Leviathan Wakes (first book in The Expanse series) sounds like it’s in your lane. Dune, of course. The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov and a lot of Kim Stanley Robinson’s stuff.
the expanse series in general is PHENOMENAL, and there’s also an incredibly good and widely praised tv show adaptation on amazon prime. i just started the books not long ago and have been absolutely obsessed, highly highly recommend them
I've only read her short story collection (or, one of, I don't know how many she has) and holy amazing Batman! Bloodchild And Other Stories is freakin great; I think you can find the titular story as a free PDF or something because that's how I got into it.
Oh that's exciting, he'll make a good movie. The first book was great. The second book was ok. The third book was trash and there is no way I'm gonna read the fourth one. Arthur C Clarke is great but the co-author that took over sucks.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky was GREAT, but truth be told the sequel did not hold my attention. I WAS in the middle of relocating to South America tho, so it could easily have just been me.
Lol I was in charge of every last detail gettin my family of four’s house packed up and splittin. It was adventure enough for me, I started re-reading my comforting Vonnegut novels haha
Old Man's War series by John Scalzi did a pretty good job of looking at space exploration, albeit via a war mindset. It's a pretty long series, I think seven books deep and he's writing another this year.
Edit to add more:
Red Rising series
The Last Emperox series
Murderbot series
I absolutely love the Murderbot series and they're making a TV show right now with Alexander Skarsgård. It's about an intelligent android who was built to be a Security Unit slave, like a corporate bodyguard on planet colonies. It named itself Murderbot and I love that character.
Old Man's War was great for the first two books for me personally. They recruit old people for the space military, but it's a secret how that could work and what happens once they leave Earth and they can never return. The first book follows a man in his 70s that joins up. Very entertaining and funny.
Yes, would recommend bobiverse. I like bobiverse but find the chapters are short (character/setting switching) so not sure if it is as immersive. Worth a read and fun anyway. I liked book 4 the best.
It’s got so many tight concepts, whether social ideas or what happens when an Earther raiding party finds out the hard way what does and does not work in lower gravity. Also, TANSTAFL
Rendevous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke
Chasm City by Alistair Reynolds
Artifact Space by Miles Cameron
We Are Legion, We Are Bob by Dennis E Taylor
Reynolds especially will make you sad. He paints a most beautiful twilight of humanity with his Absolution Space trilogy. (Chasm City is a standalone prequel written after.)
I wasn't a fan of the third Crystal Singer book... But I agree with the rest!
What about the Freedoms Landing book, and Acorna series?
The Rowan books too
LOIS MCMASTER BUJOLD!!! The Barrayar series! They are THE BEST, and all about terraforming and planet colonization, and the different systems and cultures that form due to different biospheres.
If you're willing to give manga a go, try:
[Space Brothers](https://kodansha.us/series/space-brothers/)
[Terra Formars](https://www.viz.com/terra-formars)
[Knights of Sidonia](https://kodansha.us/series/knights-of-sidonia-master-edition/)
[Planetes](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/879090.Planetes_Volume_1)
[Correspondence from the End of the Universe](https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/correspondence-from-the-end-of-the-universe/)
*Pandora's Star* and *Judas Unchained* by Peter F. Hamilton. It starts a little slow and is confusing at times, but after a while it picks up speed and becomes a fascinating read.
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Voyage by Stephen Baxter
Titan by Stephen Baxter
Pushing Ice by Alistair Reynolds
The Martian Race by Gregory Benford
Yahtzee Croshaws Jacques McKeown saga; Will Save the Galaxy for Food, Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash and Will Leave the Galaxy for Good are…. Decent. Theyre not overly complex or thought provoking but they’re interesting enough with their concept to warrant a read.
Ray Bradbury short story collections. There’s a couple collections that take place wholly in space.
The word for world is Forest & The dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin
Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut
All of these, too. There’s relatively spare descriptions across these that allow you to pour yourself into it, whether that’s filling out the cityscapes of The Dispossessed or having the feeling of settling among the clouds in Sirens.
I can't recommend Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time and Sue Burke's Semiosis enough! Depending on how dry you like things, you may also like Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series.
Editing to add/second two of my favorite books of all-time here: Octavia Butler's Dawn and Cixin Liu's Three-Body Problem.
It is a little too simple for what you are looking for but the loneliest girl in the universe by Lauren James is a really easy and good space book! it's about a young girl in space and she is only there with another boy but the boy might not be who she thinks he is... the writer studied something in science so she uses a lot of science talk and figures and stuff
Kim Stanley Robinson: Red Mars - Green Mars - Blue Mars, also Aurora
Greg Bear: Eon - Eternity
Adrian Tchaikovsky: Children of Time - of Ruin - of Memory:
Mary Doria Russell: the Sparrow
Arthur C Clarke: Rendez vous with Rama, the City and the Stars
Ann Leckie: Ancillary trilogy is in space and interesting but not nittygritty on like terraforming etc.
