Reddit mentions: The best space operas

I take it from Harry Potter and Divergent he likes strong, morally-white protagonists on journeys to save the world. I don't know his exact reading level or interests, so I will make the following suggestions by category. I ranked books in each category by difficulty.

 

Teen Fantasy:

 

Dealing with Dragons: Funny, easy to read, dragons, magic, and sarcasm.

The Lioness Series, Immortal Series, or The Magic Circle Series: Strong female leads and interesting to read with great stories (Think Mulan). My brother loved them.

Artemis Fowl: Strong, morally ambiguous but ultimately altruistic, sarcastic, and smart protagonist against the world.

User Unfriendly: Dudes get sucked into a video/rpg and try to get out without dying. Like Tron, but less sci-fi and more fantasy.

Halo: One of my brothers who HATES reading -- or at least is incredibly picky actually stayed up all night to finish four of Halo books. He also really likes the games. I don't know which one is the first or the best but this one had the best reviews. I dunno if it is dark either -- I haven't read it :'(.

The Dark Elf Trilogy: Darker than anything else I have on here (or can be) hero vs world type fantasy. Drizzit = my brothers' hero growing up. Kinda WOW-esque? Having played both, I understand how much of WOW is inspired by DnD. I personally didn't like this.

Redwall: Harder to read, talking animals save the world from other talking animals. I personally hated this series, but my brothers read every single book in the series at the time.

 


Adult Fantasy:

 

Magician: Magic, totally badass protagonist, BORING first couple chapters, but ultimately the most OP hero I have ever read. Amazing, truly amazing. I think it is two-three books in the first series.

Harper Hall: Dragons, music, strong, but lost protagonist. Deals with sexism and gender biased. The other books in the cycle range from sci-fi to political fantasy.

Dragonbone Chair: Strong, badass hero vs a dragon. What happens? He becomes more badass. It is a lighter verison of LOTR/Sword of Shanara (which is probably too much politics/genetics/enviromental commentary -- generally boring-- for him right now) --

An even lighter alternative, more teen book is Eragon. That being said, I absolutely DETESTED these books. I don't care if he was 16, he didn't coming up with any of his own material. But -- a lot of people really like it, so your brother might!

 

Sci-fi:

 

Ender's game: Amazing ending, especially if he likes videogames. I haven't seen the movie, but my Dad said it was "loosely inspired" from the book. All I know is the book was world-changing. It has some legitimately dark points (like gouging out a giants eye or drowning puppies).

Johnny Maxwell Trilogy: This dude is cool. I didn't know until I linked it that it is hard to get a copy >.<.

Dune: This, like LOTR, is VERY political and can be very easily boring. It might also be too adult or hard for him. There is mental illness and just crazy people in the later books.

 

Mature Humor:

 

He should be ready for some British humor, which is a little more mature than American humor (sorry) and much more sarcastic. You also have to be in the mood for it, especially if you aren't expecting it.

Sourcery: Really, really funny.

Hitchhiker's Guide: Also funny.

Magic Kingdom for Sale -- Sold: American. Funny take on fantasy books.

 

I kept away from darker books where the protagonist is morally grey (Artemis fowl and Drizzit being exceptions -- though they are both still definitely heros), sex, questionable themes, or general mental derangement.

I also stayed away from more modern books, which I have read a lot of if you would like recommendations for those instead. I read a lot in general, so if you have a questions about a book in particular, I can try to help.

Edit: Links

Fellow fan of series here! Let me see...

Young Adult
Percy Jackson series is fun (and finished, too, I think).
Artemis Fowl series isn't quite as good as Percy Jackson IMHO, but it's got a following.

Fantasy
Harry Dresden series This is one of my favorites. Harry is Chicago's only professional wizard. There are a ton of these books and they are still going strong.
Game of Thrones These are great...but unfinished. If you watch the show, reading the books does help you get even more out of the story, I think.
Wheel of Time Another good series. There is a LOT of this series and it's finished. (Thank you, Brandon Sanderson!)
Mistborn Speaking of Brandon Sanderson... This one is very good. I highly recommend reading the Mistborn books before trying the Stormlight Archive, but only because as good as Mistborn is, Stormlight Archive is even better.
Stormlight Archive Amazing. Man, these are good. The series isn't finished, but the two books that are available are some of my favorites ever.
Kingkiller Chronicles I loved the first book. I could not freakin' believe I enjoyed the second one even more. The third one is still pending.
Temeraire Dragons in Napoleonic times. Super cool premise! This one is not finished (I don't think, anyway).
Gentlemen Bastards Con men in a fantasy realm. It's pretty light on the fantasy elements. Very light, I'd say. I'd also say that it has some of the very best swearing that I've ever come across. :D

Scifi
Old Man's War I'm almost finished this one--it's amazing!

Horror/Thriller
Passage Trilogy I've heard these described as vampire books...maybe zombie books... It's apocalyptic for sure. Great books!

Mysteries
Amelia Peabody Egyptology + murder mysteries. Super fun, but trust me...go with the audiobooks for these. They are best when they are performed.
Stephanie Plum Total popcorn reads. If that's your thing, shut off your brain and just enjoy.
Walt Longmire These get particularly good as it goes along. The main character is a sheriff in modern day Wyoming. (Side note: The TV show is also great--just don't expect them to stick to the books.)

Graphic Novels (Everything recommended can be gotten in a "book" format instead of only in comic form, in case that matters. I've gotten most of these from my local library.)
Locke & Key Eerie as crap. Love the art! This one is on-going.
Y: The Last Man All the men on the planet drop dead in a day...except for Yorrick. REALLY good. This is the series that got me reading graphic novels. Plus, it's finished!
Walking Dead I am not a zombie fan...but I like these. They're not done, but I've read up through volume 22 and am still enjoying them.

Other
OutlanderI have no idea how to categorize these or even give a description that does them justice. I refused to pick it up for AGES because it sounded like a bodice-ripper romance and that's not my bag. But these are good!

I hope there's something in there that'll do for you. Have fun and read on!

Edit: Apparently, I need to practice formatting. :/
Edit 2: I forgot to add the Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentlemen Bastards #1).

Aw! <3

Like, what books I'd recommend, or just....stuff to do underway that would be in the self-improvement area? The big two that jump out as underway activities are always "save money, and work out."

What platform are you floating on?

So the first thing I do with all my proteges is I hand them the grading sheet for Sailor of the Year/Quarter and a blank evaluation, and I ask them to grade themselves. Not everyone wants to be, or needs to be, Sailor of the Year or a 5.0 sailor, but if that's the standard the Navy has set as "the best," then at least we have a guideline of what we should be working toward, right?

One thing that was pretty big at my last command was the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. Instruction here. One thing that is a really easy way to gain community service hours while underway is to make blankets for the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society's "Budgeting For Baby" class. You can crochet (that's incredibly easy, I promise) or you can google one of the thousand DIY no-sew blanket tutorials. If you belong to a Bluejacket Association or Enlisted Association or whatever, you may be able to get them to fund the cost of buying the material...or even ask the FCPOA if they'll give $50 to the cause. You can head over to Jo-Ann's or Fabric.com and check out their discount sections too. NMCRS offers 30 hours per blanket. Taking an hour out of your Holiday Routine for the entire float.....most of the DIY no-sew blankets only take an hour or two to make, sooooo. Collect those hours. Add in a COMREL or two, and there's no reason you can't end a float with over a hundred hours of community service. This is particularly great if you have a friend or two to make blankets with you....snag one of the TVs on the messdecks and watch a movie while you crochet. You can also contact a local homeless shelter and see if they need hats and crochet hats for them. Obviously not a good suggestion if you're stuck underway on a submarine with no space, but if you're surface side--good to go.

Books I'd suggest, well, hm, this could get out of control pretty fast, but off the top of my head:

• Personality Plus by Florence Littauer or her work specific version
  
  
• Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
  
  
• It's Your Ship by Capt Abrashoff
  
  
• Starship Troopers
  
  
• Ender's Game (Ender and Starship are obviously straight scifi but there are some really awesome leadership principles/concepts/ideas that are worth mulling over. They've both been on past CNO's recommended reading lists too....and they're just fun to read.)
  
  
• For money, while, like, 99% of his stuff is "Duh!" I can't discount the practical steps he outlines, so Dave Ramsey's books, particularly Financial Peace is worth reading. His whole book is basically the wiki in r/personalfinance, but if you're wondering how to get your finances straight I recommend picking up this book. Just, in general. Good basic information and a starting point. Not saying you need it, but "saving money" just happens underway by virtue being trapped out on the ocean =)
  
  
• Leaders Eat Last

I loved to read. I started reading the BoxCar Children on the bus every day. Then I found the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and some other obscure mystery books in the basement of the same caliber (e.g. bad). I kept reading everything I could find, until Highschool.

I too went to a "demanding" school. I stopped reading for fun, and would occasionally skip books for english class, too. Luckily, only one of my teachers in 4 years was a very pro-feminist (she was actually bi) , and then off to college... I pretty much stopped reading entirely, but unlike you I wasn't dissuaded by feminist nazi's.

Then I got a concussion. Let me tell you about concussions: They manage to turn the most basic thing like telling time into a chore, while other more complex things like driving remain unaffected. Anyway, I got a concussion, and the mental effort to read an hour for class would send me to bed exhausted.

The best books would take me a week or more to read through, and this is without school or work to slow me down.

What I found worked for me was to find something simple that I remember liking, and I would try to get through that. My goal was to re-teach my brain how to read.

• Pick up something on an elementary school reading level
  
• Find something you remember liking (so you'll be re-reading it)
  
• Try to find something short
  
  Your goal is to sit down and enjoy it in 1, maybe 2 settings. Find a free weekend, ask your girlfriend not to disturb you, and start reading. When I tried to start reading again, my routine included an energy drink to keep me awake and focused.
  
  Your goals are 3-fold:
  
  
• Re-experience the joy of discovering a story. TV feeds the story to you, re-learn how exciting it is when you become that character
  
• Make it easy: Think psychologically, you don't want to re-enforce your behavior (reading) by making it difficult, that'll never work.
  
• Instant gratification. By finishing the book in 1-2 sittings, you receive instant gratification for starting to read, as opposed to starting it and waiting a month or more to receive the gratification of finishing it.
  
  If you can read a news article about your favorite video game, you can read, and this is probably more mental than anything else. If that's the case, remember it can take up to 3 months to break a habit because it takes 3 months for your brain to "re-arrange itself" (lets not get into neuroscience right now!). Likewise, even if you start reading now, it may take 3 months before you notice any change, because it'll take your brain that long to "re-arrange itself" to enjoy reading. So try to read a book a week, for 3 months, until you can get somewhere.
  
  Also, it doesn't matter if you miss a sentence, or even an entire paragraph. You're not trying to read everything, you just want to have fun!
  
