I’m currently reading the Wool omnibus by Hugh Howey. It’s pretty decent I’ve been making very rapid progress as it’s been too hot to sleep here recently now the summer has arrived.
I haven’t seen the Apple show, but maybe I’ll watch it in the future when I’ve finished all the books (I had Shift and Dust as well).
Working my way through some Hugo winners past— reading A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M Miller.
I really liked Canticle, but I really felt like it suffered from being a fix-up novel. It’s three acts are not equal and don’t totally fit together in my opinion. It really starts off strong though! Hope you like it!
I’m enjoying it! I love a solid premise and the references to modern science appearing as obscure archeological nuggets are perfect. There are some bits I’m guessing that I’m missing some symbolism or something (I’m not an expert in Catholicism).
For what it’s worth, several Catholics I know have also had to read the book with notes open on the side. Monastic culture and tradition isn’t exactly common knowledge anymore, though I’m not sure if they would have been in the 50s, or if Miller just trusts that his reader is smart enough to catch on.
If you like Canticle, consider looking into the works of Gene Wolfe. He also writes very re-readable sci-fi that expects much of the reader, and delivers much in turn.
Thanks! That does make me feel a bit better! Will look into Wolfe.
I’ve been working through The Expanse books, and have just started Leviathan Falls.
I hope we get an adaptation of the last three books someday. Some really awesome stuff happens.
How do you like the expanse? I’ve heard they are awesome!
I finished up rereading that series a few weeks ago. Just an excellent story (and pretty faithful tv series).
I’m currently reading Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey, which is the first book of the Expanse series. I haven’t watched the TV series, since I wanted to dive into the books without previous knowledge.
I’ve read all of them. The TV series is incredible as well and had the full involvement of the authors. Some stuff is done better in the books (like the stuff that doesn’t translate so well to screen such as the lanky belters and zero-gravity) and some stuff is done better in the TV show (they had an incredibly good cast of actors, all of whom really added to the roles - Krisjen, Ashford and Drummer in particular were amazing).
It was a really really good adaptation and it’s quite rare you see that.
And they are magnificent.
So is the TV series ; -)
Amazing series of books that are up in my top three, still trying to find time to read Leviathan Falls (the final book). The story gets crazy.
Right? It starts off all very hard sci-fi, the only “magic” is a rocket motor that makes travel around the solar system doable on story-friendly timelines.
That expectation gets broken pretty quickly, and it really is amazing how far the story goes after such a simple beginning as the incident with the Canterbury!
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. Was a recommendation on the R site.
Complex, eon spanning, hard sci-fi. I’m loving it!
Amazing book! Loved it +1
If you could, what other sci-fi works would you compare it to? I am wrapping up the Children of Time series and could use something else.
Not sure. Tried a couple of Adrian Tchaikovsky and couldn’t really get on. Could be because they were audiobooks.
Have been ‘off’ of reading for a while, but have realised a new found love for my Kindle.
Andy Wier’s Hail Mary might fit your bill.
Or Iain Banks’ Culture series.
I sold Seveneves to a friend by saying it is like Neal Stephenson wrote The Martian. Well, at least the first 2/3 of it. It talks a lot about the science how how an event like the one described in the book might happen but with the kind if granularity and verbosity you would expect from NS.
I’m rereading Asimov’s complete saga in “internal story chronological order”:
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I, Robot / The Complete Robot (except ‘Mirror Image’!) [ROBOTS]
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The Caves of Steel [ROBOTS]
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The Naked Sun [ROBOTS]
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Mirror Image (short story) [ROBOTS]
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The Robots of Dawn [ROBOTS]
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Robots and Empire [ROBOTS]
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The Stars, Like Dust-- [EMPIRE]
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The Currents of Space [EMPIRE]
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Pebble in the Sky [EMPIRE]
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Prelude to Foundation [FOUNDATION]
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Forward the Foundation [FOUNDATION]
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Foundation [FOUNDATION]
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Foundation and Empire [FOUNDATION]
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Second Foundation [FOUNDATION]
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Foundation’s Edge [FOUNDATION]
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Foundation and Earth [FOUNDATION]
I’m currently on “Forward the foundation”
The Foundation series is absolutely amazing, and I am jealous of you if this is your first reading. One of my formative series growing up. You’re inspiring me to do the whole Asimov read through like your doing, because I don’t believe I ever read the Empire books and never read Robot beyond I, Robot.
