65 books like Children of Time

Imagine for a moment that we found life on Mars.

That discovery would shake our world, change our outlook on the universe, and answer the question of whether we’re alone.

Sarah Stewart Johnson, a planetary scientist, has spent her life thinking about this possibility and delves into both her and our obsession with the Red Planet in this beautifully written book. Part memoir, part historical account, and part scientific exploration, this book made me want to ditch a career in journalism and take up astrobiology. You’ll never look at Mars the same way again. 

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.

Isaac Asimov rarely wrote about aliens, but this Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel contains an astounding thought experiment, not only imagining a truly alien species but placing them in a different universe with different physical laws from our own.

I first read this novel as a teenager and was blown away by Asimov’s ability to make me understand and care about the fate of such vastly different alien creatures that possessed three distinct sexes and derived their life energy from photosynthesis.

The fact that the novel inextricably links the fate of these creatures with the fate of our own universe gave me a greater appreciation of how truly diverse life can be. A fact–along with the lessons I learned from the other novels listed here–that continues to inform my own writing on aliens and alien cultures. 

This book was just fun. (And informative!) As my editor, Lisa Poisso, put it (paraphrased), “I’ve never seen an author manage to build so much narrative tension around something so simple as, ‘And now I have to push this button.’”

So yes, Weir continues to be awesome at making hard sci-fi fun and thrilling. What really stuck with me most, though, was the relationship the main character, Ryland Grace, forms with his unexpected interstellar buddy, the Eridian he dubs Rocky. The care and thought Weir puts into every aspect of their interactions… Those were the moments that got me. Never have I ever had so much fun watching a character think about how to solve problems. And who couldn’t use a bit more laughter and problem-solving in their life?

It’s kinda funny; I actually didn’t finish this book the first time around. I don’t even remember why. I tend to juggle a lot of books and sometimes get distracted, and to be fair, this book doesn’t necessarily start with much of a bang. But man, oh man, was I hooked on the journey once I sank my teeth into the seven pilgrims’ stories and really got going. The worlds are fantastically imagined, and the mysteries (of the Shrike and of everything else) kept me turning pages in the best way possible.

Love or hate the rest of the series, I’ll never forget my time with Hyperion. It stands in my mind as a shining example of what sci-fi worldbuilding can be on a similar level to what Frank Herbert accomplished in Dune (which absolutely deserves an honorary spot on this list but won’t be included because it’s getting… show more.

This whole book, I kept expecting an epic space battle to break out. That’s how space operas work, I thought, but now I’ve been introduced to cozy science fiction.

The book explored a dozen species. Very different people kept finding common ground, something anyone living in the US right now is struggling with.

My life has been filled with people who didn’t fit the average person mold in various ways. I was moved almost to tears more than once as people who were all so different found their way into something like a family. I particularly enjoyed how the love of friends was given the same weight as romantic love. I gloried in how each relationship interwove into something greater than the parts.

If there is a book that truly helped me understand the vastness of the universe — the sheer scale of things — it’s this one.

True, it did make me doubt whether we’ll ever actually shake hands with our counterparts from a distant planet (do they have hands?). But Hawking’s explanations of the physics of the cosmos are clear and thoughtful. Ultimately, the search for alien life is a scientific inquiry, and there’s not much better science writing than this classic. 

CJ Cherryh is a master at delving into the psychology and societies of her characters and making the reader feel what they feel.

The Chanur books, starting with this book, are a standout example of alien fiction because they’re told almost exclusively from the point of view of Captain Pyanfar Chanur, a cat-like member of the Hani. She’s smart and tough, which is what you need to be when hauling freight through Compact Space, home to seven very different alien species.

Caught in deadly political intrigue, Pyanfar is forced to figure out what the aliens opposing her are thinking and how they are likely to react to any move she makes. As readers, this brings us in close for a detailed consideration of these alien species, all set against a deadly game of cat and mouse and a dash to find safe haven across many star systems.

This book is… show more.

If it’s hard to make readers side with spiders, what about plants?

The planet on which an unlucky group of humans are stranded in Semiosis is indeed home to sentient plants that see humans as just another resource. But this isn’t some Day of The Triffids monster tale. The plants can’t move anything like humans can, which, in the hands of a lesser author, might make for quite a static, boring story.

Burke demonstrates her boundless imagination by taking the reader into the "mind" of the plant, seeing the world, its threats, and resources in a completely different and plant-like way and bringing a sense of urgency as the survival of plant and humans alike become bound together.

It’s a fascinating read, and the follow-up, Interference, is just as good.