Science Fiction series

[Anonymous]

I'm writing down my list of books I want to read in 2023 and would like to finally include a good science fiction book, or series of books.

My experience with the genre is pretty light, in spite of the fact that I hold two science degrees .

Titles I'm considering:

The Foundation series by Asimov
Ringworld series by Niven
Space Odyssey series by Clarke
Dune series by Herbert (I've only read the first book; disinclined to read the posthumous ones written by his son)
Patternist series by Butler

Any that I'm missing that would be worth considering? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Those are all pretty old school, and I wonder if I'd sign up for a whole series to start. I guess what are you looking for? If it's old school classics I guess you could add Kim Stanley Robinson's series on how we colonize Mars, but if you want some more recent options here are a few I've read lately--

Three Body Problem (written by a scientist so might be good for a scientist??)

Memory Called Empire

Ancillary Justice

Those all are the start of series. Also I like to read lighter ones like Becky Chambers or the Murderbot novellas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those are all pretty old school, and I wonder if I'd sign up for a whole series to start. I guess what are you looking for? If it's old school classics I guess you could add Kim Stanley Robinson's series on how we colonize Mars, but if you want some more recent options here are a few I've read lately--

Three Body Problem (written by a scientist so might be good for a scientist??)

Memory Called Empire

Ancillary Justice

Those all are the start of series. Also I like to read lighter ones like Becky Chambers or the Murderbot novellas.

OP here. Yeah, those are pretty old, but they're ones I've heard of but never read. The most recent sci fi I've read is Flash Forward by Robert Sawyer, be even that's over 20 years old.

So, yeah, I guess I was hoping for some newer suggestions. I've heard of the Three Body Problem, so I might check it out. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

What do you like non-sci fi wise, OP? That can help direct my recs.

Three Body Problem and Murderbot are on my list; I've heard great things.

I also want to read This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do you like non-sci fi wise, OP? That can help direct my recs.

I liked the political intrigue in Dune, so things along those lines. I appreciate good writing (like an English major wrote it ), muti-dimensional characters, intersecting story lines, a plot that moves.

Pretty vanilla, but there you go.

[Anonymous]

Altered Carbon and its two sequels are not widely referenced in this sort of discussion, but I think they are really good and quite well written. Great neo-noir kind of vibe, Raymond Chandler meets Blade Runner, with a dash of dystopic horror.

The Three-Body Problem also great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you like non-sci fi wise, OP? That can help direct my recs.

I liked the political intrigue in Dune, so things along those lines. I appreciate good writing (like an English major wrote it ), muti-dimensional characters, intersecting story lines, a plot that moves.

Pretty vanilla, but there you go.

A few more for your list then (if you haven't read them yet):

Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold (or Mirror Dance, same author/series, but I like the Cordelia duo best)
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir

Haven't read by have heard good things about A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine as well other poster's suggestion of Three Body Problem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you like non-sci fi wise, OP? That can help direct my recs.

I liked the political intrigue in Dune, so things along those lines. I appreciate good writing (like an English major wrote it ), muti-dimensional characters, intersecting story lines, a plot that moves.

Pretty vanilla, but there you go.

I recc'd A Memory Called Empire and Ancillary Justice and I think both of those would fit political intrigue with good writing and a plot that moves. Three Body Problem is interesting because it's set against a backdrop of recent Chinese history so it has that kind of political intrigue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What do you like non-sci fi wise, OP? That can help direct my recs.

I liked the political intrigue in Dune, so things along those lines. I appreciate good writing (like an English major wrote it ), muti-dimensional characters, intersecting story lines, a plot that moves.

Pretty vanilla, but there you go.

A few more for your list then (if you haven't read them yet):

Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold (or Mirror Dance, same author/series, but I like the Cordelia duo best)
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsin Muir

Haven't read by have heard good things about A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine as well other poster's suggestion of Three Body Problem

Lois McMaster Bujold is very good-- she has a very long space opera series called the Vorkosigan Saga (lots of plot and political intrigue).

[Anonymous]

I just read The Space Between Worlds and absolutely loved it! It's not hardcore scifi, but definitely that genre. It's wonderfully written and has very compelling characters.

[Anonymous]

+1 for Dan Simmons' Hyperion. The 4-book series is absolutely masterful. I hope some day an enterprising director commits it to the screen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm writing down my list of books I want to read in 2023 and would like to finally include a good science fiction book, or series of books.

My experience with the genre is pretty light, in spite of the fact that I hold two science degrees .

Titles I'm considering:

The Foundation series by Asimov
Ringworld series by Niven
Space Odyssey series by Clarke
Dune series by Herbert (I've only read the first book; disinclined to read the posthumous ones written by his son)
Patternist series by Butler

Any that I'm missing that would be worth considering? Thanks in advance.

Man-Kzin Wars By Niven
The Forever War Series by Joe Haldeman
Undying Mercenaries by B. V. Larson
Man of War Books by H. Paul Honsinger
An Old Guy/Cybertank Adventure by Gawne

More of a Fantasy sci-fi but good
The Good Guys Books and the Bad Guys Books by Eric Ugland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm writing down my list of books I want to read in 2023 and would like to finally include a good science fiction book, or series of books.

My experience with the genre is pretty light, in spite of the fact that I hold two science degrees .

Titles I'm considering:

The Foundation series by Asimov
Ringworld series by Niven
Space Odyssey series by Clarke
Dune series by Herbert (I've only read the first book; disinclined to read the posthumous ones written by his son)
Patternist series by Butler

Any that I'm missing that would be worth considering? Thanks in advance.

The Dipple series, by Andre Norton, starting with Catseye.

https://www.amazon.com/Catseye-Andre-Norton/dp/0449242854

[Anonymous]

Oof, a lot of those are rough going, IMO, even the ones I liked. Try:

Station Eleven

The Windup Girl

The Expanse

The Martian

If you want a "classic" and haven't read Frankenstein, definitely read that.

[Anonymous]

Isaac Asimov's Caves of Steel trilogy is great. Sci-fi but also mystery.

Second The Martian and also Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir.