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Recommendations based on Footfallby Larry Niven
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
Lucifer's Hammer
by Larry Niven
A cataclysmic comet strikes Earth, leading to a fight for survival.
When wealthy soap company heir and amateur astronomer Tim Hamner co-discovers a new comet , dubbed Hamner-Brown, the documentary producer Harvey Randall persuades Hamner to have his family's company ... (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)
The Gripping Hand
by Larry Niven
A thrilling space adventure where humans and aliens must work together to save their respective worlds from destruction.
At the end of The Mote in God's Eye , Renner and Bury are secretly enlisted into Imperial Naval Intelligence. They spend the next twenty-five years preventing rebellions against the Empire so that ... (Wikipedia)
Starship Troopers
by Robert A. Heinlein
A futuristic military drama, exploring the consequences of war and human nature.
The novel opens with Rico aboard the corvette transport Rodger Young (named after Medal of Honor recipient Rodger Wilton Young ), , serving with the platoon known as "Rasczak's Roughnecks". The ... (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)
The Puppet Masters
by Robert A. Heinlein
Aliens have invaded Earth, and a small group of agents must stop them from taking control.
First came the news that a flying saucer had landed in Iowa. Then came the announcement that the whole thing was a hoax. End of story. Case closed. Except that two agents of the most secret ... (Goodreads)
Dorsai!
by Gordon R. Dickson
A young man from a warrior planet becomes a mercenary, fighting in battles across the galaxy.
The book is about Donal Graeme, warrior extraordinaire. In the Childe Cycle universe, the human race has split into a number of splinter cultures. Donal is a member of the Dorsai, a splinter culture ... (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 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)
Revelation Space
by Alastair Reynolds
A space opera that explores the dark side of humanity and the consequences of advanced technology.
Nine hundred thousand years ago, something annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as it was on the verge of discovering space flight. Now one scientist, Dan Sylveste, will stop at nothing to ... (Goodreads)
The Warrior's Apprentice
by Lois McMaster Bujold
A young man's journey to becoming a leader, navigating the treacherous waters of space warfare.
When Miles Vorkosigan is disqualified from joining the Barrayaran Imperial Service Academy because he broke both his legs during the initial physical entrance exams, he sets about trying to prove ... (Wikipedia)
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon
by Spider Robinson
A collection of short stories set in a bar where the patrons are eccentric and the bartender is a time traveler.
Callahan's Place is the neighborhood tavern to all of time and space, where the regulars are anything but. Pull up a chair, grab a glass of your favorite, and listen to the stories spun by time ... (Goodreads)
Old Man's War
by John Scalzi
Elderly citizens enlist in an interstellar war to save humanity, discovering new strength and purpose.
Old Man's War is about a soldier named John Perry and his exploits in the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF). The first-person narrative follows Perry's military career from CDF recruit to the rank of ... (Wikipedia)
The Short Victorious War
by David Weber
A space battle to save a planet from a tyrannical regime.
The People's Republic of Haven finds itself teetering at the edge of economic disaster. Unable to maintain its massive welfare state in the face of inflation and deficit and with opposition to the ... (Wikipedia)
The Neutronium Alchemist
by Peter F. Hamilton
A gripping space opera that explores the consequences of humanity's discovery of powerful alien technology.
The voidhawk Oenone reaches Jupiter and docks with one of the 4,250 habitats orbiting the planet. Whilst medical assistance and trauma counselling begin to help heal Syrinx, the information from ... (Wikipedia)
Judas Unchained
by Peter F. Hamilton
The thrilling conclusion to the Commonwealth Saga. Humanity faces its greatest threat as ancient alien technology is unleashed.
The book opens with a short section providing backstory. As part of the first mission to Mars , a team of astronauts exits their spacecraft for the first time, only to see another man standing there, ... (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 Evolutionary Void
by Peter F. Hamilton
Adventure in a dangerous universe, as a group of aliens work to save their species from extinction.
Exposed as the Second Dreamer, Araminta has become the target of a galaxywide search by government agent Paula Myo and the psychopath known as the Cat, along with others equally determined to ... (Goodreads)
I, Robot
by Isaac Asimov
A collection of science fiction stories exploring the relationship between humans and robots.
Isaac Asimov's I, Robot launches readers on an adventure into a not-so-distant future where man and machine , struggle to redefinelife, love, and consciousness—and where the stakes are nothing less ... (Goodreads)
Speaker for the Dead
by Orson Scott Card
A search for the truth about an alien species, uncovering secrets of the past.
Now available in mass market, the revised, definitive edition of the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning classic. In this second book in the saga set 3,000 years after the terrible war, Ender Wiggin is ... (Goodreads)
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)
Mirror Dance
by Lois McMaster Bujold
A genetically-engineered clone confronts his identity and struggles to overcome destiny.
Mark, Miles Vorkosigan 's clone , masquerades as him and dupes his mercenary force, the Dendarii, into undertaking a mission to free clones held "prisoner" on Jackson's Whole, an anything-goes ... (Wikipedia)
Cryptonomicon
by Neal Stephenson
A thrilling journey through the past and present, combining tech, history and adventure.
The action takes place in two periods—World War II and the late 1990s, during the Internet boom and Asian financial crisis . In 1942, Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse, a young United States Navy code ... (Wikipedia)
House of Suns
by Alastair Reynolds
Exploring the universe as a powerful family of clones, while struggling against a mysterious enemy.
Six million years ago, at the dawn of the star-faring era, Abigail Gentian fractured herself into a thousand male and female clones, which she called shatterlings. But now, someone is eliminating the ... (Goodreads)
Absolution Gap
by Alastair Reynolds
A sci-fi adventure featuring a crew of misfits on a mission to save their home world from destruction.
The plot of the novel takes place in four separate time periods. The bulk of the novel is contained in the 2675 and 2727 sections. Queen Jasmina of the lighthugger Gnostic Ascension wakes Quaiche, a ... (Wikipedia)
Patriot Games
by Tom Clancy
A former CIA analyst must protect his family from domestic terrorists, while thwarting a major international conspiracy.
A kidnapping attempt on the Prince and Princess of Wales and their infant son occurs at the Mall in London . The attack is orchestrated by members of the Ulster Liberation Army , an ideologically ... (Wikipedia)
The Machine Crusade
by Brian Herbert
The second book in the Legends of Dune series, depicting the rise of the thinking machines and their war against humanity.
Dune: The Machine Crusade moves forward into the center of the Butlerian Jihad, described in the first book of the trilogy,, Dune: The Butlerian Jihad, . Leading the movement is the ex-slave and ... (Wikipedia)
Eon
by Greg Bear
A mysterious asteroid appears near Earth, and a team is sent to investigate. They discover a complex alien structure and a dangerous power struggle.
The 21st century was on the brink of nuclear confrontation when the 300 kilometer-long stone flashed out of nothingness and into Earth's orbit. NASA, NATO, and the UN sent explorers to the asteroid's ... (Goodreads)
Spin
by Robert Charles Wilson
A mysterious force disrupts the Earth, transforming the planet and its inhabitants in unexpected ways.
The story opens when Tyler Dupree is twelve years old. Tyler and his mother live in a guest house on the property of aerospace millionaire E.D. Lawton and his alcoholic wife, Carol. Tyler is friends ... (Wikipedia)
Prentice Alvin
by Orson Scott Card
Alvin is a young boy with a powerful knack, struggling to control his abilities and navigate a world of magic and danger.
After being released from his time with Ta-Kumsaw , an Indian leader who taught Alvin the ways of Indian people, the young boy sets out to start his apprenticeship as a Smith in the town where he was ... (Wikipedia)
