Books Ive read: My Best SciFi Recommendations
Explore my top SciFi book recommendations! Discover must-read science fiction novels I've enjoyed, from classics to hidden gems. Perfect for SciFi lovers seeking their next great read.
Book
Hyperion
by Dan Simmons
A stunning tour de force filled with transcendent awe and wonder, Hyperion is a masterwork of science fiction that resonates with excitement and invention, the first volume in a remarkable epic by the multiple-award-winning author of The Hollow Man. On the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, waits a creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hopeâand a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands. Praise for Dan Simmons and Hyperion âDan Simmons has brilliantly conceptualized a future 700 years distant. In sheer scope and complexity it matches, and perhaps even surpasses, those of Isaac Asimov and James Blish.ââThe Washington Post Book World âAn unfailingly inventive narrative . . . generously conceived and stylistically sure-handed.ââThe New York Times Book Review âSimmonsâs own genius transforms space opera into a new kind of poetry.ââThe Denver Post âAn essential part of any science fiction collection.ââBooklist
Item Not Found
ID: 000647618X
(Type: books)
Book
Ring
by Stephen Baxter
Michael Poole's wormholes constructed in the orbit of Jupiter had opened the galaxy to humankind. Then Poole tried looping a wormhole back on itself, tying a knot in space and ripping a hole in time. It worked. Too well. Poole was never seen again. Then from far in the future, from a time so distant that the stars themselves were dying embers, came an urgent SOS--and a promise. The universe was doomed, but humankind was not. Poole had stumbled upon an immense artifact, light-years across, fabricated from the very string of the cosmos. The universe had a door. And it was open...
Book
Vacuum Diagrams
by Stephen Baxter
"And everywhere the Humans went, they found life ..." This dazzling future history, winner of the 2000 Philip K. Dick Award, is the most ambitious and exciting since Asimov's classic Foundation saga. It tells the story of Humankind -- all the way to the end of the Universe itself. Here, in luminous and vivid narratives spanning five million years, are the first Poole wormholes spanning the solar system; the conquest of Human planets by Squeem; GUTships that outrace light; the back-time invasion of the Qax: the mystery and legacy of the Xeelee, and their artifacts as large as small galaxies; photino birds and Dark Matter; and the Ring, where Ghost, Human, and Xeelee contemplate the awesome end of Time. Stephen Baxter is the most acclaimed and accomplished of a brilliant new generation of authors who are expanding the vision of science fiction and taking itto a new golden age.
Book
Beggars in Spain
by Nancy Kress
Born in 2008, Leisha Camden is beautiful, extraordinarily intelligent . . . and one of an ever-growing number of human beings who have been genetically modified to never require sleep. Once she and "her kind" were considered interesting anomalies. Now they are outcasts -- victims of blind hatred, political repression and shocking mob violence meant to drive the "Sleepless" from human society . . . and, ultimately, from the Earth itself. But Leisha Camden has chosen to remain behind in a world that envies and fears her "gift" -- a world marked for destruction in a devastating conspiracy of freedom . . . and revenge.
Book
Beggars and Choosers (Beggars Trilogy (also known as Sleepless Trilogy))
Â
No summary available.
Book
The Reality Dysfunction
by Peter F. Hamilton
In the far future, on a primitive world called Lalonde, two groups of humans clash in an epic confrontation. The Edenists are genetically engineered space-dwellers with a telepathic affinity to their homes and ships. The Adamists reject advanced technology, but are willing to pioneer new worlds. Under the watchful eye of mysterious aliens, humanity must confront its most bitter enemy--itself.
Book
The Neutronium Alchemist
by Peter F. Hamilton
The future of humanity is in doubt when the minds of those long dead begin taking over the bodies of the living, forcing one man to search for a lost doomsday machine
Book
The Naked God
by Peter F. Hamilton
Part I of the long-awaited finale to the epic science fiction series that began with The Reality Dysfunction (a USA Today bestseller) & The Neutronium Alchemist.
Book
The Naked God
by Peter F. Hamilton
The Confederation collapses, satanist Quinn Dexter unleashes a powerful force of evil to bring about the apocalypse, and Joshua Calvert and Syrinx search for an alien god who may hold the key to stopping Dexter.
