Recommendations based on Absolution Gapby Alastair Reynolds

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Revelation Space

    by Alastair Reynolds
    A space opera that explores the dark side of humanity and the consequences of advanced technology.

    Nine hundred thousand years ago, something annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as it was on the verge of discovering space flight. Now one scientist, Dan Sylveste, will stop at nothing to ... (Goodreads)

  2. Redemption Ark

    by Alastair Reynolds
    Epic space opera about a quest to save a civilization from a hostile alien race.

    The novel takes place around the planets Yellowstone and Resurgam, in two story lines which converge near the climax of the novel. The novel begins in the year 2605, where Skade has been tasked with ... (Wikipedia)

  3. Chasm City

    by Alastair Reynolds
    A journey through a post-apocalyptic city, uncovering its lost secrets.

    The once-utopian Chasm City -a doomed human settlement on an otherwise inhospitable planet- has been overrun by a virus known as the Melding Plague, capable of infecting any body, organic or ... (Goodreads)

  4. Judas Unchained

    by Peter F. Hamilton
    The thrilling conclusion to the Commonwealth Saga. Humanity faces its greatest threat as ancient alien technology is unleashed.

    The book opens with a short section providing backstory. As part of the first mission to Mars , a team of astronauts exits their spacecraft for the first time, only to see another man standing there, ... (Wikipedia)

  5. Consider Phlebas

    by Iain M. Banks
    A thrilling space opera about a galactic war between two powerful civilizations.

    The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans ... (Goodreads)

  6. The Reality Dysfunction

    by Peter F. Hamilton
    Epic sci-fi adventure through space and time, tackling questions of identity and reality.

    The Reality Dysfunction opens in the year 2581 with a war raging between two worlds, Omuta and Garissa, over three hundred and eighty seven mineral-rich asteroids known as the Dorados. The war ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Fallen Dragon

    by Peter F. Hamilton
    A group of mercenaries travel to a distant planet to steal dragon eggs for a corporation, but things go awry.

    Deploying invulnerable twenty-fifth-century soldiers called Skins, Zantiu-Braun's corporate starships loot entire planets. But as the Skins invade bucolic Thallspring, Z-B's strategy is about to go ... (Goodreads)

  8. Look to Windward

    by Iain M. Banks
    The story of two civilizations and their intertwined destinies, spanning thousands of years.

    The Chelgrians are a race of centaur-like cat aliens with three hind-limbs and a humanoid catlike torso. Major Quilan, a Chelgrian, has lost the will to live after the death of his wife, killed ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Snow Crash

    by Neal Stephenson
    A hacker's quest in a futuristic America dealing with a mysterious computer virus.

    Hiro Protagonist is a hacker and pizza delivery driver for the Mafia. He meets Y.T. (short for Yours Truly), a young skateboard Kourier ( courier ) who refers to herself in the third person , during ... (Wikipedia)

  10. The Forever War

    by Joe Haldeman
    A soldier's story of the horror of war and its consequences in the far future.

    The monumental Hugo and Nebula award winning SF classic— Featuring a new introduction by John Scalzi,The Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand—despite the fact that the fierce ... (Barnes & Noble)

  11. Old Man's War

    by John Scalzi
    Elderly citizens enlist in an interstellar war to save humanity, discovering new strength and purpose.

    Old Man's War is about a soldier named John Perry and his exploits in the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF). The first-person narrative follows Perry's military career from CDF recruit to the rank of ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Nemesis Games

    by James S.A. Corey
    A group of spacefaring adventurers embark on a journey of discovery and peril.

    The fifth novel in Corey's New York Times bestselling Expanse series–now being produced for television by the SyFy Channel! A thousand worlds have opened, and the greatest land rush in human history ... (Goodreads)

  13. Anathem

    by Neal Stephenson
    A philosophical novel set in a monastic society, exploring the limits of knowledge.

    Anathem is set on the fictional planet of Arbre. Thousands of years before the events in the novel, the planet's intellectuals entered concents ( monastic communities) to protect their activities ... (Wikipedia)

  14. The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer

    by Neal Stephenson
    A young girl's journey of learning and self-discovery, aided by advanced technology.

    The protagonist in the story is Nell, a thete (or person without a tribe; equivalent to the lowest working class) living in the Leased Territories, a lowland slum built on the artificial, diamondoid ... (Wikipedia)

  15. The Rise of Endymion

    by Dan Simmons
    A perilous adventure in a post-apocalyptic future, with a hero set on fulfilling a mysterious destiny.

    The Rise of Endymion is set more than 275 years after the fall of the Hegemony of Man, an interstellar organization connected by farcaster portals. At the time of this novel, the Roman Catholic ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Blindsight

    by Peter Watts
    A sci-fi tale of a journey to the outer reaches of space and a confrontation with alien life.

