Science Fiction

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Lemmy World Rules

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Any sci-fi with aliens where humans are not the less advanced race? (lemmings.world)

submitted 1 year ago by rikudou@lemmings.world to c/sciencefiction@lemmy.world

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What the title says, I'm tired of the trope where humans are the least advanced in the universe.

I'd like to read something different where we're the more advanced ones (not necessarily the most advanced). As an example I quite enjoyed the Ender's Game sequels and the angle of us being the more advanced ones was quite interesting.

Do you have any recommendations?

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

There is a caveat here.

In the Larry Niven/Ringworkd/Known Space fan base there is a MASSIVE divide between groups regarding which order you should read the books in.

The two main groups fall into the following:

1: Read in publication order. 2: Read Ringworld then Ringworld Engineers. After that go back to the earlier works which are technically prequels.

The one thing that almost everyone agrees is don't bother with Ringworld Throne.

Here's what I typically suggest for the series:

First, read the Ringworld saga. Ringworld, Ringworld Engineers, Ringworld Throne, Ringworld's Children (maybe skip the last two, read reviews, make your decision based on how much you like the universe, I petrography like all of them)

They are pretty closely linked and serve as a good introduction to Known Space. You don't have to know a lot about the Man-Kzin Wars, Beowulf Shaeffer, puppeteers or any other backstory to understand them.

Next, read all the books that fill out the universe with history and details, back stories, and lore. Crashlander, Protector, Three Books of Known Space, Flatlander, etc.

These give you more background on Earth, the colonies, Beowulf Shaeffer, and so on.

IF (big if) at this point you are still in love with everything Known Space then move on to the Fleet of World's books. They do have a bit of retconning in them but not in a bad way that feels disingenuous, so I don't view this as a negative mark.

One last point: If you are just looking for the "Humans as a superior species" aspect as you originally requested, just go read "Protector", the other commenter is correct. It's a very interesting twist on the subject.

If you want a HUGE universe of books to dive in to with an amazing amount of different intertwining stories and cool universe building: See above.