Series

Books like Riverworld: 9 series to read next

Riverworld is science fiction, about faith and religion, set in far future and other star systems. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

Riverworld is 37 books, 1965–1993.

“The Riverworld is an artificial, or heavily terraformed, planet where all humans who ever lived throughout history have been resurrected.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

The Riverworld page →Narrow this list →

Dune
Known Space
Heechee
Ender's Game
Hainish
Well World
Academy / Priscilla (Hutch) Hutchins
Foundation
Old Man's War

DuneUniverse

universe78 books1963

Science fiction and space opera, about political intrigue, set in far future and other star systems.

“The desert planet, where empire runs on a single substance: the spice melange, which folds space, prolongs life, and unlocks prescience, and which exists nowhere else in the known universe.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Dune →

Known SpaceUniverse

universe142 books1964

Science fiction, about aliens, set in far future and other star systems.

“Give a clever species a few centuries and a working fusion drive, and it will fill the sky with problems.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

HeecheeSeries

seriesFrederik Pohl19 books1972

About space exploration.

“The Heechee are an advanced alien race that visited the Solar System hundreds of millennia ago and then mysteriously disappeared.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Gateway →

Ender's GameUniverse

universe39 books1977

Science fiction, set in far future.

“To beat your enemy you must first understand him so completely that you love him — and in the instant you love him, you destroy him.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

HainishSeries

seriesUrsula K. Le Guin33 books1964

Science fiction, reflective in tone, set in far future and other star systems.

“The Hainish Cycle consists of a number of science fiction novels and stories by Ursula K. Le Guin.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Rocannon's World →

Well WorldSeries

seriesJack L. Chalker & David Boop11 books1977

Science fiction and space opera, set in far future and other star systems.

Start with Permutations: A Well World Anthology →

Academy / Priscilla (Hutch) HutchinsSeries

seriesJack McDevitt16 books1983

About space exploration.

“Beginning with The Engines of God, the series treats deep time and the near-total absence of intelligent alien life as its central mystery, favoring slow-burn discovery over action.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The Engines of God →

FoundationUniverse

universe123 books1940

About robots.

“There is a science that reads the future of quadrillions the way an astronomer reads the orbits of stars.”
from the catalogue description

Start with Foundation →

Old Man's WarSeries

seriesJohn Scalzi16 books2005

Military science fiction.

“Sign a document at 65, saying you intend to join up 10 years later.”
from the catalogue description
Wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

Start with Old Man's War →

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 Riverworld?: Dune — the closest match to Riverworld on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with Riverworld?: River of Eternity. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for Riverworld.
How big is Riverworld?: Riverworld is 37 books, 1965–1993.

Books like Riverworld: 9 series to read next

Read next in Riverworld

Why these

Questions readers ask

Other series like this one