(Part 2) Top products from r/sciencefiction

Well done, that is an excellent list and took a lot of effort by you. Respect.

I have been entranced by Science Fiction for 30 years. I have noticed that tastes change over time and these days it isn't easy for me to find new books. Which simply means new readers enjoy a different tale - excellent.

Consequently I hesitate to recommend SF books because my memories are caught in the loom of youth. Stories resonate with a time and place.

There are SF authors who are worth exploring. Eg. Stanislaw Lem, A E Van Vogt, Alfred Bester, Frederich Pohl, Larry Niven, Harry Harrison etc etc. But if you find a book hard work that's ok - put it down and try another author.

My advice is to read short stories. There are some wonderful collections and the beauty is you can skip on to the next story when interest lags.

https://www.amazon.com/Great-Science-Fiction-Short-Stories/dp/0380507730

This sounds awesome man! Going to grab it after work today, I recently published my first novel too, the combo of mythology and science fiction massively intrigues me too, love that you're writing in this area! I'm really intrigued by the convergence of esoteric / occult narratives with science fiction, would love to exchange notes on the writing and publication process with you:

CYCLE: A People's History

• That's because I published the work in a 6 x 9 inch format in 12 pt font, rather than the conventional 4.25 x 6.87 format -- again, first time author. Granted, it is a little short, even for a novel -- it presently stands between Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fahrenheit 451 in length, by word count.
  
• I'm not sure what you're implying by saying that. I'm far from an established author.
  
• Mostly because, as much as I'm aware of its imperfections, I'm satisfied with its final result. I've received as much critique as I think the book needs at this point. If major flaws emerge, I might consider a second edition.
  
• My book is available on Amazon here. I chose to publish through Lulu so that I might have a little more control over the publishing process. Looking back on it all, I'm not sure if I'd do that again.
  
• Mostly to share an idea and to entertain. I'm already blown away with the sales this has made as it is. If you're feeling more the latter than the former, I won't blame you -- and for that reason, I've kept the short stories that made up the outline of my first draft, for you to be able to enjoy in full, here.

I loved Flowers for Algernon. A true classic.

Thirteen (US)/Black Man (UK) is a great novel by Richard Morgan with a pretty insane antagonist that should fit what you're looking for.

http://www.amazon.com/Thirteen-Richard-K-Morgan/dp/0345480899/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1395172304&sr=8-1&keywords=Thirteen+morgan

• Gene Wolfe (Book of the New Sun)
  
• Ursula K LeGuin (any entry point in the Hainish universe stuff is probably fine, if you want to start from the beginning start here otherwise try maybe The Left Hand of Darkness or The Dispossessed)
  
• CJ Cherryh (I'd suggest trying Downbelow Station)
  
• Michael Marshall Smith - Only Forward
  
• China Mieville (maybe Perdido Street Station)
  
• Samuel R Delany (Dahlgren)

Pat Cadigan has a book called Patterns that are some excellent short stories

https://www.amazon.com/Scientific-Romance-Novel-Ronald-Wright/dp/0312199996


Seems like there's one left

As far as straight up alien, I would have to go with Flux by Stephen Baxter. It's about a species of engineered micro humans that live on the surface of a star.

Runner up would have to be Genesis Quest by Donald Moffitt, which is about an alien race in a distant galaxy that have recreated humans on their planet after receiving our genetic information in a broadcast from the Milky Way.

Peter Hamilton - The Night's Dawn Trilogy

Book 1

Robert Heinlein's Friday

Or a bigger one.

Mass Effect: Revelation
http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-Revelation-Drew-Karpyshyn/dp/034549816X

Diaspora by Greg Egan

Blueheart by Allison Sinclair is about a colony on a water world that is reaching a crisis point between the first settlers who were genetically altered to make living on a aquatic world easier, and the settlers who came after the colony was established and were never altered. There's a lot of tension between the two groups that could spark civil war.

It's got politics and economics, and is still pretty topical for some of its themes.

Gimme a fucking break.

FOUR entries for Hugh Howey? And three of them are about the same (meta)series?

What a joke.


Obvious omissions include:

The Dog Stars

The Passage

Through Darkest America

I Am Legend

And more...

Gateway by Frederik Pohl.

The Player of Games by Iain Banks.

Startide Rising by David Brin.

Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh.

A Fire upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.