Love Onslaught? Readers share 100 books like Onslaught...

By Chris James,

Here are 100 books that Onslaught fans have personally recommended if you like Onslaught. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Dune

J.D. Rasch Author Of The Quasi-Crystal

From my list on science fiction to challenge your moral compass.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am interested in social justice issues, and the books in my list deal with these issues. My background is in finance, but I’ve tried to use this knowledge to help others. I serve on the board of two not-for-profit organizations, one a dance company that works with at-risk teens in various countries, and the other is an animal sanctuary that takes in farm animals that have been abused. I consider myself very fortunate and privileged, and it's important to remember not everyone has had the opportunities I have had. I feel it’s crucial to connect with others, understand where they’re coming from, and help if you can.

J.D.'s book list on science fiction to challenge your moral compass

J.D. Rasch Why did J.D. love this book?

I like books that are about something. Frank Herbert created a sweeping world that uses religion, politics and personal relationships to build his story.

I love the diversity of the characters and the unusual places he creates. But ultimately, the book is about building a society and personal redemption. I like the way he weaves the social issues into a compelling narrative that makes us re-examine our worldview.

By Frank Herbert,

Why should I read it?

68 authors picked Dune as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

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.

When the Emperor transfers stewardship of…


Book cover of The Left Hand of Darkness

Scott F. Kiesling Author Of Language, Gender, and Sexuality: An Introduction

From my list on challenge myths about gender and sex.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been studying language and gender since I started graduate school in 1990. I’m an odd gender scholar in some ways in that I am a white cisgendered heterosexual masculine person. I think I’m interested in the topic because conversation and ‘being a man’ has always seemed hard and like a lot of work to me. So, I started studying these things in the 1990s with a project on language use in a college fraternity in the US. Since then I've published many articles on language and masculinities, including a 2004 article on the word dude, which is still popular in introductory linguistics courses today.

Scott's book list on challenge myths about gender and sex

Scott F. Kiesling Why did Scott love this book?

Le Guin is my favorite author, and all of her power is on display in this science fiction novel about an emissary who visits a planet (Gethen) where, most of the time, the people have no sex differentiation. Sex traits only become apparent in the two days per month of “kemmer,” and Gethenians may kemmer as male or female (and which is not completely predictable).

Because of Le Guin’s skill as a novelist, the implications of this arrangement are explored in subtle but powerful ways, more as the warp and weft of the cultural background than the main feature of the plot (although it is definitely significant). The book shows how deeply gender and sex infuse our own culture through the contrast with Gethen. The bonus is that this is a masterpiece of a novel, one often mentioned on lists of the best science fiction novels of all time. Le…

By Ursula K. Le Guin,

Why should I read it?

22 authors picked The Left Hand of Darkness as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION-WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY DAVID MITCHELL AND A NEW AFTERWORD BY CHARLIE JANE ANDERS

Ursula K. Le Guin's groundbreaking work of science fiction-winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.

A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants' gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...

Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an…


Book cover of City of Golden Shadow

Acflory Author Of Miira

From my list on exploring what it means to be human.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m one of those odd people who always needs to know why. Why do computers work, why do societies break down? Why do humans kill? Why are cat videos so irresistible? All of those questions explore what it means to be human, but science fiction takes those questions to the extreme, pitting people against the most extreme environments and situations in order to see how they’ll react. To me, that never grows old, and the books I love the most are the ones that do it the best. In my humble opinion, of course.

Acflory's book list on exploring what it means to be human

Acflory Why did Acflory love this book?

The world of Otherland is Earth, and the people are human, but woven into that familiar landscape is a virtual world that hasn’t quite happened yet. Imagine a virtual, digital world in which your avatar can ‘feel’. Why would you ever want to leave?

I first read Otherland soon after I started playing MMORPGs [Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games]. MMORPGs provide a ‘persistent’ world in which your character can fight, craft, build, or just socialize with other players. As such, it can become very immersive, and that’s just through the power of the imagination and some pixels on a screen. Now, imagine how immersive a virtual world would be. And how dangerous. 

Otherland started me thinking about technology and how humans relate to new innovations. It also inspired some of my own writing.

By Tad Williams,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked City of Golden Shadow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Otherland is a universe ruled by Earth's wealthiest and most ruthless power-brokers, The Grail Brotherhood. Surrounded by secrecy, incredible amounts of money have been lavished on it and two generations have laboured to build it. Now it is claiming Earth's most valuable resource - its children.


Book cover of Cyteen

Acflory Author Of Miira

From my list on exploring what it means to be human.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m one of those odd people who always needs to know why. Why do computers work, why do societies break down? Why do humans kill? Why are cat videos so irresistible? All of those questions explore what it means to be human, but science fiction takes those questions to the extreme, pitting people against the most extreme environments and situations in order to see how they’ll react. To me, that never grows old, and the books I love the most are the ones that do it the best. In my humble opinion, of course.

Acflory's book list on exploring what it means to be human

Acflory Why did Acflory love this book?

Cyteen won a Hugo Award in 1989 and pushed the envelope on both world building and character development. For me though, it was the author’s exploration of what it means to be human that made this book one of my all-time favourites. 

