Any real science fiction books coming out before Xmas?

Serendipity

Serendipity

A Traditional Eccentric!
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Either I'm not looking in the right places (very probable) or there are hardly any real science fiction books being published before Christmas 2022. When I say real science fiction, I mean no fantasy included.

Can anyone please point me to some new books coming out?

(Otherwise I will turn into a were-cat and yowl my way through the universe!)
 
Terminal Peace by Jim C. Hines? Last book in a trilogy. Recently published.
Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Book 3. Publication date 24 November 2022.
Imperium Restored - Walter Jon Williams. Book 6 or something of a series.
Eyes of the Void by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Book 2 I think.
Upgrade by Blake Crouch

I haven't read any of the above.

Good luck. I've rarely come across standalone real science fiction novels lately.
 
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Many thanks Elentarri for the list - you've saved the universe from one heck of a cat yowl!

Jo - your comment is interesting. Does this mean traditional SF indie publishers are somehow undercutting the bigger publishers so they find it less profitable to publish this sub-genre?
 
Serendipity said:
Many thanks Elentarri for the list - you've saved the universe from one heck of a cat yowl!

Jo - your comment is interesting. Does this mean traditional SF indie publishers are somehow undercutting the bigger publishers so they find it less profitable to publish this sub-genre?
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No - self publishing for sci fi is stronger than in most genres (bar Romance, which has been in this place for ages) so there is a two way effect -

less trad sales means more reticent publishers, so less trad supply
- stronger authors choosing to self publish as there is good pay back


also the trad sf market has changed (driven in part by social media) so there are less ‘conventional‘ titles coming onto the lists and more of the likes of Becky Chambers and the more social sf elements. (No judgement from me on that, btw, I read all types)
there are a couple of fun John Scalzi‘s coming soon tho
 
Despite the robots, AI, the spaceships, the aliens and the future timeline, I don't consider Becky Chamber's novels to be science-fiction. I have no idea why. Maybe just because they don't feel very science-fictiony, but more contemporary chick-lit in space or something like that. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Jo Zebedee said:
No - self publishing for sci fi is stronger than in most genres (bar Romance, which has been in this place for ages) so there is a two way effect -

less trad sales means more reticent publishers, so less trad supply
- stronger authors choosing to self publish as there is good pay back


also the trad sf market has changed (driven in part by social media) so there are less ‘conventional‘ titles coming onto the lists and more of the likes of Becky Chambers and the more social sf elements. (No judgement from me on that, btw, I read all types)
there are a couple of fun John Scalzi‘s coming soon tho
Click to expand...

OK - let's work this through... you use the term 'trad SF' though I'm not 100% sure what traditional here means. My meaning of science fiction is fiction that uses real or reasonably postulated science to make the story work. (Yes, you can argue what reasonably postulated science actually is, but that is a debate for another thread.)

To my mind, in order for an indie to get sales the author would need to first publish something that has the familiar feel of being hardcore science fiction with maybe a slight variation included. That would get them noticed in the market place.

On the other hand a lot of science fiction writers want to write innovative SF (we are after all an intelligent bunch of people curious about the multiverse). So self publishing such SF without a track record of indie publishing means such innovative SF will not get a look in. Add to that that any fans of indie publisher to goes for the familiar feel SF for the initial publication expect more of the same. This means trad SF tends to be stuck in a rut.

This turns into a bit of self perpetuating feedback loop - with I would say no room for truly innovative SF. In the longer term, there is only so much trad SF that can be published before readers would lose interest in the sub genre.

The big publishers not publishing innovative SF adds to the problem.

So while trad SF might be successful now, I don't see a longer term future for it. Tell me I'm wrong, and why.
 
apologies, by trad I meant traditionally published, which means from an established publisher with an advance and available in bookshops. The genre or type of book doesn‘t matter.

whats happening in sci fi is a dominance of e reading and online purchasing which has undermined the volume of traditionally published books (But not the quality - what is published is often very good) - hence why Im suggesting for new sci fi to look to the self published market too.

Chuck Wendig has a new one coming out, btw. Looks good.
 
Thank you for your book suggestions. Being me, I checked dates etc. The list I'm left with for science fiction books to be published before Christmas is:

Imperium Restored Walter Jon WilliamsSep
Station EternityMur LaffertyOct
WaywardChuck WendigNov
Children of MemoryAdrian TchaikovskyNov

It really does seem appallingly short to me.
 
Serendipity said:
Thank you for your book suggestions. Being me, I checked dates etc. The list I'm left with for science fiction books to be published before Christmas is:

Imperium RestoredWalter Jon WilliamsSep
Station EternityMur LaffertyOct
WaywardChuck WendigNov
Children of MemoryAdrian TchaikovskyNov

It really does seem appallingly short to me.
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It is a bad time of the year for genre fiction - the best sellers is where all the focus is from now to Xmas from the big publishers
 
I have Children of Memory on preorder and will pick up a copy of Imperium Restored as I did enjoy his Praxis trilogy.
 
Rodders said:
I have Children of Memory on preorder
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I found the first two (well one and a half because I DNF it) to be very dragging and dreary.

I remember snarling at the characters "look, just get to the f***ing planet and land there!"

So I don't think I'll bother with the last one
 
The Adrian Tchaikovsky that I have read up to now has really impressed me, Danny. I haven't read any of this trilogy yet, but I am looking forward to it.
 
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