swap_horiz Glasshouse Alternatives

1

Exhalation

Exhalation is a 2019 collection of science fiction short stories by Ted Chiang that explores profound themes regarding f...

Philosophical Hard SF Short Stories Hugo Winner

9.2 Excellent

2

The Dark Forest

The Dark Forest is a 2008 science fiction novel by Chinese author Liu Cixin, serving as the second volume in the Remembr...

Hard SF Sequel Trilogy Liu Cixin

8.8 Great

3

Blindsight

Blindsight is a 2006 hard science fiction novel by Peter Watts exploring consciousness, first contact with aliens, and t...

Horror Hard SF First Contact Consciousness

8.7 Great

4

A Deepness in the Sky

A Deepness in the Sky is a 1999 science fiction novel by Vernor Vinge that explores the emergence of an alien civilizati...

Space Opera Hard SF First Contact Vinge

8.7 Great

5

The Three-Body Problem

The Three-Body Problem is a 2008 science fiction novel by Chinese author Liu Cixin that won the Hugo Award and depicts h...

Hard SF Chinese First Contact Hugo Winner

8.7 Great

6

Red Mars

Red Mars is a 1992 hard science fiction novel by Kim Stanley Robinson depicting the colonization and terraforming of Mar...

Hard SF Mars Colonization Hugo Winner

8.6 Great

7

Nemesis Games

Written by James S. A. Corey and published in 2015, this fifth book in The Expanse series deals with a catastrophic atta...

Space Opera Thriller Sequel Corey

8.6 Great

8

Leviathan Wakes

Published in 2011 by James S. A. Corey, this space opera is the first novel in The Expanse series and was nominated for...

Space Opera Hard SF Solar System Corey

8.5 Great

9

Death's End

Death's End is a 2010 science fiction novel by Chinese author Liu Cixin that concludes the Remembrance of Earth's Past t...

Hard SF Sequel Trilogy Far Future

8.4 Great

10

Startide Rising

Published in 1983 by David Brin, this novel is a major work in his Uplift universe and won both the Hugo and Nebula Awar...

Uplift Hard SF Hugo Winner Brin

8.4 Great

11

Rendezvous with Rama

Rendezvous with Rama is a 1973 science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke about humanity's encounter with a mysterious al...

Classic Hard SF Space Exploration First Contact

8.3 Great

12

Ringworld

Ringworld is a 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven about explorers investigating a massive artificial ring-shaped...

Classic Hard SF Hugo Winner Niven

8.3 Great

13

The Mote in God's Eye

The Mote in God's Eye is a 1974 science fiction novel by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle detailing humanity's first cont...

Classic Hard SF First Contact Niven

8.3 Great

14

Revelation Space

Published in 2000 by British author Alastair Reynolds, this novel is the first in the dark, gothic space opera Revelatio...

Space Opera Hard SF Dark Reynolds

8.3 Great

15

House of Suns

Written by Alastair Reynolds and published in 2008, this standalone space opera follows immortal clone lineages across m...

Space Opera Standalone Hard SF Reynolds

8.3 Great

16

Accelerando

Accelerando is a 2005 science fiction novel by Charles Stross exploring the technological singularity and post-human evo...

Comedy Hard SF Transhumanism Stross

8.0 Great

17

Recursion

Recursion is a 2019 science fiction thriller by Blake Crouch that examines the catastrophic consequences of a technology...

Time Travel Memory Thriller Near Future

8.0 Great

18

Echopraxia

Echopraxia is a 2014 hard science fiction novel by Peter Watts, a companion piece to Blindsight exploring transhumanism...

Hard SF Sequel Consciousness Watts

7.7 Good

19

Saturn's Children

Saturn's Children is a 2008 science fiction novel by Charles Stross set in a solar system where humanity is extinct and...

Hard SF Post Human Solar System Robots

7.1 Good

20

Artemis

Artemis is a 2017 science fiction novel by Andy Weir, following the author's debut The Martian, and centers on a heist p...

Hard SF Thriller Near Future Moon

6.7 Fair