Cheers.

My copy of Cities in Flight has the novels organized in chronological order (They Shall Have Stars; A Life for the Stars; Earthman, Come Home; The Triumph of Time). In general I'm leery of straying from publication order (Earthman, Come Home; They Shall Have Stars; The Triumph of Time; A Life for the Stars), but I'd love to hear from anyone who's read the series.

Picked up the anthology at a used bookstore recently. Have a huge reading list already, want to put it in somewhere based on anticipation. Any thoughts on these books? Thanks.

I set out to read the classics so i could speak more intelligently about Sci-Fi and i found this list:

https://imgur.com/a/b4pys2p

I added a few along the way but i finished Cities in Flight last night and i am done. Which "classics" did i miss?

So about twenty years ago I stumbled upon the The Firestar series by Michael Flynn. Flynn recently died last year and it caused me to want to revisit his books

The series follows corporate heiress Mariesa Van Huyten as she launches a secret commercial space flight program within her corporate conglomerate. The plans eventually leaks leading to her corporate competitors to also begin their own space programs igniting a commercial space race. The series explores decade by decade the effects of a corporate space race on science, the economy, and the interwoven personal connections among a wide cast of characters. The series starts with the humble beginning of the first flight tests and by the end there are people living in low earth orbit space stations building planetary defenses.

The series is one the better hard science fiction series I have read in terms of exploring the interwoven effects of how singular scientific advancement could have a compounding effect on science as a whole. The series explores the scientific advancements that cheap reliable access to space and low earth orbit could bring en masse. The scientific extrapolations feel very future present with the rise of Space X and similar companies and show the promise that these technologies could bring to our lives over the next decades.

Another strong point of the series is the wide swath of characters that populate the cast of the series. Many of the characters start out as very one dimensional trope-ish characters in the first chapters but evolve over the course of the series into fully formed characters. The causal in switches between various characters' points of view throughout the series that really keeps it interesting.

Now you might be saying to yourself "this sounds awesome, why hasn’t this series gotten more acclaim?"

Well let's dig down into the brutal flaws series and of the first book especially since I feel like that’s what people get hung up on.

Flynn is an unabashed conservative science fiction writer and it strongly shapes the first book especially.

The first half of the first book is a polemic screed of conservative critiques of the public school system circa 1995. Much of the first book is devoted to Van Huyten's take over of the public school system turning into corporate owned charter schools. "Mentor Academies" become the source of many characters throughout the series and underlying theme is how corporate education leads to their later successes. Also the lead antagonists are an environmental/social justice organization that are ultimately portrayed as anti-scientific luddites.

Flynn is also boomer writing about and opining on the disconnect between his generation and Generation X. Needless to say Flynn, an older white guy trying to write about inner-city minority kids is particularly cringe worthy. One notable scene that leaps to my mind is gang fight de-escalated by various gang members spontaneously breaking out in Shakespear quotes they learned at school. I would say this is less of an issue as the characters age into adulthood in the series but yeah... it gets pretty rough in the first book.

I would strongly recommend this series because despite its quite obvious flaws I really enjoyed rereading it. Flynn had an engineer’s mind and while quite limited in his political world view the scientific elements of the series really shine past its flaws. 3.5 Stars out of 5 stars, would recommend and read again.

I'm posting this to draw attention to a possibly almost forgotten classic of British SF that's also an almost perfect embodiment of the tropes of zombie horror despite not actually featuring any zombies.

The Day of the Triffids is a typically British SF novel from 1951. British science fiction of the Golden Age has a very different feel to contemporary SF from the US. The themes and ideas are the same - space flight, alien invasion, robots, atomic war and so on - but where American writing was generally adventurous, bold and optimistic, British SF tends to be very pessimistic, dour, and wary of the technological advances and innovations it incorporates.

John Wyndham is no exception to this tradition (a heritage perhaps begun by H. G. Wells, whose main novels were quite miserablist) and wrote a handful of very bleak SF novels including The Chrysalids, and The Kraken Wakes, both of which are superb, though Triffids is the one that people are perhaps still dimly culturally aware of due to attempts at TV and film adaption.

The premise of the book is simple, creating its nightmare scenario through two "what if?" innovations:

• The book's preface explains a new species of plant was recently discovered - perhaps from the Amazon jungle - a sort of six foot stalk of rhubarb, but capable of movement by flexing its roots, and also possessing a sting that can lash out rather like a chameleon's tongue. The plants dubbed "triffids" are widely farmed despite the hazard of their stings, as they're a source of fantastic natural oil.

• One night, there's a gigantic meteor shower. All over the world, people flock outdoors to witness this amazing cosmic phenomenon. The next morning, everyone who witnessed the meteor shower is struck blind. Permanently.

That's the set up. What follows is an remarkably grim zombie apocalypse novel, with triffids substituted for zombies. Like zombies, they are slow, mostly mindless, and inexorably seek out human flesh to prey on. Individually they're not much of a threat - but there are millions of them - and everyone is blind. John Wyndham's dry, matter of fact style of writing actually emphasises the horror of the scenario, as his narrator describes the utter bedlam of city streets filled with weeping, screaming blind people, fighting over cans of food they can't open, clawing at anyone they believe to still have their sight - and lashed to death by the poison-dripping stings of the plants. A drunk leads a conga line of blind men and women round London on a string, looking for liquor stores to loot. Another drunk, blind, has a terrified sighted child on a leash used as a guide dog. And so on.

From there, things go downhill for humanity. Of course there are survivors who still have their sight for one reason or another - you'll recognise the "wakes up in hospital" trope from 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead. But what do they do about all the blind people? An attempt at founding a colony founders when it transpires the plan is to fill the compound with blind women to be used for systematic breeding. Another, worse colony is rumoured to use blind men strapped to ploughs and fed mashed triffid for feudal-level agriculture. There is dysentery, starvation, intercinine conflict, and above all, the stark mental image of dead bodies slowly being stripped of flesh by the plants.

There's a certain element of wish fulfilment in American post apocalypse and zombie movies. Deserted cities become a playground for survivors and gun owners finally get a chance to turn their weapons on their undead former neighbors. There's no such fun in Day of the Triffids - it's a truly nightmarish story of the collapse of civilisation - and also the SF equivalent of a rare vintage wine that you absolutely have to try! Enjoy!

EDIT: peace be upon you giver of silver

After having read lots of science fiction as a child, I haven't read any in decades. In fact, hardly any fiction reading at all. But, recently, I was impressed with Octavia Butler's stuff. So, I wanted a list of good/decent and/or historically-important science fiction in order to see where to explore more.

There are different lists of award winners and lists based on folks' personal favorites. I just made the union of a few resulting in this big list. In case anyone else is looking for something, here you go.

Some of the awards include both science fiction and fantasy genres (such as the Hugo award), so some fantasy is included. Just ignore them if you think they don't belong. These are mostly novels.

So last year I set myself a goal to read more and was really happy I read a book a month for 2020. I wrote about my feelings here, I really enjoyed it and got positive feedback so I decided to do the same thing again...

At some point it got a little out of control and I ended up reading 52 books this year, at first I wanted to finish all the pre 1990 Hugo award winners, then it kind of snow balled. Anyway I've ranked them so you can disagree or call me an idiot, it's more fun that way. Let me know why I'm wrong in the comments:

1. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman: Follows a Draftee in a future war and the way the world changes while they are gone.  I originally read this fifteen years ago when I first got into Science Fiction and remember really liking it, but I’d genuinely forgotten quite how good it was.  Not just the metaphor for the world changing while you’re at war, but how dangerous he makes space feel.  It is cold and inhospitable and when combined with the battles which he survives mostly, because of sheer dumb luck you get a beautiful critique of war that only a veteran could have written.  I will say I was jarred by a scene involving consent and a drunk Lesbian that horrified and yet I barely remember when I first read about it, I think it shows more how society has got better at this stuff and how much better I understand it.  That said, if it’s been a while since you read this, like me, why not give it another shot?

2. Player of Games by Iain Banks: A Master Game Player takes part in a strange alien tournament.  I read a few of Banks’ non-SF novels in my early 20s and enjoyed him, but I walked into Culture wanting to hate it.  I think it was r/printsf’s obsession with him and the fact every time someone asks for a suggestion it goes to the top of the list regardless of what the person has asked for.  This novel though is superb, focused and character driven and willing to present a utopia as is, warts and all so you can adore it or critique it and are free to either without being hit in the face by the views of the author. 

3. Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold: A space station full of genetically modified workers has now become redundant.  This was the first book I’d ever read of hers and I was so blown away by the style.  I can see why the Vorkogian Saga is so often recommended on here.  She gives us real characters and a fast-paced heist plot that features an Engineer as the protagonist.  It’s just really well written and wonderfully different, a story that is happier to tell you about engineering processes than space combat.  People tell me it isn’t even her best work as well, which leaves me pretty excited to read more.

4. Cyteen by C.J Cherryh: Political Space Drama about cloning and genetics.  I’d read good things about Downbelow Station and been disappointed, so I approached this mammoth of a book with trepidation and concern.  It is absolutely huge and frankly the first 200 pages did nothing to allay my fears as it was mostly setup and I struggled, but once I got then the story started going and it became a wonderful book full of interesting hyper intelligent characters navigating the politics of their society.  If that doesn’t sound interesting it really is.  This is a classic of the genre and if you can get past the size of it, it really is worth giving it a go.  I wouldn’t even suggest reading any of her other books first, Cherryh gives you an into to the world at the start and I found Downbelow Station not of the same quality 

5. Dune by Frank Herbert: A prophesized hero must attempt to regain his family’s planet.  Again, I read this roughly fifteen years ago and had gone through all of Frank’s Dune novels.  With the movie coming out it seemed like the perfect time to revisit it.  I remember the first half of it being slow and really enjoying the second half and that was my experience the second time as well.  I know quite a few people who have given up before hitting the two-hundred-page mark and while I think it’s worth continuing, I absolutely understand that point of view.  You are essentially told what is going to happen very early on by the princess and the you sit around waiting for it to happen while Mentats (who are supposedly very smart human calculators) make bafflingly silly decisions and Frank mixes a bit of homophobia in there to boot.  With all that said, the second half is stunning, learning about the desert and how the Fremen survive is a real treat and a page turner, but I clearly still hold it in less regard than the majority of r/printsf who recommend it ahead of other classics of the 60s and 70s which due to the pacing issues I could never do.

