Hard Science Fiction Fans: Recommendations & Farside by Ben Bova

[GiantSheeps]

If anyone else here is a fan of hard science fiction, do you have any recommendations? I just read Farside by Ben Bova and I really enjoyed it, so I'd say it's worth a read if you come across it.

 

[jedishrfu]

The Asimov Robot books are pretty good and he added some connecting books to bind all of his other series to it.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot_series_(Asimov)

 

[Bandersnatch]

I grew up on Lem, so I'm going to recommend his books.

"His Master's Voice" is what you get if you take Sagan's Contact and turn the realism to eleven.
"The Invincible" is part exploration, part militaristic adventure, with musings about nanomachines and the signature down-to-earth no-heroism approach of his more serious books. A military ship lands on a planet in a search-and-rescue mission.
"Solaris" is another one in the oft-explored theme of attempting contact with alien intelligence. The crew of a space station above a planet covered in a seemingly alive ocean goes crazy, or do they?
"Return from the stars". The theme is similar to "a soldier returns from war to find the world he knew gone", only it's an astronaut returing after decades-long exploratory journey.
"Fiasco" another one in the "Contact for pessimists" theme. This time it's more of a Star Trek setup - the technologically-advanced humans arrive at an alien planet.

 

[Doug Huffman]

Robert L. Forward

I have recently enjoyed The Forever War and Tau Zero for their portrayals of FTL travel consequences.

 

[GiantSheeps]

Thanks for the recommendations guys! How about hard sci fi movies? Of course Gravity and Interstellar were great, but I also saw one called Europa Report which was okay. Do you all have any recommendations for hard space related sci fi?

 

[jedishrfu]

2001 A Space Odyssey

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)

and Contact

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_(1997_US_film)

 

[slider142]

I didn't see him mentioned, but Greg Egan's novels are the first things I think of when it comes to hard science fiction. The recent Orthogonal trilogy was excellent. He maintains a website here: http://gregegan.customer.netspace.net.au/ .

 

[Timelord88]

Some good science fiction movies::
*Primer - If you watch the movie once and said that you understood the whole fiasco,you would be lying.
*Timecrimes
*Pi

 

[KenJackson]

Some good science fiction movies::
*Primer - If you watch the movie once and said that you understood the whole fiasco,you would be lying.

I'm pleased to see that someone else besides me has seen Primer (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007N1JC8/?tag=pfamazon01-20). It's one of my favorite movies. And it's enhanced by the knowledge that it's the project of a couple of engineers that produced it for pocket change.

 

[metapuff]

Greg Egan! I like Ben Bova as well (he's got a good grasp on the near-future political culture of Earth), but Greg Egan is hands-down the master of hard sci-fi. He writes the hardest science fiction out there, period. Check out "Schild's Ladder" (named after a construction in differential geometry!) and "Diaspora". He doesn't hesitate to use terms like "set of measure zero", and will gladly go into the gory details of 5-dimensional wormhole travel. He's also a brilliant mathematician / physicist as well as a writer.

And yeah, Primer is a must-see.

 

[Svein]

Hard SF. Just off the top of my head: Larry Niven, Jack McDevitt, most of Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, David Brin.

 

[cpscdave]

I'd like to third Greg Egan.
I recently read Schild's Ladder and loved it. One of those books where I'd say to myself okay I'm going to read 1 chapter and go to sleep. Next thing I knew it was 2am lol

 

[analogdesign]

Here is a free science fiction book called Fine Structure. I read it in a book club a couple of years ago and LOVED it. Check it out, it's free! (and has a lot of physics in it)

Here's the teaser:

Every year, a random person on Earth is struck by lightning and gains superpowers.

Each new superhuman is twice as powerful as the previous one.

This has been going on for ten years.

http://qntm.org/structure

 

[jim hardy]

About 1962 somebody gave me two bushels of sci-fi paperbacks and i read them all over a summer.

Robert Sheckley's short stories stand out in my memory as spectacularly creative.
"Beachcomber" and "Specialist" in particular, with "Watchbirds" becoming more relevant every year as surveillance technology progresses.

Early Theodore Sturgeon was delightful for his character development but i don't like his later stuff.
His "Ether Breather" (Butyl and the Beast?) made me laugh till my sides hurt.
"Widget, Wadget and Boff" ranks among my top 5 sci-fi stories ever.

Asimov is well, just the master.

That's my opinion.

