# SF recommendations - (updated -- read first post)



## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

I'm looking for books that fall into the below categories. This is for a reading challenge, where a list will be made of my recommendations during 2012 (alone with a list at the end of the year).

AUTHORS: If you want to recommend your book, PM me. Warning: Your book needs to actually be in the subgenre, not a "paranormal romance, but it has thriller aspects and it has robots, so it's kinda like SF thriller."

I'm looking for NOVELS and NOVELLAS for the following:

SF Thriller
SF published between 2000-2010
SF about an ecological disaster
SF about time travel
YA SF that isn't Hunger Games
Military SF that wasn't written by Heinlein
SF dystopia
SF with an authoritarian government

I'm looking for SHORT STORIES and NOVELLAS for the following:

Cyberpunk SF
Steampunk (not romance or erotica with a subgenre of Steampunk)
Biopunk BF

I'm looking for SHORT STORIES, NOVELLAS, and NOVELS for the following:

Military SF
Lesbian SF


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## SylviaLucas (Sep 14, 2011)

Have you read James Moore's In the Time of Man?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I did a blog post about it (http://kristadball.com/2012/01/im-looking-for-some-sf-book-recommendations/) in case you want to see what other folks are recommending to me.
> 
> I'm looking for books that fall into the below categories. I'll cool with short novels, long novels, and novellas. No short stories, only because that's a different section of the reading challenge I'm doing
> 
> ...


_Halting State_ by Charles Stross would cover the first two.



> ...Military SF...


Checkout the stuff by David Drake and David Weber at the Baen Free Library.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

I forgot about Weber!


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2012)

I think you'd do well with The Windup Girl. The novel isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but the world, plot, and characters are interesting.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

foreverjuly said:


> I think you'd do well with The Windup Girl. The novel isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but the world, plot, and characters are interesting.


I own it, and just never got to it. It's YA, right?


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## Guest (Jan 6, 2012)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I own it, and just never got to it. It's YA, right?


I wouldn't call it YA. I'm not sure how much adult language there is, but the characters are mostly older and the language has its complexities. It would work for your Sci-Fi Dystopia, most likely.


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## Seleya (Feb 25, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I own it, and just never got to it. It's YA, right?


I wouldn't say so.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Military SF:  David Drake, especially Hammer's Slammers or the RCN series starting with With The Lightning. Some of these are available free from Baen Books website. 

Authoritarian government, try Robert Heinlein,  The Moon is a Harsh Mistress or If This Goes On.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

The Hooded Claw said:


> The Moon is a Harsh Mistress


I haven't read that since I was a teen. I'll add it back! I don't remember it, other than remembering I liked it.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I'll play your reindeer game ....

*SF Thriller* - The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
*SF published between 2000-2010* - House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds
*SF about an ecological disaster* - Clade by Mark Budz
*SF about time travel* - Regression by Kathy Bell
*YA SF that isn't Hunger Games* - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
*Military SF* - Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein
*SF dystopia* - The Gate to Women's Country by Sherri S Tepper or Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
*SF with an authoritarian government* - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Ugh, not Starship Troopers. 

Regression looks really interesting, however.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

Military SF? Give Joe Haldeman a look.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

For a time travel book, I recommend this forgotten goodie:

http://www.amazon.com/Mixed-Doubles-Daniel-Cruz/dp/B000OVHZM6/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1325892840&sr=1-1-catcorr

Mixed Doubles, by Daniel Da Cruz

Long out of print, but used paperbacks are available for a penny plus shipping. Fun time travel story.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

foreverjuly said:


> I wouldn't call it YA. I'm not sure how much adult language there is, but the characters are mostly older and the language has its complexities. It would work for your Sci-Fi Dystopia, most likely.


I agree it's not really YA - It would fall more under Dystopia or Ecopunk ...


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## Owen (Aug 24, 2011)

I'd like to second Ender's Game. I don't care for Card much as a person, but his writing is exceptional.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

OwenAdams said:


> I'd like to second Ender's Game. I don't care for Card much as a person, but his writing is exceptional.


