Has anyone been reading any good modern Sci-FI/Fantasy?

Hi friends,

I found my kindle last night, and I'm eager to get back into reading again, with my waning interest in videogames- I'm hoping to take a short break to get me back into them again

My main genres are Sci-Fi/Fantasy, so has anyone been reading anything good and modern lately that they could recommend?

I've tried Sanderson's "Stormlight" series, and I honestly just found it too dense and stodgy. I liked what I read, but it felt like it was never ending.

I've also REALLY enjoyed Brown's "Red Rising", which I was entranced by. I was waking up at 4am to read it before work, I was that into it. I know the next book is Golden Son, which I liked the first 14 or so chapters, but it wasn't the same high highs as the original.

I've also got my eye on Adrian Tchaikovsky's "Children of Time", which I had recommended by my main podcast

Let me hear it friends! What's good?

I'm slowly working my way through The Expanse right now. Just the last 3 books after the show got cancelled. I'm not a big reader but I need to know how this story ends. I've brought it up here before but I would recommend the Bioshock prequel novel if you're looking for something a little lighter. I think its like 400 pages or so.

Been there done that?

The Darkness That Comes Before, by R Scott Bakker.

It's very intense very dark fantasy, but brilliantly written and masterfully constructed. Its one of those series that has basically ruined a lot of other fantasy for me, as I find most modern fantasy now to be by the numbers and repetitive / generic after this series. The series is an epic spanning multiple holy wars and deals with all kinds of subject matter. If you are squeamish maybe give it a miss but it's so god damned good I try get everyone to read it.

And I can't recommend The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch enough also. The Gentleman Bastards series is a fantastic series of books. They are yet to be finished but are genuinely brilliant. It's about a band of thieves getting into all kinds of shenanigans, and you will be on the edge of your seat for a lot of it.

If you want to read some fun sci-fi, the Bobiverse books are great. The first one is "We are Legion (We are Bob)".
It's about a guy who sells his software company for a lot of money, retires and pays for one of those "put me in cryo-sleep when I die so you can revive me in the future" type deals. When the future arrives they do revive him. Kind of. How does being the controlling AI for a Von Neumann probe sound like?
I love these books because they are "crunchy" the same way The Martian is. And just the idea of being a self-replicating probe tasked with exploring the universe is compelling to me.

@spacemanspiff00: The Bioshock novel is surprisingly good. The plasmid stuff does stick out as a bit gamey when you read it in a novel, but otherwise a very enjoyable book.

This may not qualify, since it's a video game, but Disco Elysium is like an interactive Sci-fi novel. Once you start playing it, you'll see what I mean. The writing is excellent. The world the game takes place in is interesting. And the story is about solving a murder with a very flawed main character. The original release didn't even have voice acting. That was added later, but it's well done across the board. One of my personal big surprises in 2023, even though the game came out a couple of years prior.

I've been reading The Fifth Season by NK Jemison. Enjoying it a lot! So, maybe give that a go.

"All the Stars and Teeth" by Adalyn Grace is such a breath of fresh air in the fantasy space.

It's about pirates and the high seas and a fleshmancer princess, and my GOD, it's so refreshing to read a fantasy book that takes place under the sun and sky.

For a less recent, but no less refreshing, example: "The Door Into Fire" by Diane Duane, written in the '70s and yet feels incredibly modern and revolutionary because it was subverting what could be done with fantasy well before it was fashionable. It's the story of the only male mage in the land and his love triangle with a prince and a fire elemental.

Ive enjoyed Seveneves by Neal Stepenson. Also in that same vein anything by Andy Weir The Martian, Artemis and Hail Mary.

The Bobiverse books are great! I've read them a couple of times now, super fun reads. Can't wait to see what the future holds for the series (apparently he's talked about wanting to do at least 8 total).

Project Hail Mary is a fantastic book from Andy Weir, author of The Martian. A mysterious cosmic event puts Earth on the brink, and as a last-ditch effort, humanity sends out a team on a long trip out into space to figure out how to fix it. Very much in the vein of The Martian, sort of nearish future sci-fi rooted firmly on the science side.

I know this one has been talked about before, but I'll yell about it forever: The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch. The story follows an investigator trying to solve a crime unfolding in the present by traveling to possible futures where they already found the guy. However, there's a constant, looming threat in the form of cosmic horror/end-of-the-world event moving backwards in time from the distant future, tracking closer and closer as they continue to jump through time. It's a very surreal and haunting story, part sci-fi, part thriller, part horror.

Really stretching the definition of "modern" at this point (2005 was only a few years ago, right? Right?) but I'll throw it out there anyway: the Spin trilogy by Robert Charles Wilson. One night, the stars disappear entirely from the night sky, and technologies based on space or high orbit are thrown into chaos. It eventually comes out that the Earth has been encased in a bubble, and time is passing at an extremely rapid pace outside of it. The story is a mix of both the sci-fi side of figuring out what to do about it, but the main character is not actually directly involved in that plot, so it's more about people trying to live their lives in a very uncertain time. I wasn't as hot on the sequels, but Spin is one of the best sci-fi books I've read in a long time.

