Book Recommendations?

benign1 wrote:
beanman101283 wrote:

Just finished Gideon the Ninth, by Tamsyn Muir, and it’s one of my favorite books from the last few years. I’m diving into the sequel right away.

I'm on the same path, finished Gideon a week or two ago and now drawing toward the finish of Harrow. Utterly fantastic series so far, even considering that it's been unreservedly gross enough to turn my stomach at multiple points. Moira Quirk's narration of the audiobooks is also extremely good.

Nona is my favorite so far... cause reasons I cannot divulge without spoilers. GO AND ENJOY.

I thought Nona was the worst of the series so far. Much of it felt like the author heard the positive feedback about the structure of Harrow and learned all the wrong lessons from it.

ruhk wrote:

I thought Nona was the worst of the series so far. Much of it felt like the author heard the positive feedback about the structure of Harrow and learned all the wrong lessons from it.

Agreed.

Just completed "The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story" by M. L. Wang. Enjoyed it. It's a fantasy novel of Japanese style martial arts combined with elemental magic, all in a semi-modern time technologically. Looks like it's included with Kindle Unlimted, but I listened to the audio.

Expected it to be part of a series, but Amazon doesn't have anything digital. There are two other books labled "Theonite", but they seem to be related in a Sanderson Cosmere way instead of being direct in-world sequels?

Anyway, I recommend this book if you like a little Japanese style fantasy.

Steven Brusts new Vlad Taltos book, Tsalmoth, is out today!

No way! You just made my week!

I should catch up with that series. His marriage therapy session book really threw me off, but I hear good things about the rest of them.

Robear wrote:

No way! You just made my week!

Looks there's another one coming out in April of next year as well
https://us.macmillan.com/books/97807...

NathanialG wrote:
Robear wrote:

No way! You just made my week!

Looks there's another one coming out in April of next year as well
https://us.macmillan.com/books/97807...

That cover's got to be a joke, right? Right...?

Math wrote:
NathanialG wrote:
Robear wrote:

No way! You just made my week!

Looks there's another one coming out in April of next year as well
https://us.macmillan.com/books/97807...

That cover's got to be a joke, right? Right...?

I’m looked at the release date assuming it would be April 1, 2024.

Can someone recommend a good sci-fi book that is more about exploring a galaxy etc. rather than personal relationships (Long Way to an Angry Planet) or that use space as a backdrop for political stuff (Expanse falls into this category for me. You could have set the whole thing in medieval Europe and not lose anything - to me)

I am thinking something like the original Star Trek books - but when I try to read those they are so poorly written it is hard to read them.

farley3k wrote:

Can someone recommend a good sci-fi book that is more about exploring a galaxy etc. rather than personal relationships (Long Way to an Angry Planet) or that use space as a backdrop for political stuff (Expanse falls into this category for me. You could have set the whole thing in medieval Europe and not lose anything - to me)

I am thinking something like the original Star Trek books - but when I try to read those they are so poorly written it is hard to read them.

I enjoyed Red Rising by Pierce Brown, but on the other hand, I never felt compelled to read more of the series.

Edit - I also enjoyed The Last Watch and it's sequel

Clumber wrote:

I enjoyed Red Rising by Pierce Brown, but on the other hand, I never felt compelled to read more of the series.

Well GoodReads has a giveaway for the book so I will enter it.

I think I’ve mentioned it here before but Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Final Architecture trilogy is pretty good and the final book comes out in like a week. It’s basically Mass Effect the novel.

A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge. An absolute classic, it deals with the question of who or what created a galaxy-spanning gradient of cognitive impairment, and what happens to a team of folks investigating it after a dangerous alien force is accidentally unleased.

A Talent for War, by Jack McDevitt. It introduces Alex Benedict, an anthropologist/treasure hunter, who solves mysteries involving lost expeditions and lots of other things. It is, however, a mystery primarily, but the entire series is delightful. This first book is the weakest but it rapidly gains strength.

Stephen Baxter's "Manifold Time". Baxter does hard SF well, and is often accused of ignoring character development, so this might be up your alley.

Revelation Space. Alastair Mclean's first book. In a galaxy colonized by humans and dominated by AIs, why are there so few remnants of other species?

I love having a good public library. Most of these have been added to my holds. Thanks

farley3k wrote:

Can someone recommend a good sci-fi book that is more about exploring a galaxy etc. rather than personal relationships (Long Way to an Angry Planet) or that use space as a backdrop for political stuff (Expanse falls into this category for me. You could have set the whole thing in medieval Europe and not lose anything - to me)

I am thinking something like the original Star Trek books - but when I try to read those they are so poorly written it is hard to read them.

Diaspora by Greg Egan.

Very explore-y, as the name might suggest, and chock full of "whoah" moments.

Also second Robears suggestions of Baxter and Alastair Reynolds (he got the wrong Alastair)

Sorry!

Robear wrote:

A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge. An absolute classic, it deals with the question of who or what created a galaxy-spanning gradient of cognitive impairment, and what happens to a team of folks investigating it after a dangerous alien force is accidentally unleased.

This was my first thought too! To this day II still think about the Slow Depths when I go on long rambles.

Quantum Thief is a super cool adventure/heist set in far future of our solar system, but there are quite a variety of weird societies explored.

Probably the most direct comparison to Star Trek is the Bobiverse series.

I was thinking about the Bobiverse, but even it's title shows the investment in character development in the series... Still, it's a good Star Trek analogue, I agree.

I have been enjoying the heck out of the Bobiverse on Audible. I didn't know there was even physical editions.

The narration is great and it is almost precisely what I am looking for. It does have some interpersonal stuff but generally it is about space, exploration, etc.

Math wrote:
NathanialG wrote:
Robear wrote:

No way! You just made my week!

Looks there's another one coming out in April of next year as well
https://us.macmillan.com/books/97807...

That cover's got to be a joke, right? Right...?

If you look at the depiction of the Lyorn on page with all the houses that exactly how it looks!

Edit:

IMAGE(https://preview.redd.it/e6c2zqbu9gf51.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=315272d270ec2d2a6ac243b5449d39e6a8c09dd9)

farley3k wrote:

Can someone recommend a good sci-fi book that is more about exploring a galaxy etc. rather than personal relationships (Long Way to an Angry Planet) or that use space as a backdrop for political stuff (Expanse falls into this category for me. You could have set the whole thing in medieval Europe and not lose anything - to me)

I read The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks and I was so struck by the universe-building and use of weapons language that it's one of my favorites from last year even though it has some serious flaws. I'm very keen to read the author's Culture novels now.

Trust me, you're in for a ride.

I finished Harrow the Ninth last night. It was a significantly more challenging read than Gideon the Ninth, and it took me longer to get into it, but I ended up really enjoying it by the end. I am very fuzzy on the end though, both in terms of the plot as well as the various revelations that were thrown my way in the last 100 pages or so. I basically read the last 150 pages or so in one sitting. Both Harrow and Gideon had notably long climaxes, and Harrow especially felt like the entire final act was the plunge down the rollercoaster after spending the previous 350 pages methodically climbing to the top.

I have a feeling I'll be re-reading chunks of Harrow the Ninth before I move on to Nona the Ninth.

They really reward re-reading: they're Chekhov's Firing Squad in terms of the foreshadowing and little clues to what's going on.

I've gone back and re-read the opening few chapters of Gideon and already found some neat things that I didn't notice the first time around. At the very least, I will probably try to re-read them all before Alecto the Ninth comes out.

I finished Hyperion, and started The Peripheral. Hyperion is written well and pretty engaging. Even had me bawling with tears at one point. But it didn't really have an end, so much as just stopping at a cliff hanger. I found that pretty frustrating. It relies on the classic sci-fi trope of "bizarre alien civilization left behind unexplained mysteries" and the main characters are on their way to the mysterious place while they tell their background stories and how they involve it. I am curious to read more eventually.

The Peripheral is pretty good, but I am glad I watched the show first. I would be so confused without it, and don't have the time to reread interesting but not explained world building like I could when I was a kid. Like Neuromancer, but with less action.