Sci-fi recommendations (kindle)

[missymarmite]

I have been searching for a really good quality science fiction read, but not too expensive. The choice is overwhelming on the kindle store, and I'm a bit wary of the kindle recommendations as some of the books I've read have been a real disappointment (bad writing styles in the main; lots of immature, mundane and repetitive stuff) while others have been good.

I don't like outright horror (though a bit of violence is exciting) and I do like some kind of happy ending. Life is tragic enough for me thank you very much!

I also like some fantasy genre too.
Thanks xx

[PsychicPaper]

i like unwind by neal shusterman, I havent finished it yet though, so not sure of the ending.

[CoteDAzur]

Among the classics:

• Dune is £2.50 on the Kindle at the moment. It is consistently voted "The best sci-fi book ever published".
  
• George Orwell's 1984 and Arthur C Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey are £3.95 each.
  

Among modern sci-fi:

• Ready Player One is my best recent find. It's £3.99 at the moment.
  
• Neal Stephenson is probably the best sci-fi author out there at the moment. I'd recommend his Snow Crash and Diamond Age as your entry point into his universe. £4.31 each.
  
• Hyperion is very good. It's £3.99 now.
  

A bit more gritty, noir and gory but very good is Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs books, starting with Altered Carbon, also £3.99.

[missymarmite]

Thanks cotedazur! I'll look some of those up x

[missymarmite]

And psychicpaper!

[Meerka]

Not sure how expensive they are on Kindle, but Ian M Banks is stunningly good at his best. Most of the culture books are well worth looking at.

[ThoughtFox]

CoteDAzur - I'm really pretty unimpressed by Hyperion so far (reading it at the moment, but it's slipped down to the bottom of the sofa pile...). Yes, the writing is taut, but I'm much less convinced by the form, the plot and the characterisation. And I got so pissed off by the lack of women that I wrote a blog post on it after chapter 3 or so - called where are all the women?

It was recommended to me, and I see it's won a couple of major awards, so I was quite disappointed.What was it that you liked about it?

Missymarmite - I recommend Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series (sci-fi), and her Chalion-Ibra series (fantasy)

[coffeespoons]

Feed by Mira Grant - a political thriller set in a post-apocalypse world beset by zombies. This is a three part series with additional novellas and had me completely gripped.

Farthing by Jo Walton - genre defying, it's an alternate history set in an England where they made peace with the Nazis and ended the war. It's also a detective fiction novel. Brilliant characters and makes you think:www.amazon.co.uk/Farthing-Small-Change-Trilogy-1-ebook/dp/B00GHK71NG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391502212&sr=8-1&keywords=jo%20walton&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 She's got quite a few other good books on Kindle too.

I really enjoyed The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord ( www.amazon.co.uk/Best-All-Possible-Worlds-ebook/dp/B00ANJW37G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391502261&sr=8-1&keywords=karen%20lord%29&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21 but it's not got as much depth as Octavia Butler, who was an absolute genius. Her stuff seems to come and go on Kindle - start with Kindred or Bloodchild and be warned she explores upsetting themes.

Connie Willis - start with The Doomsday Book. Made me cry.

You could try Sheri Tepper - I find her a bit hit and miss though.

[ThoughtFox]

CoffeeSpoons - YES, I was going to recommend Connie Willis as well. Except that the one that made me cry was Lincoln's Dreams. (I just put a review of Bellwether on my blog as well.)

Thanks very much for your recs - I'll look forward to reading them all. If you've not read McMaster Bujold, I really recommend her.

Is there a particular novel by Sheri Tepper you'd recommend?

[MonstersBalls]

Another vote for Ready Player One - I've just finished it and really enjoyed it.

Check out the Hugo and Nebula award winners, that's what I do when I'm stuck for ideas. winners since 1965

[CoteDAzur]

Thought - Why would you write a review of a book you haven't even read a half of?

There are quite a few female characters in Hyperion. One is a revolutionary leader, another is a private detective who is quite skilled in martial arts, and yet another who leads battles iirc.

You have to read a book to have an opinion on it imho.

[coffeespoons]

ThoughtFox, my fav is The Gate To Women's Country, though it is a bit second wave feminism for me. Best read alongside Ursula Le Guin's short story The Matter of Seggri, which is in the collection The Birthday of the World And other Stories which has many other great stories in it.