Books like Roadmarks

Theodore Sturgeon presents a compelling story in three parts about a group of what one might call mutants--four children and an infant with interpersonal or developmental problems but each possessing a gift. Leading the group is a simple-minded young man named Lone who compensates for his limited vocabulary through impressive telepathic abilities. Together, these misfits embody something beyond homo sapiens. They adopt the term homo gestalt as they use their abilities to advance their lot in life. Sturgeon does a masterful job of portraying the relationship between the five main characters as well as their interactions with normal humans.

A Time of Changes won the Nebula Award in 1971 and was nominated for the Hugo and Locus awards in 1972. The story is masterfully told from the first person POV of the protagonist Kinnall Darival. Most of the first six chapters are an info dump of introducing the character (the second son of a king) a few adventures and memories from his youth, and the geography of his planet. Once past that, the story moves at a solid pace. Robert Silverberg, one of my favorite writers of his time, does a brilliant job of building this alien world and its culture while also delving into Derival’s interior and exterior struggles against the customs of his society, successfully making him a sympathetic hero.

This is the book that launched my Zelazny obsession as a teen. Carl Corey wakes up after a car crash with amnesia (sense a theme here?), which he hides from those close to him, some of whom insist on calling him Corwin. He gradually discovers he’s an immortal with a strong claim to the throne of Amber, the one true world at the center of infinite shadow worlds, including our Earth. As Corwin’s memories return, he realizes he was a cruel and arrogant man, and some of his numerous siblings have good reason to hate him. Here the amnesia trope truly allows a character to examine their past through a less biased lens. Top-rate fantasy set against a war for succession to the keys to the universe.

This book epitomizes all the qualities a hard science fiction story should have, and which many fail to achieve. I found the theme enthralling - men turning themselves into gods, and the scenario frighteningly plausible.

I love this story because it deals with real characters and doesn’t spare their flaws. I sympathized with the main character, a man prepared to battle heaven for freedom, shunning the mantle of godhood. This novel not only entertained but also forced me to think, something I relished.

Once started, this work is difficult to put down and I nodded with satisfaction when I turned the last page.

I re-read the first six books of Frank Herbert’s Dune series this year. I only last read them forty years ago as a teenager. I remember much from the movies and the various mini-series, but had forgotten how these six books are epic masterpieces in and of themselves. They present a much richer and more detailed universe than I ever remembered, or was able to absorb back in my teen years. Herbert’s epic is a philosophical treatise on the nature of political power and a speculative treatise on the nature of humanity’s future. (The first six books are: Dune (1965), Dune Messiah (1969), Children of Dune (1976), God Emperor of Dune (1981), Heretics of Dune (1984) and Chapterhouse: Dune (1985))

This is a fairy tale that draws on the tropes of 20th century Horror movies. It's easy to dismiss the simple, direct style as simplistic, but it has hidden depths that Zelazny effortlessly navigates on the journey through the month of October and to the ceremony that will take place on Halloween. It draws the reader into a strange world that nonetheless is so familiar.

Set in man’s far future and vast in scope, I was plunged into this novel without managing to catch my breath. This is science fiction that epitomizes the best in the genre: a powerful story, strong characters, vast vision, and lots of drama.

It is a hard book to put down, and I did not want to! I enjoyed the intricate tapestry the story weaves and, importantly, entertains. The interaction between the main characters is vividly real, as are genuine emotions vented when it is revealed an alien species manipulated man’s development. I would be kind of sore at that as well. This novel left me appreciating powerful writing and gave me a lot to think about, influencing my own writing.

This series of linked novels and stories—start reading at An Alien Heat—would also be called SF. They deal with time travel, the end of human civilization, and all kinds of other science-fictiony ideas. But the science is blurred almost into invisibility: the people living at the End of Time have little to no idea of the eons that have passed before them—nor do they much care about the past, except as a source of themes for their decadent parties. (Their ignorance of historical fact is also where a lot of the humor comes from.) The End of Timers have power rings that draw energy from the “ancient cities”, and with them can basically do magic—rearrange geography, create and destroy apparently living beings, and change themselves into any shape they want. So science is way back on the back burner; what we have instead is essentially a society of idiot… show more.

I’m going to stick my neck out and say that, in my opinion, this book is the greatest ever retelling of the Arthurian story. Why do I love it? Primarily I think because his characters are so well-defined and crafted—they have feelings and families, emotions and frustrations—and are frequently not at all heroic. 

I love the elements of the book that play out within the animal kingdom—the rigid, controlled society of the Ants, the free and liberal existence of the Wild Geese—all brought to life by an author who was a renowned natural historian and who is using the power of his fantastical imagination to provide insight into the broad spectrum of political models and options for ruling. 

I first read this book when I was studying Politics and Philosophy as an undergraduate, and I was blown away by White’s insight, humanity, and the choices he… show more.

It is a profound and unsettling dive into societal decay that feels terrifyingly prescient. Atwood’s brilliance lies in the details—how she exposes the weaponization of language and the stripping of individual identity until even a birth name becomes a forbidden memory. Offred’s internal act of storytelling is a breathtaking form of rebellion; it’s a reminder that even when we are silenced, our internal narratives and small acts of defiance are what keep us human. It isn’t a "feel-good" read, but it is an essential one.