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Recommendations based on Changing Planesby Ursula K. Le Guin
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The Left Hand of Darkness
by Ursula K. Le Guin
A diplomat's mission to a distant planet, exploring themes of gender and identity.
The protagonist of the novel is Genly Ai, a male Terran native, who is sent to invite the planet Gethen to join the Ekumen, a coalition of humanoid worlds. , Ai travels to the Gethen planetary system ... (Wikipedia)
A Wizard of Earthsea
by Ursula K. Le Guin
A young wizard embarks on a quest to master his own magical powers and battle a mysterious force of evil.
Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth. Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon ... (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)
Grass
by Sheri S. Tepper
A dystopian fable of a future world, where the grass is literally alive and conscious.
Generations ago, humans fled to the cosmic anomaly known as Grass. But before humanity arrived, another species had already claimed Grass for its own. It too had developed a culture. Now, a deadly ... (Wikipedia)
The Golem and the Jinni
by Helene Wecker
Two supernatural creatures from different mythologies, living in New York City, find companionship and friendship in each other.
In the Polish town of Konin at the end of the 19th century, a corrupt kabbalist named Yehudah Schaalman creates a golem in the shape of a woman at the request of young Otto Rotfeld, who seeks a ... (Wikipedia)
Sexing the Cherry
by Jeanette Winterson
A fantastical journey through time and space, exploring gender, sexuality, and the fluidity of identity.
In a fantastic world that is and is not seventeenth-century England, a baby is found floating in the Thames. The child, Jordan, is rescued by Dog Woman and grows up to travel the world like Gulliver, ... (Goodreads)
Oryx and Crake
by Margaret Atwood
An exploration of a post-apocalyptic world, and the power of human nature.
The novel focuses on a post-apocalyptic character called "Snowman", living near a group of primitive human-like creatures whom he calls Crakers . Flashbacks reveal that Snowman was once a boy named ... (Wikipedia)
Grendel
by John Gardner
A modern retelling of the Beowulf story from the perspective of the monster, Grendel.
In the opening scene, Grendel briefly fights with a ram when frustrated with its stupidity. He then mockingly asks the sky why animals lack sense and dignity; the sky does not reply, adding to his ... (Wikipedia)
Parable of the Sower
by Octavia E. Butler
A post-apocalyptic story of survival, hope, and the power of community.
This highly acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from award-winning author Octavia E. Butler "pairs well with, 1984, or, The Handmaid's Tale," (John Green,, New York Times,)–now with a ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Dark Is Rising
by Susan Cooper
A young boy embarks on a quest to save the world from a mysterious, magical force.
This night will be bad and tomorrow will be beyond imagining. It's Midwinter's Eve, the day before Will's eleventh birthday. But there is an atmosphere of fear in the familiar countryside around him. ... (Goodreads)
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
by Patricia A. McKillip
An enchanting tale of a young woman's journey to save an ancient kingdom from an evil sorcerer.
World Fantasy Award-Winner,Newly available in print and e-book editions,"Rich and regal.",—, The New York Times,, Young Sybel, the heiress of powerful wizards, needs the company of no-one outside her ... (Barnes & Noble)
Doomsday Book
by Connie Willis
A time-traveling historian struggles to contain a deadly pandemic in the Middle Ages.
For Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi ... (Goodreads)
Green Mars
by Kim Stanley Robinson
Colonization of Mars, as humans seek to terraform and inhabit the red planet.
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)
Exhalation
by Ted Chiang
A collection of short stories exploring the nature of humanity, consciousness, and the universe through science fiction and fantasy.
In these nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories, Ted Chiang tackles some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine. In "The Merchant and the ... (Goodreads)
Royal Assassin
by Robin Hobb
A journey of self-discovery and growth, as a young man discovers his hidden powers and learns to use them.
Fitz has survived his first hazardous mission as king’s assassin, but is left little more than a cripple. Battered and bitter, he vows to abandon his oath to King Shrewd, remaining in the distant ... (Goodreads)
The Wise Man's Fear
by Patrick Rothfuss
Epic fantasy adventure of a young man's quest for knowledge, power and love.
