Here are 7 books that John Nuclear at the Perihelion Palace fans have personally recommended if you like
John Nuclear at the Perihelion Palace.
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I’ve always been drawn to stories where light trembles on the edge of annihilation. The Deathly Shadow grew from that space—where broken people must still try, even when hope is an ember. I’m especially interested in how violence shapes children—their choices, their trust, and the way they carry themselves through a collapsing world. I strive to write characters with real emotional weight and a filmic sense of presence—where every gesture, glance, and silence means something. I believe the darkest stories, when told with care, can reveal what we most need to protect. This book explores the cost of survival—and whether love, memory, and courage are enough to challenge even the worst of endings.
Le Guin is a literary force, and this is her most emotionally elegant work.
The political subtlety, the blizzards, the alien humanity—it all works together in perfect cold harmony. It reshaped how I think about empathy and otherness. I reread it any time I start to lose faith in quiet stories.
Ursula K. Le Guin's groundbreaking work of science fiction-winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards.
A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants' gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters...
Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual…
The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.
On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…
This book is the third in a series combining realistic human characters with a magically-infused plot that presents an alternate history for the ancient Roman republic. I enjoyed it as much or more than the first two books. Descriptions of magical events are vivid and believable, making it clear that they require skill and sacrifice on the part of those invoking them. I recommend this book, and indeed the whole series to anyone interested in Roman history and/or with a taste for realistic fantasy.
In the third book of the Aven Cycle, a trio of sisters and an ambitious senator use charm, wit, and magic to protect their city from ruin.
Latona of the Vitelliae, mage of Spirit and Fire, lies still as death. Her fate rests in the hands of her allies, who must redeem her soul from the churning void where Corinna, leader of a banished Discordian cult, has trapped it.
Protected by a cabal of corrupt priests and politicians, Corinna plans her most daring assault yet: a ritual striking at the ancient heart of Aven, with the power to swallow the…
I have an amazing daughter in my life, and I want there to be more books for her to read that feature strong, admirable, and good women in leading roles. That’s one of the things I keep an eye out for in the books I read as well as the books I write.
While The Directorate follows a fairly typical path for sci-fi thrillers, its characters are what stand out. The Earth and human colonies on the moon and Mars have united after years of war and created one military/police force. Lieutenant Theresa Gannon is a loyal, young officer suddenly thrust into stardom as the person who foiled a terrorist attack. But as a broiling rebellion heats up and Gannon is now rubbing shoulders with generals and politicians, she starts questioning where her loyalties truly lie.
The year is 2223. Under The Directorate, established after the Great War of Unification, there has been stability, tranquility, and prosperity for all the citizens of the Triad. One of the keystones of the society is the equality of all the peoples of Earth, Luna, and Mars. Lt. Theresa Gannon and her cohorts in the IDS are committed to preserving the peace throughout all the worlds of the Triad. But Gannon has seen fissures begin to appear when a group of daring Earth-Firsters seek to assert their rights as descendants of humanity's first homeworld. Follow Lt. Gannon as she is…
Roman mythology stampedes into the present as the Gods of Elysium wake up after two thousand years sleeping from a spell gone wrong. Hell breaks loose on Earth as demons from Hades wreck havoc in a war against the mortals that threatens to start a war between the Gods themselves.…
If you’re at all like me, then finding time to sit down and read a book is incredibly challenging given how busy our everyday lives are. It seems like the only time I truly can dive into a book is on vacation. And so, all of the books I recommended I have either read on vacation or on an airplane. In my opinion, a good vacation book needs to be two things. It needs to be a quick read and it needs to be impossible to put down. When I sit down to write a book, I try to keep both of these in mind!
Obviously, this book is not going to be for everyone. Some might not be able to get past the fact that it is a Star Wars book based off of a video game from 2005. But, if you can get past that, then buckle up for a gripping tale of war and brotherhood. Set in the first weeks of the Clone Wars, Hard Contactfeels more like a Tom Clancy war thriller than a space opera. This entire series is gritty, grueling, gut-wrenching, and impossible to put down.
