You know how people ask you “What have you read recently?” or “What do you recommend to read next?” , and you draw a complete blank. This list exists to partially solve that problem. At least I have something to remind myself what I’ve liked over the years.

Most of these titles belong to the SF genre, with a few thrillers and comic novels thrown in. As I get time I’ll add short reviews.

I have separated the books into four groups:

  • Excellent I couldn’t stop reading
  • Good Liked it / Left a lasting impression
  • “Interesting” In spite of problems has something compelling about it
  • Had to Stop So bad or off-putting I had to quit reading

Books are sorted by the author’s last name in each section.

Kindle: Best of Non-Traditional / Self-Published

  • Xenophobia BY Peter Cawdron

Excellent: I couldn’t put it down

  • Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency BY Douglas Adams
  • The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul BY Douglas Adams
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1 through 5) BY Douglas Adams
  • Greybeard BY Brian W. Aldiss
  • Radix BY A. A. Atanasio
  • Use of Weapons BY Ian M. Banks
  • Consider Phlebas BY Ian M. Banks
  • No Enemy but Time BY Michael Bishop
  • The Etched City BY K.J. Bishop
  • Dawn BY Octavia Butler REVIEW Review
  • The Dreaming Tree BY C. J. Cherryh
  • Rusalka BY C. J. Cherryh
  • Gate of Ivril (and its sequels) BY C. J. Cherryh
  • Hammerfall BY C. J. Cherryh
  • Little, Big BY John Crowley
  • The Man in the High Castle BY Philip K. Dick
  • The Simulacra BY Philip K. Dick
  • A Scanner Darkly BY Philip K. Dick
  • Half of everything by Philip K. Dick. Which half, you’ll have to decide for yourself. BY Philip K. Dick
  • Camp Concentration BY Thomas M. Disch
  • Crown of Stars (the series in its entirety.) BY Kate Elliot
  • Dangerous Visions (anthology) BY Edited by Harlan Ellison
  • Again, Dangerous Visions (anthology) BY Edited by Harlan Ellison
  • The Peripheral BY William Gibson
  • Count Zero BY William Gibson
  • Pattern Recognition followed by Spook Country and Zero History BY William Gibson
  • The Difference Engine BY Bruce Sterling and William Gibson
  • End of the World Blues BY Jon Courtenay Grimwood
  • ReMix BY Jon Courtenay Grimwood
  • Stamping Butterflies BY Jon Courtenay Grimwood
  • Replay BY Ken Grimwood REVIEW Review
  • The Dispossessed BY Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Lathe of Heaven BY Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Forever War BY Joe Haldeman
  • Generation Loss BY Elizabeth Hand
  • Stormy Weather BY Carl Hiaasen
  • Strip Tease BY Carl Hiaasen
  • Ice Song BY Kirsten Imani Kasai
  • The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories BY John Kessel
  • Stories for Men BY John Kessel
  • Beggars in Spain (followed by Beggars and Choosers and Beggars Ride) BY Nancy Kress
  • The Gun Seller BY Hugh Laurie
  • Birthgrave (followed by Vasgar, Son of Vasgar, and Quest for the White Witch) BY Tanith Lee
  • Return from the Stars BY Stanislaw Lem
  • Ash BY Malinda Lo
  • Watchtower BY Elizabeth A. Lynn
  • Eternity Road BY Jack McDevit
  • The Light Ages BY Ian R. MacLeod
  • The Execution Channel BY Ken Mac Leod
  • Cosmonaut Keep BY Ken Mac Leod
  • Learning the World BY Ken Mac Leod
  • TheRosetta Man BY Claire McCague
  • Black Swan Green BY David Mitchell
  • Cloud Atlas BY David Mitchell
  • Dreams of the Compass Rose BY Vera Nazarian
  • The Sudden Appearance of Hope BY Claire North
  • The Map of Time (El Mapa del Tiempo) BY Felix J. Palma
  • Devices and Desires BY K. J. Parker
  • Evil for Evil BY K. J. Parker
  • Lizard Music BY Daniel Pinkwater
  • Last Call BY Tim Powers
  • On Stranger Tides BY Tim Powers
  • Three Days to Never BY Tim Powers
  • The Anubis Gates BY Tim Powers
  • The Affirmation BY Christopher Priest
  • The Glamour BY Christopher Priest
  • The Space Machine BY Christopher Priest
  • Century Rain BY Alastair Reynolds
  • Living Next Door to the God of Love BY Justina Robson
  • Natural History BY Justina Robson
  • The Angel’s Game BY Carlos Ruiz Zafon
  • Picnic on Paradise BY Joanna Russ
  • Sonant BY A. Sparrow
  • The Diamond Age BY Neal Stephenson
  • Fall; or, Dodge in Hell: A novel BY Neal Stephenson
  • Schismatrix BY Bruce Sterling
  • Earth Abides BY George R. Stewart
  • Glasshouse BY Charles Stross
  • Palimpsest BY Charles Stross
  • Double Vision BY Tricia Sullivan
  • The Gone World BY Tom Sweterlitsch
  • The Green Pearl BY Jack Vance
  • Lyonesse BY Jack Vance
  • Madouc BY Jack Vance
  • A Deepness in the Sky BY Vernor Vinge
  • A Fire Upon the Deep BY Vernor Vinge
  • Nine Layers of Sky BY Liz Williams
  • Blind Lake BY Robert Charles Wilson
  • The Bridge of Years BY Robert Charles Wilson
  • The Divide BY Robert Charles Wilson
  • Mysterium BY Robert Charles Wilson

