Books like 'Messiah'
Readers who enjoyed Messiah by Gore Vidal 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:
classics dystopia politics 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure adult alternate-history -
![The Stories of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury]()
The Stories of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsDrunk, and in charge of a bicycle / introduction by Ray Bradbury--The night --Homecoming--Uncle Einar --The traveler --The lake --The coffin --The crowd --The scythe --There was an old woman --There will come soft rains --Mars is heaven --The silent towns --The earth men --The off season --The million-year picnic --The fox and the forest --Kaleidoscope --The rocket man --Marionettes, inc...Categorized as:
classics dystopia literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure aliens anthologies brazil -
![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:
classics dystopia humor literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies -
![Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler]()
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsOctavia Butler tackles the creation of a new religion, the making of a god, and the ultimate fate of humanity in her Earthseed series, which began with Parable of the Sower, and now continues with Parable of the Talents...Categorized as:
classics dystopia politics religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure afrofuturism -
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![The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons]()
The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsOn the world called Hyperion the mysterious Time Tombs are opening and seven pilgrims risk their lives to petition the entity called the Shrike - a creature that may well control the fate of all mankind...Categorized as:
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![Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith]()
Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsStark lives in Colour, a neighbourhood whose inhabitants like to be co-ordinated with their surroundings – a neighbourhood where spangly purple trousers are admired by the walls of buildings as you pass them. Close by is Sound, where you mustn’t make any, apart from one designated hour a day when you can scream your lungs raw... -
![Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks]()
Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsThe man known as Cheradenine Zakalwe was one of Special Circumstances' foremost agents, changing the destiny of planets to suit the Culture through intrigue, dirty tricks and military action.The woman known as Diziet Sma had plucked him from obscurity and pushed him towards his present eminence, but despite all their dealings she did not know him as well as she thought... -
![The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 2: We Can Remember it for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick]()
The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 2: We Can Remember it for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsMany thousands of readers consider Philip K. Dick the greatest science fiction mind on any planet. Since his untimely death in 1982, interest in Dick's works has continued to mount and his reputation has been further enhanced by a growing body of critical attention. The Philip K. Dick Award is now given annually to a distinguished work of science fiction, and the Philip K... -
![The Neutronium Alchemist by Peter F. Hamilton]()
The Neutronium Alchemist by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsNot every fallen angel comes from heaven...The ancient menace has finally escaped from Lalonde, shattering the Confederation's peaceful existence. Those who succumbed to it have acquired godlike powers, but now follow a far from divine gospel as they advance inexorably from world to world... -
![Endymion by Dan Simmons, Guy Abadia]()
Endymion by Dan Simmons, Guy Abadia
Rated: 4.18 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsThe multiple-award-winning SF master returns to the universe that is his greatest success--the world of Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion--to tell a story of love and memory, triumph and terror in a novel even more magnificent than its predecessors.Two hundred and seventy-four years after the fall of the WorldWeb in Fall of Hyperion, Raoul Endymion is sent on a quest...Categorized as:
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![First and Only by Dan Abnett]()
First and Only by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsIn the Chaos-infested Sabbat system, Imperial Commissar Gaunt must lead his men through as much in-fighting amongst rival regiments as against the forces of Chaos. For a thousand years, the Sabbat Worlds have been lost to the Imperium, claimed by the dread powers of Chaos. Now, a mighty crusade seeks to return the sector to Imperial rule... -
![Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.]()
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThese 18 darkly complex short stories and novellas touch upon human nature and perception, metaphysics and epistemology, and gender and sexuality, foreshadowing a world in which biological tendencies bring about the downfall of humankind. Revisions from the author's notes are included, allowing a deeper view into her world and a better understanding of her work... -
![Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick by Philip K. Dick]()
Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick by Philip K. Dick
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsPhilip K. Dick was a master of science fiction, but he was also a writer whose work transcended genre to examine the nature of reality and what it means to be human. A writer of great complexity and subtle humor, his work belongs on the shelf of great twentieth-century literature, next to Kafka and Vonnegut... -
![The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 2: We Can Remember it for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick]()
The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 2: We Can Remember it for You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick
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 Dick's works has continued to mount and his reputation has been further enhanced by a growing body of critical attention. The Philip K. Dick Award is now given annually to a distinguished work of science fiction, and the Philip K... -
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![Sandkings by George R.R. Martin]()
Sandkings by George R.R. Martin
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsWhen Simon Kress returned to his home planet of Baldur from an offworld business trip, he was amused to find that his tank of Earth piranhas had cannibalized themselves into extinction, and of the two exotic animals that roamed his estate, only one remained...Categorized as:
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![Dawn by Octavia E. Butler]()
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsLilith Iyapo has just lost her husband and son when atomic fire consumes Earth—the last stage of the planet’s final war. Hundreds of years later Lilith awakes, deep in the hold of a massive alien spacecraft piloted by the Oankali—who arrived just in time to save humanity from extinction...Categorized as:
classics dystopia 20th-century action-adventure adult afrofuturism aliens apocalyptic -
![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:
classics dystopia literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure anthologies children-books fiction -
![The Invincible by Stanisław Lem]()
The Invincible by Stanisław Lem
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe Invincible (Polish: Niezwyciężony) is a science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanislaw Lem, published in 1964. The Invincible originally appeared as the title story in Lem's collection Niezwyciężony i inne opowiadania ("The Invincible and Other Stories")... -
![The Naked God by Peter F. Hamilton]()
The Naked God by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsThe Confederation is starting to collapse politically and economically, allowing the 'possessed' to infiltrate more worlds. Quinn Dexter is loose on Earth, destroying the giant arcologies one at a time. As Louise Kavanagh tries to track him down, she manages to acquire some strange and powerful allies whose goal doesn't quite match her own... -
![Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein]()
Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsIn one of Robert Heinlein's most controversial bestsellers, a recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the Universe--and into battle with the Terran Mobile Infantry against mankind's most frightening enemy...Categorized as:
classics dystopia literary-fiction politics satire 20th-century action-adventure aliens -
![The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories by Connie Willis]()
The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories by Connie Willis
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThis new collection of stories from the multi-award-winning author of Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog contains:A Letter from the ClearysAt the RialtoDeath on the NileThe Soul Selects Her own SocietyFire WatchInside JobEven the QueenThe Winds of Marble ArchAll Seated on the GroundLast of the WinnebagosTen stories - which have all won the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award or both - are... -
![Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams by Philip K. Dick]()
Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams by Philip K. Dick
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Inspiration for the Upcoming TV Show Though perhaps most famous as a novelist, over the course of his career Philip K. Dick wrote more than one hundred short stories, each as mind-bending and genre-defining as his longer works. Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams collects ten of the best from across his career... -
![Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine]()
Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis masterfully crafted first novel tells the spellbinding story of a contemporary woman who discovers her past life as a 12th-century Welsh noblewoman. Erskine's extraordinary romance has been translated into 17 languages and has sold well over a million copies worldwide...Categorized as:
literary-fiction spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult book drama female-author -
![The Color Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft]()
The Color Out of Space by H.P. Lovecraft
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsSet in the fictional town of Arkham, Massachusetts, an unnamed narrator investigates a local area known as the “blasted hearth.” After failing to extract any information from the Arkham locals, the narrator encounters an old man, Ammi Pierce, who relates the story of a farmer who once lived there. The hearth, he claims, was caused by a meteorite that fell onto the farmer’s field in 1882... -
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![The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury]()
The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsSet the controls for the heart of the sun.The Captain bent in the warm air, cursing, felt his hands run over the cold machine, and while he worked he saw a future which was removed from them by the merest breath. He saw the skin peel from the rocket beehive, men thus revealed running, running, mouths shrieking, soundless. Space was a black mossed well where life drowned its roars and terrors...Categorized as:
classics dystopia literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook -
![Doomsday Book by Connie Willis]()
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 32 ratingsFor Kivrin, preparing an on-site study of one of the deadliest eras in humanity's history was as simple as receiving inoculations against the diseases of the fourteenth century and inventing an alibi for a woman traveling alone. For her instructors in the twenty-first century, it meant painstaking calculations and careful monitoring of the rendezvous location where Kivrin would be received...Categorized as:
classics dystopia humor religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure alternate-history -
![The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton]()
The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F. Hamilton
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsIn AD 2600 the human race is finally beginning to realize its full potential. Hundreds of colonized planets scattered across the galaxy host a multitude of prosperous and wildly diverse cultures. Genetic engineering has pushed evolution far beyond nature's boundaries, defeating disease and producing extraordinary spaceborn creatures... -
![The Plague by Albert Camus]()
The Plague by Albert Camus
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsA gripping tale of human unrelieved horror, of survival and resilience, and of the ways in which humankind confronts death, The Plague is at once a masterfully crafted novel, eloquently understated and epic in scope, and a parable of ageless moral resonance, profoundly relevant to our times. In Oran, a coastal town in North Africa, the plague begins as a series of portents, unheeded by the people...Categorized as:
classics dystopia literary-fiction politics 20th-century action-adventure adult apocalyptic -
![A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury]()
A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIn "A Sound of Thunder", Time Safari, Inc. offers the greatest hunting trips ever--any year, any animal. But they don't guarantee you'll come back, or what you'll find if you do. And in "Night Call, Collect", who is harassing Emil Barton, the last man in the universe? After decades of waiting on Mars, these twisted phone calls could kill him! Winner of a Peabody Award...Categorized as:
classics dystopia literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure animals audiobook book -
![Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle]()
Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsTHE LUCKY ONES WENT FIRST…The gigantic comet has slammed into Earth, forging earthquakes a thousand times too powerful to measure on the Richter scale, tidal waves thousands of feet high. Cities were turned into oceans; oceans turned into steam...Categorized as:
classics dystopia religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult apocalyptic -
![The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen]()
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsHannah thinks tonight Passover Seder will be the same as always. But this year she will be mysteriously transported into the past. Only she knows the horrors that await...Categorized as:
classics religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children -
![Stories Volume 1 by Ray Bradbury]()
Stories Volume 1 by Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOne hundred classic stories from the celebrated author of Fahrenheit 451. In this, the first volume of Ray Bradbury's short stories, some of the author's finest works are published together, among them 'Homecoming', 'Veldt', 'A Sound of Thunder' and 'The Long Rain'...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies fiction hard-sci-fi -
![Grass by Sheri S. Tepper]()
Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsGenerations ago, humans fled to the cosmic anomaly known as Grass. But before humanity arrived, another species had already claimed Grass for its own. It too had developed a culture...... Now a deadly plague is spreading across the stars, leaving no planet untouched, save for Grass. But the secret of the planet's immunity hides a truth so shattering it could mean the end of life itself...Categorized as:
classics dystopia literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![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:
classics humor literary-fiction satire 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies -
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![Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard]()
Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe classic, award-winning novel, made famous by Steven Spielberg's film, tells of a young boy's struggle to survive World War II in China.Jim is separated from his parents in a world at war. To survive, he must find a deep strength greater than all the events that surround him.Shanghai, 1941 — a city aflame from the fateful torch of Pearl Harbor...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book coming-of-age drama -
![Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank]()
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... -
![Perelandra by C.S. Lewis]()
Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsThe second book in C. S. Lewis's acclaimed Space Trilogy, which also includes Out of the Silent Planet and That Hideous Strength, Perelandra continues the adventures of the extraordinary Dr. Ransom. Pitted against the most destructive of human weaknesses, temptation, the great man must battle evil on a new planet Perelandra when it is invaded by a dark force...Categorized as:
classics dystopia literary-fiction religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure aliens -
![Houston, Houston, Do You Read? by James Tiptree Jr.]()
Houston, Houston, Do You Read? by James Tiptree Jr.
