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Recommendations based on Farnham's Freeholdby Robert A. Heinlein
* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans
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)
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)
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)
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)
Nemesis
by Isaac Asimov
A thrilling sci-fi adventure with a gripping mystery, set in a distant future.
The novel is set in an era in which interstellar travel is in the process of being discovered and perfected. In Chapter 2, the novel states that the year 2220 was 16 years ago. Accordingly, the bulk ... (Wikipedia)
Dragonsinger
by Anne McCaffrey
A young singer discovers her magical connection to dragons and embarks on a quest to save her people.
The novel follows Menolly , now apprenticed into the Harper Hall, a type of music conservatory for harpers ( minstrels /educators) and other music professionals, as she begins her musical training to ... (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)
Timescape
by Gregory Benford
Scientists send a message back in time to warn of ecological disaster, but the message may not be received in time to prevent it.
The story is written from two viewpoints, equidistant from the novel's publication in 1980. The first thread is set in a 1998 ravaged by ecological disasters such as algal blooms and diebacks on the ... (Wikipedia)
Dragonflight
by Anne McCaffrey
A young dragonrider embarks on a mission to save her kingdom from a mysterious threat.
Dragonflight is the story of Lessa , the sole survivor of the noble ruling family of Ruatha Hold on the northern continent of Pern. When the rest of her family is killed by a cruel usurper, Fax , she ... (Wikipedia)
White Gold Wielder
by Stephen R. Donaldson
Epic fantasy adventure as a young man discovers his magical powers, unlocking a grand destiny.
Leaving the sunken island of the One Tree, the Giant ship Starfare's Gem sets course to return to the Land. In a dangerous region of the ocean known as the Soulbiter, the ship is blown off course ... (Wikipedia)
Out of the Silent Planet
by C.S. Lewis
A man is kidnapped and taken to another planet, where he must fight for his freedom.
While on a walking tour, the philologist Elwin Ransom is drugged and taken on board a spacecraft bound for a planet called Malacandra. His abductors are Devine, a former college acquaintance, and the ... (Wikipedia)
The Ship Who Sang
by Anne McCaffrey
A young girl, born with severe physical disabilities, embarks on a journey to become a "brainship", a human-computer interface.
Helva had been born human, but only her brain had been saved—saved to be schooled, programmed, and implanted into the sleek titanium body of an intergalactic scout ship. But first she had to choose a ... (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)
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)
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)
The Warlord of Mars
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Epic adventure on a far-away planet, filled with danger and excitement.
After the battle at the end of the previous book, which ended with the destruction of the religion of Issus, John Carter's wife and two other women were locked in a slowly rotating prison attached to ... (Wikipedia)
The Difference Engine
by William Gibson
In an alternate Victorian era, Charles Babbage's difference engine has revolutionized technology and society. A thrilling tale of intrigue and adventure.
The action of the story follows Sybil Gerard, a political courtesan and daughter of an executed Luddite leader; Edward " Leviathan " Mallory, a paleontologist and explorer; and Laurence Oliphant , a ... (Wikipedia)
The Gods of Mars
by Edgar Rice Burroughs
An interplanetary odyssey of adventure and heroism on the red planet.
After the long exile on Earth, John Carter finally returned to his beloved Mars. But beautiful Dejah Thoris, the woman he loved, had vanished. Now he was trapped in the legendary Eden of Mars – an ... (Goodreads)
The Honor of the Queen
by David Weber
Honor Harrington, a captain in the Royal Manticoran Navy, is sent on a diplomatic mission to a planet with a dangerous secret.
Three years after the events in, On Basilisk Station, , Captain Honor Harrington returns to the Star Kingdom after a long anti-piracy campaign in the Silesian Confederacy. While her ship, the heavy ... (Wikipedia)
The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes
by Arthur Conan Doyle
A compilation of twelve short stories of the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes.
'When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' In this, the final collection of Sherlock Holmes adventures, the intrepid detective ... (Goodreads)
The Thief of Always
by Clive Barker
A young boy's fantastical journey through a mysterious house, learning life's secrets.
Harvey Swick is a 11-year-old boy bored with school, teachers, homework, and his day-to-day life. In response to Harvey's frustrated plea for change, a man named Rictus visits Harvey and tells him ... (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)
City
by Clifford D. Simak
An exploration of the future where technology, nature and the human species must co-exist.
As the tales unfold, they recount a world where humans, having developed superior transportation, have abandoned the cities and moved into the countryside. Hydroponic farming and decentralized power ... (Wikipedia)
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)
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)
Neuromancer
by William Gibson
A hacker's journey through a dystopian cyberpunk world, searching for a way to survive.
Henry Dorsett Case is a low-level hustler in the dystopian underworld of Chiba City , Japan. Once a talented computer hacker , Case was caught stealing from his employer. As punishment for his theft, ... (Wikipedia)
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)
War of Honor
by David Weber
Space opera featuring political intrigue, espionage, and interstellar war.
Five years have passed since a truce was reached between Manticore and Haven, but there is still no formal peace treaty. Even though neither side wishes to resume fighting, political circumstances in ... (Wikipedia)
To Your Scattered Bodies Go
by Philip José Farmer
A journey of exploration through a mysterious afterlife, revealing the secrets of life and death.
British adventurer Richard Francis Burton dies on Earth and is revived in mid-air in a vast dark room filled with human bodies, some only half-formed. There, he is confronted by men in a flying ... (Wikipedia)
Wild Seed
by Octavia E. Butler
A shape-shifting immortal and a mortal healer's lives intertwine over centuries, exploring power, oppression, and the human condition.
Wild Seed is the story of two immortal Africans named Doro and Anyanwu. Doro is a spirit who can take over other people's bodies, killing anyone and anything in his path, while Anyanwu is a woman ... (Wikipedia)
