The Sword and Laser discussion

From the comments here and elsewhere a common theme I read about this book is that it's good but not going to be seen long-term as particularly important.

That got me thinking: the solar system romp in SF is an important sub-genre of hard SF and we've been seeing some excellent novels that use it in the last few years. Ilium/Olympos by Dan Simmons, 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson, Saturn's Children by Charles Stross and The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi are a few of my favourites.

But what are the classics of the solar system romp? What should we be judging this book against?

I would love to read more books set in the solar system! Looking forward to what people say.

It's definitely a trend happening lately. Also Alastair Reynolds's Blue Remembered Earth and David Brin's Existence.

The book which came to my mind most readily was Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Quite a bit of Heinlein, really.

Tamahome wrote: "It's definitely a trend happening lately. Also Alastair Reynolds's Blue Remembered Earth and David Brin's Existence."

I'm almost done with Blue Remembered Earth. It's amazing. The audiobook narrator is one of the best I've listened to also. He's only got one other book on Audible, but I'm sure we'll here more from them.

Existence is on my iPod for a near future listen. David Brin has always been one of my favorite authors, but I don't think he's done a novel since Kiln People. That book was disappointing.

But what are the classics of the solar system romp? What should we be judging this book against?

Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy is my gold standard - there's a lot in LW that reminds me of that universe.

Red Mars / Green Mars / Blue Mars

At one point someone in LW even mentions a "blue Mars" movement.

I heard on Coode St podcast that Strahan is working on a solar anthology. He'll open with one of Stan Robinson's Mercury stories.

Mars trilogy by Kim stanley robinson
Grand tour by ben bova

Ack! Stop naming books! My to-read list is long enough already. Seriously though, I'm really glad I joined this community. I am being introduced to so many authors and books I would never have picked up at my local Barnes & Noble.

I would like to add my voice to the chorus of folks who have recommended Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. It is really heavy on the science but that is what makes it such an interesting read. The man did his research and it shows.

Lindsay, thanks for starting this thread. After reading LW I realized that the solar-system SF it employs scratches an itch I never knew I had. Absolutely fascinated me. This is the first solar system SF book I've read, and I didn't know where to go for more. Thanks to all posters for your suggestions! My Wish List has gained some entries!

I agree that the Mars trilogy is certainly worthy of being a classic. Just seems wrong somehow to say that a book from the 90s is a classic. To me a classic is defined as "a well regarded book from before I was born". I guess this will have to change soonish. I remember I had a 50-something high school English teacher who said a classic had to stand the test of time, which she happened to define as 50 years, so I guess I'm not alone with my definition. ;)

So well... 2001 by Arthur C. Clarke is a classic and is set in the solar system. And I agree with Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

As mentioned in other threads, I liked Larry Niven's Protector. Written before I was born. Not sure it's a classic though.

For Heinlein, don't forget Space Cadet and The Rolling Stones.

And I'm not sure if I'd call it a "romp" but there's Titan by Stephen Baxter.

I enjoyed several of Charles Sheffield's books, and while most of them overstep the limits of our solar system, his novel Cold as Ice stayed within those bounds. In fact there are a lot of things in Leviathan that recall Cold as Ice, but enough to differentiate it too. That book also gifted me with at least one image that visited my nightmares in the years that followed.

And I'm not sure if I'd call it a "romp" but there's Titan by Stephen Baxter."

aka The Most Depressing SciFi Book Ever.

Yes, hardly a romp in the joyful sense of the word.

Lindsay wrote: "aka The Most Depressing SciFi Book Ever.

Yes, hardly a romp in the joyful sense of the word."

If not the most depressing, certainly somewhere in the top three or five. But it was still fascinating to see an expedition to Titan mounted with essentially Apollo-era technology. Baxter wrote a couple of others in a similar vein -- Voyage and Moonseed used Apollo-level tech in more-or-less modern stories -- Voyage was an alternate history where we went to Mars instead of building the Shuttle and Moonseed was a "We need to get to the Moon right now! so let's unmothball the old rockets and capsules. Kind of a change of pace from his usual galaxy-spanning epics.

Oo, speaking of dragging out old rockets you reminded me of two more great Niven romps: Footfall and The Descent of Anansi. The former is humanity's first alien encounter. The latter is pure fanservice: sci-fi dweebs save the world.

P. Aaron wrote: "Oo, speaking of dragging out old rockets you reminded me of two more great Niven romps: Footfall and The Descent of Anansi. The former is humanity's first alien encounter. The latter is pure fan..."

There was more than a little fanservice in Footfall as well, as I recall -- when the humans initially discovered the aliens, they convened a group of thinly-disguised luminaries ("Robert Anson", e.g.) as a think tank.

Most of John Varley's work takes place in the solar system and is some of the best SF I've read.

As of Stephen Baxter has ever written a cheerful novel?

Cattfish wrote: "As of Stephen Baxter has ever written a cheerful novel?"

The Time Ships, maybe?

I love the flying sun chick in Ring. Have to finish that.

P. Aaron wrote: "The book which came to my mind most readily was Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Quite a bit of Heinlein, really."

I got that too after all the talk about dropping rocks down the gravity well.

I just remembered Saturn's Children by Charles Stross. (Embarrassing cover.)

Sandi wrote: "I just remembered Saturn's Children by Charles Stross. (Embarrassing cover.)"

Yes, horrible cover. The UK cover is so much better. I can't imagine what the publisher was thinking.

Charlie is supposed to be doing a (loose) sequel set 5000 years later in the same universe next year.

Two more I got a kick out of were Stirling's "Sky People" and its sequel... and darn it the only thing I remember concretely is "Crimson Kings". The mobile interface apparently doesn't let me source books or authors. Anyway, both suggest an alt-history where Venus and Mars were populated when we landed probes, and had near analogs of Earth's biosphere. In the Kings prologue the landing on Mars has a fictional room of scifi greats viewing it and discussing if there's a world for them after the revelations.

So, if you're willing to step into the realm of Japanese animation - the original Mobile Suit Gundam... actually pretty much all of the Mobile Suit Gundam series, come to think about it, are all set within the solar system. Aside from the various television series, the original show was adapted into a novel by the creator, Yoshiyuki Tomino, which, IIRC, got a US release translated by Frederick Shodt. I don't know how good the translation is, thought. I would consider the original series (either as a whole series, or as the compilation movies) to be something of a classic in the genre.

Additionally, the anime series "Martian Successor Nadesico" (which recently got a DVD re-release) also would fit the definition of Solar System SF.

Well if we are going to talk about manga/anime then you have to mention Planetes, a near-future show. It's not a space opera at all, just a relationship drama set in space.

I would put mecha stuff in an different category entirely. :D

For more aliens-send-something-to-wipe-out-all-life-in-our-solar-system, try The Killing Star. Not so much a romp as a death knell.