1. NK_UT

    NK_UT Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2019
    Messages:
    202
    Likes Received:
    180
    Location:
    Salt Lake City

    Epic sci-fi recommendation?

    Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by NK_UT, Feb 7, 2020.

    Hey all.

    I'm browsing Barnes and Noble right now. I was just thumbing through a copy of The Eye of the World, thinking back to reading these when I was a kid, and I suddenly became curious about recommendations for a sci-fi epic with the feel of The Wheel of Time.

    I have already read the Dark Tower series, and Dune.

    I'm looking for something with a more modern feel than those that aren't cheap throwaway sci-fi.

    Any thoughts?
     
  2. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    Science Fiction dressed as Fantasy is kind'ov an old-school trope, so I can't really think of anything recent.

    What immediately comes to mind, though, are the Darkover novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley, the Galactic Milieu Series and Saga of Pliocene Exile by Julian May (two interrelated trilogies), and, of course, the Pern novels by Anne McCaffrey.
     
    NK_UT likes this.
  3. NK_UT

    NK_UT Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2019
    Messages:
    202
    Likes Received:
    180
    Location:
    Salt Lake City
    I guess that's not exactly what I mean. Not so much sci-fi wearing Fantasy's underwear so much as sci-fi that is broad and expansive with a well developed internal lore. Something that is both epic and grounded in reality at the same time.

    The Expanse is too hard sci-fi for what I'm looking for, while something like Dune is too Fantasy.

    Something Snow Crash in tone and setting but more epic in scope.
     
  4. Earp

    Earp Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 13, 2016
    Messages:
    4,507
    Likes Received:
    8,247
    Location:
    Just right of center.
    I remember really enjoying Farmer's Riverworld series.
     
  5. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    Are you familiar with his WorShip novels, Destination: Void, The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect, and The Ascension Factor?

    He taps some similar themes in this other set of books, namely the nature and function of god, and his most notably persistent theme, resource allocation. I know what you mean about the DUNE series. The WorShip novels lean harder into Sci-FI without being as titanium slick and trying to teach you Newtonian Laws of Motion as The Expanse novels (which I loved, btw!)
     
  6. Steve Rivers

    Steve Rivers Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2019
    Messages:
    867
    Likes Received:
    2,160
    Location:
    In a tent built out of facemasks
    The Uplift Series of novels by David Brin might catch your fancy, @NK_UT . Over the final three books it deals in very epic scales, and has a good many memorable characters in it. The first three are really one off stories that are more for easing you into its universe, but are still very good reads, none-the-less.
     
  7. Naomasa298

    Naomasa298 HP: 10/190 Status: Confused Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2019
    Messages:
    5,320
    Likes Received:
    6,141
    Location:
    The White Rose county, UK
    Did you read the whole (original) six part Dune series?
     
    EFMingo likes this.
  8. Night Herald

    Night Herald The Fool Contributor

    Joined:
    May 23, 2012
    Messages:
    1,393
    Likes Received:
    2,621
    Location:
    Far out
    I'm not sure if this is exactly the kind of thing you're asking for, but you could do worse than check out Dan Simmons' Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion (or The Hyperion Cantos). There are also two set-at-a-later-date sequels, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion, which I haven't gotten around to reading yet.

    The Hyperion books fulfill your criteria of "epic" and "sci-fi", if nothing else. They aren't hard Sci-Fi, but if you ask me they don't quite veer into Science Fantasy territory. Most importantly, they're fantastic, well-written books. Read if you're all about crazy high-concept ideas and weirdness.
     
  9. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2010
    Messages:
    13,984
    Likes Received:
    8,557
    Location:
    California, US
    Good books, but if the Expanse is too “hard” SF, I don’t know...
     
    EFMingo likes this.
  10. Steve Rivers

    Steve Rivers Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 15, 2019
    Messages:
    867
    Likes Received:
    2,160
    Location:
    In a tent built out of facemasks
    Hard SciFi just means realistic and based on real-world physics. Nothing in the uplift series is based on that sort of thinking. its all hyperspace, thread-tunnelling and pew pew giant unrealistic space battlecruisers. Brin even said himself he just threw in all the types of space travel he could think of. It's also got every type of bizarre alien that you could think of outside a Star Wars cantina.

    Apart from the idea of Uplift itself, nothing in that series is even remotely Hard SciFi.
     
  11. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2010
    Messages:
    13,984
    Likes Received:
    8,557
    Location:
    California, US
    There's nothing that really constitutes Hard SF in The Expanse, either. That's my point. There are basic elements like dealing with distances and time delays, etc., but that's about it.
     
  12. Naomasa298

    Naomasa298 HP: 10/190 Status: Confused Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 9, 2019
    Messages:
    5,320
    Likes Received:
    6,141
    Location:
    The White Rose county, UK
    The Forever War series?
     
  13. NK_UT

    NK_UT Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2019
    Messages:
    202
    Likes Received:
    180
    Location:
    Salt Lake City
    I was just looking at the Hyperion series the other day when I picked up Snowcrash. It's on my list of things to read, but for my next one or two books, I'm thinking something more grounded in the near-future.

    When I compared what I was looking for to The Wheel of Time, I was referring more to the expansive epic journey that they take through their own local environment, not so much the fantastical elements of it.
     
    Night Herald likes this.
  14. NK_UT

    NK_UT Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2019
    Messages:
    202
    Likes Received:
    180
    Location:
    Salt Lake City
    I'll check them out. I had heard the name at some point, but never really looked into them. Do you know of anything that's more terrestrial and near-future, but with the epic story feel to it?
     
  15. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

    Joined:
    Dec 24, 2019
    Messages:
    12,378
    Likes Received:
    13,446
    Location:
    Way, way out there
    What comes to mind is Gene Wolfe's New Sun series, one of my favorites. It consists of 4 books: Shadow of the Torturer, Claw of the Conciliator, Sword of the Lictor and Citadel of the Autarch.

    But generally you'll find them collected into 2 volumes (confusingly enough) called Shadow & Claw and Sword & Citadel. There's also a followup book called The Urth of the New Sun.

    To see what an amazing author he is and what kind of material he deals with take a look at this interview (I posted it yesterday on another thread): On Encompassing the Entire Universe: An Interview with Gene Wolfe.

    I discovered his writing when I decided to ask the internet what's the best science fiction series ever written, and I think it answered quite well. A word of warning though—Wolfe's good work is addicting if you have the taste for it, and it will pull you into a vortex of research. He uses ancient words that casual readers just assume he made up but if you look them up (in a really good dictionary that covers the entire range of the English language and delves into some Latin as well) you discover the often surprising and always revealing meanings. It adds a great deal of depth and richness to the reading. He also embeds riddles or puzzles, which can be infuriating at times, because you can feel that if you solve it you'll reach another level of understanding, but they're not easy. There's a book called Solar Labyrinth that lays out quite a bit of the mystery, but I recommend not reading it until after you've finished the series. Have it on hand though, you might need it.

    His other best work is a book called The Fifth Head of Cerberus. In some ways it's better even than the New Sun series, and also a big puzzle, but brain stretching in a good way. I envy anyone just discovering this stuff—it was an amazing period in my life when I did.
     
    Last edited: Feb 12, 2020
    Steerpike, Night Herald and NK_UT like this.
  16. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2010
    Messages:
    10,742
    Likes Received:
    9,991
    Location:
    Near Sedro Woolley, Washington
    James Blish's Cities in Flight tetralogy? It's pretty cool.
     
    Iain Aschendale likes this.
  17. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2010
    Messages:
    13,984
    Likes Received:
    8,557
    Location:
    California, US
    Can't go wrong with Wolfe, and these certainly have a fantasy flair to them.
     
    Xoic and Wreybies like this.
  18. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    His The Death of Doctor Island is, to this day, a strange little singularity with unexpected gravity that keeps drawing me back and back and it's never the same story twice. It's more than a story; it's an enigma, trite as that might be to say.

    To the OP, it's a great story, but it doesn't fill the bill with regard to your original question. It's a longish short story.
     
    Xoic and Steerpike like this.

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice