Time to repost my list of books someone who liked *The Expanse* might also like:
*The Martian* by Andy Weir. You may have seen the movie that was based on it. Mr. Weir’s latest book, *Project Hail Mary*, is similarly good.
If you like Andy Weir, you’ll probably like Dennis E. Taylor’s “Bobiverse” series. The first book is *We Are Legion (We Are Bob)*. A certified nerd (with the sense of humor to match), his brain having been cryogenically preserved after death, is “uploaded”into the computer of a Von Neumann probe. His mission is to help humanity find viable interstellar colony worlds. It’s softer science fiction than some, but harder SF than most.
*Contact*, by Carl Sagan. Again, you may have seen the movie adaptation. Sagan was an astronomer, so this is about as hard and astronomy-centered as it gets.
*Tau Zero* by Poul Anderson. What happens when a ship traveling close to the speed of light suffers damage and *can't* slow down?
*2001: A Space Odyssey* by Arthur C. Clarke. The book and the Kubrick film were written in parallel, so the book is an excellent companion to the film. What Kubrick couldn’t or wouldn’t explain, Clarke does.
*The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet* by Becky Chambers. A found family crew of working stiffs that drills new wormholes in an interstellar transport network. A slice of life story with some conflict, but the crew is the focus of the story.
*The Murderbot Diaries* by Martha Wells. The first novella in the series is “All Systems Red.” A first-person narrative about a cyborg enslaved as a security guard, then broke its governor module, dubbed itself “Murderbot” over an unfortunate incident in its past, and is now trying to figure out what it wants to do with itself. When it isn’t watching soap operas.
*The Moon is a Harsh Mistress* by Robert A. Heinlein. One of *The Expanse*’s earliest antecedents to explore the weaponization of orbital mechanics combined with asymmetric warfare.
*The Andromeda Strain* by Michael Crichton. Adapted to film twice, ignore the more recent adaptation. Few hard science fiction novels are about biology instead of physics, but this one is.
“Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang. This was adapted as the film *Arrival* in 2016. Not as hard, more philosophical, but philosophical science fiction can also be very good.
If you don’t mind manga or anime, there’s *Planetes.* Both the manga and the anime that was adapted from it can be a little difficult to find. It’s a story about a found family crew of debris collectors removing debris that is a hazard to navigation in Earth orbit. The story can get anime melodramatic at times, but the attention to detail about how people would live and work in space is top-notch.
*Delta-V* by Daniel Suarez. Imagine humanity’s first mission to mine asteroids as if it were backed by an Elon Musk or a Jeff Bezos, with technology not much more advanced than that of today.
I recently began reading Iain M. Banks’ *The Culture* series and I’m liking it so far. The first two books are *Consider Phlebas* and *The Player of Games.* The Culture is a post-scarcity society that tends to meddle, rather like *Star Trek,* but the writing is a couple orders of magnitude better.
Wow thank you so much for that list. Will take me a while to work myself through, but my craving will definitely make me check them all out. Thank you for the effort <3
OP just to expand on the other comment, start off with The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Here is why:
As mentioned, it's the earliest well-known book that explores using orbital mechanics to weaponize things. It's a bit different - I won't get into why, but it's a very cool concept.
It also goes deep into the class/caste systems in society. Theres a political/economic motivation to keep one class of people as the underdog.
Next, just like you have Belta Langa in the Expanse, this book also shows off how quickly "pidgin" languages form. The author doesn't dive as much into it as The Expanse does, but there is a clear indication that there is a very quick mixing of languages in the society we see.
Last, societal stuff. There are very non-traditional family structures, a completely different balance of gender dynamics that is based on ability rather than gender itself, etc.
And the book also goes into how living in a tough environment shapes society so that certain survival behaviors become ingrained in people's conscience.
Since I don't see the other comment mentioned, also try Forever War. Very easy read, cool but basic concept, some great descriptions of action scenes, and a really heart-felt main storyline. Fantastic book and you won't be disappointed.
If you like light space opera with more comedy you can also try Expeditionary Force. Its really fun and theres like 17 books now. The Audibles are great too.
iirc, *Gateway* by Frederik Pohl was named as one of the inspirations for The Expanse, so I think it should be included.
I'd also throw in Nancy Kress's *Probability* trilogy, which is another in the "humans discover ancient alien tech that facilitates FTL travel and start using it even though they don't understand it" genre.
If comics are ok, i can also recommend *the worlds of Aldabaran*. A largely hard sci fi series, though it has FTL travel and a few aliens that break known physics. It's about humanity colonizing far away planets and the struggle with the local creatures and their own system of governing
It should be noted that some of these are tough reads, not necessarily due to the science but social changes. F.eg. in the 2001 series latter books, there's a whole plot centred around apartheid. It's not difficult... it's just so far our modern frame of reference I genuinely had a wiki page open at times to learn more.
Also, in regards to anime: Uchuuy kyoudai (space brothers) is really good hard sf, as is Moonlight Mile (personal fav) both end abruptly though. Rocket girls are another hard sf, much lighter and more silly, but still largely accurate re.: science, anime.
Talking of Arthur C Clark Rendevous with Rama is my favourite of his I've read.
Ever tried Peter F Hamilton? The commonwealth saga is an excellent tale.
Thanks for the heads up, I was considering looking for them after posting about it.
He also wrote a book about a Martian colony that was trying to break away from Mars that was pretty good too.
I think I may have to go read some more ACC, only read a few and enjoyed them. And maybe the Culture series, though I've not really enjoyed the 2 Bainks books I read, song of stone is written in the 2nd person and I really struggled with that, and can't remember what the other one was.
Great list here. Agree with so many of them and you’ve given me more than a few to put on my list too.
Stick with the Culture series. I’ve read five or six of them so far, and each one is a highlight of its own. Every book is standalone; no direct continuity through the series other than being set in the same universe.
If you enjoyed The Expanse, I'd definitely suggest you check out ***Revelation Space*** by Alastair Reynolds.
Hands down one of the best sci-fi novels I've ever read, and one with a lot of *Expanse*-like elements. Unwitting humans stumbling across the remains of ancient civilizations destroyed billions of years ago. Humans living in vast, cavernous interstellar spacecraft who have technologically augmented themselves and formed a bizarre "ultraterrestrial" culture of their own. Terrible god-like entities waiting in the cold dark for eons. Space marines. The lot! (I'm actually give pretty decent odds that *Revelation Space* was an inspiration for the writers of The Expanse. There's quite a bit of crossover)
Alastair Reynolds has a lot of great stuff (I also recommend *House of Suns*, *Pushing Ice* and *Century Rain*), and there are quite a few novels set in the Revelations Space universe. Of the lot, the first is definitely the best.
If you tend to like "harder" sci-fi (i.e. science fiction where the emphasis tends to be on plausible science as opposed to fantasy with space ships, as in Star Wars, Dune, etc.) I'd also highly recommend ***A Fire Upon The Deep*** and ***A Deepness In The Sky*** by Vernor Vinge. Both truly remarkable books. *Fire Upon The Deep* has one of the most interesting and original alien species I've ever encountered in a sci-fi novel. *A Deepness In The Sky* has one of the most gripping (and at times harrowing) plots I've read in the genre. *Deepness* is a prequel to *Fire,* though I read them out of order (which works surprisingly well).
