Science Fiction Beach Reads
May 6, 2021 4:38 AM Subscribe
Please share all the books and series you haven't been able to put down! I am in dire need of some fun reading and would love recommendations from the Green as you all have suggested books that have become favorites over the years. I'm looking for science fiction (please feel free to interpret the genre broadly) that's engrossing and fun but not completely retrograde or badly written. More details within.
I'm open to both individual books and series, and prefer books on the newer side (say the last 10-15 years) to decrease the probability of blatant -isms and other grossness. Strong plotting is really important, and good character development is a major plus. I'm not too much of a stickler on world-building or hard scifi accuracy.
Here are some examples of authors/books/series I've read that are along the lines of what I'm looking for:
The collected works of Becky Chambers, Ann Leckie, N.K. Jemisin, Rebecca Roanhorse, Karen Russell, Vernor Vinge, Ben Winters, and John Scalzi.
Martha Wells' Murderbot series
The Expanse series
Micaiah Johnson's The Space Between Worlds
Adrian Tchaikovsky Children of Time series
Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire series
I've tried the Culture Series and the Vorkosigan Saga and liked them fine but not enough to commit to the series. I've also read all of Discworld, which is maybe a little goofier than I want right now, but I'm open to suggestions along those lines too.
Here are some popular books and authors I didn't care for:
This Is How You Lose the Time War (just not for me)
Cory Doctorow (I can't pinpoint why but I'm just not a fan)
Catherynne Valente (I liked Silently and Very Fast, but not any of her other books I've tried)
Ada Palmer (I feel like I should like her, but her writing irks me)
The Bobiverse series (characters need more personality than a list of fandoms)
And here are some science fiction authors I love whose books aren't quite what I'm looking for right now, but maybe will help generate some ideas:
Octavia Butler
The Strugatsky Brothers
Nick Harkaway
Ursula K Le Guin
Samuel Delany
Margaret Atwood
Thanks all!
I'm open to both individual books and series, and prefer books on the newer side (say the last 10-15 years) to decrease the probability of blatant -isms and other grossness. Strong plotting is really important, and good character development is a major plus. I'm not too much of a stickler on world-building or hard scifi accuracy.
Here are some examples of authors/books/series I've read that are along the lines of what I'm looking for:
The collected works of Becky Chambers, Ann Leckie, N.K. Jemisin, Rebecca Roanhorse, Karen Russell, Vernor Vinge, Ben Winters, and John Scalzi.
Martha Wells' Murderbot series
The Expanse series
Micaiah Johnson's The Space Between Worlds
Adrian Tchaikovsky Children of Time series
Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire series
I've tried the Culture Series and the Vorkosigan Saga and liked them fine but not enough to commit to the series. I've also read all of Discworld, which is maybe a little goofier than I want right now, but I'm open to suggestions along those lines too.
Here are some popular books and authors I didn't care for:
This Is How You Lose the Time War (just not for me)
Cory Doctorow (I can't pinpoint why but I'm just not a fan)
Catherynne Valente (I liked Silently and Very Fast, but not any of her other books I've tried)
Ada Palmer (I feel like I should like her, but her writing irks me)
The Bobiverse series (characters need more personality than a list of fandoms)
And here are some science fiction authors I love whose books aren't quite what I'm looking for right now, but maybe will help generate some ideas:
Octavia Butler
The Strugatsky Brothers
Nick Harkaway
Ursula K Le Guin
Samuel Delany
Margaret Atwood
Thanks all!
The Martian by Andy Weir sort of Castaway in space.
posted by Captain_Science at 5:03 AM on May 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Captain_Science at 5:03 AM on May 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Scott Westerfeld's The Risen Empire far future galaxy spanning story dealing with the fallout of tech that can make humans immortal. It's simply stuffed with amazing ideas and characters. And the writing is so vivid it feels like I'm reading a really great graphic novel, the scenes blaze in my imagination.
Mari Lu's "Warcross" Very much YA, but such fun YA, a young woman on the edge of becoming homeless discovers that her skill in a VR game is very useful after all.
Rachel Bach's "Fortune's Pawn" (first in a trilogy) sort of YAish military sci fi. The hero is a young woman fighter who is very much in love with her own mech suit. Light, and I thought it was a lot of fun.
Elizabeth Moon's The Speed of Dark from the point of view of a high functioning autistic character, wrestling with whether or not to accept a "cure" for autism in the near future of our world.
