ARG

[telophase]

Does anyone here have any recommendations for good science fiction space-type books? Preferably available on the Kindle? The glut of self-published stuff on Amazon has made it almost impossible for me to look through recently-published (well, the last couple of years, mostly) science fiction and space opera to find stuff I might like to read. You can certainly rec self-published stuff if you think it's good; I just don't want to click through page after page of the crappy stuff to find the good ones (I've got Marko Kloos' Terms of Enlistment in the Possible Purchase folder, for example--if you've read it all and can review, thanks!).

As a vague idea of what I might like: hard SF and space opera that isn't primarily military in nature. No Honor Harrington, in other words. I downloaded the sample for James S. S. Corey's Leviathan Wakes, and liked the sample enough to put it into my "Possible Purchase" folder. I read both of Jack McDevitt's Priscilla Hutchins and Alex Benedict series, although I have to say the way everyone sounds, dresses, and acts exactly like 20th century Americans kinda drives me nuts (he just has a way of setting up mysteries that make me have to know more about them). Although I said no military, I did enjoy John Scalzi's Old Man's War series, so that's not an unbending rule. :D I also liked Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep and A Deepness in the Sky, although I need to reread them before I can tackle The Children of the Sky.

And yes, in case you're new, I've read all of Lois McMaster Bujold and was a total fangirl back in the day, although I've cooled off since.

Comments

[lnhammer]

I've enjoyed some of Linnea Sinclair's space operas, especially An Accidental Goddess, though some I didn't connect with.

---L.

[kate_nepveu]

Have you read Doyle & Macdonald's _Price of the Stars_ and sequels? Family-based space opera, exciting and fun and with lots of great reversals.

[oracne]

I am currently enjoying ASCENSION by Jacqueline Koyanagi - to me, it has a very old-skool space opera feel, but with bonus lead character of color.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I dunno how much of a recco this is, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Kloos book.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Lee & Miller - Liaden Universe Novels
Doyle & McDonald - Mageworld Novels
Katharine Eliska Kimbriel - Chronicles of Nuala (although that's set more on one planet)
Julie Czerneda - all her novels except a Turn of Light (which is also good but fantasy, not sf)
Sherwood Smith & Dave Trowbridge - Exordium series
Vonda N. McIntyre - Starfarer Quartet

all of these were traditionally published first, the Kimbriel and Smith books are revised at Book View Cafe

Less space opera than portal science fantasy - Andrea Höst - The Touchstone Trilogy (the first one, Stray, is often free on Kindle, so people get lured into needing to buy book 2 and 3)

[helen-keeble.livejournal.com]

China Mieville's Embassytown? He does fun things with the "humans have to learn to live with Strange Alien Species" SF trope.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I am currently reading Ankaret Wells' The Maker's Mask (The Books Of Requite) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XWPSOY/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004XWPSOY&linkCode=as2&tag=racmanbro-20). Not finished yet, but so far it's extremely good - witty, sparkly, really in-depth world building.

Walter Jon Williams has one of my favorite space operas out in e-book now. It's in a "semi-decadent future without scarcity" milieu and has amazing worldbuilding and martial arts. Aristoi (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007QQBRXU/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007QQBRXU&linkCode=as2&tag=racmanbro-20) If you like that, I would browse his other books; they vary in quality but are all at least interesting. (Or you could ask me for further recs.)

The Risen Empire (Succession) (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JF5YQ2/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004JF5YQ2&linkCode=as2&tag=racmanbro-20) and The Killing of Worlds: Book Two of Succession (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004M8SR24/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004M8SR24&linkCode=as2&tag=racmanbro-20). Really fun, inventive, mind-bending space opera, very well-thought out. Great female characters - my favorite relationship is between a sad data analyst and a female alien. The ending is extremely abrupt, but it doesn't ruin the book.

[just-ann-now.livejournal.com]

*waves from Friends-of-Friends* Hello!

Melissa Scott's Roads of Heaven series: Five-Twelfths of Heaven, Silence in Solitude, The Empress of the Earth. All three available as e-books.

Melissa Scott's The Kindly Ones - not part of a series (I don't think), but excellent, just excellent.

Melissa Scott's Dreamships and Dreaming Metal - out of print but available pretty inexpensively in used-book venues. About AI, rather than space-stuff, but wow, what a great story.

[sleary.livejournal.com]

I can't remember if you've tried Lee and Miller...? I'm pretty sure I've burbled about them at tiresome length, since Lee's writing style is very Heyer-inspired.

The anthologies The Other Half of the Sky and Edge of Infinity are great, if you feel like grazing.

I've been on a space opera kick for several months but have been mostly disappointed. Cherryh is nicely crunchy but mostly military. Jane Emerson's City of Diamond was interesting -- I realized that its narrative style was very mid-90s and has gone out of fashion. It's also the first of a series that was never written, so frustrating on a couple of levels. I cannot recommend Alexis Gilliland.

What I really want is more Firefly, and the closest I've come is Chris Wooding's Retribution Falls -- which is set on a steampunkish fantasy world, not in space, but has the same bickering shipboard lifestyle nonetheless.

The Exordium books are next on my list, along with Walter Jon Williams' Angel Station and The Myriad, author's name escaping me at the moment.

[selenite.livejournal.com]

I'll endorse the Lee and Miller recommendations. Scout's Progress is my favorite, has a bit of romance in it. Fledgling is a good entry point with a coming of age story. Balance of Trade focuses on the merchant ship life.

Quarter Share (http://www.amazon.com/Quarter-Traders-Golden-Clipper-ebook/dp/B00AMO7VM4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377533557&sr=1-1&keywords=quarter+share) and its sequels are good slice-of-life SF. Orphan boy joins the crew of a space freighter and works his way up the ranks.

Darkship Thieves (http://www.amazon.com/Darkship-Thieves-ebook/dp/B00APA4S0S/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377533833&sr=1-1&keywords=darkship+thieves) is more classic space opera. Rich kid forced to run away from home and discovers a hidden society. Protagonist starts out unsympathetic but grew on me.

Live Free or Die (http://www.amazon.com/Live-Free-Troy-Rising-ebook/dp/B00APAH7T2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1377533991&sr=1-1&keywords=live+free+or+die) has a lot of first contact and culture clash story-telling before it gets down to the military part. The sequels are pretty pretty pure military SF.

[celticdragonfly.livejournal.com]

I see selenite got here before me. I'll toss my vote in on the Liaden books by Lee and Miller, and I was commenting specifically to recommend the Quarter Share books by Nathan Lowell.

[inkblot14.livejournal.com]

I think my wife would recommend the Stardoc series by S. L. Viehl. She's in the medical profession herself, and says the books handle it quite well.

I'd also put Iain M. Banks Culture novels. There's some really good Space opera there...but some of them can be quite dense. I have an easier time with some than others. I'm not sure there's a specific order to read them in, as the unifying element is the setting (not any specific characters), but "Consider Phlebas" is the earliest I'm aware of.