I can’t stand rereading / rewatching anything, this series is so rich that it feels like reading fresh material all over again.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_Cantos

It’s like reading about modern battles between oil, culture and money, but in countless years and star system into the future.

Honorable mentions for Hyperion and Neuromancer for my favorites :)

Oh and if you haven't read any Douglas Adams "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is fantastic

The first chapter (via Audiobook) was one of the best first chapters I've ever read / listened to. I was totally hooked after that.

- Seveneves: A really great hard sci-fi. Very thought provoking ideas and excellent plot! Warning this is a heavy themed book. Also keep in mind that at about 3/4 in the novel there's a conclusion to the main story; the rest of the novel feels rushed and doesnt keep up; you won't miss anything if you just skip it.

- The Expanse series (starting with Leviathan wakes). A very good series. It has a light tone and mainly focuses on characters. Some books are better than the others. If you liked the 1st one then you wont regret reading the others. Not much philosofy of hard sci-fi ideas so probably near to your liking.

- Rendezvous with Rama: Probably my favorite Arthur Clarke novel. The plot may not be so interesting but the ideas presented make up for it.

- Red rising series: This is a great read, the plot feels something like a GoT of scifi; although the setting could also be considered a fantasy one. This is a plot intensive series but not many scifi philosophical ideas. Probably good for your linking.

- The three body problem trilogy: This is not so light-hearted; it is serious sci-fi presenting some excellent ideas that would blow your mind. Especially after I read the 2nd one (The Dark Forest) I kept it in my mind for a long time; thinking over the things presented there. This is sci-fi at its best.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson is superb and I recommend you carve out some time to really let it soak in. Anything by Neal is phenomenal, but Anathem stands out for me.

Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson is my favorite sci-fi book I've read in a while. Generation ships, AI, and a fascinating narrative perspective. I'm a sucker for realistic/hard scifi with well-researched technical explanations, and KSR is among the best.

- The Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang (superb short story that Arrival was based on) - The Three Body-Problem (Cixin Liu) - Dune (Frank Herbert) - The Parable of the Sower (Octavia Butler) - Lucifer's Hammer (Larry Niven) - The Kundalini Equation (Steven Barnes)

I know OP wasn't looking for dystopias, but if you like Parable of the Sower, I recently read two excellent new scifi/dystopia books: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and American War by Omar El Akkad. American War was really cool - it's by a journalist who covered military trials at Guantanamo Bay and the Arab Spring, who transposes the stories/atrocities he witnessed as a reporter onto the future US.

I would also recommend "Seveneves", one of Neal Stephenson's most recent books. "Anathem" was also very enjoyable.

"Ender's Game" and "Speaker for the Dead" by O.S.Card. (Do not touch Xenocide without a hazmat suit. And if you do, burn it before reading.)

"Snow Crash" by Neil Stephenson.

"Rendez-vouz with Rama" by Arthur C. Clarke.

If you're up for some thought-provoking stuff, "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Heinlein. Not the easiest read but your carve-out basically rules out "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress".

"Embassytown" by China Mieville.

EDIT: I forgot "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons.

First read it as a teen in the 80s and still rate it as one of the best SF books ever written. Well paced and enormous fun.

The Player of Games by Iain M Banks.

Probably the most self-contained of the Culture series and the least heavy SF of them. Which makes it a great starting point.

2. The tales of Vlad Taltos, by Steven Brust. Gods, swords, elves, humans, cooking, and one of the best snarky first-person narrators ever. Has a side series of five books pastiching Alexander Dumas.

3. The Vorkosigan universe, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Best characters; you'll care about their fates.

4. Seanan McGuire's Incryptid series. There are monsters hiding among us; the Covenant of St. George was founded to find them and kill them. The Covenant are the bad guys.

Edit: Overlooked the "fun" and "lighthearted" part. Let me change my answer to "Excession", same author.

Not light-hearted, but definitely pretty fun in places. And a cracking story - I go back to it and dip in randomly every few months.

Another thing that really holds up over time is the Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes screenplay to the hit 1980s movie War Games. Not only does it talk about meta-learning and game theory. Its just a really great script!

Really touching story, great character development, and some interesting questions about AI and sentience.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22733729-the-long-way-to...

Already mentioned: H2G2 (ditto, would love to be able to read it again for the first time); Ender’s game and sequels; Rama (maybe more thought-provoking than light reading though); basically any Clarke book; basically any Stephenson book.

Another not-quite Sci-fi I’ll put out there is Stross’ Laundry files series: the love child of BOFH and Lovecraft, a really fun read with quite a few hat tips to IT.

