Science Fiction

[Liokault]

Sway said:

JonRB said:

Sway said:

Currently reading through my collection of Iain M Banks. It's been a while, and I do love them. Realised that for some strange reason my 'complete' collection isn't - somehow I've missed Excession. Must get onto Amazon and sort that out!

Excession is arguably his best Culture book too. You're in for a treat there!

Nice!

Only realised due to a thread on here for the best spaceship. Read the description for the Eccentric old bird in Excession, and thought it didn't ring a bell. Checked bookcase and was pleasantly surprised there's 'new' IMB to read when I thought I was left with re-reading.

Excession is by far the best Culture book and is one of the best books I have ever read (top 5 anyway).

[Sway]

Just finished Excession.

Blimey. Stunning.

So chuffed to find that there was an unread Banks available, but now slightly sad that for ever more I'll only be able to reread.

A true master, and someone who has permitted hundreds of hours of escapist enjoyment.

[JonRB]

Sway said:

Just finished Excession.

Blimey. Stunning.

Yes, isn't it. Brilliant. Glad you liked it!

Sway said:

So chuffed to find that there was an unread Banks available, but now slightly sad that for ever more I'll only be able to reread.

A true master, and someone who has permitted hundreds of hours of escapist enjoyment.

So sadly true. RIP Mr. Banks

[Baron Greenback]

V true one of my favourite with Use of weapons. Don't know why I haven't read The Hydrogen Sonata yet don't want it to finish.

[andyroo]

If anyone wants a free sci-fi serialisation about the International Space Station and a mysterious object that appears in orbit behind it, I'm publishing chapters every week on my blog: http://andrewjamesmorgan.com

I hope you enjoy it.

[warp9]

Excession was fantastic, one of the best he wrote. Now reading The Hydrogen Sonata and am finding it tough going. It's almost as though he wrote it as a homage to himself dying.

[QuantumTokoloshi]

An older series, Lensmen by E.E. doc Smith, worth reading to while away a long flight or two.

[plasticpig]

QuantumTokoloshi said:

An older series, Lensmen by E.E. doc Smith, worth reading to while away a long flight or two.

1930's pulp space opera at it's best if you like that sort of thing.

[etchacan]

Not long finished the Safehold series (6 books to date - next book out mid-Feb) by David Weber - it's a blend of sci-fi and fantasy that mixes well. Also, his Honor Harrington series is a good read...

Totally convinced that the Culture books are the best read I've had in a long time!

[buglabjab]

Just started Ark Royal by Christopher Nuttal. Good so far a very british novel.

[jimmyjimjim]

buglabjab said:

Just started Ark Royal by Christopher Nuttal. Good so far a very british novel.

Seconded; it came up as an Amazon recommendation on kindle so I bought it for, I think, $3. Very good.

[jimmyjimjim]

etchacan said:

Not long finished the Safehold series (6 books to date - next book out mid-Feb) by David Weber - it's a blend of sci-fi and fantasy that mixes well. Also, his Honor Harrington series is a good read...

Totally convinced that the Culture books are the best read I've had in a long time!

Like a mighty army was out yesterday; just acquired a copy.

[plasticpig]

jimmyjimjim said:

Like a mighty army was out yesterday; just acquired a copy.

So have I. An Honor Harrington movie is in the early stages of production along with video game, comic books and a TV series to follow.

[Salgar]

I don't know how I haven't seen this thread before.

I love all the Peter F Hamilton stuff, especially Commonwealth and the Void trilogy, I found the nights dawn trilogy slightly darker but still great reading.

I've just read The Atlantis gene and Atlantis plague by A.G. Riddle who is apparently relatively new to science fiction. The first book is a thriller and almost non-sci-fi but the second book in the trilogy is more dystopian scifi. They were good(interesting?) although not the best I've read.

I also recently read all of the Agent Cormac series by Neal Asher and am now reading the Spatterjay books.

Look forward to all the suggestions in this thread.

[FunkyNige]

Towards the end of last year I read the Lost Fleet series of books by Jack Campbell. Wiki it says:
"The series is set one-hundred-plus years into an interstellar war between two different human cultures, the Alliance and the Syndics. The protagonist of the story is discovered floating in a suspended animation escape pod one hundred years after he made a "heroic last stand" against an enemy fleet. In his absence, he has been made into a renowned hero in the Alliance, but his legend and actions are used to justify poor tactics and decisions. Awakened after being discovered during a secret mission that turns out to be an enemy trap, he is suddenly dropped into the role of fleet commander and expected to live up to the legend that has grown around him."

I really like the series, they're something a bit different as they're not too sci-fi (you can imagine most of the science stuff existing), the space battles are well written and quite interesting in the way it explores how you would fight battles in space with the massive distances involved meaning long waits for anything to happen then it's all over really quickly.

Fairly easy to read (I was reading a book a day at one point) so worth checking out if you are after something a bit lighter than a lot of the sci-fi books (Dune, I'm looking at you!).

[Cotty]

Been woking my way though the Iain M Banks Culture series. Im up to Inversions and im not feeling it, im thinking where is the Culture, where are the drones and minds, GSV's, etc. Is it worth continuing and just jumping to the next book.

[Halmyre]

Cotty said:

Been woking my way though the Iain M Banks Culture series. Im up to Inversions and im not feeling it, im thinking where is the Culture, where are the drones and minds, GSV's, etc. Is it worth continuing and just jumping to the next book.

Inversions just qualifies as a peripheral Culture book, there's only a very subtle clue to that effect right at the end. So no GSVs, minds, drones, etc. Yes, it's worth persevering with. If IMB's books were tracks on a prog-rock album, Inversions would be the pastoral little acoustic number in the middle.

[Cotty]

Halmyre said:

Inversions just qualifies as a peripheral Culture book, there's only a very subtle clue to that effect right at the end.

That and I am assuming the doctor is from the Culture.

[plasticpig]

Inversions is a good story but really doesn't contain any references to the culture except by inference.

[Mannginger]

The analysis around Inversions is great - when I read the Banks Wiki on this subject I was fascinated by actually how many inferred references there were - far more than my little mind had picked up on!