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I haven't met anyone who has read or heard of "Off Armageddon Reef.

" It's by the guy who did Honor Harrington, which we also
hadn't heard of. We bought an old copy on a whim at a book reseller and it sucked us in. We immediately bought the next three in
The Safehold Series and are anxiously awaiting the fifth.
Warning: Reddit may not appreciate the thematic elements that underpin the series. I definitely did.
Warning 2: Books 2 & 3 aren't nearly as good as books 1 & 4.

level 1
MashOneI

2 points·9 years ago


Eon, by Greg Bear, brilliant book that takes on where Arthur C. Clark runs out imagination!!

level 1
elitist_snob

2 points·9 years ago


I recently enjoyed 'We' (not the Zamyatin novel) but by a new author called John Dickinson - about a technollogically hyper-
connected society (so pretty relevant ot the way we are going....). Def worth a read!

level 1
vmos

2 points·9 years ago


I don't know enough to know if this is obscure or not but "Deathworld 2" by Harry Harrison. The first one is a bit meh and I've read
the third one but don't remember it but the second one is brilliant. This guy crash lands on a planet, finds a primitive civilization
and goes about completely violating the prime directive to get himself home
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathworld

level 1
quentinp

2 points·9 years ago·edited 9 years ago


The Greatwinter Trilogy by Sean McCullen. (Souls in the Great Machine, The Miocene Arrow, Eyes of The Calculor)
Basically post-apocalyptic, for some reason electronoics no longer work, and a strange force causes any mammal larger than a cat
to walk in one direction mindlessly until the forces passes - if nothing stops you in your walk you basically walk until you die.
Technology is basically limited to wind power, and some basic gunpowder. Combustion engines are forbidden (society retains a
legend of global warming basically).
1 more reply

level 1
matches42

2 points·9 years ago


Santiago: A Myth of the Far Future - Mike Resnick.
Not terribly obscure, but i've yet to run across someone else who has read it. Got my copy from my dad, out of the attic
1 more reply

level 1
Mojo_Nixon

2 points·9 years ago


"The Man Who Never Missed' is one of my all time favorite books. Steve Perry manages to build a fairly detailed world and tell
an amazing story in it in like 250 pages.

level 1
QueenZ

2 points·9 years ago


The Hawk of May trilogy by Gillian Bradshaw

level 1
QueenZ

2 points·9 years ago


Also, its not really obscure but it is great: The Kin of Ata Are Waiting For You by Dorothy Bryant

level 1
saagus

2 points·9 years ago


The Forbidden Borders Trilogy by Michael Gear. I have never heard anyone else having read it.

level 1
NoSalt

2 points·9 years ago


Where Late The Sweet Birds Sang
level 1
dnc

2 points·9 years ago


Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys
Teleporters allow travel to the moon (although theres a catch, its less teleportation - more remote cloning). An deadly structure has
been discovered on the moon, and someone has to explore (and die repeatedly in the process).
Precursor to so many games that we play nowdays.

level 1
AmericanGoyBlog

2 points·9 years ago


Harry Harrison "The Hammer and the Cross" trilogy.
OK, OK, not sci fi..... but worth it.
How about Harry Harrison "Eden" trilogy. You know, what would happen if the meteor did not hit the earth and the dinosaurs ruled
the planet....

level 1
crlamke

2 points·9 years ago


I want to vote for "The Machine Stops", a science fiction short story or novella (not really a novel) by E. M. Forster. It was published
in 1909 and is a very early take on a dystopian society based in underground colonies after something happened on the surface.
It's got a lot of cool ideas, especially considering how early it was written. It was well regarded for its time but I hadn't heard of it
until I stumbled across the full text on a web site. It's available in free ebook form and online for those who want to read it.

level 1
McPhage

6 points·9 years ago


Book of the New Sun and Book of the Long Sun series by Gene Wolfe

level 2
punninglinguist

5 points·9 years ago


I'm not sure I'd call those obscure. Even if he doesn't sell millions of copies, Gene Wolfe is one of the most celebrated writers in SF,
and The Book of the New Sun is his most famous work.

level 3
McPhage
2 points·9 years ago
I dunno, he gets a lot of respect but it seems like he's rarely mentioned on r/scifi

level 4
punninglinguist

3 points·9 years ago


That's just because books in general are mentioned relatively rarely on r/scifi. If you go to a more books-focused SF forum
like r/PrintSF, he gets mentioned pretty frequently.

level 5
McPhage

2 points·9 years ago


I think I'm okay with the answer to most questions being "check this other subreddit..."

level 2
[deleted]

5 points·9 years ago


Seconded. Hardcore SF nerds know this series, but the general public has no idea it exists. I stumbled across it a year or two ago
and had my mind blown right out of my head.
level 2
Comment deleted by user9 years ago

level 3
McPhage

2 points·9 years ago


I don't see him mentioned much here on r/scifi at least. So talk about him more! :-)

level 1
fustercluck

3 points·9 years ago


Spider Robinson - Mindkiller

level 2
patt

2 points·9 years ago


Spider's stuff is generally awesome, even with the puns. The Lifehouse trilogy is definitely worth reading.
3 more replies
level 1
StochasticOoze

3 points·9 years ago


Obscurity is in the eye of the beholder. I don't think any of the novels I'm about to list are particularly obscure, but they're not ones
that get mentioned every day like Dune, Ender, Foundation, etc.
• Martians, Go Home by Fredric Brown
• Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh
• A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
• The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl & C.M. Kornbluth
• City by Clifford Simak (though calling it a novel is a stretch; at best it's a "fix-up" novel like I, Robot or The Illustrated Man)
• Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
• We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
• Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
2 more replies

level 1
rusemean

4 points·9 years ago


Not sure how obscure it is, but some of the top comments here are pretty well known so I think it qualifies: Ossian's Ride by Fred
Hoyle.

level 1
Lucretius

2 points·9 years ago


The works of Daniel Keys Moran.
Daniel Keys Moran created one of the most believable, textured, immersive, and yet fantastic science fiction worlds I have ever
encountered in print. His stories, "The Tales of the Continuing Time", are a saga that stretches from 64,000 BC into our distant
future. Along the way he touches upon such diverse topics as the origins of the Human Race, the nature of Artificial Intelligence,
Telepathy, Time Travel, the ultimate fate of the Internet, Eugenics, Genetic Engineering, the way that Technology as a whole
evolves, as well as philosophical issues such as Environmentalism, the role of Violence in the life of a moral man, the value Humor,
the sustainability of ideas such as independent-nations vs world-government, and the limits of Love.
Due to a series of both professional and personal issues, Daniel Keys Moran has been unable to write in this world for many years.
However, recently he has been able to purchase back the rights for his previous books and begun offering them as eBooks on his
own site. (You can also buy them as eBooks or used hard-copy over Amazon, but buy from his site as this supports him more).
For your enjoyment and convenience, I list the links to his Continuing Time eBooks (read them in this order):
1988 Emerald Eyes
1989 The Long Run
1993 The Last Dancer
NEW!!! 2011 The A.I. War, Book One: The Big Boost
I feel I should warn you, Daniel Keys Moran's work is pretty addictive! If you read these and need another fix, there's an archive of
his works on the semi-official website including some short stories from the Continuing Time, and also he maintains a blog.
I also like the works of C.S. Friedman, Jerry Pournelle, and David Brin.
level 1
Timmain

