Bibliophile dramanauts, I was thinking about having a few recommendation threads according to genre, this one is Sci-fi but then we could go into horror, fantasy, realism, math textbooks, etc.
Here’s mine, or at least the few one’s I read.
HG Wells
“War of the Worlds”
Isaac Asimov
I robot
Foundation Trilogy
Frank Herbert
Dune
Dune messiah
Andy Weir
The Martian
Edit: I forgot about Robert Henlein, in his case “Starship Troopers”
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The Three Body Problem trilogy by Cixin Liu. I don’t even like scifi, but this was art.
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This is one of the few books I couldn’t finish purely because the prose was so bad. In sci fi I can usually accept bad prose if the idea or setting is good enough but this time I couldn’t hold my nose and get through it. I just read the plot on Wikipedia.
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Yeah prolly because it was chinkshit lol
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There was something a bit disturbing about it apart from subject matter/plot points. It's like a look into the slightly demented brain of a post-Mao Chinese boomer, and the sort of cynical, relentlessly unempathetic worldview they have. You get the sense these people would willingly send 100 million of their countrymen to drown on the beaches of Taiwan if it means they can craft a landbridge to allow China to Grow Larger
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Yes, good take.
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I liked The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. Was it like that or ???? Can't imagine Chinese 2 English prose.
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Where’d you stop?
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I don't know somewhere after the cultural revolution or something. I barely remember. It honestly felt like someone fed the chinese text into google translate from 2013.
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Phenomenal recommendation. My favorite was the second entry in the trilogy, The Dark Forest. The third book was a little unhinged but still worth finishing off.
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The Dark Forest is amazing.
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The third book depressed the frick out of me and I liked it best. Second was phenomenal though. First was just alright, which makes the recommendation hard lol
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My problem with Death's End is that our author adds in some retcon super waifu character who stumbles her way to the end of the universe. Felt weird rooting against the main character after supporting the previous 2 leads completely.
But yeah absolutely loved that trilogy. You read any of the other books by him? He name drops BALL LIGHTNING like 5 times in the trilogy and it almost made me want to read it.
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The weird
phenomenon ball 
lightning?
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I think that's everyone's favorite of the 3. Actually blew my mind
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This is a good one
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The first one was a bit weird and the whole VR aspect was offputting given how clumsily implemented it was but very conceptually interesting
Second was fascinating and ended so well
Third one was FRICKING AMAZING and the end was so depressing and idk how a Chinese-to-English translation manages to evoke feelings of cosmic insignificance but he nailed it
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The 2d thing and all humanity’s efforts to preserve their culture and history only for that to fail and then the cope that surely eventually some civilization will come along with the tech to re-3d it only for none of that to even make sense and the 2dification to just be a fancy way of permanently destroying stuff was grim
I also really liked the view into how contemporary Chinese think human nature is with the bizarre behavior (and explanations thereof, which you don’t get in film) of the future masses
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I was trying not to spoil anything but go off, king
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Netflix is producing an adaptation created by D&D, are you guys ready for it
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They blackwashed like half the cast
Of a book that takes place in CHINA.
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They're terrible. The 2nd one has a decent character (the dude who becomes the wallfacer) but the 3rd one has the most pathetic protagonist I've ever seen. She is totally incapable of making a decision.
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Strongest chink
woman 
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Was the woman not strong enough for you
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Hyperion
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The entire Hyperion cantos is a masterpiece. I can't think of a single flaw in any of the books.
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Are you fricking joking? The introduction and plotline for Aenea in the third book could make many a reviewer seem like a violent incel.
The first book is well written, but needs better follow through in the 2nd... and the third installment is garbage so the entire collection really just belongs in the trash.
Anyway I hate everything, got any other recommendations that I've already read and decided that they were shit?
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I read the first one and found it very meh, it didn't inspire any sense of wonder or cause any of those weird tingles you get sometimes when reading something that causes weird deja-vu.
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It's very dramatic writing.. melodramatic to some, definitely not for everyone
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I also detected the hint of overtly Christian themes creeping in (it isn't subtle either) which turned me off.
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I loved this book series. The only thing that bothered me was they never actually named The Consul.
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What about the vaguely pedophlic stuff in book 3(4?) Honestly that's all I remember about Endymion
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Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is fantastic and for me the humor is
I also really liked Ender's Game, but I read one or two of the sequels and didn't find them as interesting.
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The sequels were kinda panned in comparision. Ender's Game is good, I think it's on the required reading list for... Airforce? Not 100% sure. I know that The Right Stuff is on the Airforce officers required reading list.
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I liked Hyperion a lot. Not quite as sold on the sequels to it, but the original one is really cool. Let me know what you think it's about if you read it though, I'm still not sure.
Also, Ubik is a good read if you like Philip K Peepee weirdness.
