Here are 51 books that Shroud fans have personally recommended if you like
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The author has spent most of his life learning to read the language and behavior of birds. He is an excellent teacher for the rest of us. I listen to birds differently now, and every once in a while, realize that I have a sense of what that robin, that house finch, that song sparrow, may be saying.
Award-winning naturalist and author Jon Young's What the Robin Knows reveals how understanding bird language and behavior can help us to see more wildlife.
A lifelong birder, tracker, and naturalist, Jon Young is guided by three basic premises: the robin, junco, and other songbirds know everything important about their environment, be it backyard or forest; by tuning in to their vocalizations and behavior, we can acquire much of this wisdom for our own pleasure and benefit; and the birds’ companion calls and warning alarms are just as important as their songs.
Deep bird language is an ancient discipline, perfected by…
An ancient Roman temple terraforming Mars. An android longing for his human wife. Will their epic clash bring Earth to its knees?
Android Y1 is heartbroken. He was once a neuroscientist who uploaded his own brain to study it. Now he hates watching his human self take his wife and…
This book resonated with many thoughts I've had after immigrating to the USA over a decade ago. It is a story of how, when it comes to policy, good intentions can often lead to bad outcomes, from work shortage to the housing crisis, and from infrastructure to clean air. It is an engaging and insightful discussion, from which both liberals and conservatives can learn a lot.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2025
“A must-read for progressives who want a blueprint for reforming government so it can deliver for working people.” —Barack Obama • “A terrific book...Powerful and persuasive.” —Fareed Zakaria • “Spectacular...Offers a comprehensive indictment of the current problems and a clear path forward...Klein and Thompson usher in a mood shift. They inspire hope and enlarge the imagination.” —David Brooks, The New York Times
From bestselling authors and journalistic titans Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, Abundance is a once-in-a-generation, paradigm-shifting call to renew a politics of plenty,…
I'm an engineer, so the work of artists is mysterious to me. I've spoken at length to several and while there is overlap with my process, there are also remarkable differences. This book extends those conversations by providing in-depth interviews with an extraordinary variety of artists talking about how each created a signature piece. It shows examples of their work, from draft to publication. The book was enlightening and oftentimes quite moving.
The New York Times bestseller and one of Barack Obama's Favorite Books of 2024
"The gift book of the year, a volume that should have broad appeal and deliver many hours of pleasure to the recipient. The Work of Art is a gorgeous book.” —John Warner, The Chicago Tribune
From former editor of New York magazine Adam Moss, a collection of illuminating conversations examining the very personal, rigorous, complex, and elusive work of making art
What is the work of art? In this guided tour inside the artist's head, Adam Moss traces the evolution of transcendent novels, paintings, jokes, movies,…
Imperium is the most expensive structure ever created. Once an orbiting laboratory, it is now a space hotel for the fantastically wealthy. But as the station preps for its first group of space tourists, Dr. Chloe Bonilla, Imperium’s resident biophysicist, finds herself questioning whether babysitting a passel of space glampers…
Aud Torvingen is not easy to like, and she doesn't like many people. She is also not easy to kill. A sexy, scary, immersive story about love and death. I re-read this terrific novel for the third time this year and enjoyed it even more for knowing Aud a little better.
Aud Torvingen is a rangy six-footer with eyes the colour of cement and a tendency to hurt people who get in her way. Born in Norway, she now lives in the sticky heat of Atlanta-a security consultant gliding between the city's elegant elite and its sleazy underbelly.
One night during a thunderstorm Aud collides with a running woman, and to survive the deadly mix of forgery, drugs, and murder that follows, she must risk losing herself to that cool blue place where violence is bliss . . .
An astoundingly good novel. Well-researched, well told, and well-narrated in audio. I had a slightly harder time getting into the spider timeline—I kept waiting to get back to the human one—but in the end I was engaged by that one too, and of course deeply impressed by the sheer power of the author's informed imagination in creating this entirely new species, tracing its rapid evolution, and giving us its point of view in an entirely plausible way. But the human story is even more amazing, in my view, in part because of the way it uses time. Highly recommended!
Winner of the 30th anniversary Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel
Adrian Tchaikovksy's critically acclaimed, stand-alone novel Children of Time, is the epic story of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet.
Who will inherit this new Earth?
The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life.
But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the…
Writing hard science fiction that doesn't get lost in the science takes a balancing act. Andy Weir does an incredible job of that in Project Hail Mary. He also has moments of pure humor as well as an underlying mystery outside of the immediate problem at hand, which added a great amount of emotional impact. Especially in a moment diluted in the film—that despite having previously been a coward, he made the decision to risk his life/future in another hail Mary attempt to help his 100% doomed friend.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through…
The aftermath of human first contact, written from the extraterrestrial's perspective.
Kelvoo is overcome with wonder at the arrival of the humans. With flawless memories and innate curiosity, Kelvoo’s community embraces the benevolent humans and their knowledge of the boundless universe beyond the cloud-covered sky. After the departure of the…
I’ve been reading fantasy novels since around 1989, when I was twelve. I actually – stupidly! – thought it would be much easier to write a fantasy novel than a historical fiction one. Well, after writing about eighteen historical novels, I turned my hand to fantasy with Singers of the Sword Song and finally discovered just how hard it is to create a compelling new world completely from scratch. The books in this list are the ones that have inspired me for decades and continue to do so as I work on my second fantasy novel with a newfound appreciation, and love, for this magical genre.
I listened to the audiobook edition of this story and was completely blown away.
The narration is superb, with the reader performing songs and really making the story come alive, but the prose was just wonderful. Seriously, I would hear lines and think, “Oh my God, I wish I could write like that!”
I haven’t read much fantasy that was written in the past 20 years, but I can see why this is regarded as a modern classic. I loved it and wish he would finally complete the trilogy!
The lyrical fantasy masterpiece about stories, legends and how they change the world. The Name of the Wind is an absolute must-read for any fan of fantasy fiction.
'This is a magnificent book' Anne McCaffrey
'I was reminded of Ursula K. Le Guin, George R. R. Martin, and J. R. R. Tolkein, but never felt that Rothfuss was imitating anyone' THE TIMES
'I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University…
I love books that bring mythology to life. The central character was intriguing and believable. She was frightening and kind and her rage was totally understandable.
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is a strange child - not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. Scorned and rejected, Circe grows up in the shadows, at home in neither the world of gods or mortals. But Circe has a dark power of her own: witchcraft. When her gift…
LeGuin's light science fiction really could have been an imagined contemporary world, as it contrasts a socialist- anarchistic society with a truly contemporary capitalist and government-authoritarian system. Its central character, committed to the former, visits and experiences the latter, only to realize that individualism can still contribute in a more egalitarian order. The book raises basic questions about behavior within a larger community and its dominant values with a strong central character who leads the life of the mind.
One of the very best must-read novels of all time - with a new introduction by Roddy Doyle
'A well told tale signifying a good deal; one to be read again and again' THE TIMES
'The book I wish I had written ... It's so far away from my own imagination, I'd love to sit at my desk one day and discover that I could think and write like Ursula Le Guin' Roddy Doyle
'Le Guin is a writer of phenomenal power' OBSERVER
The Principle of Simultaneity is a scientific breakthrough which will revolutionize interstellar civilization by making possible instantaneous…
Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.
Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…
I’ve always loved the darker side of fantasy. While heroes, knights, and handsome kings can occasionally be enjoyable, I want to know the other characters who have suffered, hurt, lost, grieved, and been hardened by grim circumstances and cruel fate. Those characters demonstrate the resilience of human nature and how goodness truly can exist even in the harshest environment. I love using this darkness in my own novels to show that even the tiniest spark can shine immensely bright—a true testament to the indefatigability of our spirits.
This book was one of the first assassin books ever written, and it’s a masterpiece of classic fantasy. The character is exactly as brooding and dour as I’d expected, but the moment he saves a young woman and her two orphaned companions, I understood there was so much more to him. And over the course of the book—and all his books—I saw those layers stripped away piece by piece and the grief-stricken man beneath.
The story was action-packed in exactly the way I wanted it to be, but it also profoundly explored nobility, morality, belief, and faith. The final scenes of the trilogy had me in tears, something not easily accomplished.
'THE HARD-BITTEN CHAMPION OF BRITISH HEROIC FANTASY' - Joe Abercrombie
'HEROISM AND HEARTBREAK . . . GEMMELL IS ADRENALINE WITH SOUL' - Brent Weeks
The Drenai King is dead - murdered by a ruthless assassin. Enemy troops swarm into Drenai lands. Their orders are simple - kill every man, woman and child.
But there is hope.
Stalked by men who act like beasts and beasts that walk like men, the warrior Waylander must journey into the shadow-haunted lands of the Nadir to find the legendary Armour of Bronze. With this he can turn the tide. But can he be trusted?…
