For me in SciFi I’ve been trying to hit some classics so I’ve read ‘The Iron Dream’ by Norman Spinrad, ‘A Time of Changes’ by Robert Silverberg and also the (recent release) ‘Out of the Ruins’ anthology.

Of those three I enjoyed ‘The Iron Dream’ the most since I didn’t enjoy Silverberg’s potraryal of women (and it doesn’t seem to have literary intent like in ‘The Iron Dream’.) 'Out of the Ruins had some bangers but it was a fairly inconsistent collection for me that mostly hasn’t been memorable.

So, what are you currently reading or have recently read?

  • WuxinGoat@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I recently finally got around to reading Anathem and was blown away, so much detail, so much going on. And from someone who reads alot of philosophy, that aspect felt like it was handled naturally in the book and not infodumped.

    • radarsat1@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      It’s a really special book. I’m not sure I buy into the many worlds interpretation but I loved how the book delved into it in a very original eay and avoided common tropes.

  • Troy@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    I just started book 9 of Malazan – so have been taking a detour from proper sci fi for a while. Epic series.

    I started reading Children of Time out loud to my GF. Because she hates spiders, and I told her she’d love Portia :)

    • modulus@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Funny coincidence, I started reading this because someone told me there’s one about octopodes later.

  • TeaHands@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Recently finished Children of Memory by Adrian Tchaikovsky, which is the third in his series that started with Children of Time.

    Children of Time immediately became my second favourite scifi book of all time, and possibly my favourite ever book ending, but I didn’t find the second installment really held up that well. Happy to report that Children of Memory, while not quite hitting those heady heights, was pretty good! A little repetitive in parts, but some very cool concepts.

    • Seddera@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Children of Memory has started a never-ending debate between me and a coworker about weather we’re sentient, or just really good at repeating noticed patters. Very interesting thing to think about

    • Knoll0114@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      I did start Children of Time but for some reason didn’t go past the first couple of chapters. Will have to give it another shot sometime.

  • probodyne@feddit.uk
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    1 year ago

    I’ve been reading The Expanse series. I was meaning to get too it for a while but stumbled across the first book in a bookshop, so I grabbed it. Yeah, really good had to read the entire series so I’m making my way through it. I’m currently on book 4, so I haven’t quite overtaken where I left the Amazon series.

    • Knoll0114@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      I lovveeed The Expanse and read through the whole things last year. I also ended up dropping the TV show after catching up in the books. The show is good but the books are fantastic.

  • Trabic@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    I just started The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. I got the consolidated ebook, so I’m only 9% of the way in which is a little daunting (just finished the Poets tale in the first book.)

    Liking it so far, not really like anything I have ever read (no, I never actually read Canterbury Tales) but in some ways it reminds me of the Kingkiller Chronicles with the story within a story.

  • UrbenLegend@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    I haven’t read any of the books you mentioned in your post so I am not sure if these are up your alley or not, but the last 3 sci-fi books I’ve read have all knocked it out of the park for me:

    1. Seveneves - Neal Stephenson
    2. Spin - Robert Charles Wilson
    3. Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir

    You can tell I am a sucker for all books dealing with the impossible vastness of space 🤣

  • Izzy@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I’m almost done with book 2 of The Final Architecture trilogy “Eyes of the Void” by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It’s a pretty wild ride. Not quite as exploratory as Children of Time by the same author, but a solid space opera with some new takes on classic science fiction tropes.

    Also finished The Quantum Magician trilogy earlier this year.

  • Seddera@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    Had recently finished Permutation City by Greg Egan, which was excellent. Picked up a book that I had in my to-read pile for a while, expecting it to be a silly adventure story for a lightweight break. It was pitched to me as “cavemen vs dinosaurs.” West of Eden by Harry Herrison is… Not that. But I’m definitely enjoying the unexpected dive into genetic engineering worldbuilding, cross species linguistics, and genuinely interesting politics!

  • modulus@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Children of time, recommended by a friend.

    And now I finished reading all the comments it’s amazing how many references there are to this book and series.

  • Bricriu@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    Recently filled in one of the gaps in the Culture series by the late, great Iain M Banks (that I didn’t even realize I’d missed!). Surface Detail is another quality entry, dealing with virtual afterlives and presents a little more context of the Culture in a broader galactic context than we normally see it.

  • HyperlinkYourHeart@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    Not currently reading any sci-fi but I read “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel recently and I thought it was amazing. It’s pretty light on sci-fi concepts really, but it’s an interesting take on the apocalypse.

    • Bricriu@lemmy.one
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      1 year ago

      I got through the first book in Three Body, but while I liked some of the philosophical and crazy-tech explorations, I really struggled with the writing/translation style. It was so stilted and awkward to read that it put me off trying to read the following volumes.

      • raVen@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        really? was it all the jumping around? anyway, 50% through the 3rd and I quite love it