Trying to buy a present for a sci fi enthusiast

[Rhi]

Hello, I'm new to this group so I apologise if I've posted this in the wrong place. I'm quite new to science fiction as well and I'm attempting to buy a birthday present for a friend of mine who has been reading science fiction all his life but doesn't appear to have read any that came out in the past year or so. I was hoping for some recommendations?

From what I've seen of his bookshelf, it contains a lot of Philip K Dick, Arthur C Clarke, H.G. Wells, and Issac Asimov.

Thank you very much!

[[deleted user]]

Has he read The Martian by Andy Weir? That's a good, hard Sci-Fi book in the tradition of Clarke and others.

[David]

I haven't read much sci-fi that came out in the past year that wasn't late in a series of books, but if you're willing to go back to 2015, my favorite sci-fi book of 2015 was Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. I think it might appeal to a fan of Clarke or Asimov. I'd check on GR and make sure he doesn't hate Stephenson's other books first though ;)

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is a 2015 book this group read this month which was very well-liked by most (don't pick this if your friend is an arachnophobe).

If you don't mind going back a few more years, there are a few more standouts:

The Ancillary trilogy starting with Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie.
The Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy starting with The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin.

[Rhi]

Ken wrote: "Has he read The Martian by Andy Weir? That's a good, hard Sci-Fi book in the tradition of Clarke and others."

He may have actually read that, or at least own it, but I'll have a look, thank you!

[Rhi]

David wrote: "I haven't read much sci-fi that came out in the past year that wasn't late in a series of books, but if you're willing to go back to 2015, my favorite sci-fi book of 2015 was [book:Seveneves|228160..."

He is an arachnophobe so perhaps not Children of Time for him! Though I am planning on reading it

I'll look into the other ones, thank you :)

[[deleted user]]

Rhiannon wrote: "Ken wrote: "Has he read The Martian by Andy Weir? That's a good, hard Sci-Fi book in the tradition of Clarke and others."

He may have actually read that, or at lea..."

Depending on how much you want to spend, assuming he hasn't read it, you might give him both the book and the movie. Or if he has one but not the other, give him the one he doesn't have.

[Trike]

He's probably read The Martian, but if not that's a must.

Other books to consider not yet mentioned:
The Chronoliths - similar in feel to the recent movie Arrival
Leviathan Wakes - the new Expanse TV series is based on this, similar to the new Battlestar Galactica
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet - sort of similar to Firefly, Star Trek, etc.
Old Man's War - similar to Starship Troopers and Forever War
XOM-B - I can't describe this without spoiling it, but it's more action-oriented with androids

A couple of recent books I haven't read yet but have good buzz:
Fluency
Too Like the Lightning

[Leon]

I was going to recommend my favourite sci-fi author, Neal Asher, but if he's arachnophobic then better not!

If he likes classics and he hasn't read Dune yet, that would be a great gift. If you are looking for something more modern and somewhat lighter, then try Snow Crash or Ready Player One.

If he's read all of them you can also look at Beacon 23: The Complete Novel which was published in 2015 - hopefully he doesn't have that one yet.

[Rhi]

Leon wrote: "I was going to recommend my favourite sci-fi author, Neal Asher, but if he's arachnophobic then better not!

If he likes classics and he hasn't read Dune yet, that woul..."

I believe he owns multiple copies of Dune but I don't think he's looked at the others, thanks!

Trike wrote: "He's probably read The Martian, but if not that's a must.

Other books to consider not yet mentioned:
The Chronoliths - similar in feel to the recent movie Arrival
[book:Leviathan Wa..."

He's watching the Expanse series so if he doesn't get Leviathan Wakes for Christmas (a few members of his family are big sci fi readers) then that's a good option, thank you!

[Ramon]

Obviously I'm not going to recommend my own books :), but check out if his bookshelf includes Robert Heinlein and Larry Niven, these are some of the classics in the line of the ones you mention. One I like much is The Mote in God's Eye.
If he does have those, The Martian is indeed a good choice, though somewhat evident.
An interesting dystopian book is The Gender Game. Alternatively, you could propose The Three-Body Problem, probably he has not read anything from a Chinese author.

[Trike]

How'd it go, Rhiannon?

[Rhi]

Trike wrote: "How'd it go, Rhiannon?"

It's not his birthday for another week or so and I'm waiting on my student loan before buying it but I think I'll probably go with Leviathan Wakes because I know he likes the tv show. I'm then going to buy myself some of the other suggestions like The Three-Body Problem and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet :)