More like The Ascension Factor

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PandoraSeries
series4 books1966
Science fiction, about artificial intelligence and survival, set in far future and other star systems.
“The Pandora Sequence opens with Frank Herbert's solo novel Destination: Void, in which a starship crew must jury-rig a working artificial consciousness after their vessel's control systems fail.”
from the catalogue
Start with Destination: Void →
DuneUniverse
universe78 books1963
Space opera.
“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
Start with Dune →
includes Dune, Dune Prequels, Heroes of Dune, Dune Sequels, Background of the Dune Universe
The Stars My DestinationNovel
Alfred Besterstandalone novel1956
Space opera, about revenge and identity, set in space.
The Status CivilizationNovel
Robert Sheckleystandalone novel1960
Dystopia, about prison escape and amnesia.
“On Omega, his only chance to advance himself -- and stay alive -- is to commit an endless series of violent crimes.”
from the catalogue
The Dosadi ExperimentNovel
Frank Herbertstandalone novel1977
Space opera, tense in tone, about aliens.
“Dosadi is rumored to be an experimental planet, and the experimenters are the froglike Gowachin, whose culture is founded upon a strange legal system in which McKie is the only human ever trained.”
from the catalogue
The City in the Middle of the NightNovel
Charlie Jane Andersstandalone novel2019
Dystopia, about ecological collapse and aliens, set in big city.
“The main story focuses on two characters whose actions take them outside of the cities.”
from the catalogue