Looking for suggestions (modern sic-fi or fantasy)

[genogerian]

I am new to this forum. Glad it exists though. I am looking for some new books, if anyone could make a suggestion based on what I like, that would be amazing. I like longer books, and also enjoy trilogies. Here is a list of my favorite books and authors to give you all an idea of my taste. Thanks!

Peter F. Hamilton - Pandora's Star & Void books
Neal Asher - Spatterjay books
Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash, Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon
Mark Tufo - Zombie Fallout Books
Vernor Vinge - Rainbows End
Daniel Wilson - robopocalypse, robogenisis
George RR Martin - Song of Ice and Fire books


don't like
Enders Game books

Allistar Reynolds - not sure if I like, I read Revolutions Space, it was OK, but slow and unproductive.

 

[The Judge]

I can't think of anything similar off the top of my head, but I can well imagine you'll have a host of recommendations very quickly as everyone pushes his or her favourite author!

Meanwhile, I'll move this across to General Book Discussion -- Book Search is really for those poor souls who want to read/re-read a book but they can't recall the title, author's name or (usually) much of the plot!

 

[Vertigo]

If you like the Neal Asher's Spatterjay books I strongly recommend the rest of his Polity books (same universe, different settings). You can find recommended reading order here including posts from the man himself!

Also if you like Asher, I would recommend Ian M Banks. The Player of Games is often recommended as a good starting point for him.

If you like Neal Stephenson (I personally don't but never mind) then probably worth checking out other cyberpunk authors. My favourites are William Gibson (sort of goes without saying) and Jon Courtney Grimwood or maybe Charles Stross. Another possible is Rudy Rucker; though I've not read him he has a tetralogy known as the Ware Tetralogy. He even provides them as a free download; go to his page here The Ware Tetralogy, four novels by Rudy Rucker and scroll to the bottom. I have them to read so can't comment on them.

 

[Michael Colton]

Just based on some of your postcyberpunk mentions, have you read much William Gibson or Bruce Sterling? Both have moved away from cyberpunk and related themes in recent years, but their earlier work are classics of the genre (and in the case of Gibson, is often credited with structuring what the genre came to be defined as). That being said, they typically do not have the historical aspect of someone like Stephenson whom you mentioned. Rudy Rucker is another one, but I recommend finding examples of his work or a used copy very cheap to make sure his writing style does not repulse you. Not many people are neutral on him.

 

[genogerian]

Thanks all so far and thanks moderator for placing this in its proper location. This is a tough form, as it will be based off of many opinions. In response thus far,

Vertigo, I will look into the Banks book you recommended, believe it or not, I have yet to read any Ian M Banks. Also look into Rudy Rucker (i am listing these suggestions on a word doc). Thinking about it, what I liked about the Spatterjay novels, is the comedy aspect and robot point of views. (I have read the Hitchhikers Guide books and loved that comedy aspect). Off topic, I loved John Dies in the End and This book is full of spiders for its humor/scifi monster story. I started reading another book from Asher, the first book of the Owners Trilogy, but put it down for another time. I wasn't fond of it. I have for a while now, considered starting the Polity books Asher lists (via the link you provided).

Sodice, I have read Gibsons Neuromancer, and loved it when i was young, but at this point, at least to me, his cyberpunk stories are dated. I enjoy high technology stories now. I have not read Bruce Sterling, and will look into him, do you recommend a specific title?
I recently read Ready Player One and loved it. A bit silly but a good book.

I forgot to mention the Wool books, I really liked them. Post apacolyptic is becoming one of my favorite genres

 

[genogerian]

Also, I am at work now, lol. I am a package designer so I am able to spend the day plugged into my headphones. I listen to audio books during the day. If anyone knows good ones, let me know please. Thanks!

 

[J-Sun]

Agree with the Polity and the Sterling (and also Gibson) and also agree that Rucker could very easily be off-putting to some, while appealing to others. (He sort of does both at the same time for me - in an "and" sense and not in a "neutral" sense.) As far as what, the Ware books are famous and highly regarded but I only like the first one, while the second one has a fantastic bit in it but doesn't work as a whole. The third one is the worst by far and, while the fourth one is better than it, just doesn't really rescue the series as a series. But the first one, as a (pretty short, actually) single novel, is excellent. Also really liked Spacetime Donuts, White Light, and Master of Time and Space. MOTOS might be the smoothest entry-point though perhaps White Light is the Ruckeriest.

Additional: if you liked the Vinge and like long books and seem to like space opera-ish stuff, then you must read the "Zones" stuff if you haven't - A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky and, hopefully, Children of the Sky. That last has been sitting on my shelf for a year or so and response to it has been much more tepid so I dunno. But the first two are definitely amazing.

Also maybe give Stephen Baxter's Xeelee books a whirl.

And C.J. Cherryh, especially the Merchanter/Alliance and/or Chanur books for you.

 

[J-Sun]

If you like funny, you may like Rucker, as he goes for funny. I don't guess I read much funny SF but Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat books and his Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers singleton are really funny.

