I’m looking for a good science fiction novel, ideally a series. I’m very much a Babylon 5 fan at heart. I like how Straczynski treated psychology and sociology. Not every human was a generic vaguely secular Westerner, people had different motives and different beliefs. Even the aliens weren’t mono-culture most of the time. Good people were often in conflict with other good people for damn good reasons. I haven’t found anything since that is a good as B5 on that front. The Expanse came decently close on some fronts and not others. Harry Turtledove is almost as good as Straczynski, if a bit slower in his narrative style, but he dominates the alternate history niche not space opera science fiction.
I’m 90% of my way through the Expeditionary Force (Skippy!) books. They’re fun, and all, but I’m looking for something more serious at this point. I do like how the different powers have coalitions with technological pecking orders and client states, akin to US/NATO vs. USSR/Warsaw Pact nations. Unfortunately, I don’t think the author quite grasps how espionage tends to work in the real world.
I don’t mind if it’s pulpy, as long as it’s interesting, the characters develop and change, and espionage is on even footing with military action.
I prefer audio books, but I’ll take what I can get. Thanks!
by s-ro_mojosa
3 Comments
Have you tried the Expanse series? The first book is kind of a weird noir thing, but the rest of the series is more straightforward space opera, and has at least some of the elements you’re looking for.
You may like The Snow Queen trilogy by Joan D. Vinge.There is espionage, but it’s a minor part of the story. There’s no space battles from what I recall, but the different human cultures and characters are good. The author was an anthropologist.
Also no space battles, but The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin showcases multiple cultures on one planet, has good character development, and has more espionage than military action. There are secret police, there is no formal military.
Galactic Football League series (first book is The Rookie). Granted the last galactic war is in the past (there’s The Crypt series for that time period) but there’re factions working in the background towards something big, with hints of it speckled in from the beginning. I seriously recommend this series whether you like football or not.