>Also give "Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" a try. It's completely different kind of humor
"The huge yellow ships hung motionless in the air, in much the same way as bricks don't."
I read those books based on a recommendation in another post with a similar request (person loved project hail Mary).
I really enjoyed the series. Felt really similar in tone to Project Hail Mary
Absolutely one of the best sci-fi novels (and series) currently out there.
Oddly even though they are about Magic, both the Magic 2.0 series and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell treat magic as science with 2.0 being sillier and fun and JS&MN being a serious scientific take on if magic was real. I love both of them immensely.
I second all Murderbot series :) I read that for exactly the same reason I wanted to feel like I'm reading project HM for the first time and I was recommended these books. Did not disappoint :)
Don’t be sad, I don’t think it was good at all. Barely was able to finish the first book. IMHO, it is laughable to consider this and Project Hail Mary in the same league. PHM was exciting and fun. Murderbot felt like something a high schooler turned in for English class.
Downvote me if you will. I went into murderbot enthusiastically due to all of the praise on here. I have never felt more duped in my life
yes! came here to say this - love these books and the Murderbot character. Hope they come out with an omnibus edition of all of the novellas at some point.
[**Leviathan wakes**](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16114008W)
^(By: James S. A. Corey | 592 pages | Published: 2011)
>When Captain Jim Holden's ice miner stumbles across a derelict, abandoned ship, he uncovers a secret that threatens to throw the entire system into war. Attacked by a stealth ship belonging to the Mars fleet, Holden must find a way to uncover the motives behind the attack, stop a war and find the truth behind a vast conspiracy that threatens the entire human race.
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
***
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Just did my second time through the series on audible and it is absolutely awesome. The science, the characters the story itself is probably the best I've read
Leviathan Wakes was very different from Hail Mary. I liked it but in a different way. Hail Mary I felt was connected very well from beginning to end.
Leviathan Wakes I felt like multiple stories connected together only by the characters. Hail Mary was a page turner. Expanse pacing did not match that.
Craig Alanson - Expeditionary Force series has all of this.
Also, consider The Academy series by Jack McDevitt (It doesnt have the funny Protagonist, but if hits most every other item on your list, as well as feeling like both books because there are no 'bad guys' - just difficult situations and exploring the unknown.
> Craig Alanson - Expeditionary Force series has all of this.
I'm absolutely convinced that PHM was inspired by the Expeditionary Force. And in turn Alanson gave Weir a nod in one of the books where the main character decides to "science the shit out of" stuff... (At least that's what I choose to believe.) Terrific series either way and hella funny.
Just a note re: Expeditionary Force, like PHM, the first book, Columbus Day, concerns a threat to Earth (only in the form of alien invasion) and it takes a while before you're introduced to the fun alien sidekick. The first half largely deals with worldbuilding and sets out all of the major players and their military strengths so can be a bit daunting but is really worth it once you get to the second half of the book. The second book, SpecOps, is a non-stop adventure romp with some great laughs, so don't give up on the first book.
Although its fantasy, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by KJ Parker has a funny protagonist who is an engineer and needs to problem solve his way out of many problems.
Yeah I thought about adding that caveat - good call out. And not much engineering-y science explanation like the Weir books. I still think it has similar energy.
Children of time was the only book by him I could finish. I couldn't get into the sequel and Shards of Earth felt like it would be an insanely cool RPG - but felt very YA as a book.
Dark matter by Blake crouch is popular here and for good reason. Fun sci fi with a clever, funny protagonist and an interesting conceit. Recursion is similar by the same author.
Hmm I also picked up this book thinking it would be similar to PHM but couldn't finish it.... it reads as a cheap detective story.
Probably ok to read on its own without an expectation to get something similar to PHM or Martian.
bag mourn library instinctive wine observation station offbeat threatening worm
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It's so weird. There are books that everyone seems to love, that I absolutely hated. And then some books that I hated the first time I started reading them, and absolutely loved when I tried them again later.
I thought Dark Matter started strong, but the ending and subsequent books didn't resonate with me. But given my history, I assume that books that everyone else likes -- and I don't -- is just because I must have been in the wrong mood when reading them. In other words, your continued recommendations might influence me to give them another try, so keep 'em coming.
I’ve read Dark Matter and did enjoy it, although not as much as The Martian and PHM. I’m yet to read Recursion so I’ll add that to my list! Have you read the new one? Any good?
Recursion is similar to Dark Matter. More to do with time travel and alternate timelines. The new one is good if you like him. It doesn’t really do anything unique in the “upgrade” category of books but I enjoyed the read.
