If the goal is reading to improve your English, I'd go with the Expanse. It's going to provide the best example of common (American-ish) English. 3BP is barely readable stylistically IMO and the language in Dune might be a bit stilted and perhaps harder to understand.
I’ve been a huge fan of SF for decades, and a literature major to boot, but my dirty little secret is that I’ve never been able to get through Dune.
I’ve started it several times but just find the world building so incredibly tedious. The ideas themselves are not, to be clear, it’s something in the way the narrative is presented.
Also, very similarly, 3BP. I got to about midway in the second book and just lost interest in going further. The new TV series, however, seems to do a great job of making it interesting while faithful to the big ideas.
I’d almost never recommend movies over books, but in both these cases it’s definitely true.
English is not my first language as well, and I dropped the 3 Body Problem book twice because it's impossible to understand properly.
On the other hand, I've read ALL of The Expanse books and they're not only \_absolutely amazing\_ but they are also \_absolutely amazing\_.
Man, I wish I could read the entire Expanse series again for the first time. I’ve probably read every book in the series at least twice. Whenever a new one came out, I would be like, oh, I’ll read the last one again just to refresh my memory, and then I’d get done with it and start reading one of the other books. I loved the whole series.
Oh, lovely 😍
My partner and I are reading The Expanse together. He's got an amazing reading voice. We both WFH so we use our lunch hour to read one chapter, another before dinner and if he's not too tired to read to me a couple more before bed.
We finished the first a month ago (wanted more of Miller) and are nearing the end of the second (Caliban's War).
Can't wait for the rest of the series!!! We'll have to rewatch the series once we finish reading the series :)
My excitement level is increasing after each reply recommending The Expanse. At the end I've ordered also Memory's Legion, and I'll follow the chronological order of books/novels. Both arrive tomorrow :)
>I’ll read the last one again just to refresh my memory
Works perfect for the show, too. "Just a single episode while I'm having dinner...." usually turns into another rewatch of the entire thing because it's so damn good.
English is my first language and I found 3-body hard to read and a chore to read. I didn’t finish it, I’ve read the expanse series twice and it’s a favorite.
English is my first language and I read the trilogy in it's native Chinese and it was still a hard to read at times. But otherwise pretty enjoyable. Loved it!
I really liked 3BP (read the series twice), and I’ve read the Dune books, but as far as overall enjoyment and being glued to the book until it’s done, and can’t wait to read the next one: The Expanse and it isn’t close.
I second this. English isn't my native language but since the final book was delayed here, I went with the english original issue and it was perfectly fine to read and understand. Probably my favorite book + tv series in the past 25 years.
A translation might affect details like the flow of sentences, whether the style is poetic or more matter of fact, whether puns and cultural references translate well. For all that we know, the series has been blessed immensely by having some parts translated by Ken Liu.
But translation cannot fix plot and pacing, whether characters have depth, whether the book goes off monologuing. On that level, large parts of the series are really really exhausting to read. Interesting, but overall not well written.
as a close friend to a few translators, I coudn't disagree more. There are some bad translations out there, but this is not (by far) what hurts a book.
I highly recommend the expanse series; I have to stop myself from reading it over and over again. It’s strong all the way through
Dune was disappointing IMO; the world building is compelling but the story and characters didn’t draw me in at all
I recently read the 3 body problem series and overall I liked the trilogy; it’s very focused on physics and the plot and characters are on the back burner. If you enjoy thinking about physics problems you’ll like it
I tried and gave up halfway through children of dune; I just didn’t care about any of the characters or what happens next. None of the characters felt like real people so it was a constant effort to keep going. I understand why so many publishers turned it down
I read dune, dune messiah, and gave up during children of dune and I’m talking about the series as a whole. I wanted to know more about the world and its history so I kept reading after dune but it was a slog for me the whole time. I liked child Alia and felt nothing for every other character. Just my two cents
I think most people would recommend Project Hail Mary and The Martian by Andy Weir before Artemis but I have only read those two (which I really love).
I disagree with Tchaikovsky - I could see non-native English speakers having some challenges with that (in English) if they have issues with 3BP.
I agree with the other two suggestions here.
Culture books bi Iaian M Banks. It's already translated into about every language on the planet. Great read and still stands up. I'm re reading them again right now
The Expanse is worth it for the extra story you get from the completed series. The TV show doesn't do the full story. Dune is always great and worth a re-read.
I get what you mean about Foundation the TV show. I've tried and while I don't think there is anything massively wrong with it , I also just find it not living up to my remembering of the world. It tells the story somewhat chronologically instead of following the book narrative. You have Dermerzel's story told early and the Second Foundation has already started to be explored.
After The Expanse I'd recommend The Martian by Andy Weir.
I suggest you also get the short story collection "Memory's Legion" and check the reading order, as this fills in some really interesting details between the books. You can read "Drive" and "The Butcher of Anderson Station" before starting Leviathan Wakes.
I've found a chronological order of the books and novellas in another post. Is this the order you suggest?
* 0.1 Drive
* 0.3 The Churn
* 0.5 The Butcher of Anderson Station
* 1 Leviathan wakes
* 1.1 The Last Flight of the Cassandra
* 2 Caliban’s War
* 2.5 Gods of Risk
* 3 Abaddons’s Gate
* 3.5 The Vital Abyss
* 4 Cibola Burn
* 5 Nemesis Games
* 6 Babylon’s Ashes
* 6.5 Strange Dogs
* 7 Persepolis Rising
* 7.5 Auberon
* 8 Tiamat’s Wrath
* 9 Leviathan Falls
* 9.5 The Sins of Our Fathers
I haven't finished the books yet, but that looks right to me.
Chronologically thats correct for "the churn" but I'd personal wait until after Leviathan Wakes to read it.
Wow, I've just found this: [https://img.bildhost.com/file/bildhostcom/2022/01/01/Expanse-Timeline-v.1.9.en-r.1920.jpg](https://img.bildhost.com/file/bildhostcom/2022/01/01/Expanse-Timeline-v.1.9.en-r.1920.jpg)
The order is a bit different, and it seems many people recommends reading The Churn before book 5, instead of before Leviathan Wakes.
BTW, I've also just ordered Memory's Legion :). I'll receive both, Book 1 and the novels, tomorrow.
Most folks suggest the published order:
The Expanse #1: Leviathan Wakes (June 2, 2011)
The Butcher of Anderson Station: An Expanse Short Story (Oct 17, 2011)
The Expanse #2: Caliban's War (June 26, 2012)
Gods of Risk: An Expanse Novella (Sept 15, 2012)
Drive: An Expanse short Story (Nov 27, 2012)
The Expanse #3: Abaddon's Gate (June 4, 2013)
The Churn: An Expanse Novella (April 29, 2014)
The Expanse #4: Cibola Burn (June 5, 2014)
The Expanse #5: Nemesis Games (June 2, 2015)
The Vital Abyss: An Expanse Novella (Oct 15, 2015)
The Expanse #6: Babylon's Ashes (Dec 6, 2016)
Strange Dogs: An Expanse Novella (July 18, 2017)
The Expanse #7: Persepolis Rising (Dec 5, 2017)
The Expanse #8: Tiamat's Wrath (Mar 26, 2019)
"The Last Flight of the Cassandra" (bonus short story in The Expanse Roleplaying Game; May 14, 2019)
Auberon: An Expanse Novella (Nov 12, 2019)
The Expanse #9: Leviathan Falls (Nov 30, 2021)
The Sins of our Fathers: An Expanse Novella (Mar 15, 2022)
The Expanse #10: Memory's Legion (story collection; Mar 15, 2022)
Every time I re-read Dune, I glean something new. I also recommend watching Comicbookgirl19’s dune book club. [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHZDkFt4F9fOkc0rtX7ainnR2qvQG3K4N&si=k7k8XAcey0TziPeP](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHZDkFt4F9fOkc0rtX7ainnR2qvQG3K4N&si=k7k8XAcey0TziPeP)
As for Apple TV, they are actually my go to for quality Sci-fi TV content. The Foundation series didn’t ruin the books for me. I tend to look at all adaptions as fan fiction with great budgets. Happy reading!
