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[andythinkpad]

I moved to a office position in my company that has a lot of wonderful down times. Since I haven't read any new SciFi novel in a year I am turning to ScifiGAF for good recommendation that fits these descriptions:

* No alien
* No world war or intergalactic war background, or at least not focus on it
* No post apocalyptic setting
* No small community setting

I cleaned up my SciFi audiobook collection folders recently and I realized a lot of my favorites books share a common theme. I can't quite put my finger on it so feel free to point them to me.

For example these are some of my all time favorite sci-fi novels I have read and listen multiple times:
Stephenson's Diamond Age, Anathem, Joe Halderman's The Accidental Time Machine, Gibson's Necromancer and his new book The Peripheral, Heinlein's Friday etc etc.

I think what make me keep coming back to these book are the rich alternate societies and alternate cultures. Of course I still need a good story to tie the book together. For example in a lot of longer books Stephenson obsessed too much with the over world building and forgot about his plots and characters. Maybe what I like is exploring how human society will evolve realistically without alien or nuclear apocalypse?

 

[Large Professor]

I assume you've read Show Crash since you list Diamond Age as one of your favorite books?

Also, this flowchart might help: https://i2.wp.com/www.sfsignal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/NPRFlowchart.jpg

 

[HotHamBoy]

The story of one man's blinding quest for revenge:

 

[purdobol]

It's hard to find sci-fi by this criteria. But i think these suggestions more or less fit the bill.

Isaac Asimov - Foundation trilogy: Yes there's apocalypse looming on the horizon, the are talks about war etc. But the books are not at all about that.
Robert A. Heinlein - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress: Maybe to small community, but interesting nonetheless.
George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four: It's a classic worth reading.
Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451: Another dystopian future, and another classic.
Harry Harrison - Make Room! Make Room!: Overpopulation could be a problem someday.
Brian Aldis - Non-Stop: When the ship is the whole world. May not be what you're looking for but will reccomend it anyway
Brian Aldis - Hothouse: This is bizzare world and bizzare sci-fi. Mindfuck of a book.
Stanisław Lem - The Futurological Congress: It's not an easy read, like most Lem's books. But it's worth it.
Stanisław Lem - Return from the Stars: Cosmonaut return to his homeworld and finds Earth to be quite different.
Janusz A. Zajdel - Limes Inferior: This is my favorite sci-fi book. And it's exactly what you're looking for with a neat tweast. Don't know if english translation exist though.

Hope you'll find at least one book you'll like in here. Happy reading/listening!
EDIT: Oh and if you like Gibson and cyberpunk give a novel series "Labyrinth of Reflections" ( Sergey Lukyanenko) a shot. They're pretty good

 

[sans_pants]

I see bester has been mentioned, but add the demolished man


I rep strugatsky bros as often as possible: hard to be a god, definitely maybe, the doomed city, roadside picnic


for heinlein id add door into summer and stranger in a strange land

 

[andythinkpad]

It's hard to find sci-fi by this criteria. But i think these suggestions more or less fit the bill.

Isaac Asimov - Foundation trilogy: Yes there's apocalypse looming on the horizon, the are talks about war etc. But the books are not at all about that.
Robert A. Heinlein - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress: Maybe to small community, but interesting nonetheless.
George Orwell - Nineteen Eighty-Four: It's a classic worth reading.
Ray Bradbury - Fahrenheit 451: Another dystopian future, and another classic.
Harry Harrison - Make Room! Make Room!: Overpopulation could be a problem someday.
Brian Aldis - Non-Stop: When the ship is the whole world. May not be what you're looking for but will reccomend it anyway
Brian Aldis - Hothouse: This is bizzare world and bizzare sci-fi. Mindfuck of a book.
Stanisław Lem - The Futurological Congress: It's not an easy read, like most Lem's books. But it's worth it.
Stanisław Lem - Return from the Stars: Cosmonaut return to his homeworld and finds Earth to be quite different.
Janusz A. Zajdel - Limes Inferior: This is my favorite sci-fi book. And it's exactly what you're looking for with a neat tweast. Don't know if english translation exist though.

Hope you'll find at least one book you'll like in here. Happy reading/listening!
EDIT: Oh and if you like Gibson and cyberpunk give a novel series "Labyrinth of Reflections" ( Sergey Lukyanenko) a shot. They're pretty good

Thank you! I have read half of the books on the list but I will definitely wiki/read the rest. Yes I am a big cyberpunk fan. Although some of the early ones read like brief description of Second Life/MMO nowadays. Only some of them touch on the consequences of cyberpunk reality, which is eventual dissolution of Westphalian nation state.

 

[Arttemis]

Daniel Suarez - Daemon is a the novel equivalent of a popcorn tech-apocalypse flick, but it was a very fun read. I haven't gotten around the the sequel yet, though.

 

[iosefe]

To expand on the Asimov suggestions, I recommend the 4/5 Robot novels as well as The End of eternity.

 

[LoveCake]

One my favorite books is Eon by Greg Bear.