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Hyperion is the one that took inspiration from “The Canterbury Tale’s” right?
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Yes, although I didn't know that when I read it.
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HG Well’s “War of the Worlds”: the og alien invasion book. Narrated in first person, kind of dated (aliens are martians, and said martians travel on canon balls ala Jules Verne), still a classic and a short one, around 200 pages.
Isaac Asimov Foundation Trilogy: Asimov is very imaginative and is all about great ideas, his writing is kind of amateurish (especially compared to Wells) and very pulpy, his characters are very one-dimensional with few exceptions. He’s still a good storyteller and the Mule is a good villain, but if you are more into character driven book’s than it ain’t you cup of tea.
Frank Herbert’s Dune and Dune Messiah:
Actual long novel’s with decent characters and lot’s of internal dialogue. The first book villain villain is fun although still one dimensional (baron Harkonnen is just an irredimible evil murdeorus fat lazy libertarian).
Andy Weir “The Martian”: he’s a modern hack writer, but it’s a funny book and he has such a great technical insight, recommended for all stemcels and spaceneurodivergents like me. Tried Artemis and put it down because it was so cringey.
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Foundation and Earth was the only Foundation book I could really get into. I got vaguely into the others and gave up on them. Asimov long books tend to be very boring IMHO, short(er) stories are where he really shines.
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I was 17 when I read Asimov so I don’t recall in good details but I think you’re right about his short stories (I robot for instance)
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I Robot was enjoyable. I don't know what Asimov was like as a person but from his books I've got a vision of him as this grumpy old uncle type. Niven, on the other hand, I imagine as being a lot more of a mischievous and fun character. Clarke is somewhere between the two of them.
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If anyone finds themselves struggling a bit through Messiah and Children of Dune, don't be surprised but don't be off put either. It's worth it to at least get to the 4th book, God Emperor of Dune, which is easily the 2nd best book in the series and worth the read.
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It’s funny you mentioned “Children of Dune”. I read Dune and Dune Messiah almost a decade ago, then I saw on the news that a new movie was being produced by Villeneuve (that’s around 2019) and I decided to try CoD and gave up after 150 pages. I wanted to like it but the story didn’t seem interesting anymore. Still loved the movie, can’t wait for part 2.
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I like Messiah and CoD, but have never really gone back for a reread of either, not like I have with both the original and 4th book. I like what Herbert was going for in Paul, this guy high-jacking a religion may result in actual, disastrous consequences (you know it's gone bad when the protagonist compares himself to Hitler and it isn't an empty comparison). It's just that the story doesn't flow well at all and I find myself having to force myself through the text. God Emperor doesn't have that problem and the story transitions back to focusing on the big picture of human civilization and its problems. If you can make it through CoD, it's worth it.
I also can't wait for the second half of Villeneuve's Dune. Him and Peter Jackson are the only directors/writers left who know how to adapt and honor the original material at the same time. You could tell he wanted to add so much more in the first Dune film (poor Thufir and Mentats got shafted) but just didn't have the room even with a 3 hour running time.
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That part of Dune Messiah cracked me up, and I still remember it quite well, Stilgar is all like “how many people did this Hitler fellow kill?” Then Paul answers “6 million” and Stilgars like “not bad”
Yeah, another thing with the mentats is that you would need lot’s of exposition so the audience can understand what they are, and that’s something that never translates well into screen.
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I'm hoping they address Mentats more in the sequel since that's a big part of what makes Paul's gift so fantastic but grounded in something more real than something like 'the force'. That and more Thufir playing the Harkonnens to get revenge on the Emperor but in reality being played by the Harkonnens to do exactly that.
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Yeah... the movie's better. His humor was hit-or-miss because it seemed forced, and the story is really drawn out (which is perfect for a movie).
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Agreed, I read the book a few months before the movie came out, it has capeshit tier humor. But I liked that it was a more less realistic take on a future mars mission (minus the bullshit sandstorm toppling the MAV thing), and that was enough for me at the time. Also it’s funny how the book came with the China pandering that was used to promote the movie there as well.
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I'm incredibly surprised by the lack of Phillip K Peepee ITT, wife-beater and druggie extraorinaire. He's one of the few modern SF writers (along with Gibson) who I think are good sci-fi writers and good writers in general. The VALIS series is literally insane but incredible at the same time.
Other than that, 'a Canticle for Leibowitz' needs to be mentioned.
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Stop reading fiction.
Real adults read: poems, scientific literature, biographies, philosophy and occasionally textbooks.
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This but unironically, my reading list this year is more western canon focused. But I used to read sci-fi when I was a teenager and for many it’s a good entry into reading
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Recently I read Do andriods dream of electric sheep? was very interesting. I forgot it was the precursor to blade runner when I started it.
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Your "recommendations" read like a copy/paste out of some high schooler's SCI/FI 101 curriculum.
So vanilla and boring.
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Then do better straggot
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Not here to educate you sweaty.
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That’s because I was a high schooler by the time I read them
. I haven’t read sci-fi in years, so yeah there’s nothing sophisticated there.
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Maybe that's why he's asking for recommendations
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Larry Niven: Basically all of it, go in chronological order. The later stuff (90s+) isn't that great. Special attention should be given to:
Ringworld
The Ringworld Engineers
A World Out of Time
The Integral Trees
The Smoke Ring
Alastair Reynolds: Again basically all of it. Special note:
Chasm City
The Prefect
Ian M Banks: Again basically all of it. Special note:
Against a Dark Background
Feersum Endjinn (weird writing style)
Use of Weapons
William Gibson:
Neuromancer
Count Zero
Mona Lisa Overdrive
Pattern Recognition
Henlein: I find the Henlein juveniles the most enjoyable of his works, his later stuff gets a bit weird. Note that these are really really old (1940-1950)
Waldo & Magic Inc.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Starman Jones
The Star Beast
Double Star
Alfred Bester:
The Demolished Man
The Stars my Destination
Joe Haldeman:
Pat Cadigan:
Nancy Kress:
Philip K. Peepee:
A Scanner Darkly
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (-> Blade Runner)
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (-> Total Recall)
Neal Stephenson:
Cryptonomicon
The Diamond Age
Snow Crash
Thomas Pynchon:
Gravity's Rainbow (set aside about a year, half in front)
Inherent Vice (this one's more straightforward)
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I dont like Niven and it's tough to recommend him to young people due to recursive influence, but this is a pretty good list for anyone getting in to the genre.
Stephenson is also questionable. Other than Snow Crash I haven't liked anything else from the author. Diamond age was fun but the guy has no clue know how to end a story and the novel really should have been edited for children.
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Also I want to add some dystopian staples that exclude the over-suggested 1984:
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Machine Stops by E M Forster
There's another one that should go in here but I can't think of it right now.
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It's bloated, they're all bloated. Snow Crash has so much waffle (all the scenes with the librarian expositing sumerians) that just can be skipped right over on a 2nd reading. TBH I really only like Cryptonomicon because it's a very familiar sort of adventure story that's just a fun read.
Any particular reason you don't like Niven or just doesn't vibe with you?
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I feel like those are Reynolds worst two books lol. If you're gonna read him (skippable tbh) I would prioritize Pushing Ice, Terminal World, and House of Suns. Also his fairly new book Eversion is pretty good.
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I've read Pushing Ice, I thought it was okay but not amazing. I haven't read the other two. You don't like the Inhibitor Cycle series then I take it?
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Well I should say that I've read all of them, so obviously I can't say I hate them.
I have a mixed mind about them. I really like the overall revelation space universe. I like the Ultras and Mending plague. I don't mind the conjoiners.
Unfortunately there are many reoccurring elements that I really can't stand like those fricking hyperpigs ( so dumb... why) and that memory water based things that show up whenever Reynolds needs to figure out how to advance the plot. (pattern jugglers? Something like that).
The characters are okay, I don't really mind Reynolds cynicism, but man some of those books are bloated. Like why did redemption ark need to be like 700 pages?
It's pretty funny that I was reading the final book after not having read anything in the series for like 10 yrs. I was super into it and then those fricking pigs showed up and I started remembering things. It's like the more the book became a revelation space book, the worse it got.
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Redemption Ark is a bit ponderous. I kinda agree with you that the longer they are, the worse they get.
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Snow Crash is great because it's probably the best book for describing a Cyberpunk setting. It wasn't the first in the genre, but it probably has the most complete description of the concept so it feels almost stale to read if you are familiar with the genre
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Asimov's short story collections, especially Nightfall and The Martian Way
Strugatsky's Roadside Picnic
Unusual, imaginative sci fi dealing with the fallout of aliens landing on earth and then leaving. It was the inspiration behind Stalker.
Lem's Solaris
Can't say much without spoiling but this book showed me why Lem is so respected. Lots of unexpected twists, bordering on science fantasy.
Gibson's Neuromancer
Incredibly well written (for sci fi) and imo a masterclass in pacing. Always reads like a 30k word novella, even though it's much longer. Little depth but amazing atmosphere.
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Adding on to Lem: His Master's Voice.
Great "first contact" book that, like Solaris, is about how human cognition may be incapable of understanding the motives of alien life-forms.
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Neuromancer is great but still the worst book in the first trilogy. Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive are much better. The do-over of Count Zero (Pattern Recognition) is better still.
Both Stalker and Solyaris are great movies. I have a third one saved but can't remember what the name is right now. (I checked my files, it's 'Come and See.')
