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).
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.
Well all short stories in The complete robot are with "normal humans" and their interactions with the first "robots" on earth when there was no faster than lights spaceships.
The Caves of Steel instead is the first of the robot saga where humanity is divided between human from earth that lives inside the big underground cities and the "spacers" which lived on several different planets and are almost a new spieces because they have been separated from earth for several centuries.
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.
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!
I finished Seveneves a few weeks ago. If I wasn't reading it with a friend I wouldn't have finished. I am glad I did, I loved the last 1/4 of the book.
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 just finished up a first time read of Wheel of Time series. Solid 8 months of reading but 100% worth it. Mat Cauthon is my second favorite character ever written I think.
I could never keep the "chosen" straight. Some die, then get reincarnated, but as someone else that you kinda new. Maybe If O had crushed the series im 8 months instead of book by book as they were released if would have been easier to follow.
And yes, Mat is GREAT, which made Perrin super unlikable for me, just due to the unintentional comparison.
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.
The Expanse the show is great. My spouse and I couldn’t believe that it was an adaptation of books that we just couldn’t get through.
We’re avid readers of science fiction and always looking for new authors and series. This is to say we read picked up Levitation Falls when it first appeared on bookstore shelves in 2011. There was no television show to scaffold us and we found the books just weren’t enough on their own.
We simply found the books just not that original or well enough written to draw us in. Both my spouse and I slogged through Leviathan Falls and DNFd the second book when they came out.
We both found them derivative of a good deal of of other work against which they didn’t add - specifically CJ Cherryh’s Company Wars written in the 80s and 90s would be at the top of that subgenre. The big central mystery seems to follow the plot arc of the Star Trek Vanguard novel series published 2005-2012.
It may be that the Expanse handled the central mystery better than Vanguard over the long run of the book series, and I suspect it did based on television version of The Expanse. I just can’t see the books as the peak of space opera that they are held up to be.
I’m working my way through both the Murderbot Diaries (just started Network Effect) and the Rivers of London series (just finished Broken Homes, though this series is more urban fantasy). Both and very enjoyable!
The murderbot stories get so much praise but I was never able to get into them. I binge read (well, actually binge listened) to the Rivers of London books a few months ago and thought they were first-rate.
I just finished the new Ann Leckie book, Translation State, which I liked very much. If you couldn't get enough of the the Imperial Radch universe it's a must read.
Oooh thanks for the rec, I’ll put it on the list! I do tend to lean towards more fantasy/horror and less sci-fi, but I very much liked Murderbot’s voice as a narrator (and the universe is fascinating).
My wife and I just ran through the whole murderbot series. They are such a fun read. I'm convinced that the author plays/has played a ton of Shadowrun.
I love murderbot, this is probably one of my most favorite series of all time! Honestly, I can’t get enough. The seventh is due out this year too, I believe!
I'm currently reading Chibola Burn, the forth book in The Expanse series. Really enjoying it, specially since the third one was my least favorite of the first three. So it feels good to be loving a book in the series again.
I would recommend the series to fans of somewhat believable sci-fi.
Cibola Burn was my favorite as well! Seems like it’s one people either really love or hate. My favorite was probably the last book in the series, Leviathan Falls, but Cibola was a close second.
Excellent choice. I finished Children of Memory a few weeks ago. It's incredible in a different way. Tchaikovsky is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.
Just finished it a few days ago, one of my all time favorite series after randomly discovering it last year. I hope you enjoy Children of Memory as much as I did, wild ride indeed.
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).
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.
I'm reading Children of Ruin, the second book of the Children of Time series. I blasted through the first book in less than a week. First time I've read Tchaikovsky and I love it.
Has anyone told about our lord and savior, the audiobook? listening while driving, doing housework, ect can free up crazy time. And if you dont want your first read to be audio, use it for rereads!
I'm waiting to start the 4th book and reading the Mistborn series first - I want to learn more about the Cosmere! I love the storm light archive but a friend convinced me I would get more out of it if I read Warbreaker and then the Mistborn series first. Warbreaker lets you learn some about characters that appear on Roshar.
I mean I absolutely adore mistborn but I don't see why you would need to read it before stormlight... certainly won't hurt because it's a pretty good series but the connections are very few and exceptionally far between. I didn't even recognize any connections at all until I read some post pointing out like a single sentence here and there that mentions a character or a vague reference to a place or event that might be from mistborn
I'm really enjoying the second one and I've already bought the third and fourth. I'm listening to them on Audible and only have 3 hours left on this one.
