Sci-fi recommendations for fantasy fans?

Fantasy and science fiction are shelved together in most libraries. Many people consider them to be practically the same genre. But as many of us know, big fantasy fans are not always (although they sometimes are) big sci-fi fans. I'm definitely one of the "not always" types. I've only read a few works in the genre, and the books I liked best were by C. S. Lewis (The Space Trilogy) and Patricia McKillip (Fool's Run), both of whom were already favorite fantasy authors. However, I enjoyed both of those very much. I figured it I were going to continue with the genre, I had better get suggestions from other fantasy lovers.

As a primarily-fantasy and sometimes-sci-fi fan myself, I'm with ya. Personally, I tend to enjoy sci-fi that has a strong focus on the characters and the cultures, rather than the ooh-shiny tech stuff. With that said, I'd recommend Ursula K Le Guin's sci-fi...The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, and, my personal favorite, The Telling.

I also enjoy certain of C.J. Cherryh's sci-fi titles, specifically the Chanur books and the Foreigner books. She's particularly good at deeply layered, tangled, complex story-lines and richly detailed alien cultures.

I'm sure there are others...I'll have to look over my library later and get back to you.

Do you like Ursula K. LeGuin's fantasy? If so, you might like her science fiction.

One question would be what sort of fantasy do you generally like. That might help people to figure out what science fiction might suit you.

Some high fantasy, but mostly Tolkien, not Robert Jordan. Quite a bit of young adult fantasy. Much in the way of original novels based off of older stories—Arthurian myths, fairytales, that sort of thing. Favorite authors include Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Patricia McKillip, Robin McKinley, Lloyd Alexander, Edith Nesbit....

I personally have a lot of trouble lately trying to figure out what is science fiction and what is fantasy. There isn't a clear demarcation anymore, and lots of overlap.

Given that, I'd suggest you look at steampunk/cyberpunk as a beginning as that tag seems to bridge the gap between hard core sci fi and the less twinkly types of fantasy.

Specific recommendations:

The Diamond Age mainly because it has elements of both, and is a good tale, with action and tech but still has a lot of elements of whimsy.

Alchemy of Stone which is about a girl robot, or, as they call her in steampunk, an automaton. And gargoyles.

Also Leviathan which pictures a word where half the nations of the world adopted technology, and the other half instead opt to go with Darwinian genetic manipulation to create creatures ( like flying whales rather than zeppelins) rather than machines, for advancement.

I'm a big reader of both, and I also love YA fiction - I might recommend some YA science fiction to get you started. They often have a heavier focus on character than on science, and can be really interesting. There's a recent trend of near-future YA stuff that's been really great, like Life as We Knew It, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, Unwind, The Hunger Games.

Then there's stuff that walks the genre line so close that it's a little tough to classify - a lot of Anne McCaffrey's works do this, especially her Dragonriders of Pern books. I think The Knife of Never Letting Go does too, and it's a fantastic read.

I'd also suggest Westerfield's Uglies triology, Kress' Beggars in Spain, and Scalzi's Old Man's War for good sci fi reads and interesting characters.

Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan series. Either start with Miles' parents story (Shards of Honor and Barrayar which have also been published in an omnibus edition as Cordelia's Honor, or start with Miles in The Warrior's Apprentice. Wonderful books.

> 7 Oh, yes, I absolutely second the Vorkosigan recommendation! If Cordelia's Honor doesn't grab you (it didn't me, my first time through), def. jump ahead to The Warrior's Apprentice.

Third the Vorkosigan recommendation. I don't read much science fiction, but have always enjoyed them.

The Vorkosigan books are good if you can stand Miles. He grates on me more and more as time goes by. He never gets over his me-centric worldview.

Dune of course, Fantasy set in space.

2nd the CJ Cherryh, Bujold and Anne Maccaffery books too. All of whom write both SF and fantasy.

If you like the big Epic fantasy style quest series than you'll probably also like a lot of Space Opera. There's a few recent threads discussing some good titles in this subgenre.

I read a lot of fantasy and some sci-fi. I would recommend Ancient Shores or Engines of Gods by Jack McDevitt. Also Grimspace by Ann Aguirre

I enjoy 'culture clash' sci-fi rather than technowhizz, that is to say, books which explore what it is to be human by contrasting it with the alien. C J Cherryh does this beautifully, but also recommended are:

Code of Conduct by Kristine Smith

Hellspark by Janet Kagan

Beholder's Eye by Julie E Czerneda

Something weird is going on. All my touchstones worked.

It feels like I've just been recommending this for everyone, but The Witches of Karres is a fun blend of spaceships and magic, which might make a good way to ease you into the SF world. In a similar vein, you might enjoy Pat Murphy's SF retelling of the Hobbit, There and Back Again by Max Merriwell. (She has this three book thing where she wrote an SF book by Max Merriwell and a fantastical adventure story as Max Merriwell writing as Mary Maxwell and a romantic SF adventure book about a character named Pat Murphy who meets an author named Max Merriwell who wrote the above named books. It's complicated.)

Also, if you can somehow get hold of Doris Egan's Ivory trilogy, it also is a blend of SF and fantasy, as an anthropology student marooned on another world becomes the assistant to a magician.

Anyway, I nth the recommendations for Bujold and Le Guin. You might have already read A Wrinkle in Time, but if not, it's great YA stuff. Tanya Huff is another writer who does both fantasy and SF. Her Valor Confederation series, which begins with Valor's Choice, seems pretty good, although I have only read one book in the series.

Sharon Shinn is another author that stradles the fantasy and SF line. Her Archangel series in particular leans more towards fantasy or SF in various books.

A lot of Andre Norton's older books are crossover sf/fantasy. I would also recommend Elizabeth Moon's Once a Hero (and the rest in that series) and Vatta's war series (Trading in Danger and others). Also Tanya Huff's Valor series and Bujold's Vorkosigan books, as mentioned above.

Some science fiction that reads like fantasy:

Orson Scott Card's Treason and Wyrms
Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun

The Vorkosigan books came to mind as soon as I saw the title of this thread; but I see just about everybody has got there before me. LoisMcMaster Bujold also writes fantasy.

Anne McCaffrey has other series which seemed more sci-fi to me - the Crystal Singer, the Lion's Pride series (off the top of my head, so I'm a bit vague on those).

Charles Stross's Merchant Clan books are alternate world, but with guns and computers. And Roger Zelazny's Amber series is similar - they are more fantasy than sci-fi, I suppose, but with technology.

Hope that helps.

Try Sheri S. Tepper, who writes very character driven and culturally oriented SF. Enthusiastically agree with LeGuin recs in #2.

If you're feeling very ambitious, Dan Simmons two book epic, Ilium and Olympos a retelling of Homer's epic with lots of other wonderful stuff thrown in.

You might like Wen Spencer. Tinker and Wolf Who Rules are sci-fi/fantasy mixes (magic, mechanics, and space travel!). Endless Blue is also good, with more sci-fi elements.

Marion Zimmer Bradly's Darkover series would probably work.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

What about Sternberg's Lord Valentine's Castle and the rest of the Majipoor series?

The Steerswoman's Road by Rosemary Kirstein is a good scifi series that seems like a fantasy until you get a bit into the story and learn what's really going on.

I like fantasy but only a few scifi titles and most of them are older classics (Asimov, Heinlein etc) I'm not one who gets into all the "details" of the science - really looking for good stories and good characters that are just set in the future or in space. To that end I recommend Quarter Share by Nathan Lowell - it is a story of ordinary people making a living "in the Deep Dark". It reminds me a lot of Two Years Before the Mast but with Solar powered ships instead of 3-mast ones.

Oh man, I can't believe I forgot about Connie Willis. Along the lines of LeGuin, her SF is very social-science oriented. She has a series about historians who use time travel to investigate various periods of history, as well as some other stand alone books. I thought To Say Nothing of the Dog was great fun.

