AAR

[CG]

For some reason I’m burnt out on Romance right now. I’m looking for recommendations for Science Fiction books with a romantic subplot, but where the emotional journey isn’t the main focus. I haven’t had much luck searching on my own because I'm not that familiar with the genre. I find a lot of what I have tried to be more telling than showing and there seems to be a tendency to get caught up in the science to the exclusion of character and plot development. I did enjoy Elizabeth Moon’s Serrano series, but DNF’d a couple other books by her. I’ve read and enjoyed all of Linnea Sinclair’s books, tried Susan Grant and she wasn’t for me. I recently discovered Lois McMaster Bujold, David Gunn and Richard K Morgan and glommed their backlists. Tried Scalzie, again with the entirely too much telling. Avoid Heinlein and his ilk like the plague because of the covert and overt misogyny.

Also, I tend to steer clear of first person unless it comes highly recommended and the sample sucks me in.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Natalie]

If you liked Elizabeth Moon and Bujold, David Weber might be something you'll enjoy (Honor Harrington has a romantic subplot but not in all books, however, it features a female protagonist).

A lot of people like Liaden Series by Lee & Miller. I read the first one and found it to be uneven, however they must have grown as authors since then so maybe I'll give them another shot.

Catherine Asaro is another author with very prominent romantic subplots in her books.

Then, of course, there're Hunger Games and various other YA dystopias. After Suzanne Collins, I've liked Veronica Roth and Ann Aguirre (she also writes adult SciFi).

[Mark]

I second the Liaden universe and David Weber.
If you read ebooks, I suggest checking the Baen free library (on the Baen Books website).
I've read F&SF for decades, so most of these aren't recent:
Ashwell, Pauline
--Unwillingly To Earth
Bradley, Marion Zimmer
-Darkover series (science fantasy)
Brin, David
--The Practice Effect
Brunner, John
--The Shockwave Rider
Caine, Rachel
-Weather Wardens series (science fantasy)
Cherryh, C. J.
-Morgaine trilogy
Cristabel
--The Cruachan and the Killane
--The Golden Olive
--Manalacor of Veltakin
(These three actually feel more like SFR to me, even though they came out as SF many years ago.)
Dalmas, John
--The Lion of Farside
--The Varkaus Conspiracy
--The Walkaway Clause
Duncan, Dave
--Strings
Egan, Doris
-trilogy starting with The Gate Of Ivory
Elliott, Kate
-Jaran series
Flint, Eric
--1632 (This was originally standalone but gave birth to a universe and many sequels. There are often romantic threads but they are not the main focus.)
Foster, Alan Dean
--The I Inside
Frezza, Robert
--McLendon's Syndrome
Friesner, Esther M.
--Harlot's Ruse
Grimwood, Ken
--Replay
High, Philip E.
-Many of his books include a romance thread.
--Invader On My Back
--The Prodigal Sun
--Reality Forbidden
--These Savage Futurians
--Twin Planets
Leinster, Murray
--Operation Terror
--The Pirates of Zan
--The Wailing Asteroid
McCaffrey, Anne
-The entire Dragonriders of Pern series
-Rowan series
-Freedom series
-Crystal Singer Series
--Restoree
(Years ago I read that this was written as a response to helpless heroine books. The heroine is mostly very competent at answering the hero’s failings.)
--The Ship Who Sang
McCaffrey, Anne and Scarborough, Elizabeth Ann
-Pataybee series
Norton, Andre
-Most of her books include a romance thread.
-Witch World series (science fantasy)
Perry, Steve
-Matador series (There are several romances in this series, especially the last 3 books. The series is about bringing down an evil empire and the aftermath.)
Phillifent, John T.
--King of Argent
Rackham, John
--The Anything Tree
--Time to Live
Shinn, Sharon
-angel series
Smith, Edward E.
-Almost all of “Doc” Smith’s books include a romance component, but there is also a lot of shoot-em-up.
Spencer, Wen
-Tinker series
Stasheff, Christopher
--The Warlock in Spite of Himself (there are many sequels)

[Cora]

Try the Deathstalker series by Simon Green (warning: can be pretty depressing, since very few characters get a happy ending, but lots of lovely and different romance subplots), Assassins in Love by Kris DeLake a.k.a. Kristine Kathryn Rusch, the Siratha Jax series by Ann Aguirre, Chimera and Basilisk by Rob Thurman, the Company series by Kage Baker (individual books have downer endings, but the whole series is about love transcending time), Living Next Door to the God of Love by Justina Robson, Probe and Counterprobe by Carole Nelson Douglas (both from the 1980s, so not sure how easy they are to find these days), the Crystal Singer and Pegasus/Rowan series by Anne McCaffrey (Pern, too, but that series is huge), the Skaith trilogy by Leigh Brackett (no HEA, but good - Brackett was a screenwriter on The Empire Strikes Back among others), the Venus Prime series by Paul Preuss and Arthur C. Clarke (recently reprinted, including the last two books which were nigh impossible to find).

I'd also second Mark's recommendation for the Weather Wardens series by Rachel Caine, though I'd classify those books as urban fantasy rather than SF.