There are two fantasy series that stand above the rest for me, and they're very different.

If you're looking for something light, breezy, easily digestible, and full of action, I can't recommend Jim Butcher's Dresden Files enough. There's 17 books in the series now. They follow Harry Dresden, a wizard and PI who runs around Chicago solving crimes and battling various supernatural nasties. If you've ever seen any of the TV show Supernatural, it's a lot like that, but in book form and better. They're also quite funny--Dresden is in the classic Spiderman mold of a hero who can't stop making sarcastic quips at the bad guys. Great literature they are not, but I keep going back and re-reading them because they're lightweight and fun, and I'm not always in the mood for a slog. Only warning is that the first book just isn't as good as the rest, Butcher became a better writer as he went, so I'd at least get into the second book before deciding they're not for you.

As opposed to Butcher's "urban fantasy," Robin Hobb's Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies are classic high fantasy in a medieval setting, following the life of a royal bastard who trains as the family hitman. Hobb's strength is in writing compelling characters; they're probably my personal favorite set of fictional characters I've ever encountered. And truly fascinating and original systems of magic, stuff I never could have dreamed of. These books have a little less action than standard fare, but the characters and story more than make up for it. FWIW, I bought signed copies of these two Hobb trilogies for both my brother and mother last Christmas (2022). My brother had already read them and was a fan, but my mom liked them enough that she's since bought another set for one of her friends, so I know she's not shining me on when she says she's really enjoying them.

It might be worth noting that both of these series are written in first-person rather than third. For whatever reason I've come to generally prefer first-person narratives when they're done well. These are both done very well.

A few years ago, I read House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. It's largely a murder mystery set against an extreme far future backdrop in which groups of essentially immortal humans traverse the galaxy (always slower than light speed) as they interact with different human and post-human cultures. The audiobook has great narration.

The Hyperion Cantos is a duology that is absolutely fantastic. The first book in particular is a blend of half a dozen different types of science fiction that come together in a rewarding way. The only thing is that you definitely need to read both books--it's essentially one book that was split into two volumes because of length.

I'd second @atheistpreacher's recommendation of the Farseer trilogy. Also, it's not exactly new, but I'm two thirds of the way through the Imperial Radch trilogy and it's been excellent so far.

So Henry Cavill is going to produce/star in a 40K series, right? So now might be a good time to consider dipping your toes.

Granted, the 40K books will never be mistaken for high fiction. But they can be really fun.

If you’ve never played any of the games and have no idea about the background (or interest in digging through wikis to get a primer), I would recommend either “Xenos” or “Double Eagle” by Dan Abnett.

Xenos is basically a detective story. If Amazon decides to adopt an existing narrative instead of making something original, then Xenos seems like the obvious choice.

Double Eagle is the Battle of Britain, sci-fi version. Lots of fun dogfights, some really memorable characters/moments.

Neither of them assume you know everything about the background. All you really need to know is that the Imperium is mankind after it spread across the stars. Demons (ie “Daemons”) are extra-dimensional entities from warp-space, which the Imperium’s spacecraft need to pass through in order to travel vast distances. These daemons cannot exist in “real space” for very long, but they can exert some influence via human intermediates (witches, basically). You ever see the movie “Event Horizon “? It’s 100% that.

I thought of two more I remember reading not too long ago that I really wound up liking.

Year Zero by Rob Reid. Outside of the solar system is a galactic society that enjoys art in all its forms, and Earth (which is as-yet uncontacted) is considered a planet of hopeless, culture-less barbarians with nothing to contribute. One day, they discover that our music, alone, is so mind-bogglingly, world-shatteringly beautiful that it causes an enormous upheaval in society, resulting in the day that the first human song was discovered to be the new year zero and the start of a new era. However, because of a technicality in the way their legal system works, they now owe an enormous debt--more money that exists--to humans in copyright fines. I thought it was a really fun read, sort of gave me similar vibes as Hitchhiker's Guide (even if the plots are totally different).

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. I don't remember a ton about this, it's been a while since I read it (and it's a very long, hefty read). It's a fantasy story about an orphan named Locke Lamora who winds up under the care of a fake priest and learns the trade of being a thief and a con artist. Eventually, he winds up caught in the middle of a power struggle in his city's underworld and has to navigate his way out while ensuring that he doesn't end up on the wrong side of the winner. I liked it quite a bit when I read it, though it's occasionally a little gruesome (it is, after all, the underworld). I also just, for whatever reason, like the idea of thieves being the protagonists of stories, so I may be a little biased.

@atheistpreacher: It's funny, I really like a well done first person narrative but my friends have serious issues with them. I love the Robin hobb books but I have a friend who can't read them because of the first person thing.

