100 books like Masters of Atlantis

By Charles Portis,

Here are 100 books that Masters of Atlantis fans have personally recommended if you like Masters of Atlantis. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Road

Why am I passionate about this?

 I’ve always loved a good mystery that doesn’t give you all the details upfront. My favourite stories growing up were those where I had little epiphanies along the way until I got to the end, where everything finally fell into place. But perhaps why I’m most drawn to these types of stories is because they parallel learning about your surroundings in the real world. After living in several different countries, I’ve come to learn many situations piece by piece, where some ended in danger, while others were more humorous events that I can now laugh about. 

Jon's book list on dark horror stories that slowly unravel their mysteries piece by piece, letting you figure out along the way

Jon Vassa Why did Jon love this book?

At the time, when I read this book, I’d just become a father. Naturally, the story about a father trying to protect his son in a harsh dystopian world was captivating for me and still is to this day.

I loved the book's gritty realism and felt as if I were walking beside the characters during the entire journey. I also found McCarthy’s writing style unique and something new from the best-selling paperbacks I’d often read before picking up his book.

By Cormac McCarthy,

Why should I read it?

29 authors picked The Road as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • A searing, post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son's fight to survive, this "tale of survival and the miracle of goodness only adds to McCarthy's stature as a living master. It's gripping, frightening and, ultimately, beautiful" (San Francisco Chronicle).

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if…


Book cover of Gravity's Rainbow

Sean Silleck Author Of The End of Cake

From my list on making you laugh and think.

Why am I passionate about this?

To me, humor is an essential ingredient, a vibrant medium in which anything can grow. I appreciate a good drama or tragedy as much as the next person, but at the end of the day, if a book doesn’t make me laugh, it won’t resonate. I also believe deeply in the concept of the human comedy. Or maybe I take this too literally. Either way, I consider the exploits of humans to be more often ridiculous than anything else. We are a pompous species and far less intelligent than we believe we are, and we deserve to be made fun of. Well, some of us do, anyway.

Sean's book list on making you laugh and think

Sean Silleck Why did Sean love this book?

Pynchon’s most famous tome is one of the 20th Century’s top literary heavyweights, up on the shelf next to Ulysses and To the Lighthouse, and I dove into it as an aspiring literato, eager to add it to my “conquered classics” list. But I was totally unprepared for the novel’s explosive humor. Still one of the funniest books I’ve ever read, it follows the main character, Tyrone Slothrop, through the ruins of war-ravaged Europe, from the rooftop banana farm in London during the V2 rocket attacks, to the Herman Goering Hotel and Casino on the newly liberated French Riviera, to the German rocket factories at Nordhausen, where we learn the secrets behind Dr. Laszlo Jamf’s diabolical Imipolex G. Along the way we meet Roger Mexico and Colonel Ernest Pudding, Darlene Quoad and Geli Tripping, Scorpia Mossmoon and Richard M. Zhlubb, to name a paltry few. Even Mickey Rooney shows…

By Thomas Pynchon,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Gravity's Rainbow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Hailed by many as the major experimental nov el of the post-war period, Gravity''s Rainbow is a bizarre co mic masterpiece in which linguistic virtuosity creates a who le other world. '


Book cover of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman

Zilla Novikov Author Of Query

From my list on books where the narrator won't stay out of the story.

Why am I passionate about this?

There's no particular reason why I'm the right person to talk about intrusive narrators. I studied math, not literature, in school, though variables can be as tricky as any imaginary character. As an unpopular child, I read a developmentally unhealthy number of books, but tragic backstories are a dime a dozen. I pepper my life with ironic asides to the Reader, but anyone with a devoted Reader (better yet, a dozen of them) can do that. To be honest, you'd probably have come up with a better list than I did. You should give it a shot.

Zilla's book list on books where the narrator won't stay out of the story

Zilla Novikov Why did Zilla love this book?

The original metafiction narrator, postmodern before there was a modern to be post about, Tristram Shandy bumbles his way through his pseudo-biography, unreliable to family and readers alike. He doesn't even manage to get born by the end of the first volume. And yet his innumerable faults only make me like him more.

I can't help but admire the chutzpah of a man who interrupts the story to offer the reader the chance to buy their way into the dedication–and for the bargain sum of only fifty guineas!

By Laurence Sterne,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Endlessly digressive, boundlessly imaginative and unmatched in its absurd and timeless wit, Laurence Sterne's The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman is edited with an introduction by Melvin New and Joan New, and includes a critical essay by Christopher Ricks in Penguin Classics.

Laurence Sterne's great masterpiece of bawdy humour and rich satire defies any attempt to categorize it, with a rich metafictional narrative that might classify it as the first 'postmodern' novel. Part novel, part digression, its gloriously disordered narrative interweaves the birth and life of the unfortunate 'hero' Tristram Shandy, the eccentric philosophy of his father Walter,…


Book cover of The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha

Gregory Hill Author Of Zebra Skin Shirt

From my list on that care not a whit about traditional plotting.

Why am I passionate about this?

You know that poem that instructs us to "see a world in a grain of sand?" I've done that, friend. It turns out that the world you see in a closely-examined grain of sand is largely covered with sand, each grain of which contains another world. For reasons that I can't explain (well, the Autism Spectrum Disorder might have something to do with it), I'm compelled to write novels that explore and exploit, obliquely or otherwise, the sub-worlds lurking within the grains of sand that are scattered across the American High Plains. 

Gregory's book list on that care not a whit about traditional plotting

Gregory Hill Why did Gregory love this book?