I am absolutely loving Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Shadows of the Apt" series starting with Empire in Black and Gold I think the books might have been published as fantasy, and they do have a touch of magic to them, but honestly they have a totally science fiction attitude so you might enjoy. His humans have insect-like capabilities, and the various insect-types have different abilities with tech. The story deals with the interactions of the apt (the humans who can use mechanical tech) and the inapt (those who can't understand tech at all). It's pretty fascinating.
I also enjoyed his Children of Time which is classic science fiction, dealing with what might happen if spiders evolved to become sentient and tech using beings.
And if this is allowed - based on the books you enjoy, you might also enjoy the sci fi books I write - The Babylon Eye is the first in a series about a female ex-ecoterrorist and her cybernetic dog in alternate world South Africa. And We Broke the Moon is set in a deep-space generation ship and follows the adventures of two teenagers who hack into a VR game. Very much influenced by Becky Chambers as well as Garth Nix. A sort of sci fi / fantasy crossover.
posted by Zumbador at 5:16 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Mari Lu's "Warcross" Very much YA, but such fun YA, a young woman on the edge of becoming homeless discovers that her skill in a VR game is very useful after all.
Rachel Bach's "Fortune's Pawn" (first in a trilogy) sort of YAish military sci fi. The hero is a young woman fighter who is very much in love with her own mech suit. Light, and I thought it was a lot of fun.
Elizabeth Moon's The Speed of Dark from the point of view of a high functioning autistic character, wrestling with whether or not to accept a "cure" for autism in the near future of our world.
I am absolutely loving Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Shadows of the Apt" series starting with Empire in Black and Gold I think the books might have been published as fantasy, and they do have a touch of magic to them, but honestly they have a totally science fiction attitude so you might enjoy. His humans have insect-like capabilities, and the various insect-types have different abilities with tech. The story deals with the interactions of the apt (the humans who can use mechanical tech) and the inapt (those who can't understand tech at all). It's pretty fascinating.
I also enjoyed his Children of Time which is classic science fiction, dealing with what might happen if spiders evolved to become sentient and tech using beings.
And if this is allowed - based on the books you enjoy, you might also enjoy the sci fi books I write - The Babylon Eye is the first in a series about a female ex-ecoterrorist and her cybernetic dog in alternate world South Africa. And We Broke the Moon is set in a deep-space generation ship and follows the adventures of two teenagers who hack into a VR game. Very much influenced by Becky Chambers as well as Garth Nix. A sort of sci fi / fantasy crossover.
posted by Zumbador at 5:16 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Have you tried Emma Newman's Planetfall sequence? Four books (so far?), which can be read in any order. Character-driven near-future SF. I find them immersive and absolutely unputdownable, even though I am generally a happy-ending sort of a reader and these do not really fit that description. You know that feeling when you've read a whole bunch of books that have just been meh, potboilers, and then at last you find yourself reading something *really good*? Like a glass of cool water when you're parched with thirst? These are in that category for me. Guaranteed refreshment.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:20 AM on May 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:20 AM on May 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Hit post too soon. Two more suggestions:
I loved The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas - clever, thoughtful, made me consider an aspect of time travel that I'd somehow never thought about before, AND there's a reference to a Diana Wynne Jones novel, which made me yelp with delight.
And, do you like short stories? Naomi Kritzer's collection Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories is a sheer delight.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:30 AM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
I loved The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas - clever, thoughtful, made me consider an aspect of time travel that I'd somehow never thought about before, AND there's a reference to a Diana Wynne Jones novel, which made me yelp with delight.
And, do you like short stories? Naomi Kritzer's collection Cat Pictures Please and Other Stories is a sheer delight.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 5:30 AM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Suzanne Palmer's Finder Chronicles and Curtis Chen's Kangaroo Series.
posted by neushoorn at 5:45 AM on May 6, 2021
posted by neushoorn at 5:45 AM on May 6, 2021
Best answer: I loved The City We Became, its standalone. You may have read it, but if not, it came out last year and I thought it was incredibly unique and well done. If you like her work you will like this!
posted by dazedandconfused at 5:46 AM on May 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by dazedandconfused at 5:46 AM on May 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Seconding A Memory Called Empire. Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth, if you want to sit in the sun and read about caustic necromancers in dank, chilly tombs? It is witty and turns into a mystery novel.
Also, C. J. Cherryh holds up well IMO. I enjoy the Foreigner series - palace intrigue plus linguistics - but the Chanur books would make a fun beach read too.