Can you recommend the first book for someone coming from a mid-to-hard scifi? Something that stands on it's own, is funny, and does not need prior knowledge of his work.

Otherwise, you can pick up any first book from one of the Discworld story arks. Personally, I'd go with "Wyrd Sisters" (witches story ark) and the City Watch story ark. Although the first book in that series is "Guards! Guards!", I'd recommend starting with the Second book, "Men at Arms", which is more representative of the rest of the series, and just more fun AFAIC.

The City Watch sub-series is my favourite with the Death arc a close second. laurentl already made recommendation on City Watch, if you want to try the Death arc Mort is the first.

A dystopian future where people live in a Silo (a skyscraper but underground). What I found especially nice is how the author tried to make it realistic and portray people and work fields (machinist, IT, etc) as they really are without to much buffing.

The IT department in this story plays a really big role and it is portrayed as I've seen real IT departments, with the old, stubborn, autistic 'this is my kingdom' sysadmin boss down to the 'stupid' intern. It's just to real.

The first chapters are a little off compared to the rest of the books as it was released as novella's at first via Kindle and later written into 3 books. But every bit is as awesome as the other.

Edit: I think this mismatches on your fun/non-dystopian critaria that I just now read. But a good read anyways. Otherwise definitely Hyperion cantos as already mentioned. Although also not without drama it sure is a hell lot of mindboggling world's to plunge into!

Also the Bobiverse series. https://mobile.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/We-Are-Legion-W...

Both offer something beyond just being Sci-Fi.

Anything Gibson, especially Sprawl Trilogy Anything Stephenson, though I particularly liked Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon, and Snow Crash, In the beginning was the command line.. oh, I like everything by him.

Seriously though, In the beginning was the command line and Cryptonomicon are basically an ode to 90s hacker culture, the true neckbeard type of CS. Love that aesthetic, culture and ethics.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blindsight_(Watts_novel)

Noted reviewer James Nicoll on Peter Watts: "When­ever I find my will to live be­com­ing too strong, I read Peter Watts."

Which Dr. Watts put at the top of his About the Author page.

Watts is really, really good. And really, really bleak.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Master%27s_Voice_(novel)

It reads like a thriller and a mind bender. It sort of has the feel of the movie Inception if you liked that. It's not too long or hard to read, and it's completely self contained. The more I read by Phillip K Dick the more I appreciate his ideas.

I also second a recommendation for A Player of Games someone noted above.

Following a slightly more conventional definition of lighthearted, I think I'd recommend Larry Niven's Ringworld. When it comes to "moderately plausible megastructures", the ringworld concept is by far my favorite. Much less complicated than a Dyson Swarm, after all! Story is ok, and the sequels expanded things well enough. Not exactly the biggest fan of his female characters. Still worth it. Triple Crown (Hugo/Nebula/Locus) winner. Goodreads: [3]

0: https://parahumans.wordpress.com/ 1: https://www.parahumans.net/about/ 2: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18713259-worm 3: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61179.Ringworld

The main character, Ellie, is a superb and rich portrayal. Friends to whom I've recommended the book agree on this.

If you've seen the movie, it's an ok Hollywood production. The book is much, much more.

Snow Crash is great too. Probably a bit problematic now, but fantastic world building. A bit more gritty and dystopia though.

Both are by Neal Stephenson.

http://www.bitmasons.com/docs/sf.html

Peter F. Hamilton: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/peter-f-hamilton

And while not strictly sci-fi, Peter Higgins: http://www.wolfhoundcentury.com/

[1]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25499718-children-of-tim...

Also any Asimov books.

I also quite enjoyed Hal Clement's Mission of Gravity.

As for lighthearted...you can't go wrong with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Some of the related series, like "Perseus Gate"[3] are hilarious. All of these stories have a lighthearted tone and have great character development. They are based on "hard" sci-fi (i.e. plausible inventions) and touch on deeper topics like the meaning of sentience, and of freedom, but they never get heavy.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Rising-Military-Space-Intrepi... [2] http://www.aeon14.com [3] http://www.aeon14.com/series/perseus-gate-season-1-orion-spa...

For the best SciFi in general, I'd actually suggest you check out assorted collections of short story. I don't have a specific anthology to recommend but I have yet to find a published collection at my library that was less than thought-provoking.

For the classics, you can't go wrong with Hugo Award winners. [2] Your local library probably has most of them; try starting with the old ones and working your way through.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jame_Retief 2. http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/

https://www.goodreads.com/series/43084-wiz

Spider Robinson's "Callahan's" series is also great, especially if you like puns:

https://www.goodreads.com/series/49629-callahan-s

Gateway by Frederik Pohl is another underrated one from the 70s although the sequels are disappointing.

