# What sci-fi series should I read? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2004, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106 "2004-01-12T03:02:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spudo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Spudo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spudo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/21 "2004-01-13T02:28:00Z")
_Lord of Light_ by Roger Zelazny is great. ---
**Author:** ![Skillet38](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Skillet38](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skillet38)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/22 "2004-01-13T02:54:29Z")
I’m sorry, the winner is … The Chronicles of Amber, by Roger Zelazny fits your likes to a tee ! ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/23 "2004-01-13T04:59:29Z")
_The Sparrow_ and_Children of God_ by Mary Doria Russell are both amazing. Yes, there are aliens, but the heart of the story is about a Jesuit priest named Emilio Sandoz who is sent on the first mission to another inhabited planet. He is the only survivor of the mission and the story is told in flashbacks. Sandoz’s story depicts just about the worst trial of the soul a person could ever endure, with of course a kick ass ending. Simply amazing. Also, definitely listen to everyone who has mentioned _Dune_ and _Foundation_. I also liked Asimov’s _I, Robot_ series. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2004, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/24 "2004-01-13T05:16:35Z")
Judging by what you have said, **RitzyRae** , you may be more interested in Fantasy then Science Fiction. I have heard the Novelizations of the recent _Lord of the Rings_ movies are pretty good… 😃 A book I am reading now is _Songs of Earth and Power_ by Greg Bear. It concerns a 16 year old Boy from L.A. who becomes stuck in the realm of the Sidhe, an ancient pre-human malevolent race. The concepts are fresh and the writing is top-notch. Bear is better known as a writer of hard SF, but he aquits himself very well in this foray into fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/25 "2004-01-13T06:18:34Z")
I’ll second the vote for Lois McMaster Bujold’s Barrayar series. Strong characterization, good plots (intrigue!), well-built societies. The writing is not quite as strong in the first couple of books. It gets much better. ---
**Author:** ![RitzyRae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@RitzyRae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitzyRae)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/26 "2004-01-13T14:32:30Z")
Thanks Larry Borgia! I’d almost forgotten about the few fantasy novels I had read years ago and enjoyed. I may venture into that section once again… ---
**Author:** ![Ara-Alon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4af34b/32.png) [@Ara-Alon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ara-Alon)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/27 "2004-01-13T19:16:45Z")
If you like Arthurian legends, you’ve probably read The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. You might like the Dragonriders of Pern series (first three books) by Anne McCaffrey. It’s borderline sci-fi/fantasy, and is about a pre-technological society. Connie Willis’s novels are good borderline sci-fi. The Domesday Book deals with time travel back to the time of the Black Plague in Europe. To Say Nothing Of The Dog deals with time travel back to Victorian England. ---
**Author:** ![hroeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@hroeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hroeder)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/28 "2004-01-13T19:22:36Z")
Listen to the people who said **Roger Zelazny** _The Amber Series_ is Arthurian as you can get. Plus he’s a wonderful writer. He was a wonderful writer. And if you ever want to understand any mythology read Lords of Light, Children of LIght and Darkness, etc. In fact go to the library and just check out Zelazny. You’ll be busy for years. . . 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/29 "2004-01-13T20:44:07Z")
Since others have covered science fiction recommendations so admirably, I’ll concentrate on fantasy that you might like, **Ritzy**. Mercedes Lackey seems to fit your criteria pretty well–her main series spans roughly 3000 years, but most of the trilogies stand on their own pretty well. They feature lots of magic of various kinds, interesting magical beings, and personable characters–in fact, I’d say Lackey’s greatest strength is in writing characters that you can identify with easily. Caveats: The second and third books of the _Gryphon_ trilogy are much weaker than the first, and _Brightly Burning_ and the _Last Herald-Mage_ trilogy are (IMHO) depressing. Steven Brust is another favorite of mine, particularly his Vlad Taltos novels. They center around a human assassin in an elven empire. Vlad is surprisingly easy to root for, given his profession, and the books are loaded with devious plots, magic, sharp pointy things, and sarcastic familiars. They’re quick, fun reads. Brust’s Paarfi of Roundwood books are much less accessible, being longer and written in the most extraordinarily circumlocutive style (Ex: Chapter the Thirteenth, In Which the Plot, In Much the Manner of a Stew to Which Cornstarch has been Added, Begins at Last to Thicken). They’re fun if you like playing complicated games with language. P.C. Hodgell’s work–_Godstalk_, _Dark of the Moon_, and _Seeker’s Mask_–features dark conspiracies, strange magic, inscrutable gods, and dark humor set against a rich historical background. I could ramble about these books all day, but I’ll leave it at this: They are my favorite fantasy works, period. I also second the recommendations of Zelazny’s _Amber_. ---
