61–70 of 144 posts
Dune. Definitely Dune. The most epic sci-fi world that is so far in the future it feels like it could be middle earth. Politics, mysticism, prescience, intergalactic travel build an amazing world that feels utterly alien but still relatable. It’s like reading about modern battles between oil, culture and money, but in countless years and star system into the future. Honorable mentions for Hyperion and Neuromancer for…
Dune - enough said.
- Seveneves: A really great hard sci-fi. Very thought provoking ideas and excellent plot! Warning this is a heavy themed book. Also keep in mind that at about 3/4 in the novel there's a conclusion to the main story; the rest of the novel feels rushed and doesnt keep up; you won't miss anything if you just skip it.
- The Expanse series (starting with Leviathan wakes). A very good series. It has a light tone and mainly focuses on characters. Some books are better than the others. If you liked the 1st one then you wont regret reading the others. Not much philosofy of hard sci-fi ideas so probably near to your liking.
- Rendezvous with Rama: Probably my favorite Arthur Clarke novel. The plot may not be so interesting but the ideas presented make up for it.
- Red rising series: This is a great read, the plot feels something like a GoT of scifi; although the setting could also be considered a fantasy one. This is a plot intensive series but not many scifi philosophical ideas. Probably good for your linking.
- The three body problem trilogy: This is not so light-hearted; it is serious sci-fi presenting some excellent ideas that would blow your mind. Especially after I read the 2nd one (The Dark Forest) I kept it in my mind for a long time; thinking over the things presented there. This is sci-fi at its best.
For the best SciFi in general, I'd actually suggest you check out assorted collections of short story. I don't have a specific anthology to recommend but I have yet to find a published collection at my library that was less than thought-provoking.
For the classics, you can't go wrong with Hugo Award winners. [2] Your local library probably has most of them; try starting with the old ones and working your way through.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jame_Retief 2. http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/
Blindsight by Peter Watts https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindsight_(Watts_novel)
Greg Egan's Diaspora was very good.
Haven’t read anything more hard-sci-fi than Egan myself (Clockwork Rocket, quite good). From comments from the OP Egan may not suit (but very recommendable nevertheless)
Greg Egan's Diaspora is diamond-hard scifi. If you aren't well-read in a variety of scientific concepts, aren't comfortable doing on-the-fly physics thought experiments while reading a novel, or won't be comfortable reading an extremely high vocabulary, then Greg Egan is not a good fit.
But if you can read it, the reward is great. Magnificent, alien, profound. It made me realize I don't like soft-scifi.
I'm fond of "A Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge, and its kind of prequel "A Deepness in the Sky", they both contain some great ideas and I love the fact they have some very alien aliens! Oh and if you haven't read any Douglas Adams "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is fantastic
DAEMON by Daniel Suarez.