Universe
Books like Foundation: 9 series to read next
Foundation is science fiction and time travel, about robots and political intrigue, set in our world. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.
Foundation is 123 books across 16 series, 1940–2016.
“There is a science that reads the future of quadrillions the way an astronomer reads the orbits of stars.”
from the catalogue description
- Dune
- Hyperion
- The Culture
- Uplift
- Ender's Game
- Known Space
- Old Man's War
- Alliance-Union
- The Saga of Seven Suns Universe
- DuneUniverse
universe78 books1963
Loreful pick
The same fall-of-empire question answered with ecology and prophecy instead of statistics.
matchedscience fictionfar futurespace operapolitical intrigueother star systems
- HyperionUniverse
universe6 books1989
Loreful pick
Centuries-spanning future history told as a mosaic of voices — Foundation's structure, with a novelist's range.
matchedscience fictionfar futurespace operaartificial intelligenceother star systemsmultiple povspace
- The CultureUniverse
universe21 books1987
Loreful pick
The benevolent-planners premise taken to its limit, and then interrogated rather than admired.
matchedscience fictionspace operafar futureartificial intelligencegalactic scale
- UpliftUniverse
universe13 books1980
Loreful pick
Big-idea galactic civilisation with deep time and older powers, in the same explain-the-machinery register.
matchedadventurousscience fictionfar futurespace operaaliensother star systemsspace
- Ender's GameUniverse
universe39 books1977
Loreful pick
Also built on the conceit that one very clever mind can bend a civilisation's whole trajectory.
matchedscience fictionfar future
- Known SpaceUniverse
universe142 books1964
Science fiction, about aliens, set in far future and other star systems.
matchedscience fictionfar futurealiensother star systemsspace
- Old Man's WarSeries
seriesJohn Scalzi16 books2005
Military science fiction, about war.
matchedadventurousscience fictionfar futurespace operaother star systemsspace
- Alliance-UnionUniverse
universe173 books1976
Science fiction, set in far future.
matchedscience fictionfar future
seriesKevin J. Anderson16 books2002
About war.
matchedtenseadventurousscience fictionfar futurespace operaaliensgalactic scale
Read next in Foundation
Why these
No sales rank, no star ratings, no readers also bought.
Shared terms are not a promise that a book feels the same. Two series can be far-future political intrigue and read nothing alike — what the ranking can say is what they are about, and each card says which parts it shares.
Questions readers ask
- What should I read after Foundation?
- Dune. The same fall-of-empire question answered with ecology and prophecy instead of statistics.
- Where do I start with Foundation?
- Foundation. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Foundation, which is a whole world rather than one run.
- How big is Foundation?
- Foundation is 123 books across 16 series, 1940–2016.