3 points·9 years ago


"Odd John," Olaf Stapledon.

level 1
mtarascio

3 points·9 years ago


The End of Eternity by Asimov.
Not an obscure author but no one seems to have read the book. One of my favourites.

level 2
fat_squirrel

2 points·9 years ago


Upvoted and to encourage new readers, a brief synopsis: Eternity exists outside of time; a place where mankind facilitates
intercentury trading (after the development of complex mathematics in the 26th century). This is the story of one man who
inadvertently gets caught in an adventure of love, mystery, and time travel, as he questions its ultimate purpose.
1 more reply

level 1
John_Farrier

2 points·9 years ago


The Nick Seafort saga by David Feintuch. The first novel is titled Midshipman's Hope. It's a truly excellent series.

level 2
skipjim

2 points·9 years ago


For some reason I went through that whole series just hating the main character...

level 2
FitzFool

1 point·9 years ago·edited 9 years ago


I enjoyed this whole series but after a while I was just waiting for the next MOST HORRIBLE THING EVER to happen to him.
The Still and The King were pretty good too.
Though as a 15 year old reading these books the constant sexual ambiguity made me uncomfortable.
level 1
Sapho

2 points·9 years ago


Alpha Centauri by William Barton and Michael Capobianco is a great piece of hard sci-fi. A science crew exploring ancient
civilizations, sweet tech, a dystopian Earth on the brink of overpopulation, and a plot to sterilize the crew with a sexually
transmitted virus. I read it when I was quite young and it was my first experience with transexuality/sex-change in a sci-fi context,
which was handled in a really cool and interesting way! Again, sweet sweet tech.
All that said, it is more than a bit triggery regarding sexual assault, so be careful.

level 2
fuscus

2 points·9 years ago


I had completely forgotten this book. I read chunks of it in middle school, but I kept on skipping parts because the sexual content
was, as I recall, upsetting and graphic in what bits I read. I don't think I finished it, mostly for that reason.

level 1
culalem

2 points·9 years ago


House of Suns - Alastair Reynolds
Blindsight; Starfish, Maelstrom, & Behemoth - Peter Watts

level 1
leopold_leopold

2 points·9 years ago


Borges's - "Garden of Forking Paths", "The Aleph", "Funes the Memorious", "The Library of Babel", "Tlon, Uqbar, and Orbis Tertius"

level 2
foptimusprime

1 point·9 years ago


Most of those stories are contained in "Labryinths", which is a fantastic book. It's also good to have on your shelf when you want to
look clever. :)
1 more reply

level 1
eghhge

2 points·9 years ago


Anything by Stanislw Lem

level 1
lief79

2 points·9 years ago


Perdido Street Station is realtively new and quite interesting.
1 more reply

level 1
Fearbeard

2 points·9 years ago


Little late to the party, but my personal favorite obscure sci-fi is the Virga series by Karl Schroeder.
EDIT: You can read the first 3 chapters of the first book in the series here
3 more replies

level 1
YourFairyGodmother

2 points·9 years ago


Damn shame that Ted Sturgeon seemingly fits in the obscure category any more. This thread reminds me of Sturgeon's Law: "90% of
science fiction is shit. 90% of everything is shit."
Okay, for obscure let's go with William Tenn, the pen name of my former neighbor Phil Klass.

level 1
celticeric

1 point·9 years ago


The Danger Quotient by Annabel Johnson. It's a post-nuclear war time travel story. Nearly all the characters are children because
people die of old age in their 30s after the war. It's a YA book and probably out of print now. I remember it being wonderfully grim
and it was one of the books that really got me hooked on sci-fi.

level 1
scordite

1 point·9 years ago·edited 9 years ago


Gemini Game by Michael Scott. Sort of a young-adult Neuromancer with a fantasy twist.
level 1
hacksoncode

1 point·9 years ago


Just a couple that haven't been mentioned before:
The Liaden Universe series by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller (start with Agent of Change if you're more into action/adventure, or Scout's
Progress if you like romance novels).
Technogenesis, by Syne Mitchell.

level 1
kabdib

1 point·9 years ago


These Savage Futurians (Philip E High). Well done dystopian warfare.
The Mightiest Machine (John W Campbell). Space opera at its finest.
Tower to the Sky and The Bug Life Chronicles (Philip Jennings). Great after-the-fall high tech adventure.

level 1
aglidden

1 point·9 years ago


No one has ever heard of The Timeliner Trilogy, by Richard C. Meredith. It makes me cry. Here is where to
start: http://www.amazon.com/Narrow-Passage-Timeliner-Trilogy-Book/dp/0872165523
edit: Let me know if you actually read this and want a synopsis. It's an amazing series.

level 1
Kilngr

1 point·9 years ago


The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick. My favorite book actually.

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Doomstar by Richard Meyers. Just fun.

level 1
RansomIblis
1 point·9 years ago·edited 9 years ago
Gideon's Wall by Greg Kurzawa. Absolutely best book I've read that nobody else has heard of.
An archaeologist finds an idol from an older civilisation. The idol tells the story about a military soldier in a dying civilisation sent
north to defend a wall from... well, the end of the world. The book is the soldier's story. I haven't read anything like it.

level 1
FitzFool

1 point·9 years ago


Agent of Change
First Duelist
Matador Series

level 2
hacksoncode

1 point·9 years ago


Absolutely the Matador series. The Man Who Never Missed (the first one) is one of my favorite books of all time.

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Sykaos Papers!
I picked it up at a used book sale. It had no cover. Amazing!

level 1
zeeagle

1 point·9 years ago


The Space Demons trilogy by Gillian Rubinstein. Virtually unheard of outside of Australian schools. It's the series which got me into
science fiction and especially cyberpunk-type stuff, and some of the concepts (Especially in Skymaze and Shinkei) do a really good
job of predicting things used in modern video games and computers.

level 1
DarkFiction

1 point·9 years ago


If you like fantasy with a some scifi as well check out the Magic the Gathering series, it's nothing short of amazing. Start with "The
Brother's War".
level 1
lol_fps_newbie

1 point·9 years ago


Colossus - The Forbin Project
Does anyone know if this was ever reprinted? I can't find a copy.
2 more replies

level 1
atimholt

1 point·9 years ago


The Alliance, by Gerald N. Lund.
A post (Cold-War) apocalyptic, where refugees are surprised to find a modern society has emerged intact with full technology and
government. Turns out it's held together by brain implants that stimulate you pain centers when it senses you are feeling guilt.

level 1
discontinuuity

1 point·9 years ago


Not sure how obscure Cory Doctorow is, but you can read most of his novels on his website. My favorites are Little Brother, Eastern
Standard Tribe, and Down And Out In The Magic Kingdom.

level 1
aptrapani

1 point·9 years ago


Time's Arrow by Martin Amis. From Wikipedia: "The narrator is stuck inside the body of the main character. He experiences time
passing in reverse, as the main character becomes younger and younger during the course of the novel. The narrator is not exactly
the protagonist himself but a secondary consciousness apparently living within him, feeling his feelings but with no access to his
thoughts and no control over events."
I highly suggest you don't read the actual article if you are interested in the plot. The surprise of who the man actually is I found to
be a very good reward.

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


The Adventures of Alacrity Fitzhugh and Hobart Floyt by Brian Daly.
level 1
battmutler

1 point·9 years ago


Star Dragon by Mike Brotherton. Iffy character development, but really good use of interesting, thought-provoking technology.
Highly recommended for fans of the hard stuff.

level 1
DeFex

1 point·9 years ago


"sea of glass" by Barry b Longyear. (also wrote enemy mine) pen name i think.
great cold war book.

level 1
kapilkaisare

1 point·9 years ago


Wulfsyarn - Phillip Mann

level 1
matt3x166

1 point·9 years ago


Hellspark by Janet Kagan is one of the most enjoyable science fiction novels that I have ever read. I have re-read it at least 20 times
in the past 20 or so years. Well written, intriguing, and different. It has been out of print for years, but you can get used copies on
Amazon. FWIW, Kagan also wrote a Star Trek novel called Uhura's Song (Fantastic!) and a collection of short stories called Miribile,
dealing with a human colony on another planet (also a good read.) Sadly, that is every thing published by Mrs. Kagan, all of them
well worth reading.

level 1
d3ff

1 point·9 years ago


Strugatsky brothers - hard to be a God

level 1
Stalked_Like_Corn

1 point·9 years ago


I dont really read science fiction so i'm not sure how "obscure" it is (probably not much it was written by Crichton) but Prey was
probably one of my favorite novels of all time.

level 1
davou

1 point·9 years ago


Mantas gift:
When Matt Raimey had his accident, he thought his life was over. He never dreamed, in his wildest
fantasies, that he’d end up in a spot like this. In the toxic atmosphere of Jupiter, born into the body
of an enormous creature that looked like a cross between a manta ray and a dolphin, he is living a
new life, unlike any humankind had previously experienced.
An unbelievable turn of events, it gave him a reason to live, to survive, no matter what
happened . . . but every second chance comes with conditions and responsibilities. And as those
who brought him to this strange destiny have their authority stripped from them and he discovers
the truth that only he can know about the giant alien creatures he now calls family, this man
reborn as the one they now call Manta suddenly isn’t sure he wasn’t better off before. . . .

level 1
fredfredburger

1 point·9 years ago


The Demu Trilogy by F. M. Busby

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


The Getaway Special by Jerry Oltion. Not amazing, but damn if it isn't fun and kind of a scifi fan's dream come true.
(The plot: Wanna go to space? Congratulations, now all it takes is an airtight vessel, some plans now easily available on the internet,
and $50's worth of parts from your local electronics store, and you too can build a hyperdrive-powered spaceship! Unfortunately,
the governments of the world...disapprove of this idea...)

level 1
mphair

1 point·9 years ago


The World at the End of Time
level 1
spacester

1 point·9 years ago


Oldies, perhaps not so obscure in their day (some are Hugo winners):
A Heritage of Stars - Clifford Simak
Man Plus and The World at the end of Time - Frederick Pohl
The Left hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed and The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula K. LeGuin
The Book of Skulls - Robert Silverberg
A World Out of Time - Larry Niven
I wanted to list one by Greg Bear's Father-in-law but don't actually see one on his list of works that I remember.
2 more replies

level 1
itwaspeanutbuttr

1 point·9 years ago


James Killus, Sunsmoke... well half fantasy i guess. it's been a while

level 1
strangefish108

1 point·9 years ago


Needle by Hal Clement. Probably the first book with intelligent human symbionts.
217 more replies
Blind Lake, Childhood's End, City at the End of Time
I'm not really sure that these are obscure exactly, but I haven't met anyone that's ever read them, so idk, the authors are pretty well
known

level 2
punninglinguist

2 points·9 years ago


I've read the first two. I wouldn't say Childhood's End is obscure - it's a pretty well-known classic SF novel.

level 1
inc0ngruity

1 point·9 years ago


I have no idea how obscure Stephen Baxter books are, but I've never met anyone else who read them.
level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Simon Green isn't very obscure, but people always rec Nightside over Hawk & Fisher, and I looooove the Hawk & Fisher series to
death.
Gary Paulsen wrote a scifi dystopian novel called The Transall Saga that's for teenagers, but I still love it, years later.
Machine of Death is an anthology about the idea that a machine was built that could tell you how, but not when, you will die. Some
of it is more science-fictiony than the rest (obviously the premise is scifi), but most of it is really good.

level 1
finsterdexter

1 point·9 years ago


I feel like the Falkenberg's Legion books have kind of fallen out of popularity. They seemed kind of popular (for sci-fi) back in the
day. Pretty good military sci-fi, really.

level 1
Carmac

1 point·9 years ago


"Level 7", Mordecai Roshwald, 1959 - scary stuff for a 14 year old.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Level_7

level 1
Nowin

1 point·9 years ago


Not too obscure, but I am a huge fan of Charles Sheffield's Heritage series.

level 1
robotwarlord

1 point·9 years ago


I utterly love Warriors Of The Rainbow. I've read it many times. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Warriors-Rainbow-Bloomsbury-
paperback-original/dp/0747547327/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1313562072&sr=8-7

level 1
elnerdo
1 point·9 years ago
Well, I'll definitely be saving this page.
I'm 371 comments late to the party, and Orson Scott Card isn't exactly obscure, but The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card is both my
favorite book, and the book of his that it seems nobody has heard of. I very very highly recommend it to anyone.
I am also currently reading S.M. Stirling's Dies The Fire, which is a very hard post-apocalyptic book about The Change, an event
which renders all electrical and explosive-based appliances inoperable.

