Book series most like Mass Effect?

[sozme]

I've been a long-time gamer, but the one game that I felt had the absolute best science fiction universe was Mass Effect.

Can anyone recommend a series most like it?

 

[Montero]

Not ever played it. In a day or two, if you are not getting any answers, would suggest giving a description of Mass Effect and what you like about the world building - then people may be able to suggest books even if they haven't played the game.

 

[Kissmequick]

How about the Mass Effect books?

I am given to understand that the two/three written by (one of?) the writers of the game are very good. The first three I think...

 

[Nerds_feather]

So you're looking for galaxy-spanning space opera.

The "big three" in space opera are: Iain M. Banks, Alastair Reynolds and Peter F. Hamilton. (That's the order of quality, in my opinion, as well.) Might be fruitful to start there. A lot of people also like Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, though I was less enthused. Our other reviewer liked The Kassa Gambit by MC Planck.

 

[sozme]

So you're looking for galaxy-spanning space opera.

The "big three" in space opera are: Iain M. Banks, Alastair Reynolds and Peter F. Hamilton. (That's the order of quality, in my opinion, as well.) .

Iain Banks looks good, what is the first book I should read of his?

 

[Gramm838]

Iain Banks looks good, what is the first book I should read of his?

It depends what style you prefer - his first book 'Consider Phlebas' sets the stage for the Culture universe, so it's worth reading that one first, but 'Excessions' is all about big, shooty, angry AI-controlled ships. The others can be read as stand-alone books anyway as they don't follow a particular arc; but 'Inversions' is not a good starting point (don't want to spoil it for you, read some of the others first then go for Inversions - you'll see what I mean)

Several of his books are quite dark - 'Use of Weapons', and 'Against a Dark Background' especially.

Oh - and the last sentence of 'Surface Detail' is probably the best ever single line in any of Banks' novels.

Read the books and you'll get to know and love Clear Air Turbulence, Sleeper Service, The Anticipation of a New Lovers Arrival, and many more...

 

[Ray Pullar]

I suggest David Brin's Uplift War/Storm series for a similar galactic background to Mass Effect - humanity has only just arrived on the interstellar scene and finds itself regarded as a Johnny come lately species by the more advanced and established races who have long standing alliances and feuds going back millions of years. Humans wind up uncovering ancient artifacts of the First alien civilisation and spark an intergalactic war over the discovery (in Startide Rising).

Sundiver (1980)
Startide Rising (1983)
The Uplift War (1987)

Brightness Reef (1995)
Infinity's Shore (1996)
Heaven's Reach (1998)

 

[Southern Geologist]

It's not necessarily a space opera that's like Mass Effect, but after playing the games I was inspired to read Stephen R. Donaldson's Gap Cycle and it blew me away.

 

[Nerds_feather]

Iain Banks looks good, what is the first book I should read of his?

I think, personally, that Player of Games is the best book to start with. It's a good introduction to his universe and an excellent story. But Consider Phlebas and Use of Weapons are sort of more what you're looking for, and CP is the first in the series, so you could start there as well.

 

[Rodders]

I think, personally, that Player of Games is the best book to start with. It's a good introduction to his universe and an excellent story. But Consider Phlebas and Use of Weapons are sort of more what you're looking for, and CP is the first in the series, so you could start there as well.

Seconded.

 

[Ray Pullar]

Consider Phlebas has the greatest similarity to the plot structure of the first two Mass Effect games - a bunch of characters aboard a spaceship travel around the galaxy shooting people and ultimately go looking for buried treasure on a remote planet where a big shooting climax occurs in an underground base. The Player of Games is more of an espionage story featuring an ordinary joe protagonist who is roped by the Culture's version of MI6 into going on an undercover mission to a neighbouring and rather nasty space empire accompanied only by his faithful drone servant. It has more high level diplomatic exchanges and manipulation and less shooting at things something made expressly clear at the start by the hero's attitude to guns.

I feel mention ought to be made of both David Weber's Honor Harrington books and Lois Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan novels for resembling the space naval adventure angle present in the games.

 

[Rodders]

What about other "tie in" books. I see that there's series of Halo books out now. Dan Abnett's Warhammer 40k books (especially the Gaunt's Ghosts series) come highly recommended, although the action's more ground based.

 

[Nerds_feather]

Oh, I'd also recommend John Scalzi's Old Man's War series. A bit lighter than Banks, but a good, quick read and both fun and thought-provoking.

 

[Rodders]

There is a series of Mass Effect tie in books available.

 

[sozme]

Looking for some fresh recommendations on this subject

 

[ralphkern]

I'm going to depart from the norm here, i never really was able to 'get' Iain m banks. Im not sure why but they just didnt do it for me.

heres my two pences worth.

For an 'Epic Quest' style affair: Dan simmons Hyperion Cantos.

For a first contact and humans thrust into an intersteller war: Alan Dean Foster The Damned Trilogy.

A darker future with a similar enemy to the Reapers: Alistair Reynolds Revelation Space series.

A first contact, desperate situation lots of races and artefacts: Alistair Reynolds Pushing Ice (possibly one of my fave books)

 

[nubins]

The Halo books are actually very good. I would recommend Fall of Reach to any sci-fi fan - it basically explains who MasterChief is and takes you up to the very start of the first Halo game.

 

[Grunkins]

You won't be able to recreate the experience you had playing Mass Effect. I'd say instead of trying to find something that is most similar to it, try to find something within the same genre that is similarly high quality. The Mass Effect story would be garbage if it wasn't executed so well, if the writing wasn't so good, if the characters as well fleshed out..etc.

My recommendation would be Stephen R Donaldson's Gap Cycle. It's five books long, and some of the best space opera out there. It's exceptionally well written.

Any recommendation for the Gap Cycle needs to come with a warning of course: the first book, and part of the second, are brutal reads - they are very well written and move right along, but they are filled with misery and pain. Rape, beatings, and torture are pretty much the name of the game for most of the first book. They are still very good books, but be prepared for some nasty stuff.

The story starts very small, it's basically a character study of two people. The series opens up a bit in the second book as we get more characters and more of the world and hints of the greater alien threat. From the third book through the end it's an epic space opera with a wide cast of very well drawn characters - each of whom have distinct motivations, lots of political machinations, space battles, a super-killer-cyborg, and a very real alien threat to wipe out all of humanity.

The series is some of the best in the genre.

 

[sozme]

Sorry to ressurect dead thread, but a google search will show that this question has been asked on other SF boards as well. It was funny, I was looking at this question just yesterday... and today, I randomly came across this article on PCGamer http://www.pcgamer.com/if-you-like-mass-effect-youll-also-like/

 

[Soltan_Gris]

There are four Mass Effect books:
Mass Effect Revelation
Mass Effect Ascension
Mass Effect Retribution
Mass Effect Deception

I've never read them, but I've seen them at various bookstores. After a quick look at some reviews on Goodreads, they rate pretty low, especially considering shared universe fiction seems to be rated consistently higher across the board, regardless of the quality.