# 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:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/61 "2023-05-08T15:11:54Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > I stopped reading when they were looking at the stars and they started changing positions in real time I don’t remember this sequence, but I do remember that there was a lot of alien-induced hallucination happening in the book. Is it possible that that’s what was happening there? The book is not hard sf in the sense that everything that happens is perfectly supported by today’s science. But it is hard sf in the sense that science is the main character, and even when the science isn’t good, the author spends a long time detailing how it works. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/62 "2023-05-08T15:14:52Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I don’t remember this sequence, but I do remember that there was a lot of alien-induced hallucination happening in the book. Is it possible that that’s what was happening there? Ah I thought that was a possiblity, so they were allucinating a lot, no wonder I DNFed the book, that kind of thing tends to bore/irritate me to tears. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/63 "2023-05-08T15:21:45Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > Is “the Three-Body Problem” truly considerd Hard SciFi? I thought it was quite entertaining, but I would certainly not call it ‘hard’ SF. I mean, expanding protons to macroscopic size and having them behave as bot machine weapons? Come on! It’s more reminiscent of the ‘superscience’ stories of early SF where gee-whizz was more important than any actual science. Though maybe there was an allegorical or satirical side to it that I missed? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/64 "2023-05-08T15:28:28Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > Ah I thought that was a possiblity, so they were allucinating a lot, no wonder I DNFed the book, that kind of thing tends to bore/irritate me to tears. The explanation of the hallucinations is pretty interesting, IIRC. Rather than the usual mumbo-jumbo, the hallucinations are caused by self-propelling highly-AIntelligent nanomachines that can move at nearly the speed of light and are, in three-dimensional space, the size of a proton. Each “sophon” identifies theoretical physicists and traces patterns in front of their eyes that appear as hallucinations, either driving them suicidally insane or disrupting their research findings. The aliens know it’s gonna take a few centuries for them to reach Earth in order to launch their invasion, and they don’t want human science to advance significantly before they arrive. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/65 "2023-05-08T15:34:38Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The explanation of the hallucinations is pretty interesting, Yes that makes sense, but I was never going to like the book then, I hate books were the protagonist/narrative point of view are not sure of their own perceptions. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/66 "2023-05-08T15:43:21Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > I thought it was quite entertaining, but I would certainly not call it ‘hard’ SF. To quote NPR: > **['Three-Body Problem' Asks A Classic Sci-Fi Question, In Chinese](https://www.npr.org/2014/11/13/363123510/three-body-problem-asks-a-classic-sci-fi-question-in-chinese)** > > Chinese sci-fi author Cixin Liu bridges the gap between East and West in his new novel, a tale of alien first contact influenced by Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Chinese history and mythology. > [@](#): > > Cixin Liu clearly loves golden-age SF authors like Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke; accordingly, _The Three-Body Problem_ turns a boilerplate, first-contact concept into something absolutely mind-unfolding. While in the virtual world of _Three Body_, Miao confronts philosophical conundrums that border on the psychedelic, all while remaining scientifically rigorous. The way the book’s alien race seeks to assert its presence on Earth is nothing short of awe-inspiring. > > This is hard SF, full of lovingly lengthy passages of technical exposition about everything from quantum mechanics to artificial intelligence. “Scientifically rigorous” might not be the right phrase: but “obsessed with science” would be. Here’s a pretty interesting blog post by a working physicist discussing some of the scientific flaws with the book. > **[A Physicist Responds to “The Three Body Problem”](https://poetryinphysics.wordpress.com/2016/11/09/a-physicist-responds-to-the-three-body-problem/)** > > I’ve not had much motivation to post recently: it seems like I read another article every week or so where some fool is making the same wrong conclusions about Quantum Mechanics or Relativity… If your definition of “hard sf” is that the author takes no liberties with current scientific understanding, then this book definitely doesn’t qualify. But I just don’t think that’s what most people mean by the term. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/67 "2023-05-08T17:25:56Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > If your definition of “hard sf” is that the author takes no liberties with current scientific understanding, then this book definitely doesn’t qualify. I’d be inclined to say that, in a ‘hard SF’ book, the author should not use any concepts or situations which contradict current scientific understanding, unless they have a plausible future extension. Of course, we usually have to allow at least ONE McGuffin (usually FTL travel) to get the story started! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/68 "2023-05-09T01:29:25Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > I’d be inclined to say that, in a ‘hard SF’ book, the author should not use any concepts or situations which contradict current scientific understanding, unless they have a plausible future extension. > > Of course, we usually have to allow at least ONE McGuffin (usually FTL travel) to get the story started! I humbly suggest that 3-body problem is harder, by this definition, than anything with FTL. But returning to the OP’s definition– > [@Reply](#): > > 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. 3BP absolutely qualifies 🙂 ---
**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:** [May 9, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/69 "2023-05-09T19:55:13Z")
I’ve heard a hard SF writer say that you can have ONE unscientific thing (faster than light travel, artificial gravity, etc) but that everything else must be straight science and the responses to the one unscientific thing must be realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2023, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/70 "2023-05-31T13:43:45Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’ve heard a hard SF writer say that you can have ONE unscientific thing I don’t know if that’s a hard and fast rule. Project Hail Mary was great, but it had a few unscientific things: 1. the microbes have to be made of unobtanium and have magic power over the strong and weak nuclear forces if they’re going to use matter-antimatter reactions for propulsion and survive the sun 2. the aliens have that whole “solidified noble gasses used as a super powerful metamaterial” thing, and one alien on a spaceship is able to handmake anything they need because the stuff is so easy to fabricate There are other examples as well, but those two are basically at a Star Trek level of handwaviness. But that’s fine, and the book is still definitely pretty hard science fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/71 "2023-06-03T17:33:37Z")
Well, if you’re aiming for hard, near-future sci-fi, I can suggest [Daniel Suarez’ _Delta V,_](https://www.amazon.com/Delta-v-Daniel-Suarez/dp/1524742414) which is about pioneering asteroid mining. But I have to say that with a caveat. Personally, I found the plot and writing a bit melodramatic, and…I’d have to call it “bloodless.” Not _dry_—I’m a happy connoisseur of “dry, technical” works—just…anemic, a paucity of genuine life or spirit to it. You can write all the technically accurate machinery in the world, have all their math check out to the hundredth decimal, but you still should be able to pinch them and see a decent cap refill. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hard-sci-fi-books-in-the-vein-of-andy-weir-the-martian-project-hail-mary-etc/982462/72 "2023-06-03T21:43:43Z")
It’s funny… I’m about two thirds of the way through 3BP right now, and if it wasn’t for this thread and some of the blurbs on the book cover, I’d have no idea thus far (except for a couple of hints here and there) that this is an “alien contact” story. [Previous 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=3)