Science Fiction Series NOT Always Listed in Best Lists (Updated 9-10-01)
May 20 '01 (Updated Sep 10 '01)
The Bottom Line There are so many different science fiction series that are enjoyable reads, there is sure to be one to appeal to your taste.
Recently, I had a discussion with a friend about books and what books they thought were best. My husband and I are both avid readers of science fiction, and we each have our own favorites.
These are science fiction series that I think are good reads, that are not the “big” names in science fiction. While I think Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Philip Jose Farmer, Tolkien, and many others are probably more deserving of the “best” nomination, I want to tell you about some science fiction series that you may not have heard about, but are definitely worth reading.
For this epinion, I am not going to include "fantasy" books, although I really enjoy those too. I may update this list later to include fantasy.
These are in no particular order.
Saga Of Rissa Kerguelen by F.M. Busby is a space opera. It is the story of a young girl who is put into a welfare system of slavery, but manages to get free by a fluke of a winning lottery ticket bought in her name by a guard. With the money and some help, she gets off planet, gets some some survival training, including self-defense, hiding out and money matters. She hooks up with a pirate named Bran Tregare, who is a member of a very influential family. Together, the two of them have been badly treated by the Earth government, and vow to destroy it. The story is very political, and offers food for thought.
The story is in three novels, Young Rissa, Rissa and Tregare, and The Long View, with a fourth book Zelde M’Tana being about one of the crew members on Tregare’s ship. Unlike many space operas, this one is fairly short, with the first book being only 177 pages. Busby has a knack for making a lot of things happen in a very short time.
David Weber’s Honor Harrington books are military science fiction. Honor Harrington is a very strong character. The series starts with her first command in On Basilisk Station. Honor seems to have the most incredible knack to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and through sheer guts and determination manage to save the day (barely). Her character is a great role model of a woman who is strong, thoughtful, and brave. These stories have a lot of space combat with new technology. I do find to some extent the explanation of the technical devices to be a bit long-winded for a non-technical reader, but the characters and adventure more than made up for this. There are some excellent reviews on these books here on epinions. Books in the series include The Honor of the Queen, The Short Victorious War, Field of Dishonor, Flag in Exile, Honor Among Enemies, In Enemy Hands, Echoes of Honor, Ashes of Victory, as well as some books of short stories and novellas about Honor Harrington. Weber has also several other series that are also enjoyable. Once you start reading his books, I think you’ll find yourself looking for more.
One I haven’t read in a long time but still one of my favorites is H.Beam Piper’s Fuzzy books. Piper himself wrote the first two books Little Fuzzy and Fuzzy Sapiens and a book combining these with Fuzzies and Other People. After his death, two other books were written about the Fuzzies: Fuzzy Bones by William Tuning and Fuzzy Odyssey by Ardath Mayhar. These novels are about the discovery of a race of beings on a very valuable planet. Naturally, the corporations on the planet want to either eliminate these creatures or at least make them be considered animals and non-sentient. The Fuzzies are great characters, and the books are interesting in determining what makes a being “sentient”. If you haven’t read these books, good luck finding them, since they are fairly old and not easily available.
Stardoc by S.L. Viehl is an unusual science fiction series. These books are about a woman doctor who discovered she is an illegally made genetically enhanced clone, not the daughter of a great scientist. She heads off –planet to take her medical residency on a distant world, and discovers she is really a pretty good doctor and surgeon. Eventually, her creator wants her back, but she now has new friends who are helping keep her safe. Cherijo is a cool character; she is small, smart and very mouthy, and often finds herself in trouble because she is not afraid to say what she thinks. Lots of different races are vividly described in these books, with an alien version of E.R. There is a lot of action and some sex, including between species. There is a rape scene in one of the books, also, so beware if this is a problem. The books in this series are Stardoc, Beyond Varallan, and Endurance.
The Lost Regiment by William R. Forstchen is a mix of military science fiction with some historical background. A regiment from the Civil War is mysteriously transported to a strange land, which is another planet. They discover that humans are considered cattle by an alien race. The regiment, using technology of the Civil War timeframe, must try to create weapons and defend themselves and the other humans. The aliens are not very technological, which gives the humans a much needed edge, since they are greatly outnumbered. We get some well-developed characters in these novels, both human and non. Very good descriptions of their attempts to recreate weapons and technology. These books are all titled The Lost Regiment # whatever.
