Here are 100 books that Far North fans have personally recommended if you like
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I am an astrophysicist with a passion for narratives that stare unflinchingly at the inherent hostility of outer space. Professionally, I study graduate astrophysics and research the ways high-energy celestial objects impact cosmic evolution. Creatively, I use my training to write science fiction horror exploring the spookiest things the universe has to offer. I particularly love stories that throw wrenches in the best-laid plans of star-faring protagonists, and will never get tired of a good old space mission gone terribly and tragically awry.
Deep space can be scary, but I consider deep caves to be much more terrifying.
The Luminous Dead has an eerie mission to the depths of a cave on a distant exoplanet—the worst of both worlds! This book follows a non-regulation diver on a dangerous job shrouded in secrets and the enigmatic, untrustworthy voice in her helmet guiding her through the darkness.
Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t take long for the characters to descend into antagonism and uncertainty about whether the other things lurking in the cave are figments of paranoia or dangerously real. If you like feeling queasy, secondhand claustrophobia, The Luminous Dead is for you.
"This claustrophobic, horror-leaning tour de force is highly recommended for fans of Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation and Andy Weir's The Martian." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A thrilling, atmospheric debut with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.
When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she'd be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She…
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…
As a woman who writes fantasy, sci-fi, and horror I’m fortunate my family never said “why can’t you be more girly?” Instead I was supported to challenge myself; to study psychology, psychophysiology, and archaeology; and to write about my passions. From that came my love for novels like these: with women who are complicated, difficult heroes, struggling with the same feet of clay as everyone.
Mattie is an automaton who has studied alchemy to earn independence from her creator, a man who treats her at times like a machine and at times as a woman, and who refuses to give up his control over her. She innocently takes a job to help the city’s gargoyles, never suspecting it will lead her down a path to dark political intrigue, passion, and the worst betrayal of all.
This book is deeply charming and lovely, a pleasure to read whether it’s a description of the city or a scene of action and feelings — of which there are many; Mattie’s rich interior world and her determination bring this story to life. Despite her relative lack of power she is not a woman to be underestimated.
Mattie, an intelligent automaton skilled in the use of alchemy, finds
herself caught in the middle of a conflict between gargoyles, the Mechanics, and
the Alchemists. With the old order quickly giving way to the new, Mattie
discovers powerful and dangerous secrets - secrets that can completely
alter the balance of power in the city of Ayona. This doesn't sit well with
Loharri, the Mechanic who created Mattie and still has the key to her heart
- literally.
As a woman who writes fantasy, sci-fi, and horror I’m fortunate my family never said “why can’t you be more girly?” Instead I was supported to challenge myself; to study psychology, psychophysiology, and archaeology; and to write about my passions. From that came my love for novels like these: with women who are complicated, difficult heroes, struggling with the same feet of clay as everyone.
Cancer was defeated, but at the accidental cost of longevity. Children no longer have time to grow up and are force-educated by viruses. All except for Milena, who is resistant and almost died from them; Milena with secret love in her heart, doesn’t yet know herself; Milena who, over her life, will become determined to set the children free.
The Child Garden is quite a challenging read with its non-linear structure and worldbuilding, and I admit it won’t be for everyone. But if you are up to trying something unusual you will find it richly rewarding and emotionally devastating (in the best way).
Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards.
"An exuberant celebration of excess set in a resource-poor but defiantly energetic twenty-first century."—The New York Times
"A richly absorbing tale—with a marvelous premise expertly carried out."—Kirkus Reviews
"Excellent. . . . Dark and witty and full of love, closely observed, and sprinkled with astonishing ideas. Science fiction of a very high order."—Greg Bear
"One of the most imaginative accounts of futuristic bioengineering since Greg Bear's Blood Music."—Locus
In a future London, humans photosynthesize, organics have replaced electronics, viruses educate people, and very few live past forty. But…
Sine, a professor of creative writing, accompanies Sam, a neuroscientist, on a conference trip to a Hotel Castle. Sam wants to present a new device, the "monitor." Sine hopes to recover from tending to her mother who just passed away.
When they arrive, Sine is in a dream-like state. Real…
As a woman who writes fantasy, sci-fi, and horror I’m fortunate my family never said “why can’t you be more girly?” Instead I was supported to challenge myself; to study psychology, psychophysiology, and archaeology; and to write about my passions. From that came my love for novels like these: with women who are complicated, difficult heroes, struggling with the same feet of clay as everyone.
Shannon is part of a clandestine division within the Navy utilizing possible versions of the future to solve crimes. But all timelines lead to Terminus, the end of humanity, and whenever Shannon dips into the future Terminus creeps inevitably nearer.
Leaning more heavily into science fiction is The Gone World, another complex but deeply rewarding novel. The story is grounded by Shannon’s lyrical, mournful perspective and her fierce determination to fight the injustice of a murder no matter where it takes her.
