If you are a lover of intergalactic stories, here are some books similar to those of Isaac Asimov to enjoy science fiction at its best.
Isaac Asimov is considered by many literature lovers and connoisseurs of the world of science fiction as the father of this genre. However, other authors have managed to match his creative genius. Therefore, here we share with you a list of books similar to those of Isaac Asimov to enjoy science fiction and fantastic universes of a future that seems less and less distant.
Books Similar to Isaac Asimov’s Books
Ender’s Game
- Author: Orson Scott Card
- Year: 1985
- Pages: 376
It is the first book of a saga consisting of 6 main books and 3 spin-offs. The novel is set in the year 2070, in which the governments of Earth have united to confront the threats of a race from outer space known as “insectoids.”
From time to time, the government selects a group of young people with extraordinary mental qualities to give them training and turn them into the possible future saviors of humanity, and among them is Ender, who may be the key to ending the war once and for all.
The Three-Body Problem
- Author: Cixin Liu
- Year: 2008
- Pages: 408
Cixin Liu, the author of the trilogy that began with this novel, is considered the new father of science fiction precisely because of the story he sets forth here, which follows attempts by the Chinese and Americans to make contact with extraterrestrials.
Amid the chaos, the academic Ye Wenjie is recruited by a civilian unit responsible for an important event in the future alien colonization that will change the course of humanity forever.
Dune
- Author: Frank Herbert
- Year: 1965
- Pages: 784
A saga that has been acclaimed by millions of science fiction fans around the world, whose story was expanded by the son of its creator in several sub-series and films. It follows the story of the Atreides family, who travel on orders from the Galactic Emperor to a hostile planet where water is scarce, but a valuable spice for the galaxy abounds.
The successor to House Atreides, Paul, becomes embroiled in a conflict when he escapes with his mother and discovers in the process that his role in that world and galactic history is far more important than he ever thought possible.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
- Author: Douglas Adams
- Year: 1979
- Pages: 296
A little understood story that, nevertheless, became a cult work for science fiction lovers. This novel is the beginning of a 6-book saga, starring Arthur Dent, a man who witnesses the collapse of the Earth.
Why? Well, an intergalactic group considered that our planet was getting in the way of their plans to create a hyperspace highway, which is why Arthur seeks to escape with his friend, Ford Perfect, to live a series of strange adventures in the company of a space pirate, an android, and another surviving earthling.
2001: A Space Odyssey
- Author: Arthur C. Clarke
- Year: 1968
- Pages: 1112
Although it is a saga composed of 4 books, beginning with 2001: A Space Odyssey, the volumes were condensed into a single story, which has been acclaimed by many people, especially for Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of it. Its story begins by showing us a monolith that falls on the Earth three million years ago.
A similar monolith falls on the Moon in 1999, which was created by intelligent life and rejected the attempts of humans to approach it in their task of sending signals to Saturn. For this reason, the space crew Discovery will seek to get to the bottom of it all in a trip that could be dangerous for all humanity.
Hyperion
- Author: Dan Simmons
- Year: 1989
- Pages: 648
It marks the beginning of the tetralogy The Song of Hyperion, whose name is inspired by the poem “Hyperion,” by John Keats. Its story places us in the 28th century, a time when humanity begins to expand throughout the galaxy after abandoning Earth. The survivors are led by the Hegemony of Man, which forms societies and networks supported by artificial bits of intelligence that managed to generate their own consciousness and freed themselves from the control of humanity.
However, the existence of the galaxy could be threatened by the opening of a kind of portal generated by artifacts sent from the distant future, which encloses a creature known as Shrike that could end the entire universe. A task that hopes to be stopped by a squadron formed of humans who go to meet the being mounted on Hyperion, a spaceship.
Nightflyers and Other Stories
- Author: George R. R. Martin
- Year: 2018
- Pages: 160
Believe it or not, the creator of Game of Thrones not only created this universe but also delved into other fantastic and futuristic worlds like the one he shared through this short story. It mixes, in an extraordinary way, science fiction with horror, and is set in the universe of the Thousand Worlds, from where other of his stories like “The Travels of Tuf” and “Death of Light” also came.
Its story follows a scientific expedition of nine people who are sent to study a new alien race called Volcryn. They join aboard the spaceship Nightflyer which is unique: fully autonomous and piloted by a single man, Captain Royd Eris, whom no one has seen physically, and that ends up causing a kind of chaos among all crew members.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
- Author: Philip K. Dick
- Year: 1968
- Pages: 288
It is very likely that you already know this story although under another name: Blade Runner. This novel places us in a world where almost all the animals in the world are gone, so people choose to adopt electric animals.
In this context, Rick Deckard, a renegade android, searches for a group of latest-generation robots, known as Nexus-6, who are identical to humans and that arrived on Earth after fleeing from space. However, things will become complicated for both the android species and Deckard in this plot which makes an allegory between animals, human existence, and the future of terrestrial life.
Red Mars
- Author: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Year: 1992
- Pages: 592
The first installment of the Martian Trilogy shows us a future in which humanity managed to reach Mars through a crew made up of a group of 100 people of different nationalities. They’re fighting among themselves to know what future they hope to achieve on the red planet and how to adapt terrestrial life to their environment that, in the eyes of many, could be hostile.
Some seek to preserve its exotic and desert beauty, which is led by geologist Ann Clayborne, although others think it is necessary to modify the planet to make it habitable without the need to use a special suit, a group that is led by scientist Saxifrage Russell.
What did you think of these books similar to Isaac Asimov’s to enjoy science fiction? Which one was your favorite?
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
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