The Sci-Fi Book Thread

slippery

slippery

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Things people could check out, that I've mentioned in other books threads. I almost exclusively do audio books now, because I can listen to them while driving, and I can fall asleep while listening. I almost never have time to read, so it's been quite a while since I've picked up a book.

Craig Alanson Expeditionary Force series. Probably better in audio books, because RC Bray is an amazing narrator. Bonus points if you served in the military, because a lot of the jokes will be on point.

The Black Ocean stuff by JS Morin. This guy puts out a lot in a short span I feel like. Galaxy Outlaws in an 80 hour audio book you can get for 1 credit, that is pretty enjoyable. It's very very inline with Firefly. He's put out some more in spinoffs from that, based on characters in it. One of the spin offs is super super DS9 inspired. He's got some fantasy stuff that is solid too. The Twinborn series is really unique and enjoyable.

I'm a pretty big Evan Currie fan, can't go too wrong there. The Odyssey One stuff is pretty good.

Ken Lozito is enjoyable enough. Characters are kind of flat/one dimensional, but the stories are good.
 
Aldarion

Aldarion

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Luthair said:
For me it was one of the few books I've never bothered to finish, I found Snow Crash to be merely OK and Anathem to be total garbage though I still finished reading it.
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wtf, Anathem is one of those sci fi books that transcends sci fi and enters the realm of important philosophical musings

Best NS book hands down.

Seveneves was good before the time jump and dumb after.
 
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khorum

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Loved Anathem. Definitely one of his best although the Baroque Cycle is still tops for me.
 
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Luthair

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Aldarion said:
wtf, Anathem is one of those sci fi books that transcends sci fi and enters the realm of important philosophical musings

Best NS book hands down.

Seveneves was good before the time jump and dumb after.
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Stephenson is the kind of author who jerks off to how awesome he thinks his characters and philosophies are.
 
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Aldarion

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Thats a fair criticism. And it can get annoying at times for some characters and some philosophies.

I guess am just not bothered by it when the character and philosophy is as awesome as Fraa Jad travelling through the multiverse.
 
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Ukerric

Ukerric

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More pure sci-fi. Finished Neal Asher's The Warship.

This second book in the Rise of the Jain trilogy starts where the previous one ended, and adds more background and lore to the Polity Universe and one of its most infamous Elder Races, the Jain. We've only seen the Jain so far thru the lenses of the technology they left around which is basically a world-devourer trap. Now, we get to understand a bit better why that technology got there.

(if I'm right, that's now two out of three - or maybe four - Elder Races coming back. Waiting on the Csorians next)

Of course, there's plenty of technology thrown around, total callous disregard for anything except force itself, and the various bits that one expects from a Polity novel. A few people lose their humanity (or what was left of it). Thankfully, the usual deus ex machina - the Dragon - that's been around is kept back and does not interfere too much. Even when the titular Warship finally comes around.

As usual, unless you've read most of Asher's older books, you will be completely and absolutely lost. You need not only to have read the previous book (or you will be even more lost), but also most of the Polity books to understand what goes on with the Polity, the Jain technology, the Prador and the Hoppers.

And now, after this cliffhanger, you need to wait until book 3. If you don't like that, wait a bit then.
 
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Ukerric

Ukerric

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Still classical sci-fi. This time, it's David Weber's (yes, that Weber) The Gordian Protocol

Wonder of wonders: A SOLO David Weber!

M. Weber is better known for his large series. Here, he's doing a collaboration on a stand-alone novel. It's a novel that is a bit too rich. It hints of a major set of themes, like civilization defining events (both real and fictitious), but does not explore them enough for me. I liked the contrasting between our own timeline's SJW insanity, with a complete bingo of campus microaggression, and the alternate time-line where communism was stomped out of existence worldwide in the 50s.

Alas, like all time travel things, this one is full of twists, and it cannot even be completely consistent with itself, so you need some suspension of disbelief for it to fully work. Nevertheless, it's a serviceable time-travel-cum-alternative history. Not good enough to warrant 5 stars, but a solid 4+.

PS: Oh, and it's time travel standalone revolving around WW2. Of course, you will have a Hitler problem. But Weber (or Holo) is good enough to make that one... slightly different than the usual Hitler killing time-travel conundrum.
 
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Rod-138

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Ukerric said:
More pure sci-fi. Finished Neal Asher's The Warship.

Picked up at “The Soldier” and have never read this dude before - it’s doable and most of stuff you miss out on is just standard sci fi crap so I don’t feel too lost. Really enjoying it thanks for the post.

This second book in the Rise of the Jain trilogy starts where the previous one ended, and adds more background and lore to the Polity Universe and one of its most infamous Elder Races, the Jain. We've only seen the Jain so far thru the lenses of the technology they left around which is basically a world-devourer trap. Now, we get to understand a bit better why that technology got there.

