A ReadOrbit guide

Demanding science fiction

Explore recommendation-ready books selected for readers interested in demanding.

Get a personal shortlist
Cover of Cloud Cuckoo Land

2021

Cloud Cuckoo Land

by Anthony Doerr

3.8

"From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of perhaps the most bestselling and beloved literary fiction of our time comes a triumph of imagination and compassion, a soaring novel about children on the cusp of adulthood in a broken world, who find resilience, hope, and story. The her…

Cover of Afterworld (Next Life, #1)

2021

Afterworld (Next Life, #1)

by James G. Robertson

Death comes, and misery follows. As a man in his early twenties, Leon never genuinely contemplated what would happen after his death. Like those before him, he never understood the truth of our universe. After his sudden demise, the terrorizing reality of a mysterious dystopian a…

Cover of J. G. Ballard (Modern Masters of Science Fiction)

2017

J. G. Ballard (Modern Masters of Science Fiction)

by D. Harlan Wilson

"Prophetic short stories and apocalyptic novels like The Crystal World made J.G. Ballard a foundational figure in the British New Wave. Rejecting the science fiction of rockets and aliens, he explored an inner space of humanity informed by psychiatry and biology and shaped by Sur…

Cover of At the table of wolves

2017

At the table of wolves

by Kay Kenyon

4.0

"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy meets X-Men in a classic British espionage story. A young woman must go undercover and use her superpowers to discover a secret Nazi plat and stop an invasion of England. In 1936, there are paranormal abilities that have slowly seeped into the world, br…

Cover of Strange music

2017

Strange music

by Alan Dean Foster

4.0

"Unlikely duo Pip and Flinx return to right another wrong in this all-new sci-fi adventure from one of the genre's living legends. Fans of fun, fast-paced, imaginative science fiction adventure, rejoice! #1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Dean Foster returns to his much-lo…

Cover of Three years with the rat

2017

Three years with the rat

by Jay Hosking

"Three Years with the Rat is a mind-warping thriller that will make you question reality as you conceive of it. One of the most assured and haunting debuts I've read in recent memory." --Blake Crouch, author of Dark Matter After several years of drifting between school and go-now…

Cover of Dark Victory

2016

Dark Victory

by Brendan DuBois

*A decade ago, the alien Creepers came to Earth, dropping asteroids to drown our coastal cities, detonating nuclear weapons overhead to destroy our communications, power and computer systems, and to set up their network of killer stealth satellites to kill anything on our planet…

Cover of Fallout: The Hot War

2016

Fallout: The Hot War

by Harry Turtledove

3.0

"The novels of Harry Turtledove show history balancing on single moments: One act of folly. One poor decision. One moment of rage. In his astounding new series, the unthinkable has come to pass. The Cold War turns hot--and the United States and the Soviet Union unleash their nucl…

Cover of The Edge of Worlds: Volume Four of the Books of the Raksura

2016

The Edge of Worlds: Volume Four of the Books of the Raksura

by Martha Wells

3.5

"An expedition of groundlings from the Empire of Kish have traveled through the Three Worlds to the Indigo Cloud court of the Raksura, shape-shifting creatures of flight that live in large family groups. The groundlings have found a sealed ancient city at the edge of the shallow…

Cover of Fight Club 2

2016

Fight Club 2

by Chuck Palahniuk, Cameron Stewart, David W. Mack

2.8

"Fight Club 2 is available exclusively as a Graphic Novel! Some imaginary friends never go away. Ten years after starting Project Mayhem, he lives a mundane life. A kid, a wife. Pills to keep his destiny at bay. But it won't last long, the wife has seen to that. He's back where h…

Cover of The Mexican flyboy

2016

The Mexican flyboy

by Alfredo Véa

"What if we could travel back in time to save our heroes from painful deaths? What if we could rewrite history to protect and reward the innocent victims of injustice? In Alfredo Vea's daring new novel, one man does just that, taking readers on a series of remarkable journeys. Ab…

Cover of League of dragons

2016

League of dragons

by Naomi Novik

5.0

"With the acclaimed Temeraire novels, New York Times bestselling author Naomi Novik has created a fantasy series like no other, combining the high-flying appeal of Anne McCaffrey's Pern saga and the swashbuckling derring-do of Patrick O'Brian's historical seafaring adventures. No…

Cover of The span of empire

2016

The span of empire

by Eric Flint

"A new novel in New York Times best seller Eric Flint's science fiction Jao Empire series. It has become clear to both the Jao and their human and Lleix partners that if they are going to defeat the Ekhat who have been terrorizing the galaxy for eons, they need more allies. To th…

Cover of Space Raptor Butt Trilogy

2016

Space Raptor Butt Trilogy

by Chuck Tingle

With his genre-defining work, Space Raptor Butt Invasion, Chuck Tingle proved that even gay dinosaur erotica could be nominated for a Hugo Award, the most prestigious honor in science fiction. Nobody could have expected what would happen when the story continued. Collected here i…

Cover of Understanding William Gibson

2016

Understanding William Gibson

by Gerald Alva Miller

"Gerald Alva Miller Jr.'s Understanding William Gibson is a thoughtful examination of the life and work of William Gibson, author of eleven novels and twenty short stories. Gibson is the recipient of many notable awards for science fiction writing including the Nebula, Hugo, and…

Cover of The Next Step

2014

The Next Step

by Toby Whaymand

Susan Atkins, Captain of Starship NOVA, is on a special mission to transport prisoner CX589 to the planet Troidon. It is Earth Year 2288, and she and her crew must ride a wormhole in order to propel themselves into the future to reach Troidon. While time travel is impossible, The…

Cover of The forever engine

2014

The forever engine

by Frank Chadwick

"Original Trade Paperback. The exciting debut of a steampunk masterpiece from legendary game author and creator of the staple steampunk role playing game, Space: 1889. The stunning unveiling of a perfectly formed steampunk past, from an author who helped define the genre. London…

Cover of Crown of renewal

2014

Crown of renewal

by Elizabeth Moon

"Acclaimed author Elizabeth Moon spins gripping, richly imagined epic fantasy novels that have earned comparisons to the work of such authors as Robin Hobb and Lois McMaster Bujold. In this volume, Moon's brilliant masterwork reaches its triumphant conclusion. The mysterious reap…

Cover of Ghosts of time

2014

Ghosts of time

by Steve White

4.0

"Book #4 of the Jason Thanou Time Travel series. Jason and his team travel to the latter days of the American Civil War to combat a transhumanist threat. Sequel to Pirates of the Timestream. Special operations officer Jason Thanou of the Temporal Regulatory Authority must once ag…

Cover of 1636

2014

1636

by Eric Flint

"New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling alternate history series. Book #14 in the Ring of Fire series created by Eric Flint. Eddie Cantrell, now married to the king of Denmark's daughter, is sent by Admiral Simpson to the Caribbean to secure access to the most valuab…

Cover of 1636

2014

1636

by Iver P. Cooper

"A new addition to the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. After carving a place for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, citizens of the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia, the up-timers and their allies take on continental America and the Japan! A…

Cover of Greg Egan

2014

Greg Egan

by Karen Burnham

"Greg Egan (1961- ) publishes works that challenge readers with rigorous, deeply-informed scientific speculation. He unapologetically delves into mathematics, physics, and other disciplines in his prose, putting him in the vanguard of the hard science fiction renaissance of the 1…

Cover of 1636

2014

1636

by Eric Flint, Walter H. Hunt

4.0

"Book #18 in the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series, and the team behind national bestseller 1635: The Kremlin Games. After carving a free state for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, citizens of the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia contend with…