General / Off-Topic Your best INTELLECTUAL space exploration/colonization sci-fi book?

[Droid_orat]

I urgently need something to keep the hype while away from my rig.

All suggestions are welcome!

 

[Ian Phillips]

Reality Dysfunction by Peter Hamilton.

 

[Chrystoph]

Not sure what you mean by Intellectual, but Tunnel in the Sky by Robert Heinlein is a very good story.

 

[peteuplink]

Reality Dysfunction by Peter Hamilton.

Yup! I'll go with this and the other two books in the Nights Dawn Trilogy, The Neutronium Alchemist and The Naked God.

 

[Kazacy]

If you watch the new series on SyFy, The Expanse, try the books. Very good hard sf.

 

[Geraldine]

If you have the time.....Red/Green/Blue Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, also (if not), Encounter With Tiber by Buzz Aldrin & John Barnes.

 

[Lheim]

I'll second the Mars trilogy. Awesome books, epic scale, hard sci fi.

 

[goemon]

I'm still a fan of stanislaw lems books, "His Master's Voice" meets "intellectual" at best, while "Peace on Earth" is probably the most "colonization" (and inspired the amazing expanse, i'm sure about that!)

 

[CaptainKremmen]

I liked the "Orphans of Earth" trilogy (Sean Williams & Shane Dix). Flawed in some ways, but some great moments.

 

[Kurdran]

The Expanse.

The show on SyFy has some amazing production quality and a really good script/cast.
The books are awesome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanse_(novel_series)

 

[Sethur]

Revelation space and sequels by Alastair Reynolds

 

[sndle9]

The Gap Cycle (5 books) by Stephen R. Donaldson

It has some unfortunate subject matter in places (reminded me of 'A Clockwork Orange') but if you can get past that, it's an excellent series.

 

[Spruxxx]

2001: A Space Odyssey (sorry if obvious but def read the book, not just the movie!) - Arthur C Clarke
The Forever War - Joe Haldeman
Gateway - Frederik Pohl
The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester
The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch - Philip K (if you want something truly mindbending [big grin])

 

[BanzaiZAP]

Robert Foward's Dragon's Egg and Starquake are some great sci-fi about human's discovering life on a Neutron Star.
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester is also a classic (Seconding the above mention) and mixes in some teleportation.
Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion and Rise of Endymion are by Dan Simmons, and are galaxy-spanning epics.

 

[Zieman]

Revelation space and sequels by Alastair Reynolds

This. Revelation Space with its sequels & prequels, novels & short stories, the whole lot.

 

[Wile_E]

Yup! I'll go with this and the other two books in the Nights Dawn Trilogy, The Neutronium Alchemist and The Naked God.

These are among my favourites too, like all books by Hamilton. Neal Asher has made great works too. His Polity series rivals Hamiltons Commonwealth in detail and the Owner trilogy was a riveting read. The Brits seem to have a knack for speculative fiction.

Great sources for ship names too.

 

[Hell Razor5543]

I would suggest the "Gap Cycle" series, by Stephen Donaldson. Can get very dark (and I don't mean the Black of Space).

 

[Genar-Hofoen]

If you're into military sci-fi I recommend the Star Carrier series by Ian Douglas

Also the Culture series of books by the late Iain M. Banks.

 

[Tiamat]

I quite liked A Requiem for Homo Sapiens by David Zindell.