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Heroes Die.
inb4 not SF
YES IT IS. It just happens to take place for the majority of the time in a medieval setting.

level 1
parl

1 point·9 years ago


City of Glass by Noel M. Loomis, found it on Amazon. They can only use glass for things. One challenge is to make a gun out of
glass.

level 1
londubh2010

1 point·9 years ago


I guess it depends on what you mean by obscure. Although I started reading science fiction in the late 1970's I became familiar with
the classics from the previous decades and probably up until the 1990's, what was considered to be well known didn't change all
that much. Publishing has changed so much that the classics aren't read as much anymore.
I even lamented in the early 80's how many of us fans only had TV series and movies that tied us culturally together and hadn't
read the same stuff. Movies are being remade every 4 or 5 years now instead of 10 or 20 or 30 like they used to. Even our pop
culture memory is getting shorter and shorter.
So what is obscure now may have been wildly popular in it's day and in it's day wasn't that long ago. I wouldn't have included Peter
Hamilton or Banks in that list, but then I haven't kept up on the best sellers list in a while.

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Orphans of Earth, a sci-fi trilogy by Sean Williams. Most people know him for his fantasy and star wars novels, but his other sci-fi
stuff is fantastic (I just like the sci-fi stuff).
It came out just a few years ago, is great, and (like a lot of his sci-fi trilogy novels now) are completely out print, and he refuses to
comment on it.
level 1
pipbogdan

1 point·9 years ago


Klein's The Overlords Of War. Not sure if it's well known among english speakers.

level 1
roadfood

1 point·9 years ago


Two novels by TJ Bass, "Half Past Human", and "Godwhale". Long out of print but worth hunting for. A somewhat pessimistic view
of where our civilization is going. Very hard sci fi written by a medical doctor.

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Well, it's not a novel, but a novella. "The Dragon of Pripyat" by Karl Schroeder

level 1
taterbizkit

1 point·9 years ago


Linda Nagata's The Bohr Maker and Persistence of Vision are good.
Lee Hogan's Belarus and Enemies
Catherynne Valenti's Palimpsest (more of a fantasy than SF, but still great)

level 1
mattverso

1 point·9 years ago


"Vurt" and "Pollen" by Jeff Noon. Absolutely bonkers.

level 1
JustAnAvgJoe

1 point·9 years ago


The Cassini Division is one of my favorites- interestingly enough written in a socialist era it mulls over human nature's tendency to
destroy, even itself. I'm not sure how much to give away but just read
This is the same Author who wrote The Star Fraction.

level 1
eterps

1 point·9 years ago


The Department Of Off World Affairs: http://www.amazon.com/Department-Off-World-Affairs/dp/0981519172

level 1
beige_88

1 point·9 years ago


Dreamships by Melissa Scott. synopsis in the link. i would love to see an movie/anime made of this, the world Scott created is
absorbing.

level 1
SeriouslyLaughing

1 point·9 years ago


I'm reading "Ready Player One" right now and considering making a thread once I finish but I have yet to meet a single person who
has ever heard of it. Wil Wheaton reads the audio book. It should be required reading for anyone worth their salt in geek trivia.

level 1
Brodiggan

1 point·9 years ago


Hmmm... for obscure, but very good, I'd go with Eifelheim by Michael Flynn.

level 1
nephros

1 point·9 years ago


Is Paul Scheerbart obscure enough for you?
Lesabéndio is wonderful.
level 1
shamecamel

1 point·9 years ago


it'd be cool if you could give a little summary with these.

level 2
spike

1 point·9 years ago


I just link to the Amazon reviews.

level 1
trustmeep

1 point·9 years ago


Children of the Atom by Wilmar Shiras...supposedly inspiration for the X-Men.
Along that same line, More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon.
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon, if you liked The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

level 1
BenCelotil

1 point·9 years ago


I don't know how obscure these are but I really enjoyed Rune and Roofworld (separate books, not linked) by Christopher Fowler. I
can't even remember where I bought them from (either a second-hand bookshop or the cheap bin at a newsagent) but I read each
one through completely in a sitting, and was disappointed when I got to the end.

level 1
Murrabbit

1 point·9 years ago


I've heard a lot of positive things about Ian M. Banks' culture series, though I've started on the first in the series, Consider Phlebas,
and I'm finding it to be a tad shlocky. The names are often hugely ridiculous and difficult to form a pronunciation even in one's
head, characters are introduced described once then mixed up half killed off and then often never given development again, and
worst the only reason to care about the protagonist seems to be the fact that the story is following him. He's very bland and in
truth seems to be something of a psychopath, though is presented as if he's a completely stand-up manly archetypal sci-fi hero.
I'd say I'm enjoying it despite itself, though, it's some silly escapist fun but it does seem, at least so far, a bit more than half way in,
seem to be trying to hit every failing of the genre as if it has a checklist to tick off.

level 2
punninglinguist
1 point·9 years ago
Well Iain Banks is a hugely popular author, and one of the half-dozen that people actually talk about on this subreddit. I like his
work a lot, but I couldn't get through Consider Phlebas. Try A Player of Games for a much better introduction to the Culture universe.

level 1
stitzl

1 point·9 years ago


Not a novel, but a collection of short stories: Greg Egan, Axiomatic
But it is always difficult what other people would call "obscure".

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago·edited 9 years ago


Vacuum Flowers by Michael Swanwick.
Jerusalem Fire by R.M. Meluch.
Edit: linkfail.

level 1
archivator

1 point·9 years ago


I've noticed with significant disappointment that these guys are not well known in the English-speaking world. It's a pity, they're
just completely brilliant! Roadside picnic, Monday begins on Saturday are among my all time favourites!
While I'm still on the Russian sci-fi wavelength, Lukanyenko's Labyrinth of Reflections is amazing! He's best known for the Watch
series but his other books are well worth it. He also has this entire series supposedly set in the Master of Orion universe.

level 1
MikeSeth

1 point·9 years ago


Monday Begins on Saturday By Strugatski brothers.

level 1
Mimirs

1 point·9 years ago


"Inherit the Stars"
Never met anyone else who has read it, too.
level 1
AndrewStephens

1 point·9 years ago


I loved The Bug Wars when I was a teenager, I am not sure how obscure it is but I have never heard anyone else talking about it. An
early example of military scifi with no human characters at all, it features a reptilian soldier as he fights in an epic galaxy-spanning
war with the more numerous insect foes.
Of course, it might be crap if I read it again now.

level 1
esahr

1 point·9 years ago


The Garbage Chronicles by Brian Herbert.
Only because it's just so bad.

level 1
EoghanHassan

1 point·9 years ago


Mick Farren - The DNA Cowboys
Its got is all, fellowship, drugs, adventure, sex and buckets of general weirdness. Kind of DarkTowerish.
Allan Weisbecker - Cosmic Banditos
I had lots of awkward moments in public, trying (and failing) to stifle laughs. Great stuff. Worth it for the intro alone.
M. John Harrison - Light
This novel is unlike anything else I have read. That Harrison squeezes three stories in to this slim volume is a work of wonder.
John C. Wright - The Golden Age
If you like the Culture Novels, you will probably really like this.
Jeff VanderMeer - Veniss Underground
Disturbing and dark. Still haunts me.

