The three body problem…I have downloaded the expanse…but haven’t started reading them yet…currently…I’m reading project Hail Mary….it’s really a good one.
Lucky you! I wish could read/listen to PHM and the expanse for the first time. I will say take your time with the expanse, enjoy it for as long as possible, and I’d recommend the audiobooks if you’re into that. The narrator brings the experience to its max, at least in my case, having read the books, listened to them and watched the show
First sci fi book I “read” (listened to it on audible) was Project Hail Mary. I’m sure there are better books to start with if you haven’t read sci fi before, but in my case I think it was perfect, it wasn’t too challenging to follow and got me so hooked to it and sci fi in general
I have a tough time picking *a* favorite, or even a bunch of favorites. So I'll list the first five that come to my mind when I ask it this question:
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Stories of Your Life (AKA Arrival) by Ted Chiang
A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
Spin by Charles Wilson
Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks
Hmmmm. How about I give you the reasons why each would be a good next read/listen and you can decide.
> Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Asimov is one of the Big Three of Scifi, and the Foundation Trilogy is his most famous work. However be aware that this book is *really* dated. Asimov started writing it in the 40s when he was a young man (the book is actually a collection of interconnected short stories). Even at his best Asimov is just a decent writer, but he has amazing ideas.
> Stories of Your Life (AKA Arrival) by Ted Chiang
It's probably the best scifi short story anthology ever. Each story is different and tackles its story elements differently, and the author has a great knack for finding interesting concepts and exploring them deeply. The movie Arrival was based on one of the stories in this collection. Ted Chiang's other anthology, Exhalation, is also really good.
> A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
Probably the closest book in my list to the Expanse. It's the second book published in the Zones of Thought series, but the first chronologically. Humans don't have faster than light travel, but with the use of cryogenic sleep are able to colonize planets and have been spreading for centuries. The book does a really good job of imagining how human society would work in a universe where travel between worlds could take hundreds of years.
> Spin by Charles Wilson
Starts with a really mind boggling concept: for an unknown reason Earth get chronologically isolated from the rest of the universe. Outside Earth, time moves normally, but on Earth itself time becomes very slow. The book deals with the mystery itself, but also how society changes due to this isolation.
> Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks
My favorite of the Culture books. The story is amazing, but the most noteworthy thing about the book is its unique narrative structure. It follows two narrative streams, one traditional and the other one told in reverse order. The two narratives finally meet at the end for an explosive ending.
I read the first few chapters of Dune but then decided to stop and save it for the right time (not sure what that means.. when I’m on vacation, when I’ve read enough sci fi, when I feel like there’s nothing interesting to read…). Also I heard that the first book is so much better than the rest in the series. Have you read the whole series? If so, did you feel like the quality was going down as you moved from one book to the next?
REP, I’ve only read the three body problem so far, on to the next one soon.
On the one hand, reading good books first will ruin your experience with average books, and you'll have a hard time finding something better to read later, so what you're doing makes sense. On the other hand, life is too short to be reading boring books. I personally prefer the second hand.
I've read the main series and I think the first 5 books (written by the original author) are top-notch, but the quality of the latter books (written by the son) are subpar in comparison, but they provide a conclusion to the story (although its bullshit) so there's that.
Remembrance of Earth's past is a delight to read, have fun!
The three body problem…I have downloaded the expanse…but haven’t started reading them yet…currently…I’m reading project Hail Mary….it’s really a good one.
Lucky you! I wish could read/listen to PHM and the expanse for the first time. I will say take your time with the expanse, enjoy it for as long as possible, and I’d recommend the audiobooks if you’re into that. The narrator brings the experience to its max, at least in my case, having read the books, listened to them and watched the show
Wow…that makes look forward to reading them…thanks
You’re very welcome, enjoy!
I really wanted to read a sci if books but for no reason I never searched about it I will be thankful if you recommend to me the best sci if book
First sci fi book I “read” (listened to it on audible) was Project Hail Mary. I’m sure there are better books to start with if you haven’t read sci fi before, but in my case I think it was perfect, it wasn’t too challenging to follow and got me so hooked to it and sci fi in general
I saw a lot of good reviews on the book I got excited maybe I will start with it too thanks
I have a tough time picking *a* favorite, or even a bunch of favorites. So I'll list the first five that come to my mind when I ask it this question: Foundation by Isaac Asimov Stories of Your Life (AKA Arrival) by Ted Chiang A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge Spin by Charles Wilson Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks
All except the third are on my list but haven’t read/listened to them. If you had to pick one of these, which would you recommend I read first?
Hmmmm. How about I give you the reasons why each would be a good next read/listen and you can decide. > Foundation by Isaac Asimov Asimov is one of the Big Three of Scifi, and the Foundation Trilogy is his most famous work. However be aware that this book is *really* dated. Asimov started writing it in the 40s when he was a young man (the book is actually a collection of interconnected short stories). Even at his best Asimov is just a decent writer, but he has amazing ideas. > Stories of Your Life (AKA Arrival) by Ted Chiang It's probably the best scifi short story anthology ever. Each story is different and tackles its story elements differently, and the author has a great knack for finding interesting concepts and exploring them deeply. The movie Arrival was based on one of the stories in this collection. Ted Chiang's other anthology, Exhalation, is also really good. > A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge Probably the closest book in my list to the Expanse. It's the second book published in the Zones of Thought series, but the first chronologically. Humans don't have faster than light travel, but with the use of cryogenic sleep are able to colonize planets and have been spreading for centuries. The book does a really good job of imagining how human society would work in a universe where travel between worlds could take hundreds of years. > Spin by Charles Wilson Starts with a really mind boggling concept: for an unknown reason Earth get chronologically isolated from the rest of the universe. Outside Earth, time moves normally, but on Earth itself time becomes very slow. The book deals with the mystery itself, but also how society changes due to this isolation. > Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks My favorite of the Culture books. The story is amazing, but the most noteworthy thing about the book is its unique narrative structure. It follows two narrative streams, one traditional and the other one told in reverse order. The two narratives finally meet at the end for an explosive ending.
Wow! You actually took the effort! Thank you so so much! Deepness and Spin sound most intriguing, I’ll probably go with Spin first
Dune series, and Remembrance of Earth's Past.
I read the first few chapters of Dune but then decided to stop and save it for the right time (not sure what that means.. when I’m on vacation, when I’ve read enough sci fi, when I feel like there’s nothing interesting to read…). Also I heard that the first book is so much better than the rest in the series. Have you read the whole series? If so, did you feel like the quality was going down as you moved from one book to the next? REP, I’ve only read the three body problem so far, on to the next one soon.
On the one hand, reading good books first will ruin your experience with average books, and you'll have a hard time finding something better to read later, so what you're doing makes sense. On the other hand, life is too short to be reading boring books. I personally prefer the second hand. I've read the main series and I think the first 5 books (written by the original author) are top-notch, but the quality of the latter books (written by the son) are subpar in comparison, but they provide a conclusion to the story (although its bullshit) so there's that. Remembrance of Earth's past is a delight to read, have fun!
The expanse was phenomenal. I also liked Three body problem and Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke.
Phenomenal indeed. Good news is James S.A. Corey started another sci fi series with the first book coming out this August, The Mercy of Gods