Science fiction books?

[CrazyCrab]

Hi everyone,
I want to buy my future stepfather a book for christmas but I know very little about sci-fi.
Any suggestions? It has to be relatively popular as I need it in French.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Albino Boo]

You could try Ian M Banks. http://www.amazon.fr/Iain-M-Banks/e/B000APXAVG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 . L'Algébriste is stand alone story and not part of the culture novels.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I always recommend William Gibson's work. It's not traditional sci-fi, per se, and it's definitely not space opera style sci-fi, but it's damn amazing. Some of it is also available in French.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I would recommend anything by Phil K. Dick but his work might be a little too trippy by future stepdad standards.

 

[[REDACTED]]

The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov is an all-time favourite for me. It's a little light on the "sci" half of sci-fi, but if the phrase "Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire IN SPACE" intrigues you at all, you need to check it out.

I guess it all depends on whether your future stepdad can tolerate a book that's basically all dialogue and scheming.

 

[Fdzzaigl]

I'd vote for Jack Vance, he died this year (in May) at the venerable age of 96. He's one of the greatest scifi authors in my eyes, while also having a huge impact on things like Dungeons & Dragons, or George R.R. Martin and his Song of ice and fire series.

For sci fi, a good place to start with him would be Planet of Adventure (collection of 4 novels) or the Demon Princes series. His Cadwal Chronicles are also good, but a bit heavier.

It's available in Dutch, so I'm sure those will be out there in French as well.

 

[Me55enger]

Needs to be popular and in French?

Bit my tongue.

...

Best I can offer is a truly excellent book called Metro: 2033. It was originally wirtten in Russian and has been translated into English. The reason I suggest it is because if it was translated into English, it is most likely in French also.

Plus it's a great read.

I would look it up but I'm drunk and I need to see if I can keep my friends whilst not carrying and dying alot during the laning phase. Sorry.

EDIT: Also anything by Philip K. Dick. If you want something slightly less controversial than Man in His HIgh Castle and less pretentious than Do Andriods Dream of Electric Sheep?, try Cantata 140.

 

[RyQ_TMC]

Depends what end of science fiction he prefers, but here's some that I know are available in French:

Anything by Greg Egan (La Cité des permutants is probably his most famous one) if he's more into ideas than story. Because Egan is really good with what-if weird-yet-scientifically-accurate ideas, but can't write a good story to save his life. I'd recommend his books for the more "hard sci-fi" crowd.

Solaris by Stanisław Lem, because it's one of the best books about contact with a truly alien intelligence ever written. Sadly, the only edition available is apparently one released when that awful Soderbergh flick hit theaters.

Or here's something more soft SF, but well-written, recent and should be readily available at any bookstore. The Windup Girl (La fille automate) by Paolo Bacigalupi. It's near future, and plays with twin ideas of ecological catastrophe and post-fossil fuel energy markets.

 

[yamy]

Definitely some good recommendations here already.
Jules Verne is a nice (French) writer on the fringes of both SF and literature, nice if you'd like a classy gift.

Aside from that, my personal recommendations would be 'The Martian Chronicles' by Ray Bradbury or 'Rendezvous With Rama' by Arthur C Clarke. They are two very solid Golden-Age Sci-fi writers.

Hope you find a good gift!

 

[EmilShmiengura]

You could try Ian M Banks.

I agree. Any Ian M Banks will do as he's probably read classics like Asimov. You'll find most of them in French on Amazon, I used to see them in bookstores here in France also.

Or here's something more soft SF, but well-written, recent and should be readily available at any bookstore. The Windup Girl (La fille automate) by Paolo Bacigalupi. It's near future, and plays with twin ideas of ecological catastrophe and post-fossil fuel energy markets.

Very interesting also.
But if you don;t feel like taking a chance a good Philip K. Dick collection ( a "collected novels" or "collected stories") is something that's guaranteed to please any true SF fan, even if he's probably already read them.

