Planet Rugby Forum

Uncle Fester wrote:Loved The Algebraist.
The dwellers are my favourite alien species of all time.

I actually considered re-reading that the other day. Finished a book and I'm undecided as to what to jump back into next.
Might go for that. Good few years since I read it.

Brazil wrote:

Uncle Fester wrote:He creates an amazing world but he struggles with the story part really. The ending of the Scar was a massive disappointment. Iron Council had some incredible bits but it was a bit uneven.

Slake moth is one of the most nightmareish creations of all time though.

China Mieville leaves me cold - his characters and plot are always subservient to his (admittedly very clever) conceits. It results in stories that leave you in admiration of the idea, without really giving much of a shit about any of the vehicles used to deliver it.

Yeah, very few of the characters are all that memorable.

Could say the same about much of Stephen Baxter's work though.

Haven't really read much sci-fi until this past year. Would definitely recommend the following;

The Three Body Problem - Liu Cixin... A Chinese Science Fiction novel. Starting out with the Cultural Revolution and then reaching modern times and slightly beyond in which we find anxious scientists & military observing physics defying phenomena. Wouldn't want to say too much more as it would be a massive spoiler. Might want to reacquaint yourself with Leaving Cert/Bacclaureate Physics at a minimum as the book can be demanding in places, but it is far from being a pretentious, self-indulgent exercise. It's a trilogy and I'm definitely reading the others after being gifted this book.

Seveneves - Neil Stephenson.. Our Moon blows up that threatens humanity with inevitable rain of fire. Mankind has a limited period to prepare for it's destruction, and survive it's aftermath. In 4 parts, and I thoroughly enjoyed it until the 4th which was a bit overwrought.

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells.. Good, fun story telling in four short novels that offer a highly accessible look at augmented bodies acting as the security detail for an exploration group on a distant planet as things go unexpectedly ass backwards.

Ancilliary Justice (1st in Imperial Radch Series) - Ann Leckie... Fascinating, well written main character that was an enslaved human body/form that had been merged with the massive artificial intelligence and omniscience of a spaceship, and networked with his 19/20 clones that were separate physical devices/bodies but yet all operated as one sentient entity. Now, 'he' is operating alone, as just one, seeking revenge.

Uncle Fester wrote: Could say the same about much of Stephen Baxter's work though.

I haven't read much of his stuff, but I've heard that his characters aren't great but his world building is.
He wrote a series of books with Terry Pratchett, I read a couple and they were ok. AFAIK, Pratchett dealt with the human element, Baxter with the more sci-fi bits.

Try Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I found the style and some of the themes similar to Banks. Well worth a read, I couldn't put it down.

How have I not noticed this thread before??

Brazil wrote:China Mieville leaves me cold - his characters and plot are always subservient to his (admittedly very clever) conceits. It results in stories that leave you in admiration of the idea, without really giving much of a shit about any of the vehicles used to deliver it.

I've only read The City and The City and it bored the shite out of me. The plot went nowhere and the prose was absolutely awful. I know a lot of people who rave about his stuff, I'll probably try another of his at some stage but that one really put me off.

paynie wrote:Try Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I found the style and some of the themes similar to Banks. Well worth a read, I couldn't put it down.

Amazing book. Such a great idea, perfectly executed.


I've been reading a lot of sci-fi lately, I posted on the Book Thread not long ago about the Broken Earth Trilogy (more speculative fiction/ fantasy maybe but anyway...) which is fantastic.
Read The Forever War not long ago, liked some aspects of it a lot but I'm not sure about its classic status, it didn't completely blow me away.
Reading Excession at the moment, it's my fourth or fifth Banks, it's excellent.

Still have Banks to read? Jealous.

Eifelheim by Michael Flynn
Aliens arrive in dark ages Europe
Beautiful book

I really, really want to get in to the Culture novels and have tried multiple times but I just can't. I feel like a gorramed failure. About to re-read Julian Mays Exiles books.

Brian9848 wrote:Haven't really read much sci-fi until this past year. Would definitely recommend the following;

The Three Body Problem - Liu Cixin... A Chinese Science Fiction novel. Starting out with the Cultural Revolution and then reaching modern times and slightly beyond in which we find anxious scientists & military observing physics defying phenomena. Wouldn't want to say too much more as it would be a massive spoiler. Might want to reacquaint yourself with Leaving Cert/Bacclaureate Physics at a minimum as the book can be demanding in places, but it is far from being a pretentious, self-indulgent exercise. It's a trilogy and I'm definitely reading the others after being gifted this book.

I don't quite know how it's going to finish but "Death's End" is - at 70% of the way through - the best of the trilogy...

What's interesting is that it's a style of storytelling unfamiliar to most Western readers, at least those of us not fluent in Chinese, and a Chinese rather than Western examination of "peaceful coexistence".

tabascoboy wrote:

Brian9848 wrote:Haven't really read much sci-fi until this past year. Would definitely recommend the following;

The Three Body Problem - Liu Cixin... A Chinese Science Fiction novel. Starting out with the Cultural Revolution and then reaching modern times and slightly beyond in which we find anxious scientists & military observing physics defying phenomena. Wouldn't want to say too much more as it would be a massive spoiler. Might want to reacquaint yourself with Leaving Cert/Bacclaureate Physics at a minimum as the book can be demanding in places, but it is far from being a pretentious, self-indulgent exercise. It's a trilogy and I'm definitely reading the others after being gifted this book.

I don't quite know how it's going to finish but "Death's End" is - at 70% of the way through - the best of the trilogy...

What's interesting is that it's a style of storytelling unfamiliar to most Western readers, at least those of us not fluent in Chinese, and a Chinese rather than Western examination of "peaceful coexistence".

It's a fascinating fascinating series. Think I mentioned earlier that Amazon have bought the rights for a shit ton of money.

Ian Tregellis’ series, The Mechanical, The Uprising, The Liberation. Steampunk / alt history / alt science.
The Power, Naomi Alderman
Does Haruki Murakami count as sci fi? I have trouble putting him in a category, but 1Q84 is a great read

Some classics
The Forever War, Joe Haldemann
The Lathe of Heaven, Ursula K Le Guin
The purple Cloud, MP Shiel

Just read through this thread and there’s some old friends (the books – not you lot) putting in a show.

A few that I expected to see were authors that I read when in my teens but still return to them when nothing else excites my fancy.

Jack Vance – The Durdane Trilogy, the Demon Princes series and several others set in the ‘Gaean Reach’. They are light, not hard science in any way but are an entertaining read. Vance builds up a very plausible universe, and unlike some of the Science Fiction writers that were discussed earlier up thread he knows how to dismount. In one of the series he finishes with his hero suddenly realising that the struggle he has dedicated his life to has successfully finished, he’s even got the girl but it’s a ‘shit what do I do now’ bitter/sweet realisation.

“You are so quit and subdued! You worry me. Are you well?”
“Quite well. Deflated, perhaps. I have been deserted by my enemies. The affair is over. I am done”

As I said, no mind stretching technical concepts but a readable set of books. There are some dogs in his work but on the whole are well worth reading. I particularly like his use of language – he’s old school and with his use of prose some brilliant lines come through. “While we are alive we should sit amongst coloured lights and taste good wines and discuss our adventures in far places, when we are dead the opportunity is past” (Maske:Thaery) His novels often feature pubs, inns, ale, food and wine, all good in my opinion.

Christopher Rowley – Starhammer. This originally was a standalone book and is a cracking space opera clash of cultures style novel with the hero being an escapee from the slave labour camps of the oppressing bad guys. Once again it’s not hard science but the universe and characters are all well made. Since this one was released there have been two other novels published that links to it, but this is the best (in my opinion). Rowley is also associate with the ‘War for Eternity’ series, which in most cases are eminently readable.

CJ Cherryh – the Alliance-Union Universe. I first got involved in this with was Rimrunners (nothing sexual in this) an out of luck ex space marine stuck on a space station with no visible means of support, slowly weakening through malnourishment and losing hope. It’s a very oppressive atmosphere and just when you think things can’t get any worse…

This is a universe far removed from the brashness of the Space Marines as portrayed in Alien2, the hope of Star Wars and the bright colours and certainty of Star Trek. There’s fear, uncertainty and some of the space stations and ships we visit in CJ’s universe are hanging onto existence by a thread.

