current character-driven sci fi books

[Jo Zebedee]

I'm not sure if this should be in GBD, or GWD, as it relates to both, but here goes. I think it's important to have a knowledge of where in the market a book you're promoting - either to agents or on line - has a defined market. I'm not at point yet, but I'd like to do a bit of reading around the genre to support my knowledge of it, and I'm aware mine are a little less conventional than some sci-fi.

On that basis, I'm looking to try to find some current authors of sci fi (space opera) books which have the emphasis on characters and the relations between them as opposed to the science itself. ie how would a real person cope in this fantastic world, not how would this fantastic world look or work? I hope that makes sense.

Pittacus Lore four/six books are close to where I'm looking, but I don't think he's taken off in the UK yet, and that's the market I'm targeting.

 

[Mouse]

Ack, I don't read sci-fi so can't offer suggestions but... yours kinda felt like fantasy to me. I guess that's what space opera is though. Space fantasy.

Basically, I have nothing helpful to say.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Peter F Hamilton's "Reality Dysfunction" comes to mind as possibly relevant.

 

[Coragem]

I'm not sure whether you'll find one thing that exactly suits. However, you may find elements of what you're looking for in books like:

1) Black Man, Richard Morgan (not Space Opera, not cheery, but very very character driven and the best book I've read in ages and ages in terms of learning to write better).
2) Peter F. Hamilton or James S. Corey (both very much character-driven Space Opera, though not up to Morgan in terms of quality).
3) For more of a female touch, maybe Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan books. Or going back further, C.J. Cherryh's Merchanter's Luck is Space Opera with a romantic twist.

Coragem

 

[The Judge]

Hmmm. I really don't think The Reality Dysfunction is close enough to springs's work for her to be able to use it as a comparable. Hamilton's characters are very well drawn, and the interactions between them very credible, but the science is rigorous and there are pages (pages) about the technology.

I'd agree with Mouse, springs, from the little I've read of your work I'd put it as more fantasy than SF. It actually reminds me forcibly of Dune in its setting etc, but that's hardly going to help in a search for contemporary work.

I've not read Leviathan Wakes, and I know Ian Sales thinks it's a load of tosh, but I get the impression that's a book more concerned with characters than science, so might be worth a gander.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

It is closer to fantasy, I think. So maybe I should ask a different question - can anyone think of fantasy novels set in space? The Dune-ish bits are only based on one of the planets, but they are there as an influence, definitely.

I have leviathan wakes knocking around somewhere in my TBR pile, I'll go dig it out.

 

[iansales]

Leviathan Wakes is mostly hard sf with zombies. (And the characters are clichéd.) There are plenty of space operas that are wishy-washy on the tech and science, however, though most tend to focus on the sfx and spectacle than on the characters.

 

[Coragem]

Good news, maybe. It looks like you're writing might fill a niche, Spings. Something none too common at the mo.

Like I said, I don't think anything will suit exactly.

Maybe try some science fantasy – Gene Wolf's Book of the New Sun.

Or Kameron Hurley's God's War – gritty stuff, but very character driven and the "science" is very very close to fantasy.

Coragem.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I'll try the last one, thanks Coragem, have ordered it from my friendly bookseller. (mine's pretty gritty in places.)

And I think your positive attitude is one I need to take on. I can't be the only person who likes this sort of book, I just might need to convince the book buying world... or go write another one that they might buy first.

(at least it doesn't appear to be derivative, which I used to worry about. )

 

[iansales]

I second God's War. And there's a review of the sequel, Infidel, here in SFF Chrons reviews section.

 

[Mouse]

I can't be the only person who likes this sort of book, I just might need to convince the book buying world... or go write another one that they might buy first.

Well, you know I liked it very much but then I'm a fantasy person rather than sci fi. (And urban fantasy at that, which isn't like yours at all).

 

[biodroid]

Peter F Hamilton's "Reality Dysfunction" comes to mind as possibly relevant.

Fallen Dragon and Mindstar Rising by the same author.

 

[Rodders]

What about Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds or Look to Windward or the Player of Games by Iain M. Banks?

 

[Coragem]

Good news, maybe. It looks like you're writing might fill a niche, Spings. Something none too common at the mo.

I mean that.

Look at the big breakthroughs in the last decade – Steph Swainston, Lauren Beukes, China Mieville, lately Kameron Hurley. It's all stuff that is unique, "strange" even, and the latter three are certainly spanning a space somewhere between sci-fi and fantasy.

My own sci-fi is only re-hashing the same old tropes (smart matter, virtual environments, etc. etc.) which worries me quite a lot!!!

Coragem.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

A but that's the heart of sci-fi, Coragem.

I found this thread which was interesting, and some of the names that came up have been mentioned here - Gene Wolf, Mieville - who I will try and hunt down at the library, I think I've seen her stocked there. It's given me a bit of hope that there's something out there to compare to (and an even bigger TBR folder. Gulp!)


http://io9.com/5555751/12-sf-universes-that-include-magic-and-science-fiction

 

[alchemist]

China's a male (and apparently one that the ladies quite like). I have a Perdido Street Station I can lend you someday

Banks and Hamilton are two of my favourites so I'd heartily recommend them for general space opera reading. However, I really don't think they are what you're looking for here. They have good characters but there is a heavy emphasis on tech and how it impacts on society. It's also tech a long way advanced from what we use.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

China's a male (and apparently one that the ladies quite like). I have a Perdido Street Station I can lend you someday

Oops... , I'll take you up on that.

I've read Iain Banks, and wouldn't say he's close to what I'm doing. And the library was rubbish, so I think it's a list being sent to Waterstones.

 

[Vertigo]

I'm figuring you are looking for space opera that is not hard SF here. I have a couple of suggestions that are much much lighter than Hamilton, Banks, Reynolds etc. that I think would fit the bill:

Elizabeth Moon's Serrano Legacy books, particularly the first three which are grouped together into an Omnibus titled Heris Serrano. Bizarrely enough you might particularly enjoy these first three if you are into horse riding! They are light very easy reads; action, characters, space opera, and military though not really big wars and space battles. Possibly her Vatta stories as well though I don't think they are as good.

Possibly Mike Shepherd's Kris Longknife books - again space opera, some military, some more thriller, almost spy stories. Also he merrily introduces outlandish technology like "smart metal" that can be programmed without going into massive tech detail and gets away with it just fine, so definitely not hard SF. I have to say whilst great page turners the plots tend to be a little implausible. But so what if they're fun!

Possibly Bujold's Vorkosigan books, or at least the first couple of them Shards of Honor and Barrayar (again these two are available as one; Cordelia's Honor). These are space opera but not hard sf, action, military and romance. Again pretty light easy reading.

 

[Connavar]

Faded Sun series by CJ Cherryh
Takeshi Kovacs books,Black Man book by Richard Morgan
Demon Princes by Jack Vance

 

[Galacticdefender]

Ack, I don't read sci-fi so can't offer suggestions but... yours kinda felt like fantasy to me. I guess that's what space opera is though. Space fantasy.

Basically, I have nothing helpful to say.

GAH! No, space opera is not necessarily space fantasy. Revelation Space could even be considered Hard SF, and it is a space opera. Leviathan Wakes is most certainly not fantasy in space either.

Sorry for the rant, but when someone says something like that it just irritates the heck out of me, because I myself write fairly realistic space opera. It's a quite diverse subgenre, actually.

As for the OP... Leviathan Wakes is decent (I'm sure I'll get called out for saying that, but I enjoyed it, and people who like space opera will probably enjoy it as well.)