Personal all-time favorite, read it twice: Accelerando by Charles Stross
Set in three parts, exploring a future where people can upload themselves to computers, create digital copies, recombine, run minds faster than real-time, re-enter the non-digital world, travel to alien destinations, etc.
I like that Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy (Red, Blue, Green Mars) are in red. That is my absolutely favourite Sci-Fi series of all time. It has aged amazingly well. He did an amazing amount of research for that book. It's very believable and the characters are incredibly complex.
So is "The Years of Rice and Salt" from him, though it's only one book, not a trilogy.
I feel like I actually learned something while reading it, but that is because I've read it on screen, while having Wikipedia and Google-maps open in the background while reading it, pausing to look up things there.
> Red Mars won the BSFA Award in 1992 and Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1993. Green Mars won the Hugo Award for Best Novel and Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1994. Blue Mars also won the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1997.
I was reading a scifi book the other day, and it just seemed to tickle something familiar. I eventually realized I must have read it long ago and totally forgotten it.
I've read thousands of books, but I never kept a log and have no way of remembering them all.
The standout in my mind, however, is "War of the Worlds" by Wells. It is the first scifi book I ever read, picking it out at the library because it had a cool illustration of the tripod on the cover.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and like the purported first hit of heroin, the rest of my life I've looked for something that good again :-)
To me it's Alastair Reynolds, and then everybody else.
When I read "Revelation Space" it was, er, a Revelation.
In addition to the many books R.S. universe (spanning across great swaths of time) there is also the fun Revenger series, and several non-canonical short stores, etc.
I also enjoyed what I read of Revelation Space. I really liked how not having faster than light travel played a role. I kind of lost interest when so many of the books revolved around that same planet. There is a whole universe out there that I want to learn more about. I don't care about the rust belt or whatever it was called.
I think “house of suns“, which is not R.S. is maybe one of the best sci fi books I’ve ever read. I’ve only also read chasm city by him but I thought “House of Suns” was leaps and bounds better
Disappointed this is just a list, with no information, ranking or anything else. I'm always on the hunt for good sci-fi, but unfortunately this isn't helpful.
Just fyi, a great many of these books are award winners or otherwise considered classics, so if you're looking for good sci-fi, you could do worse than just randomly picking a book from this list. Though as other commenters have mentioned, modern sci-fi is rather under-represented.
Well the ones he really liked are underlined, that's a form of ranking. Not sure you need to know the nuance between #1 and #2, but knowing that there's 15 must reads on that list is a convenient way of showing that.
I am surprised he likes some of the classics as they hold up really poorly IMO. The Foundation books especially just... are not good viewed through a modern lens. I hate to pull the misogyny card, but I think there is only one woman in Foundation and she has no lines, just models a necklace for some space trader types. They also suffer from the classic sci-fi conundrum where a spaceman is flying at light speed while reading a newspaper and listening to a tape. It's not really excusable for me when people consider this like... the greatest sci fi book. Other authors were able to confront our social and technological future in a much more realistic and interesting way, not like, cowboys in spaceships.
Books that have become dated can sometimes be quite interesting when read with the period they were published in in mind. Not just for the retro-effect they invariably invoke, but also to see how the thought experiments encapsulated in them would have appeared to people then.
Sci-fi classics are like any other classic books; you have to read them in the context of the author and his times. You can't read Conrad's Heart of Darkness ignoring the cultural and historical context either.
And honestly, sometimes a Heinlein juvenile makes for a nice change of pace between heavier works (either sci-fi/fantasy or any other genre).
Yeah, same here. I tried to read old American science fiction, the so-called western classics and the so-called eastern classics. All of that stuff is racist, sexist and bigoted. After many unsuccessful tries I decided that reading anything from other times and cultures is just too regressive to be worth it. After all, what can someone as bigoted and outdated as Asimov really teach us about society and technology in 2020? What can Jane Austen with her internalized misogyny tell us about human nature? I will stick to modern and progressive literature, thank-you-very-much.
