Just finished most of the culture series by Iain Banks. I began with “Use of Weapons”, which I didn’t like that much, idk why.
But thankfully I read the other books (except “Consider Phlebas”). I really loved “Excession”. “The Hydrogen Sonata” was very interesting but kinda crazy for what happened. “Matter” I finished today, so I have to let it sink in a little more.
All in all I’m kinda jealous of the culture, even though it has its bad sides (as is also discussed in the books).
I also liked Alastair Reynolds, though his books are more dystopian imo. My favourite is probably “Century Rain”, just because of the feeling of Paris, despite the gloominess :))
“The Ministry of Time” by Kaliane Bradley I liked for the thought experiment of it all. And it had cute moments.
“Ammonite” by Nicola Griffith was amazing, at some points I was so scared I practically devoured the chapters haha.
“The Hands of the Emperor” and “At the Feet of the Sun” by Victoria Goddard is long but so interestingly written. And a cool tale of friendship.
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s book “Children of Time” is so good at showing a civilisation different to ours and how we could live together with them (Not good for people with arachnophobia probably).
Does anyone have any other recommendations? They don’t have to be similar :))
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I always recommend this because I think it’s fucking phenomenal.
The Gormenghast trilogy by Mervyn Peake . What I consider a perfect fantasy series.
There is no magic, no monsters, nothing otherworldly. How is it fantastic then, you ask?
The setting! It is set in a rotting, dying kingdom. An absolutely massive and ancient castle that used to house a bustling city of thousands now dwindled to a few hundred. Entire wings of the castle inaccessible due to dangerous wild animals having taken residence during human absence. Massive portions of the castle crumbling, Unmanaged trees growing through walls and ceilings. An intricate, massive, and fantastic world that has zero trappings of the standard fantasy novel fare.
ALSO: Spoilers:
The third book in the trilogy is actually a sci-fi where the main character runs away from his home in the castle and finds a world he doesn’t understand with drones following him after he steals a automobile of sorts. His personal journey of self-discovery is sent into a tailspin when everyone tells him that his memories of where he is from must be false memories.
I really liked both of these series! The post scarcity of the culture universe is really enchanting. If you haven’t read it yet The Expanse universe is really well fleshed out but leans more detective vibe with all the Miller bits. You may love Reynold’s Revelation Space books as well.
Some older stories with really good world building you might enjoy (I love Banks and Tchaikovsky and these are some favorites) Stasheff’s Warlock of Gramarye, Miller’s Canticle for Leibowicz, and the Pern stuff by McCaffrey all mix sci fi and fantasy with interesting world building.
Thank you for the recs! <3
I read the first revelation space book and liked it. Though I didn’t continue with the following novels. Is there a gap of almost 20 years between the publishing of the third and fourth book?
I have heard of the expanse, but didn’t look into it further.
And thanks for these classics, I haven’t read any of those yet.
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seconding the expanse - its some great work!
I think David Brin wrote something great in Heart of the Comet.
Hamilton’s Void trilogy was great and I also loved the commonwealth saga - but both have some fruity moments
Oh don’t know about the publish dates I read through them all at once 🤷🏼♀️
Big fan of The Culture series. Gotta say Surface Detail is a favorite. Likely, a more accessible book, but still a ton of fun.
I did like surface detail, though my favourite was excession. And player of games :)))
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Loved the Culture and Children of Time series, can’t wait to read the newest Children of Time book as well. I’m stuck on Surface Detail currently because the phone I pirate ebooks on died, but I was having trouble getting into the vibe of the book, but definitely looking forward to finishing the series.
Common suggestions from Reddit would be The Expanse series by James SA Corey, there’s an incomplete Amazon show based on the series, but the books have a fantastic conclusion.
Another good one is John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War
Some more “pulpy” “mary-sue-ish” suggestions, the Honor Harrington universe books by David Weber, or Jack Campbell’s Lost Fleet series (also has cool spider aliens).
Peter F. Hamilton has the Commonwealth series, or you can go old school and read Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, both are really interesting.
Then there’s the Hyperion Cantos for some really good mystery/sci-fi horror.
The Clone Republic by Joe Kent was pretty interesting but gets a bit Mary Sue-ish later in the series.
Vatta’s War series by Elizabeth Moon, was pretty good as well, can be Mary Sue-ish, but overall pulled off most of the series well.
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson is very similar to children of time in tone. Also Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson is a satire that is one of the original cyberpunk novels, and is a must read because it is unironically the blueprint for what tech bros like Musk, Zuckerberg, and Thiel want the world to look like (it ain’t pretty so arm yourself with knowledge). Neuromancer by William Gibson and it’s sequels are the other original cyberpunk, Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan is similar and great, the Netflix series could have been better.
The Bobiverse is another outstanding suggestion, by Dennis E. Taylor, a real interesting and unique take on similar topics covered in Children of Time.
Ray Bradbury’s Childhoods End fits here as well.
Red Rising and Dungeon Crawler Carl are both very popular modern suggestions that I haven’t read myself.
There’s a few series and books by the following who fit as well: CJ Cherryh, Larry Niven, Archur C Clarke.
Last but not least, Dune, Enders Game, Starship Troopers, and Operation Hail Mary all fit as well.
Good luck and happy reading.
These are all stellar recommendations! I’m going to check out the ones in here I haven’t seen they are in great company!
Thank you for the recommendations <3 I did like surface detail once I got into it, though it has some heavy themes. I feel like other culture books are more removed from the suffering even if it still happens.
I haven’t read any Hamilton books yet, so I think I’ll try the commonwealth series soon :)) And wow I didn’t know altered carbon is a book haha I only saw some of the Netflix series. Same with starship troopers lol.
I read Dune up to Messiah, did you like the later books?
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