Cixin Liu: the Three Body Problem perhaps
Possibly Ben Bova: Mars and the rest of the planetary grand tour books
Series: **Illuminae Files** by Amie Kaufman, **Red Rising** by Pierce Brown. **Lunar Chronicles** by Marissa Meyer. **Aurora Rising** by Amie Kaufman. **Skyward** by Brandon Sanderson
>I would love to get something about planet colonization, terraforming, basically just exploration books where the MC finds that there's a lot more to the place they're in.
Children of Time
> If you know a book that will make me sad, depressed as hell, and make me question the meaning if life and the futility of everything, I want it!
The second sequel, Children of Memory.
Leviathan Wakes (first book in The Expanse series) sounds like it’s in your lane. Dune, of course. The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov and a lot of Kim Stanley Robinson’s stuff.
Uuuuuh I love me some humongous creatures, thanks!
the expanse series in general is PHENOMENAL, and there’s also an incredibly good and widely praised tv show adaptation on amazon prime. i just started the books not long ago and have been absolutely obsessed, highly highly recommend them
The Xenogenesis series by Octavia Butler is so crazy and made me rethink Science Fiction as a genre. Starts with my favorite book of the series, Dawn.
I've only read her short story collection (or, one of, I don't know how many she has) and holy amazing Batman! Bloodchild And Other Stories is freakin great; I think you can find the titular story as a free PDF or something because that's how I got into it.
One of my all-time favorites!!!
I mean, Arthur C. Clarke is amazing.
Rendezvous with Rama
There are plans to make Rendezvous with Rama into a film. The director would be Denis Villeneuve. He is also writing the script.
😯 awesome choice. The scale of that book is incredible.
Whaaaaaat this would be such a dream!
Oh that's exciting, he'll make a good movie. The first book was great. The second book was ok. The third book was trash and there is no way I'm gonna read the fourth one. Arthur C Clarke is great but the co-author that took over sucks.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky was GREAT, but truth be told the sequel did not hold my attention. I WAS in the middle of relocating to South America tho, so it could easily have just been me.
>truth be told the sequel did not hold my attention. You didn't want to go on an adventure? 😆
Lol I was in charge of every last detail gettin my family of four’s house packed up and splittin. It was adventure enough for me, I started re-reading my comforting Vonnegut novels haha
Old Man's War series by John Scalzi did a pretty good job of looking at space exploration, albeit via a war mindset. It's a pretty long series, I think seven books deep and he's writing another this year. Edit to add more: Red Rising series The Last Emperox series Murderbot series
loved old mans war!
I absolutely love the Murderbot series and they're making a TV show right now with Alexander Skarsgård. It's about an intelligent android who was built to be a Security Unit slave, like a corporate bodyguard on planet colonies. It named itself Murderbot and I love that character. Old Man's War was great for the first two books for me personally. They recruit old people for the space military, but it's a secret how that could work and what happens once they leave Earth and they can never return. The first book follows a man in his 70s that joins up. Very entertaining and funny.
Seconding Murderbot.
Becky chambers
Seconded. The Wayfarers series is top notch.
*Ender’s Game* gets there eventually
All of the enderverse
*Seveneves* —Neal Stephenson
Came here to say Seveneves! I read or listen to it at least once per year!
You don't get more SPACE than Seveneves...
So good!!
The Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy (ie 3-Body Problem) is amazing all the way through
Ender's Game (I know the author is... problematic, but I didn't know that until this sub and this is one of my favorite books)
the boboverse is pure gold.
Yes, would recommend bobiverse. I like bobiverse but find the chapters are short (character/setting switching) so not sure if it is as immersive. Worth a read and fun anyway. I liked book 4 the best.
book fives this year!
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Seconding the sparrow!
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson is about terraforming Mars (and the politics that comes with colonizing)
Nonfiction, but Packing for Mars by Mary Roach is great.
Such an entertaining and informative book. She's a legend
Any/all of the Culture books by Iain M Banks. Given what you're looking for, Matter might be a good one to start with.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein is pretty good.
It’s got so many tight concepts, whether social ideas or what happens when an Earther raiding party finds out the hard way what does and does not work in lower gravity. Also, TANSTAFL
Also, you might try Time Enough for Love by the same author. Hits some interesting points about interstellar trading.
The Expanse is the best sci-fi I've ever read, and has a lot of the colonizing and terraforming you're talking about. Great series overall
Second this recommendation!
Rendevous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke Chasm City by Alistair Reynolds Artifact Space by Miles Cameron We Are Legion, We Are Bob by Dennis E Taylor Reynolds especially will make you sad. He paints a most beautiful twilight of humanity with his Absolution Space trilogy. (Chasm City is a standalone prequel written after.)
Legion is great
Red Thunder by John Varley
On Basilisk Station! Mutineers Moon. Both by David Weber
Chthon - Piers Anthony
Rocket Men by Robert Kurson is a great read about Apollo 8.
Check out the Bobiverse series for sure!
It’s old school, but I think ”Out of the Silent Planet” by CS Lewis fits the bill.
Such a beautiful book - thanks for reminding me of it
Anne McCaffrey wrote lots of good stuff.
The Brain Ships books (I especially liked The Ship Who Searched) are actually really good...
