10 books for fans of What If?
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Fuzzy Nation
Fuzzy Sapiens • Book 7
by John Scalzi
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Independent prospector Jack Holloway's discovery of cute, possibly intelligent creatures could destroy ZaraCorp's mining operation. Scalzi updates a sci-fi classic with humor, corporate satire, and genuine heart.
★ 4.15 Goodreads (32.3K ratings) - 2
Redshirts
by John Scalzi
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What happens when Star Trek redshirts figure out they're expendable? Scalzi's brilliant meta-fiction follows crew members who realize they're trapped in a badly written TV show where extras always die horribly on away missions.
★ 3.87 Goodreads (118.6K ratings) - 3
The Martian
The Martian • Book 1
by Andy Weir
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Weir's debut follows botanist Mark Watney's resourceful attempt to survive alone on Mars after his crew evacuates, believing him dead during a dust storm.
★ 4.42 Goodreads (1.3M ratings) - 4
More of the Best of Science Fiction and Fantasy
by Richard Curtis, Arthur C. Clarke, Siddig El Fadil, Karen Joy Fowler, Joe Haldeman, Roger Zelazny, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Nana Visitor, Orson Scott Card, Robert Silverberg, Robin Curtis, John Varley, Claudia Christian, Lawrence Watt-Evans
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Ten carefully selected tales from genre masters like Arthur C. Clarke and Orson Scott Card showcase science fiction and fantasy at their most inventive.
★ 3.70 Goodreads (57 ratings) - 5
The Greatest Science Fiction Stories of the 20th Century
by Martin H. Greenberg, Greg Bear, Terry Bisson, David Brin, John W. Campbell Jr., Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, Ursula K. Le Guin, Judith Merril, Frederik Pohl, Eric Frank Russell, Terry Farrell, Denise Crosby, Alexander Siddig, Melissa Manchester
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Essential 20th-century sci-fi collection spans from Arthur C. Clarke's cosmic mysteries to Harlan Ellison's twisted childhood nightmares in "Jeffty Is Five."
★ 3.61 Goodreads (165 ratings) - 6
Bloodchild and Other Stories
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In Butler's award-winning title story, humans serve as hosts for alien reproduction in an arrangement that's both intimate and horrifying. Her collected stories examine power, survival, and what it means to be human when humanity isn't in control.
★ 4.34 Goodreads (27.6K ratings) - 7
The Consuming Fire
The Interdependency • Book 2
by John Scalzi
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Emperox Grayland watches the Flow that enables interstellar travel disappear, stranding entire star systems while politicians deny the coming catastrophe.
★ 4.22 Goodreads (37.6K ratings) - 8
The Last Emperox
The Interdependency • Book 3
by John Scalzi
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Star systems vanish behind the collapsing Flow while politicians and profiteers deny the science, leaving Emperox Grayland to save what she can of human civilization.
★ 4.14 Goodreads (33.4K ratings) - 9
The Collapsing Empire
The Interdependency • Book 1
by John Scalzi
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Scalzi builds a space empire dependent on interdimensional Flow streams, then watches it crumble as the physics that bind civilization start breaking down.
★ 4.13 Goodreads (60.3K ratings) - 10
The Android's Dream
The Android's Dream • Book 1
by John Scalzi
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Diplomatic relations with an alien species depend on finding a specific genetically-modified sheep before Earth faces annihilation—only Scalzi could make this work.
★ 3.99 Goodreads (24.2K ratings)