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Top Ten Books for Readers Who Like Star Trek

Happy Top Ten Tuesday!

1. RedShirts by John Scalzi



Scalzi's hilarious spoof on the old red shirt joke turns into a bona fide adventure of its own, with twists and turns on everyone's favorite formulas.

2. The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord



Ancient enmity, new beginnings, and exploring strange new cultures, this book has everything a Star Trek fan will love.

3. The Galaxy Game by Karen Lord



The sequel to The Best of All Possible Worlds includes a game that fuels the galactic economy, a lovable outcast, and new-old discoveries that will change the universe. Plus, some questionable possible violations of "embargos" (aka the Prime Directive).

4. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie



A starship turned person out to undo its past wrongs and reveal the truth to the universe. If that's not a Star Trek-worthy plot, what is?

5. Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie



A closer look at social injustices on a particular world: again, Trek-esque gold.

6. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams



Space, multi-headed aliens, improbability drive, "resistance is useless," depressed robots, and the end of the universe, definitely not a five-book trilogy to miss.

7. And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer



The sequel to the original five Hitchhiker's Guides is also not to be missed, even though it's not by Adams. Colfer manages a hilarious and poignant riff on his predecessor's work that brings the characters full circle.

8. Dune by Frank Herbert (and sequels)



Perhaps obvious, but just in case. The Dune-verse is vast, complicated, and rife with survival, aristocratic rivalry , transportation-fueled economy, cults, genetic manipulation, and vengeance galore, and, yes, sometimes saving humanistic grace too.

9. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (and the rest of the Hainish cycle)



An ice planet of hermaphrodites is enough to make a tense and challenging society for the narrator, there as an observer, who soon becomes personally invested. Other tales in the Hianish cycle present similar quandries.

10. The Circuit: Executor Rising by Rhett C. Bruno



Another space-faring society with deep troubles, but heroes too.

Comments

Rudejasper said…
What a fantastic list! The books I know on here definitely fit and I will check out the others. I've not read anything by Karen Lord - they look especially interesting.
Jason C said…
Cool list. Mine is quite similar but I focused on the sci-fi genre itself.

I really want to read Ancillary Justice but just haven't gotten around to it.

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