Books like 'The Postman'
Readers who enjoyed The Postman by David Brin also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
futuristic sc-fi action / adventure alternate history space 20th-century hard-sci-fi violent-conflict apocalyptic post-apocalyptic
-
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsalternate cover for this ISBN can be found hereThe universe began as an enormous breath being held.From the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others — the basis for the Academy Award-nominated film Arrival — comes a ground-breaking new collection of short fiction: nine stunningly original, provocative, and poignant stories...Categorized as:
dystopia hard-sci-fi 21st-century action-adventure adult ai aliens alternate-history -
![I, Robot by Isaac Asimov]()
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 76 ratingsThey mustn't harm a human being, they must obey human orders, and they must protect their own existence...but only so long as that doesn't violate rules one and two. With these Three Laws of Robotics, humanity embarked on a bold new era of evolution that would open up enormous possibilities - and unforeseen risks...Categorized as:
20th-century classics drama dystopia hard-sci-fi action-adventure ai alternate-history -
![The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal]()
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... -
![The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal]()
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:
20th-century apocalyptic drama dystopia hard-sci-fi post-apocalyptic action-adventure adult -
-
![And Now for Something Completely Different by Jodi Taylor]()
And Now for Something Completely Different by Jodi Taylor
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsHere's a question for you. What's the most exciting thing ever found in a fire bucket? And don't say 'fire' because you'll be wrong... -
![The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov]()
The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsOne of Isaac Asimov's SF masterpieces, this stand-alone novel is a monument of the flowering of SF in the 20th century. It is widely regarded as Asimov's single best SF novel and one every SF fan should read.Andrew Harlan is an Eternal, a member of the elite of the future...Categorized as:
20th-century classics dystopia hard-sci-fi action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook -
![How Firm a Foundation by David Weber]()
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...Categorized as:
dystopia hard-sci-fi military post-apocalyptic violent-conflict war action-adventure adult -
![Of A Darker Void by G.S. Jennsen]()
Of A Darker Void by G.S. Jennsen
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen man and machine are one and the same, death is no longer an inevitability. But in the darkest reaches of space, neither is life.Diplomat. Rebel. Fugitive. Nika Tescarav has lived many lives, though she no longer remembers most of them...Categorized as:
dystopia military violent-conflict action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history audiobook -
![Olympus by Ivan Kal]()
Olympus by Ivan Kal
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratings-NOTE- This book has been professionally re-edited as of March 17, 2016 The year is 2081. Earth is recovering from a devastating nuclear war. An age of technological advancement. A find at the bottom of the Ocean. A man driven by a dream. The time for humanity to reach to the stars is now. A find provides Tomas Klein with the tools to speed up his timetable and execute his plans... -
![Tansy's Titan by S.E. Smith]()
Tansy's Titan by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTansy Bell, is the middle daughter of the three Bell sisters. She has always been a little different, even for a Bell. A chameleon, she can change her appearance and personality to blend in almost anywhere. She uses this talent to bring some of the worse criminals in the world to justice.Mak ‘Tag Krell Manok is the wild one of his four brothers...Categorized as:
military violent-conflict action-adventure adult aliens alpha-mc alternate-history audiobook -
![Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber]()
Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsHumanity pushed its way to the stars - and encountered the Gbaba, a ruthless alien race that nearly wiped us out.Earth and her colonies are now smoldering ruins, and the few survivors have fled to distant, Earth-like Safehold, to try to rebuild...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia hard-sci-fi military post-apocalyptic violent-conflict war action-adventure -
![The Edge of Infinity by M.R. Forbes]()
The Edge of Infinity by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSERIES FINALE! A new beginning… A final battle for the fate of humankind… A future on the edge of infinity... Colonel Mitchell “Ares” Williams has been through it all, the story of his life an eternity in the making...Categorized as:
military violent-conflict war action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history audiobook -
![The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal]()
The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsThirty years ago, Elma York led the expedition that paved the way to life on Mars. For years she's been longing to go back up there, to once more explore the stars. But there are few opportunities for an aging astronaut, even the famous Lady Astronaut of Mars. When her chance finally comes, it may be too late...Categorized as:
hard-sci-fi post-apocalyptic 21st-century action-adventure adult alternate-history book exploration -
![A Mighty Fortress by David Weber]()
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...Categorized as:
dystopia hard-sci-fi military post-apocalyptic violent-conflict war action-adventure adult -
-
![By Schism Rent Asunder by David Weber]()
By Schism Rent Asunder by David Weber