(And thanks for this question, I am taking notes in hopes of a beach vacation to come!)
posted by mersen at 6:01 AM on May 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
Also, C. J. Cherryh holds up well IMO. I enjoy the Foreigner series - palace intrigue plus linguistics - but the Chanur books would make a fun beach read too.
(And thanks for this question, I am taking notes in hopes of a beach vacation to come!)
posted by mersen at 6:01 AM on May 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
Best answer: I've enjoyed each of Charlie Jane Anders' books and the most recent, Victories Greater Than Death, is especially fun and beach-ready.
posted by latkes at 6:07 AM on May 6, 2021
posted by latkes at 6:07 AM on May 6, 2021
Seconding CJ Anders and wanted to mention J. Scalzi, whose books are very rereadable and scratch some of the same itch Becky Chambers does, for me.
posted by annathea at 6:09 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by annathea at 6:09 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Catfishing on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer is such a great read - Young Adult novel in the best way.
It's about an AI that loves cat pics and helping people and therefore runs an internet forum. And about a girl on the run from her abusive stalking computer hacker father. (It's the sequel to a short story that I saw posted on Metafilter, I think?)
The sequel is also pretty great.
posted by Omnomnom at 6:28 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
It's about an AI that loves cat pics and helping people and therefore runs an internet forum. And about a girl on the run from her abusive stalking computer hacker father. (It's the sequel to a short story that I saw posted on Metafilter, I think?)
The sequel is also pretty great.
posted by Omnomnom at 6:28 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: You might enjoy Nnedi Okorafor; I found the Binti trilogy very hard to put down. I also liked her books Akata Witch and Akata Warrior, if YA is on your radar.
posted by SeedStitch at 6:28 AM on May 6, 2021 [7 favorites]
posted by SeedStitch at 6:28 AM on May 6, 2021 [7 favorites]
Best answer: Oh yes how could I forgotten CJ Cherryh! One of my favourite writers. I liked Cyteen, and the Company Wars series, especially Hellburner Rimrunners and Downbelow Station.
posted by Zumbador at 6:33 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Zumbador at 6:33 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Max Barry. I think that Lexicon is his best. They are all very readable and fun. (Although I didn't like Company.)
posted by catquas at 6:46 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by catquas at 6:46 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Most of my suggestions are already in your list. (And we have similar, incompletely justified dislikes.) In case you've missed it, rather than just not mentioning it, Alastair Reynolds is worth a try. The Revelation Space series would be a good place to start, but the newer stuff is also very good. Reynold's work is similar to Vinge's in some ways, at least to me.
Also, possibly, Dan Simmons, but it's all older than 15 years and may line up more with your 'not right now" list.
posted by eotvos at 6:54 AM on May 6, 2021
Also, possibly, Dan Simmons, but it's all older than 15 years and may line up more with your 'not right now" list.
posted by eotvos at 6:54 AM on May 6, 2021
Best answer: Since you've mentioned the discworld and gave permission to interpret the genre broadly, I want to reccomend Mark Hayden's "The King's Watch" series.
It's setting is the modern UK. Magic exists but is hidden. The protagonist Conrad Clarke is induced into the King's Watch which is tasked with policing the world of magic.
It is well written in my opinion and is not all about magic but also about modern police procedure where "magick" exists and jurisdictional difficulties and how to keep the knowledge about magic quiet.
I like it because the setting is very modern but with some of the delightful excentricities and traditions of the UK included. It has a very British feel. If you like it, you can also read the three fully mundane prequels of Operation Jigsaw and the mundane Tom Morton novels.
posted by mmkhd at 6:54 AM on May 6, 2021
It's setting is the modern UK. Magic exists but is hidden. The protagonist Conrad Clarke is induced into the King's Watch which is tasked with policing the world of magic.
It is well written in my opinion and is not all about magic but also about modern police procedure where "magick" exists and jurisdictional difficulties and how to keep the knowledge about magic quiet.
I like it because the setting is very modern but with some of the delightful excentricities and traditions of the UK included. It has a very British feel. If you like it, you can also read the three fully mundane prequels of Operation Jigsaw and the mundane Tom Morton novels.
posted by mmkhd at 6:54 AM on May 6, 2021
Best answer: Elizabeth Moon has a series, Vatta's War, about a woman starship captain, and they're good.
You said that you liked John Scalzi, so, after I read his "Old Man's War" series, I read some mil-scifi by a guy named Marko Kloos that were ACTION!-y but also had personality and suspense.
