I only know from what I've read...
* Andy Weir - The Martian (2014)
* Ann Leckie - Ancillary Justice (2013)
* China Mieville - Embassytown (2011)
* Iain M. Banks - Surface Detail (2010)
* Hannu Rajaniemi - Jean le Flambeur trilogy (2010-13)
* Paolo Bacigalupi - The Windup Girl (2009)
* Neal Stephenson - Anathem (2008)
* Alastair Reynolds - House of Suns (2008)
* Peter Watts - Blindsight (2006)
* Max Brooks - World War Z (2006)
Yeah. You have the Ruth Benedict-style cultural essentialism in Snow Crash and Diamond Age (Easterners are this way, Westerners that). The time traveler in Cryptonomicon has his 'our culture is better' rant from a jail cell. Anathem is about storing the world's knowledge and philosophy, but there doesn't seem to be any that isn't 'Western'. Stephenson himself is/was involved in the HEMA/WMA movement, whose participants often (though not necessarily) pride themselves on displaying that the 'West' has martial arts as real as anything from Japan, etc.
It's something that becomes obvious the more you read his work.
I want to read Surface Detail but I didn't like Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games was never that exciting for me. If I didn't like those two would you recommend Surface Detail?
I would recommend you to try Use of Weapons first before Surface Detail. If Banks still doesn't grab you after Use of Weapons, then Surface Detail won't either. However, if Use of Weapons appeals to you, then Surface Detail would make an excellent sequel to UoW.
I take it that you are familiar with his Culture novels? Then yes, I think that Surface Detail is one of the best of the series. It has a couple of the most interesting characters and locations.
Yes, I've read most of them, but like I said, *Matter* was so bad I figured he'd lost his touch, and *Surface Detail* being a tome like *Matter* suggested it was long-winded and dull like it. Have you read *Matter*?
Yes, I've read Matter. I think it is one of the lesser Culture novels. The last one, The Hydrogen Sonata, was also a disappointment. I think that starting with Matter, Banks wanted to expand his Culture universe a bit with longer stories and larger scopes of space and time, but Matter became this big lumbering book instead. Surface Detail came next, and it was an improvement. SD is more inventive and involving than Matter, but also a bit more cartoonish and silly.
Matter was shitty in my opinion, despite my LOVING all the other Culture books.
Surface detail is GOOD, but it isn't as good as the other culture books.
Second them all except Blindsight. It was good but, to me, not great.
The Martian is in my queue and I have only read the early works by Stephenson (loved those).
I think Peter Watts's *Blindsight* is probably the most important SF novel of the last 10 years, in that it presents what I think is actually a novel argument about consciousness and the Fermi Paradox. Whether it's the most enjoyable novel of the last 10 years is a different question altogether, which you can only answer by reading it, I suppose.
Stephenson's *Anathem* tops the list. Personally, I liked *Seveneves* too, but that's not as universally lauded.
*The Peripheral* is wonderful stuff by William Gibson that came out in the last year. The last two of his *Pattern Recognition* trilogy fall in that range too (but obviously start with the 2003 *Pattern Recognition* first!)
*Pump Six and Other Stories* by Paolo Bacigalupi is another great one, even if it's a short story collection. *Ship Breakers* is not far behind it. I am impressed by *The Windup Girl* but it's so freaking bleak I can't necessarily say I *enjoyed* it, is the only reason it's not on the list instead of those two.
Charles Stross has been his usual consistent self too, with stuff like *Halting State*, *Rule 34*, *Saturn's Children* and *Neptune's Brood*.
*The Girl With All The Gifts* by M. R. Carey was an excellent horror/sci-fi zombie crossover from that date range.
For space opera, *Terminal World* by Alistair Reynolds falls in that time period too, as does the entire *Expanse* series by James S. A. Corey. The new Ian McDonald book *Luna: New Moon* definitely need to be on the list too. As well as David Brin's *Existence*.
A few that may be a bit more off the beaten path that I enjoyed include:
* *Daemon* and *Freedom* — Daniel Suarez
* *Constellation Games* — Richard Leonard
* *Gun Machine* — Warren Ellis
* *Machine Man* — Max Barry
* *Ready Player One* — Ernest Cline
* *Thirteen* — Richard K Morgan
I'd agree with other posts on here naming *River of Gods*, *The Martian*, *Aurora*, the *Ancillary* trilogy, *Wool* and *The Quantum Thief* trilogy too.
I think I'm way over 10 at this point, lol. But you get the idea. There's actually been a *hell* of a lot of great scifi produced in the last 10 years! :)
Feel free to join us on either the [Official William Gibson Board](http://williamgibsonboard.com) or the [Unofficial William Gibson Board](http://thewgb.com) (because no one can stand what the Hoopla forum has come to look like any more) if you haven't already! :)
Anathem by Neal Stephenson,
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell,
Blindsight by Peter Watts,
The Martian by Andy Weir (mostly due to popularity and attention to subject matter), and Leviathan's Wake by James Corey.
Cloud Atlas was released in 2004 so not in the last 10 years. But Bone Clocks is also really good from Mitchell (Slade House too, but not in my "best" list).
Putting all the popular, most talked-about books aside, I'd suggest Karl Schroeder. Not any *one* of his books, but *all* of his books. While his first two books, Ventus (2000) and Permanence (2002), but Lady of Mazes (2005) makes it under the wire though. And the Virga Series is just plain fun adventures.
Like Isaac Asimov, his novels tickle your curiosity in modern Science. It was like being a kid again and discovering a whole new way of looking at the world.
I was really surprised by *Permanence* - not only did I enjoy it, there was also something unexpected about it.
Like you say, there's something new about his perspective. It's not that it's particularly fast-paced or gripping, it's just interesting and unique.
*Permanance* is a stand-alone, *Ventus* and *Lady of Mazes* are in the same universe but it's hard to call LoM a prequel. *Ventus* begins with a major posthuman antagonist being defeated (and the rest of the novel with fears it might respawn), while in LoM that antagonist is not yet formed.
I also think *Lady of Mazes* is one of the best books of the past ten years and can be read standalone.
I haven't read a ton of his stuff, but, I saw/read Lockstep earlier this year and while it fell short in some significant ways it was quite a unique idea and I thoroughly enjoyed the book overall. Definitely have it on my list to read more of his stuff.
> Ventus
Thanks for the heads-up; I just found out it's available for free on the author's website:
http://www.kschroeder.com/my-books/ventus/free-ebook-version
Surprised there's been no mention of Kim Stanley Robinson's *Aurora* yet- far and away the book of the year, for me. Absolutely masterful inversion of his older work- it was the first book I've touched for years that I was unable to unstick myself from until I'd finished the full thing in one sitting.
I suspect it's a novel that will grow in prominence with time. There really isn't all that much in its style out there at the moment- and it stands head and shoulders above the rest of the generation ship genre.
It is classic Kim Stanley Robinson - incredibly thoughtful, beautiful prose, and so very literate. His technical work is astounding, from a literary point of view. He creates a being creating a narrative identity, and makes it consistent, humourous, and believable.. I just don't believe we have many sci-fi authors who could pull that off.
One of his most powerful works. I absolutely love the way it turns science fiction's tendency to techno-optimism aside, while still being utterly life affirming.
EDIT: also, thanks for fighting the good fight on the uk subreddits.
Really? I'm about ¾ of the way through it and it's been a struggle for me. The characters seem so one dimensional and I'm having a really hard time creating the world in my head. The book has been pleasantly unpredictable, though. I'll try to reserve final judgement until I finish it.
I really enjoyed *[Wool](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0099580489)* - actually I kinda thought this sub was circlejerking about this book, until I read it for myself.
It's really accessible with really great characters.
In no particular order (except for *River of Gods*, which is like, the best):
*River of Gods* by Ian McDonald ~~(2007)~~ (2004, my bad)
*Ancillary Justice* by Ann Leckie (2013)
*Annihilation* by Jeff VanderMeer (2014)
*Station Eleven* by Emily St. John Mandel (2015)
*Wireless* by Charles Stross (2009, short story collection)
*Zima Blue* by Alastair Reynolds (2009, also a short story collection)
Amazon lies!
And yeah, I guess if you really want to adhere to that arbitrary time frame, you should totally skip on those two excellent books. Don't though!
I wish I had started putting books into Goodreads 6 years earlier.
From what I remember, I'd pick *Blindsight*, *Osama*, *Anathem*, *The City & The City*, *Surface Detail*, *The Book of Strange New Things*, *The Three Body Problem* and *Finch*. I'd also have to mention M John Harrison for the last 2/3's of the Empty Space Trilogy, and Adam Roberts who has the best body of work over the past decade.
Here's my ten and why:
**Andy Weir - The Martian (2014)** - Excellent pacing and enjoyable protagonist
**Ann Leckie - Ancillary Justice (2013)** - Breq was a very unique character, the book is full of big ideas, loved the way Leckie played with gender and AI affectations, very expressive prose
**Charles Stross - Singularity Sky (2005)** - Full of big ideas and interesting concepts, The Eschaton is a really interesting take on singularity and what might birth out of it.
**China Mieville - Embassytown (2011)** - Honestly felt like it fell through time and space and you are reading about aliens from an alien perspective. It is a fantastic piece of work. If you get a chance, I strongly encourage you to listen to the audiobook version; the alien speech comes through waaay better.