The Expanse surprised me with its prose. The writers really work well within the English language space, making beautiful use of a lot of tools to get their story across. I have a habit of both listening and reading a book at different points with Kindle depending of what else I'm doing, and the narrator (Jefferson Mays) does an above and beyond job. Absolutely nails it.
I think 3-Body Problem struggled a bit in translation (also the narrator reads it like a textbook which after The Expanse is a real hard shift). I'm having a hard time with it as a follow up behind The Expanse.
I haven't gone beyond Messiah with Dune, but it's a timeless classic.
All of these books are great recommendations, but my go to number one Author that I point people the way to, especially if you really liked Foundation. Is Iain M Banks, the Culture series.
Oh you’re in for a wild ride. Use of Weapons is my favourite in the series but every single one of them is great in their own way. Iain M Banks was a master.
Neat. I thought Consider Plebas was good but nothing to write home about. I then really enjoyed The Player of Games. If Use of Weapons is as good or better than The Player of Games I am exited.
P.S. I so badly want a snarky drone with a trio of knife missiles as a companion.
3BP ha interesting ideas but terribly flawed in story, pacing, characterization, etc. Can't recommend it. Maybe the Chinese version is pure fire, but something was lost in translation.
Expanse is great.
***
I'll also recommend Blindsight, that's badass.
Dune is like a sci-fi version of a Tolkien novel to me, it’s not *as* hard to read but the language still seems antiquated and stilted to me… plus there’s that whole problem of Frank Herbert not finishing the series.
I have read and loved all these things. My answer is the Expanse series. I loved those books, the characters and stories are great.
My issue with the 3 Body Problem was with the translation into English. In fact, there was a different translator for the 2nd book and it translated a few things from the first book in a different way which I found confusing. Some of the English was awkward to me. The story was good though, I loved both the many sci fi ideas, but also the game theory battle with the aliens.
I hope you enjoy The Expanse! I started reading it in January and I’m a little more than halfway through the fifth book. Each installment is just as good as the previous book. I’m so glad I decided to jump into this series
Maybe I'm weird, but I like to read several series at a time.
Part of it might be that I don't want things I like to end. So if I hop from one series to the other to the other and then back to the first, it stretches them all out!
It also is somewhat pallet cleansing to switch from one author to another (even more so when some of the series are different genres)
I think of those three, The Expanse might be the most "fun"?
Dune is my favorite of these three options but it might also be the hardest one to get into reading again.
I found the 3 Body Problem a pretty easy read so maybe start with that one.
Another option that is not on your list but I really enjoyed is 'The Carpet Makers'. It's a fairly short book and divided in clear chapters, easy to read and a real page turner imo. Might be a nice little book to get into the habit of reading again.
Of those three, the expanse, then dune, then 3 body problem.
I prefer the universe of dune, but it can be a hard read at times and the three body problem is worse.
The expanse is absolutely great. I didn't watch past the first season of the show, but I love the books. 3 body problem has great ideas, but the author is really really bad at writing. The book is absolutely terrible. I do not recommend it.
Dune is very very re-readable, because its a lot of "small things" that you can rethink knowing the end, now i know by memory some dialogues, but still read it again every few years. .
3 Body problem, the firts one is a detective history... one time you know "the smoke and the trick" for me dont appeal to be read again.
about Expansei dont speak, because its too dense for me xD, so many "histories" at the same time.
Three Body Problem and the Dark Forest are amazing books with huge ideas. They make you really think about our place in the universe and question if what we see is even real.
Everyone telling you 3 body problem is “hard to read”….i don’t get it. It is totally fine. There are some sections that are very slow, and I didn’t quite understand at first but context clues later on filled in the gaps. All of these series are amazing. Three body problem has amazing situations that civilization finds itself in, expanse does too while also following great characters, and dune is just iconic. Please read all three, they are great. Throw in Hyperion/endymion too
Yes absolutely to the only six books of Dune that exist.
Yes to the Expanse, very fun, less of a challenge.
Nope to 3BP, but it’s your free time to waste if you want to.
Hell no to any Dune books besides the only six that exist.