I'm loving all of the different stories going on and the different names the Bobs keep choosing, and how each one is different.
My girlfriend and I are listening to The Foundation right now, it's wild how much material is based directly on that book.
@[email protected] Wool is really good, I read the first few and it stuck with me as a decent sci-fi setting. Unfortunately it's YA roots show the longer into the series you get.
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.
I am working my way through Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick. It's not a long book but it's really slow going, it's just so friggin weird that I have to put it down every few pages and just stop to absorb whatever the heck it was I just read. It's neat, as a drug user myself, to read a passage where it seems normal and then just randomly goes off into a 3 page rant about his weird racial ideas, and I just know he took a big fat hit right there writing it, sometime before I was born.
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.
Currently reading Foundation and Earth by Asimov, I absolutely loved the original trilogy so I’ve been reading through the sequels and plan on going back to the prequels after. In my opinion the sequels have a big shift in pacing and sort of the way that the plot develops… not sure how I feel about that. On one hand it is easier to keep up with with less characters, but on the other it feels like the scale of things is much smaller. Trying to not spoil anything. The series is a fantastic read nevertheless!
Difficult to say. If you keep in mind, that he wrote the sequels 30 years or so later and acknowledge that one's views change over such a period, then go ahead. If you, however, expect the same flavor as the trilogy, then I wouldn't recommend reading foundation's edge and foundation and earth. And although these are meant as an introduction to the men behind time, that one makes no reference to the foundation trilogy. So it's fine to just read the end of eternity on its own.
I can only comment on the sequels so far since I haven’t gotten to the prequels, but I’d say if you are open to a bit of a change in pace then it’s definitely worth it. But it’s definitely a bit different, it was written like 30 years later as someone else mentioned. So definitely worth taking that into consideration.
I'm currently on book 3! His comere books are great. You should definitely read the Stormlight Archive and Warbreaker as well. They're all the same universe, albeit different planets (at minimum)
I am currently reading "Wool - Silo, book 1" by Hugh Howey. It's an incredible post-apocalyptic story about a fully functioning society that resides inside a massive silo. Nobody can venture outside due to the toxic environment that make survival impossible, even with protective clothing.
Read the three prequel books in the Shift series once you finish the Silo books. They explain how everyone came to be living in the silo, and help answer a lot of questions.
Those are some of my favourite stories. Although if I remember correctly, it contains the short story version of The Bicentennial Man and you may wish to read the novella version instead which he wrote later, having developed the story some more.
It's my 1st time through Count of Montecristo AND Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy! I have an awesome new job that allows me to work 32 hours/week. I have a WHOLE EXTRA DAY EVERY WEEK to read, learn, draw, garden, whatever. So I'm tackling the dense books I've never been brave enough or committed enough to try befor!
count of Monte Cristo surprised me. I thought it would be a little boring and have that "this is a super old book" feel to it with a writing style that I just didn't enjoy. but it was actually super interesting and has a killer theme throughout that I did not see coming.
The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorites- I also was initially surprised at how modern it read. I flew through it the first time. It's one of my "feel good" books now, as the way the revenge/justice plays out is just so complete, neat, and tidy.
I loved that series when I was younger. Sadly, I stopped following the series at the end of The Riftwar Legacy, because I think that was the last book out before I started reading some other series. I’m definitely planning on jumping back into it once I finish up with The Gentlemen Bastards series.
I'm almost done the Lords of Uncreation which is book 3 of The Final Architecture. Quite the epic space opera. Then I will pick up Wool as season 1 of the TV series will be concluded.
I’m not getting through it as quickly as the first two, but it’s going into some very interesting directions and seems as though it will land its arc very well.
I’m currently hooked on the Dresden Files, by no means perfect literary master pieces but damn if I’m not completely hooked. I’m averaging one-two books of the series a week right now lol
Also just finished Revival by Stephen King as an audio book. I’m a big Stephen King fan, but I have to say I did not find this book to be that scary and the build up was looooong even by his standards.
Broken Earth Trilogy. I finished reading the entire Wool series many years back and gave it a 3.5/5. Really strong start but unfortunately the pacing for the rest of it wasn't quite to my liking.
The Children of the Sky is also a worthy read, if a little depressing. I read it post-pandemic, and the attitudes of some of the characters hit a little close to home.
