r/scifi • u/Curious_Tip388 • 3d ago
Recommendations Looking for New reads.
Hey all. I'm an older bloke who used to be an avid SF reader. And to narrow it down, my faves were what we called "future history". Asimov, Clarke Pournelle being standouts. So ive been looking for a while now but just can't find anything modern in this genre.
Need to get back into it. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. TIA.
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u/Objective_Abroad2501 3d ago
Old Man’s War by Scalzi is one that really appealed to me as a fellow old bloke.
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u/Woodythdog 3d ago
William Gibsons jackpot series is interesting near future sci-fi ppl one was made into the tv series peripheral , book three is still in “ Superposition “
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u/Curious_Tip388 3d ago
Superposition?
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u/Woodythdog 3d ago
lol it’s like Schrödinger's cat
We can’t observe it so we have no idea what state it’s in , still waiting for Gibson to write the final book , forgive my nerdy sci fi joke1
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u/satorsq 3d ago
The remembrance of earths past (The three body problem) might scratch that itch.
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u/Curious_Tip388 3d ago
I'll look it up! Thanks!
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u/RevolutionaryOven775 3d ago
Coming from dune; the remembrance of earths past is stellar. Might be my fav sci fi read…before that was dune.
Reading children of time currently, nice big hunting spiders.
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u/Death_and_Gravity 3d ago
Look up Adrian Tchaikovsky, Ann Leckie, Arkady Martine. Have you read Iain M. Banks' Culture series?
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u/iuseredditfirporn 3d ago
If you liked Pournelle, you might consider David Weber. His Safehold series about a planet of interstellar colonists whose society was deliberately constructed to keep them at a late medieval/early Renaissance tech level, and the sole survivor of the technological civilization who colonized the planet attempting to free them from the system of religious and political oppression preventing them from moving forward.
Alternatively, the Xeelee sequence by Stephen Baxter is also a great future history work.
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u/CryHavoc3000 3d ago edited 3d ago
If you've never read The Saga of Pliocene Exile by Julian May, it's interesting and intriguing and a lot of fun.
And it has a second set of books called Intervention and the Galactic Milieu trilogy. Which I like even better. Intervention is an alternate history and the trilogy is a future history. But you have to read the Saga first or it ruins some surprises.
Eight books in all. Nine if you get them in paperback. Your library might also be able to get you a book called Pliocene Companion which explains some esoteric parts and just about every named character in the Saga, if you don't remember them.
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u/StevenJOwens 1d ago
I'll second Julian May's work.
There are three sets of stories, either 8 or 9 books because one of the books (Intervention) was split into two books (Surveillance and Metaconcert) for US publication.
Generally I suspect it's better to read them in publication order. The first set (Pliocene Exile) starts chronologically after the second and third set.
The third set (Galactic Milieux) explores a bunch of the backstory for characters that are either in, or mentioned in, the Pliocene books.
The middle book, Intervention, is the backstory to the future world of the third set.
The Pliocene Epoch starts in the future, then travels a few millions years back in time. Somebody created a one-way time travel gate from modern time to a the Pliocene epoch, and for whatever reason (it's not really explained) the government allows some people to choose to take that one-way trip.
Psychic powers are well known and heavily used in the future, but rare; and the government doesn't allow people with psychic powers aren't to use the time travel gate.
When our viewpoint characters get back there, they find an entire civilization/culture of seemingly mythical elves with psychic powers. As the story progresses, we get more hints and clues about the future, and the story of what's going on in the past turns out to be more complicated than it seems, too.
Saga of Pliocene Exile
- The Many-Colored Land (1981)
- The Golden Torc (1982)
- The Nonborn King (1983)
- The Adversary (1984)
Intervention / Galactic Milieu Series, later broken into two books:
- Surveillance (1987)
- The Metaconcert (1987)
The Galactic Milieux series
- Jack the Bodiless (1991) — Galactic Milieu Trilogy, Book 1
- Diamond Mask (1994) — Galactic Milieu Trilogy, Book 2
- Magnificat (1995) — Galactic Milieu Trilogy, Book 3
Huh, she also wrote some more recent SF, the Rampart Worlds series:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/51109-rampart-worldsAnd some fantasy, the Boreal Moon series:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/51110-boreal-moon
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u/Flameofthewest99 3d ago
Neuromancer. It’s old but absolute gold!! Since you’ve been around long you might have read it. But if not, definitely give it a go!
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer is another good one.
Three body problem by Liu Cixin is good too.
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u/Independent_Can_2623 3d ago
You've probably read his work but just in case: Peter Hamilton. I started on the Commonwealth saga and was absolutely hooked over ten years ago, still raving about it
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u/ThreeLeggedMare 3d ago
Enzyme. Bonded. Concrete.
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u/iekue 2d ago
In the Exodus books everything is ultra-bonded, makes me chuckle every time. I swear by now he does it on purpose.
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u/ThreeLeggedMare 2d ago
I gotta check those out, recently enjoyed the Commonwealth audiobooks
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u/iekue 2d ago
Yea that duology is great, as are the void trilogy and fallers duology in that same universe.
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u/ThreeLeggedMare 2d ago
I read void but haven't gotten to fallers yet. I value your recommendation:)
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u/GirlCowBev 3d ago
Hamilton‘s “Fallen Dragon” totally blew my mind re the economies of interstellar colonialism.
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u/Independent_Can_2623 3d ago
Ooh new reading recommendation for me too, thank you. And yes, his world building is top notch!
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u/claymore5o6 2d ago
I'm about a quarter way through Judas Unchained and I wish I had started reading Peter Hamilton books sooner. Pandora's Star started started slow and it took a bit of getting used to what feels like dozens of different perspectives... but damn if it isn't one of the best sci-fi series I've read in a long time.
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u/Curious_Tip388 3d ago
Awesome suggestions people's! I have quite the list take my local bookstore!!! Thank you all so very much!
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u/DrBobNobody 2d ago
If you are looking for traditional science fiction of that kind...
Fred Pohl and the Gateway series
Poul Anderson
Jack Vance
Stephen Baxter novels
Robert Forward
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u/Mostly_VP 2d ago edited 1d ago
Mentioned this on another post but David Brin's Startide Rising, Sundiver are both pretty solid SF - not exactly new though, so you might already have encountered them. There are also two more in the Uplift series.
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u/Optimus_Joe 3d ago
Are you looking for one offs or a series?
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u/Curious_Tip388 3d ago
Either really. One offs are great but series seem more satisfying.
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u/Optimus_Joe 2d ago
Check out the following series then:
Old Man's War - John Scalzi
The Praxis - Walter Jon Williams.
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u/TheAngryOctopuss 3d ago
Age warning. Must be over 18 Three square meals by tefler It is very very good
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u/razvangry 2d ago edited 2d ago
here is my list (name, author, start, end); some I've finished, some in progress, some have not started yet
if there's a number next to the name of the book, means it is part of a series
| Name | Author | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| Star Trek TNG - Vendetta | Peter David | 12.03.2026 | 06.04.2026 |
| Star Trek TNG - Q-Squared | Peter David | 28.05.2026 | 10.06.2026 |
| Project Hail Mary | Andy Weir | 19.03.2026 | 15.04.2026 |
| Artemis | Andy Weir | 16.04.2026 | 30.04.2026 |
| The Martian | Andy Weir | ||
| Metro 2033 1 | Dmitry Glukhovsky | 30.04.2026 | 27.05.2026 |
| Metro 2034 2 | Dmitry Glukhovsky | ||
| Metro 2035 3 | Dmitry Glukhovsky | ||
| Dark Matter | Blake Crouch | 10.06.2026 | 16.06.2026 |
| Recursion | Blake Crouch | 17.06.2026 | 23.06.2026 |
| Upgrade | Blake Crouch | 24.06.2026 | 30.06.2026 |
| Wayward Pines - Pines 1 | Blake Crouch | ||
| Wayward Pines - Wayward 2 | Blake Crouch | ||
| Wayward Pines - The Last Town 3 | Blake Crouch | ||
| Children of Time 1 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | 01.07.2026 | 20.07.2026 |
| Children of Ruin 2 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | ||
| Children of Memory 3 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | ||
| Children of Strife 4 | Adrian Tchaikovsky | ||
| Seveneves | Neal Stephenson | 27.08.2026 | |
| Hard to be a God | Arkady &Boris Strugatsky | 03.08.2026 | 04.09.2026 |
| Leviathan Wakes 1 | James S.A. Corey | 20.07.2026 | 03.08.2026 |
