Can anyone recommend me some science fiction please?

[sarahandFuck]

I'm in the mood for something sci-fi but not sure what, it's not always my thing.

But I'm reading Among Others by Jo Walton, which is set in Oswestry in 1979, and it's put me in the mood a bit. I haven't finished it yet but so far it's telling the story of Mori, who is at boarding school in England after running away from her mother in Wales. Her twin sister is dead, presumably killed in the same incident that left Mori injured and relying on a cane, we don't yet know what happened to them. But there is much reference to growing up in the Valleys, magic and fairies, as well as ruined industrial sites as playgrounds and odd relatives in big houses.

Mori is a sci-fi fan and keeps talking of books and authors she and her father share a liking of.

She's got me very keen to dig out all the old John Wyndham's and I've just bought a childhood favourite, Grinny, on kindle, which as come with a sequel I didn't know existed.

I've also wishlisted Triton, which I've never heard of but Mori seems very keen on.

Among Others has an old fashioned feel to it, as it's set in 1979, so before all the gadgets of now and obviously no futuristic who-ha, and the books Mori is talking about are obviously written before that date.

So I've been looking up some of her suggestions on Amazon but would like some recommendations if anyone has any to suggest

Have you read H G Wells? I'm not a big sci fi fan, but really liked The War of the Worlds.

Read John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids recently, and enjoyed that too. I like old stuff, not too complicated, so I can follow the story :)

Oswestry 1979???? Si Fi? Really....

I just finished Never Let Me Go which I had no idea is a So Fi book. It was utterly non put downable with the most disappointing ending IMO!

'Magic and fairies' is actually science fantasy, not fiction. I love both though, here are a few of my faves:

Fantasy:
Tad Williams
Robin Hobb
Neil Gaiman
Terry Brooks 'Shannara' books are fab
Terry Pratchet

Fiction:
David Brin writes good, if rather long, sci-fi
Iain Banks
Frank Herbert, although I consider him to be sci-fi and fantasy
Isaac Asimov

Good luck finding something

Duchess I love Day of the Triffids, it's one of my favourites, I do like the older stuff that's more straightforward too.

morchox and Today, I don't think that Among Others is claiming to be sci-fi, nor am I claiming it is. I'm not sure what it is, other than very good. I can't even decide what age group it's aimed at. It's about a sci-fi fan and she talks about the some of the sci-fi books and authors she likes in it. Sorry, I thought I had described it more clearly than I seem to have done, but the place and time it's set in mean the books she is talking about are older sci-fi now, that fit in with the style Duchess has posted about too and I like that type of older style.

It's her passion for the genre that has put me in the mood for reading some myself though as it's a big theme of the book, what she reads, what she thinks about it, who she shares it with.

I've read some Asimov, and some Piers Anthony come to think of it. I've read Never Let Me Go too and I remember feeling the same way about it. And read a good chunk of the Pratchett ones.

I will google the others, thank you. Plenty to go on here and I've just remembered I have a Gaiman unread somewhere in the book cupboard so I'll go dig it out.

I loved Among Others - Mori seems to have quite similar taste to me in her reading.
If you like Wyndham, try John Christopher. I adore them both, and Robert A. Heinlein is my God named a DC after him and have a tattoo but you need to pick and choose with his stuff, and read some of it in the right order.
They are all "of their time" so to speak not old fashioned exactly, but you need to bear in mind when they were written iyswim.
If you want a good old fashioned apocalypse try Alas Babylon, or Earth Abides - both written a while back but very enjoyable, and not as OTT out and out gory/violent/harsh as some of the more modern "End of the World" stuff.
Anne McCaffrey's "Pern" novels are great fantasy, but stop once you get to Dolphins of Pern, and never ever read anything with or by her son Todd, cos they spoil everything :(
I can talk about sci-fi and fantasy all day so if there's any specific "thingy" you want a recommendation for, just say so.You name it, and someone, at some point, has written a story on that premise
SF/Fantasy covers everything eventually

I love a good old fashioned apocalypse

I haven't heard of John Christopher so will be having a good look on Amazon as soon as DH bogs off to the football with DS.

I'm already prepared to resent Todd for ruining a set of good books I haven't even read yet

There was one book I started years ago, and I'm not sure if that was Piers Anthony or not, where a teenage girl protagonist with a habit of self harm ends up walking into a parallel world. I think it's one where dogs are in charge and a man is sort of shout-barking at her for walking in his territory. There's a short story where something similar happens but I think the novel is the first of a series. I never finished it, because it was a bit of a slow-starter and the library wanted it back, but I'd like to give it another go. I can remember a bit where she had a sort of face-off with a gang of boys and she offered a challenge of taking it in turns to cut themselves, so the last one standing was the winner. As she was already self-harming, she was able to win but I can't remember what it was she won or why they were doing it. Any ideas on that one?

asimov short stories
feesum enjinn by iain m banks and some of the other "culture" books are quite good to
hitch-hikers guide trilogy obviously!

books i read when i was younger and enjoyed but not sure whether they will have stood me being older = vurt by jeff noon and only forward by michael marshall smith

your OP made me think you'd be the kind of reader who would enjoy The Pendragon Protocol which is a book I've read recently and enjoyed. Kind of half way between fantasy and sci-fi it's set in modern times but with a lot of not-quite-magic mythical stuff about the history of england woven through the plot.

That does sound good Fish, thank you.

And Seven I will have a look at the books you suggested too, thank you.

Not a book but District 9 in on Ch4 in a bit which is a great film if you haven't seen it (depressing though).

The Girl with All the Gifts by M R Carey
www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/m-+r-+carey/the+girl+with+all+the+gifts/9221275/

I read this a few months ago, and although I'm not usually into Sci-Fi I loved this because it's got a great human story.

Anthony Horowitz did a series called Power of a Five - kids books, but I loved them.

Thanks to this thread I've finally been reminded of Piers Anthony! I've been trying to remember the author and the title of some books that I read when I was a teenager.
They meant so much to me when I was in that 'nobody understands me' phase.
Hooray! Can't wait to read his stuff again.

Callipygian I have recently read that one and loved it, glad to see someone else enjoyed it too.

I didn't see your post yesterday, Seven, so I must have missed the film by now. Is it the one where the aliens are in South Africa?

Hairy I will have a look at the Power of Five books on Amazon.

And yay! ReigningQueen, I hope you enjoy your rereads. I still have a book of his short stories, Anthonology, which I won't part with even though it's battered to bits now.

Don't resent Todd...I met him this weekend and he's really really lovely!!

Also try Enders game (or son Scott card) for good sci fi but don't watch the film!!!

Enders Game has a couple of good sequels too - Speaker for the Dead and Genocide iirc. Orson Scott Card's other books and short stories are good too

oops - not Geoncide, but "Xenocide"

The Wool trilogy?

Enders Game is great, the Ender's Shadow trilogy is a better sequel then Xenocide and Speaker for the Dead imo.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Manifold Trilogy by Stephen Baxter
Strange Bodies - Marcel Theroux
Eon by Greg Bear
The Uplift books by David Brin

I've just read The Gone Away World by Nick Harkanen...have been reading scify and fantasy for ever and this was something rather different and unexpected and utterly brilliant!!

I've found another book by him called Anglemaker which will be my next read, hopefully it'll be as good.

Otherwise, can't go wrong with Asimov & Frank Herbert IMO

Happy reading