Want sci-fi book suggestions

[ChaoZ]

Specifically ones that involve the discovery of other sentient life. I enjoyed Speaker for the Dead, and Children of the Mind when the characters started searching for the Descoladores.

 

[pontifex]

The Barsoom series by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

 

[dawp]

The Mote in God's Eye

 

[datalink7]

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

 

[Kadarin]

Spin - Robert Charles Wilson
Titan - John Varley (also check out the rest of the trilogy, including Wizard and Demon)
Pandora's Star - Peter F. Hamilton (and the sequel, Judas Unchained)

All of these in some fashion are about the discovery of other sentient life.

 

[Zolty]

Old Man's War and all the subsequent books, great series from a new author.

 

[jonks]

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman.

It's a classic sci-fi novel, pretty short. A vietnam war allegory I believe, as was ender's game. The sequels which I have not read were far and wide not liked by critics or fans so you can just stick to the original, which was terrific.

 

[Oceandevi]

old mans war
forever war both are awesome. forever peace is good. I don't care what critics say. though its not what the op wants.

coyote series is good.

 

[bobross419]

Timothy Zahn's Conqueror's Trilogy was something along these lines. The races were at war, but didn't have an understanding of one another.

 

[surfsatwerk]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_Cantos

this

 

[Merithynos]

David Brin's first Uplift Trilogy - Sundiver, Startide Rising (Hugo Award, Nebula Award), The Uplift War (Hugo Award)
Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep (Hugo Award), and it's prequel A Deepness in the Sky (Hugo Award)
Greg Benford's Galactic Center series - In the Ocean of Night, Across the Sea of Suns, etc

I'll have to second the recommendations for Spin (and its sequel, Axis) and The Mote in God's Eye (and again, its sequel The Gripping Hand).

Originally posted by: jonks
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman.

It's a classic sci-fi novel, pretty short. A vietnam war allegory I believe, as was ender's game. The sequels which I have not read were far and wide not liked by critics or fans so you can just stick to the original, which was terrific.

Forever War and Forever Peace both received the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel the year they were eligible...I think Forever Peace was the only sequel I read, but I remember it as pretty good, and getting both the Hugo and the Nebula is a pretty good indicator of critical acclaim (at least within the genre).

 

[torpid]

Another vote for Hyperion.

 

[Kev]

Originally posted by: dawp
The Mote in God's Eye

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: Merithynos
David Brin's first Uplift Trilogy - Sundiver, Startide Rising (Hugo Award, Nebula Award), The Uplift War (Hugo Award)
Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep (Hugo Award), and it's prequel A Deepness in the Sky (Hugo Award)
Greg Benford's Galactic Center series - In the Ocean of Night, Across the Sea of Suns, etc

I'll have to second the recommendations for Spin (and its sequel, Axis) and The Mote in God's Eye (and again, its sequel The Gripping Hand).

Originally posted by: jonks
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman.

It's a classic sci-fi novel, pretty short. A vietnam war allegory I believe, as was ender's game. The sequels which I have not read were far and wide not liked by critics or fans so you can just stick to the original, which was terrific.

Forever War and Forever Peace both received the Hugo and Nebula awards for best novel the year they were eligible...I think Forever Peace was the only sequel I read, but I remember it as pretty good, and getting both the Hugo and the Nebula is a pretty good indicator of critical acclaim (at least within the genre).

Well I was more referring to Forever Free which is a direct squel to War, dealing with the same characters. It was not well liked. Peace doesn't share the same characters, setting or time, and while thematically similar to War has no real ties in the sense of a proper sequel/prequel.

 

[Taughnter]

My favorite Sci-Fi stuff in no particular order:

1. Pretty much anything by William Gibson
2. Diamond Age and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (Also, Cryptonomicon is an amazing book even if its not really sci fi and I'm sure most of his other books are probably great)
3. "Takeshi Kovacs" trilogy, Thirteen, and Market Forces by Neal Stephenson

And just for your reference, I don't consider any of the above to be similar to Card's books dealing with the piggies/descolada, these are just sci-fi recommendations.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

Well in the Ultramarines Omnibus they discover an Alien species.. but the book doesn't revolve around them. I still recommend as its a fun read. Graham McNeill.

 

[So]

Originally posted by: dawp
The Mote in God's Eye

My personal favorite first contact book, along with it's sequel.

 

[nakedfrog]

How about Childhood's End?

 

[Sentrosi2121]

David Weber: Empire from the Ashes
Good series of books. This book has all three stories in it.

 

[Doggiedog]

Hyperion was excellent.

Childhood's End is one of my favorite Sci-Fi books.

Mote in God's Eye was OK. I suspect it must have been revolutionary when it came out but it is really dated. When I started reading about cassette tape drives I got a flashback to my Commodore 64 days.