Does GRRM or aSoIaF have a Sci Fi contemporary

[R M Tobias]

Whether it be a similiar writing style, or a simliar approach to story and character arcs, is there anything comparable in the sci fi genre.

Dune by Frank Herbert springs immediately to mind.

Discuss

(Apologies if this has already been posted. I used the search)

 

[The Procrastinator]

Maybe Peter F Hamilton. Similar epic but down to earth feel, fat books, well-written soap opera, packed and complex plotlines, multiple POVs interweaving, lots of ideas and cultures, written for entertainment (I don't mean pulp, they're good, but they're a visceral read rather than an intellectual one). Slightly different scale due to Hamilton's series being trilogies/duologies. One major difference though, Hamilton finishes stuff. While I really enjoyed ASOIAF so far, jury is out on whether Martin can bring it all together and maintain the pace ( the last book seemed a bit weaker to me).

 

[chopper]

adding on to that, Hamilton's last fistful of books all follow on from each other. Misspent Youth, followed by the "Commonwealth" duology, then by the "Void" trilogy - all in the same timeline. i still haven't read the void series (vol.1 still on hold halfway through) but i'm re-reading Pandora's Star and i'll second old Hot Nose's recommendation.

 

[Symphinity]

I am just finishing the Hyperion Cantos from Dan Simmons. The first book is written with POV style chapters for each of the main 7 characters and is one of the best books I have ever read. The series then becomes an epic story following many characters across many worlds and times, and develops them all amazingly well.

 

[Boaz]

Symphinity, Welcome to the GRRM forum. I confess that if I could call a book epic in story, scope, time, politics, sci-fi, mythology, time travel, love and war, it is Ilium by Dan Simmons. Wow! And I'm not a sci-fi guy... Fantasy is what fires my imagination. I've stated this before, but Ilium is the most ambitious novel I've ever read. The problem was that the second part, Olympos, was good but not great. It soured me a bit on trusting Simmons to finish the job. I enjoyed Hyperion, but I guess not enough to try and finish the next three books.

 

[Ursa major]

I have problems with Simmons's work: yes, he attempts the epic, but I don't think he quite pulls it off. Which is not to say the books are bad - very far from it - but I felt disappointed after reading Olympos and Hyperion**. (Ilium, has one very dull PoV character, but apart from that, it's fine, which is why I read Olympos.)

However, RMT, Simmons has many fans here, and his books may be just what you're looking for.


** - There are some aspects of the science (not the concepts, which are generally excellent, but the error-prone way some are used in the book) that pulled me out of the story. Perhaps these are really very clever touches and are explained in the following three volumes, but I'd lost my enthusiasm by then.