The Sword and Laser discussion

I enjoy a good science fiction/fantasy yarn as much as the next guy, especially those that hold a mirror to humanity, exposing what it is to be human, but I struggle with many of the more popular science fiction novels because of mainly two things:

1. Too much exposition! I can't handle endless world building and technobabble. I believe that a skilled author can weave this sort of thing into the story in a seamlessly minimal fashion...just enough to get my imagination going. I will never argue that Lord of the Rings or Dune are not classics of their genres, but they are not for me personally.

2. Characters that I can't relate to. I need characters that underneath their superpowers, or alien features is an emotional core that I can relate to. I particularly like stories about an everyman caught in extraordinary circumstances.

If there is anyone here that can help me discover some (preferably within the last decade) science fiction/fantasy novels, I would be extremely grateful. I also enjoy following a character through a good series if possible. Thanks in advance :)

So let me get this straight, you have a problem with exposition but you are currently reading the Dark Tower series? Oooookay. I know Stephen King is always wordy but I can think of a few of his novels where I could have cut the novel in half and enjoyed the book more.

If you want scifi pulp fiction, the only one I can think of off the top of my head right now is the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. He writes about one book a year and they are light and fun reads. I've only made it through book three but I know he's up to twelve books right now.

Nathanael wrote: "I enjoy a good science fiction/fantasy yarn as much as the next guy, especially those that hold a mirror to humanity, exposing what it is to be human"

You might try The Hyperion Omnibus by Dan Simmons. The overarching issue at the core of the series is how humanity will evolve to live in "the final frontier." It has fantastic character-development. The third and fourth books in this series feature the quintessential everyman, Raul Endymion.

Nevan wrote: "Nathanael wrote: "I enjoy a good science fiction/fantasy yarn as much as the next guy, especially those that hold a mirror to humanity, exposing what it is to be human"

You might try The Hyp..."</i>


Nevan is [book:The Hyperion Omnibus all four of the books in the Hyperion Cantos series or are those different? I haven't read any Dan Simmons but I did have Hyperion marked as a possible future read.

@Nick:

The The Hyperion Omnibus (Hyperion & The Fall of Hyperion) and Endymion Omnibus (Endymion & The Rise of Endymion) comprise the four books of the Hyperion Cantos. There is a period of almost 300 years between the omnibuses, so they can be read individually. However, within the omnibuses, the pairs of novels essentially form a single narrative.

Have you tried Jack McDevitt? His work spans more than a decade but he is still publishing. I originally got hooked reading Ancient Shores. His characters are pretty everyday. For example one of his reoccurring characters is Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins who works as spaceship pilot for a science institute. The plots often revolve around her getting dragged into events when something goes awry on an off world expedition. The are two caveats I have to recommending him. One is that a lot of his stories are more mystery with science fiction window dressing and the other is that they are occasionally a little slow placed.

My other recommendation would be James Alan Gardner and the League of Peoples books.