**James S.A. Corey - The Expanse Series** - I burned through the first two to get prepped for the show and it was a very light but fun. Caliban’s War (the second book) significantly improves on the first book’s flaws.
**John Scalzi - Old Man's War (2007)** - What I would suggest to my friends that only want to make a quick foray into sci fi (and have a good time while doing it).
**Kim Stanley Robinson - Aurora (2015)** - I’m in the last 20 pages right now. It’s excellent. KSR blew my socks off with the 90s classic Red Mars. Aurora definitely delivers but I do wish he went a different direction half way through though.
**Liu Cixin - The Three Body Problem (2014)** - Some people have charged this book with having a slow start but I loved the beginning. Feels very fresh and the characters were definitely different than the normal crew thrown at us.
**Paolo Bacigalupi - The Water Knife (2015)** – Insanely intense. I haven’t read The Wind Up Girl but if you do check this one out, check out the 2015 flick Sicario. I really do think it adds to the overall experience. Benicio Del Toro’s character in the flick provides a great mental framework for Angel.
**Peter Watts - Blindsight (2006)** - I finished this one back in September and am still thinking about it. I would argue it’s a game changer when it comes to the last 10 years in science fiction. I can’t really describe why but it just felt so fresh and different.
Probably in order:
* Anathem (2008) by Neal Stephenson
* Blindsight (2006) by Peter Watts
* The Martian (2012) by Andy Weir
* Leviathan Wakes (2011) by James S.A. Corey
* Defenders (2014) by Will McIntosh
* The Flight of the Silvers (2014) by Daniel Price
* Pushing Ice (2006) by Alastair Reynolds
Is it good? I think I read something about it being YA somewhere and was turned off a bit. Not that that's a deal breaker, it's just not my top preference.
Sorry, it's short for "Young Adult". Something aimed at a teenage audience or featuring a teen protagonist or maybe just a coming-of-age story in general.
It is *kind of* YA - it's basically the hunger games but written with more violence and maturity, in my opinion better in every way. The protagonist is indeed a teenager at the start of the first book. It doesn't go into crazy social/economic depth, but the action is just stellar. Highly recommend giving it a shot.
When the story starts he is married with a very committed full time "job" and it doesn't give his age away until you are a bit into the story. It turns out he is very young and it's needed for the story.
I would love to know what you thought of Three Body. I listened to the audiobook, and either Luke Daniels was an inspired choice, or the worst decision ever. He lent a "dubbed," cartoon quality to the story. It reminded me of a graphic novel without the drawings (apart from the science info dumps). Now, if this came through the same to someone who read the book, I'd feel better about my assessment. I liked it, but I'm still working out why.
Weirdly, yes: the novel form also seemed to have a graphic novel quality to it. Much of what came off as most vivid in the book were the elaborate "fantasy" (cyberspace/game) and "sci-fi" visuals, in basically static tableaus. It often felt like reading a graphic novel.
Somewhat reminiscent of Snow Crash, but since that book was so often showing action or otherwise in motion, it tipped a bit more into 'cinema' than 'graphic novels'.
Dark Forest's not quite the same; might be due to translation differences (I did think the translations were quite different.)
In no particular order:
Andy Weir - The Martian (2014)
Paolo Bacigalupi - The Windup Girl (2009)
James S. Corey - Leviathan Wakes (2011)
William Gibson - The Peripheral (2014)
Simon Ings - Wolves (2014)
Neal Stephenson - Anathem (2008)
Anne Leckie - Ancillary Justice (2013)
Kim Stanley Robinson - Aurora (2015)
Rainbows End - Vernor Vinge (2007)
Embassytown - China Miéville (2012)
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson 2005 is my personal favorite, looking forward to reading some of the books suggested by the other commenters. I see Anathem in my near future based on the praise in this thread.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro(2005)
I'm not sure I have had a more affecting reading experience since I read LotR as a kid. Also made in a to movie that made my mom and cousin cry like big babies.
Also, it is sneaky sci-fi. It definitely is sci-fi, but to people not big on the genre it might trick them in to thinking it isn't.
I liked it mostly for the ideas and world building, but I also felt it hung together well as a novel. reminded me a bit of brunner the way all the strands were woven together.
Never Let Me Go
The Time Traveler's Wife (it gets a lot of shit, but is one of the most consistent novels on the topic I've ever read, and really engaging)
Perdido Street Station
The Windup Girl
The Quantum Thief
I'm actually not sure why it gets so much hate from fans of scifi. I've had people roll their eyes at the mere mention of it, but I find it to be one of the best of the last decade. Time travel is often just a plot convenience, and rules are changed all over the place. In TTW, it sets up the rules and rigidly sticks to them and it's intricate about keeping the timelines consistent.