Very Good

  • Hothouse BY Brian W. Aldiss
  • The Kestrel BY Lloyd Alexander
  • Bitter Angels BY C. L. Anderson
  • Primary Inversion BY Catherine Asaro
  • Tears of Artamon (Trilogy beginning with Lord of Snow and Shadows) BY Sarah Ash
  • In the Garden of Iden (The Company series) BY Kage Baker
  • The Kundalini Equation BY Steven Barnes
  • The Mayan Glif BY Larry Baxter
  • Moonseed BY Stephen Baxter
  • The Demolished Man BY Alfred Bester
  • Without Warning BY John Birmingham
  • After America BY John Birmingham
  • Angels of Vengeance BY John Birmingham
  • Ariel BY Steven R. Boyett
  • Fahrenheit 451 BY Ray Bradbury
  • Lady in Gil (the Gil trilogy) BY Rebecca Bradley
  • The Postman BY David Brin
  • The Sheep Look Up BY John Brunner
  • Shockwave Rider BY John Brunner
  • Parable of the Sower BY Octavia Butler
  • Serpent’s Reach BY C. J. Cherryh
  • Brothers of Earth BY C. J. Cherryh
  • Hunter of Worlds BY C. J. Cherryh
  • Cyteen BY C. J. Cherryh
  • Down Below Station BY C. J. Cherryh
  • The Faded Sun Trilogy BY C. J. Cherryh
  • Ready Player One BY Ernest Clein
  • Leviathon Wakes BY James S.A. Corey
  • The Naming BY Alison Croggon
  • Dark Matter: A Novel BY Blake Crouch
  • Wayward Pines BY Blake Crouch
  • Lunatics BY Bradley Denton
  • Beholder’s Eye BY Julie E. Czerneda
  • Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town BY Cory Doctorow
  • Resonance BY Chris Dolley
  • The Aluminum Man BY G. C. Edmondson
  • Crooked Little Vein BY Warren Ellis
  • Fragment BY Warren Fahy
  • Incarceron BY Catherine Fisher
  • Fluency BY Jennifer Foehner Wells
  • Alas, Babylon BY Pat Frank
  • This Alien Shore BY C.S. Friedman
  • The Madness Season BY C. S. Friedman
  • American Gods BY Neil Gaiman
  • The Swords of Night and Day BY David Gemmell
  • The White Wolf BY David Gemmell
  • Echos of the Great Song BY David Gemmell
  • In Wartimes BY Kathleen Ann Goonan
  • Blind Waves BY Steven Gould
  • Wildside BY Steven Gould
  • Helm BY Steven Gould
  • Jumper BY Steven Gould
  • Dark Moon BY Julia Gray
  • A Madness of Angels BY Kate Griffin
  • The Left Hand of Darkness BY Ursula K. Le Guin
  • A Wizard of Earthsea (and its sequels) BY Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Imortal BY James E. Gunn
  • Illyria BY Elizabeth Hand
  • Enigma BY Robert Harris
  • Dune BY Frank Herbert
  • Lucky You BY Carl Hiaasen
  • Skin Tight BY Carl Hiaasen
  • Native Tongue BY Carl Hiaasen
  • Tourist Season BY Carl Hiaasen
  • Expecting Someone Taller BY Tom Holt
  • Wool BY Hugh Howey
