I just reached the last book of Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space series (Inhibitor Phase), and wow what an absolutely amazing journey.
This is the longest book series I’ve read, and I’d honestly put it right next to Hyperion in terms of impact. I loved the character development across the series, especially how people evolve (and sometimes degrade) over vast stretches of time. And the ideas, the big, terrifying, mind-bending concepts, were consistently top notch.
Reaching the end is genuinely making me sad. So… what’s next? Are there any series with a similar vibe? Would love to hear your recommendations.
Pandora's Star by Peter Hamilton has really pulled me in like the Revelation Space series did.
I can confirm this. I really liked Revelation Space, probably even more so than Expanse or 3body problem, which were my previous favourites…but then i read Commonwealth Saga and damn, i might have liked it even more. Currently reading Void Trilogy and as far as Revelation Space goes, only now got Inhibitor Space, cause it was freshly translated to (sort of) my language (i prefer to read books that way, it feels tiring to do so in english).
Chasm City books happen in the same world if you want more. The Expanse hits the same levels of epic and hard scifi. Andy Weir also does great hard scifi.
Although if you finished Revelation Space I’m gonna assume you’re not a scifi casual. Old Man’s War is a good series to sink your teeth into. Fringeward Spin is like Firefly stretched over 15 books if you want a long series. Xeelee Sequence is also good dark hard scifi but isn’t as character focused.
Best of luck. I wish I could fill the Revelation Space hole in my heart too.
The void is real 😄 I had the exact same feeling after finishing House of Suns.
Great recommendations. I loved the Chasm City books too. I really enjoyed the early Old Man’s War novels, though they started to feel a bit repetitive after a while. I haven’t read the rest of your suggestions yet, but I’ll definitely check them out.
I love House of Suns so much as a standalone novel!
Second House of Suns! By far his best book IMO.
Spinward Fringe, I suppose?
Google's failure to find "Fringeward Spin book series" or "Fringeward Spin sci-fi like Firefly" just drove me nuts))
That was a good one and thanks for the tip))
Lmao yes sorry, I get it wrong literally every time
I don't understand why everyone is sleeping on Century Rain. The best Alastair Reynolds book in my opinion. So that's my suggestion.
Oh yeah, I really forgot about it. I liked it.
The Prefect Dreyfus novels by Reynolds. Really good, same universe.
The Commonwealth Saga by Peter Hamilton might hit the spot
Thousandth Night and House of Suns for more Reynolds in a different hard-ish science universe.
Greg Egan, for hard-science alt-physics.
Also Pushing Ice by Reynolds.
I was really disappointed with that one.
After the inhibitor sequence I read Chasm City then worked through the short story collections Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days and Galactic North.
Then read Pushing Ice and House of Suns.
After that I jumped to some older classic sci-fi, 2001 series, Space Cadet by Heinlein, Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, then later the Lords of Creation trilogy by SM Stirling.
I'd already read Project Hail Mary by And Weir (movie soon) and Dragon Egg by Robert L Forward which I really enjoyed. Also the Lost Fleet series
I really liked Dragon Egg, too… you’re the first person I’ve seen mention it. I also liked Sheffield’s Heritage Universe series, which is never mentioned by anyone other than me. Much fun and i think it easily falls into the hard sci fi category. First book is Summertide.
Banks’s Culture series is at the top of my list, pretty sure it’ll scratch your itch. I peeked at the first page and it gave me the same vibe.
Have you read the short stories based in the same universe?
All the short stories and novellas set in the same universe were collected recently in the Revelation Space Collection. Also, the Prefect Dreyfus novels are set in the Glitter Band around Yellowstone at a time before the Melding Plague outbreak, and Chasm City is the story of Tanner Mirabel, who appears briefly near the start of the Revelation Space novel. So if you haven’t read them, you have four more novels and a couple of novels’ worth of short stories to read.
Couldn’t agree more…Chasm City is a great story. I’d also recommend Neal Asher’s Agent Cormac series too which is a good read.
Freeze-Frame Revolution by Peter Watts (I think you can read the novella for free on his site)
Read Diaspora by Greg Egan recently and absolutely loved it (warts and all).
I concur with Brin’s Uplift series as ver very good. But the reads that are up there with Revelation Space for me are Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon/Baroque cycle (and stand alone book Anathem); Pratchett’s discworld series; and Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
While I immensely enjoyed some of the sf works mentioned (Hamilton, Hyperion, Banks - and also many others), the awe that Revelation Space inspires, for me, has so far only been met by Stephenson, Tolkien, Pratchett.
You could always go and read the 9+books of the Expanse. Pretty damn epic story!
I felt that way too Ughh such a great series
I love space opera, but I started Revelation Space probably 20 years ago, got halfway through the book (200 pages) and set it aside to read something else. It felt as if nothing really happened for 200 pages; characters talked “about” things but didn’t really do anything to move the plot forward. (As compared to Iain M. Banks Culture books, say.) Are the other books in the series better, because I was seriously disappointed in this. 😕
Read David Brin's Uplift series!
It's not as gritty, but it's still amazing Space Opera. Start with Startide Rising which was awarded the science fiction triple crown (Hugo, Nebula, Locus) the year it came out. It's a different vibe, but scratches the same itch that Revelation Space itches. Kind of a similar itch to Bank's Culture novels as well.
Basically an extremely hostile universe where humanity is pretty weak, but insists on poking at things it shouldn't be, and somehow overturns the whole applecart. The alien societies are so well articulated. It's really a pleasure. Extremely action oriented too, this would make a great James Cameron type film...it's extremely cinematic in style.
The first book, Sundiver is a disconnected story from the rest of the series and should be viewed as an adjunct side-novel and read after the others. It's just OK.
Same Feeling! Did you read the "prefect trilogy" ?