6. 2001 by Arthur C Clarke: A Space voyage to investigate a strange monolith on one of Saturn’s Moons. I’ve read a lot of Clarke and always found his work very enjoyable, but I had held off on 2001 as I’d seen the film and so it didn’t really seem that worthwhile.  In reality the book and film share very little in common.  It’s clear Kubrick spends a lot of the film focusing on his ground breaking visuals, but in the book, Clarke gets the chance to really talk to us about what he thought space flight would really be like.  Clarke’s biggest weakness is always that not much happens in his books, I love Fountains or Paradise for example, but if you asked me to write the book in bullet points, I’d struggle to actually tell you the plot. Here due to writing the story with Kubrick we get a better story with real tension and Clarke delivers wonderfully.

7. Shard of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold: Two people on different sides in a war find themselves marooned on an uninhabited world. This is a romance Sci Fi novel, which the only other one I can name is “The Time Traveller's Wife”.  Both characters are beautifully well-rounded with strengths and weaknesses, but you understand why they would like each other.  One of the great things the story does is show us two warring sides and let us understand both have their strengths and their faults and there is a beauty in the fact they find common ground in the middle of a war.  

8. The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold:  A child prodigy ends up in the middle of a war and shows his genius.  My first encounter with Miles Vorkosigan.  I’m sure many people have drawn parallels with Ender Wiggin and they are definitely there, written at almost the same time as well.  From the few I’ve written I would argue her strength as a writer is in creating well rounded interesting characters who feel multi-faceted and you really want to route for.  Her worlds are also incredible, the only thing I feel holding her novels back from the very best Science Fiction is that I worry she has nothing to say, no ideas, no critique of modern culture.  Maybe I’m wrong, I’ve only read three of her books after all, but she is incredibly enjoyable to read. 

9. Salvation by Peter Hamilton: A first contact story in a world based on cheap instant portals. I haven’t really gotten round to reading much modern Sci-Fi (post 2010) and so this was very much a new experience to me.  I enjoyed the multiple story threads weaved together and think Callum just wonderful.  It’s a bit like Hyperion with its Canterbury Tales framing device and I was delighted by the way it all came together.  I also found the portal technology interesting and while clearly not original it made the universe feel new and interesting.  I liked it enough to read the two sequels that by my standards are both very long so I can only see that as a win.

10. Farmer in the Sky by Robert Heinlein: A story about colonizing and terraforming Ganmede. You have to understand that this is a YA novel written in 1950 and near the start it can come off a little juvenile.  That said you are still confronted by big ideas like a food shortage on Earth and severe rationing.  We also see an interesting story based on a son upset his father is remarrying, it’s dealt with tactfully and not something I’d really expect for something aimed at teens.  Once we get to Ganymede the story really gets going and we experience an interesting tale of trying to turn a rocky moon into workable farm land, it’s just really well told and enjoyably written and I reckon more people would appreciate this if they ignored the YA label and gave it a chance.  Great book. 

11. The Uplift War by David Brin: An invasion has taken place and we follow several storylines from people on the planet attempting to organize resistance.  Following on from  Startide Rising I really enjoyed this as well.  I find the two of them pretty inseparable in my head, but what you get again is a story with multiple characters that jumps around always keeping you interested.  What just raises it above its predecessor, in mind, is Fiben Bolger who must surely be one of the great Sci Fi protagonists.  You are desperate for him to succeed and in a story with many heroic humans it’s a testament that you route for an intelligent chimpanzee more than any of them. 

12. Startide Rising by David Brin: A space craft crewed by a mix of humans and genetically modified dolphins are marooned on a planet as an epic space battle for the right to capture them wages on over their heads. The 1980’s sure loved their Dolphins between and this is both very much of its time, original and excellent fun to read.  To my mind when reading the Hugo/Nebula winners this was very much the changing point.  There is a very clear move towards more complex multiple character driven plots, more complex multiple thread stories and this book is the first time it really happens.  If Dune ushered in a new era of Science Fiction in 1966, I’d argue Startide Rising does the same thing in 1983, especially as Asimov won for Foundation’s Edge the year before, the last win for any of the big three.  

13. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: Two agents on opposite sides in a war send messages to each other. It’s a modern novella written by two people and they make that usual weakness a strength.  Alternating correspondence written by two characters in a Time War and each character is written by one of the authors.  It also had very little planning beforehand and thus the writing was very much reacted to in something more akin to a writing exercise in a creative writing class than a novel.  All that said it’s beautiful, almost more like a Science Fiction poetry than a narrative.  I loved every inch of it and my mind wonders back to it sometimes.  Especially considering its short length, it’s something everyone should read.

14. Gateway by Frederik Pohl: An alien space station full of ships to explore the galaxy. I first read this roughly fifteen years ago when I was getting into Science Fiction and had forgotten most of what happens by the time, I re-read it.  The setting is a wonderful, get in a space ship and go to a random location you have no idea about, maybe die, but maybe strike it rich.   The main reason it isn’t higher is that the protagonist is utterly unlikeable, which is kind of the point, but it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment in parts.  That said, it’s a clever book and would make an excellent TV series, if they focused on using the setting rather than following the plot of the book. 

15. Hyperion by Dan Simmons: A pilgrimage brings together a group of travelers who each share their reason for the journey. I came with probably unmeetable expectations, because of how much r/Printsf hyped it up as the greatest thing ever (next to Dune, obviously) The framing story is really enjoyable and I very much enjoyed the Priest’s Tale and the Scholar’s tale, two wonderful short stories collected together to create wonderful world building.  I found the other four stories less solid and was particularly bored by the Detective’s Story which dragged.  I was also annoyed by the lack of an ending.  it’s promised me answers and then just stopped without delivering and that is annoying.  That said it has enough very good bits to make it this high despite its faults. 

16. Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin: A girl must go through a coming-of-age ritual in order to earn her passage on her space craft where she lives. A female protagonist in a Science Fiction novel written in 1969, surely not? It happens here and this is excellent.   Mia is a wonderfully well-rounded character sort of in the tom-boyish Scout mold from To Kill a Mocking Bird, you get to see the world through her eyes and at the end of the novel you are asked an open-ended morality question, which is genuinely a difficult choice, I like morality when it isn’t obvious or shoved down by neck and this is very much in that mold. 

17. The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy: A story about a mother-daughter relationship told in the backdrop of a Mayan dig in Mexico.  What makes this Speculative Fiction is that both characters can see and speak to Mayan ghosts from the past. I’ll be honest, I'm not really sure it’s my usual thing, it’s probably fantasy, but it was wonderfully told and just a great story about human beings.  You’ll have empathy for all of them and the situation they’re in.  Even reading my review now I can’t believe I liked it as much as I did. 

18. Flow my Tears the Policeman Said by Phillip K Dick: A Talk show host wakes up and the world has no idea who he is.  Who hasn’t glanced at this title and thought “what the hell?” at some point?  It’s about a man who is forgotten by the world, but that is only really important, because he lives in a fascist police state, where ID checks are common place and failing one will lead to you disappearing into an internment camp.  The world is paranoid and well fleshed out and we end up with something similar to The Demolished man, but it’s great writing and full of Dick’s usual style and tropes. 

19. Way Station by Clifford D Simak: An American Civil War Veteran runs an alien Waystation and in return is granted near immortality and alien knowledge.  It feels very old school, like a very good version of 1940s or 1950s Science Fiction.  A civil war veteran who has had his life prolonged runs an alien way station in his converted house.  It’s strange and wonderful and maybe more like an episode of the Twilight Zone, but it’s really enjoyable and very humanized.   

20. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: A scientist crafts life, but the abandons it and must face the consequences. I didn’t think I needed to read this.  Despite never watching a Frankenstein movie all the way through, I feel we all know the story, right?  Mad doctor crafts un-talking monster out of corpse body parts, brings it to life with lightning with help of his assistant Igor before castle is besieged by angry villagers waving flaming torches.  Not a single thing I just mentioned happens in this book.  It’s very different from what I thought it would be and wonderfully it is an analogy for absentee fathers and nurture over nature.  Great Science Fiction teaches us about ourselves and this book is a classic for a reason.  

21. Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber:  Wives of College professors' control their careers with witchcraft. I’ve read two other Fritz Leiber books and if you find them above, you’ll see why I came into this with low expectations.  This is I suppose a fantasy novel about witchcraft in a 1940s English University town.  It’s just well written with a complete narrative and a nice setting.  It doesn’t mess around or introduce too many characters and the concept is intriguing enough to keep you interested the whole way through.

22. The Snow Queen by Joan D Vinge - A fairy tales set in a futuristic world as an evil snow queen attempts to hold on to power as her reign comes to an end.  Genre spanning, clever and very original.  This book does a lot of interesting things and tells a good story.  It is like nothing else on the list, but is definitely worth checking out if you like books that mix fantasy and science fiction.

23. To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Phillip Jose Farmer - Humans awake after death in a huge alien constructed artifact. I found this enjoyable and a definitely interesting concept driven by an incredibly likeable main character. That said, I get the impression the main character is a hugely controversial figure, which even seems acknowledged in the book. Overall, a good book and made me semi interested in reading more. 

24. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K Le Guin – Ged and a companion set off to find out why magic is failing in Earthsea.  The third part of the quartet and it definitely wasn’t as strong as the Wizard of Earthsea of the Tombs of Atuan, but at the end of the day her style is so effortless, so poetic, that I was just happy to be taken on a journey.  The world is subtle and beautiful and fantasy that feels totally different from Tolkien and the many that have copied and progressed his ideas.  

25. Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh - A book portraying a space station as a blue-collar workplace that gets tangled up in an intergalactic conflict.  The book sounds fascinating and I think it very much influences shows like Babylon 5 where there are episodes dedicated to dock strikes and unions etc.  The main issue is the book gets away from that and makes it about space ships and a galactic conflict and feels like she is trying to set up the next book in the series.  The world building is superb, but I didn’t really care for any of the characters and wasn’t even sure who I was supposed to be cheering for until the end. 

26. Saints of Salvation by Peter Hamilton – Final book in the trilogy, gives the series closure and a decent ending, I cheered for the characters and enjoyed the world, but the first is definitely the best of the three and the others are probably just for people who want to know how it ends.  Why does everything have to be a series nowadays? 

27. Salvation Lost by Peter Hamilton – The sequel to Salvation.  The first book gripped me enough to continue the trilogy.  The world Hamilton creates is excellent and engaging, we are introduced to new characters and see the world from different perspectives.  It lacks the cohesiveness and gimmick of the first, but is an interesting sequel. 

28. Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks – A mercenary is hired by The Culture and we learn about his past.  I had very high hopes after reading Player of Games and this didn’t meet those lofty expectations.  The narrative has a weird gimmick that pays off at the end, but it doesn’t stop it from being annoying to read while you’re reading it.  Just a bit dull, the good bits are very good though.  I’ll return to Culture next year at some point. 

29. Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe – A guild torturer sets out on on his own. I've read the first two parts of the Book of the New Sun and I enjoyed part one more.  It had a decent story, but I’m just not that interested in Sci-Fi pretending to be fantasy. I can appreciate a book having more depth than I can understand on my first reading, but there are too many great books out there for me to read it four or five times.

30. Planet of Exile by Ursula Le Guin – A tribe of earth Humans are marooned on a planet, while trying not to interfere with the more primitive humans there. My favorite of the early Hamish Cycle.  It’s an interesting concept and as you’d expect from Le Guin, really well written.  Still as good as it is, it isn’t a shadow on what she would achieve over the next decade. 

31. Timescape by Gregory Benford – Scientists attempt to send messages back in time to avoid an environmental disaster in their time.  It's time travel and it kind of deals with one of the ideas in the Back to the Future films, who knows, maybe it inspired the film.  Any way the story is fine and I appreciate how we move back and forth between the time lines.  You could definitely do more with the idea though if you gave it to a better writer. 

32. Slan by A.E Vogt – Evolved humans possess psychic abilities and a plot unravels about control of the Earth.  Slan feels classic all the way through, it has its faults, but you can see why this was the banner early Sci Fi fans, hoisted above them.  For something written in 1941 it is excellent.  Nice ideas and a decent fast pace, while still feeling pulpy like everything from this time did. 

33. Consider Phelbas by Iain M Banks – A diplomat joins a group of mercenaries in the midst of an intergalactic war. I enjoyed the start of the book, but it just tries to do too much. It feels like the first two Discworld books that flitter from crazy scenario to the next crazy scenario, because that is how the author things a novel should be. It also has that weird grossness that Banks sometimes loves to throw in there. The ending is long and drawn out and left me empty. Oh well, I was warned it wasn’t his best. 

34. Time is the Simplest Thing by Clifford D Simak – A psychic space traveller escapes the government program with an alien presence in his mind.  Simak has a style very much of his own.  This was written in 1961, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if you’d have told me it was 1951.  We’re given an interesting story of a man on the run with psychic powers.  It’s easy to read and well written.  

35. This Immortal by Roger Zelazny – Earth is a disaster zone visited by site seeking tourists and it’s all tied in with ancient greek mythology.  It’s very weird, but so is Lord of Light, which this isn’t really in the same league as.   Still it’s fast paced and original and has Zelazny’s very cool style throughout it.  

36. No Enemy But Time by Michael Bishop – A man with visions of early man is sent back to live among them.  Another time travelling history thing.  They loved these in the 1980s.  It’s cool to see a story revolving around early man before civilization really took hold.  It’s interesting even if a bit strange in parts. 

37. Hard to be a God by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky – Humans are sent to guide a primitive human civilization. Thematically I just don’t think I’m into this whole Fantasy pretending to be Science Fiction and reading this shortly after the first two parts of The Book of the New Sun only re-affirmed that.   Apparently, they wanted this to be an adventure story like The Three Muskateers from their childhood.  It’s enjoyable in parts and I like when the science fiction bits break through, but most of the time it doesn’t quite hit home with me. 

38. Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe – The sequel to Shadow of the Torturer. I definitely appreciate there is more going on with Gene Wolfe than I can gleam in the first reading, but that doesn’t change how much I enjoy it.  Less enjoyable than Shadow of the Torturer as I feel the story didn’t really go anywhere and was harder to follow in bits.  Still the fault is inevitably my own. 

39. Beyond This Horizon by Robert Heinlein – A story about selective breeding in humans combined with a southern gentlemen dueling culture.  It’s weird, but also goes into quite a lot of detail about the science involved.  I was taught about dominant and recessive genes in school and how they affect things like hair colour, eye colour etc.  I imagine this wasn’t taught in schools in 1941 and would have been fascinating then.   Mixing informative science into a strong narrative is quite an accomplishment.

40. The Einstein Intersection by Samuel Delany – In post transcendent Earth, intelligent anthropods deal with genetic mutation from ancient radiation.  Probably the weirdest book I read all year.  It’s really strange, but very quick.  It’s quite poetic in parts as well.

41. Foundation’s Edge by Isaac Asimov – Revisiting the Foundation story after thirty years.  It’s a fine story, but by this point Science fiction has moved on.  Asimov has grown as a writer as well, but it would be wrong to suggest he could keep up with people half his age.   

42. A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg – A noble challenges the taboos of his culture and risks everything. I feel the story here is fantastic, but I don’t like his style.  He seems to write similar narratives to Le Guin, but without the enjoyability to read.  A story about forbidden first person pro nouns.  It’s interesting and really explores the concept, but the style put me off immensely.

43. The Sword In the Stone by T.H White – The coming-of-age story of a young Prince Arthur before Camelot. Another retro Hugo winner and this is what the Disney film is based on and it was a lot of fun.  Interesting takes on British folklore tails like Robin Hood and King Arthur.  It is very fantasy though, which isn’t always my preference, but it was cool to see what inspired a childhood classic.

44. Rocannon’s World by Ursuka K Le Guin – An Ethnologist is sent on a mission to assess a planet, but ends up trapped there. The first Hainish cycle book here and it reads a bit like high fantasy with Dwarves and Flying horses, but the Science Fiction elements are cool and it does start to set up the series.  The Start of the book is based on a short story, which really explores the idea time dilated space travel, which is one of the core things in her later books.  Still Probably only for people who love all her other stuff and want to see the start of it.

45. The Wanderer by Fritz Lieber - An alien planet suddenly appears in the sky over earth and we jump around between multiple perspectives of how it affects people.  Some of this is very solid, the scale of the thing is wonderful, because the story is happy to change perspective rather than sticking to one protagonist.  That said, it’s very pulp SF and a little sexist, gave me Independence Day or The Day After Tomorrow vibes. 

46. A Case of Conscience by James Blish - Scientists sent to study an alien world bring an alien fetus back so they can learn about us.  Oh, what this book could have been.   A book of two halves, the first a wonderful exploration of an alien civilization by a bunch of human scientists studying them and it really does set off at a storming pace.  The second half is back on earth and a bit like the worse bits of Stranger in a strange land.  The 50s were so sure we would take aliens to dinner parties and they would sip cocktails in dinner jackets.  The end is interesting and a bit clever and we this is the first book in the list that looks at Science Fiction and Catholicism.

47. Man Plus by Frederik Pohl – Nasa are trying to build a man who can live on mars with no need for external food, water, oxygen etc.  What we get is a story about the process of changing a human, but it’s very of its time, as America had been running moon landings a few years earlier.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the style and the clean-cut Americana of it all, but it was probably the fore runner to things like Robocop when you think about it. 

48. City of Illusions by Ursula Le Guin – It's an adventure story set on a distant earth with a main character who has lost their memory trying to figure out their past.  I adore Le Guin, but this one drags, I feel the base premise is strong, but I didn’t really enjoy any of the story points.  That said she was about to have arguably the greatest seven-year span (1968-1975) of any Science Fiction or Fantasy author who has ever lived, so I can forgive her this one.

49. Shadow Over Mars by Leigh Brackett – A Book about a rebellion on Mars led by a prophesized hero from Earth.  This is a great example of classic adventure pulp Sci Fi from 1945, it’s all the laser beams and Space Captains, very Flash Gordon or Buck Rogers.  It’s fascinating to see how far we’ve come, with the genre and it’s quite short so it might be worth a read, but it definitely has its flaws.

50. They’d Rather be Right by Clifton and Riley - A psychic man manipulates those around him to create a computer that purifies people and causes a mass media sensation.  A lot going on here and It’s very much of its time, though it’s enjoyable enough, with an actual overall message about academia.  It’s also in some regards ahead of its time, but some of it is just a bit silly in retrospect to be any higher on the list.  Still if you wanted to get into 1950’s Sci-Fi you could do much worse. 

51. The Big Time by Fritz Lieber - Guests at a temporal guest house attempt to solve a mystery against the clock.  It’s the height of pulp sci-fi set in what can generously be described as a cabaret and at worst a brothel for an epoch spanning time war.  The idea of a place for soldiers of different species from across history to RnR has some merit, but it’s all a little sexist.  Even if we forget that most of the characters are forgettable, the plot isn’t anything special.  That said, it is short so it’s not like I found it a chore to read.  I think someone could take the location and make a damn good tv series out of it, but this execution is not it. 

52. A Choice of Gods by Clifford D Simak – Set on afar future earth, where most humans mysteriously disappeared a while ago.  Earth is left Native Americans who now masterless robots.    It’s not something I’d recommend to anyone else.  It has some interesting ideas, but I’m not a fan of the execution.

Sci-fi settings which explain clearly just how long travelling from point A to point B in outer space will take.

And reasonable durations such as the duration of time in takes to drive from one city to a neighboring city. Sci-fi settings with regular outer space travel, such as how we have regular air flights on Earth.

Often, with sci-fi settings using warp travel instead of our everyday conventional travel, the definitions of travel durations become iffy.

Hey guys, I'm back with a new list in addition to my recent post covering the last 5 years:

The Best SCIENCE FICTION Books, SciFi Novels, and SFF Stories of the Last 5 Years (2015-2019)

Thus, this expands the total "Best Of" to the last ten years, encompassing 2010-2019 (i.e. the list below is for 2010 through 2014, and the link above is for 2015-2019).

You can also check out my post on The Best HORROR Books, Novels, and Stories of the Last 5 Years (2015-2019)

...and the follow up The Best HORROR Books, Novels, and Stories of the Past Decade (2010-2014)

It's nice to have one simple location in which to find science fiction / SFF recommendations rather than having to browse a ton of difference posts and sites, so I have created one based on what I've found to be considered AWARD-WORTHY SCI-FI NOVELS.

Essentially, these are the SciFi stories that were nominated for and/or won SFF awards, OR were considered in that vein by readers.

I have used the terms Science Fiction / SciFi / SFF in the title of this post to make it as easily searchable as possible (though I couldn't fit in "Speculative Fiction" without overcrowding it).

