Forum:Recommend Smart Action/Sci-Fi Novels

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After discovering the Vorkosigan Saga and Snow Crash and rereading The Forever War I'm trying to find more Science Fiction novels that combine exciting action with smart/smartly executed story telling. Now to clear things up, by "action" I don't necessarily mean Military Sci-Fi(although those shouldn't be excluded) I'd like more variety like cyberpunk or present based science fiction.Ryantherebel (talk) 01:06, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Dune by Frank Herbert. Then read the others. Don't read anything that has Dune in the title that isn't completely and exclusively written by Frank Herbert though. -- Iscariot ^{Andy Schlafly for Congress 2012!} 21:03, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

Dune is good. Also try John Brunner. I recommend Born Under Mars. Great read, riveting.--"Shut up, Brx." 21:12, 3 June 2013 (UTC)

I'd suggest that you don't torture yourself with God Emperor of Dune though.--Weirdstuff (talk) 20:22, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

You what? God Emperor is fantastic. -- Iscariot ^{Andy Schlafly for Congress 2012!} 15:40, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

I recommend the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov.

Stanisław Lem also has some good books. "Eden" is probably his most action-focused novel and would make an awesome Hollywood movie. "Invincible" is deeper and less action-heavy. "His Master's Voice" and "Solaris" are hardcore brain-benders with minimal action. --Tweenk (talk) 03:00, 6 June 2013 (UTC)

Larry Niven's "Known Space" stuff. Faced with mysteries dark and vast/statements just seem vain at last. 02:26, 10 June 2013 (UTC)

I assume you've read Neuromancer? I'd say "Read ALL the Gibson novels!" but these recommendations are all good, and there are only so many hours in the day, so I suggest you read Count Zero. --TheLateGatsby (The end of the dock ) 17:01, 28 June 2013 (UTC)

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.

If you want series written (largely) in this millennium you might want to check out "The Lost Fleet" by Jack Campbell. Lots of action in this military science fiction series. If you are interested in Known Space then you should read Niven's collaborations with Edward M Lerner which puts everything in a new perspective. If you are looking for something set in the present day then try out "The Dresden Files" by Jim Butcheer. It's fantasy rather than science fiction but they are cracking action-filled yarns.--Weirdstuff (talk) 20:31, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

The Culture novels by Ian M Banks make good reading too.--Weirdstuff (talk) 21:12, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

Call me a simpleton, but I liked "Ender's Game". From there, there are two main paths you can take. You can read the Ender sequels (Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind) if you want to get heady and philosophical, or you can read the Shadow series (Ender's Shadow, Shadow of the Hegemon, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Giant) if you want to keep it more action-y. Apokalyps2547 (talk) 19:16, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

To me Speaker for the Dead was the only sequel I really liked. Children of the Mind had way too much romance for me (I really hate romance in fiction), and the other ones didn't grab my interest so much. I can understand why Ender would feel guilty even if it wasn't strictly his fault, but I thought Card went overboard with that sometimes.Samstr (talk) 23:52, 21 October 2014 (UTC)

The Honor Harrington series by David Weber is another good series out of Baen. The first dozen (out of 13 thus far) of the mainline books (along with 4 (out of 6) anthologies and two pair of spin-off novels) are also available for free via the BaenCDs (The Mission of Honor CD is the most recent one and you have to download the entire CD's content), making it a low-risk investment. Compro01 (talk) 22:59, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

Seconded! Also, there's some stuff tangentially relevant to RationalWiki's mission, particularly the Grayson/Masada conflict in the second book. Meshakhad (talk) 21:19, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

The Foundation novels (Asimov) are brilliant. I'd rank them with what most people would call "classic literature". There's not an incredible amount of action, but they're decidedly epic. Eifleheim (Michael Flynn) is a wonderful book. I'd also recommend The Last Theorem(Arthur C. Clarke). And anyone who reads this wiki should like pretty much anything by Douglas Adams.Agrajag

If you want to use a looser definition of novel and include superheroes, I recommend Worm by Wildbow over at http://parahumans.wordpress.com/. Gets extremely dark. Also, as far as the Honor Harrington stuff goes, you might not be as fond of later books. She seems to become a sue the longer the stuff goes on. And if you don't mind less action and more comedy, there's always John Dies at the End by David Wong. Finally, you might look into the old BattleTech novels. Wolves on the Border by Robert N. Charette, Dagger Point by Thomas S. Gressman, or the Warrior trilogy by Michael A. Stackpole. - User:PsychoGecko 18:12, 28 July 2014

Armor and Starship Troopers both changed my life in many ways, so I'd suggest that if you're into Military Science Fiction's varying facets. --Madman (talk) 21:21, 11 February 2015 (UTC)The Madman

Joseph Haldeman wrote The Forever War as a giant "fuck you" to Starship Troopers; Heinlein (who wrote Starship Troopers) said it was his favorite future war story. Check it out. CorruptUser (talk) 22:23, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Dear Compro01 and Weirdstuff: I love you both. <3 But seriously, Honor Harrington and The Lost Fleet are both excellent series. The space battles are brutal as fuck. People think Joss Whedon and George R. R. Martin like killing people off, but they clearly have not seen David Weber's bodycount. Fair warning, though, a lot of Baen's authors are right-wingers and Islamophobes.--71.62.250.238 (talk) 20:22, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

Read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy. One of the themes of the trilogy is, that ANY power unchecked, be it state or corporate, will invariably result in tyranny (e.g. how the UNOMA (UNO Mars Authority) in general or Phyllis Boyle in particular spread their legs for the transnats (transnational corporations giants) wide open, resulting in them ruling Mars as bloody tyrants). Or that neither Marxists nor Randbots know, how to run a viable economy (hope, that wasn't too spoilerific). --Arisboch (talk) 10:21, 19 May 2015 (UTC)