I need some new science fiction to read, who has some suggestions? I don't like military sci-fi. For reference, my favorite series is the Expanse, I also enjoyed Scalzi's Collapsing Empire, I love Robert Charles Wilson's books. I mostly enjoy space operas and unique stories about technology, for example I really liked the recent book Mountain in the Sea about AI and intelligent octopus. Suggestions from the awesome Bookstodon community? @bookstodon#Bookstodon#Scifi#ScienceFiction
Have you tried Becky Chambers Wayfarer series, beginning with A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet?
Each following can be read as standalone but some characters recur and best read in order. Outstanding characters and interaction among species, diverse, great dialogue, and action but no big space battles.
If you like Scalzi, for sheer fun and a good plot, written in first person, I highly recommend The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. She is a brilliant, versatile SFF writer and this series is a joy. Seeing humanity through the eyes of an uncontrolled robot security officer is perfect.
Hope these appeal .😊
@RHW@Jennifer@bookstodon going through a lot of stress at the moment, so I am reading the MurderBot series. It's just so good it bring me joy and relieves anxiety. Highly recommended series.
@Jennifer@bookstodon
Recent books I can recommend:
The Sun Chronicles by Kate Elliott (2 so far, anxiously waiting the 3rd)
The Terraformers by Annalee Newitz
Meru by S. B. Divya (2nd book due this August)
Dual Memory by Sue Burke
The Neo-G series by K. B. Wagers (4th book due November I think)
The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain, a novella by Sofia Samatar
@Jennifer@bookstodon Cherryh has several series/subseries/shared universes that might be of interest. Downbelow Station, Cuckoo's Egg, Pride of Chanur, and Foreigner are some titles.
@Jennifer@bookstodon Walter Jon Williams might be of interest--maybe Aristoi or Metropolitan (F but reads as SF). (His Praxis books are MilSF, so those titles will be of less interest.)
Jessie Kwak's Nanshe series (Leverage in space) is fun.
@Jennifer@bookstodon I have a love/hate relationship with this question. Every single time I see someone post it, I make the mistake of reading the replies. I already have too large an unread pile, dammit!
Guess I really should turn my phone off and get to it…
@Jennifer@bookstodon I don’t think I’ve seen anyone mention Semiosis by Sue Burke yet. It follows generations of human settlers dedicated to living in harmony with an alien ecosystem, but the dominant sentient species on this planet are super smart plants. It’s a lot of fun. The third book will be coming out later this year!
@Jennifer@bookstodon I thoroughly enjoyed Adrian Tchaikovsky's recent "Final Architecture" trilogy. It's Space Opera turned up to 11. I love everything by @mjohnharrison I've ever read, too. Also: have you read any of Ian McDonald's stuff? Or Paul McAuley's? Or @hutch 's fabulous "Europe" series? All well worth a punt...
@Jennifer@bookstodon Iain M. Banks, the Culture series. Start with "Consider Phlebas" (which I think? is the first in the series?).
They are independent stories set in the same universe, so you can read them in any order. Some of the stories involve war (mostly as political background, though); most don't.
@philip_cardella Yes, this is a great recommendation. I would add, somewhat along the lines of The Mountain in the Sea, try the Poseidon's Children trilogy by Alastair Reynolds. Excellent. Also the Children of Time trilogy by Adrian Tchaikovsky. @Jennifer@bookstodon
@Jennifer@thatgeoguy@bookstodon I love all of them!
Have you read the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers?
How about NK Jemisin? Broken Earth is dark fantasy-Scifi.
Hundred thousand kingdoms more on fantasy side
All good.
@Jennifer@bookstodon Have you read Arkady Martine's 'A Memory Called Empire' yet?
I also recommend 'A Darkling Sea' by James Cambias.
'Generation Ship' by Michael Mammay
'The Deep Sky' by Yume Kitasei
@Jennifer@bookstodon Highly recommend Adrian Tchaikovsky, especially the Children of Time trilogy (human and other intelligent life evolving across millennia), or the Final Architecture series (with hints of Babylon 5 in there). He gives big, widescreen space opera but mixes action with more thoughful moments and good characters
@LordWoolamaloo@Jennifer@bookstodon Seconding that. Adrian Tchaikovsky is amazing - and you won't run out of books very quickly, because darn that man is prolific!
Have you read the Bobiverse series, by Denis E Taylor? Starts with We Are Legion.
And Nathan Lowell's Ishmael Wang books, which is a kind of space competency porn. Nobody can make you glued to small details like Nathan Lowell. Starts with Quarter Share.
@LordWoolamaloo@Jennifer@bookstodon I've been following the Ishmael Wang books since they were coming out serialised on the Podiobooks website many moons ago, narrated by the author. They're still going. The newest one just came out in audio, though they have a new narrator these days. I get the audiobooks, since that's how I started the series, but they're on ebook and paper too. They tend to come out in trilogies, apart from three more stand alone ones after the first triliogy.
Recently active, I have greatly enjoyed The Expanse, @scalzi , Alastair Reynolds, Stephen Baxter, Becky Chambers, Cixin Liu, China Mieville (sorta-kinda SFish) and I'm finally working though @pluralistic which I should have started on literal decades ago.
I binged all the problematic Golden Age dudes too, and they do seem to be aging like badly-sealed radioactive waste, don't they?
@Jennifer@bookstodon I'm almost finished with Sarah Gailey's "The Mirror Wife" and it's blowing my mind! Scifi/horror really but with a strong feminist focus. Can't wait to see if my suspicions about the MC's clone are confirmed.
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