Need recs for something "different"/mind blowing

[Sou]

Hello all. Thank you in advance for reading my post. I am new to the scifi/fantasy genre and I am overwhelmed with book choices. I recently read Blake Crouch's and Marcus Sakey's and enjoyed both. Not saying I'm looking for something exactly like them, but I enjoyed how they were different and kind of unexpected (in terms of movies, I loved Inception, The Adjustment Bureau, and Source Code). Thanks again.

[Karin]

Where do I begin? You'll get a lot of good suggestions, I'm sure.

So, a few that I like (I've read Dark Matter, and while I haven't read After Life, I did read the description). I checked our books in common and we have liked some of the same books outside of scifi, and both of us gave Dark Matter 3 stars, but I checked it after posting this and am editing this. I'll friend request you so that you can compare books and see if you like.

The Martian ! One of my favourites in the newer scifi books--I'm not sure if it will be as unexpected as you want, though, but I'm throwing it into the mix since you are new to scifi.

Lock In but also Old Man's War (the second also has something to do with people in some sort of afterlife.)

Seveneves but be warned--it's longer than Dark Matter by quite a bit.

The Book of Strange New Things

House of Suns

There are so very many more, but I'm avoiding classics as they can be dated and in my opinion, few seem to really hold up--there are others who may feel differently.

[Gabi]

For something different, I would suggest Children of Time, the book is in parts from the POV of spiders.

[Sou]

Gabi wrote: "For something different, I would suggest Children of Time, the book is in parts from the POV of spiders."
Looks interesting! Thank you for the rec.

Karin wrote: "Where do I begin? You'll get a lot of good suggestions, I'm sure.

So, a few that I like (I've read Dark Matter, and while I haven't read After Life, I did read the description).

[book:Lock In|214..."

Thank you very much! These look great. I started Seveneves a while back and got through a few chapters. Maybe I'll pick it up again!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

You might like Rosewater which has a similar "nothing is as it seems" thriller kind of vibe, though the story is very different!

The Lathe of Heaven is another very trippy, extremely well written book.

China Mieville in general has his finger on the "new weird" genre and you can take your pick of what bizarre subject you'd like to investigate!

[Karin]

Allison wrote: "You might like Rosewater which has a similar "nothing is as it seems" thriller kind of vibe, though the story is very different!

The Lathe of Heaven is another very tr..."

Yes, I thought of Rosewater and nearly suggested it as well but didn't like it much (perhaps 3 stars??)--you may like it much better than I did, though. I'm not usually big on thrillers.

[Trike]

You might like Ubik by Philip K. Dick. The Adjustment Bureau was based on one of his stories.

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin is Inception-ish.

The time-travel book Mammoth by John Varley is fun and twisty and nicely satisfying.

[Paul]

HI Misou


I had a quick look at your 'favorites' shelf and see Cloud Atlas is there, so perhaps other books that have a similar quality of literary writing but intersect SFF themes. I've recently fallen in love with the writing of Claire North so would recommend her The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and The End of the Day, the latter of which I'm currently reading.


Similar literary SFF oddness can be found with Rupert Thomson's The Five Gates of Hell and Jonathan Carroll's White Apples.


If you haven't read Ursula K. Le Guin you absolutely should. The Earthsea books are great, but I'd suggest The Left Hand of Darkness or The Dispossessed.


If you enjoy the twisty-turniness of Inception & Source Code, I think you should check out Iain M. Banks. I think his scifi is some of the greatest space opera ever written with superb writing, great plots and amazing characterisation. The Player of Games is a good place to start, although I think Surface Detail and Look to Windward are probably his best. From his non-SF, I'd also recommend The Bridge, Walking on Glass and The Crow Road.


I'll stop there before I get too carried away - although if I kick myself and think "why didn't I mention THAT?" I may be back...

[Karin]

Paul wrote: "I'll stop there before I get too carried away - although if I kick myself and think "why didn't I mention THAT?" I may be back... ."

Yes--so many books to recommend!

[Faith]

If you're looking for different:

Tomorrow and Tomorrow

The City & the City

A Man of Shadows

[Sou]

Wow, BIG thanks to everyone for the recommendations! I have added all to my list to check out. Can't wait!

Paul wrote: "HI Misou

I had a quick look at your 'favorites' shelf and see Cloud Atlas is there, so perhaps other books that have a similar quality of literary writing but intersect SFF themes. I..."

Trike wrote: "You might like Ubik by Philip K. Dick. The Adjustment Bureau was based on one of his stories.
"

I have heard many good things about Ursula K. LeGuin and Philip K. Dick so these are going on my TBR list. Thank you again.

[Sou]

Wow, BIG thanks to everyone for the recommendations! I have added all to my list to check out. Can't wait!

Paul wrote: "HI Misou

I had a quick look at your 'favorites' shelf and see Cloud Atlas is there, so perhaps other books that have a similar quality of literary writing but intersect SFF themes. I..."

Trike wrote: "You might like Ubik by Philip K. Dick. The Adjustment Bureau was based on one of his stories.
"

I have heard many good things about Ursula K. LeGuin and Philip K. Dick so these are going on my TBR list. Thank you again.

