67 Books Like Memory

I love the hooky concept at this book’s heart: Mahit Dzmare is the new Lsel ambassador sent to the heart of the enormous Teixcalaanli galactic empire to maintain her tiny space station’s independence; but on arrival, she discovers her predecessor was murdered.

Now, she must not only act the diplomat, but she must also solve the murder without offending the very empire that at any moment could swallow her people whole.

The intricate-but-lightly-done world-building further helps bring this book to stunning life as Mahit walks a wobbly tightrope between asking difficult questions and preventing her very dangerous hosts from taking offence even as the politics take a dark turn, which threatens her life and everything she holds dear.

I love a good space opera, and John Scalzi’s second to none in that department. In some ways, this book (and the two that follow it in The Interdependency series) remind me of the original Foundation, as an immense space empire under a new and untried leader struggles to come to terms with an imminent catastrophe that could bring it to its knees. I personally found the foul-mouthed and irreverent Lady Kiva Lagos a particular delight, as a force of nature that bulls her way through any obstacle. 

Okay, it’s the second book in the tremendously popular series The Expanse (perhaps you’ve heard of this little series turned TV show), but it’s also my favorite. That’s because Corey ramps up the intrigue as Mars, Earth, and the Belt find themselves enmeshed in an open war that has some decidedly murky underpinnings. This volume also introduces two of the series' best and most memorable characters: Martian marine Bobbie Draper and savvy Earth politician Chrisjen Avasarala. The book kicks off with a bang, and doesn’t let up, concluding with perhaps one of the most page-turning action sequences I’ve ever read.

Combining a murder mystery with a colorful sci-fi universe that’s full of magic? Yes, please. Odd couple Lieutenant Iari and Ambassador Gaer (who, don’t let the title fool you, is actually an alien spy) have to team up to discover why a retired battle-mecha killed someone—an occurrence that should be impossible. The rapport between Iari and Gaer is a delight, and the plot quickly unfolds from a mere murder to something far more sinister. I absolutely love the world that Eason creates—it has the scale of a video game-like Mass Effect while simultaneously creating compelling characters. 

This is the first in a long-running, action-packed science fiction series starring Miles Vorkosigan. He is brilliant, driven, ambitious, hyperactive, and neurotic. He also suffers from a chronic disability that makes him unfit for military service on his home planet. This is why he takes to the stars for a life of adventure and excitement under the pseudonym Miles Naismith, Admiral of the Dendarii Free Mercenaries.

This book is our introduction to Miles and shows the birth of the Naismith persona, and it is fabulous fun on every page. I devoured this series like potato chips.

The first half of this book is top-tier, straight-up, future-guy-in-power-armor-mashes-his-way-through-an-endless-bug-army sci-fi. And it’s awesome! I love it! But the second half goes somewhere you wouldn’t expect at all about how someone who survived the unsurvivable might retire (and maybe get the itch to put the armor back on for a nobler cause).

That second half feels a bit jarring at first, given the narrative simplicity of the first half, but it works. And builds to the sequel that, sadly, we’ll never get, as Steakley died before he finished it. I also love this book because Steakley was from Dallas, and we don’t have a ton of great science fiction authors here!  

A love story for the ages, set inside of a giant spaceship! Amy wakes up from cryogenic sleep only to fall for a boy she was never supposed to meet… Add in great writing, a murder mystery, and the dark vacuum of space, and you’ve got every ingredient for a timeless young adult journey. Amy + Elder forever.

This is the first romance book I ever read.

It’s possible this is the reason behind my deep-seated belief that all romances should include comedy and science fiction, because Douglas Adams is the master of both.

But it’s not just hilarious and full of great SF ideas (like dolphins saving humanity by retrieving a replacement Earth from a parallel universe) – the romance between Arthur and Fenchurch is genuinely swoonworthy, to the point where I picked a passage from the book as a reading at my wedding.

Nyxia, the first in a young adult trilogy, introduces the reader to an Earth that has found a foreign substance called nyxia on another planet. Use of nyxia basically grants magical abilities to the user, and the more clever the user, the more capability it has. The cast is very diverse, the main character’s voice is refreshing, and the dialogue is realistic. It’s a fast, easy read with a relatable main character. And the plot only thickens as the series goes on…

This rare anthology is distinct in its focus on music and sound magic and the languages of Mother Africa, as authors of African descent take their imagination to the furthermost reaches, with short stories and accompanying stimulating illustrations.

Mothersound brings together years of worldbuilding through Afrocentric stories set in the Sauútiverse, with its vision to "create a space for African and African diaspora writers and creators to collaborate and share fantastical ideas."