As an example, I love the Martian, and I think a lot of older books from authors like Asimov are heavily into engineering / competence porn. Other favs in this category include the standalone novel Rendezvous with Rama to leave you wishing for more, most of the Culture series for happy utopian vibes, Schlock Mercenary for humor, Dahak series for fun mindless popcorn.
Edit: I’m so happy to have found a replacement for r/books and the rest of them.
I’m sure you’ve read or heard this before, but project hail mary is great. The whole bobiverse series was incredibly satisfying to read and the 5th book is out recently in the form of an audio book. Low pressure, low commitment series thats just full of engineering porn.
Yeah, I loved pretty much all of Andy Weir. I should get back to the Bobiverse. I tried it once and couldn’t get into it for some reason. I don’t recall the exact details now, and maybe I was misunderstanding something, but there was some stuff about his drones destroying entire solar systems for raw minerals, that just seemed plain nonsensical to me? I guess with all the good things people are saying about it I should go back and figure out what rubbed me wrong the first time.
Holy shit, new bobiverse? Thanks for the knowledge.
I really wanted to love “Project Hail Mary”, but Andy Weir can’t write characters and that killed it for me for some reason
Can you elaborate on what specifically bothered you? I didn’t notice anything when I read it but it was a good while ago
The Expanse is a great at engineering read. Doubly so for a space opera. Lots of very legit science in the science fiction there.
Oh yes, I love the Expanse. For some reason it doesn’t quite strike me as engineering / competence porn though, maybe because there’s a big focus on the human side.
Yeah it’s most definitely a space opera. There’s so much good science in there though.
You just reminded me I have to get caught up with that series again so I can read the last book. I powered through the whole series before the last book was released and now I kind of forget what was going on, to jump in again.
I kind of forget what was going on
Protomolecule. Lots and lots of protomolecule.
It’s so easy to read, worth starting over. If you read fast you’ll get through it all in a couple months.
Kim Stanley-Robinson
His Mars trilogy and Science in the Capital are amazing.
He is my favorite hard science fiction writer for the blend of tech, politics, critiques of capitalism, and drama. His novels after those trilogies are good but some people find them fairly long winded and boring in parts… actually I do too, ah well.Thanks! I bounced off the Mars trilogy. All the petty human drama and politics just felt way too much like current news (which is probably a compliment to his writing skills, but it just wasn’t what I was looking for at the time). I think I probably need a very relaxed state of mind to be able to dive into it.
I recently found the Bobiverse to be a light-hearted read in this category.
Engineer becomes von Neumann probe and has to solve quite a lot of interesting issues while bootstrapping and dealing with settling in the galactic neighbourhood
I’m on the third book now. It’s great nerd/competence porn. I set the 10 minute timer and put my ear buds in at night as I go to bed. I’ve usually drifted off by minute 9, but not because it’s boring or anything, it’s just good listening.
Enjoyed project hail mary, but bobiverse didn’t quite do it for me. >!Atheist gets recruited by religious cult. Proceeds to go to planet of the apes to play god. I found it to be mostly ok up to that point though. !<
Religion as portrayed in this book makes the characters very one dimensional. It’s also peppered with references to popular culture, which doesn’t really do that much for me.
Wow you read a lot more into the religious theme than I did. I found it an exploration of the engineering behind almost every SciFi trope rather than playing god.
And as an atheist I found the religious characterisation entirely adequate, it is a minor part of the characters personality, and it’s only in the obnoxious ones that it becomes dominating. Which is quite close to how it is in my daily life.
But yes, the whole series is made within and to serve nerd culture, it is a long long stream of references and in-jokes at multiple levels, including the main premise. It just happens to also be intelligently written.
I should get back to the Bobiverse. I tried it once and couldn’t get into it for some reason. I don’t recall the exact details now, and maybe I was misunderstanding something, but there was some stuff about his drones destroying entire solar systems for raw minerals, that just seemed plain nonsensical to me? I guess with all the good things people are saying about it I should go back and figure out what rubbed me wrong the first time.
It sounds like you accidentally starter with a later book because what you’ve described is a major plot story being built up for a bit.
From this thread I think you might enjoy it :)
Yeah I’ll give it another look :)
“Quarter Share: Tales from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper” is agood one. It’s usually not at high stakes as 'The Martian", but it’s a journey across a well developed science fiction galaxy with a thoughtfully detailed societies and economies. And keep an eye out for the author, Nathan Lowell, here on the Fediverse. He seems nice.
“The Long Earth” is another in that the starting premise is deceptively simple, and then every social, economic and political upheaval stems directly from the single core science fiction premise.
I really loved the concept and worldbuilding of the Long Earth. However I felt that the books didn’t focus as much on the nitty-gritty as I’d like, instead becoming really metaphysical. I’d have loved to see how every aspect of society changed over time, but instead got a human interest story about a few people. Fun, but ultimately I felt like a lot of potential was wasted.
Solar Clipper looks like some nice cozy slice of life SF, will put that on my list for when I’m in the mood for that :)
Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds fits pretty well. I like the progression of figuring out how to survive and thrive as their situation changes. I also quite like how the book deals with questions like how sentient species might interact despite the vast gulf of distance and time that exist between their civilizations.
That looks really interesting, definitely gonna check it out, thanks!
the mars trilogy (red mars/green mars/blue mars) by kim stanley robinson
Thanks! I bounced off the Mars trilogy. All the petty human drama and politics just felt way too much like current news (which is probably a compliment to his writing skills, but it just wasn’t what I was looking for at the time). I think I probably need a very relaxed state of mind to be able to dive into it.
fair. to be honest, i havent read it since it was released in the 90s. i mostly remember the tech
Just finished Exodus: The Archimedes Engine on audible. Space opera with a lot of world building. A bit slow to get started, but I really enjoyed it.
Edit: not sure if I would classify it as engineering porn though, although there is an emphasis on use of technology
Argh. Peter Hamilton. Don’t all his books end with deus ex machinas? I got so annoyed at how Night’s Dawn ended that I’ve avoided all his books ever since.
I’ll agree on Night’s Dawn, but his Pandora Star series is still one of my favourite series and good competence porn. The characters aren’t stupid and actually solve problems and predict events.
First book by him for me, so can’t comment on his overall style. The main plot didn’t resolve in this one, it leaves it to a sequel. There’s definitely a tendency to introduce technology from ancient races in the plots which may be used in that way. Didn’t feel jarring to me in this book though.
Do you like protagonists that use their wits to beat a scenario or the hard science more?
For example a fun read that’s, in my opinion, best experienced as an audiobook is the dungeon crawler carl. It’s definitely a good example of the first type. It’s not realistic. It’s literally real life made into a D&D game (LitRPG) it is just one scenario after another of Carl just finding ways to manipulate and play with the “rules” of the messed up game.
If you’re more into the hard science than The Expanse as others have said. Or maybe even the Revelation Space series where it is future tech but relativistic time plays a part. Less of the “one person/group against all odds” but a good read nonetheless.
More looking for the 2nd at the moment. Though yes I did enjoy DCC and all the other series you mention, I’ve read them all (well maybe not all of Rev Space, at some point I lost track of the timeline and gave up).
I checked the good reads list of top rated hard science and saw a few items I can recommend.
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Altered Carbon. A fun and intense read. Future hard science. If people’s consciousness could be transmitted/used for interstellar travel kind of thing then the scenarios listed here adhere to their own crazy rules.
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Three Body Problem. First book is amazing. The sequels are good enough but the translations are a little rougher but the story carries through.
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Enders Game. Tactical and hard science aspects to it. Gets more metaphysical later in the series.
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Contact. Absolute gem that I re-read a few years back.
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Ancillary Justice. More future/hard science but worth mentioning in any list I’m willing to put Altered Carbon in. It has a viewpoint and it’s use of alternate societal perspectives (from a society that is uniform in so many ways to organic “ship” drones to questions about what is a person/identity) all wrapped in a great sci-fi story
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The moon is a harsh mistress. A little dated and the way women/people are referenced shows it (much like foundation) but a solid one that is a little more hard science and may be more in line with what you’re thinking of.
Going over this list I realize how hard it is to find true hard science (Martian) that doesn’t lean into the more future tech but consistent physical laws (Expanse) to way future nano tech or consciousness transfer (Altered Carbon, etc)
Thank you Szeth-nimi! I did enjoy Season 1 of Altered Carbon Netflix, so the books should be worth a look. I fully agree with all your other recs (though I have issues with the character writing in Three Body Problem), unfortunately I’ve read all of them :D
And now that you mention it, you’re right about how tough it is finding modern-day hard science fiction. I think you managed to put your finger on one of the things I wanted but couldn’t verbalise.
Yeah. Three body problem is a well done translation of a Chinese authors work and so I suspect there’s some things that just culturally come across easily. Nothing makes that more obvious than the sequels where it feels like it wasn’t as painstakingly done to try to convey such things like the first.
I will say I really enjoyed the paper ménagerie by Ken Liu (the aforementioned translator) and it was a unique look from a different cultural perspective.
Back on topic to sci-fi. Do you prefer singular protagonist in a limited scale of time (person/crew) fighting against some local challenge (Martian/Expanse) or larger sweeping epics spanning centuries and a lot of perspectives (Dune, Foundation)?
More human/realistic perspectives (Martian) or are you open to Alien/Non-human perspectives (ex. protomolecule perception about the gates reopening)
Back on topic to sci-fi. Do you prefer singular protagonist in a limited scale of time (person/crew) fighting against some local challenge (Martian/Expanse) or larger sweeping epics spanning centuries and a lot of perspectives (Dune, Foundation)?
More human/realistic perspectives (Martian) or are you open to Alien/Non-human perspectives (ex. protomolecule perception about the gates reopening)
Eh. I loved all your examples? Lol. Especially alien perspectives if done right are always interesting. Like Blindsight, Mote in Gods Eye, and Children of Time. I love great worldbuilding and internally-consistent plots, and I usually find petty drama and politics cringey.
Different perspectives from not alien but not human (unless otherwise specified not hard sci-fi)
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Klara and the Sun (story of an android coming to awareness of themselves, to their purpose as a friend for a child, to attachment and love as well as dealing with the inevitable changes and loss as the child grows up)
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Several short stories by Ted Chiang
Exhalation, The Lifecycle of Software Objects (technically hard sci-fi), The Great Silence
Kind of human
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Murderbot Diaries (Autonomous killing machine/human cyborg going rogue that is learning what it is to be human, and just wants to watch serials and be left alone)
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Ancillary Justice (Ships with remote/linked instances in control of human bodies and what happens when one of those “remotes” is all that’s left of that consciousness. Navigating the line of human/machine/etc.). Not political per-se but resonates with various political perspectives on autonomy/society vs individualism/ etc.
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Dogs of War. Bio weapons part animal human hybrids and wars, morality, doing what your meant to do and made to do vs becoming aware of your actions and what is right/wrong.
Dogs of War
Ooh, more Tchaikovsky. How did I miss that one? I’ve been meaning to check out Ted Chiang, this is probably as good a time as any. I’ve enjoyed every one of the recs you’ve made so far that I’ve read, I’ll definitely check out the rest!
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I had to check i wasn’t in a brandosando instance with this blatant fan interplay
What starvin’ interplay, you storming voidbringer?
The term “air sickness” comes to mind
+1 for Contact and A moon is a harsh mistress.
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Just hit me. More modern time… historical fiction at the start and blends into more sci-fi as the series goes on.
Neil Stephenson: Crypto series
Cryptonomicon Reamde Fall: or dodge in hell
Oof, Stephenson is heavy! Anathem took me a fortnight to get through. I’ve read a few of his works and they’re good, but man they take a lot of mental effort (maybe it’s just me?)
They can be. Anathem was a bit more of a slog that sped up.
I found cryptonomicon to be slow at first (but not like Anathem) but it sped up quickly.
It goes back and forth between “modern” early 00’s? And WW2.
Stephenson is the kind of author you start a book and after a bit you’re like… ok… I don’t think this is for me… wait… what? And then you’re hooked.
Anathem is one of the worst that was like that. Snow Crash would be the polar opposite and one of the rare ones that just jumps straight into the world building.
Unrelated: I just finished Wind and Truth. So weird to think somebody got me hooked on Sanderson about 2 years ago and I’ve burned through all his books (except for Reckoners and the Alcatraz books). The first because I haven’t tried one but seems a bit more youth oriented and the latter because it is more youth oriented than my usual tastes.
Stephenson is the kind of author you start a book and after a bit you’re like… ok… I don’t think this is for me… wait… what? And then you’re hooked.
Yeah, I liked the books but they really do need a bit of determination to get started.
Alcatraz is definitely for a much younger crowd, but Reckoners might be worth a shot. The worldbuilding is great, classic Sanderson. The YA part comes through as a teenage MC and easier language, but it’s still plenty interesting. A lot of parallels to Mistborn.
Several books in the League of Peoples series (start with Expendable) have this. Festina Ramos is competent AF without going into Mary Sue territory.
The Sten series (Allan Cole & Chris Bunch, military-ish sci-fi) has a fantastically competent lead.
Huh, it’s not often I get series recs that I’ve never even heard of before. Thanks, will check them out!
Sten is from the late 80s, Expendable from late 90s. :). And there’s a shaggy dog story in the Sten books that’s takes… 4 books, I think, to get the punchline. LOL.
I don’t know of any other good books in this genre, but I will say that the Martian is probably my favorite book of all time. I read it several times a year just because I enjoy it that much and actually just got done reading it again for the first time in 2025 a couple of days ago.
Keep an eye on this post then, you might find something else to love as well :)
I’ll throw out a couple more of my favs along these lines. Rendezvous with Rama (be aware there’s no sequel to it), most of the Culture series for happy utopian vibes, Schlock Mercenary for humor, Dahak series for fun mindless popcorn.
Anything by Robert Forward and Charles Sheffield.
Have never heard of him before, will check him out!
I edited that, I’d also recommend Charles Sheffield. I’m specifically thinking of the Cold as Ice books.
Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves has a lot (A LOT) of orbital mechanics jargon if you’re into that sort of thing. Personally, I skipped most of it.
Hard scifi by Greg Egan is a trip and you’ll never be the same afterwards. Permutation City and Diaspora are my favorites.
For more modern take, Children of Time is beautifully narrated and I could listen to it all day for years and never get tired of the narrator.
For a universe that keeps on going with problem solving Vorkosigan Saga is very feel good and I think in line with a book like the Martian albeit a bit less hard though solid on its approach to deduction and wit.
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars is pretty hard-scifi.
Alastair Reynolds’ Revelation Space not so much but very entertaining.
Edit: for light reading Stross’s Saturns Children is fun.
