Whatā€™s a piece of SF that you just couldnā€™t get into, even though you feel like you should?

I tried to watch Babylon 5, for instance, and just couldnā€™t connect to it. I know itā€™s popular and people love it, but it never hooked me.

Another is The Three Body Problem. I tried reading it after a friendā€™s glowing recommendation, but I couldnā€™t get past the first chapter. I even tried reading it in another language in case it was the translation I couldnā€™t connect with, but the same thing happened.

Both are things I feel like I should like, but just donā€™t.

  • Madison_rogue@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    The Expanse. I just canā€™t engage with the series. I understand itā€™s great, but I just canā€™t seem to gain any emotional attachment to the characters.

    • TeaHands@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Came here to say this and Iā€™m so relieved thereā€™s someone else!

      I read the first couple of books long before the series was a thing, they were ok but didnā€™t grab me enough to keep going. And then a few episodes into the TV version I gave up on that too. Thereā€™s nothing in particular I could point to thatā€™s ā€œbadā€ exactly, itā€™s just not for me.

      The way people talk about it makes me think of revisiting it sometime but honestly, lifeā€™s too short to keep trying when something doesnā€™t appeal.

      • smallaubergine@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        For me the Expanse really started to shine towards the end of season 1. Then when they hit seasons 2 and 3 I fell in love. But I totally get not being able to get into it, especially because the first season takes a long time to get rolling

    • djc0@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      This was my first thought. The TV adaptation at least. Iā€™ve watch the first few episodes a few times and never feel the draw to keep going. Just kind of forget I started.

    • theinspectorst@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I agree with this one too. I watched the first episode years ago and simply never carried on to the second. Then a year or so later people told me it was amazing so I persevered to the end of the first season, then drifted off again. Then I later picked it up again, then dropped it, then picked it up again - and think Iā€™m now early in the third season, but again havenā€™t actually watched an episode in about a year.

      I keep trying because people who have similar taste to me tell me I will like it, but I just keep finding it a bit lukewarm - Iā€™ll finish watching an episode once Iā€™ve started, but I almost always have to force myself to carry on to the next episode. It seems to have all the components of a good sci-fi political thriller / space opera, but those components feel like theyā€™re assembled so coldly that some magic is missing.

      I havenā€™t tried the books so maybe they succeed where the show hasnā€™t yet for me.

  • dbaner@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The three body problem had a very slow start. It took me several attempts to get past the first section. But itā€™s definitely worth persevering with. Itā€™s one of my favorite series now.

    • stopthatgirl7@kbin.socialOP
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      1 year ago

      Iā€™m going to try either the Chinese drama that came out earlier this year, or wait for the Netflix series. I just couldnā€™t get into the book, and I tried in both English and Japanese. Iā€™d try in Chinese, but my Chinese is nowhere near good enough for that, alas.

      • Konlanx@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        Huh, I finished the first book right before checking Lemmy and writing this comment. I read it in German and I have to say that itā€™s extremely good, but some parts areā€¦ weird. The jumping between time is hard. Sentences like ā€œThey ate breakfast and 30 million years later they built a space cannonā€ (not an actual sentence in the book) are just weird :D

        I will read the other books as well, though. The story is way too good.

  • mPony@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Iā€™ve read Neuromancer about 2/3 the way through a couple of times. I just canā€™t finish it.

  • chgowiz@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Firefly (and itā€™s movie, Serenity). I just didnā€™t enjoy them, just didnā€™t click with me.

    • sethw@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Foundation is probably the best harder scifi going right now, just the idea of the clone kings dawn dusk and day is worth it let alone the prime radiant and foundation itself.

      Raised by wolves is a good one in a similar style, but it got cancelled before it was able to answer the bigger questions of the world building which is frustrating

        • sethw@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          ha funny, Iā€™m not a reader so it never even crossed my mind that you werenā€™t talking about the show. well still, I highly recommend the show!

          • RheingoldRiver@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            hey I watched the tv show last night thanks to your accidental recommendation and itā€™s great!! I was under the mistaken impression that s1 and 2 were all out and s3 was being released so now iā€™m devastated but Iā€™ll binge s2 as soon as this season is finished and then wait for more haha

          • RheingoldRiver@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            Glad you mentioned it though, because indeed I might be interested in a tv version thatā€™s easier to get into than the books.

      • effingjoe@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Raised by Wolves was pretty bizarre. I loved the first season, up until the weird flying worm thing, and second season just seemed off-the-rails batshit insane. haha

        I was definitely intending to watch season 3, though I didnā€™t really understand what was going on. Iā€™m not completely surprised it was canceled.

      • PineapplePartisan@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Harder sci-fi? It leans hard on religion and philosophy and royal court intrigue.

        I was coming to post Foundation for all those reasons. I wish there were more choices for people who want ā€œhardā€ sci-fi.