Along with the McCaffrey books mentioned earlier, there's also her Brainship series, starting with The Ship Who Sang about a future where spaceships are cyborg-esque (people with severe physical problems who can't live without complete life support have implants put in their brains so that they become part of the ship, controlling all of its functions just as they would have their bodies).

Or try Restoree, an early stand-alone book that's quite enjoyable!

I would recommend The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K LeGuin. It's a brilliant story, wildly imaginative and moving.

Lots of good suggestions here. I'd add to that list Alfred Bester, Richard K. Morgan (Altered Carbon), and Iain M. Banks (The Player of Games). I also enjoyed David Feintuch's Seafort Saga, at least the first three installments. Most particularly, though, I'd recommend A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.

I used to always stick to fantasy and avoid sci-fi. I've since started to open up to more sci-fi, although I still prefer fantasy. My favorite sci-fi author by far is Isaac Asimov. So far I've adored everything I've read by him. My goal is to actually read everything he's written. I can't even put into words how much I am in love with his books. I started with the Foundation series, although my favorite series by him is the Robot Mysteries (Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, Robots and Dawn, and Robots and Empire). The standalone books are great too. Obviously not everyone will love Asimov as much as I do, but I wanted to throw him out there.

> 27 Restoree is a great suggestion! I loved that book. Plus the cover is really really silly.

There's a lot of Gene Wolfe that mixes sci-fi with fantasy. Two recent novels are An Evil Guest and The Sorcerer's House.

Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series --there's 7 total, starting with Split Infinity -- and are a true blend of science fiction & fantasy--2 genres in one series! (There are 2 connected worlds, one scientific, "Proton", and one magical, "Phaze"). A very unique story, but not difficult to read at all, despite being 7 books long.

One of the classics for me was The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. It was published as Sci-fi, but it's really a fantasy world. After reading it I thought it should be classified as Horror! Short good read...

Almost anything by Ray Bradbury, a man who is often classified as a science-fiction author although his literary voice and topics are much more in line with the conventions of fantasy. Much of Larry Niven's work, particularly that he co-authored with Jerry Pournelle (Legacy of Heorot, Oath of Fealty) and with Steven Barnes (Dream Park first among those), is very accessible to fans of adventure fantasy, while being science fiction in the strictest sense.

I agree with everyone who's mentioned Anne McCaffry's work, and would also recommend Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein. Just make sure that you get the unabridged version!

I've always wondered why so many sci-fi authors are obsessed with sexual practices, but that's another conversation.

Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's Liaden Universe books, starting with Agent of Change--great space opera series, great transition from fantasy, Nathan!

I tend to read mostly fantasy, but I really love the scifi novel This Alien Shore. And I would second the recommendation for Scalzi's Old Man's War series.

More thumbs up for Connie Willis and Lois Bujold! I'd also recommend Louise Marley, who is another author who straddles the two genres.

Lots of good suggestions!

I'll second (or third or . . .) the Miles Vorkosigan and Liaden Universe series, and Lathe of Heaven and Alfred Bester, particularly The Stars My Destination and The Demolished Man.

>23 ronincats: That's Silverberg. The first Majipoor books are good indeed, but I've found the later ones varying from sort of OK to total cr*p (Mountains...).

Big fan of both genres except usually "hard" science or the most lazy-mainstreamy fantasy that contents itself with chucking modern PoV heroes in fantasyland (as far as I'm concerned, the Connie Willis books land right there)...

Anyway I'll second the Dune & Vorkosiverse suggestions, and anything SciFi by Le Guin especially what she wrote in the Ekumen/Hain universe.
Love Cherryh but I wonder if it's really good advice here, at least in what I've read in the Alliance/Union universe so far she's big on infodumps and (social) scientific-reports-like prose.

The Darkover & Pern series are good, though I enjoyed them as an adolescent and would probably find most of them "light" reading now.

