Ask HN: Science Fiction Starter List | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Science Fiction Starter List

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I've read Foundation, loved it, and want to buy my next 10 SciFi novels. One request, I don't want it to be set on Earth. What should I read next?

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I'd warn you to be aware that there is so much variety that one person's top 10 list will be another person's "don't ever waste your time" list. I would also warn you that many of the "great" works from the last century did not age well.

I'm not saying this to take away from those works, but to let you know that as you dig in, if you find a few that you really dislike... just put them aside and try another. You'll find the authors and styles you enjoy.

Ah, I suspect you refer to Henlein? His digressions into mid-century philosophy can become tedious.

On the other hand the Gateway series (Frederik Poul) is still one of my favorites. And Wasp by Eric Frank Russell is in my top 3.

* "Red Rising" by Pierce Brown

* "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons

* "Daros" by Dave Dobson

* "The Martian" by Andy Weir (technically includes Earth)

If you don't mind lighthearted fun:

* "Bobiverse" by Dennis E. Taylor (starts on Earth, goes beyond solar system)

* "Dim Stars: A Novel of Outer-Space Shenanigans" by Brian P. Rubin

Second the recommendation for the Bobiverse series; it's a fun series and I'm looking forward to the 5th book. Also Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary is an excellent read!

Bobiverse and Weirs books are great.

Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I don't want to spoil it, but it doesn't exactly take place on Earth.

Pretty safe to say that a book whose title references traveling around the galaxy doesn't spend much time on Earth.

A tiny random trilogy of books worth reading for various reasons:

Ursula K. Le Guin: The Left Hand of Darkness

Arthur C. Clarke: Rendezvous with Rama

Robert L. Forward: Dragon's Egg

There's quite a breadth and depth to the genre, I'd suggest not spoiling things by reading book reviews, but you might enjoy reading about the three authors above.

and then there's Philip K. Dick (and many many others).

* Alastair Reynolds - Revelation Space Series

* Dan Simmons - Hyperion Cantos Series

* Martha Wells - The Murderbot Diaries

* Peter F. Hamilton - Void Trilogy

* Liu Cixin - The Three Body Problem (Starts on Earth but goes Interstellar)

* Frank Herbert - Dune

* Joe Haldeman - The Forever War (Earth-based dystopia)

Alastair Reynolds - Galactic North is a fantastic collection of short stories, and his House of Suns is an excellent shorter novel.

He is an astrophysicist, turned, science-fiction writer, and his world building is incredible.

Note for OP: While a big theme in the book is how Earth evolves between war deployments, much of the Forever War takes places elsewhere in the universe

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Adrian Tchaikovsky yet. I rather enjoyed the Children of Time and The Final Architecture series. They both technically contain bits of Earth but should still fit into the conditions you're after.

This is my vote! Well, Children of Time trilogy, but I couldn't get into Final Architecture, after reading the first.

I'm curious what it was about Final Architecture that made you not continue. As I found myself hooked. Just looking to hear an alternate perspective is all.

I have a hard time getting into non-hard-scifi / space-operas. It felt like the rules were loose. Good read, but didn't move me the way Children of Time and sequels did. Ie, Children of Time felt like something Stephenson or Andy Weir would write; Shards of Earth felt more... I don't know. Almost satire?

That's fair. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Award_for_Best_Novel#Winn...

Ringworld by Larry Niven. Technically you should start with Neutron Star by the same author, but if you're not familiar with the Known Space universe, I don't think it's a big deal to start with Ringworld.

One of the few Sci Fi novels to win both the Hugo and Nebula awards in the same year!

https://news.larryniven.net/concordance/content.asp?page=Rea...

Is it cheating to recommend Anathem, regarding not set on earth? It's an outstanding novel, set on an earth-like world.

If you want something more out-there, Verner Vinge's A fire upon the deep and its sequel are great. Or, as recommended by another poster, The Children of Time trilogy.

Dune. Even if you've seen the movies, the books are incredible.