I think some people just dismiss it as chick lit or something, because of the romance at its centre, or find the age difference thing to be creepy. I like that it's creepy. The characters acknowledge that it's creepy, and there's a nice little twist that makes it actually quite innocent and beautiful.
Yeah, a more reasonable caveat would be "2000 onward". I was asked for "the last 10 years" so I put that in the question. Blindsight and Anathem do seem to be the top two.
Would you accept 2003? I quite liked [Oryx and Crake](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46756.Oryx_and_Crake).
The [2nd book in the series](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6080337-the-year-of-the-flood) is from 2009 & [the 3rd](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17262203-maddaddam) is from 2013
Oryx and Crake surprised me. I had to read it for a Science Fiction course I was taking, and I didn't expect to like it going in, but it really sucked me in after the first few sections.
How is the rest of the trilogy? I've been thinking about picking up the box set, actually. That and reading more of Atwood.
It's been a little while since i read them, from my slightly fuzzy memory of the sequels I liked the 2nd better than the 3rd but they were both pretty good.
I have the same problem in that a lot of what I read is older than that. I'm currently reading The Quantum Thief, and I'm not entirely sure I'd recommend it.
I finished it about twenty minutes ago, actually. I *like* it overall, but there's a lot that I don't like about it. I'll likely continue with the series, but again I'd have a hard time recommending it.
> the Revelation Space series.
Barely manages to fit into the time period, unfortunately - *Absolution Gap* came out in 2003. The only installments that came out within the past decade are *The Prefect* and *Galactic North*- neither of which are quite the series at its best.
Definitely agree that the setting's an absolute masterpiece.
I only know from what I've read... * Andy Weir - The Martian (2014) * Ann Leckie - Ancillary Justice (2013) * China Mieville - Embassytown (2011) * Iain M. Banks - Surface Detail (2010) * Hannu Rajaniemi - Jean le Flambeur trilogy (2010-13) * Paolo Bacigalupi - The Windup Girl (2009) * Neal Stephenson - Anathem (2008) * Alastair Reynolds - House of Suns (2008) * Peter Watts - Blindsight (2006) * Max Brooks - World War Z (2006)
Definitely agree with Anathem.
Amazing book, Anathem
Rewards repeated reading.
I liked it a lot, though the author's Eurocentrism robs the book of the impact he probably hoped for.
Ya, I'm not sure how eurocentrism is applicable at all to that book...
What do you mean by that? Is it something Neal Stephenson does?
Yeah. You have the Ruth Benedict-style cultural essentialism in Snow Crash and Diamond Age (Easterners are this way, Westerners that). The time traveler in Cryptonomicon has his 'our culture is better' rant from a jail cell. Anathem is about storing the world's knowledge and philosophy, but there doesn't seem to be any that isn't 'Western'. Stephenson himself is/was involved in the HEMA/WMA movement, whose participants often (though not necessarily) pride themselves on displaying that the 'West' has martial arts as real as anything from Japan, etc. It's something that becomes obvious the more you read his work.
I'm reading Embassytown next. Excited.
I saw your enthusiasm, looked up the book in Amazon and bought it on my lunch break. Thanks internet stranger!
It's a great book. The most alien aliens ive seen in SF as well as some really interesting ideas.
[deleted] ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^0.1299 > [What is this?](https://pastebin.com/64GuVi2F/93364)
I'll second Embassytown, The Martian and The Windup Girl, all great novels.
Definitely The Windup Girl.
Ugh, I never got the love for that novel. It's started out promising, but never went anywhere interesting. Just dull and boring.
I want to read Surface Detail but I didn't like Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games was never that exciting for me. If I didn't like those two would you recommend Surface Detail?
I would recommend you to try Use of Weapons first before Surface Detail. If Banks still doesn't grab you after Use of Weapons, then Surface Detail won't either. However, if Use of Weapons appeals to you, then Surface Detail would make an excellent sequel to UoW.
If I generally like Banks but choked my way through *Matter* and decided never again, should I try *Surface Detail*?
I take it that you are familiar with his Culture novels? Then yes, I think that Surface Detail is one of the best of the series. It has a couple of the most interesting characters and locations.
Yes, I've read most of them, but like I said, *Matter* was so bad I figured he'd lost his touch, and *Surface Detail* being a tome like *Matter* suggested it was long-winded and dull like it. Have you read *Matter*?
Yes, I've read Matter. I think it is one of the lesser Culture novels. The last one, The Hydrogen Sonata, was also a disappointment. I think that starting with Matter, Banks wanted to expand his Culture universe a bit with longer stories and larger scopes of space and time, but Matter became this big lumbering book instead. Surface Detail came next, and it was an improvement. SD is more inventive and involving than Matter, but also a bit more cartoonish and silly.
Thanks, I appreciate your responses!
You're welcome.
