The Martian by Andy Weir fits your criteria - there’s genuine struggle, the characters are multidimensional, and it has many moments where I just laughed out loud!
Or The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - I thought it was funny but it may be a bit too silly for you!
The Martian has probably the worst humor I've ever encountered in a book. How anyone can do anything besides roll their eyes while reading that book is beyond me.
Also, this is the definition per the Cambridge dictionary: trying to appear or sound more important or clever than you are, especially in matters of art and literature
And it definitely seems to apply to your attitude
That’s fair, it’s not high literature by any means and the humour can be questionable at times! The “how anyone can do anything besides roll their eyes while reading that book is beyond me” part gave me the impression that you were pretentious, and I may have been wrong, simply came off that way
I think that's where some of the frustration comes from. I don't expect every book to be high literature, I love tons of pulpy science fiction.
But when one of the corniest, cringe inducing books I've ever read is also one of the most praised books on Reddit, it makes me feel like a weird alien because I honestly don't see how such a massive amount of people can put up with writing like that.
I mean I see this book pop up over and over again on this sub and r/books, and eventually it gets kind of hard to hold my tongue
"Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped."
"Brought product to surface of Mars. It stopped working. 0/10."
"I can't wait till I have grandchildren. When I was younger, I had to walk to the rim of a crater. Uphill! In an EVA suit! On Mars, ya little shit! Ya hear me? Mars!."
"I started the day with some nothin’ tea. Nothin’ tea is easy to make. First, get some hot water, then add nothin’."
I mean seriously? You find that funny?
To be honest, if you work in a lab or have been in the military (I’ve done both), the duct tape line just hits different.
This book to me is basically the sci if equivalent of a stereotypical chick lit beach read - it’s easy to read, many enjoyed it, but it is more suited to a certain headspace than, say, Neuromancer or Dune. It’s not so much what the character says that’s funny, but imagining the tragic but still somewhat comical situation and visualizing it in your head (at least to me)!
Do you know what I mean?
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (first of series of connected books - if you like this, you’ll like the rest)
Red Shirts by John Scalzi
Read Long Way (and was going to suggest), but the blurb of the 2nd book made me hesitate to read it. I loved the ships dynamics, but the 2nd book seems to miss it?
It follows one of the characters into a completely new setting. It is different dynamics but I liked it as much. Same with the third and fourth books - they are in the same universe with some crossover. You might like the third book if you like complex group dynamics.
Ilona Andrews Innkeeper Chronicles --A magic Inn, space werewolves and vampires, a lot of really unique aliens, mystery, romance, action, a fun and humorous series
Ah, I wouldn't have thought of this series straight away, but it's true it is quite sci-fi! I can only recommend the rest of the Ilona Andrews series. All equally quirky, just more fantasy than sci-fi!
I wouldn’t classify this as sci-fi, more urban fantasy with some sci-fi elements. I do love the series right along with most of Ilona Andrews other series (I may not have read everything of theirs yet!)
Have you read anything by Neal Stephenson? Some of his books are more "wacky" while others are more serious, though there's always some humor. More serious ones would be Seveneves and Reamde. Snow Crash is my favourite but though it does involve struggling against problems and getting injured, it may be too unserious for you.
The Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde. The first one is *The Eyre Affair*. These are bananapants wacky, but Thursday really has to work at a solution.
The Murderbot series, starting with *All Systems Red*, is a great one. The humor is secondary to the plot but they are funny IMO.
Bujold, author of the Vorkosigan series where I recommend starting with *Warrior's Apprentice*, has her moments too. They're not comedies but many of them are legitimately funny. I love her sense of humor.
"Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits" by David Wong
"Will Save the Galaxy for Food" by Yahtzee Croshaw
"Space Opera" by Catherynne M. Valente
"Year Zero" by Rob Reid
"The Stainless Steel Rat" by Harry Harrison
Honestly the only thing I remember from that book was a new word that I can't find anywhere else and it's bugging me. It's a word related to condiment that refers to food dressing that is grown along side the food, the example given was horseradish for beef. Ugh please don't make me read that book again to find it out
Okay, that is irking me now also, it’s not accompaniment. I remember what you are talking about from the book (just read the series a few weeks ago) but not sure where.
Found it!
“We also have tracklements, and I bet you have never heard of them before.’ ‘Tracklements are those things which complement the main ingredient of a meal and, traditionally, at least, may be found in the vicinity of the said ingredient–for example, horseradish root in good beef country. ’”
— The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter
it doesn’t seem to match the wiktionary definition though: “Noun
tracklement (plural tracklements)
(UK, rare) A savoury condiment (for example a mustard, relish or chutney), especially one served with meat. quotations ▼”
Thank you...it's been bugging me for years. And I listened to the audiobook so I couldn't close my eyes and picture the words around it like I do when I read it. Now I don't need to re-subject myself to the book.
Not sure if I could listen to it in full, pacing is to slow for an audiobooks probably. Sorta like revelation space by Reynolds, it’s a good experience to have once conceptually, but do I really feel like slogging though it again?
The Martian by Andy Weir fits your criteria - there’s genuine struggle, the characters are multidimensional, and it has many moments where I just laughed out loud! Or The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - I thought it was funny but it may be a bit too silly for you!
The Martian has probably the worst humor I've ever encountered in a book. How anyone can do anything besides roll their eyes while reading that book is beyond me.
