Recommendations based on "2043...(A Merman I Should Turn to Be) (Black Stars)"

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Expanse comes a spectacular new space opera that sees humanity fighting for its survival in a war as old as the universe itself.★ “Masterful . . . . This is space opera at its best.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)"The start of something truly epic." ― Fonda Lee, author of Jade City How humanity came to the planet called Anjiin is lost in the fog of history, but that history is about to end.The Carryx – part empire, part hive – have waged wars of conquest for centuries, destroying or enslaving species across the galaxy. Now, they are facing a great and deathless enemy. The key to their survival may rest with the humans of Anjiin.Caught up in academic intrigue and affairs of the heart, Dafyd Alkhor is pleased just to be an assistant to a brilliant scientist and his celebrated research team. Then the Carryx ships descend, decimating the human population and taking the best and brightest of Anjiin society away to serve on the Carryx homeworld, and Dafyd is swept along with them.They are dropped in the middle of a struggle they barely understand, set in a competition against the other captive species with extinction as the price of failure. Only Dafyd and a handful of his companions see past the Darwinian contest to the deeper game that they must play to survive: learning to understand – and manipulate – the Carryx themselves.With a noble but suicidal human rebellion on one hand and strange and murderous enemies on the other, the team pays a terrible price to become the trusted servants of their new rulers.Dafyd Alkhor is a simple man swept up in events that are beyond his control and more vast than his imagination. He will become the champion of humanity and its betrayer, the most hated man in history and the guardian of his people.This is where his story begins."Corey is always one of the most engaging voices in the genre." ― Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of Children of Time"A bang up read. I want more." ― Paolo Bacigalupi, author of The Water Knife"A powerful, provocative masterpiece that I will be thinking about for a very long time." ― Ryka Aoki, author of Light from Uncommon Stars

Now celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series!“Wild satire . . . The feckless protagonist, Arthur Dent, is reminiscent of Vonnegut heroes.”—Chicago TribuneThe unhappy inhabitants of planet Krikkit are sick of looking at the night sky above their heads—so they plan to destroy it. The universe, that is. Now only five individuals stand between the killer robots of Krikkit and their goal of total annihilation.They are Arthur Dent, a mild-mannered space and time traveler who tries to learn how to fly by throwing himself at the ground and missing; Ford Prefect, his best friend, who decides to go insane to see if he likes it; Slartibartfast, the indomitable vice president of the Campaign for Real Time, who travels in a ship powered by irrational behavior; Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed ex-president of the galaxy; and Trillian, the sexy space cadet who is torn between a persistent Thunder God and a very depressed Beeblebrox.How will it all end? Will it end? Only this stalwart crew knows as they try to avert “universal” Armageddon and save life as we know it—and don’t know it!“Adams is one of those rare treasures: an author who, one senses, has as much fun writing as one has reading.”—Arizona Daily Star

Revenant-X is the terrifying second novel in a new trilogy of survival and exploration in deep space, from Clarke Award-nominated author David Wellington. FEAR THE DARK. The crew of the Artemis - led by Firewatch agent Alexandra Petrova - have survived the furious onslaught of the Basilisk and broken through the space blockade around Paradise-1. Now they can pursue their original mission and investigate why Earth's first deep space colony has fallen silent. The answer seems obvious: the site is deserted. Or so they think. Some of the colonists remain. They're no longer human. Petrova and her crew now face a desperate struggle to survive as they attempt to uncover the mystery of what has befallen the colony. If they fail, the darkness that has fallen over Paradise-1 will consume them.

The modern classic of space opera that began with Children of Time continues in this extraordinary novel of humanity's battle for survival on a terraformed planet.Earth failed. In a desperate bid to escape, the spaceship Enkidu and its captain, Heorest Holt, carried its precious human cargo to a potential new paradise. Generations later, this fragile colony has managed to survive, eking out a hardy existence. Yet life is tough, and much technological knowledge has been lost.Then strangers appear. They possess unparalleled knowledge and thrilling technology – and they've arrived from another world to help humanity’s colonies. But not all is as it seems, and the price of the strangers' help may be the colony itself.Children of Memory by Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky is a far-reaching space opera spanning generations, species and galaxies.

Dive into the epic series featuring the brave warriors of Omega Squad—an elite team of clone commandos fighting to protect the Galactic Republic.Following the eruption of the bloody Clone Wars at the battle of Geonosis, both sides remain deadlocked in a stalemate that can be broken only by elite warrior teams like Omega Squad, clone commandos with terrifying combat skills and a lethal arsenal.For Omega Squad, deployed deep behind enemy lines, it’s the same old special ops grind: sabotage, espionage, ambush, and assassination. But when Omega Squad is rushed to Coruscant, the war’s most dangerous new hotspot, the commandos discover they’re not the only ones penetrating the heart of the enemy.A surge in Separatist attacks has been traced to a network of cells in the Republic’s capital, masterminded by a mole in Command Headquarters. To identify and destroy a Separatist spy and terror network in a city full of civilians will require special talents and skills. Not even the leadership of Jedi generals, along with the assistance of Delta Squad and a certain notorious ARC trooper, can even the odds against the Republic Commandos. And while success may not bring victory in the Clone Wars, failure means certain defeat.

The mystery of a missing translator sets three lives on a collision course that will have a ripple effect across the stars in this powerful novel from a Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author."There are few who write science fiction like Ann Leckie can. There are few who ever could." —John ScalziQven was created to be a Presger translator. The pride of their Clade, they always had a clear path before them: learn human ways, and eventually, make a match and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presger and the human worlds. The realization that they might want something else isn't "optimal behavior". It's the type of behavior that results in elimination.But Qven rebels. And in doing so, their path collides with those of two others. Enae, a reluctant diplomat whose dead grandmaman has left hir an impossible task as an inheritance: hunting down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. And Reet, an adopted mechanic who is increasingly desperate to learn about his genetic roots—or anything that might explain why he operates so differently from those around him.As a Conclave of the various species approaches—and the long-standing treaty between the humans and the Presger is on the line—the decisions of all three will have ripple effects across the stars.Masterfully merging space adventure and mystery, and a poignant exploration about relationships and belonging, Translation State is a triumphant new standalone story set in the celebrated Imperial Radch universe."Leckie’s humane, emotionally intelligent, and deeply perceptive writing makes this tautly plotted adventure feel fundamentally true while also offering longtime fans a much anticipated glimpse into the Radch’s most mysterious species. Readers will be thrilled." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)"Another of Leckie’s beautiful mergings of the political, philosophical, and personal." —Kirkus (starred review)

With refreshing determination and hopeful grit, humanity activates a bold endgame against an alien invasion in the finale of a series heralded as “a modern classic” (Stephen Baxter) from “one of the finest writers the genre has produced” (Gareth L. Powell). Humanity is struggling to hold out against a hostile takeover by an alien race that claims to be on a religious mission to bring all sentient life to its God at the End of Time. But while billions of cocooned humans fill the holds of the Olyix’s deadly arkships, humankind is playing an even longer game than the aliens may have anticipated. From an ultra-secret spy mission to one of the grandest battles ever seen, no strategy is off the table. Will a plan millennia in the making finally be enough to defeat this seemingly unstoppable enemy? And what secrets are the Olyix truly hiding in their most zealously protected stronghold? With his trademark optimism about humanity’s tenacity and capacity for greatness, Peter F. Hamilton wraps up this brilliant saga with a bang—and reminds us why freedom of choice is the most important freedom there is.

The biggest SF series of the decade comes to an incredible conclusion in the ninth and final novel in James S. A. Corey's Hugo Award-winning Expanse series. NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES FROM AMAZON PRIME HUGO AWARD WINNER FOR BEST SERIES 'Interplanetary adventure the way it ought to be written' George R. R. Martin The Laconian Empire has fallen, setting the thirteen hundred solar systems free from the rule of Winston Duarte. But the ancient enemy that killed the gate builders is awake, and the war against our universe has begun again. In the dead system of Adro, Elvi Okoye leads a desperate scientific mission to understand what the gate builders were and what destroyed them, even if it means compromising herself and the half-alien children who bear the weight of her investigation. Through the wide-flung systems of humanity, Colonel Aliana Tanaka hunts for Duarte's missing daughter. . . and the shattered emperor himself. And on the Rocinante, James Holden and his crew struggle to build a future for humanity out of the shards and ruins of all that has come before. As nearly unimaginable forces prepare to annihilate all human life, Holden and a group of unlikely allies discover a last, desperate chance to unite all of humanity, with the promise of a vast galactic civilization free from wars, factions, lies, and secrets if they win. But the price of victory may be worse than the cost of defeat. 'A thrill ride of a tale . . . This is a deeply satisfying and fitting conclusion to one of the best space opera series in many years' Booklist (starred review) The Expanse series: Leviathan Wakes Caliban's War Abaddon's Gate Cibola Burn Nemesis Games Babylon's Ashes Persepolis Rising Tiamat's Wrath Leviathan Falls Memory's Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection Praise for the Expanse: 'The science fictional equivalent of A Song of Ice and Fire' NPR Books 'As close as you'll get to a Hollywood blockbuster in book form' io9.com 'Great characters, excellent dialogue, memorable fights' wired.com 'High adventure equalling the best space opera has to offer, cutting-edge technology and a group of unforgettable characters . . . Perhaps one of the best tales the genre has yet to produce' Library Journal 'This is the future the way it's supposed to be' Wall Street Journal 'Tense and thrilling' SciFiNow

It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of a former penal colony on the Moon against its masters on the Earth. It is a tale of a culture whose family structures are based on the presence of two men for every woman, leading to novel forms of marriage and family. It is the story of the disparate people, a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic who become the movement's leaders, and of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to the revolt's inner circle, who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.

“Beautiful science fiction . . . The story of an extraterrestrial visitor from another planet is deigned mainly to say something about life on this one.”—The New York Times“Those who know The Man Who Fell to Earth only from the film version are missing something. This is one of the finest science fiction novels of its period.”—J.R. Dunn, author of Full Tide of NightT. J. Newton is an extraterrestrial who goes to Earth on a desperate mission of mercy. But instead of aid, Newton discovers loneliness and despair that ultimately ends in tragedy.Praise for The Man Who Fell to Earth“An utterly realistic novel about an alien human on Earth . . . Realistic enough to become a metaphor for something inside us all, some existential loneliness.”—Norman Spinrad“Tevis writes . . . with power and poetry and tension.”—The Washington Post Book World“Terrific . . . The Man Who Fell to Earth can be seen as the story of a very hip, space-age Passion—about a savior who comes to Earth not to save us but hos own people and who is, in effect, crucified dead and buried.”—Vincent Canby