Foundation
Isaac Asimov
A mathematician predicts the fall of a galactic empire and plans to shorten the dark age that follows, in a classic built on ideas rather than action.
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Books like Dune
Dune pairs a young heir with a desert planet, rival noble houses and a precious resource in a rich, political epic. These seven novels offer big worlds, big ideas and power struggles, at different levels of difficulty.
Books to read next
Hyperion
Dan Simmons
Seven pilgrims, each with a story to tell, travel to a mysterious planet's Time Tombs, in a strange, rich novel modeled on The Canterbury Tales.
The Left Hand of Darkness
Ursula K. Le Guin
An envoy visits a frozen planet whose people have no fixed sex, in a thoughtful classic of politics and culture.
Leviathan Wakes
James S. A. Corey
A ship captain stumbles on a derelict and a conspiracy that could start a war across the solar system, in a fast, gritty space thriller.
Red Rising
Pierce Brown
A society ranked by color, with a hero from the lowest rank scheming to topple the elite, in a violent, fast-paced saga.
Children of Time
Adrian Tchaikovsky
A sweeping tale across thousands of years of an unlikely civilization on a terraformed world and the last humans searching for a home.
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card
A brilliant boy is trained through war games to command a fleet against an alien threat, in a shorter, faster read with a moral edge.
How to choose
Dune is long, dense and political, so choose by the part you want more of. For vast, idea-driven history, start with Foundation, then try Hyperion if you want something stranger and more literary. The Left Hand of Darkness shares Dune's interest in culture and religion on an alien world, and it is shorter. For a faster ride with intrigue, Leviathan Wakes and Red Rising deliver, though Red Rising is very violent and includes sexual violence. Children of Time offers a sweeping, thoughtful read, and Ender's Game is the quick entry point. Most of these open series, but The Left Hand of Darkness stands alone. Dune has sequels too, if you finish and want more.
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