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe world has changed. The mercantile kingdom of Charis has prevailed over the alliance designed to exterminate it. Armed with better sailing vessels, better guns and better devices of all sorts, Charis faced the combined navies of the rest of the world at Darcos Sound and Armageddon Reef, and broke them...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia hard-sci-fi military post-apocalyptic violent-conflict war action-adventure -
![By Heresies Distressed by David Weber]()
By Heresies Distressed by David Weber
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsNow the battle for the soul of the planet Safehold has begun.The Kingdom of Charis and the Kingdom of Chisholm have joined together, pledged to stand against the tyranny of a corrupt Church. The youthful Queen Sharleyan of Chisholm has wed King Cayleb of Charis, forging a single dynasty, a single empire, dedicated to the defense of human freedom...Categorized as:
dystopia hard-sci-fi military post-apocalyptic violent-conflict war action-adventure adult -
![Hannah's Warrior by S.E. Smith]()
Hannah's Warrior by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsHannah Bell, the oldest of the three Bell sisters, spends most of her time in the remotest parts of the world photographing endangered animals. She is also gifted with an extraordinary sixth sense which has saved her life on more than one occasion. When she senses something has happen to her littlest sister, Tink, she will do whatever it takes to protect her...Categorized as:
military violent-conflict abuse action-adventure adult aliens alpha-mc alternate-history -
![Ha'ven's Song by S.E. Smith]()
Ha'ven's Song by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsHa’ven Ha’darra is the Crown Prince for the Curizans, an advanced species known for their technology. They may not have the power to shift like the Valdier or the Sarafin but they have hidden powers of their own that they guard. Not even his best friends, Creon Reykill of the Valdier or Vox d’Rojah of the Sarafin, are aware of the powers he holds within his deadly frame... -
![Midst Toil and Tribulation by David Weber]()
Midst Toil and Tribulation by David Weber
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsDavid Weber's New York Times bestselling Safehold series of military Science Fiction adventure, which began with Off Armageddon Reef, continues with Midst Toil and TribulationWAR AND FAMINEOnce the Church of God Awaiting dominated all the kingdoms of Safehold...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia hard-sci-fi military post-apocalyptic violent-conflict war action-adventure -
![Forbidden Planet by Cheree Alsop]()
Forbidden Planet by Cheree Alsop
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen Captain Nova Ardis acquires the services of a dangerous, tattooed gladiator, she knows she’s taking a risk—but she would do anything for family.Kove has survived most of his life in the gladiator arena and now, on the eve of winning his freedom, he is sold once again. At least being the captain’s bodyguard shouldn’t be too hard compared to the bloody life he’s lived...Categorized as:
military action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction futuristic galactic-empire -
![The Many-Colored Land by Julian May]()
The Many-Colored Land by Julian May
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen a one-way time tunnel to Earth's distant past, specifically six million B.C., was discovered by folks on the Galactic Milieu, every misfit for light-years around hurried to pass through it. Each sought his own brand of happiness. But none could have guessed what awaited them. Not even in a million years...Categorized as:
20th-century classics dystopia action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history anthologies -
![Forever Until Tomorrow by M.R. Forbes]()
Forever Until Tomorrow by M.R. Forbes
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsA war lost. .. A civilization in ruins... A spark of hope among the wreckage... The war is over. The war has just begun. Major Katherine Asher of the newly founded United Earth Alliance knows nothing about the apocalyptic war of a past future. She’s scheduled to pilot the newly christened Dove, Earth’s first starship, in her maiden voyage...Categorized as:
military violent-conflict war action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history audiobook -
![Challenging Saber by S.E. Smith]()
Challenging Saber by S.E. Smith
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsListening Length: 6 hrs 32 minsSometimes it takes losing the one thing closest to a warrior’s heart to wake the beast that lives inside him…Saber, a wounded Trivator, believes he is no longer a fit warrior, much less strong enough to claim a mate. Scarred, he does everything in his power to push away the delicate human female he has fallen in love with... -
![Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon]()
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:
20th-century classics dystopia action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history audiobook -
-
![Blue Hope by John Dreese]()
Blue Hope by John Dreese
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFour brave astronauts left home to be the first humans on Mars. What didn't come back will haunt life on Earth forever. Follow the adventure as disaster triggers the greatest treasure hunt in history - spanning the globe and beyond. The prize is nothing short of humanity's very survival...Categorized as:
drama dystopia near-future violent-conflict action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history -
![Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card]()
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsIn one of the most powerful and thought-provoking novels of his remarkable career, Orson Scott Card's Pastwatch interweaves a compelling portrait of Christopher Columbus with the story of a future scientist who believes she can alter human history from a tragedy of bloodshed and brutality to a world filled with hope and healing... -
![The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal]()
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsOn a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs...Categorized as:
20th-century apocalyptic dystopia hard-sci-fi post-apocalyptic 21st-century action-adventure adult -
![The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch]()
The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 25 ratings“I promise you have never read a story like this.” —Blake Crouch, New York Times bestselling author of Dark MatterInception meets True Detective in this science fiction thriller of spellbinding tension and staggering scope that follows a special agent into a savage murder case with grave implications for the fate of mankind..Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia near-future post-apocalyptic 21st-century action-adventure adult aliens -
![Other Times Than Peace by David Drake]()
Other Times Than Peace by David Drake
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsPatriotic hoo-ha may be well-and-good for recruitment parades, but David Drake's battle-hardened mercenaries know it takes tanks, guns and grit to win when the real fighting flares. Yet peace brings its own problems to old soldiers - for once the killing starts in peacetime, there may be no end to the madness...Categorized as:
dystopia military violent-conflict war action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history -
![The Actual Star by Monica Byrne]()
The Actual Star by Monica Byrne
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsDavid Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas meets Octavia Butler’s Earthseed series, as acclaimed author Monica Byrne (The Girl in the Road) spins a brilliant multigenerational saga spanning two thousand years, from the collapse of the ancient Maya to a far-future utopia on the brink of civil war...Categorized as:
dystopia post-apocalyptic action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book colonization -
![Tale of the Thunderbolt by E.E. Knight]()
Tale of the Thunderbolt by E.E. Knight
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAs the Resistance attempts to overthrow their vampiric alien masters, elite Cat force member David Valentine embarks on a terrifying journey in search of a long-lost weapon that will guarantee their victory-and the end of the Kurian Order's domination of Earth...Categorized as:
apocalyptic classics dystopia military post-apocalyptic violent-conflict war action-adventure -
![The Traitor's Bride by Alix Nichols]()
The Traitor's Bride by Alix Nichols
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsDisgraced war hero Areg Sebi is on the scaffold, laying his head on the block. A priestess chants a prayer for the major's soul.In the crowd below, laundress Etana Tidryn stares into his eyes. Last night his lips were hot against hers. He worshipped her with the desperation of the damned..Categorized as:
military post-apocalyptic abuse action-adventure adult age-gap aliens alternate-history -
![Endless Blue by Wen Spencer]()
Endless Blue by Wen Spencer
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe appearance of the warp drive from the long lost spaceship, Fenrir, triggers an epic quest for Captain Mikhail Volkov. According to the drive’s computers, Fenrir had been lost to hypothetical ‘nowhere’ of subspace, but with the drive’s housing covered with coral and sea life, obviously Fenrir has gone somewhere... -
![World Engines: Destroyer by Stephen Baxter]()
World Engines: Destroyer by Stephen Baxter
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHundreds of years in the future, on a stagnating and almost empty Earth, a space shuttle pilot from the early days of the 21st century is awoken from the cryogenic sleep he entered after a devastating accident... -
-
![The Long Utopia by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter]()
The Long Utopia by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter
Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsIt is the middle of the twenty-first century.After the cataclysmic upheavals of Step Day and the Yellowstone eruption, humanity is spreading farther into the Long Earth. Society, on a battered Datum Earth and beyond, continues to evolve.And new challenges emerge.Now an elderly and cantankerous AI, Lobsang is living with Agnes in an exotic, far-distant world... -
![Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer]()
Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
Rated: 3.85 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsAn alien shuttle craft lands outside the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Out pops a six-legged, two-armed alien, who says, in perfect English, "Take me to a paleontologist...Categorized as:
hard-sci-fi near-future violent-conflict action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history audiobook -
![The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century by Harry Turtledove, George R.R. Martin]()
The Best Military Science Fiction of the 20th Century by Harry Turtledove, George R.R. Martin
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsExplosive and provocative battles fought across the boundaries of time and space--and on the frontiers of the human mind.Science fiction's finest have yielded this definitive collection featuring stories of warfare, victory, conquest, heroism, and overwhelming odds. These are scenarios few have ever dared to contemplate, and they include: ¸ "Superiority": Arthur C... -
![Invictus by Ryan Graudin, Райан Гродин]()
Invictus by Ryan Graudin, Райан Гродин
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsTime flies when you're plundering history.Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far's birth defies the laws of nature...Categorized as:
dystopia action-adventure alternate-history ancient-civilization audiobook book crime exploration -
![With the Lightnings by David Drake]()
With the Lightnings by David Drake
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsDaniel Leary is a lieutenant in the Republic of Cinnabar Navy with no money and no prospects since he quarreled with his ruthless, politically powerful father. Adele Mundy is a scholar with no money and no prospects since her family was massacred for conspiring against the Government of Cinnabar...Categorized as:
hard-sci-fi military survival violent-conflict war action-adventure adult alternate-history -
![Star Trek by Alan Dean Foster]()
Star Trek by Alan Dean Foster
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 27 ratings"Are you willing to settle for an ordinary life?or do you think you were meant for something better? something special?" One grew up in the cornfields of Iowa, fighting for his independence,for a way out of a life that promised only indifference, aimlessness,and obscurity. "You will forever be a child of two worlds, capable of choosing your own destiny...Categorized as:
military violent-conflict action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history audiobook book -
![Ark by Stephen Baxter]()
Ark by Stephen Baxter
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHundreds will live, six billion will die.Our world ended in 2052, the year the last great flood finally overwhelmed the lands.A desperate bid for survival began in America, in the years before the end. The project which could be our final act could also be an impossible dream: creating a starship to take a few hundred survivors on an epic journey to a new world...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia hard-sci-fi near-future post-apocalyptic survival action-adventure adult -
![This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone]()
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 81 ratingsAmong the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic...Categorized as:
dystopia violent-conflict war 21st-century action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book -
![Catch the Lightning by Catherine Asaro]()
Catch the Lightning by Catherine Asaro
Rated: 3.71 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIn the distant future, the Skolian empire rules one third of the human galaxy, and is the most powerful of all. For the ruling family has the power of telepathy, and through it, the ability to communicate faster than light across the interstellar space. but their most determined enemy, the traders, who thrive on human pain, need to interbreed with a Skolian to gain their powers...Categorized as:
hard-sci-fi violent-conflict war action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book -
![Redshirts by John Scalzi]()
Redshirts by John Scalzi
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsEnsign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory... -
-
![Independence Day: Crucible: The Official Prequel by Greg Keyes]()
Independence Day: Crucible: The Official Prequel by Greg Keyes
Rated: 3.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsScience fiction action/adventure prequel leading directly into the eagerly anticipated Independence Day sequel, released a month before the film.In the days following the alien invasion, the international community recovers and builds up Earth's defenses using technology salvaged from remains of the enemy forces...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia military post-apocalyptic violent-conflict action-adventure adult aliens -
![Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War by P.W. Singer, August Cole]()
Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War by P.W. Singer, August Cole
Rated: 3.75 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsWhat will the next global conflict look like? Find out in this ripping, near-futuristic thriller. The United States, China, and Russia eye each other across a twenty-first century version of the Cold War, which suddenly heats up at sea, on land, in the air, in outer space, and in cyberspace...Categorized as:
dystopia military near-future violent-conflict war action-adventure adult alternate-history -
![Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter]()
Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter
Rated: 3.72 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the author of the best-selling Jane Yellowrock and Soulwood series comes a tough new heroine who is far more than she seems.After the Final War, after the appearance of the Bug aliens and their enforced peace, Shining Smith is still alive, still doing business from the old scrapyard bequeathed to her by her father. But Shining is now something more than human...Categorized as:
apocalyptic dystopia military post-apocalyptic violent-conflict war action-adventure aliens -
![Zero World by Jason M. Hough]()
Zero World by Jason M. Hough
Rated: 3.76 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsTechnologically enhanced superspy Peter Caswell has been dispatched on a top-secret assignment unlike any he’s ever faced. A spaceship that vanished years ago has been found, along with the bodies of its murdered crew—save one. Peter’s mission is to find the missing crew member, who fled through what appears to be a tear in the fabric of space...Categorized as:
dystopia hard-sci-fi action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history alternate-universe assassins -
![The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter]()
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter
Rated: 3.79 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsNORMALLY, WHEN THERE WAS NOTHING TO DO, HE LISTENED TO THE SILENCE.The Silence was very faint here. Almost drowned out by the sounds of the mundane world. Did people in this polished building understand how noisy it was? The roar of air conditioners and computer fans, the susurration of many voices heard but not decipherable... -
![First Landing by Robert Zubrin]()
First Landing by Robert Zubrin
Rated: 3.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA five-person crew become the first humans to walk upon the Red Planet in a landmark mission to Mars. But when their findings set off a wave of controversy and political upheaval back home, public opinion turns against the mission and they are left stranded. As their situation becomes more desperate, the crew must try to pull together--because if they don't save themselves, no one else will...Categorized as:
classics near-future action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction futuristic
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
