18 books like Authority

What to read after Authority — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

The Dispossessed Ursula K. Le Guin · 1974 · ★ 4.3 · 352p · ≈ 11h · Moderate Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the planet, Anarres, to challenge… Shares: Science Fiction

Acceptance Jeff VanderMeer · 2014 · ★ 3.8 · 356p · ≈ 11h · Moderate From the publisher--- It is winter in Area X, the mysterious wilderness that has defied explanation for thirty years, rebuffing expedition after expedition, refusing to reveal its secrets. As Area X expands, the agency tasked with investigating and overseeing it--the Southern Reach--has collapsed on itself in confusion. Now one last, desperate team crosses the border, determined to reach a… Shares: Scientific expeditions, Psychic ability, Scientists, Horror

Junkyard Planet H. Beam Piper · 1631 · ★ 2.0 · 192p · ≈ 6h · Demanding This novel had its genesis in a much shorter story called "Graveyard of Dreams" (Galaxy, 1958) Piper expanded it to book length, and it appeared in 1963 as Junkyard Planet. Ace later renamed the book The Cosmic Computer for its paperback appearance. This edition returns the book to Piper's original title, Junkyard Planet.Conn Maxwell returns from Terra to his home world of Poictesme, dubbed "The… Shares: Scientists, Science Fiction

Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer · 2014 · ★ 3.9 · 208p · ≈ 6h · Moderate Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The twelfth expedition arrives expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers. They discover a massive topographic anomaly and life-forms that surpass understanding. But it's the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are… Shares: Discoveries in geography, Scientists, Horror, Science Fiction

Blue remembered Earth Alastair Reynolds · 2012 · ★ 3.9 · 538p · ≈ 17h · Moderate One-hundred-and-fifty years from now, the moon and Mars are settled, and colonies stretch all the way out to the edge of the solar system. But something has come to light on the Moon--secrets that could change everything--or tear this near utopia apar Shares: Secrecy, Quests, Science Fiction

The Voyage of the Space Beagle A. E. van Vogt · 1950 · ★ 4.5 · 192p · ≈ 6h · Moderate One of the great original classics of modern SF returns! An all-time classic space saga, The Voyage of the Space Beagle is one of the pinnacles of Golden Age SF, an influence on generations of stories. An episodic novel filled with surprises and provocative ideas, this is the story of a great exploration ship sent out into the unknown reaches of space on a long mission of discovery. They… Shares: Scientific expeditions, Science Fiction

The Chemist Stephenie Meyer · 2016 · ★ 3.8 · 528p · ≈ 17h · Moderate She used to work for the U.S. government, one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn't even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came without warning, and they killed the only other person she trusted. When her former handler offers her a way out, it is her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But the information she acquires only makes… Shares: Secrecy, Intelligence officers

Carrion comfort Dan Simmons · 1989 · ★ 3.9 · 696p · ≈ 23h · Moderate Shares: Psychic ability, Horror

Black House Stephen King · 2002 · ★ 4.1 · 1456p · ≈ 48h · Moderate Shares: Quests, Horror, Fantasy Shares: Quests, Horror, Fantasy

Fool's Fate Robin Hobb · 2003 · ★ 4.5 · 805p · ≈ 26h · Moderate A heralded writer of epic fantasy, Robin Hobb has given readers worlds within worlds in her heroic Farseer and Liveship Traders trilogies. Now she takes the final step in the breathtaking trilogy of the Tawny Man, as the tale of FitzChivalry Farseer comes to an epic end. Rife with boundless adventure and unforgettable characters, Fool's Fate is destined to become a classic of the genre.Assassin,… Shares: Quests, Fantasy

Triplanetary Edward E. Smith · 1948 · ★ 3.7 · 272p · ≈ 9h · Challenging Lensman series, Book 1 of 7 Even back before the first bits of this story hit the newsstands, the folks who published it in Amazing Stories (January through April, 1934) knew they were on to something special. "We are sure that our readers will be highly pleased to have us give the first installment of a story by Dr. Smith. It will continue for several numbers and is a worthy follower of the… Shares: Scientists, Science Fiction

Firestarter Stephen King · 1980 · ★ 3.9 · 401p · ≈ 13h · Moderate Firestarter is a science fiction-horror thriller novel by Stephen King, first published in September 1980. In July and August 1980, two excerpts from the novel were published in Omni. In 1981, Firestarter was nominated as Best Novel for the British Fantasy Award, Locus Poll Award, and Balrog Award. ---------- Also contained in: Ominbus Shares: Psychic ability, Horror, Science Fiction

Exhalation Ted Chiang · 2014 · ★ 4.3 · 338p · ≈ 11h · Moderate NATIONAL BESTSELLER • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • Nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories—two published for the very first time—all from the mind of the incomparable author of Stories of Your Life and Others Tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine, these stories will change the way you think, feel,… Shares: Scientists, Science Fiction

The Institute Stephen King · 2019 · ★ 4.2 · 624p · ≈ 20h · Moderate In the middle of the night, in a house on a quiet street in suburban Minneapolis, intruders silently murder Luke Ellis’s parents and load him into a black SUV. The operation takes less than two minutes. Luke will wake up at The Institute, in a room that looks just like his own, except there’s no window. And outside his door are other doors, behind which are other kids with special… Shares: Psychic ability, Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Továrna na absolutno Karel Čapek · 1922 · ★ 4.6 · 228p · ≈ 7h · Challenging The Czech writer Karel Čapek wrote his novel Továrna na absolutno in 1922. It was translated into English and published by Macmillan in 1927 as The Absolute at Large. The novel is a satirical piece of science fiction, and starts with the invention of an “atomic engine” in the future year 1943 which can convert matter directly into energy. Such engines can operate machinery for months from a… Shares: Scientists, Science Fiction

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus Mary Shelley · 1818 · ★ 3.9 · 324p · ≈ 10h · Challenging Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. Shelley started writing the story when she was 18, and the first edition was published anonymously in London on 1 January 1818, when she was 20. Her name first… Shares: Scientists, Horror, Science Fiction

Luckiest Girl Alive Jessica Knoll · 2001 · ★ 3.5 · 374p · ≈ 12h · Moderate "A young woman strives to create the perfect life--husband, home, career--until a violent incident from her past threatens to unravel everything and expose her most shocking secret of all"-- Shares: Secrecy, Literary

Storm Over Warlock Andre Norton · 1960 · ★ 3.9 · 172p · ≈ 5h · Moderate Earth is colonizing worlds, but there are intelligent bugs who want to glean everything off of those worlds and have no hesitation in killing men to do it. A young man and his pet wolverines are the only two survivors of such a raid and must keep scrambling to keep from joining their dead - up until the time when he decides to carry the fight to the bugs. Like most all of Andre Norton's books,… Shares: Quests, Science Fiction

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