On the second day of his recounting the story of his life to Chronicler at the Waystone Inn, Kvothe continues the narrative commenced in, The Name of the Wind, , wherein a younger Kvothe pursues his ... (Wikipedia)
The Year of the Flood
by Margaret Atwood
A dystopian tale of survival as humanity faces a new plague, and two women fight against a powerful corporation.
The Year of the Flood details the events of, Oryx and Crake, from the perspective of the lower classes in the pleeblands , specifically the God's Gardeners. God's Gardeners are a religious sect that ... (Wikipedia)
The Amber Spyglass
by Philip Pullman
A powerful journey through multiple realms of existence to save the world from destruction.
Having learned of the prophecy regarding Lyra, the Magisterium decides she must be killed to prevent a new fall. Lyra's mother, Mrs Coulter , hides her in a remote cave. In her drugged sleep, Lyra ... (Wikipedia)
The Outlaws of Sherwood
by Robin McKinley
A retelling of the classic tale of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men, fighting against injustice and tyranny in medieval England.
New York Times bestselling author Robin McKinley's vivid retelling of the classic story of Robin Hood breathes contemporary life into these beloved adventures-with Marian taking a pivotal role as one ... (Barnes & Noble)
Alas, Babylon
by Pat Frank
A small town struggles to survive the aftermath of a nuclear war.
The story is set in a fictional 1959, following two years of escalating tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union for dominance in the Middle East and in the Mediterranean Sea . The ... (Wikipedia)
The Merciless
by Danielle Vega
A group of teenage girls perform an exorcism on a fellow student, but things quickly spiral out of control.
Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned Brooklyn Stevens sits in a pool of her own blood, tied up and gagged. No one outside of these dank basement walls knows she’s here. No one can hear her scream. ... (Goodreads)
The Arrival
by Shaun Tan
A thought-provoking story of a man's journey to an unknown land in search of a new home.
In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship to cross the ocean. He's embarking on the most painful yet important journey of his life—he's leaving ... (Goodreads)
The Lost Years
by T.A. Barron
Merlin embarks on a journey to discover his true identity and purpose, facing challenges and making allies along the way.
THE SAGA BEGINS... A raging sea tosses a boy upon the shores of ancient Wales. Left for dead, he has no memory, no name, and no home. But it is his determination to find out who he is - to learn the ... (Goodreads)
Love Is a Many Trousered Thing
by Louise Rennison
Georgia Nicolson navigates the ups and downs of teenage love while dealing with family drama and embarrassing mishaps.
Woe is Georgia! Georgia Nicolson thought life was hard when her only worry was whether Masimo would choose her over Wet Lindsay. But then Dave the Laugh started acting strange –and everything was ... (Goodreads)
Middlemarch
by George Eliot
A grand narrative of life in a small English town, exploring the lives of its inhabitants.
Middlemarch centres on the lives of residents of Middlemarch, a fictitious Midlands town, from 1829 onwards – the years up to the 1832 Reform Act . The narrative is variably considered to consist of ... (Wikipedia)
And the Mountains Echoed
by Khaled Hosseini
Interconnected stories of family and love, tracing the consequences of decisions made throughout life.
The novel opens in the year 1952. Saboor, an impoverished farmer from the fictional village of Shadbagh, decides to sell his three-year-old daughter Pari to a wealthy, childless couple in Kabul. ... (Wikipedia)
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)
Stranger in a Strange Land
by Robert A. Heinlein
A human raised by Martians must find his place in a hostile Earth society.
The story focuses on a human raised on Mars and his adaptation to and understanding of humans and their culture. It is set in a post- Third World War United States, where organized religions are ... (Wikipedia)
These Happy Golden Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
A young girl's journey of self-discovery as she moves through adulthood.
As the novel begins, Pa is taking Laura 12 miles from home in the dead of winter to her first teaching assignment at Brewster settlement. Laura being only 15 and a schoolgirl herself, is apprehensive ... (Wikipedia)
Mister Monday
by Garth Nix
A boy named Arthur must retrieve a powerful key from the sinister Mister Monday to save the world.
On Earth, a boy named Arthur Penhaligon (the main character) is at a new school. He collapses during an outdoor cross country run during gym because of his severe asthma . Two of his schoolmates, Ed ... (Wikipedia)
