Ian M. Banks's Culture series is pretty good sci-fi.
Currently on the third book in the Three Body Problem trilogy. Just absolutely mind-blowing. Highly recommended.
I'm really enjoying the Children of time series. Red rising is also a good one
I just picked up Red Rising based on a streamer's recommendation, I'm looking forward to it
Adrian Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture trilogy ticks a lot of the same boxes as the Expanse. A blue collar crew of misfits from different factions gets caught in the center of a galaxy-spanning fight for survival.
Couple of stand alone books:
The Paper Menagerie (and other stories)
The Ocean at the End of the Lane
Stardust
Johnathan Strange and Mr Norel
Couple of series:
Discworld (start with guards guards and follow a reading order guide)
The Culture
Malazan Book of the Fallen (be warned this is big and complex, but my fucking god is it rewarding. Especially on a second read through)
Children of Time
Final Architecture
N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy scratched that itch for me. I devoured those three novels. It starts with The Fifth Season.
I could say a lot about the setting, the tone, the subtext, but I'll give you the gift I had walking in. Ignorance. Don't read any more about the novels. If you're reading this, right now, stop. Open Libby, or Audible, or whatever you use to get your books. Get the Fifth Season and read it.
You're still reading this post. What did I tell you.
Go
I had the same void to fill after finishing The Expanse series a couple years ago. But I was also still on a bit of a sci-fi "high".
A quick series that I jumped to afterwards was The Bobiverse. It has a more casual writing style, but entertaining in its own way. I especially liked the first couple books. You and I seem to have similar tastes, so you might consider jumping into the first book to see what you think. ( the exception of strong disagreement on HHGTTG ๐, though I can understand your comment on first vs second half)
The Andy Weir books suggested by others are also great reads, but surprisingly, I would recommend them as audiobooks... because they are even better listens if you are into that. I rarely do audiobooks, but The Martian and Project Hail Mary are hands down the best listening experiences I've had. Typically audio doesn't have the same charm as reading, but I have no hesitation suggesting a listen to those two!
The Last Human by Zack Jordan and Recursion by Blake Crouch were a couple nice one-off reads that had some fascinating themes as well. There were things I didn't love, but still not bad as a transition if you didn't feel like jumping into a whole new series.
For a recommendation totally out of left field, sounds like you enjoy deeper fictional world building. You would likely enjoy the fantasy book The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, but prepare for epic disappointment when you find out the third book of the trilogy isn't released, and may never be written.
Ahh, the Bobbieverse... for when we can't get enough of our favorite Martian. ๐ Jokes aside, I always feel more confident jumping into books from someone who has similar tastes, so thanks for the recommendation! I know, disliking Hitchiker's Guide is bordering on blasphemy.
I started Project Hail Mary and I think I was irked by the protagonist, if I remember right. But the book has such glowing reviews, maybe it'll be better for me as an audiobook.
Thanks for the other recommendations as well! I am probably going to shoot for a lighter read before diving into another series. I don't know if I can jump into an incomplete series though. I'm putting off on reading the Game of Thrones books because I'm worried I'll get incredibly invested and then they'll never be finished. Maybe I should just embrace the journey though. There's still fun to be had even if everything doesn't get tied up.
The narrator for Project Hail Mary does a great job, so maybe that will be helpful to get through the opening act. Once the meat of the story picks up, it's pretty awesome IMO.
I'm in the same boat for Game of Thrones... Everyone says I'll love it, but I can't bring myself to dive in knowing it won't be finished. Honestly, I wouldn't have read Name of the Wind had I known, but the person who recommended it failed to mention the trilogy wasn't finished! That being said, it leaves a lot of room for imagination, and really inspires more reading when you get to the end of book 2... with a healthy dose of utter frustration.
This list is just in the order that I thought of them, not in the order I think is best quality wise.
All pretty great robot detective novels. Lots of pondering on Asimov's 3 laws of robotics and how they would play out. Pretty good.
Also pretty good, anthology of short robot stories. Similar kinda vibe as the above 3.
What if math could predict the future of civilization. The first 3 are the best.. sorta loses the thread a bit in the last 2. Overall pretty good. Mostly doesn't have any robots like the other Asimov books I listed.
A giant ring shaped megastructure around a star, lets go explore. Only the first is any good, some low key sexism in it but bearable. Past the first the sexism ramps up. Nivin like a lot of male sci-fi authors doesn't know how to write women.
A half robot half human security robot hacks its own systems. Very good, my interpretation of the series is its an allegory for the autistic experience. Also Martha Wells can write women so that's always a big plus.
I see the 3 body problem series recommended a lot in this thread but it has a lot of overt sexism baked into the plot so don't really recommend. Lots of fun sci-fi concepts tho, gets into some pretty surreal concepts that border on mathematical physics.
Probably already seen the movie, its pretty much the same. The book is pretty good but the author himself kinda sucks, bigtime homophobe. The follow up books are nowhere near as good as the first.
Every novella by Ursula K. Le Guin. Some of them are not scifi but most of them are, and the ones that are not are still great. I am currently working though this one now. She has a big anthropologist/feminist slant to her writing so highly recommend. Feels very modern when compared to the other sci-fi that was coming out around the same time. I plan on reading her other longer novels after this but I have not gotten there yet.
Pretty good sci-fi. Has a bit of a "white boy goes and lives with the natives and becomes their savior" vibe that kinda feels a little off to me but I think Herbert had good intentions. It's an allegory for the middle east and oil extraction. Overall worth a read just to check it off the list.
The Last Horizon Series, wizards in the future in space. Pretty much feels like a dnd campaign where every one is already lv20. Sci-fi+Magic. It's not really very deep but its a fun nonetheless.
Hard science fiction. If you like competency porn or engineering/science then these are for you. Very nerdy stuff.
The writing itself is kinda meh but the stories are fun. The kinda stuff an engineer daydreams about, like von neumann probes and mind uploading and stuff like that. Over all fun series but not very deep.
Dune is one of my favorite books. Herbert is clear on this, Paul is exploiting the fremen. The Bene Geserat planted the savior myth. Their goals align, mostly, but he can't really control them, just aim them and pull the trigger.
Also three body problem series is a slog. Character development is not great. He pulls the plug on the main baddie too early and installs a characature of america bad at the end. Second book has one idea.
I'm a big fan of modern epic fantasy. I highly recommend Stormlight Archive and The Kingkiller Chronicles. Sanderson and Rothfuss are easy to read and enjoy.
This is like the sixth time I've had Stormlight Archives recommended to me by random strangers. Maybe it's time to look into those.
Brandon Sanderson is awesome. I recommend starting with the mystborn books, but stormlight are good as well. They're both part of the cosmere, a universe created by Sanderson. Many other books as well.
Stormlight Archives can be daunting to those not familiar with Sanderson's works, especially since the books are long (1000+ pages) and the first book is setting up a long 10-book series (plus other stuff from a wider universe).
If you'd like something smaller and standalone to try first, check out "Emperor's Soul" (novella) or Warbreaker (novel).
The Aubrey/Maturin series. Now you might think you'd hate a series of 20 novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars because when I finally gave in to my friends constant pressure to read them, so did I. I was wrong, they are brilliant. Very well written and often very, very funny. The movie Master & Commander is based on two or three of them. It's like if Star Trek was set in the 19th century and on an actual ship.
The Wolf Hall trilogy. Everyone thinks they know the story of Anne Boleyn and Henry, but this trilogy is unique - set from Cromwell's perspective.
Farseer trilogy. Fantasy fiction done right.
Haha, well you're right, the setting of the Aubrey series does not sound like my cup of tea, but you've convinced me!
One series I haven't seen recommended yet is Alastair Reynolds novels. Revelation Space is a wonderful series, and if you want to start with a standalone story House of Suns and Diamond Dogs are great choices.