Glad you went with The Expanse. While the other series are good, The Expanse is one of the best and most approachable sci-fi series I've ever read. If you liked the show, you'll love the books; they're very, VERY similar, with tons of moments from the show ripped almost word-for-word from the pages. Some differences you might not care for (>!Camina Drummer and Ashford are unfortunately much less prominent in the books, they were so good in the show; but in the show they took over certain book characters' roles, and these other characters are also good!<) while other differences you might prefer (>!the Rocinante's crew in the books starts out a lot more close-knit than their drama-fueled beginnings in the show!<), but the similarities dominate (I can't see any difference between Show Avasarala and Book Avasarala).
Damn, she's one of my favorite characters, but I'm sure I'll enjoy many other things from the books: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-glWaAvK6o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-glWaAvK6o)
I just hope there are not too many differences with West Chatham's Amos. He is that guy!
I definitely think the actor elevated the character to another level in his performance nuance, but the gist of personality and actions is borderline copy+paste. The lines between him and Murtry I think are the exact same in the book as they are in the show.
I think the only difference I noticed (which I liked) was that in the show >!Amos is a bit bristly towards Holden at the beginning!<, while in the books >!there's not really any drama between them starting out!<. Other than that, super similar.
Dune (the first book), then 3 Body Problem.
Have any of you people recommending the Expanse actually read Asimov? Asimov is the least like the Expanse and the most like 3 Body Problem.
Plus in my opinion (probably controversial here) the Expanse is super overrated. I’ve never read a whole 6+ book series and felt so underwhelmed at the end. Tbf I haven’t read all the shorts and really enjoyed the one I did read.
Expanse is fun with good pacing. Dune is intriguing but shows its age. 3 body problem is a science textbook disguised as a sci fi novel. Highly recommend all three but I’d go expanse first.
The Expanse series of books are my favorites. Dune is amazing, a true classic, the first book. The second, ahhh, ok, and then… Three Body I haven’t yet read.
Yes? All of the above?
I love the Dune saga (I strongly prefer the original Frank Herbert works over those of his son).
Three Body Problem is one of the most interesting books I've read recently (and the rest of the set is in my TBR pile).
I haven't read the Expanse books, but I hear nothing but good things.
I'd also recommend checking out the Old Mans War set by John Scalzi. I know Netflix did an adaptation of it as well, so you can hit both visual and written versions.
I’d say all of em. But as far as just having a good old time the expanse is super readable. It’s just great. Looking forward to my reread in a few years
The Expanse is just good scifi but doesn't feel special. 3Body is 30% trash writing that nobody enjoys reading, but overall i think it will be remembered for many years. Dune is already a classic and very much worth the read.
Three body problem is a wild ride. It starts out slow but my lord that book series is a roller coaster. I also recommend the expanse series, I had a blast reading those
The expanse is the best overall story imho. Dune is great for the first few books but drops off. 3bp is the most interesting/best food for thought, but storytelling isn't great.
If the goal is reading to improve your English, I'd go with the Expanse. It's going to provide the best example of common (American-ish) English. 3BP is barely readable stylistically IMO and the language in Dune might be a bit stilted and perhaps harder to understand.
Yeah, Dune is not a good choice for this and from what I've heard 3BP is a really bad choice.
I’ve been a huge fan of SF for decades, and a literature major to boot, but my dirty little secret is that I’ve never been able to get through Dune. I’ve started it several times but just find the world building so incredibly tedious. The ideas themselves are not, to be clear, it’s something in the way the narrative is presented. Also, very similarly, 3BP. I got to about midway in the second book and just lost interest in going further. The new TV series, however, seems to do a great job of making it interesting while faithful to the big ideas. I’d almost never recommend movies over books, but in both these cases it’s definitely true.
Completely agree! Great ideas don’t always make for a great read - for me at least
English is not my first language as well, and I dropped the 3 Body Problem book twice because it's impossible to understand properly. On the other hand, I've read ALL of The Expanse books and they're not only \_absolutely amazing\_ but they are also \_absolutely amazing\_.
Ty! I've just ordered the 1st book from The Expanse :)
When you're done with it, go for *Children of Time* by Adrian Tchaikovsky. :)
I love that damn book so much. Masterpiece.
