Science Fiction... Where to start?!

[Stephan]

When first I decided to create The Ranting Dragon, it was pretty clear to me that it had to be a fantasy site. Not counting Star Wars novels, I've read about... uh... three Science Fiction novels (I did love those three, btw!).

Now, however, the "Fantasy" part of the logo on top of this site has been replaced by "Speculative Fiction". To me, that means I should really start reading some science fiction! But where should I start? Does anyone have good recommendations for me? I think I'm looking for more modern scifi, not the very old classic stuff.

[myyrdneopia]

John Scalzi's OLD MAN'S WAR. I've actually meant to get a review up for it.

[Bob Loblaw]

I'm not too big on sci-fi, but I've always enjoyed Orson Scott Card. Ender's Game is a good place to start.

[jdiddyesquire]

John Scalzi's OLD MAN'S WAR. I've actually meant to get a review up for it.

This is a great recommendation. I read a ton of SF... let me give you some of my choicest ones from good for Intro to read when you're a bit more in the genre.

Intro Stuff (I don't mean easy or basic just very modern sensibilities in terms of character and plot):

#1) Old Man's War by John Scalzi (or anything by him)
#2) Leviathan Wakes by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck
#3) Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton (or anything by him)
#4) Ready Player One by Ernie Cline
#5) Heroes Die by Matthew Stover

More Ambitious Stuff:

#1) Hyperion by Dan Simmons
#2) Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
#3) Spin by Robert Charles Wilson
#4) Infoquake by David Louis Edelman
#5) The Children of Men by P.D. James

Out there and/or More Difficult and/or Not Traditional SF:

#1) The Dervish House by Ian McDonald
#2) The Windup Girl by Paola Baciuglupi
#3) Germline by T.C. McCarthy
#4) The City & The City by China Mieville (or Embassytown or
#4) A Canticle for Lebowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
#5) The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnogutt

[Stephan]

Oh wow, awesome, thanks! I will definitely check out Old Man's War. Leviathan Wakes, The Dervish House, and The Windup Girl look really interesting as well. Also... The Children of Men, that isn't the same as the movie with that title, is it? (great movie, btw!)

I actually just ordered a scifi-ish book. I figured I had to start somewhere, and might as well start with a book from my favorite publisher. Can't go wrong with a Night Shade Book!

Seed by Rob Ziegler

[jdiddyesquire]

Oh wow, awesome, thanks! I will definitely check out Old Man's War. Leviathan Wakes, The Dervish House, and The Windup Girl look really interesting as well. Also... The Children of Men, that isn't the same as the movie with that title, is it? (great movie, btw!)

I actually just ordered a scifi-ish book. I figured I had to start somewhere, and might as well start with a book from my favorite publisher. Can't go wrong with a Night Shade Book!

Children of Men the movie was based off the FAR superior book.

And I just read Seed (review if you're interested) and really liked it. It's similar to Windup Girl but a bit more poignant. Of course Windup Girl won the Hugo, so, it's a good one. Dervish House should have won the Hugo in 2011.

[Stephan]

Actually, I just read your review, as I was getting the Goodreads link for the post above. I want to read it even more now. Seems we also share a love for NSB?

[myyrdneopia]

I've also heard VERY good things about Jack Campbell's LOST FLEET series. Like how it uses REAL PHYSICS. (This was from Myke Cole.) First book there is DAUNTLESS.

[Aldric]

I'll name a few I like that jdiddyesquire didn't name.

A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge I absolutely love. Also A Fire Upon the Deep is quite good too, by the same author.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov is pretty awesome, but it's old style, and not to everybody's taste. It was originally a trilogy but he wrote a couple more, when he was tying in his Robotic stuff with his Foundation stuff. He did so rather clunkily, as Brandon Sanderson pointed out, which is why Sanderson wanted to do his overarching Cosmere from the get-go.

A Mote in God's Eye is pretty amazing, it's by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. It's kind of a first contact book, but humanity is the one doing the discovering. We visit their planet.

If you're including space opera, then definitely check out the Honor Harrington stuff by David Weber. Starts with On Basilisk Station. There's 13 or more based on the main character Honor, and now some new books with a new main character. That character was a side-character in the original series. I haven't really read those yet, but I probably will eventually. I've read all the Honor stuff.

I'll end with the awesome Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. It's kind of a satire on cyberpunk. Most of his books aren't nearly as 'funny' as that one. He has plenty more good ones.

[Bastard]

I'm pretty much in the same boat as Stephan. Read books with plenty of sci-fi elements, but pure sci-fi not. Until recently when I gave On Basilisk Station a shot, and enjoyed it quite a bit.

Before it I had read Tales of the Ketty Jay by Chris Wooding, but some see that as fantasy too. God's War by Kameron Hurley? A SF/Fantasy hybrid too.

So I'll continue with Honor Harrington soon. Got Germline, which I stole from Justin to try too.

I've entered the fantasy genre so late in the game, that I'm playing a lot of catch-up, so I just haven't found the time to really investigate what sci-fi books I'd like to read.

