Books like 'The Pool of Fire'
Readers who enjoyed The Pool of Fire by John Christopher also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical sc-fi action / adventure 20th century military, war & conflict dystopia apocalyptic post-apocalyptic aliens children
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Young Miles by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe Warrior's Apprentice 1The Mountains of Mourning 373The Vor Game 465Author's Afterword 829IT ISN'T EASY, BEING VOR...Being a Vor lord on the war-torn planet Barrayar wasn't easy. Being an officer in Barrayar's military wasn't easy...Categorized as:
coming-of-age male-mc 20th-century action-adventure anthologies audiobook female-author fiction -
![Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov]()
Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsFoundation and Empire tells the incredible story of a new breed of man who create a new force for galactic government. Thus, the Foundation hurtles into conflict with the decadent, decrepit First Empire. In this struggle for power amid the chaos of the stars, man stands at the threshold of a new, enlightened life which could easily be put aside for the old forces of barbarism... -
![A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge]()
A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsAlternative Cover Edition can be found here. After thousands of years searching, humans stand on the verge of first contact with an alien race. Two human groups: the Qeng Ho, a culture of free traders, and the Emergents, a ruthless society based on the technological enslavement of minds.The group that opens trade with the aliens will reap unimaginable riches... -
![The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson]()
The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsThe Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. It is to some extent a science fiction coming-of-age story, focused on a young girl named Nell, and set in a future world in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life. The novel deals with themes of education, social class, ethnicity, and the nature of artificial intelligence... -
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![Worlds of Exile and Illusion: Rocannon’s World, Planet of Exile, City of Illusions by Ursula K. Le Guin]()
Worlds of Exile and Illusion: Rocannon’s World, Planet of Exile, City of Illusions by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsUrsula K. Le Guin is one of the greatest science fiction writers and many times the winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards. Her career as a novelist was launched by the three novels contained in Worlds Of Exile And Illusion. These novels, Rocannon's World, Planet Of Exile, and City Of Illusions, are set in the same universe as Le Guin's ground-breaking classic, The Left Hand Of Darkness...Categorized as:
aliens classics dystopia invasion post-apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsHugo Award Winner! Miles Vorkosigan graduates from the Academy, joins a mutiny, is placed under house arrest, goes on a secret mission, reconnects with his loyal Dendarii Mercenaries, rescues his Emperor, and thwarts an interstellar war. Situation normal, if you're Miles...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age male-mc 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book disability -
![Goliath by Scott Westerfeld]()
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... -
![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... -
![Malevil by Robert Merle, Derek Coltman]()
Malevil by Robert Merle, Derek Coltman
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIf you are a fan of the post apocolypse genre, then you will appreciate this gem of a book. It is difficult to find, but it is well worth perservering with a search. The title of the book refers to an old castle in rural France, and which is owned by our hero, the narrator of the story...Categorized as:
apocalyptic classics dystopia post-apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![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...Categorized as:
aliens classics dystopia post-apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies -
![The Forever War by Joe Haldeman]()
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsThe Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand—despite the fact that the fierce alien enemy that they would oppose is inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away... -
![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... -
![The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle]()
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsIn 3016, the 2nd Empire of Man spans hundreds of star systems, thanks to faster-than-light Alderson Drive. Intelligent beings are finally found from the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud. The bottled-up ancient civilization, at least one million years old, are welcoming, kind, yet evasive, with a dark problem they have not solved in over a million years... -
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![The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold]()
The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsBetween the seemingly impossible tasks of living up to his warrior-father's legend and surmounting his own physical limitations, Miles Vorkosigan faces some truly daunting challenges. Shortly after his arrival on Beta Colony, Miles unexpectedly finds himself the owner of an obsolete freighter and in more debt than he ever thought possible... -
![Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld]()
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... -
![The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov]()
The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsIn the twenty-second century Earth obtains limitless, free energy from a source science little understands: an exchange between Earth and a parallel universe, using a process devised by the aliens. But even free energy has a price. The transference process itself will eventually lead to the destruction of the Earth's Sun--and of Earth itself... -
![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... -
![The Nonborn King by Julian May]()
The Nonborn King by Julian May