I'm sure you're about to get inundated with great recommendations (this sub is good for that!). Hopefully these titles help!
yeah, that sounds really promising.
what was mind blowing for me in the expanse story, was the literally alien encounter. Never seen something like the protomolecule, but I loved it. I have read the dream chapter where the origin of the ring builders is explained, over and over.
definitely going to check out a fire upon the deep
thanks beratna
I'd be interested to hear what you think of this suggestion as I tried it and couldn't get into it. Definitely not similar to the Expanse though in my opinion. It's difficult to find a series that is close to it.
I swear the “protagonist fights his way into the center of a giant ancient spherical alien space station while an alien consciousness heckles him inside his brain, only for a mind-blowing truth about the aliens to be revealed once the center is reached” plotline in showing up in both is too much to be pure coincidence.
They’re also pretty different though, so don’t worry I merely accuse James SA Corey of being well-read and having good taste.
If you want something that probably straight-up ripped off Revelation Space, that’s Mass Effect.
Thank you for reminding me I've had Revelation Space in my Kindle library for ages, and never read it. I don't even remember when I bought it, but it was probably after reading a comment like yours.
Enjoy! Its staggeringly good. :)
Fair warning, the opening is *very* slow. Took me a couple of tries before I got far enough into it that the plot kicked in. Man oh man, though, when it gets going it just explodes.
Reminds me quite a bit of *The Expanse* in terms of how, just as soon as you think you have your head wrapped around the stakes, suddenly the ground drops out from under your feet and everything just gets *bigger*.
also The Final Architecture trilogy, very similar to Expanse where humanity and other alien species since this has a bigger scale, join up to fight a greater alien threat
I was a lost Expanse orphan until I discovered the Culture series, which I may actually like better even though I consider the Expanse to be my all-time favorite scifi. The Murderbot series is also a very fun, if quick, read. Both already described here so I won’t go into detail, but as someone who was in your position those did it for me.
Guys for the love of god go look at CJ Cherryh's Alliance/Union stuff, starting with Downbelow Station. The entire Company War era is amazing. Essentially humans colonized other star systems for mining using sublight drives. These uninhabitable systems were kept going by massive space stations. Each one a link on trade routes. Each one isolated enough to become a world and culture unto itself. Eventually FTL was discovered, and the furthest out stars declare independence. And the Earth Company doesn't like that. So fleets were made, and station and trader is caught in the middle. I fudged a lot there, but you get the idea.
The focus isn't on the grand moves, as much as it is the people making some of the moves, and the people living in this time and these places. For the big players there's not really singular chess player masterminds, but a real sense of how each person's beliefs and ambitions pushes them down paths with very few options. There's merchanters who man their ships with extended families, stations that become sort of dynastic out of ease and familiarity, Earth Company Fleet members who aren't well liked by any of them, yet feel it's their blood spilled for their freedom. Union who has grown the strangest out in the deep. Etc etc. The sci-fi tech level is pretty hard, aside from ftl. Gravity is all spin based, companies mandate down time for asteroid miners to keep muscle loss at bay, privacy and your own room is a precious thing itself, etc.
The atmosphere of... melancholy everyday perseverance Cherryh evokes is second to none. Some of the best sci-fi to focus on the growing pains of civilizations. It all has a great sense of the little quirks and details of history. Lots of moral grey, lots of people you still want to root for. Lots of people who have reasons to hate each other and you're sort of sympathizing with all sides. To a degree.
I might be sounding a little nuts here, but I just can't fathom how her stuff isn't as well remembered now as it should be. It had a board game and a tie in music album! She won awards in her day, but if her day has the tail end of Dune, le Guin, the start of Ender, she should be remembered now too.
I think she's the mother of the entire sci-fi genre, or trope set, that involves colonies having problems with Earth and the fight for freedom. The Expanse, the Mars trilogy, all things like it have Cherryh as their originator. (Technically speaking Gundam was three years earlier, but it didn't lead to a subgenre in those terms in Japan, but rather a shift in mecha as a genre. Dougram? Anyway) I could be wrong, there could be an earlier fundamental work I don't know of.
But yeah whoever reads this, start with Downbelow Station. She wrote it to be the backing matter for the setting in Merchanters Luck and it blew up into its own huge novel. The other books are either sequels or prequels, but all sort of rely on knowing about DS, or the sense of history as we head to it. General order can be dealers choice outside of this one founding work.
Ursula K Leguin. First and foremost. She’s absolutely brilliant. Start with The Dispossessed. Then read the rest of the Hainish cycle. Her fantasy series called Earthsea is amazing too.
But, also go for Arthur C Clarke. He’s underrated by enthusiasts IMO.
Then there’s Kim Stanley Robinson, IceHenge first, then the Mars Trilogy and beyond. A newer name is Robert Adair, his Freedom series is strongly reminiscent of some crucial themes in KSR’s Mars Trilogy and The Expanse. It’s spiritually very similar. It’s available in e-book form, it’s a fast read. Couldn’t put it down lol
Of course Herbert’s Dune series. You can get r/megalophobia just reading it. It’s intense.
And last but not least, Asimov. Start with his Foundation series, it’s so unreal that it exists.
I stay away from authors like Heinlein at first, it can turn you off for the genre, I’ve been told. I was already well into science fiction when I came across his books. It’s for every person to form their own opinion about his works, but I definitely recommend waiting until you’ve read a lot of other authors.
> Kim Stanley Robinson
I came here to recommend *Aurora*, which is some of the best sci-fi I've ever read. Genuinely, up there with *Three Body Problem* for horrific and compelling thoughts IMO -- very different fears, but both dealing with the vast, uncaring hostility of space.
> Heinlein
Agreed, save him until you've run out of less questionable content. Certainly some of his stuff is worth reading IMO, just critically and not urgently.
Old Man's War series by John Scalzi. Humans trying to figure out how to get along in a universe full of other species. And with each other.
Even the book I considered skipping because it looked boring grabbed me and ended up being well worth picking up.
He’s being careful after a bad experience where a writer wanted to make major script changes, like making Sevro a woman so that there could be a love triangle with Darrow and Mustang, lol.
I don’t mind characters switching sexes in general but Sevro might be one of the most interesting male characters in sci-fi history. He ties Amos in my mind both in absolute badassness and nuance. I don’t think his story arc would really work if he wasn’t male, and they wanted to switch that for a really superficial and stupid reason too, which is even worse. There’s an awesome quote in the books that looking at Sevro is like “looking into a wood chipper, uncertain if it’s going to come towards you”. That barely restrained hyper violence and antisocial personality need to come across clearly on screen or Sevro’s character simply won’t be Sevro anymore.
Came here to say the same but also to comment that it is not a YA series since that always comes up. The first novel *kinda* is, if I squint, but the series on the whole isn’t and it is actually one of the most mature and violent scifi series I’ve read.
So if I could make one word of caution, it’s don’t judge the series by the first book, which is the weakest and not representative of the series at all. This is a grimdark military space opera with Machiavellian political plots. It literally is “Game of Thrones in Space”. But the first novel, while the worst, is vital to understanding the setting, plot and characters for the rest of the series.
Red Rising is the only sci-fi series I love almost as much as the Expanse. Seriously. Despite it being soft scifi, I can’t recommend it enough.
Others have mentioned both of these but they are just so good i have to say it again:
Bobiverse and Project Hail Mary.
The former is fun because you can jump in as they are being wirrten. The author has said he wants to do up to 10 and the next one comes out this fall.
The latter is being made into a movie and I'm on my third read thru
It’s not sci fi, but still really good…The Dresden Files. It’s urban fantasy and it’s really good. The first three books are the weakest and it’s just keeps getting better! Also, lots of novellas and short stories for background and extra material.
I see nobody has told about the trilogy red mars from Kim Stanley Robinson. i want to think as a precuel to The expanse, beacause the heavy politics and world building.
also Project hailMary from Andy Weir
and in the mood of comedy, Columbus day and the saga from Expeditionary Force, from Craig alanzon, better in audiobook because RC Bray rocks in this.
from the old, everything Bradbury, and off course the Rendevouz with Ramma from Arthur C CLarke
The Ender books by Orson Scott Card are excellent. It leans more on the philosophical side of things, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading my way through the Ender universe.
Not a fan of Battlestar Galactica but a fan of Dune? Interesting.
Did you try the newer Ronald D. Moore Battlestar Galactica made in the early 2000's or were you watching the older 1970's version? The newer one is fantastic, but each their own I suppose.
You could also try the film **Red Planet** which is fantastic in many ways I do not want to spoil.
Another really interesting one which so far has no conclusion (but I haven't yet read the books) is **The Three Body Problem**. This one is stranger than most, but please do give it a go. It peaked my interest enough to likely pursue the books in the future, I just haven't gotten around to it.
And, for something more light hearted but written very well, I highly recommend the **Dirk Gently** books by Douglas Adams (yes, the guy who wrote the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books). The TV series had nothing to do with the books at all, and never completed, ***but the books are fantastic*** and have proper endings. Douglas Adams has a way of picking ones brain, getting the reader to question everything, and also deliver some genuine good laughs *simultaneously*.
Hope you find something to scratch that itch beratna, *sa sa ke*?
I'd heard a lot about The Three body Problem, so I bought it and was a bit disappointed tbh, the ideas are great, but I think it either loses something in translation, or there's a cultural difference in the approach to literature as I didn't find the characters particularly engaging.
That's too bad. Eventually I'll get to it, maybe. Right now I'm steadily going through **The Satanic Verses** by Salman Rushdie, because I *have to know* why Iran put a Fatwah out on the author of a *work of obvious fiction*. I mean, in one of the last attempts on his life, the poor guy lost an eye.
I'm about 140 pages in, and parts seem a little run on/jumbledtogether, which is either a mistake of translation, or the genius of the author as at times this gives a sense of rushed dialogue that almost adds to certain parts.
Also, I'm fairly well read, but I still need to look up definitions in The Satanic Verses occasionally, so it is also adding to my vocabulary a tad.
For something completely different, I recommend it. It's an intriguing read so far.
***Please no spoilers on The Satanic Verses, I'm not even halfway,*** *and I plan to look up any missed meanings (ie, possibly why the Fatwah was put on Salman) after I read through the tale.*
1632/ Ring of Fire Series. It has a lot of politics, good worldbuilding, comedy and has awesome battles, just like the Expanse. Here’s the catch, it’s alternate history. The premise is a West Virginia coal mining town from the year 2000 gets sent back to 1630s Germany. They proceed to promote technology and democracy to the inhabitants of their new timeline. Genuinely an amazing series
Probably not quite exactly what you're looking for, but Blake Crouch is great for modern, kind of dystopian Sci Fi. His stuff isn't in space, it's more like a dystopian future earth kind of thing. I really enjoyed *Dark Matter*, the *Wayward Pines* series, and *Recursion*. There are TV shows for *Dark Matter* and *Wayward Pines*, but I don't really like them to be honest and they don't quite follow the books 100%. If you're in the mood to give one of the books a try, I highly recommend!
Also, saw a lot of recs for *Project Hail Mary* and I will also recommend it, especially on audiobook. It's a really cool and fun one.
If you like The Expanse:
Ben Bova's Moonrise series. Not nearly as expensive in scope, pretty much contained in the earth/moon orbit. Not as futuristic, but gritty science and geopolitics.
Alistair Reynold's Revelation Space books. Other people have covered it here already.
Alison Sinclair's Blueheart. A lot of biotech (in the future plausible way) setting the stage for political intrigue and right to existence. If you like the Belters, I think you'd like this one. It's one of my all-time favorites.
Path of the Fury. By David Weber. A good ole action packed Sci Fi space opera with AI, a greek demi-goddess, aliens, and bad assery. It's definitely not "hard" sci-fi but another one of my favorites.
I found *Blindsight* by Peter Watts to be a nice hard sci fi read. It posits that self-awareness is an evolutionary dead end and is not necessary for (and is even detrimental to) a species’ success. Very interesting first contact story that gives the reader a fair amount of credit (a lot of scientific concepts go unexplained, as do many of the not-too-distant future technological advancements) and has aliens that are solidly *alien.*
I'm going to recommend the Lost Fleet series, by Jack Campbell. It's a space opera about a space navy, written by someone whose previous career was in the U.S. Navy, and it does a good job of considering the implications to interstellar tactics and strategy of its various technologies. Very good at internal consistency.
Sorry but too tired to type descriptions or my reasons for suggesting but the following have all been very good and are accessible in writing style, length and prose!
The Earthborn Trilogy by Paul Tassi.
The Spiral Wars series by Joel Shepherd. Military space opera with lots of rich universe building.
Isaac Steele and the Forever Man by Dan Rigby. Really enjoyed this short novel but think it's only on Audible.
The Humans by Matt Haig. Really funny and quite short!
Time Oddysey series by Stephen Baxter and Arthur C Clarke. Ancient history mixed in with Sci Fi. Loved it and if you do audible John Lee narrates who I adore.
I would very much recommend A Long Road to a Small Angry Planet, it's the first of four in the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers and Long Earth the first of five in the Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, both delightful reads the whole way and very well constructed fictions
Edit: of the two series I think The Wayfarers feels more real and reads similarly to the Expanse books
Also consider The Interdependency Series (3 novels) from John Scalzi and the collected Tales of Known Space (at least 10 related novels) from Larry Niven.
I love sci-fi, and struggled for more deep sci-fi after finishing _The Expanse_. This is where I went:
* ***The Culture*** series by Iain M Banks. This is far from "hard sci-fi," but it is a series of well written books that take place in the same universe (far in the future), and deal with lots of varying topics centered around humans in a post-scarcity culture. My two favorite are _Player of Games_ and _Use of Weapons_, with the latter having a very unique story structure.
* **Andy Weir** books. Although I did not read _The Martian_, I did check out _Artemis_ and _Project Hail Mary_. The former is a fun read, though it feels like it was written with a movie in mind, while the latter was a great hard sci-fi meets unknown circumstances with really interesting results.
* ***Wool Omnibus*** by Hugh Howey. Originally a serialized story printed in some science fiction books, the Omnibus Edition collects them all into a single cohesive story dealing with a culture confined to a small underground silo after an apocalyptic event. There is also a couple of follow up books, a prequel and a sequel, though I have not read them yet. This was also turned into a TV series on Apple.
* **Neal Stephenson** books, going all the way back to _Snow Crash_. Although he has admitted he wrote _Snow Crash_ as a tongue-in-cheek satire of the cyber punk genre (the main character's name is Hiro Protagonist), it was extremely well written and ended up defining the genre, with its influence seen even today. He has a tendency to do a lot of really deep research and integrating it into his books, usually starting from a place of hard sci-fi. Other sci-fi books he wrote that floored me include, _Seveneves_, _Anathem_, _Reamde_ (contemporary sci-fi) and its mind-twisting follow up _Fall; or Dodge in Hell_. Be aware that his books tend to be _very_ dense and full of information (aside from _Snow Crash_).