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe astronauts had the "right stuff" to deal with almost anything...A ship of male astronauts, who may be off course for their return trip home, are intercepted by a space vessel controlled by only women...Categorized as:
classics 20th-century action-adventure adult apocalyptic book female-author feminism -
![I Am Legend and Other Stories by Richard Matheson]()
I Am Legend and Other Stories by Richard Matheson
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 66 ratingsRobert Neville is the last living man on Earth...but he is not alone. Every other man, woman, and child on Earth has become a vampire, and they are all hungry for Neville's blood.By day, he is the hunter, stalking the sleeping undead through the abandoned ruins of civilization. By night, he barricades himself in his home and prays for dawn...Categorized as:
classics dystopia 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies apocalyptic audiobook -
![The Last Man Alive by A.S. Neill]()
The Last Man Alive by A.S. Neill
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe adventures of a group who survived a poisonous cloud that turned everyone else into stone... -
![The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick]()
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIn the overcrowded world and cramped space colonies of the late 21st century, tedium can be endured through the drug Can-D, which enables users to inhabit a shared illusory world. When industrialist Palmer Eldritch returns from an interstellar trip, he brings with him a new drug, Chew-Z...Categorized as:
classics dystopia literary-fiction politics religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure -
![The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster]()
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsThe Machine Stops is a science fiction short story (12,300 words) by E. M. Forster. After initial publication in The Oxford and Cambridge Review (November 1909), the story was republished in Forster's The Eternal Moment and Other Stories in 1928. After being voted one of the best novellas up to 1965, it was included that same year in the populist anthology Modern Short Stories...Categorized as:
classics dystopia literary-fiction religion satire spirituality 20th-century action-adventure -
![Patternmaster by Octavia E. Butler]()
Patternmaster by Octavia E. Butler
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe combined mind-force of a telepathic race, Patternist thoughts can destroy, heal, rule. For the strongest mind commands the entire pattern and all within. Now the son of the Patternmaster craves this ultimate power, He has murdered or enslaved every threat to his ambition--except one...Categorized as:
classics dystopia 20th-century action-adventure adult afrofuturism alternate-history apocalyptic -
![BioShock: Rapture by John Shirley]()
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... -
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![Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle]()
Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsBefore you see the movie, read the original novel! First published more than thirty-five years ago, Pierre Boulle's chilling novel launched one of the greatest science fiction sagas in motion picture history, from the classic 1968 movie starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowell, through four sequels and two television series . . . and now the newest film adaptation directed by Tim Burton...Categorized as:
classics dystopia humor literary-fiction satire 20th-century action-adventure animals -
![Pollen by Jeff Noon]()
Pollen by Jeff Noon
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 17 ratingsThe sweet death of Coyote, master taxi driver, was only the first. Soon people are sneezing and dying all over Manchester. Telekinetic cop Sybil Jones knows that, like Coyote, they died happy - but even a happy death can be a murder. As exotic blooms begin to flower all over the city, the pollen count is racing towards 2000 and Sybil is running out of time... -
![Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp]()
Lest Darkness Fall by L. Sprague de Camp
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWhen am I? Padway asked himself after the lightning-flash knocked him down. He knew where he was--Rome. He was there to study archaeology, and even though the lightning had left him dazed, he could see the familiar Roman buildings...Categorized as:
classics humor 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history ancient-civilization book -
![Rapture: The Big Daddy by Dustin Brubaker]()
Rapture: The Big Daddy by Dustin Brubaker
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsArthur Winter, his wife and daughter move to Rapture with the promise of a better life and more importantly a new start. He intends to work hard and one day be wealthy just like Ryan promises everyone who moves to Rapture. He opens a small business. For a few years things are good, almost idyllic. The good life is shattered when one day his daughter mysteriously vanishes without trace... -
![Angel Down by Daniel Kraus]()
Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe critically acclaimed author of the “crazily enjoyable” (The New York Times) Whalefall returns with an immersive, cinematic novel about five World War I soldiers who stumble upon a fallen angel that could hold the key to ending the war... -
![The Country of the Blind and Other Science-Fiction Stories by H.G. Wells]()
The Country of the Blind and Other Science-Fiction Stories by H.G. Wells
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Dover Thrift Edition:"The Country of the Blind" (1904)"The Star" (1897)"The New Accelerator" (1901)"The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes" (1895)"Under the Knife" (1896)"The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper"...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook fiction
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