The best books written by science fiction masters

Why am I passionate about this?

As an engineer and a science teacher I am passionate about science and science fiction stories. I also enjoy adventures. Together these lifelong passions led me to write my first science fiction novel. I have years of technological and educational training. My first job was with IBM where I worked in the Quality Control and Engineering departments. Throughout my life, I’ve been an avid sportsman and have trained in powerlifting and a variety of martial arts. When I’m not writing or conjuring science fiction novels, I enjoy teaching my grandchildren how to drive my tractor while working the fields around my home in the Hudson Valley.


I wrote...

Beneath the Dragon's Triangle

By Tony Dellamarco,

Book cover of Beneath the Dragon's Triangle

What is my book about?

The reputation of the Dragon’s Triangle for unexplained events is just beginning a new chapter. An obvious neophyte in this deadly game where people are starting to disappear, Andrea has nowhere to turn. Sean is a retired Navy SEAL officer who teams up with Andrea only to find that they are both in over their heads. The enemy seems to have limitless power, and there is only one person Sean knows who can help them stay alive. He turns to Paul O, a man of great wealth who owns a company that builds ships and satellites for the U.S. government. A private war breaks out with Paul, Andrea, and Sean pitted against an unknown, fanatical group that takes place in the air, on and beneath the sea, and on land.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Tony Dellamarco Why did I love this book?

This is an iconic novel that projects the mind of an author who was years ahead of his time. Many of Verne’s books have been put on the big screen, and a hundred-plus years after his death his books are still being published. Personally, I believe Verne was the author who opened the door for future science fiction writers of the twentieth century. The technology he used in his books was futurist for the time they were written and the key to being a successful science fiction writer.

By Jules Verne,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 11, 12, 13, and 14.

What is this book about?

First serialized in a French magazine from 1869-1870, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is an incredible adventure story that popularized science fiction throughout the world.

Professor Aronnax, a marine biologist, joins harpoonist Ned Land in search of a mysterious sea creature in the open ocean, only to discover that the beast is actually a submarine piloted by the enigmatic Captain Nemo. They are taken captive, thus beginning a strange undersea voyage from Antarctic ice shelves to the subterranean city of Atlantis, hunting sharks along the way.

With its sprawling, exotic plot and vivid descriptions, Jules Verne's epic underwater adventure…


Book cover of Foundation

Tony Dellamarco Why did I love this book?

Isaac Asimov was an author who thought out of the box. Foundation is one of the best science fiction series of all time. Asimov was insightful for the time he lived – mainly during WWII and used the turmoil of the uncertainties of war to weave a much bigger story. Instead of Hitler’s Thousand-Year Reich, you have a galactic war spanning a thousand years where Earth is a forgotten world. Asimov’s use of psychohistory to predict the future is spellbinding and pulls readers into his story and holds them captive until the last page. Surviving WWII enabled Asimov to anticipate what the future could be like by using real science as a jumping-off point for his novels. His books are as enjoyable and futuristic today as they were when published over seventy years ago.

By Isaac Asimov,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Foundation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first novel in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series

THE EPIC SAGA THAT INSPIRED THE APPLE TV+ SERIES FOUNDATION, NOW STREAMING • Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read
 
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future—to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire—both scientists and scholars—and brings…


Book cover of The Time Machine

Tony Dellamarco Why did I love this book?

The Time Machine was published in 1895 and served as the catalyst for future science fiction writers dealing with time travel. This novel warns of the eventual doom of the human race. Wells wrote this fictional story over a hundred years ago and the divisions in class and the calamity of war still exist today just as it did during his lifetime. Each war his time traveler encountered was more devastating than the previous one, reflecting the human tendency to never learn from the past and to continue to control and manipulate people they consider less than themselves. Sound familiar? H.G. Wells had an incredible mind, and his books continue to entertain people to this day.

By H.G. Wells,

Why should I read it?

