SFiRAL - Science Fiction I've Read And Loved

[Nydex]

I only started reading sci-fi about 5 years ago, and it's been the wildest, most rewarding literary experience I've had so far. Reading some of these profoundly original and amazing pieces of work opened my mind to possibilities and worlds that had hitherto remained concealed.

It's been a while since I wanted to compile a thread like that, and use it both to recommend some of these fantastic pieces of work to others, get recommendations for myself, as well as keep a track of what I've read and haven't read yet. I also wanted to try and give a brief review/rating for each book I've read so far, but I realize I read some of these quite a while ago and that might make it difficult. On top of that, there's just too many to review into a single post, so I think I'll abandon that idea for now.

You will also notice no (or very few) entries by some of the biggest names in the business, like Iain M. Banks, Arthur C. Clarke, Kim Stanley Robinson, Stephen Baxter, China Miéville, Neil Gaiman, etc. There's just so much good stuff I want to read, and so little time, especially considering that while I was beginning my sci-fi journey and getting deeper into it, I was also in the process of undertaking a new career and quite occupied with the copious amounts of learning I had to do. You'll also notice some books have TBR (to-be-read), which notes books I have on my Kindle but have yet to read, and others have TBR/R (to-be-released-and-read).

Here's how it goes, grouped by author and series:

• Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • Children of Time Series
    • Children of Time, 2015
    • Children of Ruin, 2019
    • Children of Memory, 2022
    • Children of Strife, 2026 (TBR/R)
• Alastair Reynolds
  • Beyond the Aquila Rift
    • Beyond the Aquila Rift, 2005
    • Minla's Flowers, 2006
    • Zima Blue, 2005
    • Thousandth Night, 2005
    • Troika, 2010
  • Revenger Series
    • Revenger, 2016
    • Shadow Captain, 2019
    • Bone Silence, 2020
  • Revelation Space Universe
    • The Inhibitor Sequence
      • Revelation Space, 2000
      • Redemption Ark, 2002
      • Absolution Gap, 2003
      • Inhibitor Phase, 2021 (TBR)
    • Prefect Dreyfus Emergencies
      • The Prefect, 2007 (Re-released as Aurora Rising in 2017)
      • Elysium Fire, 2018
      • Machine Vendetta, 2023
    • Standalone
      • Chasm City, 2001
    • Short Stories
      • Diamond Dogs, 2001
      • Turquoise Days, 2002
      • Galactic North
        • Great Wall of Mars, 2000
        • Glacial, 2001
        • A Spy in Europa, 1997
        • Weather, 2006
        • Dilation Sleep, 1990
        • Grafenwalder's Bestiary, 2006
        • Nightingale, 2006
        • Galactic North, 1999
  • Century Rain, 2004
  • Terminal World, 2010
  • House of Suns, 2008
  • Eversion, 2022
  • Pushing Ice, 2005 (currently reading)
  • On The Steel Breeze, 2013 (TBR)
• Ann Leckie
  • Imperial Radch Series
    • Ancillary Justice, 2013
    • Ancillary Sword, 2014
    • Ancillary Mercy, 2015
• Dan Simmons
  • Hyperion Cantos Series
    • Hyperion, 1985
    • The Fall of Hyperion, 1990
    • Endymion, 1996
    • The Rise of Endymion, 1999
• Frank Herbert
  • Dune Saga
    • Dune, 1965
    • Dune Messiah, 1969
• Isaac Asimov
  • The Gods Themselves, 1972
• Liu Cixin
  • Remembrance of Earth's Past Series
    • The Three-Body Problem, 2006
    • The Dark Forest, 2008
    • Death's End, 2010
• Stephen Baxter
  • Xeelee Sequence
    • Raft, 1991
• Vernor Vinge
  • Zones of Thought Series
    • A Fire Upon the Deep, 1992
• Warhammer 40k Universe
  • The Horus Heresy Series
    • Dan Abnett
      • Horus Rising, 2006
      • False Gods, 2006
      • Galaxy in Flames, 2006

As you will notice, I'm a very big fan of Reynolds and all of his work. I think the Revelation Space series is what really made me fall in love with science fiction, and when I read further, especially into his Prefect Dreyfus series, as well as the absolutely outstanding standalone House of Suns (which is my favorite sci-fi novel so far), I realized the depth and brilliance of his work went much farther than just the main RS books.

I'd love for you to share your thoughts on any of the books I've listed above, as well as give me your best recommendations and reasoning behind why you love them.

Also, here's this cool table I made of all sci-fi novels released since 1980 that have won either of the big awards (ACC, Hugo, Nebula, BSFA), or a combination of them:

Spoiler: novels

Year	Title	Author	Awards won
1980s
1980	Timescape	Gregory Benford	Nebula, BSFA
1981	The Snow Queen	Joan D. Vinge	Hugo
1981	The Shadow of the Torturer	Gene Wolfe	BSFA
1982	Downbelow Station	C.J. Cherryh	Hugo
1982	No Enemy But Time	Michael Bishop	Nebula
1982	The Jonah Kit	Ian Watson	BSFA
1983	Foundation's Edge	Isaac Asimov	Hugo
1983	Startide Rising	David Brin	Hugo, Nebula
1983	Helliconia Spring	Brian Aldiss	BSFA
1984	Neuromancer	William Gibson	Hugo, Nebula, BSFA
1984	Helliconia Winter	Brian Aldiss	BSFA
1985	Ender's Game	Orson Scott Card	Hugo, Nebula
1986	Speaker for the Dead	Orson Scott Card	Hugo, Nebula
1987	The Uplift War	David Brin	Hugo
1987	The Falling Woman	Pat Murphy	Nebula
1987	The Player of Games	Iain M. Banks	BSFA
1988	Falling Free	Lois McMaster Bujold	Nebula
1989	Cyteen	C.J. Cherryh	Hugo
1989	Unquenchable Fire	Rachel Pollack	Arthur C. Clarke
1989	The Ghost from the Grand Banks	Arthur C. Clarke	BSFA
1990s
1990	Tehanu	Ursula K. Le Guin	Nebula
1990	The Child Garden	Geoff Ryman	Arthur C. Clarke
1990	Hyperion	Dan Simmons	Hugo, BSFA
1991	The Vor Game	Lois McMaster Bujold	Hugo
1991	Stations of the Tide	Michael Swanwick	Nebula
1991	Take Back Plenty	Colin Greenland	Arthur C. Clarke
1992	Doomsday Book	Connie Willis	Hugo, Nebula
1992	Synners	Pat Cadigan	Arthur C. Clarke
1993	Red Mars	Kim Stanley Robinson	Nebula, BSFA
1993	A Fire Upon the Deep	Vernor Vinge	Hugo
1993	Body of Glass	Marge Piercy	Arthur C. Clarke
1994	Moving Mars	Greg Bear	Nebula
1994	Green Mars	Kim Stanley Robinson	Hugo
1994	Feersum Endjinn	Iain M. Banks	BSFA
1994	Vurt	Jeff Noon	Arthur C. Clarke
1995	Mirror Dance	Lois McMaster Bujold	Hugo
1995	The Terminal Experiment	Robert J. Sawyer	Nebula
1995	The Time Ships	Stephen Baxter	BSFA
1995	Fools	Pat Cadigan	Arthur C. Clarke
1996	The Diamond Age	Neal Stephenson	Hugo
1996	Slow River	Nicola Griffith	Nebula
1996	The Star Fraction	Ken MacLeod	BSFA
1996	Fairyland	Paul J. McAuley	Arthur C. Clarke
1997	Blue Mars	Kim Stanley Robinson	Hugo
1997	The Moon and the Sun	Vonda N. McIntyre	Nebula
1997	Excession	Iain M. Banks	BSFA
1997	The Sparrow	Mary Doria Russell	Arthur C. Clarke
1998	Forever Peace	Joe Haldeman	Hugo, Nebula
1998	Dreaming in Smoke	Tricia Sullivan	Arthur C. Clarke
1998	The Cassini Division	Ken MacLeod	BSFA
1999	To Say Nothing of the Dog	Connie Willis	Hugo
1999	Parable of the Talents	Octavia Butler	Nebula
1999	Dreaming in Smoke	Tricia Sullivan	Arthur C. Clarke
1999	The Cassini Division	Ken MacLeod	BSFA
2000s
2000	A Deepness in the Sky	Vernor Vinge	Hugo, BSFA
2000	Darwin's Radio	Greg Bear	Nebula
2000	Salt	Adam Roberts	BSFA
2001	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire	J.K. Rowling	Hugo
2001	Perdido Street Station	China Miéville	Arthur C. Clarke
2002	American Gods	Neil Gaiman	Hugo, Nebula
2002	Chasm City	Alastair Reynolds	BSFA
2002	Bold as Love	Gwyneth Jones	Arthur C. Clarke