Have you read the Lady Astronaut series?
posted by wenestvedt at 6:56 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
You said that you liked John Scalzi, so, after I read his "Old Man's War" series, I read some mil-scifi by a guy named Marko Kloos that were ACTION!-y but also had personality and suspense.
Have you read the Lady Astronaut series?
posted by wenestvedt at 6:56 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Best answer: This is also significantly older than your request - but if a more sincere discworld-like story is of interest - John Varley's Gaea trilogy is surprisingly fun and light beach read.
posted by eotvos at 7:04 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by eotvos at 7:04 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Also on the silly side - Eric Garcia's "Rex" books, about a world in which dinosaurs co-exist with humans are surprisingly fun and much better written than you'd expect from the covers or blubs.
posted by eotvos at 7:09 AM on May 6, 2021
posted by eotvos at 7:09 AM on May 6, 2021
Best answer: Sue Burke wrote a brace of books (can't really get behind the term duology, sorry) called Semiosis and Interference which were quite good.
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is definitely a beach read, and
Gideon the Ninth is so much fun I can't believe it hasn't been mentioned yet
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:11 AM on May 6, 2021
How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse is definitely a beach read, and
Gideon the Ninth is so much fun I can't believe it hasn't been mentioned yet
posted by OHenryPacey at 7:11 AM on May 6, 2021
When I feel like reading the book equivalent of fucking off all day eating junk food I turn to Michael Crichton. I can't think of anything more evocative of beach vibes than a trendy high class resort on a remote Costa Rican island.
posted by phunniemee at 7:21 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by phunniemee at 7:21 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
everything by Ted Chiang, also "The Swarm" by Frank Schätzing
posted by alchemist at 7:23 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by alchemist at 7:23 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
If you liked the Culture fine and haven't read The Hydrogen Sonata, try it, I think it's the most fun of the bunch.
posted by counterfeitfake at 7:25 AM on May 6, 2021
posted by counterfeitfake at 7:25 AM on May 6, 2021
I noticed you mentioned the "grossness" of older scifi, and thought I'd bring up James Tiptree, who was actually Alice Sheldon, who wrote super feminist sci-fi under a male pseudonym. I've only read some short stories by her but they are plot heavy and interesting. The Screwfly Solution was one of her famous shorts.
posted by monologish at 7:37 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by monologish at 7:37 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: So, I'm just going to throw this out there, since you did reference Pratchett, though this is significantly less goofy than his stuff. Maybe try Honor Raconteur's The Case Files of Henri Davenforth series. One human woman, an FBI agent from our present day planet Earth, gets pulled through (via an evil witch) to another world, similar to Earth about 100 years ago tech wise and also with magic. She is stuck on this other planet, and still wants to do some kind of police work (she has no magical abilities but of course has knowledge of our more advanced tech and crime techniques.) She gets partnered on crime investigations with a magician/detective. (Note that there is a very slow building romance in the series, if that is an issue one way or another.) The sixth book just dropped.
posted by gudrun at 7:41 AM on May 6, 2021
posted by gudrun at 7:41 AM on May 6, 2021
Came here to recommend The Martian by Andy Weir (and I see I’m not the first) but also his most recent, Project Hail Mary.
His second book, Artemis wasn’t bad, but it had a real feel of something that was published to ride the success of the first book.
Project Hail Mary is back to the same roots as The Martian, with some hints of The Three Body Problem thrown in, I read it in one day when it came out, could only barely put it down to go to work during the day.
Actually on that note I also want to recommend the Remembrance of Earth’s Past Trilogy (The Three Body Problem, The Dark Forest, Death’s End) by Cixin Liu, which is some really amazing stuff. It’s truely a masterpeice of science fiction.
posted by tiamat at 7:50 AM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
His second book, Artemis wasn’t bad, but it had a real feel of something that was published to ride the success of the first book.
Project Hail Mary is back to the same roots as The Martian, with some hints of The Three Body Problem thrown in, I read it in one day when it came out, could only barely put it down to go to work during the day.
Actually on that note I also want to recommend the Remembrance of Earth’s Past Trilogy (The Three Body Problem, The Dark Forest, Death’s End) by Cixin Liu, which is some really amazing stuff. It’s truely a masterpeice of science fiction.
posted by tiamat at 7:50 AM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Ben Aaronovitch's "Peter Grant"/"Rivers of London" books about a contemporary London policeman who's recruited into the small department for magical crimes are really good. (And the audiobooks are simply amazing.)
