I'm a huge fan of science fiction. It's my favorite genre of all time. You guys have consistently dropped some of the best recommendations I've ever received in my life, so I'm more that ecstatic to see what y'all got to recommend me! I would define good writing as concise. I love novels that don't have a single letter out of place. Books like East of Eden by John Steinbeck or Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. I also love books that have deep, philosophical themes that you can meditate on for months, even years after you finished reading them. So for example I really love rhe symbolism and themes of books like The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishoguro, Beloved by Toni Morrison, and Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon. I also have a slight preference for sci-fi written by actual scientists so stuff like Contact by Carl Sagan (my favorite sci-fi novel of all time) or Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge. Thank you so much for the recommendations in advance, I love you all <3
by pawn279
17 Comments
Hyperion – Dan Simmons
The Dispossessed by Ursala K LeGuin. UBIK by Philip K Dick.
Axiomatic – Greg Egan. It’s a book of his short stories, but it absolutely meets your criteria. The stories explore the philosophical implications of various scientific theories and possibilities. Themes of identity and free will are prominent. Fascinating all the way through.
The Dune Series.
The expanse
The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis! It is one of the least known and best works of C.S. Lewis! You can’t go wrong giving it a read, it is prophetic!
Masks of the Illuminati by Robert Anton Wilson
Typical plot: James Joyce and Albert Einstein get wasted together and become occult space/time detectives
Hyperion is my favourite, but I have to recommend The Third Body Problem trilogy. A lot of western readers find the writing dry and have issues with some major characters, but I think this is a translation thing, and not just in language but in culture (Chinese). When you actually read between the lines it’s quite literary.
The Uplift Saga , David Brin .
You should definitely read Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. But best sci-fi period I think is Project Hail Mary.
stories of your life and others by ted chiang. its so unique i cant even really describe it.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The best evolutionary world-building you’ll ever read.
Dune
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Foundation trilogy
Solaris by Lem.
“I, Robot” by Isaac Asimov,
“Solaris” by Stanisaw Lem,
“Stories of Your Life and Others” by Ted Chiang,
“An Ocean of Minutes” by Ted Chiang,
“The Wandering Earth” by Cixin Liu,
“To Hold Up the Sky” by Cixin Liu,
(Debatable if Sci-Fi) “Lullaby” by Chuck Palahniuk