The Silence of the Lambs meets Interstellar. The terrifying, thrilling and ingenious science-fiction thriller from Tom Sweterlitsch. Film rights bought by Twentieth Century Fox with Neil Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium) to direct.
'Thrilling . . . [a] dark, page-turning thriller' The Guardian
A murdered family. A missing girl. Time is running out...
1997. Shannon Moss of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service is assigned to solve the murder of a Navy SEAL's family - and to locate the soldier's missing teenage daughter. When Moss discovers that the SEAL was an astronaut aboard the spaceship U.S.S. Libra - a ship assumed lost…
With my degree in journalism, you’d think I would be firmly rooted in real-world dramas, but all my time in news did was push me deeper toward my love of fantasy and romance stories. A natural optimist and a bit of a dreamer, I have always been a voracious reader of the fantasy romance genre. I love a story that can take you away from the real world for a time with amazing heroes, end-of-world stakes, and of course, thick romantic tension. I have a special fondness for series’ where I can watch the characters grow in depth or where each story covers a different character's perspective or experience.
I absolutely love the high-intensity emotion and forbidden love in this story. Tanya Bird did an incredible job of pulling me into the tension between two characters, and I love how each book is about a different love story between characters within the same world!
A bit different from my usual fantasy picks, this series has a more dystopian and historical fantasy vibe, but it’s such a well-crafted dark world and the romantic tension is so good that I almost forget there are no real magical type elements.
Blake Suttone has a stomach full of grief and no food. A decade of famine has taken its toll on the splintered kingdom, but it is the merchants who suffer most. A wall stands between the hungry and the food, and the kingdom’s defenders stand guard atop it. Desperate times lead to desperate acts, and Blake will do whatever is necessary to ensure her family survives. But a growing attachment to a certain commander was never part of the plan. Now the man protecting the walls seems determined to guard her too.
When I was twelve years old, my picture appeared in my hometown newspaper. I was holding a huge stack of books from the library, a week’s reading. All science fiction. I’ve read voraciously for the past seventy years—though much more widely as an adult. I’ve also had a life founding several small companies and writing twenty books. But I’ve continued to read science fiction, and, increasingly, dystopian novels. Why? Because, as a history buff, I think about the big trends that shape our lives. I see clearly that climate change, breakthroughs in technology, and unstable politics threaten our children’s future. I want to understand how these trends might play out—for better or for worse.
The widening partisan divide between Red and Blue in the United States today gives me nightmares.
I read a lot of history, so I know how closely today’s divisions resemble those before the Civil War. Which is why Omar El Akkad’sAmerican War resonates so deeply with me.
In 2074, four Deep South states secede over the passage of new legislation banning fossil fuels—and a Southerner assassinates the President.
The Red and Blue states are now at war again. And that’s my nightmare brought to life.
A Best Book of the Year: The Guardian, The Observer, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and The Washington Post.
2074. America's future is Civil War. Sarat's reality is survival. They took her father, they took her home, they told her lies . . .
She didn't start this war, but she'll end it.
Omar El Akkad's powerful debut novel imagines a dystopian future: a second American Civil War, a devastating plague and one family caught deep in the middle. In American War, we're asked to consider what might happen if America were to turn its most devastating policies and…
In an age of splendor, a heretic king strips Egypt bare—forcing his queen to quell rebellion and plunging his children into a conspiracy against the crown.
Salvation in the Sun follows Nefertiti as she ascends the throne beside Pharaoh Amenhotep—soon to become Akhenaten—just as he declares war on Egypt’s ancient…
After half a lifetime working all over the world as an environmental scientist, I am now a full-time writer of fiction and non-fiction. I’ve studied the effects of oil industry waste in Yemen, monitored groundwater contaminated with radioactive tritium from bomb-making sites in Europe, and remediated oil pits in the South American jungle. I ran Australia’s national climate adaptation program and was CEO of Australia’s national marine science agency, which does much of the research on the Great Barrier Reef. And everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve seen how environmental destruction hurts people, societies, and, inevitably, our future. Each of my six novels and my non-fiction examines this issue in different ways.
The only non-fiction book on my list, this prescient, chilling work examines the geopolitics of climate change.
Written in 2008 by an ex-naval officer turned journalist, this book works on two levels. First, cogent explanations of the science and interviews with senior military personnel from America and Great Britain. Then, eight scenarios that describe how the world might react as emissions rise.
Scenario One: 2045. The average global temperature is 2.8°C higher than in 1990. Prognosis: Awful.
And the scary thing is that’s pretty close to the trajectory we are currently on.
