Books like “Dune”

What to read after “Dune” by Frank Herbert: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
Foundation
Isaac Asimov · 1951
From the same world: “Space Opera”
- Space Opera
- Prophecy
As the Galactic Empire begins to decay, mathematician Hari Seldon foresees thirty thousand years of chaos. To shorten the coming dark age he gathers scholars on the remote world Terminus, where the Foundation must survive plots, warlords and its own predictions.
2
Ancillary Justice
Ann Leckie · 2013
From the same world: “Space Opera”
A soldier who was once a starship's artificial intelligence wakes in a single human body. Cut off from her many selves, she crosses a collapsing empire to find the officer who destroyed everything she was, and to settle a debt of revenge.
3
Hyperion
Dan Simmons · 1989
From the same world: “Space Opera”
- Space Opera
On the eve of war, seven pilgrims travel to the planet Hyperion to seek the Shrike, a deadly creature of legend. Each tells the story of what brought them there, and their tales circle the fate that awaits them at the Time Tombs.
4
The Collapsing Empire
John Scalzi · 2017
From the same world: “Space Opera”
- Space Opera
- Rebellion
The Interdependency is bound together by the Flow, a network of routes that made the empire rich. When a scientist proves the Flow is shifting, an heir to the throne must hold together feuding houses before trade and power collapse.
5
The Stars My Destination
Alfred Bester · 1956
From the same world: “Space Opera”
Gully Foyle survives a wrecked spaceship and swears revenge on the vessel that left him for dead. His hunt across a future where people can teleport by thought turns him into a wealthy, dangerous man chasing a weapon that could end the war.
6
A Fire Upon the Deep
Vernor Vinge · 1992
From the same world: “Space Opera”
- Space Opera
In a galaxy where thought and technology work differently at its edges, a human expedition releases an ancient menace from a lost archive. Two children stranded on a medieval world and a crew racing to stop the Blight are drawn into the same crisis.
7
Gateway
Frederik Pohl · 1977
From the same world: “Space Opera”
- Space Opera
Prospectors ride alien ships left behind at Gateway, gambling their lives on unknown destinations in search of fortune. A miner haunted by his past signs on for one more trip, and the station's robot therapist records the fears he cannot voice.
8
Rebel of the Sands
Alwyn Hamilton · 2016
Similar setting: “Desert World”
- Desert World
- Rebellion
Amani Al'Hiza lives in Dustwalk, a dead-end desert town, and hides two things: she can shoot like a legend, and she is half djinn. Refusing a blackmail marriage and a future in Dustwalk, she disguises herself and joins a stranger heading into the desert, where a rebellion is gathering.
9
Schismatrix
Bruce Sterling · 1985
From the same world: “Space Opera”
- Space Opera
- Morally Grey Character
Abelard Lindsay is a trained diplomat moving between two posthuman factions, the Shapers and the Mechanists, as humanity spreads across space. His long career of alliances and betrayals carries him across a changing solar system.
10
Old Man's War
John Scalzi · 2005
From the same world: “Space Opera”
- Space Opera
At seventy-five, John Perry joins the Colonial Defense Forces, leaving Earth for a new body and a war among the stars. What begins as a chance at a second life becomes a fight to understand the colonies, the enemy and what he is fighting for.
11
A Memory Called Empire
Arkady Martine · 2019
From the same world: “Space Opera”
- Space Opera
Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives at the heart of the Teixcalaanli Empire to replace a predecessor who died under unclear circumstances. Guided by his recorded memories, she must survive court politics, assassins, and a capital that hides its own plans.
12
The Quantum Thief
Hannu Rajaniemi · 2010
From the same world: “Space Opera”
- Space Opera
Jean le Flambeur is a thief imprisoned in a city where residents trade their memories and time. He is offered his freedom if he can pull off one more impossible heist, with a warrior from a distant society watching his every move.