Since its publication in 1965, Frank Herbert's Dune has captured the imagination of readers and spawned multiple sequels by the author and his son and various film and TV adaptations. With the second part of Denis Villeneuve's film adaptation out in theaters, there is renewed interest in the Hugo Award-winning novel. The desert tale of empire versus resistance, and mysticism versus science can be a dense read but we have recommendations if you're looking for something in the same vein. Check out these books for readers of Dune looking for something similar or for those who are interested in dipping their toes into the space opera pool.
Before we get to the recommendations, we'd be remiss in not mentioning that some critics and readers consider Dune to have some unpalatable themes like colonialism, white saviorism, and eugenics. There has been a lot written about these concepts in relation to the work, but here are some selected articles for further reading:
- "Maybe Dune, a Story about a White Superman Created by a Eugenics Program, is Not the Film We Need Right Now" by Paul D. Sturtevant of The Public Medievalist
- "Why It’s Important to Consider Whether Dune Is a White Savior Narrative" by Emmet Asher-Perrin at Reactor, formerly Tor.com
- "The Muslimness of Dune: A Close Reading of “Appendix II: The Religion of Dune”" by Haris Durrani at Reactor, formerly Tor.com
|
|
Dawn
by Octavia E. Butler When Lilith lyapo wakes from a centuries-long sleep, she finds herself aboard the vast spaceship of the Oankali. She discovers that the Oankali--a seemingly benevolent alien race--intervened in the fate of the humanity hundreds of years ago, saving everyone who survived a nuclear war from a dying, ruined Earth and then putting them into a deep sleep. After learning all they could about Earth and its beings, the Oankali healed the planet, cured cancer, increased human strength, and they now want Lilith to lead her people back to Earth--but salvation comes at a price. |
|
|
Foreigner
by C. J. Cherryh Two hundred years after a group of humans had lost a war to the atevi, Bren Cameron, the only human allowed into the atevi society, realizes that he must forge a bond between the two seemingly incompatible species. |
|
|
The unbroken
by C. L. Clark Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought. Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet's edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne. Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren't for sale. |
|
|
Nova
by Samuel R. Delany Delany's classic work of science fiction chronicles the intergalactic adventures of Mouse, an itinerant minstrel, and intrepid spaceship Captain Lorq Von Ray, as they set out to journey through the core of a recently imploded sun. |
|
|
The last watch
by J. S. Dewes "The Divide. It's the edge of the universe. Now it's collapsing-and taking everyone and everything with it. At the Divide, Adequin Rake commands the Argus. She has no resources, no comms-nothing, except for the soldiers that no one wanted. Her ace in thehole could be Cavalon Mercer--genius, asshole, and exiled prince who nuked his grandfather's genetics facility for "reasons." She knows they're humanity's last chance" |
|
|
This is how you lose the time war
by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone Two time-traveling agents from warring futures, working their way through the past, begin to exchange letters and soon fall in love, even though the discovery of their bond could mean death for each of them. |
|
|
Nophek gloss
by Essa Hansen "Caiden's planet is destroyed. His family gone. And, his only hope for survival is a crew of misfit aliens and a mysterious ship that seems to have a soul and a universe of its own. Together they will show him that the universe is much bigger, much more advanced, and much more mysterious than Caiden had ever imagined. But the universe hides dangers as well, and soon Caiden has his own plans. He vows to do anything it takes to get revenge on the slavers who murdered his people and took away his home. To destroy their regime, he must infiltrate and dismantle them from the inside, or die trying" |
|
|
The fifth season
by N. K Jemisin ADULT SCIENCE FICTION. A first entry in a new trilogy by the award-winning author of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms finds the sole continent of the earth threatened by murder, betrayal, a super-volcano and overlords who use the planet's power as a weapon. |
|
|
Ancillary justice
by Ann Leckie Now isolated in a single frail human body, Breq, an artificial intelligence that used to control of a massive starship and its crew of soldiers, tries to adjust to her new humanity while seeking vengeance and answers to her questions. |
|
|
Ninefox gambit
by Yoon Ha Lee Given the opportunity to redeem herself for past crimes, Captain Kel Cheris is tasked with retaking the Fortress of Scattered Needles, a star fortress under the control of heretics, a mission that requires her to partner with an untrustworthy ally. |
|
|
The left hand of darkness
by Ursula K. Le Guin A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose - and change - their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters. Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction. |
|
|
The first sister : a novel
by Linden A. Lewis A Sisterhood priestess whose soldiers own the rights to her body confronts a difficult choice between duty and her heart, while an elite Venus soldier questions his allegiances when he is ordered to kill his former partner. 100,000 first printing. |
|
|
The three-body problem
by Cixin Liu With the scope of Dune and the commercial action of Independence Day, this near-future trilogy is the first chance for English-speaking readers to experience this multiple-award-winning phenomenom from China's most beloved science fiction author. Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision. |
|
|
A memory called empire
by Arkady Martine Taking over for an ambassador who died a suspicious death, Mahit Dzmare investigates the potential murder while navigating the alien culture of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire, which is hiding a technological secret that could impact the universe. |
|
|
Empire of silence
by Christopher Ruocchio It was not his war. On the wrong planet, at the right time, for the best reasons, Hadrian Marlowe started down a path that could only end in fire. The galaxy remembers him as a hero: the man who burned every last alien Cielcin from the sky. They rememberhim as a monster: the devil who destroyed a sun, casually annihilating four billion human lives--even the Emperor himself--against Imperial orders. But Hadrian was not a hero. He was not a monster. He was not even a soldier. Fleeing his father and a future as a torturer, Hadrian finds himself stranded on a strange, backwater world. Forced to fight as a gladiator and into the intrigues of a foreign planetary court, he will find himself fight a war he did not start, for an Empire he does not love, against an enemy he will never understand. |
|
|
The collapsing empire
by John Scalzi When humanity discovers the existence of an extra-dimensional field capable of transporting travelers to different worlds instantly, a significantly depopulated Earth is threatened by a disturbing finding that the field is unstable. |
|
|
Hyperion
by Dan Simmons An account of six tales from seven desperate travelers as they make a pilgrimage to Hyperion to seek out one the most terrifying monsters ever created in fiction, the Shrike. They all have various reasons to risk their lives, and all hold the belief that whoever survives the Shrike, one prayer will be granted. |
|
|
Children of time
by Adrian Tchaikovsky The inhabitants of a dying Earth set out to take refuge on a terraformed planet, but this planet's life progression has rendered it mankind's worst nightmare, and these two civilizations find themselves on a collision course. |