Alien + Space Exploration Sci-fi recommendations?

[Zuvuya42]

Hi, I've recently gotten back into sci-fi (as an adult) and my favorite type of stories are about space explorations that encounter aliens for the first time, alien civilizations, "ancient aliens" type stuff, stories like in the film Prometheus (but, you know, good) or social relationships between aliens and aliens or aliens and humans. There is soooo much fiction out there that I'm having trouble finding anything like the above on my own, so, do you have any recommendations that fit the theme? Anything with a philosophical or spiritual tone definitely goes to the top of my list...I want to put my new kindle and amazon gift card to good use! : )

Thanks a bunch.

p.s. I've already discovered Julian May.

 

[Coragem]

My favourite sci-fi book(s) of all time is Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Certainly philosophical and theological, but also just amazing with great characters.

Nothing I've read in sci-fi since has come close, leaving me very frustrated truth be told!

Coragem.

 

[j d worthington]

Alien encounters while exploring space has been a staple of the field since its inception; so, yes, there is a massive amount of material out there on the subject. Several of Heinlein's juveniles deal with this, as well as some of his other sf (Double Star, Methuselah's Children, etc.). A. E. van Vogt's The Voyage of the Space Beagle is certainly one of the most famous books of this type. The Mote in God's Eye and The Gripping Hand, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, are also in this category (as are several of Niven's "Known Space" series). Even Moorcock has done a bit of this, with his first sf novel, The Blood Red Game (aka The Sundered Worlds). Arthur C. Clarke wrote several stories dealing with such encounters; even 2001 and its sequels are of this type, not to mention Rendezvous with Rama, certainly one of the most intriguing novels of this subgenre. And if you're not looking at the actual journey part of the exploration, but simply contact with alien species (first us with them on their own planet, then essentially through the eyes of one of their own on ours), James Blish's A Case of Conscience certainly fits the bill.

The list goes on and on and on.... And this doesn't even touch on more recent sf....

You may find the following of some help:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_contact_(science_fiction)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_science_fiction_themes

If you follow the links in some of the latter, you'll find plenty of suggestions which might be what you're looking for....

 

[williamjm]

Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky are both excellent with a couple of fascinating alien races.

I agree with J.D. that Rendevous With Rama is one of the defining novels of the First Contact sub-genre.

I think the exploration and first contact sections in Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star were the best bit of the book (although the rest was still good).

Ken Macleod's Learning the World is interesting inversion of the normal first contact story, featuring an alien astronomer noticing a human spaceship approaching his solar system.

 

[j d worthington]

I should also mention a very old one, "Old Faithful", by Raymond Z. Gallun, which features another inversion of sorts... albeit it one sharing some similarities: this is a short story about an alien astronomer who studies Earth and makes contact, and eventually comes to our planet, even though knowing that he will not be able to survive the gravitational and other differences. His reason? Pure scientific curiosity and a growing empathy for his counterpart here....

 

[iansales]

There are two Brian Stableford series about exploration: the Hooded Swan series:

The Halcyon Drift
Rhapsody in Black
Promised Land
The Paradise Game
The Fenris Device
Swan Song

... and the Daedalus Mission series:

The Florians
Critical Threshold
Wildeblood's Empire
The City of the Sun
Balance of Power
The Paradox of the Sets

They were published in the 1970s, but I believe they're available as ebooks.

 

[Galacticdefender]

You might like Alastair Reynolds's Revelation Space as well. It has a good amount of exploration, and it definitely involves Alien Ruins and the like. One of my favorite books.

 

[Grunkins]

You might like Alastair Reynolds's Revelation Space as well. It has a good amount of exploration, and it definitely involves Alien Ruins and the like. One of my favorite books.

Of the books by Reynolds that I've read I might recommend Pushing Ice first the in the category of space exploration and meeting aliens. Some questionable dialogue to get through, but also some pretty mind blowing ideas and interesting aliens.

 

[russ2]

For ancient aliens I like the Infinity Trap and the sequels. Its about exploring Mars in the future but some ancient alien technology is causing problems. Or could do if it gets into the wrong hands. The prose is easy, not as dense as some SF stuff, which suits me a lot. Or try Adrian Tchaikovsky, his book Children of Time is about alien spiders and space exploration. I liked it and it got the Arthur c Clarke award so it must be good!

 

[Woofdog2]

Of the books by Reynolds that I've read I might recommend Pushing Ice first the in the category of space exploration and meeting aliens. Some questionable dialogue to get through, but also some pretty mind blowing ideas and interesting aliens.

Reynold's aliens are among the most alien I have found from any author. Pushing Ice is a great example of this. Diamond Dogs evoked this feeling as well despite obvious differences.

Ian Douglas wrote a long military-SF set of trilogies (starting with the Heritage Trilogy) based heavily on the assumption of alien artifacts (both presently speculated on earth and off earth).