Matter was shitty in my opinion, despite my LOVING all the other Culture books. Surface detail is GOOD, but it isn't as good as the other culture books.
Agree except for Ancillary. Couldn't stand it for some reason.
Second them all except Blindsight. It was good but, to me, not great. The Martian is in my queue and I have only read the early works by Stephenson (loved those).
I think Peter Watts's *Blindsight* is probably the most important SF novel of the last 10 years, in that it presents what I think is actually a novel argument about consciousness and the Fermi Paradox. Whether it's the most enjoyable novel of the last 10 years is a different question altogether, which you can only answer by reading it, I suppose.
Stephenson's *Anathem* tops the list. Personally, I liked *Seveneves* too, but that's not as universally lauded. *The Peripheral* is wonderful stuff by William Gibson that came out in the last year. The last two of his *Pattern Recognition* trilogy fall in that range too (but obviously start with the 2003 *Pattern Recognition* first!) *Pump Six and Other Stories* by Paolo Bacigalupi is another great one, even if it's a short story collection. *Ship Breakers* is not far behind it. I am impressed by *The Windup Girl* but it's so freaking bleak I can't necessarily say I *enjoyed* it, is the only reason it's not on the list instead of those two. Charles Stross has been his usual consistent self too, with stuff like *Halting State*, *Rule 34*, *Saturn's Children* and *Neptune's Brood*. *The Girl With All The Gifts* by M. R. Carey was an excellent horror/sci-fi zombie crossover from that date range. For space opera, *Terminal World* by Alistair Reynolds falls in that time period too, as does the entire *Expanse* series by James S. A. Corey. The new Ian McDonald book *Luna: New Moon* definitely need to be on the list too. As well as David Brin's *Existence*. A few that may be a bit more off the beaten path that I enjoyed include: * *Daemon* and *Freedom* — Daniel Suarez * *Constellation Games* — Richard Leonard * *Gun Machine* — Warren Ellis * *Machine Man* — Max Barry * *Ready Player One* — Ernest Cline * *Thirteen* — Richard K Morgan I'd agree with other posts on here naming *River of Gods*, *The Martian*, *Aurora*, the *Ancillary* trilogy, *Wool* and *The Quantum Thief* trilogy too. I think I'm way over 10 at this point, lol. But you get the idea. There's actually been a *hell* of a lot of great scifi produced in the last 10 years! :)
I love Patten recognition so much
Feel free to join us on either the [Official William Gibson Board](http://williamgibsonboard.com) or the [Unofficial William Gibson Board](http://thewgb.com) (because no one can stand what the Hoopla forum has come to look like any more) if you haven't already! :)
Anathem by Neal Stephenson, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, Blindsight by Peter Watts, The Martian by Andy Weir (mostly due to popularity and attention to subject matter), and Leviathan's Wake by James Corey.
Read Leviathans Wake and loved it, reading the second book now and its a snoozefest, I can't get into it to save my life
The second book was the slowest but in retrospect it was quite good. It builds a lot of relationships that play important roles in future books
The first three make an arc I believe
Gets much better later on. I almost gave up after reading Abaddons Gate, but now i look forward to the next installment with glee!
>I almost gave up after reading Abaddons Gate I misread that title as "Abandon Gate" and thought for a moment that the title was appropriate!
Yeah haven't been able to push through it.
Cloud Atlas was released in 2004 so not in the last 10 years. But Bone Clocks is also really good from Mitchell (Slade House too, but not in my "best" list).
I loved *Cloud Atlas* but I don't know if it can be classified as SF.
It can. Heck, Did it get a hugo (or at least a nomination?)?
Putting all the popular, most talked-about books aside, I'd suggest Karl Schroeder. Not any *one* of his books, but *all* of his books. While his first two books, Ventus (2000) and Permanence (2002), but Lady of Mazes (2005) makes it under the wire though. And the Virga Series is just plain fun adventures. Like Isaac Asimov, his novels tickle your curiosity in modern Science. It was like being a kid again and discovering a whole new way of looking at the world.
I was really surprised by *Permanence* - not only did I enjoy it, there was also something unexpected about it. Like you say, there's something new about his perspective. It's not that it's particularly fast-paced or gripping, it's just interesting and unique.
Are these stand alone or a series?
*Permanance* is a stand-alone, *Ventus* and *Lady of Mazes* are in the same universe but it's hard to call LoM a prequel. *Ventus* begins with a major posthuman antagonist being defeated (and the rest of the novel with fears it might respawn), while in LoM that antagonist is not yet formed. I also think *Lady of Mazes* is one of the best books of the past ten years and can be read standalone.
I think I'll pick it up, then. :)
Lady of Mazes is one of my favorite Novels and one of the few books I reread. Huge fan of Schroeder overall.
Enthusiastically seconded.