And so should you. In fact, those old books can be downright dangerous and normalize regressive behaviors that will cause real harm. I mean, today we are rightfully worried about individual bigoted tweets and messages, but imagine someone reading an entire book of that stuff?
You're missing the point. Sci-fi isn't about technology, it's about imagining life and existence from a non-earth non-human perspective. Also, Bayta Darell is a very central character with a significant role.
"Well actually" there's TWO (2!) women. One has one line, and she's talking to a man, so it still fails the Bechtel test. The other, like you said, models a necklace, and has no lines.
Nice to see a recommendation for one of John Varley's works (The Golden Globe). There is one sci-fi author who is underappreciated. His writing has touches of Heinlein. His Gaea Trilogy is really creative too.
Two books I would highly recommend for their idea density and enjoyment are
Deamon - Daniel Suarez and follow on book Freedom.
Old Mans War - John Scalzi and really the whole series.
I didn’t care for Old Man’s War. I really liked the writing and characters, but found that the bleakness of a future that’s a War of All Against All bummed me out for several days after I finished.
I reread (Audiobook version) the Hyperion Cantos a year ago and I was floored at how well it aged in the past 20+ years.
as a sidenote, I picked up on stuff on the rereading and am wondering how much of that is due to my increased maturity and how much is due to the format (paperback vs. audiobook).
As a result I'm rereading a lot of my favorites from the past . Not all have aged as well.
At a glance, I can't spot anything by Ken MacLeod, nor Iain Banks. Both are masters of hard SF. I read most of Ken MacLeod's work, some several times (yes, I really enjoyed them that much), and I am reading Iain Bank's Culture series these days.
I've read enough of the list that I think I'll hang onto it to check out stuff that I haven't read.
Obviously it's down to personal preference which of these are the best, but I'm curious how other readers feel about a couple of these (potentially contrarian views):
1. Speaker For the Dead is my favorite of the Ender stuff.
2. I like Endymion duo better than Hyperion. (maybe my favorite ever, actually)
3. The Stand is also an all-time great to me, especially in light of current events.
4. I think the author should read more Niven - I guess he didn't really like Ringworld, which is another of my favorites.
> 2. I like Endymion duo better than Hyperion. (maybe my favorite ever, actually)
Strong agree. The technical term for the advantage the Endymion books had is "a coherent plot". Also, using human reconstitution as a way to get around the acceleration constraints of space travel is awesome.
Simmons' Ilium and Olympos (SF interpretations of the Iliad and [sort of] the Odyssey) are also super well-conceived.
I personally liked the Hyperion duo better, but found all 4 books to be incredible.
As for Ringworld, I didn't enjoy it, but would be willing to give Niven another try if given a strong and specific recommendation. Maybe something that has more of a plot. Wandering around a big empty construction in space where nothing happens didn't really do it for me.
The author of this list and I seem to have very similar tastes. Most of his favorites are mine as well. The only favorite of mine that comes to mind as being left off this list is Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. It's also striking that he hasn't listed any of the Culture series by Iain Banks.
I put off reading The Three Body Problem because I wanted to make sure I was good and ready to be amazed.
I've read Cixin Liu's short stories and thoroughly enjoyed them. He comes up with some amazing ideas. I even really liked the movie based on Wandering Earth, despite how it converted the story to more action.
I barely made it through 3BP and I don't have much excitement for the sequels. The story just did not grip me at all.
The sequels have some big and original ideas that I don't regret being exposed to, but they were painful to get through. Especially the 2nd book. It took me months to finish because I just couldn't stay interested.
If you read 100 books in 2 years, is it a goal or are you still reading for the enjoyment of it?
Also a side question, I love reading but I'm very slow. I don't want to learn a lot of the 'fast' reading techniques because I have tried them and don't really retain much. Is there some low hanging fruit to reading just a little faster? (like, read in a good chair or use a kindle or something)
I have started reading more in the last few years, and much of it comes down to using goodreads - I hate the app & site, but I like keeping track of what I've read and whether I liked it. And you set a "reading challenge" every year. I've been aiming for 20-26 books per year, and the little nudges it gives me help me keep on track - I only missed one year since I started, and that was because I got bogged down in the fall reading a 1000 page book that I didn't like.
all that to say: I've been enjoying reading MORE since I've increased the amount I read - everything stays fresh, and I just devote a bit of time to reading each day and a bit less time to (the internet, mainly)
I set a goal of 50 books in 2018 and once I got into the habit it was purely for enjoyment. I ended up doing 86 in 2018, and upped my goal to 75 for 2019... then ended up doing 122 books that year. I'm somewhere in the 50s or 60s for 2020 right now.
