Here are 23 books that The Demolished Man fans have personally recommended if you like The Demolished Man. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Currents of Space

Phil Giunta Author Of Firebringer Take Two: Freedom's Blood & Like Mother, Like Daughters

From Phil's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Fisherman Hiker Reader Science fiction geek Editor

Phil's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Phil Giunta Why Phil loves this book

Asimov delivers an adroit mix of intrigue, mystery, and science fiction in a fast-paced story with solid world-building. It should be noted that this tale is set in the same universe as his Foundation series with Trantor as the seat of the Galactic Empire.

By Isaac Asimov ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Currents of Space as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

High above the planet Florinia, the Squires of Sark live in unimaginable wealth and comfort. Down in the eternal spring of the planet, however, the native Florinians labor ceaselessly to produce the precious kyrt that brings prosperity to their Sarkite masters. Rebellion is unthinkable and impossible. Not only do the Florinians no longer have a concept of freedom, any disruption of the vital kyrt trade would cause other planets to rise in protest, ultimately destabilizing trade and resulting in a galactic war. So the Trantorian Empire, whose grand plan is to unite all humanity in peace, prosperity, and freedom, has…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of A Lit Fuse

Phil Giunta Author Of Firebringer Take Two: Freedom's Blood & Like Mother, Like Daughters

From Phil's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Fisherman Hiker Reader Science fiction geek Editor

Phil's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Phil Giunta Why Phil loves this book

ā€œYou have picked a difficult subject for a biography.ā€ – Robert Silverberg

Love him or hate him, Harlan Ellison was one of the most prolific and awarded writers of all time and influenced many who came after him, myself included. To quote one of Harlan’s closest friends, writer Josh Olson (A History of Violence), ā€œHarlan is the guy who made me want to become a writer.ā€ Same here, Mr. Olson.

I found A Lit Fuse to be a wonderful companion piece to much of what I’d already known about Harlan from interviews, articles, his Sci-Fi Buzz segments, YouTube videos, and Erik Nelson’s excellent documentary, Dreams with Sharp Teeth.

There were events and experiences in Harlan’s life that author Nat Segaloff glosses over and for which details can be found elsewhere (such as in the aforementioned sources). Then there are other aspects that are more thoroughly explored in Harlan’s personal and…

By Nat Segaloff ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Lit Fuse as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An unguarded, uncensored, unquiet tour of the life of Harlan Ellison. In late 2011 Harlan Ellison—the multi-award-winning writer of speculative fiction and famously litigious personality—did two uncharacteristic things. First, he asked biographer Nat Segaloff if he’d be interested in writing his life story. Second, he gave Segaloff full control. The result is the long-anticipated A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison. The expansive biography, which is the first such project in which Ellison has permitted large portions of his varied works to appear. Segaloff conducted exhaustive interviews with Ellison over the course of five years and also spoke…


Book cover of The Stars My Destination

Why am I passionate about this?

 I’ve always loved a good mystery that doesn’t give you all the details upfront. My favourite stories growing up were those where I had little epiphanies along the way until I got to the end, where everything finally fell into place. But perhaps why I’m most drawn to these types of stories is because they parallel learning about your surroundings in the real world. After living in several different countries, I’ve come to learn many situations piece by piece, where some ended in danger, while others were more humorous events that I can now laugh about. 

Jon's book list on dark horror stories that slowly unravel their mysteries piece by piece, letting you figure out along the way

Jon Vassa Why Jon loves this book

This book blew my mind! It changed my life and gave me food poisoning; well, maybe it was some lousy shrimp that did that, but it came around the same time anyhow.

I loved the initial point of revenge, how the main character was abandoned to die in a broken spaceship in the middle of nowhere. I, too, would be pissed if a ship flew by me without stopping to save my butt.

I was happy that the book also played with metaphysical notions and cranked up the ending to a glorious finish that broke from the standard good-guy wins trope.

By Alfred Bester ,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Stars My Destination as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Gully Foyle, Mechanic's Mate 3rd Class, is the only survivor on his drifting, wrecked spaceship. When another space vessel, the Vorga, ignores his distress flares and sails by, Gully Foyle becomes a man obsessed with revenge. He endures 170 days alone in deep space before finding refuge on the Sargasso Asteroid and then returning to Earth to track down the crew and owners of the Vorga. But, as he works out his murderous grudge, Gully Foyle also uncovers a secret of momentous proportions...


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of The Road

Corey Niles Author Of What Remains

From my list on end of the world books.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a horror writer whose interests tend to favor morbid topics that are often neglected, end-of-the-world stories have fascinated me since I first read Stephen King’s The Stand at far too young of an age. I love how these works enable the exploration of life, death, and survival. My appreciation for the subject matter deepened during my studies in Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction MFA program, where I learned how genre fiction has the unique ability to both enlighten and entertain readers. This inspired me to write my post-apocalyptic horror novel, What Remains.

Corey's book list on end of the world books

Corey Niles Why Corey loves this book

I was first introduced to the film adaptation of The Road in my early teens when I went through all five stages of grief in the span of 1 hour and 51 minutes.

I then made a beeline to the bookstore for a copy of McCarthy’s novel, which subsequently solidified my love of end-of-the-world stories in how they can examine what it means to survive.

The Road is a story that has stayed with me over the subsequent decade and a half and greatly influenced my post-apocalyptic novel.

By Cormac McCarthy ,

Why should I read it?

40 authors picked The Road as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • A searing, post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son's fight to survive, thisĀ "tale of survival and the miracle of goodness only adds to McCarthy's stature as a living master. It's gripping, frightening and, ultimately, beautiful" (San Francisco Chronicle).

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if…


Book cover of Dune

michael24

From Michael's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Michael loves this book

Very immersive world building. Lots of details there for the reader willing to spend the time.

By Frank Herbert ,

Why should I read it?

76 authors picked Dune as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Before The Matrix, before Star Wars, before Ender's Game and Neuromancer, there was Dune: winner of the prestigious Hugo and Nebula awards, and widely considered one of the greatest science fiction novels ever written.

Melange, or 'spice', is the most valuable - and rarest - element in the universe; a drug that does everything from increasing a person's lifespan to making interstellar travel possible. And it can only be found on a single planet: the inhospitable desert world of Arrakis.

Whoever controls Arrakis controls the spice. And whoever controls the spice controls the universe.

When the Emperor transfers stewardship of…


Book cover of The Island of Doctor Moreau

Ruth Hull Author Of The Complete Guide to Reflexology

From Ruth's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Ruth's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Ruth Hull Why Ruth loves this book

What a great read! I completely lost myself in this macabre story and just couldn't put it down. It still haunts me now!

By H.G. Wells ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked The Island of Doctor Moreau as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 11, 12, 13, and 14.

What is this book about?

The Island of Doctor Moreau has inspired countless homages in literature, film and television.


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of Kafka on the Shore

Mark A. Rayner Author Of Alpha Max

From Mark's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Human shaped Pirate hearted Storytelling addict Creatively inclined

Mark's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Mark A. Rayner Why Mark loves this book

Murakami has been on my TBR pile for quite some time, but I bumped his work up the list after having several guests on our podcast (Re-Creative) recommend his work.

Kafka on the Shore (2002) follows a young lad, Kafka Tamura, a strangely bookish 15-year-old boy who runs away from his Oedipal curse as he unearths his life while he works at a private library. It also follows, Satoru Nakata, an old, disabled man with the uncanny ability to talk to cats. The translation came out in 2005; it was on the New York Times best books of the year list, as well as winning a 2006 World Fantasy award.

The novel was weirdly reminiscent of Italo Calvino's If on a Winter's Night a Traveler -- not for the way the story was told or even the characterizations -- but for the high-wire act the author is on. I kept…

By Haruki Murakami ,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked Kafka on the Shore as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A stunning work of art that bears no comparisons" the New York Observer wrote of Haruki Murakami's masterpiece, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. In its playful stretching of the limits of the real world, his magnificent new novel, Kafka on the Shore is every bit as bewitching and ambitious. The narrative follows the fortunes of two remarkable characters. Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy. The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his highly simplified life suddenly overturned. Their parallel odysseys - as…


Book cover of Dreaming the Biosphere

Fred Nadis Author Of Star Settlers: The Billionaires, Geniuses, and Crazed Visionaries Out to Conquer the Universe