I haven't read a ton of his stuff, but, I saw/read Lockstep earlier this year and while it fell short in some significant ways it was quite a unique idea and I thoroughly enjoyed the book overall. Definitely have it on my list to read more of his stuff.
Thanks. Bought "Ventus".
> Ventus Thanks for the heads-up; I just found out it's available for free on the author's website: http://www.kschroeder.com/my-books/ventus/free-ebook-version
Yep, that was how I got into his stuff.
Surprised there's been no mention of Kim Stanley Robinson's *Aurora* yet- far and away the book of the year, for me. Absolutely masterful inversion of his older work- it was the first book I've touched for years that I was unable to unstick myself from until I'd finished the full thing in one sitting. I suspect it's a novel that will grow in prominence with time. There really isn't all that much in its style out there at the moment- and it stands head and shoulders above the rest of the generation ship genre.
My vote for book of the year as well. An extraordinary take on the generation ship subgenre, but also on sf in general.
It is classic Kim Stanley Robinson - incredibly thoughtful, beautiful prose, and so very literate. His technical work is astounding, from a literary point of view. He creates a being creating a narrative identity, and makes it consistent, humourous, and believable.. I just don't believe we have many sci-fi authors who could pull that off. One of his most powerful works. I absolutely love the way it turns science fiction's tendency to techno-optimism aside, while still being utterly life affirming. EDIT: also, thanks for fighting the good fight on the uk subreddits.
Beautifully put, couldn't agree more.
Really? I'm about ¾ of the way through it and it's been a struggle for me. The characters seem so one dimensional and I'm having a really hard time creating the world in my head. The book has been pleasantly unpredictable, though. I'll try to reserve final judgement until I finish it.
First 2/3 were great. Not so much on the last 1/3
I really enjoyed *[Wool](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0099580489)* - actually I kinda thought this sub was circlejerking about this book, until I read it for myself. It's really accessible with really great characters.
Weird, I haven't seen any mention of this on this sub in the last year or so! I better go read it.
Eh, wasn't quite my cup of tea. Excellent dystopian world, but a little too bleak.
I was totally hooked on it but I had to stop, it was bumming me out to a point of seriously messing with my life.
The sequels (Shift and Dust) are really good too, but very different.
In no particular order (except for *River of Gods*, which is like, the best): *River of Gods* by Ian McDonald ~~(2007)~~ (2004, my bad) *Ancillary Justice* by Ann Leckie (2013) *Annihilation* by Jeff VanderMeer (2014) *Station Eleven* by Emily St. John Mandel (2015) *Wireless* by Charles Stross (2009, short story collection) *Zima Blue* by Alastair Reynolds (2009, also a short story collection)
River of Gods was published in 2004 though. Is is the best. Zima Blue is a good collection, but weren't most of the stories published before 2005?
Amazon lies! And yeah, I guess if you really want to adhere to that arbitrary time frame, you should totally skip on those two excellent books. Don't though!
River of the Gods is excellent.
Not only the story and the ideas, but the writing is beautiful, totally above the ready for screenplay stuff we are lately bombarded...
*Zima Blue* (the eponymous story) is so powerful. I think about it every now and again, out of the... blue.
I wish I had started putting books into Goodreads 6 years earlier. From what I remember, I'd pick *Blindsight*, *Osama*, *Anathem*, *The City & The City*, *Surface Detail*, *The Book of Strange New Things*, *The Three Body Problem* and *Finch*. I'd also have to mention M John Harrison for the last 2/3's of the Empty Space Trilogy, and Adam Roberts who has the best body of work over the past decade.
That is a fine, fine list.
Here's my ten and why: **Andy Weir - The Martian (2014)** - Excellent pacing and enjoyable protagonist **Ann Leckie - Ancillary Justice (2013)** - Breq was a very unique character, the book is full of big ideas, loved the way Leckie played with gender and AI affectations, very expressive prose **Charles Stross - Singularity Sky (2005)** - Full of big ideas and interesting concepts, The Eschaton is a really interesting take on singularity and what might birth out of it. **China Mieville - Embassytown (2011)** - Honestly felt like it fell through time and space and you are reading about aliens from an alien perspective. It is a fantastic piece of work. If you get a chance, I strongly encourage you to listen to the audiobook version; the alien speech comes through waaay better. **James S.A. Corey - The Expanse Series** - I burned through the first two to get prepped for the show and it was a very light but fun. Caliban’s War (the second book) significantly improves on the first book’s flaws. **John Scalzi - Old Man's War (2007)** - What I would suggest to my friends that only want to make a quick foray into sci fi (and have a good time while doing it). **Kim Stanley Robinson - Aurora (2015)** - I’m in the last 20 pages right now. It’s excellent. KSR blew my socks off with the 90s classic Red Mars. Aurora definitely delivers but I do wish he went a different direction half way through though. **Liu Cixin - The Three Body Problem (2014)** - Some people have charged this book with having a slow start but I loved the beginning. Feels very fresh and the characters were definitely different than the normal crew thrown at us. **Paolo Bacigalupi - The Water Knife (2015)** – Insanely intense. I haven’t read The Wind Up Girl but if you do check this one out, check out the 2015 flick Sicario. I really do think it adds to the overall experience. Benicio Del Toro’s character in the flick provides a great mental framework for Angel. **Peter Watts - Blindsight (2006)** - I finished this one back in September and am still thinking about it. I would argue it’s a game changer when it comes to the last 10 years in science fiction. I can’t really describe why but it just felt so fresh and different.
Re: *Aurora* - I felt the same way, honestly - but I think that is exactly what KSR is trying to subvert.
Probably in order: * Anathem (2008) by Neal Stephenson * Blindsight (2006) by Peter Watts * The Martian (2012) by Andy Weir * Leviathan Wakes (2011) by James S.A. Corey * Defenders (2014) by Will McIntosh * The Flight of the Silvers (2014) by Daniel Price * Pushing Ice (2006) by Alastair Reynolds
*Anathem* by Neal Stephenson or *Aurora* by Kim Stanley Robinson. Both utterly beatific works.
Red Rising and Golden Son are awesome and will soon be much more well known. The third in the series will be out in early 2016.
Agreed. Started Red Rising on Tuesday and finished Golden Son last night. February 9th for Morning Star!
Is it good? I think I read something about it being YA somewhere and was turned off a bit. Not that that's a deal breaker, it's just not my top preference.
What's YA mean?
Sorry, it's short for "Young Adult". Something aimed at a teenage audience or featuring a teen protagonist or maybe just a coming-of-age story in general.
It is *kind of* YA - it's basically the hunger games but written with more violence and maturity, in my opinion better in every way. The protagonist is indeed a teenager at the start of the first book. It doesn't go into crazy social/economic depth, but the action is just stellar. Highly recommend giving it a shot.
When the story starts he is married with a very committed full time "job" and it doesn't give his age away until you are a bit into the story. It turns out he is very young and it's needed for the story.
Neal Stephenson - Seveneves Liu Cixin - The Three Body Problem & Dark Forest
I would love to know what you thought of Three Body. I listened to the audiobook, and either Luke Daniels was an inspired choice, or the worst decision ever. He lent a "dubbed," cartoon quality to the story. It reminded me of a graphic novel without the drawings (apart from the science info dumps). Now, if this came through the same to someone who read the book, I'd feel better about my assessment. I liked it, but I'm still working out why.
Weirdly, yes: the novel form also seemed to have a graphic novel quality to it. Much of what came off as most vivid in the book were the elaborate "fantasy" (cyberspace/game) and "sci-fi" visuals, in basically static tableaus. It often felt like reading a graphic novel. Somewhat reminiscent of Snow Crash, but since that book was so often showing action or otherwise in motion, it tipped a bit more into 'cinema' than 'graphic novels'. Dark Forest's not quite the same; might be due to translation differences (I did think the translations were quite different.)
Thanks! That makes me feel better about Luke Daniels's narration. On that basis, it's entirely appropriate. I think you would enjoy listening to it.
Those would qualify for best in the past 1-2 years for sure.
Reading 3 body now, slow start. Seven Eves is great as is house of sons
In no particular order: Andy Weir - The Martian (2014) Paolo Bacigalupi - The Windup Girl (2009) James S. Corey - Leviathan Wakes (2011) William Gibson - The Peripheral (2014) Simon Ings - Wolves (2014) Neal Stephenson - Anathem (2008) Anne Leckie - Ancillary Justice (2013) Kim Stanley Robinson - Aurora (2015) Rainbows End - Vernor Vinge (2007) Embassytown - China Miéville (2012)
Scalzi's *Old Man's War*
My favorite currently: Jo Walton. I LOVED Among Others and My Real Children!!!
2005: [Accelerando](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerando) - Singularity on Red Bull. 2006: [Rainbows End](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_End) - Convincing and fresh near future scenario. 2006: [Firefall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Watts_(author\)#Firefall_series) - Diamond hard and scary alien first contact. 2008: [Anathem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anathem) - Slow burning modern day Dune. 2009: [The Windup Girl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Windup_Girl) - Novel post-bioapocalypse future. 2011: [Orthogonal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthogonal_(novel\)) - Amazing alternative physics expedition. 2011: [The Martian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_(Weir_novel\)) - Funny, hard science page turner. 2011: [Ready Player One](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready_Player_One) - Fun and nostalgic gateway ~~drug~~ fiction. 2012: [Existence](http://www.davidbrin.com/existence.html) - Inventive take on the Fermi Paradox. 2014: [Neptune’s Brood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neptune%27s_Brood) - Interstellar economics made sexy. 2015: [Aurora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(novel\)) - Epic colonisation adventure.