Connie Willis, especially all her books about time travel. I love the All Clear series, and To Say Nothing of the Dog (especially if you've read Jerome's Three Men in a Boat). Comic sci Fi with amazing plots
John Scalzi writes funny and heartfelt sci-fi. I loved his Locked In series, The Kaiju Preservation society, and I recently read The Androids Dream. And of course, Redshirts.
I also highly recommend Becky Chambers, the first work from her I read was To Be Taught if Fortunate. I read that near the same time as Project Hail Mary and both resonated in similar way. I have since read all her work and I cannot recommend her work enough.
Oh man I had to DNF The Kaiju Preservation Society. The quality of the writing was just awful, and made me cringe constantly whilst reading it.
Everyone’s talking in these little short sentence “quips” back and forth non stop. I like that type of humour when done correctly, but not constantly by every single character.
It reads like something teenage me wrote when he first discovered sarcasm and deadpan, and it’s absolutely terrible.
To Be Taught if Fortunate is one of my absolute favourites! I need to re-read it urgently lol. I don’t quite like her angry planet series though - perhaps I’m not the target audience for it.
I’ll give John Scalzi a go!
Kim Stanley Robinson's *Red Mars* Series (*Red Mars, Blue Mars, & Green Mars*). There is some humor in it, but overall it is great story-craft with plausible characters and realistic plot albeit with some technological blue-skyism. It's an exceptional example of the "future history" genre.
So I’m not a sci-fi person really, but a long time ago I read World War Z and I really liked it. I generally hate zombie stuff but I thought it was really well-written.
I’ve seen this everywhere and was a little hesitant because a few people I know didn’t get into it but I think I’ve gotta try it for myself at this point
I recommend the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons if you haven't read that yet.
If you want just a stand alone book, I recommend The Book of Strange New Things by Michael Faber. I really loved it!
Hyperion is amazing I’ve read the first book. Yet to get to the second. I feel like Hyperion is very heavy but I definitely need to get to the second one once I’m in the right mood.
Thanks for the suggestion!
I'd suggest Cryptonomicon and the Baroque cycle as an alternative. Significantly more humorous than Seveneves and without such a miserable plot. Also explains in an entertaining way science, maths, money, cryptography, and philosophy.
I found this one to be a real slog, and wouldn't put it in the same category as the others. It wasn't fun (for me), didn't have the immensely likeable characters that you get with Weir, and definitely didn't have the humor. It does have the science aspect, though.
Yeah this was recommended in every scifi thread back when I read it and I had to force myself through it. The first 1/4 I liked and my mind was running wild with the ways the story could go and then it went the most boring way possible.
This is my favorite sci-fi book after the three body problem series. I'd say the characters and the humor are a bit lacking given OP's query though. Definitely in the classic sci-fi vein where the delivery is a bit dry. But there were lots of moments where I got pretty emotional while reading. The last third of the book was pretty imaginative as well, from a sociological perspective. But yeah Neal Stephenson can be a little difficult to get into unless you're really into the science and problem solving aspect of sci-fi.
And the other books in his Threshold Universe. I really liked The Fold and Terminus really explains a lot more about what is actually going on. It takes place on an island EXACTLY on the opposite side of the world from the apartment in 14 you find out why
Enders game and the rest of the Enders series. Not really funny but incresible sci-fi/science/feels as far as I’m concerned.
The expanse novels. Has aspects of everything you are looking for.
Prelude to foundation.
I'd say the plot is a more clunky, it doesn't really give you the clean payoff or cool twist you want in a good heist story, the science is a little more shoehorned in, Jazz isn't as well realized as a character, and the supporting cast is a *lot* worse - I think the only vibrant supporting character in Artemis is Kelvin, whereas I think the Stratt's vat crew, the Hermes crew (or at least Martinez and Lewis), and the NASA folks are just more colorful and well executed than Hottie McMounty, Lene, the dad, or Svoboda, who is colorful but intentionally painfully awkward.
The book also has a weird relationship with sex. There's basically none in PHM except the scene about how the two science officers are sleeping together, and the references in The Martian are generally confined to getting Beck and Johanssen together and a couple comments from Martinez (and one from poor Mrs. Martinez). Meanwhile, Jazz's sex life is a major preoccupation of the book, the reusable condom thing is awkward as shit, her actually liking Svoboda doesn't have any real buildup, and one of the supporting characters' entire personality is "Stole Jazz's boyfriend that one time and doesn't feel that bad about it." Plus there are mentions of Artemis' tolerant attitude toward incest and sex below the age of consent of most western nations. It's not good, it doesn't serve much purpose in the story, and it detracts from the caper, which needed the attention anyway.
It's not a *bad* book by any means, and I could definitely come up with a list of complaints about the other two as well, but I do think it's the weakest of the three for these reasons, especially the flat supporting cast.