Cherryh has put out a few books for this Universe and most are good reading. I started reading these well before the internet and ‘instant knowledge’ kicked off and when technology caught up with me I was surprised to find that CJ stands for Carol Janice, not sure what the ‘surprise’ says about me mind you, but it’s handy to have a female there on the bookshelf – “ No, no – it’s not a male generated genre – there are good female authors, in fact I have one right here” CJ also wrote an absorbing Fantasy series – the Morgaine Cycle. As in the science fiction books, the overall tone is not light and happy, they are quite gritty.


TJ Bass - TJ has two books out there, Half Past Human and the sequel Godwhale. Lots of technical and medical jargon but on the whole two good reads.

I've now finished the last book of the trilogy and while all three are very good it was definitely the best - and can recommend the trilogy wholeheartedly.

I had no idea how the author could end this series, and certainly got a very different end than I expected but one which is a logical follow on from the events - the whole trilogy really a warning against human hubris. All very different to Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek vision for sure...

Highly inventive and thought provoking but not so strong on character development, and plenty of very baffling info dumps (unless you are a graduate in Astrophysics).

tabascoboy wrote:

I've now finished the last book of the trilogy and while all three are very good it was definitely the best - and can recommend the trilogy wholeheartedly.

I had no idea how the author could end this series, and certainly got a very different end than I expected but one which is a logical follow on from the events - the whole trilogy really a warning against human hubris. All very different to Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek vision for sure...

Highly inventive and thought provoking but not so strong on character development, and plenty of very baffling info dumps (unless you are a graduate in Astrophysics).

Good to hear.

I was browsing a couple of weeks ago and that author caught the eye.
I'll take a crack at them in the near future, seeing things from an unfamiliar cultural perspective should give it plenty of new flavour.

Nolanator wrote:

Uncle Fester wrote: Could say the same about much of Stephen Baxter's work though.

I haven't read much of his stuff, but I've heard that his characters aren't great but his world building is.
He wrote a series of books with Terry Pratchett, I read a couple and they were ok. AFAIK, Pratchett dealt with the human element, Baxter with the more sci-fi bits.

The Ring is an absolute must read.

flaggETERNAL wrote:I really, really want to get in to the Culture novels and have tried multiple times but I just can't. I feel like a gorramed failure. About to re-read Julian Mays Exiles books.

Yes, you're a failure.....sorry

Try Player of Games as a gentle intro, but I keep going back to Consider Phlebas as a roller coaster masterpiece and it is the first one in the timeline.

Evgeny Zamyatin's We. One of the first dystopian novels and deals with political structures like much Russian science fiction it's about as much as projecting a utopian or dystopian view of Communism in the galaxy or on a future Earth.

Ivan Efremov's Andromeda for example. It's a shame that a lot of Eastern European science fiction is ignored as with the high arts or looked down or simply is not in the mainstrasm due to a lack of translated versions.

Ikarie XB-1 and Pavel Klyushantsev's Road To The Stars should be seminal science fiction films yet all we hear about is 2001 which is coming out next week in 4K for those interested. The Strugatsky brothers are also well worth reading.

PCPhil wrote:

flaggETERNAL wrote:I really, really want to get in to the Culture novels and have tried multiple times but I just can't. I feel like a gorramed failure. About to re-read Julian Mays Exiles books.

Yes, you're a failure.....sorry

Try Player of Games as a gentle intro, but I keep going back to Consider Phlebas as a roller coaster masterpiece and it is the first one in the timeline.

Bastard. Will try and do that.

As good a thread as any, but I started a new job in the past month where I'm part of the company designing weather satellites for NASA and NOAA.

flaggETERNAL wrote:

PCPhil wrote:

flaggETERNAL wrote:I really, really want to get in to the Culture novels and have tried multiple times but I just can't. I feel like a gorramed failure. About to re-read Julian Mays Exiles books.

Yes, you're a failure.....sorry

Try Player of Games as a gentle intro, but I keep going back to Consider Phlebas as a roller coaster masterpiece and it is the first one in the timeline.