The Forever War Joe Haldeman and Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers are also indispensable.

It's a space adventure with a likable heroine and plenty humour, but also some interesting character exploration.

Also has a good audio version by GraphicAudio.

The first book is mostly conversation in interview form, but I was drawn in tight and didn't want to put it down.

The audiobook performance for this series is fantastic.

I'm ashamed to admit I haven't yet found the time to read Stand on Zanzibar and The Sheep Look Up from the same author.

But if you just want light fun, the Expanse Series

Some others that are not scifi but enjoyed this year:

"Trick" by Domenico Starnone

"Such Small Hands" by Andres Barba

"Convenience Store Woman" by Sayaka Murata

My other favourites are Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained by Peter F Hamilton (and the rest of the books in the Commonwealth series).

w/ these themes:

finance currency economics math money power

Some common reccomendations I've seen are

anything by Neal Stephenson

The other recommendations Ive seen are fantasy like

The Traitor Baru Cormorant The Dagger and Coin series Making Money Going Postal

Does anyone have any similar recommendations?

Larry Niven’d Ringworld is a close second.

Philip K Dick has some great stuff.

I really enjoyed William Gibson’s Neuromancer and all of his other books.

I just picked up a 1961 copy of Stanger in a Strange Land but I cannot comment on it yet.

- The Postman by David Brin

- The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

- I am Legend by Richard Matheson

The Ancillary series by Anne Leckie is also pretty great. It’s a bit of dystopia but isn’t narrated as one.

Also, the movie based on Cloud Atlas is not great.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsoom

Ninefox Gambit - Yoon Ha Lee

A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers

The Broken Earth series - N.K. Jemisin

Greg Egan's Diaspora is diamond-hard scifi. If you aren't well-read in a variety of scientific concepts, aren't comfortable doing on-the-fly physics thought experiments while reading a novel, or won't be comfortable reading an extremely high vocabulary, then Greg Egan is not a good fit.

But if you can read it, the reward is great. Magnificent, alien, profound. It made me realize I don't like soft-scifi.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_Maijstral

Another book which I recently enjoyed was Dragon’s Egg.

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson. "Robert Charles Wilson is a hell of a storyteller," said Stephen King and this wonderful tour through time and space, humanity & people's lives is incredible.

The Quantum Thief series by Hannu Rajaniemi is open, scenic, wild, & so so vivid, one of the most beautiful worlds I've ever visited, & it reminds me so much of a joyous wild swashbuckling run. The mystery of the main character is enchanting.

Infoquake series by David Louis Edelson is a gripping suspenseful rise of a star entrepreneur that redefines and radically expands the world, amid an already boisterous & full & busy beautiful world already overflowing in seamless technology everywhere. Although the plot line whips along with some suspense & tension, the scenery and the voyage is incredible.

Lathe of Heaven by Ursala Le Guin could quite easily, quite simply be the best first contact story story ever. Touching, and sincere, & simple. This world is not bright and shiny but her writing and the bonding of characters is incredible. See also the rest of the Hainish cycle.

Left Hand of Darkness also by Ursala Le Guin is a shifting chaotic shizmatic tale, about picking our fates. "Well, I did it through dreams. Phil would have done it another way. But yeah, homage to Phil [K.] Dick is right." - https://www.wired.com/2012/07/geeks-guide-ursula-k-le-guin/a...

Fallen Dragon is an early & involved Peter Hamilton adventure book. There's leaving home, & space ships, more space ships, bad guys, fighting back the bad guys, bigger ships, and action. There is A LOT going on, all the time, & violence, but damn this book comes together into something incredible, & telling, & powerful & strong, something that easily makes it my top pick for most-underappreciated Peter Hamilton.

Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, which I'm providing largely as a counterweight to the Snowcrash & Sevenses recommendations here. Diamond Age is much less dark, and way more a fun tail about an incredible & mysterious primer for a young lady.

Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut.

All Systems Red series by Martha Wells is a underprivileged barely coping robot dealing with the humans she hates having to talk to & a shitty planet trying to kill them. Simple, fun, some action & violence, but the main character is a total hoot the whole time with more loner/zero/drop-out attitude & spunk than anything I've read & it's unbelievably charming.

Lords of Light by Roger Zelazny has more style, pizzaz, & spirit than I feel like any of us deserve. An interesting, storied tale from the post-singularity, with a remarkable & robust cast.

Illium/Olympos by Dan Simmons, are, in my mind still the clear winner, far above Hyperion. The cast is charming beyond belief, stumbling through a world they both know all too much about & far far too little. Some really incredible worldbuilding here.

Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE A Fire Upon the Deep. But Rainbow's End really is our planet, sometime not far out, and Vinge has the most tour of this next place we're headed, with threads, and annotations, and group chat being the defining new technologies of humanity. And the tale of the misfit happenstance adventurers who wind up ensnared in the plot line is a fun, roving hoot of a journey, a wonderful second chance at a coming of age story.

Medusa Chronicles by two of my favorites, Alastair Reynolds & Stephen Baxter is probably my favorite exploring the solar system book, about a guy/robot a bit apart from humanity that really wants to see what the local area has to offer. A lot of high tension conflicting societal impulses that our somewhat aloof lead stumbles through, on his personal mission of exploration. Lots of interesting robot philosophy & very varied elements of space come together with the characters to make an incredibly fun space epic, set in a delightful & intriguing alternative history

Other's recommendations I'd +1: Dune (but super heady material), The Stars My Destination (brimming with class & substance), Mote in God's Eye (some of the best Space Colonial Marines style stuff out there), Accelerando (and Iron Sky and ... overflowing playful scifi), Blue Ant series (dripping with style), Foundation series (and much more Asimov!), Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy (simple direct exciting hunt for treasure in Star Wars), Fuzzy Nation (fun tale)

At some point I found Charles Stross' Accelerando, which is freely available online (along with a bunch of other short stories), and found everything I've read (which is most of it at this point, I think) enjoyably fast-paced. In particular the Laundry series (of which I've bought every iteration as soon as they came out over the past few years) -- though arguably these maybe cross-over from SF into fantasy a bit -- and the Halting State trilogy.

In terms of online available work, Cory Doctorow's work is also great. Like Stross, most of his work is more near-term SF, which I have liked, and a bunch of it is available online under a Creative Commons license. It often moves fast and is also politically interesting; sometimes the activism shines through a little blatantly, but the themes are always make me thing in various ways I appreciate (but maybe will fail your lighthearted criterion even if it is fun). His latest is Walkaway, which I would recommend.

I got into Neal Stephenson through Cryptonomicon, which is one of the greats. Stephenson has a pretty rambly, wordy style, but at least that also makes his stories last a bit longer. After that, I mostly moved on to Anathem, Reamde and Seveneves all of which are big and interesting and great reads (it took me longer than usual to get up to speed on Anathem, but it was very much worth it in the end). I tried one of the more historic ones (I think it was Quicksilver) at some point but haven't finished it. The 2017 Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. was a bit lighter, but lots of fun, too.

William Gibson has already been mentioned, which I would also recommend. I read the Sprawl trilogy a very long time ago, and it's made a lasting expression. I've started rereading it recently. I also liked the Blue Ant trilogy and The Peripheral, but have so far missed the more recent work.

More in the one-off category: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell is one of my all-time favorites, and mixes deep SF with psychology and religion in interesting ways. There's a sequel, but it's not as good. I also liked The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, which is also on the softer side. I read Scalzi's Redshirts and liked it (especially if you're familiar with the Star Trek universe), it feels similar to Ready Player One in some ways. Daniel Suarez's (or Leinad Zeraus as he originally published them) Daemon is fun and easy to digest, along with its sequel Freedom. I liked Robert J. Sawyer's The Terminal Experiment, but one person I recommended it too wasn't impressed -- I still think it's fun, if not very deep. I also bought his Factoring Humanity and liked it okay.

Hope that helps. Always interested in more recommendations based on this list!

Permutation City by Greg Egan

Ubik by Philip K. Dick

The Complete Robot by Isaac Asimov [2]

The Wrong Unit [3] wasn't a bad little humorous tale.

Pretty much anything by Timothy Zahn (sans Star Wars novelisations) [4] or Robert Sawyer [5] floats my boat.

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North [6]

Barsk: The Elephants’ Graveyard by Lawrence M. Schoen [7] made me care about sentient elephants.

Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi [8] is very funny. Audiobook version narrated by Wil Wheaton.

Of ones already mentioned:

The Bobiverse was surprisingly good (including the audiobook version).

The Expanse is good.

With regards to Dune, there are some like myself who only ever liked the first book in the series. (Also there is a good audiobook version out there.)

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and sequels are great world building and characters, although the plots seem to meander about with not too much purpose.

The Martian is great.

[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50851.Farmer_in_the_Sky

[2] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50091.The_Complete_Robot

[3] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30959279-the-wrong-unit

[4] https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/12479.Timothy_Zahn

[5] https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/25883.Robert_J_Sawyer

[6] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18295861-the-first-fifte...

[7] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25667916-barsk

[8] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11167622-fuzzy-nation