Really? I loved the first book, but felt the translator for the second had a different enough style that it was hard for me to stay engaged. Maybe I'll have to give it a second try
The writing style felt like it was written by a high school student and the characters were really two-dimensional with no believable motivations for their actions. Also the whole premise was stupid and unrealistic. There were few interesting concepts but they were ruined by the crappy presentation.
Light From Uncommon Stars is the most memorable book I've read in years. It's a beautifully-written, extremely ambitious novel about demons, found family, donuts, Asian cuisine, interstellar war, gender identity, the violin, loyalty, good and evil, beauty, fear and love. Plus, it takes place in the San Gabriel Valley, which is my old stomping ground. It may not be to everyone's taste, but I absolutely loved it.
I am rereading Malazan Book of the Fallen. Just started the fourth book, House of Chains.
The start of this book is the hardest for me to get through. The first couple of chapters are really boring to me and it's only after
spoiler
Karsa is captured and Torvald Nom is introduced
that I start getting into the story. The rest of the book is phenomenal, of course.
Edit: damn, is there no other spoiler option that just greys out the words?
Edit2: Geez, I only just now realize this is not c/books but c/sciencefiction. Sorry if this post doesn't belong here then, haha.
I'm curious what you think about the series so far. I love fantasy, and after everyone told me Malazan was the PhD test for fantasy readers I read the whole thing and was... Underwhelmed. I can't find anyone else who just wasn't impressed with it, people either hate it and never finished or treat it like it's the greatest work of fiction a fantasy author has ever produced. I have so many thoughts on it, but always get yelled down by either camp.
You are not alone. I've had the same experience and I'm wondering what the big deal is. The books are really good, obviously, and a master class in world-building, but I find a lot of the deus ex plot elements disappointing.
I'm only on Memories of Ice, though, so what do I know?
It's my favorite series. Has been since the first time I read Gardens of the Moon. Abercrombie's First Law a close second though.
It's hard to explain why I love it. From the first chapter it pulled me in and doesn't let me go until I'm done (excepting the first few chapters of House of Chains ;)). The scope of the story is one thing. How events hundreds of thousands of years ago shape the events in the books, the chronological jumps, how seemingly unrelated incidents suddenly become entwined. Erikson is a master at making every puzzle piece fall into place; even if you're confused about something as you read it, a few chapters or a book later it will make sense. The little throwbacks to events in previous books, etc. Besides that, his worldbuilding is phenomenal and his characters are unforgettable.
I DNFed Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan. I had high hopes because the concept was reminiscent of Philip K Dick's stories but I found the book to be a confusing slog with characters seemingly pulled from nowhere and with the plot muddling along with coincidences and revelations. There are a few gems of ideas in there, just takes too long to unpack.
One of the few books I’ve DNFed as-well, I just stopped listening to it at some point. Found it very hard to follow. Maybe, because I was listening to the Audiobook? The text format might be easier to follow.
I really liked Altered Carbon but I didn't like Thin Air (which is also by Morgan) so much. I really like detective stories though, like The Caves of Steel.
Based on the posts in this thread, I see a lot of overlap between urban fantasy fans and science fiction fans. With the exception of Lord of the Rings, I've never cared much for high fantasy, but I've really enjoyed the urban fantasy series I've read. If anyone is interested, I've enjoyed...
The Laundry Files by Charles Stross
The City We Became and The World We Make by MK Jemisin
Seconding both recommendations for the Dresden Files and Rivers of London.
I know Butcher gets a lot of flack for the Dresden Files and how he writes Harry, which always baffles me - it’s meant to be a (old-school and chauvinistic) hard-boiled detective noir series. I’ve quite enjoyed watching Harry grow up and develop as a more nuanced and complete character through the series.
(And I’ll have to check out that Jamison title - I loved her Broken Earth novels).
Thirding the recommendation and adding The Stranger Times. It's urban fantasy as well, but from the perspective of a Manchester tabloid about weird news where the people working there have to realize that the stuff they are writing about might actually be real.
Reading that right now and while it took a bit of time to get going, it really grows on you while reading it. Mostly because the characters are interesting.
undefined> I see a lot of overlap between urban fantasy fans and science fiction fans.
This makes a certain amount of sense, I think: to me, the defining line between science and magic is that, at core, scientific phenomena have an explanation, while magic ones don't. You may not understand how Star Trek phasers work, but the premise is that in-universe, there's a good explanation that someone understands. Whereas the reason Harry Potter can wave his wand and make an object levitate is Just Because. There's no ultimate explanation.
