/r/scifi_bookclub

Photograph via snooOG

Welcome to the Science Fiction Book Club.

The Science fiction book club - every so often we pick a book, classic or new and discuss it. Posts of all sorts are encouraged: links to reviews, interviews, and links to related material about the book or author. Please keep posts on topic (the current or past book selections).

To write spoilers in comments, use the following method: spoiler.

Past books

Rules

  1. Be nice to each other.
  2. Do not post links to illegal copies of books.
  3. Do not post advertisements or self-advertisements to science fiction books/podcasts/videos/whatever. I honestly respect the effort you've put into your creation but this is not the place to advertise it.
  4. Please label spoilers.

/r/scifi_bookclub

14,963 Subscribers

5

Favorite Hard sci-fi?

7 Comments
2024/10/29
23:16 UTC

2

Book Club

Is there a November book for the book club?

1 Comment
2024/10/25
03:07 UTC

28

What was the Science Fiction book or series that made you of fan of this genre?

Was it a book you were required to read in school? Were you older and just wanted to pick up a little something different? Have you always been a fan and a book or series stands out over others. I'll begin - Fahrenheit 451 as required reading in high school, but I consumed Sci-fi movies prior enjoying books. Please share yours.

76 Comments
2024/10/24
19:45 UTC

3

How does look like a laclac and a wreave? In Frank Herbert's ConSentiency?

I'm curious by nature, i get it, this question si boring, but i like details, and i think this is the only blur in all Frank Herbert's work that i can think about. Please answer me if you can, i love to visualize all the stuff i can read. English is not my mothertongue, and i read it all in french since i was a little boy, now i've read it in english too, and i didn't get any clue about these guys appearance.. thanks everyone !

1 Comment
2024/10/24
19:38 UTC

7

Sci-fi novels or films with highways, roads and cars as a central symbol

I am doing a project for university where I hope to look at highways, roads and cars as a significant symbol in future scapes. More specifically, how the future of the film challenges the idea that they represent absolute freedom, an extension of the self, a tool of self governance etc. Think blade runner 2049, Fith Element, Brazil, The Road. Any recommendations and why would be really appreciated!

19 Comments
2024/10/21
22:45 UTC

5

Help with a forgotten book title

Hello! I was wondering if anyone reading this can help me identify the name of two sci-fi stories I read as a child. These are likely very old stories, before the 90s for sure.

One story is about the sun getting too close to earth. People are installing air conditioners and dreaming of being too cold but in reality the earth is getting roasted by the sun.

The other story is of a family living on a planet (earth?) where it is so cold they must venture outside of their cave to collect solidified oxygen so they can warm it up by their fire to breath. They had loads blankets to help keep to cold out of their cave and spare buckets of solidified oxygen as back up.

Thank you!

5 Comments
2024/10/21
16:21 UTC

9

Help, I can't find the name of this book

I remember that it had a polar bear floating in a tank of water and the silouette of someone looking at it on the cover, I could be wrong.

It was a scifi in the style of Electric Dreams/Blade Runner...about an android girl with feelings who went to some kind of bar/zoo to look at a robot polar bear swimming around enclousured in a tank, like there was very few of their kind and she went to visit her kin.

Sorry for my english and little details, is not my first language and I read that book maybe... more than 16 years ago.

2 Comments
2024/10/19
17:58 UTC

4

Why is it so hard to find a good copy (more specifically hardcover) of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

I'm a big fan of both Blade Runner movies, and I've wanted to read the book for a little while now, but I can't seem to find hardly any copies of the book (much less any good ones) with the exception of a paperback with a pretty meh cover.

From a lot of the things I've read, Do Androids Dream is a sci fi classic and one of the founding pillars of cyberpunk, so why is it so hard to get a good version of the book? Is it a publishing issue?

If anyone has any insight on this and/or knows of a reasonably priced, good edition of the book, it would be much appreciated.

6 Comments
2024/10/17
13:16 UTC

10

Need recommendations

Here are some of the books I've read and enjoyed: Bobiverse series; Altered Carbon; All of Andy Weir's books and short stories; Blake Crouch's Dark Matter, Pines series, Recursion; The Three body problem trilogy I'm a big fan of The Expanse (the show), but idk if I should read the books since the show kinda gives away the endin? (Happy to be corrected if I'm wrong here) But yeah that made me begin James Corey's new series, starting with the Mercy of Gods, I found it good enough but a bit stretched So essentially what I'm asking is:

  1. Should I read The Expanse series knowing that I've watched the show and thus know a good deal about the plot (and risk getting bored)?
  2. Please give some recommendations based on the stuff that I've read. Contrary to what the list might suggest, I do not particularly enjoy reading about aliens as such, I find the human politics and the drama and the sense of future space exploration much more interesting (as in the Expanse and Andy Weir's older work, basically).

Thank you!

Edit: Thank you so much for your suggestions everyone! I've decided to begin with Children of Time for now (I've read about 50% of the book, and I'm already looking forward to completing the series). I've also understood that the show doesn't undermine the books and therefore I will be reading all the Expanse novels and novellas after completing the Children of Time series. That should keep me occupied for a while. Thank you so much again.

23 Comments
2024/10/09
22:49 UTC

4

I Need a new series

About to finish Dungeon Crawler Carl. Love it, hope he writes a bunch more. Hoping to find something similar, any recommendations?

7 Comments
2024/10/01
21:44 UTC

4

Very advanced aliens mistaken for a primitive race

Hi all! I am looking for some recommendations. Are there any good books that feature the following plot (or something like it)?…..

Human space explorers come into contact with aliens (preferably human like) and mistakenly assume that these aliens are quite primitive. In reality, however, the aliens are more technologically (and mentally) advanced than humanity, they just decided to play along and not shatter the illusion for their own reasons.

Please don’t suggest any novels that are too sophisticated and serious. I am looking for some light and fun reading. Would be awesome if there was humor and maybe an element of romance between the leader of the human team and an alien (who toys with the humans a little by not liking ridding them of their misconceptions).

13 Comments
2024/10/01
07:25 UTC

5

Looking for a book

In this book it starts with a battle multiple factions in a sector far from earth. The local earth forces call for reinforcements. Back on earth...a Captain was given orders to go to that system. His wife is pregnant and was due soon. He get to his ship and transits to the nearest jump gate or wormhole to that system. But after he got in the system the jump gate or wormhole closed and he had no way back home or to get more support from Earth.

Does anyone recognize this book and could give me the name of the book?

4 Comments
2024/09/21
21:40 UTC

4

Looking for a Book

As i was looking throug the list of books in the universe of metro2033 series on wikipedia, one caught my attention.

,,Corpsman" by Sergey Zaytsev. According to wikipedia, it was published in 2011 august.

But there is no wikipedia page to it, nor anything on the internet, literally nothing

Is this book really exist? Or i am just chasing a ghost

0 Comments
2024/09/21
00:09 UTC

6

cheap second-hand sci-fi

I live in an area which is a vintage treasure trove , many little shops and markets stores that sell these science fiction and space opera paperbacks .Thing is ;i' m new to the genre , having watched anime and cartoons previously .Give me some names of some great AUTHORS and Titles you've found second-hand in unusual places .

5 Comments
2024/09/20
19:27 UTC

9

LOOKING FOR A GOOD short story

hi! im graduating next year as an animation student and i am looking for literary basis for my diploma. being honest im not a good reader but i really into sci-fi theme, so i thought if someone can suggest a niche thing that either wasn't very well adapted in the media or wasn't adapted at all

some requrements:

  • it can't be a novel more like short story or like a collection of short stories(uni rules🥲 idk why)
  • there should be more than 1-2 location cause i need to make like 12 concept arts for this project and it needs to be some locations

and i think thats it, would be happy to hear any good advice, or a listofs stories you'd recommend

11 Comments
2024/09/14
08:08 UTC

4

My first Novella - Notes from Star to Star - Available for Free Download this Weekend (September 13-16)

I recently published my first novella, Notes from Star to Star, ton Amazon as a paperback and an ebook. It's the story of Jessica Hamilton, who wakes alone in space after a long hibernation. While the purpose of her mission — to investigate the origin of alien radio signals — quickly becomes clear, the circumstances surrounding her departure and the whereabouts of the rest of ship's crew present an unnerving mystery.