Book
Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card
From New York Times bestselling author Orson Scott Card, Ender's Gameâadapted to film in 2013 starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Fordâis the classic Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction novel of a young boy's recruitment into the midst of an interstellar war. In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cutâyoung Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training. Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel. THE ENDER UNIVERSE Ender series Enderâs Game / Ender in Exile / Speaker for the Dead / Xenocide / Children of the Mind Enderâs Shadow series Enderâs Shadow / Shadow of the Hegemon / Shadow Puppets / Shadow of the Giant / Shadows in Flight Children of the Fleet The First Formic War (with Aaron Johnston) Earth Unaware / Earth Afire / Earth Awakens The Second Formic War (with Aaron Johnston) The Swarm /The Hive Ender novellas A War of Gifts /First Meetings
Book
Old Man's War
by John Scalzi
John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wifeâs grave. Then he joined the army. The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarceâand alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding. Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanityâs resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They donât want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. Youâll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. Youâll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, youâll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets. John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagineâand what he will become is far stranger. "Solid . . . [Scalzi] sidesteps most of the clichĂ©s of military science fiction, delivers fast-paced scenes of combat and pays attention to the science underpinning his premise." âSan Francisco Chronicle "Scalzi's imagined interstellar arena is coherently and compellingly delineated . . . His speculative elements are top-notch. His combat scenes are blood-roiling. His dialogue is suitably snappy and profane. And the moral and philosophical issues he raises . . . insert useful ethical burrs under the military saddle of the story." âPaul Di Filippo, The Washington Post "Thought-provoking!" âEntertainment Weekly "Smartly conceived and thoroughly entertaining, Old Manâs War is a splendid novel." âCleveland Plain Dealer "When humanity reaches the stars, it discovers that it must defend its claim to new planets against alien races with similar expansionist tendencies. To ensure the expertise of its soldiers, Earth creates the Colonial Defense Force, an army of men and women otherwise classified as senior citizens, who give up their lives on Earth for an uncertain and perilous future among the stars. Scalzi's first novel presents a new approach to military sf, boasting an unusual cast of senior citizens as heroes. A good choice for most libraries." âLibrary Journal "Though a lot of SF writers are more or less efficiently continuing the tradition of Robert A. Heinlein, Scalziâs astonishingly proficient first novel reads like an original work by the late grand master . . . This virtuoso debut pays tribute to SFâs past while showing that well-worn tropes still can have real zip when theyâre approached with ingenuity." âPublishers Weekly (starred review) "Gripping and surpassingly original. It's Starship Troopers without the lectures. It's The Forever War with better sex. It's funny, it's sad, and it's true." âCory Doctorow "John Scalzi is a fresh and appealing new voice, and Old Man's War is classic SF seen from a modern perspectiveâa fast-paced tour of a daunting, hostile universe." âRobert Charles Wilson "I enjoyed Old Man's War immensely. A space war story with fast action, vivid characters, moral complexity and cool speculative physics, set in a future you almost want to live into, and a universe you sincerely hope you don't live in already." âKen MacLeod
Book
The Ghost Brigades
by John Scalzi
The Ghost Brigades are the Special Forces of the Colonial Defense Forces, elite troops created from the DNA of the dead and turned into the perfect soldiers for the CDF's toughest operations. Theyâre young, theyâre fast and strong, and theyâre totally without normal human qualms. The universe is a dangerous place for humanityâand it's about to become far more dangerous. Three races that humans have clashed with before have allied to halt our expansion into space. Their linchpin: the turncoat military scientist Charles Boutin, who knows the CDFâs biggest military secrets. To prevail, the CDF must find out why Boutin did what he did. Jared Dirac is the only human who can provide answers -- a superhuman hybrid, created from Boutin's DNA, Jaredâs brain should be able to access Boutin's electronic memories. But when the memory transplant appears to fail, Jared is given to the Ghost Brigades. At first, Jared is a perfect soldier, but as Boutinâs memories slowly surface, Jared begins to intuit the reasonâs for Boutinâs betrayal. As Jared desperately hunts for his "father," he must also come to grips with his own choices. Time is running out: The alliance is preparing its offensive, and some of them plan worse things than humanityâs mere military defeat... "A mix of Starship Troopers and Universal Soldier, Ghost Brigades evokes awakening, betrayal, and combat in the best military sci-fi tradition."âEntertainment Weekly "An impressive piece of work."âPhiladelphia Inquirer "Fast and deep . . . I like the galaxy this author's playing in, the characters he limns, the situations he's playing with, and I'm glad there's at least one more volume on the way."