2003	Hominids	Robert J. Sawyer	Hugo
2003	The Speed of Dark	Elizabeth Moon	Nebula
2003	The Separation	Christopher Priest	Arthur C. Clarke, BSFA
2004	Paladin of Souls	Lois McMaster Bujold	Hugo, Nebula
2004	Ilium	Dan Simmons	BSFA
2004	Quicksilver	Neal Stephenson	Arthur C. Clarke
2005	Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell	Susanna Clarke	Hugo, BSFA
2005	Camouflage	Joe Haldeman	Nebula
2005	Iron Council	China Miéville	Arthur C. Clarke
2005	River of Gods	Ian McDonald	BSFA
2006	Spin	Robert Charles Wilson	Hugo
2006	Seeker	Jack McDevitt	Nebula
2006	Accelerando	Charles Stross	BSFA
2006	Air	Geoff Ryman	Arthur C. Clarke
2007	Rainbows End	Vernor Vinge	Hugo
2007	The Yiddish Policemen's Union	Michael Chabon	Hugo, Nebula
2007	Nova Swing	M. John Harrison	Arthur C. Clarke
2007	End of the World Blues	Jon Courtenay Grimwood	BSFA
2008	Black Man	Richard Morgan	Arthur C. Clarke
2008	Brasyl	Ian McDonald	BSFA
2009	The Windup Girl	Paolo Bacigalupi	Hugo, Nebula
2009	The City & the City	China Miéville	Hugo, Arthur C. Clarke, BSFA
2009	The Night Sessions	Ken MacLeod	BSFA
2010s
2010	Blackout/All Clear	Connie Willis	Hugo, Nebula
2011	Among Others	Jo Walton	Hugo, Nebula
2011	Zoo City	Lauren Beukes	Arthur C. Clarke
2011	The Dervish House	Ian McDonald	BSFA
2012	2312	Kim Stanley Robinson	Nebula
2012	The Islanders	Christopher Priest	BSFA
2012	The Testament of Jessie Lamb	Jane Rogers	Arthur C. Clarke
2013	Redshirts	John Scalzi	Hugo
2013	Jack Glass	Adam Roberts	BSFA
2013	Dark Eden	Chris Beckett	Arthur C. Clarke
2014	Ancillary Justice	Ann Leckie	Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, BSFA
2015	The Three-Body Problem	Liu Cixin	Hugo
2015	Ancillary Sword	Ann Leckie	BSFA
2015	The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August	Claire North	Arthur C. Clarke
2016	The Water Knife	Paolo Bacigalupi	Nebula
2016	Europe at Midnight	Dave Hutchinson	BSFA
2016	Children of Time	Adrian Tchaikovsky	Arthur C. Clarke
2017	The Obelisk Gate	N.K. Jemisin	Hugo
2017	The Underground Railroad	Colson Whitehead	Arthur C. Clarke
2017	Europe in Winter	Dave Hutchinson	BSFA
2018	The Stone Sky	N.K. Jemisin	Hugo
2018	The Calculating Stars	Mary Robinette Kowal	Nebula
2018	Dreams Before the Start of Time	Anne Charnock	Arthur C. Clarke
2018	The Rift	Nina Allan	BSFA
2019	The Calculating Stars	Mary Robinette Kowal	Hugo, Nebula
2019	Rosewater	Tade Thompson	Arthur C. Clarke
2019	Embers of War	Gareth L. Powell	BSFA
2020s
2020	A Song for a New Day	Sarah Pinsker	Nebula
2020	The City We Became	N.K. Jemisin	BSFA
2020	The Last Astronaut	David Wellington	Arthur C. Clarke
2021	Network Effect	Martha Wells	Hugo
2021	A Desolation Called Peace	Arkady Martine	Hugo, BSFA
2021	The Animals in That Country	Laura Jean McKay	Arthur C. Clarke
2022	A Master of Djinn	P. Djèlí Clark	BSFA
2022	A Psalm for the Wild-Built	Becky Chambers	Hugo
2023	The Kaiju Preservation Society	John Scalzi	Hugo
2023	Venomous Lumpsucker	Ned Beauman	Arthur C. Clarke

 

[northape]

What a nice topic. I have been a sci-fi fan since 15, when I read my first novel (sadly, I cannot remember its name). My interest is mostly in old sci-fi. I like the feeling of wonder and hope that people had back then.

