Here are 100 books that The Great Cities fans have personally recommended once you finish the The Great Cities series.
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I firmly believe that literature exists to do more than entertain us. It has an incredible power to expand our perspective about the world and the lives of the people around us. Fantasy, in particular, can stretch the mind’s boundaries by asking us to empathize with compelling characters and wrap our heads around strange and wondrous worlds. I try to achieve that in my books, presenting thrilling stories, fantastic worlds, and emotionally charged moments, but always through the eyes of real-feeling people. I hope the books on this list will feel as mind-expanding and empathy-building to you as they did to me!
This book is both a fascinating vision of a tumultuous world and a deep dive into the mind of a troubled and compelling protagonist.
The character work in this book is incredibly impressive, with the long arc of the protagonist’s development drawn in convincing and gripping detail that left me feeling like I had known this person for years through all their triumphs, tragedies, and mistakes, which is to say nothing of its creative and plausible magic, its socio-political commentary, and its meditation on family and grief. Rightfully recognized as a modern classic, it is a book all fans of fantasy should read.
At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this "intricate and extraordinary" Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times)
This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time.
It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester.
I used to think of television as a third parent. As a child of immigrants, I learned a lot about being an American from the media. Soon, I realized there were limits to what I could learn because media and tech privilege profit over community. For 20 years, I have studied what happens when people decide to make media outside of corporations. I have interviewed hundreds of filmmakers, written hundreds of blogs and articles, curated festivals, juried awards, and ultimately founded my own platform, all resulting in four books. My greatest teachers have been artists, healers, and family—chosen and by blood—who have created spaces for honesty, vulnerability, and creative conflict.
Published in 1995, Parable starts in July 2024 amidst the election of an autocrat who, by the sequel Parable of the Talents, literally pledges to “make America great again.” I started my platform in 2015 in the same context.
This novel pulled me into its harrowing tale of how to survive civilizational collapse: the dismantling of systems, norms, and climate change that we are all currently going through.
The lesson is ultimately about embracing change, caring for and trusting each other in community, and coming up with our own ways of being together. So many of our ancestors have survived periods of collapse by the same principles. These ancestral lessons still guide me, and I believe are critical to surviving AI dystopia.
The extraordinary, prescient NEW YORK TIMES-bestselling novel.
'If there is one thing scarier than a dystopian novel about the future, it's one written in the past that has already begun to come true. This is what makes Parable of the Sower even more impressive than it was when first published' GLORIA STEINEM
'Unnervingly prescient and wise' YAA GYASI
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We are coming apart. We're a rope, breaking, a single strand at a time.
America is a place of chaos, where violence rules and only the rich and powerful are safe. Lauren Olamina, a young woman with the extraordinary power to…
I’ve been obsessed with sci-fi romance since I was a kid watching the Klingon wedding of Worf and Jadzia Dax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I love the idea of mashing these two distinct genres together. While sci-fi and romance both explore the human condition, sci-fi goes wide while romance is intimate. I think this makes the crossover of these two genres work especially well. My foremost inspiration for sci-fi romance is Lois McMaster Bujold, who offers a masterclass in how to deftly weave compelling romance into a sci-fi setting without sacrificing any action or political intrigue.
This book is unhinged in the best way. I love Gideon’s unique voice. Around her is a deadly-serious necromancer murder mystery with interplanetary stakes, and she cares more about cracking dirty jokes and finally eating some warm food. Her relationship with her arch-nemesis/only friend Harrow leaps off the page.
I love the scene where they get into a pool so Harrow can finally confess to Gideon her darkest secret—so hot and so disturbing all at the same time. While this book isn’t technically a romance and the genre feels more like a horror fantasy set in space, I couldn’t resist putting it on the list. As Gideon says to Harrow, “One flesh, one end, bitch.”
15+ pages of new, original content, including a glossary of terms, in-universe writings, and more!
A USA Today Best-Selling Novel!
"Unlike anything I've ever read. " --V.E. Schwab
"Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!" --Charles Stross
"Brilliantly original, messy and weird straight through." --NPR
The Emperor needs necromancers.
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.
Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.
Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth, first in The Locked Tomb Trilogy, unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as…
I’ve loved epic fantasy ever since discovering The Hobbit and David Eddings as a teenager. I’ve also always loved a good old-fashioned slow burn and/or antagonistic romance. As I’ve grown (much) older, I’ve come to understand that the sweet spot for me is a perfect blend of world-building and a complex romance that makes sense in the context of that world.
Jemisin has created a world of complex politics and religion that’s as original as it is epic. In this world, the move from polytheism to monotheism has been shrouded in lies and half-truths, where the vanquished gods are now enslaved and play a pivotal role in politics.
The slow-burn romance involves Yeine, an unwitting heir to the throne, being put into the path of the brooding Nightlord, one of the enslaved gods. The instability, volatility, and omnipresent danger of their unorthodox relationship are riveting, and the writing is sublime.
After her mother's mysterious death, a young woman is summoned to the floating city of Sky in order to claim a royal inheritance she never knew existed in the first book in this award-winning fantasy trilogy from the NYT bestselling author of The Fifth Season.
Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into…
In my various professional roles, I help people prepare for a world that does not yet exist. I often talk with students, scholars, politicians, industry leaders, community advocates, and others about how emerging, digital technology changes the world. And yet, technology doesn’t come from nowhere—we make it! And use it! And misuse it! We also sometimes forget that something as simple as fire can be understood as technology or that our imaginations and care for others are the most important technology. The books on this list encourage us to explore building a world that serves all of us—not just some of us.
A great, approachable book on the omnipresence of connected technology. I’ve read this book several times. It was—and remains—an unsettling read because it demonstrates the extent to which digital technologies are, as Sadowski notes in the title, “Taking Over the World.”
Sadowski encourages me to think expansively about the impact of emerging technology. It’s not only that we’ve got more smart “stuff” (which we do), but that the ideas behind always-on technology are becoming so normalized to be somehow unremarkable. This book is clear about the remarkable impact of smart tech—and it paints a bleak picture. Maybe pair it with “Undrowned” or “A Psalm for the Wild Built” to even you out.
Who benefits from smart technology? Whose interests are served when we trade our personal data for convenience and connectivity?
Smart technology is everywhere: smart umbrellas that light up when rain is in the forecast; smart cars that relieve drivers of the drudgery of driving; smart toothbrushes that send your dental hygiene details to the cloud. Nothing is safe from smartification. In Too Smart, Jathan Sadowski looks at the proliferation of smart stuff in our lives and asks whether the tradeoff—exchanging our personal data for convenience and connectivity—is worth it. Who benefits from smart technology?
In my various professional roles, I help people prepare for a world that does not yet exist. I often talk with students, scholars, politicians, industry leaders, community advocates, and others about how emerging, digital technology changes the world. And yet, technology doesn’t come from nowhere—we make it! And use it! And misuse it! We also sometimes forget that something as simple as fire can be understood as technology or that our imaginations and care for others are the most important technology. The books on this list encourage us to explore building a world that serves all of us—not just some of us.
This book has one of my favorite lines ever written: “My mother was a computer, but she never learned to drive.” This line is so iconic that it was “appropriated” in another fabulous book, My Mother Was a Computer, by N. Katherine Hayles. I love both of these books because they offer (among other things) a social history of technology.
They remind us that technology is a human construction, and we tend to build our biases into tech. Balsamo’s case studies include virtual reality, television programs, public health policies, and bodybuilding. It’s fascinating to return to as the technologies Balsamo writes about advance and adapt over time.
This book takes the process of "reading the body" into the fields at the forefront of culture-the vast spaces mapped by science and technology-to show that the body in high-tech is as gendered as ever. From female body building to virtual reality, from cosmetic surgery to cyberpunk, from reproductive medicine to public health policies to TV science programs, Anne Balsamo articulates the key issues concerning the status of the body for feminist cultural studies in a postmodern world. Technologies of the Gendered Body combines close readings of popular texts-such as Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale, the movie Pumping Iron…
I am a multi-award-winning African Australian writer, and have a deep passion for stories by people of colour, stories that engage with difference. I write across genres and forms, and my award-winning works are mostly Afrocentric. I am especially curious about unique voices in black speculative fiction in transformative stories of culture, diversity, climate change, writing the other, and betwixt.
Wole Talabi’s debut fantasy novel is a love story, an adventure story, and a spirit world story, rivetted with non-human protagonists.