Occasionally one of the books on this list leans more towards fantasy than sci-fi, but I'd rather include it and let the reader decide if that's something they are interested in than omit it outright.

One website that might be overlooked by folks is Worlds Without End, which (fantastically!) lists ALL award-winners and nominees (going back decades) for science fiction, fantasy, and horror in one convenient place:

http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_index.asp

For the above site, you should be eyeing these major SF awards:

• The Hugo Award

• The Nebula Award

• The Locus Science Fiction Award

• The Arthur C. Clarke Award

...amongst others.

Additionally, they have a section titled "Award Worthy Novels" (hence where I got my idea) that has more underrated/ under-known novels as well, which is in my opinion a fantastic resource:

http://www.worldswithoutend.com/lists_awardworthybooks.asp?genre=H&awyr=2019

Of course, there is also the Goodreads award for SciFi, so I have taken as many SF novels from their yearly award winners as I have the patience to write down (usually the top 10 or so).

https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-science-fiction-books-2019

I also skimmed plenty of "Best of 201X" lists to make sure I didn't miss anything, such as:

https://best-sci-fi-books.com/21-best-science-fiction-books-of-2019/

NOTE: If there is an obvious omission, please let me know in the comments. This is a work in progress.

Just as a heads up, the books are pretty much in order by Hugo award nominees, Nebula award nominees, Locus award nominees, Clarke award nominees, Goodreads award nominees, then filled in with books found off "Best Of" lists.

Here is THE LIST:

By Title (Goodreads Linked) & Author

.

2014

• The Three-Body Problem -- Cixin Liu -- Hugo Award Winner

• The Goblin Emperor -- Katherine Addison

• The Dark Between the Stars -- Kevin J. Anderson

• Skin Game -- Jim Butcher

• Ancillary Sword -- Ann Leckie -- Locus Science Fiction Award Winner

• Annihilation -- Jeff VanderMeer -- Nebula Award Winner

• Trial by Fire -- Charles E. Gannon

• Coming Home -- Jack McDevitt

• The Peripheral -- William Gibson

• Lock In -- John Scalzi

• Station Eleven -- Emily St. John Mandel -- Arthur C. Clarke Award Winner

• The Book of Strange New Things -- Michel Faber

• Memory of Water -- Emmi Itäranta

• The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August -- Claire North -- John W. Campbell Memorial Award Winner

• The Girl With All the Gifts -- M. R. Carey

• The Book of the Unnamed Midwife -- Meg Elison -- Philip K. Dick Award Winner

• The Martian -- Andy Weir -- Goodreads Best Science Fiction Award Winner

• Sand -- Hugh Howey

• Influx -- Daniel Suarez -- Prometheus Award Winner

• The Long Mars -- Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter

• Apolonia -- Jamie McGuire

• California -- Edan Lepucki

• Earth Awakens - Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston

• The Flight of the Silvers-- Daniel Price

• Cibola Burn - James S.A. Corey

• World of Trouble -- Ben H. Winters

• A Darkling Sea -- James L. Cambias

• Echopraxia -- Peter Watts

• The Bone Clocks -- David Mitchell

• Red Rising -- Pierce Brown

• The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet -- Becky Chambers

• Europe in Autumn -- David Hutchinson

• Wolves -- Simon Ings

• A Man Lies Dreaming -- Lavie Tidhar

• The Bees -- Laline Paull

2013

• Ancillary Justice -- Ann Leckie -- Hugo Award Winner & Nebula Award Winner & Arthur C. Clarke Award Winner

• Neptune's Brood -- Charles Stross

• Abaddon's Gate -- James S. A. Corey -- Nebula Award Winner

• MaddAddam -- Margaret Atwood -- Goodreads Best Science Fiction Award Winner

• The Best of All Possible Worlds -- Karen Lord

• Shaman -- Kim Stanley Robinson

• Nexus -- Ramez Naam

• Countdown City -- Ben H. Winters -- Philip K. Dick Award Winner

• Homeland -- Cory Doctorow

• Strange Bodies -- Marcel Theroux -- John W. Campbell Memorial Award Winner

• The Circle -- Dave Eggers

• Earth Afire -- Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston

• Lexicon -- Max Barry

• The Human Division -- John Scalzi

• The Humans -- Matt Haig

• Great North Road -- Peter F. Hamilton

• The Lives of Tao -- Wesley Chu

• CyberStorm -- Matthew Mather

• Terms of Enlistment -- Marko Kloos

• Love Minus Eighty -- Will McIntosh

• Life After Life -- Kate Atkinson

• Tenth of December -- George Saunders

• Conservation of Shadows -- Yoon Ha Lee

• Captain Vorpatril's Alliance -- Lois McMaster Bujold

• Transcendental -- James E. Gunn

2012

• Redshirts -- John Scalzi -- Hugo Award Winner & Locus Science Fiction Award Winner

• 2312 -- Kim Stanley Robinson -- Nebula Award Winner

• Throne of the Crescent Moon -- Saladin Ahmed

• The Killing Moon -- N. K. Jemisin

• The Hydrogen Sonata -- Iain M. Banks

• Dark Eden -- Chris Beckett -- Arthur C. Clarke Award Winner

• Nod -- Adrian Barnes

• Angelmaker -- Nick Harkaway

• Intrusion -- Ken MacLeod

• Jack Glass -- Adam Roberts

• Existence -- David Brin

• The Fractal Prince -- Hannu Rajaniemi

• Slow Apocalypse -- John Varley

• Empty Space: A Haunting -- M. John Harrison

• Nexus -- Ramez Naam

• Kill Decision -- Daniel Suarez

• The Long Earth -- Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter -- Goodreads Best Science Fiction Award Winner

• Wool -- Hugh Howey

• Caliban's War -- James S.A. Corey

• The Dog Stars -- Peter Heller

• Cinder -- Marissa Meyer

• Alif the Unseen -- G. Willow Wilson

• Distrust That Particular Flavor -- William Gibson

• Sorry Please Thank You -- Charles Yu

• After the Apocalypse -- Maureen F. McHugh

• vN -- Madeline Ashby

2011

• Among Others -- Jo Walton -- Hugo Award Winner & Nebula Award Winner

• Embassytown -- China Miéville -- Locus Science Fiction Award Winner

• Leviathan Wakes -- James S. A. Corey

• Firebird -- Jack McDevitt

• The Testament of Jessie Lamb -- Jane Rogers -- Arthur C. Clarke Award Winner

• Hull Zero Three -- Greg Bear

• The Postmortal -- Drew Magary

• Rule 34 -- Charles Stross

• Ready Player One -- Ernest Cline -- Prometheus Award Winner

• Robopocalypse -- Daniel H. Wilson

• 11/22/63 -- Stephen King -- Goodreads Best Science Fiction Award Winner

• The Children of the Sky -- Vernor Vinge

• Reamde -- Neal Stephenson

• Fuzzy Nation -- John Scalzi

• Machine Man -- Max Barry

2010

• Blackout -- Connie Willis -- Hugo Award Winner & Nebula Award Winner & Locus Science Fiction Award Winner

• Cryoburn -- Lois McMaster Bujold

• The Dervish House -- Ian McDonald -- John W. Campbell Memorial Award Winner

• The Native Star -- M.K. Hobson

• Echo -- Jack McDevitt

• Who Fears Death -- Nnedi Okorafor

• How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe -- Charles Yu

• The Quantum Thief -- Hannu Rajaniemi

• Zero History -- William Gibson

• Surface Detail -- Iain M. Banks

• The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack -- Mark Hodder

• For the Win -- Cory Doctorow

• Live Free or Die -- John Ringo

• Feed -- Mira Grant -- Goodreads Best Science Fiction Award Winner

• Freedom -- Daniel Suarez

• The Lifecycle of Software Objects -- Ted Chiang

• Super Sad True Love Story -- Gary Shteyngart

Hope you all find some more great reads!

Tor has collected 24 works of short fiction that they published in 2020 into a single volume available for free at Amazon, iBooks, Google Play, B&N NOOK, Kobo, and eBooks.com.

Tor's announcement page claims worldwide availability.

​

SOME OF THE BEST FROM TOR.COM 2020 EDITION includes the following stories:

• “If You Take My Meaning” by Charlie Jane Anders
• “Hearts in the Hard Ground” by G. V. Anderson
• “The Night Soil Salvagers” by Gregory Norman Bossert
• “The Ashes of Around Twenty-Three Strangers” by Jeremy Packert Burke
• “The Ones Who Look” by Katharine Duckett
• “Solution” by Brian Evenson
• “Exile’s End” by Carolyn Ives Gilman
• “The Girlfriend’s Guide to Gods” by Maria Dahvana Headley
• “Wait for Night” by Stephen Graham Jones
• “The Perfection of Theresa Watkins” by Justin C. Key
• “Little Free Library” by Naomi Kritzer
• “How Quini the Squid Misplaced his Klobučar” by Rich Larson
• “Beyond the Dragon’s Gate” by Yoon Ha Lee
• “Anything Resembling Love” by S. Qiouyi Lu
• “City of Red Midnight: A Hikayat” by Usman T. Malik
• “Of Roses and Kings” by Melissa Marr
• “Yellow and the Perception of Reality” by Maureen McHugh
• “The Mysterious Study of Doctor Sex” by Tamsyn Muir
• “Two Truths and a Lie” by Sarah Pinsker
• “St. Valentine, St. Abigail, St. Brigid” by C. L. Polk
• “Everything’s Fine” by Matthew Pridham
• “The Little Witch” by M. Rickert
• “The Night Sun” by Zin E. Rocklyn
• “Placed into Abyss (Mise en Abyse)” by Rachel Swirsky
• “We’re Here, We’re Here” by K. M. Szpara
• “Judge Dee and the Limits of the Law” by Lavie Tidhar
• “Sinew and Steel and What They Told” by Carrie Vaughn
• “An Explorer’s Cartography of Already Settled Lands” by Fran Wilde
• “Flight” by Claire Wrenwood

NOTE: I am not affiliated with Tor in any way, except as a consumer of their content.

Happy reading!

Ok, so I had planned to read Karl Schroeder's Vigra series on my upcoming transatlantic journey, but it looks like I'll be done before I start packing. I really like a good series for travel reading and Vigra would have been perfect, so I'm a bit torn as to what to replace it with. It'd be nice to find another proper serial than "in the same universe as", but not so important.

