Books like 'The Universe Twister'
Readers who enjoyed The Universe Twister by Keith Laumer also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical sc-fi hard sci-fi action / adventure time-travel portal-travel epic
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The Last Question by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.56 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsIf you’re a fan of the Sci-Fi genre, then chances are that you’ve heard of ‘The Last Question’, a science fiction short story written by Isaac Asimov in 1956. The story deals with the development of computers (artificial intelligence) called Multivacs and their relationships with humanity through the courses of seven historic settings, beginning in 2061... -
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Rated: 4.23 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsCryptonomicon zooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods—World War II and the present. Our 1940s heroes are the brilliant mathematician Lawrence Waterhouse, crypt analyst extraordinaire, and gung-ho, morphine-addicted marine Bobby Shaftoe... -
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... -
Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsAt last, the costly and bitter war between the two Foundations had come to an end. The scientists of the First Foundation had proved victorious; and now they return to Hari Seldon's long-established plan to build a new Empire on the ruins of the old. But rumors persist that the Second Foundation is not destroyed after all—and that its still-defiant survivors are preparing their revenge... -
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Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 49 ratingsFor twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future -- to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years... -
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... -
Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsThis daring story of humanity’s future introduces one of the great masterworks of science fiction: the Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov. Unsurpassed for their unique blend of nonstop action, bold ideas, and extensive world-building, they chronicle the struggle of a courageous group of people to save civilization from a relentless tide of darkness and violence—beginning with one exceptional man... -
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
Rated: 4.15 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsRobert A. Heinlein was the most influential science fiction writer of his era, an influence so large that, as Samuel R. Delany notes, "modern critics attempting to wrestle with that influence find themselves dealing with an object rather like the sky or an ocean." He won the Hugo Award for best novel four times, a record that still stands... -
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsFraa Erasmas is a young avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar, a sanctuary for mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers, protected from the corrupting influences of the outside "saecular" world by ancient stone, honored traditions, and complex rituals. Over the centuries, cities and governments have risen and fallen beyond the concent's walls...Categorized as:
epic time-travel 21st-century action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history alternate-universe -
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... -
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... -
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 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... -
Excession by Iain M. Banks
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThe international sensation Iain M. Banks offers readers a deeply imaginative, wittily satirical tale, proving once again that he is "a talent to be reckoned with" ("Locus"). In Excession, the Culture's espionage and dirty tricks section orders Diplomat Byr Gen-Hofoen to steal the soul of a long-dead starship captain... -
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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
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 Dance of Time by Eric Flint, David Drake
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Malwa and their evil have been driven back to their Indian heartland, but there they coil to strike again...Categorized as:
time-travel action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction hard-sci-fi historical -
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...Categorized as:
time-travel 20th-century action-adventure adult aliens anthologies audiobook classics -
Callahan's Lady by Spider Robinson
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA HOUSE OF "HEALTHY" REPUTE...Welcome to Lady Sally's, the House that "is" a home -- the internationally (hell, interplanetarily) notorious bordello. At Lady Sally's House, the customer doesn't necessarily come first: even the staff are genuinely enjoying themselves... -
Diaspora by Greg Egan
Rated: 4.16 of 5 stars · 19 ratingsBy the end of the 30th century humanity has the capability to travel the universe, to journey beyond earth and beyond the confines of the vulnerable human frame... -
1637: No Peace Beyond the Line by Eric Flint, Charles E. Gannon
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTHE BATTLE FOR THE NEW WORLD IS A FIGHT TO THE FINISH! A NEW RING OF FIRE NOVEL BY BEST-SELLING WRITING TEAM ERIC FLINT AND CHARLES E. GANNONA New Day in the New WorldIt’s 1637 in the Caribbean. Commander Eddie Cantrell and his ally and friend Admiral Martin Tromp start it off with some nasty surprises for Spain, whose centuries-long exploitation and rapine of the New World has run unchecked...Categorized as:
time-travel action-adventure adult alternate-history alternate-universe book fiction hard-sci-fi -
An Empire Asunder by Evan Currie
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe coup that won traitor General Corian the Scourwind throne has been overturned, but his ongoing rebellion has left the empire divided. Lydia’s birthright regained, she adjusts to her role as empress at war, while Brennan begins training as an elite Cadreman soldier... -
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... -
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... -
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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... -
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... -
Do Overs: A Time Travel Thriller of Sudden Second Chances by Jon Spoelstra
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTime travel: This is the trip you gotta take. And then when you take it--wham--you are faced with a savage choice of do-overs to correct past blunders. Roy Hobbs blew the cash windfall from his best-seller book. Gone was his money, and then his wife Rachel was murdered with the killer never found. Roy chose to pick up the pieces, riding into his sunset as a crime reporter in a smaller market...Categorized as:
time-travel action-adventure adult alternate-history book fiction hard-sci-fi historical -
1636: Flight of the Nightingale by David Carrico
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsTWO SHORT NOVELS SET IN ERIC FLINT'S BEST-SELLING RING OF FIRE SERIES from David Carrico, coauthor of 1636: The Devil's Opera and The Span of Empire... -
The Butcher's Bill by David Drake
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThey were the best mercenaries in the galaxy. They were Hammer's Slammers! The Butcher's Bill contains a novel, two novellas, four short stories, and a new novelette written for the collection, in addition to an Introduction by the author... -
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... -
Gateway by Frederik Pohl
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 47 ratingsRich or dead. Those were the choices Gateway offered. Gateway opened on all the wealth of the Universe & on reaches of unimaginable horror. The humans who rode the alien Heechee spacecraft stored on the planetoid couldn't know whether the trip would make them millionaires or corpses... -
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 43 ratingsThe artefact is a circular ribbon of matter six hundred million miles long and ninety million miles in radius. Pierson's puppeteers, the aliens who discovered it, are understandably wary of encountering the builders of such an immense structure and have assembled a team of two humans, a mad puppeteer and a kzin, a huge cat-like alien, to explore it... -
The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsIt is 1970, and electronics engineer Dan Davis has finally made the invention of a lifetime: a household robot with extraordinary abilities, destined to dramatically change the landscape of everyday routine... -
Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 31 ratingsThe capstone and crowning achievement of the Future History series, from the New York Times bestselling Grand Master of Science Fiction...Time Enough for Love follows Lazarus Long through a vast and magnificent timescape of centuries and worlds... -
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On Basilisk Station by David Weber
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsHonor Harrington in trouble: Having made him look the fool, she's been exiled to Basilisk Station in disgrace and set up for ruin by a superior who hates her. Her demoralized crew blames her for their ship's humiliating posting to an out-of-the-way picket station. The aborigines of the system's only habitable planet are smoking homicide-inducing hallucinogens... -
Revelations by Robert Storey
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsHidden deep beneath a remote desert is our planet’s biggest secret. Sarah Morgan’s only mistake? Finding it.The world holds its breath as the colossal asteroid 2011 AG5 hurtles towards the earth. As humanity is faced with extinction, archaeologist Sarah Morgan is in a race against time to uncover a secret that has been buried for millennia: that an advanced ancestor once populated the earth... -
Black Projects, White Knights: The Company Dossiers by Kage Baker
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn these tales, sci-fi fans follow the secret activities of the Company's field agents--once human, now centuries-old time-traveling cyborgs--as they attempt to retrieve history's lost treasures...Categorized as:
time-travel action-adventure adult anthologies cyborgs fiction hard-sci-fi historical -
Ilium by Dan Simmons
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsThe Trojan War rages at the foot of Olympos Mons on Mars—observed and influenced from on high by Zeus and his immortal family—and twenty-first-century professor Thomas Hockenberry is there to play a role in the insidious private wars of vengeful gods and goddesses... -
1635: Music and Murder by David Carrico
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings1635: Murder and Music.Music . . .It's been said that musicians live for the next new sound. Well, the musicians of Europe were presented with the biggest new sound ever when the Ring of Fire brought the future back to 1631... -
Terminator Salvation: Cold War by Greg Cox
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWe Fight BackRussia 2003. When it appears that the United States has unleashed its entire nuclear arsenal upon the world, Captain Dmitri Losenko, commander of the nuclear submarine Gorshkov, has no choice but to retaliate. His target? Alaska.Alaska 2018. Fighting for survival in the frozen wilderness, Molly Kookesh struggles to protect her makeshift Resistance cell from the Terminators... -
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester, Neil Gaiman
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 34 ratingsIn this pulse-quickening novel, Alfred Bester imagines a future in which people "jaunte" a thousand miles with a single thought, where the rich barricade themselves in labyrinths and protect themselves with radioactive hitmen—and where an inarticulate outcast is the most valuable and dangerous man alive... -
1637: The Volga Rules by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsNEW ENTRY IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING, GENRE-DEFINING ALTERNATE HISTORY SERIES. It’s been five years since a cosmic incident known as The Ring of Fire transported the modern day town of Grantville, West Virginia, through time and space to 17th century Europe. The course of world history has been forever altered. And Mother Russia is no exception...Categorized as:
time-travel action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book conspiracies drama -
The Time Ships by Stephen Baxter
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThere is a secret passage through time...and it leads all the way to the end of Eternity. But the journey has a terrible cost. It alters not only the future but the "present" in which we live.A century after the publication of H. G...Categorized as:
time-travel 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book classics -
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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The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsThis reissue of a modern classic of science fiction, the Hugo and Locus Award-winning and Nebula-nominated The Snow Queen, marks the first time the book has been reprinted in fifteen years.The imperious Winter colonists have ruled the planet Tiamat for 150 years, deriving wealth from the slaughter of the sea mers... -
The Oppenheimer Alternative by Robert J. Sawyer
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsOn the 75th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb, Hugo and Nebula-winning author Robert J. Sawyer takes us back in time to revisit history…with a twist.While J. Robert Oppenheimer and his Manhattan Project team struggle to develop the A-bomb, Edward Teller wants something even more devastating: a bomb based on nuclear fusion—the mechanism that powers the sun...Categorized as:
time-travel 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history audiobook book fiction -
Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe red planet is red no longer, as Mars has become a perfectly inhabitable world. But while Mars flourishes, Earth is threatened by overpopulation and ecological disaster. Soon people look to Mars as a refuge, initiating a possible interplanetary conflict, as well as political strife between the Reds, who wish to preserve the planet in its desert state, and the Green "terraformers"... -
The Probability Broach by L. Neil Smith
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDenver detective Win Bear, on the trail of a murderer, discovers much more than a killer. He accidentally stumbles upon the probability broach, a portal to a myriad of worlds--some wildly different from, others disconcertingly similar to our own...Categorized as:
time-travel 20th-century action-adventure adult alternate-history book cyberpunk dystopia -
1636: The China Venture by Eric Flint, Iver P. Cooper
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThe Ring of Fire Series Continues! The United States of Europe finds itself embroiled in international intrigue, as the uptimers attempt to establish an embassy in Ming Dynasty era China...Categorized as:
time-travel action-adventure adult alternate-history book early-modern fiction hard-sci-fi -
Grantville Gazette, Volume 7 by Eric Flint
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis edition of the Grantville Gazette Volume 7 is derived directly from the online edition at http://www.grantvillegazette.com...Categorized as:
time-travel action-adventure adult alternate-history anthologies fiction hard-sci-fi historical
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