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Some good sci-fi that is not (or used to not be) that well known is:
- Children of Time. Really interesting concept that pays off huge.
- Ancillary Justice (and the two other books in the series). Really interesting worldbuilding. Best series since Dune in making human society in the far feature feel strange but yet familiar.
- Murderbot Diaries. Well known now when it has its own Apple show.
- We are legion, we are Bob (Bobiverse books). The first ones are really funny, I haven't read the new ones since I felt they started going into kind of a rut.
Kind of a mashup between sci-fi and fantasy is Dungeon Crawler Carl. It's not exactly unknown considering how much they have blown up. It's a LitRPG, a genre that generally produces utter shit. This series is actually amazing. It's exactly the kind of crude, action based drivel I hate. But I love it. In fact I love it so much I've read the 7 books that are out twice and are now listening to the audiobooks.
By the way, I fucking hate audiobooks. But the guy reading these is some kind of genius and they are genuinely better in this format.
I would describe them as the best kind of junk comfort food. Like if you love hamburgers this is not the fancy burger you get at a decent restaurant. And it's certainly not a shitty burger from McDonalds. No, this is is the greasy burger meal from the mom and pop hamburger joint you grew up with.
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Are the sequels to "Ancillary Justice" any good? I found the first volume pretty meh. The plot barely moved and the worldbuilding was rather shallow compared to series like ASoIaF or the Expanse. We've learned that they like tea a lot, worship Hindu (?) gods, take slave-soldiers from conquered worlds, and have sentient spaceships. But I like how the split consciousness of the spaceship was written.
From my side, I can recommend "Accelerando" by Charles Stross. It's a SF novel about Earth going through singularity.
Also "The Mercy of Gods" by James Corey was pretty good. An interesting take on humanity being conquered by aliens. The aliens are, indeed, very alien.
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On March 11 2026 03:25 maybenexttime wrote:
Are the sequels to "Ancillary Justice" any good? I found the first volume pretty meh. The plot barely moved and the worldbuilding was rather shallow compared to series like ASoIaF or the Expanse. We've learned that they like tea a lot, worship Hindu (?) gods, take slave-soldiers from conquered worlds, and have sentient spaceships. But I like how the split consciousness of the spaceship was written.
From my side, I can recommend "Accelerando" by Charles Stross. It's a SF novel about Earth going through singularity.
Also "The Mercy of Gods" by James Corey was pretty good. An interesting take on humanity being conquered by aliens. The aliens are, indeed, very alien.
I liked the entire series but I can't remember if it picks up the pace. Stuff definitely happens though.
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Okay, good to know. Thanks!
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On March 10 2026 05:26 CuddlyCuteKitten wrote:
Kind of a mashup between sci-fi and fantasy is Dungeon Crawler Carl. It's not exactly unknown considering how much they have blown up. It's a LitRPG, a genre that generally produces utter shit. This series is actually amazing. It's exactly the kind of crude, action based drivel I hate. But I love it. In fact I love it so much I've read the 7 books that are out twice and are now listening to the audiobooks.
By the way, I fucking hate audiobooks. But the guy reading these is some kind of genius and they are genuinely better in this format.
I would describe them as the best kind of junk comfort food. Like if you love hamburgers this is not the fancy burger you get at a decent restaurant. And it's certainly not a shitty burger from McDonalds. No, this is is the greasy burger meal from the mom and pop hamburger joint you grew up with.
I need to second this. Dungeon Crawler Carl is awesome. This is the purest form of entertainment and I f'ing love it.
The comparison with junk food actually hits home with incredible accuracy.
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On March 23 2026 19:23 Harris1st wrote:Show nested quote +On March 10 2026 05:26 CuddlyCuteKitten wrote:
Kind of a mashup between sci-fi and fantasy is Dungeon Crawler Carl. It's not exactly unknown considering how much they have blown up. It's a LitRPG, a genre that generally produces utter shit. This series is actually amazing. It's exactly the kind of crude, action based drivel I hate. But I love it. In fact I love it so much I've read the 7 books that are out twice and are now listening to the audiobooks.
By the way, I fucking hate audiobooks. But the guy reading these is some kind of genius and they are genuinely better in this format.