  It's back to school season. Go into your local Barnes & Noble, and ask for someone that works in the kids department. They can recommend good books, or just see what the local schools have for required reading. Generally, there's some good books on their lists (Gary Paulsen, Louis Sachar, etc)
  
  Lastly, some good books I would look at reading, in order of difficulty:
  
  
• Invitation to The Game
  
• The Transall Saga
  
• Hatchet
  
• Holes
  
• The Boxcar Children or Hardy Boys
  
• Sabriel (female protagonist, but one of my favorite books of all time)
  
• Enders game
  

xD ok this will be a long message bear with me.

1. Is there a synopsis of each story available?
   
   Yes! Every serial I write has a home page, and every home page has:
   
   

• Links to every part that is released
  
  
• A brief 'blurb' for the series, normally what I'd put on the back of the hardcopy :)
  
  
• Links to any artwork I've been sent or purchased of the series
  
  
• Links to any other media, like audio files or videos
  
  For my serials, the home pages are as follows:
  
  Flameweaver Saga
  
  Halfway to Home
  
  
  

2. I want to read other stuff
   
   From a quick browse-through of your comments I didn't see you crossing paths with any other serial authors - If you haven't read any of his stuff, I highly, highly recommend /u/Hydrael's work, over at /r/Hydrael_Writes! His Dragon's Scion and Small Worlds projects are exceptional! Small worlds is also published on Amazon!
   
   
3. I want to read traditional novels
   
   I can help with that! Some quick recommendations that I personally love - these are loosely ranked in order of how I'd recommend them, but the fact that they're here at all means they've got my support :)
   
   Fantasy novels:
   
   The October Daye series:
   
   

• Urban fantasy
  
  
• Awesome worldbuilding
  
  
• Is where I learned how to write twists, and where I picked up my penchant for chekov's guns
  
  Trickster's Choice/Trickster's Queen
  
  
• Traditional fantasy
  
  
• Wonderful politics and intrigue
  
  
• Influenced how gods are handled in Flameweaver
  
  
• Both written easily enough for young readers to understand, and complex enough for adults to enjoy
  
  Graceling
  
  
• Traditional fantasy
  
  
• A bit more well-known, but a surprisingly solid upper-YA read. Kind of a guilty pleasure book of mine haha
  
  Scifi Novels:
  
  Agent to the Stars and Old Man's War
  
  
• John Scalzi is the author I modeled my own writing style after. So if you like my style, you might like his too.
  
  
• Darkly humerous. Realistic and gritty, without being overpoweringly grim.
  
  
• Wickedly sarcastic
  
  The Ender Quartet
  
  
• A bit wordier/harder to read, after Ender's Game. The last book (Children of the Mind) is probably one of the most challenging books I've ever read. But rewarding.
  
  
• Long-running, intricate plotline
  
  The Ship Series
  
  
• Indie series I happened across a few years ago
  
  
• Upper YA. Younger characters, but dark content
  
  
• Well-written, relatable characters

I think the best way is to suggest a few that got me into reading. One or two are YA, but well-written enough that I find it as worthwhile a read at 28 as it did at 14.

Ender's Game - Earth Has made contact with an alien species, and... It didn't go well. A program is started to teach a new generation of soldiers how to fight this alien threat. Children are not allowed to be children for long when the future of mankind is on the line. Also, it's being adapted into what is shaping up to be a pretty badass movie.

Snow Crash - Written in the 90's, but it essentially pioneered the concept of the online avatar, and predicted the rise of the MMO. Also, pizza-delivering ninjas. Trust me on this. It's good stuff.

Neuromancer Classic cyber-punk. Most sci-fi is like you see in star trek. Clean and sterile. Cyberpunk is the dirtier side of sci-fi. Organized crime, computer hacking, and a heist on a space station. And Molly. This book is the reason I have a thing for dangerous redheads.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Considered by most to be the very best in sci-fi humor. Lighthearted, hilarious, and I find I can read it in the course of about two days. It is absolutely, completely, and utterly amazing.

American Gods - What happens to the old gods when we start worshiping the new ones? Can the likes of Odin or Anubis compete with our new objects of worship. like television or internet? Remember, Gods only exist as long as folks believe in them. The old Gods aren't going down without a fight, though...

Hope some of these strike your fancy. It's admittedly more sci-fi than anything, but it's all soft sci-fi (Where the science isn't as important as the fiction, so story comes first), and nothing too out there. Please let me know if you decide to try any of these, and especially let me know if you enjoy them. I always like to hear if I help someone find a book they love.

OH BOY! THIS MEANS I HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SHILL/BITCH ABOUT GUNDAM RELATED CONTENT THAT ISN'T ANIME, MANGA, OR VIDEO GAME RELATED!

Anyway, the fist piece of literature I want to recommend to everyone is the original Mobile Suit Gundam novels written by Yoshiyuki Tomino at the same time he was directing/writing/creating the original Mobile Suit Gundam series (and by extension the franchise as a whole).

To keep myself from 100% geeking out and just giving a synopsis of the whole book, I'll try to keep it brief and list some points as to why you may want to check this out as a book on it's own merits.

1. This book takes the concept of the original Gundam series and strips all of the elements that were added to make it marketable to children. That means no goofy mechs designed to sell toys, no mustache twirling villains, and the mechs that have remained have been mostly retooled or quickly done away with to be replaced with mechs that are less special and are just another piece of military hardware. Minor spoilers for the novel, but early on the original [Gundam from the OG series with it's bright and vibrant colors] (https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/gundam/images/2/23/78-2.jpeg/revision/latest?cb=20130426115800) is destroyed and replaced with different model known as the [G3 that features a dark grey color scheme to look like a more believable color scheme that an actual military might employ] (https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/gundam/images/1/13/78-3.jpeg/revision/latest?cb=20130426115825).
   
   
2. You might have noticed that I mention the original Gundam being destroyed early on, and there's a reason for that. This was before Tomino had a plan for the series fully laid out, so the novels and the anime completely differ outside of the opening moments of the book and series. The novels are much darker (for Gundam fans, I would say it's around Zeta levels of dark), serious, and feature way less campier moments. The might as well be two different series as the only similarities they have are sharing character names, and even then those characters are sometimes 100% different than their anime counterparts. These changes also include different fates for major characters on both sides of the conflict. Characters who died in the anime end up living in this and vice versa.
   
   
3. As this is based on the original series and was one of the first pieces of Gundam content created, you can just jump right in to this with no prior knowledge of the franchise and enjoy it as a cool stand alone sci-fi war novel even without any attachment to the franchise.
   
   For those of you interested in checking this out, there's been a few different versions of this novelization released in english, but the newest version with an updated translation was released a few years ago and is known as Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation and can be found on Amazon.
   
   Here's the link to its Amazon page for those of you interested.
   
   https://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Suit-Gundam-Escalation-Confrontation/dp/1611720052
   
   It's not perfect by any means as it can be a little dry in some areas when compared to most other Gundam anime as there is very little comedy to ever lighten the mood. I suspect a lot of the more comedic elements of the original Gundam series were things probably added due to influence by members of the creation team like the character designer, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko as Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's own manga adaption of the OG Gundam story called Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin from the 2000s is downright hilarious at times.
   
   Comedy is something Yoshiyuki Tomino would pick up and add on his own to later works and spawn his own brand of weird "Tomino" comedy to accompany his own weird brand of "Tomino" writing and characterization.
   
   But if you want a solid 8/10 sci-fi war story then I highly recommend it. It's great for newcomers just getting into the franchise, and it's great for longtime fans who may want a radically different take on a story they are probably already very familiar with.

Most of the time I am "in the mood" for a certain genre or type of book. I will recommend some of my favorites that are easy to read and enjoyable. With a super short summary to see if it sparks your interest.

Fantasy:

• Name of the Wind : Great fantasy novel which follows a single character, Kvothe, who is an old innkeeper with a mysterious and illustrious past telling the story of how he became a legend. It is very well written and highly entertaining, the book is all about Kvothe as a teenager just trying to survive and becoming an arcanist. Highly recommended.
  
  
• Mistborn Trilogy : I've only read the first one. A dystopian world where ash falls from the sky every day with a centuries old tyrannical ruler. The story follows a young girl who is just trying to survive on the streets any way she can but gets caught up with revolutionists. Very enjoyable, and a unique magic system.
  
  Scifi:
  
  
• Ender's Game: This an Dune are always recommended for anyone looking to get into scifi...as well as Foundation series (which I haven't read :/). Earth has been attacked by an alien species of bugs...twice. We barely survived last time, so in order for us to prepare if it happens again Earth has started training military geniuses. Ender is one of the children chosen for training, and he is the best of the best. The story focuses on him and his story about rising through the ranks to try and save earth.
  
  
• Dune: If you want to experience a sand world with giant worms, extreme political tension, plot twists, feints within feints. I could say more, but simply saying that it is in my Top 3 favorite books says enough.
  
  
• Hitch-hiker's guide to the galaxy: Probably one of the funniest books I've ever read. It is highly regarded among this community and geeks as a whole. Do not judge it by the movie, this is a must-read book if you want a laugh.
  
  

Ender's Game is seriously so much better than the movie. It's amazing what people will do to ensure the safety of the human race, without fully seeing the whole picture.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski. I was hesitant at first, always seeing it, but never checking it out at the library. It wound up being one of my favorite books to read, it was that good. Story of a mute boy raised on a farm breeding dogs. He can sign, and has pretty good life, as far as things go, until his father dies. He tries to prove his uncle had a hand in the death, but the plan backfires. Hated the ending - not because it was bad, but it was so damn sad.

If you're willing to poke at a series, try Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards series, the first book is The Lies of Locke Lamora. The series centers around Locke and his shenanigans as a Gentleman Bastard - a notorious gang of thieves. They pull off some pretty intense schemes, some with great success, some with spectacular failures. It's a great series, and another set of favorites that I recommend to everyone that'd ask.

Congratulations on the new job, hope it works out well for you! Also, I love that you had such a great turn out for your book drive. My kids know how important it is to read - I actually push my daughter to read a little bit above her grade level. She keeps a reading log for homework, so her teachers are pretty impressed. She did amazingly well on her latest state reading/math test, and her teacher believes it's because of all the reading she does. If you do another drive, I hope it goes just as well.

Okay I know the giveaway is over but you asked for obscure and so you have to read this fanfiction called Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. It's so amazing it has its own fanbase, inspired a new genre of fiction, has its own website, wikipedia article, and a few news sites have even reviewed it.

It's even got a podcast reading if you prefer.

It's like... if Harry Potter was smart and rational and also a huge sci-fi/science geek. It's basically a bit like Ender's Game if you've ever read it (which is another one you should definitely read).