Hamilton quickly makes contact with the apparent source of the signals, but that leads to more questions than answers. As she hurtles towards her objective on a ship populated only by robots, Hamilton grapples with the meaning of connection, intelligence, and beauty — human and otherwise.

This weekend (September 13-16), I am running a free ebook promotion and invite you to download it: https://www.amazon.com/Notes-Star-Brian-Dolan-ebook/dp/B0DCGGTC77

I hope you enjoy the journey of my story. You’ll find it full of explicit and implicit references to the sci-fi canon, both literary and cinematic. Thank you for reading and I look forward to your feedback!

0 Comments
2024/09/13
11:48 UTC

18

Neuromancer - Appreciation

I've just finished it. I cannot say I really understand what happened, but unlike when I finished reading Do Androids Dream, God, it was a fun read. All of the science fiction flashed by me like so much of cyberspace scenes, at no point could I comprehend anything between Case jacking in and jacking out, it all felt as though I was watching somebody else dreaming and once I stopped trying to understand it, I found it a lot of fun just being there for the ride.

The character development and dialogue was far more accessible and solid, so it was in this area that I found myself more comfortable, and on reflection I think that the way Gibson alternates the former and the latter provided a sense of contrast that heightened both experiences.

The Noir atmosphere of Cyberpunk is also a completely new experience to me, Do Androids Dream was both my first Cyberpunk experience as well the first time I had read anything with Noir elements in it and I am just really excited to continue reading things of the like. I have a collection of Gibson's work from Gollancz, once horror season is over I will be jacking back into his world.

7 Comments
2024/09/13
10:07 UTC

4

Looking for a book

All i remember is its older (i read it circa 2008) and featured a faction of starships with some kind of warp drive tech. Noone knew where they came from and they were ancient. I THINK it featured a clone who forgot his memories on one of those ships? I realize theres little to go on but its driving me nuts. Cant for the life of me remember what the books was called but looking for help from the hive mind to find it!

2 Comments
2024/09/12
22:09 UTC

1

The text of Starfish by Peter Watts feels dense to me. I think his language leaves a lot to the imagination, not spending time providing detailed descriptions. I am on page 297 of 356. If I've missed anything critical, I hope you guys can point it out.

Here is the plot of Starfish, as I've understood it. >!So the GA sends a crew of unstable and fucked up people to the station. The initial chapters are about them just getting accustomed to the station environment, the surroundings, and themselves. Fischer goes over beyond. And Acton dies. Except these I don't think anything else happens that advances the plot until Scanlon comes to visit and upon leaving he is quarantined by the GA. Also they abduct Caraco. It is after Scanlon's leave that the plot kinda picks up pace, till that point it was just the crew exploring and adjusting to the rift environment. Now, the GA is worried of Behemoth leaving the rift and being carried over to land where it will wreak havoc. So they employ a smart gel to figure out a solution cause no country can trust the other to pick a solution. So the Gel has made another gel go down and take seismic readings to simulate earthquakes in order to figure out a solution. Meanwhile the crew is starting to realize that they're stuck down there and the GA is planning to nuke the rift with them in it.!<

Did I miss anything??
Also, I have some questions.

  • !At what point did the GA become aware of Behemoth ?!<

  • !Was the GA aware that the crew might get addicted to the Rift and not want to leave ?!<

    • !If so, then why did they pick such individuals anyway as automation was just a matter of time?!<

0 Comments
2024/09/10
14:41 UTC

4

Book recommendations

Hi guys, I’m on a reading tear and looking for outdoorsy thrillers, ideally where humans are hunted by killers or monsters through the woods. For reference, I loved jurassic park by Chrighton and hunter by James Huggins. Also just finished hunted by Darcy Coates, really enjoyed that one as well.

