# I need more Sci-fi books **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988 "2005-10-26T13:50:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![velveeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/13edae/32.png) [@velveeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velveeta)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/1 "2005-10-26T13:50:16Z")
The last good sci-fi book I read was Richard K. Morgan’s **Woken Furies**. I’m a big Kovacs fan so I was disappointed to hear that Morgan felt he had gone as far as he could with the character and that this was the end of his story. Better to go out on top I guess, but still… RIP Tak. \*sniff So now I need something to fill the void. Currently, I have the massive **Judas Unchained** by Peter Hamilton sitting on my coffee table. It could double as a boat anchor in a pinch. For some reason I just can’t get into reading it though. Anyone read it yet? I feel I probably should have waited for the paperback. I also like Alastair Reynolds (although he lost his way halfway through his trilogy), and Neal Asher (hit or miss, but usually tells a good story.) Your task is to recommend me some good sci-fi - it doesn’t even have to be particularly well written sci-fi as long as it’s a good read. Occasionally I will even sink to the very bottom - the kind of crap even the most hackneyed books on the shelf shy away from. I’ve read all 3 Halo books. Yes, the video game. But let’s not go that far… And please no Neal Stephenson. His books always sound like something I’d like, but apart from **Snow Crash** , I can’t stand him. Ditto William Gibson. So, read anything good lately? ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/2 "2005-10-26T13:58:14Z")
Not lately, but I always like to recommend [Mockingbird](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345431626/002-7581618-0130459?v=glance) by Walter Tevis author of _The Hustler_, _The Man Who Fell To Earth_ and _The Color of Money_. It is a great book, terrifically well written and far less known than it deserves to be. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/3 "2005-10-26T14:04:07Z")
Have you read [Ilium](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0380978938/104-5350309-6954361?v=glance) by Dan Simmons? You could also always go back and read any of the classics you haven’t read yet. Pohl, Asimov, Niven, Doc Smith, etc. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/4 "2005-10-26T14:06:23Z")
Well, as a longtime reader I suggest the classics usualyy – Heinlein, Clark, Asimov. as for new stuff, right now I’m reading **The Man-Kzin Wars X** by Hal Colebach. I like the series, and note that XI has just come out in hardcover. I’m about to read Harry Turtledov’e **Colonization** series, the follow-up tio his **World War** series. (And I just finished re-reading L. Sprague de Camp’s **Lestr Darkness Fall**. Old stuff, but compelling – time traveller inadvertently finds himself stuck in the past and tries to prevent the Fall of the Roman Empire, written by someone who understands history and technology, and can really write. This copy was a 1996 reprint, but I haven’t seen it in a while.) I strongly recommend Dan Simmons. I’ve liked everything of his that I’ve read, and I’m still catching up. ---
**Author:** ![velveeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/13edae/32.png) [@velveeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velveeta)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/5 "2005-10-26T14:14:12Z")
> [@slortar](#): > > Have you read [Ilium](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0380978938/104-5350309-6954361?v=glance) by Dan Simmons? Yes, I enjoyed the 1st book quite a bit. I think **Olympus** really fell apart though which I mentioned in this [thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=326301) Now that I think about it, he did the same thing with the Shrike series - **Hyperion** = awesome. **Fall of Hyperion** = meh. I still buy everything he writes though. I fall for his ruse everytime. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/6 "2005-10-26T14:18:10Z")
My very favorite is the Paratwa Saga by Christopher Hinz. It’s three books consisting of _Liege Killer, Ash Ock, and The Paratwa_. Awesome books, IMO. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/7 "2005-10-26T14:19:39Z")
“In Conquest Born” by C.S Friedmen. Or really any of her books are good Sci-Fi reading. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/8 "2005-10-26T14:26:21Z")
Consider [THIS](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0915368587/102-6507020-7835344?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance) much-neglected author. Teachers _need_ to appear in science fiction more often. ---
**Author:** ![velveeta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/13edae/32.png) [@velveeta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velveeta)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/9 "2005-10-26T14:26:26Z")
Some interesting books I haven’t heard of. Keep 'em coming. I’m taking notes. 🙂 And I’m hijaking my own thread here - anyone else a Morgan fan? I can’t believe how bummed out I am after finding out he’s written his last Kovacs novel. I need to commiserate. I’ve been trying to get a signed copy of **Altered Carbon** but I haven’t had any luck. I do have a signed copy of **Market Forces** but it’s just not the same. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/10 "2005-10-26T14:31:08Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > My very favorite is the Paratwa Saga by Christopher Hinz. It’s three books consisting of _Liege Killer, Ash Ock, and The Paratwa_. > > Awesome books, IMO. > > -Joe Absolutely. It’s a fantastic work, from the very first page you’re hooked and the concepts and storyline are brilliant, especially the dual assassins. Sadly, apart from one other book which wasn’t up to the level of this, Hinz seems to have published nothing else. (I think he’s primarily a comics book author, but then so was Alfred Bester and look how he turned out!) Do yourself a huge favor, read this trilogy! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/11 "2005-10-26T14:37:56Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > Consider [THIS](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0915368587/102-6507020-7835344?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance) much-neglected author. > Teachers _need_ to appear in science fiction more often. Well[James Van Pelt](http://www.sff.net/people/james.van.pelt/strangers2.htm) is doing his bit. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/12 "2005-10-26T15:01:25Z")
David Brin’s _Startide Rising_ is pretty great. Also recommend Larry Niven’s _Flatlander_ and _Crashlander_ story collections. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/13 "2005-10-26T16:03:31Z")
S. Andrew Swann’s _Forests Of The Night_ is an interesting view of “what genes may come”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/14 "2005-10-26T16:21:02Z")
Retief - Keith Laumer - An interplanetary Diplomat. Med Ship - Murray Leinster - An interplanetary house call for planet populations. These are free on this site, along with many other excellant authors and their books. A few freebies from series they wrote. [http://www.baen.com/library/](http://www.baen.com/library/) The Retief series of stories are particularly funny. Keith Laumer wrote in to the characters. the diplomats of the Vietnam and Cold War Era. He’s surrounded by bribes, subversion, bureaucratic waste, and inept superiors. He comes out on top time after time, all the while bucking the diplomatic protocols. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/15 "2005-10-26T16:37:57Z")
Abraham E. Merritt wrote many scifi novels about under ground civilizations, and other dimensions. His first was The Moon Pool. Give him a try, I bet you like him. Some religious societies formed in the 1900’s based on his books and the underground dewellers. Dwellers in the Mirage, The Metal Monster, and Face in the Abyss are some more of his writings. He ties much of the stories into myths and some real events in history. The books are in that 1900’s British explorer’s genera. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/16 "2005-10-26T17:18:33Z")
Although it is what I might call “light” sci-fi, I really enjoyed _The Man Who Never Missed_ (from which I took my user name) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/17 "2005-10-26T17:37:16Z")
> [@Harmonious Discord](#): > > The Retief series of stories are particularly funny. Keith Laumer wrote in to the characters. the diplomats of the Vietnam and Cold War Era. He’s surrounded by bribes, subversion, bureaucratic waste, and inept superiors. He comes out on top time after time, all the while bucking the diplomatic protocols. I love Retief, but you should start with the short story collections, and **Retief’s War** , the first novel. Laumer’s later novels for Baen were going through the motions. Laumer by the way was an Air Force attache in Southeast Asia (Burma, I think) so he saw much of this first hand. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/18 "2005-10-26T17:58:18Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I love Retief, but you should start with the short story collections, and **Retief’s War** , the first novel. Laumer’s later novels for Baen were going through the motions. > > Laumer by the way was an Air Force attache in Southeast Asia (Burma, I think) so he saw much of this first hand. I love the hidden humor for the attentive reader. The not so subtle mocking of the enemy. I gave the example I did so they can try it for free. I have hundreds of scifi magazine with a lot of first drafts of the stories in many authors books. I think Dune was one of them, I can’t be sure though… I don’t have a index, so they’re a bit hard to find a specific story. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/19 "2005-10-26T18:15:18Z")
> [@velveeta](#): > > Currently, I have the massive **Judas Unchained** by Peter Hamilton sitting on my coffee table. It could double as a boat anchor in a pinch. For some reason I just can’t get into reading it though. Anyone read it yet? I feel I probably should have waited for the paperback. Wow, how’d you get **Judas Unchained**? Amazon says it won’t be released until February. It’s the sequel to **Pandora’s Star** , which I bought when it first came out but have been waiting for the sequel so I could read them back to back. Since you have the new Hamilton book, I assume you’ve read his **Night’s Dawn** series. I like Joe Haldeman’s older stuff - the **Forever War** books, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988/20 "2005-10-26T18:19:50Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Although it is what I might call “light” sci-fi, I really enjoyed _The Man Who Never Missed_ (from which I took my user name) I agree, along with the rest of the series, _and_ most of the other books Steve Perry has written. I also agree with **Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor** ’s recommendation for Zenna Henderson’s People books. Some of my favorite Sci-fi : The Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold The Sten series by Alan Cole and Chris Bunch Page Just about everything written by David Weber The _Belisarius_ series by Eric Flint and David Drake _1632_ and it’s sequals by Eric Flint _Santiago_ by Mike Resnick By Timothy Zahn : _Spinneret, Cobra, Blackcollar, Warhorse_ and the _Conquerer_ trilogy. By Roger McBride Allen : The two _Stolen Earth_ books, _The Farside Cannon_, _Torch of Honor_ and it’s sequel. By George R.R. Martin : Tuf Voyaging. By Michael McCollum : _Life Probe, Procyon’s Promise, Antares Dawn, Antares Passage_. _Wasp_ by Eric Frank Russell. _Mirabile_ by Janet Kagan By Alan Dean Foster : _Cyber Way_, his _The Damned_ series and his _Humanx Commonwealth_ books. By Larry Niven : His Known Space books and _Footfall_. By Harry Turtledove : _A World of Difference_. H. Beam Piper’s Paratime books, _Paratime_ and _Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen_. Also, his Fuzzy stories. As well, _Great King’s War_ is a sequal to _Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen_ by different authors. Andre Norton’s Solar Queen books. Keith Laumer’s Bolo short stories, and the _Bolo_ series of story collections/novels inspired by him. Most of James H. Schmitz’s work. _Illegal Alien_ by Robert J. Sawyer. By John E. Stith : _Deep Quarry, Redshift Rendezvous, Manhattan Transfer, Reckoning Infinity, Memory Blank_. By James P. Hogan : His _Giants_ series, _Thrice Upon a Time, The Two Tomorrows, The Genesis Machine, Code of the Lifemaker_. By Greg Bear : _Forge of God_ and it’s sequel. By Lawrence Watt-Evans : _Denner’s Wreck, Shining Steel, Nightside City_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-more-sci-fi-books/327988.md?page=2)