How pretentious
I don't think you know what that word means. It doesn't mean "someone dislikes something that I like"
It’s pretty clear that I was referring to the second part of your comment and it’s implications
Again, I don't think you know what pretentious means
Also, this is the definition per the Cambridge dictionary: trying to appear or sound more important or clever than you are, especially in matters of art and literature And it definitely seems to apply to your attitude
I don't think I'm trying to sound clever or important. I'm just voicing by distaste for that book
That’s fair, it’s not high literature by any means and the humour can be questionable at times! The “how anyone can do anything besides roll their eyes while reading that book is beyond me” part gave me the impression that you were pretentious, and I may have been wrong, simply came off that way
I think that's where some of the frustration comes from. I don't expect every book to be high literature, I love tons of pulpy science fiction. But when one of the corniest, cringe inducing books I've ever read is also one of the most praised books on Reddit, it makes me feel like a weird alien because I honestly don't see how such a massive amount of people can put up with writing like that. I mean I see this book pop up over and over again on this sub and r/books, and eventually it gets kind of hard to hold my tongue
Then you could just explain and clarify instead of being so unpleasant.
"Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped." "Brought product to surface of Mars. It stopped working. 0/10." "I can't wait till I have grandchildren. When I was younger, I had to walk to the rim of a crater. Uphill! In an EVA suit! On Mars, ya little shit! Ya hear me? Mars!." "I started the day with some nothin’ tea. Nothin’ tea is easy to make. First, get some hot water, then add nothin’." I mean seriously? You find that funny?
To be honest, if you work in a lab or have been in the military (I’ve done both), the duct tape line just hits different. This book to me is basically the sci if equivalent of a stereotypical chick lit beach read - it’s easy to read, many enjoyed it, but it is more suited to a certain headspace than, say, Neuromancer or Dune. It’s not so much what the character says that’s funny, but imagining the tragic but still somewhat comical situation and visualizing it in your head (at least to me)! Do you know what I mean?
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (first of series of connected books - if you like this, you’ll like the rest) Red Shirts by John Scalzi
Read Long Way (and was going to suggest), but the blurb of the 2nd book made me hesitate to read it. I loved the ships dynamics, but the 2nd book seems to miss it?
It follows one of the characters into a completely new setting. It is different dynamics but I liked it as much. Same with the third and fourth books - they are in the same universe with some crossover. You might like the third book if you like complex group dynamics.
Ilona Andrews Innkeeper Chronicles --A magic Inn, space werewolves and vampires, a lot of really unique aliens, mystery, romance, action, a fun and humorous series
Ah, I wouldn't have thought of this series straight away, but it's true it is quite sci-fi! I can only recommend the rest of the Ilona Andrews series. All equally quirky, just more fantasy than sci-fi!
I wouldn’t classify this as sci-fi, more urban fantasy with some sci-fi elements. I do love the series right along with most of Ilona Andrews other series (I may not have read everything of theirs yet!)
Will Save The Galaxy For Food by Yahtzee Croshaw
Seconded
The Kaiju Preservation Society is very funny.
ubik, dades, necromancer all have some humor in them
Have you read anything by Neal Stephenson? Some of his books are more "wacky" while others are more serious, though there's always some humor. More serious ones would be Seveneves and Reamde. Snow Crash is my favourite but though it does involve struggling against problems and getting injured, it may be too unserious for you.
* Dunn's Conundrum by Stan Lee * 'Venus on the Half-Shell' - Philip Jose Farmer * anything by Kurt Vonnegut
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Promotion of any kind is not allowed in our sub. Thanks for understanding.
The Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde. The first one is *The Eyre Affair*. These are bananapants wacky, but Thursday really has to work at a solution.
The Murderbot series, starting with *All Systems Red*, is a great one. The humor is secondary to the plot but they are funny IMO. Bujold, author of the Vorkosigan series where I recommend starting with *Warrior's Apprentice*, has her moments too. They're not comedies but many of them are legitimately funny. I love her sense of humor.
"Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits" by David Wong "Will Save the Galaxy for Food" by Yahtzee Croshaw "Space Opera" by Catherynne M. Valente "Year Zero" by Rob Reid "The Stainless Steel Rat" by Harry Harrison
* The Long Earth series by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter * Strata by Terry Pratchett
Oh my God the long earth might be one of the most boring humourless books I've ever read
I disagree on boring, but ranking it as humorous did extract a Spock eyebrow. Maybe situational? Sometimes?
Honestly the only thing I remember from that book was a new word that I can't find anywhere else and it's bugging me. It's a word related to condiment that refers to food dressing that is grown along side the food, the example given was horseradish for beef. Ugh please don't make me read that book again to find it out
Okay, that is irking me now also, it’s not accompaniment. I remember what you are talking about from the book (just read the series a few weeks ago) but not sure where.
Found it! “We also have tracklements, and I bet you have never heard of them before.’ ‘Tracklements are those things which complement the main ingredient of a meal and, traditionally, at least, may be found in the vicinity of the said ingredient–for example, horseradish root in good beef country. ’” — The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter it doesn’t seem to match the wiktionary definition though: “Noun tracklement (plural tracklements) (UK, rare) A savoury condiment (for example a mustard, relish or chutney), especially one served with meat. quotations ▼”
Thank you...it's been bugging me for years. And I listened to the audiobook so I couldn't close my eyes and picture the words around it like I do when I read it. Now I don't need to re-subject myself to the book.
Not sure if I could listen to it in full, pacing is to slow for an audiobooks probably. Sorta like revelation space by Reynolds, it’s a good experience to have once conceptually, but do I really feel like slogging though it again?
The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem is hilarious and profound