Does anybody know any good adult science fiction books?

Question

Give me an author or a list of authors, the book or series, and a basic plot of what the book is about?

All recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

A great scifi read is the Deathstalker Series by Simon R Green.
This is an excerpt from the back of the book.

Her Imperial Majesty Lionstone XIV - ruled the human Empire with fear. From peasants to masters of the galaxy's most powerful families, all were subject to the queen's unpredictable decrees of "outlawing" and death.

Owen Deathstalker, unwilling head of his clan, sought to avoid the perils of the Empire's warring factions but unexpectedly found a price on his head. He fled to Mistworld, where he began to build an unlikely force to topple the throne - a broken hero, an outlawed Hadenman, a thief, and a bounty hunter. With their help, The Deathstalker took the first step on a far more dangerous journey to claim the role for which he'd been destined since before his birth...

One of the main reasons I like this series is because it is dark and gritty. Violent yet not overdone. Very adult and amazingly original storyline.

Hope this helped!

Answer 2

Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert, and Robert Heinlein are the classics of sci-fi.
Newer authors...David Gemmell, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., Orson Scott Card, Raymond E. Feist.
It depends on how much science and how much fiction you like! I know it sounds pretty dumb, but some authors write a lot of scientific explanations for what they are trying to say, and some just straight forward say it....always read the blurbs on the back of the book for a general idea of what its about.
I've read all the authors I listed, and would recommend Modesitt, Asimov and Bradbury to begin with.
Modesitt, the Ecolitan books (Saga of Recluce, though its fantasy)
Asimov, the Foundation series
Bradbury, Martian Chronicles and Something Wicked This Way Comes

Answer 3

I've got a few in the works, but you'll have to wait until either 2009 or 2011 to read the first book, 2012 to read the second, and 2014 to read the third.

They're all adult science-fantasy novels.

The Starchild involves a teenage girl who assumes the mantle of the legendary Starchild of Ancient Lore. Of course, since she's at the beginning of her role as protector of Earth and guardian of the known universe, her powers and abilities aren't infinite just yet.

So as a fledgling of the stars, Isis has to train and do what she can with what she has as the Starchild. But things don't remain quiet for long as a threat from the planet's past emerges to threaten her distant future. So Isis has to do everything she can to protect everyone she loves and cares about.

The Price of Freedom centers on a war between the Free Earth Movement and the Neos. Set in the year 2165, the human race is on the verge of extinction, but that doesn't mean humanity's given up all hope yet. A former lieutenant and a techno-organic construct come together to hatch a plan to travel back through time in order to find out who set things in motion 158 years prior to the demise of civilization as we know it today.

But the journey from occupied Washington DC to San Francisco won't be an easy one--as both sides seek to test both Kenneth and Kayla's will and their love for one another.

Stories of the Dead Earth centers on two lost princesses whom come together in a quest to return home, right some wrongs, and set Dead Earth free from an evil tyrant king known as King Richard the Infinite First.

Book 1: Orphan

Things don't always go right for either of them as both are orphaned and marooned near a seaside town called Xanix. And while both Jeanna and Jasmine acclimate to their surroundings, an invasion force and old threats resurface to challenge their freedom and their royal sovereignty.

Magic, mecha, and dragons, will decide the day in this battle. But a Castle-class war galleon shows up and lends a hand to the bedraggled princesses, and they manage to escape out to sea.

Book 2: Seige

After 4 days at sea, the Esmeralda Jasmine is beseiged by a miasma of creatures spawned from an area known to sailors as The Hole.

In an instant, the ship becomes the new battleground for a fight for basic survival. New friends will be made, as Jeanna and Jasmine struggle to save the ship and its crew from certain destruction.

Book 3: Jasper (May 2007)

The ship's next port of call, the beleaguered crew finds some moments of much needed respite after the last battle. But things in the town appear too good to be true, and after an investigation, Jasmine and Jeanna discover that they had fallen into a trap set by the queen of Jasper.

Once captured after a series of fights, they discover the real reason behind her angst with the ship's captain. But escaping her grasp may mean finally revealing each other's secret past to do it.