The Starfist series by David Sherman and Dan Cragg is strict military science fiction. These are the adventures of a Marine unit in the 25th century. It gives a very human look at warfare. These books have started taking on a new direction. The Marines were first contact against a hostile alien species, and now the government wants to keep the existence of the aliens quiet. So the Marines are being stuck out of rotation on a planet that is considered hardship duty. The most recent novel in the series had three Marines being sent on a special duty assignment. The rest of the Marines did not have any action or duty in this novel, which was quite a change of pace. My husband prefers David Drake’s Hammer Slammer books for his military science fiction, but I have not been able to get into these.
Like some mystery with your science fiction? Try Lynn S. Hightower’s series which features a team of policemen, one human and one alien. These are interesting police mysteries even without the sci fi twist. The books are Alien Blues, Alien Eyes, Alien Heat and Alien Rites. This series reminds me of the Alien Nation show on TV.
Time travel your thing? Try the Adventures of Conrad Stargard by Leo Frankowski. A man from 20th century finds himself transported back to Poland in the 13th century, right before it was due to be overrun by the Mongol Empire. Frantically trying to figure out how to survive this invasion (knowing from history exactly what to expect), he begins “inventing” things such as the steam engine, radios and machine guns. Can he save himself and Poland? And what happened once the Mongols are gone? Frankowski creates an unusual alternate universe. With this series, however, I find it almost best to stop after book 4. Books 5 and 6 seem a bit off target. Also, there is basically some gratuitous sex in these novels.
A more light time travel series is the Time Scout novels by Robert Asprin and Linda Evans. Shangri-La Station is the place for time travel. Portals appear and disappear, leading to various locations and times in the past. Some portals are stable, while others appear and disappear. Tourists can take guided tours to the past, enjoying an authentic visit. Time scouts explore the new portals that open. A danger with the portals is that you cannot ever be in the same time twice. Some political dealings give the station some problems. Then you have the people who have wandered through the gates and end up in the station. They are not considered citizens, and so have no rights. Some interesting plots in these novels. The last two novels were a story about Jack the Ripper. The novels are Time Scout, Wagers of Sin, Ripping Time, and The House That Jack Built.
A science fiction series that may appeal to the younger reader is Alan Dean Foster’s series of books about Flinx and his mini-dragon Pip. I first read these books as a teen-ager and loved them. I read them again in college, and still liked them. As a much more mature adult, I still appreciate these stories. Flinx was an abandoned child living a hard life on the streets. However, as he reached his teens, he discovered he had some unique mental powers. Adopted by a mini-dragon Pip who stays with him always, Flinx gets into some trouble. A very powerful man wants to get his hands on Flinx for his own devious purposes. Flinx and Pip have great adventures on different planets as they try to stay out of this man’s clutches. Books in this series are For Love of Mother Not, The Tar-Aiym Krang, Orphan Star, The End of the Matter, Flinx in Flux, Bloodhype and Mid-Flinx.
A series I recently discovered is The Sand Wars books by Charles Ingrid. My husband picked these up in an two volume omnibus. I must admit, I am only on the third book in the series, but my husband read 6 of them and enjoyed them all, so I'm going to go ahead and add it to the list. Here, you have the story of Jack Storm, the last Knight. The Knights were an elite fighting group during the Thrakian Invasion, with special armor. The Thrakians were bug-like aliens that were turning worlds into barren, sandy wastelands to lay their eggs. Nothing the human worlds did stopped them. On one planet, something happens to the Knight's armor, causing berserker creatures to hatch out of the Knight's armor. To end the threat, the Knights are pretty much abandoned or killed by the military. However, Jack Storm was the sole survivor on a transport ship, found 20 years later in cold sleep. Jack is trying to find the person responsible for destroying the Knights, while that person, and others, are out to get him. They do not want the world to know what happened. Jack hooks up with a young woman with special abilities, and his armor is starting to talk to him. These are well-written, fast paced action stories. Books in this series are Solar Kill, Lasertown Blues, Celestial Hit List, Alien Salute, Return Fire and Challenge Met.
I said I was going to try to list only some series that may not be as well known. Here is a quickie listing of some of the more well-known series by well-known authors:
Isaac Asimov – Foundation Series
Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Michael Moorcock –Eternal Champion series
David Brin – Uplift series
Frank Herbert - Dune
Orson Scott Card – Ender series
There are many, many great science fiction series. I hope this has piqued your interest in some books that are off the main path.
P.S. I plan to come back and update this once in a while as I think of other series that should be included, or find some new ones.
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