Your Sci-Fi suggestions

I haven’t had any luck in finding sci-fi books recently. I’m looking for a longer story that takes its time to establish the world/universe and the characters living in it. I like the idea of exploring space or futuristic cities/landscapes and being on a journey together with the protagonist. The story doesn’t have to have a happy end or flawless characters, but I also don’t like it when everything is hopeless/dystopic and all the characters stumble from one flawed decision to the next one. Some examples of what I enjoyed so far are:

If you enjoyed some of these stories and have any similar suggestions, feel free to share them here. If not, maybe consider checking out the list above… I highly recommend each of these entries.

klemptor ,

You should check out Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire and Ann Leckie’s Ancillary trilogy.

frog ,

You might enjoy Larry Niven’s “Known Space” series? It’s less one long story than many, many stories (some more interconnected than others) set in the same universe, but there’s a lot of it. Some stories are darker than others, but overall the tone is optimistic and the characters have their flaws but don’t suffer from the “stumbling from one flawed decision to the next one” problem.

I suspect some of the stories won’t have aged well, given some of them were written over 50 years ago, but Niven plays with a lot of interesting ideas, and I have never encountered a sci-fi author that writes genuinely alien aliens the way he does. There’s also lots of exploring space, futuristic cities, and alien landscapes.

SeaOfTranquility OP ,
@SeaOfTranquility@beehaw.org avatar

Currently, I’m looking for longer stories, but I’ll definitely come back to your suggestions at some point. Thanks!

zhunk ,

I’ve only read Ringworld from that list (earlier this year). The story did a cool job of introducing the concept of an orbital ring and giving it a sense of scale, plus introducing some other cool concepts/ideas. It also introduced more species and planets and technology that made sense for a big Star Wars-like space opera book series. It was definitely dated as far as how female characters were written, though.

I thought Consider Phlebas did a better job of using a Ring World without it being the whole plot on its own, but I suppose Ringworld had to walk so others could run with it.

boblin ,

Peter F. Hamilton’s books may fit the bill: Futuristic, not hopeless/dystopic, and the main characters tend to make reasonable decisions. Be wrned though that he favours deus ex machina conclusions. Most will suggest Pandora’s Star as a starting point (with good reason, as the Commonwealth Saga is quite expansive), but it does not have to be. I personally read the Night’s Dawn trilogy first. The Salvation trilogy also stands on its own, and for a completely standalone book Great North Road was a good read.

Adrian Tchaikovsky is another wonderful author! the Children of Time and Final Architecture series were quite enjoyable.

Redemption Space (Alastair Reynolds) is another series one that I like to recommend. Closer to The Expanse. House of Suns also is a great read by the same author, as are several of his other stories.

The White Space books by Elizabeth Bear should be on your reading list.

Vorkosigan Saga (Lois McMaster Bujold) is a bit dated but similar to Vatta’s War in the earlier books. Later on the plot tends to be more along the lines of whodunnit mystery… in space.

And let’s not forget another scifi favourite, Iain M. Banks! The Culture series are great of course, but I liked The Algebraist the best.

SeaOfTranquility OP ,
@SeaOfTranquility@beehaw.org avatar

I haven’t read Redemption Space and the White Space books yet. I’ll definitely add those to my list now, thanks!

tburkhol ,

Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer. Interesting world where people choose their nationality and legal structure independent of physical borders.

SeaOfTranquility OP ,
@SeaOfTranquility@beehaw.org avatar

Thanks! Added it to my list.

Ethereal87 ,
@Ethereal87@beehaw.org avatar

Alright, we’ve got some overlap here, let’s see…

  • The Red Rising Saga. I’m working through book 6 right now as an audiobook and I’m sneaking in a few minutes wherever I can. Definitely expands its scope as the series goes on and while I feel like I’m losing context for some of the new/returning characters at this point, I can follow enough to go along with it. The main character is born into the lowest caste of the society and works to infiltrate the highest caste. It’s a long ride and ebbs and flows from hopelessness to triumph throughout the course of it.
  • The Combat Codes Saga. Probably closer to science-fantasy then fiction, but an interesting idea about nations using hand-to-hand combat to settle wars, territory, etc…I have only read the first book so far but I enjoyed it a lot.
  • Alex Benedict - I would encourage this more as a filler or inbetween books series. Binging all of the books can make them feel very samey. The core idea is that all of the books except the first one are told from the perspective of a colleague/assistant/“jill of all trades” woman who works with one of the most famous artifact hunters in the far future. Each book is essentially chasing an archeological mystery of some sort.
  • The Jubilee Cycle - I found the first book a long time ago at random in one of those discount bookstores and picked it up based on the cover alone. It’s about a future where everything you do costs you money, to the point where political parties debate whether or not autonomic functions like breathing should cost money. The prose is a little dry and the author works as a translator, but I enjoyed the world that he built up as the main character peels back the layers of this society after he gets essentially bankrupted by a mysterious and unknown transaction.
  • Teixcalaan - Can’t link the series for some reason. The main character is an ambassador to the ruling empire of the galaxy, trying to figure out who killed her predecessor and a conspiracy surrounding him. It felt very dense when I started it but I enjoyed it a lot!
SeaOfTranquility OP ,
@SeaOfTranquility@beehaw.org avatar

Thanks! All of these stories sound interesting. Red Rising has actually been on my bucket list for a while now, but I’ve been hesitant to try it because the summary sounded like the “stumbling from one flawed decision to the next” thing I was mentioning earlier. Having another person suggest it here, makes me want to try it now.

Ethereal87 ,
@Ethereal87@beehaw.org avatar

I think the flaws of the characters decisions either come from gambles that don’t pay off or there are levels and movements they don’t see happening (and sometimes both). Their failures feel…earned if that makes sense? To be fair, it’s been a few years since I started the series so it can mush all together in my head :)

Father_Redbeard ,
@Father_Redbeard@lemmy.ml avatar

For sure give Red Rising a shot. First book gets going pretty quickly and I like the sci-fi with spaceships, energy weapons/shields, but also some fantasy elements mixed in. I haven’t found a series like it so far.

chloyster ,
@chloyster@beehaw.org avatar

Not really space-y but I’m obsessed with storm light archives which I think checks some of the boxes you’re talking about. That and everything else cosmere too.

SeaOfTranquility OP , (edited )
@SeaOfTranquility@beehaw.org avatar

Thank you for the suggestion! I’ve actually read that one and It’s my favorite story from Brandon Sanderson. I loved the characters and the fantasy setting! But yeah… it doesn’t really fit the sci-fi/futuristic world that I was looking for here.

chloyster ,
@chloyster@beehaw.org avatar

Yeah it def is a lot more fantasy but I also feel the world is so alien seeming it could fit the bill. I love how crustacean heavy the fauna is. But yeah not a traditional sci-fi setting by any means

Father_Redbeard ,
@Father_Redbeard@lemmy.ml avatar

I’m on Oathbringer right now, and other than the physical size of the books, I don’t really have any complaints. I legit had to switch to Kindle version because the paperback was a pain to hang onto while reading.

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