That's what is so frustrating about Card!


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Krista, let me recommend this (out in November from Whiskey Creek Press) by my good friend C. R. Daems.



I think you'd enjoy it. The young protagonist could make it YA but it also has a lot of elements that could put it into other subgenre.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Thanks! Looks like it would be ok for the YA slot, too, so that's a good one to put on the list. Thanks!


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## sarahsbloke (Sep 24, 2011)

The Travis Chase trilogy by Patrick Lee fits almost all your requirements.
The Breach, Ghost Country, Deep Sky

SUMMARY:
Thirty years ago, in a facility buried beneath a vast Wyoming emptiness, an experiment gone awry accidentally opened a door. It is the world's best-kept secret—and its most terrifying. Trying to regain his life in the Alaskan wilds, ex-con/ex-cop Travis Chase stumbles upon an impossible scene: a crashed 747 passenger jet filled with the murdered dead, including the wife of the President of the United States. Though a nightmare of monumental proportions, it pales before the terror to come, as Chase is dragged into a battle for the future that revolves around an amazing artifact. Allied with a beautiful covert operative whose life he saved, Chase must now play the role he's been destined for—a pawn of incomprehensible forces or humankind's final hope—as the race toward Apocalypse begins in earnest. Because something is loose in the world. And doomsday is not only possible . . . it is inevitable.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Those are listed as normal thrillers...They are SF?


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## sarahsbloke (Sep 24, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> Those are listed as normal thrillers...They are SF?


Travis Chase series is about alien technology and artifacts, time travel, government conspiracy, end of the world, weapons of mass destruction.
I'm pretty sure that makes it SF!

You might also like Last Light and AfterLight by Alex Scarrow, what happens after the oil runs out.
Meets your ecological disaster and dystopia requirements.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Second for AfterLight by Alex Scarrow today. Looks like that one has to go on the list.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Bleekness said:


> John Steakley's "Armor."
> You might not like it though, if you don't like "Starship Troopers."
> 
> Armor is more action oriented (when the action starts, the gas pedal gets stomped on) but it's one of my favourites.
> ...


I think Starship Troops might have been the book where I snapped and vowed no more Heinlein, but I'm not sure. It's been a long time


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## wdeen (Dec 29, 2011)

Try Daniel L. Carter's "Unwanted" Trilogy. Good read with a SciFi DNA angle and FBI characters. http://theunwantedtrilogy.com/author.html


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## Neil Clarke (Mar 14, 2011)

> SF about an ecological disaster


How about _Earth _by David Brin?

Tobias S. Buckell's new novel, _Artic Rising,_ might work for you too. I always enjoy his work. It's scheduled to be published on February 28th.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Neil Clarke said:


> Tobias S. Buckell's new novel, _Artic Rising,_ might work for you too. I always enjoy his work. It's scheduled to be published on February 28th.


I didn't know he had a new one coming out. He's really great. Thanks!


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## Coral Moore (Nov 29, 2009)

Have you read Julian May? She'd fit in SF Time Travel and possibly Distopian. Here's the first in her time traveling series


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## TheSFReader (Jan 20, 2011)

If you're into Indie, the "Touchstone Trilogy", SF / YA , by Andrea K Host is GOOD ! Available as an omnibus, or separately http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/108708

If you're not bothered by a "not too well edited" ebook, Turing Evolved (almost Military SF) (free at Smashwords, .99 at Kindle) REALLY is worth it. But you need to go past some (not many anymore) typoes, many missing commas, and some strange phrases. The Story in itself IS really good.
For that price, you can try before you buy


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## IanDuncanBooks (Jan 8, 2012)

Have you read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451? It's an oldie but a goodie. There's even a section in there that seems to predict Facebook--fifty years before its time!


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## 41352 (Apr 4, 2011)

Great thread, bookmarking it. I need to read more SF!


