60 books like Broken Angels

I had been reading Heroic and Epic Fantasy for years, and I’d purposely avoided reading Sci-Fi, convinced that it would influence my burgeoning plot development. I wanted to maintain my plot integrity and not be subconsciously led by other authors in the genre (but of course I couldn’t avoid the influence of the SF I watched on TV). Of course, I was missing out on some great writing. I was enthralled by this story—it combined an undead trope with space opera, as the ‘risen empire’ maintains its territory while facing an external threat from the technologically hybrid Rix. There’s a fascination with the potential of biological augmentation and the place of AI in our distant future (consider ‘immortal’ humans against potentially ‘eternal’ hybrid humans), but this story is extremely character-driven and concerned with the place of the individual. The fictional science was breathtaking and not without research, but what stuck… show more.

Chasm City is part of Reynold's Revelation Space series, but this future-noir mystery is perfectly readable as a standalone. It follows a man on a mission of revenge, one that takes him into the crumbling, plague-ridden remains of a once-great civilization that has descended into chaos and squalor. The world-building is top-notch—this is a dying, decaying city that you can feel in your bones—and full mysteries that explore ideas of identity, memory, and redemption in a twisty mystery that ties together past, present, and future.

My sister and I were only close because we’re only two years apart. But recently we’ve had some tragedy in our family, and that brought us closer.

While I was making this list of books, I was reminded of this story and how much I enjoyed it, not just for the prose, which I take notice of and will drop a book if it’s bad, but for that reminder of the brother and sister story here. Not to mention the rescue crew of odd characters which reflects a belief of mine: truth is universal.

Any human or alien can understand compassion and suffering and choose the better of the two.

The Expanse series was a real game-changer for me. An epic space opera set in a very real and gritty future with a host of working-class heroes.

James, Naomi, and Amos work in deep space on an ice trawler and only become involved in the action by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. When they get swept up in the story, the characters must learn and adapt to navigate the world of politics and espionage.

This book series walks the tightrope of creating a very possible future in space without getting too impeded, explaining the science of how that all works. If you like epic space opera set in a plausible future, this series is a fantastic read.

After a slow start, Hope's Folly is packed with action and intrigue. Everybody seems to be trying to stop the ship from reaching its destination – including someone on board. In Linnea Sinclair's universe the spaceships are not run by all-powerful artificial intelligence. The engine room, weapons systems, and the all-important environment systems all run using computers but with people running the show. Guys get to cut code, hack, and mess about in the systems. The characters are real. They have faults, make mistakes. They're ordinary people forced to cope with extraordinary circumstances in a disintegrating Empire reminiscent of Stalin taking over in the USSR. I loved the romance. There's a big age difference, but Rya is in her thirties and knows what she's doing.

Here we have a haunted ship -- in space!

Claire is days away from losing her job on a salvage ship when she receives a distress call from long-missing space-liner, The Aurora – likened to the Titanic in space. Having nothing to lose, she convinces the crew to investigate, reasoning that they will make a fortune from the wreckage. Once they board the ship, things take a swiftly sinister turn.

This book is so much fun and incredibly cinematic. Space horror deserves to be a much more popular genre. If you like the movie Event Horizon, you will love this book. 

The great thing about this one is how closely related the magic and technology are—the magic is really used to manipulate technology. For example, Mechanists can tap into the inner workings of machines, while Datamancers can comb through data even better than AI. The book features fantastic action sequences at a breakneck pace, and a lovable rag-tag team thrown-in together to defeat a terrifying villain named Mother.

I'd never known anything about Gypsy culture (except cinematic stereotypes) until I read Silverberg's Star of Gypsies. Even though this book takes place on other worlds, centuries into the future, the traditions and the society of Gypsies survives. These nomadic spacefarers have evolved into important pieces of a galactic empire – an empire upon which the protagonist will have a profound effect. I loved the inventive world building and the complex yet often humorous main character, Yakoub. The tale fully engaged me from the very beginning and is one of those books I give my highest compliment – a page-turner you don't want to put down.

Helva is a ‘brain’, a person with a defective body who becomes meshed with a starship as its controller. Each brain-ship is partnered with a ‘brawn’, a human who acts as the liaison for the ship as well as its partner and protector. Helva loves singing and brings heart to her role as a scoutship brain.

Anne McCaffrey brings her signature romance to this book with a complex relationship that grows between Helva and her brawn as they explore the universe. McCaffrey is deft at creating characters that are vulnerable but still strong in their own way. Though Helva has no physical strength, she has a heart that loves to sing. Even though she is basically a starship, she holds on to her humanity.

I have rarely felt a compulsion to turn the pages of a book as quickly as I did while reading this book. I grew up as a huge fan of Jurassic Park and read this book many years later with little idea of what to expect.

The claustrophobic surroundings and relentless tension made this a very fast book to read, but the philosophical considerations made sure it is one that has stayed in my mind ever since.