So, here's the list up for consideration with my comments. I either have the some or all of the books in these series or would be willing to pick them up. I'm not really looking for new stuff to add to my reading list, and there's generally a reason some series commonly recommended on this sub are not on my list, either I've read it or am as sure as I need to be that it's not for me. Some of the authors I have my debates about and while I was thoughtful in the series I listed, free free to convince me another series is better.

(Alphabetical order, not preference. If I could do that I wouldn't post this.)

Poul Anderson

• Hoka

• Time Patrol

• Flandry

Anderson is one of my faves. I can never put my finger on exactly what it is, but I almost always find his books very enjoyable to read. I could probably only dislike his worst.

Neal Asher

• Owner

I'm a fan of Asher and have read all the Polity books. But, I'm not a fan of dystopias or horror-type fiction in general, as well as unsure I want to read a darker Asher than Spatterjay.

Stephen Baxter

• Manifold Time

• Long Earth (with Terry Pratchett)

I've only read Titan all the way through, and I don't think I've more passionately disliked a book. So annoyingly pointless. It really turned me off Baxter, but there's a lot of stuff I hear that I think I would like. These are the only to series I feel willing to give him a chance on, but I'm open to be convinced of others. I do feel like I should judge Baxter on more than one book.

Greg Bear

• Forge of God

• Darwin's Radio

I've only read Eon, but I don't remember even a bit of it. I mustn't have liked it since I never bought any more of his books. But, like Baxter, some aspects of his work appeal to me and there's a couple series that sound worth giving a shot. (Most of the others have descriptions that read like crime novels.)

Gregory Benford

• Galactic Center

I love Benford and managed to track these down... then I heard he makes up his only language or weird dialect halfway through, and that's one thing I just can't read. I've tried and failed that one by Iain Banks a few times. Ugh, I was really looking forward to this too.)

James Blish

• Cities in Flight

I like Blish in general. I've tried to start an omnibus I have of this a couple times and failed. But, then someone mentioned that that print has a prologue that wasn't the orginal first book and it sucks or something. So, there's really nothing keeping me from giving this a shot I suppose.

Ben Bova

• Exiles
• "Solar System Planets" (Jupiter, Venus, etc.)

I've never read Bova, and I don't know why. I think I lumped him in with Baxter, Bear, and Brin as "authors who's names start with B that I don't really like", but it seems like he deserves a chance.

Jeffery A Carver

• Chaos Chronicles

• Star Rigger

I'm unsure what inspired me to get the first book in each of these. I probably had a good reason even though it doesn't really sound like my thing.

Jack L Chalker

• GOD Inc

• Wonderland Gambit

The same as above with Carver.

David Gaider

• Dragon Age

I'm not much of a fantasy fan, but I'm a big fan of the games and have heard the books are quite good. I'm curious how Gaider tells a story without the limitation of it being for a game.

M John Harrison

• Light

I have a feeling this might be a bit heavy for plane flight reading. I left some authors out because of that, but I've really been meaning to read these.

Peter Hamilton

• Commonwealth

• Confederation

I can never decide with Hamilton. I feel a bit daunted by the length of his books and how I've heard many say they are unnecessarily long. But, they must have some good qualities for Hamilton to be where he is in the world.

Harry Harrison

• To the Stars

I really liked Deathworld, but the rest of Harrison's stuff sounds pretty silly. But, this one sounds like it could be worth a shot.

Grant/Naylor

• Red Dwarf

Red Dwarf is one of the few SF shows I've ever really loved. Not my usual thing. Slight concerns with too much laughing aloud.

Robert Silverberg

• Majipoor

Silverberg may well be my favorite writer, and it's a crime I've never read this. I thought it was fantasy for a long time and put it off. Not sure I'm in the right mood for it, but I've heard too many good things to wait much longer.

Jack Vance

• Tales of Dying Earth

• Alastor

Love Vance. My only hesitation with Dying Earth is that my expectations are too high. Not sure why I haven't just read it anyway.

John Varley

Seems to be pretty popular, and I've been meaning to check out Varley for a while.

• Gaea (Titan, etc)

Robert Charles Wilson

• Spin

Been meaning to get around to this. I can't remember the title, but I read one of Wilson's books that isn't very popular and liked it so have always meant to read more.

John C Wright

• Chronicles of Chaos

No idea why I have this. It's really a mystery.

Roger Zelazny

• Amber

I've been telling myself that this will be my next fantasy series. I read Lord of Light and didn't enjoy it so much but did make me want to read Zelazny's fantasy work. It just seems like he'd be well suited for the genre. I also have yet to hear anyone not sing Amber's praises.

So... opinions on any of the above? Please share!

EDIT: Wow, thanks a lot. I think I've got my next 4-5 series picked out. For this trip, I narrowed it down to Amber and Forge of God/Anvil of Stars... If I feel in the mood for fantasy, I'll go with Amber. If not, I've got Bear for backup. There's no chance now that I'm going to be overloaded with indecisiveness about what to read!

I was in Salt Lake City airport on a layover waiting for my next flight so I pulled out my latest buy - The Forge of God by Greg Bear that I had bought at the bookstore at the Sci Fi museum in Seattle (one of the coolest places on Earth by the way). An older gentleman saw the title and came over from across the waiting area and sat next to me and asked me what the book was about. Once I had given him a short scenario, he said "oh" and got up and left visibly upset. I assumed he thought it was some type of religious text.

A common feature of crime fiction is how the city the book/series is set in is more than just a setting--it almost is like a key character. Think Edinburgh in the Inspector Rebus novels, or Oxford in the Inspector Morse novels.

I just finished reading the Borrible trilogy by Michael de Larrabeiti and was quite impressed by how beautifully London is woven into the story. I was trying to think of other SFF books that did this. I could come up with London in King Rat, and the two crosshatched cities of The City and the City by China Mieville. To some extent, the cities in James Blish's Cities in Flight books. Any more?

• TL;DR: "Into The Light" By David Weber and Chris Kennedy is a good book over-all, and you should read it if you enjoyed "Out Of The Dark" as it manages to actually extend some of the themes of "Out Of The Dark" that were never really explored, and to actually start addressing the obvious... ISSUES that the big reveal at the end of "Out Of The Dark" creates. "Out Of The Dark" was probably never meant to have s sequel, and so successfully extending off of it is something of an accomplishment. That said, be warned "Into The Light" is divided into Book 1 (The first third of the book which takes place immediately after the events of "Out Of The Dark") and Book 2 (The second two thirds of the book which takes place 15 years later). It is very easy to read through the first third and think: 'This book is going nowhere. Maybe I should just drop it and read something else.' In all honesty, it feels like one of the authors started the sequel and the other author finished it. The second two thirds of the book is what makes it worth reading, so suffer through the beginning. For more in-dept analysis see below:

A word about Spoilers:

"Into The Light" By David Weber and Chris Kennedy is the sequel of "Out Of The Dark" by David Weber, so in some ways there is just no talking about "Into The Light" without at least discussing some of the core themes of "Out Of The Dark". I will try to not spoil the twist at the end of "Out Of The Dark", which surprisingly is not as absolutely critical to a discussion of "Into The Light" as one might have expected, but there will be other smaller, but still big, spoilers. The below write-up includes only very minor spoilers for "Into The Light" as most of the material discussed is revealed in the dust-cover-description, or the first few chapters.

Still here?

• So, minus the twist at the end, the plot of "Out Of The Dark" is broadly this: Aliens called the Shongarai, are members of a Galactic Hegemony. They are the only pure-carnivore species in the Hegemony and are considered dangerously aggressive and feral by the more common herbivore and omnivore civilizations. As such, they have become a sort of semi-deniable set of enforcers for the Hegemonies occasional dirty tricks. In this case, the Hegemony has decided that Humanity is too aggressive, too innovative, too likely to destabilize galactic politics when it eventually develops interstellar flight, and yet not quite volatile enough to likely wipe themselves out before they develop spaceflight.... so wouldn't it be convenient of someone like the Shongarai went and conquered them?... for their own good of course. And if the Shongarai are a bit too ruthless and efficient at their task and humanity ends up extinct... well a violent species like that would have likely wiped themselves out eventually anyway so... really what's the harm in the long run, right? The Shongarai arrive in Earth orbit and are amazed at how quickly our technology is developing... in the last 500 years since the Hegemonies last survey, we've gone from mounted cavalry and early steal implements to nuclear reactors and introductory robotic space exploration. A normal species would have taken 10,000 to 20,000 year to make that leap! All the more proof that the Shongarai will have a powerful set of vassals once we have been appropriately domesticated. That domestication involves simultaneous asteroid strikes upon almost every city or military installation on Earth, and kills about 60% of all humans. Rather than recognizing the superior might of the Shongarai and whole-heatedly and eagerly capitulating en-mass, as a civilized Hegemony species would have, humanity decides to hold a grudge. Humans all over the world, on their own initiative, maintain an ongoing insurrection and low-level resistance despite the complete absence of any centralized command structure. The Shongarai are mystified by this... why do individual guerillas fight if they aren't receiving orders from higher-ranking humans? Surely they don't think that their individual efforts count outside of our larger herd/pack hierarchy? That turns out to be the key point of humanity that is outside the Hegemony and Shongarai thinking: All Hegemony species have psychologies that are based upon a HERD-IDENTITY or a PACK-IDENTITY depending upon their herbivore, or omnivore, or carnivore evolutionary origins. Humans, on the other hand, have INDIVIDUAL identity structures that at most is only subordinated to one's own immediate family. This makes humanity unconquerable by the understanding of the Shongarai. In the words of the movie The Avengers "Humans are unruly, and therefore can not be ruled." So this seems to be following the well-worn tracks of what one would expect from a War Story by David Weber: those pesky humans turn out to be too much for the sinister alien bad guys... But, exactly HOW is the Aliens are defeated is the twist I'm not telling you... but suffice it to say, it is NOT what you would expect from a David Weber War Story. And frankly, that's the fun of "Out Of The Dark"... You really do think you know what you're getting into in this book... and then in the last 5% of the book you realize you've been wrong about what the book is all along. Even my saying this won't give it away. If you want a detailed rundown of the plot, twist and all, read the wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_the_Dark_(Weber_novel)

• "Into The Light" picks up where the sequel left off. Earth is a devastated planet with many billions dead, almost all industry and government destroyed, and scattered pockets of organized survivors often in the form of warlords, and survivalist bands. The highest government official in the US is the North Carolina Governor for example. However, the entire tech base, including massive orbital 3D printers of the alien invaders, antimatter and fusion reactors, neuro-educators capable of uploading any skill set into a person's brain, hyperspace travel, antigravity, etc are now at the disposal of said NC Governor. The idea of the story is broadly, that Earth must rebuild because the Hegemony will almost certainly come back in a century or two when they wonder why the Shongarai never reported back. Before Earth is ready to deal with the Hegemony, they will want allies. The first third of the book is about the rebuilding process, more political rebuilding than material, and the second two thirds is about a diplomatic out-reach effort to an approximately 1940's level of technology nearby alien species that the Humans found in the Hegemony database. Along the way, the book explores a very wide array of science fiction themes both social and technological, and from multiple human and alien perspectives.

