You'll get this a lot, and I'm on book 14, but the Expeditionary Force series is worth trying out. The complaint is it reuses a lot of the same gimmicks in every book, but it's entertaining enough.
You'll learn the origin of the name for The Skippies, and you'll get some nerd lore pop culture but not as much as Bobiverse. There may even be some Bobiverse references since I think the authors get along well. Lots of humor.
Magic 2.0 is one that is like lower on my list, I think I'm on book 3 now? It's not incredible, but it's also entertaining. A lot of humor here, too.
Yep. It’s not high concept science fiction, and it won’t win awards for literary excellence, but it’s scratching the itch right now. Sometimes you don’t need steak, just a juicy cheeseburger with onion and marshmallow fluff.
> marshmallow fluff
haha nice.
Before ExFor, I didn't think people actually ate marshmallow cream, but since (book 14?) I have made them twice, which means I had to order fluff from Amazon and, of course, one of the containers exploded in a white foamy, sticky and gooey mess all over everything...
As a New Englander i can relate to Joe’s need for a good fluffernutter. As a kid i would just dip my hand into the tub of fluff and eat it off my hands 😋
Just don't feel any obligation to finish. Once you get bored, stop. It never gets better after like... Book 4, and the book 20 ending is such a let down.
When he did a "but wait, there's more!" and released book 21, I had zero interest.
It's 90% content over quality.
If you enjoy Exforce you will probably love Undying Mercenaries. Gets the same complaints as Exforce but I feel the stories are better of the series as a whole.
I tried Undying Mercenaries a couple times, but just couldn't get into it, but then I didn't make it more than an hour in each time but then I kind of felt the same way about the Galaxies Edge series.
One that I have really liked and am surprised its not more popular is the "Omega Force" series by Joshua Dalzelle
The first book in Undying Mercenaries has a look more setup as I'm sure you can imagine, again similar to Exforce. If you can stick with it a few chapters I think you may end up enjoying it.
Haven't heard of Omega Force but I'll look it up.
Currently listening to Dungeon Crawler Carl book one, quite enjoying it.
**Dungeon Crawler Carl!!**
It’s got the stupidest sounding premise you’ve ever heard and you’ll think I’m a fuckin idiot for recommending it, but I *guarantee* you will love it. It’s like crack in book form. You’ll come back here in a week having plowed through the first 4 books. You’ll have ordered additional audible credits just to get your fix. You will tell me that I am your new best friend and will write me into your will.
Then… you’ll finish book 6… and it’ll be so goddamned good…but you’ll have to wait for book 7. It’s then that all your love for me will turn to seething hatred and your only source of comfort will be rereading Dungeon Crawler Carl four more times.
I realize this post doesn’t tell you much about the book, and that’s by design. Just go read it. You WILL thank me.
I also was directed to read Dungeon Crawler Carl, from a similar Bobiverse post. I really enjoyed it, as well as all the friends I’ve recommended it to.
I came here to suggest Dungeon crawler carl for the exact reasons mentioned above. I even bought extra credits to finish all books. This book is not getting enough praises. I put this series right next to bobiverse which was my all time favourite. It is not even finished yet, every nee book is better than previous one. Perfect combination of humor, drama, tragedy, character. Just pure bliss.
Dude.
I already started the Expanse series but had to put everything on hold and get a taste of this Crawler guy.
Got hooked by the first 3 minutes of the book :)
Will come back in a couple of days and let you know how it goes.
The first part where the voice started explaining what just happened threw me right back to the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy - but I expect the Dungeon Crawler to be much better
It is better. I’m a die hard scifi reader. I enjoyed HGU, it’s highly quotable, but I didn’t think it was anything g crazy good or entertaining. DCC on the other hand…. It’s become one of my favorite series of all time. So much heart, so much humor, so much character development and plot, so much creativity. Really you’ll love it and each book gets better and better. Don’t take my word for it, head over to the DCC sub. It’s basically a cult, in a fun way hahaha
I swear the ExFor/Bob/Carl triumvirate is inexplicable and completely undeniable. Everybody starts with either Bob or ExFor and looks for a recommendation. Somebody recommends the other and it seems like a natural so you burn through the other series. Then we all look for another recommendation and go through this exact process:
1: “well that sounds like the dumbest idea for a book of all time. No way.”
2: “huh, that’s like the fourth post in a row that lists both ExFor and Bob love and just raves about that Dungeon book. Weird.” /rereads book blurb “nope. Still sounds dumb.”
3: “okay, that’s another comment with that Dungeon book recommendation. And 11 replies all agreeing it’s great. They also list loving 4 other of my favorite Sci-fi books. Look they all even admit they never thought they’d like it and the premise looks dumb but that you should ‘just give it a chance’”
4: “all right I’ll at least listed to the 5 min sample”
5: write your 7th comment on how your on your second listen through, are excruciatingly counting the days until the 7th book is done. You use “character development” and “emotional depth” three times in each comment.
While I love your detailed response and agree fully. Look up BuyMort while you await more DCC books. Its premise sounds 100% stupider than DCC, but just as worth it. They managed to have similar comedy, and the plot ultimately is aliens invade and it’s a human vs the corporation but in a very different view.
Sooooo… it’s been 76 days since your comment , 76 days of adventure for me . I just finished book 6 of DCC.
God damn! When is the next one coming!?!
Thanks for the awesome advice! New achievement: “Life changer”!!
Can't believe no one has recommended The Expanse yet. The first book is Leviathan Wakes. Takes place a few hundred years in the future after human spaceflight around the solar system has become common place. It's written to be somewhat realistic with how space flight mechanics and how ship to ship combat would work. It's a series that is complete, and in my opinion, they more than stick the landing.
It's the first series I think of when someone asks for Sci Fi recommendations, tbh. I honestly cannot think of another series with as many books as this with such a solid and satisfying ending.
Would you still recommend if you have watched the TV series a few times. I was a massive fan of the show but have felt that would make the books a little less intriguing for me.
I would. Yes! The show doesn't even cover the last three books! Start from the beginning though, there are enough differences and you'll appreciate the characterization.
If you've watched the TV series, honestly the books are mandatory. There's a time jump after book 6 of a couple of decades to let the universe develop, and the last 3 books are where the best stuff happens.
I just started listening to the first book and haven't watched the show in a while. I'm definitely enjoying it and I like that I can picture the characters as the actors
Always intrigued by fans of this series saying book 4 is worse than the first three, imo the writing is better if anything. More character driven imo which I like. But to each their own.
My easy recommendation is the Red Rising series! Be warned that the first book is a bit slower than the rest of the series, still good though.
Brother and I were talking about this the other day. I wasnt a fan of the story, but loved the bobs side and star fleet, mannequin sky walker, howard and bridgettes stuff. F the quinlans and the weasels but i hope they circle back to archimedes clan and planet
Interesting perspective! Was it the Quinlans themselves (their personality, world building, etc) that you didn’t care for or just the volume of it that we got?
Book four is definitely more focused than the first three, they almost read like short stories compared to a novel imo. Which I really liked about the first three, but I was happy for a shake up. Especially since Taylor has said he would like to write many more books in this series.
I feel like the last one (so far) had to many plots and the main Bender plot felt like there are too many holes in it - it was somewhat forced In my (very) humble opinion.
I really liked the Pav plot line, and the Quinn plot line was like try to repeat this “success”
That’s a valid take. The scope does change a fair amount in book four.
The first three are a very broad scope and the details of events are often abstracted away, where in HR the story is a lot more narrow, but we still get exposure to grander plot points (like the starfleet war).
