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Post by thorneel on Jun 27, 2017 21:24:22 GMT
Any recommendations for hard sci-fi that takes a deeper look into mature interplanetary/interstellar civilizations' cultures, societies or communities? While there are some sci-fi books that look deeper into this, the only hard sci fi I've found that goes in this direction is the three body trilogy, but even in this series truly mature civs are only mentioned in passing in the third book. Lockstep introduces an incredibly elegant way to have interstellar civilization without FTL by synchronized bouts of mass suspended animation. I'd really recommend it. Haveing yet to read it, I'm still not convinced that that solution would be actually sustainable, but maybe the author develops great arguments, thanks for the recommendation. House of Suns that I mentioned earlier is set in a mature galaxy, and its main characters are part of one of the most powerful factions out there. One book is a bit short to have a comprehensive look at something as vast as a mature galactic meta-civilisation, but it is quite fascinating nevertheless. (And again, it actually manages to put the Big Space Opera Tropes in an impressively hard, if full of clarketech, SF setting)
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Post by elputo on Jun 16, 2018 17:32:04 GMT
^Orions' arm or the Eldraeverse (blech) might suit you.
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Post by thorneel on Jul 2, 2018 20:41:13 GMT
I recently read that Lumpkin is intending to finish the trilogy after his current work (the videogame Terra Invicta) and possibly another one. It is still on his todo list, and maybe the intervening years will improve on the points that have so irked @remington One can be optimistic...
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Prancer
Junior Member
Jousting in space. We're all Knights of the Stars.
Posts: 57
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Post by Prancer on Jul 3, 2018 18:38:16 GMT
The Lost Fleet series is a great series revolving around fleet combat. I'd call it medium-hard SF as it features fully newtonian physics, realistic weaponry and time scales, non-FTL communications (they communicate by laser) and the accompanying command and control issues that arise as a result. But it does feature FTL travel, artificial gravity, and whatnot.
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Post by thorneel on Jul 3, 2018 23:08:05 GMT
After House of Suns, I recently finished Pushing Ice from the same author. One day, Janus, the moon of Saturn, breaks orbit to leave the Solar System. The comet mining ship Rockhopper ship close enough is sent to investigate. Of course, when moons break orbit without apparent propulsion mechanisms, no-one expects things to go as planned. If Alastair Reynolds had tackled the galaxy-spanning Space Opera as a hard SF in the former book, this one is more mature version but also somewhat jaded of Rendezvous with Rama. The Rockhopper crew is much more numerous, enough to form a small society. They will face greater hardships, but also more (and stranger) answers, twists and untwists, fleeting but meaningful joys, friendships and rivalries, and ultimately a fate that did somewhat surprise me. Alas, being more precise would go very fast into spoiler territory. As in other of his books, The Universe is an ancient, uncaring and impossibly vast place upon which any human endeavour will look insignificant. But it is uncaring, not mean, and ultimately a stage for more personal stories that, despite their ultimate insignificance upon the grand scheme of things, still end up feeling significant. If you like Reynolds' style of hard SF, I highly recommend this one. And again, he is one of the few SF authors out there with a solid grasp of the scales involved (hence the ancient, vast Universe) and who won't handwave them or their consequences, like travel times, power levels required for interstellar propulsion or the Fermi paradox, just because he wants space opera or aliens. That's kind of refreshing. The Lost Fleet series is a great series revolving around fleet combat. I'd call it medium-hard SF as it features fully newtonian physics, realistic weaponry and time scales, non-FTL communications (they communicate by laser) and the accompanying command and control issues that arise as a result. But it does feature FTL travel, artificial gravity, and whatnot. A pretty good one indeed, recommended for fans of military space opera. The premise of The Lost Fleet is also interesting. While books about That One Super-Genius Space Admiral are rather common, this one puts a spin on it. This one is definitely competent, though not uncommonly so. Or rather, it was not uncommon before he accidentally spent the next century in a cryogenic escape pod. Now, attrition rates have been so high on both sides that there wasn't enough veterans left to train the next generation, and subsequent next generations rarely survived long enough to learn by themselves. So the hero is suddenly the brightest tactician in the galaxy simply for having completed his officer course and participated to a decent number of naval exercises.
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Post by gedzilla on Dec 30, 2019 13:31:57 GMT
Has anyone here read the Enders Game prequel books ? The ones about the first and second formic wars
Also, are there really that means corrupt and terrible people in militaries ? I mean i know militaries can be very corrupt, but sometimes the officers seem cartoonishly bad
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