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Need a sci-fi book...
zkt
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Hyperion
The Fall of Hyperion
Endymion
The Rise of Endymion
They're incredible books.
Seconded!
Clicked on the thread to recommend these books but as soon as I saw Ceres' avatar I knew I was beat
Daemon by Daniel Suarez
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
Accelerando by Charlie Stross
Very different than Snow Crash, more of just a straight storybook, while Snow Crash was going balls out for the mind-bending.
If you want something hilarious and non-serious, read To Say Nothing of the Dog. Connie Willis' wit is staggering.
For other sci-fi recommendations, try the Stainless Steel Rat series. Or just hit the kingpin of the genre, the Foundation trilogy. If you've seen 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY or PLANET OF THE APES, check out their respective books. And Philip K. Dick has a Deary of books dealing with the nature of humanity vs. technology akin to "Snow Crash." Start anywhere with that guy--if you don't like your first PKD book, chances are you'll like the second.
If you just want to close your eyes and read one rather than get bogged down in a series, read Idoru.
Yep... start with Diamond Age, then go for Gibson's Neuromancer. Welcome to cyberpunk!
http://solarclipper.com/
Seconded Gibson
Chasm City, by Alastair Reynolds (The least hard scifi of his books, but more of a mystery than anything else)
Night Train to Rigel (and sequels) by Timothy Zahn
I'll cheerfully second Fire Upon the Deep and Deepness In The Sky.
Also, a sequel to Fire's coming out at some point this year. I believe the proper response is "squee!"
Actually all of the Culture series.
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I think that may make Fire Upon the Deep (or at least Vinge in general) have the numerical advantage in this topic, and I think that'd be a fine pick up, though spool and I know what's what ^_^
I believe the very fine folks that are responsible for this fine website have in the past mentioned their fondness for Altered Carbon. Definitely glad I read it, though I have no interest in the sequels, if that makes any sense...
Grit? Space? Definitely give the Hyperion Cantos a whirl. If you do start it and it's not grabbing you, give it about a hundred pages before you throw in the towel. It picks up.
The Gaunt books, Eisenhorn and Ravenor are great even if uou're not into 40K.
Selling my 16GB Wifi iPad 1. UK people only, £150. PM me.
Caves of Steel is the first.
You might be interested "The Chronoliths" by Robert Charles Wilson. It's exactly about what your are describing.
I picked it up on a whim and I'm enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. I'm about half done now and I can tell you the Sci-fi elements are very subtle. It's about a normal guy who witnesses the first of many world changing events(the chronoliths) and how it has affected his life professionally and personally.
Not to hijack, but, how are the other books in the series? I was planning on reading Foundation soon, and was wondering if I should read them in published order, chronological order, or just the original three?
Someone asked this a few weeks ago. I'd recommend following published order, because the Foundation books started out great, but deteriorated over time. It's kind of appropriate, when you think about it. So, read the original three first, and if you like the universe, keep going with Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth. If you *really* dig Asimov's style, you can read his two prequels (Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation), but for the love of god, avoid the three prequels by Benford, Brin, and Bear - they are flaming poop on a stick.
Anyway, they're awesome.
Season's greetings, Satan!
Regarding Altered Carbon, I think Richard Morgan's books are right up your alley. I'd actually recommend the sequels over Altered Carbon, which I loved the first time but did not enjoy as much when re-reading. There's a series of three books (so far), Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Woken Furies, and imo Woken Furies is easily the best of them. Altered Carbon is basically a noirish mystery in the far future with cyberpunk trimmings. Broken Angels is a Raiders-of-the-Lost-Ark sort of hunt/race for an alien artifact, in the far future, on a planet in the middle of a civil war (and significant portions toward the end take place entirely in space). Woken Furies is a revenge story and an insurrection story, on yet another different planet. All three have the same main character.
I'd also recommend Morgan's standalone stories, Market Forces and Thirteen. Market Forces is Mad Max meets Wallstreet. It is a deeply cynical book, and very dark. I really liked it. Thirteen is a fun actiony story about a - ahem - supersoldier (more or less) hired to hunt down another of his kind. When I describe it like that the plot sounds like shit, but the setting and characters make it.
I understand Morgan has recently put out a fantasy book; by all accounts it is shitty and should be avoided.
Noted.
As to not not contribute to the thread... Someone mentioned Phil Dick earlier, and I'd just like to re-iterate that, especially if you're into conspiracy fiction. His most popular are Man in the High Castle, VALIS, Ubik, and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (the basis for the movie Blade Runner), but definitely look into some of his more obscure ones. Counter Clock World is definitely one of my favorites
"Saturns Children" by Charles Stross
"Blueheart" by Alison Sinclair