This the info from Amazon:

From the New York Times–bestselling author of War Dogs: A novel that ”may be the best constructed hard SF epic yet" (The Washington Post).
In a supernova flash, the asteroid arrived and entered Earth's orbit. Three hundred kilometers in length, it is not solid rock but a series of hollowed-out chambers housing ancient, abandoned cities of human origin, a civilization named Thistledown. The people who lived there survived a nuclear holocaust that nearly rendered humanity extinct—more than a thousand years from now.
 
To prevent this future from coming to pass, theoretical mathematician Patricia Vasquez must explore Thistledown and decipher its secret history. But what she discovers is an even greater mystery, a tunnel that exists beyond the physical dimensions of the asteroid. Called the Way, it leads to the home of humanity's descendants, and to a conflict greater than the impending war between Earth's superpowers over the fate of the asteroid, in ”the grandest work yet" by Nebula Award–winning author Greg Bear

My rather tatty copy.

 

[Magic Mushroom]

Ian McDonald's River of Gods, Brasyl and The Dervish House might be right up your alley. They're award winning cyberpunk novels set in non-Western countries.

 

[paradise_circus]

Philip K. Dick's most books aren't post-apocalyptic and they are great.
I recently read the Nexus trilogy by Ramez Naam, it was pretty good imo.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch is similar to the Nexus Trilogy.

 

[butzopower]

Altered Carbon is pretty good. Red Mars would also fit your criteria except the sort of small community at the beginning. Both are part of trilogies but also readable just on their own.

 

[andythinkpad]

Thank you guys. Keep the recommendations coming.

 

[a very cute dog]

It breaks one of your rules, but I'm really enjoying Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson. It's the first book in a trilogy detailing the exploration and colonization of Mars. It deals a lot with small group dynamics and the interesting politics that such a situation as colonization/terraforming would entail. It's pretty far removed from aliens, space battles, etc.

 

[lastplayed]

Dan Simmons' Hyperion? I think that meets your criteria (it's been a while since I read it)

 

[SynthFetish]

Dune.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Dune.

But it's about war between royal Houses.

 

[Carn82]

Hyperion is great, I also loved the followup, Endymion. Will post more tomorrow!

 

[cackhyena]

Ancillary Justice.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

Dan Simmons' Hyperion? I think that meets your criteria (it's been a while since I read it)

That first novel isn't about a war specifically, but there is a war going on both in a thematic sense and a literal sense, which comes to the forefront of the story by the second book in the series.

 

[HStallion]

Roadside Picnic might work for you OP. I guess it could be argued its somewhat Post Apocalyptic and Alien related but I think the book is strong enough that its worth the read none-the-less. Its a Russian classic by the Strugatsky brothers and is about Earth after aliens came and went without so much as really noticing us. They left behind all manner of mysterious artifacts, some with incredible power and some insanely dangerous in around heavily lock downed and quarantined areas called zones. People know as Stalkers enter the zones and risk their lives or worse to try and find this left behind scraps from a pit stop on an alien races long journey across the stars. Excellent stuff. Its the inspiration for the movie Stalker and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.

 

[Joyful]

Nexus by Ramez Naam
House of Suns - Alastair Reynolds (could have war i forgets)
eon by greg bear is a good book, +1 to that rec

Illios by dan simmons is technically based on the trojan war but i remember it being more about mystery's, so i recommend it anyway

 

[sans_pants]

Roadside Picnic might work for you OP. I guess it could be argued its somewhat Post Apocalyptic and Alien related but I think the book is strong enough that its worth the read none-the-less. Its a Russian classic by the Strugatsky brothers and is about Earth after aliens came and went without so much as really noticing us. They left behind all manner of mysterious artifacts, some with incredible power and some insanely dangerous in around heavily lock downed and quarantined areas called zones. People know as Stalkers enter the zones and risk their lives or worse to try and find this left behind scraps from a pit stop on an alien races long journey across the stars. Excellent stuff. Its the inspiration for the movie Stalker and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.

I haven't read a Strugatsky Bros book I didn't like. Closest was probably Noon: 22nd Century or The Final Circle of Paradise, but their prose is so good they are all great

 

[The Shadow]

Altered Carbon is pretty good. Red Mars would also fit your criteria except the sort of small community at the beginning. Both are part of trilogies but also readable just on their own.

This was going to be my recommendation based on that criteria as well. Very Neuromancer-esque, with the exception that the main character seems somewhat OP.

 

[gforguava]

Based on your criteria and previous likes I would say:

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

 

[FrankCanada97]

I would recommend The Windup Girl, Hugo Award winning novel set in Bangkok.

Edit: Beaten

 

[andythinkpad]

Roadside Picnic might work for you OP. I guess it could be argued its somewhat Post Apocalyptic and Alien related but I think the book is strong enough that its worth the read none-the-less. Its a Russian classic by the Strugatsky brothers and is about Earth after aliens came and went without so much as really noticing us. They left behind all manner of mysterious artifacts, some with incredible power and some insanely dangerous in around heavily lock downed and quarantined areas called zones. People know as Stalkers enter the zones and risk their lives or worse to try and find this left behind scraps from a pit stop on an alien races long journey across the stars. Excellent stuff. Its the inspiration for the movie Stalker and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.