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Been meaning to watch Come and See, couldn't get through the GIGANTIC monologue in the solaris movie opening. Does it get better?
Hard disagree with count zero/mona lisa. I feel the books lose the momentum of the first one entirely and somehow the vibe of the sprawl is missing and falls flat. There are fantastic ideas and scenes in the two, the B plots often better than the main ones, but the whole voodoo thing I dont care for. They're still really good, but Neuromancer just has a different feel imo.
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I've watched Solaris three times and no, it does not get any more interesting. The pace is so slow that I can't even follow it. There's long stretches where absolutely nothing happens and my mind starts wandering, thinking about what I have to buy the next time I go to the store.
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Yeah it's a movie that at first glance I want to like, the soviet sci fi aesthetic is really cool but jfc imagine opening ur movie with a long excerpt from a book
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Self-referentially enough, Gibson actually mentioned this... Cayce (from Pattern Recognition) is talking about being unable to stay awake through Tarkovsky movies and 'going under during a seemingly endless pan' lol
(Hi ouroboros, nice to meet you.)
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Gonna have to read Pattern Recognition. I barely got through Tarkovsky's Stalker movie. Solaris would be a difficult movie to pull off without using pretty intense visual effects, stalker could be phoned in a bit more with less detriment.
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Also Pattern Recognition is very good, though it's written as one long string without any shifts in perspective. I remember reading it and finding out the next chapter was still from Cayce's perspective and literally sighing. I understand now why authors shift character perspectives, it can feel a bit exhausting.
Pattern Recognition, to me, seems like a do-over of Count Zero, some of the themes are very similar and the main protagonist is a similar-feeling character. CZ is almost certainly my favourite Gibson book so it was great reading something you could take to be a re-imagining of it.
If you read it let me know if you notice the similarities.
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Is count zero the one with the arcology defection? And the art dealer and the rich dude with cancer? I always read all 3 books back to back, count zero and mona lisa blur together.
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Solyaris got a do-over with George Clooney in it, I watched it once, it's okay. It transmits the basic concept, it isn't amazing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaris_(2002_film)
Huh didn't know Soderbergh directed, Cameron produced. Would have expected more from them. Maybe I should give it another go.
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e: comparing some shots btwn tarkovsky and the 2002 remake, the 2002 film just seems generic, i wish they'd kept that 1972 space station aesthetic
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Are you thinking of the correct film? From what I remember (I did just check) the opening to Solyaris is the team watching the debriefing of the astronaut in the dacha. I don't remember a huge monologue...
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That's the one. I was incredibly stoned and just could not get thru that part
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It isn't that long. Give it a go, alternatively just watch the do-over with Clooney. That's good (vaguely) too.
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Doesn't Neuromancer barely touch the Sprawl, though? Count Zero fills in much more of the blanks as to what life in the Sprawl actually would be like, Bobby's apartment, the club he goes to to wait for his plug, the arcology thing where the weird guys live (the one with Hypermart on top...) Neuromancer starts in Chiba and almost immediately heads to Istanbul and then Freeside.
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You're right. Idk tho because something changed in the writing after Neuromancer. Johnny Mnemonic and Burning Chrome along with a few other stories all had that Neuromancer energy but it was like the writing started to meander after or smth
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My opinion does vary a bit with time, though. I never thought Idoru was particularly great (I think it's the best of the 2nd trilogy though) but I read it a few months ago and I was absolutely riveted to it and almost in tears at points. It seemed so poignant.
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Yeah, I completely agree, I just think it got a lot better, but I can understand your perspective. Neuromancer is a faster 'rougher' book that's noticeably less edited than the other two. It's like a live performance compared to a studio performance.
I'm not pooping on it, it's a great book. I just think the others are better :)
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I think you're onto something. Early Gibson is my jam, my all time favorite story of his is The Winter Market
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That's a good story. The one with the girl who can't move without an exoskeleton and they're all cracked out bohemians? Yeah I liked that one too, it's pretty raw. Burning Chrome (the short story, not the collection) is also pretty amazing.
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Roadside Picnic is one of their weakest books imo (still great), it's just popular because of stalker.
I think their best sci-fi work is Noon Universe, with the trilogy Prisoners of Power, Beetle in the Anthill and The Time Wanderers (frick these title translations suck) being my favorite. Low-key want to reread it now.
Short-er stories like One Billion Years to the End of the World and sci-fi comedy like Monday Begins on Saturday are also amazing.
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Is there, like, a collection of Strugatsky stuff that's done by the 'best' translator? Foreign-language literature can vary greatly depending on who's doing the translation. If you can provide a pointer to what's known as the best version it would help...
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Idk sorry I'm a Russian thankfully
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Ah okay, there's always something lost in translation so that's why I was wondering.
Have you read 'We'? What did you think of that?
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No but I looked it up and I'm gonna read it
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