        The last decent one I came across was ā€œBraking Dayā€ by Adam Oyebanji.

        Does anyone have recs for hard sci-fi that doesnā€™t lean on ā€œmagicā€?

        • oo1@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          there was a conversation on here about Greg Egan the other day.
          thats what i call hard scifi.
          i used to read that at lot and was glad to be reminded to look it up again.
          http://www.gregegan.net/
          permutation city, all the short stories, diaspora, i started on quarantine, still think thatā€™s a cool idea, even if it is improbable (thats a joke, itā€™s not a spoiler until you observe the story).

          i think i gave up around teranesia which mightā€™ve started to go over my head.
          but reading this group has inspred me to go back and revisit.

          damn ive got to start buying Interzone again.

          edit >>>> link to actual thread: https://lemmy.world/post/1892921
          maybe it was a different group . . .

    • mack123@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      The original Foundation is a product of its time. It is amazing when read in the context of the 1950s, but tricky today. Try Caves of Steel to further the I Robot read. Asimov built an entire future history spanning 10s of thousands of years.

      • RheingoldRiver@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Thanks! I might actually own a copy of this, although I donā€™t think I ever started it. Iā€™ve added it to my TBR on goodreads in any case, next time I want to read some scifi Iā€™ll check it out!

    • oo1@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      never really liked any Asimov - bu i did quit quite early on foundation.
      i guess im more of a Dick.

      • RheingoldRiver@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        If you want to try Asimov again & havenā€™t tried I, Robot yet, I do recommend that. Itā€™s quite accessible (imo) and a lot of fun.

    • bradboimler@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      This is me. And speaking as someone who tends to love his writing otherwise. It took me several tries to get through Foundation and once I finally finished it I was left with zero desire to read any other books in that series.

  • wjrii@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Something about the Stargate franchise has simply never appealed to me. I saw the original movie as a kid and enjoyed it, with a distinct memory of the ā€œRainbow Roadā€ travel effect feeling pretty intense because I was sitting closer to the screen than usual. It was fun, if a bit slight.

    Iā€™ve seen a bits and pieces of the shows here and there, and nothing about them is drawing me in. I might like them, but I just have zero desire to dive in. Seems like low-budget camp with a learning curve.

    Honorable mention to The Orville, which I do like quite a bit, but I find the unadulterated love for it baffling; itā€™s a deeply flawed show that makes up for a lot with sheer heart and some decent scripts from the Star Trek slush pile.

    • deadcream@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      The Orville is just Star Trek fan show with sex and poop jokes (and one that doesnā€™t take itself serioisly, sometimes to a fault). Itā€™s enjoyable but it just doesnā€™t try to be anything more than ā€œfunny Trekā€. Fun, but too derivative.

    • Xeelee@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Anything by Matt Groening is always the same. Heā€™s always trying to make fun of TV tropes and subvert them but at the same time heā€™s stuck with the restrictions of commercial, ad-compatible mainstream TV.

  • BonKH@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    @stopthatgirl7 Iā€™ve started Dune numerous times. I get further each time, but Iā€™m still not very far along. I think thereā€™s a tone change between the opening of the book and the move to Arrakis. Paulā€™s mother has just met with the ā€œhouse motherā€ in my latest attempt. Iā€™ll get there. Eventually.

    • Lasairiona@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I tried Dune a few times, I just canā€™t do it. Not the books, not the miniseries, not the new movie. In theory it sounds great, butā€¦ Itā€™s not gripping me at all for some reason.

    • Durandal@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Dune is one of my favorite series, but I can totally see why it would be jarring. Unfortunately there are a couple of major tonal shifts throughout the series. Heckā€¦ thereā€™s a couple just in the first book. It is definitely a very dense read. Lots going on and a lot of moving parts to track. Thereā€™s even a glossary in the back to keep track of it with maps heh.

      Itā€™s a really interesting universe. Herbert was really into philosophy and lead a really interesting life (his biography written by his son is an interesting read as well). It doesnā€™t get any less dense and layered unfortunately, if that is what is keeping you out of it.

      The Sci-fi mini-series was good and hit most of the major points pretty well, if you just canā€™t deal with the books themselves. It might bring you back with some renewed interest. The new movies are interesting as a fan, but donā€™t really tell the story fully, IMHO.

      • oo1@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        i did love dune, enjoyed the variety and dynamics; but i struggled with all the follow ups i think it just became more style, complexity and politics and there was not enough story left to drag me through it.
        (cf. War and Peace)

        • Durandal@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          I really enjoy the philosophical and psychological study of humanity through sci-fi, so I enjoyed that thread through the whole series. Iā€™ve read far too much of it lol. But I totally get it when people have to tap outā€¦ itā€™s a dense series of books.

          I have the same reaction to Lord of the Rings. I love the story, but I canā€™t slog through reading the books. The peter jackson films were a god send for me.

  • MrZigZag@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Dhalgen. I know some people absolutely love this book but to me it was just a directionless ramble from one random sci-fi plot to the next with little-to-no resolution to any of them.

    And come on one-shoe-guy: When somebody offers you a new pair of shoes, put the damn things on instead of saying youā€™re good and continuing to hobble around half shod / half barefoot.

    • blivet@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Same here. I feel the same way about a lot of New Wave SF from that era. I like J.G. Ballard because heā€™s such a strong writer that he can pull off that sort of plotless ā€œexperimentalā€ stuff, but the rest of them donā€™t do it for me. Why would I want to read an SF writer trying to write like William S. Burroughs when I can just read William S. Burroughs?ļæ¼

  • bingbong@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I canā€™t seem get into Star Trek. Iā€™ve seen several variations of movies and shows, but itā€™s just not for me

    • metaStatic@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      The original series is just god awful and I basically love everything else up until to the new movies. (Any trekies in the house wanna fight about Enterprise being the best trek series?)

      • theinspectorst@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Is Enterprise the best Star Trek series? No way.

        Is Enterprise s4 arguably the best individual Star Trek season? Very possible.

          • theinspectorst@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            My problem with the earlier seasons is that the human characters all behave like irrational over-emotional caricatures of humans, as if they were written by Vulcan logic absolutists expressly for the purposes of anti-human propaganda. A moderately intelligent human today wouldnā€™t behave the way they sometimes do, yet weā€™re to believe that the best and brightest of humanity in the 22nd century would.

            By season 4 they had ironed out the kinks and finally told some great stories, but by that point too many people had switched off.

      • dave@feddit.uk
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        1 year ago

        First, the Trekkers would like a word with you about that slurā€¦

        • BonKH@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          @dave

          I just talked about this with customers im my shop last weekā€¦

          Iā€™m a Trekkie and a Trekker. šŸ––

          If Swifties become Swifters, the merch people could clean up! šŸ§¹

          Furries & Bronies, Furrers & Broners? šŸ¤£
          Um, nah. Sounds naughty. šŸ¦«šŸ†

          @stopthatgirl7 @bingbong @metaStatic

      • effingjoe@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        I am really digging Strange New Worlds. It feels like Star Trek to me. (As opposed to Discovery, which-- well, letā€™s just say Iā€™m not a fan haha.)

      • oo1@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        hah, the only ones i liked were the early ones.
        square acting, awful dialogue, kirk sh*gging random aliens.
        comedy gold.

        without that weā€™d have no Zapp Brannigan!

    • theinspectorst@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I donā€™t think Crusade clicked for anyone. Hence Crusade getting cancelled midway through its first season.

      To be honest, all of the ā€˜post-B5ā€™ B5 has been difficult. JMS apparently literally thought up the gist of the five season plot (which ended up being condensed into seasons 1-4 of the show as they were unsure if they would get cancelled - hence so much happening in s4) while he was in the shower, and it was one of the best sci-fi stories ever told. But itā€™s seemed clear to me that everything heā€™s done since B5 s4 has not reached anything like the same levels.

      He told a great story, and he created a great universe, but I think he doesnā€™t really know how to tell other great stories in that universe.

  • OldFartPhil@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I read The Three Body Problem, but it wasnā€™t engaging enough to read the sequels. Iā€™m not into sci-fi adjacent films like Pacific Rim and superhero or comic book movies. In general, I have a strong preference for sci-fi books over movies and TV shows because books can go places that visual media canā€™t.

  • exscape@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Iā€™m not sure if Iā€™ve given it enough of a try, but I wanted to get into the Culture series and started with Consider Phlebas. After three (four?) chapters I changed it out for a different book; I considered ā€œThe Player of Gamesā€ instead, but the plot didnā€™t sound exciting.

    Not sure if I should give it a second chance or not. After those chapters I just didnā€™t really care what happened next, nor did I care much for the main character.
    I switched to Project Hail Mary and love it.

    • Xeelee@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I think Use of Weapons is the best Culture novel so Iā€™d recommend giving it a shot. Having said that, i just loved Consider Phlebas pretty much from page one. Banks always had trouble writing compelling plots. The main attraction to me is the imaginative scope of the worlds he created.

    • mack123@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Banks is my favourite sci fi author, but I to struggled with Consider Phlebas. Consider reading Player of Games. The culture books can be read as stand alone books without missing to much. I think Banks found his stride with Player of Games.

  • readbeanicecream@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    @stopthatgirl7 I agree with Three Body Problem. For me, it was an absolute slog to get through. I thought maybe The Dark Forest would be better, but I fell off of it immediately. As far as movies go ā€¦ It was The Matrix for me. It was fine, but just fine. So much so that I did not even bother with the last two.