I would describe them as the best kind of junk comfort food. Like if you love hamburgers this is not the fancy burger you get at a decent restaurant. And it's certainly not a shitty burger from McDonalds. No, this is is the greasy burger meal from the mom and pop hamburger joint you grew up with. I need to second this. Dungeon Crawler Carl is awesome. This is the purest form of entertainment and I f'ing love it. The comparison with junk food actually hits home with incredible accuracy.
Have you read Operation Bouncehouse?
It's not as good as DCC (a lot slower start) but it's essentially Dinaman seeing how many actual political/technological/social issues he can pack into a book while writing a story that feels 0% political.
Of course the basic premise is a bit unbelivable but it's the same thing when you are entertained but once you think about it you realize the entire situation is extremely horrible.
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On March 23 2026 23:11 CuddlyCuteKitten wrote:Show nested quote +On March 23 2026 19:23 Harris1st wrote:On March 10 2026 05:26 CuddlyCuteKitten wrote:
Kind of a mashup between sci-fi and fantasy is Dungeon Crawler Carl. It's not exactly unknown considering how much they have blown up. It's a LitRPG, a genre that generally produces utter shit. This series is actually amazing. It's exactly the kind of crude, action based drivel I hate. But I love it. In fact I love it so much I've read the 7 books that are out twice and are now listening to the audiobooks.
By the way, I fucking hate audiobooks. But the guy reading these is some kind of genius and they are genuinely better in this format.
I would describe them as the best kind of junk comfort food. Like if you love hamburgers this is not the fancy burger you get at a decent restaurant. And it's certainly not a shitty burger from McDonalds. No, this is is the greasy burger meal from the mom and pop hamburger joint you grew up with. I need to second this. Dungeon Crawler Carl is awesome. This is the purest form of entertainment and I f'ing love it. The comparison with junk food actually hits home with incredible accuracy. Have you read Operation Bouncehouse? It's not as good as DCC (a lot slower start) but it's essentially Dinaman seeing how many actual political/technological/social issues he can pack into a book while writing a story that feels 0% political. Of course the basic premise is a bit unbelivable but it's the same thing when you are entertained but once you think about it you realize the entire situation is extremely horrible.
Not yet but it is on my list
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Currently reading Wind and Truth and House of Chains... Memories of Ice was just too good, idk if HoC can be better although i thought the same about Deadhouse Gates
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Do you, guys, have any recommendations of non-English SF/fantasy? I think it often gets overlooked.
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On April 04 2026 23:23 maybenexttime wrote:
Do you, guys, have any recommendations of non-English SF/fantasy? I think it often gets overlooked.
I heard that La horde du contrevent by Alain Damasio is awesome but I wasn't able to find it in English. If you can read French I guess you could give it a go.
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On April 05 2026 08:04 Manit0u wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2026 23:23 maybenexttime wrote:
Do you, guys, have any recommendations of non-English SF/fantasy? I think it often gets overlooked. I heard that La horde du contrevent by Alain Damasio is awesome but I wasn't able to find it in English. If you can read French I guess you could give it a go.
Thanks for the suggestion. I read in Polish, English, and Russian. According to Amazon, there will be an English translation of this book available around November this year.
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Great news, gotta preorder then 
Edit: Nice, should arrive by the end of October.
Edit2: From the Polish stuff you might enjoy the Steel Rats series by Michał Gołkowski (Stalowe Szczury). An alternate history where WW1 didn't end, Zeppelins are the pinnacle of war machines etc. Very gritty trench warfare stuff.
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On April 04 2026 23:23 maybenexttime wrote:
Do you, guys, have any recommendations of non-English SF/fantasy? I think it often gets overlooked.
I liked Winter's Promise (Mirror Visitor). I believe it is french (?) but translated to english by somebody.
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On April 04 2026 23:23 maybenexttime wrote:
Do you, guys, have any recommendations of non-English SF/fantasy? I think it often gets overlooked.
I read the english translation of the "Watch" series from Sergei Lukyanenko. I remember beeing quite smitten by his style and the story back then.
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On April 14 2026 18:31 Harris1st wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2026 23:23 maybenexttime wrote:
Do you, guys, have any recommendations of non-English SF/fantasy? I think it often gets overlooked. I read the english translation of the "Watch" series from Sergei Lukyanenko. I remember beeing quite smitten by his style and the story back then.
I have the first volume on my bookshelf. I might bump it up my on reading list. It's so long, though. :-(
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EPT
