Me too at times but when someone wants you to recoment a book they probably dont want a sci fi shooter.

Like if i said 'can someone recomend a good red wine to go with steak im cooking tonight', if you replied 'have you tried peanut butter ice cream, it tasts great'... well its a nice tip but its not going to help with my meal

Love Starship Troopers, one of my favorite books. Break it out and reread it every couple years. Just about anything by Robert A. Heinlein is worth reading IMO.

I also highly recommend the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell, start with Dauntless.

As a sideline, sorta related. If you haven't seen it, and can find it, I highly recommend the Prophets of Science Fiction, it was a series of documentaries on the Science chanel.

I read space captain smith (i think its called that) a year or so ago, that was fun as it pokes fun at all the 'classic' sci fi conventions and was also funny in its own right.

Speaking of sci-fi books made after games, The Mass Effect books are ok (Revelation, Ascension, Retribution), readable, decent sci-fi.

The Mass Effect books are ok (Revelation, Ascension, Retribution), readable, decent sci-fi.

I need to check those out someday. I loved the ME universe.

Huge Alestair Reynolds fan here, especially "The Prefect", but everything I've read is great from him. I've recently discovered John Lumpkin with "Through Struggle, The Stars" and "The Desert of Stars", and was completely blown away. It's really excellent hard military sci-fi (very much based in physics), with a both a tactical and strategic/geopolitical view of the conflict described. Everything is extremely well thought out, and just feels real, from hardware, to characters, to motivations of countries going to war.

Well for First Contact, I can't recommend anything better than watching Star Trek: First Contact :P

Again....the OP wanted to *read* BOOKS...

Well there's the novelized version

The graphic novel, Saga, recommended by another member here.

Working my way through Rebels: A New Dawn, it's ok, but it needs Chopper to bring it alive a bit more.

An oldie but a goodie is Who Goes Here? By Bob Shaw - messes around with sci-fi conventions and is humourous to boot.

The writing quality is pretty poor.

While it wasn't a book, Edge of Tomorrow was an excellent film. I was literally on the edge of my seat a few times, quite drawn in by what was taking place.

Groundhog's Day meets Independence Day.

A good, long, space opera series is The Lost Fleet series and spin-offs.

http://www.goodreads.com/series/41101-the-lost-fleet

the author takes a pretty realistic view of space combat and good personal interactions. I'm on my third listen-thru of the series (all are available as audiobooks).

Not lately, that's the pity. The Golden Age of Sci-Fi is over, nowadays the market is dominated by spin-offs from movies and - yikes - games. I recommend C.J. Cherryh.

And the classics, Philip K. ****, Larry Niven, the Strugackij brothers, Stanislaw Lem, Clifford Simak, Ray Bradbury, Frederick Pohl.

Starship Trooper is a rare example where I prefer the movie over the book. If you can get your hand on it, the DVD commentary by the director is hilarious.

******* Censorship, the man's name is Philip K. D_I_C_K, live with it, FFG.

I've got to disagree here. We live in the age of Iain M Banks (RiP), Alastair Reynolds, Vernor Vinge and Peter F Hamilton. This is the second golden age

David Weber's Honorverse books as the best military sci-fi.

At least the best where the author is still alive and writing.

Reread the entire series this year. Definitely worth a look.

Starship Troopers is great. Don't be fooled by the movie.

Not lately, that's the pity. The Golden Age of Sci-Fi is over, nowadays the market is dominated by spin-offs from movies and - yikes - games. I recommend C.J. Cherryh.

And the classics, Philip K. ****, Larry Niven, the Strugackij brothers, Stanislaw Lem, Clifford Simak, Ray Bradbury, Frederick Pohl.

Starship Trooper is a rare example where I prefer the movie over the book. If you can get your hand on it, the DVD commentary by the director is hilarious.

******* Censorship, the man's name is Philip K. D_I_C_K, live with it, FFG.

I've got to disagree here. We live in the age of Iain M Banks (RiP), Alastair Reynolds, Vernor Vinge and Peter F Hamilton. This is the second golden age

James SA Corey belongs in that list, I think. Even if he is actually two people.

If anyone is into land based combat then John Ringo's Legacy of Aldenata series is a must read.

Humankind serves as mercenaries for other civilizations to gather technology for Earth defence.

Bolo series is also very good.

As mentioned before Honorverse for space combat. I finished the main series and now reading into Saganami series.

Overall, good characters, that you regret them dying. Lots of details on the space tactics and a well thought universe

As mentioned before Honorverse for space combat. I finished the main series and now reading into Saganami series.

I strongly recommend reading the main series, anthologies, House of Steel, Saganami Island and Crown of Slaves series in order of publication. Not by series.

Not lately, that's the pity. The Golden Age of Sci-Fi is over, nowadays the market is dominated by spin-offs from movies and - yikes - games. I recommend C.J. Cherryh.

And the classics, Philip K. ****, Larry Niven, the Strugackij brothers, Stanislaw Lem, Clifford Simak, Ray Bradbury, Frederick Pohl.

Starship Trooper is a rare example where I prefer the movie over the book. If you can get your hand on it, the DVD commentary by the director is hilarious.

******* Censorship, the man's name is Philip K. D_I_C_K, live with it, FFG.

I've got to disagree here. We live in the age of Iain M Banks (RiP), Alastair Reynolds, Vernor Vinge and Peter F Hamilton. This is the second golden age

James SA Corey belongs in that list, I think. Even if he is actually two people.

Well it was sort of known in publishing that for years 'Terry Pratchett' just put his name to and tweaked books by other people. Its very obvious in his later stuff where the entire writing style and tone changes and he's clearly been too ill to rewrit it in his own style.

Night Watch is full of dark brooding pathos and totally unlike the books before it or after it.

In the same way lots of people can write episodes of Dr who but the main character are set in stone, pretty much anyone could write a funny script using the set up discworld universe and characters with pratchett as 'overseer'.

I digress from sci fi to fantasty but its not unknown for successful franchises to be under the initial authors name but 'ghost written' by people with fresh ideas.

Just finished reading Death Star. It is an anthology (of sorts) of stories about characters and events set on and about the (original) Death Star. Some of the characters we are rather familiar with (like Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin) while others are new(at least to me) or are nameless characters we have seen on the Big Screen but fleshed-out and given a back story (like the Gunnery Officer in charge of the Death Star's Super Laser or one of the storm troopers involved in the attempt to thwart the rescue of Princess Leia).

Over all, it was enjoyable and I would recommend it to any Star Wars fans.

Sounds like 'tales from the mos eisley cantina'

in that every bugger is given some amazing pivotal role in the mythos... for that reason i didnt really like the book as a whole while i still enjoyed the individual stories if that makes sense

Richard Morgan's Kovacs book are the bet post-cyberpunk dystopia I've ever read.

Would recommend.

I might check those out then. I love Gibson.

Well i say that i've only read neuromance and the burning chrome anthology but i loved those.

I just keep forgetting i like Gibson until people talk about cyberpunk fiction, when im in the bookshop i get distracted by graphic novels and militaria books (work resource for the latter)

Actually while i know a lot of you guys are really down on GW

Dan Abnetts 'inquisitor' books (eisenhorn series and ravenor) were **** good reads.

Gaunts Ghosts was ok too in the early books but you really have to be a 40k fan to like those

My mate Andy wrote two space opera type novels about rogue traders for black library. I think those are brilliant but then i'm biased as hes my best mate

As mentioned before, Richard Morgan did some good writing, although it doesn't meet the OP requirements for invasion etc.

But what really blew me away was Dan Simmons stuff, Endymion Saga and Hyperion (start with Hyperion!); it was a hard read to get past the first 50 pages (I needed to get used to his style), but then I couldn't put the books away. Really interesting vision of the future.

somewhat OT: as a sidenote, anybody interested in Fantasy should get hands on Steven Erikson "Malazan Book of the Fallen" series. Great characters and background, fantastic story(ies) - I really liked the characters Karsa and Fiddler! Never read anything that came close to that (Martin is good, but Erikson easily beats that, despite the hype about Game of Thrones)

I've only read a couple of the Honorverse books, but in all honesty, the space combat in "Through Struggle, the Stars" completely blows it away, for my money. There's also the fact that at least in the early Honorverse books, the overall villains are practically mustache twirlers. That's not to say I didn't enjoy David Weber's books (and there is a large number of them if you like them), but Lumpkin is sitting at the top for me right now.

I forgot to add H Beam Piper's Little Fuzzy to my previous post.

Another rather dated first contact novel, but Ewoks were a tribute to the aliens in that book.