Generation Ships

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feralreason

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I'm looking for the best fiction and non-fiction books about generation ships and long-term enclosed habitats. On the fiction side, I'm especially interested in harder science fiction, with good engineering descriptions. Have you read a book about generation ships or long-term enclosed environments you liked?
 
On Steel Breeze is pretty good. I can think of other books that have that kind of stuff, but not really featuring generation ships.

I think the idea of generation ships fit with a time in SF when it seemed plausible that going to another solar system to live on a planet made sense. Given the richness of this solar system and the ability to build rotating space stations, I'm not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze anymore.
 
The Book of the Long Sun by Gene Wolfe. 4 novels, starting with Nightside of the Long Sun.

Wolfe is brilliant and these are very good. Some of his less-discussed novels. As one might expect from the author, these are not concerned with engineering.
 
Swank said:
On Steel Breeze is pretty good. I can think of other books that have that kind of stuff, but not really featuring generation ships.

I think the idea of generation ships fit with a time in SF when it seemed plausible that going to another solar system to live on a planet made sense. Given the richness of this solar system and the ability to build rotating space stations, I'm not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze anymore.
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Thanx - I'll take a look! You make a good point but actually my larger interest is in fully enclosed space habitats - whether they are going somewhere or not. Asimov called these SPOMEs and characterized them (in a 1966 paper) as a system which is dependent only on energy in and the means to expel waste heat. Whether that is a colony or a ship depends mainly on whether it has a 'soap-opera' of "going somewhere" :) I'm interested in seeing how that thinking/technology has evolved in the last 60 or so years.
 
Rendezvous With Rama has really excellent engineering details - though of course the 'generations' it is home to are not human ones. Clarke's sparse descriptions of how the object is constructed and what it looks like generated possibly the most vivid picture I have ever had of an alien-built spacecraft. We must work out for ourselves how Rama functions and what its purpose is, and it is this engagement of one's mind that makes the novel so fascinating. There is a powerful sense that the object uses engineering that follows the laws of physics but is beyond present human technology.
 
Orcadian said:
Rendezvous With Rama has really excellent engineering details - though of course the 'generations' it is home to are not human ones. Clarke's sparse descriptions of how the object is constructed and what it looks like generated possibly the most vivid picture I have ever had of an alien-built spacecraft. We must work out for ourselves how Rama functions and what its purpose is, and it is this engagement of one's mind that makes the novel so fascinating. There is a powerful sense that the object uses engineering that follows the laws of physics but is beyond present human technology.
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Ah - I read this in the '70s but forgot about it. Will take another look.
 
Greg Bear's Hull Zero Three was set on a Generation ship. I think it tried to lean toward the Horror spectrum of SF. I read it and thought that It was Okay. Rerminded me a lot of the film Pandorum.

A large chunk of Alistair Reynolds Chasm City told the story of Sky Haussman's past on a Generation ship. I really enjoyed this one and would recommended.
 
If you're reading the suggested novels for pleasure, then enjoy!

If you're doing it for research before writing an article or story, then the work being done on the Alcubierre Drive means we'll be able to travel at something like three-quarters of light speed in the not too distant future. This means 'generation ships' don't need to have generations live on them for getting to nearby stars.

As for enclosed spaces that are not generation ships, you might consider Alastair Reynolds' Century Rain.
 
Rodders said:
Greg Bear's Hull Zero Three was set on a Generation ship. I think it tried to lean toward the Horror spectrum of SF. I read it and thought that It was Okay. Rerminded me a lot of the film Pandorum.

A large chunk of Alistair Reynolds Chasm City told the story of Sky Haussman's past on a Generation ship. I really enjoyed this one and would recommended.
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Thanks - I'm a fan of Bear but never read this. Goes on my list!
 
Serendipity said:
If you're reading the suggested novels for pleasure, then enjoy!

If you're doing it for research before writing an article or story, then the work being done on the Alcubierre Drive means we'll be able to travel at something like three-quarters of light speed in the not too distant future. This means 'generation ships' don't need to have generations live on them for getting to nearby stars.

As for enclosed spaces that are not generation ships, you might consider Alastair Reynolds' Century Rain.
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My key interest is enclosed self-sustaining environments. "Generation ships" is just a larger, better populated genre to use to survey how other authors have thought about these types of environments. The Alcubierre Drive (judging from Wikipedia) looks quite interesting but is a bit further down the theoretical spectrum than my interests (and background - Engineering). I'm more interested in how current technology solutions may evolve over the next generation or two.

I see another Alastair Reynolds book was recommended by Rodders - so I'll definitely add "Century Rain" and "Chasm City"!

Thanx!
 
May I ask why you are surveying the not-so-scientific ramblings of SF writers on the topic?

Large environments in SF are usually backdrop, rather than the source of the action.
 
Alcubierre Drive? more like pink unicorn Science High Fantasy than anything hard SF. :LOL:

Anyway, have you come across the YouTube channel of Isaac Arthur? He describes his channel that "...focuses on exploring concepts in science with an emphasis on futurism and space exploration, along with a healthy dose of science fiction."


If you check up his playlists he has 24 videos under the 'Generation ships and Interstellar Colonisation". I can't vouch if they are exactly what you are looking for, but they are reasonably recent and I generally find his take on most things quite useful and interesting.

A fiction book that has generation ship and given that it was written by Kim Stanley Robinson, I would assume to be more hard SF and near-term feasible is Aurora. Again, can't vouch if it's any good, as I've not read it!
 
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Swank said:
May I ask why you are surveying the not-so-scientific ramblings of SF writers on the topic?