 

[FalloutJack]

]The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov is an all-time favourite for me. It's a little light on the "sci" half of sci-fi, but if the phrase "Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire IN SPACE" intrigues you at all, you need to check it out.

I guess it all depends on whether your future stepdad can tolerate a book that's basically all dialogue and scheming.

Much of Asimov's work is worthy, though I would shy away from Nemesis. It was a bit crap. Go for the Robot Series.

Additional:

Slaughterhouse-5
1984
The Futurological Congress
War with the Newts
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Martian Chronicles (Or hell, most anything by Bradbury)

 

[Shock and Awe]

Definitely Starship Troopers, its an absolute classic and there are definitely french translations to be had.

 

[Cyb0rgSlay3r]

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke. There are those that dislike its narrative structure and style, but some, including myself, consider it his best novel. It also has a French version.

http://www.amazon.fr/enfants-dIcare-Arthur-C-Clarke/dp/281120945X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387664358

 

[skywolfblue]

If he'd be more interested in something more Space Opera-ish:

The Commonwealth Saga [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Saga] + The Void Trilogy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Void_Trilogy] by Peter F Hamilton (Pandora's Star, Judas Unchained, The Dreaming Void, The Temporal Void, The Evolutionary Void), or "L'Étoile de Pandore" as the title of the French version of the first book is called. This is one of my favorite series, books that have multiple well-written and separate characters are rare, these books pull it off in excellence. Facing wars and threats from within and without. They're relatively recent, so I doubt your stepfather has read them yet.

I would recommend the Dune series as well, but my guess would be that he's probably already read it.

 

[MetalDooley]

Not a massive sci-fi fan myself but I'd recommend some older authors like H.G Wells(eg The Time Machine or The War of the Worlds),Jules Verne(20,000 leagues under the sea) or Edgar Rice Burroghs(The Martian Chronicles).Probably a better chance of finding french translations for those ones as they're considered classics(plus jules verne was french)

 

[Albino Boo]

Not a massive sci-fi fan myself but I'd recommend some older authors like H.G Wells(eg The Time Machine or The War of the Worlds),Jules Verne(20,000 leagues under the sea) or Edgar Rice Burroghs(The Martian Chronicles).Probably a better chance of finding french translations for those ones as they're considered classics(plus jules verne was french)

Err the Martian chronicles are by Ray Bradbury. I think you mean the John Carter of Mars books.

 

[Araxathan]

Most works of Kurt Vonnegut would be good, there's a lot of good suggestions by other users, Starmaker by Olaf Stapledon is quite good as are most of his works.

 

[dyre]

If your stepfather wants first class literature that happens to be science fiction, get Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. Also, also pick that if he likes dystopian sci-fi. Atwood presents a much more believable picture of the end of the world than the likes of Orwell or Huxley (though of course they are also great writers).

If he just wants excellent sci-fi (great fiction with a good dose of science), get Isaac Asimov's The Gods Themselves. Imo this is a better book than any of his Foundation series and since it's a bit less famous there's a better chance your stepdad didn't already read it.

If he likes political sci-fi (that is, sci-fi with themes relevant to society), I'd recommend Joe Haldeman's The Forever War.

An honorary mention, but if your stepfather is interested in either GMOs or Southeast Asia, definitely ignore my previous suggestions and get Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl.

]The Foundation series by Isaac Asimov is an all-time favourite for me. It's a little light on the "sci" half of sci-fi, but if the phrase "Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire IN SPACE" intrigues you at all, you need to check it out.

I guess it all depends on whether your future stepdad can tolerate a book that's basically all dialogue and scheming.

hey, Foundation has a great deal more "sci" than a lot of modern sci-fi!

 

[Tom_green_day]

Well the legends are Arthur C Clarke and Isaac Asmiov. I haven't read any Asimov but I recommend Clarke or Philip K Dick. Ian Banks is a bit shit in reality, I couldn't get into him.