Book cover of The Fifth Sacred Thing

Book description

An epic tale of freedom and slavery, love and war, and the potential futures of humankind tells of a twenty-first century California clan caught between two clashing worlds, one based on tolerance, the other on repression.

Declaration of the Four Sacred Things

The earth is a living, conscious being. In…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

3 authors picked The Fifth Sacred Thing as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This book tells the story of a solarpunk oasis in a very dystopian world. It shows the power of non-violent direct action and peaceful resistance. It was inspiring to see a group of people who refused to accept the unfair, cruel world around them and built something better instead.

However, it’s much more violent than I expected a solarpunk story to be, though it made sense considering what the characters were up against. Beware that this book involves magic.

This 1993 fantasy novel is set in a future San Francisco, modelled on the Paris Commune, that has become a pagan queer feminist ecotopia that is under siege and threatened to be overrun by an army of war-faring fundamentalists.

It features great adventures of loveable characters and some brilliant ideas for creating alternative societies.

Techniques described in the book are highly subversive; it offers alternatives to valuing money and setting prices, practices to transform soldiers into military deserters, and generally seeks to unhinge democratic practices that will harm nature, plants, animals, children, women, and the old and weak.

I find…

I can’t think of a better starter’s guidebook for getting the revolution off the ground. This epic post-apocalyptic novel offers the best in eco-feminism, sustainability, spirituality, and rebellion from religious, political, and social repressive forces. This story offers an ideal eco-utopia primer for readers with a mind for collective freedom, liberation, and saving our planet.

If you love The Fifth Sacred Thing...

Ad

Book cover of The High House

The High House by James Stoddard,

The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.

The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.

Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…

Want books like The Fifth Sacred Thing?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Fifth Sacred Thing.

Browse books like The Fifth Sacred Thing

Book cover of The Dispossessed
Book cover of Woman on the Edge of Time
Book cover of A Psalm for the Wild-Built

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,210

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Fifth Sacred Thing, you might also like...

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

5 book lists we think you will like!