Large environments in SF are usually backdrop, rather than the source of the action.
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I agree with your second statement altho, to the best Sci Fi authors, the environment is also usually treated as a character. On the first question (maybe I'm just showing my age here), I consider most of the ramblings of Heinlein, Asimov and Arthur C. Clark to be reasonably scientific (include Andy Weir, Peter Watts and a few other modern folks in that group also.) There are certainly exceptions, but if you've read Asimov's "The Martian Way", forgiving a couple of flaws, it looks pretty scientifically accurate for something published in 1952.

So why sci fi ? (I read non-fiction too - but I use Goodreads to talk about that.) But Sci fi (many times) does a good job of describing problems humanity needs to solve and, sometimes, has flashes of prescience in the solutions it presents.

However - if your main question is why am I interested in enclosed, self-sustaining environments, that has more to do with my degree background, a recent World Economic Forum Global Risk report that I read, and just personal interest. (I'm trying to construct my reading list for the next few months - and really appreciate all the responses I'm getting)
 
Venusian Broon said:
Alcubierre Drive? more like pink unicorn Science High Fantasy than anything hard SF. :LOL:

Anyway, have you come across the YouTube channel of Isaac Arthur? He describes his channel that "...focuses on exploring concepts in science with an emphasis on futurism and space exploration, along with a healthy dose of science fiction."


If you check up his playlists he has 24 videos under the 'Generation ships and Interstellar Colonisation". I can't vouch if they are exactly what you are looking for, but they are reasonably recent and I generally find his take on most things quite useful and interesting.

A fiction book that has generation ship and given that it was written by Kim Stanley Robinson, I would assume to be more hard SF and near-term feasible is Aurora. Again, can't vouch if it's any good, as I've not read it!
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Thanks, I listened to the Audible sample of Aurora & they probably should choose something else to introduce this book. I did read Robinson's Martian trilogy and his "Ministry for the Future". I will probably try to get through Aurora too - because the story line seems right on target. Robinson doesn't move his narratives as fast as I would like. The pace is a lot more leisurely than say Andy Weir or the James S.A. Corey duo. I will check out Issac Arthur ! (As soon as I get some sleep.)

Thanks much! Hope things are well in Edinburgh.
 
feralreason said:
I agree with your second statement altho, to the best Sci Fi authors, the environment is also usually treated as a character. On the first question (maybe I'm just showing my age here), I consider most of the ramblings of Heinlein, Asimov and Arthur C. Clark to be reasonably scientific (include Andy Weir, Peter Watts and a few other modern folks in that group also.) There are certainly exceptions, but if you've read Asimov's "The Martian Way", forgiving a couple of flaws, it looks pretty scientifically accurate for something published in 1952.
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I didn't mean that they are inaccurate, but they really are scant on useful details about long term living spaces.

It would be interesting to read an SF novel which is the habitat version of Fountain of Paradise. The actual engineering or maintenance under normal circumstances, rather than what happens when there is a war or an impact.


Fun fact: The very first SF book I ever read was a children's novel when I was seven, featuring a rotating generation ship that was breaking down mid voyage. So it has always been a concept I have felt familiar with. But it also lacked any details about what was going on.
 
Swank said:
It would be interesting to read an SF novel which is the habitat version of Fountain of Paradise. The actual engineering or maintenance under normal circumstances, rather than what happens when there is a war or an impact.
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Can't help thinking it might be a little dull, and lack a certain amount of excitement?

"Day 178, Year 429. Woke up, had breakfast, went to work - checking suspension mountings on the second back-up Alcubierre warp drive units. Went home, ate, watched the holovee, bed."
"Day 179, Year 429. Woke up, had breakfast, went to work - checking suspension mountings on the second back-up Alcubierre warp drive units. Went home, ate, watched the holovee, bed."
"Day 180, Year 429. Woke up, had breakfast, went to work - checking suspension mountings on the second back-up Alcubierre warp drive units. Went home, ate, watched the holovee, bed."

​

 
Pyan said:
Can't help thinking it might be a little dull, and lack a certain amount of excitement?

"Day 178, Year 429. Woke up, had breakfast, went to work - checking suspension mountings on the second back-up Alcubierre warp drive units. Went home, ate, watched the holovee, bed."
"Day 179, Year 429. Woke up, had breakfast, went to work - checking suspension mountings on the second back-up Alcubierre warp drive units. Went home, ate, watched the holovee, bed."
"Day 180, Year 429. Woke up, had breakfast, went to work - checking suspension mountings on the second back-up Alcubierre warp drive units. Went home, ate, watched the holovee, bed."

​

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You could have a plot about the social changes on the ship that contrasts that change with the maintenance and mechanical events of keeping an enormous ship running. Just as the weather might provide the contrast to another sort of story.
 
feralreason said:
Thanks, I listened to the Audible sample of Aurora & they probably should choose something else to introduce this book. I did read Robinson's Martian trilogy and his "Ministry for the Future". I will probably try to get through Aurora too - because the story line seems right on target. Robinson doesn't move his narratives as fast as I would like. The pace is a lot more leisurely than say Andy Weir or the James S.A. Corey duo. I will check out Issac Arthur ! (As soon as I get some sleep.)

Thanks much! Hope things are well in Edinburgh.
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Yes he's a bit of a marmite author. It's been almost 30 years since I've read the Mars trilogy, which I remember liking, when I was but a fresh faced PhD student. Hence it being a heavy on science exposition rather than totally engrossing story didn't bother me too much. Today, my tastes have changed, although I found myself recently engrossed in another exposition heavy, heavily researching author, Neal Stephenson. A part of me is always going to be an idea-hungry scientist, I suppose. ;)

But I believe he spent time talking to working scientists at NASA when writing the book, so the tech and science ideas in the book would seem to fit your remit!

Edinburgh seems to have escaped most of the worst winter weather so far, so fingers crossed.

Cheers.
 
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