In Cyteen, there are born humans and made people. Some of the made people are clones of a particularly powerful individual, but most are created to perform a function. These lower-ranked people are taught everything they need to know by ‘tape’, while they sleep. 

The book asks some deep philosophical questions about what makes a person human, and whether any of us have the right to create ‘sub-humans’ for our own benefit. These are powerful questions that still beg for answers.

By C. J. Cherryh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cyteen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The saga of two young friends trapped in an endless nightmare of suspicion and surveillance, of cyber-programmed servants and a ruling class with century-long lives - and the enigmatic woman who dominates them all. Narrators Jonathan Davis and Gabra Zackman skillfully split up this sweeping sci-fi epic that is "at once a psychological novel, a murder mystery, and an examination of power on a grand scale." (Locus)


Book cover of To Have and to Hold

Max Byrd Author Of The Sixth Conspirator

From my list on American history that have become forgotten.

Why am I passionate about this?

Schoolteacher turned writer. With the encouragement of my old college friend, the great Michael Crichton I began writing detective novels—paperback originals at first, then a hardback thriller called Target of Opportunity, which was a detective novel but included a long section of historical background about the Resistance in southern France. From there I moved to biographical fiction: novels about Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant. Then straight historical fiction, often with a Parisian background, because I’ve lived and worked in that marvelous city and can’t get enough of it.

Max's book list on American history that have become forgotten

Max Byrd Why did Max love this book?

Colonial Jamestown, an English soldier turned American explorer, a bought wife who is in fact an escaping ward of King James I—a brutal pursuer, pirates, shipwrecks, Pocahontas’s brother, an Indian attack on Jamestown, poison! The plot is overloaded with incidents, but the details of colonial life are fascinating and Johnston’s perfect mastery of colonial English make this a thrilling adventure, a number one best-seller in 1900. For years it was a standard on school reading lists and was twice made into a film. Hard to find, but worth the effort.

By Mary Johnston,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked To Have and to Hold as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A dauntless hero will do whatever it takes to win the heart of his bride in Mary Johnston’s bestselling historical adventure set in colonial Jamestown

Captain Percy is the embodiment of bravery. At the suggestion of a friend, he boards a ship to America to stake his claim in the New World—and perhaps even meet the woman of his dreams. Meanwhile, eligible women are setting sail to the very same place on “bride ships” in order to find husbands and forge new lives. Jocelyn Leigh is one such lady. She fled Europe in order to escape an unwanted suitor, but…


Book cover of The Murder of King James I

Steven Veerapen Author Of The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I

From my list on bring King James and his court to life.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since childhood, I’ve been fascinated by the early modern era–and I was always drawn to the big personalities and events: Henry VIII and his wives, Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. But, having made a career out of studying the era and its literature, I found that the drama didn’t end with Elizabeth in 1603 (and certainly not with Mary either when she fled Scotland or when she was executed in 1587). In fact, things became even more colorful under the riotous reign of King James. This led me to want to reassess his life and reign with a focus on the things that had historically been brushed over.

Steven's book list on bring King James and his court to life

Steven Veerapen Why did Steven love this book?

This mammoth book leaves no stone unturned in investigating how and why claims arose regarding the alleged murder of King James VI and I in 1625. It reads as part dossier or evidence and part detective story–and thus, it is never boring.

The authors are canny enough to make no definitive claims about James’s death–but their methodical investigation into why people at the time and afterward suspected foul play will leave readers in little doubt about what probably happened…

By Alastair Bellany, Thomas Cogswell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Murder of King James I as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A year after the death of James I in 1625, a sensational pamphlet accused the Duke of Buckingham of murdering the king. It was an allegation that would haunt English politics for nearly forty years. In this exhaustively researched new book, two leading scholars of the era, Alastair Bellany and Thomas Cogswell, uncover the untold story of how a secret history of courtly poisoning shaped and reflected the political conflicts that would eventually plunge the British Isles into civil war and revolution. Illuminating many hitherto obscure aspects of early modern political culture, this eagerly anticipated work is both a fascinating…


Book cover of The Secret Life of Fathers

Shoshana S. Bennett Ph.D. Author Of Postpartum Depression for Dummies

From my list on for dads and dads-to-be.

Why am I passionate about this?

After life-threatening postpartum depression in the 1980s, I became a pioneer of maternal mental health in the U.S. I’ve helped moms and moms-to-be finally receive the support they deserve. Between masters’ degrees, Ph.D., teaching credentials, and becoming licensed as a clinical psychologist, I wrote four books and enjoy interviews on radio and TV. Training health professionals and my clients to develop a wellness strategy for motherhood has been my life’s passion. A few years ago I realized that during this movement, dads’ experiences had been disregarded and minimized, and my mission then shifted to parental mental health. Dad’s worries and needs are important too.

Shoshana's book list on for dads and dads-to-be

Shoshana S. Bennett Ph.D. Why did Shoshana love this book?

