Recommend me some good Science Fiction Novels

[Spineyguy]

Ian M. Banks, the Culture novels. Great SF, really well written (if profane at times) and they will swallow whole weeks of your life if you let them.

Virtually anything by Dan Abnett, he is so reliably excellent that it really doesn't matter what you read. Personally, I loved Titanicus.

 

[endnuen]

As someone else said, Metro 2033 is well worth the read.
So is Dan Simmons "Hyperion" and "Endymion".

And I've just started Frank Herbert's "Dune", so fa, very interesting.

 

[ulizez89]

Since every is giving excellent (but kind of popular) answer. I'll give you a hidden gem ^_^

"The Ophiuchi hotline"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ophiuchi_Hotline

 

[Toaster Hunter]

Dune, by Frank Herbert. The later books are not as well written, but still awesome and the first one is one of the best pieces of fiction ever written.

Also, I liked Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. Its nothing like the movie.

 

[kurupt87]

I can only reiterate recommendations to read Iain M Banks. Peter F Hamilton is also a great read. Go go British Sci-Fi authors.

I just checked Dan Abnett out at last, he is extremely popular on this site, and have downloaded a couple of samples. He's penned some Doctor Who novels as well as his 40K stuff, who knew? I certainly didn't.

I'll also recommend the EVE Online book, EVE: The Empyrean Age. It was really very good, although it did have one minor problem. The author used the phrase, "I could care less". Twice. Naturally this made me rage, a wordsmith not understanding the meanings of the words he puts on the page. But apart from that it was a good read. You don't need to know anything much about the game either, it explains itself and the setting very well.

Julian May's Saga of the Exiles is criminally underrated.

Also, The Algebraist by Iain M Banks, again. His normal Sci-Fi is the Culture series and they are fantastic, my favourite books. This book is a stand alone Sci-Fi novel (so I actually thought it was by a different author and it took me a while to track it down because I kept ignoring Banks) and is well worth the read.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

Enders Game. The action is well done, the characters are likeable, and it has a stance on war this ISNT just "AMERICA IS DOMINATE" that makes for one hell of an ending.

 

[Patrick Buck]

I saw the title, and was about to recommend Gaunt's Ghosts, but you've read them..... Hmmmm. Firefly comics? I've heard they're good.... Not novels though.

 

[Legiondude]

....and a couple of Asimov's short stories.

Well since you're browsing Asimov anyways, take a look at the Robot/Empire/Foundation series. Have you read The Last Question [http://www.multivax.com/last_question.html]? That was some mind blowing stuff

But I want something new.
I've heard good things about Ender's Game, but they also say the later books become gay bashing rants

What?

No seriously, I have all the books(inlcuding the Shadow series), I've never caught this. Then again I missed what was so terrible about Xenocide [http://xkcd.com/304/] so maybe i was just too caught up enjoying the series as a whole to nitpick.

I'd also recommend the Forever War and Starship Troopers as mentioned earlier. I also own a copy of "Have Space Suit, Will Travel", but I haven't read it so I can't really recommend it, sounds cool though. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/HaveSpaceSuitWillTravel?from=Main.ptitlejmjfnb3h]

EDIT:
Oh my God I almost forgot Fahrenheit 451

Also, "Signal to Noise" by Eric Nylund(of Halo novel fame) and it's sequel. Good reads IMO

 

[Joepow]

If you haven't read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, stop everything you're doing and READ IT NOW.

I want to second this recommendation, but only for the first book. I'm halfway into the third right now and it feels like they forgot to add jokes after the first one (although the story is more interesting).