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This is a continuation of the questioning from the Military Ranks thread in that I'm doing research for my novel.

So this threads question is: List science fiction authors and/or novels (series of novels would be most useful) that you would recommend as a good read. No Star Wars novels please, I know enough about the Star Wars universe to not have to do research on that!

I have already read Asimov's Robot series and Foundation series and Arthur C. Clakes Space Odessy series.

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Orson Scott Card
Enders Game series

He has a couple other sci fi series that I can't come up with the name of that are good also

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I have two book cases full of my books, but Star Wars is the only Space Military type collection I own. The rest is Clancy, Grisham, Salvatore, Rice, Stephenson, and others. Sorry, I cant be of much help.

L. Ron Hubbard

Battlefield Earth, and the 10 volume Mission Earth Series

Piers Anthony

Bio of a Space Tyrant (5 book series)

Simon R. Green

Deathstalker series

David Fentuch

Hope series

Battlefield earth is...er...bad. Badly written, etc. Not worth it imho.

Now, asking me non starwars Sci-fi...er...wait...no idea. Apart from Starwars I'm much more into fantasy.
Other than thaty, the hitch-hiker's guide to the galaxy, of course.

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Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos (series of four books), anything from Iain M Banks and William Gibson.
I also liked James Blish's "Cities in Flight".

Oh, and of course "Dune".

Ok, I forgot about Dune, too.

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This doesn't have to be limited by military. It's more to research general Sci-Fi culture and society.

I have read the Hitch Hikers series. It's very good but too comical for what I'm looking for.

Dune I'll have to read, and I've been tentively looking at a few books by Iain M. Banks. Where do you suggest I start with Banks, Obo?


This is a good list so far folks, keep them coming.

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Just went browsing in my library and found that one you ight like: "The forever war" from Joe Haldeman. It received both the Hugo and the Nebula in 1976. It's about a war with aliens where the main thing is the time differential due to FTL travels.
The heroes are military, and I think there are even battle orders laid out someplace in the book.

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You guys have listed some of the best. Here's my top 10 series list.

0. First, I love the ten Amber Chronicles -- awesome, but technically they are Fantasy, so we'll ignore them here. Anything by Zelazny was gold. My favorite quote: “He made Science magical, and Magic seem like a science”

1. The Dune books are a must read. They get better and better. Some didn't like the sixth, but I loved it for how it wove all 6 into one golden thread. Many call it the "Lord of the Rings" for SciFi. Don't read any of the prequels... to quote Penny Arcade's succinct review: "They are raping his dead corpse"

2. Ender's Game is also a must read. My Colonel in the Air Force made it mandatory reading for all new officers. Speaker for the Dead is also excellent, though the others in the series are only good to great... though not as powerful as the first.

3. The Larry Niven "Known Space" books... though there are about 30, the Ringworld series and the Integral Trees/Smoke Ring books are my favorite. Good if you like the "Hard Science" fiction with great stories and amazingly concise thinking. Many also really love his "The Mote in God's Eye" novel he did with Jerry Pournelle... it makes me think of the David Gerrold "The Trouble with Tribbles" Star Trek episode.

4. Neil Stephenson's Snow Crash and Diamond Age are Outstanding. I love nanotech, so Diamond Age is particularly special to me.

5. David Gerrold's War against the Chtorr books are deep, dark, and full of amazingly new ways of thinking and exploring the dark areas of the human Psyche. Skip these unless you’re comfortable with your own sexuality/mental health.

6. The Starship Troopers book (not the movie) was Awesome. Very gritty stuff, reminded me a ton of officer training school. I think this is one that will help your military space writing, and is also a quick read.

7. The first few Hyperion books were very good -- very "Canterbury Tales"ish in space with omnipotent aliens, AI, time travel, great sci fi and ginormous battles. I love the depth of these.

8. Stephen King's Dark Tower books were definately his Magnum Opus. (Opera? I never was good at Plurals)

9. A six-way tie between Neuromancer (William Gibson), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (Phillip K. Dick), The Hitchhiker’s Guide chronicles (You should know this one), Rendezvous with Rama (Arthur C. Clarke), Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury?), 1984 (George Orwell).

10. I loved the Battlefield Earth story. If you're going story, that's a great one (the writing could have been cut down by about 200 pages without losing much impact). Again, don’t watch the movie. The mission Earth ones were great, though I haven’t read them in 15 years or so.

