18 books like Player Piano

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

Books like 18 About the book

Cover of The Dispossessed

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: Utopias, Science Fiction

Cover of The man who ended war

The man who ended war Hollis Godfrey · 1908 · 190p · ≈ 6h · Challenging The Secretary of War of the United States receives a letter sent to his and all other nations, declaring that war has too long devastated the earth and the time has come for peace. It orders them to destroy their weapons of warfare and disband their militaries. The letter ends: "One year from this date will I allow for disarmament and no more. At the end of that time, if no heed has been paid to… Shares: Utopias, Science Fiction

Cover of The Monikins

The Monikins James Fenimore Cooper · 1835 · ★ 3.1 · 361p · ≈ 12h · Challenging Described in the introduction as a manuscript sent to the author in Geneva, Switzerland, by a Viscount Householder in gratitude for the author's having saved the Viscount's beautiful wife from accidental death, this novel uses the framework of a south-polar voyage to two unknown countries, Leaphigh [markedly similar in its institutions to England] and Leaplow [singularly like the United States in… Shares: Utopias, Classic Literature

Cover of A Dream of Armageddon

A Dream of Armageddon H. G. Wells · 2003 · 44p · ≈ 1h · Moderate A mild-mannered 19th Century clerk dreams of being a world leader in an apocalyptic future. But is it just a dream? Shares: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Classic Literature

Cover of In the days of the comet

In the days of the comet H. G. Wells · 1906 · ★ 3.3 · 240p · ≈ 8h · Challenging H. G. Wells, in his 1906 In the Days of the Comet uses the vapors of a comet to trigger a deep and lasting change in humanity's perspective on themselves and the world. In the build-up to a great war, poor student William Leadford struggles against the harsh conditions the lower-class live under. He also falls in love with a middle-class girl named Nettie. But when he discovers that Nettie has… Shares: Utopias, Classic Literature, Science Fiction

Cover of The Night Land Volume 1

The Night Land Volume 1 William Hope Hodgson · 1976 · ★ 3.4 · 390p · ≈ 13h · Moderate Described by H. P. Lovecraft as being "one of the most potent pieces of macabre imagination ever written", The Night Land is a classic horror fantasy novel by William Hope Hodgson published in 1912. Telling the story of a dying earth, The Night Land starts with a man from the 17th century who, mourning the death of his true love, is given a vision through the eyes his future incarnation. In that… Shares: Utopias, Classic Literature

Cover of Deathworld 1

Deathworld 1 Harry Harrison · 1960 · ★ 3.9 · 158p · ≈ 5h · Moderate "Deathworld" centers on Jason dinAlt, a professional gambler who uses his somewhat erratic psionic abilities to tip the odds in his favor. He is challenged by a man named Kerk Pyrrus (who turns out to be the ambassador from the planet Pyrrus) to turn a large amount of money into an immense sum by gambling at a government-run casino. He succeeds and survives the planetary government's desperate… Shares: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction

Cover of A Modern Utopia

A Modern Utopia H. G. Wells · 1900 · ★ 3.4 · 344p · ≈ 11h · Challenging Imagine a life without worries. You live in a perfect environment untouched by pollution. You have a job to do and play an important role in society. The politicians are watching out for your best interest. And, you get along with your neighbors. Wells’ utopia may not only be unattainable, it may be detrimental to humanity’s progress. Decide for yourself as you read this classic quest for social… Shares: Utopias, Classic Literature, Science Fiction

Cover of News from nowhere, or, An epoch of rest, being some chapters from a utopian romance

News from nowhere, or, An epoch of rest, being some chapters from a utopian romance William Morris · 1890 · 258p · ≈ 8h · Challenging "Written in 1890, at the close of William Morris's most intense period of political activism, News from Nowhere is a compelling articulation of his mature views on art, work, community, family, and the nature and structure of the ideal society. A utopian narrative of a future society, it is also an immensely entertaining novel.". "This Broadview edition includes a wide variety of contextualizing… Shares: Utopias, Classic Literature, Science Fiction

Cover of Looking Backward from 2000 to 1887

Looking Backward from 2000 to 1887 Edward Bellamy · 1945 · ★ 4.0 · 222p · ≈ 7h · Challenging This book is a utopian science fiction novel by Edward Bellamy, a lawyer and writer from Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts; it was first published in 1888. According to Erich Fromm, Looking Backward is "one of the most remarkable books ever published in America". Shares: Utopias, Science Fiction

Cover of The Sirens of Titan

The Sirens of Titan Kurt Vonnegut · 1959 · ★ 4.2 · 317p · ≈ 10h · Moderate "His best book," Esquire wrote of Kurt Vonnegut's 1959 novel The Sirens of Titan, adding, "he dares not only to ask the ultimate question about the meaning of life, but to answer it." This novel fits into that aspect of the Vonnegut canon that might be classified as science fiction, a quality that once led Time to describe Vonnegut as "George Orwell, Dr. Caligari and Flash Gordon compounded into… Shares: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Classic Literature, Science Fiction, Mystery

Cover of The Colors of Space

The Colors of Space Marion Zimmer Bradley · 1963 · ★ 3.7 · 130p · ≈ 4h · Moderate Synopsis - When Bart Steele goes to the Earth spaceport to meet his father for the first time in five years, he doesn’t realise that his life will never be the same again. Half- Mentorian by birth, he is able to understand and co-exist with the Lhari, the non-human species which has a strangle hold on space travel. Bart overhears the Lhari at the spaceport discussing the need to intercept an… Shares: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction

Cover of Who Goes There?

Who Goes There? John W. Campbell, Jr. · 1948 · ★ 3.7 · 230p · ≈ 7h · Challenging A remote scientific research expedition at the North Pole is invaded by a monstrous alien, reawakened after lying frozen for centuries after a crash-landing. The alien is intelligent, cunning and a shape-changer who can assume the form and personality of anything it destroys and soon it is among the men of the expedition, killing and replacing them, using its shape-changing ability to lull the… Shares: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery

Cover of An African Millionaire

An African Millionaire Grant Allen · 1897 · 181p · ≈ 6h · Challenging "A genre classic, Grant Allen's AN AFRICAN MILLIONAIRE is the perfect addition to our mini library of classic crime fiction. Wealthy, confident, and handsome, Charles Van Drift is not accustomed to being swindled and his brush with Colonel Clay both rattles and infuriates him. As his South African diamond fortune takes hit after hit from the quick-witted master of disguise, Allen leaves even the… Shares: Classic Literature, Mystery

Cover of The Coming Race

The Coming Race Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton · 1871 · ★ 3.2 · 58p · ≈ 1h · Challenging The Coming Race, an early science-fiction work, with its superman race the Vril-ya descended from the same ancestors as the great Aryan family, from which in varied streams has flowed the dominant civilization of the world spawned a occult secret society known as the Vril Society or Luminous Lodge - its philosphy and swastika symbol profoundly influenced the Nazis. Please Note: This book has… Shares: Utopias, Science Fiction

Cover of The Midwich Cuckoos

The Midwich Cuckoos John Wyndham · 1957 · ★ 3.9 · 220p · ≈ 7h · Moderate In the sleepy English village of Midwich, a mysterious silver object appears and all the inhabitants fall unconscious. A day later the object is gone and everyone awakens unharmed – except that all the women in the village are discovered to be pregnant.The resultant children of Midwich do not belong to their parents: all are blonde, all are golden eyed. They grow up too fast and their minds… Shares: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Classic Literature, Science Fiction, Mystery

Cover of Machines That Think

Machines That Think Isaac Asimov · 1984 · ★ 3.4 · 627p · ≈ 20h · Moderate Moxon's Master - short story by Ambrose Bierce The Lost Machine - novelette by John Wyndham Rex - short story by Harl Vincent Robbie - short story by Isaac Asimov (variant of Strange Playfellow 1940) Farewell to the Master - novelette by Harry Bates Robot's Return - short story by Robert Moore Williams (variant of Robots Return) Though Dreamers Die - novelette by Lester del Rey Fulfillment -… Shares: Computers, Science Fiction

Cover of The Night Watch

The Night Watch Sergeĭ Lukʹi͡anenko · 1999 · ★ 3.7 · 475p · ≈ 15h · Moderate The Night Watch series has caused a sensation never before seen in Russia -- its popularity is frenzied and unprecedented, and driven by a truly great, epic story. In 2005 Fox Searchlight announced it had acquired the Russian film adaptation for an American release. Interest in the books here is now set to reach a fever pitch.Set in modern day Moscow, Night Watch is a world as elaborate and… Shares: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction

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