The best I've read in a long time is the Void Trilogy from Stephen Baxter

   

It's full speed from start to finish. Amazing storytelling.

AD 3580. The Commonwealth has spread its civilization throughout the galaxy. Its citizens are privileged and protected by a powerful navy. And at the galaxy’s centre is the Void, a sealed universe created by aliens billions of years ago. Yet the Void isn’t inert. It’s expanding – and now it wants to make contact.

The Void chooses Inigo as its conduit and he channels dreams of a simpler, better life within its bounds. His visions attract followers – determined to seek this utopia. And they’ll cross the Void’s forbidden boundaries to reach it. However, this act could trigger push it to grow beyond all control . . . destroying everything in its path.

All Stephan Baxter Commonwealth series are epic.


It's from 2007-2010 though.

The audible narrator seems decent and I've got some tokens. Any reason I should wait for a paper back delivery? Does it get complicated with names and world building that takes some extra thought like Lord of the Rings/Name of the wind/Song of Ice and fire, did you find yourself taking yourself away from it to consider what you read or ponder connections between what and when things happen?

Yes, significantly more. The first half of the first film is as close to perfection as I've seen in a film: an epic sense of scale, simultaneously mixed with minimalist & austere visuals that make the universe of Dune so grand, mysterious, and intriguing; a perfectly fitting soundtrack that's almost oppressive, like a wave of sound hitting you; intricate set design, with so many subtle little touches; beautiful costume design; interesting characters and great acting. All of this born out of a novel that I only gave 6/10 - I honestly don't know how Villeneuve did it.

I wanted to like the second film just as much - it was my most anticipated movie from the moment I finished watching the first film - though I didn't think I would, because I knew where the story would be heading (into the desert, with Paul learning the Fremen ways and coming to lead them), but even then it was still a little bit disappointing. I find the Fremen tedious and irritating; I find the settings less interesting and visually appealing in the second film; Zendaya only seems to have two facial expressions and has little chemistry with Chalamet; the Harkonnens are the best part of the second film, and it was always a relief to shift focus back to them, but even then the sharp cunning and cruel menace from the first film is replaced by incompetent, impotent rage in the second; and the final battle, which the film builds up to so heavily, is brief and underwhelming all round - it looked and felt incredibly rushed, as if the budget was starting to run out. I still gave Part Two 8/10 on IMDb and the like, partly because I'm very appreciative of Villeneuve's efforts with the franchise, but in my heart it's less than that.

There are a lot of interweaving story lines, and I did reference the timeline a couple times. Just more for background information as it's part of the Commonwealth series. So more for finding its place in the overall timeline.

The Abyss Beyond Dreams and A Night without stars are the prequel to the void trilogy



The year is 3326. Nigel Sheldon, one of the founders of the Commonwealth, receives a visit from the Raiel—self-appointed guardians of the Void, the enigmatic construct at the core of the galaxy that threatens the existence of all that lives. The Raiel convince Nigel to participate in a desperate scheme to infiltrate the Void.



The planet Bienvenido is in crisis. It has finally escaped the Void, emerging into regular space. But it's millions of light-years from Commonwealth assistance, and humans are battling the Fallers for control of their world. This rapacious adversary, evolved to destroy all sentient life, has infiltrated every level of human society—hijacking unwilling bodies so its citizens fear their leaders, friends, and family.


So yes, there are a lot of returning characters and references to prior events in the commonwealth saga. But I think it shouldn't be too hard to follow as the references are more enhancements than needed prior knowledge.

Actually Night without stars is more separate, I think that references events in the Void trilogy, so that's after.


To get the full impact

Definitely read Pandora’s Star and Judas Unchained first. It adds context that makes the Void Trilogy 10 times better. So many emotional things that would be missed if you didn’t read the first two books first.

It's not needed to follow the story but as this comment said, you'll be more invested in the returning characters



The year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star... vanishes. It does not go supernova. It does not collapse into a black hole. It simply disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat. In command is Wilson Kime, a five-time rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot whose glory days are centuries behind him.



The Prime are the Commonwealth's worst nightmare. Coexistence is impossible with the technologically advanced aliens, who are genetically hardwired to exterminate all other forms of life. Twenty-three planets have already fallen to the invaders, with casualties in the hundreds of millions. And no one knows when or where the genocidal Prime will strike next.

Anyway it's all excellent, can't go wrong with Baxter. The void trilogy is the icing on the cake.

Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

I don't understand why people like Dune so much. The book is truly fantastic. The director was constantly lying about how the movie was very accurate to the book. That was not the case at all. Anyways, nothing is truly a 10/10, but I really loved The Outer Worlds. Maybe, MAYBE, Alien Isolation is a 10/10, it will truly stand the test of time. But, I guess I'm not as big into scifi as I am fantasy.

Yeah, Dune for me was very bland (like everything Villeneuve's, tbh) - Lynch's version was even more inaccurate, but at least it had very strong aesthetics and distinct author's flair.

I didn't even bother to watch part II - my wife who really liked part I just shrugged when I asked her how it was after she went to see it.

More folks should just watch Lawrence of Arabia for actual 10/10 film (though not sci-fi), one of the actual influences (if not THE influence) for Dune novels.

Lynch Dune at least had great casting. And music.
But I very much prefer the TV series to both film versions and I'm not entirely happy with that either.

I don't get the love for Dune. It's just so boring, the book anyway and from what I've seen of the new films.

I have to assume you haven't read the book, or gave up on it, grant it is a long book, but Frank Herbert was able to create a very lore rich world, unique politics, humans reaching huge advancements in themselves rather than machines technology, Herbet was phenomenal in making the planet Arakis feel alive and real. Very influential universe for a reason.