The Stalker film is based on a book and share the same universe and the game? I had no idea.

 

[KingV]

I have a few that might qualify by an author I've been reading lately: Peter Clines

14: some dude moves into an apartment that has some very strange shit going on, gets together with the neighbors to figure it out. It's a good mystery with some twists I never saw coming
The Fold: a guy is hired to look into a government project that is going off the rails. Lots of weird shit happens, cool twists.
Ex-heroes: Technically post apocalyptic, but recommending anyway. Essentially there are superheroes protecting a bunch of people in a movie studio in post zombie apocalypse Los Angeles. Has interesting take on zombies and heroes. Additionally has like three sequels that are also good.

 

[Machine]

How about some Kurt Vonnegut? Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five probably fit your criteria. Some of his others as well.

 

[Ratrat]

Paprika by Yasutaka Tsutui
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi

 

[HStallion]

The Stalker film is based on a book and share the same universe and the game? I had no idea.

The game is loosely inspired by the movie and book. A Roadside Picnic is also very different from the movie Stalker outside of the premise and basic themes and ideas. Both are excellent for very different reasons.

 

[Any Questions]

The game is loosely inspired by the movie and book. A Roadside Picnic is also very different from the movie Stalker outside of the premise and basic themes and ideas. Both are excellent for very different reasons.

Am investigating right now

 

[jesu]

Sounds like you need Alistair Reynolds.

 

[Carn82]

Sounds like you need Alistair Reynolds.

Pretty much my favorite scifi writer for about a decade now, I believe I have all his books. Not sure if it fits OPs criteria tho.. But I can recommend everyone to read his Revelation Space series. I also really liked Pushing Ice.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Roadside Picnic might work for you OP. I guess it could be argued its somewhat Post Apocalyptic and Alien related but I think the book is strong enough that its worth the read none-the-less. Its a Russian classic by the Strugatsky brothers and is about Earth after aliens came and went without so much as really noticing us. They left behind all manner of mysterious artifacts, some with incredible power and some insanely dangerous in around heavily lock downed and quarantined areas called zones. People know as Stalkers enter the zones and risk their lives or worse to try and find this left behind scraps from a pit stop on an alien races long journey across the stars. Excellent stuff. Its the inspiration for the movie Stalker and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.

Reading it right now, almost done. It's quite good.

I recommend the original movie Stalker, too. Very different, trying to say different things with the source material, but very good.

It's on Filmstruck. Watch Solaris while you're at it.

And for that matter, the novel Solaris is another recommendation for OP.

 

[Syncytia]

Pretty much my favorite scifi writer for about a decade now, I believe I have all his books. Not sure if it fits OPs criteria tho.. But I can recommend everyone to read his Revelation Space series. I also really liked Pushing Ice.

The Prefect and Chasm City I think hit all the OPs criteria, mostly. Revelation Space and Pushing Ice don't fit what the OP is looking for but they're very good books.

Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson is good, but it might break the small community idea. It's an arkship going to a new planet.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Sounds like you need Alistair Reynolds.

More specifically The Prefect. That would be my recommendation.

It could be said it is a spin off of the Revelation Space series, but it doesn't deal with aliens or war that OP is looking to avoid. (but all of them deal with transhumanism, that I think is one of the themes OP is looking for. )

Chasm City did feel post apocalyptic, imo.

 

[ilium]

Ursula K. Le Guin's Hainish Cycle for more alternative/speculative society with an ethnographic bend.

Maybe Stanislaw Lem? Golem XIV are the only recorded lectures by an super advanced AI about mankinds evolution and future shortly before it's ascend to a new plane of consciousness.
Solaris is a classic but there's technically an Alien involved..
The Star Diaries is basically The Adventures of Baron Munchausen in space.
The Cyberiad. Two Robots on epic quests muse about mankinds relation to technology and the ideal society. There may be Dragons involved.

I think Lem can be hard to read at times but he's mostly great and especially the last two can be pretty funny and absurd.

Dan Simmons - Hyperion Cantos. Just have to recommend it, galactic war is present but not the focus in the first book which can be read alone, as is was intended anyway.

 

[a very cute dog]

Reading it right now, almost done. It's quite good.

I recommend the original movie Stalker, too. Very different, trying to say different things with the source material, but very good.

It's on Filmstruck. Watch Solaris while you're at it.

And for that matter, the novel Solaris is another recommendation for OP.

A bit off-topic here but Tarkovsky really was a genius, wasn't he?

 

[Hilbert]

Get some Silverberg in your life! He can be a little dated, but he has good ideas.

To Live Again
The Second Trip
To Open the Sky
The Book of Skulls
Shadrach in the Furnace
The Time Hoppers
The Tower of Glass
Dying Inside

All worth reading IMO.