this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2023
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Science Fiction

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December book club canceled. Short stories instead!

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Lemmy World Rules

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I'm currently reading the Wool omnibus by Hugh Howey. It's pretty decent I've been making very rapid progress as it's been too hot to sleep here recently now the summer has arrived.

I haven't seen the Apple show, but maybe I'll watch it in the future when I've finished all the books (I had Shift and Dust as well).

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[–] FatLegTed@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (9 children)

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. Was a recommendation on the R site.

Complex, eon spanning, hard sci-fi. I'm loving it!

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[–] LamerTex@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

I'm rereading Asimov's complete saga in "internal story chronological order":

  1. I, Robot / The Complete Robot (except 'Mirror Image'!) [ROBOTS]

  2. The Caves of Steel [ROBOTS]

  3. The Naked Sun [ROBOTS]

  4. Mirror Image (short story) [ROBOTS]

  5. The Robots of Dawn [ROBOTS]

  6. Robots and Empire [ROBOTS]

  7. The Stars, Like Dust-- [EMPIRE]

  8. The Currents of Space [EMPIRE]

  9. Pebble in the Sky [EMPIRE]

  10. Prelude to Foundation [FOUNDATION]

  11. Forward the Foundation [FOUNDATION]

  12. Foundation [FOUNDATION]

  13. Foundation and Empire [FOUNDATION]

  14. Second Foundation [FOUNDATION]

  15. Foundation's Edge [FOUNDATION]

  16. Foundation and Earth [FOUNDATION]

I'm currently on "Forward the foundation"

[–] Narauko@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

The Foundation series is absolutely amazing, and I am jealous of you if this is your first reading. One of my formative series growing up. You're inspiring me to do the whole Asimov read through like your doing, because I don't believe I ever read the Empire books and never read Robot beyond I, Robot.

[–] FantasticFox@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm surprised The Caves of Steel is so early as it seemed really futuristic compared to most of The Complete Robot, but I read it a long time ago so maybe I'm not remembering correctly.

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[–] jetsetdorito@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I'm really trying to read Three Body Problem, but I'm having a hard time following

[–] k0nserv@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Stick with it. I loved the series, but the first book is unfortunately the most confusing and, in my opinion, the worst of the three.

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[–] ReallyKinda@kbin.social 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Working my way through some Hugo winners past— reading A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M Miller.

[–] CylonBunny@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I really liked Canticle, but I really felt like it suffered from being a fix-up novel. It’s three acts are not equal and don’t totally fit together in my opinion. It really starts off strong though! Hope you like it!

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[–] w3dd1e@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Wool was great. And the show was good too. You can basically watch the first season after finishing Wool, if you’d like.

I’m reading He Who Fights With Monsters but I’m going to dig through this thread and find a good scifi novel to read next!

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[–] paper_clip@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I've been working through The Expanse books, and have just started Leviathan Falls.

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[–] clucking_sliver@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

Reading Noor right now. Very enjoyable and it will be quick read.

[–] cetvrti_magi@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

"The complete robot" by Isaac Asimov.

[–] FantasticFox@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Those are some of my favourite stories. Although if I remember correctly, it contains the short story version of The Bicentennial Man and you may wish to read the novella version instead which he wrote later, having developed the story some more.

[–] CuriousLibrarian@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I listened to the 2nd and 3rd books of the Murderbot series on a car ride recently. I had read them before, but it was the first time that he did. I really enjoyed laughing with him.

[–] rephlekt2718@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Not science fiction, but I’m loving Carl Sagans “The Demon-Haunted World”. He really was a brilliant dude.

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[–] warriorpriest@kbin.social 3 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. Book 3 in the Words of Radiance series.

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[–] cdipierr@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I have a couple things on deck:

  • Light from Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki - I've seen this one recommended several times, and finally decided to give it a spin.
  • 36 Streets - T.R. Napper - A more niche title, but something to hopefully give me a bit of a noir fix.
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[–] rizo@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Just ended with 'Children of Time' by Adrian Tchaikovsky and will now start 'Children of Ruin' (the second in the series). I liked it a lot,... the gist of it:

  • Humans terraform planets
  • Humans want 'crispr' intelligent apes
  • Humans kill each other
  • Crispr can't find apes,.. uses spiders instead
  • Other Humans come eons later and find intelligent spiders

The story is told through the eyes of the spiders and the surviving humans and how they try to communicate, think in different terms, fight for the last habitable planet,....

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[–] MagpieRhymes@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I’m working my way through both the Murderbot Diaries (just started Network Effect) and the Rivers of London series (just finished Broken Homes, though this series is more urban fantasy). Both and very enjoyable!

[–] OldFartPhil@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The murderbot stories get so much praise but I was never able to get into them. I binge read (well, actually binge listened) to the Rivers of London books a few months ago and thought they were first-rate.

I just finished the new Ann Leckie book, Translation State, which I liked very much. If you couldn't get enough of the the Imperial Radch universe it's a must read.

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[–] allalae@orcas.enjoying.yachts 3 points 1 year ago

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine.

