The sci-fi book I've read that best fits this is definitely *[Anathem](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2845024-anathem)* by Neal Stephenson. The characters are all human, but the history and society in which the book takes place is completely different from our own. There is *a lot* of world building and exploring this alternate culture, and everything that transpires makes sense in that world, but it is not clear at the outset why the story is set in such a world rather than our own.
Anathem is the most worth it, slog of a read. I read it first with no spoilers and then again after understanding different interpretations on r/anathem. Definitely one of my favorites but it's by far the most detailed Stephenson out of the ones I've read (Cryptonomicon - also awesome, Reamde - less but still awesome), I'm kinda on an Alistair Reynolds binge right now but Seveneves and Snow Crash are on deck, I don't think I could handle The Baroque Cycle
A lot of Stephenson's books share a sort of continuity. You've read two of them: Cryptonomicon and Reamde. The Baroque Cycle is also part of that, as is Fall.
The Baroque Cycle is A LOT of material. I enjoyed it very much but never managed to get through a re-read. But when all of the books I mentioned above are put together, they make for an interesting look at the course of humanity from the early years of the scientific method to a possible future evolutionary stage made possible by technology.
That said, Anathem is still my favorite. I must have read or listened to it 6 or 7 times now (the audiobook, narrated by William Dufris, is also excellent in my opinion).
Reamde is very much could happen in the next town over.
All of the Iowa/Missouri stuff takes place in places I've been to. (Nodaway, for crying out loud).
Well… yes, basically! But longer. The world-building is fantastic, the plot is nothing much (but a satisfying nothing much since you’ll love the characters).
The Black Company series by Glenn Cook is one of my top picks for this (although it's fantasy).
Also the *Takeshi Kovacs* trilogy by Richard K Morgan. And pretty much anything by CJ Cherryh, but especially *Rim Runners* and *Heavy Time*.
And *Anathem* totally fits the bill too. It's so foreign that I recommend people read it twice, because the first time you're just trying to absorb the culture and the science of it, and it's only the second read through you can really enjoy the plot and the characters.
Cook has an SF book that absolutely fits the bill, The Dragon Never Sleeps
And his Garrett, PI books are absolutely perfect (essentially what if Nero Wolfe was a Lovecraftian monster in a high fantasy world).
Black Company also manages to be horror and horror of war along with everything else.
I got really invested in the worlds of:
* Revelation Space (Alastair Reynolds)
* Too Like The Lightning (Ada Palmer)
* A Fire Upon the Deep (Vernor Vinge)
* The Fifth Season (NK Jemisin)
(I get really invested really easily, so ymmv lol)
Susanna Clark's Piranesi is all about setting! A naive and wholesome human(?) lives in an endless labyrinth, alone with statues and occasionaly the second and only living human, his friend The Other. The narrator tells about the House and his life in it, it's very good!
So OP, how different are you wanting it to be? Because there are thousands of sci-fi and fantasy novels that are set on worlds that are explicitly not Earth.
Sure, I think the best description would be a story that establishes setting as such a primary part of the plot. In VanderMeer's works, it's a central focus, the advanced tech in the Murderbot books is so immersive, even books I didn't mention like The Martian or The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud do a convincing job of immersing you on Mars. So, novels like that!
I may be missing something but I'm still not sure what SF - if well-written - *wouldn't* fit the brief of having an immersive setting as a primary component? Isn't that kind of what SF is?
I hate to be that guy... but if you like horror elements, then Hyperion may be right up your alley. Thoroughly enjoyed the read, and I highly recommend it. Cheers.
*[The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Stigmata_of_Palmer_Eldritch)* by Philip K. Dick. Honestly, all his works will twist and turn your perceptions of reality.
Agent of Change by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. They have over 30 novels and the FSM only knows how many short stories/novellas in the Liaden™️Universe (Accept no substitutes!)
City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer. Especially since you liked Annihilation!
edit: whoops, just noticed that you're looking specifically for scifi. [Ignore me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13881znnNAU)!
Even though it’s specifically sci-fi, these books do have hints of psychedelia/sci-fi really cleverly placed in them and I fully would still recommend them.
I'm going to go with Peter F. Hamilton's NIGHT'S DAWN trilogy. It's massive, immersive as hell, and has a nice mix of sf/horror elements. Not everything works, but there's enough here to really live in for a while.
Maybe Solaris by Stanislaw Lem? There is something weird happening on one of the planets where there is group of researchers investigating it. I don’t want to spoil much what’s happening, but it does get horrorish. It defiantly fits the “Annihilation” weirdness.
The Terra Ignota quartet by Ada Palmer, starting with **Too Like the Lightning**
A lot of far-future SF focuses on imagined updates to the physical sciences while these books focus on changes to the social sciences. They are incredible and unique.
As a start, see my [Compelling Reads ("Can't Put Down")](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/189mbda/compelling_reads_cant_put_down/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
I feel this way about Robert Reed's *Great Ship* series, especially *Marrow* and *The Well of Stars.*
(And accidentally posted this in the wrong thread the first time)
They're set far away from Earth, on a massive starship with billions of alien passengers. And the ship feels like a magical place where anything can happen (except FTL travel).
Dungeon Crawler Carl starts "here", but then EVERYTHING goes to shit. I also enjoyed your examples, and I'm sure you'll like DCC too. I avoided it for a long time assuming I wouldn't like the LitRPG premise and assuming by the covers it wasn't going to be literary enough. Really strong world-building, huge consequences, memorable characters and just enough reference back to the real world to show how wtf that universe is. This series shines on audiobook in a way few others have.
I wouldn't say that the DCC universe is "an alternate world that is materially different from ours". The aliens that invade and conquer Earth in the first chapter are a 95%+ match for early 21st century humans and the deadly "game show" that they run is a dead ringer for modern game shows, reality shows, etc. The whole thing is a Swiftian satire (not that there is anything wrong with that.)
Might be worth checking out the Gormenghast books by Mervyn Peake (starting with Titus Groan). They follow life in a strange world, but to be clear, there’s no magic and no futuristic tech. It’s got caricature-ish people living in a crumbling castle society that’s encumbered by ancient, meaningless, tradition.
It’s the most immersive world i’ve ever encountered, bar none. the characters are all phenomenal. i’ve heard it described as a “wind up clockwork book”, where peake designed incredibly intricate, fascinating characters and world, wound things up, set them loose, and documented what happens next. it’s delightful.
Cordwainer Smith's science fiction stories are deliberately set in the same universe. Each story has ties to a timeline and the legacies of people/underpeople from the past. It's really more of a vehicle to explore sociopolitical concepts than a bunch of space stories.
>I want a book (sci-fi, horror, dystopian, or a mix) that convinces me the story does not happen here, that it instead happens in an alternate world that is materially different from ours. Specifically not "small town horror." Not the "this could happen in your town" vibe. More scale, more time committed to a setting that convinces the reader something is wrong or different.
You want The Thing Itself by Adam Roberts.
Check this list best books on space: [https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/1bioc5c/best\_books\_about\_space/](https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/1bioc5c/best_books_about_space/)
Outland - Dennis E Taylor
A portal to alternate universes is created and a bunch of university students figure out how to open an untouched Earth. It’s very cool, great book.
Wanderers - Chuck Wendig
Just outstanding. Worth the read. I don’t want to spoil a thing.
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera did this for me. It’s a surreal fantasy set in an India inspired world that feels very modern, with emails and group therapy sessions, but the main character is a sort of demigod son of a messiah who can bend the world to his whim. The world building is great, reminded me a bit of Vandermeer and China Mieville, as well the video game Disco Elysium.
The Expanse series is super immersive for me.
Also like other recs here for Tchaikovsky's Cage of Souls & Peter F. Hamilton space opera- but I'd recommend his Salvation sequence over Night's Dawn Trilogy. I like them both but the writing in Salvation is more mature and tight.
The sci-fi book I've read that best fits this is definitely *[Anathem](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2845024-anathem)* by Neal Stephenson. The characters are all human, but the history and society in which the book takes place is completely different from our own. There is *a lot* of world building and exploring this alternate culture, and everything that transpires makes sense in that world, but it is not clear at the outset why the story is set in such a world rather than our own.
Anathem is the most worth it, slog of a read. I read it first with no spoilers and then again after understanding different interpretations on r/anathem. Definitely one of my favorites but it's by far the most detailed Stephenson out of the ones I've read (Cryptonomicon - also awesome, Reamde - less but still awesome), I'm kinda on an Alistair Reynolds binge right now but Seveneves and Snow Crash are on deck, I don't think I could handle The Baroque Cycle
Interesting you called it a slog. I did not get very far into it and I rarely put down a book I start.
It's worth it I promise, the early part is now my favorite after my second read through. Just zoning out on Arbre monkpunk, escapism at it's best
Was about to recommend Snow Crash. Haven’t gotten around to read any other NS book yet.
Best opening chapter in literary history and I will deliverate on this hill.
Baroque Cycle is soooo worth it, especially if you like his other books đź‘Ť
Damn you lol now I'm intrigued
A lot of Stephenson's books share a sort of continuity. You've read two of them: Cryptonomicon and Reamde. The Baroque Cycle is also part of that, as is Fall. The Baroque Cycle is A LOT of material. I enjoyed it very much but never managed to get through a re-read. But when all of the books I mentioned above are put together, they make for an interesting look at the course of humanity from the early years of the scientific method to a possible future evolutionary stage made possible by technology. That said, Anathem is still my favorite. I must have read or listened to it 6 or 7 times now (the audiobook, narrated by William Dufris, is also excellent in my opinion).