They have equal elements of police procedural, mystery, romance, thriller, politics, and modern London life. I love 'em!
I know you said scifi, but these are immediate reads whenever a new one drops. Here, try out this short story, set during the 2012 Olympics, from the author's web site.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:59 AM on May 6, 2021 [7 favorites]
They have equal elements of police procedural, mystery, romance, thriller, politics, and modern London life. I love 'em!
I know you said scifi, but these are immediate reads whenever a new one drops. Here, try out this short story, set during the 2012 Olympics, from the author's web site.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:59 AM on May 6, 2021 [7 favorites]
Best answer: I've just finished Station Eleven by Emily StJohn Mandel: a post-pandemic, society rebuilding tale. Guardian Review: "Station Eleven skips back and forth between the pre-flu world and Year Twenty after global collapse, when the worst is over and survivors have banded together into isolated settlements". Like Day of the Triffids, whc I enjoyed as a teen, without 1950s unconsidered certainties.
posted by BobTheScientist at 8:07 AM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by BobTheScientist at 8:07 AM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
I don't see Lois McMaster Bujold here yet, so: The Miles Vorkosigan series is a joy.
And because I'm posting, I'll second Gideon the Ninth (and Harrow the Ninth after it), the Peter Grant series, and A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (I'm reading the second and it's just as good so far).
posted by hought20 at 8:44 AM on May 6, 2021
And because I'm posting, I'll second Gideon the Ninth (and Harrow the Ninth after it), the Peter Grant series, and A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (I'm reading the second and it's just as good so far).
posted by hought20 at 8:44 AM on May 6, 2021
Best answer: If you enjoyed 'The Expanse,' have you read the Takeshi Kovacs 'Altered Carbon' trilogy by Richard K. Morgan?
Morgan's standalone Thirteen, Market Forces, and Thin Air are fast paced noir-ish scifi and are entertaining quick reads.
posted by porpoise at 9:15 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Morgan's standalone Thirteen, Market Forces, and Thin Air are fast paced noir-ish scifi and are entertaining quick reads.
posted by porpoise at 9:15 AM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
(Altered Carbon is pretty violent, in case you need a "TW/CW" there.)
posted by wenestvedt at 9:21 AM on May 6, 2021
posted by wenestvedt at 9:21 AM on May 6, 2021
I don't see Lois McMaster Bujold here yet, so: The Miles Vorkosigan series is a joy.
I started reading it but couldn't finish the first one because of (sexist) grossness. I think it just hasn't aged very well. I mean, it's not the worst by far, but if OP is trying to avoid -isms, maybe skip that.
posted by Omnomnom at 9:24 AM on May 6, 2021
I started reading it but couldn't finish the first one because of (sexist) grossness. I think it just hasn't aged very well. I mean, it's not the worst by far, but if OP is trying to avoid -isms, maybe skip that.
posted by Omnomnom at 9:24 AM on May 6, 2021
Good sci-fi? Look no further than the works of Kim Stanley Robinson. The Mars trilogy are some of my all-time favourite books.
posted by signsofrain at 10:12 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by signsofrain at 10:12 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: "The Mechanical" by Ian Tregillis is the first of "The Alchemy Wars" trilogy. It's like historical steampunk featuring a 17th-century version of MurderBot.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:22 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Sunburnt at 10:22 AM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Waypoint Kangaroo by Curtis C. Chen is a thriller about a spy with a very interesting power. Lots of fun and an ideal vacation read.
Jade City by Fonda Lee is a Godfather-style saga with a science fiction twist. There's two books out now, and the third volume will be out in November.
The Greenwing & Dart series by Victoria Goddard is more a "fantasy of manners" but has very good character development and is very entertaining.
posted by mogget at 10:25 AM on May 6, 2021
Jade City by Fonda Lee is a Godfather-style saga with a science fiction twist. There's two books out now, and the third volume will be out in November.
The Greenwing & Dart series by Victoria Goddard is more a "fantasy of manners" but has very good character development and is very entertaining.
posted by mogget at 10:25 AM on May 6, 2021
Best answer: When I feel like reading the book equivalent of fucking off all day eating junk food I turn to Michael Crichton.
See also Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, either together or separately. Less so their what-seems-to-be-eternal series with Pendergast or whoever from Relic, but they have other serieses. One of them has a virus that makes your head asplode! Woooo!
I've tried the Culture Series and the Vorkosigan Saga and liked them fine but not enough to commit to the series.