I'm simplifying to make the distinction clear, but of course human literature is vast and varied. And urban fantasy, in particular, tends to straddle the line between SF and fantasy: the action doesn't take place in A Land Far, Far Away, where the rules are different; it's London, or Chicago, or Mogadishu, where guns and cars obey Boyle's law, and carpets don't just hover in the air without a really good reason.
I'm not familiar with all of the worlds you cite, but in The Dresden Files, for instance, magic obeys certain rules, so that if you know how a spell works, but you don't have all the components, you can figure out a substitution. Or in The Laundry Files, you start with the premise that there are Lovecraftian horrors out there and work out the consequences, in the finest tradition of SF, and come to the conclusion that there will be paperwork.
I'm halfway through Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson. I didn't know anything about this book other than it was about a generation ship but I'm really enjoying it. Every time I pick up one of his books I can't believe how good the science is, dude really digs into everything
Currently reading “The Exiled Fleet” by J. S. Dewes. This is the second in her “The Divide” series. It is pretty good. I picked up the first book because she did a release event with Scalzi during that time we were all locked in our homes and the story sounded interesting. The first one was compelling enough for me to see the series through although she has not announced the publication of the third book yet and has just released a standalone novel unrelated to the series.
Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds. I’m about 3/4 of the way through, and it’s been very interesting thus far! Definitely has not gone where I thought it was gonna go, which is cool.
If you haven’t read it I won’t give any spoilers, but I was fascinated by the similarities to The Expanse in the beginning. They definitely go different places, but I can feel Reynolds influence on James Corey. Surprised I haven’t seen anybody mention this before.
Anyways, I read House of Suns before this and probably like that more, but Pushing Ice is quite good. Should I start the Revelation Space series next?
i read pushing ice with my book club recently. was also not expecting things to go where they went but i really enjoyed the direction. it makes for a very fleshed out 'sailors marooned on a deserted island' kind of story that doesn't waste the possibilities it's genre and setting allow it. janus as a setting just has a lot of great mysteries and the way the crew interact and survive on the planet is explored very thoroughly. the isolation of how hopelessly far they are from home and only getting further struck me when i was reading. you can understand the different factions and how things might have been different if only a few things changed in the beginning.
and as far as sci-fi goes, it's version of it is a favorite of mine. the blue-collar worker in space is something i've always liked, and it gets depicted very well in this book. would love to hear what you think once you've finished it.
Just finished! Not as strong as House of Suns, but I quite liked it. There are some super solid sci-fi concepts, but some of the characters are just so unlikable.
Spoilers below
I really struggled with Svetlana specifically and how long she held her grudge! That exile! So many years! Intense. I was hoping for a bit more of a twist with the Fountain Heads, but then again them being essentially good and telling the truth is a bit of a twist because you sort of expect the alien betrayal! It feels like he set up the story for a sequel with that teaser about the middle of the structure and all. Hope Reynolds revisits this world soon.
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
I am reading currently Snow Crash. A great example how pioneers of a genre seem to lose their originality over time, but the book hasn't changed, everyone else has just copied it to death.
Previously I read some if the Culture series and got surprised by the genuine atrocities popping up in them. The books were interesting and the horrible things had a reason to be there, but I just became overwhelmed.
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.
Currently reading Fairy Tale by Stephen King, though it's not really science fiction more fantasy. Before that I read Intergalactic Exterminators Inc. by Ash Bishop which I thought was great. Its very funny with good character development.
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 love for hard sci-fi and would love any recommendations folks have.
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.
I actually just got this delivered recently. Haven't had the chance to dive in yet, but its reputation really precedes it. Every video essayist I follow on Youtube has talked about this book at some point. Very much looking forward to it.
The reading of the book becomes part of the experience of the book in a way that feels unique and engaging. If you like the format being part of the story I have to recommend S by Doug Dorst and JJ Abrams and to a lesser extent the Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd.
Man, I read that and all the crazy notes in all different directions. Quite a trip. I personally think it could have been a bit shorter and deliver the same effect, but it really is pretty neat and original. I hope they make it into a film or show someday - it deserves the treatment and the author deserves the $$.
Love that book! First read through was unsuccessful as I got stuck in an appendix reading a bunch of letters. On my 2nd attempt I avoided that dead end and really enjoyed it.
Just started The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, too early to see if I like it yet. I’ve got some pretty high hopes though, Station Eleven was absolutely fantastic!
I just finished the Watchmaker of Filigree Street series, and loved that as well! IMO, the second was better than the first, but don’t read the second without reading the first since you need the context.