Answer 4

Here are some that I really enjoyed:

Warchild by Karin Lowachee: This is the first book in what is currently a three-book series, but will hopefully be expanded. It follows Jos Musey, who in the beginning is an eight-year-old child living on a merchant ship that's hit by pirates. Most of the other children are sold off, but Jos becomes the special project of the pirate captain, Falcone. Eventually he escapes, but finds himself in the company of a man he was conditioned to believe was evil since the time of his birth. It deals with the heavy issues of war, child slavery and abuse, shifting loyalties, prostitution, and more. It's intensely character driven and is one of the most emotional books in SF. It also contains some of the most memorable characters in the genre. There are no true good guys or bad guys. Even Falcone, who we're told to hate by the narrator, is not truly evil. These shades of gray paint the whole novel in gritty, realistic shades. I can't recommend this book highly enough. The two sequels, Burndive and Cagebird, are also great.

Philip K. Dick: I can't pick just one book by this author, his work is just so prolific. He wrote mostly from the fifties to the eighties before his death. There's quite a bit of philosophy and theology in his books. He questions everything: religion, reality, humanity. The Man in the High Castle is one of his best books. It deals with a world in which the Allies lost WWII and America is divided between Germany and Japan (much the way Germany was divided between the Allies and the USSR). This book incorporates philosophies from the I Ching. It's very insightful and thought-provoking. Another book to read would be A Scanner Darkly, describing all angles of the future war on drugs. Dick himself experimented heavily with drugs in the sixties, then watched as many of his friends suffered psychosis, vascular damage, and even death as a result. Thus, he brings real dimension both to the narcs trying to bust the drug ring and the junkies hooked on these new hallucinogens. It's very good and very depressing. Oh, and you can't mention Dick without talking about Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? This is the book that inspired the movie Blade Runner. Dick questions that which makes humanity unique. He also deals heavily with the issue of Christianity. Very multi-dimensional, I recommend reading it a few times. Dick's also written a few volumes of short stories that are quite interesting.

Idlewild by Nick Sagan: Like Dick, Sagan questions perception and the nature of reality. Little in this book is what it seems at first glance. It's part cyberpunk and part mystery-thriller. I don't want to say too much or I risk spoiling the twists. There's a sequel, too, Edenborn. It's not quite as good as the first one, but it's still an interesting read.

A Talent for War by Jack McDevitt: I read this one cover-to-cover. It's a little weak on character development, but the plot of the story and the central, driving mystery is interesting enough to keep you turning pages. The main character, Alex, returns home when he learns his uncle (who was more like a father to him) was recently killed. As he's sorting through his uncle's belongings, he uncovers a secret that could shake the foundations of their society. The book's real strength comes from the developed history and culture.

The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld: This is the first book in Westerfeld's new series. It's more hardcore SF than the others, but there's a richly developed political and cultural society. It deals with characters at a time where death has become an option. You can rebuild yourself and prevent aging. This new technology has left society divided into the pinks and greys, those who choose to die as nature intended and those who choose eternal life.

Hopefully this enough to get you started. Happy reading!

Answer 5

I very much like Octavia Butler's books. She has a whole series based on a three-gendered form of reproduction introduced by an extraterrestrial species. It deals with the relations between persons and between species, etc. She makes it seem real and human.
She has another series in which a modern American black woman travels through time and has dealings with her family during slavery. And there is another series dealing with a kind of being that has power over humans and breeds with them for his own purposes, and how his human mates and offspring relate to him and, finally, defeat him, and end up producing their own strange society (since they are quite different now from regular humans).

Answer 6

Footfall by Larry Niven / Jerry Pournelle. Elephants from another planet conquer Earth. Earth fights back (sort of).

The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven / Jerry Pournelle. First contact with a strange species who never invented contraceptives but are great at modifying mechanical technology.

Answer 7

Piers Anthony has a good series. I think the first one is called "On a Pale Horse." It is basically about the muses, death, god, etc. The world in these books also uses magic.

Do I even need to mention J.R.R. Tolkein? Didn't think so!

Answer 8

Isaac Asimov's 'Earthmen and Strangers,' a classic set of short stories. The action here is in the mind.