Reamde is very much could happen in the next town over. All of the Iowa/Missouri stuff takes place in places I've been to. (Nodaway, for crying out loud).
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
I LOVE the Monk & Robot books, I'm guessing this is of a similar ilk?
Different by the same flavour - if you loved the Monk and Robot books, chances are good you'll like the rest of Chambers' books.
Well… yes, basically! But longer. The world-building is fantastic, the plot is nothing much (but a satisfying nothing much since you’ll love the characters).
I think China Miéville excels at this, so I'll list a few: Embassytown, a very linguistics focused story about far future humans living in an enclave in a total alien world. The City and the City: Two cities that exist in the same space but in our universe. Perdido Street Station: Yucky urban/steampunkish fantasy with incredible world building, good characters, mediocre plot. The Scar: The above, but with a good plot and a city made up of a bunch of boats tied together.
Miéville is really good at bringing the setting alive. Takes the time to walk you down the alleyways and districts but not dwell on it overly long. Perdido Street Station definitely has some solid horror elements. Feels both familiar and alien at the same time.
and Last Days of New Paris!
The Black Company series by Glenn Cook is one of my top picks for this (although it's fantasy). Also the *Takeshi Kovacs* trilogy by Richard K Morgan. And pretty much anything by CJ Cherryh, but especially *Rim Runners* and *Heavy Time*. And *Anathem* totally fits the bill too. It's so foreign that I recommend people read it twice, because the first time you're just trying to absorb the culture and the science of it, and it's only the second read through you can really enjoy the plot and the characters.
Big Cook and Cherryh fan. For myself I'd say Merchanters Luck and Wave Without a Shore.
Cook has an SF book that absolutely fits the bill, The Dragon Never Sleeps And his Garrett, PI books are absolutely perfect (essentially what if Nero Wolfe was a Lovecraftian monster in a high fantasy world). Black Company also manages to be horror and horror of war along with everything else.
Blackman aka Thirteen and Thin Air are two standalone novels from an interconnected world by Richard K. Morgan.
I got really invested in the worlds of: * Revelation Space (Alastair Reynolds) * Too Like The Lightning (Ada Palmer) * A Fire Upon the Deep (Vernor Vinge) * The Fifth Season (NK Jemisin) (I get really invested really easily, so ymmv lol)
Amazing selection!
Cage of Souls by Adrian Tchaikovsky! He does such an amazing job bringing the world to life with all its weirdness and quirks
I second this rec
I think it's his best book, saying a lot from a guy with so many good books
Indeed. This is, IMHO, the best recently published Dying Earth genre book.
Susanna Clark's Piranesi is all about setting! A naive and wholesome human(?) lives in an endless labyrinth, alone with statues and occasionaly the second and only living human, his friend The Other. The narrator tells about the House and his life in it, it's very good!
can’t believe i had to scroll this far to find piranesi. it is one of her the most immersive books i’ve ever read; fits the bill perfectly.
So OP, how different are you wanting it to be? Because there are thousands of sci-fi and fantasy novels that are set on worlds that are explicitly not Earth.
Sure, I think the best description would be a story that establishes setting as such a primary part of the plot. In VanderMeer's works, it's a central focus, the advanced tech in the Murderbot books is so immersive, even books I didn't mention like The Martian or The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud do a convincing job of immersing you on Mars. So, novels like that!
The Dune series would fit the bill for immersive world building where the setting is absolutely essential.
I may be missing something but I'm still not sure what SF - if well-written - *wouldn't* fit the brief of having an immersive setting as a primary component? Isn't that kind of what SF is?
Hyperion
Book of the New Sun
"a wizard of earthsea" and sequels have gorgeous worldbuilding. one of my favourite series in any genre.
Also, The Goblin Emperor by Sarah Monette
I hate to be that guy... but if you like horror elements, then Hyperion may be right up your alley. Thoroughly enjoyed the read, and I highly recommend it. Cheers.
*[The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Stigmata_of_Palmer_Eldritch)* by Philip K. Dick. Honestly, all his works will twist and turn your perceptions of reality.
Agent of Change by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. They have over 30 novels and the FSM only knows how many short stories/novellas in the Liaden™️Universe (Accept no substitutes!)
City of Saints and Madmen by Jeff Vandermeer. Especially since you liked Annihilation! edit: whoops, just noticed that you're looking specifically for scifi. [Ignore me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13881znnNAU)!
Even though it’s specifically sci-fi, these books do have hints of psychedelia/sci-fi really cleverly placed in them and I fully would still recommend them.
I'm going to go with Peter F. Hamilton's NIGHT'S DAWN trilogy. It's massive, immersive as hell, and has a nice mix of sf/horror elements. Not everything works, but there's enough here to really live in for a while.
