Sci-fi books that you may never have heard of, but definitely should read

Post by beezle » Wed, Oct 30, 2024, 3:05 AM UTC

themadturk wrote: post #102

idoubtit wrote: post #57

It's strange to start a list of "books that you may never have heard of" with a novel which is a nominee to the 2020 Hugo Awards. I suppose that most of the regular readers of sci-fi haver heard of it. A nitpick about the third recommandation with "robots modeled on Karel Čapek’s designs". I suppose that they have not read Čapek’s novels. His robots were not pure machines, they were made from a biological substrate.…

Yeah, Project Hail Mary was the only one of the three I'd ever heard of. Still, it was a great book (especially since I read it right on the heels of reading Artemis , which was only "okay").

Post by alphan0n » Wed, Oct 30, 2024, 3:22 AM UTC

capecodes wrote: post #112

alphan0n wrote: post #51

Just finished a very good audiobook, Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini and started another, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by the same author.

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is my favorite of the last few years. I thought Fractal Noise was meh by comparison

Post by stevenwoo » Wed, Oct 30, 2024, 4:36 AM UTC

Annual wrote: post #77

ahmedfromtunis wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks! I really like it when authors shock my neurons with ideas they never even came close to entertain. Alien aliens are always rare in sci-fi books. Although I really struggled with the octopodes in Children of Ruin, so I'm not sure if I'm ready yet. Can someone please suggest books with novel, really alien forms of life, social structures, etc.?

I vaguely remember The Gods Themselves by Asimov being a strong contender here, but it's been decades since I read it. Spider Robinson's "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" series had a story towards the end that blew my tiny little teenaged mind back in the 90's. Octavia Butler, of course. Xenogenesis.

Post by sockaddr » Wed, Oct 30, 2024, 5:01 AM UTC

TheCloven wrote: post #187

The Bobiverse series is one of my favorites, sense of humor meets Bob the von Neumann probe. Well written and plenty of theory explanations of technology. They even pull in Expeditionary Force's AI Skippy as a faction group, which is another good series if you like technical theory in detail explained mostly by the asshole AI. Murderbot has become a must listen at bedtime, the self deprecating, funny and lovey dovey…

Post by m463 » Wed, Oct 30, 2024, 6:51 AM UTC

mariusor wrote: post #88

After I finished the two Frank Kittridge novels from S.J. Morden I was surprised I haven't heard of him until now. They start as a "The Martian" cribbed story, but the development arc takes in better places. It was less geek/efficiency porn and more character development and required less strain on my suspension of disbelief overall.