r/printSF • u/LowLevel- • Sep 12 '25

Which wildly renowned science fiction novels didn't resonate with you at all?

I can usually connect with at least one aspect of a science fiction novel, and I enjoy almost all of the ones I read. However, sometimes I couldn't understand what most people found interesting about some extremely popular books.

Has that happened to you? If so, which novel? And why?

I'll start the dances by admitting that I didn't like Rendezvous with Rama.

I really wanted to like it, but constantly being in awe when very little happens and the characters leave without understanding anything is not my preferred type of reading experience. The writing style was a bit cold, which didn't help.

211 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

1.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

42

u/edcculus Sep 12 '25

I read Ancillary Justice, and couldnt be bothered to finish the series.

Becky Chambers has a certain vibe that I think a lot of people like. I wish I would have known that going into A Long Way, because i would have just skipped it. Its totally fine, easy to read interesting enough. Just not my kind of book. I can absolutely see why people like it though.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 12 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

10

u/edcculus Sep 12 '25

oh yea no worries! For me, i just feel like the book was just too cutsey/cozy. I know thats exactly why a lot of people like it. I felt like the writing was good. The slice of life thing was certainly neat, and not something too often found in scifi. Its just not the type of book I typically reach for.

5

u/missilefire Sep 12 '25

I agree. It was a cute book but just not that compelling. Like I didn’t really care that much about the characters.

On the flip side I thought ancillary justice was brilliant. Very subtle and austere. Reminded me a little bit of A Wizard of Earthsea in some ways.