Skip to content

The Magicians

Books like The Magicians

22 science fiction books to read after The Magicians, by Grossman, Lev, the closest match first.

  1. Transit

    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...

  2. The Men In The Jungle

    2. 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...

  3. Anthem

    3. 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...

  4. Mission To Universe

    4. 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!)...

  5. Rewind

    5. 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...

  6. Neverness

    A Requiem For Homo Sapiens book 1 Start here

    6. 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,...

  7. Isle Of The Dead

    Francis Sandow book 1 Start here

    7. 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....

  8. The Hercules Text

    8. The Hercules Text

    by Mcdevitt, Jack

    • On the same lists

    The Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has been underway for over five decades now. (For real, that is!) Somewhere out there, we thinkhope? fear?there may be life forms, alien but...

  9. Immune Response

    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...

  10. The Blue World (cover not available)

    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...

  11. Nifft The Lean

    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...

  12. Blind Waves

    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...

  13. Neanderthal

    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.

  14. The Warlock In Spite Of Himself
  15. Babel-17 (1967)

    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...

  16. Immortality Inc

    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...

  17. Systemic Shock

    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...

  18. The Anubis Gates

    18. 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...

  19. Footprints Of Thunder

    19. 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...

  20. The Disappearance

    20. 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...

  21. Tales Of The Dying Earth

    21. 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....

  22. The Diamond Age

    22. The Diamond Age

    by Stephenson, Neal

    • On the same lists
    Hugo winner 1996

    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 Magicians.

The shortlist

Liked The Magicians? New releases and the lists readers are opening most, by email.