From my list on botched space colonization efforts.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m fascinated with techno-utopian schemes. Decades ago, I had conversations with a friend who believed that humanity needed to evolve and leave the planet, just as early life once left the oceans. It was an intriguing idea that I have tried to follow up, critically, in Star Settlers. My book is a history not so much of the technology and nuts and bolts of space travel (although I do cover some of that), but of the rationale behind it—the idea that humanity’s ultimate destiny is in the stars. The idea is beguiling—but, likely, wrong-headed. To write the book, I spoke with physicists, science fiction writers, and space enthusiasts of all stripes. 

Fred's book list on botched space colonization efforts

Fred Nadis Why Fred loves this book

The Biosphere 2 project was the wackiest multimillion-dollar enterprise to emerge from the New Age movement. This book is a nonfiction account of how a New Mexico commune, with a charismatic leader, developed a plan to test the viability of off-planet living by creating a sealed-off biosphere, which would be a self-sustaining and organizing ecosystem in which humans could survive. The goal was to create not a sterile environment but one that supported life that would make off-planet living appealing. The four men and four women sequestered for two years in the 3.14-acre domed-off area outside Tucson grew into two factions that hated one another. All came close to starvation, CO2 poisoning, and madness. For readers that simply must have narrative in fiction form, T. Corraghesson Boyle’s The Terranauts is based on this same early 1990s episode.Ā 

By Rebecca Reider ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Dreaming the Biosphere as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Biosphere rises from southern Arizona's high desert like a bizarre hybrid spaceship and greenhouse. Packed with more than 3,800 carefully selected plant, animal, and insect species, this mega-terrarium is one of the world's most biodiverse, lush, and artificial wildernesses. Only recently transformed from an abandoned ghost dome to a University of Arizona research center, the site was the setting of a grand drama about humans and ecology at the end of the twentieth century.

The seeds of Biosphere 2 sprouted in the 1970s at Synergia, a desert ranch in New Mexico where John Allen and a handful of dreamers united…


Book cover of Neuromancer

enemis

From Enemis' 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Unknown Author Why Enemis loves this book

One of the progenitors of the Cyberpunk genre; unlike modern takes on Cyberpunk, this keeps to the core dystopian themes that have been all but forgotten thanks to the over emphases on aesthetics.

By William Gibson ,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked Neuromancer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The book that defined the cyberpunk movement, inspiring everything from The Matrix to Cyberpunk 2077.

The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.

William Gibson revolutionised science fiction in his 1984 debut Neuromancer. The writer who gave us the matrix and coined the term 'cyberspace' produced a first novel that won the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick Awards, and lit the fuse on the Cyberpunk movement.

More than three decades later, Gibson's text is as stylish as ever, his noir narrative still glitters like chrome in the shadows and his depictions of…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of Foundation

J.D. Rasch Author Of The Quasi-Crystal

From my list on science fiction to challenge your moral compass.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am interested in social justice issues, and the books in my list deal with these issues. My background is in finance, but I’ve tried to use this knowledge to help others. I serve on the board of two not-for-profit organizations, one a dance company that works with at-risk teens in various countries, and the other is an animal sanctuary that takes in farm animals that have been abused. I consider myself very fortunate and privileged, and it's important to remember not everyone has had the opportunities I have had. I feel it’s crucial to connect with others, understand where they’re coming from, and help if you can.

J.D.'s book list on science fiction to challenge your moral compass

J.D. Rasch Why J.D. loves this book

I like the psychological nature of this book. It pits human beings against an idea–a computer model of society. Having a degree in economics the concept particularly intrigued me.

It showed no matter how big and important we think we are there are forces outside of our control. This was one of the most innovative books I have read.

By Isaac Asimov ,

Why should I read it?

13 authors picked Foundation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first novel in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series

THE EPIC SAGA THAT INSPIRED THEĀ APPLE TV+ SERIES FOUNDATION, NOW STREAMING • Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read
Ā 
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future—to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire—both scientists and scholars—and brings…


Book cover of The Currents of Space
Book cover of A Lit Fuse
Book cover of The Stars My Destination

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