Fans pick 100 books like Polymer

Restoree is a stand-alone novel by Anne McCaffrey of the Dragon Riders of Pern fame. The protagonist, Sara, is swept up in a mass kidnapping and carried away to a planet where she ends up in a new body. She is given the job of caring for a man who seems largely unresponsive. Sara and the reader slowly come to understand what’s happening and she makes a bold move to rescue herself, her charge, and the other restorees. Like all the best science fiction, Restoree is less about the trappings and more about the human story. 

Deep Secret is one of my all-time favourite books; one I reread often. There are no spaceships here, (though there is a Land Rover that isn’t!) but much of the action takes place on distant worlds; chiefly Thule and the Koryfonic Empire. Rupert Venables, the youngest Magid, faces not only the fall of the Koryfonic Empire and his task of finding the hidden heir, but also the need to choose a successor for his dead mentor, Stan. There’s so much to love about this chaotic, tangled, wonderful book; not least the combative but ultimately loving relationship between Rupert and Maree, the least likely of the candidates on Rupert’s list.

The Winter of Enchantment is a fantasy rather than science fiction, but it still carries its protagonist, Sebastian, to another world and it’s a very far world indeed. Through the agency of a dimension travelling cat, a mirror, and a teapot, Sebastian leaves Victorian London and meets a girl named Melissa, a prisoner in the enchanter’s realm. Soon the new friends are on the quest for the items that will release Melissa from her century of solitary confinement, but since Melissa can’t leave her lonely but luxurious prison, Sebastian has to go alone. I’ve loved this book for a long time. There is a sequel, but that rather retcons parts of the first one.

Masquerade in Lodi is a novella in the Penric and Desdemona series. It takes place in the World of the Five Gods, and I discovered it only recently. Penric is a magic wielder, and Desdemona is a demon. They have an interesting relationship, and what I love about this one is that the story manages to be exotic (taking place during a festival in a strange world) and yet eminently readable and relatable. In a very brief time, Pen and Desdemona become your friends. There’s no high-flown language here; just a darned good story with an intriguing mystery and characters worth your while to meet.

Gotta love a hero/antihero with a great wit and a fast mouth. Most Wanted is the first book in a sci-fi series that may remind you a bit of Firefly, and I don’t use that comparison lightly. The narrator’s wit definitely puts this book on this list, but “that’s us, out here on the raggedy edge” is the soul of the book that makes the series for me. Not the best, not the brightest, not the richest or strongest, but a group doing what they can to get by and be there for each other. Maybe accidentally right some wrongs along the way.

If intense and enthralling are what you are looking for, What I Would Do For You by Willow Winters is my recommendation. 

This gripping romance has an unforgettable anti-hero that left me with a lasting impression. The story tells of betrayal and all-consuming love, something that is all too close to my heart. What had me turning the pages was the depth of emotion. The emotion guides us into a journey of love, sacrifice, and redemption. All things that truly hit home. 

I love this novel because it mixes Southern Gothic with speculative fiction in a hilarious epic struggle between man and hog. When middle-aged taxidermist Romie Futch becomes a research subject in the shady Center for Cybernetic Neuroscience, he becomes both super genius and guinea pig, his middle-aged brain now brilliant beyond comprehension. Troubled by errant downloads that track his thoughts and actions, Romie turns taxidermy into pop art as he hunts down the legendary super pig “Hogzilla.” This is the funniest, wittiest book I’ve read in a long time. 

This is the John Constantine series. I am constantly enthralled with the nit and grit of this series.

There are a great deal of historical and biblical references in this series as well as their own twists. I found when writing my book that this was the same feeling and style I wanted. I didn’t want a world that was fluffy and beautiful but I wanted to show a world tortured and used as a battleground for angels and demons.

I couldn’t recommend this series more. The magic in this series is power from supernatural being. It's definitely the closest form of magic we could gain for ourselves as we learn the rules of our dominion over the earth.

This is a great, innovative new type of storytelling – that from the side of a monster protagonist. He’s more than just an antihero, he’s a certified, evil, people eating, gold grabbing, demon rising monstrosity – that you can’t help but route for. Prepare for having the meaning of the words ‘shinny’ and ‘tasty’ change forever in your eyes. This is a very different type of story told from the perspective of a greedy, evil, man-eating monster, and you can't help cheer for him along the way. Boxy is the funniest, most uncomplicated-complex character I've ever read, and as he meanders through life, causing a cataclysm event in his wake – all he really wants is shiny and tasty things.

Unrelenting action and snappy dialogue made this book an instant fav. It contains some of the best things: betrayal, revenge, a mouthy and haunted anti-hero and heroine, spaceships, and sexual tension from page one. The way this book blends all those things—and yes, this is sci-fi, not fantasy—makes a wildly entertaining start to a perfect series. I’ve never loved characters and their banter more. This perfect team both hates and loves each other and won't stop getting up no matter how many times they're knocked down. Impossibly high stakes and a plot that pits hero against heroine until their alliance becomes the key to a universe-sized revolution. What an amazing book. I devoured the whole series and can’t wait for the finale.