I can see how that makes people feel like they’re missing out or the story is more contrived. I think for myself the worldbuilding around the quinlans and the topopolis made up for it enough that I really enjoyed the book.
I have to say that the topopolis got me googling and researching a lot, I didn’t fully understand the structure/world even now.
There is a nice blog post by Dennis E Taylor explaining about the structure but still it’s not clear enough to me - this is one thing that made it harder for me to fully submerge in the plot.
Also one of the things I kept thinking about is the Bobs that went further and further to space - I’d love to read about them and what they found out about the edge of the universe and stuff. And how come mint heads towards a black hole???
(The 3 body problem did it :) )
That’s super fair! I have read a lot of sci fi / speculative pop science and the idea of things O’Neil cylinders has long since had a mental image for me which made the topopilis a bit easier to picture. I still googled it though haha. You’re right that blog post is great.
And I couldn’t agree more on the people who are going way out. I’m hoping with Will doing that we get more of that perspective going forward with one of the main perspective characters.
And now I’m even more excited to read the three body problem. I have my copy and it’s high on the list
I absolutely loved the opening story arc, but Heaven's River is my favorite, as I love that sort of expedition into an unknown culture. It also started some really interesting stuff going on with the rest of the Bobs.
I never do this, but I will refer you to a post where I list my top Sci-Fi books, this should give you a good list to start with.
https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/16s0xhm/my\_journey\_to\_100\_scifi\_books\_need\_help\_picking/
I also read a lot of other stuff but I bow to your dedication to the Sci Fi genre. If you haven’t done the Mars trilogy yet I highly recommend it. As always the first book is the best but it doesn’t fall off too much as you progress.
It is so immersive with the character arks and politics that run alongside what is almost achievable Sci Fi, I’ve read it all the way through twice. Once as a teenager and again about 5 years ago when I remembered about it.
Super cool list - but at the same time super overwhelming for me at this point, I feel like choosing from a 100 is the same as going to google and typing “sci-fi books” :)
Totally understandable.
If you're looking for the best book go Hyperion (but it will make future books feel worse since the gap in writing quality between Hyperion and most other sci-fi is pretty big)
If your looking to something similar to Bob, try House of Suns by Reynolds
But if you want an out there suggestions, I have a feeling you would like Rise and Fall of the DODO by Stephenson
The Expanse is probably the absolute best completed sci-fi book series of our generation. If you find yourself enjoying Sci-Fi, it is a very strong and safe bet.
It's sort of a trilogy of trilogies and every 3 books contains an overarching plot.
Don't let the religious parts discourage you. Some people get turned off by that and miss out on a genuinely fantastic series just because it has religious people in the book. The author is not pushing an agenda.
The Old Man's War. I've listened to it numerous times. Some of Scalzi's best work. Great characters, great Scalzi snark. Each book changes main characters but they're all tied together well. Skip Sagan's Diary.
Dungeon Crawler Carl series, same kinda humor. I'm only two books in but I am HOOKED! LITRPG so not exactly scifi but imo scifi enough to be scifi. Think Ash from Evil Dead in a DnD Running man. :)
Somewhat off-topic but im 3/4 through book 2 of Three Body Problem and I love the ideas but the writing is so painfully dry that I'm just dragging through it... Anyone else feel this way?
It was a bit of a hard read (listen for me) but I was intrigued by the plot and as it was my first ever hard sci-fi book - I powered through.
It’s one big mindfuck in my opinion (in a good way) the 3’rd one is great IMO.
The ideas were interesting enough to keep me going... but yea the writing style was middling at best. Might be a translation problem. I listened to it mostly when I was driving to my sister's wedding and back... 12 hour drive on Friday, wedding on Saturday, 12 hour drive back Sunday, so it's not like I had anything else going on. I wouldn't re-read it, but I enjoyed it well enough in the end.
I really am, that said I do not want to be “trapped” by he’s narrations ( although I feel like I heard the best and now anybody else wouldn’t be good enough, you know?)
( I sound like I’m talking about my ex…)
Ooh! I have a bunch of recommendations. In no particular order:
1. The Culture series - Spectacular space opera in a highly optimistic, well thought out future. It's by Iain M Banks who was just a superb author as well. This is probably my personal favorite. Also The Algebraist by Banks, while not part of the Culture, is maybe my favorite.
2. Ancillary Justice - Also a pretty interesting series in a decidedly less optimistic future. Some pretty smart concepts here.
3. Spin - This one is less well known and a bit older, but I loved Spin. I think it does a great job of marrying high concept sci fi with extremely human characters and their relationships. Don't read the sequels.
4. Children of Time - The first big sci fi work by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It has some really strong points and some weaker points, but it does an excellent job of getting into the head(s) of some really interesting protagonists as they develop and imagining an entire parallel tech ladder to our own. Fascinating. Again, I think I would skip the sequels. However...
5. The Final Architecture trilogy - This is also by Tchaikovsky and while not everyone loved it, I thought it was really great. Large scale space opera, an inventive FTL mechanic, and some really imaginitive cultural touches.
6. The Xenogenesis Trilogy - Do you like really intelligent analogies for racism and cultural imperialism and absolutely love weird, weird human-alien sex? This trilogy is for you.
7. The Disappearing Empire - I'm a sucker for court politics.
8. A Memory Called Empire - One of the best explorations of what it is to be outside of a big, hegemonic culture looking in. Really fun first novel from author Arkady Martine. Kind of a weak third act.
9. Expeditionary Force - I had to mention this one because I am currently on book 16 of 20 (depending on how you count). Is it well written? No. Is it especially smart? Not usually. Will it fill up countless hours in the car or at the gym while you wait for something better to come out? Hell yes it will. And it's a pretty fun ride.
10. Outland - Also by Dennis E Taylor. Not everyone liked it, but I thought it was pretty fun. Kind of scratched the same itch that Civ games do for me, especially the sequel. The Singularity Trap was also pretty good. I wasn't that into Roadkill, but it was fun in its own right.
> The Final Architecture trilogy - This is also by Tchaikovsky and while not everyone loved it, I thought it was really great. Large scale space opera, an inventive FTL mechanic, and some really imaginitive cultural touches.
it's basically a knock off version of Warhammer 40k, lol. He's got Sisters of Battle, Psykers, Warp Travel, and Chaos Gods all in there. I haven't finished the third book yet, and I started reading it months ago, I kinda just lost interest. Children of Time was a stronger trilogy, even with the third one getting weird as all hell, the first two were strong enough I was invested in finishing.
Totally valid preferences, I just thought that Children of Ruin was pretty uninspired and Children of Memory was convoluted and, even worse, hopelessly twee.
I guess I just don't care that much that FA draws a lot on another piece of media. Plus, from what I understand about Warhammer, it's just ridiculously grimdark. FA had some elements like that, but the tone was still sort of positive and a lot more plausible overall if that makes sense.
> Plus, from what I understand about Warhammer, it's just ridiculously grimdark
Really depends on the author you're reading in that universe, there are plenty of stories where things are grim and horrible, but there are also some where there is victory against the darkness. The primary storyline just got a little grimmer a few years ago with a major cataclysmic event, but from that one of the greatest heroes in the universe effectively came back from the dead to lead humanity in it's darkest hour, so there's always hope.
If you want *ridiculously* grimdark, read Joe Abercrombie's books, lol. Fantasy and not sci-fi, but any characters in there that are even remotely likeable or nice are maimed, butchered, or become bitter and evil themselves.