I don't know Howey but I relatively recently read Jack McDevitt's Eternity Road which is post-collapse - but I don't know if you like Mad Max kind of bleak violent post-apocalypse or if you like more hopeful rebuilding post-apocalypse or what. The McDevitt is pretty gentle.

For Sterling, if you have any interest in short fiction, there's Crystal Express and all his other collections - some of the stories in CE tie into his Schismatrix novel. Otherwise, maybe Islands in the Net, Holy Fire, The Zenith Angle, etc.

I didn't care for Asher's Owner stories as much as the other stuff, myself. But the Polity stuff is great to me. Cowl is a sort of time-travel war standalone which had some great stuff in it and, again, I like his short fiction, a lot of which is Polity.

 

[Michael Colton]

Sodice, I have read Gibsons Neuromancer, and loved it when i was young, but at this point, at least to me, his cyberpunk stories are dated. I enjoy high technology stories now. I have not read Bruce Sterling, and will look into him, do you recommend a specific title?

If a book being dated concerns you, then most of the Mirrorshades group's first movement of cyberpunk will also feel dated. This includes Sterling's early work that, alongside Gibson, largely defined what came to be known as cyberpunk. If the dated aspect is a concern, then I would recommend sticking with postcyberpunk. Bruce Sterling's Holy Fire is often considered one of the major postcyberpunk novels. It was published in 1996, so the dated aspect will not be quite as drastic as the Mirrorshades 1980's work.

Generally speaking, if someone has a difficult time with the dated aspect of the cyberpunk classics then I would start investigating the derivative subgenres that came out of cyberpunk: nanopunk, slipstream, and biopunk. The current penultimate example of biopunk is Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl - do not let the popularity of it turn you off, it is worth the read in my opinion.

If you enjoy short stories or simply want a very efficient way of being introduced to authors within these subgenres, there are two excellent anthologies to look at: Mirrorshades (edited by Bruce Sterling) and Rewired. The first is a cyberpunk anthology, the second a postcyberpunk anthology.

The last advice I would give when it comes to cyberpunk and its derivatives is to remember that these subgenres are very thematic in nature. Because of this, each author can have widely different interpretations of those themes but still be considered within the particular subgenre. If you do not like a particular author's use of a theme try not to let it put you off to the theme itself by extrapolating it to other authors. They will handle it differently. For example, some folks have criticized biopunk itself because they disliked Bacigalupi's handling of it in The Windup Girl. The themes involved in biopunk extend far beyond the most famous example of it.

 

[Darkchild130]

I enjoyed most of the novels on your list. If you are up for a military (well mercenary) style post cyberpunk type story (purely from a high tech/low society angle) then I'd suggest the veteran by Gavin Smith, and it's sequel, war in heaven.

I loved both of these books

 

[genogerian]

The current penultimate example of biopunk is Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl - do not let the popularity of it turn you off, it is worth the read in my opinion.The Windup Girl. The themes involved in biopunk extend far beyond the most famous example of it.

THANK YOU, and this comment jogs my memory. I LOVED The Windup Girl. So this is BioPunk sub-genre? That is a great clue Thank you. I did like the dystopian future in the windup girl, the multiple character perspectives and the excellent writing. I liked the author's writing so much I immediately went out to purchase Ship Breakers by him. I hated it though...

Can you recommend a book (based similar in genre and style to The windup Girl?) Thanks! sorry for hounding you. I appreciate everyone's input so much.

 

[genogerian]

"Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat
"Harry Harrison's Stainless Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers"

Awesome thanks! these added to list!

"Jack McDevitt's Eternity Road"
I will need to look into this, I have heard the title before Thanks!

 

[genogerian]

I enjoyed most of the novels on your list. If you are up for a military (well mercenary) style post cyberpunk type story (purely from a high tech/low society angle) then I'd suggest the veteran by Gavin Smith, and it's sequel, war in heaven.

I loved both of these books

Thanks! I am looking into this now (while at work).

 

[Michael Colton]

THANK YOU, and this comment jogs my memory. I LOVED The Windup Girl. So this is BioPunk sub-genre? That is a great clue Thank you. I did like the dystopian future in the windup girl, the multiple character perspectives and the excellent writing. I liked the author's writing so much I immediately went out to purchase Ship Breakers by him. I hated it though...

Can you recommend a book (based similar in genre and style to The windup Girl?) Thanks! sorry for hounding you. I appreciate everyone's input so much.

Most of the biopunk I have read is in short story form, so I do not have one off the top of my head. When I have asked others similar questions, many refer me to Neal Shusterman's Unwind but I have yet to read it because of some reservations I have of authors associated with YA.

 

[genogerian]

Thanks all! Huge help! this forum is great!

 

[genogerian]

Most of the biopunk I have read is in short story form, so I do not have one off the top of my head. When I have asked others similar questions, many refer me to Neal Shusterman's Unwind but I have yet to read it.

Nice! Thanks! A good one I had read a few months ago was SEED, Rob Ziegler. Kind of a cool post apacolyptic bio-punk story.