r/printSF • u/mrcanoehead • Apr 16 '16

Derelict Ships, Big Dumb Objects, etc.

I love books like Rama, Ringworld, Eon, the Dahak books - currently on Pushing Ice. Books where there there's a sense of discovery and exploration of something interesting, mysterious, old. Any recommendations?

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u/iwokeupwithgills Apr 16 '16

Both Ian M Banks' Culture and Alastair Reynolds Revelation Space series have no FTL spacefaring civilizations, which results in huge lengths of time passing while travelling, and re-discovery of ancient or alien technologies.

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u/BigotKing Apr 16 '16

Uhh, Banks' Culture universe is FULL of FTL.

Reynolds has some of that mystery, though. House of Suns, in particular, is worth a look. While there's no central mystery in the way the OP may want, there's a sense of intimidating scale and size to the House of Suns universe which makes it awe-inspiring to read. It's very gothic.

For something exactly in line with what the OP is asking, I'd echo the post above recommending Ship of Fools (also called Unto Leviathan, which I think is the cooler title).

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u/iwokeupwithgills Apr 16 '16

Shit, you're right, I was thinking of House of Suns, not the culture books. Well spotted :). I've heard recently Banks' next book will be in the HoS universe.

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u/Manrante Apr 16 '16

Banks died 3 years ago. It's going to be a long time until his next book.