Ok ok, I might not get a lot of support with this list, but SciFi is actually what turned me into an avid reader...now it's not just SciFi but also non fiction (gasp!). So the list below is somewhat the path I followed, with some mods

Ready Player One
Project Hail Mary
Murderbot
Bobiverse
Pandora's Star

The list starts off with some quick, punchy brain candy then graduates into big ol' operas :-)

[–] gaydarless@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Project Hail Mary is so good! It's a great example of sci fi that doesn't take itself too seriously, but has a lot of actual science involved. I was just getting the itch to re-read it the other day!

[–] Drudge@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

agreed!! I'm generally a slow reader, but I hammered through that one in 3 days...with kids climbing on me....at Christmas...

[–] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Pandora's Star really is just part one of a two part book. That said, there's a chapter in there where MLM is introduced that, if read alone without any context, might be the single best chapter ever written in sci fi. If that doesn't hook a reader, I don't know what will.

[–] Drudge@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Agreed, that intro to MLM is pretty epic. I also found the prologue to the first book super memorable...basically an intro to the gateways. The whole series is around 7 books, but I had a tough time with the few Judas books. A friend and I were reading them at the same time, and he just skipped all Judas chapters, hehe.

[–] RatTub@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

I haven't read Pandora's Star, but I love everything else on that list. Since we seem to have similar tastes, I'll give it a shot next!

[–] ___spannungsbogen@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

My family has two people that are avid Murderbot fans. My library never has any copies, but maybe it's time to cave and buy the first novella...