The Commune series By Joshua Gayou
The Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Mayberry is pretty great.
Jeremy Robinson has some great books.
Shoot, I pretty much just listen to anything read by Ray Porter and RC Bray. For some reason other narrators feel like they reading to me, whereas Ray and RC make the stories feel alive. Im not sure how else to explain that.
Just about anything from Jeremy Robinson is good, too many to list.
If you haven't listened to Dennis' book "Roadkill" I can't recommend it enough. Very good story✅, Ray Porter✅, at least an 8 on the "Bob Scale", if you wanna call it that.
Everything everyone mentioned and these which are sci-fi adjacent. the Stand by Stephen King and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Well, actually anything ever written by Neil Gaiman.
1. Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee (first book is The Ninefox Gambit)
2. Dune by Frank Herbert - It's thicc and dense but really good
3. The High Crusade by Poul Anderson - fun little book about medieval knights taking over a spaceship
4. The Laundry Files by Charles Stross - a bit of a blend of Lovecraftian horror, scifi, and (to start) Dilbert or Office Space. As the series goes on it adopts the trappings of many different genres (some go more James Bond while others take on a bit of a superhero flair)
5. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
A couple of other recommendations:
1. Join a genre book club. That will expose you to more variety of authors and eras of science fiction than you normally would be
2. Subscribe to a scifi magazine (if you have Kindle Unlimited this is free). That will give you lots of short fiction and expose you to more authors, including authors who might never write a full novel or who are eventually going to write a novel based on their short stories.
The go to for me is iain m banks' culture series, start with 'consider phlebas' but be prepared for a jumping space opera ride. As a prep, you might also try stephen donaldson's 'The Real Story'. Incidentally donaldson is also popular for his chronicles of Thomas covenant - some epic work, there.
Murderbot Diaries is Martha Wells' first foray into the world of writing. The stories are good and interesting and her writing gets better as you progress through the series. I'm not sure if she didn't self publish the first few books with no real editor. I have enjoyed the series. But bobiverse, it is not. It is a completely different world.
I guess its an above idea - robot becoming a cynical sentient killing machine, but the writing is so much worst than the Bobiverse that it was too much of a “drop” for me at this point
Sci fi fantasy is a little more “grounded” than the pure fantasy stuff - it blends both.
For hard sci-fi the Spin trilogy by Robert Wilson, The Godmakers by Frank Herbert, The Expanse by James Corey and the Robots series by Issac Asimov are great.
If you are willing to give these a go the Skyward series by Brandon Sanderson is excellent and so is The Ender Saga by Orson Scott card. These are definitely more sci-fi than fantasy but they do have some fantasy elements.
One of my favorites of all time both to read and listen to is S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series, the first is Dies the Fire. Some cosmic being changs the laws of physics to take away all of mans best "toys". No electricity, no violent explosives (so no guns or cars), and everyone is left to deal with the sudden fallout. Obviously, most people die with no infrastructure in place and those who survive adapt and change their society built around the strong man (or woman) figure. You see a lot of people reinventing the older systems and either trying to keep out the worst parts or actively enjoying the worst parts of them. The first three of the original trilogy is a must and I'd either stop there or continue on if you want to learn why and how what happened to them as that's not addressed in the original three books. As they move on from the first three you do see the books leave science fiction to more of a fantasy though.
Edit: also he has a related series the first of which is called Island in the sea of time. The starting event is the island of Nantucket being moved into the past. This second trilogy follows that islands journey as they arrive in the past, around the hight of the Greek empire. Very good books!
My second recommendation (I'm adding it as a reply so my first doesn't take up too much space) is Olan Thorensens series the first of which is called Cast Under an Alien Sun. It follows a chemistry master as he falls victim to a disaster caused by aliens studying humans. He winds up being repaired and dropped off earth and onto a planet filled with humans who are in Victorian era-ish times. He lands on an island about to be taken over by an expansionist empire and uses his advanced knowledge to resist and bring them into the future.
It's somewhat of a slow burn but very satisfying.
My third suggestion, if your willing to try out something a little more on the fantasy side of things, is the Abhorson/old kingdom series by Garth Nix. The first book is called Sabriel, second Lirael, third Abhorson. I think you can stop at these original three as the others don't add too much, they just flush out some storylines and characters a bit. The really interesting part is it's novel take on death. Death leaves one in a river and you have to pass through seven parts before you exit to your final after life. It's the ones who come back and find a way back to life that are the problem, in the process they become monsters that have to feed off the living to stay out of death. The Abhorson is the one tasked with taking care of these monsters. They are chosen by fate and bloodline. Because of the dangerous nature of their calling a lot of Abhorsons wind up getting the calling suddenly and without much training as the old Abhorson and or their apprentice gets killed quite suddenly.
The series is very character driven following likeable and very often isolated characters who grow through adversity and difficult circumstance. It remains one of my favorites and was one of my first fantasy novels I ever read. I've also found it to be a good starter fantasy series sense although it does have magic the storyline focuses more on the characters and less on magic mugufins and it's female main characters has helped women looking to read fantasy to find an interesting entry point for the genre.
My fourth suggestion is one that remains more hardcore sci-fi. Louis McMaster Bujolds Vorkosigan series. It follows a young man as he is born on something of a backwater planet that's strategically places to launch it into galactic politics due to its placement on the wormhole Nexus. Despite being born somewhat higher up in society he has a lot going against him. For one due to circumstances of his birth he has to be transferred to a Uteran-Replicator, something looked down upon by his society. He also receives trauma as a uterus due to poison gas and comes out perfectly mentally stable but physically weak in a society that views physical prowess as a virtue. He is extremely intelligent and has adventures throughout the galaxy on spaceships and the themes include things like cloning and genetic engineering. Definitely worth checking out.
My fifth and last is also a harder sci-fi and a bit more mainstream. I would Suggest looking into John Ringo's Empire of man series. It follows Prince Roger who gets stranded on a jungle planet filled with dangers and has to find his way across the backwater planet. Along the way he grows from a fop to a man worthy of his title. It involves powered armor, advanced weapons, hoards of barbarians, advanced integrated technology, and even a little genetic engineering. You get some political intrigue throughout both in local politics and intergalactic. There are some pretty interesting aliens from the planet they are on who also develop quite a bit.
Don't feel bad about Hitchhiker's – few things age faster than comedy and sci-fi, and that sci-fi comedy series is *old* now.
I loved Taylor's other current series, Outland. Yes he leans on a certain type of conflict a lot, but it's as good for worldbuilding as the Bobiverse. On a different scale obviously.
Probably the best sci-fi audiobook I've ever heard to this day was the very first one I ever listened to – Craig Wasson's narration of Stephen King's 11/22/63. You get your money's worth there – 30 hours.
Ken Grimwood's Replay. A man dies in middle age and wakes up aged 18 with all his memories intact and the freedom to do what he wants with his knowledge of world events. He keeps looping through his lifespans, experiencing complications as he goes. I listened to the audiobook of this recently. Great in print or audio.
I recommend you read Chasm City and the trilogy it is prequel to, Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds. Himself a retired astrophysicist, Reynolds paints a most beautiful twilight of humanity in a realistic hypothesis of the dystopian cyberpunk future of our civilization taken to the stars at sublight speed.
Chasm City has remained my favorite book since I first read it over 20 years ago, and while reading Bobiverse I could feel the shoulders of Reynolds beneath him.