**Author:** ![RitzyRae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@RitzyRae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitzyRae)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/30 "2004-01-13T21:22:48Z")
Seriously everyone, this has been wonderfully helpful and I’m listing out all of your suggestions. Now I just need to quit work, end my social life, and move in to a library for the next few years! 😃 ---
**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:** [January 14, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/31 "2004-01-14T00:46:22Z")
Consider the Moreau novels of S. Andrew Swann. _Forests Of The Night._ \*Emperors Of The Twilight. Specters Of THe Dawn.\* And there’s a conveinent Omnibus edition. Go here [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0756401518/qid=1074041168/sr=1-10/ref=sr\_1\_10/103-6044326-0009469?v=glance&s=books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0756401518/qid=1074041168/sr=1-10/ref=sr_1_10/103-6044326-0009469?v=glance&s=books) Great series! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/32 "2004-01-14T00:56:55Z")
Geeze, no one’s mentioned _His Dark Materials_ by Philip Pullman yet? Look into giving it a shot; sometimes the books are in the young adult section (both library and bookstores and wrongly, in my opinion), sometimes in the adult fiction (library), and sometimes in the science fiction (bookstores). ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/33 "2004-01-14T01:26:28Z")
> [@](#): > > - I like action/adventure, swordplay is always good, interesting characters you want to root for, battles (but not to excess), murderous conspiracies, interesting creatures/races (that, again, are not bulbous aliens) and anything magical. That’s the Culture series right there, if anything. GREAT action and adventure, but not pompous or overdone. _Excession_ and _Look to Windward_ are fucking amazing in the “murderous conspiracies” category. And you can’t get much more interesting than a Culture Mind. And some of the technology mentioned is so fantastic - yet, when you think about it, it makes sense - that it seems pretty damned magical. Start with _Consider Phlebas_, but like Matthias said, it’s not too terribly happy a book. Personally, I think _Look to Windward_ and _Excession_ are the best… the latter contains the only scene in any book I’ve ever read that literally made me have to stop and take a few minutes to compose myself, it was that powerful and mind-blowing (for those of you that have read the book, it was the climax of the flashback relationship between Dajeil Gelian and Genar-Hofoen). ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/34 "2004-01-14T02:20:39Z")
> [@RitzyRae](#): > > The majority of what I read is historical fiction, but I’ve always wanted to read a good sci-fi series. What’s a good one to start out with and why? > > And oh… I don’t really like aliens. Well, mostly the traditional Area 51-bulbous-headed-big-eyed-looking ones, but then I still have ET issues… 🙂 > > (A tiny plot description would be great! Thanks!) Some that have not been mentioned so far Eric Flints 1632 series of books , two so far , one to be released sometime in the next year Philipe Jose Farmers riverworld series , most serious sci/fi buffs will have this one on the permanent bookshelf , much thumbed. and another plug for Lois McMaster Bujold , she does sci/fi for the rest of the world , if there was a scifi coin , David Weber would be on one side ,and lois would be on the other. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/35 "2004-01-14T04:20:36Z")
My favorite SF series are the Liaden Universe novels by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. They’ve got fights, space battles, romance, a mysterious organization plotting to take over the world (not Earth, though) and even a bit of magic. For fantasy, I’ll second the Steven Brust Taltos novels. And also suggest the Sacred Hunt and Sun Sword series (both of these are set in the same world) by Michelle West. If you like humorous novels, you should check out the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/36 "2004-01-14T04:38:03Z")
Not sci-fi but not fantasy either, try the Deryni/Saint Camber series by Katherine Kurtz. sort of like an alternate medival Europe where magic works. The magic is portrayed in a realistic manner consistant with the times. The books deal more with politics and characters than magic. Anything by Turtledove sounds right up your alley. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2004, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106/37 "2004-01-14T04:46:29Z")
Run, do not walk, to your local book purveyor (library, used book store, Barnes & Noble, etc.) and obtain copies of **The Mote in God’s Eye** and **The Gripping Hand** by Niven and Pournelle. Then read them. Just MHO, of course. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sci-fi-series-should-i-read/224106.md?page=1)