Hi everyone. I’m looking for my next book (or series) to read but I’m in the mood for a particular theme. I’m hoping you all can assist with some recommendations.

I’m looking for a book written around humanity first discovering FTL travel. So the first moments of humanity starting to explore outside of the solar system.

Don’t ask me why I want this specific kind of story but I do haha. Thank you in advance!

EDIT: Thank you all! I’ve added every book here to my reading list.

  • protokaiser@lemmy.worldEnglish
    21·
    2 years ago

    Have you checked out The Expanse series? I think it’s 8 primary books, with like 4 optional novellas. Its not exactly what you’re looking for, but it does deal with some of what you’re interested in. It was also turned into a pretty good TV show.

    • MountainReason@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      2 years ago

      This is what I came to suggest. I’m just finishing the series now and have really enjoyed it. There is a lot of stuff going on in the story, but a bug part of it is FTL travel and humanity expanding beyond the solar system.

    • SapienSRC@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      2 years ago

      I’ve actually read the first three books and really enjoyed it. Somewhere down the line I forgot about the series somehow. I’ll add that to the list for sure.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      I got annoyed at Corey’s constant preaching about ships not swooping. 1) we get it. we got it for a long time, actually. 2) the reason aircraft swoop has more to do with being under constant acceleration and the frame of reference we observe them from. given constant acceleration and an appropriate frame of reference for observing… yes, space fighters would “swoop” too.

  • Xavier Ashe@infosec.pubEnglish
    11·
    2 years ago

    I’m currently going through Niven’s work. I’d suggest The Mote in God’s Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.

    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is also an amazing book if you haven’t read it yet.

    One more suggestion: Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

    • WestwardWinds@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      2 years ago

      I really enjoyed Project Hail Mary, just couldn’t put it down and it is similar enough to OP’s prompt to recommend to them.

      It’s not a book but if you enjoyed Project Hail Mary you might enjoy For All Mankind on Apple TV. It has a similar vibe of engineers and tech driving the plot balanced with looking at the human costs of a rapidly advancing space program both on and off Earth

    • jrandiny@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      2 years ago

      +1 for Project Hail Mary, one of the few books that can make me forget to sleep on a weekdays to finish it

  • mvirts@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    2 years ago

    Not FTL, but speaker for the dead and the rest of that plot line is my favorite, and of course you can read enders game as well if you want continuity.

  • Tenthrow@lemmy.worldMEnglish
    4·
    2 years ago

    If you want a really light but fun read (and a long series) the Omega Force books are a lot of fun. It feels like a Guardians of the Galaxy type story but in some ways even better. The books are on the shorter side and there are a lot of them (just finished the 14th) I find them to be a nice pallet cleanser between heavier sci-if stories.

  • Anonymouskbin@lemm.eeBEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    Old Man’s War by Scalzi, The Forever War by Haldeman, and Galaxy’s Edge are good series that cover this. The last one not so much from the inception point of view though

  • skunch@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    Tau Zero by Poul Anderson. Very interesting look at what traveling at near light speed might actually be like.

  • Tenthrow@lemmy.worldMEnglish
    21·
    2 years ago

    If you like Hard Sci-Fi I can’t recommend Children of Time (and the two sequels) by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Incredibly inventive and well written.

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    generally speaking, what kind of SciFi do you like? I’ve been enjoying some trashy pulp scifi- the series is called Backyard Starship. Earth technically still doesn’t know about space, aliens or the like; but there are humans that are out there… and the main character gets to be a space cop. this series is by JN Channey and Terry Magert

    Alternatively, asimov’s robot series might tickle your fancy- humans have jumped out and colonized other worlds, but the protagonist is an earthman, and it’s all his first time, etc. (the iRobot short stories would be set well before that, actually, one of them does deal with development of the hyperdrive.).

    Also, back in the pulpy category- this is more military sci fi, as well, there’s the Semper Mars, by Ian Douglas. here, we got humanity finding some wacky alien shit on mars. Good. Pulpy. but good. (i mean, space marines, of course it’s pulpy.)

  • goatskin4197@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    My two favorite SF series are The Expanse and The Three Body Problem. Both fit your FTL desire (the former a bit more directly)