100 Books Like Midnight Robber

I have never read a novel so close to prophecy.

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.

How Long 'til Black is a collection of short stories all worthy of your attention. "Red Dirt Witch" takes you through a journey of history. The main character’s dreams give her the ability to see when danger is about to touch her family (I mean, how fascinating is that!), so of course I wanted to read more about this superpower. While Emmaline used her gift to protect her daughter, her daughter used hers to protect the family. Surprisingly, this did not have them at odds with each. As it turns out, they worked as a cohesive team to secure the future of the civil rights movement. I was fascinated from the start. 

I loved the imaginative world-building, but even more, the fantastic sleuth is like no other I’ve encountered. The setting is a world where birds (avians) are the dominant evolved species instead of simians. Investigator Prentice Tasifa is a hawk who can “see the unseen” with her extraordinary sense of sight.

That’s why, in this world, hawks are police detectives. Tasifa travels far and wide throughout the Kingdom of Aves to solve serious crimes, including murder. Even more fascinating is how other birds (vultures, chickens, doves) have developed roles that align with their characteristics. I enjoyed the mystery plot twists.

Everfair is one of several recent alternate histories that challenge the usual focus on the same sorts of events in the same parts of the world and the all-too-frequent disturbing obsession with “what if the bad folks had won?” questions (South in the Civil War, Axis in WWII).

Shawl imagines a different, better history for the Congo—liberated from European control and gifted with a new source of energy. Her interesting characters from many backgrounds around the globe come together to fight for their sometimes conflicting, sometimes flawed visions for a better future.

This is the visionary aspect of speculative fiction at its most powerful. 

I was enthralled by this book. If memory serves me correctly, C.J. Cherrryh was awarded the title of Grand Master by an SF organization for this book and it’s obvious why.

The scope of the story universe she has created is mind-boggling. The characters are believable, and the action makes your heart beat faster. There are scenes in the book that make you want to see them in a movie. I can say that this book and her style of writing has had a bigger impact on my own writing than any other author.

If military SF is your thing, you’ll love this book.

This Nebula winner is amazing for many reasons, not the least of which is that it’s almost 25 years old, is set in the present era and gets so much right. It’s certainly the only sci-fi novel you’ll read where wastewater treatment plays such a starring role. The writing is gorgeous, with a skillfully presented narrative, interweaving three stages of the life of the MC, Lore Van Oesterling, from a privileged child, to a wounded (physically and mentally) young woman eking out a life in the gutter, and finally to a mature, self-reliant heroine. Her story demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit and triumph over trauma. Along the way, Griffith challenges the reader to consider the all-consuming yet fluid concept of “identity”. 

Cold Welcome is the first book in the Vatta's Peace Series by Elizabeth Moon (a sequel series to Vatta’s war), but it stands alone and can be read by a newcomer. The MC, Kylara Vatta, rejected a place in her powerful family’s space trading business and instead elected to join the military. Our war hero returns home to find not the accolades she was given to expect but an assassination attempt. The sabotage of her shuttle leaves Vatta and her crew fighting for survival, first in an icy sea and then a frozen wasteland, for history buffs this is a definite nod to Shackleton. Vatta manages to find a clandestine underground facility, which provides somewhat risky shelter for the group since the builders of the facility will do anything to keep their secrets. This is an engaging, fast-paced read; though not actually set in space, it has a classic space-opera… show more.

If you are a fan of alt-rock and alternative history, then this book is for you. It features two MCs: Beth, a Riot Grrrl fan from the 1990s, and Tess, a time-traveling scientist from the future, both of whom are trying in their own way to fix the past. Beth is dealing with the aftermath of using deadly force to defend her friend from a rapist while Tess is hellbent on changing the timeline to fight the "Comstockers” – a group of men who used time travel to change history and remove all women's rights, especially those of the reproductive sort. Newitz manages to thoroughly entertain while telling a riveting story that deals with admittedly heavy subject matter.

This has often been recommended for boys (including by me) but, since there is no such thing as exclusively boy books and girl books, I’m calling this a good book period – with a highly entertaining and deeply endearing adolescent-ish boy, surrounded by a robust cast of supporting characters, at its center. More vignettes than plot, it is rooted in character and voice – in this case, the rare and highly effective use of the second voice. Tonally, it’s a callback to the adventures of boyhood captured in Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and the mostly harmless incorrigibility of the boy protagonist as he moves between home, school, and community (the community, in this case, being rural Jamaica), getting into trouble and growing up. It’s the heart and humour for me!

Who thought the devastation of the environment in the interest of mining and development would be a funny, lyrical love story? For Flora Smith, scientist and head of a small environmental NGO, her native Jamaica is filled with family, lovers, friends, and enemies. She is deeply connected to her surroundings and finds ways to immerse herself in the landscape, wildlife, human relationships, and embodied pleasure when all else fails.