  • Blood Price BY Tanya Huff
  • A for Andromeda BY Fred Hoyle, John Elliot
  • The Andromeda Breakthrough BY Fred Hoyle, John Elliot
  • The Black Cloud BY Fred Hoyle
  • The Fifth Planet BY Fred Hoyle, Geoffrey Hoyle
  • Seven Steps to the Sun BY Fred Hoyle, Geoffrey Hoyle
  • The Westminster Disaster BY Fred Hoyle, Geoffrey Hoyle
  • Knight’s Dawn (Red Pavilion series) BY Kim Hunter
  • A Song for Arbonne BY Guy Gavriel Kay
  • The Running Man BY Stephen King
  • The Stand BY Steven King
  • Prophet of Bones BY Ted Kosmatka
  • Oaths and Miracles (followed by Stinger) BY Nancy Kress
  • An Alien Light BY Nancy Kress
  • Maximum Light BY Nancy Kress
  • Six Wakes BY Mur Lafferty
  • The Gods of Xuma BY David J. Lake
  • Chain of Chance BY Stanislaw Lem
  • Kill or Cure (the Afterblight Chronicles #2) BY Rebecca Levene
  • Moonheart BY Charles de Lint
  • Newton’s Wake BY Ken MacLeod
  • The Restoration Game BY Ken MacLeod
  • Enemy Mine BY Barry B. Longyear
  • The Sleeping God BY Violette Malan
  • Soft Apocolypse BY Will McIntosh
  • Night Without End BY Alistair MacLean
  • Game of Thrones (__Song of Ice and Fire__series) BY George R. R. Martin
  • All Our Wrong Todays BY Elan Mastai
  • The Walls of the Universe BY Paul Melko
  • Lonely Werewolf Girl BY Martin Miller
  • A Canticle for Leibowitz BY Walter M. Miller
  • Of Tangible Ghosts BY L. E. Modesitt
  • The Speed of Dark BY Elizabeth Moon
  • Island of the Sequined Love Nun BY Christopher Moore
  • Bloodsucking Fiends BY Christopher Moore
  • Bring the Jubilee BY Ward Moore
  • Market Forces BY Richard K. Morgan
  • Tech Heaven BY Linda Nagata
  • The Red: First Light BY Linda Nagata
  • The Trials BY Linda Nagata
  • Vast BY Linda Nagata
  • The Light Bearer BY Sam Nicholson
  • Time’s Child BY Rebecca Ore
  • The Flight of the Silvers BY Daniel Price
  • The Skies Discrowned BY Tim Powers
  • The Inverted World BY Christopher Priest
  • Four and Twenty Blackbirds BY Cherie Priest
  • Paragaea BY Chris Roberson
  • Red Mars BY Kim Stanley Robinson
  • Green Mars BY Kim Stanley Robinson
  • Forty Signs of Rain BY Kim Stanley Robinson
  • Fifty Degrees Below BY Kim Stanley Robinson
  • Sixtey Days and Counting BY Kim Stanley Robinson
  • Antarctica BY Kim Stanley Robinson
  • Chase the Morning BY Michael Scott Rohan
  • Agent to the Stars BY John Scalzi
  • Lady of Mazes BY Karl Schroeder
  • Sun of Suns BY Karl Schroeder
  • Ventis BY Karl Schroeder
  • Permanence BY Karl Schroeder
  • Superpowers BY David J. Schwartz
  • The People of the Ruins BY Edward Shanks