(if I'm right, that's now two out of three - or maybe four - Elder Races coming back. Waiting on the Csorians next)

Of course, there's plenty of technology thrown around, total callous disregard for anything except force itself, and the various bits that one expects from a Polity novel. A few people lose their humanity (or what was left of it). Thankfully, the usual deus ex machina - the Dragon - that's been around is kept back and does not interfere too much. Even when the titular Warship finally comes around.

As usual, unless you've read most of Asher's older books, you will be completely and absolutely lost. You need not only to have read the previous book (or you will be even more lost), but also most of the Polity books to understand what goes on with the Polity, the Jain technology, the Prador and the Hoppers.

And now, after this cliffhanger, you need to wait until book 3. If you don't like that, wait a bit then.
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Rod-138

Rod-138

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Ukerric said:
By the way, book 3 comes out Apr 16, 2020. That's... a loooooong time.
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That sucks. I did same thing with Dresden (found it here and assumed it was finished).

One thing I would like to understand better is the value of life in the books. They seem to have mentioned resurrection a few times but also seem to die for real at times, so, I’m guessing it’s like a more rare thing to back yourself up and/or fully resurrect vs most people just die ?
 
Void

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sadris said:
If I were to get into reading Warhammer 40k books, what series should I start with?
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That's a very good question. Personally, I kind of think Eisenhorn and Ravenor are good starting points, because it mainly focuses on a small section of the vast WH40K world, and you have time to get into it without being overwhelmed.

The Horus Heresy, at least the dozen or so I read (pretty sure there are like 800 of them now), were pretty good as well, but a few were just terrible. It is a very good start to the whole world though, because you get a lot of explanation for shit that everyone else in the world of 40K takes for granted.

That being said, just about anything by Dan Abnett was, at least at the time when I was still reading them, pretty much guaranteed to be at least decent, if not great.

I know a lot of others are more current than I am, but from someone that quit reading them 5+ years ago, those are my recommendations. See what others say though, obviously, as maybe something new has come out that is much better to start with.
 
DirkDonkeyroot

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sadris said:
If I were to get into reading Warhammer 40k books, what series should I start with?
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Heresy is good, the first 4 are some prime reading. Fortunately you can skip around in the series and not get lost because a lot of them are garbage.

Also, The Beast Arises series is great from book 1 - 12. Highly suggest that if you just want some down and dirty 40k and not the long slow burn plot of the heresy.
 
Ukerric

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Not strictly "books" per the thread title, but the idea of a shared sci-fi universe built from a... 4CHAN original story dragged me into a black hole of insanity.

The subreddit is r/HFY, a shorthand for "Humanity, Fuck Yea!!!". No kidding.

The Jenkinverse (Jverse) is a shared universe based on the original adventures of one Kevin Jenkins, abducted by the little grey men. It turns out Earth is officially classified as a class 12 Deathworld - a nearly un-inhabitable world where the evolution produces the nastiest forms of life possible. The idea that such a world can produce a sophont is nearly un-imaginable, yet it does. And as the original hero explains, "you'd better give us sapient status, or you'll end up in a heap of trouble... when we manage to get out". And when the Alphaest of Alpha Predator lifeforms tells you to treat them as galactic citizens, you agree. Or else.

(yes, it's that ridiculous and over the top. I'm loving it so far. Perfect popcorn sci-fi)
 
Blitz

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Just finished God Emperor of Dune. Really, it's the main story of Dune. I really enjoyed it. As a book it's not as good as the first two Hyperion's, but as a culmination of the first 4 books it hits the spot.

Debating on jumping into the last two books now, or switching to something else for a bit.
 
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Kharzette

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There's a new book in the house of suns verse! I'm so excited I had no idea this was even in the works, just stumbled across it while digging around in my kindle.

I read a few pages and it seems to be a few 100k to maybe a couple million years before house of suns, but same people. They live a long time remember.
 
Zyke

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Kharzette said:
There's a new book in the house of suns verse! I'm so excited I had no idea this was even in the works, just stumbled across it while digging around in my kindle.

I read a few pages and it seems to be a few 100k to maybe a couple million years before house of suns, but same people. They live a long time remember.
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I read this book so long ago, I totally forgot about it and I'm really surprised there's another one coming out after all this time.

As for other books, I just finished reading the first 3 books in the Sentenced To War series by JN Chaney and Jonathan Brazee. It's solid but fairly standard military scifi. If you're into that kind of stuff I'd definitely recommend it, as it's well written and pretty interesting, though nothing revolutionary. I definitely enjoyed it though and they were free on my kindle.
 
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