Books like 'The Cretaceous Past'
Readers who enjoyed The Cretaceous Past by Cixin Liu also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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11/22/63 by Stephen King
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 79 ratingsOn November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Stephen King’s heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man who travels back in time to prevent the JFK assassination—a thousand page tour de force...Categorized as:
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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... -
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsCryptonomicon zooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods—World War II and the present. Our 1940s heroes are the brilliant mathematician Lawrence Waterhouse, crypt analyst extraordinaire, and gung-ho, morphine-addicted marine Bobby Shaftoe... -
A Second Chance by Jodi Taylor
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe third book in the bestselling British madcap time-travelling series, served with a dash of wit that seems to be everyone’s cup of tea.Behind the seemingly innocuous facade of St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, a different kind of academic work is taking place. Just don’t call it “time travel”—these historians “investigate major historical events in contemporary time... -
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Masters of Time by Sarah Woodbury
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJune 1293. David, King of England. Philip, King of France. A holy war neither man wants to fight. A militant pope. A treacherous baron. A jealous brother. Love. Honor. Family. Betrayal. Destiny. Time Travel. Masters of Time is the tenth novel in the After Cilmeri series...Categorized as:
politics alternate-history audiobook book fiction historical historical-fiction medieval -
The System of the World by Neal Stephenson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsThe System of the World, the third and concluding volume of Neal Stephenson's shelf-bending Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver and The Confusion), brings the epic historical saga to its thrilling - and truly awe-inspiring - conclusion...Categorized as:
politics 21st-century action-adventure adult alchemy alternate-history audiobook book -
The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsMary Robinette Kowal continues her award-winning Lady Astronaut series, which began with The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky, with The Relentless Moon.The Earth is coming to the boiling point as the climate disaster of the Meteor strike becomes more and more clear, but the political situation is already overheated. Riots and sabotage plague the space program...Categorized as:
politics action-adventure adult alternate-history apocalyptic audiobook book colonization -
The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsThe Fated Sky continued the grand sweep of alternate history begun in The Calculating Stars. It is 1961, and the International Aerospace Coalition has established a colony on the moon. Elma York, the noted Lady Astronaut, is working on rotation, flying shuttles on the moon and returning regularly to Earth.But humanity must get a foothold on Mars...Categorized as:
politics 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history apocalyptic audiobook book -
The Confusion by Neal Stephenson
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsIn the year 1689, a cabal of Barbary galley slaves -- including one Jack Shaftoe, aka King of the Vagabonds, aka Half-Cocked Jack -- devises a daring plan to win freedom and fortune. A great adventure ensues -- a perilous race for an enormous prize of silver ... nay, gold ... nay, legendary gold...Categorized as:
politics 21st-century action-adventure adult alchemy alternate-history audiobook book -
Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsAlek and Deryn are abroad the Leviathan when the ship is ordered to pick up an unusual passenger. This brilliant/maniacal inventor claims to have a weapon called Goliath that can end the war. But whose side is he really on?While on their top-secret mission, Alek finally discovers Deryn's deeply kept secret. Two, actually. Not only is Deryn a girl disguised as a guy...she has feelings for Alek...Categorized as:
animals 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history alternate-universe audiobook biopunk book -
How Firm a Foundation by David Weber
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Charisian Empire, born in war, has always known it must fight for its very survival. What most of its subjects don't know even now, however, is how much more it's fighting for. Emperor Cayleb, Empress Sharleyan, Merlin Athrawes, and their innermost circle of most trusted advisers do know... -
Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsThe behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers.Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt...Categorized as:
animals 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history alternate-universe asia audiobook book -
The 2020 Commission Report on the North Korean Nuclear Attacks Against the United States: A Speculative Novel by Jeffrey Lewis
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratings“A brilliantly conceived page-turner.”—Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation and Command and ControlAmerica lost 1.4 million citizens in the North Korean attacks of March 2020. This is the final, authorized report of the government commission charged with investigating the calamity. “The skies over the Korean Peninsula on March 21, 2020, were clear and blue... -
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... -
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The Fourth Mandate by Vered Ehsani
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings“Beatrice Knight is as delightful as Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody…” “Her handy cane is like a Swiss Army Knife on steroids…” “Wonderfully different, quirky & had me laughing out loud …” Having offered her firm and unequivocal resignation, Beatrice Knight is certain she is clear of her former employer, the Society for Paranormals, and is now free to proceed with her life and a wedding... -
Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory by Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsNew York Times bestselling authors Newt Gingrich and William R. Forstchen conclude their inventive trilogy with this remarkable answer to the great “what if” of the American Civil War: Could the South have indeed won? After his great victories at Gettysburg and Union Mills, General Robert E. Lee’s attempt to bring the war to a final conclusion by attacking Washington, D.C., fails... -