Bastard. Will try and do that.

I’ve read two or three of them, and although I did enjoy them, I didn’t find them as amazing as some people clearly do. I always preferred his non-SF stuff, though even that can be a bit hit and miss (I loved the Crow Road and Complicity, but Song of Stone left me cold).

Brazil wrote:

Uncle Fester wrote:He creates an amazing world but he struggles with the story part really. The ending of the Scar was a massive disappointment. Iron Council had some incredible bits but it was a bit uneven.

Slake moth is one of the most nightmareish creations of all time though.

China Mieville leaves me cold - his characters and plot are always subservient to his (admittedly very clever) conceits. It results in stories that leave you in admiration of the idea, without really giving much of a shit about any of the vehicles used to deliver it.

I read Perdido Street Station as so many people raved about it. I had much the same reaction. His world-building is superb, but the actual story less so. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t feel the urge to read his other books afterwards either.

Doc Rob wrote:

flaggETERNAL wrote:

PCPhil wrote:

flaggETERNAL wrote:I really, really want to get in to the Culture novels and have tried multiple times but I just can't. I feel like a gorramed failure. About to re-read Julian Mays Exiles books.

Yes, you're a failure.....sorry

Try Player of Games as a gentle intro, but I keep going back to Consider Phlebas as a roller coaster masterpiece and it is the first one in the timeline.

Bastard. Will try and do that.

I’ve read two or three of them, and although I did enjoy them, I didn’t find them as amazing as some people clearly do. I always preferred his non-SF stuff, though even that can be a bit hit and miss (I loved the Crow Road and Complicity, but Song of Stone left me cold).

Burn the heretic!

Has anybody read The Sparrow and its sequel Children Of God by Mary Doria Russell?

They are among the most affecting books I've read and are exceptional sci-fi.

In fact, I actually gave up eating meat for a year after reading them the first time, they affected me so much.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/334176.The_Sparrow
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/169 ... ren_of_God

PCPhil wrote:

Doc Rob wrote:

flaggETERNAL wrote:

PCPhil wrote:

flaggETERNAL wrote:I really, really want to get in to the Culture novels and have tried multiple times but I just can't. I feel like a gorramed failure. About to re-read Julian Mays Exiles books.

Yes, you're a failure.....sorry

Try Player of Games as a gentle intro, but I keep going back to Consider Phlebas as a roller coaster masterpiece and it is the first one in the timeline.

Bastard. Will try and do that.

I’ve read two or three of them, and although I did enjoy them, I didn’t find them as amazing as some people clearly do. I always preferred his non-SF stuff, though even that can be a bit hit and miss (I loved the Crow Road and Complicity, but Song of Stone left me cold).

Burn the heretic!

I’m aware that real Culture fans can be a wee bit... zealous.

It’s SF written by a Scot though - I was predisposed to be a true believer, but somehow it never quite happened. (Speaking of Scots, I recommend Chris Brookmyre’s ‘Places in the Darkness’ - he doesn’t normally write sci-fi, but it’s good.)

paynie wrote:Try Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. I found the style and some of the themes similar to Banks. Well worth a read, I couldn't put it down.

+1

It took me quite a long time to read, but I really enjoyed it.

Saint wrote:

thor wrote:

tabascoboy wrote:Right, so when I finish The Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy by Cixin Liu ( about halfway through the last book - and so far can thoroughly recommend the trilogy though will have to see how it ends) I think I'll move onto Peter F Hamilton.

I get the feeling that he's a bit like the George R.R Martin of sci-fi, likes extravagant world building? I want something epic to read over the late autumn and winter so I'm looking at the Commonwealth Saga series?

A good idea or should I start with something smaller scale of his first to check out his style?

Try fallen dragon, if you like that crack into nights dawn or the commonwealth saga

Personally I'd start with The Great North Road. Fallen Dragon left me a bit cold

About halfway through with The Great North Road currently (after about 3 weeks!), took some time to pique my interest but I'm hooked now all right.

tabascoboy wrote:

I've now finished the last book of the trilogy and while all three are very good it was definitely the best - and can recommend the trilogy wholeheartedly.

I had no idea how the author could end this series, and certainly got a very different end than I expected but one which is a logical follow on from the events - the whole trilogy really a warning against human hubris. All very different to Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek vision for sure...

Highly inventive and thought provoking but not so strong on character development, and plenty of very baffling info dumps (unless you are a graduate in Astrophysics).

Just finished the last of the books a week ago and would agree with you. All were an absolutely cracking read. I certainly would recommend this trilogy to anyone. It's just brilliant at times and while I too felt that I would have benefitted from having a post-graduate degree in theoretical physics at times, any poster on this thread should find it gripping, immersive and even chilling. Amazon may be opening themselves up to a world of expense and hurt if they ever want to do this justice, but I'll be curious of any attempts to translate this to the big or small screen.

And...finished Great North Road. Definitely feel like Peter F. Hamilton suffers from the same desire as GRRM from FeastDance to pad books out a bit with worldbuilding and too long diversions on minor characters but it was a good read nonetheless.

I did like that so much of future earth felt familiar in the same way a visitor from 1850 would still recognise Newcastle today even if some things felt strange and beyond understanding. A good detective story but the alien jungle trek was a bit too drawn out for the message it wanted to convey.

tabascoboy wrote:And...finished Great North Road. Definitely feel like Peter F. Hamilton suffers from the same desire as GRRM from FeastDance to pad books out a bit with worldbuilding and too long diversions on minor characters but it was a good read nonetheless.

I did like that so much of future earth felt familiar in the same way a visitor from 1850 would still recognise Newcastle today even if some things felt strange and beyond understanding. A good detective story but the alien jungle trek was a bit too drawn out for the message it wanted to convey.

It's a pacing thing - the reveal about what was going on with the alien needed to come after the reveal about what was going on with Tramelo years back, so the plotlines had to hit the right marks at the right times.

I'm re-reading The Abyss Beyond Dreams at the moment and it's noticeable how different the structure is because of the smaller pool of characters. It takes over half the book to get to Nigel's perspective after he's entered the Void, because he's so omnipotent that if the two plot threads were happening simultaneously he'd blast through his bit way before all the stuff with Slvasta resolves to get him to the right point.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ ... AllWaiting

Also, as a former Newcastle resident his depiction of the Toon is absolutely spot on - I could take you to several of the spots where critical plot events in the book happens just from his descriptions. Dude does his research

Brian9848 wrote:Haven't really read much sci-fi until this past year. Would definitely recommend the following;

The Three Body Problem - Liu Cixin... A Chinese Science Fiction novel. Starting out with the Cultural Revolution and then reaching modern times and slightly beyond in which we find anxious scientists & military observing physics defying phenomena. Wouldn't want to say too much more as it would be a massive spoiler. Might want to reacquaint yourself with Leaving Cert/Bacclaureate Physics at a minimum as the book can be demanding in places, but it is far from being a pretentious, self-indulgent exercise. It's a trilogy and I'm definitely reading the others after being gifted this book.

Seveneves - Neil Stephenson.. Our Moon blows up that threatens humanity with inevitable rain of fire. Mankind has a limited period to prepare for it's destruction, and survive it's aftermath. In 4 parts, and I thoroughly enjoyed it until the 4th which was a bit overwrought.

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells.. Good, fun story telling in four short novels that offer a highly accessible look at augmented bodies acting as the security detail for an exploration group on a distant planet as things go unexpectedly ass backwards.

Ancilliary Justice (1st in Imperial Radch Series) - Ann Leckie... Fascinating, well written main character that was an enslaved human body/form that had been merged with the massive artificial intelligence and omniscience of a spaceship, and networked with his 19/20 clones that were separate physical devices/bodies but yet all operated as one sentient entity. Now, 'he' is operating alone, as just one, seeking revenge.

If you've not read too much Scifi; I highly recommend the Foundation series from Asimov. He did such a brilliant balance between the Science side, & the Human side; that very few can achieve

fishfoodie wrote:

Brian9848 wrote:Haven't really read much sci-fi until this past year. Would definitely recommend the following;

The Three Body Problem - Liu Cixin... A Chinese Science Fiction novel. Starting out with the Cultural Revolution and then reaching modern times and slightly beyond in which we find anxious scientists & military observing physics defying phenomena. Wouldn't want to say too much more as it would be a massive spoiler. Might want to reacquaint yourself with Leaving Cert/Bacclaureate Physics at a minimum as the book can be demanding in places, but it is far from being a pretentious, self-indulgent exercise. It's a trilogy and I'm definitely reading the others after being gifted this book.