[Devonin]

Read 'Hell's Gate' by David Weber, it's basically a book about a fantasy world and a sci-fi world running into each other. Makes for a pretty apropos segue into the genre.

[Caitrin]

Aldric - I got a Deepness in the Sky from the library but Goodreads says it's the second one after A Fire Upon the Deep, is that going to be a problem for me?

I also got A Mote in God's Eye as my brother has been bugging me to read it and my Dad loved it as well.

I definitely second or triple third the reccs for Ender's Game and Old Man's War, fantastic books!

I tried Snow Crash and honestly couldn't get past the first page. Not my kind of thing.

In the past year I read DarkShip Thieves by Sarah A. Hoyt and really really liked that one. Even better was Dust by Elizabeth Bear.

[Aldric]

Aldric - I got a Deepness in the Sky from the library but Goodreads says it's the second one after A Fire Upon the Deep, is that going to be a problem for me?

No, they aren't really a series, as such. You can read them in either order. If I had to give an order I'd say to read Deepness first.

Read 'Hell's Gate' by David Weber, it's basically a book about a fantasy world and a sci-fi world running into each other. Makes for a pretty apropos segue into the genre.

I so utterly love the setting/idea behind Hell's Gate and its sequel -- but the execution has been pretty weak. Especially in the second one, it's kind of a tangled mess. Not that that stops me from watching for the third book that seems to never come.

[jdiddyesquire]

I'll name a few I like that jdiddyesquire didn't name.

A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge I absolutely love. Also A Fire Upon the Deep is quite good too, by the same author.

Haven't read these yet, but all signs say - yes!

Foundation by Isaac Asimov is pretty awesome, but it's old style, and not to everybody's taste. It was originally a trilogy but he wrote a couple more, when he was tying in his Robotic stuff with his Foundation stuff. He did so rather clunkily, as Brandon Sanderson pointed out, which is why Sanderson wanted to do his overarching Cosmere from the get-go.

Definitely SF intro stuff. I don't know how well it's aged as I haven't read it in years. Hopefully better than Dragonlance Chronicles

I'll end with the awesome Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. It's kind of a satire on cyberpunk. Most of his books aren't nearly as 'funny' as that one. He has plenty more good ones.

[/quote]

Neal Stephenson and I don't mix. I think they are the antithesis of readable. lol

[Aldric]

Definitely SF intro stuff. I don't know how well it's (Foundation by Asimov) aged as I haven't read it in years. Hopefully better than Dragonlance Chronicles

I've definitely read them many times, not just when I was young. I haven't read Chronicles since I was 14 I think. That was my second read through.

Neal Stephenson and I don't mix. I think they are the antithesis of readable. lol

Fair enough, I often feel like I'm crazy in my severe dislike of Robin Hobb, who I read 3 trilogies of, and everybody but me loves. I kept waiting to like them.

[jdiddyesquire]

I recognize his appeal, just doesn't click for me. I've tried all of his books and never made it past halfway.

[Michael]

Oh man, I have many Stephenson's on my TBR pile. I hope I disagree.

1984 by Orwell probably falls into your category of 'old stuff' but I think its held up well and informs pretty much every dystopian book ever (not to mention our language in general). Plus it's SHORT!

[Aldric]

I don't think you have to overly worry about Stephenson. Tons of people, myself included, really like him. Some authors just don't click for some people.

Just realize that if you start with Snow Crash, it's far more whimsical and silly than most of his stuff. Most of us stuff is 'serious'.

[Caitrin]

I found him hard to read *shrugs* I'm much more of a fantasy fan than a science fiction fan though. Perhaps if it was the other way around I would've liked it.

[Othniel Edden]

CJ Cherryl writes some great between genre stuff. Kim Stanley Robinson wrote the Mars Books, which is quality hard SF. Ringworld by Larry Niven is fascinating. But I'd start your search with Edgar Rice Burroughs. We have him to thank for Carson Napier of Vensus, John Carter of Mars, Tarzan, and several other highly stylized soft sf books. His work defines the pulp era. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World is also fantastic and along the same line.

Outside of this look at your favorite SF films and look to see if they had any particular inspirations behind them. Like Blade Runner is based of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick and I am Legend is based off a book of the same name by Robert Matheson.

[Aldric]

I found it hard to get into Cherryh's stuff, though I've read one or two I liked. The Mars books by Robinson were well written, but I didn't find the characters that compelling.

I'm a huge fan of lots of Niven's stuff, both his own and a lot of his coauthored books, such as with Pournelle and Barnes.

I tried recently (less than a year ago) to read a lot of Phillip K. Dick's books, because he has so many interesting premises that were made into movies, but I found his books very hard to read. I tried 5 at least before I gave up. I think it was me, he's very well loved by many others.

[Rebecca]

I was going to suggest Edgar Rice Burroughs too, although he's more old classic sci-fi, not modern.

[Othniel Edden]

You might like Ben Bova. A lot of near future space stuff. Its interesting to see what man does with just our solar system.

[Aldric]

I used to like a ton of Ben Bova when I was younger. Not to say that I wouldn't now, I just haven't tried anything new by him in a long while. Or reread the ones I liked in the past. I may have to check him out again.