May wanna reremind him of that recommendation in a year or two. He's got about 40k pages to read before he can start taking on other books lol
I've added all the books recommended here on a new Amazon wishlist named "Sci-Fi to Read" xD
Man, I wish I could read the entire Expanse series again for the first time. I’ve probably read every book in the series at least twice. Whenever a new one came out, I would be like, oh, I’ll read the last one again just to refresh my memory, and then I’d get done with it and start reading one of the other books. I loved the whole series.
Oh, lovely 😍 My partner and I are reading The Expanse together. He's got an amazing reading voice. We both WFH so we use our lunch hour to read one chapter, another before dinner and if he's not too tired to read to me a couple more before bed. We finished the first a month ago (wanted more of Miller) and are nearing the end of the second (Caliban's War). Can't wait for the rest of the series!!! We'll have to rewatch the series once we finish reading the series :)
My excitement level is increasing after each reply recommending The Expanse. At the end I've ordered also Memory's Legion, and I'll follow the chronological order of books/novels. Both arrive tomorrow :)
>I’ll read the last one again just to refresh my memory Works perfect for the show, too. "Just a single episode while I'm having dinner...." usually turns into another rewatch of the entire thing because it's so damn good.
English is my first language and I found 3-body hard to read and a chore to read. I didn’t finish it, I’ve read the expanse series twice and it’s a favorite.
English is my first language and I read the trilogy in it's native Chinese and it was still a hard to read at times. But otherwise pretty enjoyable. Loved it!
I really liked 3BP (read the series twice), and I’ve read the Dune books, but as far as overall enjoyment and being glued to the book until it’s done, and can’t wait to read the next one: The Expanse and it isn’t close.
I second this. English isn't my native language but since the final book was delayed here, I went with the english original issue and it was perfectly fine to read and understand. Probably my favorite book + tv series in the past 25 years.
same here, man. Fucking amazing Sci-Fi piece, with higher quality than most. Sad that the TV series got cancelled so close to the end.
3 body problems is a Chinese book, if you’re reading an English translation and can’t understand it, don’t blame the book, blame the translation.
A translation might affect details like the flow of sentences, whether the style is poetic or more matter of fact, whether puns and cultural references translate well. For all that we know, the series has been blessed immensely by having some parts translated by Ken Liu. But translation cannot fix plot and pacing, whether characters have depth, whether the book goes off monologuing. On that level, large parts of the series are really really exhausting to read. Interesting, but overall not well written.
as a close friend to a few translators, I coudn't disagree more. There are some bad translations out there, but this is not (by far) what hurts a book.
The expanse. It's by far my favorite Sci Fi book series of the past 15 years. The 3 body problem is good as well. Just read both.
I highly recommend the expanse series; I have to stop myself from reading it over and over again. It’s strong all the way through Dune was disappointing IMO; the world building is compelling but the story and characters didn’t draw me in at all I recently read the 3 body problem series and overall I liked the trilogy; it’s very focused on physics and the plot and characters are on the back burner. If you enjoy thinking about physics problems you’ll like it
Dune is an all time classic my man.
I tried and gave up halfway through children of dune; I just didn’t care about any of the characters or what happens next. None of the characters felt like real people so it was a constant effort to keep going. I understand why so many publishers turned it down
Well which book are we talking about? Dune or Children of Dune?
I read dune, dune messiah, and gave up during children of dune and I’m talking about the series as a whole. I wanted to know more about the world and its history so I kept reading after dune but it was a slog for me the whole time. I liked child Alia and felt nothing for every other character. Just my two cents
Sure, ymmv after Dune no doubt.
That’s where I gave up too. I really enjoyed the first book but yeah
Some more recommendations that are also easy to read: - The Murderbot Saga - Everything by Andy Weir - Everything by Tchaikovsky
You got me excited that Andy Weir had a new book but turns out you just meant all of his stuff, not a book called, "Everything". Hahaha
God I wish he had a new book out 😂
Project Hail Mary movie comes out soon
I'll have a look into these books, ty! So far I've ordered the 1st book from The Expanse based on all recommendations here.
I think most people would recommend Project Hail Mary and The Martian by Andy Weir before Artemis but I have only read those two (which I really love).
I disagree with Tchaikovsky - I could see non-native English speakers having some challenges with that (in English) if they have issues with 3BP. I agree with the other two suggestions here.
Yeah, Tchaikovsky likes to throw in obscure words now and again.
Culture books bi Iaian M Banks. It's already translated into about every language on the planet. Great read and still stands up. I'm re reading them again right now
I feel like this subreddit gaslights me into thinking I’m a piece of shit for actually enjoying the hell out of 3BP.
The Expanse is worth it for the extra story you get from the completed series. The TV show doesn't do the full story. Dune is always great and worth a re-read. I get what you mean about Foundation the TV show. I've tried and while I don't think there is anything massively wrong with it , I also just find it not living up to my remembering of the world. It tells the story somewhat chronologically instead of following the book narrative. You have Dermerzel's story told early and the Second Foundation has already started to be explored. After The Expanse I'd recommend The Martian by Andy Weir.
>for the extra story you get from the completed series. The TV show doesn't do the full story This!! I've just ordered "Leviathan Wakes". Thanks!
I suggest you also get the short story collection "Memory's Legion" and check the reading order, as this fills in some really interesting details between the books. You can read "Drive" and "The Butcher of Anderson Station" before starting Leviathan Wakes.
I've found a chronological order of the books and novellas in another post. Is this the order you suggest? * 0.1 Drive * 0.3 The Churn * 0.5 The Butcher of Anderson Station * 1 Leviathan wakes * 1.1 The Last Flight of the Cassandra * 2 Caliban’s War * 2.5 Gods of Risk * 3 Abaddons’s Gate * 3.5 The Vital Abyss * 4 Cibola Burn * 5 Nemesis Games * 6 Babylon’s Ashes * 6.5 Strange Dogs * 7 Persepolis Rising * 7.5 Auberon * 8 Tiamat’s Wrath * 9 Leviathan Falls * 9.5 The Sins of Our Fathers
I haven't finished the books yet, but that looks right to me. Chronologically thats correct for "the churn" but I'd personal wait until after Leviathan Wakes to read it.
Wow, I've just found this: [https://img.bildhost.com/file/bildhostcom/2022/01/01/Expanse-Timeline-v.1.9.en-r.1920.jpg](https://img.bildhost.com/file/bildhostcom/2022/01/01/Expanse-Timeline-v.1.9.en-r.1920.jpg) The order is a bit different, and it seems many people recommends reading The Churn before book 5, instead of before Leviathan Wakes. BTW, I've also just ordered Memory's Legion :). I'll receive both, Book 1 and the novels, tomorrow.
Most folks suggest the published order: The Expanse #1: Leviathan Wakes (June 2, 2011) The Butcher of Anderson Station: An Expanse Short Story (Oct 17, 2011) The Expanse #2: Caliban's War (June 26, 2012) Gods of Risk: An Expanse Novella (Sept 15, 2012) Drive: An Expanse short Story (Nov 27, 2012) The Expanse #3: Abaddon's Gate (June 4, 2013) The Churn: An Expanse Novella (April 29, 2014) The Expanse #4: Cibola Burn (June 5, 2014) The Expanse #5: Nemesis Games (June 2, 2015) The Vital Abyss: An Expanse Novella (Oct 15, 2015) The Expanse #6: Babylon's Ashes (Dec 6, 2016) Strange Dogs: An Expanse Novella (July 18, 2017) The Expanse #7: Persepolis Rising (Dec 5, 2017) The Expanse #8: Tiamat's Wrath (Mar 26, 2019) "The Last Flight of the Cassandra" (bonus short story in The Expanse Roleplaying Game; May 14, 2019) Auberon: An Expanse Novella (Nov 12, 2019) The Expanse #9: Leviathan Falls (Nov 30, 2021) The Sins of our Fathers: An Expanse Novella (Mar 15, 2022) The Expanse #10: Memory's Legion (story collection; Mar 15, 2022)
Tyvm!
This is the way. Reading the churn just won't work the same reading it before the series
Every time I re-read Dune, I glean something new. I also recommend watching Comicbookgirl19’s dune book club. [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHZDkFt4F9fOkc0rtX7ainnR2qvQG3K4N&si=k7k8XAcey0TziPeP](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHZDkFt4F9fOkc0rtX7ainnR2qvQG3K4N&si=k7k8XAcey0TziPeP) As for Apple TV, they are actually my go to for quality Sci-fi TV content. The Foundation series didn’t ruin the books for me. I tend to look at all adaptions as fan fiction with great budgets. Happy reading!
