Looking for futuristic sci-fi
 

Thanks to "The Day After Tomorrow," my wife is looking for more science-fiction in that genre. Specifically, stuff that doesn't contain wizards and primordial beasts from planet Klaatu, but rather picks up humanity about 20 years down the road. Stuff like "Minority Report" and the new Will Smith robot movie.

Except she's looking for the books of this genre, not the movies.

What would be good to follow?

Try George Foy:
The Shift
Contraband
(There are others in this "universe," but I have yet to read them.)

Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash is good, though his Cryptonomicon is closer to reality in the here and now. William Gibson's Neuromancer is good, too.

I, Robot is a quintiscencial classic, and sounds right up your alley. It's actualy a collection of short tales about the hurdles faced while integrating robots into our society, not at all what the movie looks like.

Revelation Space is a book I can't recommend enough. It picks up with humanity roughly 300 years into the future after humanities diaspora into the stars. An extremely well written peice that will pull you into it.

The Essential Ellison is an retrospective on the work of Harlan Ellison. One of the premier 'speculative fiction' writers, you'll find much of interest in here.

Neuromancer is regarded by many as *the* Gibson book to read.

Ringworld by Larry Niven. Another classic in the genre, it's a great read-you can skip the sequels, though.

There's always 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?', the Philip K. Dick book that Blade Runner was based on.

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All my weight behind Pellaz' suggestion of Ellison -- he is a genius. If you want Minority Report, just read Dick, as rockzilla said; I recently read both The Simulacra and Now Wait For Last Year. Dick's stuff is mostly "20 years down the road" from the perspective of 1962 -- so it's very near future scifi. I think for Gibson "All Tomorrow's Parties" is your best bet.

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'nother good Stephenson book she might enjoy, Diamond Age. very well written, interesting plot. Its set in the near future, where nanotechnology has revolutionized society.

I'm gonna agree on this one. I really enjoyed Ringworld.

I loved Snow Crash when I read it years ago. I gotta dig up that book somewhere and re-read it.

Keep them coming, and thanks! Last night, my wife bought Neuromancer (she said it was the only Gibson in stock), but couldn't make up her mind about which Stephenson (they had several).

More, more! This is making me look REALLY good around the house!

Cryptonomnicon is closer to present day reality.
Snowcrash is a bit off in a future not too dissimilar to Gibson's universe.
Diamond Age? It's just plan weird. It's good, but very strange.

Bruce Sterling does some good work, right up there with Gibson. If she liked "The day after tomorrow" try a book called "Heavy Weather" it's about a bunch of storm chasers in the future tracking the effects of global warming, it' a pretty good read. Also "Islands in the Net" also by Sterling is considered 2nd to Neromancer as far as cyberpunk novels go.

My all-time favorites for pure space opera are (in nor particular order):

'Lord of Light' by Roger Zelazny.

'Santiago' by Mike Resnick

'Space War Blues' by Richard A. Lupoff

Anything by Larry Niven, by himself or writing with Jerry Pournelle.

Most of Heinlein's stuff is good. But you gotta watch whether you're getting one of his adult books or one of his juvenile books (they're both excellent, just very different).

David Drake's Hammer's Slammers books are top-notch if your interested in military adventure in space.

And, reaching way back, I love E.E. 'Doc' Smith's Lensmen books. They're gloriously goofy and overblown pulp adventures.