For lighter reading there's also the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.
There's other older series that may appeal to you: Vatta's War and Vorkosigan Saga conf to mind.
+1 for Murderbot!
Check out the Silo series by Hugh Howey. AppleTV's show did the first half of book 1 already, but the books are still better. Great writing and a pretty easy read.
If you enjoyed The Expanse then I would recommend Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds.
There are a lot of good suggestions here. I started the 3 body problem right after the expanse. I used to read a lot. It has been 2 years, I'm about half way and I dread picking it up to try to continue. It has killed my lust for reading completely.
Dune hasn't been mentioned.
Terry Pratchett's Discworld series are fun. Use a guide to find which series sounds interesting.
The Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson is good.
The entire Sanderson cosmere has been enjoyable IMHO.
For a shorter read I'd recommend Station Eleven. It's only 200 pages but is a really interesting story and makes me feel grateful for all that I have (including the ability to send this message)
Basic summary: Global pandemic but the mortality rate is 99% and you usually die within hours of showing symptoms. The plot grapples with the loss of modern life and what could remain once it all comes crumbling down.
There's a tv adaptation a few years ago. It was well done. Timely release too.
First Law series by Joe Abercrombie. That world and The Expanse both have similar feels but First Law is fantasy.
I'm on book 6 of the Expanse and love it! My suggestions:
The Culture series - Iain M Banks. Space opera that gave us luxury gay space communism. You can pick up any book as a starting point - they're set in the same universe spanning millennia and have very little interconnection. Explores themes of humanity in an AI world (choice, war, deceit, love, etc)
Revelation Space series - Alastair Reynolds. Closest in terms of style and sweeping scope to The Expanse. Same dry humour that can get a bit much at times.
Three Body Problem trilogy - Liu Cixin. Leans a lot heavier into the Science of sci-fi and can be very dense, but one of my favourite trilogies. What happens when you finally get a signal back from space?
Monk & Robot series (novellas) - Becky Chambers. Pure hope punk and absolutely delightful (without any of the incredibly distateful and harmful tropes found in Midnight Library). There are only two out so far, and you'll be able to read them in a day. Of all of the recommendations I've listed, I implore you to read this one.
I second Monk & Robot. In fact, a lot of Becky Chambers books are good. Too much of the sci-fi genre is doom and gloom nowadays.
To Be Taught, if Fortunate (novellas) - Becky Chambers
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (trilogy) - Beck Chambers
Pandoras star and Judas unchained are great.
Black library has quite some books that feel similar in a Sci fi setting. You could check vaults of Terra.
I would suggest The Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds. One of my favourite scifi series. Others include the Hyperion series and the Dune series. I would also like to mention a series which is not that well-known but I enjoyed it: the suneater series.
Cloud Atlas is probably my favorite book, much better than the film (although they did alright for a source that is pretty unadaptable). It is told in a series of interconnected stories over a few hundred years.
Kim Stanley Robinson is probably my favorite living author; Shaman is a good one to start with to see if you like his writing style. Its about a kid growing up in the late paleolithic.
I've started reading The Culture novels by Iain M. Banks. It's space opera on a much larger scale than The Expanse, but I'm thoroughly entertained .
Deepgate Codex by Alan Campbell.
It's 3 books: Scar Night, Iron Angel, and God of Clocks.
Look at expeditionary force series. Pretty fun series.
Mix old school yakuza family drama with a hint of mystical powers that grant the characters certain physical/mental enhancements and you get The Green Bone Saga Trilogy. Very good series I couldn't put down.
While i havent finished them, i really enjoyed going through the Battletech novels.
Big stompy robots in a galaxy spanning civilization with a nice long history. The books take place over a few generations so as you read you get interested in the events from previous books by different factions in universe. I also like that there are a variety of authors so you dont get fatigued by a single style.(at least that was my experience)
Lots of intrigue and conflict with enduring characters.
Book reader community.