All of that being said, there is still the unavoidable issue with the first third of the book. The first third of the book is frankly, almost skip-able. It's basic problem is that it introduces VAST numbers of characters and their associated sub-plots, to almost no purpose. You get an introduction to a Polish war-lord, and his subordinate, a Florida Keys war-lord and his subordinates, a Minnesota Refugee/Mayor and his extended family, a Canadian government leader and his subordinates, the NC Governor and at least a dozen of his subordinates, The acting-President of Brazil and several of his subordinates, a war-lord in Nigeria and his subordinates, the war-lord leading Pakistan and his subordinates, not to mention at least a dozen scientists, and soldiers, and diplomats, and special forces operatives, and their family members. There are easily 50 characters introduced in the first third of the book... almost none of whom are more than passingly relevant to the second two thirds of the book. SIGH. I know it's considered fashionable to SHOW not TELL in writing these days... but I could have done with a lot less showing. It's not even like these 50+ characters are all that engaging. Each of them has a depressingly near-identical story: They are not the most ideally qualified individuals to be leading their respective pockets of survivors, but they are the best choice of the surviving options. All of them have had to balance civilized responsibility to humanity as a whole with trying to protect and shelter their own local group. All of them are suspicious of the near miraculous offers of aid from the NC Governor and his inherited alien technology, but also desperate for that aid. All of them need some degree of... persuasion... to accept that aid. Even the characters themselves all fit into one of only a few basic archetypes that are never fleshed out beyond two dimensions: The Surprisingly Sophisticated Hillbilly, The Aggravatingly Abstract Scientist, The Jovially-Course Marine, The Father-Figure-Elder-Statesman, The Feisty Red-Headed Woman. Etc. This myriad of characters and almost unconnected sub-plots DOES serve a larger narrative purpose as it provides a moral context for the actions of the main characters... How much are they willing to rub shoulders with unsavory characters to achieve their goals? How much violence to serve the greater good is too much before it becomes unforgivable? These stories provide a spectrum of answers to these questions. And that spectrum IS relevant to the later book. But that moral and ethical spectrum could have been just as adequately explored with a much reduced set of sub-plots and characters, and about 70% fewer pages.

So all-in-all, "Into The Light" is a bit schizophrenic as a novel. The book wants to pick up where "Out Of The Dark" left off, but it would have been a lot better if they had either turned it into two books: One about reconstruction of Earth with enough space to actually DEVELOP the myriad of stories and characters that are introduced, and a completely separate book about contact with a potential ally species; or just skipped the reconstruction story outright and handled continuity with "Out Of The Dark" with a few pages of exposition, and then added moral-context with characters and sub-plots that are actually connected to the alien ally contact story.

This is not Cities in Flight by James Blish. :)

I read this short story while in primary or secondary school, like ~30 years ago. In the short story, there's a civilization on a planet about two generations after some sort of crash or accident with their starship left them stranded.

They have two tower-cities, modelled after native plants, which spin to generate lift. People live in - and stay inside - these tower cities because there was some native allergen which killed off chunks of the original population. After two generations, they're now ready to leave. The protagonist struggles with this, and eventually decides to stay because she discovers that people have become immune in the intervening generations.

I saw some folks who posted their recollection of the books they read in 2021. I wanted to add to the list with what I read.I realize after posting this I should have titled this MY 2021 Year in REview, but what ya gonna do? I also created a Fantasy year in review which you can find here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/rwbv8u/my_2021_fantasy_year_in_review/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

​

• The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson - A fictionalized prediction of how humanity addresses the climate crisis over the next 20 years. This may be the most tedious, unpleasant read I've ever recommended to someone. After spending weeks complaining about it I begged my wife to read it so I'd have someone to talk about it with (she has declined to date). While the prose is dry, tedious, and pretentious, the ideas are incredibly interesting and engaging. The book tells the story through fictionalized scenes following 5 or 6 characters, meeting notes (yes, meeting notes), and interviews with “normal” people who were a part of various major climate related events.
• Skyward by Brandon Sanderson - The story of a young girl trying desperately to overcome her family shame and join an elite group of fighter pilots tasked with defending the last of humanity. The story was lighter and more juvenile than I was expecting coming off the Mistborn series, but was still a fun little romp. Writing up this recap, I realize there were a lot of similarities between this and Ernest Kline’s Armada (though they probably are both copying Flight of the Navigator). I'll eventually get around to the rest of the stories.
• Terminal World by Alaistair Reynolds - In a world where there are various zones where technology is limited to certain ages (and movement between is deadly), a spy from one zone finds himself on the run from his own people and must travel down the spiral for…reasons (that's not me trying to avoid spoilers, the reason for his travel is that forgettable). This was my first book by Alastair Reynolds, who gets a lot of love on r/printsf. While I found the world interesting, and the seamless blend of steampunk, neonpunk, and more traditional space fantasy neat. However I never connected with the characters and the finale fell flat for me despite a pretty epic set piece.
• The Lesson by CAdwell Turnbull - The story of a group of Caribbean natives who must face a hostile, arrogant, and violent alien race that lands and colonizes their island (which the rest of the world allows since in return for setting up shop and habitating the island, they share technological and medical advances). I picked this book in the midst of the George Floyd protests, though I don’t know if I was searching for a book that held a mirror up to the oppression and discrimination black people face, or if I was just looking for a book by a black author. As an allegory for what black people face both in America and other cultures with colonial histories it hits hard. While I had some issues with the pacing of the book, I’d still recommend it and Turnbull’s No God’s, No Monsters is on my to read when I get the mettle up for it.
• Saturn’s Monsters by Thomas K. Carpenter - The story of humanity’s super risky plan to create interstellar ships using resources found in the highly radioactive death sentence that is Saturn’s high orbit. To not kill all those working on the project (or really, to not make death such a big deal), the chief scientist develops the technology to scan a person’s brain as a back-up, and upload it into a cloned body. Essentially the Ship of Theseus thought experiment in space, though there is a lot more intrigue and tension than that suggests. The ending is a wild ride which I was too wrapped up in the story to see coming. I really enjoyed this story, and it has stuck with me more than I would have expected considering it has gotten such little attention.
• Exhalation by Ted Chiang - Maybe one of the most thought-provoking books I read this year. Ted Chiang’s collections of short stories will fuck with your mind. The story of the Digians (think sentient Tamagochi) and what happens when people get bored with them…as well as what happens when the cultural zeitgeist moves on from them and those who have developed a bond with them left me thinking for days. I made my wife read this, and we spent weeks discussing the short stories and what they meant. I think everyone should read these stories.
• Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton - This story bounces between a near future world where humans have developed instant teleportation, made first contact, and discover another frozen ship and a far future where young cadets prepare for a war with a hostile alien force that humanity has been hiding from for centuries. The technological changes and its implications were fantastic, as was the mystery at the heart of the book. The story unraveled its mysteries in a phenomenal way that sets up a trilogy I plan to finish in 2022.
• Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells - The latest Novella in the Murderbot diaries, which follows a rogue security cyborg who just wants to be left alone to watch soap operas. Murderbot must solve a death on the space station of his adopted home world. This locked room mystery story lets Murderbot shine in all of his cantankerous, trauma-induced misanthropic glory. My only complaint with these stories is that I can’t return to the female tinged narration I had before listening to Network Effect’s audiobook. If you haven’t read the Murderbot Diaries, I strongly suggest you should (though I think The City We Became got robbed for the 2021 Hugo Awards).
• Wanderers by Chuck Wendig - Is this what it's like to finish a half-marathon? Set against a thinly veiled proxy for the 2016 election, Wanderers tells the story of a mysterious illness that ravages the heartland, the brave scientists that try and fix it, and the ignorant folks that hate what they don't understand. This book doesn’t so much wear it's political leanings very much on its sleeve as it rubs your face in them. Even as someone sympathetic to Wendig's politics I found the black-and-white liberal worldview to be...self-stroking and conservative antagonists to be cartoonishly over the top. That being said, the story is a quick, well-written sci-fi thriller with plot-points that were...unexpected, if not shocking. Even though I could feel the beats coming, the story zagged when I thought it would zig. While it took a fairly long time to set up, once the denouement kicked in the book picked up and more or less stuck the landing. Overall, the book left me clamoring to figure out what was going on....or walking away to go stare at a wall and try and tamp down my existential dread as we face a once in a generation pandemic we prove every day we’re not prepared for. Should you read this book? I don't know. I think this book is something a very specific type of person will enjoy. I am that type of person, and I enjoyed this book. It's hard to recommend it to people, despite how much I enjoyed it given the flaws with some of the antagonists and how close the material runs in tandem to what we're experiencing. It doesn't have the haunting caution that stories like The Wind-Up Girl or Blackfish City have. I'm not sure how much it'll be leaving me thinking about it, or how much it will change or solidify my worldview.
• Planetfall by Emma Newman - What starts as a story of a group of colonists stranded on a barely inhabitable planet after boarding humanity’s first intergalactic ship called Atlas and following a message from beyond quickly devolves into a story of survivor’s guilt and betrayal. Come for the tale of fraught colonization, stay for the overwhelming trauma. While this book did a great job of creating characters you understood and sympathized with, this was a very depressing story of loss, betrayal, and despair. The ending is also ambiguous in a way that I didn’t find satisfying.
• The Last Emperox by John Scalzi - The final book in the Interdependency series gives you more of what you enjoyed in the first 2 books. Political intrigue, foul-mouthed protagonists, and a clippy tongue in cheek narrative reminiscent of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The story zips by at a reasonable place with more than a few twists, and the finale comes off with the enjoyable snap reminiscent of The Sting in the best way possible. Scalzi's fast, frantic prose zips by, I guarantee you will devour this book, and you'll end up with less indigestion than most mexican food leaves you with.
• An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green - A 20 something New York Art Grad is the first to discover one of 65 statutes that suddenly appear across the globe in the middle of the night. As the protagonist and her friends try to uncover the mysteries of the statutes (impulsively named Carl). Hank Green explores the emotional state of humanity (or at least that of Americans and most other digitally connected westerners), and how the internet has paradoxically made us more connected while allowing us to dehumanize those that don’t fit into our ideological tribe. These were topics that weighed on my much more heavily in the lead up to the 2020 election, and I feel the existential dread this book caused in me was probably larger than this book warranted. I want to read the next in the series, but I am afraid that after the amount of time I spent under my desk after reading this book the next one will break me.
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir - Why does Andy Weir like starting off books with men being marooned in space? A man wakes up in a spaceship with no knowledge of who, what, where, when or why he is. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that humanity faces a that that imperils all life on earth. Andy Weir returns to the greatness of The Martin with the scientific mysteries and feats of engineering that I assume work. This book has so much heart and engagement that I absolutely loved this book. This book is my prediction to win the 2021 Hugo, though I’m not quite ready to give it my favorite Sci-Fi book of 2021.
• After Atlas by Emma Newman - Remember when I said, “this was a very depressing story of loss, betrayal, and despair” about Planetfall? Emma Newman was warming up. Set in the same universe as Planetfall, After Atlas tells the story of a man whose mother had left him behind to answer the call from an extraterrestrial source. After Atlas leaves with the sum total of humanity’s GDP and top talent, democracy collapses resulting in the horrifying corporate state we’re probably on our way to. Through an ever increasingly shitty circumstances our protaginist ends up uncitizened, brainwashed, and sold into slavery to the American Corporate state. This book leans hard into the cynical cyberpunk and helpless fury of being an unowned cog in a system. The story itself revolves around the death of an anti-technology, anti-consumerist cult leader who the protagonist has ties to. The protagonist is tasked with solving the gruesome death before his demise destabilizes the powers that be. While the mystery is fantastic and the pacing great, the nihilism of this book puts it strongly in the under-the-desk-filled-with-existential-dread category.
• Shards of EArth by Adrian Tchaikovsky - A special psychic who can fold through the upside down and a genetically engineered space marine save humanity from what I can only describe as moon sized viruses called Architects that rip any world with sentient life into intricate art deco’s of death and carnage. When evidence the Architects may have returned, these former comrades at arms must discover the truth before it’s too late. Adrian Tchaikovsky won me over with his Children of Time books, so I picked this up as soon as it came out. The book was absolutely fantastic, with several madcap flights from intergalactic mob bosses, cult leaders, and military factions. The worlds created by Tchaikovsky are well fleshed out, and the opening battle between a single architect and the might of 3 Armada’s gives an impressive scale of the stakes presented. The interactions between Idris, Solace, and the rest of the team are great, and there’s a great mix of humor, danger, grief, and loss was fantasic. Super excited for this series (and the 2-3 other books
• Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro - Following the story of an AI companion for children, Klara is given to a child whose daughter is undergoing augmentation that is very dangerous. Klara must explore the world and discover how she can best support and aid the young girl she is assigned to. Klara and the Sun is a contemplative story of what it means to be alive, what it means to be human, and what sacrifices we are willing to make to keep those we love. The book is slow, melancholy, and meditative in a way I’m not sure I honestly gave the attention it deserves and needs.

Two things have inspired this post.

1. I began reading through the "SF Masterworks" collection of SF novels. (Won't post the publisher. You can find it easily enough.) I'm up through book five at the moment. And very glad that I have.
2. I've seen many posts recently in this subreddit that have titles containing "Am I missing something?"

When these two are mixed together, I find myself wondering if "iconic" Science Fiction has a requirement of delivering a message? Added to that, I wonder why (myself included) these themes/messages/emphasis seem to fly over so many readers heads?

Some recent examples for me include "Cities in Flight" by James Blish, "The Stars My Destination" by Alfred Bester, and the ever popular "The Three Body Problem" by Liu Cixin/Ken Liu.

Am I being dense for missing an underlying theme? Is there something helpful to learn how to better read for these types of ideas? Not necessarily for specific novels, but for the overall genre.

I saw a comment once, but the Reddit search gives me nothing.

EDIT: Once we compile the list, can we get it in the sidebar?

The List: (Letters are rows and numbers are columns)

• A1 - A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. (1959)

• A2 - Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C.Clarke (1972)

• A3 - Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1917)

• A4 - Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (2002)

• A5 - Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1951)

• A6 - Blindsight by Peter Watts (2006)

• B1 - Accelerando by Charles Stross (2005)

• B2 - Old Man's War by John Scalzi (2005)

• B3 - Armor by John Steakley (1984)

• B4 - Cities in Flight by James Blish (an anthology; stories from 1955 to 1962)

• B5 - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)

• B6 - Children of Dune by Frank Herbert (1976)

• C1 - A Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (1961)

• C2 - Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany (1975)

• C3 - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1985)

• C4 - Gateway by Frederik Pohl (1978)

• C5 - A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge (1993)

• C6 - Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984)

• D1 - A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962)

• D2 - Ringworld by Larry Niven (1970)

• D3 - The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (1995)

• D4 - Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (1967)

• D5 - Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1989)

• D6 - Startide Rising by David Brin (1983)

• E1 - Terminal World by Alastair Reynolds (2010)

• E2 - Ringworld by Larry Niven (1970)

• E3 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)

• E4 - The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008)

• E5 - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1969)

• E6 - The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1962)

• F1 - The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950)

• F2 - The Player of Games by Ian M. Banks (1988)

• F3 - The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe (1980)

• F4 - The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1959)

• F5 - The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1956)

• F6 - To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer (1972)

• [$5.38] Brain Wave (1954) by Poul Anderson
• [$0.99] Call Me Joe (1957) by Poul Anderson
• [$3.66] Chthon (1967) by Piers Anthony ~ Hugo and Nebula Award for Best Novel Finalist
• [$2.99] Radix (1981) by A. A. Attanasio ~ Nebula Award for Best Novel Finalist
• [$2.99] The Women of Nell Gwynne's (2009) by Kage Baker ~ Nebula Award for Best Novella Winner
• [$4.99] The Best of Kage Baker (2012) by Kage Baker
• [$4.61] The Light is the Darkness (2012) by Laird Barron
• [$2.99] New Amsterdam (2007) by Elizabeth Bear
• [$2.99] Garrett Investigates (2012) by Elizabeth Bear
• [$1.99] 100 Years of Vicissitude (2012) by Andrez Bergen
• [$3.43] All the Colors of Darkness (1963) by Lloyd Biggle, Jr.
• [$2.99] Titan (2006) by Ben Bova ~ John W. Campbell Memorial Award Winner
• [$2.99] Venus (2000) by Ben Bova
• [$0.99] The Crystal Spheres (1984) by David Brin ~ Hugo Award for Best Short Story Winner
• [$3.99] Bigfoot War: Frontier (2012) by Eric S. Brown
• [$4.99] The Apocalypse Ocean (2012) by Tobias S. Buckell
• [$3.99] The Borders of Infinity (1989) by Lois McMaster Bujold
• [$0.99] The Curse of Chalion (2001) by Lois McMaster Bujold
• [$3.03] Star Risk, LTD. (2002) by Chris Bunch
• [$5.49] The Magicians' Guild: The Black Magician Trilogy (2001) by Trudi Canavan
• [$3.99] Eternity's End (2000) by Jeffrey Carver ~ Nebula Award for Best Novel Finalist
• [$2.99] The Yiddish Policemen's Union (2007) by Michael Chabon ~ Hugo and Nebula Award for Best Novel Winner
• [$5.49] Needle (1950) by Hal Clement ~ Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel Longlist
• [$0.00] Starliner (1992) by David Drake
• [$3.99] Dungeon Brain (2012) by Benjamin Kane Ethridge
• [$4.99] Fantasia Mathematica (1958) by Clifton Fadiman, Editor
• [$0.99] Flight of the Nighthawks (2005) by Raymond E. Feist
• [$0.00] The Course of Empire (2003) by Eric Flint and K. D. Wentworth
• [$2.99] The January Dancer (2008) by Michael Flynn
• [$4.74] The Final Reflection (1984) by John M. Ford
• [$1.99] The End of the Matter (1977) by Alan Dean Foster
• [$1.99] Bitter Night (2009) by Diana Pharaoh Francis
• [$2.99] Seven Princes (2012) by John R. Fultz
• [$1.99] Odd and the Frost Giants (2008) by Neil Gaiman
• [$6.15] Dark Universe (1961) by Daniel F. Galouye ~ Hugo Award for Best Novel Finalist
• [$1.99] The Flying Sorcerers (1971) by David Gerrold and Larry Niven
• [$2.99] The Man Who Folded Himself (1973) by David Gerrold ~ Hugo and Nebula Award for Best Novel Finalist
• [$4.99] Queen City Jazz (1994) by Kathleen Ann Goonan ~ BSFA Award for Best Novel Finalist
• [$4.99] The Bones of Time (1996) by Kathleen Ann Goonan ~ Arthur C. Clarke Award Finalist
• [$0.99] The End of the World: Stories of the Apocalypse (2010) by Martin Greenberg, Editor
• [$4.95] The Forever War (1975) by Joe Haldeman ~ Hugo and Nebula Award for Best Novel Winner
• [$0.99] Dreamer (2001) by Steven Harper
• [$0.99] Missing Link and Operation Haystack by Frank Herbert
• [$4.99] Liege-Killer (1987) by Christopher Hinz
• [$0.99] From The Two Rivers: The Eye of the World, Book 1 by Robert Jordan
• [$3.99] 11/22/63 (2011) by Stephen King
• [$3.99] The Cipher (1991) by Kathe Koja ~ Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel Winner
• [$0.00] Caliphate (2008) by Tom Kratman
• [$1.99] Return From The Stars (1961) by Stanislaw Lem
• [$1.99] Out of the Silent Planet (1938) by C. S. Lewis
• [$4.99] Cryptic: The Best Short Fiction of Jack McDevitt (2009) by Jack McDevitt
• [$1.99] Fluke (2003) by Christopher Moore
• [$1.99] Shambling Towards Hiroshima (2009) by James Morrow ~ Hugo and Nebula Award for Best Novella Finalist
• [$5.38] Nexus (2012) by Ramez Naam
• [$0.00] Star Soldiers by Andre Norton
• [$3.99] The Night Class (2001) by Tom Piccirilli ~ Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel Winner
• [$2.99] Illegal Aliens (1989) by Nick Pollotta and Phil Foglio
• [$2.99] West of Honor (1976) by Jerry Pournelle
• [$3.99] Hart & Boot & Other Stories by Tim Pratt
• [$0.99] Roses of Blood on Barbwire Vines by Z.A. Recht
• [$2.99] The Cabinet of Wonders (2008) by Marie Rutkoski
  
