Recommendations based on When Gravity Failsby George Alec Effinger

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

  1. 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)

  2. Woken Furies

    by Richard K. Morgan
    A cyborg warrior's mission to bring justice to a chaotic world.

    Takeshi Kovacs finds himself in a new "sleeve," or human body, back on his home planet of Harlan's World. He is on the run after making numerous attacks against the Knights of the New Revelation, an ... (Wikipedia)

  3. Altered Carbon

    by Richard K. Morgan
    A futuristic sci-fi noir set in a world where death is no longer permanent.

    On the colony planet of Harlan’s World, Takeshi Kovacs and his partner Sarah Sachilowski, former Envoys who had returned to a life of crime, are killed by a U.N. colonial commando unit. Kovacs is ... (Wikipedia)

  4. 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)

  5. Snow Crash

    by Neal Stephenson
    A hacker's quest in a futuristic America dealing with a mysterious computer virus.

    Hiro Protagonist is a hacker and pizza delivery driver for the Mafia. He meets Y.T. (short for Yours Truly), a young skateboard Kourier ( courier ) who refers to herself in the third person , during ... (Wikipedia)

  6. 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)

  7. 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)

  8. 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)

  9. Broken Angels

    by Richard K. Morgan
    A futuristic sci-fi story of a mercenary's mission to uncover a military conspiracy.

    Approximately 30 years after, Altered Carbon, , Takeshi Kovacs is now serving in Carrera's Wedge, a mercenary organization that joins a war on a distant planet, Sanction IV, fighting against an ... (Wikipedia)

  10. Perdido Street Station

    by China Miéville
    A thrilling adventure through a captivating and unique city, filled with danger and magic.

    Isaac Dan der Grimnebulin is a scientist living in the city of New Crobuzon. He is approached by Yagharek, a member of a birdlike species known as garuda , who has had his wings removed as a ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Mona Lisa Overdrive

    by William Gibson
    A thrilling adventure through a cyberpunk dystopia, unraveling a mysterious conspiracy.

    Taking place eight years after the events of, Count Zero, and fifteen years after, Neuromancer, , the story is formed from several interconnecting plot threads, and also features characters from ... (Wikipedia)

  12. At the Mountains of Madness and Other Tales of Terror

    by H.P. Lovecraft
    Collection of horror stories about the unknown and unknowable, exploring the deepest fears of mankind.

    Few writers can evoke such nightmarish visions as H. P. Lovecraft—and few of his stories are as chilling as these canonical tales of terror. ,“H. P. Lovecraft has yet to be surpassed as the twentieth ... (Barnes & Noble)

  13. Blue Remembered Earth

    by Alastair Reynolds
    In a future where humanity has colonized the solar system, a family embarks on a quest to uncover a long-lost secret.

    Blue Remembered Earth takes place in the 2160s, at a time when humanity has repaired Earth's climate and extensively colonised the inner Solar System . An omnipresent surveillance system (known as ... (Wikipedia)

  14. 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)

  15. 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)

  16. Fallen Dragon

    by Peter F. Hamilton
    A group of mercenaries travel to a distant planet to steal dragon eggs for a corporation, but things go awry.

    Deploying invulnerable twenty-fifth-century soldiers called Skins, Zantiu-Braun's corporate starships loot entire planets. But as the Skins invade bucolic Thallspring, Z-B's strategy is about to go ... (Goodreads)

  17. The City & the City

    by China Miéville
    Two cities that exist in the same space, but with different laws, cultures and regulations.

    When a murdered woman is found in the city of Beszel, somewhere at the edge of Europe, it looks to be a routine case for Inspector Tyador Borlú of the Extreme Crime Squad. But as he investigates, the ... (Goodreads)

  18. A Wild Sheep Chase

    by Haruki Murakami
    A surreal journey of self-discovery through fantasy, reality, and the unknown.

    This quasi-detective tale follows an unnamed, chain-smoking narrator and his adventures in Tokyo and Hokkaido in 1978. The story begins when the recently divorced protagonist, an advertisement ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Anathem

    by Neal Stephenson
    A philosophical novel set in a monastic society, exploring the limits of knowledge.

    Anathem is set on the fictional planet of Arbre. Thousands of years before the events in the novel, the planet's intellectuals entered concents ( monastic communities) to protect their activities ... (Wikipedia)

  20. 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)

  21. A Deepness in the Sky

    by Vernor Vinge
    A futuristic story of two civilizations clashing on a distant planet.

    The Qeng Ho arrive at the OnOff star shortly before the Emergent fleet, a few years before the sun turns on, at which point the Spider civilization will "wake up" and continue its climb into a ... (Wikipedia)

  22. Feed

    by Mira Grant
    A future world where information is controlled by corporations, and a group of journalists fight to uncover the truth.

    Feed is set several decades after the zombie apocalypse , referred to as the Rising. Two man-made viruses (a cure for cancer and a cure for the common cold) combined to form Kellis-Amberlee, a virus ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Surface Detail

    by Iain M. Banks
    A sci-fi space opera exploring the consequences of virtual immortality.

    It begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters. It begins with a murder. It will not end until the Culture has gone to war with death itself. Lededje Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, ... (Goodreads)

  24. The Illuminatus! Trilogy

    by Robert Shea
    An epic adventure spanning multiple continents, uncovering a mysterious worldwide conspiracy.

    It was a deadly mistake. Joseph Malik, editor of a radical magazine, had snooped into rumors about an ancient secret society that was still alive and kicking. Now his offices have been bombed, he's ... (Goodreads)

  25. Stories of Your Life and Others

    by Ted Chiang
    A collection of short stories exploring themes of science, technology, and humanity.

    Ted Chiang's first published story, ",Tower of Babylon," won the Nebula Award in 1990. Subsequent stories have won the Asimov's SF Magazine reader poll, a second Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon ... (Goodreads)

  26. The Atrocity Archives

    by Charles Stross
    Bob Howard, a computer programmer, becomes a secret agent fighting supernatural threats to the UK. A blend of sci-fi, horror, and spy thriller.

    NEVER VOLUNTEER FOR ACTIVE DUTY ...Bob Howard is a low-level techie working for a super-secret government agency. While his colleagues are out saving the world, Bob's under a desk restoring lost ... (Goodreads)

  27. Count Zero

    by William Gibson
    A thrilling journey of a hacker between two worlds, as he unravels a conspiracy of corporate espionage.

    As with later Gibson works, there are multiple story-line threads which eventually intertwine: Thread One : In the southwestern US, Turner, a corporate mercenary soldier , has been hired by former ... (Wikipedia)

  28. Gardens of the Moon

    by Steven Erikson
    A complex and epic fantasy novel set in a world of magic, gods, and political intrigue. The Malazan Empire is in turmoil, and various factions are vying for power.

    The novel opens in the 96th year of the Malazan Empire, during the final year of the rule of Emperor Kellanved. Ganoes Paran, age 12, witnesses the sacking of the Mouse Quarter of Malaz City. Paran ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Childhood's End

    by Arthur C. Clarke
    Human race is transformed by an alien presence, leading to the dawn of a new age.

    The novel is divided into three parts, following a third-person omniscient narrative with no main character. , In some editions, the short first chapter is a separate prologue rather than the ... (Wikipedia)

  30. The Elephant Vanishes

    by Haruki Murakami
    Collection of short stories depicting the surreal and mysterious aspects of life.

    Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780679750536 With the same deadpan mania and genius for dislocation that he brought to his internationally acclaimed novels A Wild Sheep Chase and Hard-Boiled ... (Goodreads)