Welcome to /c/ScienceFiction
December book club canceled. Short stories instead!
We are a community for discussing all things Science Fiction. We want this to be a place for members to discuss and share everything they love about Science Fiction, whether that be books, movies, TV shows and more. Please feel free to take part and help our community grow.
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.
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!
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?
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 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!
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.
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.
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!
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. Was a recommendation on the R site.
Complex, eon spanning, hard sci-fi. I'm loving it!
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.
Just started reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons.
Reading Noor right now. Very enjoyable and it will be quick read.
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.
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!
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. Book 3 in the Words of Radiance series.
House of Leaves. Although I'm struggling because I haven't read a physical book in years and I can't bring it everywhere like I can my Leaf 2.
I love that book.
The reading of the book becomes part of the experience of the book in a way that feels unique and engaging. If you like the format being part of the story I have to recommend S by Doug Dorst and JJ Abrams and to a lesser extent the Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd.
I’m reading The Best Of World SF Vol 2 compilation, edited by Lavie Tidhar. There are some phenomenal short stories in this and the first one, and I really enjoy hearing voices from outside the English-speaking bubble that I usually read
I'm Listening currently because it's convenient at work but, Finishing the Bobiverse for my 3rd go around
I'm on Tiamats Wake in the Expanse series, love it
Not science fiction, but I’m loving Carl Sagans “The Demon-Haunted World”. He really was a brilliant dude.
I've been working through The Expanse books, and have just started Leviathan Falls.
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.
Just started "The City We Became" by N.K. Jemisen. It took a minute for me to get my bearings, but I'm really digging the concept
N.K. Jemisen is one of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy writers. If you like her style and world building I'd highly recommend the Broken Earth trilogy.
It took me quite some time to get past the rocky (hah) start, the absolute lack of all but the barest exposition, but once I did...wow.
And I recognize the talent and skill it takes to make that work. Very risky to do, but it damn sure paid off.
Seems to be the general flow of her writing style. Broken Earth certainly doesn't hold your hand, either, but if you stick it out through the directionless lost feeling at the start, suddenly you're hooked.
I'm rereading Asimov's complete saga in "internal story chronological order":
I, Robot / The Complete Robot (except 'Mirror Image'!) [ROBOTS]
The Caves of Steel [ROBOTS]
The Naked Sun [ROBOTS]
Mirror Image (short story) [ROBOTS]
The Robots of Dawn [ROBOTS]
Robots and Empire [ROBOTS]
The Stars, Like Dust-- [EMPIRE]
The Currents of Space [EMPIRE]
Pebble in the Sky [EMPIRE]
Prelude to Foundation [FOUNDATION]
Forward the Foundation [FOUNDATION]
Foundation [FOUNDATION]
Foundation and Empire [FOUNDATION]
Second Foundation [FOUNDATION]
Foundation's Edge [FOUNDATION]
Foundation and Earth [FOUNDATION]
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.
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.
I'm really trying to read Three Body Problem, but I'm having a hard time following
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.
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.
Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Wild book. 3rd in the series. Not finished yet but the first two were incredible.