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

IanDuncanBooks said:


> Have you read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451? It's an oldie but a goodie. There's even a section in there that seems to predict Facebook--fifty years before its time!


Bradbury, Asimov, and Clarke are their own category in the challenge  I have 451 as in that category. I'm curious to see if I will enjoy it if I'm not being forced to write papers on it


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## Joseph_Evans (Jul 24, 2011)

Have you read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead? I really enjoyed it and it's about time travel.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

I haven't had that suggestion yet, so I've added it to the list


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Thanks everyone. Please keep going!

I've gotten a lot of suggestions in a number of places, so added them all into a blog post if you're interested for your own reading: http://kristadball.com/2012/01/sf-recommendations-compiled-list/


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

*SF Thriller*

Try _Chimera_ and _Basilisk_ by Rob Thurman. A really good duology by a writer who deserves to be better known.

*SF about an ecological disaster*

The go-to author here seems to be Paolo Bacigalupi. Try _The Wind-Up Girl_ or _Shipbreaker_, which is also YA. _Ice_ by Geoff Ryman would be another newer possibility.
Finally, there's also the classics such as _Stand On Zanzibar_ or _The Sheep Look Up_ by John Brunner. Or how about _Make Room, Make Room_ by Harry Harrison, which was filmed as _Soylent Green_.

*SF about time travel*

Two of my all-time favourite time travel stories are _The End of Eternity_, a lesser known Asimov, and _The Anubis Gates_ by Tim Powers. Connie Willis has a whole bunch of time travel stories, too, including last year's Hugo/Nebula winner _Blackout/All Clear_. I'm not a fan at all, but apparently I was in the minority.

*YA SF that isn't Hunger Games*

I quite liked _Across the Universe_ by Beth Revis. _Legend_ by Marie Lu is getting a lot of good press, though I haven't gotten around to reading it yet. _Incarceron_ by Catherine Fisher and _Delirium_ by Lauren Oliver are two dystopian YA SF novels, which might also count for the authoritarian government requirement. There's a whole lot more along those lines.

*Military SF*

Not my genre at all, sorry.

*SF dystopia*
*SF with an authoritarian government*

There's a lot of YA SF along those lines these days. Two of the YA novels I mentioned above would qualify. There's plenty more.


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## Darlene Jones (Nov 1, 2011)

Have you read any of Robert J Sawyer's books?


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## David Adams (Jan 2, 2012)

Alternatively, I can also recommend any of the Pocket Books Star Trek books by David Mack... The Typhon Pact series is good, I'm reading Zero Sum Game now. R.A. Salvadore's Star Wars work is also good, as is Timothy Zhan (anything written by him is going to be good).

_Edited. Note that you may not promote your own book outside the Book Bazaar, thanks. --Betsy/KB Moderator_


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## Brad Murgen (Oct 17, 2011)

A much better Heinlein book would be _The Door Into Summer_, one of the best time travel novels I've read. One of the few Heinlein books I actually like.

Or try _The Years of Rice and Salt_ by Kim Stanley Robinson, an alternate history where the Black Plague wiped out Europe and Asia settled the Americas. Published in 2002.


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## Steve Silkin (Sep 15, 2010)

For dystopian, I might recommend Robert Silverberg's Time of Changes. Slow start, but then after a few chapters it gets really provocative and engaging.

You've probably already read William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy, right? Neuromancer, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive ...? Great books.


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## flipside (Dec 7, 2011)

*SF with an authoritarian government*

Moxyland by Lauren Beukes


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## Matt Bone (Dec 27, 2011)

flipside said:


> *SF with an authoritarian government*
> 
> Moxyland by Lauren Beukes


I was about to suggest Zoo City by Lauren Beukes - though it's on my to-read list, so I can't say whether it fits any of the categories.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Steve Silkin said:


> You've probably already read William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy, right? Neuromancer, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive ...? Great books.


Gibson's is cyberpunk, which isn't in the list. Or, is Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive different genres?


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Darlene Jones said:


> Have you read any of Robert J Sawyer's books?


I have, but I can't think of a Rob Sawyer book that fits into the above categories at the moment.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

David Adams said:


> Alternatively, I can also recommend any of the Pocket Books Star Trek books by David Mack... The Typhon Pact series is good, I'm reading Zero Sum Game now. R.A. Salvadore's Star Wars work is also good, as is Timothy Zhan (anything written by him is going to be good).


I really enjoy Mack's work. Did you know he has a unqiue world novel out (not a media book)? I haven't read it yet, but it sure looks like something I'd enjoy.

I know that people want to put Star Trek in space opera, but the books themselves lean more to military SF than space opera I find.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Brad Murgen said:


> A much better Heinlein book would be _The Door Into Summer_, one of the best time travel novels I've read.


That one I haven't read. It must have gotten cut after I snapped on Heinlein in my teens  Since I forget why I didn't like him in most cases, I think I need to reintroduce myself to his work.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

Science Fiction has been described as the "Fiction of Ideas". Space Opera tends to be light on the ideas, and more about huge space battles, exploding planets, etc. Star Trek has had its share of battles, of course, but its basis has usually been the exploration of ideas, even when it did have some space opera aspects.

I wouldn't call Star Trek military science fiction. You could call it that, but I think it stretches the definition too much, as most TV series with ships could be called military SF. It is true that Star Fleet does fight the Federation's wars, but the role of Star Fleet is much more broad than I typically think of for military SF. But military SF is a bit hard to nail down, so definitions will vary.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

QuantumIguana said:


> Science Fiction has been described as the "Fiction of Ideas". Space Opera tends to be light on the ideas, and more about huge space battles, exploding planets, etc. Star Trek has had its share of battles, of course, but its basis has usually been the exploration of ideas, even when it did have some space opera aspects.
> 
> I wouldn't call Star Trek military science fiction. You could call it that, but I think it stretches the definition too much, as most TV series with ships could be called military SF. It is true that Star Fleet does fight the Federation's wars, but the role of Star Fleet is much more broad than I typically think of for military SF. But military SF is a bit hard to nail down, so definitions will vary.


So you find the Star Trek novels more space opera? I really don't find that at all, but I'm not up on the newest Star Trek serieses now, so maybe they've changed.


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## Steve Silkin (Sep 15, 2010)

Krista D. Ball said:


> Gibson's is cyberpunk, which isn't in the list. Or, is Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive different genres?


Yeah, they are, I didn't think of that; I thought they might fit the bill as dystopia but you're probably right. (Maybe Time of Changes isn't dystopia either; sorry if that's the case.)


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## yomamma (Feb 10, 2011)

This one!

Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse)

Though it's a little police-procedural-quasi-military-SF-quasi-mystery-horror in space. That's still a thriller, right?

Also, this one was awesome though it looks more girly than it was:
Song of Scarabaeus

It probably falls under these:
SF about an ecological disaster
Military SF
SF dystopia
SF with an authoritarian government


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## 41419 (Apr 4, 2011)

The Gap Sequence by Stephen Donaldson is some of the best sci-fi I've ever read. While technically a space opera, it could qualify under Military SF, and is certainly a lot smarter than most books out there - very much about big ideas. This is the first in the series (there are four http://www.amazon.com/Real-Story-Forbidden-Knowledge-ebook/dp/B0050C8802/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1326151095&sr=1-2 )

You might not want a series for this challenge, but I'm telling you, this is so good you should make room for it.

The author is more known for his fantasy series The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, but I think the Gap books are better. I had completely forgotten about them, though, as I first read them in the early 90s. So thank you for dragging this out of the recess of my brain. I'm going to enjoy reading this again.


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## Brad Murgen (Oct 17, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> That one I haven't read. It must have gotten cut after I snapped on Heinlein in my teens  Since I forget why I didn't like him in most cases, I think I need to reintroduce myself to his work.