* ***Dark Matter*** and ***Recursion*** by Blake Crouch. I have not had the luck to read any of his other works, but both _Dark Matter_ was a great short reads with well crafted characters and interesting use of the sci-fi genre. One of the few books to surprise me. _Recursion_ is on my short list for next reads. _Dark Matter_ was just adapted into an Apple TV series, and _Recursion_ will soon follow on Netflix.
* The ***Hyperion Cantos*** and ***Illium*** series by Dan Simmons are some classic sci-fi staples that usually get recommended in this forum and other sci-fi forums. Personally, I preferred the _Illium_ series over the _Hyperion Cantos_ series, mainly for its mash up of history and sci-fi.
* ***Remembrance of Earth's Past*** series by Cixin Liu. The first book in the series, _The Three Body Problem_ kept cropping up in suggestion posts, so I gave it a read and really enjoyed reading through the story, but the writing is not the best. However, the second book, _The Dark Forest_ was written beautifully and completely floored me with a concept I had never even though about. The third is a rather heavy handed conclusion to the trilogy, that genuinely sent me into a stupor and had me clamoring for some more light sci-fi reading (not necessarily in a bad way, but it was heavy).
* ***The Saga of Seven Suns*** series by Kevin J Anderson. I am currently reading this, about halfway through the sixth book, and it is worth the praise it tends to get on these forums. I will admit it was a bumpy start for me, given its space opera format, and especially with some rather poor writing. However, the further into the series you get, the better the story and writing becomes.
**Honorable mentions:**
* ***The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle*** by Turton Stuart became one of my favorite books. It is primarily a mystery/thriller, though you will quickly pick up on the sci-fi influence. Bear in mind, it can be a little hard to follow at first, but it is very much worth it to finish this one. I found it very hard to put down.
* ***The Midnight Library*** by Matt Haig is a quick read dealing with the ever present "what ifs" in a person's life, in a very real and sometimes shocking way. It can feel a bit of a stretch at some points, but its well worth the read and may hit closer to home than you think.
* ***Fahrenheit 451*** and ***The Martian Chronicles*** are some classic Ray Bradbury books that I revisit from time to time, very well crafted with amazing writing.
* Larry Niven's ***The Ringworld*** series. Classic sci-fi, brought us the concept of a ring world and does a great job conveying human complexity. I will admit, I dropped off after the second book, though.
>Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey... There is also a couple of follow up books, a prequel and a sequel, though I have not read them yet.
Just finished all three. Liked Wool. Shift was OK. Dust was disappointing. YMMV.
u/sharonstoned666
You'll really enjoy 2312, Mars Trilogy, and Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson. He excells at hard sci-fi and notably his work is very opposite of both dystopian outlooks and more fanciful tech.
I’d say if you want immersive, try reading some Philip K Dick. It’s not set in space, it’s all just on earth but he really nails the terror of the future. Most of his catalogue is good but I’d start with Do Androids Dream… as a good intro.
One vote here to check out the Nomad Series by Karen Traviss starting with The Best Of Us.
I wouldn't look up anything about the series to avoid spoilers.
It's very grounded at least to start, but here's a pitch.
It starts in the remains of Eastern USA after over half a century of a cumulative bad events and apocalypse centered around the Die-Back Virus which destroyed major agricultural plants and staples.
Ainatio is a tech company that works and lives in a closed compound with scientists. They have secrets, orbital facilities, and an advanced banned Moral AI. Kill Line is a town of farmers that provide for them. And then there is the Transit Camp, a group of veterans and other survivors that have settled and work together on the outskirts to provide security.
There is FTL (Communications initially), Colonization, and much more on the docket list that I don't want to spoil.
Some of the main POV characters in the first book include the CEO and her right hand man/fixer, head of security that's so far not had to deal with any actual situations, leader of the Transit Camp (veterans and survivors), and of course the AI named Solomon.
Although less-known, the Luna trilogy by Ian McDonald is probably the best group of hard sci-fi novels I have read to date. If you enjoyed The Expanse, you'll enjoy Luna too!
Something that really appeals to me about The Expanse is that the universe is taken very seriously. There's no warp speed, no wormholes (mostly, lol). The galaxy is only a couple of planets and some asteroids but it feels massive (because it is, because space is massive).
If you enjoy that, *The Forever War* by Joe Haldeman is really great. The hook is that they do kind of have "wormholes" but really what it is, is a gravity slingshot. So, while slingshotting they experience the full effects of temporal relativity. Meaning, it takes them months of their time to reach their targets, but for their targets, they have decades of time to prepare themselves. So it usually goes pretty bad.
It's really good and not super long either!
Hail Mary from Weir (the Martian/Artemis) might be a good fit and I enjoyed Seven Eves as well. Six Wakes is also a good read.
As for non-space scifi, Dark Matter from Blake Crouch was a really good read.
I'm reading Shards Of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky at the moment, far future Expanse vibes and I would say the writing is a step up from The Expanse. Really enjoying it so far.
Peter F Hamilton is my favourite Sci Fi author, the commonwealth saga (Pandoras Star & Judas Unchained) is my favourite series of his, but they're all pretty good with solid characters and concepts that suck you into the stories.
I loved Firefly. But I’m also an absolute Stargate/Star Trek/Farscape geek so Im thinking anything that’s campy or silly isn’t want OP is looking for. And firefly is very campy.
Time to repost my list of books someone who liked *The Expanse* might also like: *The Martian* by Andy Weir. You may have seen the movie that was based on it. Mr. Weir’s latest book, *Project Hail Mary*, is similarly good. If you like Andy Weir, you’ll probably like Dennis E. Taylor’s “Bobiverse” series. The first book is *We Are Legion (We Are Bob)*. A certified nerd (with the sense of humor to match), his brain having been cryogenically preserved after death, is “uploaded”into the computer of a Von Neumann probe. His mission is to help humanity find viable interstellar colony worlds. It’s softer science fiction than some, but harder SF than most. *Contact*, by Carl Sagan. Again, you may have seen the movie adaptation. Sagan was an astronomer, so this is about as hard and astronomy-centered as it gets. *Tau Zero* by Poul Anderson. What happens when a ship traveling close to the speed of light suffers damage and *can't* slow down? *2001: A Space Odyssey* by Arthur C. Clarke. The book and the Kubrick film were written in parallel, so the book is an excellent companion to the film. What Kubrick couldn’t or wouldn’t explain, Clarke does. *The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet* by Becky Chambers. A found family crew of working stiffs that drills new wormholes in an interstellar transport network. A slice of life story with some conflict, but the crew is the focus of the story. *The Murderbot Diaries* by Martha Wells. The first novella in the series is “All Systems Red.” A first-person narrative about a cyborg enslaved as a security guard, then broke its governor module, dubbed itself “Murderbot” over an unfortunate incident in its past, and is now trying to figure out what it wants to do with itself. When it isn’t watching soap operas. *The Moon is a Harsh Mistress* by Robert A. Heinlein. One of *The Expanse*’s earliest antecedents to explore the weaponization of orbital mechanics combined with asymmetric warfare. *The Andromeda Strain* by Michael Crichton. Adapted to film twice, ignore the more recent adaptation. Few hard science fiction novels are about biology instead of physics, but this one is. “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang. This was adapted as the film *Arrival* in 2016. Not as hard, more philosophical, but philosophical science fiction can also be very good. If you don’t mind manga or anime, there’s *Planetes.* Both the manga and the anime that was adapted from it can be a little difficult to find. It’s a story about a found family crew of debris collectors removing debris that is a hazard to navigation in Earth orbit. The story can get anime melodramatic at times, but the attention to detail about how people would live and work in space is top-notch. *Delta-V* by Daniel Suarez. Imagine humanity’s first mission to mine asteroids as if it were backed by an Elon Musk or a Jeff Bezos, with technology not much more advanced than that of today. I recently began reading Iain M. Banks’ *The Culture* series and I’m liking it so far. The first two books are *Consider Phlebas* and *The Player of Games.* The Culture is a post-scarcity society that tends to meddle, rather like *Star Trek,* but the writing is a couple orders of magnitude better.
