All posts by Dan

23 Best Modern Dystopia Books

Dystopian, List, Modern
Dystopian art by Alex Andreev

Dystopian art by Alex Andreev

Dystopian fiction is making us scared. Stop writing it!

Or, we’re writing it because we’re already scared, so we should probably write more.

The future, like the present, can be both wonderful and terrifying.

If you find yourself drawn to dystopian stories, ask yourself, “Why?” Is it because the future looks bleak? Or does a truly fresh start sound pretty good?

It’s okay if the answer is both. Feeling strongly about two or more completely contradictory things is deeply human (annoying, but human).

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19 Best Star Wars Books

List, Star Wars

I’m a big fan of the Star Wars universe, but I haven’t been drawn in by many of the latest movies or TV shows (except The Mandalorian, of course. Wow, that’s fun). But books give another entry into that universe.

There are almost four hundred Star Wars books out there, covering a wide range of quality, from exceptional, to just embarrassing. There are also two timelines: the Canon books are the ones Disney has decided “really” happened in the Star Wars universe, and the Legends books, which are the majority of the older stories, written before Disney bought Lucasfilm.

I suggest you ignore whether something is Canon or Legends or not and just enjoy a good story in a great universe.

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16 Best Solarpunk Books

List, Solarpunk

It’s hard not to be overwhelmed with pessimism and a sense of impending doom one feels when looking at the current state of fractious politics and lack of action to battle climate change.

Solarpunk is a rebellion against all that. It’s environmentally-focused, optimistic but practical, not “la la let’s dance in the sun amidst the jolly wind turbines” but rather a pragmatic, if hopeful, look at what might be, if humanity actually gets its act together.

Unlike other “-punk” subgenres, solarpunk is also an actual movement of groups of people getting together and trying to improve the world a little bit.

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23 Best Modern Post-apocalyptic Books

List, Modern, Post-apocalyptic

Humans have worried about the end of the world ever since we made up the word “world,” and in the past twenty years or so, we’ve been really worried about it, based on how many post-apocalyptic books we’ve written. We’re stressed about war, viruses, natural global disasters, genetically modified humans, multiple flavors of zombies, computers run amok, you name it.

This list focuses on books published in the 21st century, with a number of exceptions because those books were amazing and I felt like it.

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11 Amazing Science Fiction Books by Black Authors

Black Author, List

Though almost absent in the early years of science fiction, the number of black authors—and the recognition of their work—is growing year by year.

It’s impossible to talk about science fiction written by black authors as a cohesive genre because, like writers of other skin tones, black authors come from all over the world and write about a wildly diverse array of subjects in their own unique way and voice.

Despite that, I’m including this list because most other lists of science-fiction books tend to be “White and Male heavy,” and trumpeting the achievements of black authors should help balance that out a little bit.

I’m using “black” instead of “African-American” because a number of these authors are not American.

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Review: The Risen Empire by Scott Westerfeld

Military, Regular Guy Book Reviews, Series, Space Opera

The Risen Empire coverThe Risen Empire has some interesting ideas about the far future. Humanity has split into several factions, one of the largest is the Risen Empire, ruled by a single, immortal emperor for sixteen hundred years. This emperor has the sole power to bestow immortality on any of his subjects. When the emperor’s home planet is attacked and his sister held hostage, military and political gears start turning.

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