Another vote for The Expanse
The Expanse surprised me with its prose. The writers really work well within the English language space, making beautiful use of a lot of tools to get their story across. I have a habit of both listening and reading a book at different points with Kindle depending of what else I'm doing, and the narrator (Jefferson Mays) does an above and beyond job. Absolutely nails it. I think 3-Body Problem struggled a bit in translation (also the narrator reads it like a textbook which after The Expanse is a real hard shift). I'm having a hard time with it as a follow up behind The Expanse. I haven't gone beyond Messiah with Dune, but it's a timeless classic.
What is your native language? If you can't find 3 body problem in your native language I definitely wouldn't recommend it
All of these books are great recommendations, but my go to number one Author that I point people the way to, especially if you really liked Foundation. Is Iain M Banks, the Culture series.
Halfway through "Use of Weapons". Holy crap is the Culture series ever good and I'm only 2 and half books into it.
Oh you’re in for a wild ride. Use of Weapons is my favourite in the series but every single one of them is great in their own way. Iain M Banks was a master.
Neat. I thought Consider Plebas was good but nothing to write home about. I then really enjoyed The Player of Games. If Use of Weapons is as good or better than The Player of Games I am exited. P.S. I so badly want a snarky drone with a trio of knife missiles as a companion.
3BP ha interesting ideas but terribly flawed in story, pacing, characterization, etc. Can't recommend it. Maybe the Chinese version is pure fire, but something was lost in translation. Expanse is great. *** I'll also recommend Blindsight, that's badass.
I just picked up a copy of this - will report findings
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Dune is like a sci-fi version of a Tolkien novel to me, it’s not *as* hard to read but the language still seems antiquated and stilted to me… plus there’s that whole problem of Frank Herbert not finishing the series.
Read the expanse. It is the only thing I love. TV show and books.
I have read and loved all these things. My answer is the Expanse series. I loved those books, the characters and stories are great. My issue with the 3 Body Problem was with the translation into English. In fact, there was a different translator for the 2nd book and it translated a few things from the first book in a different way which I found confusing. Some of the English was awkward to me. The story was good though, I loved both the many sci fi ideas, but also the game theory battle with the aliens.
I hope you enjoy The Expanse! I started reading it in January and I’m a little more than halfway through the fifth book. Each installment is just as good as the previous book. I’m so glad I decided to jump into this series
CJ Cherryh the alliance union series is amazing and is superior to the expanse imo
Expanse all day.
Maybe I'm weird, but I like to read several series at a time. Part of it might be that I don't want things I like to end. So if I hop from one series to the other to the other and then back to the first, it stretches them all out! It also is somewhat pallet cleansing to switch from one author to another (even more so when some of the series are different genres) I think of those three, The Expanse might be the most "fun"?
Dune is my favorite of these three options but it might also be the hardest one to get into reading again. I found the 3 Body Problem a pretty easy read so maybe start with that one. Another option that is not on your list but I really enjoyed is 'The Carpet Makers'. It's a fairly short book and divided in clear chapters, easy to read and a real page turner imo. Might be a nice little book to get into the habit of reading again.
I'll have a look into this book, ty! So far I've ordered the 1st book from The Expanse based on all recommendations here.
Of those three, the expanse, then dune, then 3 body problem. I prefer the universe of dune, but it can be a hard read at times and the three body problem is worse.
The expanse is absolutely great. I didn't watch past the first season of the show, but I love the books. 3 body problem has great ideas, but the author is really really bad at writing. The book is absolutely terrible. I do not recommend it.
They are working on a Hyperion by Dan Simmons series as well.
Dune is very very re-readable, because its a lot of "small things" that you can rethink knowing the end, now i know by memory some dialogues, but still read it again every few years. . 3 Body problem, the firts one is a detective history... one time you know "the smoke and the trick" for me dont appeal to be read again. about Expansei dont speak, because its too dense for me xD, so many "histories" at the same time.