I retain audio much better for most things (unless it's data-heavy), so getting into habits of keeping my headphones on me and actually starting a book when I had the brain-space to listen helped increase the quantity. No idea on tips for physical reading (though getting the room lighting right and using one of the paperwhite-or-better Kindle screens makes a big difference for me, anecdotally).
I don't know if this is your problem, but I'm a habitual rereader. I'll go over the same passage repeatedly to double check if I understand it. It doesn't actually help, I usually end up tired and the passage starts to, if anything, lose meaning due to semantic satiation. What I've learned to do is just let go, keep reading and eventually I'll figure out what that passage meant. Kind of like how when you watch a movie in theaters, you may not catch every line of dialogue, but you'll still understand the movie.
100 books in 2 years comes out to about a book per week, which isn't too many to enjoy for someone who reads a lot.
But also, many of the classic sci-fi novels are actually very short, possible to get through in a couple days, even if you don't read particularly fast.
I understand what he means. He’s sorted alphabetically by author. Then has two categories. He probably doesn’t want to compare books beyond that. Their either okay, great, or his absolute favourite.
I'd shelve The Stand in horror, not scifi. It uses post apocalyptic scifi tropes, but ultimately the driver of the story is occult, not technological. There may not be a fundamental difference between a rogue AI and a demon as an antagonist ... other than where the book gets filed.
[+] [-] yboris|5 years ago|reply
Set in three parts, exploring a future where people can upload themselves to computers, create digital copies, recombine, run minds faster than real-time, re-enter the non-digital world, travel to alien destinations, etc.
Free from the author: https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/fiction/acceler...
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17863.Accelerando
[+] [-] thelazydogsback|5 years ago|reply
https://www.amazon.com/Accelerando-Singularity-Stross-Charle...
[+] [-] djsumdog|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] LargoLasskhyfv|5 years ago|reply
I feel like I actually learned something while reading it, but that is because I've read it on screen, while having Wikipedia and Google-maps open in the background while reading it, pausing to look up things there.
[+] [-] yboris|5 years ago|reply
> Red Mars won the BSFA Award in 1992 and Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1993. Green Mars won the Hugo Award for Best Novel and Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 1994. Blue Mars also won the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1997.
[+] [-] WalterBright|5 years ago|reply
I've read thousands of books, but I never kept a log and have no way of remembering them all.
The standout in my mind, however, is "War of the Worlds" by Wells. It is the first scifi book I ever read, picking it out at the library because it had a cool illustration of the tripod on the cover.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and like the purported first hit of heroin, the rest of my life I've looked for something that good again :-)
[+] [-] thelazydogsback|5 years ago|reply
Of course, Ian Banks (RIP) is also great fun.
[+] [-] jccalhoun|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] goddamnyouryan|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] GordonS|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] edge17|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ksdale|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] taude|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] stanski|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ericmcer|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Freak_NL|5 years ago|reply
Sci-fi classics are like any other classic books; you have to read them in the context of the author and his times. You can't read Conrad's Heart of Darkness ignoring the cultural and historical context either.
And honestly, sometimes a Heinlein juvenile makes for a nice change of pace between heavier works (either sci-fi/fantasy or any other genre).
[+] [-] gambler|5 years ago|reply
And so should you. In fact, those old books can be downright dangerous and normalize regressive behaviors that will cause real harm. I mean, today we are rightfully worried about individual bigoted tweets and messages, but imagine someone reading an entire book of that stuff?
[+] [-] sv7n|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cjohnson318|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Freak_NL|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] monkeypizza|5 years ago|reply
[0] https://varley.net/excerpt/the-phantom-of-kansas-full-text/
[+] [-] BatFastard|5 years ago|reply
also really enjoy anything by Vernor Vinge
[+] [-] r00fus|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mcphage|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] LargoLasskhyfv|5 years ago|reply
Furthermore at least https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chanur_novels from C.J.Cherryh.
For me they were a blast to read. I fevered/longed for the next book to be in print.
Similar thing for the "Company wars" and "Hinder Stars" listed in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._J._Cherryh_bibliography#The... / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance%E2%80%93Union_univers...
Go get this!
[+] [-] r00fus|5 years ago|reply
as a sidenote, I picked up on stuff on the rereading and am wondering how much of that is due to my increased maturity and how much is due to the format (paperback vs. audiobook).
As a result I'm rereading a lot of my favorites from the past . Not all have aged as well.
[+] [-] monkeypizza|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] drclau|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] diziet|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|5 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] trey-jones|5 years ago|reply
Obviously it's down to personal preference which of these are the best, but I'm curious how other readers feel about a couple of these (potentially contrarian views):
1. Speaker For the Dead is my favorite of the Ender stuff.
2. I like Endymion duo better than Hyperion. (maybe my favorite ever, actually)
3. The Stand is also an all-time great to me, especially in light of current events.
4. I think the author should read more Niven - I guess he didn't really like Ringworld, which is another of my favorites.
[+] [-] InitialLastName|5 years ago|reply
Strong agree. The technical term for the advantage the Endymion books had is "a coherent plot". Also, using human reconstitution as a way to get around the acceleration constraints of space travel is awesome.
Simmons' Ilium and Olympos (SF interpretations of the Iliad and [sort of] the Odyssey) are also super well-conceived.
[+] [-] nyhc99|5 years ago|reply
As for Ringworld, I didn't enjoy it, but would be willing to give Niven another try if given a strong and specific recommendation. Maybe something that has more of a plot. Wandering around a big empty construction in space where nothing happens didn't really do it for me.
The author of this list and I seem to have very similar tastes. Most of his favorites are mine as well. The only favorite of mine that comes to mind as being left off this list is Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. It's also striking that he hasn't listed any of the Culture series by Iain Banks.
[+] [-] malloreon|5 years ago|reply
I've read Cixin Liu's short stories and thoroughly enjoyed them. He comes up with some amazing ideas. I even really liked the movie based on Wandering Earth, despite how it converted the story to more action.
I barely made it through 3BP and I don't have much excitement for the sequels. The story just did not grip me at all.
[+] [-] nyhc99|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] SECProto|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] edge17|5 years ago|reply
Also a side question, I love reading but I'm very slow. I don't want to learn a lot of the 'fast' reading techniques because I have tried them and don't really retain much. Is there some low hanging fruit to reading just a little faster? (like, read in a good chair or use a kindle or something)
[+] [-] SECProto|5 years ago|reply
all that to say: I've been enjoying reading MORE since I've increased the amount I read - everything stays fresh, and I just devote a bit of time to reading each day and a bit less time to (the internet, mainly)
[+] [-] Matticus_Rex|5 years ago|reply
I retain audio much better for most things (unless it's data-heavy), so getting into habits of keeping my headphones on me and actually starting a book when I had the brain-space to listen helped increase the quantity. No idea on tips for physical reading (though getting the room lighting right and using one of the paperwhite-or-better Kindle screens makes a big difference for me, anecdotally).
[+] [-] hardwaregeek|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ksdale|5 years ago|reply
But also, many of the classic sci-fi novels are actually very short, possible to get through in a couple days, even if you don't read particularly fast.
Alas, I don't have any tips to read faster...
[+] [-] Hitton|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] timclark|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nowandlater|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vnxli|5 years ago|reply
What does that even mean? What's the cutoff for best and great and favorite?
Does anyone else find the language over the top? Like we've watered down our superlatives.
Maybe I'm being super picky, but why make a numbered list of the best things across a spectrum of their greatness and not use the numbers?
[+] [-] ycombinete|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hirundo|5 years ago|reply