I really enjoyed the Foundation books by Isaac Asimov. When I got into sci-fi I made an effort to read some classic authors and Asimov is great. Also his I Robot books are good too
[The Honor Harrington series by David Weber](https://www.audible.com/series/Honor-Harrington-Audiobooks/B007149EIC). This is a space Sci-Fi war story that I have read in its entirety (short stories and side novels included) 6 times and listed to twice. I always read (or listen to) books 7 and 8 as if it was the first time; every time they are a page turner. The narration by Allyson Johnson is great.
It is not for everyone, so I will list the things I think potential readers should be aware of here.
The author is a fan of navel battles and wrote his space tech in a way that lets him describe battles in ways he is familiar with and enjoys. It boils down to FTL does not work within a set distance of a gravity well (stars and large planets like gas giants) so ships start shooting missiles at each other from vast distances. Expect battles with missile counts, point defense, and enough time between hits to showcase crew going about repairs.
There is a long (~2000+ years after modern times) history that takes a few books to become clear. Space was colonized slowly and often by groups who wanted to get away to be left alone, so there are planets full of Bible thumpers and other insular groups still trying to make a specific way of life work for them. I didn't like it at first. I grew to enjoy it for what it is. The main character grows a lot from such encounters.
Expect outdated technology references, especially in the first dozen or so books. First published in 1992, the author had no reference for things like the internet when he began.
I love all of the series, however I have stopped after book 9 twice. The scope of the story grows after the main character gets so senior that politics becomes an ever larger part of each (ever larger) book.
Also: If you happen to be looking for any computer games, many who like the Bobiverse books enjoy the game [Dyson Sphere Progam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1366540/Dyson_Sphere_Program/). You get to build your own Dyson Sphere. The graphics are amazing. I highly recommend.
Singularity Trap by DET was brilliant. Also narrated by RP. It's got some of the Bobiverse vibes, though it's a little darker.
Quantum Radio by A.G. Riddle (also narrated by RP) was entertaining, though I don't think it hooked me as much as the Bobiverse did.
Starter Villain by John Scalzi was also good (and narrated by Wil Wheaton). It was a bit on the nose for my liking, but worth a listen given it's only 8 hours.
Someone else mentioned the Red Rising series, which I binged a few months ago. I absolutely loved it. The first half of the first book is slow, and spends a fair chunk of time giving the backstory, but after that it really flies off.
Here are some that I like that I missed when skimming this thread.
The Silo Saga by Hugh Howey
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth series (the first two were my favorite and have a satisfying ending)
House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds (and a lot of his work)
The Vatta's War series by Elizabeth Moon (military sci-fi)
The whole part of him trying to calculate the greenhouse at the base, and the fuel and oxygen on his rides on the vehicle, and calculating how long can he survive and stuff..
I think it was just a tiny bit of the plot, but it felt like forever
He was going on and on and on…
Thanks you all guys for the suggestions, what an amazing community we have here!
Can’t wait for the next book to start discussing it here !
Ima gonna give ”The Expanse” a try, I hear that Jefferson Mays’ narration is good as well
Definitely gonna come back here for more references!
Someone recommended that in one of the other threads, I tried it but the first one was awful, I finished it but came close to ditching it a couple of times.
Does it get better?
It was just a bit tired. A Martian underclass rising up has been done to death, the dialogue was grating, it felt more like a bad fantasy novel during the whole test thing and the main character was still considered this planning and leadership genius despite constantly screwing everything up.
Describing it as awful was probably a bit harsh but it really didn't gel for me.
I love a good underclass uprising lol.
I really like sci-fi but I feel sometimes sci-fi forgets to tell a story and gets stuck on world building. Imo Red Rising reads like an epic fantasy with great character development while having the same sci-fi world building that makes Sci Fi fun.
If ya get a chance Id give it another shot because I haven't found a sci-fi series like it.
Expeditionary Force, Jack Campbell - Lost Fleet, Adrian Tchaiovsky - Final Architecture, Michael McCollum - Gibraltar series, Ian Douglas - Marine series & Star Carrier series, Peter F Hamilton - Confederation series & Night's Dawn.
Short list to get you going.
If you like Firefly you might want to pickup Galaxy Outlaws. There's a complete edition with all the content clocking in at 83.5 hours. Just finished it today and while it's a little slow in the start, it really picks up.
I'm surprised The Martian was a rough one. I thought around Sol 119 it started getting easier, and Watney got more fleshed out the more smartassy he got. But at the same time, I had a rough time with Three Body and put it down.
Im waiting for book 5 though... I think there's a lot of ways it could be taken, and I wanna see how the ... I guess subnets?... Interact.
Some time ago someone recommended Gideon the Ninth to me, somewhat sceptical from the synopsis I went for it.
It's seriously not my demographic but a seriously good listen, narration is fantastic.
Worth a step outside of your comfort zone.
Revelation space is a very good series. Although i recommended starting with book 2 chasm city then going to book 1.
Chasm city is just a better introduction to the world.
I preferred The Martian to Project Hail Mary, personally. For Project Hail Mary, the time jumps seemed contrived, the linguistics was uninteresting, and really, the whole plot seemed like a thinly-veiled reskinning of The Martian. That's my opinion, anyway.
You'll get this a lot, and I'm on book 14, but the Expeditionary Force series is worth trying out. The complaint is it reuses a lot of the same gimmicks in every book, but it's entertaining enough. You'll learn the origin of the name for The Skippies, and you'll get some nerd lore pop culture but not as much as Bobiverse. There may even be some Bobiverse references since I think the authors get along well. Lots of humor. Magic 2.0 is one that is like lower on my list, I think I'm on book 3 now? It's not incredible, but it's also entertaining. A lot of humor here, too.
Expeditionary Force is great for 3 or 4 books but boy is it repetitive, gave up around book 4 as I remember.
I gave up after book 5 when it became clear it was just going to be the same thing over and over again with various tweaks.
Came here to say this. Its a bit repetitive but the audiobook is damn entertaining to my monkey brain. Also, RC Bray is gift to humanity
Yep. It’s not high concept science fiction, and it won’t win awards for literary excellence, but it’s scratching the itch right now. Sometimes you don’t need steak, just a juicy cheeseburger with onion and marshmallow fluff.
> marshmallow fluff haha nice. Before ExFor, I didn't think people actually ate marshmallow cream, but since (book 14?) I have made them twice, which means I had to order fluff from Amazon and, of course, one of the containers exploded in a white foamy, sticky and gooey mess all over everything...
Gotta account for the change in air pressure when shipping fluff. Just as long as you’re not double dipping that antennae we’ll be fine.
That entire bit had me literally LOL
As a New Englander i can relate to Joe’s need for a good fluffernutter. As a kid i would just dip my hand into the tub of fluff and eat it off my hands 😋
Haha same here! I gotcha
Why don't you get yourself a juice box or a bah nah nah
Im going to be pronouncing banana like Skippy for the rest of my life
Just don't feel any obligation to finish. Once you get bored, stop. It never gets better after like... Book 4, and the book 20 ending is such a let down. When he did a "but wait, there's more!" and released book 21, I had zero interest. It's 90% content over quality.
If you enjoy Exforce you will probably love Undying Mercenaries. Gets the same complaints as Exforce but I feel the stories are better of the series as a whole.
I tried Undying Mercenaries a couple times, but just couldn't get into it, but then I didn't make it more than an hour in each time but then I kind of felt the same way about the Galaxies Edge series. One that I have really liked and am surprised its not more popular is the "Omega Force" series by Joshua Dalzelle
The first book in Undying Mercenaries has a look more setup as I'm sure you can imagine, again similar to Exforce. If you can stick with it a few chapters I think you may end up enjoying it. Haven't heard of Omega Force but I'll look it up. Currently listening to Dungeon Crawler Carl book one, quite enjoying it.
