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Original poster

Book recommendations for DH (sci-fi/fantasy)

31 replies

LittenKitten · 09/02/2020 20:04

Hello, can anyone help with book recommendations for DH? It's his birthday soon so after some ideas, particularly sci-fi and fantasy. He likes a good dystopian novel.

He's really enjoyed:

Classics like War of the Worlds, LOTR, 1984
Iain Banks
The Mortal Engine series
Books by Margaret Atwood (Oryx & Crake etc)
Children of Time and others by Adrian Tchaikovsky
A couple by Matt Haig (Humans, How to Stop Time)
The Martian, Artemis

Any suggestions welcome!

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Original poster
LittenKitten · 18/02/2020 19:10

Wow thanks for the continued ideas everyone, I’ll be sorted for Christmas and next birthday too GrinFlowers

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DisgraceToTheYChromosome · 17/02/2020 19:34

Charles Stross has also written Saturn's Children and Neptune's Brood, set after humanity's extinction. Very good hard science/nanotech, with a side order of interstellar banking.
James S.A. Corey's The Expanse is good old fashioned space opera, now up to 8 books. Like the best Heinlein, without all the creepy shit he got into after Stranger in a Strange Land.

KatsutheClockworkOctopus · 12/02/2020 18:22

I'm reading Second Sleep by Robert Harris. Enjoying it so far.

BigFatLiar · 11/02/2020 18:52

I'd second Dune but beware of some of the follow ons - a few ok but many are dire.

BigFatLiar · 11/02/2020 18:50

If he like the war of the worlds, try The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, Island of Dr Moreau (all by Wells). Or The Lost World (Conan Doyle). Lots of older books even as far back as Frankenstein. Jules Verne even.

2001 A Space Odessey (Arthur C Clarke in general)
Heinlein (Unpleasant profession of Johnathan Hoag is a fav - or All you zombies)
Blish ( Cities in Flight)
Larry Niven
Lots to choose
You may find some of the older stories free for Kindle.
You could try some of the old anthologies of short stories (some are good lots aren't)

BigFatLiar · 11/02/2020 18:11

The Foundation series (Foundation, Foundation & Empire, Second Foundation etc)

Pashazade · 11/02/2020 18:08

The Laundry Files, roughly a 10 book series by Charles Stross, funny and dark. First one is The Atrocity Archives

PhilODox · 11/02/2020 18:04

Wrong thread, perhaps? Grin

SleepingStandingUp · 11/02/2020 17:25

Reckon it's some hot foreign boyfriend scamming her

SeaToSki · 11/02/2020 01:36

Dune

PhilODox · 11/02/2020 01:30

I too like Tim Powers but On Stranger Tides for me! Not v sci-fi I fear.

pointythings · 10/02/2020 22:02

I'd recommend Tim Powers' Dinner at Deviant's Palace for dystopian fiction - it may be out of print though, so you'd have to look at sourcing via AbeBooks or similar.

In general I'm a big Tim Powers fan - a lot of his stuff has historical overtones, but also fantasy elements. The Anubis Gates is another particularly good one.

Lastly I'd recommend C.S Friedman's Coldfire trilogy and K.J Parker's Fencer trilogy - both fantasy, very dark in places with interesting world building.

BuckingFrolics · 10/02/2020 11:21

Dust trilogy

Original poster
LittenKitten · 10/02/2020 11:06

@mumwon those films sound interesting, will suggest them to him!

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Original poster
LittenKitten · 10/02/2020 11:06

Lots of ideas, thank you! I’ll save some of these for Christmas too 😄

@Doje he does like Iain Banks but I don’t recognise the ones you mentioned so I’ll check those.

@Sadik that’s his current read, he’s enjoying it!

Thanks all!!

OP posts:
Standrewsschool · 10/02/2020 01:53

Forgot to say, The Wall has been likened to 1984, and was nominated for The Booker prize.

Animal Farm - George Orwell

Hitchikers guide to galaxy

Standrewsschool · 10/02/2020 01:51

The Wall - John Lanchester

Just started reading this and really enjoying it.

fruitpastille · 10/02/2020 00:19

John Wyndham - Day of the triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos in particular.

SleepingStandingUp · 10/02/2020 00:08

Not dystopian but fantasy, my favourite author is Ian Irvine, his Three Worlds series is fairly epic

A classic is he's not read it already - Brave New World?

DeRigueurMortis · 10/02/2020 00:02

The Red Rising books by Pierce Brown are excellent.

In short humans have colonised the solar system. Society now functions on a caste basis with "reds" at the bottom (confined to mining fuel on Mars in the belief they are making the plant habitable) and "golds" at the top. The title is a clue to the premise of the series :-)

I'd also recommend The Painted Man (also known as the Demon Cycle) series by Peter V Brett.

In summary the world has been turned back to a quasi medieval era following the (previously thought mythical) reemergence of demons (or corelings) that appear from the earths core each sundown. The only tool humanity possesses against them is warding, but wards are fragile and only defensive as the attacking wards have been lost. The books follow 4 main POV characters from children to adulthood and how they used their skills/talents to enable themselves and ultimately humanity survive:

cdtaylornats · 09/02/2020 23:56

The Ring of Fire series by Eric Flint
the first in the series is 1632, the American town of Grantville, West Virginia is transported to Germany in 1632.

The Emberverse series by S.M. Stirling
first in the series is Dies the Fire - all electronic devices and fossil fuels stop working.

Supervolcano series by Harry Turtledove
first in series is Eruption. Yellowstone park explodes.

Sadik · 09/02/2020 22:27

If he liked Children of Time then I'd really recommend Adrian Tchaikovsky's recent book Cage of Souls (unless he's read it of course!). DD gave it me for Christmas, and it's fabulous.

randomsabreuse · 09/02/2020 22:25

Peter F Hamilton. Probably start with Pandora's Star.

PermanentTemporary · 09/02/2020 22:20

On the Beach by Nevile Shute

mumwon · 09/02/2020 20:48

does your husband use you tube - tell him to look up scifi movies by DUST they are usually short films (about half an hour) but some are briliant

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