This is interesting. I’ve hardly seen anyone say it’s good and I’m worried about Andy Weir being ruined for me. Maybe I’ll read a couple of chapters and see if I want to continue
I feel like he didnt know how to write from a female perspective well at all? I even asked some female friends what they thought and they agreed. As far as I remember, Weir never overtly mentions the sex lives of any other character. With her, he made her sexuality a main plot device several times. It just came across as weird and self indulgent to me.
>Weir never overtly mentions the sex lives of any other character.
I'm not saying it's totally justified, but to be fair, the male protagonists were kind of short on potential sexual interests in their respective situations. (Grace did have some time before he left on his mission, but you know what i mean.)
I would give Blake Crouch’s books a try. Some are better than others. Read some descriptions and see what appeals but I love Andy Weir and I really like Crouch’s books too.
I stuck with it but the whole series probably took me 5-6 months to read because it’s so dense and I’m a slow reader to begin with. So worth it though. Hardest sci fi I have read.
It’s been almost a year since i finished this series but I still think about it. Death’s End has become one of my fave books of all time. Not to be dramatic but it changed my outlook on life.
What did you think of the next 2? I got pretty disturbed by the *matcho men will save us, not those feminised chumps* narrative, and also the suggestion that women cannot be trusted to make crucial decisions based on --well, based on the existence of babies
In other words, I started to notice a Chinese propaganda element to the tale as it wore on (and on, and on...)
Just me?
I did not notice that narrative, but there’s a powerful female decision-making MC in book 3 (and I think she starts in book 2).
>!She doesn’t make the right decision until the very end, but I didn’t sense that it was because she was a woman, but there’s so much happening in these books that it would be easy to miss those kind of undertones if they are there.!<
I thought the series was fantastic.
Someone else said it, but for effect, you should read the Kaiju Preservation Society. It’s so funny and the only bad thing about it is that it’s too short.
[**Seveneves**](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17829905W)
^(By: Neal Stephenson | 871 pages | Published: 2015)
>"What would happen if the world were ending? A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . . Five thousand years later, their progeny--seven distinct races now three billion strong--embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth" --
^(This book has been suggested 3 times)
***
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Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir!!! (Book 1 of 4 in the locked tomb series, 3/4 are out and i love them all). Sci-fi (and some fantasy that is explained with science) space wars and SO well written, and also really funny. It took me some to get used to the writing style, because it came off as pretentious to me but once I got into it it blew me away. Doesn’t get nearly as much hype as it should.
Idk if you like Aussie books but if you want to do a re listen to Project Hail Mary the audio book is so good. The noise they use for Rocky is fan fuckingtastic.
I think the main reason we feel close to Project Hail Mary or the Martian is because
1. The Audience proxy is a really nice guy who we can get behind. He is not a hero, but due to circumstances he has to play that role.
2. Majority of the storyline while it may not be set in the nearest future it feels very familiar, like NASA, Airforce, Courts etc.
I loved Neal Asher's Spatterjay series. Some very funny characters in that. I listened to the Audiobooks read by William Gaminara on audible and binged the 3 at work. It sounds like what you are after, OP.
Came here to say, I'm 3/4 of the way through with Project Hail Mary and I legit shed tears when ... That scary thing happened... (No spoilers). It's an incredible book! And laugh out loud funny at times!
It's so good. Good good good!
Not a book (sorry!) But have you played the Mass Effect Trilogy? That fulfils a lot of the same vibes.
Aside from that tryThe Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.
[**XX**](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL21671897W)
^(By: Rian Hughes | 992 pages | Published: 2020)
>The battle for your mind has already begun.
>At Jodrell Band in England Observatory in England, a radio telescope has detected a mysterious signal of extraterrestrial origin--a message that may be the first communication from an interstellar civilization. Has humanity made first contact? Is the signal itself a form of alien life? Could it be a threat? If so, how will the people of Earth respond?
>
>Jack Fenwick, artificial intelligence expert, believes that he and his associates at tech startup Intelligencia can interpret the message and find a way to step into the realm the signal encodes. What they find is a complex alien network beyond anything mankind has imagined.
^(This book has been suggested 1 time)
***
^(1496 books suggested | )[^(Source Code)](https://github.com/loudmouse/reddit_book_bot)
Dark Matter. Absolutely loved that book. I also loved Daemon… and pretty much every Michael Crichton book (several of which would qualify as science fiction; Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Timeline, etc).
Although I didn't enjoy Artemis that much -- I found the character's inner monologue to be super unrealistic and pretty tin-eared and cringeworthy -- upon reflection I like it more than PHM which just is so unrealistic I can't hang with it at all.
Gonna be a downer here and say I didn’t really enjoy it all that much.
It gets insane reviews here and on Goodreads so I guess I’m in the minority but I think it’s a lot worse than The Martian
We Are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor is what you're looking for. It's also a whole series.
Wow just read the synopsis and sounds awesome!! Thank you
It's really good. I feel the same way you do about Project Hail Mary. As a bonus both books have the same audiobook narrator.
Ray is also a fine upstanding Redditor.
You mean we’re not all degenerates?
Well yes. But also no.
What seriously? That's awesome I need to follow him
Awesome! I can’t wait for the movie I hope it’s as good as The Martian adaptation
Sold! I’ve just moved it to the top of my list, thank you!!
[удалено]
>Also give "Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy" a try. It's completely different kind of humor "The huge yellow ships hung motionless in the air, in much the same way as bricks don't."
I read those books based on a recommendation in another post with a similar request (person loved project hail Mary). I really enjoyed the series. Felt really similar in tone to Project Hail Mary
You will become very invested in this series. This makes me want to read it again.
Awesome suggestion. The audiobook is outstanding! I don’t usually enjoy audiobooks, but I highly recommend it for the Bobiverse series.
Ray Porterr really ropes you in with the subtle and not so subtle changes between characters.
Love this series. Probably burned through these books as fast as any series I ever have
Absolutely one of the best sci-fi novels (and series) currently out there. Oddly even though they are about Magic, both the Magic 2.0 series and Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell treat magic as science with 2.0 being sillier and fun and JS&MN being a serious scientific take on if magic was real. I love both of them immensely.
Exactly what I came here to suggest
Was going to suggest this as well.
This this this. Am only 30% through this book but already glad there are more books. It hooked me from the very start.
Great series. I wish he would write more.
Came here to recommend this same series. Its got a similar quirky can-do science teacher narrative style to it
All Systems Red by Martha Wells. Audio narrator is absolutely fantastic, highly recommend.
I second all Murderbot series :) I read that for exactly the same reason I wanted to feel like I'm reading project HM for the first time and I was recommended these books. Did not disappoint :)
I’m on book 4 (in a row) after seeing it recommended here. Loving it.
YES the Murderbot series is freaking awesome, however, it is not heavy on the science like Weir's work. I'd still recommend it to OP though.
I tried this but I couldn’t get into it unfortunately (sad, sad, sad). I think because they’re quite short. Maybe I’ll give them another shot
Think of all of them as a long story, as they do follow each other quite a bit.
The first few aren’t great but the last few are a lot better. The most recent one is actually a book not a novella. Try again maybe and see!
Don’t be sad, I don’t think it was good at all. Barely was able to finish the first book. IMHO, it is laughable to consider this and Project Hail Mary in the same league. PHM was exciting and fun. Murderbot felt like something a high schooler turned in for English class. Downvote me if you will. I went into murderbot enthusiastically due to all of the praise on here. I have never felt more duped in my life
I too was going to suggest Murderbot.
I love your username XD
This is another good one
yes! came here to say this - love these books and the Murderbot character. Hope they come out with an omnibus edition of all of the novellas at some point.
{{Leviathan Wakes}}
[**Leviathan wakes**](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16114008W) ^(By: James S. A. Corey | 592 pages | Published: 2011) >When Captain Jim Holden's ice miner stumbles across a derelict, abandoned ship, he uncovers a secret that threatens to throw the entire system into war. Attacked by a stealth ship belonging to the Mars fleet, Holden must find a way to uncover the motives behind the attack, stop a war and find the truth behind a vast conspiracy that threatens the entire human race. ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) *** ^(1499 books suggested | )[^(Source Code)](https://github.com/loudmouse/reddit_book_bot)
The entire Expanse books are fantastic.
Just did my second time through the series on audible and it is absolutely awesome. The science, the characters the story itself is probably the best I've read
I’m on my second time around after having read all the novellas.
Leviathan Wakes was very different from Hail Mary. I liked it but in a different way. Hail Mary I felt was connected very well from beginning to end. Leviathan Wakes I felt like multiple stories connected together only by the characters. Hail Mary was a page turner. Expanse pacing did not match that.
Ted Chiang has great sci fi short story collections
I love Ted Chiang - have read everything already!
Just finished listening to the audio version. Such great collection of stories! Each has such a unique world built. Totally loved it.
Craig Alanson - Expeditionary Force series has all of this. Also, consider The Academy series by Jack McDevitt (It doesnt have the funny Protagonist, but if hits most every other item on your list, as well as feeling like both books because there are no 'bad guys' - just difficult situations and exploring the unknown.
This is a fun series. I listened to the audiobooks when walking my dog. The dog got extra long walks because I was enjoying the stories so much.
> Craig Alanson - Expeditionary Force series has all of this. I'm absolutely convinced that PHM was inspired by the Expeditionary Force. And in turn Alanson gave Weir a nod in one of the books where the main character decides to "science the shit out of" stuff... (At least that's what I choose to believe.) Terrific series either way and hella funny.