âSan Diego Union-Tribune "In Heinleinesque fashion, the book is loaded with scenes of comradeship, isolation, ruthlessness and the protocols, which govern the lives of active-duty soldiers. But this is where Scalzi, famous for his blog âThe Whatever,â surpasses Heinlein. Scalzi weaves in subtle discussions of humanity's growing fear of aging and our simultaneous attraction and repulsion to the Frankenstein-like creatures we are able to create."âSan Antonio Express-News "Scalzi is a natural heir to Heinlein, and his second book in this series is a good old-fashioned space opera, which takes time to question the nature of free will."âSt. Louis Press-Dispatch "The alliance of three alien races against interstellar humanity, the defection of a human military scientist, and the signs of an impending war call for desperate measures from the Colonial Defense Forces. The creation of the superhuman hybrid Jared Dirac from the DNA of the traitor Charles Boutin is intended to provide a window on Boutin's mind and on the reasons for the alien alliance, but the transfer apparently fails, and Dirac is assigned to the Ghost Brigades, Special Forces troops cloned from the DNA of dead men minus any moral qualms. The sequel to Old Man's War combines taut military action with keen insights into the moral issues revolving around developing technologies. Scalzi has a finely tuned sense of balance between personal drama and the âbig pictureâ in this SCI FI Essential Book choice. Highly recommended."âLibrary Journal (starred review) "Scalzi's riveting and original Old Man's War introduced readers to the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF), an Earth-based galactic army composed of senior citizens rejuvenated by high-tech wizardry into youthful warriors. In this equally engaging, battle-driven sequel, the CDF's latest operation entails tracking down renegade scientist Charles Boutin, who is responsible for handing over deadly military secrets to humanity's extraterrestrial enemies. Fortunately, a computer-based replica of Boutin's consciousness is on file and ready for transfer into newly cloned special-forces soldier Jirad Dirac, who shares Boutin's DNA. When the consciousness transfer doesn't quite take, Dirac is handed off to a battalion for routine but closely monitored training. Just when Dirac is getting comfortable with his own identity, however, Boutin's memories kick in, and Dirac and his team are summarily dispatched to an enemy planet to capture Boutin and solve the mystery of his treason before humanity is destroyed. Scalzi skillfully weaves together action, memorable characterizations, and a touch of philosophy in a first-rate military sf outing."âCarl Hays, Booklist "[A] fast-paced interstellar military drama . . . It follows Jared Dirac, a superhuman soldier, from unusual birth to ambiguous death. Dirac is an altered clone of Charles Boutin, a military scientist who betrayed humankind to alien aggressors, and the Colonial Defense Forces' only hope of finding Boutin lies in transplanting his memories into Dirac's brain. When the transplant seems to fail, Dirac is sent to Special Forces, known as the Ghost Brigades for their habit of creating new soldiers from the DNA of the dead. His indoctrination there comes in handy when Boutin's memories begin to surface. Scalzi pays gleeful homage to Ender's Game, The Forever War and Starship Troopers."âPublishers Weekly
Book
The Last Colony
by John Scalzi
Retired from his fighting days, John Perry is now village ombudsman for a human colony on distant Huckleberry. With his wife, former Special Forces warrior Jane Sagan, he farms several acres, adjudicates local disputes, and enjoys watching his adopted daughter grow up. That is, until his and Jane's past reaches out to bring them back into the game â as leaders of a new human colony, to be peopled by settlers from all the major human worlds, for a deep political purpose that will put Perry and Sagan back in the thick of interstellar politics, betrayal, and war. "Scalzi's Hugo finalist, Old Man's War first spawned the equally entertaining Ghost Brigades. And now, a third volume reprises the story of John Perry, former planet-hopping soldier who has now traded his genetically enhanced second body for a commonplace one and a peaceful retirement. Free from the stresses of battle, he's enjoying domestic bliss with his wife and adopted daughter on a remote Colonial Union world. Then a former commanding general drops by with a tempting proposal. Perry and his wife are apparently the perfect candidates to lead a promising new colony populated by citizens from 10 worlds. They accept, but then the CU deceitfully strands them and their charges on an unknown world. Perry discovers they are pawns in a deadly game calculated to destroy an alien coalition whose purposes include blocking further human colonization . . . Scalzi's captivating blend of off-world adventure and political intrigue remains consistently engaging."âCarl Hays, Booklist âFull of whodunit twists and explosive action, Scalzi's third SF novel [is] entertaining storytelling on a very human scale. Several years after the events of The Ghost Brigades (2006), John Perry, the hero of Old Man's War (2005), and Jane Sagan are leading a normal life as administrator and constable on the colonial planet Huckleberry with their adopted daughter, ZoĂ«, when they get conscripted to run a new colony, ominously named Roanoke. When the colonists are dropped onto a different planet than the one they expected, they find themselves caught in a confrontation between the human Colonial Union and the alien confederation called the Conclave. Hugo-finalist Scalzi avoids political allegory, promoting individual compassion and honesty and downplaying patriotic loyaltyâexcept in the case of the inscrutable Obin, hive-mind aliens whose devotion to ZoĂ« will remind fans of the benevolent role Captain Nemo plays in Verne's Mysterious Island.ââPublishers Weekly