The Best In Near Future / Speculative Fiction
Explore the best near-future and speculative fiction books that imagine tomorrow's world. Discover gripping stories of advanced tech, dystopian societies, and visionary futures.
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Weapons of Choice
by John Birmingham
On the eve of America’s greatest victory in the Pacific, a catastrophic event disrupts the course of World War II, forever changing the rules of combat. . . . The impossible has spawned the unthinkable. A military experiment in the year 2021 has thrust an American-led multinational armada back to 1942, right into the middle of the U.S. naval task force speeding toward Midway Atoll—and what was to be the most spectacular U.S. triumph of the entire war. Thousands died in the chaos, but the ripples had only begun. For these veterans of Pearl Harbor—led by Admirals Nimitz, Halsey, and Spruance—have never seen a helicopter, or a satellite link, or a nuclear weapon. And they’ve never encountered an African American colonel or a British naval commander who was a woman and half-Pakistani. While they embrace the armada’s awesome firepower, they may find the twenty-first century sailors themselves far from acceptable. Initial jubilation at news the Allies would win the war is quickly doused by the chilling realization that the time travelers themselves—by their very presence—have rendered history null and void. Celebration turns to dread when the possibility arises that other elements of the twenty-first century task force may have also made the trip—and might now be aiding Yamamoto and the Japanese. What happens next is anybody’s guess—and everybody’s nightmare. . . .
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Final Impact
by John Birmingham
“The action is nonstop, the characters very real—and very different from each other—and, to coin a phrase, it makes you think.”—S. M. Stirling, author of Island in the Sea of Time In the year 2021, a multinational fleet—experimenting with untested weapons technology—pitched through time, crash-landing in 1942. The world is thrown into chaos as Roosevelt, Hitler, Churchill, Tojo, and Stalin scramble to adapt to new, high-tech killing tools, and twenty-first-century ways of war. For “uptimers” like Britain’s Prince Harry and the men and women who serve aboard the supercarrier USS Hillary Clinton, war is a constant struggle with their own downtime allies, who are mired in ignorance and bigotry. As the Allies counter the Nazi assault and set off for the coast of France, Japan begins to buckle, soon every battle will be played out in a lethal dance of might and intelligence, unholy alliances and desperate gambles, and each clash will be fought with the ultimate weapon; knowledge from the future. Thanks to the historical records, all sides know that two superpowers will emerge while the losers will be pounded into submission. But time has shifted on its axis, so none know who will survive or how peace will take hold in a world turned upside down. These are the questions that John Birmingham brilliantly answers in his critically acclaimed adventure of war and imagination.
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The Truth Machine
by James L. Halperin
Prepare to have your conception of truth rocked to its very foundation. It is the year 2004. Violent crime is the number one political issue in America. Now, the Swift and Sure Anti-Crime Bill guarantees a previously convicted violent criminal one fair trial, one quick appeal, then immediate execution. To prevent abuse of the law, a machine must be built that detects lies with 100 percent accuracy. Once perfected, the Truth Machine will change the face of the world. Yet the race to finish the Truth Machine forces one man to commit a shocking act of treachery, burdening him with a dark secret that collides with everything he believes in. Now he must conceal the truth from his own creation . . . or face his execution. By turns optimistic and chilling--and always profound--The Truth Machine is nothing less than a history of the future, a spellbinding chronicle that resonates with insight, wisdom . . . and astounding possibility. "PROFOUND." --Associated Press
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The First Immortal
by James L. Halperin
“[James Halperin] plots the book with thoroughness and imagination. . . . Innovative.”—Publishers Weekly In 1988, Benjamin Smith suffers a massive heart attack. But he will not die. A pioneering advocate of the infant science of cryonics, he has arranged to have his body frozen until the day when humanity will possess the knowledge, the technology, and the courage to revive him. Yet when Ben resumes life after a frozen interval of eighty-three years, the world is altered beyond recognition. Thanks to cutting-edge science, eternal youth is universally available and the perfection of cloning gives humanity the godlike power to re-create living beings from a single cell. As Ben and his family are resurrected in the mid-twenty-first century, they experience a complex reunion that reaches through generations—and discover that the deepest ethical dilemmas of humankind remain their greatest challenge. . . . “[A] gripping story.”—United Press International
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Fatherland
by Robert Harris
The New York Times bestselling classic of alternate history, a murder mystery set in a world where the Nazis won World War II—for fans of The Plot Against America and The Man in the High Castle Berlin, 1964. The Greater German Reich stretches from the Rhine to the Urals, and keeps an uneasy peace with its nuclear rival, the United States. As the Fatherland prepares for a grand celebration honoring Adolf Hitler’s seventy-fifth birthday and anticipates a conciliatory visit from U.S. president Joseph Kennedy and ambassador Charles Lindbergh, a detective of the Kriminalpolizei is called out to investigate the discovery of a dead body in a lake near Berlin’s most prestigious suburb. But when Xavier March discovers the identity of the body, he also uncovers signs of a conspiracy that could go to the very top of the German Reich. And, with the Gestapo just one step behind, March, together with the American journalist Charlotte Maguire, is caught up in a race to discover and reveal the truth—a truth that has already killed, a truth that could topple governments, a truth that will change history. Praise for Fatherland “A singular achievement displaying original and carefully wrought suspense . . . Fatherland easily transcends convention.”—The Washington Post “A solid thriller, vividly imagined and genuinely frightening.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “Ingenious . . . a triumph . . . suspenseful and elegant.”—San Francisco Chronicle “A dazzler . . . fast-paced . . . Historical fact is blended skillfully with fiction.”—Detroit Free Press “Absorbing . . . expertly written.”—The New York Times Book Review “Truly captivating.”—Robert Ludlum “A strong premise for a police thriller with rich foreign atmosphere and political texture galore? Absolutely!”—Entertainment Weekly “A sly and scary page-turner.”—Los Angeles Times “A well-plotted, well-written detective tale and a fascinating trek through parallel history.”—Chicago Tribune “Fatherland works on all levels. It’s a triumph.”—The Washington Times “Distinguished by vivid details based on impeccable research, the thriller is a crackling-good read in the le Carré tradition.”—Time “Wonderful.”—Newsday “A gripping detective story as well as a chilling visit to the Germany that might have been. It is so plausibly written it seems quite real. Robert Harris is a name to watch for.”—BookPage
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Firestar
by Michael F. Flynn
In the 21st Century, a woman philanthropist launches a private space program aimed at developing new technologies to improve life on Earth. But as with every innovation, this one steps on some people's toes and they resort to violence to stop her. A work of imagination in space technologies.