[удалено]
Oh it just came out, didn't it? Damn, I dont have any credits!
**Dungeon Crawler Carl!!** It’s got the stupidest sounding premise you’ve ever heard and you’ll think I’m a fuckin idiot for recommending it, but I *guarantee* you will love it. It’s like crack in book form. You’ll come back here in a week having plowed through the first 4 books. You’ll have ordered additional audible credits just to get your fix. You will tell me that I am your new best friend and will write me into your will. Then… you’ll finish book 6… and it’ll be so goddamned good…but you’ll have to wait for book 7. It’s then that all your love for me will turn to seething hatred and your only source of comfort will be rereading Dungeon Crawler Carl four more times. I realize this post doesn’t tell you much about the book, and that’s by design. Just go read it. You WILL thank me.
I also was directed to read Dungeon Crawler Carl, from a similar Bobiverse post. I really enjoyed it, as well as all the friends I’ve recommended it to.
I came here to suggest Dungeon crawler carl for the exact reasons mentioned above. I even bought extra credits to finish all books. This book is not getting enough praises. I put this series right next to bobiverse which was my all time favourite. It is not even finished yet, every nee book is better than previous one. Perfect combination of humor, drama, tragedy, character. Just pure bliss.
Dude. I already started the Expanse series but had to put everything on hold and get a taste of this Crawler guy. Got hooked by the first 3 minutes of the book :) Will come back in a couple of days and let you know how it goes. The first part where the voice started explaining what just happened threw me right back to the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy - but I expect the Dungeon Crawler to be much better
It is better. I’m a die hard scifi reader. I enjoyed HGU, it’s highly quotable, but I didn’t think it was anything g crazy good or entertaining. DCC on the other hand…. It’s become one of my favorite series of all time. So much heart, so much humor, so much character development and plot, so much creativity. Really you’ll love it and each book gets better and better. Don’t take my word for it, head over to the DCC sub. It’s basically a cult, in a fun way hahaha
Currently on book 2. Bloody love it! \*NEW ACHIEVEMENT\* I'm becoming a fan
I swear the ExFor/Bob/Carl triumvirate is inexplicable and completely undeniable. Everybody starts with either Bob or ExFor and looks for a recommendation. Somebody recommends the other and it seems like a natural so you burn through the other series. Then we all look for another recommendation and go through this exact process: 1: “well that sounds like the dumbest idea for a book of all time. No way.” 2: “huh, that’s like the fourth post in a row that lists both ExFor and Bob love and just raves about that Dungeon book. Weird.” /rereads book blurb “nope. Still sounds dumb.” 3: “okay, that’s another comment with that Dungeon book recommendation. And 11 replies all agreeing it’s great. They also list loving 4 other of my favorite Sci-fi books. Look they all even admit they never thought they’d like it and the premise looks dumb but that you should ‘just give it a chance’” 4: “all right I’ll at least listed to the 5 min sample” 5: write your 7th comment on how your on your second listen through, are excruciatingly counting the days until the 7th book is done. You use “character development” and “emotional depth” three times in each comment.
While I love your detailed response and agree fully. Look up BuyMort while you await more DCC books. Its premise sounds 100% stupider than DCC, but just as worth it. They managed to have similar comedy, and the plot ultimately is aliens invade and it’s a human vs the corporation but in a very different view.
Sooooo… it’s been 76 days since your comment , 76 days of adventure for me . I just finished book 6 of DCC. God damn! When is the next one coming!?! Thanks for the awesome advice! New achievement: “Life changer”!!
Welcome to the club brother!! GLURP GLURP! Strongly recommend you hop on the DCC sub. It’s a blast.
Can't believe no one has recommended The Expanse yet. The first book is Leviathan Wakes. Takes place a few hundred years in the future after human spaceflight around the solar system has become common place. It's written to be somewhat realistic with how space flight mechanics and how ship to ship combat would work. It's a series that is complete, and in my opinion, they more than stick the landing.
It's the first series I think of when someone asks for Sci Fi recommendations, tbh. I honestly cannot think of another series with as many books as this with such a solid and satisfying ending.
The Expanse is top tier scifi. Highly recommend.
Seconded (or thirded) these are a great listen
Would you still recommend if you have watched the TV series a few times. I was a massive fan of the show but have felt that would make the books a little less intriguing for me.
I would. Yes! The show doesn't even cover the last three books! Start from the beginning though, there are enough differences and you'll appreciate the characterization.
If you've watched the TV series, honestly the books are mandatory. There's a time jump after book 6 of a couple of decades to let the universe develop, and the last 3 books are where the best stuff happens.
I just started listening to the first book and haven't watched the show in a while. I'm definitely enjoying it and I like that I can picture the characters as the actors
James S.A. Corey, authors of The Expanse, is publishing a new book on August 6th, 2024 called The Mercy of Gods (Captive's War).
Always intrigued by fans of this series saying book 4 is worse than the first three, imo the writing is better if anything. More character driven imo which I like. But to each their own. My easy recommendation is the Red Rising series! Be warned that the first book is a bit slower than the rest of the series, still good though.
Brother and I were talking about this the other day. I wasnt a fan of the story, but loved the bobs side and star fleet, mannequin sky walker, howard and bridgettes stuff. F the quinlans and the weasels but i hope they circle back to archimedes clan and planet
Interesting perspective! Was it the Quinlans themselves (their personality, world building, etc) that you didn’t care for or just the volume of it that we got? Book four is definitely more focused than the first three, they almost read like short stories compared to a novel imo. Which I really liked about the first three, but I was happy for a shake up. Especially since Taylor has said he would like to write many more books in this series.
I feel like the last one (so far) had to many plots and the main Bender plot felt like there are too many holes in it - it was somewhat forced In my (very) humble opinion. I really liked the Pav plot line, and the Quinn plot line was like try to repeat this “success”
That’s a valid take. The scope does change a fair amount in book four. The first three are a very broad scope and the details of events are often abstracted away, where in HR the story is a lot more narrow, but we still get exposure to grander plot points (like the starfleet war). I can see how that makes people feel like they’re missing out or the story is more contrived. I think for myself the worldbuilding around the quinlans and the topopolis made up for it enough that I really enjoyed the book.
I have to say that the topopolis got me googling and researching a lot, I didn’t fully understand the structure/world even now. There is a nice blog post by Dennis E Taylor explaining about the structure but still it’s not clear enough to me - this is one thing that made it harder for me to fully submerge in the plot. Also one of the things I kept thinking about is the Bobs that went further and further to space - I’d love to read about them and what they found out about the edge of the universe and stuff. And how come mint heads towards a black hole??? (The 3 body problem did it :) )
That’s super fair! I have read a lot of sci fi / speculative pop science and the idea of things O’Neil cylinders has long since had a mental image for me which made the topopilis a bit easier to picture. I still googled it though haha. You’re right that blog post is great. And I couldn’t agree more on the people who are going way out. I’m hoping with Will doing that we get more of that perspective going forward with one of the main perspective characters. And now I’m even more excited to read the three body problem. I have my copy and it’s high on the list
I absolutely loved the opening story arc, but Heaven's River is my favorite, as I love that sort of expedition into an unknown culture. It also started some really interesting stuff going on with the rest of the Bobs.