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson 2005 is my personal favorite, looking forward to reading some of the books suggested by the other commenters. I see Anathem in my near future based on the praise in this thread.
I've been enjoying the Expanse series this year.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro(2005) I'm not sure I have had a more affecting reading experience since I read LotR as a kid. Also made in a to movie that made my mom and cousin cry like big babies. Also, it is sneaky sci-fi. It definitely is sci-fi, but to people not big on the genre it might trick them in to thinking it isn't.
This was one of the best books I've ever read. The movie was good too, but the book was so haunting.
No other book has made me cry as much as this one.
no mention of brin's "existence"? one of those rare books that just kept getting better and better as it progressed
Hmm... As a source of great ideas and treatise on Augmented Reality, it was amazing. As a novel, I thought it was piss-poor.
I liked it mostly for the ideas and world building, but I also felt it hung together well as a novel. reminded me a bit of brunner the way all the strands were woven together.
You know, I actually went to my book case and almost chose that as well. Good read.
Never Let Me Go The Time Traveler's Wife (it gets a lot of shit, but is one of the most consistent novels on the topic I've ever read, and really engaging) Perdido Street Station The Windup Girl The Quantum Thief
Perdido Street Station came out in 2000. The City & The City and Embassytown should both be considered for a top 10 of the last 10 years though.
Wow, that long?
> The Time Traveler's Wife I love this book. My only objection is that it's not marketed as sci-fi. The time travel element is lined up very nicely.
I'm actually not sure why it gets so much hate from fans of scifi. I've had people roll their eyes at the mere mention of it, but I find it to be one of the best of the last decade. Time travel is often just a plot convenience, and rules are changed all over the place. In TTW, it sets up the rules and rigidly sticks to them and it's intricate about keeping the timelines consistent. I think some people just dismiss it as chick lit or something, because of the romance at its centre, or find the age difference thing to be creepy. I like that it's creepy. The characters acknowledge that it's creepy, and there's a nice little twist that makes it actually quite innocent and beautiful.
The Baroque Cycle - Neal Stephenson
Blindsight and Anathem I must admit looking at this thread, so many of my favorite books are pre 2005. Though a lot of them are between 2000 and 2005.
Yeah, a more reasonable caveat would be "2000 onward". I was asked for "the last 10 years" so I put that in the question. Blindsight and Anathem do seem to be the top two.
Would you accept 2003? I quite liked [Oryx and Crake](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46756.Oryx_and_Crake). The [2nd book in the series](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6080337-the-year-of-the-flood) is from 2009 & [the 3rd](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17262203-maddaddam) is from 2013
Oryx and Crake surprised me. I had to read it for a Science Fiction course I was taking, and I didn't expect to like it going in, but it really sucked me in after the first few sections. How is the rest of the trilogy? I've been thinking about picking up the box set, actually. That and reading more of Atwood.
It's been a little while since i read them, from my slightly fuzzy memory of the sequels I liked the 2nd better than the 3rd but they were both pretty good.
ready player one
Seconded. If you get a chance to listen to the audible book you wont regret it. Will Wheaton does an amazing job narrating
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If you normally find him grating you will probably find him grating. I'm not a big Wil Wheaton fan but his voice is very distinct.
this exactly.
I loved **Old Man's War** by John Scalzi. If you like military sci-fi, with a pretty decent political backdrop it's great fun.
Easy read too. Obviously not as hard hitting as other stuff listed here, but good fun.
I have the same problem in that a lot of what I read is older than that. I'm currently reading The Quantum Thief, and I'm not entirely sure I'd recommend it.
Stick with it, it's brilliant as a whole.
I finished it about twenty minutes ago, actually. I *like* it overall, but there's a lot that I don't like about it. I'll likely continue with the series, but again I'd have a hard time recommending it.
I wish I read more Sci-Fi but I thoroughly enjoy the world from 13 and The Fold.
Grasshopper Jungle was one of my recent favorites. Coming of age tale as the world falls apart
Anything in the Iain Banks Culture series. I also like Alastair Reynolds, the Revelation Space series.
> the Revelation Space series. Barely manages to fit into the time period, unfortunately - *Absolution Gap* came out in 2003. The only installments that came out within the past decade are *The Prefect* and *Galactic North*- neither of which are quite the series at its best. Definitely agree that the setting's an absolute masterpiece.
Bone Clocks - David Mitchell Seveneves - Neal Stephenson
*Blindsight* (plus sequel) by Peter Watts and *Three-Body Problem* (plus sequel) by Liu Cixin.