Charles Sheffield wrote a series contained in part in The Heritage Universe omnibus.

 

[Rodders]

I'd second Alistair Reynolds, although I haven't read Pushing ice.

What about Rendezvouz With Rama?

No aliens, but plenty of exploration in Ben Bova's Grand Tour series.

 

[Lew Rockwell Fan]

Ringworld. Nobody makes aliens like Niven.

 

[J-Sun]

The OP hasn't been seen in four and a half years, so this must be for general use now.

Of the books by Reynolds that I've read I might recommend Pushing Ice first the in the category of space exploration and meeting aliens. Some questionable dialogue to get through, but also some pretty mind blowing ideas and interesting aliens.

I'll somewhat echo this. I despised the two main characters of Pushing Ice but the opening segment about somewhat higher tech, somewhat futuristic space activities was great and then the aliens of the latter part of the book were extraordinary so I feel very mixed about it but if you're looking for space and aliens, it has some great space and aliens (though nothing else).

This is another opportunity to recommend James White's All Judgment Fled, so I will.

I'd also say that Robert L. Forward's Flight of the Dragonfly (aka Rocheworld) fits pretty perfectly as does Dragon's Egg (which is the best of the two in many ways).

Cherryh's written a lot that would be of interest but she oddly doesn't focus much on combining them. Her spaciest stuff is usually Union/Alliance which isn't so much on first contact and her first contact stuff (usually with isolated humans contacting aliens (or being contacted by them) rather than species-to-species or isolate-to-isolate) isn't usually all that space-oriented. Maybe Voyager in Night or the Chanur books or so on. But most have one or the other, at least.

All the above are novels but the definitive story is Murray Leinster's "First Contact" and there are theme anthologies devoted to the topic, all of which should and some of which must include it.

 

[Woofdog2]

All the above are novels but the definitive story is Murray Leinster's "First Contact" and there are theme anthologies devoted to the topic, all of which should and some of which must include it.

First Contacts: The Essential Murray Leinster this is the volume of Leinster I read. Main complaint is it is too short.

I have zero affiliation with NESFA (I know i mention them periodically in my brief posting history) but they have complied authors like Leinster, eric frank russell, etc. into one or a few volumes which otherwise one would have a hard time ever finding in one place.

James White I didn't recognize the name at first but read a few of the sector general omnibuses in the last few years. I would have considered placing a small bet that a series of stories about a hospital in space would not interest me but I was completely wrong. These are great reads!

 

[Bick]

Infinity Beach, Jack McDevitt.

I'm a bit embarrassed to recommend this, not because its not spot on, but because Jack McDevitt seems to be my uninspired stock answer whenever this sort of query comes before me.

 

[Gnrevolution]

Peter F. Hamilton (particularly the Commonwealth Saga but also Night's Dawn) and Cixin Liu's Remembrance of Earth Past trilogy both have lots of space exploration (well, eventually) and first encounters with aliens. Most of these books revolve around conflict though rather than social engagement. There's also Spin by Robert Charles Wilson which is awesome

 

[Jojo999]

Infinity Beach, Jack McDevitt.

I'm a bit embarrassed to recommend this, not because its not spot on, but because Jack McDevitt seems to be my uninspired stock answer whenever this sort of query comes before me.

I would have to disagree. Hard to recommend.

For me, this is at best a 3 star book. Very boring 1st half of the book. The author's writing style is simplistic with short, often overly-descriptive sentences. For example (page 88):

"The event was being conducted in the main dining room. A raised table stood at the front for speakers and special guests. Bunting and flags were strewn around the walls. Flowers and ribbons were everywhere.

Kim wore a burgundy evening gown with an orchid from Cole's bouquet. The neckline was modest but the gown was clingy, a characteristic that, she saw immediately, would be underscored by the shaded lighting at the lectern."

Whew, all useless and meaningless detail with poor sentence construction! Maybe the author was getting paid by the word?

Major character Dr. Kim Brandywine manages to get away with all kind of theft and espionage while the planet's government incredibly incompetent police and military forces are always at least one step behind her. How they allow her to get away with everything that she does get away with would be impossible in an advanced AI integrated society that these characters supposedly live in.

AI's are integrated everywhere in this society, from flying taxi cars, to trains, to hotel attendants to houses. But while her house AI can (re)create an AI model of a dead person for her to talk to in incredible detail, they seemingly don't always work very well. For instance, house AI's don't protect houses. In one scene, KB manages to get a ladder, climb up on the roof of someone's house to plant a listening device and the house AI apparently makes no note of such actions to the owner when she returns home.

It is helpful that the author brings most of the loose ends together at the end of the book and unlike too many other authors, actually provides an epilog explaining how everything sort of worked out.

 

[vanye]

I can‘t help but like the books of Jack McDevitt. Somehow, they grow on you (well, me). It‘s the story and the telling of it that is important to me.