Sci-Fi reading in the 21st century?

[0iD]

When I were younger, I liked a bit of Sci-Fi/Fantasy reading, but it's been positively years since I read any fiction at all. In fact, as I recall, the last books I read were by Stephen Donaldson, Harry Harrison, Julian May, Anne McCaffrey, Eric Van Lustbader, Heinlein, Asimov etc etc (Never liked Terry Pratchett).

So you get the feel for what I did read, and I'm feeling in the market now to get into the genre again & I'm looking to the Hexus masiv' for some suggestions & pointers as to what's hot in Sci-Fi/Fantasy reading these days.

[Funkstar]

SciFi:
Ian M Banks

Fantasy:
Robin Hobb
Fiona McIntosh
J.V. Jones

[kalniel]

Sci Fi:
Neal Stephenson
Peter F Hamilton
Ian M Banks

Fantasy:
George R.R. Martin
Robin Hobb (who is this hobbs Funkstar mentions? )

If you don't mind books supposedly written for younger readers, then:
Philip Pullman,
Jonathan Stroud

[Funkstar]

Aslo Jasper Fforde is good, may not be your thing though. Also read a few Tom Holt books.

I bought a book called Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg that has several shorts by some current sci-fi fantasy authors. Might be worth a look. I haven't read any more from the authors (other than Terry Pratchett) but it was years ago I got it and I wasn't really into high fantasy at the time. keep meaning to re-read it and see what I like.

[GaryRW]

+1 for Iain M Banks. I am in the same boat at the OP, and Banks' stuff is all I've really followed. If anyone can recommend anyone similar, I'd be very happy

FYI - he also writes as Iain Banks without the 'M'. That's his more normal fiction stuff, still worth reading, but probably doesn't fit your criteria.

[staffsMike]

I like some of the books by the above but I would actually read Dan Simmons above any of them. Illium is a great book but he's done a good few worth reading

[jimbo90210us]

+1 again for anything written by Iain M Banks
+1 for Peter F Hamilton as long as not the Nights Dawn trilogy as I found the first one very long and a bit heavy, others by him such as Fallen Dragon and the Greg Mandel books are excellent.

Here's another author to throw into the mix. David Feintuch wrote a six book series about Nicholas Seafort which was very readable.

[Funkstar]

FYI - he also writes as Iain Banks without the 'M'. That's his more normal fiction stuff, still worth reading, but probably doesn't fit your criteria.

Some of the material published under Ian Banks is fairly high fiction as well. It might not exactly be Sc-Fi (not like the Culture series of books, which are pretty awesome) but they can be a pretty demanding read, and very enjoyable too. Worth a look. The Bridge for instance is fantastic.

[GheeTsar]

Probably only just in the Sci-fi genre, but John Wyndham's books are surprisingly relevant today, despite their age (Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos, Chocky, etc).

Also, +1 for Iain M Banks

[thavala]

micheal chricton is the master

[nightkhaos]

+1 for Peter F Hamilton as long as not the Nights Dawn trilogy as I found the first one very long and a bit heavy, others by him such as Fallen Dragon and the Greg Mandel books are excellent.

-1 You haven't read Science Fiction until you have read four thousand pages (in three books) worth of science fiction.

Don't forget the Commonwealth and Void series. The Void one is a new one, set a few hundred years after the Commonwealth. For best effect read these series, and the related book, Mispent Youth in the following order:

Mispent Youth --> Commonwealth --> Void.

[glutamate]

It's funny to think that Sci-Fi will be a bit pointless a few thousand years in the future, when we have all the fantasy technology we read about in modern novels.

[nightkhaos]

It's funny to think that Sci-Fi will be a bit pointless a few thousand years in the future, when we have all the fantasy technology we read about in modern novels.

They will still have Sci-Fi, and they will still treasure the classics. Take 1984 for example, we don't read it for a reflection of what 1984 was like, we read it for a reflection of what 1948 was like.

[Flibb]

Big scifi and fantasy fan here, modern and classic. Some of the best I've read over the last few years has been published by the Black Library, they are the literary wing of games workshop. Dan Abnett is one of their best and well worth looking up. Other than those above I would look for

Scifi
Walter John Williams. Hardwired is an excellent cyberpunk novel, and the Praxis series one of the best modern scifi series i have stumbled acros.
William Gibson, start with Neuromancer.
Dune. I actually prfer the modern books over most of the original Frank Herbert ones, start with The Butlerian Jihad.

Fantasy
David Gemmell. Start with Waylander, one of teh best fantasy books around, his Troy series are also excellent, but I cant think of a sile book he wrote I didnt enjoy.
David Eddings. The Belgariad is a good series, along with the Malloreon and the elenium, think he lost his way after that.

have to repeat myself about the games workshop titles, many are excellent, and thats from somebody thats not in to the games. Currently have around 650 books on various shelves and for a group of books these get my vote. Horus Heresy is a good series to start with, or just grab a Dan Ablett title, Titanicus is a good stand alone.

[pollaxe]

Not a big fan of sci-fi but for fantasy I thoroughly recommend:
Peter Morwood - The Horse Lord, The Demon Lord, The Dragon Lord and The Warlord's Domain. Also His Prince Ivan series and his prequels to the first three, Greylady and Widowmaker.
Mary Gentle's Ash: A Secret History and 1610 Sundial in a Grave.
Kim Newman Anno Dracula, The Bloody Red Baron and Dracula Cha Cha Cha.
Bernard Cornwell's King Arthur series (The Winter King, Enemy of God and Exacalibur) are brilliant too.

[shaithis]

another +1 for Iain M Banks (Inversions is an oddball as far as the Culture series goes though and Feersum Enjin is by far the hardest book I have ever read)

My personal all-time favorite author though is Brian Lumley....especially the (rather large) Necroscope series of books. It's both SciFi and fantasy, with a heathy dose of horror thrown in for good measure also