If you tried Consider Phlebas, do give The Player of Games a try. While there are ways that it makes sense to read Consider Phlebas first, TPoG is in most ways a better introduction to Culture books.
I'll say that while the Altered Carbon books are only about as retrograde as "required" by them being noir-ish, Thin Air has really an awful lot of how the viewpoint character is going to go have the sexy boobie-girl sex with the boobie lady whose boobs he likes so very much. biscotti and I both really enjoyed the Altered Carbon books but were rolling our eyes at Thin Air.
Elizabeth Moon does okay in this sort of fun/comfort reading. She writes the kind of MilSF where characters spend a lot of time evaluating personnel decisions, doing performance reviews on each other, and improving standard operating procedures, and at least one of her series is more about these two adult women learning to respect each other than anything else. Her writing treats racism and sexism as self-evidently stupid things to be treated contemptuously, but she's put her foot in her mouth about LGBT stuff. Also, I forget the title, but her book about the bad Space Texas* has eeeeeeeexxxxteeeeeennnnnnnded abuse of a woman.
*There is another Space Texas who seem to be decent folks, and both of them are literal Space Texases
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 10:35 AM on May 6, 2021
See also Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, either together or separately. Less so their what-seems-to-be-eternal series with Pendergast or whoever from Relic, but they have other serieses. One of them has a virus that makes your head asplode! Woooo!
I've tried the Culture Series and the Vorkosigan Saga and liked them fine but not enough to commit to the series.
If you tried Consider Phlebas, do give The Player of Games a try. While there are ways that it makes sense to read Consider Phlebas first, TPoG is in most ways a better introduction to Culture books.
I'll say that while the Altered Carbon books are only about as retrograde as "required" by them being noir-ish, Thin Air has really an awful lot of how the viewpoint character is going to go have the sexy boobie-girl sex with the boobie lady whose boobs he likes so very much. biscotti and I both really enjoyed the Altered Carbon books but were rolling our eyes at Thin Air.
Elizabeth Moon does okay in this sort of fun/comfort reading. She writes the kind of MilSF where characters spend a lot of time evaluating personnel decisions, doing performance reviews on each other, and improving standard operating procedures, and at least one of her series is more about these two adult women learning to respect each other than anything else. Her writing treats racism and sexism as self-evidently stupid things to be treated contemptuously, but she's put her foot in her mouth about LGBT stuff. Also, I forget the title, but her book about the bad Space Texas* has eeeeeeeexxxxteeeeeennnnnnnded abuse of a woman.
*There is another Space Texas who seem to be decent folks, and both of them are literal Space Texases
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 10:35 AM on May 6, 2021
Best answer: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. ummm, multiverse. Asks the question, “Are you happy with your life?”
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:42 AM on May 6, 2021
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:42 AM on May 6, 2021
Best answer: I do not see Rosemary Kirstein on your list! Run, do not walk, to your local purveyor of books, and find a copy of The Steerswoman. These are so well written, with engaging characters, and a really cool meaty puzzle/plot to sink your teeth into.
There are horses and swords, but do not be fooled by the trappings: this is fiction about science and the scientific method. There are four novels in the series so far, and the author continues to work on the next one(s).
posted by suelac at 2:13 PM on May 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
There are horses and swords, but do not be fooled by the trappings: this is fiction about science and the scientific method. There are four novels in the series so far, and the author continues to work on the next one(s).
posted by suelac at 2:13 PM on May 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
Best answer: Seconding the Finder trilogy (reminiscent of Murderbot, but human), Catfishing on CatNet (also like Murderbot, but less cynical), and Rosemary Kirstein.
Seanan McGuire, especially the Incryptid series. (The family business is cryptozoology - equal parts science, Indiana Jones-ing, and social work.)
Shadow Unit makes for some good e-reading. (Excellent team dynamic.)
The Silk and Steel SF/F anthology has a bunch of lovely stories, and some of those authors have other work...
I haven't read Sourdough yet, but Robin Sloan's other work is generally quite good.
Amy Rose Capetta & Cori McCarthy's Once and Future is a fun, queer King Arthur in space. (This time, Arthur's a girl.)
posted by sibilatorix at 2:39 PM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
Seanan McGuire, especially the Incryptid series. (The family business is cryptozoology - equal parts science, Indiana Jones-ing, and social work.)
Shadow Unit makes for some good e-reading. (Excellent team dynamic.)
The Silk and Steel SF/F anthology has a bunch of lovely stories, and some of those authors have other work...
I haven't read Sourdough yet, but Robin Sloan's other work is generally quite good.