The Hyperion Cantos series was an enjoyable read, and it is the only series besides Asimov's Foundation that I have reread in English. I used to consume lots of books before moving to Europe. Cultural shock and a different language mostly killed my reading habit. When I found plant medicines, my reading list consisted mostly of spiritual literature.
I feel like it is a good time to return to sci-fi and read some modern stuff.

Try Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. They offer a bit of a different spin from Soviet writers. Their novel "Roadside Picnic" is quite well known and is the basis for the movie Stalker.
Stanisław Lem from Poland is another great choice. He is a real thinker, and reading his works makes you question things (Solaris).

 

[Nydex]

What a nice topic. I have been a sci-fi fan since 15, when I read my first novel (sadly, I cannot remember its name). My interest is mostly in old sci-fi. I like the feeling of wonder and hope that people had back then.

The Hyperion Cantos series was an enjoyable read, and it is the only series besides Asimov's Foundation that I have reread in English. I used to consume lots of books before moving to Europe. Cultural shock and a different language mostly killed my reading habit. When I found plant medicines, my reading list consisted mostly of spiritual literature.
I feel like it is a good time to return to sci-fi and read some modern stuff.

Try Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. They offer a bit of a different spin from Soviet writers. Their novel "Roadside Picnic" is quite well known and is the basis for the movie Stalker.
Stanisław Lem from Poland is another great choice. He is a real thinker, and reading his works makes you question things (Solaris).

I've read both Roadside Picnic and all three Metro books, but I didn't count those towards the sci-fi I usually consume. Maybe I should have since they technically fit the bill. But yeah, now is a great time to return to sci-fi, lots of new stuff is coming out that is simply amazing.

 

[windyshaman]

Funny - you should mention Liu Cixin's series.


I happened to finish the last book on the same day I had a spice session in the evening...


Don't suppose - I need to report - how much of a mindf@%k that session turned out to be?


Let's just say - it further reinforced my discipline about set and setting - as well as - what I "prime" my mind with before going in.


Been on Sci-fi all my life, I believe - it makes one's mind a lot more open to other viewpoints - at the very least...

Not a big fan of series though as more often than not - there's more commercial benefit from these to the author than to you as a reader. Never ventured past the original Dune for that same reason - don't want to spoil it for myself. Absolutely love that piece b.t.w. - got one of the early copies.

 

[northape]

Not a big fan of series though as more often than not - there's more commercial benefit from these to the author than to you as a reader. Never ventured past the original Dune for that same reason - don't want to spoil it for myself. Absolutely love that piece b.t.w. - got one of the early copies.

You can read a few more books in the Dune series. Yes, the quality deteriorates, but it is a very slow decline

Ursula K. Le Guin is another hidden gem. She has a few awesome sci-fi books. "The Left Hand of Darkness" is a treat for any soul.

 

[Nydex]

Not a big fan of series though as more often than not - there's more commercial benefit from these to the author than to you as a reader.

I understand where you're coming from and there's definitely a level of truth to that. In most cases the reason why I read through a whole series is because I get invested in the world and characters. I want more, in the same universe, with the same general thread of events as a background and setting. This is why I've been devouring the Revelation Space saga so dilligently over the years - it's brimming with yet unexplored potential and I don't see an end to it.

 

[universecannon]

You can read a few more books in the Dune series. Yes, the quality deteriorates, but it is a very slow decline

Ursula K. Le Guin is another hidden gem. She has a few awesome sci-fi books. "The Left Hand of Darkness" is a treat for any soul.

