foofighter Posted October 14, 2007 Posted October 14, 2007 hey - i'm trying to find sci-fi novels to read that portray a future that doesn't break CURRENT known laws of science, or at least comes as close to that ideal as possible (i.e. not star trek or star wars). does anyone know any good titles/series? thank you in advance
foofighter Posted October 15, 2007 Author Posted October 15, 2007 oh i haven't read that yet maybe i should, thx = ). also i would particularly like to find novels that are related to an advanced space-faring earth. (again without breaking current known laws of physics)
CDarwin Posted October 15, 2007 Posted October 15, 2007 That might be hard since I don't believe our current understanding of physics allows for faster than light travel for ship-sized objects. I guess it could be very slow space-faring, like going to the International Space Station and back. I don't know how interesting a book that would be.
dichotomy Posted October 15, 2007 Posted October 15, 2007 Silent running and Westworld are relatively plausible.
Fred56 Posted October 15, 2007 Posted October 15, 2007 When you say "sci-fi" are you restricting it to Star Wars, or what? There are several different kinds, or genres, you know. You do know that, right?
Severian Posted October 15, 2007 Posted October 15, 2007 Aliastair Reynolds' books usually have fairly reasonable science in them.
insane_alien Posted October 15, 2007 Posted October 15, 2007 ringworld come pretty close appart from a hyperdrive and a few materials that have exagerated properties. possibly the slaver weapons as well.
Spyman Posted October 15, 2007 Posted October 15, 2007 Hard Science Fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both. You might find some good stories here: -> http://www.hardsf.net/
JohnB Posted October 15, 2007 Posted October 15, 2007 Try something by James P. Hogan, maybe "Voyage From Yesteryear", or "Rendezvous with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke Foofighter you are seriously limiting your options. If you remove the possibility of a Star-Drive of some sort then the stories will be limited in scope. They will be of neccessity placed a) On Earth, b) On a ship or c) On an asteroid or planet. You'll notice both b and c are closed artificial environments. This greatly limits the abilities of the story teller and you might finish up with "Murder She Wrote" set on the Moon. Boring. By analogy, you are asking for stories set on the Mississippi River with scenes occurring only on a slow moving riverboat or in 4 towns along the river. You are also missing out on some great books and series from the genre. "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov. "Inherit The Stars" by James P. Hogan. "The Guns of the South" by Harry Turtledove. "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen" by H. Beam Piper. Anything from the "Terro-Human Future History" of H. Beam Piper ("Space Viking" is a favourite of mine, as is the short story "Omnilingual") "The Stainless Steel Rat" series by Harry Harrison. "Ringworld" series by Larry Niven. "Riverworld" series by Phillip Jose Farmer. Almost all the works of Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, Bradbury and a host of others. Don't limit yourself, Sci-Fi is primarily about people, the tech is secondary it only gets them from one place to another. Please pardon my missionary zeal for a great genre.
bascule Posted October 15, 2007 Posted October 15, 2007 You might have a look at Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars)
Sisyphus Posted October 15, 2007 Posted October 15, 2007 Don't limit yourself, Sci-Fi is primarily about people, the tech is secondary it only gets them from one place to another. Ahhhhh! You're making my hard-SF-loving soul cry. If it's not scientifically plausible, it's not real science fiction. It's fantasy. Fantasy that's set in the future or in space is usually called "science fiction," but it isn't. You are half right with that comment, though. It is always about people, but in different circumstances. What science fiction and fantasy have in common (IMO) is that they are about worlds that operate under different rules than the one we live in, and the consequences therefrom. If those different rules are the result of plausible future events and technologies, it's SF. If those different rules are made up by the author without attempting to conform to (possible) reality, it's fantasy. Each has it's advantages, and each can be "hard" or "soft." ("Hard fantasy" would be a setting where something is different, like the existence of magic, but the world still operates by clearly defined and consistent rules.) The OP, then, is looking for hard SF. Larry Niven has been mentioned, and I recommend him also. He is best known for Ringworld and the Known Space series (that has faster than light travel, but at least it's clearly defined and consistent), but he also has a large body of other work, most of which does NOT have faster than light. The Integral Trees and The Smoke Ring are pure hard SF that plausibly construct just about the most "fantastical" setting imaginable. Just goes to show you that people who think hard SF is too limiting and boring just lack a good imagination...
Fred56 Posted October 15, 2007 Posted October 15, 2007 Has anyone mentioned Blish? James Blish wrote some good earlier stuff (60s-70s)
JohnB Posted October 16, 2007 Posted October 16, 2007 Just goes to show you that people who think hard SF is too limiting and boring just lack a good imagination... First time anyone's ever said that about me. I haven't read the Nivens you mentioned so I'll look them up. Thanks. (You might enjoy "Code of the Lifemaker" by Hogan.) I guess I like the wider vistas that FTL or parallel worlds allows, a matter of preference I suppose.
the tree Posted October 16, 2007 Posted October 16, 2007 Ahhhhh! You're making my hard-SF-loving soul cry. If it's not scientifically plausible, it's not real science fiction. It's fantasy. Fantasy that's set in the future or in space is usually called "science fiction," but it isn't.This still allows the assertion that the technology is secondary in both Sci-Fi and Hard-Sci-Fi. However, the conditions of something being Sci-Fi or Fantasy are neither exclusive nor exhaustive, no novel has been done justice by simply being defined as Hard-Sci-Fi. I find the OPs definition of "quality" to be strange, but I would still say that he should be going for Ray Bradbury, anything by.
Fred56 Posted October 18, 2007 Posted October 18, 2007 SF is the domain and range of the function of imagination.
YT2095 Posted October 21, 2007 Posted October 21, 2007 Rudy Rucker, one of my all time Fave authors! this guy Totally Rocks! try reading: Software, Wetware and Freeware. Realware is one I don`t have YET but I`ve read the other 3 (and a few of his other books). this: http://www.cs.sjsu.edu/faculty/rucker/ is his website (yes he is a teacher). and yes he is somewhat of a Hero of mine. edit: oh yeah, you should like "The hacker and the Ants" too
Pangloss Posted October 24, 2007 Posted October 24, 2007 The "Uplift" books by David Brin. On a less serious note, "Jennifer Government" by Max Barry is a great little five-minute read. Barry's kind of a humorous, low-key counterpart to Neil Stephenson. The movie project's been in turnaround for years but there've been noises recently about new producers taking another shot at it.
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