Recommend me some sci-fi and fantasy reading

boogieman

I’ve been reading lots of crime, historical fiction and music bios lately but I fancy a change of style now. I used to like sci-fi and fantasy books but I’m completely out of touch with it all. So what’s recommended reading these days and what good stuff have I missed along the way?  

Things I’ve liked and/or read a lot of:
Asimov’s Foundation trilogy, loads of Arthur C Clarke, most of David Eddings and Michael Moorcock’s work, the Thomas Covenant series, Tad Williams. 

drofluf

Have you tried Iain M Banks, Alastair Reynolds or Ken McCleod?

boogieman

drofluf said:

Have you tried Iain M Banks, Alastair Reynolds or Ken McCleod?

I’ve got a vague memory of owning The Wasp Factory (is that Iain M Banks?) but can’t remember much about it. No idea on the other two, I shall Google. Thanks. 

Chuffola

Good recommendations if you like big, space opera, galaxy-wide stuff. Love both Banks and Reynolds.  For "smaller" sci-fi, what about Philip K Dick - a quick google will give you the essential novels.  I still like a lot of the "classics" too - Robert Heinlein,  Joe Haldemann, Larry Niven. For a mix of dark fantasy / sci-fi (known as "The New Weird") try China Mieville - heartily recommend The Kraken, Perdido Street Station and - one of my top 5 - The City and The City

drofluf

boogieman said:

drofluf said:

Have you tried Iain M Banks, Alastair Reynolds or Ken McCleod?

I’ve got a vague memory of owning The Wasp Factory (is that Iain M Banks?) but can’t remember much about it. No idea on the other two, I shall Google. Thanks. 

It’s the same person but he dropped the M for his non sci-fi writings. 

ftumch

For fantasy try Robin Hobb, (start with Assasins apprentice) Robert Jordan (Wheel of time series) Mark Lawrence (  Broken Empire and Red Queens War trilogys) Currently reading Scott Lynch (Lies of Locke Lamora), Patrick Rothfuss also brill.
For scifi definately Ian m. Banks culture novels also Gregg Bear.

Winny_Pooh

Light by John M Harrison is brilliant,
a novel that doesn't just cater to the regular sci-fi geeks and is genuine literary quality.

wiki:
It received the James Tiptree, Jr. Award and a BSFA nomination in 2002, and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2003. The Guardian ranked Light #91 in its list of 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.

RandallFlagg

Try Stephen King's The Dark Tower series of books

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Tower_(series)

Moe_Zambeek

Adrian Tchaikovsky’s sci fi writing are all exceptional. Ian M Banks likewise.

The Expanse series books are good too, James S A Corey.

Sassafras

Ian M Banks, Asimov, Ray Bradbury, JG Ballard.

TimmyO

Children Of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky (then the follow up) 

Murderbot series 

Alistair Reynolds - start with Revelation Space maybe 

Budgie

Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar Tapestry trilogy is a good read. It reminds me a little of the Thomas Covenant idea of being transported to a different world. I really enjoyed it. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fionavar_Tapestry

Raymond E Feist is worth looking at too, the Riftwar Saga is a good set. Lots of other series too. - http://www.crydee.com/raymond-feist/book-series

Cols

Fantasy: get stuck into David Gemmell; Legend, Waylander, King Beyond The Gate, etc.  Also try Joe Abercrombie’s First Law series.

For sci-fi, Chris Wooding’s Tales of the Ketty Jay series is enjoyable fluff (very derivative of Firefly).  Tuf Voyaging by George RR Martin is a real hidden gem of short stories.

Toms_Dad

In fantasy I would suggest, as others have, Robin Hobbs or Joe Abercrombie for some serious character development.  Hobbs is more serious, Abercrombie can be very witty.  Raymond Feist is good for something much more conventional.  Also unusual is Philip Roth, "The Name of the Wind".  For Sci Fi, you can't beat a good Ian Banks space opera.   

TheBigDipper

I just did this a few weeks ago for a mate who'd never really tried any sci-fi. Try some of these...

Robert A Heinlein:

The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress ** 

Stranger In A Strange Land

Starship Troopers

The Door Into Summer

Ursula K Le Guin:

The Dispossessed ** 

The Left Hand Of Darkness ** 

The Word For World Is Forest

Philip K Dick:

A Scanner Darkly ** 

Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? 

John Brunner:

Stand On Zanzibar ** 

The Jagged Orbit **

Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle:

The Mote In Gods Eye **

Joe Haldeman:

The Forever War **

Frank Herbert:

Dune **

Lucius Shepherd:

Life During Wartime **

James Blish:

Cities In Flight ( 4 books telling a big story set over centuries, but can all be read independently. The 3rd, Earthman Come Home, is the best) ** 

Robert Silverberg:

Dying Inside ** 

JG Ballard:

High Rise 

Terry Pritchett & Stephen Baxter:

The Long Earth

fob

Most of the standards I recommend have already been mentioned or will be. One that doesn't come up that often is Julian May's 'The Many Coloured Land'. A nice mixture of sci-fi, fantasy and boy's own adventure. It's light reading but a lot of fun.

Gizmo

For fantasy i'll throw in Brandon Sanderson Mistborn series (BS was a fantasic choice to complete the WOT series after jordans death in fact it was very hard to tell that there had been a change in writter at all i thought) also Wheel of Time, takes a few books to get started but once it does you really want to know how it's all going to end.

Id 2nd the rec for The Expanse (TV show is much much waterd down/altered version of this fantastic twisting and turning story line) I do love how flawed almost every one of the characters in these books are.

Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga was good but my god it was a slog + it gave me a black eye (i dropped the hardback in my eye while reading in bed...wayback when i brought real BOOKS made from real paper! )

ATM im 21 books (of 93) into the Battletech/Mechwarrior seires, myself and my brother used to collect these about 20 or so years ago but only managed to get about 35 of them in paperback as they were hard to get in thr UK in full, this time i can read them in chronological order which is making much more sense a 2nd time around .

Ive tried a few heavy Sc-fi or Sci-fact-i type line oft authors and always found they take way to long to get to the point and far to little time on the climax !

Eidt: Going to throw in "The Owner" Trilogy by Neal Asher into Sc-fi, really dark dystopian stuff a little grim at the start but well worth a read

Jalapeno

No love for James SA Corey ? I thought the Expanse series (and novellas) were/are awesome.

Also votes for Alastair Reynolds, Neal Asher, Peter F Hamilton, Stephen Baxter

strumjoughlamps

I'm no sci-fi reading expert but I love William Gibson books, especially his early stuff

Gizmo

Jalapeno said:

No love for James SA Corey ? I thought the Expanse series (and novellas) were/are awesome.

Also votes for Alastair Reynolds, Neal Asher, Peter F Hamilton, Stephen Baxter

Already got 3 out of your 5 as rec's, that it's to bad have a Wiz

Snags

Slightly more modern stuff:

Richard Morgan

- SF: the Takeshi Kovacs novels (Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies). They're stand-alone but each contributes to the next as it were.

- Fantasy: A Land Fit for Heroes (The Steel Remains, The Cold Commands, The Dark Defiles) - very much a trilogy, but each one does resolve internally

Light-hearted but also kind of serious fantasy:

Nicholas Eames: Kings of the Wyld and Bloody Rose

These are particularly good for musicians, as he plays around with the idea of adventurers as bands, bands as rock starts etc.

Also, the Michael Marshall Smith stuff (he drops the Smith for disturbing conspiracy murder works) is brilliant (One of Us, Spares, Only Forwards).