Links:
HPMOR website
Podcast's site (also has readings of other works of rationalist fiction inspired by HPMOR)
Podcast on iTunes
HPMOR on Fanfiction.net
HPMOR Full PDF
HPMOR PDF but separated into separate books: 1 2 3 4 5 6
HPMOR MOBI
HPMOR EPUB

I can honestly say that this fanfiction is without a doubt the best thing I have ever read in my life. I can't speak well enough of it. I recommend paying attention when you read because the things you learn are useful later in the book for solving the plot. The plot is so well crafted that you can trust anything that happens has an explanation behind it. If you find yourself asking "why is it like this?" there is a reason! This is a game you can only play once, so please enjoy it while it lasts. Ahhhh! I'm talking too much, enjooooooooooy~!

Most of these are just (free) audiobooks at this point in time, but are excellent Sci Fi stories IMO.

Nathan Lowell

The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper: A Trader's Tale details the story of a young man who is orphaned and kicked off his home planet, into the arms of the trader ship Lois McKendrick. I'd say it's a wonderful start for someone who normally doesn't read Sci Fi, because it focuses so much on his life. You'll be hard-pressed to believe that there aren't people who spend months at a time hauling goods between the stars.

• Quarter Share (print)
  
• Half Share
  
• Full Share
  
• Double Share
  
• Captain's Share
  
  Christiana Ellis
  
  Space Casey is the comedy of this whole bunch. More along the lines of a radio program, it's set in space, with the wily young Casey, her stolen ship Al, and their pet, uh.. thing. A very enjoyable story, and a good laugh!
  
  
• Space Casey
  
  Jon Armstrong
  
  Grey is set in about the strangest world you can imagine, where fashion, celebrity culture, and gore are commonplace. The pull of society on Michael Rivers sends him on an impossible quest to win the hand of his beloved Nora and find out the secret of his birth.
  
  
• Grey (print)
  
  Bill DeSmedt
  
  Here we're getting into the heavier stuff, and trust me when I say you're going to learn a lot. Singularity surrounds the mystery of the Tunguska event of 1908, and the implications aren't pretty. One of the few time travel stories I find plausible.
  
  
• Singularity (print)
  
• Doctor Jack's Soapbox Seminars (not a sci fi story, but a series of lectures on the science behind Singularity)
  
  J.C. Hutchins
  
  7th Son is getting more into the horror/thriller genre, but I'd say it's no less Sci Fi. Cloning, mind copying, secret DARPA projects, conspiracies, the list goes on and on.
  
  
• 7th Son: Descent (print)
  
• 7th Son: Deceit
  
• 7th Son: Destruction
  
  
  
  Edit: found some print copies

Lindsay Bujold's Star Kingdom series is currently handling a very Miles Vorkosigan vibe for me:
https://www.amazon.com/Shockwave-Star-Kingdom-Book-1-ebook/dp/B07R8GX4Y2

The first book in her previous space opera series (quite different feel IMO, but also very good) is free:
https://books2read.com/u/3nOYw9


For straight up fun Military SF, Terry Mixon's Empire of Bones is quite good:
https://www.amazon.com/Empire-Bones-Book-Saga-ebook/dp/B00M5KESGA

​

Jay Allan's Blood on the Stars is also good, though it kept going too long for my tastes:
https://www.amazon.com/Duel-Dark-Blood-Stars-Book-ebook/dp/B01MCZZTPS

David Drake's RCN series is another trad published one to look at, as is Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet. Those are less funny IMO, though.

David Weber's Honor Harrington has already been recommended. It and Bujold are my usual go-to recommendations for SF, so you're starting in a good place XD

I mostly read speculative fiction, which is typically divided between the subgenres of fantasy, sci-fi, and alternate history. Alternate history is technically considered a subgenre of Sci-Fi, but I read enough of it to make it worth counting as a separate group. Within each of those subgenres, there is a wide variety of styles and some people might find themselves not a fan of one style but a fan of another. If you are not well read in these genres, then you will want to try a few different styles of story before dismissing it. I also sometimes read novelizations of historical events which have their own sort of enjoyment to them that fictional stories lack. Then there are books that are set from an animals point of view, which range from attempts to be as accurate as possible to being practically fantasy stories.

As far as individual books, I will try to give you a few of the best to pick from without being overwhelming. Some are stand alone stories while others are parts of series.

Fantasy single books:

After the Downfall

Fantasy series:

The Dresden Files

A Song of Ice and Fire aka Game of Thrones

Sci-Fi single books:

Slow Train to Arcturus

Mother of Demons

Sci-Fi series:

The Thrawn Trilogy There are a great many Star Wars books worth the read, but this is definitely the place to start.

Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow

Alternate History single books:

The Guns of the South

1824: The Arkansas War Technically this is a sequel to an earlier book, but this one is leagues better and you don't need to read the first book to understand what is going on.

Alternate History series:

How Few Remain

1632

Worldwar

Non-Fiction:

Band of Brothers

War Made New This one isn't even really a novelization, just an analysis of the changes to military technology, tactics, and training over the last 500 years. Regardless, it is very well written and a great read.

Animal POV books:

Watership Down

Wilderness Champion

The Call of the Wild and White Fang These two books are by the same author and go in pretty much opposite directions. Among literature fanatics, there is no consensus over which one is better and I don't think I can decide for myself so I am recommending both.

Edit: I forgot to mention, the first book in the 1632 series is available online for free. This is not a pirated version, but something the author put up himself as a part of an effort to move publishing into the modern day with technology and make books more accessible to readers.

Adrian Tarn Series is definitely one of my favorites and isn't very well known. Definitely check this series out.

Odyssey One Series is pretty good.

Confluence Series is interesting.

Aurora Rhapsody Series is a good series too.

Dark Space Series is pretty decent as well.

The Frozen Sky Series is certainly entertaining too.

These are a few series I've read recently and enjoyed. Figured they would be good suggestions. They also aren't the most commonly suggested or well known books like the others that were suggested.

Although the other recommendations are definitely ones you want to read. Especially the Ender's Game sequels and the Old Man's War series.

Let's start with the premise of your question: there's only one conflict in your story, and this single conflict is the only source of suspense to keep the reader interested. Fortunately, suspense is not the same as conflict, and using that difference effectively will help your reader power through the "info dumps."


Conflict = things like man vs man, man vs society, man vs nature, etc. In a novel, there may be one or multiple conflicts, but it's usually a finite number of important conflicts. Interesting conflicts generally span the whole novel. Conflicts can take a lot of time to fully establish, can evolve over time, and the resolution of a conflict is a big deal.


Suspense = things that keep the reader interested. When done well, suspense is what causes readers to keep turning pages long after they promised themselves they would stop reading and go to bed. Suspense is not a genre, but something that every well-written work of fiction has in abundance. Suspense can be created in a single sentence and resolved in the next one. Suspense can also relate to the main story arc and function as a long term "hook." If you want a really good example of how to create many sources of suspense in just a few paragraphs, look up Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. When reading carefully, you'll notice that Card juggles multiple sources of suspense at any one time. For instance, the main character might react to something but the reader doesn't get to see what they're reacting to until the next paragraph (short term suspense that makes you keep reading to find out what they saw). The thing that they are looking at might relate to the next roadblock in their overall story arc (medium and long term suspense). This is a "can't put it down" kind of book, and there's no reason you can't borrow some of those tricks to keep the pace moving even in the very beginning of yours.


I highly recommend this Dictionary of Narratology. It will inform your writing by showing you choices you didn't know exist.


(Disclaimer 1: I'm not saying that Orson Scott Card is an amazing author that everyone should emulate. He has some limitations that I get frustrated with, such as sexism and nondescript settings. However, suspense is something he excels at creating in abundance, so he's a good model for learning new ways of creating suspense and increasing pace.


Disclaimer 2: Suspense for the sake of suspense is not a good idea. Connect the suspense to things that matter, like character development and the story, for maximum effect.)


I hope this helps.

I liked the thrawn trilogy. Zahn does a good job of putting some of the sci-fi genres people like into star wars. There is a hacker character and militarism and of course you get to see tiny tidbits of the clone wars and everything that people were dying to learn about at the time (the books came out before the prequel movies).

I sort of enjoy star wars that isn't the epic star wars. That is, a lot of the west end games short stories and other stuff that came out that let people explore the universe but without the galaxy ending ramifications most star wars stuff was about. You can find these stories in the Star Wars Journals. I think some of these ended up in the Tales books. Tales of the Bounty is probably the collection everyone likes the best.

Another book I liked was the novelization of the Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight video game. It's a trilogy of books that came out with the game. I wouldn't say they are the best and maybe I only like them because of nolstalgia for the game but who knows, maybe you will like them.

I also really liked the Boba Fett trilogy, The Bounty Hunter Wars. I'm not really a huge Boba Fett fan like some people but these books were fun because they get away from whatever mischief luke and company are up to this week. You get to see parts of the galaxy you don't see elsewhere.

Also, the X-Wing books by Michael A. Stackpole were very good. I never read the books by Aaron Allston, although I met him at a convention once.

I didn't like the New Jedi Order series. It felt too. . .prepared I guess. I don't know how else to describe it. It was fun when I was reading it as a teenager but I sort of lost interest at some point and I think it's because NJO spends so much time giving you everything and not letting you use your imagination. That was always the best part about Star Wars for me. Imagining who I would be or what I would do and all that.

It might be helpful if you give us a list of any books you've read that you did enjoy or genres you think you might like.

I have never met a person who didn't love Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy but it may not be your thing if you don't like wacked-out sci-fi so some general idea of your interests could help a ton with suggestions.

A Short History of Nearly Everything is a solid non-fiction

Robot Dreams is a great set of sci-fi short stories

Ender's Game gets a ton of hate but is a pretty great sci-fi

On A Pale Horse is an older series that I'd consider fantasy but with sci-fi elements

Where the Red Fern Grows is well loved fiction

A Zoo in My Luggage is non-fic but about animal collecting trips for a zoo and is hilarious.

What I had to do was find a reading spot/time. I only read comfortably laying in bed before I go to sleep. It's become a habit now and thats the way I like to read. No distractions, read until I'm tired and then go to sleep. My wife can read anytime/anywhere, and I'm jealous of that, but it doesn't work for me.

Also find some books that you really like, that are easy. When you don't want to stop reading it helps a lot. Eventually you get to the point that you really can read anything because it doesnt have to hold your interest for every single sentence.

Try some Young Adult or easy reads right off the bat. a few suggestions, things I enjoy that are easy reads:

Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games

Dean Koonz

Orson Scott Card - Enders Game

Find a Genre you're interested in and something with good reviews, then find your time/place and make it a habit.

Hmm....I'm going to interpret that question as '10 Books in No Particular Order that Weren't Massive Bestsellers that I Loved*'

• The Good Women of China An amazing book about the struggles of women in China from 1950s-1980s.
  