I never got into the Foundation books as much as others did. I'm sure that's due to something lacking in my cultural sense, though, as so many respectable nerds love it. I preferred his Robot books.

Obo, I never read James Blish's "Cities in Flight" – I’ll get that one. Your recommendation of Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero with a Thousand Faces” was excellent. I’d also recommend “Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid”… though it took me a year to read it, 3 or 5 pages every day… but it’s probably had more impact on the way I think than any other book.

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--The Hermit

/print

But that's eleven!

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Liro
"The english language is not a wedding gown, it doesn't get better the more lace you add. It is instead a thong. Less is more." From /.
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Been mentioned before but I'll put in my 2 cents about Dune. I actually did a Sociology paper about the social and economic systems of the Dune world way back in college. Fascianating series.

I also have a love for the Warhammer 40k world. There are many novels from a variety of authors, but I'd recommend the Eisenhorn series by Dan Abnett. Check out the http://www.blacklibrary.com. The universe they have developed is as deep as anything out there. Highly recommended.

Dan Simmons and his novels are outstanding. Hyperion series is a legend and I'm just starting Ilium.

And any fan of science fiction who hasn't read at least Ender's Game from Orson Scott Card should be flogged publicly.

Also wanted to add some "classic" sci-fi like Brave New World by Huxley, 1984 by Orwell, and novels by HG Wells and Ray Bradbury.

Thanks, I'll make sure you get the best seats!

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Antare Karmola - Jedi Guardian (32)
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If you want some sci-fi military David Drake has his Hammer's Slammers series. Nothing in depth there to make you think, just action that moves along.

On a side note: Has anyone read Robert E. Howard (Original short stories for Conan)? He seems to pack detail and action into a very finite space. Granted the endings come quickly and some of the battle scene's aren't as detailed, but the man had an amazing way of using words.

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No one has mentioned David Brin yet.

Especially his Uplift cycle has some (make that "a lot of") interesting ideas in them and a touch of Military SF in Startide Rising (which features an Earthclan Starship crewed by intelligent dolphins). Highly recommended.

His other stuff is brilliant too, I love Earth, Heart of the Comet and Kiln People.

Larry Niven and Neal Stephenson have already been mentioned, so I'll just add a bit of support. Go read these!

Edward

OK. Not publicly.

Don't forget the classics, like 1984 and Brave New World.

Oh yeah, David Brin!

My favorite is his "Otherness" collection of short stories. Great stuff! I love those much better than his novels and novelletes, though these are extremely thought-provoking as well.

I also liked the new Sci Fi that has come out from Tony Daniels. His "Metaplanetary" book was chock-full of new SciFi ideas that I never saw anywhere else. Amazing stuff.

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--The Hermit

Lots of good recommendations here,
Larry Niven, Neal Stephenson, Orson Scott Card, Asimov, and of course Herbert's Dune (the prequel really did suck, stay away from that)

My additions to the list:
- Peter Hamilton "Pandoras Star"
- Kim Stanley Robinsons Mars trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars, this is the blueprint on how to colonize the red planet. The guy spent 17 years just researching and preparing to write the books)
- Alistair Reynolds "Charsm City", "Revelation Space", "Redemption Ark", "Absolution Gap" (very good setting, with no FTL, but very advanced nano tech)

From Iain Bank I would recommend his "Culture" series. They all share the same settings but can be read in any order. "Consider Phlebas" "The Player of Games" "Look to windwards" and very definately "Use of Weapons" ("Feersum Enjin" was not so good)

Slightly off topic but Bruce Sterling & William Gibsons "The Difference Engine" ( a what if.. setting with the computer age arriving 100 years earlier based on Babbages Difference engine )

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Not really about military ranks or anything like it, but I must interject and agree with the previous statements about Stephen Kings Dark Tower series.

Simply a "MUST READ" for any literary fan of any genre.

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Robert A. Heinlein has some pretty good stuff. "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" and "Stranger in a Strange Land" are classics. He also wrote "Starship Troopers", which has already been mentioned and is a much better book than the movie.

I like Asimov very much. He did write other stuff besides the Robots series. I really enjoyed his novel "Nemesis".

I also enjoy Robert Silverberg, but his novels rarely deal much with the military. http://www.majipoor.com/novels/

Ender's Game is great, but every new novel in that series is worst, IMHO...

Dune has already been mentioned... I'd say the series suffers from the same disease as the Ender's Games series...

Stay away from "Robotech", I once bought a paperback and sifted through some of the worst dreck I have ever read.

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1984

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