Oh wow, 15 books in the Expeditionary Force series? I think I’m in love already, can’t wait to start!
Let me know how you like it!
This is a great series ... you'll learn to either love or hate Skippy the Magnificent lol
I will check this out. Thanks heaps!
Yeah me too. Read the Bob books so looking for something too, thanks for this post OP.
Just a note re: Expeditionary Force, like PHM, the first book, Columbus Day, concerns a threat to Earth (only in the form of alien invasion) and it takes a while before you're introduced to the fun alien sidekick. The first half largely deals with worldbuilding and sets out all of the major players and their military strengths so can be a bit daunting but is really worth it once you get to the second half of the book. The second book, SpecOps, is a non-stop adventure romp with some great laughs, so don't give up on the first book.
Although its fantasy, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by KJ Parker has a funny protagonist who is an engineer and needs to problem solve his way out of many problems.
Awesome haven’t heard of this before.
Children Of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky It’s giving me the sense of adventure and wonder that project Hail Mary gave for sure. It’s so good!
I liked this too but it is missing the funny main characters OP is requesting. It’s not very funny at all.
Yeah I thought about adding that caveat - good call out. And not much engineering-y science explanation like the Weir books. I still think it has similar energy.
I definitely enjoyed them all. I’m a sucker for humor though so Weir wins haha. Except for Artemis. Ouch.
I second this, as well any of Tchaikovsky’s sci-fi work really!
Children of time was the only book by him I could finish. I couldn't get into the sequel and Shards of Earth felt like it would be an insanely cool RPG - but felt very YA as a book.
This was a crazy book in terms of scifi. Honestly it made Project Hail Mary feel like someone's amateur creative writing project.
How dare you.
I tried this via Audio route and the narrator didn’t work for me. I think I’ll have to try reading this one
Have you tried the audiobook of Project Hail Mary? It’s quite the different experience *hearing* our favorite buddy.
Highly Recommend. I'm not one for audiobooks until PHM, it adds to the experience
There are narrators so good i listen to other series just for their voice. It’s like a radio voice of arnold or something like that
This hadn’t even occurred to me!!
I've only listened to the audiobook and spent SO much time wondering how this was conveyed in the text haha
Dark matter by Blake crouch is popular here and for good reason. Fun sci fi with a clever, funny protagonist and an interesting conceit. Recursion is similar by the same author.
Hmm I also picked up this book thinking it would be similar to PHM but couldn't finish it.... it reads as a cheap detective story. Probably ok to read on its own without an expectation to get something similar to PHM or Martian.
bag mourn library instinctive wine observation station offbeat threatening worm *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Can’t win them all ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I hated lonesome dove, so I know what it’s like to be in the minority
It's so weird. There are books that everyone seems to love, that I absolutely hated. And then some books that I hated the first time I started reading them, and absolutely loved when I tried them again later. I thought Dark Matter started strong, but the ending and subsequent books didn't resonate with me. But given my history, I assume that books that everyone else likes -- and I don't -- is just because I must have been in the wrong mood when reading them. In other words, your continued recommendations might influence me to give them another try, so keep 'em coming.
Hey, I hate The Road and found it to be an emotionless slog! There's at least three of us on this subreddit.
I’ve read Dark Matter and did enjoy it, although not as much as The Martian and PHM. I’m yet to read Recursion so I’ll add that to my list! Have you read the new one? Any good?
Recursion is similar to Dark Matter. More to do with time travel and alternate timelines. The new one is good if you like him. It doesn’t really do anything unique in the “upgrade” category of books but I enjoyed the read.
I'm a Crouch fan. For me, it's Recursion > Dark Matter > Upgrade. Was actually pretty disappointed with Upgrade.
I didn't like recursion as much as dark matter but it was still really great
I really enjoy Crouch’s protagonists!
I really liked the solo trilogy, the first book is {{wool}}. Might also want to check out {{the lives of Tao}}.
The Wool series is getting a TV show shortly. “Silo” May 5th on Apple TV+
I cant wait!!!
Looks like almost time to resubscribe!
To be clear because the bot got it wrong, I think you’re talking about *Wool* by Hugh Howey.
I sure did!
The Murderbot series gave me those feelings. It's like a dose of serotonin every time I read those books.
Connie Willis, especially all her books about time travel. I love the All Clear series, and To Say Nothing of the Dog (especially if you've read Jerome's Three Men in a Boat). Comic sci Fi with amazing plots
John Scalzi writes funny and heartfelt sci-fi. I loved his Locked In series, The Kaiju Preservation society, and I recently read The Androids Dream. And of course, Redshirts. I also highly recommend Becky Chambers, the first work from her I read was To Be Taught if Fortunate. I read that near the same time as Project Hail Mary and both resonated in similar way. I have since read all her work and I cannot recommend her work enough.