  
• Ode to Kirihito The book that got me hooked on Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy)'s classic manga.
  
  
• Shades of Milk and Honey A Regency Romance with a touch of fantasy, and the writing is a pleasure.
  
  
• Ender's Game Hardly indie anymore, but I found this near the bottom of a pile of books in middle school, thus launching my love of SF/F
  
  
• A Man with No Talents An anonymous account of a man who dropped out of the Salaryman life and became free to live his life as he wanted.
  
  
• The Dancing girls of Lahore A brutal, honest account of the underworld of courtesans in Pakistan.
  
  
• The Legend of Eli Monpress Escapist fantasy with amazing characters and a plot that keeps the reader up well past bedtime.
  
  
• Off to Be the Wizard Probably the closest to 'indie' on here, hardly a deep book but a hilarious geeky romp.
  
  
• Live Free or Die This one surprised me a bit, but my Libertarian SF-loving self just fell head-over-heels for this series.
  
  
• Boneshaker Because dammit, this is the one that sent me down the Steampunk rabbit hole.
  
  /* Ebooksgirl reserves the right at any time to change, amend, add or delete this list.

Swan Song - Robert McCammon Of the books I read last year this was my favorite.

Old Man's War - John Scazi - It's a pretty fun Military Sci-fi series

Leviathan Wakes - S. A. Corey - Near space, space opera.

Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson - Epic Fantasy with an interesting magic system, good place to start with a popular author

The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie - "Grimm Dark" fantasy, he does an interesting thing by playing with a LotR style quest.

The Black Prism - Brent Weeks - Interesting Magic system, one of my favorite ongoing fantasy series. Much better than his first trilogy IMHO

Midnight Riot - Ben Aaronovitch - Funny urban fantasy series that takes place in London

His Majesty's Dragon - Namoi Novik - Napoleonic* war + dragon's, fun quick reads.

Sevenes - Neal Stephenson - Stand Alone sci-fi novel about human's trying to survive in space as the world ends.

I can suggest more if you want, and I assume you've probably read at least some of these. Hope you enjoy some of them at least though.

Yeah I read a lot of Fantasy and Sci-fi. Umm, if he likes more Military Scifi I would recommend:

• Dauntless It's the first in a really cool space/naval series about a fleet of spaceships far from home and fighting through enemy territory to get home. All the while the Fleet Commander is acclimating to being 100 years in his own future (without "timetravel")
  
  
• Starship Troopers Is a classic scifi by Heinlein and has very little to do with the movies. Similar war ideas, giant bugs, but totally different feel. No cheesyness.
  
  
• Ender's Game of course is a classic Scifi book. Young boy growing up in a Battle School where they train kids to be soldiers. Very deep, very perspective changing.
  
  
• Stranger in a Strange Land Is another Heinlein book. A human boy grows up being raised by an alien Martian race on Mars. Brought back to Earth as an adult human, but again raised and taught everything by Martians. Has no concept of earth, our beliefs, our morals, our actions, anything. An amazing story that gives a great perspective for a WASP like me to see what it's like to integrate into a society where nobody is like you, and you understand nothing.
  
  If he likes "high fantasy" (elves, wizards, knights, etc) then let me know and I throw out a few of those too.
  
  EDIT: Also I'll plug Audbile.com here because these all also have great Audiobooks with GREAT narrators and I love listening to my books on my Android phone all the time. And of course Amazon owns Audible! discounts for buying the audiobook and the kindle book (often cheaper than outright buying the audiobook!)

Reading this from my inbox I thought you wanted to get into Europe. Awkward.

In chronological order (and I'd very much recommend reading them in this order, it can be rather confusing trying to understand events and relationships you've never heard of). Please note these are all Post Endor; there are also many good books prior to the events covered in these, and there are certainly excellent books that have slipped my notice. I'd suggest going to your local library and searching there if you want even more.

• Anyway, I'd highly recommend Heir to the Empire to start off, since it very much popularized the EU. There's three others to the series, all of which I'd recommend.
  
  
• My other favorite is The X-Wing series, beginning at "Rogue Squadron" The series is great, but its pretty long at around 9 books. I think the most interesting aspect is how multiple authors contribute to the series, so there is a variety of style.
  
  
• And I'd say the longest, largest, most comprehensive, and best series is the Yuuzhan Vong Series (actual name is New Jedi Order I think). Starting at Vector Prime (written by R.A. Salvatore, whose other works I'd also recommend), it details a galaxy-wide war against a strange extra-galactic race intent on total domination.
  
  
• If all of that still wasn't enough for you, "The Legacy of the Force" series, beginning at "Betrayal" carries the story on. Personally I'd recommend against reading these. I found them kinda depressing in how the story progresses. That and I don't particularly like the authors' writing style. Still, if you must have more, then this is next in chronological order.
  
  I apologize if that was too comprehensive.

You've got some great suggestions so far- I'd also suggest Old Man's War ...it's fun.

Legacy of Heorot is also a good, fun read.

Connie Willis writes great short stories, and The Doomsday Book is one of the better time travel books that I've read (especially if you have any interest in history).

One of my favourite things to do is to pick up short story anthologies at the library, which usually gives me a good idea of which authors I'd be interested in reading.

Don't feel lame. I went on a really long kick where I was reading a lot of franchise books - Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft, Stargate, etc etc. Sometimes they're terribly written, but sometimes there are really good stories with some great character development.

I'm not really familiar with the other two books but from what I looked up of them (especially considering the Halo + Ben Bova) I think you'd like Ender's Game.

It's technically YA fiction, but it's good enough that you'll often find it in with the regular science fiction. It's also a series so if you like the first one that'll give you a few more to read.

In the classic Science fiction category The Foundation Series is worth looking into as well.

Let's see. Maybe The Sky People too. It's not exactly classic literature, but it's a fun romp in space - a what if there was life on Venus & Mars and it was dinosaurs and prehistoric humans sort of thing. Although not classic science fiction it has that same feel because it takes a stab at what type of life might exist on our neighboring planets.

I haven't read Edgar Rice Burroughs, but he might be up your alley too.

I'm very interested in your copies of Your Inner Fish, Anatomy of an Epidemic, and Evil Genes. I would love to be able to take all three off your hands. I have several books that I can offer you in exchange, all of which I've read and highly recommend! What I have that might match your interests are:

• Mutants: On Genetic Variety and the Human Body, Armand Leroi
  
  
• We, Yevgeny Zamyatin
  
• Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
  
  
• Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
  
  
• Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
  
• I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
  
  And seeing that you had a Steve Berry novel up for trade, I also have these two excellent Brad Meltzer thriller novels:
  
  
• The Book of Fate, Brad Meltzer
  
  
• The Millionaires, Brad Meltzer
  
  If any of my books peak your interests, I'd love to make a trade!

Check out Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell. Falls under the category of space opera, but it's a lot better than that. Great writing, funny, and no manipulative endings, with their screams of "buy the next book to find out!"

Normally I don't care for fantasy, but I stumbled across Hounded and found it well written, with a lot of creative, funny ideas. It's just good story telling.

Robin Mckinley - anything by her though specifically Sunshine. If you haven't read Mercades Lackey than you would probably like her since you like Tamora Pierce. Start with Arrows for the Queen or Magic's Pawn. Raymond E Feist writes another good fantasy series that has tons of books in it. You might even like the Robert Jordan Wheel of Time books since you like the Game of Thrones. If you haven't read the Ender's Game books by Orson Scott Card they are very good. Some classical sci-fi - Foundation series by Issac Asimov.

edit: also because it looks like you like some historical romance The Secret History of the Pink Carnation and Peony in Love.

My all time favorite book is [Enders Game] (http://www.amazon.com/Enders-Game-Ender-Book-1/dp/0812550706) by Orson Scott Card. I read it when I was like 8 and it is an amazing piece of work.

I would also recommend two other books I've read recently.

1. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Cool. Weird. Funny
   
   
2. Killing Floor by Lee Child. It's the first novel in the Jack Reacher series. It had me hooked. I've continued the series and this one is a fun and exciting read.

Most of them are pretty drab, but I read them anyway. Almost all of them feel like fan fiction for Aliens 1986.

I'm not a fan of the AVP movie franchise, but the very first AVP book (which was written long before the movies) was pretty excellent. It's called Aliens Vs Predator: Prey

If you like reading graphic novels, check out Aliens: Labyrinth. The novel adaptation wasn't as good.

I've read The Book Thief! I really liked it. Here are some books that are similar to the Book Thief, and have changing/growing characters:

• [The Giver] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Giver-Quartet-Lois-Lowry/dp/0544336267/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WWVNGF0226N13781SPQ). Takes place in the future, in a town where everything is controlled. Very interesting book. It might be too easy for you, but I'm not sure.
  
  
• [Life of Pi] (http://www.amazon.com/Life-Pi-Yann-Martel/dp/0156027321/ref=pd_sim_b_31?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WWVNGF0226N13781SPQ). A man is cast-away after his ship sinks and goes through incredible experiences. This might be a little too complex, but it doesn't hurt to try!
  
  
• [Flowers for Algernon] (http://www.amazon.com/Flowers-Algernon-Daniel-Keyes/dp/0156030306/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413110247&sr=1-1&keywords=flowers+for+algernon). This book follows a retarded man as he gets an experimental treatment to get stronger. If you only read one book out of these 4, read this one! It's one of the saddest books I've ever read and it's also one of my favorites. It also is a great example of a character growing and changing. you really should read this book, I cannot stress it enough!
  
  
• [Ender's Game] (http://www.amazon.com/Enders-Ender-Quintet-Orson-Scott/dp/0812550706/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413110356&sr=1-1&keywords=ender%27s+game). A young boy goes to school to learn to defend humanity in a great interstellar war. This is one of my favorite science fiction books. I'm not sure if you'll like it, it's a little out there. However, it really focuses on how characters grow and develop.
  
  If you have any questions at all or want any more book recommendations, feel free to message me!
  
  puedo hablar un poco español, despues de seis años de clas
  es. tu ingles es mucho mejor que mi español. quiza leo unos libros, jaja
  
  

> How does one who has never tried at anything, try at life?

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Some challenges seem huge but if you break them down into little pieces you can conquer them. How do you do that? Just start doing anything and something will happen.

Succeeding in my line of work is all about the effort I put into my projects. Even if I work my tail off there is a chance I could fail but the success is so sweet that I have to keep trying. Just do anything. Good luck.

Books: The Four Agreements

Ender's Game

Body for Life

If You Haven't Got the Time to Do It Right, When Will You Find the Time to Do It Over?

The War if Art

I got something out of these, maybe you will too. Good luck.

I've read all these books, and they were decent reads. However, I should mention some positives and negatives about the series.

PROS:

• The books are fairly well written.
  
  
• The plot line at least makes some decent sense.
  