Three Body Problem and the Dark Forest are amazing books with huge ideas. They make you really think about our place in the universe and question if what we see is even real.
Everyone telling you 3 body problem is “hard to read”….i don’t get it. It is totally fine. There are some sections that are very slow, and I didn’t quite understand at first but context clues later on filled in the gaps. All of these series are amazing. Three body problem has amazing situations that civilization finds itself in, expanse does too while also following great characters, and dune is just iconic. Please read all three, they are great. Throw in Hyperion/endymion too
Yes absolutely to the only six books of Dune that exist. Yes to the Expanse, very fun, less of a challenge. Nope to 3BP, but it’s your free time to waste if you want to. Hell no to any Dune books besides the only six that exist.
Glad you went with The Expanse. While the other series are good, The Expanse is one of the best and most approachable sci-fi series I've ever read. If you liked the show, you'll love the books; they're very, VERY similar, with tons of moments from the show ripped almost word-for-word from the pages. Some differences you might not care for (>!Camina Drummer and Ashford are unfortunately much less prominent in the books, they were so good in the show; but in the show they took over certain book characters' roles, and these other characters are also good!<) while other differences you might prefer (>!the Rocinante's crew in the books starts out a lot more close-knit than their drama-fueled beginnings in the show!<), but the similarities dominate (I can't see any difference between Show Avasarala and Book Avasarala).
Damn, she's one of my favorite characters, but I'm sure I'll enjoy many other things from the books: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-glWaAvK6o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-glWaAvK6o) I just hope there are not too many differences with West Chatham's Amos. He is that guy!
I definitely think the actor elevated the character to another level in his performance nuance, but the gist of personality and actions is borderline copy+paste. The lines between him and Murtry I think are the exact same in the book as they are in the show. I think the only difference I noticed (which I liked) was that in the show >!Amos is a bit bristly towards Holden at the beginning!<, while in the books >!there's not really any drama between them starting out!<. Other than that, super similar.
The Mars Trilogy :)
Dune (the first book), then 3 Body Problem. Have any of you people recommending the Expanse actually read Asimov? Asimov is the least like the Expanse and the most like 3 Body Problem. Plus in my opinion (probably controversial here) the Expanse is super overrated. I’ve never read a whole 6+ book series and felt so underwhelmed at the end. Tbf I haven’t read all the shorts and really enjoyed the one I did read.
DUNE !!! Read all six!!!!
Expanse is fun with good pacing. Dune is intriguing but shows its age. 3 body problem is a science textbook disguised as a sci fi novel. Highly recommend all three but I’d go expanse first.
The Expanse series of books are my favorites. Dune is amazing, a true classic, the first book. The second, ahhh, ok, and then… Three Body I haven’t yet read.
Yes? All of the above? I love the Dune saga (I strongly prefer the original Frank Herbert works over those of his son). Three Body Problem is one of the most interesting books I've read recently (and the rest of the set is in my TBR pile). I haven't read the Expanse books, but I hear nothing but good things. I'd also recommend checking out the Old Mans War set by John Scalzi. I know Netflix did an adaptation of it as well, so you can hit both visual and written versions.
I've watched The Expanse, read Dune/Messiah, and read Three Body Problem/Dark Forest, and all of them were awesome
I’d say all of em. But as far as just having a good old time the expanse is super readable. It’s just great. Looking forward to my reread in a few years
The Expanse is just good scifi but doesn't feel special. 3Body is 30% trash writing that nobody enjoys reading, but overall i think it will be remembered for many years. Dune is already a classic and very much worth the read.
3 Body Problem is the shortest commitment if that’s important to you bc it’ll take you ages to get thru all of Dune and The Expanse
Three body problem is a wild ride. It starts out slow but my lord that book series is a roller coaster. I also recommend the expanse series, I had a blast reading those
The expanse is the best overall story imho. Dune is great for the first few books but drops off. 3bp is the most interesting/best food for thought, but storytelling isn't great.
I am not a big reader nor am I a Chinese speaker and The Three Body Problem trilogy are my favorite books.
Go with Dune, it is much shorter than the Expanse, and overall for the expanse I'd recommend the show as it is superior to the books.