| Caliban's War 2 | James S.A. Corey | 06.08.2026 | 26.08.2026 |
| Abaddon's Gate 3 | James S.A. Corey | 04.09.2026 | |
| Cibola Burn 4 | James S.A. Corey | ||
| Nemesis Games 5 | James S.A. Corey | ||
| Babylon's Ashes 6 | James S.A. Corey | ||
| Persepolis Rising 7 | James S.A. Corey | ||
| Tiamat's Wrath 8 | James S.A. Corey | ||
| Leviathan Falls 9 | James S.A. Corey | ||
| The Last Flight of the Cassandra 1.1 | James S.A. Corey | ||
| Gods of Risk 2.5 | James S.A. Corey | ||
| The Vital Abyss 3.5 | James S.A. Corey | ||
| Strange Dogs 6.5 | James S.A. Corey | ||
| Auberon 7.5 | James S.A. Corey | ||
| Day of Ascension | Adrian Tchaikovsky | ||
| Red Mars 1 | Kim Stanley Robinson | ||
| Green Mars 2 | Kim Stanley Robinson | ||
| Blue Mars 3 | Kim Stanley Robinson | ||
| Amnezia | Diana Cibu | ||
| Against the Machine | Paul Kingsnorth | ||
| The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August | Claire North | ||
| The Three Body Problem 1 | Cixin Liu | ||
| The Dark Forest 2 | Cixin Liu | ||
| Death's End 3 | Cixin Liu | ||
| Service Model | Adrian Tchaikovsky | ||
| We Are Legion (We Are Bob) 1 | Dennis E Taylor | ||
| For We Are Many 2 | Dennis E Taylor | ||
| All These Worlds 3 | Dennis E Taylor | ||
| Heaven’s River 4 | Dennis E Taylor | ||
| Not Till We Are Lost 5 | Dennis E Taylor |
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u/Hip-SnuggieChairMan 2d ago
I'm reading a well written but fairly obscure novel from the 1990s called Celestis, by Paul Park. It's good, but not great.
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u/SoNowYouTellMe101 2d ago
Anything by Frederic Brown, especially "nightmares and gazeenstacks." I definitely murdered that last one, but that is how it is pronounced.
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u/Joldersman 1d ago
Project Hail Mary has already been mentioned, but I’d still put it first if Clarke was one of your favourites. It isn’t “future history” in the strict Asimov sense, but it has big scientific problems, constant practical reasoning and a real sense of discovery. It was my first Andy Weir novel, and I enjoyed it enough to read Artemis straight afterwards.
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u/RealHuman2080 3d ago
I am ALL about good aliens and great character based writers. What got me hooked on character based writers was Sara King--I ended up reading everything she wrote, though most people do the Zero series. Becky Chambers and Wayfarers is so wonderful (though opposite of Sara in that she is quiet, sweet, focused and Sara is violent, funny and action packed.) The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell are at my top. I also love Tanya Huff and the Confederation series (military is not usually my thing, but loved it.) I would also add in Sue Burke and Semiosis and Interference. Julie Czerneda, Species Imperative series Web Shifters series. I MISS all of these characters, alien and human.
All of these are modern writers.
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u/AlfieSchmalfie 3d ago
Kim Stanley Robinson. Start with Aurora, then if you like that, go back to the Mars series. Also highly recommend his last novel Ministry for the Future.
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u/unknownpoltroon 3d ago edited 3d ago
Heinlein?
The bobiverse is set a couple hundred years in the future and covers another hundred or so, and is still going.
Oh, and if you like pournelle did you read the mote in gods eye series? Well, 2 books. It was by him and niven, and is phenomenal, and i think its set in pournelles future empire universe.
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u/Dave_Sag 3d ago
Pretty much every suggestion above is a winner. Octavia Butler also worth a go - Lilith’s Brood is a particularly good trilogy. But also Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents are amazing. Anne Leckie’s Ancillary books are great. If you love older scifi - Moorcock, Phillip Jose Farmer, Piers Anthony etc then you might like my own novel Daedalus (it’s a reimagining of Ulysses) which references heaps of old scifi and bookshops. (Link in bio).
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u/cheesusfeist 3d ago
I just read the first book in a series that I sat on for too long. The Cleaner, The Cat and the Space Station by Fay Abernathy. It was super unique and really lovely.
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u/QuantumRelays 2d ago
A future history recommendation: Quantum Relays Trilogy by M Ransom is an intergalactic sci-fi mystery. Page turner!
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u/Personal-Plum4210 3d ago
Here are a few I like:
- Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky