Recommendations based on The Cyberiadby Stanisław Lem

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

  1. 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)

  2. The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy

    by Stanisław Lem
    A satirical sci-fi journey of a man struggling to make sense of a world of surrealism and absurdity.

    Ijon Tichy is sent to the Eighth World Futurological Congress in Costa Rica , by professor Tarantoga . The conference is set to focus on the world's overpopulation crisis and ways of dealing with it. ... (Wikipedia)

  3. 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)

  4. 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)

  5. 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)

  6. 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)

  7. The Time Machine

    by H.G. Wells
    A scientist travels through time, discovering the future of mankind.

    The book's protagonist is a Victorian English scientist and gentleman inventor living in Richmond , Surrey , identified by a narrator simply as the Time Traveller . Similarly, with but one exception ... (Wikipedia)

  8. 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)

  9. A Scanner Darkly

    by Philip K. Dick
    A dystopian tale of surveillance and paranoia in a world of drug addiction.

    The protagonist is Bob Arctor, member of a household of drug users, who is also living a double life as an undercover police agent assigned to spy on Arctor's household. Arctor shields his identity ... (Wikipedia)

  10. The Trial

    by Franz Kafka
    A man is arrested and put on trial for a crime that remains unclear throughout the novel.

    On the morning of his thirtieth birthday, Josef K., the chief cashier of a bank, is unexpectedly arrested by two unidentified agents from an unspecified agency for an unspecified crime. Josef is not ... (Wikipedia)

  11. 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)

  12. Roadside Picnic

    by Arkady Strugatsky
    Two scientists explore a mysterious, abandoned alien landscape to uncover secrets.

    The novel is set in a post-visitation world where there are now six zones known on Earth that are full of unexplained phenomena and where strange happenings have briefly occurred, assumed to have ... (Wikipedia)

  13. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

    by Douglas Adams
    An offbeat detective story set in a surreal, supernatural world.

    Dirk Gently, who calls himself a " holistic detective", has happened upon what he thinks is a rather comfortable situation. A wealthy man in the record industry has retained him, spinning a story ... (Wikipedia)

  14. 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)

  15. 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)

  16. A Fire Upon the Deep

    by Vernor Vinge
    An interstellar adventure of exploration, uncovering a powerful and mysterious force.

    An expedition from Straumli Realm, an ambitious young human civilization in the high Beyond, investigates a five-billion-year-old data archive in the low Transcend that offers the possibility of ... (Wikipedia)

  17. The Name of the Rose

    by Umberto Eco
    A Franciscan friar investigates a series of murders in a medieval monastery, uncovering a sinister plot.

    In 1327, Franciscan friar William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk , a Benedictine novice travelling under his protection, arrive at a Benedictine monastery in Northern Italy to attend a theological ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Blindsight

    by Peter Watts
    A sci-fi tale of a journey to the outer reaches of space and a confrontation with alien life.

    In the year 2082, thousands of large, coordinated objects of an unknown origin, dubbed "Fireflies", burn up in the Earth's atmosphere in a precise grid, while momentarily broadcasting across an ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Dead Souls

    by Nikolai Gogol
    A satirical tale of a man's quest for wealth, exposing the corruption of 19th century Russian society.

    The story follows the exploits of Chichikov, a middle-aged gentleman of middling social class and means. Chichikov arrives in a small town and turns on the charm to woo key local officials and ... (Wikipedia)

  20. The Fall of Hyperion

    by Dan Simmons
    Epic space opera, exploring the consequences of a universe-shattering event.

    The Hegemony is an interstellar governmental entity formed by many planets, most of which are connected by instantaneous farcaster portals. Some worlds, like Hyperion, have no farcaster portals and ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Mort

    by Terry Pratchett
    A Discworld fantasy novel about a young man's journey to save a princess from a magical kingdom.

    As a teenager, Mort has a personality and temperament that makes him unsuited to the family farming business. Mort's father Lezek takes him to a local hiring fair in the hope that Mort will land an ... (Wikipedia)

  22. 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)

  23. 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)

  24. The War of the Worlds

    by H.G. Wells
    A Martian invasion of Earth, exploring the limits of human resilience.

    The narrative opens by stating that as humans on Earth busied themselves with their own endeavours during the mid-1890s, aliens on Mars began plotting an invasion of Earth because their own resources ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Endymion

    by Dan Simmons
    Epic adventure of a man's journey through space and time, in search of the divine.

    274 years ago, Hegemony CEO Meina Gladstone ordered the destruction of all farcaster portals to stop the TechnoCore from eliminating humankind. This resulted in the collapse of civilization on most ... (Wikipedia)

  26. Gulliver's Travels: Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.

    by Jonathan Swift
    A fanciful journey to lands of tiny people, giant people, talking horses, and other strange creatures.

    The travel begins with a short preamble in which Lemuel Gulliver gives a brief outline of his life and history before his voyages. During his first voyage, Gulliver is washed ashore after a shipwreck ... (Wikipedia)

  27. At the Mountains of Madness

    by H.P. Lovecraft
    A scientific expedition to Antarctica uncovers secrets of an ancient civilization.

    The story is recalled in a first-person perspective by the geologist William Dyer, a professor at Arkham 's Miskatonic University , in the hope to prevent an important and much publicized scientific ... (Wikipedia)

  28. 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)

  29. 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)

  30. Nightfall and Other Stories

    by Isaac Asimov
    Sci-fi collection exploring the wonders of science, technology and humanity.

    A collection of early Asimov short stories, showcasing the development of the author's oeuvre. The title comes from Asimov's breakthrough short story. CONTENTS: Nightfall - Astounding, Sept 1941 ... (Goodreads)