It's the only Heinlein book I've held onto. It's very different than his more popular works (Stranger in a Strange Land, Number of the Beast, Fear No Evil, etc), and worth reading if you like time travel.



dgaughran said:


> The Gap Sequence by Stephen Donaldson is some of the best sci-fi I've ever read.


Gap is a really good series as well, though I thought it lost a little steam towards the end. But the first couple novels are fantastic if you don't mind the graphic content. Not for kids, that's for sure.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Steve Silkin said:


> Yeah, they are, I didn't think of that; I thought they might fit the bill as dystopia but you're probably right. (Maybe Time of Changes isn't dystopia either; sorry if that's the case.)


You know, I've read Neuromancer 3 times. I've enjoyed it each time and each time I understood a bit more about the book. I openly admit that I am not smart enough to understand Gibson the first time through.


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## Guest (Jan 10, 2012)

LOL. I love how you specifically don't want Hunger Games


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

DevonMoroi said:


> LOL. I love how you specifically don't want Hunger Games


 

I have Hunger Games but I gotta tell you, that present tense is really getting on my nerves.


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## flipside (Dec 7, 2011)

Matt Bone said:


> I was about to suggest Zoo City by Lauren Beukes - though it's on my to-read list, so I can't say whether it fits any of the categories.


Zoo City's a fun novel but it doesn't really fit any of the OP's categories.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Brad Murgen said:


> It's the only Heinlein book I've held onto. It's very different than his more popular works (Stranger in a Strange Land, Number of the Beast, Fear No Evil, etc), and worth reading if you like time travel.


I think my mistake was reading Heinlein adult stuff as a teenager. I should have read his YA stuff first.


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## Brad Murgen (Oct 17, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I have Hunger Games but I gotta tell you, that present tense is really getting on my nerves.


It actually doesn't get in the way with me... the story is fairly engaging for the most part. If you don't like present tense at all, then you might not like any of L.E. Modesitt Jr's work - he's got some good SF out there, I'd recommend his _The Forever Hero_ trilogy. His fantasy is a lot more popular, though. But he'll switch tenses sometimes within the same novel and it can be offputting.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Hey! I've added some extra things I need to the OP. I've spoken with the mods and I've added a way for authors to recommend their books without it clogging up the thread and violating the spirits of the Book Corner.

I've picked up several of the books recommended in this thread so far, so I'm very much looking forward to more suggestions for 2012!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Good luck with your reading challenge, Krista!

To follow up and clarify: if you wrote a book that you think falls within Krista's guidelines, she is willing to have you send her a PM. Note that, in general, _unsolicited PMs are against our forum rules and senders are subject to a posting vacation_. . .so please don't PM Krista if your historical romance happens to have a character who has a mechanical toy and so you think that qualifies as Steampunk.  *That* would be unsolicited!


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Hmm.... Lesbian SF.  I'm thinking some of MZB's Darkover stories, or possibly her Ruins of Isis, although it's more a matriachical then lesbian background.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

scarlet said:


> Hmm.... Lesbian SF. I'm thinking some of MZB's Darkover stories, or possibly her Ruins of Isis, although it's more a matriachical then lesbian background.


I wonder if I can just find a place for that. I haven't read that series in ages...


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> so please don't PM Krista if your historical romance happens to have a character who has a mechanical toy and so you think that qualifies as Steampunk.  *That* would be unsolicited!


And _that_ would unleash my wrath


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I've spoken with the mods and I've added a way for authors to recommend their books without it clogging up the thread and violating the spirits of the Book Corner.


And the spirits of the Book Corner HATE being violated... 

Betsy


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> And the spirits of the Book Corner HATE being violated...


I'm afraid of them.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> And the spirits of the Book Corner HATE being violated...
> 
> Betsy


warning, possibly inappropriate sounding comment below.



Spoiler



but if you give them enough spirits, they calm down. 
especially if you give them godiva liquer.


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## Tony Richards (Jul 6, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I have Hunger Games but I gotta tell you, that present tense is really getting on my nerves.


