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Startide Rising
by David Brin
A group of uplifted dolphins and humans must flee across the galaxy, pursued by enemies seeking their advanced technology.
In the year 2489 C.E. , , the Terran spaceship Streaker — crewed by 150 uplifted dolphins, seven humans, and one uplifted chimpanzee — discovers a derelict fleet of 50,000 spaceships the size of ... (Wikipedia)
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)
Life, the Universe and Everything
by Douglas Adams
An intergalactic quest to find the answer to the ultimate question of life.
After being stranded on pre-historic Earth after the events in, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, , Arthur Dent is met by his old friend Ford Prefect , who drags him into a space-time eddy , ... (Wikipedia)
The Mote in God's Eye
by Larry Niven
A journey of first contact between the human race and an alien species.
In the year AD 3017, humanity is slowly recovering from an interstellar civil war that tore apart the first Empire of Man. The Second Empire is busy establishing control over the remnants of its ... (Wikipedia)
Time Enough for Love
by Robert A. Heinlein
A journey through time and space, exploring the boundaries of love, death and existence.
The book covers several periods from the life of Lazarus Long (born Woodrow Wilson Smith), an early beneficiary of a breeding experiment designed to increase mankind's natural lifespan. The ... (Wikipedia)
The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
by Douglas Adams
Quirky sci-fi adventure following a group of time travelers seeking to save the future.
Arthur Dent , Ford Prefect , Trillian , and Zaphod Beeblebrox leave the planet Magrathea on the Heart of Gold . A Vogon ship attacks them, and Arthur's attempt to have the ship's computer make him a ... (Wikipedia)
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
by Robert A. Heinlein
Revolutionary group fight for freedom from an oppressive lunar colony.
In 2075, the Moon (Luna) is used as a penal colony by Earth's government, with three million inhabitants (called "Loonies") living in underground cities. Most Loonies are criminals, political exiles, ... (Wikipedia)
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)
Quicksilver
by Neal Stephenson
Epic fantasy adventure set in a world of magic, politics and alchemy.
The first book is a series of flashbacks from 1713 to the earlier life of Daniel Waterhouse. It begins as Enoch Root arrives in Boston in October 1713 to deliver a letter to Daniel containing a ... (Wikipedia)
Stranger in a Strange Land
by Robert A. Heinlein
A human raised by Martians must find his place in a hostile Earth society.
The story focuses on a human raised on Mars and his adaptation to and understanding of humans and their culture. It is set in a post- Third World War United States, where organized religions are ... (Wikipedia)
Prelude to Foundation
by Isaac Asimov
A powerful ruler's journey to save his crumbling empire, and protect humanity from a mysterious force.
Prelude to Foundation is set in the year 12,020 G.E. (Galactic Era), during the rocky reign of the Emperor Cleon I. It starts with Seldon's presentation of a paper at a mathematics convention ... (Wikipedia)
Blue Mars
by Kim Stanley Robinson
The final book in the Mars Trilogy, following the terraforming and colonization of Mars. The story explores the political, social, and environmental consequences of human expansion into space.
Red Mars starts in 2026 with the first colonial voyage to Mars aboard the Ares , the largest interplanetary spacecraft ever built and home to a crew who are to be the first hundred Martian colonists. ... (Wikipedia)
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)
Foundation
by Isaac Asimov
Exploring the possibilities of a galactic empire in a future driven by science and technology.
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future – to a dark age ... (Goodreads)
Greenwitch
by Susan Cooper
Three children unravel the secrets of a mysterious island, guided by ancient magical forces.
Simon, Jane, and Barney, enlisted by their mysterious great-uncle, arrive in a small coastal town to recover a priceless golden grail stolen by the forces of evil – Dark. They are not at first aware ... (Goodreads)
Silver on the Tree
by Susan Cooper
Young siblings travel to a magical land to save the world from a powerful evil.
The Dark is rising in its last and greatest bid to control the world. And Will Stanton – last-born of the immortal Old Ones, dedicated to keeping the world free -- must join forces with this ageless ... (Goodreads)
Fables & Reflections
by Neil Gaiman
A collection of myths and tales about life, morality and the search for answers.
NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Neil Gaiman's transcendent series SANDMAN is often hailed as the definitive Vertigo title and one of the finest achievements in graphic storytelling. Gaiman created ... (Goodreads)
Dragonquest
by Anne McCaffrey
A group of brave adventurers traverse a world of dragons and magical powers in search of a powerful artifact.
As it opens, tensions are rising between the Oldtimers, those dragonriders who came forward in time 400 turns (Pernese years) to help the undermanned contemporary dragonriders protect the planet Pern ... (Wikipedia)
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever
by Stephen R. Donaldson
Epic fantasy tale about a leper's quest for redemption in a magical world.
Since its publication in 1977, Stephen Donaldson's award-winning trilogy has become an indisputable fantasy class, hailed by the critics and loved by millions of readers around the world. Now all ... (Goodreads)
Children of Dune
by Frank Herbert
Epic saga of a royal family's struggle for power and the fate of their desert planet.
Nine years after Emperor Paul Muad'Dib walked into the desert, blind, the ecological transformation of Dune has reached the point where some Fremen are living without stillsuits in the less arid ... (Wikipedia)
Robots and Empire
by Isaac Asimov
A sci-fi adventure of robots and humans in a future interstellar society.
The Earthman Elijah Baley (the detective hero of the previous Robot books) has died nearly two centuries earlier. During these two centuries, Earth-people have overcome their agoraphobia and resumed ... (Wikipedia)
The Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
A young boy's journey through a graveyard, learning the secrets of the dead.
The story begins as the man Jack murders most of the members of a family (later revealed to be the Dorian family) except for the toddler upstairs. Unknown to him, the toddler has climbed out of his ... (Wikipedia)
Thief of Time
by Terry Pratchett
A humorous fantasy adventure to save time from being stolen.
The Auditors hire young clockmaker Jeremy Clockson to build a perfect glass clock, without telling him that this will stop time and thereby eliminate human unpredictability from the universe. Death ... (Wikipedia)
Dragonsong
by Anne McCaffrey
A young girl's quest to unlock the secrets of dragon music and save her world.
Taking place seven years after the events of, Dragonflight, , the book opens with Menolly , youngest daughter of Masterfisher Yanus, Sea Holder of Half-Circle Seahold, ,[e], in the fictional world of ... (Wikipedia)
Dragonsinger
by Anne McCaffrey
A young singer discovers her magical connection to dragons and embarks on a quest to save her people.
The novel follows Menolly , now apprenticed into the Harper Hall, a type of music conservatory for harpers ( minstrels /educators) and other music professionals, as she begins her musical training to ... (Wikipedia)
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)
Lord of Light
by Roger Zelazny
A cosmic struggle between ancient Hindu gods and a man, who uses technology to gain freedom.
Lord of Light is set on a planet colonized by some of the remnants of "vanished Urath", or Earth. The crew and colonists from the spaceship Star of India found themselves on a strange planet ... (Wikipedia)
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
by Catherynne M. Valente
A young girl embarks on an adventure across a magical land, learning lessons about the power of stories.
Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind ... (Goodreads)
The Years of Rice and Salt
by Kim Stanley Robinson
Alternate history of a world without Europeans, where new cultures and civilizations rise.
The story is divided into ten parts. Book One, Awake to Emptiness , begins with Bold and Psin, scouts in Timur 's army, discovering a Magyar city where all the inhabitants have died from a plague. ... (Wikipedia)