Haven't seen them mentionned so far in this thread, but Divine Endurance would probably fit the bill too. The Fifth head of Cerberus as well.

All books that touch topics related to social sciences, identity, self & the other, sense of wonder

Charles Stross' books in the Merchant Universe are pretty fantasy-friendly: a feudal culture, with travel between that one and our own. Parallel universes.

The Family Trade is the first; followed by The Hidden Family, The Clan Corporate, The Merchants' War, The Revolution Business, and The Trade of Queens. I quite liked them.

I definitely second Lord Valentine's Castle and the rest of the original Majipoor trilogy, which by now have become classics. I think Majipoor Chronicles is possibly the best short story collection I've ever read. I'd also back up the recommendations for Dune and Dragonflight.

I'll also support the love for Asimov's Foundation series. I find the action in his universe of robots and psychic powers is very rules based, similar to what you'd find with a lot of fantasy magic systems (e.g. most of what Brandon Sanderson cooks up). I enjoy seeing how creative they're able to get within the imposed boundaries.

Another huge fantasy reader who's only dabbled in sci-fi occasionally here.

My favorite sci-fi books are Joan D. Vinge's Snow Queen and its sequels. There's an epic-ness to the story that satisfies that same area of my psyche that a good fantasy will hit.

I personally have a lot of trouble with current novels as far as categorizing them. There is so much cross-over any more between fantasy and sci fi (steampunk, cyberpunk etc as well). I think it's a good thing.

Just read the blurbs and pick what sounds interesting.

From Gwyneth Jones' personal blog,
http://www.boldaslove.co.uk/blog/index.php?serendipityaction=search&serendipitysearchTerm=divine&serendipitysearchButton=%3E

When I first drafted Divine Endurance, while living in Singapore, I went on to write several “Derveet and the gang” stories. DE the novel is as stylised as Javanese dance-drama. The emotions are real and intense, everything else is stage: same as European style ballet, in fact. I wanted that effect but I thought I'd also like to have the characters in their street clothes, and find out what really happened to the men and boys. I wasn't satisfied with the "Derveet" stories and discarded most of them. I thought this was more successful, and I took it along to my first UK Milford.

If you want to start with YA science fiction, you might want to try the Young Wizard series, which starts with So You Want to Be a Wizard?. They are somewhere in between fantasy and science fiction. There is magic and wizardry, but the magic is done by making equations and such like. There are also many worlds and aliens, both normally found in science fiction.

Another YA science fiction book would be Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card. It is science fiction, but the setting is very medieval and fantasy like.

I agree with the recommendation of Leviathan. The world building is excellent, and there are beautiful illustrations...

I second (or third?) Connie Willis as well. You might like her The Doomsday Book as well as To Say Nothing of the Dog.

I also recommend the books by Sheri S. Tepper which are very character driven with a lot of focus on religious analysis.

Which none recommended as yet and which is one of my favourite books is More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon. It is a very short book, but it is such a brilliant read worth reading again and again.

A few oldies but goodies,
Glory Road by Robert A. Heinlein , Helliconia Trilogy by Brian W. Aldiss and The Last Starship From Earth by John Boyd

Peter Hamilton's Void Trilogy has a fantasy-like sub-plot. The rest is pretty typical space opera though.

Sylvia Engdahl has some lovely fantasy/scifi mix books -- Enchantress from the Stars is probably better known but I love her Children of the Star trilogy as well.

I would also second whoever said Sharon Shinn; I've never read anything by her I didn't like. Some of her more sci-fi oriented stuff I particularly like includes Wrapt in Crystal and Heart of Gold.

Try some Jack Vance stuff - a lot of his science fiction is quest based - "Planetary Romance". Notably the Planet of Adventure series - City of the Chasch, Servants of the Wankh, The Dirdir, & The Pnume. The hero crashes a space ship, sword fights across continents, solves puzzles and ends up in a dungeon adventure.