Books like 'You Bright and Risen Angels'
Readers who enjoyed You Bright and Risen Angels by William T. Vollmann also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical sc-fi 20th century politics literary-fiction dystopia postmodernism satire humor crime
-
Animal Farm / 1984 by George Orwell
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 72 ratingsThis edition features George Orwell’s best-known novels—1984 and Animal Farm—with an introduction by Christopher Hitchens.In 1984, London is a grim city where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston Smith joins a secret revolutionary organisation called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party...Categorized as:
dystopia humor literary-fiction politics satire 20th-century alternate-history animals -
![Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales by Ray Bradbury]()
Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales by Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.41 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsFor more than sixty years, the imagination of Ray Bradbury has opened doors into remarkable places, ushering us across unexplored territories of the heart and mind while leading us inexorably toward a profound understanding of ourselves and the universe we inhabit. In this landmark volume, America's preeminent storyteller offers us one hundred treasures from a lifetime of words and ideas...Categorized as:
dystopia humor literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies classics -
![George Orwell Complete & Unabridged by George Orwell]()
George Orwell Complete & Unabridged by George Orwell
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsContains the following works by George Orwell:- Animal Farm- Burmese Days- A Clergyman's Daughter- Coming Up for Air- Keep the Aspidistra Flying- Nineteen... -
![Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.]()
Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 62 ratingsLibrarian note: Alternate cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.Mother Night is a daring challenge to our moral sense. American Howard W. Campbell, Jr., a spy during World War II, is now on trial in Israel as a Nazi war criminal... -
-
![The Cyberiad by Stanisław Lem]()
The Cyberiad by Stanisław Lem
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsA brilliantly funny collection of stories for the next age, from the celebrated author of Solaris. Ranging from the prophetic to the surreal, these stories demonstrate Stanislaw Lem's vast talent and remarkable ability to blend meaning and magic into a wholly entertaining and captivating work... -
![Complete Stories by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Dave Eggers]()
Complete Stories by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Dave Eggers
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFeaturing five never-before-published Vonnegut stories!Here for the first time is the complete short fiction of one of the twentieth century’s foremost imaginative geniuses. More than half of Vonnegut’s output was short fiction, and never before has the world had occasion to wrestle with it all together... -
![The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy by Stanisław Lem]()
The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy by Stanisław Lem
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Futurological Congress is the fourth satirical science fiction novel in the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy series from Kafka Prize–winning author Stanislaw Lem. “Nobody can really know the future. But few could imagine it better than Lem... -
![The Bedbug and Selected Poetry by Vladimir Mayakovsky]()
The Bedbug and Selected Poetry by Vladimir Mayakovsky
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThis selection of Mayakovsky's work covers his entire career--from the earliest pre-revolutionary lyrics to a poem found in a notebook after his suicide. Splendid translations of the poems, with the Russian on a facing page, and a fresh, colloquial version of Mayakovsky's dramatic masterpiece, The Bedbug... -
![The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 1: The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford by Philip K. Dick, Steven Owen Godersky]()
The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 1: The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford by Philip K. Dick, Steven Owen Godersky
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMany thousands of readers consider Philip K. Dick the greatest science fiction mind on any planet. Since his untimely death in 1982, interest in his works has continued to mount, and his reputation has been further enhanced by a growing body of critical attention... -
![Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison, Michael Moorcock]()
Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison, Michael Moorcock
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe most honored anthology of fantastic fiction ever published, featuring the works of such luminaries as Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, Philip Jose Farmer, Robert Bloch, Philip K. Dick, Larry Niven, Fritz Leiber, Poul Anderson, Damon Knight, J.G. Ballard, John Brunner, Frederik Pohl, Roger Zelazny and Samuel Delany... -
![War with the Newts by Karel Čapek]()
War with the Newts by Karel Čapek
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsMan discovers a species of giant, intelligent newts and learns to exploit them so successfully that the newts gain skills and arms enough to challenge man's place at the top of the animal kingdom. Along the way, Karel Capek satirizes science, runaway capitalism, fascism, journalism, militarism, even Hollywood... -
![A Prophet Without Honor: A Novel of Alternative History by Joseph Wurtenbaugh]()
A Prophet Without Honor: A Novel of Alternative History by Joseph Wurtenbaugh
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings‘A Prophet Without Honor’ is that rare novel that provides a rich, entertaining and fully immersive reading experience, along with a resonant, thought-provoking subtext. Written in epistolary style and populated with interesting, fully-realized characters, the multi-general narrative is a seamless blend of authentic fact and sound speculation...Categorized as:
literary-fiction politics 20th-century adult alternate-history book epistolary fiction -
![Spares by Michael Marshall Smith]()
Spares by Michael Marshall Smith
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSpares - human clones, the ultimate health insurance. An eye for an eye, but some people are doing all the taking.Spares - the story of Jack Randall: burnt-out, dropped out, and with a zero credit rating at the luck bank. After five years lying low on a Spares farm, looking after inmates that can't even spell luck, he is finally faced with a chance at redemption... -
![Four Ways to Forgiveness by Ursula K. Le Guin]()
Four Ways to Forgiveness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAt the far end of our universe, on the twin planets of Werel and Yeowe, all humankind is divided into "assets" and "owners," tradition and liberation are at war, and freedom takes many forms. Here is a society as complex and troubled as any on our world, peopled with unforgettable characters struggling to become fully human...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction politics 20th-century action-adventure adult aliens anthologies -
-
![R Is for Rocket by Ray Bradbury]()
R Is for Rocket by Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsContents:Introduction · in R Is for Rocket [“King of the Gray Spaces”] · ss Famous Fantastic Mysteries Dec ’43 The End of the Beginning [“Next Stop: The Stars”] · ss Maclean’s Oct 27 ’56 The Fog Horn [“The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms”] · ss The Saturday Evening Post Jun 23 ’51 The Rocket [“Outcast of the Stars”] · ss Super Science Stories Mar ’50 The Rocket Man · ss Maclean’s Mar 1 ’51 The Golden...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure anthologies children-books classics fiction -
![The Heart Of A Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov]()
The Heart Of A Dog by Mikhail Bulgakov
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsA rich successful Moscow professor befriends a stray dog and attempts a scientific first by transplanting into it the testicles and pituitary gland of a recently deceased man. A distinctly worryingly human animal is now on the loose, and the professor's hitherto respectable life becomes a nightmare beyond endurance... -
![The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey]()
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIn an alternate world where nobody won WWII, three brothers are the only boys left in an orphanage whose dark secret is the reason for their existence—and the key to their survival—from the acclaimed author of Pet.After a very different outcome to WWII than the one history recorded, 1979 England is a country ruled by a government whose aims have sinister underpinnings and alliances... -
![Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.]()
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 94 ratingsSelected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time, Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world's great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous firebombing of Dresden, Billy Pilgrim's odyssey through time reflects the mythic journey of our own fractured lives as we search for meaning in what we fear most...Categorized as:
dystopia humor literary-fiction politics postmodernism satire 20th-century action-adventure -
![Schrödinger's Cat II: The Trick Top Hat by Robert Anton Wilson]()
Schrödinger's Cat II: The Trick Top Hat by Robert Anton Wilson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings... -
![Gunslinger by Ed Dorn, Edward Dorn]()
Gunslinger by Ed Dorn, Edward Dorn
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDorn's high-spirited, crazy-quilt, complex anti-epic is a masterful critique of late twentieth-century capitalism and is one of the great comic poems of American literature... -
![Watchbird by Robert Sheckley]()
Watchbird by Robert Sheckley
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen Gelsen entered, he saw that the rest of the watchbird manufacturers were already present. There were six of them, not counting himself, and the room was blue with expensive cigar smoke. As a watchbird manufacturer, he was a member manufacturer of salvation, he reminded himself wryly. Very exclusive. You must have a certified government contract if you want to save the human race... -
![His Name was Death by Rafael Bernal, Kit Schluter]()
His Name was Death by Rafael Bernal, Kit Schluter
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA bitter drunk forsakes civilization and takes to the Mexican jungle, trapping animals, selling their pelts to buy liquor for colossal benders, and slowly rotting away in his fetid hut... -
![Scepticism Inc by Bo Fowler]()
Scepticism Inc by Bo Fowler
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEdgar Malroy is the founder of a metaphysical betting shop. A weary atheist, Edgar challenges people to put their money where their mouths are about their faith. If someone really believes that the 16th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama is the one true incarnation, or that God is love, or that his grandfather's spirit lives in a tree, Edgar reasons he should be willing to bet money on it... -
![Uova fatali / Cuore di cane by Mikhail Bulgakov]()
Uova fatali / Cuore di cane by Mikhail Bulgakov
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDeluxe Russian edition of Bulgakov's two most famous early novellas. Also contains Bulgakov's short story collection The Diaboliad and assorted prose sketches. Gorgeous illustrations, limited edition... -
-
![Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson]()
Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsMany people are not aware of a startling recommendation that was made by our current Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. He was sharply critical of the call for a "New World Order" made by President George H. W. Bush...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction politics 20th-century action-adventure apocalyptic audiobook book -
![Tower of Babylon by Ted Chiang]()
Tower of Babylon by Ted Chiang
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA Vintage Shorts “Short Story Month” Selection Together with a crew of other miners and cart-pullers, Hillalum is recruited to climb the Tower of Babylon and unearth what lies beyond the vault of heaven...Categorized as:
dystopia humor literary-fiction satire 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history -
![Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler]()
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsDarkness at Noon (from the German: Sonnenfinsternis) is a novel by the Hungarian-born British novelist Arthur Koestler, first published in 1940. His best-known work tells the tale of Rubashov, a Bolshevik 1917 revolutionary who is cast out, imprisoned and tried for treason by the Soviet government he'd helped create... -
![Soul by Andrei Platonov, Robert Chandler]()
Soul by Andrei Platonov, Robert Chandler
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsA New York Review Books OriginalThe Soviet writer Andrey Platonov saw much of his work suppressed or censored in his lifetime. In recent decades, however, these lost works have reemerged, and the eerie poetry and poignant humanity of Platonov’s vision have become ever more clear... -
![Memoirs of a Space Traveler: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy by Stanisław Lem]()
Memoirs of a Space Traveler: Further Reminiscences of Ijon Tichy by Stanisław Lem
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsIjon Tichy is an ordinary space traveler whose extraordinary curiosity leads him to the very fringes of science. Their plans are grandiose, the bargains they make too often Faustian, for the ends these scientists pursue concern humanity's greatest and most ancient obsessions: immortality, artificial intelligence, and top-of-the-line consumer items... -
![Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley by Robert Sheckley]()
Store of the Worlds: The Stories of Robert Sheckley by Robert Sheckley
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRobert Sheckley was an eccentric master of the American short story, and his tales, whether set in dystopic cityscapes, ultramodern advertising agencies, or aboard spaceships lighting out for hostile planets, are among the most startlingly original of the twentieth century...Categorized as:
dystopia humor literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies classics -
![I Sing the Body Electric! & Other Stories by Ray Bradbury]()
I Sing the Body Electric! & Other Stories by Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe mind of Ray Bradbury is a wonder-filled carnival of delight and terror that stretches from the verdant Irish countryside to the coldest reaches of outer space. Yet all his work is united by one common thread: a vivid and profound understanding of the vast set of emotions that bring strength and mythic resonance to our frail species...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction satire 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook -
![This Perfect Day by Ira Levin]()
This Perfect Day by Ira Levin
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe story is set in a seemingly perfect global society. Uniformity is the defining feature; there is only one language and all ethnic groups have been eugenically merged into one race called “The Family.” The world is ruled by a central computer called UniComp that has been programmed to keep every single human on the surface of the earth in check... -
![The Children's Story by James Clavell, George Selden]()
The Children's Story by James Clavell, George Selden
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsIt was a simple incident in the life of James Clavell—a talk with his young daughter just home from school—that inspired this chilling tale of what could happen in twenty-five quietly devastating minutes. He writes, "The Children's Story came into being that day. It was then that I really realized how vulnerable my child's mind was —any mind, for that matter—under controlled circumstances... -
![The Snail on the Slope by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky]()
The Snail on the Slope by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsThe Snail on the Slope takes place in two worlds. One is the Administration, an institution run by a surreal, Kafkaesque bureaucracy whose aim is to govern the forest below. The other is the Forest, a place of fear, weird creatures, primitive people and violence. Peretz, who works at the Administration, wants to visit the Forest... -
-
![Black No More by George S. Schuyler]()
Black No More by George S. Schuyler
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA hillarious exploration of the bizarre events which occur when blacks literally 'disappear' from society... -
![The Time Wanderers by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky]()
The Time Wanderers by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIN THE FAR FUTURE...Mankind knows contentment until the Earth is besieged by a wave of unexplained phenomena. First come the mass phobias. Then, the creatures. Finally, the transformations.Is this the work of the mysterious Wanderers? Could they be manipulating humanity - and to what end? When agent Toivo Glumov is sent to investigate, he's in for some superhuman surprises.. -
![Polostan by Neal Stephenson]()
Polostan by Neal Stephenson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe first installment in Neal Stephenson’s three-part Bomb Light cycle, Polostan follows the early life of the enigmatic Dawn Rae Bjornberg. Born in the American West to a clan of cowboy anarchists, Dawn is raised in Leningrad after the Russian Revolution by her Russian father, a party line Leninist who re-christens her Aurora...Categorized as:
politics crime literary-fiction fiction historical-fiction sci-fi historical audiobook -
![Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon]()
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsWinner of the 1973 National Book Award, Gravity's Rainbow is a postmodern epic, a work as exhaustively significant to the second half of the 20th century as Joyce's Ulysses was to the first. Its sprawling, encyclopedic narrative and penetrating analysis of the impact of technology on society make it an intellectual tour de force... -
![Flatland / Sphereland by Edwin A. Abbott, Dionijs Burger Jr.]()
Flatland / Sphereland by Edwin A. Abbott, Dionijs Burger Jr.
