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The Realism of Our Times: Kim Stanley Robinson on how science fiction works

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Re: The Realism of Our Times: Kim Stanley Robinson on how science fiction works

#21

Post by e12e »

e12e wrote: post #15
everyone wrote: post #4

Can ye recommend any novels / authors that are as hard sci-fi as KSR or Arthur C Clarke?

Many good suggestions here - I definitely recommend to check out Vernor Vinge. I've heard a lot of praise for The Expanse series (James S. A. Corey / pen name for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) - but I've only seen the TV series, not read the books.

I would kind of consider the stand alone books Black Man/Thirteen, Thin Air (two books, same universe) and the Altered Carbon trilogy by Richard Morgan "hard" sci-fi to an extent - and be aware that the TV series, while entertaining, butchered much of the political content in the books.

Re: The Realism of Our Times: Kim Stanley Robinson on how science fiction works

#22

Post by seer »

everyone wrote: post #4

Can ye recommend any novels / authors that are as hard sci-fi as KSR or Arthur C Clarke?

Apart from the great suggestions (Vernor Vinge fan for sure) I think one would I would recommend would be the "Remembrance of Earth's Past" (a.k.a three body problem). It presented plausible hard sci-fi bits, while the human aspect was incredibly weird, especially from a western perspective. Definitely opened my eyes to a lot of how Chinese people probably feel about their place in the world and their legacy.

But the scope of the series is just breathtaking, I don't think I've read anything that spanned as much in space or time, and made it believable too, highly recommended.

Re: The Realism of Our Times: Kim Stanley Robinson on how science fiction works

#23

Post by renke1 »

everyone wrote: post #4

Can ye recommend any novels / authors that are as hard sci-fi as KSR or Arthur C Clarke?

* Seveneves (I haven't read much else from Neal Stephenson, but I've heard good things)

* Children of Time / Children of Ruin (both really good)

* Remembrance of Earth's Past (even the fan fiction one is good)

* A lot of stuff from Alastair Reynolds (House of Suns being my favorite)

* Classics like Tau Zero, The Forever War etc.

* A Deepness in the Sky / A Fire Upon the Deep

Although not all of these are strictly considered hard scifi, I guess.

Btw, I love it when somebody asks this question every now and then on HN. Lots of stuff for one's (ever growing) reading list.

Re: The Realism of Our Times: Kim Stanley Robinson on how science fiction works

#25

Post by PicassoCTs »

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #18
Herodotus38 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Peter Watts has a good biology background so his books are pretty accurate when it comes to sci-fi advances with biology. Definitely better than most authors who usually focus more on physics/engineering. I liked “Blindsight” and “The Freeze-Frame Revolution” I would also appreciate any recommendations for hard sci-fi authors with a biology focus, I’m sure there are many more I don’t know.

Blindsight was great, Echopraxia not as good, but I still enjoyed it. I'll be searching out "The Freeze-Frame Revolution" for sure, thanks. Hard sci-fi / biology crossover: https://www.gregegan.net/TERANESIA/TERANESIA.html

https://www.tor.com/2014/07/29/the-colonel-peter-watts/

Re: The Realism of Our Times: Kim Stanley Robinson on how science fiction works

#26

Post by PicassoCTs »

fouc wrote: post #14
everyone wrote: post #4

Can ye recommend any novels / authors that are as hard sci-fi as KSR or Arthur C Clarke?

Accelerando by Charles Stross, The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, Diaspora by Greg Egan, Distraction by Bruce Sterling

Sorry, but Accelerando is horrible. I recommend Singularity Sky, the weird one, not watered down for the mainstream. The characters are flat, but the weirdness on route, is captured much better.

Re: The Realism of Our Times: Kim Stanley Robinson on how science fiction works

#27

Post by PicassoCTs »

adrianN wrote: post #9
everyone wrote: post #4

Can ye recommend any novels / authors that are as hard sci-fi as KSR or Arthur C Clarke?

I enjoyed Permutation City by Greg Egan and the Zones of Thought books by Vernor Vinge.

Vernor Vinge is so good, shame he dropped it in Rainbows End.

Re: The Realism of Our Times: Kim Stanley Robinson on how science fiction works

#28

Post by jpm_sd »

Really loved the Mars trilogy when I was a teenager. The clunky character development and invented politics haven't aged super well, but the stories are still interesting. I also enjoyed The Memory of Whiteness and The Years of Rice and Salt.

More recently I tried reading Aurora (2015), but the book is a downer and a slog. Not recommended. Didn't finish it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(novel)

Re: The Realism of Our Times: Kim Stanley Robinson on how science fiction works

#29

Post by BLKNSLVR »

e12e wrote: post #21
e12e wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many good suggestions here - I definitely recommend to check out Vernor Vinge. I've heard a lot of praise for The Expanse series (James S. A. Corey / pen name for Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) - but I've only seen the TV series, not read the books.

I would kind of consider the stand alone books Black Man/Thirteen, Thin Air (two books, same universe) and the Altered Carbon trilogy by Richard Morgan "hard" sci-fi to an extent - and be aware that the TV series, while entertaining, butchered much of the political content in the books.

If you like the "Takeshi Kovacs / Altered Carbon" trilogy, you'll almost definitely like the "Greg Mandel / Event Horizon" trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton.

And they're not bible sized tomes like some of PFH's later space operas (some of which I own, but am too intimidated by their size to have considered starting the journey).

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