Amy Rose Capetta & Cori McCarthy's Once and Future is a fun, queer King Arthur in space. (This time, Arthur's a girl.)
posted by sibilatorix at 2:39 PM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thank you all! This gives me a lot of ideas--some things I've heard of but forgotten about and some totally new books and authors (Catfishing on Catnet might have to be my first read!). I best answered every response that gave me new ideas or suggested something I've read before & liked.
The Altered Carbon discussion is funny because it was initially one of my examples of the type of series I'm looking for. But although it wasn't problematic, I was worried that the sub-genres it's in tend to lean that way, so I didn't use it. But it is an excellent beach read series.
For others reading this, I can also confirm that the following suggestions are good ones:
Dark Matter - Crouch (his next book, Recursion, is not nearly as good though)
Station Eleven - Mandel
Anything by Nnedi Okorafor
tiamat -- you are a way more patient reader than I am to consider the Remembrance of Earths Past trilogy as a fun read -- I liked it quite a bit but it's not a beach read in my book!
posted by snaw at 4:01 PM on May 6, 2021
The Altered Carbon discussion is funny because it was initially one of my examples of the type of series I'm looking for. But although it wasn't problematic, I was worried that the sub-genres it's in tend to lean that way, so I didn't use it. But it is an excellent beach read series.
For others reading this, I can also confirm that the following suggestions are good ones:
Dark Matter - Crouch (his next book, Recursion, is not nearly as good though)
Station Eleven - Mandel
Anything by Nnedi Okorafor
tiamat -- you are a way more patient reader than I am to consider the Remembrance of Earths Past trilogy as a fun read -- I liked it quite a bit but it's not a beach read in my book!
posted by snaw at 4:01 PM on May 6, 2021
Best answer: Rudy Rucker is a sometimes under-rated quirky late-20th/early-21st sci-fi author with an unusual approach to sentient machines, math-conundrums, and alternate realities. There's a trippy stoner-vibe in some of his books.
Jack Vance is an old-school vintage mid-20th century sci-fi author that I'll caveat is kinda leaning on the edge of "dated"-isms as much as any mid-20th century guy. He wrote pulpy adventure yarns about eccentric tourist/adventurers exploring strange landscapes. He often had an understated droll sense of humour in these exploits.
posted by ovvl at 5:10 PM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Jack Vance is an old-school vintage mid-20th century sci-fi author that I'll caveat is kinda leaning on the edge of "dated"-isms as much as any mid-20th century guy. He wrote pulpy adventure yarns about eccentric tourist/adventurers exploring strange landscapes. He often had an understated droll sense of humour in these exploits.
posted by ovvl at 5:10 PM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If you end up reading A Memory Called Empire, don't ignore Martine's sequel, A Desolation Called Peace.
posted by lhauser at 5:58 PM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by lhauser at 5:58 PM on May 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Best answer: This is a great thread and is giving me many ideas for reading, thanks everyone!
I really have to disagree with Jack Vance; I loved his stuff when I was a teen but going back to it, especially his earlier works, as an adult was really super painful and I had to stop. Unless you enjoy reading about women as sex objects.
An oldie that has stood up, in my opinion: Zenna Henderson's stories of the People (collection) almost but not quite read like modern science fiction set in the 40s and 50s. It is theistic so if that bugs you then maybe give them a miss.
I feel like I always recommend this one, but Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt remains a favourite, and I've read it probably 5 or 6 times now.
One borderline - not really scifi but fits in with many of the other recommendations here, so I'll suggest it and you can decide! Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House was really awesome.
posted by Athanassiel at 9:55 PM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
I really have to disagree with Jack Vance; I loved his stuff when I was a teen but going back to it, especially his earlier works, as an adult was really super painful and I had to stop. Unless you enjoy reading about women as sex objects.
An oldie that has stood up, in my opinion: Zenna Henderson's stories of the People (collection) almost but not quite read like modern science fiction set in the 40s and 50s. It is theistic so if that bugs you then maybe give them a miss.
I feel like I always recommend this one, but Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt remains a favourite, and I've read it probably 5 or 6 times now.
One borderline - not really scifi but fits in with many of the other recommendations here, so I'll suggest it and you can decide! Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House was really awesome.
posted by Athanassiel at 9:55 PM on May 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Peter Watts' Rifters trilogy is stellar: gripping, solidly science-based, and quite dark (literally and metaphorically).
His space trilogy Firefall is great, too. But Rifters is really unique.
posted by gottabefunky at 10:53 PM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
His space trilogy Firefall is great, too. But Rifters is really unique.
posted by gottabefunky at 10:53 PM on May 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
Best answer: The Sparrow is also good: what if the Vatican made First Contact?
posted by gottabefunky at 11:03 PM on May 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by gottabefunky at 11:03 PM on May 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
Seconding Mary Robinette Kowal's Lady Astronaut books. There are currently three novels which are all interestingly different from each other, and some shorter stories. Links here.
posted by indexy at 2:04 PM on May 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by indexy at 2:04 PM on May 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Popping back in to say that I've read both Catfishing on Catnet and its sequel, Chaos on Catnet, in the past 36 hours and they are delightful and exactly what I wanted. Like a lighter and more charming version of Axiom's End (with AIs in place of the aliens).
posted by snaw at 6:48 PM on May 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by snaw at 6:48 PM on May 7, 2021 [3 favorites]
Yay! That made my day!
posted by Omnomnom at 11:37 PM on May 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Omnomnom at 11:37 PM on May 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Surprised no-one's mentioned MeFi's own cstross yet. I guess his longer series are more scifi adjacent than strictly scifi, but they're really fun!
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 10:27 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by rhamphorhynchus at 10:27 AM on May 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Stross is a great suggestion. The Laundry Files are absolutely beach reads. (And the other stuff is as good or better.) I was surprised by the suggestion, because I thought it was in the question itself. But, it turns out I'm apparently incapable of distinguishing between Stross and Scalzi by name. Which is unfortunate, because they're quite different.
But, that also reminded me of Neal Stevenson and Nicole Galland's "The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O," which I'd say falls into the same category. (All of Stevenson is great - but often more detailed and plot-heavy than I think of as a beach read.)
posted by eotvos at 9:31 AM on May 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
But, that also reminded me of Neal Stevenson and Nicole Galland's "The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O," which I'd say falls into the same category. (All of Stevenson is great - but often more detailed and plot-heavy than I think of as a beach read.)
posted by eotvos at 9:31 AM on May 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
Seconding Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga. Less -isms than many other works listed here.
posted by gakiko at 11:12 AM on May 9, 2021
posted by gakiko at 11:12 AM on May 9, 2021
Best answer: Lots of great recs here so I'll skip the +1s, but I haven't seen mention of Alex White's The Salvagers ( A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe, A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy, and The Worst of All Possible Worlds), which I sped through at the end of last year. Total romps -- a series full of heists and chases and space battles and fun characters and all that popcorn-y stuff.
posted by jdherg at 11:14 PM on May 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by jdherg at 11:14 PM on May 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I'm sure I'm responding more than I should per MF guidance, but wanted to share that I'm now about 2 and a half books into the Planetfall series recommended above. It is not happy or fun, but, man, is it gripping. Plus, the author's range of sci-fi, mystery, and something that I can't quite pin down yet in the third book is seriously impressive. Thanks ManyLeggedCreature!
posted by snaw at 6:25 PM on May 10, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by snaw at 6:25 PM on May 10, 2021 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: Another update with some feedback on recommendations for anyone who comes along and reads this later:
Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire -- excellent recommendation, I read it and its sequel and enjoyed them both very much!
Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth -- this took me a while to get into, but once I was into it, I was really into it. Also read the sequel and would recommend both.
Peter Watts Firefall series -- I've read two of the three books in the series and am genuinely not sure if I like them or think they're a hot mess (probably both at once), but they're definitely interesting genre bending sci-fi.
The Sparrow -- I read it years ago because I saw it recommended in someone else's sci-fi ask. Anyone who has taste like mine who hasn't read it should definitely check it out, it's one of my favorites. But it's too serious/sad to be a proper beach read.
posted by snaw at 5:28 PM on October 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire -- excellent recommendation, I read it and its sequel and enjoyed them both very much!
Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth -- this took me a while to get into, but once I was into it, I was really into it. Also read the sequel and would recommend both.
Peter Watts Firefall series -- I've read two of the three books in the series and am genuinely not sure if I like them or think they're a hot mess (probably both at once), but they're definitely interesting genre bending sci-fi.
The Sparrow -- I read it years ago because I saw it recommended in someone else's sci-fi ask. Anyone who has taste like mine who hasn't read it should definitely check it out, it's one of my favorites. But it's too serious/sad to be a proper beach read.
posted by snaw at 5:28 PM on October 25, 2021 [2 favorites]
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