Long sci-fi adventure novels with rich characterisations

[BT Jones]

Hi all. I'm looking for books that are long and / or immersive and character driven. This is partially because I am still looking for something to engage me and actually allow me to follow through a read a book cover to cover (failing spectacularly on that front).

At the same time, I am looking to find writes / publishers / agents that publish books in a similar vein to what I am working on, so that perhaps I might be able to send some feelers out to see if they are interested in my work (I suppose this part of the question should be in the 'publishing' forum).

I'm generally looking for something a little out there, with quirky characters, and a bit of mystery, exoticism where everything (events and characters) get given the time and space to breath.

Hopefully someone knows what I am talking about.

 

[The Judge]

Do you mind how old the books are? It's just in view of your second paragraph you might want to add a rider that you're looking for novels published within the last 10-15 years, so as to give you a better feel for the current market as well as publishers, otherwise you're likely to be inundated with the usual suspects given you suggestions dating back to the 50s -- older novels might be good, but their relevance to current publishing might be more problematic.

I've not personally read Jo's Abendau series, but she's a character-driven writer, so starting there wouldn't be a bad idea.

Meanwhile, this isn't a Book Search matter, which is for members trying to recall the name and author of books read previously, so I'll move it over to Book Discussion.

 

[Brian G Turner]

The trouble with these kinds of threads is that members simply end up recommending their favorite novels, rather than think about what might be most suitable for your needs.

In that regard, I would still repeat my previous recommendations, simply because these are engaging modern SF novels.

The Martian by Andy Weir - great survival story set on Mars
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - best selling novel about immerse gaming

Then there are classic SF books which are just as readable now and probably should be the staple of any SF writer, such as:

Dune by Frank Herbert
Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

to start with. Alternatively, if the Heinlein is a bit hard to read, Scalzi's Old Man's War is quite derivative of it.

 

[tobl]

Hi all. I'm looking for books that are long and / or immersive and character driven. This is partially because I am still looking for something to engage me and actually allow me to follow through a read a book cover to cover (failing spectacularly on that front).

At the same time, I am looking to find writes / publishers / agents that publish books in a similar vein to what I am working on, so that perhaps I might be able to send some feelers out to see if they are interested in my work (I suppose this part of the question should be in the 'publishing' forum).

I'm generally looking for something a little out there, with quirky characters, and a bit of mystery, exoticism where everything (events and characters) get given the time and space to breath.

Hopefully someone knows what I am talking about.

patrick rothfuss kingkiller chronicles
peter v brett - the warded man

 

[The Judge]

patrick rothfuss kingkiller chronicles
peter v brett - the warded man

Those are both surely fantasy, and BTJ specifically asked for sci-fi.

 

[Elckerlyc]

I'm thinking Dan Simmons.
Books like the duo set Ilium + Olympus and Drood. Also The Terror, which was made into an excellent TV-series. The last 2 are more horror-ish, based on historical events.
And Robert Charles Wilson. But I wouldn't call his novels immersive.




(note to self. That was not really all that helpful...)

 

[tinkerdan]

Despite those who hate his later works, I think that most of Heinlein's later works fall in this category.

• I Will Fear No Evil, 1970
• Time Enough for Love, 1973—Nebula Award nominated, 1973
• Job: A Comedy of Justice, 1984—Nebula Award nominee, 1984
• The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, 1985
• To Sail Beyond the Sunset, 1987

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Ian McDonald’s Luna series might be worth a look at. Recent, expansive, character driven. In a similar vein, Tchaikovsky’s Children Of series is good although the second is more character led than the first, and Becky Chambers is worth a look at.

 

[tobl]

Those are both surely fantasy, and BTJ specifically asked for sci-fi.

yeah sorry didn't noticed the sci-fi part just novelization and carachter driven.... lets see
ark royal series - christopher g nutall
honor harrington - david weber
jack campbell - lost fleet series
raymond l weil - various
i guess for start it will do

 

[The Judge]

I'm thinking Dan Simmons.
Books like ... Drood.

Crikey! I never thought I'd meet anyone who would recommend this for anything, not even insomnia!

A word of warning, BTJ, before rushing out and buying Drood. Firstly, I wouldn't class it as SF, but there is horror there as Elckerlyc says, and secondly though I was warned it was long and boring, I hadn't realised just how long and quite how boring... It's a tour of Dickens's last years of life, as related by his best friend and apparent worst enemy, Wilkie Collins ,and I found the opium-induced nightmare visions of an ancient Egyptian cult and its underworld city beneath London only marginally more interesting than the immensely detailed biographies and activities of Dickens and Collins, as Simmons has a fixation with telling us the minutiae of their (and their family's, friends', acquaintances', enemies') life, work, parties, interests, health, hates etc etc. It was at times interesting and inventive, but even as a reflection of Wilkie Collins's verbosity and hubris as narrator, and Simmons's homage to Victorian-length writing, to my mind it was far too long to sustain the conceit. My overall view was that inside a grossly bloated book there was a slim intelligent, interesting novel desperately trying to get out.

I've got Illium and Olympos in my TBR pile, so I can't comment on them, but if you're happy with older work then Simmons' Hyperion (1989) and Fall of Hyperion (1990) are stunning examples of imagination and world-building and both are character-driven and very immersive reads, though I was slightly disappointed with the end of the latter.

 

[Elckerlyc]

You're quite right about Drood! I thought it was just me. And it was character driven, so... Apparently, that's not always a recommendation, when it depends on the character involved!
His novel The Fifth Heart suffers from the some problem. That one I DNF.
Simmons' SF novels are so different!

 

[hitmouse]

Almost anything by Iain M Banks.

 

[Rodders]

A second for Iain M. Banks, although they might not be as long as you want. They are between 400 and 600 pages.

