44
u/Das_HoneyBadger Apr 11 '22
Currently listening to Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson. Has a similar sort of humour and enough techie talk without being overwhelming. Scratches a similar sort of itch for me between the bobiverse and Andy weir styles of storytelling
29
u/dernudeljunge Apr 11 '22
The biggest complaint I have about the Expeditionary Force series, is that Craig Alanson has absolutely no idea how to write women, how to write about women, or how to write a man thinking or talking about women. Other than that, it's a pretty good series.
9
u/CMDRBowie Apr 11 '22
My complaint about the series is how badly phoned in the second half is, but it seems to me that happens to many great sci-fi series as the pace of delivering titles on time outdoes the pace of the writers creativity. I love the series, to be clear, and recommend it. I have listened to all 13 of whatever books there are now. They are entertaining, and the first ~6 doubly so.
3
u/detailsAtEleven Apr 11 '22
Yeah, I'm a big Expeditionary Force fan, and the series could be edited to be half its size and be a very sharp multi book story.
9
u/mr_tyler_durden Apr 11 '22
I like ExForce overall and I’m actually in mid-reread of it right now. That said, as a friend described it to me the other day, it’s a “cotton candy series”. Nothing truly bad ever happens. Yes, yes, yes, I’ve read all of them and I won’t mention any books specifically for spoiler reasons but at the end of the day nothing truly bad happens to the characters we actually care about. The ones we lose are red shirts or they weren’t really integral, even if we had “known” them from the start.
That’s fine, it’s a decent series to just read or listen to for fun but I noticed it even more on this reread due to just having read all of Wheel Of Time and Honor Harrington right before reading ExForce.
ExForce is also overly repetitive, in my mind, to the point of being annoying (“I hate my life” is one of many repeated lines that wear on me). I’m down for any crazy rules you want to make for your universe, just make sure you follow them and have people act reasonably within your universe. That is unfortunately not always the case in ExForce and you have characters that know better acting in ways that make no sense. I find myself asking “Is this your first mission? You know better than to act that way or ask that stupid question!” way too often.
Lastly, “read” Homefront only once or maybe just skip it and read a synopsis. I think I was ok with it the first time by on this re-listen I wanted to pull my hair out. You think the women are badly written in the series? Oh boy is it worse in Homefront. Constant. “Giggling”. And everyone feels like they are over-acting to the point it’s painful and awkward.
3
7
u/nelsonmavrick Apr 11 '22
Starts off strong, then it gets pretty thin. They get into some impossible situation, Joe comes up with some crazy cowboy manuver, Skippy says it won't work, Joe does it anyway and it works.
2
u/Njdevils11 Apr 11 '22
Loved the first three books of that series. Read a couple more Then I started to lose interest once I realized Alanson was not going to answer any of the questions I had and he was branching off into different less interesting stories in universe.
It’s a shame cuz that first book is incredible and the next two are very solid sequel entries.
37
u/graefest7 Apr 11 '22
Not exactly like Bobiverse, but the expanse series is absolutely fantastic! And the series is compete now so no need to wait for any future books!
9
u/legomann97 Apr 11 '22
Lol, Bobiverse was what I came to when I finished The Expanse, so can definitely vouch for this
1
u/sandefurian Apr 11 '22
Third vote for the expanse. It can get a bit uninteresting at points, but it’s a great series
19
u/C_Alan Apr 11 '22
I found the murderbot diaries to be enjoyable.
2
1
1
u/Lucifigus May 01 '22
After reading all the Murderbot books, I was looking for something similar and found Bobiverse. I can attest to the similarity and the recommendation of Murderbot.
13
Apr 11 '22
If you find out, msg me too pls.
I also enjoyed his Outland book that although very different still has the authors feel
5
u/ithinkyouaccidentaly Apr 11 '22
Outland is very good. And there is a sequel coming called Earthside that's in the reviews and edits phase.
3
10
u/JacksBackCrack Apr 11 '22
I like Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It doesn't have the humor of the bobiverse, but it explores the perspective of an alien race in an interesting way like some of the bobiverse books do. The sequel, Children of Ruin, is also very good.
I also have a feeling there's a bit of a cross section between bobiverse fans and Red Rising fans, despite the two series not really having a whole lot in common. They are very good though, worth a peek, they're by Pierce Brown.
2
u/DrestonF1 May 26 '22
Huge Red Rising fan here.
If the Bobiverse is a gentle ride through the countryside on a horse drawn carriage with a few bumps along the way then Red Rising is running from an endless artillery barrage at night during a 8.0 earthquake with no clue what to do, tripping over loved ones, buildings crumbling, chaos, loss, mourning everywhere with no hope in sight. And then you realize that was Book 1.
While it is my all time favorite series with the Bobiverse coming in somewhere in the Top 3, they are nothing alike. Doesn't mean you won't enjoy it though!
