Books like

Books like A Scanner Darkly

12 books with a reading profile close to A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick. Deep, open-ended and thought-provoking; a moderate read.

1

The Book of Strange New Things

by Michel Faber

Also deep and open-ended · philosophy, science fiction

Peter Leigh, a dedicated Christian pastor, leaves his wife Beatrice on a crumbling, disaster-stricken Earth to travel to the planet Oasis.
2

Machines like Me

by Ian McEwan

Also deep and open-ended · philosophy, science fiction

In a version of 1982 where Britain lost the Falklands War, Alan Turing is alive and artificial intelligence has advanced a long way.
3

The Lathe of Heaven

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Also deep and thought-provoking · philosophy, science fiction

George Orr lives in a future Portland where his dreams physically alter reality.
4

Roadside Picnic

by Arkady Strugatsky

Also deep · philosophy, science fiction

The narrative follows Redrick Schuhart, a professional stalker who illegally ventures into the Zone, one of several locations on Earth littered with mysterious debris following a brief extraterrestrial visit.
5

Frankissstein

by Jeanette Winterson

Also deep and open-ended · philosophy, science fiction

The narrative follows two parallel timelines.
6

The Invention of Morel

by Adolfo Bioy Casares, Jorge Luis Borges

Also deep and open-ended · philosophy, science fiction

A fugitive on a remote, deserted island discovers he is not alone, but rather surrounded by a group of people who seem to be caught in a perpetual, unchangeable loop of their past.
7

Solaris

by Stanisław Lem

Also deep and open-ended · philosophy, science fiction

Psychologist Kris Kelvin arrives at a research station hovering above Solaris, a planet entirely covered by a sentient, gelatinous ocean.
8

Exhalation

by Ted Chiang

Also deep and open-ended · philosophy, science fiction

Exhalation is a collection of nine speculative stories that grapple with entropy, memory, and the mechanics of reality.
9

Stories of Your Life and Others

by Ted Chiang

Also deep and open-ended · philosophy, science fiction

Ted Chiang’s debut collection contains eight stories rooted in scientific inquiry and rigorous logic.
10

Watchmen

by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons

Also deep and open-ended · philosophy, science fiction

Set in an alternate 1985 where costumed vigilantes are real and Richard Nixon remains President, the narrative begins with the murder of Edward Blake, known as the Comedian.
11

Einstein’s Dreams

by Alan Lightman

Also deep and open-ended · philosophy, science fiction

Set in Bern, Switzerland, in 1905, this novel presents a series of thirty fictional dreams experienced by a young Albert Einstein while he works as a patent clerk.
12

The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Also deep and open-ended · philosophy, science fiction

Genly Ai arrives on the frozen planet Gethen as an envoy representing the Ekumen, a coalition of human worlds.

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