Check out the back story to the Helghast from the videogame series Killzone. They are humans that adapted over hundreds of years to survive on Helghan. A planet with higher gravity than Earth with an acidic atmosphere. Just a thought.
This reflects my own tastes to a large extent. There's debate over what defines true sci-fi and separates it from 'futuristic', but whatever, I like mine dark and gritty... something that paints a world which is plausible. I don't have much time for spacey-wacey timey-wimey stuff (although the Red Dwarf novels are fun in a Hitchhikers kind of way). I have a couple of Jeff Noon books which I'm yet to read (Vurt and Falling out of Cars - the latter being a big inspiration for my current WiP, which is why I've so far avoided reading it), but he sounds like he could be interesting from the reviews I've read.
I like space opera and also military science fiction, and some combinations of the two. I also like some cyberpunk and like elements of cyberpunk combined with space opera and mil-sf.
All kinds of sci-fi if it stays within science possibility. I really enjoy shows where the aliens are far superior to us, we are nothing but a minor species. Unfortunately this is driven more by watching movies than reading, so my best examples are "The Day the Earth Stood Still", "Aliens", and "Prometheus" as good examples. I am a bit disappointed in that most of the forum members seem to write sci-fi that involves weapons, fast ships and the humans always win, there is much more to explore in my opinion.
I like Golden Age pulp sci-fi and the New Wave sci-fi from the 70s. The old stuff is the best. Asimov, Clark, Bradbury, Heinlein, Ellison. PKD is God.
Tbh, I like my own progressive genre of science fiction and I don't see a lot of that out there. That's why I write Sci-fi - it provides me with something to read. What I don't like is cyberpunk and wading through long, textbook descriptions of tech gear that may or may not work in the real world. I also avoid multiverse theory and FTL spacecraft. So basically, while I prefer very realistic characters and settings, I also like a little fantasy mixed in. And it doesn't take much since so little is really known about space and the laws of physics. But why bore the reader with details when the main focus should be on the characters and their plight. So people travel through space using an ancient and high-tech alien device of unknown origin. But I also want spacecraft included with rockets that feel like earthquakes when they launch and launch pads flooded with water to absorb the sound waves and prevent damage. And grabbing handholds while floating through the ship and special devices for eating and drinking in microgravity. Those can be used for short 6 month trips to an alien planet in an alien system. Oh, but that requires a lot of time! Not if your characters have an average lifespan of five-hundred and eighty-four years - they won't age much in six months or even a year. It has to include very strange alien planets with multiple countries, unusual lifeforms, interesting tech gear, and bizarre customs, cultures, and governments - all mixed in with a dark mystery, shrouding a brilliant antagonist and affecting the human-like lives and adventures of my unusual characters. That's just how I roll and what I look for in Sci-fi.
The science fiction I most love is based on two things I believe; fascinating but relatable characters and adventure in their extraordinary settings. What I believe the following stories excel at are bringing you into these amazing universes via the characters and their own journeys. They're very character driven at their heart, and in relation their settings, they are open ended. By that I mean they build such a wonderfully rich setting that could be expanded and extrapolated from by the author and by fans. This is one element I'm hoping to imbue with the story I'm writing (fingers crossed I manage it). Star Wars & Star Trek The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy Firefly & Serenity The Lord of The Rings (not science fiction but along the same lines) More standalone films like Interstellar, The Fifth Element etc.
My favorite is the near future, like that written by Robert Heinlein, that explore the changes on society that come from changes in technology. Such as really cheap and highly efficient solar power in "The Roads Must Roll," etc. All of his stuff brought out those "what if" scenarios that really made you think. Or voting rights and running for public office tied to military service in "Starship Troopers," a much more insightful political novel than the movie. The early Roman Republic did that: "precinct" derives from "prae centuriata" meaning before the century. You mustered with the century in which you had served, and were checked against their muster rolls, when you went to vote.
I love all kinds, it's my go-to genre of choice. I like the original Starship Troopers, Isaac Asimov's collection, the Honor Harrington series. I always was fascinated with what people could dream up with science fiction, because unlike strict fantasy it has certain rules and confines that are less of a confining feature and more 'what can I break or bend'.
My favorite would probably have to be historical/alternate universe science fiction. My username vouches for me.
I think Stephen Hawking's opinions on AI colour a lot of opinions these days. And while I agree with you that the science fiction writers of 40 and 50 years ago had a far better attitude toward technology, they also lived in a time when we were optimistic about the present and the future. The history of the world since 1963 has dampened a lot of spirits, especially considering that fiction of the time said that, by now, we'd have our choice of planets to live on and none of us would have to work, while self-flying cars and robot servants would be the norm. (sigh)
As for what I like most in science fiction, it's time travel all the way. Unfortunately, I've read all the good ones... as well as a lot of the bad (one can't get too picky with such a narrow preference). And one of these days, I'm going to write my own time travel story.
Cyberpunk is one of my favorite genres, but I couldn't follow that book. The descriptions were too sparse for me to keep track of anything, despite the myriad of drug references. I finished it without knowing who half the characters were. Of course, I'm not the best person to talk to about attentional ability.
I have ADHD and autistic rote memory skills. I can absorb so much dictionary and technical information so quickly that I can get A's without reading all the material, but I'm so tired and disorganized that I almost failed a few classes last year anyway. Stimulants make school feel like a joke, but I still make dumb mistakes every once in a while.
My favorite type would have to be Sci-Fi War Stories like the Warhammer 40k books, and The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.
I love anything in Sci-Fi that has space in it. Space is so big and huge, that anything can be written about it. and it fascinates me to no end. I have been wanting to read CyberPunk but don't really know where to start, I would like to broaden my horizons to help me write better.
I'm a big time travel scenarios fan. I love nothing more than scratching my head at stuff that includes the Grandfather Paradox. If you go back in time and shoot your grandfather... You can kiss goodbye to any of his Worthers Originals when you back I think that's how it goes.
I love personal drama stuff first and foremost, so whether everything takes place on a space station or on land in a future world, man vs. man issues are my favorite story element. In general, my most favorite element in sci-fi is genetic mutation stuff. Anything to do with modifying human biology, man controlling (or attempting to control) natural evolution, creating other species with human beings as a blank canvas and the numerous social repercussions of that is all interesting to me. I also love a ragtag gang of misfits who are lightly on the criminal side going on space missions to different planets where there are myriads of different cultures and languages (basically Firefly and The Expanse's set up), but the technical stuff goes right over my head, so I don't get hung up on actual space travel or space tech stuff. So long as I know what a thingymabob does, I like it. Don't really care how it thingymabobs. Put a severed alien arm in a tanning bed and Milla Jovovich pops out in a bandage bikini? Sure, of course, I love it, I'm totally down.
Would it be wrong if I recommend that you check out the story I'm currently working on? Has a lot of the same qualities you seem to enjoy; ragtag crew, big galaxy, not too tech heavy. You might find something you like.