The oldest of those are from the 1970s. Let me know if you are interested in older SF, since those books can be very dated in both technology and attitudes. In fact, even the older McCaffreys are rather dated these days.
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[Natalie]

Looking through my TBR, I've found a few more books that might be of interest to you:

Sara Creasy - Song of Scarabeus (adult SF)
Lissa Bryan - The End of All Things (YA, post-apocalypse)
Ilona Andrews - Silent Blade (SF, Ilona Andres is a husband/wife team that writes popular romantic Urban Fantasy books)
Andrea Host - The Touchstone Trilogy, And All the Stars (YA SF)
Anna Sheehan - A Long, Long Sleep (YA SF)
Sharon Lynn Fisher - Ghost Planet (adult SF)
Wen Spencer - Endless Blue (adult SF)
Marissa Meyer - Cinder (YA)
Amy Kathleen Ryan - Glow (YA)
Anne Osterlund - Academy 7 (YA)

[Yuri]

Love Bujold, Linnea Sinclair and totally agree re: Elizabeth Moon – never could get into her fantasy books. Must try David Gunn and Richard K Morgan as I haven’t come across them so thank-you for the recc.s

I’ll second the recommendation for Catherine Asaro. These are space opera like the Serrano series and Bujold but underpinned by hard science fiction as Asaro is an astrophysicist. They are best read in publication order even though they jump around chronologically: start with “Primary Inversion” (note the hero in the second book “Catch the Lightning” is named after the person with the same name in the first book – I got very confused the first time I read it.)

The Liaden Series by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, which are also brilliant space opera - start with either “Conflict of Honor”, “Local Custom” or “Crystal Soldier”.

David Weber is a good suggestion as well, although I never really did get into the Honor Harrington series oddly enough. “Path of the Fury” is my favourite of his with the Empire from the Ashes series, starting with “Mutineers' Moon” a close second.

Have you read Anne McCaffrey? Try “The Crystal Singer” or “The Rowan” or if you are happy with lost colony rather than space opera then the classic “Dragonflight” (all starts of different series). Or “The Ship Who Searched” is a favorite that can be picked up mid-series and is space opera.

Wen Spencer? Her Ukiah Oregon series starting with “Alien Taste” is brilliant, sort of aliens-on-earth urban science fiction. Or “Endless Blue” is a good stand alone of hers and is more clearly sci-fi.

Connie Willis is really good too: my favorites are “To Say Nothing of the Dog” which is time travel, and “Bellwether” which isn’t science fiction at all but is a lot of fun.

If you like military themes, Tanya Huff’s “Valor’s Choice” is good.

Robert Asprin & Linda Evans wrote some decent time travel books about a future with time travel tourism, starting with “Time Scout”, although “Wagers of Sin” is my favorite.

Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover series is classic lost colony science fiction. There isn’t really a clear reading order and it can take a little while to your mind wrapped around the world but some of them are brilliant. “World Wreckers” and “Two to Conquer” are among my favorites but I’m not sure how they’d work if you were coming to them cold.

Sharon Shinn’s “Archangel” series is another lost colony story with regression to a quasi-medieval state. “The Alleluia Files” or “Angel-Seeker” would be my favorites in the series and they don’t need to be read in order.

Have fun!

[Yuri]

[maggie b.]

Riverworld Series Philip Jose Farmer

If you can get ahold of it The Many Colored Land by Julian May

Andre Norton writes children and adult sci=fi. She is a woman who used a male pen name in order to sell her sci-fi. Her most popular series are the Witch World books.

I'll second Anne McCafrey's Crystal Singer series (female protaganist) She also has the Dragonriders of Pern and the Rowan series.

Beyond the Rain and Beyond the Shadows by Jess Granger

The Skin Series by Ava Gray is a sc-fi romance series that is kind of urban fantasy. Think X-Men

Joss Ware's Envy series is a mix of X-men and Atlantis mythology.

Across the Universe Beth Revis. There are three books in this series so far. Takes place on a star ship in the future.

maggie b.
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[MrsFairfax]

I really liked the Retrieval Artist series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, starting with The Disappeared.
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[Eggletina]

I really like Julie Czerneda's books. Her Trade Pact and Stratification series (these are both trilogies) have relationships that evolve over the course of the series. I'd also describe these as space opera with a lot of adventure. The author is a biologist, and many of her aliens are truly strange and alien (rather than barely disguised humans). I also happen to like the author's sense of humor which shines through in several of her characters.

[Natalie]

[Eggletina]

I think one of the first space operas I ever read was Joan Vinge’s Snow Queen series. I still love the leading man from that series (BZ) who starts out as a supporting character in the first book but grows into the role of romantic lead by series end. I also liked her Cat books, but relationships never go well for poor Cat. I always hoped she’d write another Cat book, but I don’t think she’s been writing all that much in recent years.

Has anyone read Kager Baker’s Company series? I wondered if they had a romantic sub-plot. I have these in my TBR but haven’t gotten around to reading them yet.

[CG]

Thanks for all these recs you guys! I’m so excited to try some new to me authors. Quick question: Has anyone read Anne McCaffery as a young adult and gone back for a reread as an adult? I’ve got fond childhood memories of the Pern series, but fear if I do try a reread I’ll be disappointed.

[Cora]

[Yuri]