Dwindling resources. Massive population shifts. Natural disasters. Spreading epidemics. Drought. Rising sea levels. Plummeting agricultural yields. Crashing economies. Political extremism. These are just some of the expected consequences of runaway climate change in the decades ahead - and any of them could tip the world towards conflict. Bold, unflinching, and based on exhaustive research, "Climate Wars" grippingly reveals how world leaders are likely to react, and promises to be one of the most important books of the coming years.
I am passionate about words and reading, and I love books that examine and record the chaos and mayhem of human existence. When I think about why I don’t want to die, it’s mainly because I can't bear the thought of missing out on what happens next. I feel privileged to be alive during this strange, fraught time of epochal change and to be able to use my skills as a writer to record not just the facts of what happens but how it feels to witness it all, the sensibility of our time, the recording of which is, I believe, the essence of great literature.
I was surprised at how much I loved The Wizard of the Kremlin. I was sorry to reach the last page. Why? The central character is a fascinating post-modern Machiavellian political strategist whose machinations set the global standard for disinformation as a political tool in the post-modern, digital world.
Vadim Baranov is based on a real-life character, Russian President Putin’s long-time former PR man and advisor, Vladislav Sirkov. The book is an imagined one-night meeting with the now-retired former reality TV producer, an utterly cynical but simultaneously surprisingly morally aware man, who unwinds the story of his career.
THE INTERNATIONAL SENSATION - a stunning work of political fiction about the rise to power of Putin's notorious spin doctor
'A great book, casting light on the creatures that crawl and slither behind the Kremlin's walls, on the mineral hardness of Putin, on the chaos engine that is his way of hurting us' John Sweeney
'An acute and timely dissection of Russian power, told through the eyes of a shadowy political advisor to Putin' Financial Times
'A fictional wandering through the dark corridors of the Kremlin' The Times, Biggest Books of the Season
Young Adult fiction has always been special to me. I think it’s because I started writing my first book, Alive?, when I was a teenager. There’s an added richness to YA stories; somehow the characters always feel so much more vulnerable, more unpredictable, and more real. My fascination with dystopian stories came after I first read The Handmaid’s Tale, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Whether it’s zombies, kids being forced to fight to the death, or people living their lives inside a virtual world, I’m in! I have three published books about the zombie apocalypse, and am currently working on an exciting new YA dystopian story, which I can’t wait to share!
In a world where beauty is bought and sold on the streets, sixteen-year-old Serenity has spent her whole life in hiding in order to avoid being taken. But, unfortunately, nothing ever stays hidden for long. She is snatched from her home and sold to the highest bidder. Now she’s a Bird, forced to live in The Aviary – an elite museum where girls are displayed as living art by day, and rented out to paying customers at night. In no time Serenity becomes one of the most coveted exhibits – The Swan – and learns that in order to stand any chance at finding her family again, she must play her new role to perfection. She didn’t anticipate how her feelings for the cold, yet charismatic, museum director, would complicate things.
This story is such a unique and interesting take on a dystopian future, and Shore writes her world beautifully.…
"Gentlemen, we have a special treat for you today. Feast your eyes on this pure-blooded beauty!"
Sixteen-year-old Serenity has spent her entire life in hiding to protect her from this exact moment. In a world where beauty is bought and sold on the streets like a corporate commodity, Serenity is taken--ripped from her life--and sold to the highest bidder. And that bidder? Enigmatic and dangerous, Luc is the director of The Aviary--an elite museum where girls are displayed as living art by day...and cater to the lascivious whims of the highest bidder by night. In this elaborate and competitive world,…
Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…
I am a former book editor turned writer and a lover of literature in all forms. Young adult literature will forever be my favorite. Though I’m no longer “young,” I have two teenagers who love YA as much as I do and we bond over these stories. Since one prefers contemporary & urban fantasy, and the other likes dystopian & epic fantasy, I read a lot of everything! I particularly enjoy books with characters who triumph over extreme adversity, and if you do too, then you'll like the books on this list.
This YA dystopian novel is not only written by an indie author…but a high school student! For that reason alone, I think it’s worth giving the book a try. I love a good fairytale retelling, and this one is a sci-fi version of Cinderella. Also, I’ve always been fascinated by memory loss and its profound effects on someone’s life—this story explores that in spades. It’s obvious this young author has a bright future, and I’m excited to watch her writing evolve as she grows older.
The world has been fractured by World War III, leaving the major continents uninhabitable. In Niveus, the only country with real land, a morbid experiment is being executed. Inside the Cube are two hundred men, women, and children with total memory loss who must undergo five mysterious and critically dangerous Trials. One of these is Alle, who must fight to survive while trying to escape an enemy she doesn't remember. Meanwhile, everyone she is trying to protect—including a handsome teammate—is at risk. The cards on the table include murder, palace intrigue, a pair of glass slippers, and power matches between…
