this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2023
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Science Fiction

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Lemmy World Rules

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Looking for a good Sci Fi Novel available on Project Gutenberg (self.sciencefiction)
submitted 1 year ago by PlanetOfOrd to c/sciencefiction
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Been out of work for a while so buying books is out the question (yeah, I get there's always the library, but I don't like it for a lot of reasons).

I like how PG has free books. I realize I'm not going to find top-tier modern writers on PG, but I'm open to suggestions of good reads.

What I look for in sci fi:

  • An idea to chew on; something that stays with me even after I turn the last page.
  • Some emotional intrigue; I want to feel what the characters feel.

What I like to avoid:

  • Technobabble. I like a good story; I don't want to spend half the book understanding how the ship works. (I found Frank Herbet was good with avoiding technobabble...he often obeyed the rule of "show don't tell")

  • Stock characters. Gimme some depth.

A few I've read so far that I'd consider "passable" are Off on a Comet by Jules Vern (I only listen to about 2/3 of this on librivox) and Space Prison by Tom Godwin (although the plot is pretty simplistic).

I just finished Frankenstein. A lot of people think its The Greatest Novel. It was kinda meh. I see why people would get excited about it, but it didn't grab me like it does other people.

Any suggestions?

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[–] TheMissingBit 4 points 1 year ago

I would suggest looking for books on Standard Ebooks as well. They take transcribed books from Project Gutenberg and other similar sites and format them to display very nicely on ebook readers.

Project Gutenberg is great, but their focus is more on reproducing a printed product whereas StandardEbooks is focused on producing ebooks that are pleasant to read.