SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

Over the years I've become impatient when it comes to books but can't get enough Sci-fi movies.

Can anyone recommend a FAST PACED sci-fi book? Ideally something with some humor, maybe a romp across the galaxy, action, some mystery. Most importantly, I want something that sets the scene and characters but does not get bogged down in describing every detail. I want action and smart character drama, but not a half hour of description and prose.

I listened to Ready Player One over the summer and loved it but since then have had a hard time finding another good book to suit my tastes.

Hey there, Brent! I totally get what you're saying. There's nothing like a good Marvel movie to get my blood pumping, but finding a similar type book can be challenging. I hate to be the self-promo annoying type, but I got all excited when I read this thread because I feel the same way and that's exactly what I was going for when I wrote Heart of Annihilation.

They say write what you want to read so that's what I did. A fast-paced, military, sci-fi thriller, with lots of action/adventure, smart interesting characters and some humor to break it up. Because the world needs books with more explosions and less purple prose. ;-)

One word: Vorkosigan. Get you to WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE and go wild. (There are roughly 14 volumes after, so you have plenty of material.

I'll give you someone else's recommendation on the sf-fi / fantasy genre bender: http://www.bookviral.com/awakenings/4...

Even though it's more Urban Fantasy/Men in Black...The Rook sounds perfect.

The Stainless Steel Rat it's certainly dated some but it's classic sci-fi adventure.

Did you enjoy Edge of Tommorow...well it was loosely based of this book. All You Need Is Kill

You want a quick book that the premise is humanity...fuck yeah. The Excalibur Alternative

Path of the Fury A fast paced revenge plot with someone who finds magic in a pretty typical sci-fi world. Some may recommend reading in fury born first but it's a different style of book and written way after, it would be like telling someone to watch the starwars prequels first.

I really enjoyed Rachel Bach's sci-fi trilogy starting with Fortune's Pawn. Lots of action, definite mystery and interesting characters.

It gets a little too meta for some people, but you might like John Scalzi's Star Trek parody, Redshirts.

Or even John Scalzi's Old Man's War

Deathstalker by Simon R Green was a fast-paced space opera. And really, the only series with a planet full of giant mechanized stuff animals slaughtering each other.

Joel Shepard's Cassandra Kresnov novels fit the bill and there are quite a few in the series so if you like it there's more. I'll also throw in my novel, Milky Way Repo.

The Petrovitch Trilogy is always my recommendation for this. Post terrorist nuclear holocaust dystopian world that's smartly written, action packed and has a fair bit of cynical humor in it. Fun reads.

Leviathan Wakes is as close as you can get to a sci fi blockbuster in book format. It's also pretty good.

Red Rising also comes to mind. Fast paced and full of twists.

Here are a few of my favorite SF books-with trips across the galaxy- none of them are long-winded or overstuffed with irrelevant details, and I also second the Deathstalker series (over the top) and Stainless Steel Rat:

The Heart of Valor
Legion of the Damned
Queen of Denial (may be hard to find- it's pure slapstick)
Thirteen or Altered Carbon
Leviathan Wakes

Fast-paced action? I got what you need right here:

Logan's Run

XOM-B

Sten (There's a whole series of these.)

Damnation Alley

Patient Zero (Maberry has a series of these featuring his action guy Joe Ledger.)

The Apocalypse Door

The Man-Kzin Wars

Those Who Walk in Darkness and What Fire Cannot Burn (Character development? He barely uses sentences.)

Hardwired

The Forever War

Ringworld

I'd give Take The Star Road by Peter Grant a try. Although there isn't action in every page, the characters make it worth while. Also it doesn't get bogged down by long winded dialogue and descriptions. Currently there's three books in the series.

Has anybody read the Star Force series by B. V. Larson? If so do you think that the series qualifies for this thread. I'm not quite sure because so far I've only read the first book. But going on that first book, I recommend giving the series a try. As the series is fast paced and never lets up in terms of action. Also if you do like the series, currently I think there's eleven books in the series. So you can really sink your teeth into it.

Micah wrote: "The Petrovitch Trilogy is always my recommendation for this. Post terrorist nuclear holocaust dystopian world that's smartly written, action packed and has a fair bit of cynical hum..."

I second this suggestion. Although I think the author has released a forth book. Don't quote me on it though, It's just what I heard from a friend.

Also I'd recommend Jean Johnson's Theirs Not To Reason Why series. Although this series does describe stuff in detail, it doesn't get in the way of the story. Also the characters are well written and the action even more so. I was addicted to this series when I first got hold of it. If I remember I've rated most of the series five stars. The idea behind the story is smart and well thought out. I hope you get around to reading this.

They're out of print, but I really enjoy the Butterfly and Hellflower series. Space opera from a smuggler's perspective; the first person POV keeps the tone light & there are some mysteries uncovered over the course of the trilogy.

I'd recommend Altered Carbon - fast paced and excellent though not so funny and Transition

Other quick paced scifis I can think of are Fahrenheit 451 and Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said

Reviews say The Rift Rider flies straight out of the blocks too ;-)

My favorite SF action/adventure book is Galactic Odyssey. Almost anything by its author, Keith Laumer, is going to satisfy your requirements. Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein is another fast mover.

R.

Second Old Man's War. Great fun

It seems none like James rollins. if you all think he is slow... then I have to grab the books u recommended

Thanks to everyone for their help. I read Redshirts (or more than half of it before I became bored). I loved the fun, humor and the fast-paced dialogue.

So I'm interested in Scalzi's Old Man's War, but does it have similar problems as Redshirts? Namely, he repeats dialogue tags like "said" more often than any book I've ever read--annoying and amateurish for such an established author. Plus, the book seems to be 90% dialogue. I like more dialogue, but this is a bit much as it sucks out the scenery/action.