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know! Thanks

1 Comment
2024/09/10
04:58 UTC

13

Is there any "economic" sci-fi where the ultra wealthy were the only ones who had the resources to survive/evacuate a dying world and now have no one to exploit or help them actually live?

Like a planet (doesn't have to be Earth) is dying from some sort of catastrophe and they have a space ship/personal Noah's ark that they manage to escape in but now that everyone is dead, they have no actual survival skills or instincts and their money is useless

10 Comments
2024/09/07
23:57 UTC

5

Name of book/ series of a space station "observing" the crew (NOT 2001 Space Oddyssey)

I believe it was the space station computer observing the crew, but it wasn't in an antagonistic way like HAL, more like just observing, kind of like a child learning and I think in a way that's more like a narrator?

Context - my ex told me about this audiobook she was listening to, hence why I can't just ask her now.

I really don't have much else to go on other than it may also be a collection of short stories from this point of view, unless my ex just meant "short stories" as in different chapters pertaining to different characters. I also assume it's a relatively recent/ contemporary book, definitely not 2001 Space Odyssey.

4 Comments
2024/09/07
18:29 UTC

0

I just ordered the Dune Gollancz Hardback Edition as a birthday gift to myself, and it’s quite expensive. I was wondering, could anyone tell me if the one I ordered is actually worth the high price, or should I cancel the order?

7 Comments
2024/09/07
07:23 UTC

3

Looking for a book

Hey guys, I'm trying to find this book series (I think it was a trilogy) that I read back on middle school, so 2018 or 2019. I can't remember much about it except the protagonist was a younger boy who had an older brother I'm pretty sure. I know in the beginning they talk about his mother using telekinesis to prepare dinner, so cutting vegetables, washing dishes, etc. The main scene I remember about it is when he was stuck in a cave that had begun filling up with water and he got trapped in it. He learned to separate the oxygen particles from the hydrogen so he was able to breathe underwater until the tide lowered. I'm also pretty sure he fought with his brother often and I think he might have been close to his father or grandfather that would teach him about his powers. Please tell me if anyone knows what I'm talking about or has any ideas 😭😭

1 Comment
2024/09/05
03:40 UTC

2

Book Recs for Dads Birthday

My dad’s birthday is coming up & I always get him audiobooks to listen to during his commute. Some of his favorite sci-fi authors are Phillip K Dick & Frank Herbert and more generally likes Richard Dawkins & Yuval Noah Harari. Previously I’ve bought him the Murderbot series(he’s obsessed), Red Rising(he enjoyed), Recursion (he hated). I’m looking for books published in that last 20 years, when he was younger he had more time & read a lot. Any recs would be super helpful!

9 Comments
2024/09/01
15:58 UTC

3

Looking for beautifully illustrated artworks inbooks or novels for adults – any suggestions?

Hey everyone, I'm on the hunt for some beautifully illustrated books or novels that are aimed at adults. I'm talking about those where the art really adds to the experience, not just for kids. Any recommendations for something visually stunning? Whether it's sci-fi, fantasy or anything else, I'm all ears! Thanks!

2 Comments
2024/08/25
16:29 UTC

3

The old book game got a son now!

Hey everyone! I'm here looking for your honest opinion. We took inspiration from game books / Choose Your Own Adventure games and developed audio-focused interactive stories – we call them AudioGames: interactive audio adventures, where the player can make choices and change the course of their own story. Each choice will have consequences, both in terms of storyline and scores.

All of this can be done either through the mobile app interface or through voice inputs and commands. It's all surrounded by sound effects, sound design, settings, and original music.

We just released Bib the alien on our mobile app: can I ask for your opinions/suggestions/ideas?

0 Comments
2024/08/23
16:11 UTC

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