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Recommendations based on Hard to Be a Godby Arkady Strugatsky
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Roadside Picnic
by Arkady Strugatsky
Two scientists explore a mysterious, abandoned alien landscape to uncover secrets.
The novel is set in a post-visitation world where there are now six zones known on Earth that are full of unexplained phenomena and where strange happenings have briefly occurred, assumed to have ... (Wikipedia)
The Master and Margarita
by Mikhail Bulgakov
A fantastical, satirical examination of Soviet life, intersecting with the supernatural.
The novel has two settings. The first is Moscow during the 1930s, where Satan appears at Patriarch's Ponds as Professor Woland . He is accompanied by Koroviev, a grotesquely-dressed valet; Behemoth , ... (Wikipedia)
Solaris
by Stanisław Lem
A psychological exploration of a distant planet, uncovering the truth behind its strange and mysterious phenomena.
Solaris chronicles the ultimate futility of attempted communications with the extraterrestrial life inhabiting a distant alien planet named Solaris. The planet is almost completely covered with an ... (Wikipedia)
A Hero of Our Time
by Mikhail Lermontov
A story of a young man's journey through life and his experiences of love, betrayal and morality.
In its adventurous happenings, its abductions, duels, and sexual intrigues, A Hero of Our Time looks backward to the tales of Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron, so beloved by Russian society in the ... (Goodreads)
The Twelve Chairs
by Ilya Ilf
A comedic tale of two men's quest for hidden jewels in a chair with a secret compartment.
In the Soviet Union in 1927, a former Marshal of Nobility , Ippolit Matveyevich "Kisa" Vorobyaninov, works as the registrar of marriages and deaths in a sleepy provincial town. His mother-in-law ... (Wikipedia)
Eugene Onegin
by Alexander Pushkin
A poetic novel of unrequited love and tragic consequences, set in early 19th century Russia.
In the 1820s, Eugene Onegin is a bored St. Petersburg dandy , whose life consists of balls, concerts, parties, and nothing more. Upon the death of a wealthy uncle, he inherits a substantial fortune ... (Wikipedia)
The Day of the Triffids
by John Wyndham
A post-apocalyptic world overrun by carnivorous plants, exploring themes of survival and morality.
In 1951 John Wyndham published his novel The Day of the Triffids to moderate acclaim. Fifty-two years later, this horrifying story is a science fiction classic, touted by The Times (London) as having ... (Goodreads)
Heart of a Dog
by Mikhail Bulgakov
A satirical story of a scientist who attempts to transform a stray dog into a human.
Moscow , 1924. While foraging for trash one winter day, a stray dog is found by a cook and scalded with boiling water. Lying forlorn in a doorway, the dog awaits his end awash in self-pity. To his ... (Wikipedia)
The Name of the Rose
by Umberto Eco
A Franciscan friar investigates a series of murders in a medieval monastery, uncovering a sinister plot.
In 1327, Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk , a Benedictine novice travelling under his protection, arrive at a Benedictine monastery in Northern Italy to attend a theological ... (Wikipedia)
Arch of Triumph: A Novel of a Man Without a Country
by Erich Maria Remarque
A refugee's struggle for survival in a world of turmoil and violence in 1930s Europe.
Set in 1939, and, despite having no permission to perform surgery, Ravic, a very accomplished German surgeon and a stateless refugee living in Paris, has been ghost-operating on patients for two ... (Wikipedia)
The Brothers Karamazov
by Fyodor Dostoevsky
A philosophical exploration of morality, faith, and family dynamics among a group of brothers.
The Brothers Karamazov is a murder mystery, a courtroom drama, and an exploration of erotic rivalry in a series of triangular love affairs involving the “wicked and sentimental” Fyodor Pavlovich ... (Goodreads)
Three Comrades
by Erich Maria Remarque
Three German friends struggle to survive in the aftermath of World War I, facing poverty, illness, and political turmoil.
The city, which never is referred to by name (however, it is likely Berlin), is crowded by a growing number of jobless and marked by increasing violence between left and right. The novel starts in ... (Wikipedia)
Second Foundation
by Isaac Asimov
A quest to find the mysterious force controlling the fate of the galaxy.
Part I is about The Mule 's search for the elusive Second Foundation, with the intent of destroying it. The executive council of the Second Foundation is aware of The Mule's intent and, in the words ... (Wikipedia)
The Three-Body Problem
by Liu Cixin
A science fiction novel exploring the consequences of first contact with an alien civilization.
The story takes place in flash-forwards, flashbacks, and the present time. Below is a chronological plotline. During the Cultural Revolution , Ye Wenjie, an astrophysics graduate from Tsinghua ... (Wikipedia)
The Foundation Trilogy
by Isaac Asimov
Intergalactic future-history saga of a Galactic Empire on the brink of collapse.
A THOUSAND-YEAR EPIC, A GALACTIC STRUGGLE, A MONUMENTAL WORK IN THE ANNALS OF SCIENCE FICTION FOUNDATION begins a new chapter in the story of man's future. As the Old Empire crumbles into barbarism ... (Goodreads)
All Quiet on the Western Front
by Erich Maria Remarque
A soldier's harrowing experience of the horrors of war.
The book tells the story of Paul Bäumer, who belongs to a group of German soldiers on the Western Front during World War I . The patriotic speeches of his teacher Kantorek had led the whole class to ... (Wikipedia)
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
by Haruki Murakami
A surreal journey of self-discovery, exploring the inner and outer worlds.
The first part, "The Thieving Magpie", begins with the narrator, Toru Okada, a low-key and unemployed lawyer's assistant, being tasked by his wife, Kumiko, to find their missing cat. Kumiko suggests ... (Wikipedia)
2001: A Space Odyssey
by Arthur C. Clarke
An interstellar journey of exploration, confronting humanity's place in the universe.
A mysterious alien civilization uses a tool with the appearance of a large crystalline monolith to investigate worlds across the galaxy and, if possible, to encourage the development of intelligent ... (Wikipedia)
And Quiet Flows the Don
by Mikhail Sholokhov
A sweeping epic of the Cossack people during the tumultuous Russian Revolution.
The novel deals with the life of the Cossacks living in the Don River valley during the early 20th century, probably around 1912, just prior to World War I . The plot revolves around the Melekhov ... (Wikipedia)
Hyperion
by Dan Simmons
Epic science-fiction story of a journey to the distant planet Hyperion.
In the 29th century, the Hegemony of Man comprises hundreds of planets connected by farcaster portals. The Hegemony maintains an uneasy alliance with the TechnoCore , a civilisation of AIs . Modified ... (Wikipedia)
City
by Clifford D. Simak
An exploration of the future where technology, nature and the human species must co-exist.
As the tales unfold, they recount a world where humans, having developed superior transportation, have abandoned the cities and moved into the countryside. Hydroponic farming and decentralized power ... (Wikipedia)
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)
Metro 2033
by Dmitry Glukhovsky
Post-apocalyptic novel set in a remote subway station, as survivors battle mutants and humans for survival.
The year is 2033. The world has been reduced to rubble. Humanity is nearly extinct. The half-destroyed cities have become uninhabitable through radiation. Beyond their boundaries, they say, lie ... (Goodreads)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
Adventures of two boys on a journey down the Mississippi River, testing the limits of their freedom.
Tom Sawyer, an orphan, lives with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother Sid in the fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri sometime in the 1840s . A fun-loving boy, Tom skips school to go swimming ... (Wikipedia)
The Dark Forest
by Liu Cixin
Humanity faces a daunting challenge when an alien race threatens the existence of our species.
This is the second novel in "Remembrance of Earth’s Past", the near-future trilogy written by the China's multiple-award-winning science fiction author, Cixin Liu. In The Dark Forest , Earth is ... (Goodreads)
The Martian Chronicles
by Ray Bradbury
Human colonists struggle for survival on Mars, facing the challenges of a new world.
The strange and wonderful tale of man’s experiences on Mars, filled with intense images and astonishing visions. Now part of the Voyager Classics collection. The Martian Chronicles tells the story of ... (Goodreads)
Dune Messiah
by Frank Herbert
Epic tale of a galactic ruler's struggle to protect his empire from destruction.
Twelve years after the events described in, Dune, (1965), Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides rules as Emperor. By accepting the role of messiah to the Fremen , Paul had unleashed a jihad which conquered most ... (Wikipedia)
The Great Dune Trilogy
by Frank Herbert
Epic saga of a desert planet, where a powerful family must save the universe from destruction.
Duke Leto Atreides of the House Atreides , ruler of the ocean planet Caladan, is assigned by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV to serve as fief ruler of the planet Arrakis . Arrakis is a harsh and ... (Wikipedia)
Wool Omnibus
by Hugh Howey
Uncovering the truth behind a post-apocalyptic world, where society is hidden beneath a giant dome.
The story of Wool takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth. , Humanity clings to survival in the Silo, a subterranean city extending one hundred forty-four stories beneath the surface. The series ... (Wikipedia)
Foucault's Pendulum
by Umberto Eco
A humorous and wild historical conspiracy thriller set across Europe.
A man named Casaubon , is hiding in the Musée des Arts et Métiers after closing. He believes that a secret society has kidnapped his friend Jacopo Belbo and are now after him, and will meet in the ... (Wikipedia)
