Others: Positive If you ask, she must answer. A steerswoman's knowledge is shared with any who request it; no steerswoman may refuse a question, and no steerswoman may answer with anything but the truth. And if she asks, you must answer. It is the other side of tradition's contract -- and if you refuse the question, or lie, no steerswoman will ever again answer even your most casual question. And so, the steerswomen — always seeking, always investigating — have gathered more and more knowledge about the world they traveled, and they share that knowledge freely. Until the day that the steerswoman Rowan begins asking innocent questions about one small, lovely, inexplicable object… Her discoveries grow stranger and deeper, and more dangerous, until suddenly she finds she must flee or fight for her life. Or worse -- lie. Because one kind of knowledge has always been denied the steerswomen: Magic. The first book in the series and a great start. These books are ones that I read when I want to renew my love for science and discovery.
Genres: fantasy, science fiction
Lists: …
Becky Chambers
2021 · 160 pages · 30 reviews
Others: Mostly positiveIt's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend. One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They're going to need to ask it a lot. Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?
What made the match, strongest first
Greg Bear
1985 · 508 pages · 5 reviews
Others: Mostly negative"Perhaps it wasn't from our time, perhaps it wasn't even from our universe, but perhaps the arrival of the 300 km long stone was the answer to humanity's desperate plea to end the threat of nuclear war. Inside the deep recesses of the stone lies Thistledown: the remnants of a human society, versed in English, Russian and Chinese. The artifacts of this familiar people foretell a great Death caused by the ravages of war, but the government and scientists are unable to decide how to use this knowledge. Deeper still within the stone is the Way. For some the Way means salvation from death, for others it is a parallel world where loved ones live again. But, unlike Thistledown, the Way is not entirely dead, and the inhabitants hold the knowledge of a present war, over a million miles away, using weapons far more deadly than any that mankind has ever conceived. "
What made the match, strongest first
Ursula K. Le Guin
1974 · 339 pages · 12 reviews
Others: Mostly positiveShevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. He will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.
What made the match, strongest first
Pat Murphy
1986 · 287 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveElizabeth Waters is an archeologist who can see 'shadows' of the past, something she keeps a secret and that's both a blessing in that it points her towards archeological discoveries, and a curse that has her sometimes doubting her sanity. On an archeological dig in an ancient Maya site in the Yucatan, the 'ghost' of an Maya priestess communicates with Elizabeth. When Elizabeth's estranged daughter arrives on the scene, both are pulled into the supernatural world of ancient Maya magic. 1988 Nebula Award winning novel.
What made the match, strongest first
N.K. Jemisin
2017 · 464 pages · 10 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveHumanity will finally be saved or destroyed in the shattering conclusion to the post-apocalyptic and highly acclaimed NYT bestselling trilogy that won the Hugo Award three years in a row. The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women. Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe. For Nassun, her mother's mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed.
What made the match, strongest first
C.J. Cherryh
1981 · 436 pages · 7 reviews
Others: Mostly positiveFrom back cover Daw paperback February 1981: Pell's Star occupied the central spot in the coming conflict between Earth's tired stellar empire and the tough onslaught of its rebellious colonies. Whoever controlled Pell's Downbelow station held the key to Earth's defensive perimeter -- or the jumping off point for a Terrestrial offensive to regain the lost empire. But Pell had always been neutral and was determined to remain so. This is a powerful, complex, and enthralling novel of interstellar conflict and ambitions. In its pages you will meet and strive with many vivid persons, human and non-human, who futures would hang on the outcome of that titanic struggle.
What made the match, strongest first
Loved itI think this book was published all the way back in the 1980s and when you first start reading it seems like it's a fantasy world I mean dragons are mentioned but this very clearly is a science fictional world that just appears to be fantasy