    In the year 2082, thousands of large, coordinated objects of an unknown origin, dubbed "Fireflies", burn up in the Earth's atmosphere in a precise grid, while momentarily broadcasting across an ... (Wikipedia)

  17. Matter

    by Iain M. Banks
    Epic space opera featuring powerful, warring civilizations and a mysterious energy source.

    In a world renowned within a galaxy full of wonders, a crime within a war. For one brother it means a desperate flight, and a search for the one - maybe two - people who could clear his name. For his ... (Goodreads)

  18. The Scar

    by China Miéville
    A fantastical journey of survival in a dangerous, watery underworld.

    The Scar opens with the journey of a small ship which has set out from the city New Crobuzon (the setting of Perdido Street Station ). It is heading to the city's new colony, Nova Esperium, which ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Leviathan Wakes

    by James S.A. Corey
    Space adventure of two unlikely allies in a fight to save humanity.

    The ice hauling ship Canterbury (nicknamed the Cant by Belters) is en route from Saturn's Rings to Ceres Station when it encounters a distress signal . Five members of the Cant 's crew are dispatched ... (Wikipedia)

  20. Eon

    by Greg Bear
    A mysterious asteroid appears near Earth, and a team is sent to investigate. They discover a complex alien structure and a dangerous power struggle.

    The 21st century was on the brink of nuclear confrontation when the 300 kilometer-long stone flashed out of nothingness and into Earth's orbit. NASA, NATO, and the UN sent explorers to the asteroid's ... (Goodreads)

  21. Iron Council

    by China Miéville
    A band of runaway railworkers battle oppressive forces in a thrilling fantasy world.

    Iron Council follows three major narrative threads that join to form the novel's climax. Although Miéville weaves back and forth between narrative, time and space, this summary will follow each ... (Wikipedia)

  22. Caliban's War

    by James S.A. Corey
    War between rival colonies on a hostile planet, with humanity's survival at stake.

    On Ganymede , Mei Meng is kidnapped from her preschool by her doctor. Several hours later, Earth and Martian space marines are attacked and effortlessly killed by a super soldier , with Bobbie ... (Wikipedia)

  23. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

    by Max Brooks
    A collection of interviews recounting tales of the zombie apocalypse.

    It has been nearly twenty years since the start of the apocalyptic worldwide pandemic known as the Zombie War, and about ten years since the war has ended in humanity's victory. The framing device ... (Wikipedia)

  24. Neuromancer

    by William Gibson
    A hacker's journey through a dystopian cyberpunk world, searching for a way to survive.

    Henry Dorsett Case is a low-level hustler in the dystopian underworld of Chiba City , Japan. Once a talented computer hacker , Case was caught stealing from his employer. As punishment for his theft, ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Neutron Star

    by Larry Niven
    An interstellar adventure of a human astronaut and an alien AI, discovering a mysterious neutron star.

    Beowulf Shaeffer , a native of the planet We Made It and unemployed for the last eight months due to a stock market crash, is contracted by a Pierson's Puppeteer, the Regional President of General ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Ancillary Sword

    by Ann Leckie
    Space opera about a starship captain's struggle to survive a hostile imperial government.

    Seeking atonement for past crimes, Breq takes on a mission as captain of a troublesome new crew of Radchai soldiers, in the sequel to Ann Leckie's NYT bestselling, award-winning Ancillary Justice. A ... (Goodreads)

  27. The Uplift War

    by David Brin
    A story of a species of aliens fighting to survive against a powerful oppressor.

    David Brin's Uplift novels are among the most thrilling and extraordinary science fiction ever written. Sundiver, Startide Rising, and The Uplift War –a New York Times bestseller--together make up ... (Goodreads)

  28. A Fire Upon the Deep

    by Vernor Vinge
    An interstellar adventure of exploration, uncovering a powerful and mysterious force.

    An expedition from Straumli Realm, an ambitious young human civilization in the high Beyond, investigates a five-billion-year-old data archive in the low Transcend that offers the possibility of ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Woken Furies

    by Richard K. Morgan
    A cyborg warrior's mission to bring justice to a chaotic world.

    Takeshi Kovacs finds himself in a new "sleeve," or human body, back on his home planet of Harlan's World. He is on the run after making numerous attacks against the Knights of the New Revelation, an ... (Wikipedia)

  30. Count Zero

    by William Gibson
    A thrilling journey of a hacker between two worlds, as he unravels a conspiracy of corporate espionage.

    As with later Gibson works, there are multiple story-line threads which eventually intertwine: Thread One : In the southwestern US, Turner, a corporate mercenary soldier , has been hired by former ... (Wikipedia)