Recommendations based on Zoo Cityby Lauren Beukes

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

  1. The Shining Girls

    by Lauren Beukes
    A time-traveling serial killer stalks a group of "shining girls" from different eras.

    In Depression-era Chicago , a drifter named Harper Curtis finds a key to a house that opens on to other times. But it comes at a cost. He has to kill the shining girls: bright young women who burn ... (Wikipedia)

  2. The Magician King

    by Lev Grossman
    A quest to restore the magic of a fantasy world, while discovering the power of self-discovery.

    The Magician King follows two story lines, beginning at the same time as the beginning and end of The Magicians . In one, following her unsuccessful interview at Brakebills, Julia returns to ... (Wikipedia)

  3. The City & the City

    by China Miéville
    Two cities that exist in the same space, but with different laws, cultures and regulations.

    When a murdered woman is found in the city of Beszel, somewhere at the edge of Europe, it looks to be a routine case for Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad. But as he investigates, the ... (Goodreads)

  4. Shards of Honour

    by Lois McMaster Bujold
    Intergalactic war between two factions leads to unlikely romance between their leaders.

    Cordelia Naismith, the captain of a Betan Astronomical Survey ship, is exploring a newly discovered planet when her base camp is attacked. While investigating, she is surprised by a soldier, hits her ... (Wikipedia)

  5. 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)

  6. Grendel

    by John Gardner
    A modern retelling of the Beowulf story from the perspective of the monster, Grendel.

    In the opening scene, Grendel briefly fights with a ram when frustrated with its stupidity. He then mockingly asks the sky why animals lack sense and dignity; the sky does not reply, adding to his ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Moon Over Soho

    by Ben Aaronovitch
    A supernatural detective story set in London, exploring the mysterious powers of music.

    Following the events of, Rivers of London, Police Constable and apprentice wizard Peter Grant is called in to help investigate the brutal murder of a journalist in the downstairs toilet of the ... (Wikipedia)

  8. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

    by Junot Díaz
    An exploration of love, identity, and the power of fate in a family's struggles and triumphs.

    Oscar de León (nicknamed Oscar Wao, a bastardization of Oscar Wilde ) is an overweight Dominican growing up in Paterson, New Jersey. Oscar desperately wants to be successful with women but, from a ... (Wikipedia)

  9. 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)

  10. Broken Monsters

    by Lauren Beukes
    A detective investigates a series of gruesome murders in Detroit, uncovering a dark and twisted world of art and obsession.

    A criminal mastermind creates violent tableaus in abandoned Detroit warehouses in Lauren Beukes's genre-bending novel of suspense. Detective Gabriella Versado has seen a lot of bodies. But this one ... (Barnes & Noble)

  11. Dexter Is Delicious

    by Jeff Lindsay
    A journey of dark comic adventure as a serial killer searches for his missing sister.

    Nine months after the previous book , Dexter and Rita 's daughter Lily is born. The birth brings remarkable changes in Dexter; apart from feeling genuine love and emotions for the first time, he also ... (Wikipedia)

  12. The Knife of Never Letting Go

    by Patrick Ness
    A young boy's struggle to discover the truth of a hidden world and his own special place in it.

    Todd Hewitt is the only boy left in Prentisstown, a small settlement on 'New World' – an alien planet only recently colonized by humanity. Todd is within days of his thirteenth birthday, the age in ... (Wikipedia)

  13. Watership Down

    by Richard Adams
    A group of rabbits embark on a treacherous journey to find a new home.

    In the Sandleford warren , ,[b], Fiver, a young runt rabbit who is a seer , receives a frightening vision of his warren's imminent destruction. , When he and his brother Hazel fail to convince their ... (Wikipedia)

  14. Invisible Cities

    by Italo Calvino
    A fantastical exploration of the cities of the imagination and the possibilities of life.

    "Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says when he describes the cities visited on his expeditions, but the emperor of the Tartars does continue listening to the young ... (Goodreads)

  15. The Girl with All the Gifts

    by M.R. Carey
    A post-apocalyptic world where a young girl holds the key to humanity's survival.

    Twenty years ago humanity was infected by a variant of the fungus native to South America called Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, which led to the Breakdown - the end of civilization as it was before. ... (Wikipedia)

  16. What the Hell Did I Just Read

    by David Wong
    A bizarre and hilarious adventure of three friends battling supernatural creatures and questioning their own sanity.