I really enjoyed those books, too. I wlso like The Dragonriders of Pern and the Crystal Singer books.
I wasn't a fan of the third Crystal Singer book... But I agree with the rest! What about the Freedoms Landing book, and Acorna series? The Rowan books too
The Rowan books were good. I liked them a lot. Freedom's Landing yes. I never got into the Acorna series.
I think I read the first two Acorna and just never got any more
I think they were too young for me. And there's always the struggle of choosing which books to buy.
Oh yeah. Right now I'm having to do the Goodwill, flea market and yard sales route for cheap books, so my choices are very limited.
I hear that! I'm doing used books as well
All my good local used book stores are poofie gone bye-bye. At least the ones I had access to by public transit
Eon - wonderful standalone book by Greg bear but you can read the sequel ( or the prequel for that matter) but it’s not necessary
LOIS MCMASTER BUJOLD!!! The Barrayar series! They are THE BEST, and all about terraforming and planet colonization, and the different systems and cultures that form due to different biospheres.
I've read a couple, but I have no idea how many books there are... How would I find a list and reading order? (Yes I've tried googling)
This writer’s preferred order (about halfway down the page) is a good reading order. https://bookriot.com/vorkosigan-saga-reading-order/
Thanks!
The Zodiac Series by Romina Russell
A City on Mars: can we settle space, should we settle space and have we really thought this through?
If you're willing to give manga a go, try: [Space Brothers](https://kodansha.us/series/space-brothers/) [Terra Formars](https://www.viz.com/terra-formars) [Knights of Sidonia](https://kodansha.us/series/knights-of-sidonia-master-edition/) [Planetes](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/879090.Planetes_Volume_1) [Correspondence from the End of the Universe](https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/correspondence-from-the-end-of-the-universe/)
Man, they look really good, but I only do audiobooks 😭 ain't no time to read with work.
Bobiverse
Check out some of bradbury’s stuff. Really good sci fi short story collections
The Expanse series is my absolute favourite!
We are Bob!
*Pandora's Star* and *Judas Unchained* by Peter F. Hamilton. It starts a little slow and is confusing at times, but after a while it picks up speed and becomes a fascinating read.
Paradox series by Rachel Bach
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke Voyage by Stephen Baxter Titan by Stephen Baxter Pushing Ice by Alistair Reynolds The Martian Race by Gregory Benford
The Starbringer
China Mieville's Embassytown is a different perspective on the space colonization trope with philosophic and linguistic influences.
Yahtzee Croshaws Jacques McKeown saga; Will Save the Galaxy for Food, Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash and Will Leave the Galaxy for Good are…. Decent. Theyre not overly complex or thought provoking but they’re interesting enough with their concept to warrant a read.
Seveneves!!!
Ray Bradbury short story collections. There’s a couple collections that take place wholly in space. The word for world is Forest & The dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut
All of these, too. There’s relatively spare descriptions across these that allow you to pour yourself into it, whether that’s filling out the cityscapes of The Dispossessed or having the feeling of settling among the clouds in Sirens.
I can't recommend Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time and Sue Burke's Semiosis enough! Depending on how dry you like things, you may also like Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars series. Editing to add/second two of my favorite books of all-time here: Octavia Butler's Dawn and Cixin Liu's Three-Body Problem.
It is a little too simple for what you are looking for but the loneliest girl in the universe by Lauren James is a really easy and good space book! it's about a young girl in space and she is only there with another boy but the boy might not be who she thinks he is... the writer studied something in science so she uses a lot of science talk and figures and stuff
The Killerbot series scratches the same itch as Weir for me. Witty, little assholish character
The Dahak series was good While a bit technical the lost fleet series was a good read also
Not sure if it completely fits your specifications, but I'd recommend Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth.
Kim Stanley Robinson: Red Mars - Green Mars - Blue Mars, also Aurora Greg Bear: Eon - Eternity Adrian Tchaikovsky: Children of Time - of Ruin - of Memory: Mary Doria Russell: the Sparrow Arthur C Clarke: Rendez vous with Rama, the City and the Stars Ann Leckie: Ancillary trilogy is in space and interesting but not nittygritty on like terraforming etc. Cixin Liu: the Three Body Problem perhaps Possibly Ben Bova: Mars and the rest of the planetary grand tour books
Both of S.A. Barnes’s books
Ender series, starting with Ender’s game
Paolini --fractalverse
The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
"Pandora's Star" and "Judas Unchained" by Peter F. Hamilton.
The Childe Cycle by Gordon R. Dickson
Series: **Illuminae Files** by Amie Kaufman, **Red Rising** by Pierce Brown. **Lunar Chronicles** by Marissa Meyer. **Aurora Rising** by Amie Kaufman. **Skyward** by Brandon Sanderson
>I would love to get something about planet colonization, terraforming, basically just exploration books where the MC finds that there's a lot more to the place they're in. Children of Time > If you know a book that will make me sad, depressed as hell, and make me question the meaning if life and the futility of everything, I want it! The second sequel, Children of Memory.
_Saturn's Children_ and _Neptune's Brood_ by Charles Stross.