100 books like Stranger in a Strange Land

This is my favorite hard sci-fi classic. I love the beautiful mix of real science (wormholes excepted), compelling story, and characters, and it touches on both first contact and the way in which human nature might cause us to react to it. That is the power combo, in my opinion!

The movie of the book was very good — Robert Zemeckis is a brilliant director — although it left out some fantastic details that, as a math and science fan, I really loved! (I won’t spoil it here; it’s too good.)

I’ve never encountered such a duplicitous and complicated character as the Captain. Having to survive life in Vietnam before and during America’s entry into the war, and after as an immigrant in America, I kept thinking I understood why the character behaved the way he did. His actions made sense. Then I’d get what I thought was a glimpse at his heart and intentions and know I had him all wrong, only to turn the page and see a completely different facet of him again.

Over and over his past and present and desires for the future kept morphing him. The stunning thing about this story is I totally understood why he would be this complex as each section doled out enough clues how someone like him could be so strange and malleable and twisted up in the most odd and fascinating ways. 

J.R.R. Tolkien's masterful storytelling is unmatched, and The Lord of the Rings weaves together moral dilemmas and profound philosophical ideas seamlessly, encouraging me to contemplate the nature of power, the importance of preserving the natural world, and the significance of individual choices.

The book's themes of heroism, friendship, sacrifice, and the struggle between good and evil resonate deeply. In addition, each of his characters feels like an aspect of oneself; the introspection it inspires is brilliant!

The Lord of the Rings instills a sense of wonder, ignites the imagination, and imparts timeless wisdom, which heavily transformed my perspective on life, my values, and my understanding of the human condition.

In this book, the lines between science and sorcery are indistinguishably and deliberately blurred, crafting a narrative that has evolved into a timeless masterpiece.

Set in a distant future, the universe is ruled over by feudalistic dukes and barons who wage interstellar wars for planets and resources. Here, psychoactive substances grant visions of the future, and colossal sandworms are revered as divine entities. But what truly captured my imagination was the portrayal of the technological as the magical. The Bene Gesserit, a secretive sisterhood often likened to witches, uses multigenerational genetic engineering to bring about prophesies and wield supernatural mind-controlling abilities. 

This seamless fusion of advanced bioengineering with elements of the mystical not only makes the universe of this book feel magical but also tangibly real, resulting in a novel that is both intricate and immersive. 

I read this book as a child and was immediately captivated by the rugged island nations and the rich cultural tapestry the inhabitants live within. The evocation of mist, mountains, remote shores, isolated villages, and their bleating goats form the backdrop to the story of Ged, the would-be wizard on his voyage to become a mage.

The self-discovery he faces at the wizard school (long before Hogwarts) when he unleashes a malevolent force through youthful ego and determination to prove his magic vitality leads him on a journey of self-discovery through the lands and within his own soul, pursued by the darkness he freed. It’s a rite of passage that culminates in him facing this shadow and what it truly is. The imagery is stark, and the haunting world-building is compelling. Perhaps it’s still my favorite fantasy to this day.

I admit that Huxley’s final novel is a rather difficult one to read. It’s long, it goes on too long in some places, it’s kind of fiction and philosophy together, and it includes a book within a book. However, The Island is a work of genius.

There’s the utopian island of Pala (not dystopian), and all through the book, there’s the threat of the invading Rendang kingdom. It includes some Buddhist ideas with the birds on the island that say karuna (meaning compassion) and "attention" to remind islanders of the now, yet ultimately, in the end, the island is invaded, and the utopia becomes exposed as a fake.

One of the best science fiction stories I have read that incorporates accurate descriptions of volcanoes on Mars, along with innovative use of these geologic wonders.

This is the first volume of an award-winning trilogy about the colonization of Mars. Pavonis Mons is a neighboring volcano to the one that I studied in graduate school. The equator of Mars passes through the tall construct of Pavonis Mons; Robinson describes the building and use of a remarkable "space elevator" at the volcano’s summit, providing easy access to orbit without using rockets.

Much of the story centers around personal interactions between the colonists, but this fictional drama is set within some of the best descriptions of Mars that I have come across.

What? You didn’t know there was a book? There is! Now, the movie is, in my humble opinion, the most perfect movie ever made, but the book came first.

I read the book ages ago and fell in love with it. More in-depth than the movie and a little different in places, it is worth the read, and if you want to follow up with a small, equally as fun read, try The Silent Gondoliers, also by Goldman.

I adore this character and everything about him. His psychic abilities are portrayed in such an interesting voice. To be able to see the dead but not hear them is a unique concept and one that I feel carries the character to another level of communication.

Odd is generous, kind, giving, and also the outcast in many ways. But he perseveres and does what must be done to keep the dead moving forward and protect the living. His simplistic view to life is something I really wish I had more of. 

He is a character that I think we can never have enough of.

While the backbone of this time-bending tale is Jake Epping's quest to stop President John F. Kennedy's assassination, it was Jake’s unexpected romance with a woman from the past that truly grabbed me. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I’m drawn to narratives where the character must choose between personal happiness and duty, and on that front, this story delivers.

Additionally, King's depiction of 1960s America is so immersive that I felt as though I’d been transported right back to the era, sharing in the burden of Jake’s critical mission.