Science fiction has always been a passion of mine and, paradoxically, so has history. I lost count long ago of how many historical treatises and historical fiction books I’ve read alongside the science fiction classics, especially those with a military flavor. I was also an Army officer, both regular and reserve, for most of my adult life, and gleefully tore through the recommended Army reading list, much of which focused on military history. Combining my interest in history with my military experience and my love for science fiction led me to create a future universe where empires rise, grow old, and collapse only to be reborn and repeat the cycle.
When humanity's first interstellar empire comes crashing down in a murderous civil war, one man fights to save his civilization's greatest treasure from the long night of barbarism — the knowledge and wisdom accumulated by countless societies over thousands of years. With that knowledge preserved, humanity might, one day, regain its place among the stars. But before Captain Jonas Morane, late of her Imperial Majesty’s Navy, can even begin his work to rescue as much as possible, he must lead a ragtag starship convoy through a wormhole network torn asunder by conflict and reach an almost forgotten world.
Dune was one of the first epic science fiction novels I read as a teenager, and it had a profound influence on my relationship with the genre because of the sweeping narrative which created a universe where high and low tech lived side-by-side with mysticism. The idea of a story set so far into the future that I could barely grasp the passage of time, but with societies we can still recognize made me realize that humanity will not and probably cannot fundamentally change. And that narrative thread came to influence my own writing.
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.
Foundation wasn’t my first Asimov story. On the contrary. My father enjoyed his books, and I tore through his library after discovering them as a teen. But what set Foundation apart from his other work and made it memorable for me was the concept of psychohistory — predicting how humanity would develop through rise, collapse, and rebirth. The idea fired up my own imagination and there is no doubt Asimov’s influence was key in helping me develop as a writer by sparking ideas about the rise and fall of empires, something that always fascinated me as an amateur historian.
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…
The War World series of novels, novellas, and short stories drew me in because they represent a microcosm of what happens when a civilization crashes in an inhospitable environment. I’ve been an avid fan of Jerry Pournelle’s CoDominium universe ever since reading West of Honor and seeing how it evolved for good and for bad through the War World lens, as developed by a long list of fantastic authors, kept intriguing me for years. Many of the concepts developed throughout the series had a marked influence on my own worldbuilding, and for that, it will always have a special place in my pantheon of books.
War World: Discovery, edited by John F. Carr, is the 9th book in the on-going War World Saga, which includes 3 novels, the most recent being War World: The Battle of Sauron by John F. Carr & Donald Hawthorne published in 2008. The War World series is a shared-world universe created by Jerry E. Pournelle & John F. Carr and is set in Jerry Pournelle's CoDominium/Empire of Man future history. The moon Haven contains the harshest environments for life among the seventy habitable planets within the CoDominium sphere. After Haven's discovery, this distant moon quickly becomes the center of a…
This series, to my mind, epitomizes the idea of a gradual rebirth after a galactic civilization collapses, leaving humans stranded on countless worlds with varying degrees of technology. I found the way in which Drake approaches said rebirth incredibly fascinating as well as entertaining, by using sentient artifacts of the long-vanished empire to guide humans back to the stars. And, as a dog lover, I really enjoyed him using oversized canines instead of horses for his pre-industrial cavalry.
I’ve been an amateur historian for as long as I can remember. The past enthralls me, especially the bits where everything goes wrong and entire societies crumble. I suppose it’s because I agree with George Santayana that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, and the idea has always held a certain fascination. As downfalls go, I figure none had a greater effect on western civilization than that of the classic Roman Empire and for me, it’s the template which explains so many historical cycles of the past and will continue to explain those of the future. Gibbon’s work is the definitive story of that era and a must-read for anyone interested in predicting what the next few centuries might bring.
Edward Gibbons classic timeless work of ancient Roman history in 6 volumes collected into 2 boxed sets, in beautiful, enduring hardcover editions with elegant cloth sewn bindings, gold stamped covers, and silk ribbon markers.
Not only am I the author of seven women’s fiction novels, I’m a voracious reader who believes she was raised by Judy Blume and Sidney Sheldon. In our broken home, reading was an escape, a salve for the wound, a place where I felt heard and understood. My novels touch on deep emotions—real and relatable. If I don’t capture thatfeeling when I’m reading through my drafts, I dig deeper. And that’s the thing about a great book, that gut punch, that slide under my skin, I get you. There’s no better read than the one that pulls the heartstrings and gives you all the feels.
What You Do To Me follows Rolling Stone reporter Cecilia James on the hunt to find the muse behind a famous love song, all while managing an estranged relationship with her father and boyfriend Pete.
Inspired by Hey There Deliah, the dual timeline stretches across the sunny beaches of 1970s Miami with star-crossed lovers Eddie and Sara, to the glittery music industry of 1990s LA. For music lovers and fans of that first, unforgettable love, What You Do To Me is the story of a love song with equal parts heart and harmony.
From the bestselling author of This Is Not How It Ends comes a moving novel of two unfinished love stories and the music and lyrics that bring them together.
Journalist Cecilia James is a sucker for a love song. So when she stumbles across a clue to the identity of the muse for one of rock’s greatest, she devotes herself to uncovering the truth, even as her own relationship is falling apart.
While writing an article for Rolling Stone, Cecilia works to reveal the mystery that has intrigued fans and discovers a classic tale of two soulmates separated by fate and circumstance. Rock…
