Books like 'The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True'
Readers who enjoyed The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True by Richard Dawkins & Dave McKean also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
psychological space religion evolution children outdoors myths spirituality personal-growth magic
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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:
religion spirituality 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:
children 20th-century action-adventure ai alternate-history anthologies audiobook classics -
![Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang]()
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsTed Chiang's first published story, "Tower of Babylon," won the Nebula Award in 1990. Subsequent stories have won the Asimov's SF Magazine reader poll, a second Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. He won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1992. Story for story, he is the most honored young writer in modern SF...Categorized as:
religion spirituality 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history -
![Foundation by Isaac Asimov]()
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... -
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![The Star Outside My Window by Onjali Q. Raúf]()
The Star Outside My Window by Onjali Q. Raúf
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsMy mum is up there somewhere. She's waiting -- I can feel it. I just have to find her in time, that's all ... Because when I do, I'll know the truth about who stole her. ' Told through the innocent voice of a child, this is a story that celebrates the power of hope and resilience, from the author of The Boy at the Back of the Class.On her tenth birthday, Aniyah makes a wish -- a wish for her mum...Categorized as:
children middle-grade family action-adventure fiction children-books space realistic -
![How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby]()
How to Become a Planet by Nicole Melleby
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 9 ratingsFor Pluto, summer has always started with a trip to the planetarium. It’s the launch to her favorite season, which also includes visits to the boardwalk arcade, working in her mom’s pizzeria, and her best friend Meredith’s birthday party. But this summer, none of that feels possible.A month before the end of the school year, Pluto’s frightened mom broke down Pluto’s bedroom door...Categorized as:
children audiobook children-books contemporary disability fiction friendship lesbian-mc -
![Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett]()
Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsOrion is very scared of the dark — until Dark decides to pay him a visit!Orion is scared of a lot of things, but most of all he’s scared of the dark. So one night the Dark decides to take Orion on an adventure. Emma Yarlett’s second picture book combines her incredible storytelling and artwork with die-cut pages that bring the Dark to life... -
![How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers]()
How to Catch a Star by Oliver Jeffers
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsOnce there was a boy, and that boy loved stars very much. So much so that he decided to catch one of his very own. But how? Waiting for them to grow tired from being up in the sky all night doesn't work. Climbing to the top of the tallest tree? No, not tall enough. The boy has a rocket ship . . . but it is made of paper and doesn't fly well at all... -
![Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente]()
Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 15 ratingsFantastist Catherynne M. Valente takes on the folklore of artificial intelligence in this brand new, original novella of technology, identity, and an uncertain mechanized future.Neva is dreaming. But she is not alone... -
![The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino, Jefferson Mays]()
The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino, Jefferson Mays
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe definitive edition of Calvino’s cosmicomics, bringing together all of these enchanting stories—including some never before translated—in one volume for the first timeIn Italo Calvino’s cosmicomics, primordial beings cavort on the nearby surface of the moon, play marbles with atoms, and bear ecstatic witness to Earth’s first dawn... -
![Stars by Mary Lyn Ray]()
Stars by Mary Lyn Ray
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"A star is how you know it's almost night.""As soon as you see one, there's another, and another.""And the dark that comes doesn't feel so dark.""What if you could have a star?"From acclaimed author Mary Lyn Ray and two-time Caldecott Honor winner Marla Frazee comes this tender, evocative--and profound--exploration of stars both near and far... -
![Earth Awakens by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston]()
Earth Awakens by Orson Scott Card, Aaron Johnston
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe story of The First Formic War continues in Earth Awakens.Nearly 100 years before the events of Orson Scott Card's bestselling novel Ender's Game, humans were just beginning to step off Earth and out into the Solar System. A thin web of ships in both asteroid belts; a few stations; a corporate settlement on Luna... -
![The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin]()
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 71 ratingsA groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose - and change - their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization... -
![Year We Fell From Space by Amy Sarig King]()
Year We Fell From Space by Amy Sarig King
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe deeply affecting next book from acclaimed author Amy Sarig King.Liberty Johansen is going to change the way we look at the night sky. Most people see the old constellations, the things they've been told to see. But Liberty sees new patterns, pictures, and possibilities. She's an exception. Some other exceptions:Her dad, who gave her the stars...Categorized as:
children middle-grade mental-illness contemporary realistic fiction family young-adult -
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![OCDaniel by Wesley King, Roman De Campo]()
OCDaniel by Wesley King, Roman De Campo
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the author of Incredible Space Raiders from Space! comes a brand-new coming-of-age story about a boy whose life revolves around hiding his obsessive compulsive disorder—until he gets a mysterious note that changes everything.Daniel is the back-up punter for the Erie Hills Elephants. Which really means he’s the water boy... -
![Solaris by Stanisław Lem]()
Solaris by Stanisław Lem
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 40 ratingsA classic work of science fiction by renowned Polish novelist and satirist Stanislaw Lem.When Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, he finds a painful, hitherto unconscious memory embodied in the living physical likeness of a long-dead lover... -
![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:
religion spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult aliens alternate-history audiobook -
![Society of the Mind by Eric L. Harry]()
Society of the Mind by Eric L. Harry
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA chilling cyberthriller about a brilliant--and beautiful-- psychologist trapped in a web of futuristic terror.When Dr. Laura Aldridge, a young Harvard psychology professor, is offered one million dollars by billionaire computer-genius and inventor Joseph Gray to assist on a mysterious project, she leaves her comfortable existence to live on his beautiful island in the South Pacific... -
![The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick]()
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsIn the overcrowded world and cramped space colonies of the late 21st century, tedium can be endured through the drug Can-D, which enables users to inhabit a shared illusory world. When industrialist Palmer Eldritch returns from an interstellar trip, he brings with him a new drug, Chew-Z... -
![Bewilderment by Richard Powers]()
Bewilderment by Richard Powers
Rated: 3.96 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsAstrobiologist Theo Byrne searches for life throughout the cosmos, invents planets every night for a bedtime story. He raises Robin, 9, after a car crash took their Aly. The family is strict vegetarians, Theo tells us each dish.Robin is bright, but full of anger that explodes in a flash. He suffers over animals tortured, killed to feed humans... -
![Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert]()
Heretics of Dune by Frank Herbert
Rated: 3.94 of 5 stars · 37 ratingsLeto Atreides, the God Emperor of Dune, is dead. In the fifteen hundred years since his passing, the Empire has fallen into ruin. The great Scattering saw millions abandon the crumbling civilization and spread out beyond the reaches of known space. The planet Arrakis-now called Rakis-has reverted to its desert climate, and its great sandworms are dying... -
![Time Dancers by Steve Cash]()
Time Dancers by Steve Cash
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsSteve Cash created “an absorbing [and] intriguing saga” (The San Diego Union-Tribune) in his debut novel, The Meq. Outwardly indistinguishable from human beings, but with abilities no human can claim, the Meq search for their lost history and face a mysterious prophesied reckoning. . . .It has been thirty-eight years since Zianno–known as Z–turned twelve. In appearance, he has not aged a day... -
![The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James]()
The Starlight Watchmaker by Lauren James
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWealthy students from across the galaxy come to learn at the prestigious academy where Hugo toils as a watchmaker. But he is one of the lucky ones. Many androids like him are jobless and homeless. Someone like Dorian could never understand their struggle - or so Hugo thinks when the pompous duke comes banging at his door... -
![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.. -
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![God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert]()
God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 42 ratingsCenturies have passed on Dune, and the planet is green with life. Leto, the son of Dune's savior, is still alive but far from human, and the fate of all humanity hangs on his awesome sacrifice..."Rich fare...heady stuff... -
![Galax Arena by Gillian Rubinstein]()
Galax Arena by Gillian Rubinstein
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsPeter, Joella, and Lianne are forced onto a spaceship and taken to the planet Vexa where they are made to perform death-defying stunts for their alien captors. Joella has never been a good gymnast and now she faces the unspeakable alternative - becoming a Vexan's pet... -
![Calypso's Guest by Andrew Sean Greer]()
Calypso's Guest by Andrew Sean Greer
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA bargain with the gods throws two men together in a timeless short story of adventure and unrequited love inspired by The Odyssey by Andrew Sean Greer, the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Less . A man in exile, banished to a planet far from home and cursed with immortality, discovers that a ship has crash-landed near his settlement. After two hundred years, his heart’s desire has come true... -
![Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert]()
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 46 ratingsDune Messiah continues the story of the man Muad'dib, heir to a power unimaginable, bringing to completion the centuries-old scheme to create a super-being."Brilliant...It is all that Dune was, and maybe a little bit more... -
![Stone by Adam Roberts]()
Stone by Adam Roberts
Rated: 3.70 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsSprung from a prison in the center of a star, the universe’s last criminal is employed to kill the entire population of a planet—and leave the planet itself intact. It is a crime that will tear apart an interstellar utopia that has existed for centuries...Categorized as:
spirituality 21st-century action-adventure adult apocalyptic biopunk book contemporary -
![The Divine Invasion by Philip K. Dick]()
The Divine Invasion by Philip K. Dick
Rated: 3.82 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIn The Divine Invasion, Philip K... -
![Promises by Nancy Ann Richardson]()
Promises by Nancy Ann Richardson
Rated: 3.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsBefore she joined the Jedi academy, Anakin's friend Tahiri knew nothing of her real parents--or how she came to live with the treacherous Tusken Raiders. Now the day has come when Tahiri will learn everything, But first she must prove herself worthy. With Anakin at her side, she must pass a deadly test, using the Force like never before...Categorized as:
children magic action-adventure book children-books female-author fiction friendship -
![A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick]()
A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick
Rated: 3.80 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsFourteen strangers come to Delmak-O. Thirteen of them were transferred by the usual authorities. One got there by praying. But once they arrived on that treacherous planet, whose very atmosphere seemed to induce paranoia and psychosis, the newcomers tound that even prayer was useless. For on Delmak-O, God is either absent or intent on destroying His creations... -
![Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott, Giorgio Manganelli]()
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott, Giorgio Manganelli
Rated: 3.81 of 5 stars · 53 ratingsThis masterpiece of science (and mathematical) fiction is a delightfully unique and highly entertaining satire that has charmed readers for more than 100 years. The work of English clergyman, educator and Shakespearean scholar Edwin A. Abbott (1838-1926), it describes the journeys of A. Square [sic – ed... -
![Xenocide by Orson Scott Card]()
Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
Rated: 3.78 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsThe war for survival of the planet Lusitania will be fought in the heart of a child named Gloriously Bright.On Lusitania, Ender found a world where humans and pequininos and the Hive Queen could all live together; where three very different intelligent species could find common ground at last. Or so he thought... -
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![Planetfall by Emma Newman]()
Planetfall by Emma Newman
Rated: 3.73 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsFrom the award-nominated author Emma Newman, comes a novel of how one secret withheld to protect humanity’s future might be its undoing…Renata Ghali believed in Lee Suh-Mi’s vision of a world far beyond Earth, calling to humanity. A planet promising to reveal the truth about our place in the cosmos, untainted by overpopulation, pollution, and war... -
![Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson]()
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
Rated: 3.71 of 5 stars · 39 ratingsA major new novel from one of science fiction's most powerful voices, AURORA tells the incredible story of our first voyage beyond the solar system. Brilliantly imagined and beautifully told, it is the work of a writer at the height of his powers. Our voyage from Earth began generations ago.Now, we approach our new home.AURORA... -
![A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card]()
A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card
Rated: 3.67 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsOrson Scott Card offers a Christmas gift to his millions of fans with A War of Gifts, a short novel set during Ender Wiggin's first years at the Battle School where it is forbidden to celebrate religious holidays. The children come from many nations, many religions; while they are being trained for war, religious conflict between them is not on the curriculum...Categorized as:
children religion spirituality action-adventure aliens anthologies audiobook boarding-school -
![Terrace Story by Hilary Leichter]()
Terrace Story by Hilary Leichter
Rated: 3.56 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsFrom the author of the acclaimed novel Temporary, an intimate exploration of time, a fable about love, an epic daydream for a broken-hearted worldAnnie, Edward, and their young daughter, Rose, live in a cramped apartment. One night, without warning, they find a beautiful terrace hidden in their closet. It wasn't there before, and it seems to only appear when their friend Stephanie visits... -
![Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K. Dick]()
Galactic Pot-Healer by Philip K. Dick
Rated: 3.58 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe Glimmung wants Joe Fernwright. Fernwright is a pot-healer - a repairer of ceramics - in a drably utilitarian future where such skills have little value. And the Glimmung? The Glimmung is a being that looks something like a gyroscope, something like a teenaged girl, and something like the contents of an ocean. What's more, it may be divine... -
![Lucy by Laurence Gonzales]()
Lucy by Laurence Gonzales
Rated: 3.49 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLaurence Gonzales’s electrifying adventure opens in the jungles of the Congo. Jenny Lowe, a primatologist studying chimpanzees—the bonobos—is running for her life.A civil war has exploded and Jenny is trapped in its crosshairs . . . She runs to the camp of a fellow primatologist.The rebels have already been there...Categorized as:
outdoors action-adventure animals audiobook book coming-of-age contemporary dystopia
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