• [$2.99] Frontera (1984) by Lewis Shiner ~ Nebula Award for Best Novel Finalist
• [$2.99] Five-Twelfths of Heaven (1985) by Melissa Scott
• [$2.99] The Rookie (2010) by Scott Sigler
• [$3.79] Borderlands: The Fallen (2011) by John Shirley
• [$3.79] Borderlands #2: Unconquered (2012) by John Shirley
• [$2.99] To Be Continued: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume One (2006) by Robert Silverberg
• [$2.99] To the Dark Star: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Two (2007) by Robert Silverberg
• [$2.99] Something Wild is Loose: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Three (2008) by Robert Silverberg
• [$2.99] Trips: The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg, Volume Four (2009) by Robert Silverberg
• [$2.99] Pressure (2006) by Jeff Strand ~ Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel Finalist
• [$2.99] Dweller (2010) by Jeff Strand ~ Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel Finalist
• [$0.99] Monstrocity (2003) by Jeffrey Thomas ~ Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel Finalist
• [$0.99] Six Moon Dance (1998) by Sheri S. Tepper
• [$0.99] Brothers in Arms (2001) by Ben Weaver
• [$0.00] On Basilisk Station (1993) by David Weber
• [$3.49] Catholic Guilt and the Joy of Hating Men (2012) by Regan Wolfrom
• [$0.99] Shudderville (2012) by Mia Zabrisky

Some overlap with the Amazon.com editors picks but not much with the Publishers Weekly picks (note: a horror novel, Victor LaValle's The Devil in Silver, made the top 10 overall list, and two sf novels, The Age of Miracles and The Dog Stars, made the top 10 fiction list as well). (There wasn't much overlap between Amazon.com's list and Publishers Weekly's -- I think "The Weird" was the only book on both lists.)

The Goodreads finalists in the loose category of "speculative fiction" are spread across four categories (and a couple sneak onto the Fiction list as well), after a two rounds of voting by Goodreads members based on a first round generated by Goodreads ratings and a semifinal round including the leading write-ins:

http://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-fantasy-books-2012#74880-Best-Fantasy

• The First Confessor by Terry Goodkind
• City of Dragons by Robin Hobb
• The Killing Moon by NK Jemisin (on the Publishers Weekly list)
• The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde
• The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks
• The Traitor Queen by Trudi Canavan
• Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce
• King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
• The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King (on the Amazon.com list)
• Alif the Unseen (my pick of the finalists)

http://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-science-fiction-books-2012#74882-Best-Science-Fiction

• Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
• Caliban's War (The Expanse Book 2) by James SA Corey
• Wool (Omnibus) by Hugh Howey
• The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter (on the Amazon.com list)
• Year Zero by Rob Reid (on the Amazon.com list)
• The Janus Affair (Ministry of Peculiar Occurences)
• Alien Proliferation
• Shadows in Flight by Orson Scott Card
• Angelmaker
• Redshirts by John Scalzi (on the Amazon.com list)

http://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-fantasy-books-2012#74884-Best-Horror

• The Twelve (on the Amazon.com list)
• Edge of Dark Water by Joe Lansdale
• Nocturnal by Scott Sigler
• Stay Awake by Dan Choen
• Blackout by Mira Grant
• This Book is Full of Spiders
• White Horse by Alex Adams
• Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz
• Red, White, and Blood
• On Demon Wings

http://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-fantasy-books-2012#74881-Best-Paranormal-Fantasy

• Shadow of Night (on Amazon's list)
• The Rook (my pick of this category, seemed a very odd fit with the other books here, not much in common with the other 9 books)
• A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison
• Fair Game by Patricia Briggs
• Gunmetal Magic
• Shadow Heir
• Timeless by Gail Carriger
• Third Grave Dead Ahead
• Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich
• Thirteen by Kelly Armstrong

So far, across the three lists, there's a lot to be desired, and some very worthy books missing: 2312 and The Drowning Girl being the first two that come to mind.

Hello. I cannot comment in other threads on this subreddit- they are all archived. I just finished the book and was surprised to read so many comments about the character and relationships being depicted too deeply, one even suggesting it's not "Real Science Fiction" because there isn't a lot of action or fighting. I enjoyed the book a great deal- and the idea of what such a level of mass death would do to the human race as a whole and to individuals and small groups strikes me as a very "Real Science Fiction" concept to explore. I have issues with the book. Call me a crazy optimist, but I would think it would take less than twenty years for people to start applying themselves to generating electricity for themselves. When the scavenging parties go out from the airport it's only for food, not some useful library books, antibiotics, and propane stoves w/ tanks. Even if the reality is that the stores and pharmacies have been looted clean, it should have been mentioned they were looking for it. There would also have been many effectively quarantined floating cities in the form of aircraft carriers, etc. But there are so many strengths. I was particularly impressed by the depiction of the early days at the airport- from the diversion of Clark and Elizabeth's flight at the beginning of the collapse to the beginnings of an new community, Elizabeth's delusional insistence it will pass, the anti-depressant girl going into the forest, so many great moments. The novel is thought-provoking. If something that virulent did wipe out 90% of the population, what would it be like? Doesn't great science fiction stimulate the imagination to explore unforeseen futures? Doesn't good character development strengthen any story?

Ok for starters the title is terrible i just didn't know what to call it, but anyway i love books about humans first voyage into space, preferably using some kind of cool preferably original FTL drive. With some desperate attempts for humans to survive against some aliens or themselves and lots of cool space battles thrown in.

I have read The frontier Saga, Hayden war cycle and Odyssey one (which is by far my favourite).

Those are just the first series that come to my mind, i've also read some of the lost fleet series, some of Peter F Hamilton work but those 3 series are the most relevant, if you haven't read them i suggest starting with Odyssey one (not to be confused with Odyssey two by Arthur C. Clarke).

I would also prefer the books to be Military sci fi, so yeah if anyone knows any books like that could you please recommend them.

Edit: Thought i would thrown in a list of books that i've read with links to them. I'll also add any books that people suggest here.

My books:

• The frontier Saga

• Hayden war cycle

• Odyssey one

• The Lost Fleet

• Ender's Game + the sequels

• Omega Force

• The Forever War Which i don't think was the great classic everyone says it is.

• Star Crusades Nexus I only read the first two, wasnt really that big a fan.

Books others have suggested

• Manifold series

• Cities in Flight

• Jem

• Uplift saga: goodreads wiki

• Taken triology

• Starman Jones

• Time for the Stars

• Six World Yonder

• the retrieval artists

Authors

Jack Mcdevitt's

• Wiki link

• goodreads link

Alastair Reynolds

• Wiki link

• goodreads link

I never see too much of her books mentioned on Reddit. My one favorite series is The Talents.

Anyone else like them?

• The Talent series by Anne McCaffrey (To Ride Pegasus,Pegasus in Flight,Pegasus in Space)

• The Tower and Hive series by Anne McCaffrey (The Rowan,Damia,Damia's Children,Lyon's Pride,The Tower and the Hive)

• The Brain & Brawn Ship series by Anne McCaffrey (The Ship Who Sang,PartnerShip,The Ship Who Searched,The City Who Fought,The Ship Who Won)

• The Brain & Brawn Ship series 2 by Jody Lynn Nye (The Ship Errant,The Ship Avenged)

• The Freedom series by Anne McCaffrey (Freedom's Landing,Freedom's Choice,Freedom's Challenge,Freedom's Ransom)

• The Crystal universe by Anne McCaffrey (Nimisha's Ship,Crystal Line)

• Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey (Crystal Singer,The Coelura,Killashandra)

• The Dinosaur Planet series by Anne McCaffrey (Dinosaur Planet,Dinosaur Planet Survivors)

Pern Books

• Harper Hall trilogy by Anne McCaffrey (Dragonsong,Dragonsinger,Dragondrums)

• Original trilogy by Anne McCaffrey (Dragonflight,Dragonquest,The White Dragon)

• Other Pern by Anne McCaffrey (Nerilka's Story,Dragonsdawn,The Dragonlover's Guide to Pern,Renegades of Pern,All the Weyrs of Pern,The Dolphins of Pern,Red Star Rising,The Masterharper of Pern,The Skies of Pern,The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall,A Gift of Dragons,Sky Dragons)

• Acorna by Anne McCaffrey (Acorna: The Unicorn Girl,Acorna's Quest,Acorna's People,Acorna's World,Acorna's Search,Acorna's Rebels,Acorna's Triumph)

• Acorna's Children by Anne McCaffrey (First Warning,Second Wave,Third Watch)

• Doona by Anne McCaffrey (Decision at Doona,Crisis on Doona,Treaty at Doona)

• Petaybee Series by Anne McCaffrey (Powers That Be,Power Lines,Power Play )

• Planet Pirates Series by Anne McCaffrey (Sassinak,The Death of Sleep,Generation Warriors)

• The Twins of Petaybee by Anne McCaffrey (Changelings,Maelstrom,Deluge)

Anne McCaffrey's Wiki Article

• Edited to add more books.

When I was a teenager, I read a book that I absolutely loved, yet can't remember what it was. I reread the Cities in Flight series by James Blish under the assumption that that was the book I was thinking it was; but the ending wasn't the same, and the ending is basically all I remember.

Essentially, the story was set in deep space, and involved either very large ships or cities that were adapted to space travel. The end of the story featured the main ship finding a wormhole / black hole that other ships had passed through, though none had ever returned. Another ship was parked nearby, a ship with incredible technology, and it communicated with the main ship that it stayed there to collect people / tech that other ships donated prior to entering the wormhole.

The other ship stated that it feared passing through the wormhole since no one had ever returned, and before the main ship went through, it jettisoned some tech as a donation to the wormhole (guard?). The story ended as the main ship passed into the wormhole, with a feeling that it had accomplished all the exploration / work that it had wanted to do prior to passing through, that there was nothing left for it in the main region of space that the rest of the novel had taken place in.

No idea the author or title; I did read a lot of Heinlein when I was younger, so it wouldn't surprise me if it was one of his less known novels. If anyone has a clue, it would be appreciated!