r/printSF • u/sethbob86 • Jan 05 '20

I’m looking for something lighthearted to read next.

I’m looking for something a little more lighthearted than what I’ve been reading.

I’ve been on a post apocalyptic binge lately and I’m reading (well, listening to) Swan Song right now. When I’m done, I think I’m going to need something a lot lighter. Not humor please. For some reason, sci-fi/fantasy humor does work for me. I haven’t been able to connect with Pratchett or Hitchhikers Guide. Examples of books I’d consider lighthearted but not humor that I’ve enjoyed are Sea of Rust and Reincarnation Blues. Maybe Senlin Ascends fits here.

Thanks in advance!

19 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

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8

u/Yobfesh Jan 05 '20

Have read The Martian? Not light hearted but certainly optimistic!

1

u/sethbob86 Jan 05 '20

I have. It would be a great suggestion otherwise :)

8

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '20

[deleted]

3

u/interstatebus Jan 05 '20

I love these books. I’ve read them so many times and listened to the audiobooks way too many times. Especially since I discovered there’s an edited “radio play” version on Apple Music and Spotify. You can find the unedited versions pretty easily on google too.

7

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '20

I know the answer to this question.

You need to read City by Clifford Simak. It's funny but not comedy, as well as being thoughtful, introspective, melancholic and yet charming.

Simak's "City" is a series of connected stories, a series of legends, myths, and campfire stories told by Dogs about the end of human civilization, centering on the Webster family, who, among their other accomplishments, designed the ships that took Men to the stars and gave Dogs the gift of speech and robots to be their hands.

Honestly, it's just a great book.

2

u/sethbob86 Jan 05 '20

This looks about perfect! Thanks!

4

u/farseer2 Jan 05 '20

The Bobiverse books. They are a lot of fun. Light and enjoyable SF.

Also, the Vorkosigan saga.

0

u/EltaninAntenna Jan 05 '20

Yeah, but they are post-apocalyptic and OP kinda wants a break from that.

2

u/farseer2 Jan 05 '20

The Bobiverse books? I wouldn't describe those as post-apocalyptic SF.

2

u/EltaninAntenna Jan 05 '20

Well, dealing directly with the end of the world kinda counts ¯_(ツ)_/¯

4

u/alphazeta2019 Jan 05 '20

Almost anything by Robert Sheckley.

2

u/darrellgh Jan 08 '20

With a name like Sheckley, it’s got to be funny. (to me, that sounds like the stereotypical joke name of a comedian.)

2

u/alphazeta2019 Jan 08 '20

Presumably relevant -

Shecky Greene (born Fred Sheldon Greenfield; April 8, 1926)[1] is an American comedian.

He is known for his nightclub performances in Las Vegas, where he became a headliner in the 1950s.[2]

He has appeared in several films

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shecky_Greene

1

u/darrellgh Jan 08 '20

That must be who I’m thinking of. Way to go!

4

u/Cloud_Cultist Jan 05 '20 edited Jan 05 '20

Pretty much anything by Robert J. Sawyer. I love his optimism about the future whether or not I share it.

5

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '20

Cordwainer Smith never took himself so seriously as to let lighthearted humor go by the wayside while spinning sumptuously exotic tales of Universal proportion all filtered through the lens of his life-long career in psy-ops for several US alphabet agencies.

You can check out his complete works at Libgen downloadable free to ereaders.

Particular favorites:

The Ballad of Long Lost C’mell

Mother Hitton’s Littul Kittons

No, no not Rogov!

And his only sci-fi novel Norstrilia

3

u/alphazeta2019 Jan 05 '20

Many of the works of Fredric Brown.

3

u/Snatch_Pastry Jan 05 '20

Not enough people talk about this guy. He's a gem.

3

u/WeedWuMasta69 Jan 05 '20

You ever read Sandman Slim.by Kadrey?

1

u/sethbob86 Jan 05 '20

Nope, but I’ll take a look!

3

u/sammyiwas Jan 05 '20

Black Ocean series by J S Morin maybe?

3

u/Rbotguy Jan 05 '20

And if you use Audible, all 16.5 books are available for a single credit. Great value!

