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Recommendations based on Last and First Menby Olaf Stapledon
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
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)
Earth Abides
by George R. Stewart
A post-apocalyptic tale of a man's journey to rebuild civilization.
While working on his graduate thesis in geology in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Ish is bitten by a rattlesnake. As he heals from the bite, taking refuge in a cabin, he gets sick with a disease that ... (Wikipedia)
Tau Zero
by Poul Anderson
A spaceship's crew hurtles through space, experiencing time dilation and facing the possibility of never returning home.
Tau Zero follows the crew of the starship, Leonora Christine, , a colonization vessel crewed by 25 men and 25 women aiming to reach the nearby star Beta Virginis . The ship is powered by a Bussard ... (Wikipedia)
The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories
by H.P. Lovecraft
Collection of horror stories about a cult's dark rituals and the cosmic entity Cthulhu.
This collection spans Lovecraft’s literary career, and charts the development of his ‘cosmicist’ philosophy; the belief that behind the veil of our blinkered everyday lives lies another reality, too ... (Goodreads)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Foundation and Empire
by Isaac Asimov
A quest to save the Galactic Empire from destruction, featuring advanced science and politics.
The first half of the book, titled "The General", tells how the enterprising General Bel Riose of the Galactic Empire launches an attack against the Foundation. The Empire still retains far more ... (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)
The Temporal Void
by Peter F. Hamilton
A powerful being threatens the universe, and a group of brave souls must find a way to stop it.
The Intersolar Commonwealth is in turmoil as the Living Dream's deadline for launching its Pilgrimage into the Void draws closer. Not only is the Ocisen Empire fleet fast approaching on a mission of ... (Goodreads)
I Am Legend
by Richard Matheson
A man is the last survivor of a zombie-creating virus, struggling to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.
Robert Neville appears to be the sole survivor of a pandemic that has killed most of the human population and turned the remainder into " vampires " that largely conform to their stereotypes in ... (Wikipedia)
The Fountains of Paradise
by Arthur C. Clarke
An engineer's mission to build a space elevator, connecting Earth to the heavens.
The novel focuses primarily on a project proposed by the main character, Vannevar Morgan, known as the Orbital Tower. The tower is to stretch from the Earth's equator to a satellite that is in ... (Wikipedia)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Consider Phlebas
by Iain M. Banks
A thrilling space opera about a galactic war between two powerful civilizations.
The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans ... (Goodreads)
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
by Max Brooks
A collection of interviews recounting tales of the zombie apocalypse.
It has been nearly twenty years since the start of the apocalyptic worldwide pandemic known as the Zombie War, and about ten years since the war has ended in humanity's victory. The framing device ... (Wikipedia)
Feet of Clay
by Terry Pratchett
A mysterious death leads to the uncovering of secrets and treachery in a fantasy world.
Twelve of the city golems, clay creatures forced to obey the written instructions placed inside their heads, decide to create a "king" golem. They fashion a golem from their own clay and place in his ... (Wikipedia)
Pushing Ice
by Alastair Reynolds
A group of astronauts are forced to chase after a rogue moon, uncovering secrets and facing challenges that test their limits.
Pushing Ice begins in the distant future, where the elected rulers of the "Congress of the Lindblad Ring" gather to decide on a suitable ceremony to honour a woman they consider responsible for the ... (Wikipedia)
Small Gods
by Terry Pratchett
A humorous fantasy tale of a god struggling with his dwindling power and followers.
The Great God Om tries to manifest himself once more in the world, as the time of his eighth prophet is nigh. He is surprised, however, when he finds himself in the body of a tortoise, stripped of ... (Wikipedia)
The Naked God
by Peter F. Hamilton
Epic space opera of adventure, mystery, and political intrigue.
Jay Hilton, one of the surviving children from Lalonde, is awoken when Tranquillity falls under attack by the Organisation and its hellhawk allies. With the habitat in imminent danger of destruction, ... (Wikipedia)
Kafka on the Shore
by Haruki Murakami
A surreal journey of self-discovery, exploring the boundaries between the real and surreal.
Comprising two distinct but interrelated plots, the narrative runs back and forth between both plots, taking up each plotline in alternating chapters. The odd-numbered chapters tell the 15-year-old ... (Wikipedia)
The Illearth War
by Stephen R. Donaldson
Epic fantasy adventure as a group of unlikely heroes fight against a tyrannical evil.
Several weeks after returning to his world from The Land , the leper Thomas Covenant is taking a phone call from his ex-wife Joan when he falls and hits his head, waking to find himself back in the ... (Wikipedia)
The Power That Preserves
by Stephen R. Donaldson
Epic fantasy adventure of a hero's quest to save his kingdom from an ancient evil.
Back in his own "real" world, Thomas Covenant is devastated by the loss of Elena, though he still maintains to himself that his experience in the Land was all just a dream. Tormented by this ... (Wikipedia)
Inferno
by Dante Alighieri
An epic journey through the nine circles of Hell, guided by the Roman poet Virgil.
Of the great poets, Dante is one of the most elusive and therefore one of the most difficult to adequately render into English verse. In the Inferno, Dante not only judges sin but strives to ... (Goodreads)
Zoe's Tale
by John Scalzi
A teenage girl must face the dangers of an alien world to save her family and home.
How do you tell your part in the biggest tale in history? I ask because it's what I have to do. I'm Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A ... (Goodreads)
The Dreaming Void
by Peter F. Hamilton
A journey across space and time in search of a mysterious power at the center of the universe.
What was formerly believed to be a supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way is revealed to be an artificial construct, known as the Void. Inside, there is a strange universe where the ... (Wikipedia)