  
• Some of the technology and tactics make sense as well, and the neat thing is the concept of light delay in astronomical terms in relation to combat positioning and fleet tactics. This is really the meat and bones of the books and is usually the most interesting to read (in my opinion anyways)
  
  CONS:
  
  
• There is a lot of deus ex machina with the fleet fights.
  
  
• There is a convenient hand waving of why the main character is so good at what he does. It's literally because everyone else is so terrible.
  
  
• The romantic subplots seemed a bit forced, and constantly talking about 'honor' and crap seems really silly in context of a fight to return home.
  
  OVERALL:
  
  I'd definitely check these out if you're jonesing for some science fiction, but there are definitely better books out there if you're looking for something amazing to read.
  
  OTHER SERIES / BOOKS RECOMMENDATIONS:
  
  Into the Black - EDIT: Had book 4 listed here instead of book one, fixed
  
  Lines of Departure
  
  Old Man's War

Some books that provide models of exceptionally clear writing might help. I thought it might be more fun and more useful if I chose ones that are free and related to SF, so -

https://www.amazon.com/Star-Soldiers-Andre-Norton-ebook/dp/B00ARPJA7W

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2226

(Modern SF actually derives from Kim by way of "With The Nigh Mail" and "Easy As ABC" - which you can also find on G'berg)

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51461

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32256

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64486

I totally loved this book. I have one of his other books, Brasyl, which seems to be trying to do the same thing except in Brazil, and I just can't get into it. It just doesn't compare to the amazing awesomeness of River Of Gods.

On the other hand he wrote another book of short stories set in India that I mentioned elsewhere here that is also really great.

I haven't read Mistborn, but I have the sample now! The Lost fleet looks interesting too! I have some reading to do tonight! lol.

The first book is Into the Black and his other series Warriors Wings is also really good. Not as hard on the science as Odyssey, but still a fun military sci-fi.

Interesting, The Kindle version is free on Amazon .. good enough reason to add it to my collection :)

I'm mostly into SciFi books myself. Recently I've been reading a bit by Paul McAuley, If I were to recommend something recent it'd be The Quiet War and Gardens of the Sun by him. For old classics you can't go wrong with Ender's Game or Ringworld.

Children of Time and Children of Ruin by Adrian Tchaikovksy both have strong sociological themes. If you enjoy these books you might also want to check out Semiosis: A Novel by Susan Burke.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov is about the fall and rise of a galactic empire. It is a bit dated in terms of science fiction but a classic in the genre.

Exhalation and Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang are collections of short stories and some of them contain strong sociological themes around communication and intersubjective understanding.

A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge also have some interesting speculative sociology.

Hominids: Volume One of The Neanderthal Parallax by Robert J. Sawyer also contains interesting speculative anthropology and sociology (but not a very interesting plot IMO) and is also worth a read.

Glad you liked it! I do the same thing with finding books in a bunch different places. I usually put them on my goodreads to-read shelf, but I never tag them as KU so I have no idea whats what without going through book by book.

If you want some more sci-fi Duel in the Dark by Jay Allen has been in my TBR list for a while, but it looks like a good series. Starship's Mage by Glynn Stewart is also decent. I like a lot of the ideas for his books they're just a little flat IMO.

The HItchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
The one I linked to is actually a collection of all 5 in the Trilogy, but it is so worth reading. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed anything I've read by Vonnegut.
If you like Sci-Fi, check out Orson Scott Card's work. I'd start with Ender's Game. What Would Satan Do?. Don't let the title discourage you. It offers a very interesting take on the apocalypse. I am currently reading Immaculate Deception, very interesting.

Baxter's Manifold Trilogy is indeed excellent, with the exception of the horrible Manifold: Origin, which can be excused though, if you see it as Baxter preparing himself for Evolution, which he wrote shortly after, and which is in my opinion a forgotten masterpiece (and the best I've read from Baxter).

I also strongly recommend Kim Stanley Robinson's Science in the Capital series, if you're interested in reading about politics, climate change and science, set in a near future.

I think Robert Charles Wilson has some great books, but the Spin series for me are not his best (and I don't get why did those got so many awards). From him I'd recommend instead The Chronoliths and Blind Lake.

China Mieville's Bas-Lag trilogy also gets my vote.

Other great series no one mentioned here yet are:

• River of Gods & Cyberabad Days, by Ian McDonald (not really a series, but one of the highlights of the decade, for me)
  
• Counting Heads & Mind Over Ship, by David Marusek
  
• The Golden Age series, by John C. Wright
  

http://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Suit-Gundam-Escalation-Confrontation/dp/1611720052/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426918873&sr=8-1&keywords=mobile+suit+gundam+novel

Although it is VERY different than the series, it will give you a good understanding of mobile suits, minovsky particles, newtypes, and the general ideas of why there is a war and how things got so bad. But its worth a read if your interested in gundam and want to do something besides watch a 50 episode anime. Also i definitely recommend reading mobile suit gundam the origin manga, its very good and retells the anime entirely (plus some bonus stuff)

You're not kidding too terribly much, as there's even fewer notable releases than last week for the release week ending Tuesday, Nov. 22, but! a few are long, eagerly-awaited ones for me:

• Moonglow: A Novel By Michael Chabon, Narrated By George Newbern -- "In 1989, fresh from the publication of his first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Michael Chabon traveled to his mother’s home in Oakland, California, to visit his terminally ill grandfather. Tongue loosened by powerful painkillers, memory stirred by the imminence of death, Chabon’s grandfather shared recollections and told stories the younger man had never heard before, uncovering bits and pieces of a history long buried and forgotten. That dreamlike week of revelations forms the basis for the novel Moonglow, the latest feat of legerdemain from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon. Moonglow unfolds as the deathbed confession of a man the narrator refers to only as “my grandfather.” It is a tale of madness, of war and adventure, of sex and marriage and desire, of existential doubt and model rocketry, of the shining aspirations and demonic underpinnings of American technological accomplishment at midcentury, and, above all, of the destructive impact—and the creative power—of keeping secrets and telling lies."
  
  
• Signal to Noise By Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Narrated By Ana Bayat for Audible -- YES! I've been waiting for this one to come to audio for over a year and it's finally dropped this week: "Mexico City, 1988. Long before iTunes or MP3s, you said "I love you" with a mix tape. Meche, awkward and 15, has two equally unhip friends - Sebastian and Daniela - and a whole lot of vinyl records to keep her company. When she discovers how to cast spells using music, the future looks brighter for the trio. The three friends will piece together their broken families, change their status as non-entities, and maybe even find love. Mexico City, 2009: Two decades after abandoning the metropolis, Meche returns alone for her estranged father's funeral. It's hard enough to cope with her family, but then she runs into Sebastian, reviving memories from a childhood she thought she buried a long time ago. What really happened back then? What precipitated the bitter falling out with her father? Is there any magic left?" And a moderately good Whispersync deal at $5.38 Kindle plus $1.99 upgrade.
  
  
• Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection By Brandon Sanderson, Narrated By Michael Kramer, Kate Reading -- "An all-new Stormlight Archive novella is the crown jewel of Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection, the first audiobook of short fiction by New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson. The collection includes eight works in all. The first seven are "The Hope of Elantris" (Elantris), "The Eleventh Metal" (Mistborn), "The Emperor's Soul" (Elantris), "Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania, Episodes 28 through 30" (Mistborn), "Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" (Threnody), "Sixth of Dusk" (First of the Sun), and "Mistborn: Secret History" (Mistborn)."
  
  
• Into the Out Of By Alan Dean Foster, Narrated By Joel Richards for Dreamscape -- I've almost lost keeping track of Dreamscape, which does some great work, here a backlist (1999) novel by Alan Dean Foster: "Earth is being invaded by the shetani - spirit creatures so small and stealthy that only one man knows about the increasing peril. The potential savior is an African elder named Olkeloki who is capable of fighting evil both in this world and the spirit one. But to be successful he must recruit the help of two others: government agent Joshua Oak, and a feisty young woman named Merry Sharrow. Only the three of them can keep the shetani from destroying reality as we know it."
  
  
• Conclave: A Novel By Robert Harris, Narrated By Roy McMillan -- "The best-selling author of Enigma and Fatherland turns to today's Vatican in a ripped-from-the-headlines novel and gives us his most ambitious, pause-resisting thriller yet - where the power of God is nearly equaled by the ambition of men. The pope is dead. Behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, 118 cardinals from all over the globe will cast their votes in the world's most secretive election. They are holy men. But they have ambition. And they have rivals. Over the next 72 hours, one of them will become the most powerful spiritual figure on earth."
  
  
• The Spy: A Novel By Paulo Coelho, Narrated By Hillary Huber, Paul Boehmer -- "In his new novel, Paulo Coelho, best-selling author of The Alchemist and Adultery, brings to life one of history's most enigmatic women: Mata Hari. The story of her celebrated yet mysterious life as an exotic dancer and courtesan, and her controversial execution as a spy during the First World War, unfolds as a fascinating first-person narrative of self-creation and bravery."
  
  INDIE PICKS:
  
  
• Dragon of the Stars By Alex J. Cavanaugh, Narrated By Michael Burnette -- "The future is set for Lt. Commander Aden Pendar, son of a Hyrathian Duke. Poised to secure his own command and marriage to the queen's daughter, he'll stop at nothing to achieve his goals. But when the Alliance denies Hyrath's claim on the planet of Kavil and declares war on their world, Aden finds his plans in disarray. Entrenched in battle and told he won't make captain, Aden's world begins to collapse. How will he salvage his career and future during Hyrath's darkest hour?"
  
  
• Earth Alone: Earthrise, Book 1 By Daniel Arenson, Narrated By Jeffrey Kafer for Audible -- No, Audible isn't "indie" but Arenson's series is, self-published and often free (or dirt cheap) in Kindle and now in audio with a miniscule ($1.99) Whispersync add-on price. "They came from deep space. They came to destroy us. Fifty years ago bloodthirsty aliens devastated the Earth. Most of humanity perished. We fell into darkness. But now we rise from the ashes. Now we fight back." Earth Lost: Earthrise, Book 2 and Earth Rising: Earthrise, Book 3 are also both out this week, and Whispersync enabled.
  
  SERIES BOOKS:
  
  
• The Operator: The Peri Reed Chronicles, Book 2 By Kim Harrison, Narrated By January LaVoy -- Continuing the new Detroit-based sf thriller series which began with The Drafter: "On-the-run ex-agent Peri Reed returns bigger and bolder than ever in this second highly anticipated installment in New York Times best-selling author Kim Harrison's new suspense trilogy, The Peri Reed Chronicles."
  
  
• Apes and Angels: The Star Quest Trilogy, Book 3 By Ben Bova, Narrated By Stefan Rudnicki (Tor Books, Blackstone Publishing) -- "Six-time Hugo Award winner Ben Bova chronicles the saga of humankind's expansion beyond the solar system in Apes and Angels, the last installment in the Star Quest Trilogy."
  