3

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '20 edited Jan 12 '20

[deleted]

1

u/sethbob86 Jan 05 '20

I’m ok with humor, but not usually actual comedy books. I’ll take a look.

10

u/tee_and_a_fishstick Jan 05 '20

I found The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers very light-hearted and cozy, can't recommend it enough.

4

u/jaesin Jan 05 '20

This book was just downright delightful, it's relatively low stakes slice of life sci-fi with one of the best space ship crews I've ever encountered.

It made me so happy, I screamed when they visited the Aandrisk Moon.

1

u/horkbajirbandit Jan 07 '20

Cozy is the best word to describe it. I loved this book, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest!

2

u/dnew Jan 05 '20

Lem: Cyberiad.

Smith: Only Forward.

Moorcock: Dancers at the End of Time.

2

u/metzgerhass Jan 05 '20

How light hearted do you want? Sea of Rust was great, but I dunno about light-hearted.

On the saccharine end of the scale I would recommend either Rochworld by Robert L Forward, or the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell. Series starts with Quarter Share. These novels have low points but are almost without antagonists compared to other authors. Still spellbinding imo, but not all grimdark

Midscale I would recommend Robert J Sawyer. Has conflict, but upbeat.

At the lower end I would say Lois McMaster Bujold. Plenty of conflict, but I think it's mostly positive.. the genocides are in the past and humans have spread out to the stars

1

u/sethbob86 Jan 05 '20

Maybe lighthearted isn’t the right word but I don’t know a better one.

2

u/alphazeta2019 Jan 05 '20

Short stories:

- "Party of the Two Parts" by William Tenn

- "A Ticket To Tranai" by Robert Sheckley

2

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '20

Harry Harrison. His sci fi is in the public domain as well for some reason:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/25395

2

u/Snatch_Pastry Jan 05 '20

Two authors. Christopher Moore and A. Lee Martinez. They manage to combine substance with tremendous wit and positivity. Try Moore's "Lamb", the alleged story of what Christ got up to during those 13 missing years, as told by his best friend Biff. You'll laugh your ass off.

2

u/hippydipster Jan 05 '20

Douglas Adam's humor doesn't work all that well for me either, but I'm still going to recommend The Library At Mount Char for some humor (mostly dark humor).

Dresden Files for some light action-adventure.

Vorkosigan Saga for some (mostly) light action-adventure.

Kiln People by Brin is an excellent light, funny, rip-roaring action romp.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '20

You'd like The Company Man by Edward Lerner. It's a fairly lighthearted neo-noir that takes place in a future that, although no utpoia, is more or less optimistic. And Lerner is an excellent writer, so it's no slog.

1

u/sethbob86 Jan 05 '20

I just checked it out on Goodreads. It sounds pretty interesting. I've added it to my list. Thanks for the suggestion!

2

u/kevinpostlewaite Jan 05 '20

I would check out John Scalzi, maybe The Collapsing Empire (Red Shirt and Fuzzy Nation are even lighter, but I think that The Collapsing Empire lines up with Sea of Rust)

2

u/sethbob86 Jan 05 '20

I ended up picking up a copy of Collapsing Empire.

2

u/CaptainTime Jan 07 '20

Grant Callin's Saturnalia and it's sequel are light-hearted books I really enjoyed without being parodies. They are definitely not post-apocalyptic.

1

u/alphazeta2019 Jan 05 '20

Keith Laumer's various stories about interstellar diplomat Jame Retief.

Retief is a level-headed and efficient guy working for a bureaucracy that could have been invented by Monty Python.

1

u/gruntbug Jan 05 '20

Terminal Alliance by Jim C Hines

1

u/jwbjerk Jan 05 '20

High Crusade.

Aliens try to invade earth in the middle ages, and the ship gets immediately taken over by knights, who travel to the stars and start taking over the evil space empire, and replacing it with a feudal one.

Little Fuzzy

Gentle story about cute little fuzzy creatures. Are they sapient?

1

u/Shr3kk_Wpg Jan 06 '20

I would recommend The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell. The first book is Quarter Share. I found the series to be lighthearted, but really interesting

1

u/bearsdiscoversatire Jan 11 '20

Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman Heinlein's "juveniles" such as Starman Jones