 

[GiantSheeps]

Speaking of Asimov, I just recently read Asimov on astronomy. It's great. Some of the info is a bit dated, and it's not exactly sci fi, but I'd say it counts because it's astronomy with a sci fi bend towards. Great read, highly recommended

 

[Carlos Romero]

how about the Andromeda Strain Book and movie. Can not get harder than that.

 

[diogenesNY]

Space Tug by Murry Leinster [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Tug_(novel)] is a nominally juvenile novel but is also lots of fun for adults. It involves the operation of a space station, and the plot is, as much as anything, a series of cleverly expressed physics puzzles. IIRC this is actually the second book in a three book series... this one just comes to mind for some reason.

Half the fun of this book is trying to work solutions out before the specifics are revealed in the plot.

There is a Librivox audio version of it available for download, which I recommend if you like audio books.

https://librivox.org/space-tug-by-murray-leinster/

Looking around a bit, there is also a Project Gutenberg version of it (and the other two in the series as well as a bunch more by the same author... including his adult works).

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/7321

Further digging: Bunch of his books are available in audio form at librivox. Here is a link to the relevant catalog page there: https://librivox.org/author/479?pri...=author&search_page=1&search_form=get_resultsHighly recommended. Lots of fun for the physics minded.

diogenesNY

 

[DaveC426913]

Space Tug by Murry Leinster [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Tug_(novel)] is a nominally juvenile novel but is also lots of fun for adults. It involves the operation of a space station, and the plot is, as much as anything, a series of cleverly expressed physics puzzles.

It was published 3 years before Sputnik! Was the physics accurate??

 

[diogenesNY]

It was published 3 years before Sputnik! Was the physics accurate??

Most of the issues were not concerned with the 'rocket science' part of the process but with a lot of smaller human level concerns with living and operating on the station. One of my favorite issues deals with what happens if you threw something (a tin can, say) directly 'down' towards Earth from the platform.

Short answer: as far as I could tell, yes.

diogenesNY

 

[Svein]

I just remembered Catherine Asaro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Asaro).

 

[Bandersnatch]

I just remembered Catherine Asaro (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Asaro).

Alright, that's... the hottest 60 year old I've ever seen in my life.

 

[Arsenic&Lace]

Revelation Space has elements of space opera and gothic horror, but was written by a physicist. I enjoyed it.

 

[caesartherome]

I really loved The Martian by Andy Weir.

It's got a very sarcastic and very fascinating protagonist.

The setting is basically a manned mission to Mars gone wrong and the main character is left on the planet by accident.

Weir added a lot of good humor as well as great solutions to incredible and realistic problems such as oxygen production, food, water etc. It's essentially one man left alone and has to figure out how to survive.

I haven't enjoyed a book that great in awhile!

 

[paisiello2]

Does hard science fiction still stay hard if it introduces some element of fantasy or magical technology?

For example: faster than light travel, direct contact with aliens, telepathy, machines with equivalent or superior to human intelligence.

 

[GiantSheeps]

Does hard science fiction still stay hard if it introduces some element of fantasy or magical technology?

For example: faster than light travel, direct contact with aliens, telepathy, machines with equivalent or superior to human intelligence.

I think it does, as long as it does so in a believable fashion.

I think that even if the technology isn't too realistic, but the implications of the technology and how people react to it could still make it hard sci fi. But that's just me.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

Does hard science fiction still stay hard if it introduces some element of fantasy or magical technology?

For example: faster than light travel, direct contact with aliens, telepathy, machines with equivalent or superior to human intelligence.

The way I've always seen it discussed is as a spectrum more than an absolute classification, see also: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness

 

[meBigGuy]

Any Alistair Reynolds -- Pushing Ice is a great novel. Revelation Space series is good. Poseidon's Children Series is good

John Scalzi Old Man's War series is easy reading
Redshirts is great entertainment.
Fuzzy Nation is a fun read

Charles Stross -- Accelerando

Jack Campbell's 11 Lost Fleet series books (pure pulp Sci Fi)

For classic easy read space opera B.V Larson's 11 star force books. (more pure pulp SciFi)

Rachel Bach Paradox Series (3 books)

Vernor Vinge - Fire Upon The Deep (I've read everything by Vinge)

Ernest Cline - Ready Player One

Can Cyberpunk be Hard Science fiction?

Vernor Vinge - Rainbow's End

Neal Stephenson - Snow Crash

I'm a bit unclear between hard and soft sci-fi. If you think something I recommended isn't HARD enough, say so. I'm interested.

 

[meBigGuy]

I really loved The Martian by Andy Weir.

It's got a very sarcastic and very fascinating protagonist.

