Universe

Books like The Zoo: 9 series to read next

The Zoo is science fiction and space opera, set in far future and our world. The 9 series below are ranked by how much of that they share — each card says which parts.

The Zoo is 56 books across 8 series, 2018–2022.

“Something is growing in the Sahara, and it is not supposed to be there.”
from the catalogue description

The The Zoo page →Narrow this list →

Ender's Game
Alliance-Union
Dune
Known Space
Old Man's War
Honorverse
H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds
Heaven Chronicles / Zones of Thought
The Culture

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 →

Alliance-UnionUniverse

universe173 books1976

Science fiction, set in far future.

“Around that spine cluster the merchanter novels of trader Families, the Faded Sun trilogy of human envoys among the martial alien Mri, and the Chanur books, narrated from the hierarchical, whiskered viewpoint of the hani.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

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 space.

“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 →

Old Man's WarSeries

seriesJohn Scalzi16 books2005

Science fiction and military science fiction, adventurous in tone, about war, set in far future and space.

“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 →

HonorverseUniverse

universe83 books1993

Science fiction and space opera, set in far future and space.

“At the center stands one officer, Honor Harrington — captain, then something far larger — and the six-limbed empathic treecat who rides her shoulder.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

H. G. Wells' War of the WorldsUniverse

universe65 books1898

Alien invasion.

“No one would have believed, in the closing years of the nineteenth century, that human affairs were being watched keenly and closely from the timeless worlds of space.”
from the catalogue description

Start with The War of the Worlds →

Heaven Chronicles / Zones of ThoughtSeries

seriesJoan D. Vinge & Vernor Vinge8 books1976

Science fiction and space opera, set in far future and space.

Reading order →

The CultureUniverse

universe21 books1987

Set in galactic scale.

“No money, no laws, no hunger, no death you didn't choose; a galaxy-spanning anarchy of humans and drones administered, gently and with enormous irony, by superintelligent Minds who name their warships things like *Frank Exchange Of Views*.”
from the catalogue description

Reading order →

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 The Zoo?: Ender's Game — the closest match to The Zoo on what it is about, not on what sells.
Where do I start with The Zoo?: He Was Not Prepared. It is the entry the catalogue recommends for The Zoo, which is a whole world rather than one run.
How big is The Zoo?: The Zoo is 56 books across 8 series, 2018–2022.

Books like The Zoo: 9 series to read next

Read next in The Zoo

Why these

Questions readers ask

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