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My favorite book recs
13
items Sections
3
Hard Science Fiction
Worth the effort
Conan the Barbarian
Hard Science Fiction
When you want science fiction that is written with a definite eye toward keeping the science grounded and believable, that's hard science fiction. And that's what you'll find here.
Excellent SF adventure that is easy reading (I just recommended it to a reluctant reader in my sophomore class).
The Martian by Andy Weir, Paperback
KSR is the gold standard in getting the science right while still making a ripper of a story. Here he starts the Mars Trilogy off with a bang!
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, Paperback
KSR is the gold standard in SF on getting the science right while writing a great story. This second installment in the Mars Trilogy doesn't disappoint!
Green Mars (Hugo Award Winner) by Kim Stanley Robinson, Paperback
KSR is the gold standard for blending accurate science with a killer story, and he wraps up the Mars Trilogy doing just that. Perhaps the single best trilogy about Mars colonization, this trio of books is right at the top of my recommendation list for any SF fan.
Blue Mars (Hugo Award Winner) by Kim Stanley Robinson, Paperback
Modern Classic: You've got one way to save the world…
Project Hail Mary: A Novel
An author who is pushing the boundaries of SF: spider as a main character, sure; megalomaniacal AI with a twist, done; generation ship, yep… and that's just in the first book!
Children of Time Trilogy
Before COVID: there was The Andomedra Strain! Chichton was a master of blending the very grounded with a touch of science fiction.
The Andromeda Strain
One of the granddaddies of the genre. Disturbing, mind-bending, and necessary reading if you want to be a well-read individutal separate from being a well-read SF fan
Brave New World
Crichton gives us another classic. Let's open a dinosaur park! Hijinks ensue!
Jurassic Park: A Novel
Seen the movie? Don't think that's the whole story. Is the novel better? Maybe not, but it's its own towering work of fiction whose influence is massive.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Inspiration for Blade Runner Films
Worth the effort
Some books just reward the extra effort to understand them. This isn't light popcorn reading, but novels that will expand your mind.
It's like reading a dream. Poetry in paragraph form. Ignore the over-hyped film, this novel is rewarding as it all falls into place in the final dozen or two pages and all the effort and confusion is rewarded. There's a reason it won the Man Booker Prize.
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
It's often marketed as a science fiction book, which it is, but it's so much more of a book about politics, human nature, religion… cloaked in the guise of science fiction. It's a pretty slow read, but rewarding. Akin to reading a narrative history of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire… except in space!
Dune: Herbert, Frank
Conan the Barbarian
Before Arnold strode across the silver screen as Conan, Robert E. Howard breathed life into the Cimmerian fantasy hero
A giant omnibus of the titular hero's greatest adventures all in one place! The Conan stories aren't high literature, but they are great fun in the classic tradition!
THE COMPLETE CHRONICLES OF CONAN