The setting is basically a manned mission to Mars gone wrong and the main character is left on the planet by accident.

Weir added a lot of good humor as well as great solutions to incredible and realistic problems such as oxygen production, food, water etc. It's essentially one man left alone and has to figure out how to survive.

I haven't enjoyed a book that great in awhile!

The Martian (a poorly named book) is a great read and about as "hard" as they come.

 

[Henry Stonebury]

Speaking of Asimov, I just recently read Asimov on astronomy. It's great. Some of the info is a bit dated, and it's not exactly sci fi, but I'd say it counts because it's astronomy with a sci fi bend towards. Great read, highly recommended

I'm reading Asimov on Physics right now, and I'm seriously enjoying it

 

[say_cheese]

Ditto on the Martian. Did you know that it was a manuscript rejected by publishers and the author published on the web and became an instant hit and in a year or so, the moviee is going to be out soon.

Hilarious, serious, "down to Mars" movie with everything in it from present day NASA science.

 

[DaveC426913]

The Martian's landing site makes a celebrity appearance on APOD.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap150516.html

 

[chasrob]

Ditto on the Martian. Did you know that it was a manuscript rejected by publishers and the author published on the web and became an instant hit and in a year or so, the moviee is going to be out soon.

Hilarious, serious, "down to Mars" movie with everything in it from present day NASA science.

I find it strange that that book is so popular.

Why? I'm writing a SF novel--trying to learn the ins and outs of the craft--and I was told by countless "experts" about the concept of the "data dump" and that it was without question a no-no that would turn off readers. My story had some science in it and several critiquers claimed "too much exposition"; and RUE--resist the urge to explain. Now David Weber is extremely popular, and he has chapters of exposition of his "science", but it took years for him to build his somewhat quirky following. So I toned down on it in subsequent drafts.

Then I hear about this fabulous book The Martian. There are chapters after chapters of science "stuff"! And it is a NYT best seller, and all I hear is kudos about it.

 

[DaveC426913]

I guess that's the trick. Technical sci-fi is a niche audience. But get popular enough and even a niche is pretty big.

 

[meBigGuy]

Well, I got fooled into reading The Martian by the name and a recommendation (assuming it was actually about a Martian, not a stranded astronaut) . I then kept reading it because the story flowed well, and the science was not distracting. That's the trick, weaving the technology into the story so they are well integrated. Like the Clancy books. If you still have a story without the science, then you put in too much (a "data dump" as you described it).

 

[Mike Holland]

"Red Mars", "Green Mars" and "Blue Mars" are excellent HARD SF, but at the top of my list is "Mission of Gravity" by Hal Clement. It was originally serialized in Astounding/Analog SF magazine.

Mike

 

[Dr Wu]

Seeing he hasn't been mentioned yet in this thread (or so I think) I must give a startled mention of the late great Arthur C Clarke. For me at least he remains the yardstick by which I measure the works of all other "hard" SF writers. "The Songs of Distant Earth" is possibly Arthur C's most accomplished novel - certainly his swansong among his decidedly uneven later works. Other standout writers for me include Isaac Asimov and Larry "Protector"* Niven. But I wish (and it pains me to admit this) I wish I could say the same about Robert Heinlein! Amazingly enough, despite having recently re-read such relentless dialogue/monologue ridden novels of his as "Double Star" and "The Door into Summer" (both of which ended up in charity shops), despite too my distant memories of the epic-like "Stranger in a Strange Land", I keep coming back to Heinlein's wonderful juvenile SF novels - "Starman Jones" and "Have Spacesuit - Will Travel" especially. No one in the SF field has written for younger folks quite like RH.

Currently, I'm stumping my way through Kim Stanley Robinson's "MarsTrilogy", whose sprawling mythic qualities I do admire, but which I find somewhat wordy and hard going in places. Meanwhile, waiting on my bookshelf to be read is "Diaspora" by Greg Egan. I've not read any of Egan's novels before, but I'm assured this is true hard SF by those whose opinions I value. Finally, it's hats off to Robert Forward and his remarkable "Dragon's Egg" novel. Yes, the narrative is wooden in places and the human characters are forever paper-thin ciphers (even for SF). The cheela never fail to shine through, however, and the novel concludes with a moment of sheer magic. . . a close encounter of utter poignancy, and one that suggests to the reader just how truly strange and mysterious an encounter with intelligent aliens could be like in reality. And all this in a typically hard SF novel. Long may the genre thrive. . . and I am looking forward to getting to grips with "Diaspora".

