D. M. Bachmann • Recommended Reading
Books That Have Stayed With Me
I have been reading science fiction and fantasy for most of my life. Some of these books introduced me to entirely new worlds. Others made me question what intelligence means, where humanity came from, or what might be waiting beyond what we already know.
This isn't intended to be a definitive list of the greatest science fiction and fantasy ever written. These are books and series I have enjoyed, remembered, returned to, or found thought-provoking over the years. Some are classics. Some are adventures. Some are strange. And a few permanently changed the way I think about science fiction.
The Books That Opened the Door
Classics of science fiction and fantasy that helped generations of readers imagine worlds beyond their own.
The HobbitJ.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the RingsJ.R.R. Tolkien
The SilmarillionJ.R.R. Tolkien
A Wrinkle in TimeMadeleine L'Engle
The Chronicles of NarniaC.S. Lewis
The Wonderful Wizard of OzL. Frank Baum
The Martian ChroniclesRay Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451Ray Bradbury
The Time MachineH.G. Wells
The War of the WorldsH.G. Wells
The Invisible ManH.G. Wells
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the SeasJules Verne
Journey to the Center of the EarthJules Verne
At the Earth's CoreEdgar Rice Burroughs
Big Ideas, First Contact & Humanity's Future
Stories that ask some of science fiction's biggest questions: Are we alone? What makes something intelligent? And what happens when humanity discovers it isn't the center of the story?
I, RobotIsaac Asimov
The Foundation TrilogyIsaac Asimov
2001: A Space OdysseyArthur C. Clarke
Childhood's EndArthur C. Clarke
The City and the StarsArthur C. Clarke
DuneFrank Herbert
ContactCarl Sagan
HyperionDan Simmons
The Fall of HyperionDan Simmons
The Forever WarJoe Haldeman
SolarisStanisław Lem
Ender's GameOrson Scott Card
Modern Science Fiction
The Three-Body ProblemLiu Cixin
The Dark ForestLiu Cixin
Death's EndLiu Cixin
Children of TimeAdrian Tchaikovsky
Children of RuinAdrian Tchaikovsky
Children of MemoryAdrian Tchaikovsky
The MartianAndy Weir
ArtemisAndy Weir
Project Hail MaryAndy Weir
Science Thrillers & Discovery
Jurassic ParkMichael Crichton
The Lost WorldMichael Crichton
SphereMichael Crichton
TimelineMichael Crichton
The DescentJeff Long
Fantasy Worlds
A Wizard of EarthseaUrsula K. Le Guin
The Left Hand of DarknessUrsula K. Le Guin
The Lathe of HeavenUrsula K. Le Guin
The Sword of ShannaraTerry Brooks
The Elfstones of ShannaraTerry Brooks
The Wishsong of ShannaraTerry Brooks
The Eyes of the DragonStephen King
His Dark MaterialsPhilip Pullman
Harry Potter SeriesJ.K. Rowling
The Chronicles of Thomas CovenantStephen R. Donaldson
Piers Anthony
Piers Anthony was one of the fantasy and science-fiction writers I read extensively, particularly the Apprentice Adept, Incarnations of Immortality and Xanth novels.
Split InfinityApprentice Adept
Blue AdeptApprentice Adept
JuxtapositionApprentice Adept
On a Pale HorseIncarnations of Immortality
Bearing an HourglassIncarnations of Immortality
With a Tangled SkeinIncarnations of Immortality
Wielding a Red SwordIncarnations of Immortality
Being a Green MotherIncarnations of Immortality
A Spell for ChameleonXanth
The Source of MagicXanth
Castle RoognaXanth
Centaur AisleXanth
Ogre, OgreXanth
Star Wars
Heir to the EmpireTimothy Zahn
Dark Force RisingTimothy Zahn
The Last CommandTimothy Zahn
Shadows of the EmpireSteve Perry
Darth Bane TrilogyDrew Karpyshyn
Darth PlagueisJames Luceno
Anne McCaffrey
DragonflightAnne McCaffrey
DragonquestAnne McCaffrey
The White DragonAnne McCaffrey
Hidden Worlds & Ancient Mysteries
Stories about civilizations, creatures and histories existing beneath the world humanity thinks it understands have always fascinated me.
At the Earth's CoreEdgar Rice Burroughs
The Shadow KingdomRobert E. Howard
The MoundH.P. Lovecraft & Zealia Bishop
The DescentJeff Long
Gaia, Evolution & the Living Earth
Some of the books that have interested me most aren't novels at all. The idea that life and the planet form an interconnected system raises questions that science fiction can take much further: Can a biosphere behave as a single system? Can intelligence emerge at scales larger than an individual organism? And how much of Earth's history do we truly understand?
Gaia: A New Look at Life on EarthJames Lovelock
The Ages of GaiaJames Lovelock
Healing GaiaJames Lovelock
Symbiotic PlanetLynn Margulis
SolarisStanisław Lem
And Sometimes Science Fiction Should Just Be Fun
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyDouglas Adams