Seveneves - Neil Stephenson.. Our Moon blows up that threatens humanity with inevitable rain of fire. Mankind has a limited period to prepare for it's destruction, and survive it's aftermath. In 4 parts, and I thoroughly enjoyed it until the 4th which was a bit overwrought.

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells.. Good, fun story telling in four short novels that offer a highly accessible look at augmented bodies acting as the security detail for an exploration group on a distant planet as things go unexpectedly ass backwards.

Ancilliary Justice (1st in Imperial Radch Series) - Ann Leckie... Fascinating, well written main character that was an enslaved human body/form that had been merged with the massive artificial intelligence and omniscience of a spaceship, and networked with his 19/20 clones that were separate physical devices/bodies but yet all operated as one sentient entity. Now, 'he' is operating alone, as just one, seeking revenge.

If you've not read too much Scifi; I highly recommend the Foundation series from Asimov. He did such a brilliant balance between the Science side, & the Human side; that very few can achieve

All Asimov's novels (except The Caves of Steel) follow the same scheme: faceless and characterless men sit in bare windowless rooms discussing the plot. There's a puzzle there. Various theories are confidently put foreward, and squashed. When somebody finally figures it out the book ends.

Finished Peter F Hamilton's "Fallen Dragon", on the whole while it was a good read I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as "Great North Road". If any of his other sagas are more like Great North Road than Fallen Dragon I'd be glad to know.

tabascoboy wrote:Finished Peter F Hamilton's "Fallen Dragon", on the whole while it was a good read I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as "Great North Road". If any of his other sagas are more like Great North Road than Fallen Dragon I'd be glad to know.

Like I said earlier, I regard Fallen Dragon as probably the weakest of all his books.

If you're enjoying the detective stuff then the Greg Mabdel books are worth trying.

After that, you really have the Confederation series, which is three books + some short stories which are pretty straight sci-fi, and the Commonwealth saga (8 books and a couple of short stories) - the first books of which are pretty straight sci-fi, but later books move into fantasy territory (albeit underpinned by sci-fi)

He's also just started a new universe, with the Salvation Sequence

And finally a novella - Manhattan in Reverse - which is a detective story set in a universe where the Roman Empire didn't collapse. Just re-read it and it's very engaging

Hmm, I think The Mandel Files are probably the next step for me then.

I have two Peter F Hamilton books on Audible, Pandora's star and Reality Dysfunction. Also have Great North Road on Kindle. Have never read anything by him. Which one would be best to start?

danthefan wrote:I have two Peter F Hamilton books on Audible, Pandora's star and Reality Dysfunction. Also have Great North Road on Kindle. Have never read anything by him. Which one would be best to start?

Great North Road. It's a self contained novel. Reality Dysfunction is book 1 of 3 in the Confederation, Pandora's Star is 1 of 3 in the first Commonwealth trilogy, and 1 of 8 of the whole saga.

Halfway through the last in the the Broken Earth series by N K Jemisin. All three novels are terrific and worthy of all the awards that have been bestowed.

Saw it described as Science Fantasy which is probably right - there are no spaceships

Saint wrote:

danthefan wrote:I have two Peter F Hamilton books on Audible, Pandora's star and Reality Dysfunction. Also have Great North Road on Kindle. Have never read anything by him. Which one would be best to start?

Great North Road. It's a self contained novel. Reality Dysfunction is book 1 of 3 in the Confederation, Pandora's Star is 1 of 3 in the first Commonwealth trilogy, and 1 of 8 of the whole saga.

Went with Great North Road, I'm about 3/4 the way through, it's bloody good. Have my theories on the alien so I can't wait to see how wrong I am.

Sorry if already referenced but for classy, atmospheric thoughtful writing try Stanislas I am
Solaris
The Invincible