level 1
private_joker

1 point·9 years ago


Frank Herbert's The Dosadi Experiment. I've met very few who have read it and yet it is my favourite of all of Herbert's novels. Not
as sweeping and grand as Dune but still with a consistent and detailed universe, wonderful characters and a fantastic plot based on
a brutal alien legal system.

level 1
rubygeek

1 point·9 years ago


Witches of Chiswick by Robert Rankin. A guy time travels from the 23rd century to the 19th, to find that what he learned in history
was all wrong and being hidden by a cabal of witches. In fact Babbage's difference engine was a huge success and gave the British
empire a massive technological advantage.
Actually, a lot of his books are hilarious.
They're a completely insane mix of time travel, the occult, comedy and various SF and fantasy tropes.
Closer to Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams in contents and style than, say, Asimov or Clarke, though perhaps not as polished.
One of his other good ones - Armageddon: The Musical - includes an intelligent time traveling sprout named Barry (Barry also
appears in Witches of Chiswick and a lot of Rankin's other books) that gets lodged in the head of Elvis who teams up with Jesus
forgotten sister (who is pissed that she was overshadowed) to interfere with the work of her dad - God - who is a script writer for
the hit alien soap opera "The Earthers". Armageddon is the long planned big finale of the series.

level 1
lukjad007

1 point·9 years ago


"The Winds of Mars" is a great sci-fi novel that is out of print and only available secondhand or online. I learnt about it at the public
library. It is one of my all-time favourite sci-fi books.

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Is fantasy allowed? cos Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

level 2
Wyrm

2 points·9 years ago


He has written sci-fi as well. One of my favorite authors :)

level 3
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Haven’t got round to those yet

level 2
vmos

1 point·9 years ago


not sure how obscure it is as the series was made into a couple of brilliant but mental films
level 3
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Yeah but I wouldn't say mainstream until Hollywood do the shot for shot English language remake

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Space Prison, The Survivors by Tom Godwin
I'm not sure how obscure it is, but I only heard about this book a few months ago.

level 1
exitjudas

1 point·9 years ago


Altered carbon by Richard morgan

level 1
Bikewer

1 point·9 years ago


The Great Explosion, circa 1962. By accident, cheap "star drive" is discovered. Result...50% of humanity leaves for new digs. 200
years later, Earth sends out a diplomatic ship to touch base with these new civilizations.
Hilarity ensues....

level 1
Qatux

1 point·9 years ago


Well they made a mediocre movie out of it so maybe not that obscure, but most folks probably haven't read it. Jumper by Steven
Gould is great fun, and the sequel Reflex might even be better.

level 1
Hypersapien

1 point·9 years ago


Not sci-fi, but fantasy: Gossomer Axe by Gael Baudino
level 1
darthFamine

1 point·9 years ago


I enjoy some of the sci fi by John Ringo, the road to Damascus is one of my favorites. He can drag on a bit at times though

level 1
neutronfish

1 point·9 years ago


Понедельник начинается в субботу, or Monday Starts on Saturday, by the Strugatsky brothers. It's sort of a sci-fi/fantasy mashup
and it's a really fun one at that, dumping its main character in a bizarre town where most people work for a top secret research
facility which studies the science of magic ran by an eccentric boss who no one can quite figure out.
My favorite parts are the protagonist's journey in a machine that makes the world of sci-fi books seem real and zooms him through
thousands of years worth of futuristic dreams, and the Institute's attempt to weaponize dragons. I read the original Russian version
so I don't know how good the translation to English is. However, not all that much would be lost since it's not entirely steeped in
Russian culture.

level 1
cpbs

1 point·9 years ago


The Killing Star

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


No idea how obscure this is - More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon.

level 1
DeepGreen

1 point·9 years ago


The Simon Black series of books by Ivan Southall. It is young adult fiction, published in 1950 for the first of the series, but it kicks
ass. An incredible gift to me as a young man by my grandmother, who was a librarian. I still haven't read them all. I should.
level 1
Chairboy

1 point·9 years ago


Most of the ones I was thinking of are already covered, here's a couple:
Buying Time by Joe Haldeman. His 'Forever War' is really popular and well known, but this book is a great read.
Freehold by Michael Z. Williamson is a nice Libertarian 'this is why we believe X' book with a good story.

level 1
heterochrome

1 point·9 years ago


Dahlgren by Samuel Delaney.
You have no fucking idea how hard this will warp your mind.

level 2
spike

1 point·9 years ago


A book this notorious and strange cannot be obscure.

level 3
heterochrome

1 point·9 years ago


Well, I've never met anyone who has read it. And was unaware of any particular notoriety. Can you point me to that?

level 4
spike

1 point·9 years ago


I'm old enough to remember when it was published. It made an impression, to say the least. Here's Amazon's review page.

level 5
heterochrome

1 point·9 years ago


Ah well, that changes things. You're in a small minority in that, here. Obscure can be synonymous with "dated" unless you're talking
about a seminal work like Dune or something.

level 1
JackDracona

1 point·9 years ago


The trilogy Titan, Wizard, Demon by John Varley is the best obscure gem that comes to my mind.

level 2
spike

1 point·9 years ago


Great, but obscure?
1 more reply

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Bill, the Galactic Hero?

level 1
kdotjack9

1 point·9 years ago


My favorite is a little book by an author who has written some big time books. Roger Zelazny, who wrote Lord of Light and the
Chronicles of Amber books also wrote a little book called The Isle of the Dead. It's from the era of the dime store paperback, a quick
read, but a neat one. Highly recommended by myself and my circle of friends who introduced me to it.

level 1
justtoclick

1 point·9 years ago


The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez
The two books collected in Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee

level 1
GoblinsRus

1 point·9 years ago


I love Christopher Hinz Paratwa series.

level 1
narky1
1 point·9 years ago
No idea if this guy is known or not, but recently read Michael Marshall Smith's Spares
loved it.

level 1
die_troller

1 point·9 years ago


DAEMON
by daniel Suarez

level 1
novaman911

1 point·9 years ago


Wizard's Bane series from Rick Cook (where computer tech and fantasy meets, you get a good sci-fi)

level 1
nello

1 point·9 years ago


The Unicorn Girl, by Michael Kurland. Pretty close to my favourite book of all time: http://amzn.to/nZiNBD Hippie sci-fi at its best!

