Matrix Games Forums

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Just as a side note, if you haven't read "Through Struggle the Stars" yet, it's available here:

http://www.thehumanreach.net/

... and a sequel is on the way for 2013.

Regards,

- Erik

I'm looking forward to that sequel. "Through Struggle the Stars" is the only military sci-fi book that I've read that treats science really seriously. I really liked the space combat scenes.
The writer is both a journalist and have done extensive research for the book.
So he not only generally got science right but also got characters right. It's a rare combination in sci-fi.

And the author is sane enough to notice that paper books are so expensive, mainly because they come with their own reader.
It was the first ebook novel that I bought. I couldn't afford an e-reader back then, so I have simply printed it in a print-shop - IIRC it was because the paper version wasn't available from any European store.

ORIGINAL: martok

Just about anything by Clarke or Asimov would qualify (especially the latter's Robot and Foundation series)

I remember Asimov suddenly being very careful to not mention atomic shields, atomic engines and atomic blasters in his later Foundation novels.


I have found a list of recommended stuff on the Atomic Rocket site:
http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/r ... cnovel.php

My recommendation would be Alistair Reynolds Revelation Space stuff. That is 'hard' sci-fi while, much as I enjoyed some of it, very little listed so far has been. For a single novel, Peter Watts' Blindsight is the best I've read in a while.

This may not fit the bill but The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey have been fantastic reads. They have released 2 or the 3 planned books:

http://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wakes-E ... +s+a+corey

Haven't yet read the series myself, but I keep hearing only good things about the Ender's game books. Not sure if it's hard sci-fi though.

ORIGINAL: JM230
Haven't yet read the series myself, but I keep hearing only good things about the Ender's game books. Not sure if it's hard sci-fi though.

It isn't, but what it lacks in plausible science is outweighed by some pretty hefty and thought provoking themes. Or at least the first two are; the series got more and more dragged out and, IMHO, boring after that.

I'm fascinated to see what they have done with the movie, as Ender's Game is essentially a story about young kids forced into behaviour, including brutal violence, that real young kids really shouldn't be watching on screen (and I'm usually fairly liberal on such things). I don't really see how they can retain the essential themes while also retaining an audience. It's virtually impossible to publicize a film about children as an older teen/adult flic, yet make a film you could take children to see and you no longer have Ender's Game.

Greg Egan by all means. He plays with the physics of the Universe as we know it like a child plays with snowflakes. It is simply
wonderful. I once thought Baxter is the master of grand scale hard SF, but only until I read the first Egan books.

One of the best I have read is "Diaspora".
Was available for €6,49 last time I looked at Amazon Kindle shop...

"Oceanic" is also cool, if you are into short story SF.
You cannot go wrong with him, he is the pope of realistic SF IMHO.


I like Stephen Baxter but he sometmes seems to have difficulties in fluent writing IMHO. He is a great Physician, has a wonderful fantasy,
but is only a mediocre writer. Still read all his books.

Iain Banks for not-so-hard but plausable, intelligent and funny, and extremely well written SF. "Excession" was sensational, but I liked close to all
of the "Culture" series. He is a great non-SF writer as well ("Walking on Glass", "The Wasp Factory",....)

I would recommend,

Richard Morgan

"Altered Carbon" followed by "Broken Angels" and "Woken Furies"

Have to agree. I read Morgan's book several years ago. Recently I bought the audiobook versions of the three books and listened them with great pleasure.

Try "The Lost Fleet" series by Jack Campbell.

Yes, try Jack Campbell.

ORIGINAL: Perturabo
So he not only generally got science right but also got characters right. It's a rare combination in sci-fi.

Yes, indeed it is. Some of my favourites having both:

* Kim Stanley Robinson Mars saga. I think the strongest of the three is the first "Red Mars", featuring really memorable characters and plausible technology (which already exists, interestingly enough).
* "The Ender Game" by Orson Scott Card. All very hard, the only "literary license" taken there with physics is the notion of information exchange across vast distances through quantum entanglement. I loved the "Internet" depicted in the book.
* Gregory Benford's "In the Ocean of Night". Characters might not be top-notch, and the socioeconomic predictions there might make you smile (keep in mind that it's a 1970's book, and the future did indeed look very bleak back then). "Great Sky River", by the same author, is maybe better (and much darker). "Timescape" is also quite good.
* "Anathema" by Neal Stephenson. Bar the alternate universe traveling loophole license, the science there is very good. Who wants death rays when you can drop a 1 ton metal rod from orbit?
* "The Forever Peace" by Joe Haldeman. He gets right the basics of tele-operated war waging and the characters are quite remarkable.
* "A Deepness in the Sky" by Vernor Vinge. Much better - in my opinion - than the better known "A Fire Upon The Deep". Go Qeng Ho!
* David Brin and Gregory Benford's "Heart of the Comet". Great story, the license taken here deals with a 'biological computer' which allows to upload minds into them [:)]

Some where the characters and writing is weak, yet I remember them fondly:

* "Eon" by Greg Bear. A bit of a rip-off of Rendezvous with Rama, though.
* "Dragon's Egg" by Robert L. Forward. 2D characters but you'd learn a lot about stellar physics

Note that the notion of "hard sci-fi" is a moving target. Stuff that seemed plausible in 1983 might not sound as sensible now in 2013 [:)]

PS: Gah, I just noticed that by answering I ruined the best post count ever: '1234' [:(]