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Does anyone know any Hard Sci Fi books about humans surviving without any hospitable worlds?

I’m looking to get inspiration for my own writing. I need a hard sci fi series where earth (and earthlike worlds) are too rare, inaccessible, and/or previously spoiled beyond ability to sustain life. Bonus points if it is set on a multi-generational space station or starship without any other options and goes into detail about life support, living space, mineral mining and expansion of the station to accomodate a growing population, and daily life of it’s residents.

If anyone remembers Drifter Colonies from Titan A.E., that’s what’s in my head.

I’m looking for The Martian levels of realism, and I’m fine with a bit of “Unobtanium” clichés if they’re not core to the story.

ShouldIHaveFun ,

If you also accept TV series, Battlestar Galactica may interest you.

ICastFist ,
@ICastFist@programming.dev avatar

It deals with a small fleet of survivors desperately seeking a new home planet, who live in constant paranoia due to the enemy being able to plant sleeper agents within their crews. I remember they had to mine asteroids for fuel.

NielsBohron ,
@NielsBohron@lemmy.world avatar

Someone what mentioned Kim Stanley Robinson’s Red Mars trilogy, and that is really good, but his book Aurora is almost exactly what you are describing.

Highly recommend.

pearable ,

I was looking for Aurora. I also think it’s right on the money. Gets into the weeds with micro ecosystems.

The idea that humans need the diverse micro ecology of earth in order to not become ill over the course of generations is pretty interesting.

NielsBohron ,
@NielsBohron@lemmy.world avatar

The idea that humans need the diverse micro ecology of earth in order to not become ill over the course of generations is pretty interesting.

Really pretty well-supported by current science, too. I teach chemistry at a community college, so maybe I’m an outlier, but I read a ton of current research about the importance of diversity in “gut biomes” and the damaging effects of monoculture on global ecology, etc.

It seems pretty clear that even if engineers could solve the physical and chemical issues with a generation ship, the limiting constraints are almost certainly going to be biological and ecological, and KS Robinson’s estimates for the upper limits seem pretty reasonable based on current knowledge

draigoch ,

Maybe have a look at The Long Winter Trilogy by A.G. Riddle (available at kindle unlimited)

Lemonparty ,

Children of Time is nearly exactly what you’re looking for. The whole series doesn’t follow nicely with what you’re looking for but the focus remains on that aspect of things for lack of wanting to spoil anything. If nothing else read the first book, it’s exceptional.

init ,
@init@lemmy.ml avatar

Wholeheartedly agree. I’ve read the first and second, and liked the first the most. Still planning to read the third eventually.

I also should mention I “read” them on audible, and the narrator was good too.

PeriodicallyPedantic ,

I didn’t realize there was a 3rd. I’m gonna have to go find it now

Lemonparty ,

FYI if you, like me, did not realize the third book was out, it is! I just bought it, gonna start it tonight

intensely_human ,

The Expanse series is kinda like that. There are other planets, but most of the action takes place on ships, stations, and asteroids that have been converted into stations. It goes into depth about life in space, and everything from engineering to biology, sociology, politics, and theology.

PolandIsAStateOfMind ,
@PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml avatar

Somewhat, the topic is straight brought up several times, including most notably in book 2 about the Jupiter moons, but they all claim it’s borderline impossible because all this is super delicate system only made possible by Earth anyway. Which is later proven true in last book by how Solar system is completely fucked and how most colonies even on habitable planets die out.

Admetus ,

Tau Zero is essentially where eventually within a few months no hospitable worlds exist. This is due to a spacecraft being out of control and reaching relativistic speeds.

AFKBRBChocolate ,

People already mention the Mars series by Orson Scott Card, the Expanse series by Corey, and Seveneves by Stephenson, which are all fantastic and all fit your request well. Two others you might consider are:

  • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein. Very old school classic that features a moon colony fighting with earth.
  • Beggars in Spain by Kress. Most of it is on a near future earth, but the last hunk of it involves a segment of people relocating to a space station.
nightwatch_admin ,

Do you mean the Mars series by Kim Stanley Robinson?