I’m surprised The Caves of Steel is so early as it seemed really futuristic compared to most of The Complete Robot, but I read it a long time ago so maybe I’m not remembering correctly.
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A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine.
I really loved the first book in the series, A Memory Called Empire, but I find the second one harder to get through. The writing really gets into the protagonist’s head, and with all the stress she’s in, it gets… claustrophobic, I guess, for me. I wish there was a bit more focus on the plot about the cool mysterious aliens.
I listened to the 2nd and 3rd books of the Murderbot series on a car ride recently. I had read them before, but it was the first time that he did. I really enjoyed laughing with him.
Wool was great. And the show was good too. You can basically watch the first season after finishing Wool, if you’d like.
I’m reading He Who Fights With Monsters but I’m going to dig through this thread and find a good scifi novel to read next!
I just started HWFWM and it’s my first LitRPG. Very different from what I’m used to reading but I really like so far. Going to try and finish it before I start Brandon Sanderson secret novel #3
It was my first LitRPG too. I wasn’t sure I’d like it but I do. I’m on the 3rd book, actually.
I haven’t read anything by Sanderson yet but I follow him on social media and I really like him.
Just ended with ‘Children of Time’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky and will now start ‘Children of Ruin’ (the second in the series). I liked it a lot,… the gist of it:
- Humans terraform planets
- Humans want ‘crispr’ intelligent apes
- Humans kill each other
- Crispr can’t find apes,… uses spiders instead
- Other Humans come eons later and find intelligent spiders
The story is told through the eyes of the spiders and the surviving humans and how they try to communicate, think in different terms, fight for the last habitable planet,…
I liked the idea, but felt it feared losing the readers and kept over explaining the spider point of view in human terms. I would have liked the spider society be more “other” and more to be left for the reader to figure out and experience the otherness. In contrast Quantum Thief is set in a human society, but it felt actually foreign and more fascinating since the reader is the only fish out of water and the characters don’t go out of their way to explain aspects of the word obvious to them.
We’re going on an adventure!
The second one was also “funny”… My wife just finished the third…
Reading Noor right now. Very enjoyable and it will be quick read.
I’m on Tiamats Wake in the Expanse series, love it
I recently finished Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and Wool by Hugh Howey, currently reading Shift. We had the Silo trilogy in our bookshelf for years, but it was only after watching the Apple TV show I decided to read it.
I have a somewhat newfound low for hard sci-fi and would love any recommendations folks have.
Have you read The Expanse series? That’s incredible.
I recommend the TV show too as it is different in some ways and the cast is absolutely amazing (genuinely one of the best sci-fi shows ever made).
I started watching the TV show, but didn’t really get into it. That said, I took me three tries to get into The Wire so I wouldn’t hold that against it.
Maybe I’ll have better luck with the book series, will check it out.
The expanse is the best Sci fi I’ve read in a VERY long time. Read the first book and see if you change your mind. I haven’t met anyone who read the books who didn’t love it.
Just started “The City We Became” by N.K. Jemisen. It took a minute for me to get my bearings, but I’m really digging the concept
N.K. Jemisen is one of my favorite sci-fi/fantasy writers. If you like her style and world building I’d highly recommend the Broken Earth trilogy.
It took me quite some time to get past the rocky (hah) start, the absolute lack of all but the barest exposition, but once I did…wow.
And I recognize the talent and skill it takes to make that work. Very risky to do, but it damn sure paid off.
Seems to be the general flow of her writing style. Broken Earth certainly doesn’t hold your hand, either, but if you stick it out through the directionless lost feeling at the start, suddenly you’re hooked.
I’m Listening currently because it’s convenient at work but, Finishing the Bobiverse for my 3rd go around
Love the Bobbiverse! And the audio version is very well done
Not science fiction, but I’m loving Carl Sagans “The Demon-Haunted World”. He really was a brilliant dude.
Yeah, I really liked that book. Pale Blue Dot is really good as well and he reads part of the audiobook himself, although unfortunately not all of it as he was already quite ill by that point. He was taken far too young.
