Unearthed Shelf

Classic Sci-Fi Books

Finding classic science-fiction novels, popular series, hidden gems, and underrated masterpieces has never been easier!

Alternate History Books

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick book cover

The Man in the High Castle

Author: Philip K. Dick

Year: 1962

Rating: 3.62

It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco, the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some twenty years earlier the United States lost a war — and is no…

Goodreads
His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik book cover

His Majesty's Dragon

Author: Naomi Novik

Year: 2006

Rating: 4.03

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors ride mighty fighting dragons, bred for size or speed. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes the precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sw…

Goodreads
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke book cover

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Author: Susanna Clarke

Year: 2004

Rating: 3.82

Sophisticated, witty, and ingeniously convincing, Susanna Clarke's magisterial novel weaves magic into a flawlessly detailed vision of historical England. She has created a world so thoroughly enchanting that eight hundred pages leave readers longing…

Goodreads
Fatherland by Robert Harris book cover

Fatherland

Author: Robert Harris

Year: 1991

Rating: 3.99

It is twenty years after Nazi Germany's triumphant victory in World War II and the entire country is preparing for the grand celebration of the Führer's seventy-fifth birthday, as well as the imminent peacemaking visit from President Kennedy.Meanwhil…

Goodreads
Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik book cover

Throne of Jade

Author: Naomi Novik

Year: 2006

Rating: 3.87

When Britain intercepted a French ship and its precious cargo–an unhatched dragon’s egg–Capt. Will Laurence of HMS Reliant unexpectedly became master and commander of the noble dragon he named Temeraire. As new recruits in Britain’s Aerial Corps, man…

Goodreads
The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson book cover

The Years of Rice and Salt

Author: Kim Stanley Robinson

Year: 2002

Rating: 3.74

It is the fourteenth century and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occur - the coming of the Black Death. History teaches us that a third of Europe's population was destroyed. But what if? What if the plague killed 99 perc…

Goodreads
1632 by Eric Flint book cover

1632

Author: Eric Flint

Year: 2000

Rating: 4.04

FREEDOM AND JUSTICE -- AMERICAN STYLE 1632 And in northern Germany things couldn't get much worse. Famine. Disease. Religous war laying waste the cities. Only the aristocrats remained relatively unscathed; for the peasants, death was a mercy. 2000 Th…

Goodreads