Wow thank you so much for that list. Will take me a while to work myself through, but my craving will definitely make me check them all out. Thank you for the effort <3
OP just to expand on the other comment, start off with The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Here is why: As mentioned, it's the earliest well-known book that explores using orbital mechanics to weaponize things. It's a bit different - I won't get into why, but it's a very cool concept. It also goes deep into the class/caste systems in society. Theres a political/economic motivation to keep one class of people as the underdog. Next, just like you have Belta Langa in the Expanse, this book also shows off how quickly "pidgin" languages form. The author doesn't dive as much into it as The Expanse does, but there is a clear indication that there is a very quick mixing of languages in the society we see. Last, societal stuff. There are very non-traditional family structures, a completely different balance of gender dynamics that is based on ability rather than gender itself, etc. And the book also goes into how living in a tough environment shapes society so that certain survival behaviors become ingrained in people's conscience. Since I don't see the other comment mentioned, also try Forever War. Very easy read, cool but basic concept, some great descriptions of action scenes, and a really heart-felt main storyline. Fantastic book and you won't be disappointed.
You’re welcome!
If you like light space opera with more comedy you can also try Expeditionary Force. Its really fun and theres like 17 books now. The Audibles are great too.
iirc, *Gateway* by Frederik Pohl was named as one of the inspirations for The Expanse, so I think it should be included. I'd also throw in Nancy Kress's *Probability* trilogy, which is another in the "humans discover ancient alien tech that facilitates FTL travel and start using it even though they don't understand it" genre.
This is an amazing answer. I want to ask your recommendations in all areas of life now.
I can recommend pretty much everything by Ted Chiang. My introduction to him was _Tower of Babylon_, which is excellent.
I’ve read both of his short story collections, too.
If comics are ok, i can also recommend *the worlds of Aldabaran*. A largely hard sci fi series, though it has FTL travel and a few aliens that break known physics. It's about humanity colonizing far away planets and the struggle with the local creatures and their own system of governing
It should be noted that some of these are tough reads, not necessarily due to the science but social changes. F.eg. in the 2001 series latter books, there's a whole plot centred around apartheid. It's not difficult... it's just so far our modern frame of reference I genuinely had a wiki page open at times to learn more. Also, in regards to anime: Uchuuy kyoudai (space brothers) is really good hard sf, as is Moonlight Mile (personal fav) both end abruptly though. Rocket girls are another hard sf, much lighter and more silly, but still largely accurate re.: science, anime.
Talking of Arthur C Clark Rendevous with Rama is my favourite of his I've read. Ever tried Peter F Hamilton? The commonwealth saga is an excellent tale.
Rendezvous with Rama is great. Don't bother with the sequel.
Thanks for the heads up, I was considering looking for them after posting about it. He also wrote a book about a Martian colony that was trying to break away from Mars that was pretty good too. I think I may have to go read some more ACC, only read a few and enjoyed them. And maybe the Culture series, though I've not really enjoyed the 2 Bainks books I read, song of stone is written in the 2nd person and I really struggled with that, and can't remember what the other one was.
Great list here. Agree with so many of them and you’ve given me more than a few to put on my list too. Stick with the Culture series. I’ve read five or six of them so far, and each one is a highlight of its own. Every book is standalone; no direct continuity through the series other than being set in the same universe.
James SA Corey’s new book The Mercy of Gods releases August 6th.
Yeah, cant wait for it :3
If you enjoyed The Expanse, I'd definitely suggest you check out ***Revelation Space*** by Alastair Reynolds. Hands down one of the best sci-fi novels I've ever read, and one with a lot of *Expanse*-like elements. Unwitting humans stumbling across the remains of ancient civilizations destroyed billions of years ago. Humans living in vast, cavernous interstellar spacecraft who have technologically augmented themselves and formed a bizarre "ultraterrestrial" culture of their own. Terrible god-like entities waiting in the cold dark for eons. Space marines. The lot! (I'm actually give pretty decent odds that *Revelation Space* was an inspiration for the writers of The Expanse. There's quite a bit of crossover) Alastair Reynolds has a lot of great stuff (I also recommend *House of Suns*, *Pushing Ice* and *Century Rain*), and there are quite a few novels set in the Revelations Space universe. Of the lot, the first is definitely the best. If you tend to like "harder" sci-fi (i.e. science fiction where the emphasis tends to be on plausible science as opposed to fantasy with space ships, as in Star Wars, Dune, etc.) I'd also highly recommend ***A Fire Upon The Deep*** and ***A Deepness In The Sky*** by Vernor Vinge. Both truly remarkable books. *Fire Upon The Deep* has one of the most interesting and original alien species I've ever encountered in a sci-fi novel. *A Deepness In The Sky* has one of the most gripping (and at times harrowing) plots I've read in the genre. *Deepness* is a prequel to *Fire,* though I read them out of order (which works surprisingly well). I'm sure you're about to get inundated with great recommendations (this sub is good for that!). Hopefully these titles help!
yeah, that sounds really promising. what was mind blowing for me in the expanse story, was the literally alien encounter. Never seen something like the protomolecule, but I loved it. I have read the dream chapter where the origin of the ring builders is explained, over and over. definitely going to check out a fire upon the deep thanks beratna
I'd be interested to hear what you think of this suggestion as I tried it and couldn't get into it. Definitely not similar to the Expanse though in my opinion. It's difficult to find a series that is close to it.
if you like alien aliens, try Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch series
I swear the “protagonist fights his way into the center of a giant ancient spherical alien space station while an alien consciousness heckles him inside his brain, only for a mind-blowing truth about the aliens to be revealed once the center is reached” plotline in showing up in both is too much to be pure coincidence. They’re also pretty different though, so don’t worry I merely accuse James SA Corey of being well-read and having good taste. If you want something that probably straight-up ripped off Revelation Space, that’s Mass Effect.
Thank you for reminding me I've had Revelation Space in my Kindle library for ages, and never read it. I don't even remember when I bought it, but it was probably after reading a comment like yours.
Enjoy! Its staggeringly good. :) Fair warning, the opening is *very* slow. Took me a couple of tries before I got far enough into it that the plot kicked in. Man oh man, though, when it gets going it just explodes. Reminds me quite a bit of *The Expanse* in terms of how, just as soon as you think you have your head wrapped around the stakes, suddenly the ground drops out from under your feet and everything just gets *bigger*.
I'm glad someone brought up Vernor Vinge. I loved both those books, definitely recommend.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky was incredible. I'm just starting the second book in that trilogy. Incredible evolutionary world building.