Although Earth is part of the story, it isn't at all the focus and there are other settings, and it is 100% absolutely worth a read: The Expanse series. 10 books. Brilliant prose, brilliant sci-fi. Incredible audiobook narration if that's your thing.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons The forever war by Joe Haldeman ( some of it is on earth but it’s mostly off world) Solaris By Stanislaw lem It’s been a while since I’ve read The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, but I think it’s off world too.

Foundation series is my favorite. Read the Robot and then the Empire series by Asimov which are all set in the same universe as Foundation. Not as good, but there will be some pleasant surprises.

Dune and sequels by Frank Herbert are the next logical option, with similarly large scope.

The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey is great, set in the solar system in the near future.

Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary and The Martian are super fun reads, technically fulfilling the "not on Earth" requirement. Both are about one person's overcoming great odds, so a very different brand of sci-fi.

> Dune and sequels by Frank Herbert are the next logical option, with similarly large scope.

Not worth reading past God Emperor of Dune, the best book in the series.

To the given lists I'd append Ted Chiang and Peter Watts.

Cixin Liu's work is also really good, but mostly takes place on Earth.

Culture series by Iain M. Banks. There are 10 books. It's about a utopian galactic civilization governed by super AIs. Most of the super AIs are giant spaceships that transport people. Most people live for 500+ years, and a lot of them switch sexes. People also have drug glands which allow them to instantly administer 200 different drugs via mental trigger.

happy this was near the top

start with "player of games"

Marrow - A group of people find a Jupiter sized ship of unknown origin and start a galactic cruise with many different species in the far high tech future.

The Stars My Destination

Starship Troopers - very different from the movie, sci-fi classic. Even on the Marines reading list.

Forever War - partially on Earth most in far flung space battles.

The Martian - solid Jew hard sci-fi again very different from the movie

Plenty more but, sadly sci-fi falls under Sturgeon's law.

Meant to say The Martian - Solid new hard sci-fi, very different from the movie.

The lesser known but inspiration for some well known authors [1]: [Jack Vance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Vance). I can highly recommend "The Demon Princes", "The Cadwal Chronicles" and "Tschai".

[1] Dan Simmons, George R. R. Martin

Of course Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and Larry Niven are legends.

There is a new generation worth reading.

We are legion (we are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor is the first book in his Bobiverse series.

Gust Front by John Ringo is the first book in his Legacy of Aldenata / Posleen series.

Live free or dies by John Ringo is the first book in his Troy Rising series.

1632 by Eric Flint is the first book in his Ring of Fire series.

Under a graveyard sky by John Ringo is the first book in his zombie apocalypse series.

I recommend diving into "The Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K. Le Guin, "Dune" by Frank Herbert, and "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons. These novels offer richly imagined worlds beyond Earth, exploring captivating science fiction landscapes and narratives.

- Most works by Heinlein esp. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Tunnel In The Sky, Time Enough For Love

- Many other works by Asimov

- The Rama series by A.C. Clarke

- Gateway and other novels in the same universe, by Fred Pohl

- The earlier novels of James P. Hogan esp. The Two Faces Of Tomorrow and The Genesis Machine

- The Complete Venus Equilateral, by George O. Smith

Much more, of course, but a good start.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is a solid one. Heinlein is a classic.

Citizen of the Galaxy - despite being one of Heinlein’s “juveniles” is an interesting and entertaining exploration of the balance between freedom and duty.

It’s mostly not earth based.

I’m a big fan of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan series. It’s not hard sci-fi. Earth is in the stories, but not the central location for hardly any of them. I recommend reading them in chronological order, rather than published order.

Vernor Vinge - A fire upon the Deep, first in the Zones of

Thought Series.

Sarah Zettel - Fool's War

David Brin's Uplift saga

H Beam Piper's Fuzzy series

- This is how you lose the time war - El-Mohtar, Amal - Lord of light - Zelazny, Roger - The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin

Dune - Frank Herbert

* Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

* The Color of Distance by Amy Thomson

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury.

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