Recommendations based on The Dark Designby Philip José Farmer

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

  1. 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)

  2. Ringworld

    by Larry Niven
    A sci-fi adventure to an artificial ring-shaped world, full of unexpected challenges.

    On planet Earth in 2850 AD , Louis Gridley Wu is celebrating his 200th birthday. Despite his age, Louis is in perfect physical condition due to the longevity drug boosterspice . He meets Nessus , a ... (Wikipedia)

  3. 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)

  4. The Demolished Man

    by Alfred Bester
    In a world where telepathy is the norm, a wealthy businessman plans a murder, but a telepathic detective is on his trail.

    Ben Reich is the paranoid, impetuous owner of Monarch Utilities & Resources, a commercial cartel that the Reich family has possessed for generations. Monarch Utilities & Resources is in danger of ... (Wikipedia)

  5. 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)

  6. Farnham's Freehold

    by Robert A. Heinlein
    A nuclear war sends a family to a future where they are enslaved by black people. They must fight for their survival and freedom.

    Hugh Farnham, a white middle-aged man, holds a bridge club party for his alcoholic wife Grace, law-graduate son Duke, college-student daughter Karen, and Karen's friend Barbara. During the bridge ... (Wikipedia)

  7. 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)

  8. 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)

  9. 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)

  10. The Stars My Destination

    by Alfred Bester
    A man's quest for revenge in an intergalactic society, using teleportation and telepathy.

    At the time when the book is set, "jaunting"—personal teleportation—has so upset the social and economic balance that the Inner Planets are at war with the Outer Satellites. Gully Foyle of the ... (Wikipedia)

  11. 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)

  12. Seventh Son

    by Orson Scott Card
    In a world where seventh sons possess special powers, a young boy must navigate a dangerous journey to become a powerful wizard.

    Alvin's family is migrating west. When they try to cross the Hatrack River, an unknown force known as the Unmaker tries to stop the as-yet-unborn Alvin from being born - since Alvin would be the ... (Wikipedia)

  13. The Claw of the Conciliator

    by Gene Wolfe
    A journey of discovery through the magical and mysterious world of a post-apocalyptic future.

    The book continues shortly after the previous installment left off, skipping Severian's journey from the gate of Nessus to the nearby town of Saltus. Having been separated from the rest of the group ... (Wikipedia)

  14. The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror

    by Christopher Moore
    A bizarre Christmas tale of an angel's misadventure to save a small town.

    An angel named Raziel (previously in Moore's novel, Lamb, ) is sent to Earth to grant the wish of a child; he decides to help a boy who had witnessed the death of a man dressed as Santa Claus . ... (Wikipedia)

  15. The Great Train Robbery

    by Michael Crichton
    An ingenious heist of a London-bound train, with the criminals on a thrilling race against time.

    In 1854, Edward Pierce, a charismatic and affluent "cracksman" or master thief, makes plans to steal a shipment of gold worth more than twelve thousand pounds being transported monthly from London to ... (Wikipedia)

  16. 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)

  17. The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales

    by Edgar Allan Poe
    Gothic horror stories exploring the dark side of the human psyche.

    The eerie tales of Edgar Allan Poe, from the 1830s and 40s, remain among the most brilliant and influential works in American literature. Some of the celebrated tales contained in this unique volume ... (Goodreads)

  18. 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)

  19. 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)

  20. 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)

  21. Hunters of Dune

    by Brian Herbert
    Epic sci-fi adventure of a group of heroes on a quest to save the remnants of humanity.

    For three years, the no-ship, Ithaca, has been in an alternate universe, hiding from the "great enemy". It carries the clones, or gholas , of Duncan Idaho , famous military commander Miles Teg , the ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Pit and the Pendulum - an Edgar Allan Poe Short Story

    by Edgar Allan Poe
    A man is sentenced to death by a cruel Spanish Inquisition, and struggles against insurmountable odds to survive.

    The unnamed narrator is brought to trial before sinister judges of the Spanish Inquisition . Poe provides no explanation of why he is there or of the charges on which he is being tried. Before him ... (Wikipedia)

  23. 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)

  24. A Princess of Mars

    by Edgar Rice Burroughs
    An Earthman is transported to Mars, where he must fight to survive in an alien world.

    John Carter , a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War , goes prospecting in Arizona immediately after the war's end. Having struck a rich vein of gold, he runs afoul of the Apaches . While ... (Wikipedia)

  25. The Gospel According to Jesus Christ

    by José Saramago
    A retelling of the life of Jesus Christ, delving into his motivations and emotions.

    This is a skeptic' s journey into the meaning of God and of human existence. At once an ironic rendering of the life of Christ and a beautiful novel, Saramago' s tale has sparked intense discussion ... (Goodreads)

  26. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

    by Mark Twain
    A modern man is transported back in time to the court of King Arthur, where he uses his knowledge to attempt to change the course of history.

    The novel is a comedy set in 6th-century England and its medieval culture through Hank Morgan's view; he is a 19th-century resident of Hartford, Connecticut , who, after a blow to the head, awakens ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Kushiel's Dart

    by Jacqueline Carey
    A story of political intrigue, adventure, and forbidden love, set in a world of gods and mortals.

    The book follows Phèdre nó Delaunay's life from birth. She's born with a mote in her eye, which makes her appear inappropriate for service as a religious courtesan, but it is revealed that this is ... (Wikipedia)

  28. 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)

  29. 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)

  30. The Case of Charles Dexter Ward

    by H.P. Lovecraft
    A young man becomes obsessed with his ancestor's dark practices, leading to a descent into madness and the summoning of otherworldly beings.

    Charles Dexter Ward is a young man from a prominent Rhode Island family who has disappeared from a mental asylum. He had been incarcerated during a prolonged period of insanity, during which he ... (Wikipedia)