# Recommend some "hard" sci-fi books in the vein of Andy Weir (The Martian, Project Hail Mary, etc.)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [April 10, 2023, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462 "2023-04-10T16:37:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/1 "2023-04-10T16:37:38Z")
First, the ask: What are some authors or books you’ve personally enjoyed that had an emphasis on the “science” part of sci-fi? I recently had the chance to pick up _[Project Hail Mary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Hail_Mary)_ – Andy Weir’s latest novel after The Martian and Artemis – and absolutely LOVED it. I haven’t enjoyed a book so much in decades. ---------- SPOILER ALERT ------------- I especially loved the semi-plausible first contact between the main character (a human) and the alien Rocky, as they built up a shared vocabulary starting from some physics-based building blocks. It wasn’t perfect ([more on that in this article](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/05/andy-weirs-project-hail-mary-and-the-soft-squishy-science-of-language/)), but it was a LOT better than the usual Star Trek/Wars handwaving-away of alien cultures by adding universal translators and some makeup on a bipedal humanoid. It reminded me a lot of _Arrival_, and I wish I had the chance to read that book before seeing the movie. Same with _The Martian_. -------- End spoiler alert ------------------- In general, I love that there is a focus on the science & engineering aspects, of characters problem-solving together in a realistic way instead of using The Force or made-up technogizmos indistinguishable from magic. I didn’t know this was a sub-genre of sci-fi. I then picked up Artemis, his previous novel, and finished that in a day. Now I’m hungry for more! Are there are other novels or even narrative nonfiction in a similar vein? Other sci-fi I’ve read and enjoyed: Michael Crichton, _Dune_, some Asimov short stories… that’s about all I’ve read, I think? Although I’ve watched (tv & film) and played (video game) a ton of sci-fi, I have barely read any at all. I’m excited to get started, especially if there are other authors with a similar focus on plausible science. I also really enjoy narrative nonfiction in general, everything from the adventure storytelling of Jon Krakauer to the harder science like Seven Daughters of Eve, Jared Diamond, Brief(er) History of Time, etc. In summary, just looking for more authors and books with a harder focus on science & engineering (as opposed to mundane human cultural issues of power and politics, for example) and believably different “others” (as in aliens or AI who aren’t just boring human stereotypes, but evolved/were designed to meet the challenges of actually alien environments). I know Dopers are a smart bunch with hopefully less pop-culturey, mass-market tastes, and really looking forward to your suggestions. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/2 "2023-04-10T16:56:20Z")
You can start with anything by Robert L. Forward. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/3 "2023-04-10T16:57:17Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > as opposed to mundane human cultural issues of power and politics, for example Funny you should use the word “mundane”… > **[Mundane science fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mundane_science_fiction)** > > Mundane science fiction (MSF) is a niche literary movement within science fiction that developed in the early 2000s, with principles codified by the "Mundane Manifesto" in 2004, signed by author Geoff Ryman and "The Clarion West 2004 Class". The movement proposes "mundane science fiction" as its own subgenre of science fiction, typically characterized by its setting on Earth or within the Solar System; a lack of interstellar travel, intergalactic travel or human contact with extraterrestrials; ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/4 "2023-04-10T17:09:08Z")
Here are a couple of relatively short lists to get you started. While these lists include many books that I have not personally read and thus cannot vouch for, they pretty well match other lists of recommended hard science fiction that I’ve seen over the years. > **[7 Hard Science Fiction Books That Will Make You Smarter - The Fantasy Review](https://thefantasyreviews.com/2023/03/08/7-hard-science-fiction-books-that-will-make-you-smarter/)** > > Here is our list of 7 Science Fiction Books That Will Make You Smarter, including some great books, such as The Martian! [https://www.masterclass.com/articles/hard-science-fiction](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/hard-science-fiction) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/5 "2023-04-10T17:11:16Z")
You might like Stephen Baxter’s [_Voyage_](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/843565.Voyage), which is an alternate history where the Apollo program is extended into a crewed Mars mission. It skirts the edges of plausibility in some ways that someone really knowledgable about spaceflight would take issue with but it does get down into the weeds on technical issues in much the same way as _The Martian_. Baxter in general is a ‘hard sci-fi’ author with a lot of his conceits at least grounded in quantum mechanics and cosmology although much of his fiction is more far future or alternate reality, and because he was previously an engineer he does understand and present technical details with good accuracy and plausibility. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/6 "2023-04-10T17:30:43Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > believably different “others” (as in aliens or AI who aren’t just boring human stereotypes, but evolved/were designed to meet the challenges of actually alien environments This isn’t exactly what you were aming for, but you really should try to get your hands on Wayne Barlowe’s artbook _Expedition_ to see an extensively developed alien world. I see that it was [republished in 2020](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/expedition-wayne-douglas-barlowe/1119118633). First time that I know of since the 1990 edition. > **[Expedition](https://waynebarlowe.com/artwork/expedition/)** > > BEING AN ACCOUNT IN WORDS AND ARTWORK OF THE 2358 A.D. VOYAGE TO DARWIN IV “An abundance of lavish full-color illustrations and detailed black-and-white sketches dominate Barlowe’s fict… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/7 "2023-04-10T17:42:34Z")
Ben Bova’s books are in much the same vein. I’ve read his Mars and liked it, and Venus and didn’t, mostly because the main character of the latter was unlikable, but both were relatively engineering-driven. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/8 "2023-04-10T17:50:08Z")
It has been a long time since I read the Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson – do they get into the scientific nitty gritty? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/9 "2023-04-10T17:55:40Z")
Yes. At least in Red Mars. Plenty of problem-solving using the tech of the day which is mostly a near-term extrapolation of our own. Although they cheat a bit at the very beginning by assuming self-replicating machinery, so the initial dozen explorer / colonists have an amazing force-multiplier at their disposal. To the author’s credit, he keeps tight bounds on the constants attached to the exponential nature of that, so they don’t magic-wand their way into Paradise in a week of explosive exponential feedback. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/10 "2023-04-10T18:34:41Z")
Neale Stephenson’s _Seveneves_ will teach you about orbital dynamics. Like many of his books, the story is lots of fun, and then the end is just kind of there. His _Baroque Cycle_ will teach you about the London sanitation (or lack of), but is not sci-fi. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Burden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Jack\_Burden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Burden)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/11 "2023-04-10T18:45:59Z")
**Anathem** is another good hard sci-fi Stephenson read. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/12 "2023-04-10T19:52:14Z")
With some hesitation, I’ll recommend _The Expanse_ series by James S. A. Corey - nine books, starting with _Leviathan Wakes_, plus a few novellas. It’s fantastic space opera, with some decent science - it takes a while to move within the solar system, gravity works like it should, colonists have realistic problems like air, food and growing up in low gravity. It takes some liberties with rocket design and fuel - I’d put that part of the science on par with the science in _Project Hail Mary_. My hesitation is that within this framework, there’s also an aspect with some ancient alien tech that is most definitely not hard science. I loved it, but you might feel differently if you’re looking for pure realism. > [@Jack\_Burden](#): > > **Anathem** is another good hard sci-fi Stephenson read. Ooof, that was a total slog for me, and I thought it was heavier in religion, linguistics, and philosophy than hard science. I swore to never read Stephenson again after that book (a promise I broke with _Fall; or, Dodge in Hell_, which I quickly regretted). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/13 "2023-04-10T20:06:20Z")
I recommend _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ by Robert Heinlein. It does have some politics and sociology as part of the plot, but it remains to this day one of the best depictions of AI emergence, and the science is as hard as it gets, especially for when it was written. Heinlein and his wife actually worked out orbits by hand to ensure accuracy, so that’s the level of detail we are talking about. And it’s a great story. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/14 "2023-04-10T20:13:17Z")
I’ve never read that one. Heinlein has been hit and miss for me. I loved Stranger, and I love Job, and then I tried another one and hated it. Maybe I’ll give Mistress a try. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/15 "2023-04-10T20:18:26Z")
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is generally considered Heinlein’s best work. That said, when someone loves some Heinlein and hates another, it’s usually Stranger in a Strange Land that they hate, so maybe you have atypical tastes. Or maybe you just had the bad fortune to stumble upon one of his truly horrid books (of which he does have a few). ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/16 "2023-04-10T20:20:43Z")
It’s my favourite Heinlein. His ‘Juveniles’ range from good to great. ‘Have Space Suit - Will Travel’ is still one of my favorite books. ‘Citizen of the Galaxy’ is an exploration of slavery, power, and sociology in the form of a great mystery story. “The Rolling Stones” feels a lot like an Andy Weir novel. Or rather, Andy Weir’s novels feel like Heinlein at his more humorous. Definitely hard science fiction, and not that far off where we are today technologically, if you imagine their ship as a repurposed old Starship. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/17 "2023-04-10T20:28:45Z")
This suggestion is probably pushing past “hard” sci-fi and into more traditional, but it’s still far harder and more near-now realistic than most: [Boundary](https://www.amazon.com/Boundary-Eric-Flint/dp/1416555250) by Eric Flint. It’s part of a series, and frankly, gets more fantastic elements as it goes on due to the circumstances of the first, but it’s an easy and fun read. It also shares several fun elements with The Martian, so another reason that it comes to mind easily. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/18 "2023-04-10T20:48:19Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You can start with anything by Robert L. Forward. I heartily second this recommendation. I particularly recommend _[Dragon’s Egg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%27s_Egg)_. @Reply, based on your OP, I think you will love this book. It is one of my all-time favorites, and until Andy Weir came along, it was my quintessential example of a [hard science fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_science_fiction) novel. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/19 "2023-04-10T22:22:43Z")
I’ll third the recommendation for Robert L. Forward. James P. Hogan had some good hard SF. Same for Jerry Pournelle and Dean Ing. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/20 "2023-04-10T22:26:49Z")
I have noticed that some people use the term “hard science fiction” in a narrow sense, to refer specifically to works where the main focus is on (as the OP put it) “the science & engineering aspects, of characters problem-solving together in a realistic way.” Others use the term more loosely, to refer to science fiction that is realistic rather than fantastic, in the sense that the author has taken care to ensure that everything in the story is compatible with what we know about the laws of nature/physics/etc, even though there are things that go beyond what is currently discovered or currently available. This scientific realism is the background, but not necessarily the focus, of the story. I do not mean to imply that there are clear boundaries between these two definitions, nor between what is and is not “hard science fiction” according to either one of them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462.md?page=2)