[Sarah]

I haven't read After Life- but I have read Dark Matter and enjoyed it very much. If you like thriller style science fiction I would recommend Michael Crichton. I don't know if his stuff is necessarily as "mind blowing" as Blake Crouch, if you're American you're probably fairly familiar with his work, but I feel like his books are kind of genre bending that way.

[Andy]

The Gone-Away World is probably the strangest-best science fiction book I've read. It's very different from anything else I've read. It's reality-based, but with a warped reality, if that makes any sense. The prose is playful, the characters are interesting, and the plot isn't predictable. I enjoyed it even more the second time I read it.

[Joelle.P.S]

Andy wrote: "The Gone-Away World is probably the strangest-best science fiction book I've read. It's very different. .."

Ooo great suggestion!

I'd also say Kameron Hurley does weird and unpredictable things in her works. My fave so far is The Stars Are Legion, but I also loved the short story that later became her brand new The Light Brigade, so I'm looking forward to diving into that 1.

[jamako]

Based on the movies you liked:

Snapshot
A very quick read (~120 pages) by Brandon Sanderson who is an avowed fan of Inception. Humanity can create a snapshot of a specific day in time and send people into this perfectly replicated artificial world. The protagonist is a cop on snapshot duty and stumbles onto an irregularity in between assignments.



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The following books are a bit 'out there' and have their very own takes on SciFi. Hope you'll find something you like!

The Space Merchants
Incredibly well written and on-point prediction on the power and impact of 24/7 multimedia advertising – from the 1950s! In a world where ad agencies dominate everything, the main character is tasked with selling the idea of colonizing Venus (a horribly unpleasant planet) to the masses.



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Lord of Light
Earth is gone and humans live on colony planets, on one such planet a small group has managed to gain immortality through technology and poses as gods from the Hindu pantheon. The only one opposing their rule is Sam aka Buddha aka Siddhartha and so on. Absolutely incredible work.



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Hunter's Run
Borderline sociopathic criminal turned prospector on an unexplored frontier planet is hounded by everyone and everything – most of all himself. Despite the three very successful authors who wrote this novel, it is relatively unknown and (in my opinion) massively underrated. One of my all-time favourites.



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Wasp
James Mowry is smuggled onto an enemy planet with one mission: "to sap morale, cause mayhem, tie up resources, and wage a one-man war on a planet of 80 million–in short, to be like the wasp buzzing around a car to distract the driver...and causing him to crash". Terry Pratchett said of this book: "I'd have given anything to have written wasp. I can't imagine a funnier terrorists' handbook." I agree.



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All Systems Red (part of a series)
Another quick read (~140 pages). A sentient 'Droid (who refers to itself as Murderbot) has to keep doing its job as a SecUnit without its employers noticing that it has hacked its governor module. All while dealing with social anxiety and wanting to be left alone to watch TV shows.



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Infomocracy
Humanity has (almost) completely abandoned nation-states some twenty years ago and has set up micro-democracies overseen by a global supermajority. The next election cycle is coming up and the system that has ensured world peace for the last twenty years is on the line.



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Ninefox Gambit
What could've been a run of the mill military SF novel has become something completely different –alien even– in the hands of Yoon Ha Lee. Captain Kel Cheris must recapture a fortress from the heretics and is aided by the shadow of a mad undead general who massacred two armies (one of them his own) some hundred years ago. Besides the great characters, the outstanding factor here is the world and its societies. I can't even begin to describe them in short form. Truly something you haven't seen before.

[Robert]

Many good recommendations above, so I will give only one, and it is a winner!

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

One of the most original and imaginative stories I have ever read. Hawkins plays with reality and perception in such a unique and comfortable way that it all seem completely genuine. I was hooked from the first page and enjoyed the ride all the way through.

[jamako]

Damn, I wanted to read that one for a while. Thanks for reminding me, Robert!

[CBRetriever]

Remnant Population is very different. The main character is an older woman which made me put off reading it for a while (mistake as it was excellent). Alien Contact would be the main genre

[Jan]

I second Ursula K. LeGuin.

Also, what about something like Pushing Ice? Yeah it's a first contact story and kind of a road trip (space trip???) story, but it went in directions I wasn't expecting. I really liked it.

[Jan]

I'm going to have a look at the samples of Remnant Population and The Library At Mount Char. Thanks for the recs.

[MadProfessah]

I second THE LIBRARY AT MOUNT CHAR and add CHILDREN OF TIME by Adrian Tchaikovsky. It’s about sentient spiders and ants battling for supremacy on a planet with a human ark ship approaching.

[Trike]

I would also recommend Remake by Connie Willis. She is a superb writer and that is a cool little story.

[Andy]

Joelle wrote: "I'd also say Kameron Hurley does weird and unpredictable things in her works...I also loved the short story that later became her brand new The Light Brigade, so I'm looking forward to diving into that 1."

I just finished The Light Brigade and recommend it. It's also somewhat mind-bendy, and so is suitable for this list.