Any sci-fi novel recommendations - easy to read

[evolutionaryFan]

Looking for sci-fi novels that are fast-paced... easy to read(to me this generally means it's light on description).

I've always thought Asimov's Robot Novels were pretty easy reads because he gets a great deal of plot out of a small amount of basic ideas (3 laws of robotics). Also his prose is very clear and straightforward.

Any recommendations? Thanks.

[Scott Taylor]

The early Heinlein books from the 1940s and 1950s meet the bill - Red Planet, Have Spacesuit Will Travel, Citizen of the Galaxy, Starship Troopers (probably the epitomy of what you are looking for). Avoid the later stuff from the 1960s and on - they are still good but have a lot of philosophizing.

[evolutionaryFan]

The early Heinlein books meet the bill - Red Planet, Have Spacesuit Will Travel, Citizen of the Galaxy, Starship Troopers (probably the epitomy of what you are looking for).

cool! Thanks! I read Stranger in a Strange Land years ago and didn't really like it. Didn't read anything else by him.

[DrNewGod]

I was a fan of almost all of Larry Niven's Known Space work. His characterization is not the strongest, and his characters are usually a bit quirky, but the plots are both fast and rich, and his world conceptualization is his main strength.

For a standalone of his stuff, World Out Of Time is pretty good. It's a bit dated now, but his Footfall, with Jerry Pournelle is a fun invasion yarn.

[evolutionaryFan]

I was a fan of almost all of Larry Niven's Known Space work. His characterization is not the strongest, and his characters are usually a bit quirky, but the plots are both fast and rich, and his world conceptualization is his main strength.

For a standalone of his stuff, World Out Of Time is pretty good. It's a bit dated now, but his Footfall, with Jerry Pournelle is a fun invasion yarn.

awesome! Thanks. Did read Ringworld years back but can't remember much about it.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin

[Zelena]

A. E. Van Vogt is a very easy writer to read, according to forked tongues, too easy…
I read his stories when I was much younger so not sure if it would be your cup of tea.
All his short stories are very pleasant like with the compilation “The Voyage of the Space Beagle”.

Georges R.R. Martin has also written a collection of short stories I liked: “A song for Lya”… More literary.

Fredric Brown’s short stories are very funny… like the stories in the collection “Honeymoon in Hell”.

[BeastieRunner]

I echo Starship Troopers for classics!

Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy is fun and easy-to-read.

The Martian Chronicles, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Fahrenheit 451, The Sirens of Titan, & surprisingly Frankenstein I would say round out the easy-to-read classics.

Modern to Post-Modern?

To Sleep In A See of Stars is an easy-to-read space opera.

The Handmaid’s Tale, The Martian, Red Mars, Jurassic Park, & Annihilation (I would recommend avoiding the sequels of the Southern Reach, the first book is amazing and reads well without the others).

[evolutionaryFan]

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin

cool! Thanks!

[evolutionaryFan]

A. E. Van Vogt is a very easy writer to read, according to forked tongues, too easy…
I read his stories when I was much younger so not sure if it would be your cup of tea.
All his short stories are very pleasant like with the compilation “The Voyage of the Space Beagle”.

Georges R.R. Martin has also written a collection of short stories I liked: “A song for Lya”… More literary.

Fredric Brown’s short stories are very funny… like the stories in the collection “Honeymoon in Hell”.

Thanks! Van Vogt sounds perfect actually!

[evolutionaryFan]

I echo Starship Troopers for classics!

Hitchhiker's Guide to Galaxy is fun and easy-to-read.

The Martian Chronicles, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Fahrenheit 451, Jurassic Park, & surprisingly Frankenstein I would say round out the easy-to-read classics.

Modern to Post-Modern?

To Sleep In A See of Stars is an easy-to-read space opera.

The Handmaid’s Tale, The Martian, Red Mars, Ender's Game, & Annihilation (I would recommend avoiding the sequels of the Southern Reach, the first book is amazing and reads well without the others).

Nice! Thanks. I've read some of these. I have not read Frankenstein! It is supposed to be the first sci-fi novel.

[BeastieRunner]

Nice! Thanks. I've read some of these. I have not read Frankenstein! It is supposed to be the first sci-fi novel.

For being written nearly 200 years ago, I would say it reads fairly contemporary as opposed to Dracula, The Lost World, or War of the Worlds.

[Kirby101]

Alfred Bester, The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination.
If you like Asimov, Whom the Gods Would Destroy.

[evolutionaryFan]

Alfred Bester, The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination.
If you like Asimov, Whom the Gods Would Destroy.

Thanks! Did you mean "The Gods Themselves" ?

[Timothy Hunter]

Slaughterhouse 5
Sirens of Titans
Slapatick (personally my favorite Vonegut novel.