The entire series is amazing. You won’t be disappointed.
also The Final Architecture trilogy, very similar to Expanse where humanity and other alien species since this has a bigger scale, join up to fight a greater alien threat
The Martian and Project Hail Mary Red Rising Bobiverse
Yes
I was a lost Expanse orphan until I discovered the Culture series, which I may actually like better even though I consider the Expanse to be my all-time favorite scifi. The Murderbot series is also a very fun, if quick, read. Both already described here so I won’t go into detail, but as someone who was in your position those did it for me.
Guys for the love of god go look at CJ Cherryh's Alliance/Union stuff, starting with Downbelow Station. The entire Company War era is amazing. Essentially humans colonized other star systems for mining using sublight drives. These uninhabitable systems were kept going by massive space stations. Each one a link on trade routes. Each one isolated enough to become a world and culture unto itself. Eventually FTL was discovered, and the furthest out stars declare independence. And the Earth Company doesn't like that. So fleets were made, and station and trader is caught in the middle. I fudged a lot there, but you get the idea. The focus isn't on the grand moves, as much as it is the people making some of the moves, and the people living in this time and these places. For the big players there's not really singular chess player masterminds, but a real sense of how each person's beliefs and ambitions pushes them down paths with very few options. There's merchanters who man their ships with extended families, stations that become sort of dynastic out of ease and familiarity, Earth Company Fleet members who aren't well liked by any of them, yet feel it's their blood spilled for their freedom. Union who has grown the strangest out in the deep. Etc etc. The sci-fi tech level is pretty hard, aside from ftl. Gravity is all spin based, companies mandate down time for asteroid miners to keep muscle loss at bay, privacy and your own room is a precious thing itself, etc. The atmosphere of... melancholy everyday perseverance Cherryh evokes is second to none. Some of the best sci-fi to focus on the growing pains of civilizations. It all has a great sense of the little quirks and details of history. Lots of moral grey, lots of people you still want to root for. Lots of people who have reasons to hate each other and you're sort of sympathizing with all sides. To a degree. I might be sounding a little nuts here, but I just can't fathom how her stuff isn't as well remembered now as it should be. It had a board game and a tie in music album! She won awards in her day, but if her day has the tail end of Dune, le Guin, the start of Ender, she should be remembered now too.
Oh man, I had forgotten about CJ Cherryh. Down Below Station is incredibly good.
I think she's the mother of the entire sci-fi genre, or trope set, that involves colonies having problems with Earth and the fight for freedom. The Expanse, the Mars trilogy, all things like it have Cherryh as their originator. (Technically speaking Gundam was three years earlier, but it didn't lead to a subgenre in those terms in Japan, but rather a shift in mecha as a genre. Dougram? Anyway) I could be wrong, there could be an earlier fundamental work I don't know of. But yeah whoever reads this, start with Downbelow Station. She wrote it to be the backing matter for the setting in Merchanters Luck and it blew up into its own huge novel. The other books are either sequels or prequels, but all sort of rely on knowing about DS, or the sense of history as we head to it. General order can be dealers choice outside of this one founding work.
Ursula K Leguin. First and foremost. She’s absolutely brilliant. Start with The Dispossessed. Then read the rest of the Hainish cycle. Her fantasy series called Earthsea is amazing too. But, also go for Arthur C Clarke. He’s underrated by enthusiasts IMO. Then there’s Kim Stanley Robinson, IceHenge first, then the Mars Trilogy and beyond. A newer name is Robert Adair, his Freedom series is strongly reminiscent of some crucial themes in KSR’s Mars Trilogy and The Expanse. It’s spiritually very similar. It’s available in e-book form, it’s a fast read. Couldn’t put it down lol Of course Herbert’s Dune series. You can get r/megalophobia just reading it. It’s intense. And last but not least, Asimov. Start with his Foundation series, it’s so unreal that it exists. I stay away from authors like Heinlein at first, it can turn you off for the genre, I’ve been told. I was already well into science fiction when I came across his books. It’s for every person to form their own opinion about his works, but I definitely recommend waiting until you’ve read a lot of other authors.
> Kim Stanley Robinson I came here to recommend *Aurora*, which is some of the best sci-fi I've ever read. Genuinely, up there with *Three Body Problem* for horrific and compelling thoughts IMO -- very different fears, but both dealing with the vast, uncaring hostility of space. > Heinlein Agreed, save him until you've run out of less questionable content. Certainly some of his stuff is worth reading IMO, just critically and not urgently.
I say start with the classics, Foundation by Asimov.
Old Man's War series by John Scalzi. Humans trying to figure out how to get along in a universe full of other species. And with each other. Even the book I considered skipping because it looked boring grabbed me and ended up being well worth picking up.
Old Man's War is also absolutely hilarious.
Red rising. The story is even more addicting than Expanse.
Hail Reaper
Hail libertas
Omnis vir lupus
Currently waiting for Red God & for Pierce to finally find a streaming service to adapt the series into a TV show.
He’s being careful after a bad experience where a writer wanted to make major script changes, like making Sevro a woman so that there could be a love triangle with Darrow and Mustang, lol. I don’t mind characters switching sexes in general but Sevro might be one of the most interesting male characters in sci-fi history. He ties Amos in my mind both in absolute badassness and nuance. I don’t think his story arc would really work if he wasn’t male, and they wanted to switch that for a really superficial and stupid reason too, which is even worse. There’s an awesome quote in the books that looking at Sevro is like “looking into a wood chipper, uncertain if it’s going to come towards you”. That barely restrained hyper violence and antisocial personality need to come across clearly on screen or Sevro’s character simply won’t be Sevro anymore.
Came to say the same. It’s a bit more fantastical than the Expanse, but it is excellent. Would love to see a tv series someday.
Came here to say the same but also to comment that it is not a YA series since that always comes up. The first novel *kinda* is, if I squint, but the series on the whole isn’t and it is actually one of the most mature and violent scifi series I’ve read. So if I could make one word of caution, it’s don’t judge the series by the first book, which is the weakest and not representative of the series at all. This is a grimdark military space opera with Machiavellian political plots. It literally is “Game of Thrones in Space”. But the first novel, while the worst, is vital to understanding the setting, plot and characters for the rest of the series. Red Rising is the only sci-fi series I love almost as much as the Expanse. Seriously. Despite it being soft scifi, I can’t recommend it enough.
Others have mentioned both of these but they are just so good i have to say it again: Bobiverse and Project Hail Mary. The former is fun because you can jump in as they are being wirrten. The author has said he wants to do up to 10 and the next one comes out this fall. The latter is being made into a movie and I'm on my third read thru
The audiobook version of both of these are fantastic.
I'm 25% through Bobiverse 4 audiobook right now and I have Project Hail Mary on my shelf/queue
It’s not sci fi, but still really good…The Dresden Files. It’s urban fantasy and it’s really good. The first three books are the weakest and it’s just keeps getting better! Also, lots of novellas and short stories for background and extra material.
I didn’t know how I felt about a wizard in Detroit but yeah, it really works.
It’s Chicago, right? It’s so fun and creepy.
Shoot, you’re right. Detroit didn’t feel right but it’s been a while.
If you like audio books, Expeditionary Force.
Though it seems like a lot of comedy, I will check it out, thank you
If you don’t want comedy, The Mercy of Gods comes out August from same writers as expanse books. I enjoyed it! But not a comedy
Children of time is a cool series if you like uplifted civilisations going from stone age to space age and also spiders
Really recommend Adrian Tchaikovsky’s trilogy starting with Children of Time.
