.
I'm reading Children of Ruin, the second book of the Children of Time series. I blasted through the first book in less than a week. First time I've read Tchaikovsky and I love it.
I enjoyed the human parts of the book but found the others laborious to get through.
Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Wild book. 3rd in the series. Not finished yet but the first two were incredible.
Just finished it a few days ago, one of my all time favorite series after randomly discovering it last year. I hope you enjoy Children of Memory as much as I did, wild ride indeed.
Nice, I'm about halfway through the second and loving it!
Terry Pratchett's books on Discworld 📖
The most wonderful and re-readable of books. Enjoy!
Definitely enjoying it already 🥰