Alistair Reynolds Revelation Space got accused of poor characterisation, but I loved it and it’s a cracking story. Try Chasm City First. It’s the most accessible of the books and it gives you a good feel for his RS universe.

Dune is a great shout. Possibly one of the most ideas dense books I have read.

Stephen King’s The Stand has some wonderful characterisation and it’s over 1000 pages. It’s a post apocalypse story taking place after a plague has wiped out most of humanity. So relevant in these times.

 

[BT Jones]

Do you mind how old the books are? It's just in view of your second paragraph you might want to add a rider that you're looking for novels published within the last 10-15 years, so as to give you a better feel for the current market as well as publishers, otherwise you're likely to be inundated with the usual suspects given you suggestions dating back to the 50s -- older novels might be good, but their relevance to current publishing might be more problematic.

I've not personally read Jo's Abendau series, but she's a character-driven writer, so starting there wouldn't be a bad idea.

Meanwhile, this isn't a Book Search matter, which is for members trying to recall the name and author of books read previously, so I'll move it over to Book Discussion.

Okay, thanks. And, yes, probably modernish stuff is preferable. I suppose no older than, what, 35 years?

The trouble with these kinds of threads is that members simply end up recommending their favorite novels, rather than think about what might be most suitable for your needs.

In that regard, I would still repeat my previous recommendations, simply because these are engaging modern SF novels.

The Martian by Andy Weir - great survival story set on Mars
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline - best selling novel about immerse gaming

Then there are classic SF books which are just as readable now and probably should be the staple of any SF writer, such as:

Dune by Frank Herbert
Enders Game by Orson Scott Card
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

to start with. Alternatively, if the Heinlein is a bit hard to read, Scalzi's Old Man's War is quite derivative of it.

Yeah, loved the Martian movie and quite enjoyed RP1 too. Thanks, I will move these to the top of my list. Dune is really one I should try and give a go to as well.

Crikey! I never thought I'd meet anyone who would recommend this for anything, not even insomnia!

A word of warning, BTJ, before rushing out and buying Drood. Firstly, I wouldn't class it as SF, but there is horror there as Elckerlyc says, and secondly though I was warned it was long and boring, I hadn't realised just how long and quite how boring... It's a tour of Dickens's last years of life, as related by his best friend and apparent worst enemy, Wilkie Collins ,and I found the opium-induced nightmare visions of an ancient Egyptian cult and its underworld city beneath London only marginally more interesting than the immensely detailed biographies and activities of Dickens and Collins, as Simmons has a fixation with telling us the minutiae of their (and their family's, friends', acquaintances', enemies') life, work, parties, interests, health, hates etc etc. It was at times interesting and inventive, but even as a reflection of Wilkie Collins's verbosity and hubris as narrator, and Simmons's homage to Victorian-length writing, to my mind it was far too long to sustain the conceit. My overall view was that inside a grossly bloated book there was a slim intelligent, interesting novel desperately trying to get out.

I've got Illium and Olympos in my TBR pile, so I can't comment on them, but if you're happy with older work then Simmons' Hyperion (1989) and Fall of Hyperion (1990) are stunning examples of imagination and world-building and both are character-driven and very immersive reads, though I was slightly disappointed with the end of the latter.

Okay, thanks @The Judge, I will look up those too. Hmmm, an ominous warning about dark, hellish visions. My WIP opens with a 4,500 word vision of hell by a delusional amnesiac waking up from a ?long? sleep. I got it down from 7,500 words but I'm still utterly convinced that it works and is necessary. Only 1 or the 3 Beta readers appreciated it though.

A second for Iain M. Banks, although they might not be as long as you want. They are between 400 and 600 pages.

Alistair Reynolds Revelation Space got accused of poor characterisation, but I loved it and it’s a cracking story. Try Chasm City First. It’s the most accessible of the books and it gives you a good feel for his RS universe.

Dune is a great shout. Possibly one of the most ideas dense books I have read.

Stephen King’s The Stand has some wonderful characterisation and it’s over 1000 pages. It’s a post apocalypse story taking place after a plague has wiped out most of humanity. So relevant in these times.

Thanks, @Rodders,I will add these to the review list too. What's the general conversion of pages to word count?

 

[williamjm]

For character-driven science fiction my first thought is Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga. Admittedly the individual books are not particularly long but there are 16 of them so it does add up.

On the other hand if you did really want to prioritise length then Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn Trilogy or Commonwealth Saga do tend to approach 1000 pages for most of the novels. However, I wouldn't say characterisation is necessarily his strength.

 

[BAYLOR]

Mars by Ben Bova

 

[KiraAnn]

For fairly recent series, there are Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta’s War and David Drake’s Leary series.

For older books, I like Poul Anderson’s Van Rijn and Dominic Flandry series. Both are in the same setting but a thousand years between. Flandry is a James Bond type while Van Rijn is a “merchant prince” type.

 

[BAYLOR]

A Fire Upon The Deep by Verner Vinge would also qualify in this category as would Dan Simmons Hyperion

 

[Rodders]

Not science fiction but i'd like to throw these into the mix.

Stephen King's IT is an absolute classic as far as i am concerned when it comes to characterisation. I felt these guys were my friends.

Another long book from Dan Simmons is Carrion Comfort. Over 1, 000 pages long and i remember the concept being pretty interesting.

Swann Song by Robert R. McCammon. A great story set after a good old fashioned nuclear apocalypse.

I adored Clive Barker's Weaveworld. A beautiful written and imagined story. This one i'd even go as far as to recommend. The inhabitants of the fugue are an interesting bunch.

 

[Garfunkel]

I haven't finished it yet, but I think Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shards of Earth would be a good fit. It's the first in a trilogy and the second book is out in April, with the final book likely arriving next year.