Lastly, the story was so "meta" as Carson put it, that I eventually lost interest on whether the characters would survive. Maybe I'll finish Redshirts if someone can tell me there's an unexpected twist at the end, but otherwise I'll probably try something new.

I would second Altered Carbon. Also Fallen Dragon ,or maybe The Breach, or Chasm City

Another vote for Altered Carbon.

If you like Time Travel: Crux.

hard to beat altered carbon.

Brent wrote: "Thanks to everyone for their help. I read Redshirts (or more than half of it before I became bored). I loved the fun, humor and the fast-paced dialogue.

So I'm interested in Scalzi's Old Man's Wa..."

He does use "said" a lot, but Old Man's War doesn't have the annoying "meta" aspects that Redshirts does. It's fast-paced, often funny, but genuinely moving and "real", unlike Redshirts. I managed to finish Redshirts, but I'd probably never read it again, whereas I've already reread Old Man's War several times. A much more compelling story, in my opinion.

Also, I second the recommendation for Rachel Bach's trilogy, starting with Fortune's Pawn. Great reads, I ripped through all three in a couple of days, just couldn't wait to find out what happened.

Hi Brent! Have you considered giving short story science fiction a try? Many of the stories can pack a surprising punch in a fairly short package and are worth checking out. The thing about full length science fiction novels vs. science fiction movies is that most sci-fi stories are based about the exploration of some theme. The author might want to build a story around the social structure problems faced by future civilizations (Asimov), or explore the direction certain technological developments might lead (Verne), or make a story that is the basis for a political commentary (Heinlein). Granted these are all examples of classic authors, but even modern sci-fi literature tends to be more about the exploration than the laser blasts.

Some short stories that pack a punch that I would recommend include:
"All You Zombies" by Robert Heinlein
"The Nine Billion Names of God" by Arthur C. Clarke
"The Tunnel Under the World" by Frederik Pohl
"Sandkings" by George R.R. Martin
"The Road Not Taken" by Harry Turtledove

Best of all, every one of the short stories I just mentioned can be found in a single book. "Masterpieces: The Best Science Fiction of the Century" edited by Orson Scott Card. I've been getting more into sci-fi anthologies because it lets you get a good taste of all sorts of things, and even if a story isn't turning out to match your palette, it's over by the time you've realized it.

The stories I took the trouble to actually list are some of the best short story work I've ever read.

Brent wrote: "Thanks to everyone for their help. I read Redshirts (or more than half of it before I became bored). I loved the fun, humor and the fast-paced dialogue..."

If you like funny stuff, I recommend the Space Captain Smith books (though the humour may be a bit too British).

Only Forward, by Michael Marshall Smith. Very weird, constantly moving (the name is not a misnomer!) SF thriller. [The author writes mainstream thrillers under a different version of his name]

The Stars My Destination

Ellie [The Empress] wrote: "The Stars My Destination"

OOO forgot about Alfred Bester-- The Demolished Man is good too.

The Martian, and +1 for Petrovich.

So far the writing quality of Old Man's War is much better than Redshirts (my opinion) and I'm liking it. I also plan to work my way thru the other suggestions here as I have time, so thank you.

I've been busy finishing my own fun, fast-paced novel called Galaxy Fire. I could still use more feedback on the late-stage beta:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I've had some positive feedback including "reads like watching a movie." But then again, other readers might hate the style, so we shall see.

I know this is an old topic, but a slight bump in case someone to adds to the list.

One from me is Dark Matter

Crossover was majorly action packed. I joked in my review that it needed a tag for "High octane thrill ride!"

Marko Kloos' Frontlines (military SF) series is my current favorite. Great action scenes as well.

So far The Collapsing Empire is filling this bill. Fast-paced, hyper-verbal and pretty funny.

DARK MATTER is pretty fast paced but I would go with any of THE EXPANSE books by James Corey as my first choice.

+1 to almost every book mentioned here.
also i enjoyed elliott kay's Poor Man's Fight series, and the bel dame saga, plenty of "fast paced action".

Anything by
John Bowers,
Robert Heinlein,
The Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison,
The Profit Logbook series by Bruce Davis (Bruce C. Davis).

That should keep you busy for a while.
See. I resisted the urge to recommend my own books (grin).

I see Altered Carbon has been mentioned already. I just finished it - again. It moves along.

Scout's Honor by Henry Vogel, and its sequels

Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series, starting with Dauntless

Hmmm... think I'll throw a few books by female authors into the mix. Most of these are both pretty fast paced and have some interesting characters.

Song of Scarabaeus by Sara Creasy

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Games of Command by Linnea Sinclair

I would add the NEXUS series by Ramez Naam and the BRILLIANCE Saga by Marcus Sakey to the list of fast-paced sci fi thrillers.

we have enough books here for a list. any willing souls?

I second previous recommendations:
All You Need Is Kill, Old Man's War, Damnation Alley, Patient Zero (and the rest of the series), and triple recommend anything by Keith Laumar (he's occasionally funny too which is rare in sci-fi).

Without sounding like a Luddite nerd, I would suggest the Horus Heresy series (they're based on Warhammer 40K).

For proper fast-paced sci-fi that hasn't been mentioned, I would suggest:
The Demi-Monde series (Winter is the first book) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9...

Michael Crichton's The Terminal Man and The Andromeda Strain. Interestingly, my library lists both as Fiction, not Science Fiction. A lesson in that, me thinks.

Joseph wrote: "Michael Crichton's The Terminal Man and The Andromeda Strain. Interestingly, my library lists both as Fiction, not Science Fiction. A lesson in that, me thinks."

The lesson being they don't want the stink of genre fiction on them.