Yes the first 6 Dune books are quite good IMO, just don't read anything after that by his son, they are trash. Children of Dune in particular is a trip

Hyperion Cantos might be my favorite series followed by Dune. I need to pick up a new series though after I finally read lord of the rings here soon. Going to bookmark this thread for the future

 

[Nydex]

Yes the first 6 Dune books are quite good IMO, just don't read anything after that by his son, they are trash. Children of Dune in particular is a trip

Hyperion Cantos might be my favorite series followed by Dune. I need to pick up a new series though after I finally read lord of the rings here soon. Going to bookmark this thread for the future

I should read more Dune. I liked the first two books, and I enjoyed the movies quite a bit, despite a few disappointing Hollywood tropes that polluted them a bit. Really, it was Hans Zimmer that made those two movies the success they are. The reason why I stopped reading Dune is the fact that I like sci-fi that is more..."out there", if that makes sense. The more obscure, fantastical, and alien tech, the better. Dune is a bit shallow in that domain, and compensates with a very complex and vibrant socioeconomical background, which is phenomenal in its own way.

 

[universecannon]

I should read more Dune. I liked the first two books, and I enjoyed the movies quite a bit, despite a few disappointing Hollywood tropes that polluted them a bit. Really, it was Hans Zimmer that made those two movies the success they are. The reason why I stopped reading Dune is the fact that I like sci-fi that is more..."out there", if that makes sense. The more obscure, fantastical, and alien tech, the better. Dune is a bit shallow in that domain, and compensates with a very complex and vibrant socioeconomical background, which is phenomenal in its own way.

The second book, Messiah, was my least favorite of the original series. I remember enjoying the rest much more, with the 3rd being my favorite. 5 and 6 I recall being a bit more out there re weird tech/interplanetary travel type stuff

I also just remembered, I thoroughly enjoyed a fire upon the deep, and a deepness in the sky both by Vernor Vinge. Trav had recommended them I think

 

[Nydex]

The second book, Messiah, was my least favorite of the original series. I remember enjoying the rest much more, with the 3rd being my favorite. 5 and 6 I recall being a bit more out there re weird tech/interplanetary travel type stuff

I also just remembered, I thoroughly enjoyed a fire upon the deep, and a deepness in the sky both by Vernor Vinge. Trav had recommended them I think

I'll keep that in mind for when I decide whether to return to the Dune series

And yeah, A Fire Upon The Deep was interesting. In terms of painting a battlefield and military conflict, Vinge is not among the best, that's for sure. But I respect anyone that dares venture into FTL territory, as that's usually accompanied by a tremendous amount of research so as to not piss off the entire hard sci-fi community

It's an interesting book for sure, and while the concept of "zones" where physics laws behave differently isn't necessarily a new thing (it's also explored in Reynolds' "Terminal World" among other works), I feel like Vinge took it to a new scale, and a tremendously massive one at that. He found a fascinating way to depict a fully populated galaxy where thousands upon thousands of different species exist in thousands of civilizations spread throughout different zones, and that the universe we currently know resides in the lowest layer of those zones, or "The Slowness", as it is referred to in the book (pointing to the "slow" speed of light which is the ultimate barrier in that zone).

I'd be interested in reading the other two books in that series, but now my literary life has been totally consumed by the Warhammer 40k series. I've been wanting to start reading about this wonderful world ever since I played the Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 game when it released back in late 2024.

And I'm kind of happy that I played that game before starting to read the books, because now when the author depicts the Legionnaires, I can imagine them in my head much more clearly because of the game. Absolutely epic stuff.

Also, it was @The Traveler that recommended the Hyperion Cantos to me, so I'll trust my life in his hands if it came to recommending absolutely amazing sci-fi

 

[Icyseeker]

Hey Hey, I recognize a few of those titles some from my list of read and some from my list of to be read.

To bad I stopped reading actively a while back.. but I think I will pick up reading again as I seem to have large swatches of time due to other things in my life being cut out.

Also why is Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert's list so short??? Although I kind of get it after going through Messiah from Dune.

 

[Nydex]

Greg Egan, Peter Watts and Ian McDonald are also must reads.

Yeah, there are probably at least another 150 authors whose work definitely deserves more attention, I just have a limited amount of time.

Also why is Isaac Asimov and Frank Herbert's list so short??? Although I kind of get it after going through Messiah from Dune.