Grant Comes East by Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn their runaway bestseller Gettysburg, Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen answered the Civil War's ultimate hypothetical question: What if Lee's army had won the victory within its grasp at Gettysburg in 1863? Now, through the same extraordinary research and brilliant character studies, we take the next step of a provocative journey: The Army of Northern Virginia is poised to invade...Categorized as:
politics adult alternate-history american-civil-war audiobook book civil-war fiction -
A Mighty Fortress by David Weber
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsYoung Cayleb Ahrmahk has accomplished things few people could even dream of. Not yet even thirty years old, he’s won the most crushing naval victories in human history. He’s smashed a hostile alliance of no less than five princedoms and won the hand of the beautiful young Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm... -
River of Bones by Taylor Anderson
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe crew of a WWII destroyer face their greatest challenge yet as they try to survive in a strange new world in the next thrilling book in the New York Times bestselling series.Commander Matt Reddy and his crew are afraid it may finally be the end of the USS Walker...Categorized as:
politics 20th-century action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history alternate-universe audiobook -
Wikihistory by Desmond Warzel
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA Hitler killing short story...Since we’re all still abuzz about the latest Hitler-killing episode of Doctor Who, we here at Tor.com thought we’d point our readers’ attention to one of the most entertaining Hitler-killing short stories we’ve ever seen... -
1636: Mission to the Mughals by Eric Flint, Griffin Barber
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe latest entry in the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series created by Eric Flint. After carving a free state for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, citizens of the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia go on a quest for the makings of medicines that have yet to be invented in 17th century Europe... -
The Ruby Brooch by Katherine Lowry Logan
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsCan a 21st century paramedic find her true identity on the other side of the heather-scented mist?From the white-plank fenced pastures of Lexington, Kentucky, to the beautiful Bay of San Francisco, The Ruby Brooch, a saga rich in detail and mystery, follows a young woman’s physical and emotional journey as she searches for the truth she believes will heal her wounds, restore her sense of self,... -
Time and Time Again by Ben Elton
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIt’s the 1st of June 1914 and Hugh Stanton, ex-soldier and celebrated adventurer is quite literally the loneliest man on earth. No one he has ever known or loved has been born yet. Perhaps now they never will be.Stanton knows that a great and terrible war is coming. A collective suicidal madness that will destroy European civilization and bring misery to millions in the century to come...Categorized as:
politics 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure adult alternate-history assassins audiobook -
1632 by Eric Flint
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsFREEDOM AND JUSTICE -- AMERICAN STYLE 1632 And in northern Germany things couldn't get much worse. Famine. Disease. Religous war laying waste the cities. Only the aristocrats remained relatively unscathed; for the peasants, death was a mercy...Categorized as:
politics action-adventure adult alternate-history alternate-universe audiobook book early-modern -
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Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 46 ratings“An extraordinary real picture of human beings numbed by catastrophe but still driven by the unconquerable determination of living creatures to keep on being alive.” —The New Yorker“Alas, Babylon.” Those fateful words heralded the end...Categorized as:
politics 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history anthologies apocalyptic audiobook classics -
Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsStar Maker is a science fiction novel by Olaf Stapledon, published in 1937. The book describes a history of life in the universe, dwarfing in scale Stapledon's previous book, Last and First Men (1930), a history of the human species over two billion years...Categorized as:
politics 20th-century action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history audiobook book -
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... -
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... -
The Boleyn Reckoning by Laura Andersen
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA choice to forever change the course of history.While English soldiers prepare for the threat of invasion, William Tudor struggles with his own personal battles: he still longs for his childhood friend. But Minuette has married William’s trusted advisor, Dominic, in secret – an act of betrayal that puts both their lives in danger... -
Begin the World Over by Kung Li Sun
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBegin the World Over is a fictional alternate history of how the Founders’ greatest fear—that Black and indigenous people might join forces to undo the newly formed United States—comes true...Categorized as:
politics fiction historical-fiction alternate-history fantasy sci-fi lgbtq poc-author -
The Mouse on the Moon by Leonard Wibberley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Duchy of Grand Fenwick, the world's smallest country, whose army of 20 longbow men defeated the United States in The Mouse that Roared is back again... -
Skull Island by Will Murray, Michael McConnohie
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen King Kong famously fell from his death perch on the summit of the Empire State Building early in 1933, the question on many moviegoers' minds was: Where the heck was Doc Savage? For the tallest skyscraper in Manhattan was also the world headquarters of the famous superman-scientist known as the Man of Bronze... -
The 9/11 Machine by Greg Enslen
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsASIN moved from less recent edition hereDr. Donald Ellis lost his family on 9/11. But while others grieved, or plotted revenge, Dr. Ellis threw himself into a long-dormant research project. He traded his lab at the University of New York for an ugly riverfront warehouse in Brooklyn... -
1636: The Saxon Uprising by Eric Flint
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsThe West Virginia town of Grantville, torn from the twentieth century and hurled back into seventeenth century Europe has allied with Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, in the United States of Europe...Categorized as:
politics action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book early-modern espionage -
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The Apollo Murders by Chris Hadfield
