The Left Hand Of Darkness (1970)
Books like The Left Hand Of Darkness (1970)
30 science fiction books to read after The Left Hand Of Darkness (1970), by Guin, Ursula K. Le, the closest match first.
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1. The Lathe Of Heaven
by Guin, Ursula K. Le
- Same series
- Same author
Le Guin's novel is thought-provoking and explores culture, gender, and psychology on an alien world where gender is a choice.
For new wave writers the world is never a fixed, absolute, unchangeing place, but is, rather, ever changing and ever changeable depending upon how it is perceived, and those perceptions...
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2. Rocannon's World
by Guin, Ursula K. Le
- Same series
- Same author
Earth-scientist Rocannon has been leading an ethnological survey on a remote world populated by three native races: the cavern-dwelling Gdemiar, the elvish Fiia, and the warrior clan, Liuar. But when...
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3. City Of Illusions
by Guin, Ursula K. Le
- Same series
- Same author
He was a fully grown man, alone in dense forest, with no trail to show where he had come from and no memory to tell who — or what —...
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4. The Word For World Is Forest
by Guin, Ursula K. Le
- Same series
- Same author
The Terrans come to the forest planet Athshe to colonize, but they destroy its ecosystem.
Centuries in the future, Terrans have established a logging colony & military base named “New Tahiti” on a tree-covered planet whose small, green-furred, big-eyed inhabitants have a culture centered on...
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5. Four Ways To Forgiveness
by Guin, Ursula K. Le
- Same series
- Same author
At the far end of our universe, on the twin planets of Werel and Yeowe, all humankind is divided into "assets" and "owners," tradition and liberation are at war, and...
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6. The Telling
by Guin, Ursula K. Le
- Same series
- Same author
Once a culturally rich world, the planet Aka has been utterly transformed by technology. Records of the past have been destroyed, and citizens are strictly monitored. But an official observer...
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7. The Language Of The Night: Essays On Fantasy And Science Fiction
by Guin, Ursula K. Le
- Same author
As a critic of science fiction and fantasy, Ursula Le Guin is neither as prolific nor as academically inclined as Samuel R. Delany, but she is always readable and insightful....
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The Book Of The New Sun book 1 Start here
8. 1981: The Shadow Of The Torturer
by Wolfe, Gene
- On the same lists
The sun has dimmed, the Earth is cooler and has been transformed in wondrous ways.
'The Shadow of the Torturer' is the first book in Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun tetralogy. Narrated by Severian, a member of the Guild of Torturers, the...
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Mars Trilogy book 1 Start here
9. Red Mars (1994)
by Robinson, Kim Stanley
- On the same lists
A mission is launched to terraform Mars in this scientific epic.
In 2026, a hundred colonists set off on the first long voyage to Mars. Among them are John Boone, the first man to walk on the planet, and his rival...
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Space Odyssey book 1 Start here
10. 2001 A Space Odyssey
by Clarke, Arthur C.
- On the same lists
This novel is an epic story, a story in which two astronauts must fight for their lives, against an extraordinary computer named HAL.
The classic science fiction novel that captures and expands on the vision of Stanley Kubrick’s immortal film—and changed the way we look at the stars and ourselves. From the savannas...
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11. Mote Series
by Niven, Larry
- On the same lists
and Jerry Pournelle. A far future story of first contact after human societies already span hundreds of star systems. This story explores alien biology, society, art and impacts on humanity's economics, politics, and religions.
Starts with A Mote in God's Eye, the award winning first book in the series of 2 with the 3rd book written by one of the authors. Nothing will prepare...
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12. The Time Machine
by Wells, H. G.
- On the same lists
Follow a time traveller into an alien-like future Earth to witness the consequences of humanity's social and biological choices and evolution.
A mechanical contraption that lets you travel back in time. Classic steampunk from a classic author.
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13. The Female Man
by Joanna Russ
- On the same lists
The book intertwines the lives of four women who live in parallel worlds—when they meet it is their views on gender roles that startle one another.
It is the 1970s. Joanna lives in a world much like our own, where the feminist movement is just beginning. In Jeannine's world, however, there was no Second World War...
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14. Dune Chronicles
by Herbert, Frank
- On the same lists
What a crazy ass ride this series is. Still wildly popular and selling off the shelves after nearly 50 years, the Dune series has spawned a movie, computer games, board...
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15. Foundation
by Asimov, Isaac
- On the same lists
Some softer elements, like FTL and antigrav cars, but otherwise a rational series.