  
• The Hollow Hills: The Arthurian Saga, Book 2 By Mary Stewart, Narrated By Derek Perkins
  
  
• Timecaster Supersymmetry By J. A. Konrath, Narrated By Patrick Lawlor
  
  
• The Rider: Galactic Football League Novellas, Book 4 By Scott Sigler, Paul E. Cooley, Narrated By Scott Sigler
  
  
• Cross the Line: Alex Cross, Book 24 By James Patterson, Narrated By Ryan Vincent Anderson, Pete Bradbury

"The Algebraist" by Iain M. Banks.

Banks is better known by the Culture series. The most accessible book in the series may be "The Player of Games" and others have mentioned "Consider Phlebas". I did not like "Matter" very much but YMMV.

edit: I usually link to the Amazon's page because it is a quite good place to see reviews and get a general idea about if the book is any good. As others have said it is a good idea to get the book from a library.

my favorite author is John Ringo. He ... is not everybody's cup of tea (talk to me first before reading his Ghost series) but has a good mix of some fantasy, some sci fi, some just regular action.

He combines well researched action with humor.

I would suggest starting with his Troy Rising series
https://www.amazon.com/Live-Free-Troy-Rising-Book-ebook/dp/B00APAH7T2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1493820928&sr=8-3&keywords=live+free+or+die

he also has a good zombie apocalypse series.

• Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game"
  
• Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash"
  
• Joe Haldeman's "Forever War"
  
• Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous with Rama"
  
• Vernor Vinge's "A Fire Upon The Deep"
  
• Kurt Vonnegut's "The Sirens of Titan"
  
• Philip K. Dick's "Do Android Dream of Electric Sheep" (inspiration for the Blade Runner movie)
  
• Dan Simmons' "Hyperion"
  
  Every single one of these books has something different to offer you from the genre of scifi. Those three at the top are great entries into the genre. As what I perceive to be "deeper cuts", allow me to suggest my four favorite scifi novels:
  
  
• Isaac Asimov's "Foundation"
  
• William Gibson's "Neuromancer"
  
• Paolo Bacigalupi's "The Windup Girl"
  
• Alfred Bester's "The Stars My Destination"
  
  Cheers!

Ender's Game...little boy trains to save the world from aliens on a video game. The first book connects you to Ender and books 2-4 make you think about things a little difficult. They deal with some pretty taboo topics from a point of view that allows you to sympathize. They are so well written, Orson Scott Card is an amazing author, and you will be hooked by 50 pages, I promise :)

Sample.
The Course of Empire (Course of Empire Series Book 1) by Eric Flint
1632 (Ring of Fire Series) by Eric Flint
Northworld Trilogy by David Drake
Starliner by David Drake
Star Soldiers by Adre Norton
Oath of Swords (War God Book 1) by David Weber
On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington Book 1) by David Weber
The Honor of the Queen (Honor Harrington Book 2) by David Weber
The Star Agency (The Star Agency Chronicles Book 1) by R.E. Weber
The Last Praetorian (The Redemption Trilogy Book 1) by Mike Smith
Hard Duty: Merkiaari Wars Book 1 by Mark E. Cooper
The Synchronicity War Part 1 by Dietmar Wehr
Dark Space by Jasper T. Scott
The Tank Lords by David Drake
Redliners by David Drake
A Desert Called Peace (Carrera Series Book 1) by Tom Kratman
Gunship by John Davis
With the Lightnings (Lt. Leary Book 1) by David Drake
Tales of Honor #1 by Matt Hawkins and Jung-Geun Yoon
The Fringe Worlds: (The Human Chronicles Saga Book #1) by T.R. Harris
Freehold (Freehold Series Book 1) by Michael Z. Williamson
The Last Roman (The Praetorian Series Book 1) by Edward Crichton
The Sea Hag by David Drake
Forbidden The Stars (The Interstellar Age Book 1) by Valmore Daniels
FCBD 2015: Tales of Honor by Matt Hawkins and Linda Sejic
The Philosophical Strangler (Joe's World Book 1) by Eric Flint
The Creatures of Man by Howard L. Myers
In the Heart of Darkness (Belisarius Saga Book 2) by Eric Flint
Northworld Trilogy by David Drake
Starliner by David Drake

Edit: I just realized how retarded I am and that you were looking for 2016 books. Sorry about that. These are all relatively new though, and great reads.

I see you read Dalzelle's Black fleet trilogy. For something similar but with better tactics, an interesting perspective on differences in technology advancement, and a more expeditionary style conflict, including actual interactions with alien beings, try Evan Currie's Odyssey One series.

Another good Mil-Scifi is Michael Hicks In Her Name series. I've linked the last of the books chronologically but they were the first published and how I read them; so I feel its a good introduction to the series. It focuses on the main character who plays a central role in the human's conflict with a race of blue skinned, Amazonian-like warriors who prefer close quarters combat despite technological superiority(sounds cheesy I know, but the character and culture development is very well done). The middle trilogy is much more military oriented but focuses less on open space naval battles and more on ground battles across multiple planets. The "first," newest trilogy, chronicles the establishment of the Empire that humans are at war with (I haven't read this one yet). The series has some elements of science fantasy, which is all I can say without giving away too much.

My most recent favorite and I can't recommend enough is Pierce Brown's Red Rising trilogy. It's kind of hard to pin down this one into a specific genre. It seems like it would be YA, but it is not. It has eugenics, enhanced humans, an interesting caste system, space battles, ground battles, high technology, low technology, decent character development, and just a ton of other elements. It's sort of Game of Thrones meets Hunger Games meets Harry Potter meets Brave New World meets Roman history in space. It is very well told and is a New York Times best seller for good reason.

Good to hear from you. I am not a book critic at all so I thank you for letting me try.

>Indeed, the story is designed to start in media res, and the lack of familiarity with the setting is intentional. The next six chapters are dedicated to exploring the characters and the world around them. I've always found it more interesting when the reader is thrust into an unknown universe, only to have information about that universe slowly disclosed over the course of the story.

Ever read John Scalzi's work? In Ghost Brigades he does this very well in the first chapter where you are just boggled to the point that you can't put the book down to find out where the story will go next. I know that most writers do this, but that was the one that stands out right now. He is a great writer and I recommend him if you haven't read any of his work. Start with Old Man's War.

>You shouldn't ;)

Dang! If you can, link the next installment. I'll be having a slow day at work tomorrow!

I don't know of fanfics, but there is a line of published fiction by Karen Traviss (see here for the first one), which are absolutely amazing. She personalizes the clones so well, and adds a level of backstory to episode 3 that is wonderful.

I recommend Old Man's War

​

The beginning line is awesome: John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.

​

It's part of an amazing series and they are all excellent books.

Best of luck!

Book?

Please, oh please, let me get this new job

I have to recommend my favorite book, it was even made into a decent movie!

I would love Speedrunners. And if you're feeling extra generous, Nimble Quest is also on sale for $0.50 right now!

www.steamcommunity.com/id/13DprimePlays

I'm also about to do a road trip with two other scientists! Here are some awesome books that either I've read, or I plan on reading on my trip:

Contact - Carl Sagan. This book is absolutely my favorite science-y fiction, ever.

Cat's Cradle or Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut, if you haven't read them already.

Anything by Ray Bradbury - specifically Fahrenheit 451, also if you haven't read it already.

If you're into full-on science fiction, I can totally recommend the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card and the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons.

I'd suggest one of the following:

• Old Man's War by John Scalzi. Well written, fun and an easy read.
  
• Seeker by Jack McDevitt. A good old fashioned archaeology mystery set 9,000 years in the future.
  
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Classic story about the child selected to lead Earth's defense against alien invaders.

Get those kids some books!

oh lawd, this is going to be LONG
for advanced readers,

Enders Game

The Giver

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

The Harry Potter Series

The Heir Apparent

Farenheit 451


A lot of these books can be read young and then reread when older to get more meaning

For younger beginning readers

Dr Seuss, I really remember Green Eggs and Ham, Go Dog go, and One Fish two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish


Oh and surprise me, i really like SciFi/Fantasy and have read the Dune Series and ASoIaF, but the Modern High Power Rocketry Book would be very very appreciated.

Well, it's certainly more rare than this printing.

In any case, I remember my middle school's library had these particular books. I was pretty stoked to read them, then got a pretty big surprise when I read Amuro boned Sayla and ends up dying. So much for Zeta and CCA.

My personal favorites (although note, neither are canon anymore):

1.) Shatterpoint: follows Mace Windu, and is essentially Star Wars' take on Heart of Darkness.

2.) The Thrawn Trilogy: Widely hailed as the best of the Star Wars EU. In my opinion, it has some of the best and worst elements. The good: a brilliant, nuanced antagonist; the bad: evil clones (a terrible subplot).

I haven't read it yet, but Lost Stars has been very well received (despite being billed as a young adult novel). I'd recommend it if you'd like a new canonical novel.

Cyberabad Days by Ian McDonald
>Cyberabad Days is a triumphant return to the India of 2047, a new, muscular superpower of one and a half billion people in an age of artificial intelligences, climate-change induced drought, water wars, strange new genders, genetically improved children that age at half the rate of baseline humanity, and a population where males outnumber females four to one. India herself has fractured into a dozen states from Kerala to the headwaters of the Ganges in the Himalayas. Cyberabad Days is a collection of seven stories, one Hugo nominee and one Hugo winner among them, as well as a thirthy-one thousand word original novella.

> To arms, rise the banners, he who believes in a God will quake when he sees the Hordes of nerd atheist bigots. Descend upon the Theist and show no mercy!

That's what I half expected....

> But, define beliefs?

What I believe in personally even without solid, absolute, undeniable, beyond a doubt, unquestionable, incontrovertible proof.

> Are you spiritual compared to believing organized religion

I guess part of it is spiritual, but it's mostly religion. Just not a single religion.

> And reddit only likes it if you go from Theist ot Atheist, due to then you will agree with them.

All I see on Reddit is these Theist/Atheist conversions so I thought it was time to hear from somebody who did the opposite.

> Favorite book?

Ender's Game

If you're interested in the the story behind the prequel movies, Darth Plagueis is an excellent book that fills in some of the plot holes from those movies. If you're interested in post-RotJ, I'd recommend starting with the Thrawn trilogy.

Sounds like you might enjoy Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age. I think Snow Crash is meant to be in the same universe - it's hilarious but not as dense. You might also like his Cryptonomicon, though it's not technically Sci Fi.

Tad Willams' Otherland Series is Epic Sci Fi with a huge amount of detail. Might be right up your alley.

Dune, Neuromancer and The Enderverse if you haven't already read those.

Just going to mention that the Aliens VS Predator novel was amazing, and so were the graphic novel follow ups, pretty cool. Forget that horrible movie you saw. The original was the shit.

Talk about a hard decision! I seriously cannot choose so here are a few of My Favorite Book (s):

Pride and Prejudice

Shadow Divers non-fiction

Ender's Game

If RedditRaffle chooses me I would like this book.

What a great first contest!

I have three books that I love to loan out (or just strongly recommend to those weirdos out there who refuse a loaner):

• Ender's Game, which has been mentioned.
  
  
• Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman.
  
  
• Lamb by Christopher Moore.
  
  The first two books have in some ways shaped my life over the years. The last book is just the funniest I've ever read.

The Timothy Zahn books are really good. You can get all 3 on Amazon for about 23 bucks: http://www.amazon.com/Heir-Empire-Star-Wars-Trilogy/dp/0553296124/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259835520&sr=8-1

Tales from Jabba's Palace was entertaining. My Mom got me the Millennium Falcon novel last Christmas, it was pretty interesting.

The New Jedi Order was good, but I stopped about 5-6 books into it. I read the summary on Wiki/Wookiepedia, and it sounds like they kind of jumped the shark. I might try to finish it up eventually though.

Star Soldiers by Andre Norton is pretty good. The Kindle edition is also free!

Here are all the local Amazon links I could find:


amazon.co.uk

amazon.ca

amazon.com.au

amazon.in

amazon.com.mx

amazon.de

amazon.it

amazon.es

amazon.com.br

amazon.nl

amazon.co.jp

amazon.fr

Beep bloop. I'm a bot to convert Amazon ebook links to local Amazon sites.
I currently look here: amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, amazon.ca, amazon.com.au, amazon.in, amazon.com.mx, amazon.de, amazon.it, amazon.es, amazon.com.br, amazon.nl, amazon.co.jp, amazon.fr, if you would like your local version of Amazon adding please contact my creator.

Best place to start is the Timothy Zahn series. It picks up shortly after Return of the Jedi and is some of the best writing you'll find. It has possibly the best villain in the Star Wars universe hands down, I found myself hoping the bad guys would win about halfway through.

https://www.amazon.com/Heir-Empire-Star-Wars-Trilogy/dp/0553296124

I've got a recommendation. Robert Reed's Marrow!

https://www.amazon.com/Marrow-Robert-Reed/dp/0812566572

This is a quite a fun romp with a mysterious, large Neptune-sized planet ship that enters our galaxy from extra-galactic space. This vast ark is habitable both inside and out and hosts a vast array of humans and alien species in a transhuman era.

Marrow and its sequel, The Well of Stars is big-scale sci-fi. The descriptions of the pertinent BDO are both copious and detailed. Enjoy!

Cute!

Don't call me Mad Dog.

A Fist Full of Dollars. Because I love spaghetti!

Cheap item.

Thank you.

It's Gundam the origin. It's a collectors edition version of the manga published by vertical. They're all hardback copies and wonderfully presented IMO. There is a novel of the original MSG as well that's worth checking out.

Some contemporary options that I can't get out of my head since I read (listened) to them:

• The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North. She's a new author and the book was simply amazing.
  
• Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Amazing "first contact" story.
  
• Fear the Sky by Stephen Moss. Well-done invasion story.

Old Man's War (recommended by Penny Arcade!)

And if you can consider this science fiction, then Infected it's pretty awesome, and very raw and gritty

I need to pick up Game of Thrones. Looks really good. Anyway, I'll recommend Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. Amazing read, and the start of an even more awesome series of novels. Of course, if you don't mind reading a book from a little known author, try checking out John Evans. I picked up The Fallen a couple months back and couldn't put it down. Really good read, but kinda tricky to find.

I hope the downvotes were more for my inartful and pretentious comment than against the book. Don't take my word for it though check out the reviews on Amazon. I like the book though because it blends classic space exploration scifi, like Heinlein, with more modern genetics, networking and computer technology speculation.

It's a fantastic novel by a great author.

I just started Old Man's War (John Scalzi) a couple nights ago. Interesting read so far. I am tempted to set it aside for a bit and re-read Hyperbole and a Half, because it's just a good read. Also, the "Simple Dog" reminds me of a friend's dog. :)

Marrow and The Well of Stars are also pretty good.

Try and read Children of Time: https://www.amazon.com/Children-Time-Adrian-Tchaikovsky/dp/1543625584

​

Has main characters that are spiders. He is able to convey emotions beautifully. I can't quite quote anything, I just know it was an amazing book and I connected with the spider's emotions.

I'd love to get Ender's Game. I've had it on my to-read list for a while. :)

I pick 7!

Old Man's War by John Scalzi who's actually pretty cool blogger, and is an apparent good person

Do you mean this book series https://www.amazon.com/Prey-Aliens-Vs-Predator-Book/dp/0553565559? I remember it being pretty awesome.

This is also a cover of a pretty great book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Algebraist-Iain-M-Banks/dp/1841492299

The original Gundam's novel adaptation - Story of the original anime series rewritten to be a more concise and gritty sci-fi narrative. Make sure to get the newest edition, as the earlier release was translated before the anime made its way stateside and the translated character names don't match with what most people are familiar with.

Ender's Game is always a good one for young adults.

My first scifi-ish books were: Keeper of the Isis Light, Alien Secrets, Animorphs, Beyond the Farthest Star. The first three may be a bit too young for him though.

Don't be afraid to give him non-YA (adult) scifi books. It's better to go too old for him than too young and risk insulting him. If you have a particular favorite (that isn't too theoretical/preachy), give him that. He's more likely to read it if you are interested in it, and it'll give you something to discuss.

The Stainless Steel Rat (probably the closest thing to Space Opera on my short list of suggestions)

Dune

Anything by Isaac Assimov

Anything by William Gibson (Count Zero, Mona Lisa Overdrive, and Neuromancer would be good first choices)

Ender's Game

H. G. Wells and Jules Verne are also good choices if you want some classic old-school sci-fi

I think the English translation of Tomino's 0079 books (Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation) are out of print again. You can buy the compilation used for around $15. You could also try your local library (they may be more likely to have The Origin series).

Update: It seems that they are still in print. Amazon only has a couple but says more are on the way.

Here's the Google Books link where you can preview the book.

Edit: Goodreads page. "A Great Read" -Asian Reporter

Oh, also check out the Odyssey series by Evan Curie. The first book is Into The Black and follows the first FTL ship mankind produces as they take their maiden voyage into the greater galaxy. Aliens are met, things go awry, much adventure and interesting political & philosophical issues are generated by the interaction with alien species.

You should read the republic commando series by Karen Traviss
starting with "Hard Contact"
this is a huge part of the story
and the books are great
I've read each one like 5 times!

http://www.amazon.com/Hard-Contact-Star-Wars-Republic/dp/0345478274

**edit
It also goes WAY heavily into the black and white nature of light side dark side of the force. It changes the way you think about jedi

http://www.amazon.com/Prey-Aliens-Vs-Predator-Book/dp/0553565559/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1373827814&sr=8-3&keywords=predator+vs+alien%3A+prey

this book has a large section told from a predators POV, and sometimes their youngest hunters get too enthusiastic to remember the honor code.

Mobile Suit Gundam (the original series)

One of the most underrated sci-fi series of all time. Below is the link to the novels that inspired the anime series. If you’re into novels.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation https://www.amazon.com/dp/1611720052/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_52hxCbFHTQW33

If you’re into manga or anime, HIGHLY recommend reading the origin series. It’s a more fleshed out version of the 1979 anime series. There’s 12 volumes I believe. Read the reviews for some perspective.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, Vol. 1- Activation https://www.amazon.com/dp/193565487X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_35hxCbD65GJPM

Gundam has so many series that it can seem overwhelming to approach. The manga above is a great way to get into the main series. Space-opera, compelling characters, the lines of good vs bad are blurred. It’s commentary that frighteningly mirrors our society written by people who grew up in the post-WWII/post-Atomic bomb drop in Japan era. The over arching theme is that despite the tragedy that is war, there is an inherent goodness that humans are capable of.

The Thrawn Triology by Timothy Zahn. They're set after the Return of the Jedi-period. Great stories and well written too. Start off with the Heir to the Empire, the first in the series.

John Ringo's Troy Rising trilogy, starting with Live Free or Die. Harder-than-average sci-fi, with an enjoyable military bent similar to OMW.

Ender's Game. This is an easy book to read and you will probably enjoy it.

I've been listening to books this way for about 3 years and I have noticed that I am a very fast speaker now. I'm not sure if it's releated but it could be.

Also, always look for whispersync books. You can almost always get the audible version for crazy cheap.
Example:
http://www.amazon.com/Basilisk-Station-Honor-Harrington-Book-ebook/dp/B00ARPJBS0/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1452542369&sr=8-6
I can't see the audiobook price because I already have it but I bet the combination is only a few dollars for a great audiobook/ebook
http://www.amazon.com/Starliner-David-Drake-ebook/dp/B00ARPEAU4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1452542467&sr=1-8
this audiobook is only 1.99 vs 14.95 when buying it straight up.

Take a look at the list of past Hugo winners and look for easily accessible ones. A few jump out at me:

Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein

Dune - Frank Herbert

The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert Heinlein

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

Barrayar - Lois McMaster Bujold, or maybe the omnibus Cordelia's Honor

The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson

Comic or novel? This is the first volume right?

http://www.amazon.com/Heir-Empire-Star-Wars-Trilogy/dp/0553296124/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394743625&sr=8-1&keywords=Thrawn

I'm sorry to say the full trilogy is a little too pricy for me but i think this would be a good way to get him started

How about giving him a book of Stephen King novellas? Four Past Midnight, Hearts in Atlantis, or, if he wants some really scary, dark stuff, Full Dark, No Stars.

Or Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos for military sci-fi. Or Old Man's War by John Scalzi. OMW is a terrific series. Love those books!

More space opera-y but I enjoyed them: Old Man's War

Fire Upon the Deep

I have Your Inner Fish . It was a very good read. Any random chance you have Ender's Game ?

You might also try Iron Sunrise and Singularity Sky by Charlie Stross (Another awesome scottish sf author). They're a similar sort of whimsical space-opera to bits of the Culture, although shorter^1 and less complicated.

Also, don't forget the other M. Banks, like The Algebraist


[1] But Who's Counting?