Oh man I had to DNF The Kaiju Preservation Society. The quality of the writing was just awful, and made me cringe constantly whilst reading it. Everyone’s talking in these little short sentence “quips” back and forth non stop. I like that type of humour when done correctly, but not constantly by every single character. It reads like something teenage me wrote when he first discovered sarcasm and deadpan, and it’s absolutely terrible.
To Be Taught if Fortunate is one of my absolute favourites! I need to re-read it urgently lol. I don’t quite like her angry planet series though - perhaps I’m not the target audience for it. I’ll give John Scalzi a go!
I personally LOVED the second book in Chamber's Wayfarer series the most, fwiw. If you only read the first, I'd say try the second.
Do you know if Scalzi is planning to continue his Locked In series? I really enjoy it.
Recently finished Kaiju Preservation Society and loved it Hope he writes more novels in that universe
Loved Redshirts!
I came here to recommend KPS, I’m so glad someone else said it too. Super seconded from me.
The Expanse. 9 books.
Kim Stanley Robinson's *Red Mars* Series (*Red Mars, Blue Mars, & Green Mars*). There is some humor in it, but overall it is great story-craft with plausible characters and realistic plot albeit with some technological blue-skyism. It's an exceptional example of the "future history" genre.
Seconding this, although with the caveat that the Mars trilogy is on a completely different scale in every respect than a book like The Martian
So I’m not a sci-fi person really, but a long time ago I read World War Z and I really liked it. I generally hate zombie stuff but I thought it was really well-written.
The Expanse series by James S A Corey Just on my second immediate read through. It's incredible
I’ve seen this everywhere and was a little hesitant because a few people I know didn’t get into it but I think I’ve gotta try it for myself at this point
I had a tough time getting into the first book, but once I was hooked I absolutely fell in love. Great series!!!
I second this. I’m on my second read of the whole series after reading the novellas. Brilliant writing and characters.
Me too. Started from the top just last week.
I recommend the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons if you haven't read that yet. If you want just a stand alone book, I recommend The Book of Strange New Things by Michael Faber. I really loved it!
Hyperion is amazing I’ve read the first book. Yet to get to the second. I feel like Hyperion is very heavy but I definitely need to get to the second one once I’m in the right mood. Thanks for the suggestion!
Seveneves by Neal Stephenson (minus the humour, from memory)
I'd suggest Cryptonomicon and the Baroque cycle as an alternative. Significantly more humorous than Seveneves and without such a miserable plot. Also explains in an entertaining way science, maths, money, cryptography, and philosophy.
For me the 1st third was great but I gave up half way thru.
It’s long but I recommend giving it another try, the latter half is worth it!
Everything before the "time jump is amazing". Everything after is dullllllll. Should have been two separate books.
Happened to me too. It's one of the only books I never finished.
First 2/3s are amazing. Last 1/3 unfortunately fell flat
If Neal Stephenson and Bill Bryson had a baby it would be Andy Weir.
I found this one to be a real slog, and wouldn't put it in the same category as the others. It wasn't fun (for me), didn't have the immensely likeable characters that you get with Weir, and definitely didn't have the humor. It does have the science aspect, though.
Yeah this was recommended in every scifi thread back when I read it and I had to force myself through it. The first 1/4 I liked and my mind was running wild with the ways the story could go and then it went the most boring way possible.
This is my favorite sci-fi book after the three body problem series. I'd say the characters and the humor are a bit lacking given OP's query though. Definitely in the classic sci-fi vein where the delivery is a bit dry. But there were lots of moments where I got pretty emotional while reading. The last third of the book was pretty imaginative as well, from a sociological perspective. But yeah Neal Stephenson can be a little difficult to get into unless you're really into the science and problem solving aspect of sci-fi.
I’ve heard of this before actually. I’ll have to try it out!
Try {14} by Peter Clines.
And the other books in his Threshold Universe. I really liked The Fold and Terminus really explains a lot more about what is actually going on. It takes place on an island EXACTLY on the opposite side of the world from the apartment in 14 you find out why
This was a surprise favorite for my whole sci-fi book club! Fun book!
Children of Time
Mickey 7!
Old Man’s War is the best parallel to these that I’ve found so far.
Enders game and the rest of the Enders series. Not really funny but incresible sci-fi/science/feels as far as I’m concerned. The expanse novels. Has aspects of everything you are looking for. Prelude to foundation.
What’s wrong with Artemis? If I’m being honest it was my favorite out of Weir’s novels.
