this post was submitted on 15 Apr 2025
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Science Fiction

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Lemmy World Rules

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Mine, not in an order of preference: Jack Vance, Van Vogt, Asimov, Arthur C Clarke and Frank Herbert.

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[–] L3G1T1SM3@lemm.ee 1 points 5 days ago

Pierce Brown, though book 6 was a little rough

[–] Grabthar@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

Keith Laumer, Gordon R. Dickson and Jack McDevitt are probably the ones I re-read the most.

[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

Hmm. Lately, Adrian Tchaikovsky.

Neal Asher, Mike Carey, Octavia Butler.

I read a lot of fantasy too, if I had to pick a favorite writer it might be Ian McDonald, but Mike Carey is so good, the comics he worked on are so good.

[–] terraborra@lemmy.nz 13 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Iain M Banks, Peter F Hamilton, Asimov, Neal Asher, and Alastair Reynolds.

I like space operas if you can’t tell.

[–] RBWells@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

Neal Asher! I just fall into his books. I'm never even sure if it's good writing but I do love his stuff so much.

[–] vext01@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I'm reading my first Alastair Reynolds now and I can see why fans of Banks might like it.

[–] Ceedoestrees@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I recommend House of Suns, Terminal World and Revenger.

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Loved the Revenger trilogy.

spoilerKinda liked the way it wrapped up by answering all the characters' questions but left them with a whole series of new unanswered questions.

Yes a surprisingly fun and satisfying adventure. It really made me wish there was a video game in The Congregation setting.

[–] vext01@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] Ceedoestrees@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Also great. A fun series but dense as hell.

[–] JudahBenHur@lemm.ee 4 points 1 week ago

i like banks and someone lent me a reynolds book. its soooooo long though. im reading some phillip k dick instead

[–] reallyzen@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

To push it a bit more contemporary: Peter Cawdron and his "First Contact " series, which is infinite variations (about 30 as of now) of making first contact with an alien sentience of any type.

It's excellent, and despite being excellent only available on kindle / kindle unlimited because as an independent author, that's the only way for him to publish & make a buck out if it.

Peter Cawdron is on Mastodon btw

[–] Cobrachicken@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] vext01@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

With or without the "M"? :)

[–] Cobrachicken@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago
[–] kat_angstrom@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Definitely Jack Vance first.

After that it's all over the place from day to day. Really enjoying Adrian Tchaikovsky lately, "The Final Architecture" series is just perfect.

Benedict Jacka has scratched my itch for urban fantasy.

I keep being impressed by Ian McDonald, his Luna series was such a tidy read.

Other than that, Samuel Delaney, LeGuin, Harry Harrison, Heinlein, and several others. I don't have a list, just authors :)

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I'm getting into Adrian Tchaikovsky myself. He certainly loves painting the future as a capitalist hellscape, doesn't he?

I'm part way into Shroud, where whole solar systems are being strip-mined for resources, and the people doing the work are skinny because they can't afford to eat well but they get auto-dosed with drugs to help them focus when hunger is distracting them.

[–] kat_angstrom@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Ohhh, that's the newest one of his, right?

I'm currently reading City of Last Chances. Interesting urban fantasy, I'm digging it

[–] spittingimage@lemmy.world 1 points 1 week ago

Recent, certainly. I don't know if it's newest.

[–] Ceedoestrees@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Ursula K Le Guin, Alaistair Reynolds, Margaret Atwood (For the Maddaddam trilogy,) Jules Verne, John Windham.

[–] vext01@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 1 week ago

I don't really have a fav, but I've enjoyed lots of sci fi authors over the years.

  • Frederick Pohl (especially Gateway, but not the sequel)
  • J. G. Ballard
  • Phillip K Dick
  • Alfred Bester
  • William Gibson
  • George Orwell
  • Andy Weir
  • Strutgasky Brothers (Loved Roadside Picnic)
  • Paolo Bacigalupi
  • China Meiville

The list goes on

Not a purely sci-fi author , but checkout "Octavia E Butler". She uses sci-fi to explore other thematics. The fact that I didn't see her name once here says a lot about how underrated she is

Her main book "parable of the sower" is a must read today for anyone living in the USA nowadays. So many points of today's politics make me think back about that book.

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

Asimov, Clarke, Niven obviously.

For more modern authors:

  • Christopher Hinz
  • Jon Scalzi
  • Brandon Sanderson
  • Neal Stephenson
  • Hugh Howey
[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Aside from the big 3 (Asimov, Clarke, and Herbert)?

William Gibson and Mike Pondsmith.

[–] unknownguyfromnowher@lemmy.ml 1 points 6 days ago

I like Neuromancer as a story.

[–] why@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 1 week ago

I really like Mike's world building in cyberpunk. Has he written any novels?

[–] Aielman15@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

Asimov, Clarke and Frank Herbert are, of course, in the top 3, but I particularly enjoy Dan Simmons as well. I loved both Hyperion and Ilium, he has a knack for weaving together half a dozen tales that have seemingly nothing in common. Downside is that you spend an entire book reading the buildup to the actual story, but I'm a Robert Jordan fan too, I'm accustomed to that.

[–] DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone 2 points 1 week ago
  • Robert Silverberg
  • Peter Corris
  • Hammond Innes
  • Dick Francis
  • Arthur Ransome
  • Nevil Shute
  • Robert Heinlein
  • Isaac Asimov
  • Hergé

Isaac Asimov, Roger Williams