level 1
spike

1 point·9 years ago·edited 9 years ago


Out of the Mouth of the Dragon by Mark Geston.
The Long Loud Silence by Wilson Tucker.
Floating Worlds by Cecelia Holland.
The Space Merchants by C.M. Kornbluth and Frederick Pohl.
Thendara House by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Picnic on Paradise by Joanna Russ.
The Penultimate Truth, one of Philip K. Dick's less well-known novels.

level 1
jeejeesukset

1 point·9 years ago·edited 9 years ago


John Brosnan, The Sky Lords. This should be made a movie. It has a very movie like quality built in it. It is a trilogy but I have only
read the first part.
edit: It seems that this book awakens the inner movie director in quite a many people!

level 1
headkase

1 point·9 years ago


One of my favorites is: / by Greg Bear. Really: anything he writes is awesome!

level 1
VWSpeedRacer

1 point·9 years ago


George Zebrowski's Macrolife
(Saving this topic to harvest from later.) :)

level 1
mooli

1 point·9 years ago


Someone To Watch Over Me by Tricia Sullivan.
Great concept. Imagine someone pays for the service of experiencing the world through your eyes. You are obligated to live life in
an extreme way to provide value for money to the client, and they experience vicarious thrills in perfect safety.

level 1
adamwho

1 point·9 years ago


MicroMegas by Voltaire. Arguably one of the first science fiction stories ever written (1752). Mostly written as a satire with aliens
visiting earth and meeting self important people.

level 2
punninglinguist

1 point·9 years ago


Yes, this was so much fun.

level 1
art_spren
1 point·9 years ago
Angel Mass - Timothy Zahn.

level 1
gargleblast

1 point·9 years ago


Chthon by Piers Anthony. It was nominated for a Nebula and a Hugo, yet no one seems to have heard of it.

level 1
cybermagese

1 point·9 years ago


Marc Stiegler's Earthweb

level 1
CrosseyedAndPainless

1 point·9 years ago


The City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer

level 1
Felonia

1 point·9 years ago


Xenobiology by James Andrix is pretty f*cking awesome. It's an easier read than it looks like, but there's a paperback version linked
at the top of that page if you can't stand reading a screen... I know, stupid concern to bring up on Reddit.

level 1
88DEATH

1 point·9 years ago


A

level 1
minja

1 point·9 years ago


A book called Level 7 - a post nuclear book written in the style of a diary from a survivor in one of the underground shelters. Not
sure how popular it is but I liked it.

level 1
Commisar

1 point·9 years ago


Calculating God by Robery J. Sawyer and to a lesser extent Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

level 1
IamSparticles

1 point·9 years ago


I don't read a lot of obscure writers, frankly. So I guess I'll use this opportunity to plug the works of a close friend of mine, Heather
Roulo. She wrote a novel in 2009 and released it as an audio book podcast. I listened and it was pretty good.

level 1
kangaloo

1 point·9 years ago


Mindswap by Robert Sheckley. I read it in one sitting and was dazed and confused for days after.

level 1
chefmikeb

1 point·9 years ago


Not that CS Friedman is obscure but I loved In Conquest Born.
I read it back in '87 but it left an impression.

level 1
webauteur

1 point·9 years ago


We, The Venusians by John Rackham. "Terror quest on the misty planet". One of the few ACE Double books I owned as a teenager.
Features naked green people on Venus. Now that I'm older, I can see that this novel is really about a nudist colony on Venus.

level 1
courlan
1 point·9 years ago
Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge I don't hear it mentioned much but I was blown away by it
1 more reply

level 1
Aluhut

1 point·9 years ago


Naked Lunch by Burroughs
You'll never forget that...

level 1
techieguy1983

1 point·9 years ago


I loved "Chasm City" by Alistair Reynolds. It's the second book set in his "Revelation Space" series, which I preferred to the original.
I'm not sure that counts as obscure though.
Also, a number of Robert Silverberg novels that have flown under the radar which I loved are: "The Alien Years" and an obscure one
I managed to pick up in a used book store "Recalled to Life".
His Majesty's Starship by Ben Jeapes.

level 1
d_ahura

1 point·9 years ago


'Wasp' by Eric Frank Russell.

level 1
kaosethema

1 point·9 years ago


Bill, the Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison

level 1
kaysea112

1 point·9 years ago


Birthright: The Book of Man by Mike Resnick. My type of novel and barely ever see it recommended.
Its a bunch of short stories set overtime showing the rise and collapse of human history over thousands of years.
level 1
Fuco1337

1 point·9 years ago


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schismatrix

level 1
rubygeek

1 point·9 years ago


Cordwainer Smith: Norstrilia. It was his only SF novel. There's also a series of short stories set in the same universe collected in The
Rediscovery of Man.
You won't have read anything like Cordwainer Smith elsewhere. His life is also pretty strange - look him up.

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Look up Steve Aylett.

level 1
aaegler

1 point·9 years ago


Kevin J Anderson's Saga of Seven Suns. 7 books, all awesome (imho).

level 1
Awken

1 point·9 years ago


Glory Road by Robert Heinlein is a fantastic novel; the man should be recognized for more than just Starship Troopers and Stranger
in a Strange Land.

level 2
spike

1 point·9 years ago


My favorite novel of his. Even more sexist than his other novels, but a great fun read. You really get a sense of the man.
level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


not sure how obscure, I found it surfing the creative commons online store in Aldiko, but Peter Watt's Rifter Trilogy is incredible.
http://www.feedbooks.com/book/974/starfish

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Afterlife by Simon Funk.
You don't even have to pay for this gem. All you have to do is promise me you'll stick with it until chapter 10. In return I'll promise
you some of the best post-singularity sci-fi you've ever read. Deal?

level 1
trekbette

1 point·9 years ago·edited 9 years ago


Moon Fall and Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt
The Company series by Kage Baker
Quarantine by John Brinling (This was a free e-book on Amazon and it was really good).
Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear
Time Odyssey series by Stephen Baxter and Arthur C. Clarke
The Laundry series by Charles Stross
I know you said no Dan Simmons, but I have to list Ilium and its sequel Olympos. Very unique story. Extremely hard-core science
fiction. I've never talked to anyone else who have read these two books.

level 2
[deleted]

2 points·9 years ago


I loved Blood Music by Greg Bear

level 2
spacester

1 point·9 years ago


I did! Simmons is a master, if he writes it I'll read it.

level 2
[deleted]
1 point·9 years ago
Quick question, I love Hyperion and Endymion - is Illium and Olympus comparable?

level 3
trekbette

1 point·9 years ago


The Illium story is a huge, epic tale like the Hyperion Cantos. I enjoyed the books, but they were such hard-core sci-fi that some of
the science in the fiction was over my head. Mix that with the Helen of Troy background and it is a bit odd.
I'd say to get the first book and give it a try. If you like it, get the second book.

level 1
neko

1 point·9 years ago


Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel Delany.
It's basically about a gay guy who was raised by a family of draconic aliens. And it's much better than it sounds.

level 2
punninglinguist

1 point·9 years ago·edited 9 years ago


This is one of my favorite books!
Edit: And I always pictured the evelmi as looking more like anteaters with wings.