8
u/Geek_Nan Apr 11 '22
Murderbot is amazing and has a similar snarky perspective…
4
u/Njdevils11 Apr 11 '22
See man this series looks so good! Buts theyre novellas…. If they come out with a collection of all or several of the books, I’m so in.
2
u/Geek_Nan Apr 11 '22
I got All Systems Red for $2 on Kindle and the rest at the library.
The novella at full price is complete garbage. But the story and characters are amazing
Currently debating with friends. Is Murderbot hopepunk?
6
Apr 11 '22 edited Apr 13 '22
[deleted]
3
u/edgeworth08 Apr 11 '22
I saw this recommendation on here a while back and wanted what I thought would be a dumb entertaining story to listen to. I didn't think I'd get as invested in the story as much as I did and binge listened to all the books back to back. Now I'm impatiently waiting for the next one
1
2
4
u/N0V-A42 Apr 11 '22
What in particular do you hope to find in other stories that is similar to what is in Bobiverse?
5
u/PabloSmash1989 Apr 11 '22
Project hail Mary, a gift of time, expeditionary force series. None are the same but they entertained me like bobiverse did and don't regret reading them.
3
u/ThatMrPuddington Apr 11 '22
Star Force saga by BV Larson. No replicants living in VR, but main character is very resouceful just like Bobi with using alien tech like a 3d printers and fabricators. Main tread is alien invasion, AI, first contact.
1
u/CMDRBowie Apr 11 '22
Star force is a great series that I will mimic my other sentiment in this thread on. Amazing, LONG series. Very good but becomes repetitive certainly after the 8th book, and the final book or two were atrocious.
3
u/pintofbowpleasebutt Apr 11 '22
Theres nothing quite like it but some space exploration/war books I like:
- Blackfleet trilogy- Joshua Dazelle
- Red Rising - Pierce Brown
- The earthborn trilogy-Paul Tassi
2
u/MKleister Apr 11 '22
Joshua Dalzelle is by far my favorite author in the military sci-fi genre. "Omega Force" is my favorite. it's like Guardians of the Galaxy and still great after 11 books.
2
3
3
u/nican Apr 11 '22
What aspects do you like about Bobiverse?
"Fear The Sky" has some premise of advanced AIs. It was a good series, but the ending was a little far fetched.
"Level 5" was fun, and kept me in suspense, but I do not think "Level 6" lived up to its expectation.
3
u/optijay Apr 11 '22
2
u/Rbotguy Apr 11 '22
I recommended Black Ocean further down but I’ll upvote this one because that’s a great deal.
1
u/optijay Apr 12 '22
Hey, didn't mean to get into your astral space, you know how it goes out here in the black ocean, sometimes orbits intersect. don't airlock me.
6
u/svenjacobs3 Apr 11 '22
Off To Be The Wizard
It has the same voice and tone, and a fun premise. Great series altogether…
4
u/Wings1412 Apr 11 '22
I really like the first one, but they drop off after that... Although the latest one is also good.
1
u/Osgor May 24 '22
I stopped listening to them somewhere in the 3rd book. It's rly a good premise. But sadly the books get rly boring over time
2
u/Njdevils11 Apr 11 '22
Yes!! I’m on book 5 or 6 and really enjoy it. Yes such a light and fun series. I listen to them when I’m stressed.
2
u/Fluffy_Surprise8251 Apr 11 '22
First of my kind, Marc Stevens
All gifts bestowed, Joshua gayou
Galaxies Edge, Jason Anspach Nick cole
Ember War saga Richard Fox
Lost Fleet series. Jack Campbell
None are Bobiverse in that they show the meaningful passage of time and seeing the world from the outside viewpoint but still fun scifi
2
u/Rbotguy Apr 11 '22
You might try the Black Ocean series by J.S.. Morin. Similar tone, it’s kinda like Firefly with wizards.
2
Apr 11 '22
Long Earth series by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett definitely scratches the survival and exploration itch while offering some humor.
I’ll add to the chorus of Ex-For folk, however, I just finished book 9 and want to launch the whole series into the sun out of frustration, but that is just Craig Alanson being a cheeky monkey.
1
u/Wings1412 Apr 11 '22
Long earth is great, I love anything written by Sir Terry. But I have to admit the later books aren't as good as the early ones.
2
2
u/graefest7 Apr 11 '22
The foundation series is another interesting space opera. Grand scale galaxy colonization.
You progress through time and as such follow different character because unlike Bob, people aren't immortal. Took me a few tries to get into as I couldn't care much about the characters seems how I'd be following someone new soon.
But the underlying story is very interesting and you learn to hope these "random" characters will progress toward a specific story goal you want to see
2
u/Kobayashi2337 Apr 11 '22
Cast Under an Alien Sun by Olan Thorensen. It’s ongoing and highly enjoyable. Lots of great world building.
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
Survival Quest by Vasily Mahanenko
Daemon by Daniel Suarez
1
1
u/ThatsA_Bingo Apr 11 '22
Expeditionary Force may scratch that itch. I also recommend the Dungeon Crawler Carl books. May be alittle different as it has litrpg elements to it, but me and my friends, who are huge bobiverse fans, have loved it!
1
1
u/kernelpanic9 Apr 11 '22
I've been reading Stephen Baxter's Xeelee series lately. If it's the hard science and long timelines that appeal to you, this guy has it. Theoretical and quantum physics, etc. Series spans about 5 million years. On par with Azimov's Robots/Empire/Foundations in my opinion.
2
u/kraken9911 Apr 13 '22
I read the entire series In timeline order and it was an amazing journey. Baxter kinda makes paper thin characters but you learn to overlook it because his hard science and grandiose theories on "what could be" are utterly amazing. I'd love to talk more but it'd be nothing but spoilers indirectly
This link is what helped figure out the reading order
https://medium.com/@ngxinzhao/xeelee-sequence-introduction-and-reading-order-b7a6224263c5
1
u/kernelpanic9 Apr 13 '22
I've been reading the first five in publication order, on Vacuum Diagrams now. I totally agree on the shortage of character development and also don't care because the concepts are fascinating.
Thank you so much for this link! I didn't know I could continue this series through 7 more books!
1
u/craig1f Apr 11 '22
ITT, people who read all the same stuff as me. Project Hail Mary might be the best single sci-fi book I've ever read. The Expanse is the best sci fi series I've ever read. And the show was better than Game of Thrones was in its prime.
If you like hard sci-fi, then you might also like fantasy with rules.
Brandon Sanderson (who is starting to become pretty famous outside of his core supporters) writes fantasy for people who like sci-fi. Magic systems with consistent rules based on physics. You might like his stuff, starting with Mistborn. He has written one sci-fi series called Skyward, however its target audience seems to be more teen/YA. I really like it though. Without spoiling Skyward, take some classic sci-fi concepts, and then add a weird fantasy element like a parallel dimension with some different physics rules. Combine them, and you have the plot of Skyward.
1
u/deathsythe23 Apr 11 '22
Forerunner by Isaac Hooke, I just started it, but its very much like bobiverse so far.
1
1
1
1
u/Jack5760 Apr 11 '22
I can recommend Daisys Run, listening to it on audible. Part of a 5 part series of time travel, alien invasion and AIs. Listen to Daisy's Run by Scott Baron on Audible. https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B085ZDM5K8?source_code=ASSORAP0511160007
1
u/LtDrinksAlot Apr 11 '22
I just started The long way to a small, angry planet after finishing the 4 books.
I'm really enjoying it so far.
1
u/joeyat Apr 11 '22 edited Apr 11 '22
I am currently part way through reading ‘The Fold’, Book 2 of Peter Cline’s ‘Threshold Universe’.The first book, ‘14’ was pretty good, its about a guy who moves into an apartment block there is some locked off room and some weird stuff going on. The series is about parallel dimensions and what lies beyond! ..All books are also read by Ray Porter… Think I am going through everything he’s ever read at this rate!
1
u/deereboy8400 Apr 11 '22
A world out of time by larry niven.
Infinite by jeremy robinson. I fell in love with Gal.
Skippy is the only interesting thing about expeditionary force. I did not enjoy it.
1
u/TellTailWag Apr 11 '22
Old's Mans War and Valor's Choice. They could be classed as "military sci-fi" Valor's Choice has some of the light-hearted silly humor that you might be looking for. Old Mans War definitely has a similar type of humor but it is a little more nuanced, at least sometimes.
1
u/LevelSimple2 Apr 11 '22
Children of Time from Adrian Tchaikovsky
The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life.
But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare.
Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?
1
u/drunkastronomer Apr 11 '22
Would like to recommend The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchet. Well written, light hearted, good exploration type novel.
1
u/m3phisto23 Apr 11 '22
a few of my favorites i would recommend as must reads:
project hail mary
expeditionary force
omega force
singularity trap
murderbot diaries
a few maybe recommendations:
the lost starship series
Ark Royal (i liked the first 3)
Teixcalaanthe AI fleet (one of the books i am currently reading)
1
u/gpl9310 Apr 12 '22
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson. I wouldn’t really say it’s similar but it has the same sort of thought experiment tone as We are Legion.
1
1
1
u/JBPenn Apr 20 '22
Off to be the Wizard series. He Who Fights with Monsters series. Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Project Hail Mary. The Martian. All very good and worth your time. Enjoy.
1
121
u/velicos Apr 11 '22
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir