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Best recent sci-fi novels

Red Siegfried said:
Agreed. Somewhere in my response I left out what I originally intended to type which was "but that's why it's called science FICTION." Judging the book on whether or not it accurately depicts future events is kind of missing the point.
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I love reading old science fiction. Especially anything written before the theory of relativity.

Check out E.E. "Doc" Smith's Skylark series.

Asimov kept his Lucky Starr series from being reprinted for quite some time because investigations of the planets showed his speculations wrong. He eventually allowed them to be reprinted with a new forward he wrote explaining the problem.
 
nescafe said:
A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Venge.
Stories of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang. It is a collection of shorts, but they are marvellously crafted.
Anything by Greg Egan.
Anything by Charles Stross.
The Nights Dawn trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton.
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The Chiang stories are just marvelous, among the best SF stories ever written, IMHO.

I'll add to the chorus about Greg Egan as well. He also seems to be that rare breed of writer who started excellent and got better as he went along.

I've only read Singularity Sky by Stross; he is just so different from every other writer that he deserves a go. I would have never thought that including so many obscure references to modern computing in stories could ever work, let alone be so much fun.

Other modern writers I like, at least in the short story realm, are Nancy Kress, Robert Reed, and Connie Willis.

I know you asked for novels, but I would still recommend this recent collection of the best of the best from the last 20 years, edited by Gardner Dozois. SF needed to change, and Gardner was the right man in the right place -- almost singlehandedly he brought the right new element into the field: literacy.
 
*bump*

Second Ian M Banks (except Inversions)

And some of Charles Stross (Iron Sunrise especially). I don't klike his fantasy.

Neal Asher is a good "Culture Lite": quick reads and lots of action, try "The Skinner" first...

Peter F Hamilton is OK at first but he needs an editor.


Alistair Rynolds seems to start well, but then finish very abruptly
 
I hadn't read any sci-fi for years, and then a couple of years ago, NPR was doing one of their pieces where they recommend new books. One that was mentioned was Altered Carbon by a brand-new sci-fi author, Richard Morgan. I got it from the library and started reading it. Within just a few pages, I was hooked! Once I was done, I went out and bought it and its sequel, Broken Angels. I convinced my husband (who generally doesn't read much fiction) to read them, and he loved them, too. We've also lent it to friends, who are equally addicted. I'm just now reading the third in the series, Woken Furies (had lent it to a friend while I finished reading The God Delusion, and he just now gave it back!).

Wonderful hybrid of cyberpunk with noir-style detective story. A great lead character who is super-cool and super-tough; I usually don't like the uber-macho type, but Takeshi is just right. A good action story but with some things to make you think, especially about the nature of identity. Happens in a world (universe) that I can't help but picture as Blade Runner-esque. Narrative and dialogue that makes you feel as if you're there. I think that the style might be off-putting to some people, because he throws in language and cultural references contemporary to the time of the story, with no explanation. You have to figure it all out from the context, which I find totally cool in that it assumes some measure of intelligence on the part of the reader.

Three books in the Takeshi Kovacs saga (read them in order, or you'll have no idea what's going on):

Altered Carbon
Broken Angels
Woken Furies

Read them NOW!

Also by Richard Morgan, but not Takeshi Kovacs novels, and I haven't read them...yet:

Market Forces
Black Man (coming in May)
 
Since I'm kinda in the mood to get back into reading sci-fi (especially after reading all these enthusiastic endorsements!), I'm gonna start with a few of your suggestions. Since Iain Banks seems to be someone a lot of you like (and I sheepishly confess to never having read), which of his books would you recommend I start with?
 
The Wasp Factory.

If it's Iain M. Banks you're after ;), I'd suggest Against a Dark Background.
 
Iain Banks and Ian M Banks are the same person.
His early novels- and in general the non-SF stuff- is published without the middle initial, but his mainstream fiction often has SF elements- notably "The Bridge".
 
jimbob said:
Second Ian M Banks (except Inversions)
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"Inversions" may not be high on the Culture-tech, but it is still a very good Culture book. I wouldn't recommend it to first-time Culture readers, though. Best read after "Use of Weapons" (the best "M" book IMHO). Interesting to see Contact from the other side.
 
I would recommend John Barnes' 'Century Next Door' and 'A Million Open Doors' series.

His wikipedia article lists the various books in those series.

I would also recommend S.M Stirling. His 'The Peshawar Lancers' is probably my favourite, but I also like the 'Dies the Fire' series. The first book in the 'Dies the Fire' series didn't seem to be as well written (edited?) as the 'Peshawar Lancers' but became enormously gripping by the end.
 
wolfgirl said:
Since I'm kinda in the mood to get back into reading sci-fi (especially after reading all these enthusiastic endorsements!), I'm gonna start with a few of your suggestions. Since Iain Banks seems to be someone a lot of you like (and I sheepishly confess to never having read), which of his books would you recommend I start with?
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I'd recommend "Use of Weapons" as the best culture book, followed closly by "Consider Phlebas" and "Excession", whilst "The Player of Games" is probably the most "straight" SF book.

Use of Weapons
Use of Weapons
Use of Weapons
Use of Weapons
Use of Weapons

"The Wasp Factory" and "Complicity" are fun but fairly grim...

(some people have accused Damian Hurst of stealing the idea of the Wasp Factory and using it in his "sculptures"; even if untrue, it gives you a flavour of that book).
 
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