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOn Earth, six million B.C., two species of alien ruled, the graceful humanoid Tanu and their twisted brethren, the Firvulag. Then men from twenty-second century Earth arrived through a one-way time tunnel — and soon the aliens were locked in a battle to the death, for the humans had upset the precarious balance of power that existed between them...Categorized as:
aliens invasion 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history anthologies epic -
![Dune by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert]()
Dune by Frank Herbert, Brian Herbert
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 58 ratingsHere is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family—and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream... -
![Deadly Shores by Taylor Anderson]()
Deadly Shores by Taylor Anderson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsNational bestselling author Taylor Anderson’s explosive WWII alternate-history series continues as a do-or-die battle is waged that risks far more than anyone bargained for. The long-planned raid on the heart of the Grik Empire has grown more ambitious—and dangerously ill defined. Only Matthew Reddy, commander of the old destroyer USS Walker, seems focused on its original intent... -
![Doctor Who: Human Nature by Paul Cornell]()
Doctor Who: Human Nature by Paul Cornell
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratings'Who’s going to save us this time?'April, 1914. The inhabitants of the little Norfolk town of Farringham are enjoying an early summer, unaware that war is on the way. Amongst them is Dr John Smith, a short, middle-aged history teacher from Aberdeen. He’s having a hard time with his new post as house master at Hulton Academy for Boys, a school dedicated to producing military officers... -
![Firestorm by Taylor Anderson]()
Firestorm by Taylor Anderson
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsLieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy and the crew of the USS Walker find themselves caught between the nation they swore to defend and the allies they promised to protect... -
![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... -
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![A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge]()
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsAlternate Cover Edition can be found here. A Fire upon the Deep is the big, breakout book that fulfills the promise of Vinge's career to date: a gripping tale of galactic war told on a cosmic scale... -
![Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny]()
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsEarth is long since dead. On a colony planet, a band of men has gained control of technology, made themselves immortal, and now rule their world as the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Only one dares oppose them: he who was once Siddhartha and is now Mahasamatman. Binder of Demons, Lord of Light...Categorized as:
aliens classics dystopia post-apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![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:
aliens classics coming-of-age dystopia invasion 20th-century action-adventure audiobook -
![A Band of Brothers by William R. Forstchen]()
A Band of Brothers by William R. Forstchen
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn the ten years since his regiment was transported to an alien world, Commander Andrew Keane has bravely fought time and time again for humanity's freedom. But after the is injured in battle, his confidence is shaken, and his ability to lead is damaged. Seeing their leader struck down also takes its toll on Keane's men, who have followed him to hell and back...Categorized as:
aliens apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![Once Was a Time by Leila Sales]()
Once Was a Time by Leila Sales
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsIn the war-ravaged England of 1940, Charlotte Bromley is sure of only one thing: Kitty McLaughlin is her best friend in the whole world. But when Charlotte's scientist father makes an astonishing discovery that the Germans will covet for themselves, Charlotte is faced with an impossible choice between danger and safety...Categorized as:
children coming-of-age 20th-century action-adventure book children-books fiction friendship -
![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... -
![The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher]()
The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsWill, Beanpole, and Henry have managed to escape the Tripods. But instead of living in safety, in the small community of free people, they have chosen to embark upon a mission that may cost them their lives... -
![The Andalite Chronicles by K.A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate]()
The Andalite Chronicles by K.A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsHis name is Elfangor-Sirinial-Shamtul.An Andalite war-prince. The one who gave five young humans the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They are still out there, fighting an evil so powerful there isn't a moment that goes by when they can actually feel safe. Their story continues.But this is how it all began.The story that came before Animorphs . .Categorized as:
aliens children coming-of-age dystopia invasion 20th-century action-adventure animals -
![Return of the Jedi by James Kahn, George Lucas]()
Return of the Jedi by James Kahn, George Lucas
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIt was a dark time for the Rebel Alliance...Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, has been delivered into the hands of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Determined to rescue him, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Lando Calrissian launch a hazardous mission against Jabba's Tatooine stronghold... -
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![The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper]()
The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTepper's finest novel to date is set in a post-holocaust feminist dystopia that offers only two political alternatives: a repressive polygamist sect that is slowly self-destructing through inbreeding and the matriarchal dictatorship called Women's Country...Categorized as:
apocalyptic classics coming-of-age dystopia post-apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![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... -
![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:
apocalyptic classics dystopia post-apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![Way Station by Clifford D. Simak]()
Way Station by Clifford D. Simak
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsEnoch Wallace is an ageless hermit, striding across his untended farm as he has done for over a century, still carrying the gun with which he had served in the Civil War. But what his neighbors must never know is that, inside his unchanging house, he meets with a host of unimaginable friends from the farthest stars...Categorized as:
aliens classics invasion male-mc post-apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure adult -
![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:
aliens apocalyptic classics dystopia invasion post-apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure -
![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... -
![The Solution by K.A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate]()
The Solution by K.A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsDavid, the newest Animorph, is not what he appears. His need to control the other Animorphs and Ax is all he thinks about. And the things he does are starting to break up the group.Rachel and the others know that time is running out. The newest battle against the Yeerks is the most important one yet. And it's not one that will wait. Winning this fight could mean slowing down the invasion... -
![Children of the Dust by Louise Lawrence]()
Children of the Dust by Louise Lawrence
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAfter a nuclear war devastates the earth, a small band of people struggles for survival in a new world where children are born with strange mutations.Everyone thought, when the alarm bell rang, that it was just another fire practice. But the first bombs had fallen on Hamburg and Leningrad, the headmaster said, and a full-scale nuclear attack was imminent.It's a real-life nightmare...Categorized as:
apocalyptic children dystopia post-apocalyptic 20th-century action-adventure book children-books -
![Children of Dune by Frank Herbert]()
Children of Dune by Frank Herbert
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsThe desert planet of Arrakis has begun to grow green and lush. The life-giving spice is abundant. The nine-year-old royal twins, possesing their father's supernatural powers, are being groomed as Messiahs.But there are those who think the Imperium does not need messiahs.. -
![Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein]()
Citizen of the Galaxy by Robert A. Heinlein
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIn a distant galaxy, the atrocity of slavery was alive and well, and young Thorby was just another orphaned boy sold at auction. But his new owner, Baslim, is not the disabled beggar he appears to be: adopting Thorby as his son, he fights relentlessly as an abolitionist spy...Categorized as:
children classics coming-of-age dystopia 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book -
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![Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan]()
Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsYears ago, Lieutenant Uhura befriended a diplomat from Eeiauo, a land of graceful, catlike beings. The two women exchanged forbidden songs and promised never to reveal their secret. Now the Starship Enterprise must race to save the Eeiauoans before a deadly plague destroys them all. Uhura's secret songs may hold the key to a cure, but the clues are veiled in layers of mystery... -
![Sarek by A.C. Crispin]()
Sarek by A.C. Crispin
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe novel begins after the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country™. Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson, is dying, and Spock returns to the planet Vulcan where he and Sarek enjoy a rare moment of rapprochement. But just as his wife's illness grows worse, duty calls Sarek away—once again sowing seeds of conflict between father and son... -
![The Pride of Chanur by C.J. Cherryh]()
The Pride of Chanur by C.J. Cherryh
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsNo one at Meetpoint Station had ever seen a creature like the Outsider. Naked-hided, blunt toothed and blunt-fingered, Tully was the sole surviving member of his company -- a communicative, spacefaring species hitherto unknown -- and he was a prisoner of his discoverer/ captors the sadistic, treacherous kif, until his escape onto the hani ship The Pride of Chanur... -
![The Attack by K.A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate]()
The Attack by K.A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe Animorphs have met the Ellimist. He "helped" to save the kids when they were about to be eaten by a Taxxon. He "helped" to free two Hork-Bajir and restored Tobias's morphing ability. But, even though the Ellimist has enormous power, he is not all-powerful. He has an enemy. The Crayak.So, the Crayak and the Ellimist decide that a battle will prove their ultimate power... -
![The Pretender by K.A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate]()
The Pretender by K.A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsSomeone's looking for Tobias. Someone who says she's his long-lost cousin. Tobias isn't sure the person is telling the truth. But she's really nice, and knows a lot about him. And what she tells Tobias definitely gets his attention.It seems a lawyer has discovered Tobias's father's last will and testament. So, Tobias needs to attend the reading. His "cousin" even offers to go along... -
![Paradox Alley by John DeChancie]()
Paradox Alley by John DeChancie
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsJake McGraw, independent space trucker, has been shanghaied. He and his crew, fresh off their adventures in STARRIGGER and RED LIMIT FREEWAY, are plucked off the Skyway by a creature of unknown power. Now on an alien planet where most of the rules of the regular universe don’t seem to apply, Jake confronts the builders of the Skyway once and for all...
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