I bought the two Asimov sets of the Robot books and Foundation books, but still need to finish The Stranger Times (Urban fantasy) before delving into that. Read The Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky before that.
The Caves of Steel by Asimov is really good as well. I think it's a standalone novel and isn't included in the Robot books, but I read it after reading the Robot collection as I liked them so much.
Thankfully, it's included in the collection I got. It has all the short story collections and novels from the "Robot-Verse" (Which means some stuff like "I, Robot" is also included twice)
I've been reading Carrion Comfort. Really cool mystery story with people that can mind control. You're always trying to figure out what the Game is and what are these pawns accomplishing.
Its a little long winded but Dan Simmons can write a compelling story.
Def more Horror than Science Fiction.
Simmons does a good job with horror as well as science fiction. Hyperion is a wonderful blending of the two imo. The Terror is good as well for the hostile environment and isolation he manages to convey
I'm currently nostalgia-reading Robert Rankin's Dance Of The Voodoo Handbag but that's more far fetched fiction than sci-fi. Silly, entertaining and lots of tall tales. I'm also reading The Quantum Magician by Derek Künsken. I was hoping for it to be the start of a good series of books to read over the summer but it's not very good. I will probably not bother with the rest of the series.
I just finished "peripheral" and "agency" by William Gibson. So much better than (already fun) tv show.
Currently I'm re-reading some of early Neal Stephenson, starting with "the diamond age, or young lady's illustrated primer". I've originally read it while still learning English, so now I can fully appreciate not just the story but Stephenson's wordcraft.
The thought of learning English from a Neal Stephenson books cracks me up. As a native English speaker they were hard to get through, especially Diamond Age which, while great, was a difficult read for me.
the whole three body problem is such a mind bender, but especially the last one. really, really enjoyed those books. the guy that translated them also wrote some stuff that's not bad at all - Ken Liu (no relation shockingly!)
I've just started City of Illusions, the third book in Le Guin's Hainish cycle. Most of my life I'd only read her essays and nonfiction, so I'm finally making time for her fantasy/scifi. With some of these earlier books, it's wild to remember that they were written in the early-to-mid 1960's.
I know I'm late to reading them and I'm not sure if graphic novels count here, but "kill six billion demons" is a fantastic series with a unique art style and direction that I genuinely cannot get enough of
Though it might be more science fantasy than science fiction I guess?
After being a sci-fi nerd for a long time, I want to read through some of the classics that inspire it. So I'm reading The Epic of Gilgamesh, with Lucian's true history next.
Sounds pretentious I know but it's pretty cool seeing where some stuff originated from.
Anyone have any I should add the the list then let me know.
I'm almost done the Powder Mage trilogy, starting the third book now. It's good, the author is a little less grim than Joe Ambercrombie but similar style if you're looking for a new series.
Nuttel is rare because most series have an issue of everyone becoming overpowered. He has created enemies far stronger and weaker than humanity, he focusses on how an enemy has a tactical edge.
I find Military Sci-Fi a really relaxing read and it's largely written by ex forces, so gives a really interesting insight into how they are structured and think.
Eversion - Adrian Tchykovsky (sp?) and I fucking LOVED it. Didn't even come CLOSE to guessing how it would all play out, tons of great stuff and an ending that's just this short of sweet. Really good. Please read.
Just finished books 1-7 of The Starsea Cycle by Kyle West. Pretty good stuff, kind of a mix of sci-fi and fantasy. Looking forward to the upcoming release of book 8.
In the meantime I'm reading the Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown. Currently on book 4 with 2 more to go. Really enjoying it, but kinda feeling ready for something a little more toward the hard-scifi area.
Once I'm done with those I think I'll go reread A Fire Upon the Deep by Vinge, I think it's probably my favorite book and it's been a few years since I read it.
The Shadowed Sun by NK Jemisin, not sci-fi but it’s great (as is the first book in the series). Her other series The Broken Earth is more sci-fi and also great.
I read The Player of Games and it was good. I also read Consider Phleblas and while it was very different to Player Of Games I didn't think it was as bad as some people say.
Apparently Use of Weapons is also really good so I should go back to that series. The whole Culture thing is really interesting.
Do people dislike Consider Phlebas? The story is a bit more straightforward than the others, but it does a good job introducing the setting. And that train battle at the end
Working on the Texcalaan series by Arkady Martine. The universe is fascinating and the cultural imagination is a great way to look at our own with fresh eyes. I'm about halfway through book two and enjoying thoroughly.
