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Recommendations based on The Claw of the Conciliatorby Gene Wolfe
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The Shadow of the Torturer
by Gene Wolfe
A journey of self-discovery and exploration, as a young man seeks to unlock the secrets of his past.
Severian , an apprentice in the Torturers' Guild, barely survives a swim in the River Gyoll. On his way back to the Citadel, Severian and several other apprentices sneak into a necropolis where ... (Wikipedia)
Sword & Citadel
by Gene Wolfe
Epic fantasy quest to reclaim a lost kingdom and restore balance to the world.
Severian , an apprentice in the torturers' guild, barely survives a swim in the River Gyoll. On his way back to the Citadel (whose towers appear to be disused rockets), Severian and several other ... (Wikipedia)
Shadow & Claw
by Gene Wolfe
Epic fantasy saga of a young man's quest in a world of darkness and danger.
Severian , an apprentice in the torturers' guild, barely survives a swim in the River Gyoll. On his way back to the Citadel (whose towers appear to be disused rockets), Severian and several other ... (Wikipedia)
The Farthest Shore
by Ursula K. Le Guin
A quest to save a magical kingdom from a mysterious force of darkness.
A strange, inexplicable malaise is spreading throughout Earthsea. Magic is losing its power; songs are being forgotten; people and animals are sickening or going mad. Accompanied by Arren, the young ... (Wikipedia)
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)
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)
The Dispossessed
by Ursula K. Le Guin
A sci-fi exploration of utopian and dystopian societies, and the struggle for a better world.
Librarian note: Alternate cover edition of ISBN, 9780061054884,. Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the ... (Goodreads)
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)
The Anubis Gates
by Tim Powers
A professor travels through time to ancient Egypt and confronts supernatural forces.
In 1801 the British have risen to power in Egypt and suppress the worship of the old Egyptian gods . A cabal of magicians plan to drive the British out of Egypt by bringing the gods forward in time ... (Wikipedia)
The Tombs of Atuan
by Ursula K. Le Guin
A young girl embarks on a spiritual journey of self-discovery, uncovering the secrets of a mysterious tomb.
The story follows a girl named Tenar, born on the Kargish island of Atuan. Born on the day that the high priestess of the Tombs of Atuan died, she is believed to be her reincarnation. Tenar is taken ... (Wikipedia)
House of Leaves
by Mark Z. Danielewski
A family discovers a hidden door in their home leading to an ever-shifting labyrinth.
House of Leaves begins with a first-person narrative by Johnny Truant, a Los Angeles tattoo parlor employee and professed unreliable narrator . Truant is searching for a new apartment when his friend ... (Wikipedia)
The Man in the High Castle
by Philip K. Dick
Set in an alternate 1962, a man must confront a dark and oppressive new world order.
It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco, the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty ... (Goodreads)
The Silmarillion
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Epic saga of the history of Middle-Earth, a world filled with mythical creatures.
The Silmarillion is an account of the Elder Days, of the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back, and in whose events some of ... (Goodreads)
The Stars My Destination
by Alfred Bester
A man's quest for revenge in an intergalactic society, using teleportation and telepathy.
At the time when the book is set, "jaunting"—personal teleportation—has so upset the social and economic balance that the Inner Planets are at war with the Outer Satellites. Gully Foyle of the ... (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)
Swamp Thing, Vol. 1: Saga of the Swamp Thing
by Alan Moore
A creature of the swamp embarks on a quest for the truth about his existence.
Before WATCHMEN, Alan Moore made his debut in the U.S. comic book industry with the revitalization of the horror comic book THE SWAMP THING. His deconstruction of the classic monster stretched the ... (Goodreads)
The Chronicles of Amber
by Roger Zelazny
Epic fantasy series of a prince's quest to reclaim his rightful place on the throne.
Amber is the one real world, casting infinite reflections of itself - shadow worlds, which can be manipulated by those of royal Amberite blood. But the royal family is torn apart by jealousies and ... (Goodreads)
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)
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)
A Canticle for Leibowitz
by Walter M. Miller Jr.
A post-apocalyptic tale of a world struggling to rebuild after a devastating nuclear war.
After 20th century civilization was destroyed by a global nuclear war , known as the "Flame Deluge", there was a violent backlash against the culture of advanced knowledge and technology that had led ... (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)
VALIS
by Philip K. Dick
A man's quest to uncover the meaning behind a series of mystical visions.
VALIS is the first book in Philip K. Dick's incomparable final trio of novels (the others being The Divine Invasion and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer ). This disorienting and bleakly funny ... (Goodreads)
Red Mars
by Kim Stanley Robinson
Colonists brave the harsh landscapes of Mars, striving to make the planet their new home.
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 Autobiography of Henry VIII: With Notes by His Fool, Will Somers
by Margaret George
The life of Henry VIII, as told through his own words and the observations of his court jester, Will Somers.
The Autobiography of Henry VIII, is the magnificent historical novel that established Margaret George's career. Evocatively written in the first person as Henry VIII's private journals, the novel was ... (Barnes & Noble)
Fevre Dream
by George R.R. Martin
A vampire and a riverboat captain join forces in a race against time to protect the Mississippi River from a supernatural threat.
When struggling riverboat captain Abner Marsh receives an offer of partnership from a wealthy aristocrat, he suspects something’s amiss. But when he meets the hauntingly pale, steely-eyed Joshua ... (Goodreads)
The Castle of Llyr
by Lloyd Alexander
An adventure of a brave girl as she embarks on a quest to save her family and kingdom.
Eighteen months after the destruction of the Black Cauldron , Dallben the enchanter has decided that Eilonwy, as a princess and last of the line of the House of Llyr, needs a proper royal lady's ... (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)
Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad
A journey into the depths of the human psyche, exploring the darkness of colonialism.
Aboard the Nellie , anchored in the River Thames near Gravesend , Charles Marlow tells his fellow sailors how he became captain of a river steamboat for an ivory trading company. As a child, Marlow ... (Wikipedia)
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)
The Sirens of Titan
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Intergalactic odyssey exploring the meaning of life and the human condition.
Malachi Constant is the richest man in a future North America. He possesses extraordinary luck that he attributes to divine favor which he has used to build upon his father's fortune. He becomes the ... (Wikipedia)