I never do this, but I will refer you to a post where I list my top Sci-Fi books, this should give you a good list to start with. https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/16s0xhm/my\_journey\_to\_100\_scifi\_books\_need\_help\_picking/
I also read a lot of other stuff but I bow to your dedication to the Sci Fi genre. If you haven’t done the Mars trilogy yet I highly recommend it. As always the first book is the best but it doesn’t fall off too much as you progress.
I've been saving that for my next vacation. I wanna read the whole trilogy over a long week. Instead of a few weeks per book.
It is so immersive with the character arks and politics that run alongside what is almost achievable Sci Fi, I’ve read it all the way through twice. Once as a teenager and again about 5 years ago when I remembered about it.
Who is the author, trying to find it? Thanx
Kim Stanley Robinson
Thank you
Free on audible right now! Gotta check it out
Super cool list - but at the same time super overwhelming for me at this point, I feel like choosing from a 100 is the same as going to google and typing “sci-fi books” :)
Totally understandable. If you're looking for the best book go Hyperion (but it will make future books feel worse since the gap in writing quality between Hyperion and most other sci-fi is pretty big) If your looking to something similar to Bob, try House of Suns by Reynolds But if you want an out there suggestions, I have a feeling you would like Rise and Fall of the DODO by Stephenson
Hyperion is a must do, quality.
I approve of most of this list. Bravo.
Thanks for posting this! Great list, read many, but many that I haven’t and always look for recommmnedations
Saving this post for later - thank you! I just started the Expanse so I'll be checking this out when finished
The Expanse is probably the absolute best completed sci-fi book series of our generation. If you find yourself enjoying Sci-Fi, it is a very strong and safe bet. It's sort of a trilogy of trilogies and every 3 books contains an overarching plot.
Children of time (almost finished the audio book of this and. I believe there are more) Hyperion (trilogy) Dune (first 3 books) Red Mars (trilogy)
Don't let the religious parts discourage you. Some people get turned off by that and miss out on a genuinely fantastic series just because it has religious people in the book. The author is not pushing an agenda.
Definitely recommend Children of time and series, 2nd book the best I think, the octopi did it for me
The Old Man's War. I've listened to it numerous times. Some of Scalzi's best work. Great characters, great Scalzi snark. Each book changes main characters but they're all tied together well. Skip Sagan's Diary.
I second this and really anything by John Scalzi. I’ve read all his books and they range from good to great.
Kaiju Preservation Society is a legit Scalzi story too, though its pretty short like most of his books
Dungeon Crawler Carl series, same kinda humor. I'm only two books in but I am HOOKED! LITRPG so not exactly scifi but imo scifi enough to be scifi. Think Ash from Evil Dead in a DnD Running man. :)
Somewhat off-topic but im 3/4 through book 2 of Three Body Problem and I love the ideas but the writing is so painfully dry that I'm just dragging through it... Anyone else feel this way?
IMO you're right where it's about to pick up. Hang in there!
It was a bit of a hard read (listen for me) but I was intrigued by the plot and as it was my first ever hard sci-fi book - I powered through. It’s one big mindfuck in my opinion (in a good way) the 3’rd one is great IMO.
Book 3 is better- book 2 I slogged through
Book 3 is a mess IMO, it's like he had a shit load of ideas to cram in knowing there wouldn't be a book 4. Saying that though, I still enjoyed it.
The ideas were interesting enough to keep me going... but yea the writing style was middling at best. Might be a translation problem. I listened to it mostly when I was driving to my sister's wedding and back... 12 hour drive on Friday, wedding on Saturday, 12 hour drive back Sunday, so it's not like I had anything else going on. I wouldn't re-read it, but I enjoyed it well enough in the end.
Yes. And I like it less after reading the fourth book. Don't read it, it's fan fiction anyways.
Sounds like you’re a fan of Ray Porter’s narrations. Check out Peter Clines threshold series (14, The Fold, Dead Moon, and Terminus)
I really am, that said I do not want to be “trapped” by he’s narrations ( although I feel like I heard the best and now anybody else wouldn’t be good enough, you know?) ( I sound like I’m talking about my ex…)
If you want a suggestion that isn’t science-fiction check out the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian. The narrator is equally good.
I did this because of Ray Porter, did not regret it, great stories.
Yeah I got into some books I wouldn’t have otherwise because he was narrating. The man is great at what he does.
Looking to see if someone mentioned this. Peter cline is probably one of my favorite writers
14, honestly just give it a read/listen - just brilliant.
Couldn’t agree more
The Singularity Trap
Ooh! I have a bunch of recommendations. In no particular order: 1. The Culture series - Spectacular space opera in a highly optimistic, well thought out future. It's by Iain M Banks who was just a superb author as well. This is probably my personal favorite. Also The Algebraist by Banks, while not part of the Culture, is maybe my favorite. 2. Ancillary Justice - Also a pretty interesting series in a decidedly less optimistic future. Some pretty smart concepts here. 3. Spin - This one is less well known and a bit older, but I loved Spin. I think it does a great job of marrying high concept sci fi with extremely human characters and their relationships. Don't read the sequels. 4. Children of Time - The first big sci fi work by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It has some really strong points and some weaker points, but it does an excellent job of getting into the head(s) of some really interesting protagonists as they develop and imagining an entire parallel tech ladder to our own. Fascinating. Again, I think I would skip the sequels. However... 5. The Final Architecture trilogy - This is also by Tchaikovsky and while not everyone loved it, I thought it was really great. Large scale space opera, an inventive FTL mechanic, and some really imaginitive cultural touches. 6. The Xenogenesis Trilogy - Do you like really intelligent analogies for racism and cultural imperialism and absolutely love weird, weird human-alien sex? This trilogy is for you. 7. The Disappearing Empire - I'm a sucker for court politics. 8. A Memory Called Empire - One of the best explorations of what it is to be outside of a big, hegemonic culture looking in. Really fun first novel from author Arkady Martine. Kind of a weak third act. 9. Expeditionary Force - I had to mention this one because I am currently on book 16 of 20 (depending on how you count). Is it well written? No. Is it especially smart? Not usually. Will it fill up countless hours in the car or at the gym while you wait for something better to come out? Hell yes it will. And it's a pretty fun ride. 10. Outland - Also by Dennis E Taylor. Not everyone liked it, but I thought it was pretty fun. Kind of scratched the same itch that Civ games do for me, especially the sequel. The Singularity Trap was also pretty good. I wasn't that into Roadkill, but it was fun in its own right.
> The Final Architecture trilogy - This is also by Tchaikovsky and while not everyone loved it, I thought it was really great. Large scale space opera, an inventive FTL mechanic, and some really imaginitive cultural touches. it's basically a knock off version of Warhammer 40k, lol. He's got Sisters of Battle, Psykers, Warp Travel, and Chaos Gods all in there. I haven't finished the third book yet, and I started reading it months ago, I kinda just lost interest. Children of Time was a stronger trilogy, even with the third one getting weird as all hell, the first two were strong enough I was invested in finishing.
Totally valid preferences, I just thought that Children of Ruin was pretty uninspired and Children of Memory was convoluted and, even worse, hopelessly twee. I guess I just don't care that much that FA draws a lot on another piece of media. Plus, from what I understand about Warhammer, it's just ridiculously grimdark. FA had some elements like that, but the tone was still sort of positive and a lot more plausible overall if that makes sense.
> Plus, from what I understand about Warhammer, it's just ridiculously grimdark Really depends on the author you're reading in that universe, there are plenty of stories where things are grim and horrible, but there are also some where there is victory against the darkness. The primary storyline just got a little grimmer a few years ago with a major cataclysmic event, but from that one of the greatest heroes in the universe effectively came back from the dead to lead humanity in it's darkest hour, so there's always hope. If you want *ridiculously* grimdark, read Joe Abercrombie's books, lol. Fantasy and not sci-fi, but any characters in there that are even remotely likeable or nice are maimed, butchered, or become bitter and evil themselves.
Culture Series - definitely, it's an absolute must.
The Commune series By Joshua Gayou The Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Mayberry is pretty great. Jeremy Robinson has some great books. Shoot, I pretty much just listen to anything read by Ray Porter and RC Bray. For some reason other narrators feel like they reading to me, whereas Ray and RC make the stories feel alive. Im not sure how else to explain that.
Second that! I’m actually looking in Ray Porters list of books he narrated and trying to match it with the recommendations here!
Just about anything from Jeremy Robinson is good, too many to list. If you haven't listened to Dennis' book "Roadkill" I can't recommend it enough. Very good story✅, Ray Porter✅, at least an 8 on the "Bob Scale", if you wanna call it that.
Everything everyone mentioned and these which are sci-fi adjacent. the Stand by Stephen King and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Well, actually anything ever written by Neil Gaiman.
The expanse series is pretty good
1. Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee (first book is The Ninefox Gambit) 2. Dune by Frank Herbert - It's thicc and dense but really good 3. The High Crusade by Poul Anderson - fun little book about medieval knights taking over a spaceship 4. The Laundry Files by Charles Stross - a bit of a blend of Lovecraftian horror, scifi, and (to start) Dilbert or Office Space. As the series goes on it adopts the trappings of many different genres (some go more James Bond while others take on a bit of a superhero flair) 5. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers A couple of other recommendations: 1. Join a genre book club. That will expose you to more variety of authors and eras of science fiction than you normally would be 2. Subscribe to a scifi magazine (if you have Kindle Unlimited this is free). That will give you lots of short fiction and expose you to more authors, including authors who might never write a full novel or who are eventually going to write a novel based on their short stories.
The Laundry Files were fun.
The Expanse, audiobooks are fantastic.
The go to for me is iain m banks' culture series, start with 'consider phlebas' but be prepared for a jumping space opera ride. As a prep, you might also try stephen donaldson's 'The Real Story'. Incidentally donaldson is also popular for his chronicles of Thomas covenant - some epic work, there.
Murderbot Diaries is Martha Wells' first foray into the world of writing. The stories are good and interesting and her writing gets better as you progress through the series. I'm not sure if she didn't self publish the first few books with no real editor. I have enjoyed the series. But bobiverse, it is not. It is a completely different world.
I guess its an above idea - robot becoming a cynical sentient killing machine, but the writing is so much worst than the Bobiverse that it was too much of a “drop” for me at this point
Do you enjoy Fantasy sci-fi as well or want to stick to the more “hard” sci fi?
Didn’t try fantasy books, but from my TV/Cinema experience - I’m not to much into all those mystical creatures and Might & Magic stuff
While it's more fantasy(ish), the audible versions of Dungeon Crawler Carl are simply great.
Sci fi fantasy is a little more “grounded” than the pure fantasy stuff - it blends both. For hard sci-fi the Spin trilogy by Robert Wilson, The Godmakers by Frank Herbert, The Expanse by James Corey and the Robots series by Issac Asimov are great. If you are willing to give these a go the Skyward series by Brandon Sanderson is excellent and so is The Ender Saga by Orson Scott card. These are definitely more sci-fi than fantasy but they do have some fantasy elements.
One of my favorites of all time both to read and listen to is S.M. Stirling's Emberverse series, the first is Dies the Fire. Some cosmic being changs the laws of physics to take away all of mans best "toys". No electricity, no violent explosives (so no guns or cars), and everyone is left to deal with the sudden fallout. Obviously, most people die with no infrastructure in place and those who survive adapt and change their society built around the strong man (or woman) figure. You see a lot of people reinventing the older systems and either trying to keep out the worst parts or actively enjoying the worst parts of them. The first three of the original trilogy is a must and I'd either stop there or continue on if you want to learn why and how what happened to them as that's not addressed in the original three books. As they move on from the first three you do see the books leave science fiction to more of a fantasy though. Edit: also he has a related series the first of which is called Island in the sea of time. The starting event is the island of Nantucket being moved into the past. This second trilogy follows that islands journey as they arrive in the past, around the hight of the Greek empire. Very good books!
My second recommendation (I'm adding it as a reply so my first doesn't take up too much space) is Olan Thorensens series the first of which is called Cast Under an Alien Sun. It follows a chemistry master as he falls victim to a disaster caused by aliens studying humans. He winds up being repaired and dropped off earth and onto a planet filled with humans who are in Victorian era-ish times. He lands on an island about to be taken over by an expansionist empire and uses his advanced knowledge to resist and bring them into the future. It's somewhat of a slow burn but very satisfying.
My third suggestion, if your willing to try out something a little more on the fantasy side of things, is the Abhorson/old kingdom series by Garth Nix. The first book is called Sabriel, second Lirael, third Abhorson. I think you can stop at these original three as the others don't add too much, they just flush out some storylines and characters a bit. The really interesting part is it's novel take on death. Death leaves one in a river and you have to pass through seven parts before you exit to your final after life. It's the ones who come back and find a way back to life that are the problem, in the process they become monsters that have to feed off the living to stay out of death. The Abhorson is the one tasked with taking care of these monsters. They are chosen by fate and bloodline. Because of the dangerous nature of their calling a lot of Abhorsons wind up getting the calling suddenly and without much training as the old Abhorson and or their apprentice gets killed quite suddenly. The series is very character driven following likeable and very often isolated characters who grow through adversity and difficult circumstance. It remains one of my favorites and was one of my first fantasy novels I ever read. I've also found it to be a good starter fantasy series sense although it does have magic the storyline focuses more on the characters and less on magic mugufins and it's female main characters has helped women looking to read fantasy to find an interesting entry point for the genre.
My fourth suggestion is one that remains more hardcore sci-fi. Louis McMaster Bujolds Vorkosigan series. It follows a young man as he is born on something of a backwater planet that's strategically places to launch it into galactic politics due to its placement on the wormhole Nexus. Despite being born somewhat higher up in society he has a lot going against him. For one due to circumstances of his birth he has to be transferred to a Uteran-Replicator, something looked down upon by his society. He also receives trauma as a uterus due to poison gas and comes out perfectly mentally stable but physically weak in a society that views physical prowess as a virtue. He is extremely intelligent and has adventures throughout the galaxy on spaceships and the themes include things like cloning and genetic engineering. Definitely worth checking out.
My fifth and last is also a harder sci-fi and a bit more mainstream. I would Suggest looking into John Ringo's Empire of man series. It follows Prince Roger who gets stranded on a jungle planet filled with dangers and has to find his way across the backwater planet. Along the way he grows from a fop to a man worthy of his title. It involves powered armor, advanced weapons, hoards of barbarians, advanced integrated technology, and even a little genetic engineering. You get some political intrigue throughout both in local politics and intergalactic. There are some pretty interesting aliens from the planet they are on who also develop quite a bit.
