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Serendipitous Zhao
Serendipitous Zhao
Join Date 02/2006
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Good Sci-Fi novels/series

Is this off-topic enough :P

March 26, 2006 10:21:50 AM from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Since this is a Sci-Fi based game, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions regarding good Sci-Fi novels to read.

I've managed to get addicted to Peter F. Hamilton's "Night's Dawn" trilogy and the Commonwealth Saga. I keep trying to figure out how to make the various races in GalCiv2 but I haven't made it that far yet. Wormholes between worlds would be awesome though

Problem is, now that I've read all of his books and there's no more coming out until next year, I'm stuck for good Sci-Fi reading materials. Any ideas?
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Serendipitous Zhao
Serendipitous Zhao
Join Date 02/2006
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Reply #1 March 26, 2006 10:30:03 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
OK, I obviously can't use these forums . . . why won't this thread stay in the 'Off-Topic' section

EDIT: Booyah! Working now

EDIT: ..... or not
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Serendipitous Zhao
Stanley Tarrant
Join Date 03/2006
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Reply #2 March 26, 2006 10:50:57 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Read the DUNE prequals (sp?). That is if you enjoy reading about futuristic factions who hate each other and are constatnly scheming and warring against each other. The book "I Robot" is also good by Issiac Asmiov.
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Serendipitous Zhao
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Reply #3 March 26, 2006 11:05:04 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
The Asimov Robot books are awesome Never managed to find the last one in the series though . . .
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Serendipitous Zhao
Xenonix
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Reply #4 March 26, 2006 11:17:18 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
ok, here we go

hyperion, Dan Simmons
Otherworld, Tad williams
Ender's game, Orson scott card
Total recall, Philip K. Dick
null-A, Van voght
2001 space odyssey, Clarke
Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson
Wang, Pierre Bourdage
Tchan Kuo, ?
Planet of the apes, Pierre Boule
Stranger in a Strangeland, the moon is a harsh mistress, starship troopers, Heinlein.
Foundation, Isaac Asimov
Destination: Void, Frank Herbert

Yes, i read them all and much more. enjoy
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Serendipitous Zhao
Chris Williamson
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Reply #5 March 26, 2006 11:25:04 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I second the Red/Green/Blue Mars series of Kim Stanley Robinson, they're excellent.
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Serendipitous Zhao
Chris Williamson
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Reply #6 March 26, 2006 11:25:07 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I second the Red/Green/Blue Mars series of Kim Stanley Robinson, they're excellent.
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Serendipitous Zhao
Mark123jansen
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Reply #7 March 26, 2006 11:28:35 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Pandora's Star & Judas Unchained (commonwealth saga)
The reality dysfunction, The neutronium alchemist & The naked God (Nights dawn Saga)
by Peter F. Hamilton

I concur with the mars trilogy.

The legends of Dune are very good as well (Butlerian Jihad, Machine Crusade & Battle of Corrin)
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Serendipitous Zhao
OldDocc
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Reply #8 March 26, 2006 11:42:24 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
David Webber. Chris Bunch. John Ringo. Lois McMaster Bujold. These are some of my fav authors.

www.Baen.com has a free section where you can read entire books. Has about 150 titles you can read online or dl. What they do is give you the first book or two in the hopes you'll buy more of the series. Check em out.
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Serendipitous Zhao
Kai Allard
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Reply #9 March 26, 2006 11:53:11 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Ok, here you go

Asimovs Foundation Trilogy: Foundation, Foundation and Empire and Foundations Edge
If you like them, read also Predlude to Foundation and the Robot Novels: I, Robot, The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun and The Robots of Dawn.
If you´re more into wild space battles, I suggest David Weber´s Honor Harrington series (at least 10 books, probably more)
I also kind of liked the books set up in the Renegade Legion Univers "Renegades Honor" by William H. Keith Jr. and "Damned if we do..." and "Frost Death" by Peter Rice.
Dune by Frank Herber is a "must", IMO.
Oh, and "Cities in Flight" by James Blish

Ok, I stop now.
So many books, so little time to read
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Serendipitous Zhao
Adragal
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Reply #10 March 26, 2006 11:55:39 AM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I'd mention:

"A Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge and
"The Diamond Age" by Neal Stephenson as two books I read recently and are very good.
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Serendipitous Zhao
TrekE
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Reply #11 March 26, 2006 12:34:49 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Star Trek all the way! lol.
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Serendipitous Zhao
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Reply #12 March 26, 2006 12:48:37 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I also like the Night's Dawn trilogy a lot and I have been thinking of re-reading it. That is a solid endorsement for me.

Also great , the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. Especially if you like long, epic, Scifi in the Hamilton vein.

Anything by Verner Vinge or Asimov (no collaberations or ghost writes please). The Forever War books by Dan Haldeman. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson is worth reading.

Finally on a game forum haw can we omit Orson Scott Card's Ender series.

I read the Red, Green, Blue, Mars trilogy and enjoyed it but it was a bit dry for my taste. I like hard scifi but those books are granite. Same pretty much goes for Ben Bova's books.
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Serendipitous Zhao
Rebask
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Reply #13 March 26, 2006 1:00:52 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Anything by Robert Heinlein is awesome in my book Anything of his with Lazarus Long in it is usualy really good imo. Link for the win!
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Serendipitous Zhao
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Reply #14 March 26, 2006 1:15:45 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Some other good alternates, these are a bit more often the beaten path than some of the classics already listed, but excellent reads because of their originality.

