What are some of your favorite science fiction books and why? If you had to pick only a few. As of writing this post my favorites are the following.
- The Quantum Magician
- Three Body Problem
- Children of Time
I tend to like in-depth explanations of the fictional science that exists in-universe as well as a good mystery.
Jean le Flambeur series by Hannu Rajaniemi, probably better know by the first book of the series: Quantum Thief.
The world building is AMAZING. The author has a PhD in mathematical physics and the world is a far future extrapolation of what human societies could become. The “sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” kind of future without blatant contradictions with what could be possible by current science. It’s not a utopia or a dystopia, it’s “just” a world with multiple societies with their own lifestyles, ideals and problems. The other notable thing is that reading is a bit of a puzzle. You can understand the story without understanding every term and that’s essential because the workings of the world are obvious and mundane for the chracters and they do not go out of their way to explain them just for the benefit of the reader. But for me that is a big part of the charm to be tossed in a very foreign culture to figure out it all by yourself. Also since the author is originally from Finland (the book is still originally written in English) there are people who mostly chill in the Oort cloud in zero gravity saunas and making snow sculptures.