  • All Flesh Is Grass BY Clifford D. Simak
  • Waystation BY Clifford D. Simak
  • Carion Comfort BY Dan Simmons
  • Xenolith BY A. Sparrow
  • Peregrin BY A. Sparrow
  • The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. BY Neal Stephenson, Nicole Galland
  • Snow Crash BY Neal Stephenson
  • Cryptonomicon BY Neal Stephenson
  • The Artificial Kid BY Bruce Sterling
  • Kiosk BY Bruce Sterling
  • Dies the Fire BY S.M. Sterling
  • The Merchant Princes (The six volume series in its entirety.) BY Charles Stross
  • Empire Games BY Charles Stross
  • Dark State BY Charles Stross
  • Missile Gap BY Charles Stross
  • Marked BY S. Andrew Swan
  • Raven BY S.A. Swiniarski (S. Andrew Swan)
  • Vacuum Flowers BY Michael Swanwick
  • Grass BY Sheri S. Tepper
  • Mockingbird BY Walter Tevis
  • Discord’s Apple BY Carrie Vaughn
  • The Snow Queen BY Joan D. Vinge
  • World’s End BY Joan D. Vinge
  • Rainbow’s End BY Vernor Vinge
  • Grimm’s Story BY Vernor Vinge
  • True Names BY Vernor Vinge
  • Across Realtime (The Peace War, The Ungoverned, Marooned in Realtime) BY Vernor Vinge
  • Illusion BY Paula Volsky
  • Farthing BY Jo Walton
  • The Prize in the Game BY Jo Walton
  • City on Fire BY Walter John Williams
  • Hardwired BY Walter John Williams
  • This is Not a Game BY Walter John Williams
  • The Rift BY Walter John Williams
  • The Dragonbone Chair(Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series) BY Tad Williams
  • To Say Nothing of the Dog BY Connie Willis
  • Doomsday Book BY Connie Willis
  • Burning Paradise BY Robert Charles Wilson
  • The Chronoliths BY Robert Charles Wilson
  • Darwinia BY Robert Charles Wilson
  • Gypsies BY Robert Charles Wilson
  • A Hidden Place BY Robert Charles Wilson
  • Last Year BY Robert Charles Wilson
  • Julian Comstock BY Robert Charles Wilson
  • Spin BY Robert Charles Wilson

Interesting: Not Exactly Good, but “Interesting”

  • Heritage of the Star BY Sylvia Engdahl
  • The Rys Chronicles (1,2,3) BY Tracy Falbe
  • Rockets in Ursa Major BY Fred Hoyle, Geoffery Hoyle
  • Alternative Three BY Ken Mitchell REVIEW Review
  • The Traveler BY John Twelve Hawks

Not Good: I had to stop reading

  • Dawn of Empire BY Sam Barone REVIEW Review
  • Clear and Present Danger BY Tom Clancy REVIEW Review
  • The Unincorporated Man BY Dani Kollin and Ethan Kollin REVIEW Review
  • Atlas Shrugged BY Ayn Rand REVIEW Review
  • The Atlantis Gene: A Thriller BY A.G. Riddle
  • Daemon BY Daniel Suarez REVIEW Review
  • Orphans of Chaos BY Jon C. Wright REVIEW Review