As the Clone Wars rage, victory or defeat lies in the hands of elite squads who take on the toughest assignments in the galaxy ... On a mission to sabotage a chemical weapon research facility on a Separatist-held planet, four clone troopers operate under the very noses of their enemies. The commandos are outnumbered and outgunned, deep behind enemy lines with no backup - and working with strangers instead of trusted team-mates. Matters don't improve when Darman, the squad's demolitions expert, gets separated from the others during planetfall. Even Darman's apparent good luck in meeting an inexperienced Padawan vanishes once…
I have an amazing daughter in my life, and I want there to be more books for her to read that feature strong, admirable, and good women in leading roles. That’s one of the things I keep an eye out for in the books I read as well as the books I write.
So often, the ‘strong woman’ character is in fact just a really rude, self-centered person, but not here. In Julia Ash’s The ELI Chronicles series, Ruby is a kind-hearted, brilliant scientist trying to do what’s right for her family and for the world. She’s also a great mother and is in a healthy, wholesome marriage with a supportive husband. That’s wonderfully refreshing amidst the plethora of toxic relationships we see in movies and books.
“And while the zombie action is exceptional, readers will likely find themselves rooting for the messy demise of Ox, whose lechery boils from the page.” – Kirkus Reviews
Ruby thinks being a new mother and government microbiologist during a pandemic are hard enough. But then the pathogen mutates into ZOM-B and Russia kidnaps her while on assignment in Taiwan.
Somehow, Ruby is at the center of a global crisis.
Will she find out why? More importantly, can she save her family and perhaps the world?
If only she could break out of the Moscow prison and find her way back…
I have an amazing daughter in my life, and I want there to be more books for her to read that feature strong, admirable, and good women in leading roles. That’s one of the things I keep an eye out for in the books I read as well as the books I write.
This one is a long, very long, fantasy epic, so be warned! Despite the length of the work, it ended up being an incredible read. Trin is one of the main characters the story follows. She’s a young woman who ‘accidentally’ unleashed a curse that has doomed the world to a future of death and destruction, and she’s desperately seeking a way to break this curse. In so doing, she gets caught up in an ancient blood feud between gods and full-blown war between mighty empires.
1200 Pages of Epic Fantasy that reviewers are comparing to Malazan and Wheel of Time.
War between gods. Mortals are pawns. Fate lays a curse to bring Death to the world. A boy makes a list of people to kill. What could go wrong?
Jem just killed his father. He should have done it five years ago, but kids don't always make good decisions. Next on Jem's list is a military tyrant. Maybe the whole Legion. With so many people to kill, Jem hopes to satisfy his hunger for vengeance... and obtain redemption too.
The epic saga continues. Jarnland is in a frenzy of excitement. After the eccentric demise of Old King Wyllard, his co-Majesty, young Queen Esmeralda, announces a Royal Tournament to celebrate the return of our heroes from their perilous quest. The Main Event will be a duel between the legendary warrior…
As a former Australian ambassador and crisis manager, I’ve worked at the coalface of international emergencies. The Consul draws on those experiences and on my deep respect for those who show extraordinary moral and emotional courage under pressure. I’ve known several of the authors on this list personally and followed their stories closely. These books, whether memoir or biography, all speak powerfully to the question of how individuals keep faith with themselves—and with others—in the hardest of circumstances.
While I’ve never met Malala, I’ve long admired her, like many others. I have worked with the Global Partnership for Education across the Indo-Pacific for the last few years and understand the life-changing impact that access to education can have, especially for girls. Malala’s voice in this book is calm, brave, and utterly persuasive.
Her story is extraordinary not only because she survived an attempt to silence her, but because she chose to speak louder afterward—not in anger, but with purpose. She reminds us that courage is not just about resistance in the moment, but a sustained commitment to hope and change.
In 2009 Malala Yousafzai began writing a blog on BBC Urdu about life in the Swat Valley as the Taliban gained control, at times banning girls from attending school. When her identity was discovered, Malala began to appear in both Pakistani and international media, advocating the freedom to pursue education for all. In October 2012, gunmen boarded Malala's school bus and shot her in the face, a bullet passing through her head and into her shoulder. Remarkably, Malala survived the shooting.
At a very young age, Malala Yousafzai has become a worldwide symbol of courage and hope. Her shooting has…
