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Larry Niven’d Ringworld is a close second.
Philip K Dick has some great stuff.
I really enjoyed William Gibson’s Neuromancer and all of his other books.
I just picked up a 1961 copy of Stanger in a Strange Land but I cannot comment on it yet.
The Shockwave Rider, by John Brunner. Read it, compare it to the Internet we have today, and marvel at all he was able to foresee back in 1975.
I'm ashamed to admit I haven't yet found the time to read Stand on Zanzibar and The Sheep Look Up from the same author.
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Lots of good stuff in this thread, but for fun and light-hearted (which lots of people are ignoring), Terry Pratchett takes the cake. I probably read over 50 books a year, and TP is one of the best authors I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
I keep trying to get into terry pratchett, but maybe I started with the wrong book. Can you recommend the first book for someone coming from a mid-to-hard scifi? Something that stands on it's own, is funny, and does not need prior knowledge of his work.
Otherwise, you can pick up any first book from one of the Discworld story arks. Personally, I'd go with "Wyrd Sisters" (witches story ark) and the City Watch story ark. Although the first book in that series is "Guards! Guards!", I'd recommend starting with the Second book, "Men at Arms", which is more representative of the rest of the series, and just more fun AFAIC.
I would recommend Ubik by Phillip K Dick. It reads like a thriller and a mind bender. It sort of has the feel of the movie Inception if you liked that. It's not too long or hard to read, and it's completely self contained. The more I read by Phillip K Dick the more I appreciate his ideas. I also second a recommendation for A Player of Games someone noted above.
- The Postman by David Brin
- The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
- I am Legend by Richard Matheson
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Lots of good stuff in this thread, but for fun and light-hearted (which lots of people are ignoring), Terry Pratchett takes the cake. I probably read over 50 books a year, and TP is one of the best authors I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
I keep trying to get into terry pratchett, but maybe I started with the wrong book. Can you recommend the first book for someone coming from a mid-to-hard scifi? Something that stands on it's own, is funny, and does not need prior knowledge of his work.
The City Watch sub-series is my favourite with the Death arc a close second. laurentl already made recommendation on City Watch, if you want to try the Death arc Mort is the first.
Peter F. Hamilton: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/peter-f-hamilton
And while not strictly sci-fi, Peter Higgins: http://www.wolfhoundcentury.com/
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I keep trying to get into terry pratchett, but maybe I started with the wrong book. Can you recommend the first book for someone coming from a mid-to-hard scifi? Something that stands on it's own, is funny, and does not need prior knowledge of his work.
Well, if you want stand-alone + sci-fi, try "the Dark Side of the Sun". Otherwise, you can pick up any first book from one of the Discworld story arks. Personally, I'd go with "Wyrd Sisters" (witches story ark) and the City Watch story ark. Although the first book in that series is "Guards! Guards!", I'd recommend starting with the Second book, "Men at Arms", which is more representative of the rest of the series, an…
lighthearted and fun : "The Crown Jewels" by Walter John Williams. Definitely. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_Maijstral