I really loved the first book in the series, A Memory Called Empire, but I find the second one harder to get through. The writing really gets into the protagonist's head, and with all the stress she's in, it gets... claustrophobic, I guess, for me. I wish there was a bit more focus on the plot about the cool mysterious aliens.

[–] Ranolden@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Surface Detail, and The State of the Art by Iain M Banks. Been on a Culture bend recently. Excession is next on my list

[–] FantasticFox@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I read The Player of Games and it was good. I also read Consider Phleblas and while it was very different to Player Of Games I didn't think it was as bad as some people say.

Apparently Use of Weapons is also really good so I should go back to that series. The whole Culture thing is really interesting.

[–] Ranolden@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Do people dislike Consider Phlebas? The story is a bit more straightforward than the others, but it does a good job introducing the setting. And that train battle at the end

[–] Dracona@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

More fantasy, but reading the Abhorson series by Garth Nix. Excellent series.

[–] fl3tching101@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Currently reading Foundation and Earth by Asimov, I absolutely loved the original trilogy so I’ve been reading through the sequels and plan on going back to the prequels after. In my opinion the sequels have a big shift in pacing and sort of the way that the plot develops… not sure how I feel about that. On one hand it is easier to keep up with with less characters, but on the other it feels like the scale of things is much smaller. Trying to not spoil anything. The series is a fantastic read nevertheless!

[–] FantasticFox@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I've only read the original Foundation trilogy, would you recommend the others?

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[–] varjen@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

I'm currently nostalgia-reading Robert Rankin's Dance Of The Voodoo Handbag but that's more far fetched fiction than sci-fi. Silly, entertaining and lots of tall tales. I'm also reading The Quantum Magician by Derek Künsken. I was hoping for it to be the start of a good series of books to read over the summer but it's not very good. I will probably not bother with the rest of the series.

[–] DLBPointon@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

After being a sci-fi nerd for a long time, I want to read through some of the classics that inspire it. So I'm reading The Epic of Gilgamesh, with Lucian's true history next.

Sounds pretentious I know but it's pretty cool seeing where some stuff originated from.

Anyone have any I should add the the list then let me know.

[–] FantasticFox@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

I guess Frankenstein if you haven't already read it. It's just a really good book in it's own right too.

[–] Leap@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Just finished Inversions by Iain M Banks. Classic series. Stupendous world building.

[–] Tenthrow@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Wild book. 3rd in the series. Not finished yet but the first two were incredible.

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[–] needthosepylons@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

Just finished The Dispossessed, by Ursula Le Guin and going to look for a library where I can buy the next book in the Hain cycle !

[–] OogieBoogieMan@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Currently reading The Frugal Wizard’s Guidebook to Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson. Interesting mix of Sci-Fi and Fantasy

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[–] torres@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I'm currently reading The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott. It's part of the High Republic saga of Star Wars, and I'm really enjoying it so far :D

It was quite a challenge to read a book in English for the first time with Light of the Jedi (the first book of the series). But I feel like I've gotten way better and can now understand more while reading faster.

After this, I'm planning on reading The Prince of Milk by Exurb1a. Which I have wanted to read for a long time.

[–] skeswo320@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I'm currently reading Chibola Burn, the forth book in The Expanse series. Really enjoying it, specially since the third one was my least favorite of the first three. So it feels good to be loving a book in the series again.

I would recommend the series to fans of somewhat believable sci-fi.

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[–] k0nserv@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I recently finished Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and Wool by Hugh Howey, currently reading Shift. We had the Silo trilogy in our bookshelf for years, but it was only after watching the Apple TV show I decided to read it.

I have a somewhat newfound low for hard sci-fi and would love any recommendations folks have.

[–] FantasticFox@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Have you read The Expanse series? That's incredible.

I recommend the TV show too as it is different in some ways and the cast is absolutely amazing (genuinely one of the best sci-fi shows ever made).

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[–] VAparicio@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Currently I'm reading the Space Odyssey series by Arthur C. Clark

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[–] lawrence@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I am currently reading "Wool - Silo, book 1" by Hugh Howey. It's an incredible post-apocalyptic story about a fully functioning society that resides inside a massive silo. Nobody can venture outside due to the toxic environment outside that make survival impossible, even with protective clothing.

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[–] dominiquec@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I DNFed Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan. I had high hopes because the concept was reminiscent of Philip K Dick's stories but I found the book to be a confusing slog with characters seemingly pulled from nowhere and with the plot muddling along with coincidences and revelations. There are a few gems of ideas in there, just takes too long to unpack.

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[–] Collard@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Just started "The City We Became" by N.K. Jemisen. It took a minute for me to get my bearings, but I'm really digging the concept

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[–] szczur@szmer.info 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Roadside Picnic by brothers Strugatsky.

It's really fun, with a cool premise. It's a classic though. Basically: Aliens come to Earth for a fraction of second and dump their garbage there. The places of impact are basically turned into paranormal zones and people are actively trying to scavenge the wonders of the civilisation so alien to us we couldn't even catch a glimpse of what they are.

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[–] Izzy@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm almost done the Lords of Uncreation which is book 3 of The Final Architecture. Quite the epic space opera. Then I will pick up Wool as season 1 of the TV series will be concluded.

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