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Anything by Kilgore Trout :P

level 1
mobiusbug

1 point·9 years ago


Frank Herbert's books besides Dune, like the Dosadi Experiment and the White Plague, are both excellent. Also liked The Algebraist
by Banks

level 2
cybermagese
1 point·9 years ago
Frank Herbert's Under Pressure

level 1
[deleted]

1 point·9 years ago


Umm my wife?
http://www.other-systems.com/

level 1
waterfalling11

1 point·9 years ago


We by Alexander Zamyatin.
level 2
Comment deleted by user9 years ago

level 3
waterfalling11

1 point·9 years ago


I first read it several years ago and absolutely loved it, the message, the vision, and always thought it said more and did more than
Brave New World or 1984. I wish more people would read it.

level 2
spike

2 points·9 years ago


One of the greatest classics of 20th-Century literature cannot be considered "obscure".

level 3
waterfalling11

1 point·9 years ago


You are right it is a great classic, however in all the people I've met throughout my life, nobody else has read it or heard of it. So to
me it seemed obscure.

level 1
MisterBadger

1 point·9 years ago


E.E. "Doc" Smith's Lensmen series are great classics which I rarely ever see mentioned.
level 2
bjh13

1 point·9 years ago


These things helped create the Space Opera genre and were gigantic sellers when they came out. They are constantly mentioned in
best of lists, and as inspiration for things like Star Wars. You rarely see them discussed much because the writing in them doesn't
hold up well, but these are quite far from obscure.

level 3
MisterBadger

1 point·9 years ago


They are also not likely to be found in your local book store, which makes him more obscure in some ways than he might otherwise
be. As far as the quality of his prose goes, I agree, it can be laughably bad. Then again P.K.Dick's prose wasn't exactly pristine, and
his stories sometimes had glaring loopholes... But he is much more discussed today than is Smith. The difference being applicability
of ideas, philosophy and character to the present day.

level 1
tomato_paste

1 point·9 years ago


Olaf Stapledon, Starmaker

level 1
Nomikos

1 point·9 years ago


I'm going to throw Zelazny's "This Immortal" aka "..And Call Me Conrad" out here, because even if it won a Hugo, it shared it with
Dune which has overshadowed it entirely..

level 1
trickjarrett

1 point·9 years ago


Invitation to the Game by Monica Hughes
It's a light read, young adult. I first read it in middle school and loved the whole concept. It features a dystopian future where
unemployed people are kept in this sort of socialist "ghetto." And you follow a group of friends who go through school and aren't
selected for jobs so they get moved into a ghetto.
One thing that has people in the ghettos talking is the rumor of some sort of exclusive game/tournament. No one knows details
and those who do won't talk. One day our protagonists get their invite only to find out it's a simulation of what life would be like
settling on a new planet.
And the story goes from there.
level 1
robotgerman

1 point·9 years ago


The Story of Your Life and Others, by Ted Chiang (Also Merchant at the Alchemists Gate).
And Grass by Sheri Tepper

level 1
lurch65

1 point·9 years ago


Two Three Four more:
High Crusade by Poul Anderson because it's amusing and ridiculous.
Operation Chaos by Poul Anderson as well. It's an alternate history, essentially WW2 with magic instead of technology.
The Web Between the Worlds by Charles Sheffield, the guy came up with the idea of a space elevator at the same time as Arthur C
Clarke but published 6 months later. Foreword is by Clarke saying as much.
He also wrote "My Brothers Keeper" which had some very interesting bits and pieces.

level 1
VoodooPygmy

1 point·9 years ago


Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Charles Sheffield. Crazy crazy shit happens.

level 1
ysengrimus

1 point·9 years ago


Wow, I have yet to see anything obscure, so rather than post old time fan favorites (eg, PJF, Niven, etc...), here's..
Robert Sheckley - "Can You Feel Anything When I Do This?"
Short stories, very 60's. Fun stuff.

level 1
wagon-wheels

1 point·9 years ago


William Hjortsberg "Grey Matters" - the story of a disembodied brain kept in a storage facilty and it's plight for freedom.
William Hope Hodgson "The Night Land" - In the far future the Sun has burnt out and the last of mankind lives in a giant metal
pyramid, sheltering from the bizarre horrors beyond. It's not the easiest read but it's right out there for it's imagination and
peculiarity.
level 1
Cynyr

1 point·9 years ago


Cowl. By Neal Asher. Amazing take on time travel and the future.

level 1
van_buskirk

1 point·9 years ago


It's not so much obscure so much as dated and cheesy, but the Lensman series by EE Smith is one of my favorites just because it
originated so many of the common tropes of Space Opera, and still managed to do it on a scale way bigger than anything since. It's
like if Star Wars had fleets of Death Stars in a galaxy vs galaxy, plus all the charming and antiquated attitudes and customs of 1950s
America. I sometimes describe it as Mad Men in Space, but that doesn't really do it justice.

level 2
raevnos

2 points·9 years ago


A Death Star is ridiculously underpowered by Lensman standards.

level 3
van_buskirk

1 point·9 years ago


True, but I hope you weren't the one who downvoted me for that, I was just trying to get the SW fans attention.

level 1
ShamelesslyPlugged

1 point·9 years ago


"The Demon Princes" by Jack Vance.

level 1
SteelerzGo_at_work

1 point·9 years ago


"The January Dancer" and "Up Jim River" by Michael F Flynn
level 1
dariusfunk

1 point·9 years ago


When it comes to secret gems you can't beat old SF collections from the 60's and 70's.
Rob Silverburg's "Born with the Dead" is one of my all time favorites.
Pohl is well known, but Pohl and Kornbluth's "Wolfbane" is an elegant work, and a great read.
Destroying Angel by Richard Russo is a great scifi noir book, feels like a precursor to Altered Carbon.

level 1
skytomorrownow

1 point·9 years ago


The Dechronization of Sam Magruder: A Novel by George Gaylord Simpson
obscure, sci-fi, good, quick read, sort of a gut punch

level 1
masta

-1 points·9 years ago


Mote in gods eye

level 1
[deleted]

0 points·9 years ago·edited 9 years ago


Uplift War David Brin.
pretty much all of Brin's stuff if top notch....even "the postman" novel is pretty amazing.
edit- i realize Brin is hardly obscure, but IRL nobody I ever meet has actually read him so I dunno try "To Reign in Hell" by Brust....it's
a short book that goes Sci-fi with all the heaven/God/creation myth and surprisingly it's not tedious and dumb

level 1
londubh2010

0 points·9 years ago


The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K Le Guin. The first movie adaptation was pretty good, but the remake on the other hand blew chunks.
I also liked Bill The Galactic Hero by Harry Harrison.

level 1
[deleted]

-3 points·9 years ago


Ursula K. Le Guin's Left Hand of Darkness. Octavia E. Butler's Patternist Series.

level 2
NGiff

9 points·9 years ago·edited 9 years ago


How is Left Hand of Darkness obscure? It's considered one of the all time SF classics.

level 3
LazyG

1 point·9 years ago


It's one of the all time SF classics.
FTFY :)
I love Left Hand, just an incredible novel. Great story plus amazing discussion of gender in an unusual form. But yeah, classic not at
all obscure.

level 3
[deleted]

0 points·9 years ago


I just never see it on these sorts of lists. So it's obscure to reddit.
level 1
Comment deleted by user9 years ago

level 2
punninglinguist

10 points·9 years ago


This is one of the all-time classic SF novels. It's not obscure by a long shot.
level 1
Comment deleted by user9 years ago

level 2
[deleted]

12 points·9 years ago


i don't think one of the more popular books by one of the most well known sci-fi authors of all time counts as obscure.

level 3
PavementBlues

3 points·9 years ago


Yeah, I bought this book because I kept seeing it on "100 Greatest Books of all Time" lists. Not exactly obscure.
level 3
easygenius

-2 points·9 years ago


Well Hell, OP didn't call him out and lots of people I know think Heinlein stops at Stranger.
1 more reply
7 more replies

level 2
antisocialmedic

3 points·9 years ago


I keep seeing this book recommended in EVERY book recommendation thread I read. I can never find it in book stores! I guess I
should just break down and order it, but paying for shipping is a bitch.

level 3
easygenius

3 points·9 years ago


You should. I recommended it because I have read a lot of SciFi and this one has stuck with me the longest. Far from being as over
exposed as Ender for damn sure.

level 4
antisocialmedic

3 points·9 years ago


My mom read Ender's Game to me when I was a little kid. She is insanely obsessed with Orson Scott Card and owns everything he's
ever published. I've not read (or listened to) anything by him sense. I guess I just got sick of her gushing about his writing.

level 3
easygenius

1 point·9 years ago


PM me and I'll send you a copy free of charge.

level 2
NGiff

1 point·9 years ago


Great book, not obscure.
level 1
Comment deleted by user9 years ago

level 2
airchinapilot
3 points·9 years ago
Larry Niven has been one of the most popular SF authors and Ringworld is probably his best known series. Great series but when
your book has been floating around Hollywood as an option for years it's not obscure.

level 1
[deleted]

0 points·9 years ago


I know someone will say it's fantasy, but the Myst trilogy ( in conjunction with the 90's and later pc games) are a fantastic set of
what I consider scifi books that no one I've encountered are aware of. By David Wingrove, Ryan, Rand and Robyn Miller.

level 1
[deleted]

0 points·9 years ago


The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. Not AS great but still an interesting read The Nightside Series by Simon R. Green.

level 2
dgeiser13

2 points·9 years ago


Not obscure at all.

level 3
[deleted]

0 points·9 years ago


Well I looked and ctrl-f'd but didn't find them. Plus I've never heard anyone else talk about them.

level 4
bjh13

1 point·9 years ago


No one else suggested them because they are neither science fiction or obscure. His series helped jump start the urban fantasy
genre and sell like crazy, even generating a TV series, graphic novels, and a tabletop RPG. His most recent novel is in the top 10
sellers for Fantasy on Amazon.com, of which the top 6 are George R. R. Martin. I would say he is one of the most popular fantasy
authors currently writing.

level 1
Doctragon
0 points·9 years ago
Not that obscure but I love 'I Am Legend' by Richard Matheson. The book is a hell of a lot different to the Will Smith movie and I
really recommend it.

level 2
LazyG

2 points·9 years ago


Amazing, stunning, captivating book. Classic not obscure though.
Don;t mention the film or i get sad :(

level 3
Doctragon

1 point·9 years ago


No, nor obscure but I thought people might have been put off because of the film. His other books are fairly obscure though. At
least, I think so.

level 1
natronmooretron

0 points·9 years ago


A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

level 2
spike

2 points·9 years ago


A best-seller in its day.

level 1
elitist_snob

0 points·9 years ago


I recently enjoyed 'We' (not the Zamyatin novel) but by a new author called John Dickinson - about a technollogically hyper-
connected society (so pretty relevant ot the way we are going....). Def worth a read!

level 1
elitist_snob

0 points·9 years ago


I recently enjoyed 'We' (not the Zamyatin novel) but by a new author called John Dickinson - about a technollogically hyper-
connected society (so pretty relevant ot the way we are going....). Def worth a read!
level 1
SuperDane

0 points·9 years ago


The Andromeda Strain

level 2
spike

0 points·9 years ago


52 weeks on the NY Times best-seller list makes it hard to consider as obscure.

level 3
SuperDane

1 point·9 years ago


sorry.

level 2
spike

0 points·9 years ago


52 weeks on the NY Times best-seller list makes it hard to consider as obscure.

level 1
Warpedme

0 points·9 years ago


The man who folded himself - David Gerrold
Containment - Christian Cantrell
Snow Crash - Neil Stephenson
Those are great but If you want more, I got more. I've been reading at least a book a week since I was 12 and I'm 36 now.

level 1
LadyLynn

0 points·9 years ago


Jack L. Chalker, The Well World series
level 1
SteelerzGo_at_work

0 points·9 years ago


The Haven Series created by Jerry Pournelle and written by others

level 1
amaxen

0 points·9 years ago


Pretty much all of Lois McMaster Bujold's books, bar the sharing knife series.
Science Fiction: The Warriors Apprentice series with Miles Vorkosigan. Closest analogue is Tyrion - the Dwarf guy in Game of Thrones.
I think Tyrion is somewhat based off of Miles, actually.
Fantasy: The Curse of Chalion remains about the best damn ever fantasy book I've read.

level 1
DZ302

-1 points·9 years ago


I've been reading this book called "A Game of Thrones", you've probably never heard of it.

level 2
bjh13

2 points·9 years ago


I've been reading this book called "A Game of Thrones", you've probably never heard of it.
Sorry, r/scifi doesn't understand sarcasm.

level 3
DZ302

1 point·9 years ago


Apparently so.

level 2
punninglinguist

1 point·9 years ago


Yeah, the children of the forest are pretty underground.

level 1
grindinghalt
-1 points·9 years ago
I'd tell you, but you've probably never heard of it...

level 1
CorgisaurusRex

-1 points·9 years ago


Acclerando by Charles Stross.

level 1
SteelerzGo_at_work

-1 points·9 years ago


The Man Kzin Wars series created by Larry Niven and written by others

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