Books like The Hercules Text
30 science fiction books to read after The Hercules Text, by Mcdevitt, Jack, the closest match first.
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1. Transit
by Edmund Cooper
- On the same lists
First published published in 1964, this novel it hasn't lost anything of its appeal 40+ years later, mainly because its themes are timeless. Two men and two women are abducted...
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The Magicians book 1 Start here
2. The Magicians
by Grossman, Lev
- On the same lists
A prequel novel about a high school senior who is admitted to a school for gifted children, for a magical education in upstate New York. A typical quest story that turns dark. Things are not black and white in this world and the characters are psychologically rich.
School fantasy is often aimed at children, and it's very successful at hitting that market. It's much harder to appeal exclusively to adults, and that's where The Magicians shines. Rather...
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3. The Men In The Jungle
by Norman Spinrad
- On the same lists
On the planet Sangre (Spanish for 'blood') there exists a divided society so brutal that it makes your average Earth-bound slavery society look like a humanitarian enterprise. The sub-class is...
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4. Anthem
by Ayn Rand
- On the same lists
When people hear 'Ayn Rand', they tend to think of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Anthem is a David to her other Goliaths. It may originally have been conceived as...
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5. Mission To Universe
by Gordon R. Dickson
- On the same lists
This is a classic 'first interstellar journey' story by the amazing Gordon Dickson. Impatient with the bureaucracy who is delaying the launch of the new-technology 'phase ship', (very cool technology!)...
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6. Rewind
by Terry England
- On the same lists
What would it be like if your mind, memories, feelings, identify suddenly ended up in the body of a prepubescent child (no sex change involved)? Well, for 17 people that's...
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A Requiem For Homo Sapiens book 1 Start here
7. Neverness
by David Zindell
- On the same lists
Usually when you think of the 80s you think of bouffant hair, jeans tight enough to threaten a man-s ability to father, and high pitched singers wearing neon colors. Fortunately,...
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Francis Sandow book 1 Start here
8. Isle Of The Dead
by Zelazny, Roger
- On the same lists
The protagonist of this story studies to become a telepath and worldscaper--someone who can create and terraform worlds. In this novel, terraforming is an artform.
Zelazny wrote a few stories about immortals, and Francis Sandow is one of them. He was born in the 20th century and ended up in suspended animation on a spaceship....
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9. Immune Response
by Steve Perry
- On the same lists
Suppose someone financed a project to create a drug-and-virus cocktail that could make people essentially immortal. Pop a capsule of the mix and Bob's your uncle. No more illness, quick...
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10. The Blue World
by Vance, Jack
- On the same lists
A spaceship with a bunch of delinquents crashes on a water-covered planet. The survivors manage to adapt to the circumstances and rebuild a kind of civilization, living on the giant...
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Nifft The Lean book 1 Start here
11. Nifft The Lean
by Shea, Michael
- On the same lists
Nifft was a thief and a rogue. Nifft is dead. This is kind of an epitaph in four short tales. You decide whether you'd ever let Nifft get close to...
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12. Blind Waves
by Steven Gould
- On the same lists
Nifft was a thief and a rogue. Nifft is dead. This is kind of an epitaph in four short tales. You decide whether you'd ever let Nifft get close to...
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13. Neanderthal
by John Darnton
- On the same lists
Neanderthal is John Darnton's thriller in which a team of scientists searches for a surviving Neanderthal people in a hidden valley in Central Asia.
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15. Babel-17 (1967)
by Delany, Samuel R.
- On the same lists
The literary side of this Sci Fi book is high in its experimentation with language and its exploration of language's role in meaning, action, identity, politics, and culture.
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes won the 1967 Nebula Award for Best Novel along with Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany. This is the only time since the start of...
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16. Immortality Inc
by Robert Sheckley
- On the same lists
Many of those in the Transhumanist camp believe that sooner or later, in a twisted take on the 'reincarnation' mythos, we'll be able to effectively separate minds from bodies and...
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Quantrill book 1 Start here
17. Systemic Shock
by Dean Ing
- On the same lists
Ted Quantrill is a freak: he fastest gun in the West (and probably the world). After the total collapse of Russia, India and China band together (unlikely, I know, but...
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18. Seeker (2007)
by Mcdevitt, Jack
- Same author
Antiquities dealer Alex Benedict and his pilot Chase Kolpath come across a cup with ancient markings that appears to have come from the Seeker, a colony ship that left Earth...
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Alex Benedict book 1 Start here
19. A Talent For War
by Mcdevitt, Jack
- Same author
Jack McDevitt’s wonderful science fiction mystery rides the line that defines Military Science Fiction very tight. The story, about Alex Benedict’s search for the nature of his uncle’s secret, takes...
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Alex Benedict book 2
20. Polaris
by Mcdevitt, Jack
- Same author
Polaris is a Jack McDevitt novel about the antiques dealer Alex Benedict and his pilot Chase Kolpath, who investigate the disappearance of the crew of a ship sixty years earlier.
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Alex Benedict book 4
21. The Devil's Eye
by Mcdevitt, Jack
- Same author
Nebula Award winner Jack McDevitt is "the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke" (Stephen King).Interstellar antiquities dealer Alex Benedict receives a cryptic message asking for help from...
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Alex Benedict book 5
22. Echo
by Mcdevitt, Jack
- Same author
After 8000 years of star travel, humanity has found only one alien species. Alex Benedict may be on the path to finding another one, but an assassin has other ideas.
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Alex Benedict book 6
23. Firebird
by Mcdevitt, Jack
- Same author
Alex Benedict and Chase Kolpath discover that a missing renowned physicist had several interstellar yachts flown far outside the planetary system where they vanished. Following the physicist's trail into the...
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Alex Benedict book 7
24. Coming Home
by Mcdevitt, Jack
- Same author
An antiquities dealer travels to Earth to search for an artifact of the early space age and to search for an interstellar transport that vanished 11 years prior.
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25. Moonfall
by Mcdevitt, Jack
- Same author
One of the things we see time and again on this list is that the Moon is very often presented as a threat, whether it's the threat of invasion in...
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26. The Anubis Gates
by Powers, Tim
- On the same lists
An award winning novel that has time travel, historical figures, Egyptian mythology, and 19th century England.
In creating this world, Powers borrowed ideas from all over the place. Mythology, Ancient Egyptian theology, quantum theory, and classical literature“ they're all used in The Anubis Gates. It's a...
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27. Footprints Of Thunder
by James F. David
- On the same lists
This book was made into a movie, and a pretty good one at that, though by necessity not as complex and in-depth as the book. Crichton does have a habit...
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28. The Disappearance
by Philip Wylie
- On the same lists
The apocalypse here is kind of personal. The world's just fine to start with, but... From one moment to the next all the women disappear from the world of men—and...
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29. Tales Of The Dying Earth
by Vance, Jack
- On the same lists
A series, and the reason there is a Dying Earth sub-genre.
Tale of the Dying Earth truly stands as one of the greatest works ever penned. Everything that's good and bad about the human condition is eloquently expressed within this tale....
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30. The Diamond Age
by Stephenson, Neal
- On the same lists
A coming of age story for a young girl in a world where nanotech has become part of all aspects of life.
Unlike the typical steampunk,, Neal Stephenson’s masterpiece does not feature steam and clockwork technology, but futuristic nano-technology that’s pervaded society on every level. This novel is so much more than...
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 Hercules Text.
The shortlist
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