Sci fi/dystopian fiction recommendations

[Heavenscent86]

So as the title says can anyone recommend me some really good Sci fi or dystopian books to read?

I enjoyed The Martian too NancyDroop and agree much better than the film.

CosmicOwl her next book Touch is even better

Dystopias

The Postman - David Brin is good
Ashfall - Mike Mullin - Yellowstone blows its top
Supervolcano series - Harry Turtledove - Yellowstone blowing up and the aftermath
Footfall and Lucifers Hammer - Larry Niven

YA but still great: only ever yours by Louise o Neill and the Unwind series by Neal Shusterman.

The Road is bloody terrifying.

I'm currently halfway through the oryx and crake trilogy by Margaret Atwood, it's very good.

I'm just reading the Martian. I've nearly finished it and really enjoying it so far so I hope the ending doesn't let it down.

Memoirs of a survivor Doris Lessing-old but good 😉

Hello ShootTheMoon! Now there's a rare thesis I'd actually enjoy reading... . I don't know if you've ever read Feersum Endjinn by Iain M Banks but I always bracket that and Riddley Walker in my head because of the post-apocalyptic vibe and speech. Riddley Walker wins hands down for sheer poetry and rhythm. But then I guess that's not what Banks was aiming at.

I loved Cloud Atlas too, but then I do like Marmite. The structure is uber-contrived but somehow works really well to heighten the reader's involvement. I loved the (flawed but epic) film too.

Can't believe I spelt Russell wrong.

I like Iain M Banks - haven't read it but will take a look, thank you .

I'm surprised to see no mention of Neal Stephenson on this thread.

OP - You really must read:

Snow Crash - A modern SF classic, a frequently referenced book published in 1992 that weaves together a near future world where virtual reality is commonplace with Sumerian legends that were apparently true. An incredible tale, where the word 'avatar' can first be seen in literature as well as Google Earth (called, simply, "Earth"). Did I say it was published in 1992?

The Diamond Age - Another modern SF masterpiece, perhaps a bit less well-known than Snow Crash, that talks about the near future (shortly after that of Snow Crash) where nanotechnology is everywhere and the world is divided not according to physical borders but according to tribes. The story follows three young girls who grow up with an interactive 'book' that teaches them what they want to or need to know at each stage of their lives. It is a fascinating book that deals with education, social class, societal organisation and morals as well as the next big technological shift. It is also quite calculation-heavy, sort of like The Martian.

Anathem - Great book with great world-building. It's far more brainhurty than the other two but incredibly rewarding, too, so up to you if you want to take it on.

Otherwise, classics I would definitely recommend:

1984 - It has stood the test of time much better than Brave New World in terms of writing style, themes, and brilliant execution imho.

Dune - Consistently rated #1 SF book of all time. Must-read.

Hyperion - It's a story about six pilgrims travelling together to the Time Tombs, 'ancient' artefacts moving backwards in time. You learn what is going on by piecing together the stories of the pilgrims. The title comes from a poem by John Keats, who features heavily in the book and its sequel.

... and now for some recent SF on the lighter side:

Brilliance - About people with extraordinary gifts being born since 1980s and how the world changes in response.

Red Rising - This is a fantastic cross between Brave New World and a non-YA Hunger Games, about a future where a strict caste system rules humanity and one of the lowest group (Reds) discovers that they are being lied to and strives to beat the ruling Golds in their own (very bloody) game. Great page-turner.

Lexicon - What if all those FB questionnaires about your favourite color etc were to know you enough to control you? This is a brilliant story about a street hustler recruited into an esoteric school to learn the secrets of mind control through the use of specific words. Great story that is very well executed, too.

Ready Player One - The wealthiest man in the world dies and leaves the 'key' to his online kingdom and wealth to be discovered in the multi-player online game he has created. In order to win the game, you must be intimately familiar with every aspect of 1980s - music, games, artists, etc. This is a wonderful geek-fest and I haven't come across anyone who hasn't liked it. It is one of the very few fiction books ever that Remus and I both enjoyed, so a singular book indeed

Yes to Red Rising and Ready Player One. If they can unite Cote and I, then they must be doing something right (or wrong, but in a good way!).

No, no, no, no to Dune. My gosh, how I hated that book.

The Chrysallids by John Wyndham - a post holocaust dystopia, I read this as a young teen and then re read it recently, realised a lot of it had gone over my head (probably just as well)- but it's a good read
Woman on the Edge of Time
The Handmaid's Tale- I know lots of people have mentioned it, but I wanted to add that apparently Margaret Atwood said everything in it had happened in real life at some time or place, and read in that light it becomes even more horrific

I can really recommend Wool by Hugh Howey

The Passage trilogy

Although they are aimed at teens I enjoyed Ready Player One and the chaos walking series

How dare you, Lurked Ready Player One is not for teens. It's for those of us who were teens in the 1980s and so recognise every single reference in that book.

Agree that 'Ready Player One' isn't teen. Still stand by my previous assertion that 'The Martian' is though (puts on full body armour to protect self from screams of rage from Cote et al).

Chaos Walking one and two v good, but I thought the third was a huge disappointment.

I read a lot of SciFi because I like escaping from reality! One of my favourite books is "Songs of Distant Earth" by Arthur C Clarke, I would highly recommend it. Arthur C Clarke also wrote a book together with Michael P. Kube-McDowell called "the Trigger", which I found really interesting.

Have you read anything by Alastair Reynolds? I'd start with the Revelation Space trilogy ("Revelation Space", "Redemption Ark" and "Absolution Gap"). In the same universe you've also got "Chasm City" which is really good. Another one of his best ones is "Century Rain", which isn't set in the Revelation Space universe.

Also, I like a lot of Ken McLeod's books. "The Night Sessions" is probably my favourite. I also liked "Newton's Wake" and "Learning the World". "Intrusion" is also quite interesting.

I also have a soft spot for Peter F Hamilton, although his books are massively long. I particularly like the books set in the Commonwealth universe, e.g. "Pandoras Star" & "Judas Unchained" and the Void Trilogy.

You're demonstrably wrong on that Remus Most teens (under 17) will not yet have studied physics and chemistry at that level, and so can't hope to understand most of The Martian.

My favourite dystopian novel is The Death of Grass by John Christopher, I could not put it down. All of his dystopian books are pretty good (apart from the awful racist one).

Z for Zachariah is fab too (there's a great BBC version floating around the interwebs).

I second or third Station Eleven too.

On the Beach is great. Very melancholy but the clue is in the word dystopian I suppose.

And I adored the Chaos Walking trilogy - all of them.

Iain M Banks is great. Highly recommend Consider Phlebus and The Use of Weapons.

I'll give Touch a try cdtaylornats. I haven't read Chrysalids since I was a teen either Shallishanti but remember really enjoying it, just found it on my book shelves so might give it another go.

Gateway by Frederik Pohl is worth a read too.

Can't agree, Cote. I didn't need to understand Science to know I didn't care a fig about how many potatoes he might manage to grow, whilst spouting teen-speak.

I'm very fond of "Earth Abides" by George R Stewart - can get it in the sci fi masterworks series I think.

So you say you didn't get it?