# Recommend Me Some Good New SF&F **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 29, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550 "2013-10-29T13:14:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/21 "2013-10-29T19:25:48Z")
[Michael Flynn wiki link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_F._Flynn). He’s described as a “hard” SF writer. I don’t like hard SF but I really liked his River of Stars trilogy. One of my favorite books is **Eifelheim** , about aliens in a Bavarian village in the 14th century. [sffworld.com](http://sffworld.com) is an excellent resource for recommendations and reviews. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/22 "2013-10-29T19:27:44Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I guess my SF tastes turn to well-written galactic space operas featuring far-flung interstellar civilizations, lots of alien races, advanced tech, with interesting and well throught out approaches to that tech, with an optimistic viewpoint about the future of the human race, which probably explains why Banks’ Culture novels are at the top of my list. Peter F. Hamilton. Definitely. (oops I see you tried already. Ah well) ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/23 "2013-10-29T19:28:03Z")
Your tastes seem pretty level with mine, so I would definitely recommend [China Miéville](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Mi%C3%A9ville). _Kraken_, _Perdido Street Station_ and _Embassytown_ are IMO his three best, in that order. None of them are galactic space operas, but I think you’d like them just the same. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/24 "2013-10-29T19:32:47Z")
> [@Meurglys](#): > > Probably the best new sf I’ve read this year with spaceships is the 3rd **James S. A. Corey** book, _Abbadon’s Gate_. The first, _Leviathan Wakes_, came out a couple of years ago - very good. The Solar System has been widely colonised by humanity but tensions are rising between various factions, when a minor space freighter finds an abandoned spaceship drifting in the void… It’s a bit light on alien civilisations, though. I came in to recommend this. Very good writing, doesn’t try to do more than tell a broad adventure story with sympathetic heroes and despicable villains. A good portrait of humanity on the verge of interstellar travel. ETA: definitely read the first book first: Leviathan Wakes. ---
**Author:** ![Amara\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7993a0/32.png) [@Amara\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amara_1)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/25 "2013-10-29T20:18:47Z")
I’ll second/third the Alistair Reynolds recommendation as well as Spin by Wilson. There’s a new book by Ann Leckie called Ancillary Justice which has a lot of buzz and positive feedback so far. As far as something different, I enjoy the Tobias Buckell Xenowealth series (first book is Crystal Rain). This ends up being space opera but the hard sci-fi parts are done very well. For true space opera, I enjoy Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Liaden Universe and the Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan series. For fantasy, have you tried Terry Pratchett? If you haven’t read Bujold then I would read those first; they are wonderful! ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/26 "2013-10-30T11:47:01Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#): > > I came in to recommend this. Very good writing, doesn’t try to do more than tell a broad adventure story with sympathetic heroes and despicable villains. A good portrait of humanity on the verge of interstellar travel. ETA: definitely read the first book first: Leviathan Wakes. Definitely; I didn’t mean to imply you should just skip the first two. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/27 "2013-10-30T13:19:52Z")
Baxter’s latest, co-written with Terry Pratchett, is worth a read: [The Long Earth](http://www.amazon.com/The-Long-Earth-Terry-Pratchett/dp/0062068687). You may also like KSR’s [2312](http://www.amazon.com/2312-Kim-Stanley-Robinson/dp/0316098116/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383139136&sr=1-1&keywords=2312)… but I would check this one out of the library or buy it secondhand. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/28 "2013-10-30T13:21:48Z")
And I will add that if you haven’t yet read [In Conquest Born](http://www.amazon.com/Conquest-Born-Daw-Book-Collectors/dp/0756400430/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383139224&sr=1-1&keywords=in+conquest+born) by C. S. Friedman, ignore the cheesy cover and get thee to thy bookshop posthaste! ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/29 "2013-10-30T13:56:01Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I guess my SF tastes turn to well-written galactic space operas featuring far-flung interstellar civilizations, lots of alien races, advanced tech, with interesting and well throught out approaches to that tech, with an optimistic viewpoint about the future of the human race Have you tried Brin’s _[Uplift Saga](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uplift_Universe)_? It has all of this, in spades. You can maybe skip _Sundiver_, but from Startide Rising onwards, it’s great. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/30 "2013-10-30T14:12:41Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Your tastes seem pretty level with mine, so I would definitely recommend [China Miéville](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Mi%C3%A9ville). _Kraken_, _Perdido Street Station_ and _Embassytown_ are IMO his three best, in that order. > > None of them are galactic space operas, but I think you’d like them just the same. Really? You think _Perdido Street Station_ is better than _Embassytown_? Both are good stories, but I felt the actual writing in _Perdido_ was a bit clunky. I found myself noticing how often people spoke, roared, grumbled, moaned, bellowed, etc.; that is, I was noticing the structure of the story as well as the plot. That’s like seeing the stagehands during a play. It’s not great writing if you can see the bones. That said, I came here to post Mieville - brilliant writer, whose craft improves much in the later novels. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/31 "2013-10-30T14:40:32Z")
On the fantasy side, you might like Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London series. It’s a cross between a police thriller and Harry Potter. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/32 "2013-10-30T15:05:58Z")
Also on the fantasy side. **The Rook** by Daniel O’Malley is a great modern fantasy; well written, interesting universe (modern England). I also like Will Wight’s **Traveler’s Gate** series, which has decent writing, an interesting magic system and very good characterization. The Travelers of Valinhall are just plain cool, even the crazy ones. Maybe _especially_ the crazy ones. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/33 "2013-10-30T19:11:39Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > If you’re willing to include fantasy, read **Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell**. > > For humorous fantasy, A. Lee Martinez, Christopher Moore, and Jasper fforde are the best at it right now (Terry Pratchett is still good, but he’s moving away from humor). > > fforde’s **Shades of Grey** is one of the wildest science fiction novel of the past ten years. It really stretches the imagination; in fact, you don’t realize until halfway through that it _is_ science fiction. (The title is unfortunate, alas, and may be the reason the sequel hasn’t appeared.) > > Martinez’s is mostly fantasy, though his **The Automatic Detective** is science fiction – a robot as a 40s film noir private eye. **Monster** is amazingly good. > > As for Moore, he’s always overlooked in science fiction circles, but his **Sacre Bleu** is an excellent mix of SF and art history, with a lot of humor. > > Whether these fit your tastes now, they will fit your taste when you’ve read them. With two recommendations, Jonathan Strange and Mrs. Norrell has gone to the top of my “to check out” list. I’ll look at the others too, but there are so many ways a story about a noir robot detective can go wrong. (I’m also a fan of detective novels.) ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/34 "2013-10-30T19:13:53Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Not sure how new to you he is—you didn’t mention him in your OP—and I don’t know how revolutionary he is, but for fantasy, there’s this [George R.R. Martin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_R._R._Martin) guy that people are talking about… Been watching the TV series, it’s the BEST THING EVAH and avoiding the books because I want to be surprised by plot developments (can you say, “Red Wedding?”). But I’ll prolly pick up book one, one of these days. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/35 "2013-10-30T19:15:34Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Not so much on the optimistic part, but you might like Alastair Reynolds’s [_Revelation Space_](http://www.amazon.com/Revelation-Space-Alastair-Reynolds/dp/0441009425) series. Avoid the last book of the trilogy, but definitely try the short stories and other novels set in that universe. It’s SPACE OPERA, and a little slow, but be patient. > > For fantasy, Charles Stross’s [Laundry series](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Stross#The_Laundry_Files) is just plain fun. Sort of Stephenson-like, with a healthy dash of Cthulhu-ness to the narrative. I liked his two Eschaton-series books for SF, even though he won’t be making any more of them. > > I’ve heard about, but not read yet, good things about Stephen Baxter’s stuff. Have checked out Revelation Space, looks delicious, on my list. Though the vaguely religious sounding titles kinda bother me, as I don’t really like religious, mystical or occult elements as a central part of a science fiction story. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/36 "2013-10-30T19:16:42Z")
> [@The Severed Head of Prof. P](#): > > Okay, newer stuff: > Linda Vagata’s _Vast_ > Neal Asher’s _Orbus_ > Catherina Asaro’s _The Quantum Rose_ > > (I’m assuming you know Bujold’s Vorkosigan series.) Checked out Vast. Tasty! I’ll check out the rest too. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/37 "2013-10-30T19:19:54Z")
> [@Reno\_Nevada](#): > > I will throw in a recommendation for **Walter Jon Williams** , and a tentative recommendation for the \*Dread Empires Fall \*series, starting with _Praxis_. I am tentative on that because the first two books are incredibly awesome and the last is a major anti-climax, but before that you have a fairly plausible space opera. I found his \*Knight Moves \*to be very Zelazny-esque. I’ve read some Walter John Williams, “Queen of Angels” was pretty damn good. I didn’t know he’d done a space opera. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/38 "2013-10-30T19:22:59Z")
> [@Satchmo](#): > > I know you said you’d read Niven, but have you seen _Juggler of Worlds_ by Niven and Lerner? from wiki “It is set in the Known Space universe. Most of the book revisits earlier stories (the Beowulf Shaeffer stories in Crashlander from the points of view of Sigmund Ausfaller and several Pierson’s Puppeteers”. > > It’s part of a series. I’m liking it a lot, so far. Pournelle kinda soured me on team-ups with Niven. I feel that works by Pournelle and Niven are just not as well written as books by Niven alone. In fact, I feel that Niven was made a lesser writer subsequently by his team-up with Pournelle (are you getting the Jerry non-love here?) Might be different with Lerner, I’ll check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/39 "2013-10-30T19:26:23Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > And I will add that if you haven’t yet read [In Conquest Born](http://www.amazon.com/Conquest-Born-Daw-Book-Collectors/dp/0756400430/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383139224&sr=1-1&keywords=in+conquest+born) by C. S. Friedman, ignore the cheesy cover and get thee to thy bookshop posthaste! As an old SF hand, I can totally ignore the cheesy cover, though in fact, I kinda like them. Part of the genre. Though to be fair, my favorite cover artists, Richard Powers and Frazetta, get all kinds of cred. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550/40 "2013-10-30T19:29:06Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > Really? You think _Perdido Street Station_ is better than _Embassytown_? Both are good stories, but I felt the actual writing in _Perdido_ was a bit clunky. I found myself noticing how often people spoke, roared, grumbled, moaned, bellowed, etc.; that is, I was noticing the structure of the story as well as the plot. That’s like seeing the stagehands during a play. It’s not great writing if you can see the bones. > > That said, I came here to post Mieville - brilliant writer, whose craft improves much in the later novels. I’ll check them all out and go for the one that looks tastiest, if I like them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-some-good-new-sf-f/672550.md?page=3)