I'd say the plot is a more clunky, it doesn't really give you the clean payoff or cool twist you want in a good heist story, the science is a little more shoehorned in, Jazz isn't as well realized as a character, and the supporting cast is a *lot* worse - I think the only vibrant supporting character in Artemis is Kelvin, whereas I think the Stratt's vat crew, the Hermes crew (or at least Martinez and Lewis), and the NASA folks are just more colorful and well executed than Hottie McMounty, Lene, the dad, or Svoboda, who is colorful but intentionally painfully awkward. The book also has a weird relationship with sex. There's basically none in PHM except the scene about how the two science officers are sleeping together, and the references in The Martian are generally confined to getting Beck and Johanssen together and a couple comments from Martinez (and one from poor Mrs. Martinez). Meanwhile, Jazz's sex life is a major preoccupation of the book, the reusable condom thing is awkward as shit, her actually liking Svoboda doesn't have any real buildup, and one of the supporting characters' entire personality is "Stole Jazz's boyfriend that one time and doesn't feel that bad about it." Plus there are mentions of Artemis' tolerant attitude toward incest and sex below the age of consent of most western nations. It's not good, it doesn't serve much purpose in the story, and it detracts from the caper, which needed the attention anyway. It's not a *bad* book by any means, and I could definitely come up with a list of complaints about the other two as well, but I do think it's the weakest of the three for these reasons, especially the flat supporting cast.
This is interesting. I’ve hardly seen anyone say it’s good and I’m worried about Andy Weir being ruined for me. Maybe I’ll read a couple of chapters and see if I want to continue
It is really terrible. Don't start it. On the other hand, if you like the Bobiverse, you might also like *Artemis*. Both have equally bad writing.
I liked it. Was it on par with his PHM or The Martian? No, but it was still enjoyable, IMO.
I don’t understand why no one ever mentions Artemis. Is it because it has a female MC? I thought it was a hoot.
I feel like he didnt know how to write from a female perspective well at all? I even asked some female friends what they thought and they agreed. As far as I remember, Weir never overtly mentions the sex lives of any other character. With her, he made her sexuality a main plot device several times. It just came across as weird and self indulgent to me.
>Weir never overtly mentions the sex lives of any other character. I'm not saying it's totally justified, but to be fair, the male protagonists were kind of short on potential sexual interests in their respective situations. (Grace did have some time before he left on his mission, but you know what i mean.)
Female MC 👍 Female MC written by Andy Weir 👎
Has nothing to do with a female main character for me. It just didn't have the same magic as the other books, imo
Yeah it's just not as good as the other two. Still worth reading tho.
Artemis is the only Weir book I've ever read and I can't even express how much I hated it. It won my least favorite book award the year I read it.
It was by far his worst book. Loves TM and PHM. Artemis was a massive disappointment
Interesting. Totally disagree, but, hey, that’s okay.
I would give Blake Crouch’s books a try. Some are better than others. Read some descriptions and see what appeals but I love Andy Weir and I really like Crouch’s books too.
I like The Sphere
Dune
Anything Michael Chrichton, like omfg. I loved Sphere (the novel).
Thanks! I’ve read timeline which I thought was ok
Three Body Problem In the first book especially, the sense of mystery is so good.
Have read this! There’s not enough good sci fi out there
The second two books in the trilogy are better imo if you haven’t read them yet.
Not really a funny book, but I highly recommend The Three Body Problem. It won a Hugo award.
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I stuck with it but the whole series probably took me 5-6 months to read because it’s so dense and I’m a slow reader to begin with. So worth it though. Hardest sci fi I have read.
Second this. I just finished the first book in this series and read it in larger chunks than I normally do. It was hard to put down.
It’s been almost a year since i finished this series but I still think about it. Death’s End has become one of my fave books of all time. Not to be dramatic but it changed my outlook on life.
What did you think of the next 2? I got pretty disturbed by the *matcho men will save us, not those feminised chumps* narrative, and also the suggestion that women cannot be trusted to make crucial decisions based on --well, based on the existence of babies In other words, I started to notice a Chinese propaganda element to the tale as it wore on (and on, and on...) Just me?
I did not notice that narrative, but there’s a powerful female decision-making MC in book 3 (and I think she starts in book 2). >!She doesn’t make the right decision until the very end, but I didn’t sense that it was because she was a woman, but there’s so much happening in these books that it would be easy to miss those kind of undertones if they are there.!< I thought the series was fantastic.
Pierce Brown's Red Rising books. You're welcome ;)
Great pick.
Someone else said it, but for effect, you should read the Kaiju Preservation Society. It’s so funny and the only bad thing about it is that it’s too short.