Brushfire by Craig Alanson.
Expeditionary Force might not be the ebst book series, later books are repetetive and predictable - but despite that it is still so much fun to read.
I'm currently reading A Mist of Grit and Splinters, book five of Graydon Saunders Commoweal series. The first book, The March North, was incredibly confusing until I figured out his writing style but I really like the series after that.
State Tectonics, third book of the Centenal Cycle by Malka Older. It's not bad so far, but it feels like too artificial. Like the setting doesn't make much sense, the author just wanted to play with it. Yes, same applies to the first two books. I liked the first one much more to be honest.
I'm currently reading American Psycho and The Two Towers. Both can be slow at times, so it's nice to be able to read one of them and when it gets boring read the other one
I've just finished Wool as well! Shift is off to a good start too. I've been watching the Apple show as it comes out but it differs from the books more than I though it would (especially in the latest episode).
I definitely recommend Dennis E. Taylor's work if you haven't read any. The Bobiverse and Outland collections are both excellent.
I'm re-reading "Scions of Humanity" (AEON 14) while I wait for the next book to be released (Galactic Front). You can start reading books from the AEON 14 for free at Rika Mechanized
The Fifth science by Exurb1a. It's a collection of short stories in a shared universe. Love it so far. Author has a good youtube channel if you're into that.
The Three Books of Occult Philosophy after having finished La Veritable Magie Noire (True Black Magic). They are interesting because of their historical significance and, shall we say, creativity.
I've finished Wool in the middle of Silo season 1. I was wondering what might a regular viewer think of Shift? (I think that's the second of the trilogy)
I enjoyed the more sentimental moments between our main character and Mechanical, but preferred in the show that the Mayor was given more depth.
Reading the Wool as well, but it's too hot here to concentrate on more than one or two pages at a time. :)
(NEVER trust a person selling you a property. They can bullshit even the smallest inconsequential details, like the ability of your heat pump to work in reverse, to cool the house down)
The TV show is nice, but it's moving pretty slow. And I feel like it's just going to get killed before any kind of conclusion is reached, that's why I started with the book.
Yeah, I have AC which isn't that common here in Europe but I need to fix the window to make sure it can vent properly so until then I am just suffering it being like 27C at night..
I'm currently reading The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott. It's part of the High Republic saga of Star Wars, and I'm really enjoying it so far :D
It was quite a challenge to read a book in English for the first time with Light of the Jedi (the first book of the series). But I feel like I've gotten way better and can now understand more while reading faster.
After this, I'm planning on reading The Prince of Milk by Exurb1a. Which I have wanted to read for a long time.
Probably only relevant to German readers, I'm currently enjoying "Sanctum" from a series by Markus Heitz. He made a trilogy about werewolves and one about vampires, both are great if you're into spooky stuff, action and a bit of fictional violence. ;)
Personally, I think that the Judas trilogy (the one about vampires) is written slightly better and a more fluent story arc, so if you only would give one of them a try and you're not an absolute werewolf fan, I'd start with "Kinder des Judas".
I'm reading Thrawn: Traitor (Thrawn Canon books #3). Not the greatest series I've ever read by any means but I need a break from the Stormlight Archives and my library had no wait on these.
You read any of his new kickstarter books? I'm reading "The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England" right now and it's quite a fun little read.
I'm re-reading Broken Angels (the sequel to Altered Carbon) by Richard Morgan. Of the three books in the trilogy, this is the one I liked the most.
I've got River Of Pain by Christopher Golden on pause. It's an Aliens-prequel about the colony set up on the planet where the Nostromo crew picked up the alien. I haven't read it before, but I'm pretty sure I know how it ends.
Currently reading Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton. It's the sequel to Pandora's Star.
Imagine if humans developed wormhole technology to travel to other states systems instantly and abandoned space travel. Very fun read. It has a wide spread of characters and settings so it can get a bit confusing at times.
I’m reading The Best Of World SF Vol 2 compilation, edited by Lavie Tidhar.
There are some phenomenal short stories in this and the first one, and I really enjoy hearing voices from outside the English-speaking bubble that I usually read
Django Wexler's Shadow Campaigns seris. Fantasy more than sci fi but I'd describe them as hard fantasy. I'm on book 2 of 5 and glory be to whatever library God is watching over me but all 5 are available as E-books from our library system, haven't had to wait except for the first one.