AFKBRBChocolate ,

Lol, I do! Not sure why I was thinking about OSC. Maybe just another writer known by three names.

littlebluespark ,
@littlebluespark@lemmy.world avatar

To be fair, and no spoilers, but I’m not sure The Expanse qualifies for this request, technically. (As a huge fan of the books and series both)

skulblaka ,
@skulblaka@startrek.website avatar

The belters make a pretty solid example of what it sounds like OP is looking for. The entire setting doesn’t match to a T but there’s enough interaction with inhospitable environments to be worth looking into, I think.

littlebluespark ,
@littlebluespark@lemmy.world avatar

See above 🤗

AFKBRBChocolate ,

Corey goes into pretty good detail about how they made Eros, Ganymede, and the generation ship livable. Seems like they qualified.

littlebluespark ,
@littlebluespark@lemmy.world avatar

Clearly, that’s not the aspect I was hinting at. >!The first part of the request is the relevant section, not the “bonus points”, all due respect: “earth (and earthlike[sic] worlds) are too rare, inaccessible, and/or previously spoiled beyond ability to sustain life.”!<

AFKBRBChocolate ,

Hmmm, I just read that to mean there was some reason people had to terraform or create an artificial habitat, not that it had to be that specific plot point.

FiniteLooper ,

Lucifer’s Hammer by Larry Niven is a fantastic book that might be near what you are looking for. It’s about an asteroid impact on Earth, this removes a lot of the population and infrastructure and the story focuses on a few different groups of people as they make do with what they can find or scavenge, and then the resource battling that goes on between groups.

A story line I remember well is on a group that found an abandoned neighborhood and were astonished to find that it still had running water from the nearby local dam/reservoir. They lived here for quite a while in their relative luxury until it just stopped working one day. A burst pipe in some other neighborhood had slowly drained the dam faster than they would have used it up.

Anyway, it’s a great book because it feels so realistic as to what would really happen and the struggles people would actually be going through.

bhmnscmm ,
@bhmnscmm@lemmy.world avatar

Alas, Babylon. Earth Abides. On The Beach. The Road. One Second After (this one is meh).

If you want some other good collapse survival books similar to Lucifer’s Hammer.

FiniteLooper ,

Yes, Earth Abides is also good! I had forgotten about that one until I saw your comment

HisBane ,
@HisBane@kbin.social avatar

Might not be quite "hard" enough, but perhaps try the Interdepency trilogy by John Scalzi.

whosdadog ,

The whole premise of the book is returning to earth, but The 100 starts out in the way you’re wanting including multigenerational space stations and resource limitations.

SeaJ ,

The Mars series by Kim Stanley Robinson definitely fits the bill. The Ministry of the Future does too but it is more about the coming climate change disaster.

Zombiepirate ,
@Zombiepirate@lemmy.world avatar

Love me some KSR.

His Mars series is my sci-fi Lord of the Rings.

FireTower , (edited )
@FireTower@lemmy.world avatar

Completely different angle towards the question but Metro 2033 (and sequels) might be a good source of inspiration. Not space themed but there might be some elements that can be a source of inspiration.

It’s about a post nuclear war Moscow where to survive humanity has set up a series of interlinked communities in the underground metro tunnels. The book talks a lot about the daily life in the stations. One is known for growing mushrooms used in tea. One was burnt down leading the rest of the system to strictly control fires. Another gained a reputation as a capital like station because it’s entrance was next to a university and government building.

Not a true hard sci fi book (has things like irradiated mutants) but a lot of thought went into the logistics of living in the metro.

Davel23 ,

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson is this.

Also Tau Zero by Poul Anderson, to a degree.

treadful ,
@treadful@lemmy.zip avatar

Just chiming in to say Seveneves is a great read.

Urist ,

Came here to say Seveneves as well. Just borrowed it again from the library today actually! Highly recommend.

SawNee ,
@SawNee@aussie.zone avatar

I was going to suggest Tau Zero. It might not be exactly what he’s chasing but there’s are some similar for points. Plus it’s really good and fairly short.

Admetus ,

It certainly ticks off the hard science point, but is more about how the crew deal with everything philosophically. Nothing like the Martian I guess.

Bldck ,

Surprised no one has mentioned The Expanse series. A ton of world building in very different kinds of environments. Space stations, small ships, big ships, generation ships, asteroids, moons, planets.

The environments are well thought out in how the residents would need to adapt

SeaJ ,

Cibola Burn especially was really cool with the world building. Things that you don’t really hear of in other novels or even think of like the fact that alien plant life would be completely inedible to us are dealt with in detail.

livus ,
@livus@kbin.social avatar

It was the first thing I thought of but I thought Earth was still too viable for OP in the first few books, plus the science isn't The Martian level hard.

HopeOfTheGunblade ,
@HopeOfTheGunblade@kbin.social avatar

You might get some value from Stephen Baxter's Manifold series; while they aren't central to what you're asking for they definitely deal with humanity coping with a hostile universe. Heinlein wrote a couple of short stories set on a generation ship, although I can't bring the titles to mind. Accelerando takes place in many manufactured settings, rarely earth like (past the first major part). Brin and Benford's Heart of the Comet may also point in the direction you want.

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