Broken Earth, Book 1
by N. K. Jemisin
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“For good reason! And for the love of stones and stories, read these incredible books, if you haven't yet.”
Source →Recommended by 3 notable people, including Cleo Abram and Sahil Lavingia
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Amazon availability
See customer reviews on Amazon →Recommended by 4 sources and appears in Science Fiction, Most Recommended Books, and Science Fiction.
Original cover edition here THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS. AGAIN.Three terrible things happen in a single day.Essun, masquerading as an ordinary schoolteacher in a quiet small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Mighty Sanze, the empire whose innovations have been civilization's b...
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Why recommended
Recommended by 4 sources and appears in Science Fiction, Most Recommended Books, and Science Fiction.
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Sahil Lavingia
founder and CEO of Gumroad
“For good reason! And for the love of stones and stories, read these incredible books, if you haven't yet.”
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Consider The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu. Recommended by 24 sources.
“This novel starts as a mystery rooted in a woman’s tragic experience during China’s Cultural Revolution, then spirals into a high-concept alien contact story built on intricate physics and game theory. The useful part lies in its audacious imagination: a three-body solar system, a virtual reality game, and a shocking revelation about humanity’s place in the universe. The limiting part may be its cold, analytical style and flat characters; emotion takes a backseat to ideas, and the scientific digressions can feel like lectures. It’s a slow burn that rewards intellectual curiosity but might alienate those craving warmth or narrative immediacy.”
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.