It has to be a _really_ great writer before I'll put up with an entire novel in the present tense, and so I sympathize.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Wee! I'll play this game again:

I'm looking for SHORT STORIES and NOVELLAS for the following:

*Cyberpunk SF* - Dogwalker by Orson Scott Card, which I first read in Maps in a Mirror
*Steampunk* - Flash Gold (The Flash Gold Chronicles)
*Biopunk BF* - Green Leopard Plague by Jon Walter Williams (which you can pick up as part of The Green Leopard Plague and Other Stories or your can get as a free copy off the Night Shade Books' site

I'm looking for SHORT STORIES, NOVELLAS, and NOVELS for the following:

*Military SF* - On Basilisk Station by David Weber
*Lesbian SF* - Slow River by Nicola Griffith


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

scarlet said:


> warning, possibly inappropriate sounding comment below.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Crown Special Reserve works too.


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## 56139 (Jan 21, 2012)

Hi,  I'm new here but I'm an avid military SF reader.  Here are my suggestions:

Altered Carbon
Broken Angles
Woken Furies
All above by Richard K. Morgan

Death's Head series by David Gunn

Germline (The Subterrene War) by T.C. McCarthy


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> Crown Special Reserve works too.


Yuck!


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Oh, and I'd like to recommend _Fallen Angels_. available from baen, i believe, it can be used as dystopia or authoritarian government.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

scarlet said:


> Yuck!


That just means more for me.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Geoffrey said:


> That just means more for me.


Or more irritated spirits.

Sorry Krista, I'll stop now.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

scarlet said:


> Or more irritated spirits.
> 
> Sorry Krista, I'll stop now.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

scarlet said:


> Oh, and I'd like to recommend _Fallen Angels_. available from baen, i believe, it can be used as dystopia or authoritarian government.


I've never read that one. Thanks!


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I've never read that one. Thanks!


It's perfect for the cold winter weather....


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Bah, it's warmed up here 15 degrees. Only -16 now


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## Martel47 (Jun 14, 2010)

David Brin's Uplift novels have some great military aspects to them. And they're space opera with some actual depth.

For a near-cyberpunk, dystopian, feminist, Jewish read try Marge Piercy's _He, She, and It_. Good read.

I also don't think this fits in any of your categories, but Nancy Kress's Sleepless books are really good.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

It's one of the problems with trying to fill out a reading list: so many good books that don't fit what folks are looking for!

I've never read Kress. Thanks for the recommend.


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## leep (Aug 25, 2011)

I'd put in a vote for Altered Carbon and Ender's Game.

Peter F. Hamilton's also good, though I'm less impressed with the latest (Void) trilogy.

YA, take a look at the Philip Reeve's Mortal Engines series, well worth a go.


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## CoraBuhlert (Aug 7, 2011)

_War Games_ by K.S. Augustin should be right up your alley. It's lesbian military SF.


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## Guest (Jan 23, 2012)

Some of my favorites;

     

I also would suggest; Harry Harrison's *Stainless Steel Rat* and *Deathworld* trilogy (Unfortunately only some of them are available on Kindle (I know that these last ones, Dune, Steel Rat and Deathworld doesn't fit the criteria, but maybe you haven't read them.).


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

I have a confession. I liked Dune when I was a young teen. Then I got older and I didn't like it anymore. I don't know what happened. I wonder if I'd like it now?

THE SPICE SHALL RUN!!!


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## redshift1 (Jun 20, 2009)

Krista D. Ball said:


> I have a confession. I liked Dune when I was a young teen. Then I got older and I didn't like it anymore. I don't know what happened. I wonder if I'd like it now?
> 
> THE SPICE SHALL RUN!!!


Book holds up better than the the 1984 movie, which by the way comes to mind whenever I try to reread Dune.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

redshift1 said:


> Book holds up better than the the 1984 movie, which by the way comes to mind whenever I try to reread Dune.


You know, I think that's why I didn't like it later. It was the movie...It's been so long that I don't really remember it. Perhaps I can read it now without seeing those costumes lol


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

I really liked this one....but it is hard to classify. Closer to the Big Idea..Rama type books

http://elitistbookreviews.blogspot.com/2009/11/diving-into-wreck.html
"Buy and read this novel. It is easily worth its cover-price. It will surprise you with its depth, and its enjoyment factor. If it doesn't get nominated for the Hugo, we will be disappointed in WorldCon attendees everywhere."


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

I love Rusch's novellas and short stories, but have never read one of her novels


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## RuthNestvold (Jan 4, 2012)

I second Sherri Tepper's Gate to Women's country for the dystopian category and would add Nicola Griffith's Ammonite to the lesbian. OTOH, it's a novel and not a short story. 

What about a classic dystopia like Walter Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz? (Too many good dystopian novels out there ...)


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Thanks Ruth!


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## acellis (Oct 10, 2011)

Anything by Robert ilverberg

http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Silverberg/e/B000APLXDS/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

All of his books apply to the requirements in the first post then?


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

Time Quake, Kurt Vonnegut. It was published prior to the suggestion, still a good humor read.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Which one does it fit into? I haven't heard of that Vonnegut book.


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## Casper Parks (May 1, 2011)

Below is a paste for write-up at Amazon Kindle for Time Quake.

"Think of Timequake, Kurt Vonnegut's 19th and last novel (or so he says), as a victory lap. It's a confident final trot 'round the track by one of the greats of postwar American literature. After 40 years of practice, Vonnegut's got his schtick down cold, and it's a pleasure--if a slightly tame one--to watch him go through his paces one more time. 
Timequake's a mongrel; it is half novel, half memoir, the project of a decade's worth of writer's block, a book "that didn't want to be written." The premise is standard-issue Vonnegut: "...a timequake, a sudden glitch in the space-time continuum, made everybody and everything do exactly what they'd done during past decades, for good or ill, a second time..." Simultaneously, the author's favorite tricks are on display--frequent visits with the shopworn science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, a Hitchcockian appearance by the author at the book's end, and frequent authorial opining on love, war, and society. "

Timequake


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

Casper Parks said:


> Below is a paste for write-up at Amazon Kindle for Time Quake.
> 
> "Think of Timequake, Kurt Vonnegut's 19th and last novel (or so he says), as a victory lap. It's a confident final trot 'round the track by one of the greats of postwar American literature. After 40 years of practice, Vonnegut's got his schtick down cold, and it's a pleasure--if a slightly tame one--to watch him go through his paces one more time.
> Timequake's a mongrel; it is half novel, half memoir, the project of a decade's worth of writer's block, a book "that didn't want to be written." The premise is standard-issue Vonnegut: "...a timequake, a sudden glitch in the space-time continuum, made everybody and everything do exactly what they'd done during past decades, for good or ill, a second time..." Simultaneously, the author's favorite tricks are on display--frequent visits with the shopworn science fiction writer Kilgore Trout, a Hitchcockian appearance by the author at the book's end, and frequent authorial opining on love, war, and society. "
> ...


I'm reading that and still don't know what this book is about 

Since you read the first post and recommended this novel based on my needs, what category does it belong to?


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## D.A. Boulter (Jun 11, 2010)

SF about Time Travel: 'The Fall of Chronopolis' by Barrington J. Bayley.

YA SF: 'Balance of Trade' by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee. I don't know that it is marketed as such, but it reads like YA.

Military SF: 'Once A Hero' by Elizabeth Moon; 'The Regiment' by John Dalmas; (Moon and Dalmas have other military SF as well.)


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## jehma (Jul 10, 2009)

SF dystopia - Wool by Hugh Howey
The Omnibus is free on the Kindle lending library, great stuff!


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## D.A. Boulter (Jun 11, 2010)

Started digging around in my bookcases:

SF Military:

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Voyage of the Star Wolf by David Gerrold
Star Strike by Micheal Gear


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