Recommend me novels that evoke a "sense of wonder"

[baddoctor]

i can't find any novels these days that give me that gosh-wow ain't that grand feeling of awe and mystique that only the best sci fi novels can. Manifold Time by Stephen Baxter, Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds and Fire Upon the Deep are good examples of the sense of wonder novels i'm looking for.

can anyone suggest novels with similar plotlines and themes and the general feeling of cosmic awe they possess?

 

[joderu95]

Star Maker - Olaf Stapledon

Greg Egan has some of the best ideas in sf short stories like Wang's Carpets, Riding the Crocodile and Closer. And if you liked Manifold:Time you might as well try Baxter's Xeelee series too. Raft and Timelike Infinity were excellent. Probably Ian Banks Culture series would be worth looking into as well. Those can be read in any order.

 

[Will]

I would definitely recommend the Culture novels of Iain M Banks. His first, Consider Phlebas is very good, though The Player of Games and Look to Windward really get the ball rolling as far as the epic awe-inspiring ideas go. I too loved Revelation Space by Reynolds, and plan on reading more in the series in the near future. I am not normally a hard-sci-fi person, but Reynolds ideas are too rich to ignore.

 

[chiangmaifalcon]

Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt.