Books like 'Plowing the Dark'
Readers who enjoyed Plowing the Dark by Richard Powers also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
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The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin, Eisso Post
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsThis is the second novel in "Remembrance of Earth’s Past", the near-future trilogy written by the China's multiple-award-winning science fiction author, Cixin Liu. In The Dark Forest, Earth is reeling from the revelation of a coming alien invasion — four centuries in the future... -
Caliban's War by James S.A. Corey
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsWe are not alone.On Ganymede, breadbasket of the outer planets, a Martian marine watches as her platoon is slaughtered by a monstrous supersoldier. On Earth, a high-level politician struggles to prevent interplanetary war from reigniting. And on Venus, an alien protomolecule has overrun the planet, wreaking massive, mysterious changes and threatening to spread out into the solar system... -
Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsIlya Kaminsky's astonishing parable in poems asks us, What is silence?Deaf Republic opens in an occupied country in a time of political unrest. When soldiers breaking up a protest kill a deaf boy, Petya, the gunshot becomes the last thing the citizens hear--they all have gone deaf, and their dissent becomes coordinated by sign language... -
A Bright Shore: The Eden Chronicles-Book One by S.M. Anderson
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA military Sci-Fi political thriller set a short decade from now. In 2031, holding to the concept of Individual Liberty can get you killed. Western Civilization is in collapse, a process led and driven by the world's leading supposed democracies, our own included...Categorized as:
politics war action-adventure adult alternate-universe book colonization conspiracies -
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Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsSo far the Foundation was safe. But there was a hidden Second Foundation to protect the first. The Mule has yet to find it, but he was getting closer all the time. The men of the Foundation sought it, too, to escape from Mule's mind control. Only Arkady, a 14 year-old girl seemed to have the answer, or did she.. -
Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsAbaddon's Gate is the third book in the New York Times bestselling Expanse series. For generations, the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt - was humanity's great frontier. Until now. The alien artefact working through its program under the clouds of Venus has emerged to build a massive structure outside the orbit of Uranus: a gate that leads into a starless dark... -
The Inhabited Island by Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky
Rated: 4.32 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsWhen Maxim, a space explorer from Earth, accidentally discovers a planet inhabited by humanoids who destroy his spaceship, he thinks of himself as a modern-day Robinson Crusoe. But after his experiences in the planet's nightmarish military and mental health facilities, he begins to realize that his sojourn on this radioactive and war-scarred world will not be a walk in the park... -
Witch Of The Federation II by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.48 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsThe World has a New Witch. The Federation Navy wants her. But she has to decide if she wants the Federation Navy.Stephanie Morgana comes from a long line of Morganas, much longer than she ever realized. The Artificial Intelligence which runs the Virtual World has decided that it needs to break a few rules in order to follow its prime directives... -
Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIt begins in the realm of the Real, where matter still matters.It begins with a murder.And it will not end until the Culture has gone to war with death itself.Lededje Y'breq is one of the Intagliated, her marked body bearing witness to a family shame, her life belonging to a man whose lust for power is without limit... -
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Thomas Pynchon
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 82 ratingsThe new novel by George Orwell is the major work towards which all his previous writing has pointed. Critics have hailed it as his "most solid, most brilliant" work. Though the story of Nineteen Eighty-Four takes place thirty-five years hence, it is in every sense timely. The scene is London, where there has been no new housing since 1950 and where the city-wide slums are called Victory Mansions...Categorized as:
literary-fiction politics war 20th-century alternate-history audiobook book classics -
Cibola Burn by James S.A. Corey
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 72 ratingsThe fourth novel in James S.A. Corey’s New York Times bestselling Expanse seriesThe gates have opened the way to thousands of habitable planets, and the land rush has begun. Settlers stream out from humanity's home planets in a vast, poorly controlled flood, landing on a new world... -
Finally Home by Thomas A. Watson
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe country is broken. The borders have been breached. And only Nathan and his prepper compatriots have a chance to put it back together. After months of struggle in a devastated world, the love of his life by his side, he reaches his doomsday redoubt to lead the way... -
Witch Of The Federation III by Michael Anderle
Rated: 4.54 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsStephanie Morgana has graduated to Protector of ALL Federation’s people. But can she get them to all respect her? She has to go to Dreth and find out. To pass a test, there is one more type of MU that she has to understand, without killing herself in the process... -
Web of Worlds by Michael Atamanov
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCeasefires have one big downside: they eventually come to an end. And when they do, once again game nodes are set ablaze, and platoons of Dark Faction soldiers threaten our customary world with destruction. The enemy has grown stronger and more numerous. To make matters worse, they also got their hands on even deadlier weaponry... -
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Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsJohn Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-- and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate... -
Checkmate by Malorie Blackman
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe dramatic conclusion to the award-winning Noughts and Crosses trilogy.Can the future ever erase the past? Rose has a Cross mother and a Nought father in a society where the pale-skinned noughts are treated as inferiors and those with dual heritage face a life-long battle against deep-rooted prejudices...Categorized as:
politics war action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book children coming-of-age -
Only in Death by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsAs the crusade to liberate the Sabbat Worlds continues, Colonel-Commissar Gaunt leads the Tanith First-and-Only into an unforgiving new warzone - the fortress world of Jago... -
Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMy name is Rex. I am a good dog. Rex is also seven foot tall at the shoulder, bulletproof, bristling with heavy caliber weaponry and his voice resonates with subsonics especially designed to instill fear. With Dragon, Honey and Bees, he's part of a Multiform Assault Pack operating in the lawless anarchy of Campeche, Mexico. A genetically engineered Bioform, he's a deadly weapon in a dirty war... -
Seven Surrenders by Ada Palmer
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsThe second book of Terra Ignota, a political SF epic of extraordinary audacity. It is a world in which near-instantaneous travel from continent to continent is free to all.In which automation now provides for everybody’s basic needs.In which nobody living can remember an actual war... -
Ravenor Rogue by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsIn the third book of the series, Inquisitor Ravenor's pursuit of his arch-nemesis Molotch takes him and his team to places dark and dangerous. Unknown to Ravenor, one of his team hides a deadly secret that could doom them all... -
Return to Zero by Pittacus Lore
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsAll bets are off in this third and final book in the Lorien Legacies Reborn series!After the battle in Switzerland, the Fugitive Six find their allegiances torn, dividing them into two factions. Taylor, Kopano, and Nigel return to the Academy with Nine, but nothing is the same... -
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 101 ratingsWinston Smith is a low-rung member of the Party, the ruling government of Oceania. He works in the Ministry of Truth, the Party's propoganda arm, where he is in charge of revising history. He is but a small brick in the pyramid that is the Party, at the head of which stands Big Brother. Big Brother the infallible. Big Brother the all-powerful...Categorized as:
literary-fiction politics war 20th-century alternate-history audiobook book classics -
The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 45 ratingsThe time of reckoning has arrived. As a final genocidal Crusade threatens to enslave humanity forever, a new messiah has come of age. She is Aenea and she has undergone a strange apprenticeship to those known as the Others. Now her protector, Raul Endymion, one-time shepherd and convicted murderer, must help her deliver her startling message to her growing army of disciples... -
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx by Eric S. Nylund
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsContinuing the saga of the award-winning Xbox(TM) game!The Spartan-II program has gone public. Tales of super-soldiers fending off thousands of Covenant attacks have become the stuff of legend... -
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Written in Fire by Marcus Sakey
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsThe explosive conclusion to the bestselling Brilliance TrilogyFor thirty years humanity struggled to cope with the brilliants, the one percent of people born with remarkable gifts. For thirty years we tried to avoid a devastating civil war.We failed.The White House is a smoking ruin. Madison Square Garden is an internment camp... -
Winter World by A.G. Riddle
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsA new ice age... and a shocking discovery...will change humanity forever.In the near future, a new ice age has begun.Humanity stands on the brink of extinction.Desperate for answers, scientists send probes into the solar system to take readings. Near Mars, a probe spots a mysterious object drifting toward the Sun... -
The Armour of Contempt by Dan Abnett
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Imperial crusade, including Gaunt's Ghosts, are sent back to the planet Gereon to join forces with the Imperial defenders and liberate the planet from Chaos. However, the brutality of the 'liberation' pitches Gaunt into opposition with his commanders, who believe victory must be achieved at any price, no matter how cruel... -
The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 4: The Minority Report by Philip K. Dick
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 33 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... -
Unto the Breach by John Ringo
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsSequel to Ghost, Kildar and Choosers of the Slain.Michael Harmon has been there and done that. Rescued co-eds, killed major terrorists, stopped nuclear assaults. Now he'd just like to kick back and relax with his harem of lovelies. Unfortunately, the world keeps turning... -
The Will to Battle by Ada Palmer
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsA political SF epic of extraordinary audacity.The long years of near-utopia have come to an abrupt end.Peace and order are now figments of the past. Corruption, deception, and insurgency hum within the once steadfast leadership of the Hives, nations without fixed location... -
Vengeance in the Ashes by William W. Johnstone
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"We're bringing law and order back in this nation."--Ben Raines Scourge Upon The Land While ending the rule of slavers, thugs, and the cannibalistic Night People on the Hawaiian Islands, Ben Raines and his rebel army learn of a new threat to America... -
Romancing the Alpha: An Action-Adventure Romance Boxed Set by Zoe York, Ruby Lionsdrake
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA multi-author anthology of action-packed adventure novellas. Let the adrenaline flow! ***ZOE YORK, RUBY LIONSDRAKE, ZARA KEANE, ANNA HACKETT, EMBER CASEY, ANNA LOWE, SADIE HALLER, LYN BRITTAN, LYDIA ROWAN, A.J... -
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 76 ratingsTold with deadpan humour and bitter irony, Kurt Vonnegut's cult tale of global destruction preys on our deepest fears of witnessing Armageddon and, worse still, surviving it ...Dr Felix Hoenikker, one of the founding 'fathers' of the atomic bomb, has left a deadly legacy to the world. For he's the inventor of 'ice-nine', a lethal chemical capable of freezing the entire planet... -
The Last Full Measure by Trent Reedy, Andrew Eiden
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFORMAT: Digital Download, unabridged Narrator: Andrew Eiden In a YA trilogy like no other, Trent Reedy has raised the most primal questions of our national existence: Do we owe our greatest loyalty to our friends? Our state? Our country? Our party? How do we reconcile our individual rights and common needs? What keeps us all united -- and what happens if we fall apart? Now, in this third book,... -
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Burning Nation by Trent Reedy
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn this wrenching sequel to DIVIDED WE FALL, Danny and friends fight to defend Idaho against a Federal takeover and the ravages of a BURNING NATION.At the end of DIVIDED WE FALL, Danny Wright's beloved Idaho had been invaded by the federal government, their electricity shut off, their rights suspended. Danny goes into hiding with his friends in order to remain free...Categorized as:
politics war action-adventure alternate-history audiobook book civil-war coming-of-age -
A Better World by Marcus Sakey
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe brilliants changed everything.Since 1980, 1% of the world has been born with gifts we’d only dreamed of. The ability to sense a person’s most intimate secrets, or predict the stock market, or move virtually unseen. For thirty years the world has struggled with a growing divide between the exceptional...and the rest of us.Now a terrorist network led by brilliants has crippled three cities... -
Locker Nine by Franklin Horton
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsGrace Hardwick’s dad is a science fiction writer who makes his living destroying the world. When Grace decides to go away for her first year of college her dad, Robert, can’t help but think of all of the potential ways that society could collapse and strand his daughter hundreds of miles from home. Then, near the end of her freshman year, it happens...Categorized as:
literary-fiction war action-adventure apocalyptic audiobook book contemporary dystopia -
The Free People's Village by Sim Kern
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsIn an alternate 2020 timeline, Al Gore won the 2000 election and declared a War on Climate Change rather than a War on Terror. For twenty years, Democrats have controlled all three branches of government, enacting carbon-cutting schemes that never made it to a vote in our world. Green infrastructure projects have transformed U.S...Categorized as:
politics literary-fiction fiction sci-fi lgbtq dystopia social-commentary alternate-history -
Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Курт Воннегут
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsWelcome to the Monkey House is a collection of Kurt Vonnegut’s shorter works. Originally printed in publications as diverse as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Atlantic Monthly, these superb stories share Vonnegut’s audacious sense of humor and extraordinary range of creative vision... -
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHumankind discovers intelligent life in an octopus species with its own language and culture, and sets off a high-stakes global competition to dominate the future. Rumors begin to spread of a dangerous species of hyperintelligent octopus that may have developed its own language and culture. The marine biologist Dr... -
Kildar by John Ringo
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsProblems, problems, problems! All Mike Harmon ever wanted to be was a SEAL. But after problems in the teams, college student was a decent second best. However, trouble seemed to follow him where he went. Now, after having angered every terrorist on Earth and at least five governments, buying a farm in a third world country was looking pretty good. Of course, nothing was ever simple... -
Dante by Guy Haley
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe untold origin story of Chapter Master Dante of the Blood Angels, one of the Imperium's greatest heroes.Dante is Chapter Master of one of the noblest but most troubled Chapters of Space Marines in the Imperium: the Blood Angels. From the time of his birth in the rad-scarred wastes of Baal Secundus, he was destined for glory and strife... -
Choosers of the Slain by John Ringo
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsSequel to Ghost and Kildar.Former SEAL Michael Harmon (Ghost, Kildar) has a pretty good life. He's settled down in the country of Georgia and built a solid commando-quality militia out of his local retainers. The Keldara have an ancient history of being first-class mountain warriors and all they needed was a few million in modern weapons and training to bring them up to speed... -
Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsSeeking atonement for past crimes, Breq takes on a mission as captain of a troublesome new crew of Radchai soldiers, in the sequel to Ann Leckie's NYT bestselling, award-winning Ancillary Justice. A must read for fans of Ursula K. Le Guin and James S. A. Corey.Breq is a soldier who used to be a warship... -
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A Deeper Blue by John Ringo
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsSequel to Ghost, Kildar, Choosers of the Slain and Unto the Breach.Heart-sick over the deaths of so many of his Keldara followers, and one in particular, former SEAL Mike Harmon, hero of Ghost, Kildar and Choosers of the Slain, decides to sit this one out. WMDs headed for the US no longer matter to the Kildar... -
Martial Law by Bobby Akart
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe end begins tomorrow.“Author Bobby Akart possesses the analytic capability of a supercomputer coupled with the expressiveness of an exceptional writer.”~ Amazon ReviewsA government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have.~ Thomas JeffersonMartial Law is a prophetic and prescient novel by author Bobby Akart... -
Patriots Reborn by Thomas A. Watson
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNelson, Michelle, and their family have made it to the farm, having narrowly avoided -detainment.- Along with their circle of friends, they quickly set about reinforcing their home for the inevitable outbreak of the next civil war. While the corrupt American government hunts down free Americans, the family is caught in the line of fire... -
Survival in the Ashes by William W. Johnstone
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsBen Raines and his freedom-fighting guerrillas are camped along what was once the Mississippi River when they are trapped between heavily armed troops and fanatical assassins. Now, Ben Raines must fight another battle for the Rebel dream.. -
Holiday at Magnolia Bay by Tracy Solheim
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWhen Navy SEAL Drew Lanham sees Jenna Huntley rising out of Magnolia Bay, she reminds him of the goddess of the sea, but he has to ignore her siren’s call as he’s home on a brief leave trying to recover from a devastating mission where he lost a teammate... -
The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, Ken Liu
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsThe Three-Body Problem is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience the Hugo Award-winning phenomenon from China's most beloved science fiction author, Liu Cixin.Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens...Categorized as:
politics technology war 21st-century action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history
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