Neal Asher -

Skinner (excellent, one of the better alien settings I have read), Gridlinked (this is the first of series), Cowl.These novels are excellent, good imaginitive backrounds, decent characters, and a good pace for action.

Eric S Nylund -

Signal to Noise, Signal Shattered. (a look at the problems of near-future humans contacting aliens advanced then were are.) very original storyline.

Simon R. Green-

The Deathstalker series. Very entertaining. Not as serious. Has a definite pulp-fiction / space opera feel to it. The first few in the series are good, though his writing gets a bit repetitive.

William Gibson -

Neuromancer - Excellent novel, one of the birthing places of cyberpunk novels.

John Stakley-

Armor - One my favorites. The pressures of an alien war, excellent action, good back story.
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Reply #15 March 26, 2006 1:27:44 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I would have to go with Neal Stephenson's 'Snowcrash' one of the best books, let alone sciffy books, I have ever read. It's not space sciffy, more like alternate universe America skiffy.

As for space opera's. I really like Stephen R. Donaldson's "The Gap Series" The first book, The Real Story, is really weak (you can skip it) but after that it picks up steam.

The Gap series would be fun to read tied in with GCII cause it deals with interstellar governments, pirates, traders and the like. The writing seemed better when I was 16 (i'm 29 now) but it still maintained my interest the 2nd time through. Poses interesting moral questions and is structurally related to Wagner's Opera, Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) in that each major character goes through a cycle of victim, hero and villain over the course of the 7 (6?) books.
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Reply #16 March 26, 2006 1:36:36 PM
from Stardock ForumsStardock Forums
I recently read Infinity Beach by Jack McDevitt, which I thought was just amazing. Read it if you like a good mystery.

And since we've mentioned Orson Scott Card, I have to recommend Lovelock, which he wrote with Kathryn H. Kidd. It's the first book in a trilogy, but the other two haven't been written yet. I'm desperately awaiting number 2.
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Serendipitous Zhao
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Reply #17 March 26, 2006 1:37:48 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
So many different books to read



Off to Borders for me then

Btw, John Birmingham has a series of Alternate History . . . don't know if it's really sci-fi but they travel back in time and mess with history. Of course, they only travel back from 2021 or so, and their tech's only a little ahead of what we've got now. "Weapons of Choice" and "Designated Targets" are the two books out now, and they're a lot of fun. Final book in the series is coming out this year
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Reply #18 March 26, 2006 1:41:22 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I myself like the Empire Trilogy and Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. I consider Asimov the J.R.R. Tolken of the Sci-Fi world... well, actually, I consider Tolken the Asimov of the Fantasy world. yeah, thats more realistic.
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Reply #19 March 26, 2006 1:42:03 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
I can't believe Olaf Stapleton hasn't been mentioned yet - either 'Starmaker' or 'Last and first men' are seriously mind-blowing reads. There are no 'characters' per se in his novels, just accounts of the birth and death of the entire universe and the history of cosmic intelligence. Epic.
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Reply #20 March 26, 2006 1:49:25 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Oh, i forgot to mention the books I was reading recently. Try the Uplift Saga by David Brin. Good book about Terrans being underdogs fighting to survive in a very political and militaristic Galactic Civilization.

Another good series is by Michael Gear. He rarely writes sci-fi, but the ones he has is pretty damn good. There's the Spider Trilogy and my all time favorite, the Conqueror series about a man who leads an army againts an entire civilization. (Kinda like Ghengis Khan againts the Chinese Empire). I'm not doing the book any justice, but just read it..
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Serendipitous Zhao
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Reply #21 March 26, 2006 1:52:36 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
For Sci-Fi that involves starship combat:

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman - excellent story and also technically interesting for how war and combat would work with starships, faster-than-light and Relativity. And Powered Armor

I strongly second the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons

Also, the Uplift Saga series by David Brin. Sundiver, Startide Rising, The Uplift War (Sundiver is kind of a prequel, the other two stand together well). This author writes good aliens

The Merchanter series of books by C. J. Cherryh (I have no idea how that is pronounced). She has written approximately a billion books, but the ones of the Merchanter series are my favorites for their depiction of an interstellar civilization. Sorry, I don't know the order, but I read them out of order and they stand alone pretty well.
Merchanter's Luck, Downbelow Station, Tripoint, Heavy Time (and sequel Hellburner), Finity's End, Rimrunners.
She won the Hugo for Cyteen, but that book is not my personal favorite of the series.
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Reply #22 March 26, 2006 1:55:55 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Larry Niven -- Ringworld, and the two sequels. Most of what Niven (and Niven/Pournelle) wrote is great, but Ringworld is the classic.

For a newer hard sci-fi author, check out Alastair Reynolds, starting with the Revelation Space series. Best sci-fi "space opera" I've read in a long, long time.
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Reply #23 March 26, 2006 2:21:56 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Alastair Reynolds "Revelation Space" books
especially Chasm City
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Reply #24 March 26, 2006 2:26:54 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
The Saga of the Seven Suns books by Kevin J. Anderson are fantastic! If you have a facination with gas planets like I do, you'll love these books. I still cringe at the thought of free falling to your death to the center of a gas giant(of course you'd die before you get there due to pressures and what not but you get the point).
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Reply #25 March 26, 2006 3:21:57 PM
from GalCiv II ForumsGalCiv II Forums
Star wars books theres like a thousand of em
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