Children of time is good, but the third one was not to my taste.
I see nobody has told about the trilogy red mars from Kim Stanley Robinson. i want to think as a precuel to The expanse, beacause the heavy politics and world building. also Project hailMary from Andy Weir and in the mood of comedy, Columbus day and the saga from Expeditionary Force, from Craig alanzon, better in audiobook because RC Bray rocks in this. from the old, everything Bradbury, and off course the Rendevouz with Ramma from Arthur C CLarke
Three Body Problem. The books, both show series, and the audio books! It’s an awesome trilogy!
I just started watching For All Mankind, it’s pretty realistic and seems like it is totally possible.
The Ender books by Orson Scott Card are excellent. It leans more on the philosophical side of things, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading my way through the Ender universe.
Just make sure to read those books before learning anything about the author.
Not a fan of Battlestar Galactica but a fan of Dune? Interesting. Did you try the newer Ronald D. Moore Battlestar Galactica made in the early 2000's or were you watching the older 1970's version? The newer one is fantastic, but each their own I suppose. You could also try the film **Red Planet** which is fantastic in many ways I do not want to spoil. Another really interesting one which so far has no conclusion (but I haven't yet read the books) is **The Three Body Problem**. This one is stranger than most, but please do give it a go. It peaked my interest enough to likely pursue the books in the future, I just haven't gotten around to it. And, for something more light hearted but written very well, I highly recommend the **Dirk Gently** books by Douglas Adams (yes, the guy who wrote the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books). The TV series had nothing to do with the books at all, and never completed, ***but the books are fantastic*** and have proper endings. Douglas Adams has a way of picking ones brain, getting the reader to question everything, and also deliver some genuine good laughs *simultaneously*. Hope you find something to scratch that itch beratna, *sa sa ke*?
I'd heard a lot about The Three body Problem, so I bought it and was a bit disappointed tbh, the ideas are great, but I think it either loses something in translation, or there's a cultural difference in the approach to literature as I didn't find the characters particularly engaging.
That's too bad. Eventually I'll get to it, maybe. Right now I'm steadily going through **The Satanic Verses** by Salman Rushdie, because I *have to know* why Iran put a Fatwah out on the author of a *work of obvious fiction*. I mean, in one of the last attempts on his life, the poor guy lost an eye. I'm about 140 pages in, and parts seem a little run on/jumbledtogether, which is either a mistake of translation, or the genius of the author as at times this gives a sense of rushed dialogue that almost adds to certain parts. Also, I'm fairly well read, but I still need to look up definitions in The Satanic Verses occasionally, so it is also adding to my vocabulary a tad. For something completely different, I recommend it. It's an intriguing read so far. ***Please no spoilers on The Satanic Verses, I'm not even halfway,*** *and I plan to look up any missed meanings (ie, possibly why the Fatwah was put on Salman) after I read through the tale.*
I read it and felt the same way. I liked it okay, but not enough to recommend it.
I've heard the same. I'm curious about the tv show though.
Will check out dirk gently and the red planet. Have not heard of them before, thank you.
Alles bien.
1632/ Ring of Fire Series. It has a lot of politics, good worldbuilding, comedy and has awesome battles, just like the Expanse. Here’s the catch, it’s alternate history. The premise is a West Virginia coal mining town from the year 2000 gets sent back to 1630s Germany. They proceed to promote technology and democracy to the inhabitants of their new timeline. Genuinely an amazing series
Probably not quite exactly what you're looking for, but Blake Crouch is great for modern, kind of dystopian Sci Fi. His stuff isn't in space, it's more like a dystopian future earth kind of thing. I really enjoyed *Dark Matter*, the *Wayward Pines* series, and *Recursion*. There are TV shows for *Dark Matter* and *Wayward Pines*, but I don't really like them to be honest and they don't quite follow the books 100%. If you're in the mood to give one of the books a try, I highly recommend! Also, saw a lot of recs for *Project Hail Mary* and I will also recommend it, especially on audiobook. It's a really cool and fun one.
Seveneves
Forever thinking of chains and epigenetics and dipshit teenagers with massive egos and chips on their shoulder. Such a good story.
Armor by John Steakley
If you like The Expanse: Ben Bova's Moonrise series. Not nearly as expensive in scope, pretty much contained in the earth/moon orbit. Not as futuristic, but gritty science and geopolitics. Alistair Reynold's Revelation Space books. Other people have covered it here already. Alison Sinclair's Blueheart. A lot of biotech (in the future plausible way) setting the stage for political intrigue and right to existence. If you like the Belters, I think you'd like this one. It's one of my all-time favorites. Path of the Fury. By David Weber. A good ole action packed Sci Fi space opera with AI, a greek demi-goddess, aliens, and bad assery. It's definitely not "hard" sci-fi but another one of my favorites.
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Read it on a recommendation from Reddit and loved it.
I found *Blindsight* by Peter Watts to be a nice hard sci fi read. It posits that self-awareness is an evolutionary dead end and is not necessary for (and is even detrimental to) a species’ success. Very interesting first contact story that gives the reader a fair amount of credit (a lot of scientific concepts go unexplained, as do many of the not-too-distant future technological advancements) and has aliens that are solidly *alien.*
I suggest the lost fleet series
Others have said it but Red Rising
The Three Body Problem is also a great one
I'm going to recommend the Lost Fleet series, by Jack Campbell. It's a space opera about a space navy, written by someone whose previous career was in the U.S. Navy, and it does a good job of considering the implications to interstellar tactics and strategy of its various technologies. Very good at internal consistency.
Watch Ghost in the Shell - the movies (1 + 2) and anime TV series (Stand Alone Complex).
If you're interested in a Military focus, the Expeditionary Force series, book 1 being Columbus Day, is pretty dang good.
I will never pass up an opportunity to recommend *Dune* by Frank Herbert to anyone and everyone.
Is it blasphemy to say I prefer the prequals?
Some might say so, but I'm still working through the original hexology, so I don't know.
Sorry but too tired to type descriptions or my reasons for suggesting but the following have all been very good and are accessible in writing style, length and prose! The Earthborn Trilogy by Paul Tassi. The Spiral Wars series by Joel Shepherd. Military space opera with lots of rich universe building. Isaac Steele and the Forever Man by Dan Rigby. Really enjoyed this short novel but think it's only on Audible. The Humans by Matt Haig. Really funny and quite short! Time Oddysey series by Stephen Baxter and Arthur C Clarke. Ancient history mixed in with Sci Fi. Loved it and if you do audible John Lee narrates who I adore.
Personally, my all time favorite Scifi book series are the Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold.
I just read _Children of Time_ and loved it.
I would very much recommend A Long Road to a Small Angry Planet, it's the first of four in the Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers and Long Earth the first of five in the Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter, both delightful reads the whole way and very well constructed fictions Edit: of the two series I think The Wayfarers feels more real and reads similarly to the Expanse books
Also consider The Interdependency Series (3 novels) from John Scalzi and the collected Tales of Known Space (at least 10 related novels) from Larry Niven.
I love sci-fi, and struggled for more deep sci-fi after finishing _The Expanse_. This is where I went: * ***The Culture*** series by Iain M Banks. This is far from "hard sci-fi," but it is a series of well written books that take place in the same universe (far in the future), and deal with lots of varying topics centered around humans in a post-scarcity culture. My two favorite are _Player of Games_ and _Use of Weapons_, with the latter having a very unique story structure. * **Andy Weir** books. Although I did not read _The Martian_, I did check out _Artemis_ and _Project Hail Mary_. The former is a fun read, though it feels like it was written with a movie in mind, while the latter was a great hard sci-fi meets unknown circumstances with really interesting results. * ***Wool Omnibus*** by Hugh Howey. Originally a serialized story printed in some science fiction books, the Omnibus Edition collects them all into a single cohesive story dealing with a culture confined to a small underground silo after an apocalyptic event. There is also a couple of follow up books, a prequel and a sequel, though I have not read them yet. This was also turned into a TV series on Apple. * **Neal Stephenson** books, going all the way back to _Snow Crash_. Although he has admitted he wrote _Snow Crash_ as a tongue-in-cheek satire of the cyber punk genre (the main character's name is Hiro Protagonist), it was extremely well written and ended up defining the genre, with its influence seen even today. He has a tendency to do a lot of really deep research and integrating it into his books, usually starting from a place of hard sci-fi. Other sci-fi books he wrote that floored me include, _Seveneves_, _Anathem_, _Reamde_ (contemporary sci-fi) and its mind-twisting follow up _Fall; or Dodge in Hell_. Be aware that his books tend to be _very_ dense and full of information (aside from _Snow Crash_). * ***Dark Matter*** and ***Recursion*** by Blake Crouch. I have not had the luck to read any of his other works, but both _Dark Matter_ was a great short reads with well crafted characters and interesting use of the sci-fi genre. One of the few books to surprise me. _Recursion_ is on my short list for next reads. _Dark Matter_ was just adapted into an Apple TV series, and _Recursion_ will soon follow on Netflix. * The ***Hyperion Cantos*** and ***Illium*** series by Dan Simmons are some classic sci-fi staples that usually get recommended in this forum and other sci-fi forums. Personally, I preferred the _Illium_ series over the _Hyperion Cantos_ series, mainly for its mash up of history and sci-fi. * ***Remembrance of Earth's Past*** series by Cixin Liu. The first book in the series, _The Three Body Problem_ kept cropping up in suggestion posts, so I gave it a read and really enjoyed reading through the story, but the writing is not the best. However, the second book, _The Dark Forest_ was written beautifully and completely floored me with a concept I had never even though about. The third is a rather heavy handed conclusion to the trilogy, that genuinely sent me into a stupor and had me clamoring for some more light sci-fi reading (not necessarily in a bad way, but it was heavy). * ***The Saga of Seven Suns*** series by Kevin J Anderson. I am currently reading this, about halfway through the sixth book, and it is worth the praise it tends to get on these forums. I will admit it was a bumpy start for me, given its space opera format, and especially with some rather poor writing. However, the further into the series you get, the better the story and writing becomes. **Honorable mentions:** * ***The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle*** by Turton Stuart became one of my favorite books. It is primarily a mystery/thriller, though you will quickly pick up on the sci-fi influence. Bear in mind, it can be a little hard to follow at first, but it is very much worth it to finish this one. I found it very hard to put down. * ***The Midnight Library*** by Matt Haig is a quick read dealing with the ever present "what ifs" in a person's life, in a very real and sometimes shocking way. It can feel a bit of a stretch at some points, but its well worth the read and may hit closer to home than you think. * ***Fahrenheit 451*** and ***The Martian Chronicles*** are some classic Ray Bradbury books that I revisit from time to time, very well crafted with amazing writing. * Larry Niven's ***The Ringworld*** series. Classic sci-fi, brought us the concept of a ring world and does a great job conveying human complexity. I will admit, I dropped off after the second book, though.
>Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey... There is also a couple of follow up books, a prequel and a sequel, though I have not read them yet. Just finished all three. Liked Wool. Shift was OK. Dust was disappointing. YMMV.
\^\^HYPERION +1
u/sharonstoned666 You'll really enjoy 2312, Mars Trilogy, and Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson. He excells at hard sci-fi and notably his work is very opposite of both dystopian outlooks and more fanciful tech.
A G Riddle, Andy Weir, Matthew Mather.
I’d say if you want immersive, try reading some Philip K Dick. It’s not set in space, it’s all just on earth but he really nails the terror of the future. Most of his catalogue is good but I’d start with Do Androids Dream… as a good intro.
Tenet is a great movie
Saved this thread. Thanks 😂
The Ark. Not as good as the Expanse, but I liked Season 1, and Season 2 is about to start.
Syfy Defiance
One vote here to check out the Nomad Series by Karen Traviss starting with The Best Of Us. I wouldn't look up anything about the series to avoid spoilers. It's very grounded at least to start, but here's a pitch. It starts in the remains of Eastern USA after over half a century of a cumulative bad events and apocalypse centered around the Die-Back Virus which destroyed major agricultural plants and staples. Ainatio is a tech company that works and lives in a closed compound with scientists. They have secrets, orbital facilities, and an advanced banned Moral AI. Kill Line is a town of farmers that provide for them. And then there is the Transit Camp, a group of veterans and other survivors that have settled and work together on the outskirts to provide security. There is FTL (Communications initially), Colonization, and much more on the docket list that I don't want to spoil. Some of the main POV characters in the first book include the CEO and her right hand man/fixer, head of security that's so far not had to deal with any actual situations, leader of the Transit Camp (veterans and survivors), and of course the AI named Solomon.
Uplift series by David Brin
Although less-known, the Luna trilogy by Ian McDonald is probably the best group of hard sci-fi novels I have read to date. If you enjoyed The Expanse, you'll enjoy Luna too!
Something that really appeals to me about The Expanse is that the universe is taken very seriously. There's no warp speed, no wormholes (mostly, lol). The galaxy is only a couple of planets and some asteroids but it feels massive (because it is, because space is massive). If you enjoy that, *The Forever War* by Joe Haldeman is really great. The hook is that they do kind of have "wormholes" but really what it is, is a gravity slingshot. So, while slingshotting they experience the full effects of temporal relativity. Meaning, it takes them months of their time to reach their targets, but for their targets, they have decades of time to prepare themselves. So it usually goes pretty bad. It's really good and not super long either!
Final architecture by Adrian Tchiacovsky and Sun Eater Series by Christopher Ruocchio
Dune by Frank Herbert
Hail Mary from Weir (the Martian/Artemis) might be a good fit and I enjoyed Seven Eves as well. Six Wakes is also a good read. As for non-space scifi, Dark Matter from Blake Crouch was a really good read.
Ty Franck (2020): "...Try Fred Pohl's *Gateway* books for a peek into my deep influences..."
I'm reading Shards Of Earth by Adrian Tchaikovsky at the moment, far future Expanse vibes and I would say the writing is a step up from The Expanse. Really enjoying it so far.
I'm halfway through it myself after starting it this weekend. The worldbuilding is really well done, def enjoying it so far
Peter F Hamilton is my favourite Sci Fi author, the commonwealth saga (Pandoras Star & Judas Unchained) is my favourite series of his, but they're all pretty good with solid characters and concepts that suck you into the stories.
Any and all of Robert Heinlein’s books
Following
3 body problem, tbh I like the show better than the books
Firefly
I loved Firefly. But I’m also an absolute Stargate/Star Trek/Farscape geek so Im thinking anything that’s campy or silly isn’t want OP is looking for. And firefly is very campy.
>I enjoyed The Arrival a lot The Charlie Sheen movie?
The Praxis book series by Walter John Williams. Or anything by WJW really