    NYT bestselling author Wong takes readers to a whole new level with his latest dark comic sci-fi thriller, set in the world of John Dies at the End and This Book is Full of Spiders Dave, John and Amy ... (Goodreads)

  17. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

    by Becky Chambers
    An intergalactic adventure filled with unlikely friendships and epic space battles.

    Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe-in this light-hearted debut space ... (Goodreads)

  18. Chew, Vol. 1: Taster's Choice

    by John Layman
    A detective cop with the ability to experience the memories of whatever he eats solves mysterious cases.

    Set in a world where all chicken and other bird meats are illegal, after a catastrophic outbreak of the bird flu that killed 23 million Americans, Chew centers on Tony Chu, a police detective who is ... (Wikipedia)

  19. The Plague of Doves

    by Louise Erdrich
    A coming-of-age story set in a small Minnesota town, examining the legacy of violence and vengeance.

    The unsolved murder of a farm family still haunts the white small town of Pluto, North Dakota, generations after the vengeance exacted and the distortions of fact transformed the lives of Ojibwe ... (Goodreads)

  20. Beauty Queens

    by Libba Bray
    A group of beauty pageant contestants stranded on a desert island, learning resilience and self-reliance.

    From bestselling, Printz Award-winning author Libba Bray, the story of a plane of beauty pageant contestants that crashes on a desert island.,Teen beauty queens. A "Lost"-like island. Mysteries and ... (Barnes & Noble)

  21. 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)

  22. Black Butler, Vol. 1

    by Yana Toboso
    An orphaned boy teams up with a demonic butler to avenge his parents’ deaths.

    Just a stone's throw from London lies the manor house of the illustrious Phantomhive earldom and its master, one Ciel Phantomhive. Earl Phantomhive is a giant in the world of commerce, Queen ... (Barnes & Noble)

  23. Traitor's Moon

    by Lynn Flewelling
    Epic fantasy adventure of a disgraced prince and a mysterious stranger attempting to stop a sinister plot.

    Master spies Seregil and Alec are no strangers to peril. Their assignments, nightrunning for wizards and nobles, have led them into many deadly situations. But sometimes the greatest danger can lurk ... (Goodreads)

  24. Locke & Key, Vol. 5: Clockworks

    by Joe Hill
    A supernatural thriller of dark secrets and twisted keys, unlocking the power of time.

    Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them.... and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will ... (Goodreads)

  25. Locke & Key, Vol. 4: Keys to the Kingdom

    by Joe Hill
    The Locke family battles against a new enemy who seeks to claim the magical keys and unleash a great evil upon the world.

    Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez's Locke & Key unwinds into its fourth volume in Keys to the Kingdom. With more keys making themselves known, and the depths of the Locke family's mystery ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden

    by Jonas Jonasson
    A quirky and humorous tale of a small Swedish town, and the unlikely events that unfold.

    In 1961, Nombeko Mayeki is born a poor black girl in Soweto . She leaves the slums and a twist of fate – she is run over but survives – puts her into the employ of the engineer who ran her over, as a ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Self-Help

    by Lorrie Moore
    Collection of humorous short stories exploring the lives of characters facing disappointments and heartbreaks.

    In these tales of loss and pleasure, lovers and family, a woman learns to conduct an affair, a child of divorce dances with her mother, and a woman with a terminal illness contemplates her exit. ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Water Knife

    by Paolo Bacigalupi
    In a future where water is scarce, three individuals fight for control of the dwindling resource in the American Southwest.

    In a future hammered by climate change and drought, mountain snows have turned to rain, and rain evaporates before it hits the ground. In a fragmenting United States, the cities of Phoenix and Las ... (Goodreads)

  29. Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows

    by Joe Hill
    A family of siblings battle dark forces to unlock the secrets of the mysterious supernatural keys.

    The dead plot against the living, the darkness closes in on Keyhouse, and a woman is shattered beyond repair, in the third storyline of the Eisner-nominated series, Locke & Key! Dodge continues his ... (Goodreads)

  30. Who Fears Death

    by Nnedi Okorafor
    A fantasy adventure in post-apocalyptic Africa, where one woman must use her powers to save her people.

    The novel takes place in a post-apocalyptic future version of Sudan , where the light-skinned Nuru oppress the dark-skinned Okeke. The protagonist, Onyesonwu ( Igbo for "who fears death"), is an Ewu ... (Wikipedia)