80 Books Like The Dreaming Child

I dearly loved Isaac Asimov's vision of the robot. Although the idea of a mechanical man has entertained audiences for hundreds, if not thousands, of years, Asimov dealt with the reality of how humans will coexist with our intelligent creations. 

Prior to Asimov's three laws we had always thought of robots delivering evil as surrogates of their evil masters. And always with human intent. Evil emperors trying to rule the world is typical. But Asimov showed us the danger of machines that are their own masters. 

Machine learning and reasoning are now a reality different from anything humans can conceive. We are limited in our comprehension of machines by our biology and evolutionary context. But they are not limited in their comprehension of us or themselves. Just ask AlphaGo move 37. I am certain Asimov's three laws will never be enough to ensure our survival in a world where we… show more.

Known best for his Waverly novels as well as Ivanhoe and Rob Roy, Sir Walter wrote many of the greatest short tales ever told. “The Highland Widow” is perhaps the greatest short tale ever. A subdued Scotsman living in a foreign London (at that time) and the foremost writer of his time he railed against our English overlords whilst pragmatically trying to maintain the status quo. (The letters of Malachi Malagrowther are a good example, marvellous reading, where he impugns the bank of England with great wit and Scalding rhetoric.)

He gave birth to many volumes of short tales, many under Pseudonyms (such as Malachi Malagrowther) as the English authorities were aware of his influence over the populace of London and his gift for romanticising the “Highland gentleman”. As a writer, he was unsurpassed in his time both in terms of sales by volume and in the quality of… show more.

Mr. Lindqvist is a Swedish author that came to worldwide notice with his novel Let the Right One In and has written many great novels since then. He is not normally a short story author, nor does he particularly enjoy reading short tales, so this is a strange choice for me but Let the Old Dreams Die is so dreadfully different from other recent horror writers that I felt I had to include it here. To date, it is the only book of short tales that Mr. Lindqvist has written. There is a zombie tale (and how many of them have appeared over the years) but should zombies have citizenship? How should the health service care for them? Is it really their fault that they wish to eat people? Can we happily live together?

There is little that has not been covered before in Mr. Lindqvist’s tales but every story… show more.

My mother read Call of the Wild and White Fang to my brother and I whilst still children. Well, those tales stayed with me over the years despite forays into Science Fiction, Religious Dogma, psychology, historical fiction, and fantasy. As an older boy I returned to the works of Mr. London and read Martin Eden, The Sea Wolf, and many of his short tales. Tales of the Klondyke are perhaps the best of them and so take my prize as number one on my list. (Though I had an argument with myself over Voltaire’s Candide and Other Tales and Aeschylus' Tragedies) for the top spot.

Each tale in this collection whilst imagined strikes me as true in every way, sure a little drama is added but I suspect that those heroes just trying to survive existed. And so, in a way I have come full circle, and… show more.

Thompson’s novel is another story about strong, intelligent, and powerful women who are manipulated and used by men. There have been numerous retellings of the birth of Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein. The fact that it occurred on a dark and stormy night is literary folklore. However, Thompson’s tale is the first time it has been told for a YA audience and he puts a wicked spin on the well-known origin story. This appealed to me as an English teacher. The characters—Mary, the poet Shelley, Claire Clairmont, and Lord Byron—are given a contemporary vibe. Mary is a lonely and moody teenager, swept off her feet by Shelley who is characterised as the 19th century’s version of a brooding and insatiable rock star, part Mick Jagger and part Nick Cave. 

I adore stories where a family heirloom holds a long-held secret, especially when that heirloom is a piece of jewelry. Add in a grandmother, make it a multi-generational novel where characters discover the true meaning of family, and you’ve got me.

I was touched by this entertaining, compelling story with its wonderful characters. It was a delight to read.

This book was just published in late 2022, but I had the privilege of reading it early, in January. It remained my favorite read of ’22 all throughout the year, which is really saying something, considering the astounding number of excellent novels that were published in ’22 (the pandemic really threw publishing off)! Waldherr is a criminally underappreciated writer. Unnatural Creatures is simply exquisite, from its concept (a retelling of Frankenstein from the women’s perspective) to its brooding atmosphere to its intoxicating prose. 

Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural is, hands down, the best collection of over fifty short stories, novellas, and poems I've ever read in one, skin-prickling book. With authors like Bram Stoker, Sheridan Lefanu, Edgar Allan Poe, Richard Matheson, Isaac Asimov, A.M. Burrage, Robert Bloch, and H.P. Lovecraft, you're in for many sleepless nights. My personal favorites include; "Last Respects" by Dick Baldwin, a story of two morticians preparing a body for a wake, only the body doesn't seem to be quite at rest; "The Quest for Blank Claveringi" by Patricia Highsmith, a story that proves snails can be terrifying. This one had me short on breath halfway through; and most disturbing of all, "His Unconquerable Enemy" by W.C. Morrow. It's about a rajah that has a surgeon amputate his servant Neranya's limbs off, then keeps the poor man in a small pen of open ironwork above his bed for… show more.

I have found so many of Mary Oliver’s poems to be inspirational and thought-provoking that I could call any of Mary Oliver’s poetry collections life-changing. Her ability to be present in nature, to hold both the beauty and the sorrow found in nature in a few lines of a poem and invite me as the reader to hold them both in my heart, is astounding.

Hearing her read “When I am Among the Trees” from this collection makes my heart sing! Listening to “At the Pond” makes my heart ache for one small goose every time. One of my favorite lines from any of her poems, “Sometimes I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed,” is found in this collection as well, in “It Was Early”. 

I chose this one specifically because it is an audio recording rather than a book. There is something so heart-opening about… show more.

In the summer of 1816, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, her husband-to-be Percy Bysshe Shelley, their close friend Lord Byron, Mary’s stepsister Claire Clairmont, and Byron’s physician John William Polidori gathered at the Villa Diodati near Lake Geneva, Switzerland, where they challenged each other to craft ghost stories.

Mary’s contribution—a tale exploring the possibility of reanimating a corpse—became the seed of Frankenstein. This summer and the creation of Frankenstein have been vividly portrayed in bio-pics such as Gothic (1984, Ken Russell), Haunted Summer (1988, Ivan Passer), and Rowing with the Wind (1988, Gonzalo Suárez).

Less explored is her time in Bath (Sept 1816 - May 1817), where she worked on the novel. This book (2024) delves into these months, showing how Mary navigated grief, personal loss, and her writing routine. For those who love books, it also highlights the texts she and Percy read during this period, which influenced her work.… show more.