10 books like Ender's Game

I stumbled into The First Law as I was returning to write after years away from the craft, and fell in love with the doomed cast of miserables. I love characters who can’t get out of their own way, and Abercrombie writes those better than any. Even better, he fluidly portrays a world I want to take a bus tour through: ancient, steeped in complicated, bloody history, and filled with legends not quite dead. The masterful way he intersects character and plot keeps me turning pages, chasing the characters from one chapter into the next. I readily recommend it to those who don’t mind taking a peek at how the sausage gets made. Just remember who your friends are… and watch them very closely.

One of my favorite novels of all time, Dune is probably a tough read for newcomers to speculative fiction in general—but veteran fantasy readers should feel right at home. Set in a far future where feudal lords rule entire planets in a empire encompassing multiple galaxies, Dune has everything fantasy fans know and love: warring houses, intricate plots, strange worldbuilding, a kind of magic, ancient conspiracies, and larger-than-life heroes and villains. It’s probably science fiction’s single most-famous novel these days, and it deserves its reputation—though it probably needs little introduction from me.

I think a lot of the reluctance fantasy readers feel about leaping into science fiction is the difficulty adapting to very strange new worlds. Elves and dwarves are comfortable and familiar at this point, likewise dragons and goblins and trolls, but the various alien creatures and terms sci-fi writers invent are less likely to be drawn from such… show more.

This book is so good it is insane. That being said, it will definitely mess with your head. Picture it, you’re a political prisoner doing forced labor and stumble on secret communications with aliens. Your planet is Earth. Present-day Earth. Your government is regressive and your family is all but gone because of them. The aliens only need an invitation to come. Except, there’s a possibility they might not come in peace. What would you do? I know what I would do. Not what the main character of this book did. I won’t spoil it for you as it is only the first book in a truly excellent series. Smart, compelling, and riveting. Definitely a must-read. It deserved every award it won.

Let me be clear: I’m talking about the book—not the TV series!

This is a dystopian classic that everyone should read. In fact, all of Atwood’s books should be read. As for The Handmaid’s Tale, I read it in a literature class in university, and it has stuck with me ever since (much like other classics—hello The Great Gatsby).

The Republic of Giliead, where the story takes place, was created when the US government was overthrown, and strips women of their rights. It’s a premise that has roots in real events—the 1979 Iranian Revolution, most notably, and so the rich worldbuilding (and powerful imagery) doesn’t feel contrived—or all that dystopian.

And while it will definitely transport you away from your day-to-day life while you read it, it’s the way the haunting Republic will stay with you afterwards that makes this book a gem. 

You could describe Fredrik Backman’s Beartown as the story of a broken Swedish forest town whose fate is tied to the success of a kids’ hockey team. This is accurate but woefully incomplete. In fact, I’m confident you’ll feel all the anger, empathy, and tenderness Backman has woven into a sports story that transcends pucks and goals. You will be ushered forward and backward in time. You’ll feel carried ahead even as the author freezes moments that deliver depth and perspective. The pivotal event will make your heart race. And in the end, you will wind up missing the people you come to meet and know in Beartown. 

Written for young adults, this is a modern classic.

In the book, what used to be North America has become “Panem”, a country where an authoritarian government keeps itself in power by turning regions of the country against each other through “hunger games”, where young people must hunt and kill each other to survive.

I believe the future hope for our country is for people getting back together and learning to care for each other again. Rather than “us against them,” a healthy democracy should be “all of us against oppression.” 

Of course, any list wouldn't be complete without mentioning Le Guin. The Left Hand of Darkness is one of the most well-known works of queer speculation, and for good reason: reprinted dozens of times over the decades since it was originally published in 1969, the story centres around the ‘ambisexual’ inhabitants of Gethen, the androgynous population of a planet settled many centuries into the future. Yet it’s not just the social setting that makes The Left Hand of Darkness a compelling read, but the central relationship between the native Estraven and ambassador Ai – whose bond carries the novel’s central emotional appeal. Thought-provoking, tragic, and far ahead of its time, it’s one of the many stories that cemented Le Guin’s status as a speculative legend.

Once you start with Terry Pratchett, you won’t be able to stop. His books are highly entertaining and he has a unique style of writing that makes them something special. He develops a number of different characters throughout the books, but this first one contains my favourite: Rincewind, the most inept wizard ever created (and don’t get me started on the Luggage). The world the discworld series is set in is so far beyond anything anyone else has done it is amazing. Ridiculous, but amazing.      

After starting out as a more straightforward magical adventure, the Harry Potter series begins digging deeper into the murkiness of good and evil in Book 5. Harry himself is an unquestionably “good” person, who makes the right decision even if it’s difficult, so he provides a fitting contrast for other characters who aren’t so clean-cut. 

Though it’s now common knowledge, I can still remember how the scene where Harry sees his father bullying Snape in the Pensieve shook me to the core. Harry’s father had always been portrayed as a paragon of good, a true hero, while Snape was nothing more than a bully. As the series continues, Harry is forced to come to terms with the moral ambiguity of more than one character, most prominently Dumbledore. And Rowling provides no answers, instead leaving readers to debate endlessly over these questions.

Good world-building is hard to come by, but The Expanse series pulls it off with panache. Credible, engaging, flawed, and loveable characters, science and tech that makes sense (rather than just being a McGuffin), and a fascinating genre blend of sci-fi, noir, and horror makes this a difficult one to put down. One of the main themes of this first novel is an exploration of the dangers of withholding or broadcasting information, but as you explore this universe narratives of tyranny and freedom, intrigue and vision – and, of course, good and evil – collide to make some of the best sci-fi I have ever read. If swearing and stomach-churning details are not your thing some parts will be difficult to read, but… stick with it to the final book – you’ll be glad you did.