It's a little different than a lot of Western scifi, and not always for the better IMO, but I really enjoy Cixin Liu's Remebrance of Earth's Past trilogy, overall. The last book was a bit of a bear at points, but The Three Body Problem, and especially The Dark Forest, were both great. The series in general was good enough to make me very nervous about the Game of Thrones dudes adapting it for TV (and seemingly moreso for a Western audience).

I'm way more Fantasy than I am sci-fi, so here's some recommendations there:

If Stormlight was too dense for you, I'm going to steer away from the bigger, denser fantasy series like Wheel of Time or Malazan Book of the Fallen.

• The Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch: First book is set in a fantasy version of Venice where the poor and criminal underclass are more or less allowed to steal from each other, but never the rich. Series focuses on a group of con artists that exclusively steal from the rich. Great if you like con/heist movies.
• The Shattered Sea trilogy by Joe Abercrombie: Abercrombie is more known for his First Law series, which is incredibly good, but this may be an easier intro for someone not as into denser fantasy. Very nordic inspired, the son of the king of the clan is sold into slavery and has to survive to get revenge. Fairly dark.
• The Ryria Revelation series by Michael J Sullivan. Extremely approachable, not very complex, very trope-y but still a really fun read. Royce and Hadrian are partners in crime - Royce is the brains and Hadrian is the brawn. In the first book they get framed for regicide and have adventures trying to get out of that.

Just different strokes, I guess. To me first-person has always seemed like the most natural way to tell a story, because it simply is, in fact, the way that everyday stories are told. You come home from work or school and tell your parents/spouse/kids about your day, and of course it's from your own first-person perspective. Whereas third-person omniscient, in contrast, is kind of unnatural, because no one actually has access to the thoughts of anyone but themselves, and so it's basically just a literary/story-telling conceit... granted, an extremely useful one that gives you a lot more flexibility in your story-telling, but still. To me a good first-person story will always seem more authentic than an equally good third-person story.

Also, I suppose I may as well mention a few more which I didn't before, both because they stretch the definition of "modern" and because everyone probably knows about both of them already. Nonetheless, they're really so good that, on second thought, I probably shouldn't leave them unremarked.

The first is Watership Down, which is now over 50 years old (it was published in 1972). If somehow you've never read it, then I at once pity you and am jealous at the notion that you now get to read it for the first time. For me it is my definitive "desert island" book, the one that I would keep with me if I was never allowed to read any other book ever again. It's about... rabbits. Anthropomorphic rabbits. They flee their old warren due to a portent of disaster, and set out to find a new place to live. Many adventures are had. It is usually classed as a children's book, but in reality is for all ages in the best sense, just as enjoyable at age 80 as age 8. It's a truly timeless novel and absolutely should not be missed.

The second is Ender's Game (1985). The author, Orson Scott Card, is definitely an asshole who holds a lot of repugnant social and political views, but there's no denying that he writes some very fine books, and Ender's Game is surely the best of them. It is compulsively readable and basically impossible to put down once you've started. I once loaned it to a co-worker at a consulting firm, a woman in her 50s who professed to "not be a sci-fi person." When I checked in with her a week later, she told me that the book had become a serious problem, because she couldn't focus on her work and just wanted to keep reading it. It's that good.

I just finished Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. If you liked The Martian, I think you would like this one too -- this is a little too reductive, but it's The Martian with a little more speculative science and much higher stakes.

I really enjoyed it -- I don't consider it a "deep" novel, but, it was a nice relaxing read and compelling enough that I finished it in a single night.

Here are five choices all by different authors, all with different themes:

1. Counting Heads, by David Marusek
2. Accelerando by Charles Stross
3. Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton
4. In the Courts of the Sun by Brian D'Amato

5. Lady Astronaut by Mary Robinette Kowal
   
   I think these are ALL must reads if you like science fiction. Also, all of these authors have other good books, so if you hit one you love there is more to consume. I think Counting Heads is the shortest and Pandora's Star is the longest. Lady Astronaut the most uplifting, and the best crazy premise is In the Courts of the Sun.

Me going into some of the books in this thread

From currently active writers I can wholeheartedly recommend

-Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Time is a good place to start, unless you hate spiders

- Alastair Reynolds (Mass Effect took wholesale the premise from his Revelation Space series, but the standalone novels are very good too)

-The Expanse series by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (Under the pen name James S. A. Corey.

-William Gibson still writes great stuff (Blue Ant trilogy, starting with Pattern Recognition, a favourite of mine), so I guess that could be classified modern as well.

-Richard Morgan might be an acquired taste, I love the Altered Carbon series but it's pretty weird, Market Forces is excellent standalone novel

Sidenote, Matt Rory is much more on the map with these, ask him on Twitter, I'm sure he'll enjoy helping too!

i just finished the first expanse book, and i cant decide whether to read the next one or try something else.

any ideas are welcome