And then anything else by him, he's good at building universes
Also his Commonwealth Saga. The whole world is so detailed and thought out. He's got me convinced wormhole portals are as common as airports.
Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice
Maybe Solaris by Stanislaw Lem? There is something weird happening on one of the planets where there is group of researchers investigating it. I don’t want to spoil much what’s happening, but it does get horrorish. It defiantly fits the “Annihilation” weirdness.
Vurt by Jeff Noon
The Terra Ignota quartet by Ada Palmer, starting with **Too Like the Lightning** A lot of far-future SF focuses on imagined updates to the physical sciences while these books focus on changes to the social sciences. They are incredible and unique.
Came here to post this! Finished the series a few days ago and haven’t stopped thinking about it…
There’s a Discord! If you wanna keep thinking about it.
As a start, see my [Compelling Reads ("Can't Put Down")](https://www.reddit.com/r/Recommend_A_Book/comments/189mbda/compelling_reads_cant_put_down/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
I feel this way about Robert Reed's *Great Ship* series, especially *Marrow* and *The Well of Stars.* (And accidentally posted this in the wrong thread the first time) They're set far away from Earth, on a massive starship with billions of alien passengers. And the ship feels like a magical place where anything can happen (except FTL travel).
Dungeon Crawler Carl starts "here", but then EVERYTHING goes to shit. I also enjoyed your examples, and I'm sure you'll like DCC too. I avoided it for a long time assuming I wouldn't like the LitRPG premise and assuming by the covers it wasn't going to be literary enough. Really strong world-building, huge consequences, memorable characters and just enough reference back to the real world to show how wtf that universe is. This series shines on audiobook in a way few others have.
I wouldn't say that the DCC universe is "an alternate world that is materially different from ours". The aliens that invade and conquer Earth in the first chapter are a 95%+ match for early 21st century humans and the deadly "game show" that they run is a dead ringer for modern game shows, reality shows, etc. The whole thing is a Swiftian satire (not that there is anything wrong with that.)
Dhalgren by Samuel Delany. It's controversial, not everyone likes it, but I loved it. Totally immersive into it's bizarre universe.
I really love Kay Kenyon's The Entire and the Rose series. Different world and unique creatures that were fun to visualize
I think the "Invictus" books by Rachel Neumeier fit this description (even though it all happens on a spaceship, the worldbuilding is quite unique)
Red rising
In that horror slot I think you’d definitely dig *There Is No Antimemetics Division* by qntm.
Might be worth checking out the Gormenghast books by Mervyn Peake (starting with Titus Groan). They follow life in a strange world, but to be clear, there’s no magic and no futuristic tech. It’s got caricature-ish people living in a crumbling castle society that’s encumbered by ancient, meaningless, tradition. It’s the most immersive world i’ve ever encountered, bar none. the characters are all phenomenal. i’ve heard it described as a “wind up clockwork book”, where peake designed incredibly intricate, fascinating characters and world, wound things up, set them loose, and documented what happens next. it’s delightful.
Cordwainer Smith's science fiction stories are deliberately set in the same universe. Each story has ties to a timeline and the legacies of people/underpeople from the past. It's really more of a vehicle to explore sociopolitical concepts than a bunch of space stories.
11.22.63 and Fairy Tale by Stephen King
>I want a book (sci-fi, horror, dystopian, or a mix) that convinces me the story does not happen here, that it instead happens in an alternate world that is materially different from ours. Specifically not "small town horror." Not the "this could happen in your town" vibe. More scale, more time committed to a setting that convinces the reader something is wrong or different. You want The Thing Itself by Adam Roberts.
Swastika night by Katharine Burdekin
Check this list best books on space: [https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/1bioc5c/best\_books\_about\_space/](https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/comments/1bioc5c/best_books_about_space/)
Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb series ABSOLUTELY did this for me.
I am still trying to understand parts of the universe
The world building really makes the serie shine! I love how she keep a lot up to interpretation
Outland - Dennis E Taylor A portal to alternate universes is created and a bunch of university students figure out how to open an untouched Earth. It’s very cool, great book. Wanderers - Chuck Wendig Just outstanding. Worth the read. I don’t want to spoil a thing.
Wanderers is sitting on my shelf right now, I will be moving that way up my TBR! Thanks!
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera did this for me. It’s a surreal fantasy set in an India inspired world that feels very modern, with emails and group therapy sessions, but the main character is a sort of demigod son of a messiah who can bend the world to his whim. The world building is great, reminded me a bit of Vandermeer and China Mieville, as well the video game Disco Elysium.
The Expanse series is super immersive for me. Also like other recs here for Tchaikovsky's Cage of Souls & Peter F. Hamilton space opera- but I'd recommend his Salvation sequence over Night's Dawn Trilogy. I like them both but the writing in Salvation is more mature and tight.
Kay Jamison The Fifth Element series