I just finished reading Expanse and I'm looking into similar setting, This goes in line with series i love, Star Trek, BSG, Interstelar etc...
I have Consider Phlebas and Hyperion in queue but was wondering if there's shorter trips i could go before jumping into sagas.
I guess this falls under Hard SciFi right?
EDIT: Thanks everyone for the recommendations i will go through all of them, here's the list:
| Book Title / Series | Author | Mentions |
|---|---|---|
| Revelation Space (Series) | Alastair Reynolds | 3 |
| The Culture (Series) | Iain M. Banks | 2 |
| Saturn Run | John Sandford & Ctein | 2 |
| Downbelow Station | C.J. Cherryh | 2 |
| Old Man's War (Series) | John Scalzi | 2 |
| Alliance-Union (Series) | C.J. Cherryh | 1 |
| Blindsight | Peter Watts | 1 |
| Bobiverse (Series) | Dennis E. Taylor | 1 |
| Calculating God | Robert J. Sawyer | 1 |
| Chasm City | Alastair Reynolds | 1 |
| Cold Eyes | Peter Cawdron | 1 |
| Consider Phlebas | Iain M. Banks | 1 |
| Contact | Carl Sagan | 1 |
| Golden Fleece | Robert J. Sawyer | 1 |
| House of Suns | Alastair Reynolds | 1 |
| Hyperion | Dan Simmons | 1 |
| Imperial Radch (Series) | Ann Leckie | 1 |
| Learning the World | Ken Macleod | 1 |
| Manifold: Time | Stephen Baxter | 1 |
| Nova | Samuel Delany | 1 |
| Pandora's Star | Peter F. Hamilton | 1 |
| Player of Games | Iain M. Banks | 1 |
| Rite of Passage | Alexei Panshin | 1 |
| Sector General (Series) | James White | 1 |
| Spin | Robert Charles Wilson | 1 |
| Starplex | Robert J. Sawyer | 1 |
| Take Back Plenty | Colin Greenland | 1 |
| Terms of Enlistment | Marko Kloos | 1 |
| The Centauri Device | M. John Harrison | 1 |
| The Gap Cycle (Series) | Stephen R. Donaldson | 1 |
| The Interdependency (Series) | John Scalzi | 1 |
| The John Grimes (Series) | A. Bertram Chandler | 1 |
| The Sun Eater (Series) | Christopher Ruocchio | 1 |
| The Voyage of the Space Beagle | A. E. van Vogt | 1 |
| Three Body Problem (Trilogy) | Liu Cixin | 1 |
| Tour of the Merrimack (Series) | R.M. Meluch | 1 |
| Wherever Seeds May Fall | Peter Cawdron | 1 |
The Revelation Space series.
Was about to suggest this. What a great series.
House of suns is a firm favourite and i would add that despite it being a stand alone
I just finished the whole thing! What a ride
after reading synopsis i got the book thank you
wait, this is it? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Revelation_Space_cover_%28Amazon%29.jpg
That's the one.
Enjoy, you’re about to have a lot of fun!! Once you’ve read the first one, read Chasm City, it’s a great standalone but will help flesh out the world for you
It should be pinned to the top of pretty much every post in this sub
Most of John Scalzi you'd probably like, especially the Interdependency series and Old Man's War series.
Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch is also excellent.
Take Back Plenty by Colin Greenland
The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A. E. van Vogt
The John Grimes series by A. Bertram Chandler (very Star Trek)
Nova by Samuel Delany
The Centauri Device by M. John Harrison
Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin
thanks for the recs
Golden Fleece, Starplex, and Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
thanks
CJ Cherryh's Alliance Union series was a huge inspiration for the Expanse authors and you should definitely check it out. It's a bunch of loosely-connected standalones set around the same cluster of nera-Earth planets and around the same war. Downbelow Station is a good jumping-in point but it depends on what kind of story you're most interested in.
Seconding this. I read Downbelow Station a few months ago and completely fell in love with the setting - I’ve been reading every other book in the series that I can get my hands on since. Such a talented writer.
If you want space ships then Iain Banks culture books are what you are looking for.
yup, they're in my queue
You mentioned you have Consider Phlebas on your list, but you might actually want to start elsewhere. I read the Player of Games first and loved it, and then I went back to Consider Phlebas and it didn't grab me. I've since heard that a lot of people consider it to be one of the weaker entries.
I've still only read those two, so I can't speak to the rest, but I can highly recommend Player of Games. Each of the Culture novels is standalone, so you can start anywhere.
thanks I'll add player of games first
The Bobiverse series by Dennis Taylor
The Sector General series by James White
Sector General is fascinating. On the one hand, its age is showing (*cough*wimmin*cough*) but on the other hand, it has some super interesting concepts that even nowadays feel fascinating (e.g. sociologists being very closely involved in any kind of war).
It’s always been a favorite of mine. I agree with you about the sexism but the author does improve on that point. A female character that starts as a nurse becomes a doctor and so on.
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson kinda has that vibe.
Manifold: Time also feels similar, though it's less Aliens and more "Unexplained stuff through time."
Contact by Carl Sagan is a classic first-contact, though no Ships.
Spin has no space or ships just earth
I don't know if Stephen R Donaldson's Gap series is considered hard scifi or space opera.
The Xeelee Sequence
If you’re looking for Expanse / Hail Mary vibes without committing to massive sagas, you might like Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds or House of Suns. Both give you big ideas, ships, and cosmic scale in relatively contained narratives. For something a bit tighter and more concept-forward, Eon by Greg Bear or Gateway by Frederik Pohl can scratch that exploration and mystery itch without the long haul.
“We are Legion (We are Bob)” by Ray Porter
Book 1 of the Bobiverse series feels a lot like “Project Hail Mary” with the internal monologue narration. Interestingly, the audiobooks are also read by the same narrator.
Humanity's Fire series by Michael Cobley
The Sun Eater has everything above plus more.
Does it? Book 1 had none of it.
Marko Kloos Terms of Enlistment. Great series. Tour of the Merrimack is pure popcorn fun. Everything by Alastair Reynolds is great.
Saturn Run by Sandford
The Culture books by Iain M. Banks.
Pandora’s Star by PF Hamilton.
The Expanse
You should try Saturn Run by John Sandford. It's hard enough that authors calculated the orbits that are described in the book. The only flaw of the book is that one of the main characters is subtly a mary sue.
Peter Cawdron has universe of standalone novels themed on first contact. "Wherever Seeds May Fall" has very "Contact" vibes. And "Cold Eyes" is very good humans come to aliens novel.
Ken Macleod "Learning the World" is first contact novel that narrates story of both sides.
Guess what:
BLINDSIGHT by Peter Watts!
Three Body Problem trilogy (book 2 and 3 especially)
Peter Cawdron has universe of standalone novels themed on first contact. "Wherever Seeds May Fall" has very "Contact" vibes. And "Cold Eyes" is very good humans come to aliens novel.
Ken Macleod "Learning the World" is first contact novel that narrates story of both sides.
Merkiaari Wars - Mark E. Cooper
This is a little different, but Grand Theft Astro by Scott Meyer. Fairly hard but humorous
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this - highly recommend the Final Architecture series by Adrian Tchaikovsky
House of suns is a good one, and 1 book only again by Alastair Reynolds