1981: The Shadow Of The Torturer
Books like 1981: The Shadow Of The Torturer
30 science fiction books to read after 1981: The Shadow Of The Torturer, by Wolfe, Gene, the closest match first.
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The Book Of The New Sun book 2
1. The Claw Of The Conciliator (1982)
by Wolfe, Gene
- Same series
- Same author
The Claw of the Concilliator by Gene Wolfe won the 1982 Nebula Award for Best Novel
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The Book Of The New Sun book 3
2. The Sword Of The Lictor
by Wolfe, Gene
- Same series
- Same author
When Severian, the Torturer, sets a woman free from prison, he is forced to flee and experiences many strange adventures in the distant future of Earth
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The Book Of The New Sun book 4
3. The Citadel Of The Autarch
by Wolfe, Gene
- Same series
- Same author
Severian the Torturer, possessor of the miracle-producing gem, the Claw of the Conciliator, experiences strange adventures as he journeys across the savage land of Urth
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The Book Of The New Sun book 5
4. The Urth Of The New Sun
by Wolfe, Gene
- Same series
- Same author
Severian, who became the Autarch of the Commonwealth at the end of The Book of the New Sun, is sent on a journey between the suns to be judged, in...
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5. The Book of the New Sun
by Wolfe, Gene
- Same series
- Same author
A award winning series of four novels that follows the journey of a torturer through a Dying Earth storyline. An interesting mix of sword and sorcery fantasy with ray-guns and aliens.
A award winning series of four novels that follows the journey of a torturer through a Dying Earth storyline. An interesting mix of sword and sorcery fantasy with ray-guns and...
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Mars Trilogy book 1 Start here
6. 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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Hainish Cycle book 4
7. The Left Hand Of Darkness (1970)
by Guin, Ursula K. Le
- On the same lists
Pacifism and a anarchy—both have merits.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin won the 1970 Nebula Award for Best Novel.One of the best examples of science fiction in the genre.
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Space Odyssey book 1 Start here
8. 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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The Sprawl book 1 Start here
9. 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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Zones Of Thought book 1 Start here
10. A Fire Upon The Deep
by Vernor Vinge
- On the same lists
The first book in the Zones of Thought series and tells the tale of a galactic war. In the story the mind's potential is determined by its location in space.
Set thousands of years into the future, the universe is inhabited by various races, including super-intelligent entities in the Transcend and the simple creatures and technology of the Unthinking Depths....
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Culture book 3
11. Use Of Weapons
by Iain M. Banks
- On the same lists
Features a Utopian society (culture) that's post scarcity, controlled by benevolent A. I.'s who act for the good of the society. When Culture encounters less enlightened societies, the fun begins.
Iain Banks burst onto the literary scene with his controversial first novel, The Wasp Factory, the violent story of a girl who had been brought up as an emasculated boy....
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12. 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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Night's Dawn book 1 Start here
13. 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...
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The Book Of The Long Sun book 1 Start here
14. Nightside The Long Sun (book Of The Long Sun 1)
by Wolfe, Gene
- Same author
In this series the Dyson sphere is used as the basis for the story.
Nightside the Long Sun is the first volume of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun, set inside a world-ship where a priest and his friends try to stop an...
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The Book Of The Long Sun book 3
15. Caldé Of The Long Sun (book Of The Long Sun 3)
by Wolfe, Gene
- Same author
Caldé of the Long Sun is the third volume of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun, in which the priest Silk becomes the ruler of his city.
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The Ender Quintet book 1 Start here
16. Ender's Game (1986)
by Card, Orson Scott
- On the same lists
The first in a famous series that seems to become more literary as its characters age. Follows a child prodigy and in the process makes the reader think about war, the means to war, and even loneliness.
Earth has survived two invasions by an insect-like alien race, and the International Fleet is training the most gifted children to lead the next defence. Six-year-old Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is...
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Heechee Saga book 1 Start here
17. Gateway (1978)
by Pohl, Frederik
- On the same lists
Robinette Broadhead is rich, and he has a lot to feel guilty about. In sessions with his robot psychiatrist, he talks about how he got there: he won a lottery...
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18. Miles Vorkosigan Saga
by Bujold, Lois Mcmaster
- On the same lists
There's a time for everything. There's a time to read heavy novels filled with grand ideas and space, the universe, and the destiny of mankind through Hard Science Fiction. There's...
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Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy book 1 Start here
19. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
- On the same lists
It began as a radio series on the BBC. It was quickly adapted for television (with many of the same cast), and much later there came a film version (though...
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Hyperion Cantos book 1 Start here
20. Hyperion
by Simmons, Dan
- On the same lists
So most of this series is in fact, not Dying Earth but it is a pinnacle of science fiction. The Poet's Tale: Hyperion Cantos in the first novel of Hyperion is a part of the Dying Earth sub-genre and it is the connection the readers have from Earth to the strange new universe of Hyperion.
A grand intelligent space opera tale that also tells a series of very personal tales. This juxtaposition between epic and the personal gives real life to the story. The whole...
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21. 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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Oxford Time Travel book 1 Start here
22. Doomsday Book (1993)
by Willis, Connie
- On the same lists
In 2054, Oxford historians send students back in time to study the past. Kivrin Engle, a young historian, is sent to the English countryside in 1320. But a technician falls...
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23. 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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Takeshi Kovacs book 1 Start here
24. Altered Carbon
by Morgan, Richard K.
- On the same lists
Humans can transfer their conciousness into new bodies. This sets up a detective style story about a murder.
After dying in a particularly gruesome death, ex UN-envoy Takeshi Kovacs wakes up to find himself "re-sleeved" into a fresh body with a job offer: find who killed Laurens Bancroft...
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Firefall book 1 Start here
25. Blindsight
by Peter Watts
- On the same lists
A group of freaks (who are also astronauts) are sent on a one way mission to investigate a mysterious object that appears at the edge of human space. Atmospheric and creepy.
This novel has been hailed as one of the best hard sf stories written this century. It's an awesome novel, packed with invention and new ideas and challenges to the...
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26. Snow Crash
by Stephenson, Neal
- On the same lists
Considered by some as a parody of Cyberpunk. This novel popularized and cemented its use of the term avatar to describe online virtual bodies
Meet Hiro Protagonist: hacker, samurai swinging swordsman and pizza delivery boy. When his best friend dies of a brain fry and his ex girlfriend asks for his help, Hiro switches...
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27. Timescape (1981)
by Benford, Gregory
- On the same lists
A novel about ecological issues and scientific experiments that address current events at the time of writing.
In 1998 an ecological catastrophe is poisoning the oceans and the atmosphere. A group of scientists in Cambridge try to send a message back in time using tachyons, particles that...
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28. 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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Revelation Space book 1 Start here
29. Revelation Space
by Alastair Reynolds
- On the same lists
A complex novel that postulates many different lifeforms who struggle against ancient, machine-like intelligences seeking to destroy all new organic life.
Throughout its history, one of the strongest and most interesting aspects of science fiction has been its use in satire. And this is just about the most stunning of contemporary...
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30. The Stars My Destination
by Alfred Bester
- On the same lists
A mechanic is the sole survivor on a ship that is just a wreck.
He was one hundred and seventy days dying and not yet dead. Gully Foyle is a shipwrecked sailor abandoned out in space, and when ships pass him by without stopping...
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 1981: The Shadow Of The Torturer.
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