Book Flap Description One of the great masterworks of science fiction, the Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are unsurpassed for their unique blend of nonstop action, daring ideas, and extensive...
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The Sprawl book 1 Start here
16. Neuromancer (1985)
by Gibson, William
- On the same lists
Gibson is the father of Cyberpunk and this novel in particular is significant. In this novel the term cyberspace is coined.
Case was the best hacker in the Sprawl until his employers damaged his nervous system, and now he can no longer reach cyberspace. He drifts through the criminal underworld of...
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17. The Martian Chronicles
by Bradbury, Ray
- On the same lists
A chronology of the human colonization of Mars, after fleeing an atomically devastated Earth, including the conflicts between humans and the native Martians.
Ray Bradbury's science fiction is unlike anything else being written at the time, and that is particularly true of The Martian Chronicles. A collection of linked stories that tell of...
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Hyperion Cantos book 2
18. The Fall Of Hyperion
by Simmons, Dan
- On the same lists
A more recent example of a winning space opera series is the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. The series contains four novels and several short stories, and they've been wildly successful with fans and critics alike. In 1990 the first novel in the series, Hyperion, won both the Hugo and Locus Awards.
This work is the only comprehensive guide to sequels in English, with over 84,000 works by 12,500 authors in 17,000 sequences.
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Takeshi Kovacs book 3
19. Woken Furies
by Morgan, Richard K.
- On the same lists
Mixing classic noir sensibilities with a searing futuristic vision of an age when death is nearly meaningless, Richard K. Morgan returns to his saga of betrayal, mystery, and revenge, as...
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Gap book 1 Start here
20. The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story
by Donaldson, Stephen R.
- On the same lists
Angus Thermopyle is a vicious but unsuccessful pirate who walks in with a beautiful woman on his arm. She is Morn Hyland, a police officer until she met him. His...
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21. Old Man’s War Series
by John Scalzi
- On the same lists
Got popularity? I don't know if you can find a more popular science fiction writer right now. He's socially astute, spot on with his commentary and is nearly too cool...
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Culture book 1 Start here
22. Consider Phlebas
by Iain M. Banks
- On the same lists
A sprawling series with a well developed society complete with social norms, language, biology, artificial intelligences, and the list goes on.
Banks himself once described the plot of Consider Phlebas as: "a shipwrecked sailor falls in with a gang of pirates and goes in search of buried treasure." And that's precisely...
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23. Zone Of Thought
by Vernor Vinge
- On the same lists
Ever bought some electronic thing and two days later discovered it was already obsolete? Sucks. This whole idea about broken things is defined by the concept of The Singularity --...
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24. Ender Series
by Card, Orson Scott
- On the same lists
Ever read a book that is good in spite of its author's controversial reputation? Card has landed himself in a lot of hot water for his political commentary, primarily driven...
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25. The Uplift Saga
by Brin, David
- On the same lists
A series with a complex universe where politics can decide the fate of an entire race. Feudalism, bureaucracy, indentureship, international relations, ecology, there is a lot happening in this universe.
No science fiction list would be complete without the inclusion of a science fiction mystery that morphs into an action adventure. Published in 1987 Startide Rising won the Hugo, Nebula...
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Chanur book 1 Start here
26. The Pride Of Chanur
by Cherryh, C. J.
- On the same lists
Starts with Downbelow Station. The aliens are coming. The aliens are coming! Until you read Cherryh you haven't really read good aliens. She's got this peculiar gift for summoning aliens...
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27. Majipoor Series
by Silverberg, Robert
- On the same lists
At the core of all the best science fiction series is good story telling in one form or the other. I mean, who wants to read only about novel ideas...
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28. Bring The Jubilee
by Ward Moore
- On the same lists
Science fiction likes to play with history. Look how fragile our world is, just one small change there, or there, or there, and things would be ever so much worse....
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29. Lilith's Brood
by Butler, Octavia E.
- On the same lists
Science fiction isnât always meant to be comfortable or easy reading. Quite the opposite, any literature so based on ideas must challenge the reader, make them think differently (if only...
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Night's Dawn book 1 Start here
30. The Reality Dysfunction
by Iii, David R. George
- On the same lists
Space is not the only void... In AD 2600 the human race is finally beginning to realize its full potential. Hundreds of colonized planets scattered across the galaxy host a...
Matches come from series and authors, from the lists the books share, and from the books readers open together. They are rebuilt every night. Back to The Left Hand Of Darkness (1970).
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