13 authors picked The Time Machine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

A brilliant scientist constructs a machine, which, with the pull of a lever, propels him to the year AD 802,701.

Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition of The Time Machine features an introduction by Dr Mark Bould.

The Time Traveller finds himself in a verdant, seemingly idyllic landscape where he is greeted by the diminutive Eloi people. The Eloi are beautiful but weak and indolent, and the explorer is perplexed by…


Book cover of Dune

Tony Dellamarco Why did I love this book?

Dune has been put on the big screen several times. This novel is a work of genius and one of the bestselling science fiction books of all time. The Dune series reflects Frank Herbert’s imaginative mind. The adventure never stops, and at the end of each book, the reader eagerly anticipates the next novel in the series.

By Frank Herbert,

Why should I read it?

53 authors picked Dune as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Before The Matrix, before Star Wars, before Ender's Game and Neuromancer, there was Dune: winner of the prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards, and widely considered one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written.

Melange, or 'spice', is the most valuable - and rarest - element in the universe; a drug that does everything from increasing a person's lifespan to making interstellar travel possible. And it can only be found on a single planet: the inhospitable desert world of Arrakis.

Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice. And whoever controls the spice controls the universe.

When the Emperor transfers stewardship of…


Book cover of The Devil's Sea

Tony Dellamarco Why did I love this book?

Clive Cussler is one of the few authors whose real-life adventures paralleled that of his action hero, Dirk Pitt, creating a compelling story. It is easier to convey an adventure story if you have actually lived it. I was humbled by an editorial review and a number of readers that stated my book is reminiscent of Clive Cussler’s works.

By Dirk Cussler,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Devil's Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fearless adventurer Dirk Pitt must unravel a historical mystery of epic importance in the latest novel in the beloved New York Times bestselling series created by the “grand master of adventure” Clive Cussler.

In 1959 Tibet, a Buddhist artifact of immense importance was seemingly lost to history in the turmoil of the Communist takeover. But when National Underwater and Marine Agency Director Dirk Pitt discovers a forgotten plane crash in the Philippine Sea over 60 years later, new clues emerge to its hidden existence.
 
But Pitt and his compatriot Al Giordino have larger worries when they are ordered to recover…


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Nemesis and the Vault of Lost Time

By PJ Davis,

Book cover of Nemesis and the Vault of Lost Time

PJ Davis

New book alert!

What is my book about?

Featured in "Best Middle Grade Fantasy Books" - Reedsy Discovery

"Fun & Fast Paced, This is Middle Grade Fantasy at its Best!" — Shaun Stevenson

"If you know any middle-grade readers who enjoy science fiction/fantasy with a mix of action, danger, and humor - recommend this book to them, or just go ahead and give them a copy." — The Fairview Review

“With elements of adventure, exploration, other worlds, and fantastical science, Nemesis and the Vault of Lost Time is an exciting middle-grade novel with plenty of suspense… Behind the adventure are important messages about believing in oneself and finding inner strength.” — The Children's Book Review

"The plot of Nemesis and The Vault of Lost Time is a tapestry of surprises characterized by its unforeseen twists and turns. It’s this element of suspense that grips the readers, while the vivid descriptions create immersive visual experiences. Beyond its adventurous core, this mystery novel delves into themes of friendship and the nuanced dynamics of father-son relationships, offering a multi-layered reading experience." — The Literary Titan

Nemesis and the Vault of Lost Time

By PJ Davis,

What is this book about?

Thirteen-year-old Max is a daydreamer. It gets him into trouble at school, but his restless curiosity really turns problematic when he runs into a mysterious professor at his uncle's bookstore.

The old man informs Max that time is being sucked out of the planet by invisible bandits, stolen from unsuspecting people one breath and one sneeze at a time, and is being stored in a central vault. Once full, the vault will fuel a hungry horde of invaders looking to cross into earth, and cross out all its people.

What's more, the professor claims he knew Max's missing scientist father.…


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