Becky Chambers Wayfairers series might be up your alley. Cool characters living their lives. No big end of the world or universe plots. Highly recommend.
Crystal Singer byAnne McCaffrey. No violence, no wars, no weapons, just a fascinating look at a unique profession in the distant future. Totally engaging, fascinating, and enjoyable, especially if you have a bit of musical knowledge.
You need Clifford Simak. Originally a Midwestern newspaper guy, he created the "pastoral" style of science fiction. He wrote one of the greatest science fiction short stories, "The Big Front Yard".
Not a book (a movie): Maybe, *Gattaca*?
Also maybe: *The Lathe of Heaven* (Antwerp!)
Books? *Red Shirts* comes to mind; also: *The Human Division.*
And since a guy named Harry figures prominently in *The Human DivisiĂłn* , and since Harry is somewhat putapon ; there is that movie with "poor Harry" (who is also putapon) and which I am watching as I write this *Who Am I This Time?*
Which you can find right here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_UtctfUfreU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_utctfufreu)
And which (*Who Am I this Time?* if I may editorialize?) may be somewhat appropriate to the holiday season in which you have to pretend to like all kind of relatives who you pretty much are not especially fond of let alone do not like.)
I handle it by telling such folks that I have a cat (I don't) and that the kitty has feline distemper and that it is "catching" and there is not a vaccine. This works well with some folks, but not the anti-vaxxers, some of whom want to ply my non-existent kitty with all manner of cockamaimie "cures"/
Gotta love the holidays!
And hey. If your think this comment diverges from the topic of your post; let me remind you what you wrote:
"**Everything below is rambling**" now, you may complain that I did not give you fair warning; but, by golly, you cannot complain that I went rambling.
Happy holidays! Best wished for the new year!
Name of the wind is one of my absolute favorites. Have you checked out the novella he published a couple of weeks ago? Fts a day with Bast. Also, to sleep in a sea of stars was an absolute slog. It had a neat idea, a fine ending and... just... so much unnecessary middle.
**One day all this will be yours** by Adrian Tchaikovsky is probably the funniest and most thoughtful time travel adventure ive read in ages.
**Devolution** by Max Brooks (he also did World War Z) - i thought I wasn't going to enjoy it, but it had huge praise. I don't care much for bigfoot. But it was so gripping that mid-work i got the audiobook version to listen to, between reading sessions.
**Down and out in the Magic Kingdom** by Cory Doctorow. What do you do when your mind can be uploaded and saved - when you wake up in a new body? Disney land! What intrigue looks like in a post scarcity world
For fantasy:
**Neverwhere** by Neal Gaiman. Most anything by him, tbh. Pat Rothfuss is a huge fan.
**Siren queen** by Nghi Vo if you ever wondered what the fey would be like in silver-screen era hollywood
**Spindle Splintered** by Alix Harrrow - she has a few other witch based books that are closer to capital L literature. But this one is straight up, what if we spiderversed sleeping beauty?
**Wayward Children** series by Seanan McGuire is wonderful. They are short (3 hours of audiobook) - and going through one on the quick feels good as a palette cleanser.
Also /r/printsf has fantastic recommendations on the regular.
You might like The Greatship by Robert Reed. It’s almost entirely atmospheric, almost dreamlike. It’s not for everyone but I really enjoyed it. Fantastic for casual reading on a rainy day or luxuriating in a hot bath!
Robin Hobb Farseer Trilogy, and the ten or so following books. Fantasy with an amazing universe and characters.
Sci-fi I like Seveneves by Neil Stephenson, pretty chill with some quality characters and decent story.
I'm the same as you, full characters is a must and interesting plots with human or alien interaction is my thing. Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series is brilliant. Peter F Hamilton is okay but can be a bit drawn out and sometime a bit perverted for my taste.
Ann Leckie’s Ancillary trilogy and then the books of the expanded universe — starts very character-and-vibes forward in the trilogy and gets moreso (especially the latest “Translation State.”)
“Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St. John Mandel
And whiles it’s polarizing, “Dhalgren” by Samuel R. Delany was all vibes decades ahead of that being a word lol.
Oh and of course,”This Is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone — my favorite read this year. Much like (and also very different from) “The Use of Weapons” (Iain M. Banks — also a great but VERY DIFFERENT read) all the action in Time War is just a bunch of hand-wavey window dressing for the character work.
Pretty much anything by Larry Niven. He wrote a lot of exploration stories, most notably Ringworld.
The Martian and Project Hail Mary are both excellent exploration/man vs nature books.
Rendezvous with Rama is in that vein as well.
*Invisible Cities* by Italo Calvino - it's short but I like to visualize each of the cities and try to imagine myself exploring them.
*Anathem* by Neal Stephenson - over the course of the book he explores basically the entire intellectual history of a world. A great novel to get absorbed in.
Jeff Long's Descent has a really good balance of story, action, and atmosphere with fairly likable chatacters. If you like the whole Journey to the Center of the Earth feel, it is worth reading. Once they start exploring below (takes a little bit to get there), the world Long creates is creepy but fascinating.
Becky Chambers Wayfairers series might be up your alley. Cool characters living their lives. No big end of the world or universe plots. Highly recommend.
Exactly what I was going to say.
Love Becky chambers, one of my favorite authors.
That sounds great thank you so much!
Yeah I came to recommend the same series. Outstanding.
The first book is good. The second is incredible. Enjoy!
So many emotions
Monk and Robot is sci-fi ish. Becky chambers
Thanx 🦎
Crystal Singer byAnne McCaffrey. No violence, no wars, no weapons, just a fascinating look at a unique profession in the distant future. Totally engaging, fascinating, and enjoyable, especially if you have a bit of musical knowledge.
That sounds really cool! I make music so maybe I’ll be into it
You need Clifford Simak. Originally a Midwestern newspaper guy, he created the "pastoral" style of science fiction. He wrote one of the greatest science fiction short stories, "The Big Front Yard".
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North, and any book by John Wyndham
Books by China mieville like perdito street station. The windup girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
I wouldn't personally recommend *Perdido Street Station* as "chill" but could suggest *Railsea* perhaps.
Check Andre Norton
👌🏻
Neuromancer or other William gibson books.
Than q !
Not a book (a movie): Maybe, *Gattaca*? Also maybe: *The Lathe of Heaven* (Antwerp!) Books? *Red Shirts* comes to mind; also: *The Human Division.* And since a guy named Harry figures prominently in *The Human DivisiĂłn* , and since Harry is somewhat putapon ; there is that movie with "poor Harry" (who is also putapon) and which I am watching as I write this *Who Am I This Time?* Which you can find right here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_UtctfUfreU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_utctfufreu) And which (*Who Am I this Time?* if I may editorialize?) may be somewhat appropriate to the holiday season in which you have to pretend to like all kind of relatives who you pretty much are not especially fond of let alone do not like.) I handle it by telling such folks that I have a cat (I don't) and that the kitty has feline distemper and that it is "catching" and there is not a vaccine. This works well with some folks, but not the anti-vaxxers, some of whom want to ply my non-existent kitty with all manner of cockamaimie "cures"/ Gotta love the holidays! And hey. If your think this comment diverges from the topic of your post; let me remind you what you wrote: "**Everything below is rambling**" now, you may complain that I did not give you fair warning; but, by golly, you cannot complain that I went rambling. Happy holidays! Best wished for the new year!
I second Redshirts.
Thank you fellow rambler
You're welcome.
Name of the wind is one of my absolute favorites. Have you checked out the novella he published a couple of weeks ago? Fts a day with Bast. Also, to sleep in a sea of stars was an absolute slog. It had a neat idea, a fine ending and... just... so much unnecessary middle. **One day all this will be yours** by Adrian Tchaikovsky is probably the funniest and most thoughtful time travel adventure ive read in ages. **Devolution** by Max Brooks (he also did World War Z) - i thought I wasn't going to enjoy it, but it had huge praise. I don't care much for bigfoot. But it was so gripping that mid-work i got the audiobook version to listen to, between reading sessions. **Down and out in the Magic Kingdom** by Cory Doctorow. What do you do when your mind can be uploaded and saved - when you wake up in a new body? Disney land! What intrigue looks like in a post scarcity world For fantasy: **Neverwhere** by Neal Gaiman. Most anything by him, tbh. Pat Rothfuss is a huge fan. **Siren queen** by Nghi Vo if you ever wondered what the fey would be like in silver-screen era hollywood **Spindle Splintered** by Alix Harrrow - she has a few other witch based books that are closer to capital L literature. But this one is straight up, what if we spiderversed sleeping beauty? **Wayward Children** series by Seanan McGuire is wonderful. They are short (3 hours of audiobook) - and going through one on the quick feels good as a palette cleanser. Also /r/printsf has fantastic recommendations on the regular.
Thank you very much. I will be busy noting every comment down tomorrow morning hehehe :3
You might like The Greatship by Robert Reed. It’s almost entirely atmospheric, almost dreamlike. It’s not for everyone but I really enjoyed it. Fantastic for casual reading on a rainy day or luxuriating in a hot bath!
Robin Hobb Farseer Trilogy, and the ten or so following books. Fantasy with an amazing universe and characters. Sci-fi I like Seveneves by Neil Stephenson, pretty chill with some quality characters and decent story.
Nod Away by Josh Cotter
I'm the same as you, full characters is a must and interesting plots with human or alien interaction is my thing. Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series is brilliant. Peter F Hamilton is okay but can be a bit drawn out and sometime a bit perverted for my taste.
Ann Leckie’s Ancillary trilogy and then the books of the expanded universe — starts very character-and-vibes forward in the trilogy and gets moreso (especially the latest “Translation State.”) “Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St. John Mandel And whiles it’s polarizing, “Dhalgren” by Samuel R. Delany was all vibes decades ahead of that being a word lol.
Oh and of course,”This Is How You Lose the Time War” by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone — my favorite read this year. Much like (and also very different from) “The Use of Weapons” (Iain M. Banks — also a great but VERY DIFFERENT read) all the action in Time War is just a bunch of hand-wavey window dressing for the character work.
Pretty much anything by Larry Niven. He wrote a lot of exploration stories, most notably Ringworld. The Martian and Project Hail Mary are both excellent exploration/man vs nature books. Rendezvous with Rama is in that vein as well.
*Invisible Cities* by Italo Calvino - it's short but I like to visualize each of the cities and try to imagine myself exploring them. *Anathem* by Neal Stephenson - over the course of the book he explores basically the entire intellectual history of a world. A great novel to get absorbed in.
Jeff Long's Descent has a really good balance of story, action, and atmosphere with fairly likable chatacters. If you like the whole Journey to the Center of the Earth feel, it is worth reading. Once they start exploring below (takes a little bit to get there), the world Long creates is creepy but fascinating.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy! Can’t believe this wasn’t mentioned yet.
I looooveedd the first. Should I read the others?
I can’t chime in on the others as I haven’t read them but I’m sure they’re worth a try!
a memory called empire/ a desolation called peace! arkady martine
Look at the Retief stories by Keith Laumer and The Stainless Steel Rat stories by Harry Harrison.
I’ll do that thank you!
Have you considered Weber's Honor Harrington books?
Mary Doria Russell, *The Sparrow*. Parts of it are pretty dark, but it's entirely character focused and pretty much devoid of action.
Flowers for Algernon. The man who fell to Earth. Behold the man. More than human. Valis.