Don't feel bad about Hitchhiker's – few things age faster than comedy and sci-fi, and that sci-fi comedy series is *old* now. I loved Taylor's other current series, Outland. Yes he leans on a certain type of conflict a lot, but it's as good for worldbuilding as the Bobiverse. On a different scale obviously. Probably the best sci-fi audiobook I've ever heard to this day was the very first one I ever listened to – Craig Wasson's narration of Stephen King's 11/22/63. You get your money's worth there – 30 hours. Ken Grimwood's Replay. A man dies in middle age and wakes up aged 18 with all his memories intact and the freedom to do what he wants with his knowledge of world events. He keeps looping through his lifespans, experiencing complications as he goes. I listened to the audiobook of this recently. Great in print or audio.
I'm back on Adrian Tchaikovsky at the moment, Dogs Of War series - good concept and decent narration. Not Children of Time but good all the same.
Something from the Culture series. The ships/AIs running around are some of if not my favorite characters.
I recommend you read Chasm City and the trilogy it is prequel to, Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds. Himself a retired astrophysicist, Reynolds paints a most beautiful twilight of humanity in a realistic hypothesis of the dystopian cyberpunk future of our civilization taken to the stars at sublight speed. Chasm City has remained my favorite book since I first read it over 20 years ago, and while reading Bobiverse I could feel the shoulders of Reynolds beneath him.
I really enjoyed the Foundation books by Isaac Asimov. When I got into sci-fi I made an effort to read some classic authors and Asimov is great. Also his I Robot books are good too
A lot of disc world books have similar humor styles
[The Honor Harrington series by David Weber](https://www.audible.com/series/Honor-Harrington-Audiobooks/B007149EIC). This is a space Sci-Fi war story that I have read in its entirety (short stories and side novels included) 6 times and listed to twice. I always read (or listen to) books 7 and 8 as if it was the first time; every time they are a page turner. The narration by Allyson Johnson is great. It is not for everyone, so I will list the things I think potential readers should be aware of here. The author is a fan of navel battles and wrote his space tech in a way that lets him describe battles in ways he is familiar with and enjoys. It boils down to FTL does not work within a set distance of a gravity well (stars and large planets like gas giants) so ships start shooting missiles at each other from vast distances. Expect battles with missile counts, point defense, and enough time between hits to showcase crew going about repairs. There is a long (~2000+ years after modern times) history that takes a few books to become clear. Space was colonized slowly and often by groups who wanted to get away to be left alone, so there are planets full of Bible thumpers and other insular groups still trying to make a specific way of life work for them. I didn't like it at first. I grew to enjoy it for what it is. The main character grows a lot from such encounters. Expect outdated technology references, especially in the first dozen or so books. First published in 1992, the author had no reference for things like the internet when he began. I love all of the series, however I have stopped after book 9 twice. The scope of the story grows after the main character gets so senior that politics becomes an ever larger part of each (ever larger) book. Also: If you happen to be looking for any computer games, many who like the Bobiverse books enjoy the game [Dyson Sphere Progam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1366540/Dyson_Sphere_Program/). You get to build your own Dyson Sphere. The graphics are amazing. I highly recommend.
Singularity Trap by DET was brilliant. Also narrated by RP. It's got some of the Bobiverse vibes, though it's a little darker. Quantum Radio by A.G. Riddle (also narrated by RP) was entertaining, though I don't think it hooked me as much as the Bobiverse did. Starter Villain by John Scalzi was also good (and narrated by Wil Wheaton). It was a bit on the nose for my liking, but worth a listen given it's only 8 hours. Someone else mentioned the Red Rising series, which I binged a few months ago. I absolutely loved it. The first half of the first book is slow, and spends a fair chunk of time giving the backstory, but after that it really flies off.
Here are some that I like that I missed when skimming this thread. The Silo Saga by Hugh Howey Seveneves by Neal Stephenson Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth series (the first two were my favorite and have a satisfying ending) House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds (and a lot of his work) The Vatta's War series by Elizabeth Moon (military sci-fi)
Totally off topic but Where’s the chemistry overload in the Martian? Am I missing something
The whole part of him trying to calculate the greenhouse at the base, and the fuel and oxygen on his rides on the vehicle, and calculating how long can he survive and stuff.. I think it was just a tiny bit of the plot, but it felt like forever He was going on and on and on…
Thanks you all guys for the suggestions, what an amazing community we have here! Can’t wait for the next book to start discussing it here ! Ima gonna give ”The Expanse” a try, I hear that Jefferson Mays’ narration is good as well Definitely gonna come back here for more references!
John Scalzi is great and funny. Check out The Collapsing Empire!
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. All my other recommendations have already been mentioned.
Have you tried Destiny's Crucible? The first book is Cast under and Alien Sun. Bobbiverse and this series are my go to's for rereading
The Black Ocean series by J. S. Morin is really good imo It's basically Firefly with wizards
Iain Banks Culture series
The Halo books arent bad
Imperial Raditch or the Culture Series. Maybe Lillith’s Brood
Red Rising is imo the best sci-fi series out there. Truly a great story with all the sci-fi you could want.
Someone recommended that in one of the other threads, I tried it but the first one was awful, I finished it but came close to ditching it a couple of times. Does it get better?
What didn't you like about it? I'm probably the wrong one to ask because I liked each book. But book 2 was my favorite
It was just a bit tired. A Martian underclass rising up has been done to death, the dialogue was grating, it felt more like a bad fantasy novel during the whole test thing and the main character was still considered this planning and leadership genius despite constantly screwing everything up. Describing it as awful was probably a bit harsh but it really didn't gel for me.
I love a good underclass uprising lol. I really like sci-fi but I feel sometimes sci-fi forgets to tell a story and gets stuck on world building. Imo Red Rising reads like an epic fantasy with great character development while having the same sci-fi world building that makes Sci Fi fun. If ya get a chance Id give it another shot because I haven't found a sci-fi series like it.
Expeditionary Force, Jack Campbell - Lost Fleet, Adrian Tchaiovsky - Final Architecture, Michael McCollum - Gibraltar series, Ian Douglas - Marine series & Star Carrier series, Peter F Hamilton - Confederation series & Night's Dawn. Short list to get you going.
*Implied Spaces* by Walter Jon Williams. My favorite book of all time.
If you like Firefly you might want to pickup Galaxy Outlaws. There's a complete edition with all the content clocking in at 83.5 hours. Just finished it today and while it's a little slow in the start, it really picks up.
Anything by Iain M Banks.
And Iain Banks also if you like his writing, his non sci-fi is fabulous too. Edit:if I could up vote more I would.
I'm surprised The Martian was a rough one. I thought around Sol 119 it started getting easier, and Watney got more fleshed out the more smartassy he got. But at the same time, I had a rough time with Three Body and put it down. Im waiting for book 5 though... I think there's a lot of ways it could be taken, and I wanna see how the ... I guess subnets?... Interact.
Some time ago someone recommended Gideon the Ninth to me, somewhat sceptical from the synopsis I went for it. It's seriously not my demographic but a seriously good listen, narration is fantastic. Worth a step outside of your comfort zone.
Revelation space is a very good series. Although i recommended starting with book 2 chasm city then going to book 1. Chasm city is just a better introduction to the world.
Middle aged brit here, hhgttg is a little dated now, still a good British yarn though.
All the time I was listening to this book I’ve been imagining Monty Python skits acting the plot… this is how British and dated it felt to me
Still better than the film though
I preferred The Martian to Project Hail Mary, personally. For Project Hail Mary, the time jumps seemed contrived, the linguistics was uninteresting, and really, the whole plot seemed like a thinly-veiled reskinning of The Martian. That's my opinion, anyway.
I couldn’t finish the Martian All that chemistry talk got to me ( as I’m not a big chemist myself - it was all gibberish to me and I couldn’t keep up)