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsAn exceptional debut thriller and “exciting journey” into the dark heart of the Cold War and the space race from New York Times bestselling author and astronaut Chris Hadfield (Andy Weir, author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary). 1973: a final, top-secret mission to the Moon. Three astronauts in a tiny spaceship, a quarter million miles from home. A quarter million miles from help...Categorized as:
politics action-adventure adult alternate-history amateur-sleuth audiobook book cold-war -
BioShock: Rapture by John Shirley
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 21 ratingsIt's the end of World War II. FDR's New Deal has redefined American politics. Taxes are at an all-time high. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has brought a fear of total annihilation. The rise of secret government agencies and sanctions on business has many watching their backs. America's sense of freedom is diminishing . . . and many are desperate to take that freedom back...Categorized as:
politics 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history audiobook biopunk book dieselpunk -
The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsJanuary 1864 –General Robert E. Lee faces defeat. The Army of Northern Virginia is ragged and ill-equpped. Gettysburg has broken the back of the Confederacy and decimated its manpower.Then, Andries Rhoodie, a strange man with an unplaceable accent, approaches Lee with an extraordinary offer... -
1633 by Eric Flint, David Weber
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsAMERICAN FREEDOM AND JUSTICE VS. SEVENTEENTH CENTURY TYRANNY The new Confederated Principalities of Europe-an alliance between Gustavus,king of Sweden, and the West Virginia town, led by Mike Stearns, which was hurled back through time to the thirty years war - has big problems...Categorized as:
politics action-adventure adult alternate-history alternate-universe audiobook book early-modern -
Walk in Hell by Harry Turtledove
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe year is 1915, and the world is convulsing. Though the Confederacy has defeated its northern enemy twice, this time the United States has allied with the Kaiser. In the South, the freed slaves, fueled by Marxist rhetoric and the bitterness of a racist nation, take up the weapons of the Red rebellion...Categorized as:
politics 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book fiction -
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...Categorized as:
politics 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history anthologies classics dystopia -
Days of Infamy by Newt Gingrich, William R. Forstchen
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 14 ratings“Absolutely brilliant! Fast paced and filled with tension and suspense. Every page resonates with the momentous events and great personalities of World War II – and scenes so carefully crafted you feel like you’re there. This is a ‘must read’ for all who look at history and wonder: “What if…” -- Oliver North, Lt. Col., USMC (Ret...Categorized as:
politics 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction historical -
1636: The Viennese Waltz by Eric Flint, Gorg Huff
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsAfter carving a free state for itself in war-torn 17th century Europe, citizens of the modern town of Grantville, West Virginia contend with aristocratic forces determined to keep their grip on power whatever it takes.When Grantville, West Virginia was transported back to the year 1631 --in the middle of the Thirty Years' War, no less -- many things happened. Many opportunities arose... -
Ring of Fire III by Eric Flint
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCollection #3 of rollicking and idea-packed alternate history tales written by today’s hottest science fiction writers and edited by New York Times best-seller Eric Flint. After a cosmic accident sets the modern-day West Virginia town of Grantville down in war-torn seventeenth century Europe, these everyday, resourceful Americans must adapt – or be trod into the dust of the past... -
1636: The Vatican Sanction by Eric Flint, Charles E. Gannon
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsBook #24 in the multiple New York Times best-selling Ring of Fire series. SEVEN DAYS IN MAY, 1636 It’s spring in Burgundy. The flowers are out and so are the cardinals—of Pope Urban’s renegade papacy, now on the run from the Vatican’s would-be usurper Borja...Categorized as:
politics action-adventure adult alternate-history alternate-universe audiobook book espionage -
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The Virgin's Spy by Laura Andersen
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFor those who just can’t get enough of the scandalous Tudors, the author of the popular Boleyn King series offers the second in an enthralling new saga of the royal family, set in Elizabethan England. Perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory and Alison Weir.This captivating continuation of her award-winning Boleyn King trilogy breathes immerses the reader in the dazzling Tudor court... -
Liberator by Richard Harland
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsEquality remains elusive in this stunning steampunk sequel to Worldshaker. In the aftermath of the events of Worldshaker, the Filthies control the massive juggernaut, now called Liberator. Many members of the former upper class, called Swanks, have remained behind to help teach them how to operate the juggernaut and to build a new society together. But all is not idyllic aboard Liberator... -
The Probability Broach by L. Neil Smith
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDenver detective Win Bear, on the trail of a murderer, discovers much more than a killer. He accidentally stumbles upon the probability broach, a portal to a myriad of worlds--some wildly different from, others disconcertingly similar to our own...Categorized as:
politics 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history book cyberpunk dystopia -
A Tall Tail by Charles Stross
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the author of Rule 34 and Halting State, a tale of deception, engineering, and the most unlikely rocket propulsion technology imaginable... -
The Devil's Advocate by Taylor Caldwell
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAndrew Durrant could have had everything the world had to offer - wealth, fame, honors, authority. All he had to do was sacrifice that fragile thing called integrity. Instead Andrew Durant chose a different path. Against him were ranged the mighty forces of the Establishment. At stake was all he was and could ever hope to be... -
Lincoln's Bodyguard: In A Heroic Act Of Bravery Saves Our Beloved President! John Wilkes Booth Killed In Act Of Treason by T.J. Turner
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn "Lincoln s Bodyguard," an alternative version of American history, President Lincoln is saved from assassination. Though he prophesied his own death the only way he believed the South would truly surrender Lincoln never accounted for the heroics of his bodyguard, Joseph Foster...
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