June 01, 2006
Best sci-fi books I've read in a while
This time, it's a science fiction trilogy written by a British author named Alastair Reynolds. The books are:
I would qualify his science between "hard" (e.g. Arthur C. Clarke) and pure fantasy (e.g. Perry Rhodan). A lot of the technology used in these books are rooted in the latest physics theories (including brane worlds!) but from there, he comes up with some very creative and innovative ideas that help carry the plot along.Reynolds' writing is deep and detailed (as with most British authors, I found) and his storytelling arcs over the three books with a lot of cleverness and a sense of reflection that has made me like science fiction literature again. I won't disclose anything about these books except for the general idea: if there is intelligent life out there, how come we never encountered it?
Reynolds has his own interpretation to this paradox and he shares it with us
through colorful and complex characters thrown into chaotic events that advance
ineluctably with sophisticated twists and relentless action.
This is a saga with a background theme that is slowly emerging through the books
and that he advances by telling multiple unrelated stories at first but which
slowly converge toward their climax (not unlike Hyperion or Perry Rhodan).
Some of these unrelated threads are also told at different periods of time,
which reinforces the feeling of a grand odyssey that is rooted deep in our past
and that has sweeping and possibly devastating consequences for the future of the
human race.
Page turners that makes you think.
Thanks for the recommendations. Did you read Isaak Azimivos [1] books? If not, I can higly recommend them, specialy the robot series and the foundation trilogy. Habe fun.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Azimov
Posted by: Jean-Marc at June 1, 2006 02:04 PMMy all time favorite would be Orson Scott Card's trilogy: Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide. I've read lots of sci-fi's, but I literally couldn't put these down. Dune and Foundation fight for a distant second place.
Posted by: Radu at June 1, 2006 02:14 PMMy all time favorite would be Orson Scott Card's trilogy: Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide. I've read lots of sci-fi's, but I literally couldn't put these down. Dune and Foundation fight for a distant second place.
Posted by: at June 1, 2006 02:14 PMCheck out Reynolds' Chasm City book as well. It's set in the same universe as these other books.
Posted by: jude at June 1, 2006 02:21 PMI was going to mention "Ender's Game" as well... But Radu already mentionned it. Note that Orson Scott Card, just as Celine (french author) are considered by many to be "politically incorrect".
Posted by: Anonymous Coward at June 1, 2006 04:12 PMI'll put in a 3rd vote for Ender's Game (again) - and also throw in the Rama series by Arthur C. Clarke. Excellent stuff.
Posted by: Daniel Wintschel at June 1, 2006 07:42 PMI would recommend also anything by Charles Stross. Pretty rigurous physics too.
I just have read Stross Accelerando. It is released under CC and can be downloaded.
Posted by: Lukas at June 2, 2006 01:44 AMSorry, but link content will be in french. So, You can take a look at my posts on Reynolds' books at http://nicolas-delsaux.is-a-geek.net/wordpress/index.php?s=reynolds
To my minds, approaching authors are Vernor Vinge ("A deepness in the sky" : http://nicolas-delsaux.is-a-geek.net/wordpress/index.php/archives/2003/au-trefonds-du-ciel/),
Iain M Banks with the whole Culture cycle (my preferred one is Excession). But one could also mention authors in the new space opera bandwagon ... for which you can read this article (also in french) http://www.cafardcosmique.com/Critik/critik/r/Reynolds.Alastair/Reynolds.DiamondTurquoise.html
You need to read the books by Vernor Vinge, a great author as well as a CompSci Lecturer.
Stephen Donaldsons Gap series is great entertainment.
Stephen F Hamiltons Reality Dysfunction series is also excellent.
You need to read the books by Vernor Vinge, a great author as well as a CompSci Lecturer.
Stephen Donaldsons Gap series is great entertainment.
Stephen F Hamiltons Reality Dysfunction series is also excellent.
I read Absolution Gap, but was not so impressed. Although I have a feeling it's the weaker book in the series... Definitely hard sf, in the likes of Vernor Vinge. Unfortunately I haven't been able to read much sf after Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs trilogy. Everything seems a bit soft afterwards.
Posted by: Razvan at June 2, 2006 05:27 AMI read Absolution Gap, but was not so impressed. Although I have a feeling it's the weaker book in the series... Definitely hard sf, in the likes of Vernor Vinge. Unfortunately I haven't been able to read much sf after Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs trilogy. Everything seems a bit soft afterwards.
Posted by: Razvan at June 2, 2006 05:28 AMI read Absolution Gap, but was not so impressed. Although I have a feeling it's the weaker book in the series... Definitely hard sf, in the likes of Vernor Vinge. Unfortunately I haven't been able to read much sf after Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs trilogy. Everything seems a bit soft afterwards.
Posted by: Razvan at June 2, 2006 05:28 AMOoops, triple post. Got a server error every time.
Posted by: at June 2, 2006 05:29 AMI'll have to look into these books.
My personal recommendations:
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/richpub/listmania/fullview/FAPXGXSZFGD3/701-8206551-2238702?%5Fencoding=UTF8
Hey, Cedric. Thanks for the recommendations. I'll check those out. I have one of my own. I've really been enjoying Jack McDevitt's stuff lately, too.
Posted by: Justin Lee at June 2, 2006 10:42 AMHey, Cedric. Thanks for the recommendations. I'll check those out. I have one of my own. I've really been enjoying Jack McDevitt's stuff lately, too.
Posted by: Justin Lee at June 2, 2006 10:43 AMCedric, how would you compare the use of science to Lem? I suspect that's a bit of an unfair comparison, but I'm all ears.
Posted by: Robert Konigsberg at June 2, 2006 11:26 AMOne of my recent favourites: John Harrison's "Light." A review can be found at http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/harrismj/light.htm - it's really a great book.
Posted by: Joseph Ottinger at June 5, 2006 04:53 AMWith regard to Orson Scott Card's books, Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, and Shadow of the Hegemon are the ones that kept me enthralled. I find myself re-reading those three books every few years.
Posted by: Randy at June 15, 2006 10:12 AMOn wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Revelation_Space_collections it seems to state that the "Revelation Space"-trilogi has four books :)
Posted by: Kim Bille at June 27, 2006 03:08 PMIain Banks has a smooth writing style, blending superb storytelling and ultra futuristic sci-fi (Algebraist and Look to Windward).
Greg Bear's - Moving Mars, Vitals and Darwin's Children are a little different, addressing more "real issues" with stories set in the not so distant future.
Card's "Redemption of Christopher Columbus" is far better than the Ender series because this one is about altenative/what-if histories.
The list is never complete without Stephen Baxter's - Ring and TimeShips.
Regards,
Ashwin (www.JavaForU.com).
Late comment, but still:
Absolution Gap really is not a place to get started with Revelation Space. It's very much a finale and its own story is something of a sidenote to the big stuff, which you won't make much sence of without reading the previous books.
I'll put another recommendation in for Vernor Vinge. Good stuff: easily digestable, yet smart and very much with a flavor of his own. Still, these both gentlemen are firmly in the "new space opera" niche.
Posted by: Joonas at January 9, 2007 06:07 AM