Because I've dedicated too much time to Reynolds I will read more from those two as well, don't you worry. All I need is time, which is, of course, one of the things I have the least of. Well, not really, I just manage it poorly (i.e. I play too many games).

 

[Icyseeker]

Yep I understand that well . Just recently began a deep dive into stellaris.

 

[Nydex]

Yep I understand that well . Just recently began a deep dive into stellaris.

Yeah, Stellaris is one of those games that can devour your life if you let it

 

[Pumpy]

I ' ll give you three recommendations : Read William Gibson's 80's stuff followed by Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Fun to observe Stephenson picking up Gibson's tropes and exaggerating them along with his own unique ideas. The main character in Snow Crash is named Hiero Protagonist

Jack Vance has a neat sci fi novel called 'Languages of Pao' where he explores social engineering via language manipulation in an interplanetary setting. Nicely contained at 249 pages, and it will prime you to read everything else he's ever written !

That list of award winning authors will serve you very well, although I have to say that making a list with the same criteria going back to the 70's if not even farther wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. Check out Micheal Shea, Micheal Moorcock and L Sprague Decamp if you want to venture out to fantasyland. Very happy for you , you're in a good position

 

[TheGreenPhantom]

I just started reading: The Futorological Congress by Stanislaw Lem....

It's about a guy who attends a political conference sometime in the future, and it gets raided by the authorities who use an Agent BZ-type psychedelic to pacify the attendees.

 

[redbird]

Neuromancer by William Gibson needs to go to the front of your list. Then the rest of that trilogy (Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive). Just thinking about it makes me wanna ditch The Perennial Philosophy and read Neuromancer again right now.

Also I highly recommend the Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card. It is phenomenal. There's a side kick series that begins with Ender's Shadow. I would encourage you to read both. Just make sure you read Shadows in Flight last. It ties the two series together into one finale.

That's 13 books. You should be able to read one a moon. So there's your next year's reading for you.
You're welcome!

 

[Nydex]

Thanks for the recs yall! I'm putting these on my list.

Neuromancer by William Gibson needs to go to the front of your list.

I've heard very mixed opinions about Neuromancer. A lot of people seem to feel that while it was definitely a phenomenal book when it released, nowadays it feels dated and silly in some ways. What do you think about that stance?

 

[doubledog]

My personal favourite authors are:
Stanislav Lem - "Solaris"and "Peace on Earth" are great. And of course, "Futurological congress" is a must for people like us
Strugatsky brothers - especially "Hard to be a god".

I also liked the books from Orson Scott Card and Ursula K. Le Guin.

 

[blig-blug]

I just started reading: The Futorological Congress by Stanislaw Lem....

It's about a guy who attends a political conference sometime in the future, and it gets raided by the authorities who use an Agent BZ-type psychedelic to pacify the attendees.

I'm happy to see Lem has already been mentioned (by @northape and @doubledog too). I've been obsessed with Lem since I was a child.

@TheGreenPhantom you're in for a real mind bender, that book is really good. Another one by Lem with a similar atmosphere and one of my all time favorites is Memories Found in a Bathtub. It's about a guy that enters The Building (a Pentagon-style military/intelligence building) to be an agent and gets trapped in insane bureaucracy. Brings The Trial by Kafka to mind, but even more insane.

I enjoy a lot Lem's satire and comedy sci-fi too. Tales of Pilot Pirx and Diaries of the Stars are excellent. They're the memories of a pilot that visits different planets, each with its apparently absurd society that often satirizes aspects of human society. Then there's Cyberiad, basically medieval fables set in space, with a lot of humor. There are two that are particularly relevant in the age of LLMs: one about a kind of personal assistant that's inserted in the ear, and another about a machine able to generate literature and poetry.

Then there's Imaginary Magnitudes and another book with a title I don't remember. One's a collection of prologues for nonexistent books, and the other a collection of reviews about (different) nonexistent books. Each of those explores some philosophical idea through talking about some very strange books.

Lastly, for people who like more "hard" sci-fi, I recommend Eden. It's about a spaceship that collides on a far away planet, and how the crew has to deal with the strange lifeforms in that planet while fixing their ship to go back. Unlike in a lot sci-fi, life in that planet is truly alien, not "humans but different", and it's quite thrilling to try to understand what's going on as the crew discovers more.