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Recommendations based on Timescapeby Gregory Benford
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Gateway
by Frederik Pohl
A space exploration journey to a far-off galaxy, with a mission to discover the secrets of an ancient alien race.
Gateway is a space station built into a hollow asteroid constructed by the Heechee , a long-vanished alien race. Humans have had limited success understanding Heechee technology found there and ... (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)
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)
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)
Empire of the Sun
by J.G. Ballard
A young British boy's life is turned upside down during WWII as he is separated from his parents and forced to survive in a Japanese internment camp.
The novel recounts the story of a young British boy, Jamie (“Jim”) Graham (named after Ballard's two first names, "James Graham"), who lives with his parents in Shanghai . After the Pearl Harbor ... (Wikipedia)
Farnham's Freehold
by Robert A. Heinlein
A nuclear war sends a family to a future where they are enslaved by black people. They must fight for their survival and freedom.
Hugh Farnham, a white middle-aged man, holds a bridge club party for his alcoholic wife Grace, law-graduate son Duke, college-student daughter Karen, and Karen's friend Barbara. During the bridge ... (Wikipedia)
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values
by Robert M. Pirsig
A philosophical exploration of the meaning of life, seen through the lens of a cross-country motorcycle journey.
Robert M. Pirsig's Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is an examination of how we live, a meditation on how to live better set around the narration of a summer motorcycle trip across America's ... (Goodreads)
Forever Peace
by Joe Haldeman
In a future world, soldiers use telepathy to fight wars. A group of scientists discovers a way to end all wars, but at a great cost.
Though its title is similar to, The Forever War, and both novels deal with soldiers in the future, Forever Peace is not a direct sequel, and takes place on a different future of Earth in the year ... (Wikipedia)
Citizen of the Galaxy
by Robert A. Heinlein
A young slave's journey to find his place in a chaotic galaxy, discovering the power of friendship and freedom.
The novel is set in the future when the human race has developed interstellar spaceflight and is engaged in trade with a number of alien races. However human slavery has reappeared on some planets. ... (Wikipedia)
Babel-17
by Samuel R. Delany
A linguist embarks on a mission to decode a mysterious language, uncovering secrets of an interstellar war.
During an interstellar war one side develops a language, Babel-17 , that can be used as a weapon. Learning it turns one into an unwilling traitor as it alters perception and thought. The change is ... (Wikipedia)
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
by John le Carré
A British agent's mission to infiltrate East Germany during the Cold War, full of suspense and intrigue.
In this classic, John le Carre's third novel and the first to earn him international acclaim, he created a world unlike any previously experienced in suspense fiction. With unsurpassed knowledge ... (Goodreads)
Spook Country
by William Gibson
A thriller about a journalist trying to uncover a mysterious plot involving virtual reality technology.
The first strand of the novel follows Hollis Henry, a former member of the early 1990s cult band The Curfew and a freelance journalist. She is hired by advertising mogul Hubertus Bigend to write a ... (Wikipedia)
Ocean Sea
by Alessandro Baricco
A poetic exploration of the sea, full of stories and emotions.
This haunting, suspenseful tale of love and vengeance by the author of the international bestseller Silk surges with the hypnotic power of the ocean sea. In Ocean Sea , Alessandro Baricco presents a ... (Goodreads)
The City and the Stars
by Arthur C. Clarke
In the distant future, a lone human discovers a forgotten city and the secrets of an advanced civilization.
Clarke's masterful evocation of the far future of humanity, considered his finest novel. Men had built cities before, but never such a city as Diaspar. For millennia its protective dome shut out the ... (Goodreads)
Scoop
by Evelyn Waugh
A humorous and satirical look at journalistic misadventures in Africa.
Lord Copper, newspaper magnate and proprietor of the "Daily Beast", has always prided himself on his intuitive flair for spotting ace reporters. That is not to say he has not made the odd blunder, ... (Goodreads)
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)
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)
Way Station
by Clifford D. Simak
A man living in a remote Wisconsin town discovers a secret gateway to other worlds.
Enoch Wallace, an American Civil War veteran, is chosen by an alien to administer a way station for interplanetary travel. His job is to monitor the machinery of the way station and make sure arrival ... (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)
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)
The Past Through Tomorrow
by Robert A. Heinlein
A collection of short stories exploring the future of humanity, from the near future to thousands of years ahead.
Here in one monumental volume are all 21 of the stories, novellas and novels making up Heinlein's famous Future History—the rich, imaginative architecture of Man's destiny that many consider his ... (Goodreads)
The End of Eternity
by Isaac Asimov
A renegade scientist unravels the secrets of time travel, challenging the status quo.
Andrew Harlan is an Eternal, a man whose job it is to range through past and present Centuries, monitoring and, where necessary, altering Time's myriad cause-and-effect relationships. But when Harlan ... (Goodreads)
Ringworld
by Larry Niven
A sci-fi adventure to an artificial ring-shaped world, full of unexpected challenges.
On planet Earth in 2850 AD , Louis Gridley Wu is celebrating his 200th birthday. Despite his age, Louis is in perfect physical condition due to the longevity drug boosterspice . He meets Nessus , a ... (Wikipedia)
The Wasp Factory
by Iain Banks
A disturbed teenage boy discovers startling truths about his family and himself.
The story is told from the perspective of 16-year-old Frank Cauldhame. Frank lives with his father on a small island in rural Scotland , and he has not seen his mother in many years. There is no ... (Wikipedia)
Deadhouse Gates
by Steven Erikson
Epic fantasy adventure, chronicling the struggles of characters in a hostile, war-torn world.
Deadhouse Gates begins a few months after the conclusion of Gardens of the Moon , though few characters and almost no settings bridge the two novels. The main action of Memories of Ice , the third ... (Wikipedia)
Enduring Love
by Ian McEwan
A story of obsession and its consequences, as two men clash over a woman's affections.
Joe planned a postcard-perfect afternoon in the English countryside to celebrate his lover's return after 6 weeks in the States. The perfect day turns to nightmare however, when they are involved in ... (Goodreads)
Crash
by J.G. Ballard
A dystopian novel exploring the surreal and chaotic landscape of a near-future Los Angeles.
The story is told through the eyes of narrator James Ballard, named after the author himself, but it centers on the sinister figure of Dr. Robert Vaughan, a "former TV-scientist, turned nightmare ... (Wikipedia)
H.M.S. Surprise
by Patrick O'Brian
Captain Aubrey and Dr. Maturin embark on a perilous mission to intercept a French frigate. The third book in the Aubrey-Maturin series.
A convoy including Aubrey seizes the ships carrying the gold deemed necessary by Spain to agree to join the war on the side of France. On the quibble that Spain had not yet entered the war, the new ... (Wikipedia)
Nation
by Terry Pratchett
A story of courage and determination, as an island nation rebuilds its culture and identity after a devastating tsunami.
Alone on a desert island — everything and everyone he knows and loves has been washed away in a storm — Mau is the last surviving member of his nation. He’s completely alone — or so he thinks until ... (Goodreads)
The Lathe of Heaven
by Ursula K. Le Guin
An exploration of the power of dreams, with the potential to reshape reality.
The book is set in Portland, Oregon , in the year 2002. Portland has three million inhabitants and continuous rain. It is deprived enough for the poorer inhabitants to have kwashiorkor , a protein ... (Wikipedia)