Shigidi is an Afrocentric novel that spans across London, Nigeria, Singapore, Ethiopia, and everywhere else, and traversing centuries in vacillation. This multi-hued narrative is fast-paced and a riveting read.
A Washington Post top 10 best science fiction and fantasy book of 2023
"A heist caper with sex, violence, and superpowers popping off every technicolor page." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Defiantly ambitious...an action-packed thrill ride." -The Washington Post
A mythic tale of disgruntled gods, revenge, and a heist across two worlds, perfect for fans of Nnedi Okorafor, Neil Gaiman, Marlon James, and Karen Lord
Shigidi is a disgruntled and demotivated nightmare god in the Orisha spirit company, reluctantly answering prayers of his few remaining believers to maintain his existence long enough to find his next drink. When he meets Nneoma,…
Ross and I have backgrounds in academia, in the finest liberal arts tradition. Although we are currently in the fields of Information technology and public health, between us we have read extensively in military history, sociology, economics, feminist theory, Buddhist philosophy, mythology and all manner of fantasy fiction. This list of books reflects our favorites, in large part because of their focus on character and historical world-building. We are always eager to share our favorite fantasy fiction with other readers who love deeply complicated stories with unforgettable characters.
As with the previous book recommendations, I find myself drawn to a resilient female protagonist who overcomes incredible odds in an empire crumbling under the weight of forces beyond any of the characters’ control.
In this book, Nona Grey, a young girl trained by the Sisters of Sweet Mercy convent as an assassin, has to contend with both political and existential threats as the powerful rulers of Abeth squabble over resources on their dying planet. I was also drawn to the intricacy of the storyline because I loved watching Nona navigate this complex world.
It's not until you're broken that you find your sharpest edge.
"I was born for killing - the gods made me to ruin."
At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices' skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist.
But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don't truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought…
I study and share winning marketing practices. My passion is making organizations better by utilizing precision segmentation strategies and creating superior customer value. Like most successful entrepreneurs, I wear many hats and juggle many ventures. I am a marketing professor, market researcher, business scholar, book author, case writer, blogmaster, speaker, and strategic consultant. Most of my work focuses on entrepreneurial businesses, information-based organizations, service firms, and technology and Now Economy companies. I am always searching for and thinking about the latest/greatest keys to business success. I work with future leaders to build, manage, and improve marketing operations in the great enterprises of today and tomorrow.
The author has a doctorate in psychology but chose a most unusual route to success and fortune. Rather than pursuing a traditional career in academia or medical practice, Dr. Konnikova became a superstar in the exciting and glamorous world of high-stakes poker.
This is a fascinating and intriguing story of how a card-playing novice learned the inside tricks and tactics from an incredible mentor. Read about how she used superior intellect, strategic decision-making, and an unwavering commitment to learn what it takes to climb to the top of the professional gambling arena.
A New York Times bestseller * A New York Times Notable Book
"The tale of how Konnikova followed a story about poker players and wound up becoming a story herself will have you riveted, first as you learn about her big winnings, and then as she conveys the lessons she learned both about human nature and herself." -The Washington Post
It's true that Maria Konnikova had never actually played poker before and didn't even know the rules when she approached Erik Seidel, Poker Hall of Fame inductee and winner of tens of millions of dollars in earnings, and convinced him…
I am an aficionado of the fresh start. I make it a point to celebrate all the New Years—that way, I can re-up my resolutions every few weeks! Paradoxically, I’m not great at sudden change. I like stability and working systematically. I reconcile these two sides of myself by observing other people’s transformations and caterpillar-to-butterfly stories on a regular basis. Whether it’s Beyonce going country or a Nigerian god turning to crime, I’m on the ride, picking up pointers. If you are looking to make a change, I hope this list is a fun place to start gathering ideas!
Is it weird that a space opera is one of my all-time comfort reads? Because it is. The first book of the Ancillary series, it’s got aliens, intergalactic war, an all-powerful ruler whose clones reach into every corner of the system, and one lonely remnant of a ship who reinvents herself to survive and ultimately fulfill her last order.
When everything is turbulent, I like to re-read Ancillary Justice and imagine I have one-tenth of protagonist Breq’s competence in a pinch.
Once, she was the Justice of Toren -- a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.