Enjoy this practical training manual compiled from interviews with over a hundred real dads of daughters. No matter if you’re becoming a father of a daughter, a new dad, or experienced dad of a daughter, you will find this book both useful and most definitely validating. One of my favorite things is that it’s written in small chunks which are easy to digest. You don’t need to read the book cover to cover, but rather pick out the sections in which you’re most interested. You can scan these little gems not mentioned in other parenting books. These are helpful (and often humorful) tips that only real fathers would know.  

By The Father-Daughter Project, James I. Bond,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Secret Life of Fathers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Are men brain damaged at birth, and... could daughters be the antidote, in ways they don't even realize?

"...groundbreaking…" (Forbes.com)

I challenge you to read this and not start rethinking what your father (and every man you know) is REALLY like.

** Readers’ Favorite 5-Star Award Winner**

For 13 years I ran a behavioral management firm working with some of the largest organizations in the world.

Then I discovered that my own relationship with my middle daughter wasn't as great as I thought.

I wondered if I was the only father this clueless about his relationship with his daughters. So…


Book cover of James I of England

Steven Veerapen Author Of The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I

From my list on bring King James and his court to life.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since childhood, I’ve been fascinated by the early modern era–and I was always drawn to the big personalities and events: Henry VIII and his wives, Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. But, having made a career out of studying the era and its literature, I found that the drama didn’t end with Elizabeth in 1603 (and certainly not with Mary either when she fled Scotland or when she was executed in 1587). In fact, things became even more colorful under the riotous reign of King James. This led me to want to reassess his life and reign with a focus on the things that had historically been brushed over.

Steven's book list on bring King James and his court to life

Steven Veerapen Why did Steven love this book?

Caroline Bingham is one of the forgotten titans of Scottish popular nonfiction. From the 1970s to the 1980s (she sadly died young in 1998), she produced a multitude of books covering the lives of various Scottish monarchs.

Her books (although research has moved on quite a bit) are beautifully and sensitively written and her two books on James (she wrote one on his life in Scotland and then one on his life in England) are sparkling. 

By Caroline Bingham,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked James I of England as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

James I of England


Book cover of The Early Life of James VI: A Long Apprenticeship, 1566-1585

Steven Veerapen Author Of The Wisest Fool: The Lavish Life of James VI and I

From my list on bring King James and his court to life.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since childhood, I’ve been fascinated by the early modern era–and I was always drawn to the big personalities and events: Henry VIII and his wives, Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. But, having made a career out of studying the era and its literature, I found that the drama didn’t end with Elizabeth in 1603 (and certainly not with Mary either when she fled Scotland or when she was executed in 1587). In fact, things became even more colorful under the riotous reign of King James. This led me to want to reassess his life and reign with a focus on the things that had historically been brushed over.

Steven's book list on bring King James and his court to life

Steven Veerapen Why did Steven love this book?

Steven J. Reid’s comprehensive study of James’s youth and rise to real power is as well-researched as it is readable. Most people are only familiar with the older James when he was king of England—the tired stereotype of the doddering, prematurely-aged old king.

But his early life and reign in Scotland were fraught with drama and high politics–all of which helped make James James.

By Steven J. Reid,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Early Life of James VI as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Shortlisted for the Saltire Society Scottish History Book of the Year Award

James VI and I was arguably the most successful ruler of the Stewart Dynasty in Scotland, and the first king of a united Great Britain. His ableness as a monarch, it has been argued, stemmed largely from his Scottish upbringing. This book is the first in-depth scholarly study of those formative years.

It tries to understand exactly when in James' 'long apprenticeship' he seized political power and retraces the incremental steps he took along the way. It also poses new answers to key questions about this process. What…


Book cover of Harvey's Heart: The Discovery of Blood Circulation

Helen King Author Of Greek and Roman Medicine

From my list on discovering the circulation of the blood.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been fascinated by history since I was a fairly sickly child, which means I was gradually drawn towards the history of medicine. Add to that having a hereditary blood clotting condition and you can see why this topic appeals to me! I have a BA and a PhD in History from University College London and have held posts in the universities of Cambridge, Newcastle, Reading, and then at The Open University. I’ve also held visiting professorships in Vienna, Texas, and Minnesota and have published six books as well as editing others. I’m sort of retired but still writing and lecturing.

Helen's book list on discovering the circulation of the blood

Helen King Why did Helen love this book?

Harvey’s Heart is a tiny book but it packs in a lot, including plenty of illustrations. I used to teach the history of medicine and I found blood circulation a difficult topic – I’m squeamish myself, and faint at blood tests, which doesn’t help! But this book makes Harvey’s ideas very clear, not least how something we now take for granted wasn’t obvious at all until the 17th century.

His breakthrough was a weird mix of building on discoveries by others – such as knowing that valves stop the blood moving backwards – while observing, experimenting, and speculating for himself. Although he published his theory in 1628, he seems to have worked it out maybe ten years earlier. The conventions of science in his day meant he had to offer it to the world rather cautiously, because saying that the ancients had got it wrong was a dangerous claim…

By Andrew Gregory,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Harvey's Heart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The tale of William Harvey's momentous discovery - that the blood vessels form a closed system, carrying blood pumped rapidly around the body by the heart - is one of ingenuity, imagination and perseverence, and remarkable use of experiment, observation and skill.


Book cover of Dune
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