Science Fiction Beach Reads

Post date: 2021-05-07 00:38:58

Please share all the books and series you haven't been able to put down! I am in dire need of some fun reading and would love recommendations from the Green as you all have suggested books that have become favorites over the years. I'm looking for science fiction (please feel free to interpret the genre broadly) that's engrossing and fun but not completely retrograde or badly written. More details within.

I'm open to both individual books and series, and prefer books on the newer side (say the last 10-15 years) to decrease the probability of blatant -isms and other grossness. Strong plotting is really important, and good character development is a major plus. I'm not too much of a stickler on world-building or hard scifi accuracy.

Here are some examples of authors/books/series I've read that are along the lines of what I'm looking for:
The collected works of Becky Chambers, Ann Leckie, N.K. Jemisin, Rebecca Roanhorse, Karen Russell, Vernor Vinge, Ben Winters, and John Scalzi.
Martha Wells' Murderbot series
The Expanse series
Micaiah Johnson's The Space Between Worlds
Adrian Tchaikovsky Children of Time series
Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire series

I've tried the Culture Series and the Vorkosigan Saga and liked them fine but not enough to commit to the series. I've also read all of Discworld, which is maybe a little goofier than I want right now, but I'm open to suggestions along those lines too.

Here are some popular books and authors I didn't care for:
This Is How You Lose the Time War (just not for me)
Cory Doctorow (I can't pinpoint why but I'm just not a fan)
Catherynne Valente (I liked Silently and Very Fast, but not any of her other books I've tried)
Ada Palmer (I feel like I should like her, but her writing irks me)
The Bobiverse series (characters need more personality than a list of fandoms)

And here are some science fiction authors I love whose books aren't quite what I'm looking for right now, but maybe will help generate some ideas:
Octavia Butler
The Strugatsky Brothers
Nick Harkaway
Ursula K Le Guin
Samuel Delany
Margaret Atwood

Thanks all!

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