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsFlatland : the classic speculation on life in four dimensions; Sphereland : a continuing speculation on an expanding...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction 20th-century adult alternate-universe book classics fiction -
![Chronopolis, and other stories by J.G. Ballard]()
Chronopolis, and other stories by J.G. Ballard
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsNobody has had more influence on the development of modern science fiction than Ballard. Above all, no one has done more to set new standards for sheer technique in this field. He is a man of towering imagination and acknowledged genius at handling the most intricate of plots.It is an invidious task to choose from such a rich body of work as Ballard's the sixteen finest stories... -
![Sultana's Dream: And Selections from The Secluded Ones by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Hanna Papanek]()
Sultana's Dream: And Selections from The Secluded Ones by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, Hanna Papanek
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSultana’s Dream, first published in 1905 in a Madras English newspaper, is a witty feminist utopia—a tale of reverse purdah that posits a world in which men are confined indoors and women have taken over the public sphere, ending a war nonviolently and restoring health and beauty to the world...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction politics 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies classics -
![White Lotus by John Hersey]()
White Lotus by John Hersey
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe story follows a young Arizona girl renamed White Lotus. As she ages, she evolves from “a bewildered, terrified slave to a conscious and intelligent revolutionary.” Her orchestrated, yet simple act of standing before her captors on one leg, head bowed like a sleeping bird becomes an often repeated act of nonviolent civil disobedience, an unconventional act in the spirit of Gandhi and Dr... -
![The Membranes by Chi Ta-wei]()
The Membranes by Chi Ta-wei
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsIt is the late twenty-first century, and Momo is the most celebrated dermal care technician in all of T City. Humanity has migrated to domes at the bottom of the sea to escape devastating climate change. The world is dominated by powerful media conglomerates and runs on exploited cyborg labor...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult book cyberpunk feminism -
![The Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley]()
The Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWill Barrent had no memory of his crime . . . but he found himself shipped across space to a brutal prison-planet. On Omega, his only chance to advance himself -- and stay alive -- is to commit an endless series of violent crimes. The average inmate's life expectancy from time of arrival is three years... -
-
![Apocryphal Tales by Karel Čapek]()
Apocryphal Tales by Karel Čapek
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsThe stories in this collection tackle great events and figures of history, myth, and literature in unexpected ways, questioning views on such basic concepts as justice, progress, wisdom, belief, and patriotism... -
![The Name is Archer by Ross Macdonald]()
The Name is Archer by Ross Macdonald
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsMYSTERYIncludes the following Find the womanGone girlThe bearded ladyThe suicideGuilt-edged blondeThe sinister habitWild goose chaseMidnight blueSleeping... -
![La Loterie et autres contes noirs by Shirley Jackson]()
La Loterie et autres contes noirs by Shirley Jackson
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsDans le monde de Shirley Jackson, rien ne paraît sortir de l'ordinaire. De petites villes, des couples, des maisons, des gens qu'on croise dans le bus ou chez l'épicier. Au premier abord, tout est normal. Puis un détail sème le doute. Un autre fait tout déraper vers des zones noires et troubles, qui suscitent une profonde inquiétude chez le lecteur... -
![Pilgrimage to Earth by Robert Sheckley]()
Pilgrimage to Earth by Robert Sheckley
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsPilgrimage to Earth is a collection of science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley. It was first published in October 1957 by Bantam Books (catalogue number A1672) and already reprinted a month later... -
![VALIS by Philip K. Dick]()
VALIS by Philip K. Dick
Rated: 3.93 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsVALIS is the first book in Philip K. Dick's incomparable final trio of novels (the others being The Divine Invasion and The Transmigration of Timothy Archer). This disorienting and bleakly funny work is about a schizophrenic hero named Horselover Fat; the hidden mysteries of Gnostic Christianity; and reality as revealed through a pink laser... -
![In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka]()
In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsIn the Penal Colony is a short story by Franz Kafka. This story is set in a penal colony with no name. The book describes the last use of a torture and execution device developed sculpting condemned the judgment against her skin before you let him die, all in the course of twelve hours...
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