1. A Game of Thrones - George RR Martin
   
   
2. Heir to the Empire - Timothy Zahn
   
   
3. Red Mars - Kim Stanley Robinson
   
   
4. All the Sweet Promises - Elizabeth Elgin

Some of my favorites:

• Noir - K.W. Jeter
  
• Macroscope - Piers Anthony
  
• Armor - John Steakley
  
• Protector - Larry Niven
  
• I Robot - Isaac Asimov
  
• Neuromancer - William Gibson
  
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
  
• The Fall of Reach (Halo) - Eric Nylund
  
• Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein
  
• Cachalot - Alan Dean Foster
  
• Islands in the Net - Bruce Sterling
  
• Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card
  
• Reality Dysfunction - Peter F. Hamilton
  
  I tried to get as many different authors as possible in there. Many of those authors have plenty of really good books you shouldn't miss.

I'VE BEEN GOOD I SWEAR

$4.19 book :)

Thank you for the contest, Santa Chica!

I would really suggest the series ,Old Man's War. I'm not very good with summaries but it is a fantastic series if you are into sci-fi. Essentially elderly people's minds are transferred to new bio-enhanced bodies to fight humanities enemies. Sounds really generic but really well done in my opinion.

If you are into more of a military recommendation and less of a sci-fi one I would suggest The Weapon

It was also mentioned but Starship Trooper is a classic book and one of the inspirations I had for military service.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1611720052/ref=mp_s_a_1_1

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

Lighthearted space opera, like Nathan Lowell, Andrew Moriarty, Jamie McFarlane, Becky Chambers, Peter Grant. The stories often involve a young person getting their first job onboard a commercial spacecraft of some sort.

https://www.amazon.com/Into-Black-Remastered-Odyssey-Book-ebook/dp/B005ML0EZS/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1482678404&sr=1-3&keywords=into+the+black

about half of this series is pretty good. nothing fancy just hard scifi mixed with space opera. i honestly have no idea why i like these books but i'll buy them when they come out and read most of them

These are all terrific, and are either obscure or all-but forgotten:

Evolution's Darling by Scott Westerfield

Stone by Adam Roberts

Broken Time by Maggie Thomas

Double Star by Robert Heinlein (forgotten classic, but still terrific)

The God of the Labyrinth by Colin Wilson (creepy, trippy, near-pornographic, but also mind-blowing)

Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick

Camp Concentration by Thomas M. Disch

Carve the Sky by Alexander Joblokov

Metaplanetary by Tony Daniel

Marrow by Robert Reed

I'd definitely recommend starting with the Thrawn trilogy, here's a link to the first book: http://www.amazon.com/Heir-Empire-Star-Wars-Trilogy/dp/0553296124/

I love it when people listen and are open to things that they have not read. http://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Suit-Gundam-Escalation-Confrontation/dp/1611720052

my absolute favourite is the star guard / star rangers duology. the first book takes place in a universe where a developed alien federation will only allow humanity out into the stars as mercenaries. also the collected edition is free for kindle.

I mostly get audio books.

The books this year.

• 7 Halo books
  
• 1 mass effect book
  
• 5 Star Force books
  
• Ready Player One
  
• For The Win & The Makers by Cory Doctorow
  
• Into the Black: Odyssey One
  
• Redshirts
  
• The Black cloud by Fred Hoyle
  
• City of Golden Shadow (Otherland, Volume 1)
  

Wait... there's an official release?!?!?! I didn't know.

Is it this one?

Are these the original novels Tomino wrote?

There is only the one book. The movie only used the book as a premise and went off on its own. Anyone who has read the book pretty much doesn't like the movie. I don't think the 2nd and 3rd made it to theaters...
If you like bug killing adventures, look at Armor. If you like a more engrossing story look at Ender's Game.

The Master and Commander Series by Patrick O'Brian
(good seafaring adventure)

if you're into scifi,
Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell is like the above, except in space.

Try reading Children of Time :-)

It definitely gave me mixed feelings

The Odyssey One series (book 1 by Evan Currie comes to mind.

It's pulp, but fun.

*****

The Culture Series (book 1) by Iain Banks also comes to mind.

This one is a bit more serious than Odyssey One, and I've only read the first book so far... It might turn out to be very different.

Use whatever makes the most dramatic and compelling story, and whatever reinforces the narrative itself. I'd probably start with throwing the reader into the middle and fill in the background as the main story progresses. For example, how Paolo Bacigalupi builds the setting in The Windup Girl or John Scalzi allows the setting to unfold in the background of Old Man's War.

You can always go back and write prequels, first contact stories, and the like afterward. Remember, Tolkien didn't start with the Simarillion either- he just threw the reader into the setting.

The question however is this: who's your target audience? Adults or young adults? If you can get an illustrator like Drachen to work with you (cause damn he's good), That would be something to consider in and of itself.

It's not very sci-fi though, it's mostly just a sci-fi setting, but you're right it's not very recent.

Maybe Old Man's War would have been a better suggestion?

I second The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson series as recommendations.

Looking for Alaska is really popular among my high school students, both girls and boys.

Maybe Ender's Game?

The Seven Realms series is another one several of my kids have been raving about to me. I haven't gotten around to reading them myself, but it might be worth checking out. Starts with The Demon King.

This book is fantastic: http://www.amazon.com/Old-Mans-War-John-Scalzi/dp/0765348276

Maybe not rich histories, but very, very interesting for a stand alone book.

I'm not a fan of Alastair Reynolds. My favourite science fiction would be a toss up between any of the Culture novels by Iain M Banks, Cyberabad Days by Ian McDonald or The Windup Girl by Paulo Bacigalupi.

Some great, truly great books that are not often recommended here include Wolf Hall, The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes, the Civil War narrative history (in three parts) by Shelby Foote, the WWII espionage novels of Alan Furst or the historical biographies of Christopher Hibbert.

So many more too.

Scalzi's Old Man's War was excellent. I devoured it in the initial reading, and I've re-read it about 3 times since (all this year).

The comics were all dark horse. The novels were written by Steve and/or Stephanie Perry. The novels aren't particularly well written, but they are far better than the movie. Here is a link to the first in the series of novels: http://www.amazon.com/Prey-Aliens-Vs-Predator-Book/dp/0553565559

I just finished the 5th book in Evan Currie's Odyssey One series. I've enjoyed every one!

Amazon reviews look pretty good. I think I need to read this book to inform the development of my Trooper on launch!

The three series that come to mind are below:
I enjoyed all 3 for each its own reason. The Solar Clipper one stands out as more unique in my mind. I wish there was more like it.

 
 
 

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• Starforce by B. V. Larson (Swarm,Extinction,Rebellion,Conquest,Battle Station,Annihilation,Storm Assault,The Dead Sun)
  
  
• Frontiers by Ryk Brown (Aurora: CV-01,The Rings of Haven,The Legend of Corinair,Freedom's Dawn,Head of the Dragon,The Expanse,Celestia: CV-02,Resistance,Liberation,Rise of the Corinari)
  
  
• Solar Clipper Trader Tales by Nathan Lowell (Quarter Share,Half Share,Full Share,Double Share,Captain's Share,Owner's Share)

Girl in the Tangerine Scarf. Novel about a muslim growing up in america.

John Dies at the End. Horror fantasy novel with a lot of philisophical aspects. Also, lots of dick jokes. It's written by a guy that went on to write for Cracked.com. It also recently came out as a movie.

Ender's Game. Futuristic scifi about a kid that goes up to space-school to learn how to save the world from an alien invasion. Soon to be a major motion picture.

13 Reasons Why. Novel about the aftermath of a high school suicide. Good if you want lots of feels.

Wow...I have just the thing for you =). Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell. This started out as a podcast or something. At first I thought the story was a little amateurish, but I ended up really liking it and it is exactly what you describe wanting.

EDIT: If want something more hard hardcorish, check out Alastair Reynolds, Revelation Space series.

I won't spoil it for you but you should read the second AvP book Hunter's Planet. The first book Prey is very good and seems to have influenced the grand story arc (not the details) of the Prometheus move. When you get to book 2 shit gets real.

Weird - it sends me to here:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AQNGVP4

which is priced at $6.94.

https://www.amazon.com/Starliner-David-Drake-ebook/dp/B00ARPEAU4/

comes up for me as free.

That's in an incognito browser window, so it's not tied to my Amazon account.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

10/10
Science Fiction

it's my favorite science fiction book. People should read it before the movie comes out next year!

Ender's Game

In all honesty, the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are pretty tough to get into, since they are practically the ur-examples of fantasy, written back when a lot of commercial fiction methodology was still being developed.

When i read a book, I worry first and foremost if I'm entertained, if I am, I'll give it my recommendation, regardless of the flaws. These are the ones I think you'd find best for jumping in with.

YA/Middle Grade Books

• The Maze Runner Trilogy by James Dashner (post-apocalypse)
  
  
• Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan (modern kid finds he's the son of Poseidon)
  
  
• Leviathan/Behemoth/Goliath by Scott Westerfeld] (World war 1 with mechs and genetically engineered animals)
  
  
• Eragon by Christopher Paolini (a kid finds a dragon egg and fights the big bad guy. As a warning, it uses the exact same monomyth structure as Star Wars so the similarities are... apt.)
  
  
  Fantasy
  
  
• Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson (a gang of thieves try to rob the evil overlord)
  
  
• Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (a brutal war between about a half different factions over who gets the crown. Gets really complex fast so it might not be a great one to start with.)
  
  
• Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (I always say it's Oceans 11 written in the Game of Thrones world)
  Discworld by Terry Pratchet (I'd recommend not starting at the beginning.)
  
  
  Sci-Fi
  
  
• Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (it's Ender's Game. You must read this)
  
  
• Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Not sure how to pitch this. It's space marines fighting everyone)
  
  
• The Sector General Series by James White (It's like House, but in space with aliens. Not without flaws but very underrated in my view)
  
  
  Urban Fantasy
  
  
• The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (a hard boiled private eye who is also a wizard)
  
  
• Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia (Band of mercenaries hunt monsters. The author is very libertarian/right wing so if you can't stand that, you might not like the books. The kindle edition has to be bought from the baen.com bookstore)
  
  
• Grimnoire Chronicles by Larry Correia (1930's with magic, zeppelins, etc Same warning as above, but it's more subdued here.)
  
  
  Thrillers/Suspense
  
  
• Da Vinci Code/Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (even though I think Brown really needs to improve his writing style, he still can get the books going pretty intensely)
  
  
• Jurassic Park, Timeline, Congo, etc by Michael Crichton (a bit tougher reads since they're pretty scientific, but still good stuff)
  
  
• John Grisham's early work such as A Time to Kill, The Firm, Runaway Jury, etc. (legal thrillers but not hard to get into. I'm not a huge fan of his later stuff)

I don't know if it is exactly what you are looking for, but you may like Ender's Game.

You'd enjoy Old Man's War

Anything by Timothy Zahn is solid gold, but I'd start with Heir to the Empire. It was one of the earliest Expanded Universe works, so you don't have to know a bunch of obscure backstory to read it. It's also notable for creating a lot of the canon that appeared in later EU stuff and even some stuff from the prequels.

Do yourself a favour and pick up a copy, damn good book.