Can anyone recommend any science fiction books?

[Yourinmyspot]

I don’t read a lot of science fiction generally but I enjoy John Wyndham and have recently read and enjoyed Artemis and The Martian by Andy Weir. What would your recommendations be?

Hail Mary by Andy Weir.

different style but Three body problem by Cixin Liu
(Netflix series recently)

Hi OP, I'm currently reading Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin which is considered to be quite a classic of the genre. I am very much not a Sci-Fi person but am enjoying it. Well-written, not too heavy (so far) and many parallels with Earthly society, for example in the depiction of quasi-capitalistic and communist societies, and the depiction of a planet inhabited entirely by androgynous or gender-fluid people.

What do you like to read outside of Sci-Fi - it might help narrow down what you could be interested in.

The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells. They're short, and so well written. Murderbot is one of my favourite characters.

If you're new to sci fi, maybe look at some Golden Age (ie old) but still brilliant and accessible stuff.
Iaaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Theodore Sturgeon, Robert Sheckley, Brian Aldiss, Fritz Leiber, etc.
Some of the anthologies of short stories from that period would also be a brilliant introduction.

Then some of my other favourites are Douglas Adams, Philip K Dick, Iain M Banks, Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, Kim Stanley Robinson…

There's a really good UK online mag called Interzone, with loads of paper back issues on eBay.

OP my OH bought a sci fi book from Amazon as he liked the cover art
then when he started reading he was totally hooked,
its a series and recommended reading in chronological order,
its called the Armarda Wars series by R Curtis Venture I think
he is American, anyway it is a worthy read apparently,
the first one is called Steal from the Devil.

Ursula Le Guin’s sci fi is excellent, even better than her fantasy novels - which are also excellent!

I’ve just re-read Earth Abides, by George R Stewart. I don’t generally like post-apocalyptic dystopia novels, but this one is very different. Gently optimistic, rather than the usual portrayal of descent into violence. Definitely recommended.

I'm currently making my way through everything by Adrian Tchaikovsky - he's prolific, but everything's very good. Maybe start with Bear Head

Iain M Banks (or Iain Banks - his non-SF stuff is also excellent)

Elizabeth Moon - Remnant Population is great (if you're looking for a main character who's a middle aged woman)

And Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (and the others in the series) I enjoyed.

Oh, and how could I have forgotten one of my favourite ever SF books - A Canticle for Leibowitz - post apocolyptic/rediscovering the old world sort of thing

Another "post apocolyptic" one, rather than Sci-Fi, is 'The Second Sleep' by Robert Harris.
I also enjoyed "Time to Burn" by Ellery Lloyd
www.amazon.co.uk/Time-Burn-Ellery-Lloyd/dp/1035020998

Body of Glass, by Marge Piercy. Female protagonists, and the main male character isn’t actually human.

Lois McMaster Bujold, the Vorkosigan series. Elizabeth Moon was already mentioned and has great female protagonists.

H G Wells

Some of early JG Ballard novels? He may be a bit out of fashion now. I like them though..

The Wind from Nowhere
The Drought
The Crystal World
The Unlimited Dream Company
Myths of the Near Future (short stories)

My DH likes "hard" sci fi - really likes books by Alistair Reynolds. Also Adrian Tchaicovsky, Cixin Liu (?) - wrote 3 body problem, and Iain M Banks.
Also andy weir, and der like Arthur c Clarke and Issac Asimov (?) - the ond that wrote Robot Dreams
Also Philip p dick.

This is next on my reading list, once I’ve finished another of M. John Harrison’s books:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/jun/09/the-end-of-everything-by-m-john-harrison-review-near-future-visions-from-an-sf-master

Was totally hooked by the first few pages.

Enders Game by Orson Scott Card

Primo Levi - The Sixth Day.

Earth Abides, George R. Stewart.

Thank you for all the recommendations I’m going to the library later so will take a list.

I really enjoy vintage sci fi and this book is one of my favourites in that genre:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_(novel)

I also think Ben Bova was very imaginative and I enjoyed his Mars trilogy and Jupiter.

Probably won’t find them in library,but Edmund Cooper wrote done decent sci if, John Christopher too, Poul Anderson, Heinlein, so many good authors

Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice series is excellent, I also love Iain M Banks and Ursula Le Guin

I’m not a sci-fi person at all but I really enjoyed Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang.

Childhood's End by A C. Clarke or anything by Isaac Asinmov

I really enjoyed the Rama series by Arthur C. Clarke. The first one, Rendezvous with Rama, is by Clarke alone and is quite classic sci-fi in its approach (but I was gripped by it!). Then the following ones have Gentry Lee as a co-author and start to get more into characterisation. Fascinating premise and really well done.