-The Harry Dresden Series by Jim Butcher. Almost entirely read my James Marsden
-The Mortal Engine Series by Philip Reeve. Read by Barnaby Edwards.
-Have Spacesuit, Will Travel by Robert Heinlein. Read by Will McAuliffe
-The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. Read by Jennifer Ikeda
-Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Read by Wil Wheaton
I really wanted to like these since they are recommended so often, and on paper should be right up my street, but for some reason I just couldn't get into them. I probably gave up a little over half way through the first book. Does much change after that point that might bring me around or are they just not for me?
They really are. For me they're the books by which all others are measured.
I'm somewhat unsettled by book 4, heaven's river. I think the interesting concepts of the premise have been more or less exhausted in the first 3 books. I suspect that anything coming after will be more or less "things happening in that universe" rather than investigating that universe.
I don't begrudge an author continuing a series - it's guaranteed success after all. But in the ideal sense it would've been nice if the first three books had have stood alone.
He focused a lot on one story line, however the stuff that goes on on the sidelines could have huge impacts for the universe going forward. It is changing a lot though, but tbh. it kinda has to to not get stuck in a loop of "the same stuff happening just in another system".
If he turns that set up into a great story arc, it could be very interesting.
The Martian (I prefer this to PHM as I feel it's a story that is a realistic possibility)
The Interdependency trilogy (I wanted more books, more time in this universe)
Expeditionary Force (OK, it gets a bit samey in the middle books and there's the dire full cast novella, but I feel they're great overall. Not finished the series yet but heard some dislike for the final book)
Bobiverse (I was hooked from the beginning, yes book 4 is a bit of a departure)
The Expanse (Simply the best hard sci fi, grounded in reality, but the final few books do go a bit off tangent)
Honorable mentions to:
Recursion (Just such an intriguing concept)
Dark Matter (I wish I could listen it again without knowing the plot)
Old Mans War + most of the sequels (I'm a big fan of all of John Scalzi's work)
Project Hail Mary (OK, this could have been in the top 5 but I prefer The Martian!)
Hell Divers (A great start but got a bit silly in the last few books)
I could name so many more, but seeing as I'm listening to about 30 books per year it's hard to remember them all.