*Why in heaven's name haven't they (Hollywood producers etc) got round to making a film of this amazing novel? (And why isn't there a sequel?)

 

[meBigGuy]

KSR's Mars Trilogy went from good to tedious. I really enjoyed the first book, managed to finish the second, and gave up in the third.

I want to give a second mention to Pushing Ice (and most anything else by Alistair Reynolds) .

To any who may not have seen it, the below is a decent list. (as are all their lists)
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9951.best_hard_science_fiction#156785

 

[DaveC426913]

I want to give a second mention to Pushing Ice (and most anything else by Alistair Reynolds) .

To any who may not have seen it, the below is a decent list. (as are all their lists)
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9951.best_hard_science_fiction#156785

How about a THIRD mention?

Pushing Ice is listed no less than 3 times (#20, #47 and #157).

 

[meBigGuy]

hmmm --- I see Pushing Ice in this thread in posts #27 and #37, your post being #38. How are you getting different post numbers?

 

[Dr Wu]

And here's a fourth mention of 'Pushing Ice'. I recently came close to buying this novel as a result of all the positive reviews it's received. I shall now order it straightaway and see what all the fuss is about. Love the title too. . . cool, what? :)

 

[meBigGuy]

And here's a fourth mention of 'Pushing Ice'. I recently came close to buying this novel as a result of all the positive reviews it's received. I shall now order it straightaway and see what all the fuss is about. Love the title too. . . cool, what? :)

I'm really interested in what you think after you read it. Post on this thread, or PM me.

 

[Svein]

Let's see:

• Kim Stanley Robinson: 2312 (Nebula award)
• Greg Bear: Darwin's Radio (Nebula)
• Charles Stross: Halting State
• Arthur C. Clarke: The Fountains of Paradise (Hugo)

More later...

 

[phion]

Greg Bear is the best. I'm working on The Forge of God, by Greg Bear. I loved his take of Asimov's Foundation.

 

[meBigGuy]

Neal Stephenson's Seveneves is pretty hard. Interesting so far, if a bit over-descriptive.

 

[DaveC426913]

Well, I got fooled into reading The Martian by the name and a recommendation (assuming it was actually about a Martian, not a stranded astronaut) . I then kept reading it because the story flowed well, and the science was not distracting. That's the trick, weaving the technology into the story so they are well integrated. Like the Clancy books. If you still have a story without the science, then you put in too much (a "data dump" as you described it).

Aaaand there's an XKCD for that...

http://xkcd.com/1536/

 

[tom aaron]

My Faves

Niven
Egan
Asimov
Clarke

Hard to beat Chrichton's 'Adromeda Strain'. And Clarke's 'Rama' books

As for Ben Bova...plots ok but can't stand his cliche characters.

 

[chasrob]

... I'm writing a SF novel--trying to learn the ins and outs of the craft--and I was told by countless "experts" about the concept of the "data dump" and that it was without question a no-no that would turn off readers. My story had some science in it and several critiquers claimed "too much exposition"; and RUE--resist the urge to explain. Now David Weber is extremely popular, and he has chapters of exposition of his "science", but it took years for him to build his somewhat quirky following. So I toned down on it in subsequent drafts.

Then I hear about this fabulous book The Martian. There are chapters after chapters of science "stuff"!

It's the current #1 NYT bestseller.http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2015-06-28/trade-fiction-paperback/list.html. Now I'm really confused. I've been led astray by the "experts".

 

[meBigGuy]

How have you been led astray? The Martian is a chocked full of science, well written, story. The science is well woven into the storyline, and doesn't feel like a "data dump". Sometimes it gets just a bit hard to visualize, but not as bad as Neal Stephenson's latest "Seven Eves" . The only thing I didn't like about "The Martian" was that it wasn't really about a "Martian". Just another stranded space traveler story. But that's not really pertinent.

 

[chasrob]

I was led astray by (I guess well-meaning) experts on how to write science fiction. RUE, resist the urge to explain, they told me. Over and over again.

 

[meBigGuy]

Ahhh... I understand. There is a fine line between explaining, and intelligently weaving the technology/science into the story (making it integral to the story). The story becomes about interacting with the science, not about explaining the science. Using the science to make a story is different from "explaining". If you can leave it out and not disrupt the storyline, then you should leave it out. (Just my opinion, as I am not a writer).

Neal Stephenson in "Seveneves" does WAY too many long boring descriptions. Be interesting to see how that is received (but, it is a worthwhile read in spite of "too-dense-technical-detail" in some places, along with boring back stories and a typical Stephenson-esque get-it-over-with ending.