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by MattPalmer108613 hours ago |
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upvoteby lproven12 hours ago|
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> I haven't enjoyed any of the other M John Harrison books I tried

100% this.

I like the man and he's a great public speaker. I do not get on with his novels at all, from In Viriconium to a few decades later when everyone loved Light so I gave his "SF" another try.

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upvoteby duggan11 hours ago|
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I read a good bit of Light, I had the sense that it was probably very clever but just not for me. Too gloomy, with unlikeable characters.

I also began to suspect it was more magical realism than science fiction. Maybe incorrectly, but made me lose interest.

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upvoteby bawolff11 hours ago|
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As a general rule I usually find scifi books that win awards outside the genere but aren't recognized inside the genere to be pretty bad.
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upvoteby A_D_E_P_T9 hours ago|
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Counterpoint: Kazuo Ishiguro and Richard Powers are both extremely good.

Also, the stuff that has won awards inside the genre these past ~10 years has been generally quite poor.

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upvoteby t_mahmood11 hours ago|
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Can you list some of the recent good sci-fis please? I haven't read any new after Salvation series by P. Hamilton
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upvoteby JulesRosser1 hours ago|
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This is less recent, but Embassytown by China Miéville is excellent science fiction.
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upvoteby ddxv10 hours ago|
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Klara and the sun was really good, though I heard the movie not so good.

Also anything by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The one that stood out from him was the Void series and Alien Clay. Of course I'd you haven't read him do start with his main series as it was excellent too, but I'm pretty sure before 2020

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upvoteby rsynnott6 hours ago|
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> Of course I'd you haven't read him do start with his main series

Assuming you're talking Children of Whatever, eh, I'm not sure I agree. IMO some of his other novels are _far_ better (Children of Whatever are _good_, but some of the other stuff is _great_.)

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upvoteby ballmerpoint3 hours ago|
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I’m in the middle of _Children of Strife_ right now and I’m not sure I’m going to finish it. Children of Time was great, Ruin was ok, Memory was saved by the ending, but Strife has up to this point been two female protagonists getting tortured and/or abused in various timelines, some of them possibly simulated. Not a great read.
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upvoteby marshray3 hours ago|
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Perhaps he means the Final Architecture series? Shards of Earth, Eyes of the Void, and Lords of Uncreation. That series is a true favorite of mine, but not everyone I've recommended it to liked it as much as I did.

Elder Race and Dogs of War are also awesome entry points for people who enjoy S&S fantasy and military themes, respectively.

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upvoteby t_mahmood6 hours ago|
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Thank you!
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upvoteby Insanity3 hours ago|
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Not sure what your definition is for 'recent' - but "The Expanse" is great IMO, I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the entire series. I've not read any of the "spin offs" from the main storyline though.

Also, "There is no anti-memetics division" is interesting but I'm divided about it. The first 60-70% is great, but after that it's kinda "meh" and by the time I finished the book I was glad it was over lol. The initial 2/3rds of the book are really good and almost makes up for the lackluster ending (imo).

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upvoteby t_mahmood2 hours ago|
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I've read The Expense, all of them and enjoyed the whole series.
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upvoteby losvedir2 hours ago|
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The authors of the Expanse have another trilogy called The Captive's War which is pretty interesting. Only 2 of the 3 books are out so far, so I hesitate to recommend it, but I did enjoy those two (plus a novella).
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upvoteby t_mahmood1 hours ago|
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Great! Will take a look
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upvoteby panzagl2 hours ago|
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I felt the same about "anti-memetics division"- the first half felt like a couple 'monster of the week" episodes of X-files, then suddenly the tone shifts and the world is doomed, but here's a deus ex machina that is totally justified because everyone forgot about it and here's the explanation how.
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