Book description
Ray Bradbury meets The Martian in this chilling page-turning tale of Mars' first colony, fallen to madness after all contact with Earth ceased, perfect for fans of Jeff VanderMeer.
Anabelle Crisp is fourteen when the Silence arrives, severing all communication between Earth and her new home on Mars. One evening,…
Why read it?
2 authors picked The Strange as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This book resonates with Golden Age sci-fi vibes. Set in the wonderfully described frontier that is the Mars colony, Ballingrad captures the difficulty and hardship experienced by people who venture to the edge of civilisation in hopes of a better life and reminds us that it is these hardworking people that build the foundations for everything that comes after.
Annabelle is a young girl who embarks on a journey seeking justice after bandits steal the last recording of her mother's voice. On her quest she falls in with a gang of ne’er-do-wells while all communication and transport from Earth mysteriously…
From Rohan's list on science fiction books with working class heroes.
The Strange is a science fiction/horror mashup. Ballingrud writes away from his breakout genre, but it's barely noticeable unless you’ve read Wounds and are privy to Ballingrud’s ability to throw a knockout punch. Ballingrud’s doesn't do scientific explanations, but this isn’t an Andy Weir novel, and Ballingrud artfully tells us to "go fish" on that front. I actually kind of dig it.
Where Ballingrud excels is in crafting his wild west world on the red planet. It’s easy to envision Mars as a wasteland and the travelers and colonizers making their way along the wastes in the hopes of making…
If you love The Strange...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
Want books like The Strange?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Strange.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,366
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Strange, you might also like...
The Go-Giver
The Go-Giver tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster he works, the further away his goals seem to be.
Desperate to land a key sale at the end…
The Last Whaler
This book is an elegiac meditation on the will to survive. Tor, a beluga whaler, and his wife, Astrid, a botanist specializing in Arctic flora, are stranded during the dark season of 1937-38 at his remote whaling station in the Svalbard archipelago when they misjudge ice conditions and fail to…
