Looking for specific type of Sci-Fi

[williamjm]

Wouldn't The Expanse fit the bill?

I did think about suggesting that, but the exploration plotline only really comes to the fore in the third book (although it may well be a major theme in some of the later books as well).

[dbcooper]

Read those as well. You begin to see why I made a rec thread when 75% of books people rec I have read.

[unJon]

I almost cringe to recommend these books, but actually do think they fit many of the criteria (other than taking place in space): The Andromada Strain and Sphere by Michael Critchon. I found both to be quick and very enjoyable reads.

[all swedes are racist]

Ring by Stephen Baxter?

[RedEyedGhost]

I haven't read it, but have you looked at The Explorer by James Smythe?

While not "in space" it is set on an alien planet, Dark Eden by Chris Beckett is pretty darn good (outside of a little stretch in the first half of the book).

Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach has a ton of mystery and exploration of the unknown and it's a hell of a ride.

There's a good bit of exploration in Chris Wooding's The Tales of the Ketty Jay.

The Inferior and The Deserter by Peadar Ó Guilín

Side note: have you ever finished The Long Price Quartet? Last I heard you had stalled halfway through A Betrayal in Winter.

[Lord of Rhinos]

Have you read Faith by John Love? It has some of the qualities you're looking for. Give the synopsis a look and see if it sounds appealing.

[Datepalm]

Have you read Faith by John Love? It has some of the qualities you're looking for. Give the synopsis a look and see if it sounds appealing.

It is also really boring, but it does have a mysterious object thing.

[Seli]

You might want Greg Egan. Probably either Incandesce or his Clockwork Universe series. Although on the hard edge of SF, exploring the nature of there universe, and less dark than say Blindsight.

[Leofric]

Try Jack McDevitt's Alex Bennett books. Basically unraveling mysteries set around alien artifacts and antiques.

[polishgenius]

It is also really boring, but it does have a mysterious object thing.

Pfft. It's awesome. Probably the best SF of the last decade at least, for me.

On the surface it's more about fighting an unknown than exploring the unknown, but looking down TC's checklist it ticks just about every box (it's basically a big-ass space battle, but it's not about war or anything).

[Datepalm]

I found it incredibly tedious and pretentious and just badly written, but there's definitely a mystery, that I can't argue with. (One that has remained thoroughly mysterious to me, since I didn't finish the book. What was the ship, in the end?)

[polishgenius]

I found it incredibly tedious and pretentious and just badly written, but there's definitely a mystery, that I can't argue with. (One that has remained thoroughly mysterious to me, since I didn't finish the book. What was the ship, in the end?)

You're probably gonna hate this:

It's not explicitly confirmed, but it's strongly implied that it's effectively the immune system of the universe, preventing life from teeming out of control not by destroying it outright, but by ending each species' desire to continue itself.

I can agree with the 'pretentious' accusation - it's definitely Thinking Deep Thoughts, something that will invariably seem pretentious if one doesn't agree with what it's saying and sometimes even if you do - but I love the way it's written and the whole atmosphere of the thing. Like what would happen if HP Lovecraft and Hayao Miyazaki got together to write a space opera.

[Datepalm]

You're probably gonna hate this:

I do! Didn't Reynolds nail that one down already anyway?

I don't want to just randomly hate on it - it had some literary qualitiesI found sort of vaguely admirable for the genre, but also a prurience and an immaturity about it's central conceit (they're all sociopaths! Dude, how cool! Get it, he's into rape! How subversive! I really liked Dexter!) that killed it. And the pacing was terrible.

[polishgenius]

I do! Didn't Reynolds nail that one down already anyway?

It plays it in a very different, much more surreal way to Reynolds (and if I recall correctly, (Revelation Space spoiler)

in Reynolds the Inhibitors were actually seeking to preserve life in the long-run...

. I think that was one of the main reasons I loved it so much, the bizarre, almost otherworldly edge to it. By the same token that probably contributed to why I didn't find the central conceit of the psychopath-ship annoying in the way I probably would in a more 'real' work - it adds to the blurring of reality of the whole situation.

[Ser Daegon]

This might not be hard core Sci-Fi, but more of a combination of Sci-Fi and Fantasy... have you read the Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman? It's a bit different, as it takes place on a planet that was colonized a thousand years earlier.

[David Selig]

Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. A perfect fit plus a really great book.

[dbcooper]

Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. A perfect fit plus I really great book.

Read it, great book. I even tend to stay away from translations but this was pretty well done.

You might want Greg Egan. Probably either Incandesce or his Clockwork Universe series. Although on the hard edge of SF, exploring the nature of there universe, and less dark than say Blindsight.

Incandesence sounds interesting, will check it out. What books are the CLockwork Universe, I can't find them.

Have you read Faith by John Love? It has some of the qualities you're looking for. Give the synopsis a look and see if it sounds appealing.

I read 1/2 of it and gave up. Wasn't for me. Thanks for the rec though.

[Manhole Eunuchsbane]

Going to throw this out here despite the inevitable groans that will follow. The Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card. Once you get past the first book, there's not much in the way of a war story. The last three books (Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, and Children of the Mind) involve many of the aspects you mentioned in your initial post. The main difference here is much of the exploration is philosophical as opposed to physical.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_for_the_Dead

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenocide

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_of_the_Mind

[dbcooper]

I haven't read it, but have you looked at The Explorer by James Smythe?

While not "in space" it is set on an alien planet, Dark Eden by Chris Beckett is pretty darn good (outside of a little stretch in the first half of the book).

Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach has a ton of mystery and exploration of the unknown and it's a hell of a ride.

There's a good bit of exploration in Chris Wooding's The Tales of the Ketty Jay.

The Inferior and The Deserter by Peadar Ó Guilín

Side note: have you ever finished The Long Price Quartet? Last I heard you had stalled halfway through A Betrayal in Winter.

Man, that's some memory you got (or post history kungfu). I did finish it and then went on to Price of Spring, it was a great series overall though at time I felt it lagged a bit in pacing. Now I'm 1/2 through the latest Dagger and Coin book but taking a break from fantasy (Words of Radiance next!) for some speculative and science fic.

The Explorer and Dark Eden sound interesting, though the latter is classified as YA and I try to avoid that genre like it's the plague. How "young adult" is it?

[RedEyedGhost]

Man, that's some memory you got (or post history kungfu). I did finish it and then went on to Price of Spring, it was a great series overall though at time I felt it lagged a bit in pacing. Now I'm 1/2 through the latest Dagger and Coin book but taking a break from fantasy (Words of Radiance next!) for some speculative and science fic.

The Explorer and Dark Eden sound interesting, though the latter is classified as YA and I try to avoid that genre like it's the plague. How "young adult" is it?

Ha! I doubt those posts are even still around, with the way old threads get culled on this board. I just remember you were having a tough go of it after I rec'd it so hard. I'm glad you ended up enjoying them (and kept on reading Daniel Abraham).

That surprises me that Dark Eden is now being marketed as YA, it definitely was not when it was first published. I never thought of it as a YA book while reading it although the main characters are all in their teens. Peadar's books are also classified as YA because of a young protagonist, and not for their subject matter or quality of writing. And if you enjoyed The Expanse don't discount Fortune's Pawn.