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I'm after some 'grounded' sci-fi... the literary equivalent of Sunshine's first half (before it becomes shit), or Moon, or the non-prehistoric parts of 2001: A Space Odyssey. It doesn't have to be scientifically accurate to a fault. Nor does it have to be full of technobabble. I'm looking for a yarn with a general feeling of authenticity, i.e. 1) not set in 100'000 years in the future during an intergalactic civil war with the Empire of Glerg or some shit, and 2) without any convoluted space politics. For example: two astronauts are on a spacewalk to repair a damaged solar panel on the International Space Station. They discover the source of the damage: a strange object. FROM THE FUTURE! (ignore that last part) Or... some guy is working the night shift at a SETI observatory. Suddenly, one of the computers picks up a mysterious signal: a rhythmic pulse spelling out a cryptic series of letters: FHUTA I just pulled that out of my arse, obviously, but you get the idea. |
Recommend me a hard sci-fi
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sirtacos 8,279 posts
Seen 4 months ago
Registered 14 years ago -
RyanDS 14,073 posts
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Registered 13 years agoThe mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson -
itamae 10,213 posts
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Registered 19 years agoRendevouz with Rama, by Arthur C Clarke. You're welcome. -
Tonka 31,979 posts
Seen 3 hours ago
Registered 18 years agoRyanDS wrote:
This
The mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson -
Moot_Point 5,530 posts
Seen 5 years ago
Registered 9 years agoDune. The end. -
sirtacos 8,279 posts
Seen 4 months ago
Registered 14 years agoDune? Hard sci-fi?
Thanks for the other recs though. -
Blindsight by Peter Watts -
wysie 82 posts
Seen 6 days ago
Registered 19 years agoRevelation space by Alastair Reynolds -
orpheus 1,867 posts
Seen 2 months ago
Registered 13 years agoSuperLlamaFarmer wrote:
Absolutely this - you can even read the whole thing free online - but it is very hard sci-fi. The actual story, and the ideas behind it literally blew my mind.
Blindsight by Peter Watts
Additionally, the Hyperion Quartet by Dan Simmons is amazing if you want a larger series to get through (omnibus editions are well worth it). Pretty much anything by Alastair Reynolds (my favourite sci-fi author of all time); start with Revelation Space (first part of a loose trilogy), Pushing Ice (standalone), or House of Suns (standalone). -
Asimov's Robot Series and iRobot (it's nothing like the film) might fit the bill, they're not really heavy of the techno-nonsense, more about the psychology and characters within a sci-fi setting.
I did read them a while ago though, so may not be remembering them entirely accurately. -
sirtacos 8,279 posts
Seen 4 months ago
Registered 14 years agoLove Asimov, but I think I've gone through most of his stuff already.
His Robot series was by far my favourite. The Complete Robot in particular (definitive collection of his robot-related short stories).
And yeah, you're right - Asimov is usually light on technocrap and focuses mostly on character. Which is how it should be done IMO. -
The latest Peter F Hamilton is a real return to form. Is quite a good crime novel in addition to the sci-fi trappings. -
The Rama books are all excellent as has already been mentioned. The City and the Stars is also a good read.
If you can get hold of a copy (good luck) of Tuf Voyaging that's one of my favourite Martin books. Slaughter House Five is excellent too and at the very soft end of the sci-fi spectrum. -
Rendezvous with Rama does sound ideal, I'd recommend it too.
Talking about it, anyone seen the student trailer production of it on YouTube, looks amazing. -
spamdangled 31,803 posts
Seen 3 days ago
Registered 13 years agoWould Altered Carbon count?
If not, read it anyway. It's amazing.
Edited by darkmorgado at 17:44:09 17-11-2012 -
AaronTurner wrote:
Don't bother with the sequels though. Only co-written by Clarke and take the series off in a direction that to me doesn't seem right from the classic original book.
Rendezvous with Rama does sound ideal, I'd recommend it too. -
meat_potatoe 85 posts
Seen 6 years ago
Registered 10 years agoMaturin wrote:
Is that the great north road? The kindle version is currently £2.40 on amazon.
The latest Peter F Hamilton is a real return to form. Is quite a good crime novel in addition to the sci-fi trappings. -
meat_potatoe wrote:
Yes. That's the one.
Maturin wrote:
Is that the great north road? The kindle version is currently £2.40 on amazon.
The latest Peter F Hamilton is a real return to form. Is quite a good crime novel in addition to the sci-fi trappings. -
meat_potatoe 85 posts
Seen 6 years ago
Registered 10 years agoBargain! -
Certainly is. Kindle version cost me a tenner a few weeks ago on release. -
Kilters 658 posts
Seen 2 hours ago
Registered 18 years agoBlindsight is the best hard scifi I've read in quite a while.
The Gap series by Stephen Donaldson is excellent.
Peter F Hamilton is very enjoyable as well.
Charles Stross accelerando is good intro into his work and free online. Smart ideas.
Stephen baxter is very hardcore. -
phAge 25,487 posts
Seen 3 weeks ago
Registered 18 years agoKovacs series by Richard Morgan are quite nice and pretty hard sci-fi. -
disusedgenius 10,677 posts
Seen 2 days ago
Registered 14 years agoOuroborus Wave is pretty interesting and readable hard sci-fi as well.
Oh, and Forever War is an oldie but a goodie.
Edited by disusedgenius at 19:16:12 17-11-2012 -
@Maturin Agree that there's a dip after the first book yet I really, really enjoyed The Garden of Rama in a pulpy, trashy sort of way. Rama Revealed is a bit of a trudge too but worth it for the pay-off of the events just prior to Nicole's death, her being given privileged access to other species etc.
It's not the most sophisticated 'humanity' sci-fi series I've ever read, but I think whatever charm each book has is unique to itself.
I was sad for the series to end but I also know there's a fair bit of nostalgia clouding my judgement now - they were some of the first sci-fi books I read as a nipper, which is always dodgy territory when it comes to recommendations.
Edited by Bedders at 19:14:30 17-11-2012
Edited by Bedders at 19:19:56 17-11-2012 -
sirtacos wrote:
Good stuff, I should myself read more of that series. I can't think of anything else to recommend right now.
Love Asimov, but I think I've gone through most of his stuff already.
His Robot series was by far my favourite. The Complete Robot in particular (definitive collection of his robot-related short stories).
And yeah, you're right - Asimov is usually light on technocrap and focuses mostly on character. Which is how it should be done IMO.
As for Hamilton, he's good at creating massive interconnected universes and has some interesting concepts but I'd say his actual stories and characters are a bit weak. After reading a few too many of his books I decided I'd finish the Void books (since I'd started) but stop there. So perhaps he has improved but personally I'd struggle to recommend him, especially for this thread. -
nickthegun 87,711 posts
Seen 5 hours ago
Registered 16 years agoThe xeelee sequence by Stephen banter. A dozen books of diamond hard scifi. -
BTW, here's the link for Blindsight:
http://www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm
Do read the end-notes, some absolutely fascinating stuff in there.
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