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Hey folks,

I'm almost finished with Joe Haldeman's The Forever War, and its an amazing scifi novel. I was wondering if anyone could recommend some other scifi novels that are quite good. I'm generally interested in SciFi depictions of warfare, but SciFi novels discussing social development (i.e. We, 1984) and the phenomenology of time and space are very interesting to me. Thanks in advance!

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Anathem by Neal Stephenson for Monastic/Scholastic sci fi goodness. A Canticle of Leibowitz for an excellent take on post-apocalyptic society and the retention of knowledge. Blind Sight by Peter Watts for an interesting discussion of the nature of consciousness. 

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If you liked We, you might like the works of the brothers Strugatsky. I'm not sure of the quality of the translations, but the plot and character development should be good enough to keep the ball rolling either way. 

 

Of the ones I've seen translated, I would recommend Hard to be a God.

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If you haven't read Dune by Frank Herbert (and some of its sequels), go do that now. It has intergalactic warfare, philosophy of time and space, and an analysis of the nature of civilization all in one. 

 

Otherwise, I'm a fan of Aldous Huxley for deep sci-fi social commentary. If you like absurd comedy, Hitchhiker's Guide is a must read. Long Dark Teatime of the Soul, also by Douglas Adams, is good but deals more in absurd mythology.  

Edited by Nautiloid
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I'm not sure if you like Fantasy/Sci-Fi crossovers, but the Prince of Thorns/King of Thorns/Emperor of Thorns series is really great for post-apocalyptic fantasy/sci-fi.

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I just read a bit on this issue, apparently Starship troopers glorifies war, may be pro-fascist, and may be racist. This ought to be an interesting contrast to Haldeman's anti-war novel that I just finished...

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  • 4 weeks later...

If you haven't read Dune by Frank Herbert (and some of its sequels), go do that now. It has intergalactic warfare, philosophy of time and space, and an analysis of the nature of civilization all in one. 

 

Otherwise, I'm a fan of Aldous Huxley for deep sci-fi social commentary. If you like absurd comedy, Hitchhiker's Guide is a must read. Long Dark Teatime of the Soul, also by Douglas Adams, is good but deals more in absurd mythology.  

 

I second this -- some of the sequels, however, are out of control.

 

Gibson's Neuromancer is a classic...especially if you enjoy things in the vein of Blade Runner.

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I've recently started to read C.J. Cherryh's Faded Sun series. Awesome fictional politics and anthropology in a sci-fi setting.

 

If you like cyberpunk, William Gibson is a good go-to. So is Richard K. Morgan, who incorporates kind of a hardboiled detective attitude. 

 

If you like your science fiction with more of a fantasy element, C.S. Friedman's Coldfire books are a fun read. 

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The Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov is a classic - and a good one, too! It may not depict warfare per se, but it does deal with political intrigue in times of war.

also, the Silo series by Hugh Howey

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