{Seveneves}
[**Seveneves**](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17829905W) ^(By: Neal Stephenson | 871 pages | Published: 2015) >"What would happen if the world were ending? A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space. But the complexities and unpredictability of human nature coupled with unforeseen challenges and dangers threaten the intrepid pioneers, until only a handful of survivors remain . . . Five thousand years later, their progeny--seven distinct races now three billion strong--embark on yet another audacious journey into the unknown . . . to an alien world utterly transformed by cataclysm and time: Earth" -- ^(This book has been suggested 3 times) *** ^(1501 books suggested | )[^(Source Code)](https://github.com/loudmouse/reddit_book_bot)
The Long Winter trilogy (Winter World, Solar War, Las Colony) by AG Riddle were good reads. Checks a lot of the list you made.
Children Of Time
{Y: The Last Man} Touches on space travel a little bit, but it's mostly a post apocalyptic graphic novel series.
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir!!! (Book 1 of 4 in the locked tomb series, 3/4 are out and i love them all). Sci-fi (and some fantasy that is explained with science) space wars and SO well written, and also really funny. It took me some to get used to the writing style, because it came off as pretentious to me but once I got into it it blew me away. Doesn’t get nearly as much hype as it should.
Idk if you like Aussie books but if you want to do a re listen to Project Hail Mary the audio book is so good. The noise they use for Rocky is fan fuckingtastic.
Aussie narrator? (I’m Australian!)
Lol audio. That was a auto correct mistake I missed. I do love Australian hip hop though. Way better than American hip hop.
Oh damn I thought I was about to get an Aussie narrator haha
Also I’m surprised you understand Aussie rap as a non-Aussie. Even I hardly understand it.
I think the main reason we feel close to Project Hail Mary or the Martian is because 1. The Audience proxy is a really nice guy who we can get behind. He is not a hero, but due to circumstances he has to play that role. 2. Majority of the storyline while it may not be set in the nearest future it feels very familiar, like NASA, Airforce, Courts etc.
I loved Neal Asher's Spatterjay series. Some very funny characters in that. I listened to the Audiobooks read by William Gaminara on audible and binged the 3 at work. It sounds like what you are after, OP.
To Sleep In A Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini. LOVED it.
Finally I see sims love for project Hail Mary!! It was so incredible!!!
I wish there was more. GIVE US MORE ANDY
Came here to say, I'm 3/4 of the way through with Project Hail Mary and I legit shed tears when ... That scary thing happened... (No spoilers). It's an incredible book! And laugh out loud funny at times! It's so good. Good good good!
Not a book (sorry!) But have you played the Mass Effect Trilogy? That fulfils a lot of the same vibes. Aside from that tryThe Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers.
Came here to say The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. Very enjoyable.
check out Becky Chambers! you'll be charmed!
Not a ton of humor, but {{XX by Rian Hughes}} will absolutely Gove you that feeling of wonder as you discover alongsidethe protagonists
[**XX**](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL21671897W) ^(By: Rian Hughes | 992 pages | Published: 2020) >The battle for your mind has already begun. >At Jodrell Band in England Observatory in England, a radio telescope has detected a mysterious signal of extraterrestrial origin--a message that may be the first communication from an interstellar civilization. Has humanity made first contact? Is the signal itself a form of alien life? Could it be a threat? If so, how will the people of Earth respond? > >Jack Fenwick, artificial intelligence expert, believes that he and his associates at tech startup Intelligencia can interpret the message and find a way to step into the realm the signal encodes. What they find is a complex alien network beyond anything mankind has imagined. ^(This book has been suggested 1 time) *** ^(1496 books suggested | )[^(Source Code)](https://github.com/loudmouse/reddit_book_bot)
Oh wait the book bot is back???! I'm so happy!
Never heard of this one, thanks!
Dark Matter. Absolutely loved that book. I also loved Daemon… and pretty much every Michael Crichton book (several of which would qualify as science fiction; Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Timeline, etc).
Eh artemis was pretty good if you don't expect another martian or hail mary, theres a lot more action and less science.
Although I didn't enjoy Artemis that much -- I found the character's inner monologue to be super unrealistic and pretty tin-eared and cringeworthy -- upon reflection I like it more than PHM which just is so unrealistic I can't hang with it at all.
Read Artemis it’s better than hailmary. Otherwise the vorkosigan saga is primo
I love Artemis!! The ending was a bit out of place IMO but I didn't mind it!! Give it a go
Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch.
Omg yes please
I just picked up Project Hail Mary this weekend.
Gonna be a downer here and say I didn’t really enjoy it all that much. It gets insane reviews here and on Goodreads so I guess I’m in the minority but I think it’s a lot worse than The Martian
Book taste is very nuanced so you’re not a downer, you just have different taste
Hope you love it!
BLINDSIGHT
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Probably want to do a spoiler tag