Another book that takes forever to read, and another book that I haven't yet finished. Why this particular edition? Because, in addition to the fragmentation that is inherent to all versions of The Bible, the NOABWA has footnotes. Enough footnotes to make the previously-mentioned Infinite Jest look like a half-assed high school research paper. Those footnotes ensure that, even when a plot threatens to show itself, the reader will be immediately distracted by a reminder that nobody actually knows how long a cubit is. If a book that hasn't even defined the value of its base units can become a bestseller, then, by gum, I can write a novel in which the concept of time is stretched and folded like the crust of a croissant. And so can you!

By Michael Coogan (editor), Marc Brettler (editor), Carol Newsom (editor) , Pheme Perkins (editor)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For over 50 years students, professors, clergy, and general readers have relied on The New Oxford Annotated Bible as an unparalleled authority in Study Bibles. This fifth edition of the Annotated remains the best way to study and understand the Bible at home or in the classroom. This thoroughly revised and substantially updated edition contains the best scholarship informed by recent discoveries and anchored in the solid Study Bible tradition.

* Introductions and extensive annotations for each book by acknowledged experts in the field provide context and guidance.
* Introductory essays on major groups of biblical writings - Pentateuch, Prophets,…


Book cover of The Great Pet Heist

Kristin O’Donnell Tubb Author Of A Dog Like Daisy

From my list on books for kids told from a dog’s point of view.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of eleven books for middle-grade readers, including three books from a dog’s point of view. These books have won five state book awards between them, and have been published in other languages. I’ve been writing for young readers for over 20 years. I also live with four furry friends of my own: Cookie (a cockapoo), Myrtle (a pug), Nala (a calico cat), and Daisy (a sweet mutt cat). I miss my big-hearted goldendoodle Lucky every day. And, like my dogs, I can be bribed with cheese.

Kristin's book list on books for kids told from a dog’s point of view

Kristin O’Donnell Tubb Why did Kristin love this book?

Pets+heists=hilarity.

There are so many things to love about this funny, fast-paced story: the pets refer to their human as Mrs. Food. The sneaky plan they devise and why. The relationships between the entire cast of characters which includes not just Butterbean the dog but also Oscar the mynah bird, Walt the cat, a pair of rats named Marco and Polo, and others.

It is delightful, and you and your young reader will chuckle all the way through this one. 

By Emily Ecton, David Mottram (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Great Pet Heist as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Ocean’s Eleven meets The Secret Life of Pets in this “classic caper” (Booklist) following a ragtag group of pets who will do whatever it takes to avoid being sent to the pound.

Butterbean knew she wasn’t always a good dog. Still, she’d never considered herself a BAD dog—until the morning that her owner, Mrs. Food, fell in the hallway. Admittedly the tile was slipperier than usual, mostly because Butterbean had just thrown up on it.

Now Butterbean and her fellow pets have to come up with a grand plan to support themselves in case Mrs. Food is unable to keep…


Book cover of At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances

Ruth Schwertfeger Author Of A Nazi Camp Near Danzig: Perspectives on Shame and on the Holocaust from Stutthof

From my list on authors shaped by education in medicine.

Why am I passionate about this?

I find that one of the advantages of having worked as a professor (now Emerita ) of German at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, is that it helped me gain perspective. When I study literature–especially in languages other than English–I am forced to step outside of my everyday world to identify the motif and leitmotif of the author. I am proposing that the medical training of these five authors helped them do the same: to dig below the surface to find other structures and root causes and to present their findings and unique diagnoses.  

Ruth's book list on authors shaped by education in medicine

Ruth Schwertfeger Why did Ruth love this book?

A professor of Medical Law and prolific writer, McCall has entertained and delighted many readers in the UK. He is at his most amusing when he dissects the learned community. His depiction of the anatomy of academic pomposity is essential reading for anyone who has ever stood behind a podium. Yet his satire is never bitter or mean-spirited. 

The book listed above is guaranteed to make you laugh, whether you are a student who is required to take certain humanities courses from an indescribably boring professor or a colleague of one. Sadly, you will quickly recognize that your obsession with irregular verbs in another language places you in the same surgical ward. 

By Alexander McCall Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The third novel in the 'Portuguese Irregular Verbs' trilogy sees von Igelfeld suffering the slings of academic intrigue as a visiting fellow at Cambridge, and the arrows of outrageous fortune in an eventful Columbian adventure. Between trips, von Igelfeld returns to his beloved Regensburg only that to discover while he has been away his murine colleagues have been at play.


Book cover of Snow Crash

Wagner James Au Author Of Making a Metaverse That Matters: From Snow Crash & Second Life to A Virtual World Worth Fighting For

From my list on understanding virtual worlds and internet culture.

Why am I passionate about this?

Ever since childhood, I’ve been dazzled by the idea of virtual worlds described by pixels, first in ancient computer games, and then in novels that gave the rudimentary graphics of decades past a vivid new life—from the hallucinatory realities in Philip K. Dick’s novels to William Gibson’s Neuromancer to most of all, Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash. As a young writer, I stepped sideways into a dream assignment: Helping make the Metaverse real. After writing about it for two decades, however, I’m still learning about it now.

Wagner's book list on understanding virtual worlds and internet culture

Wagner James Au Why did Wagner love this book?

The OG Metaverse novel is still as smart, hilarious, rollicking, and inspirational as it was 30 years ago.

I’m amazed at how many technologists talking about the concept have not read it and realized how influential and prophetic it actually is, envisioning scenes of virtual life that have since become commonplace for millions of Internet denizens.

Often pigeonholed as a standard dystopian sci-fi tale, Snow Crash is too sly, satirical, and kinetic to fit that category. And reading it will clarify why so many people in tech have yearned to build something like the Metaverse for decades, even referencing it during development discussions—including me! 

By Neal Stephenson,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Snow Crash as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The “brilliantly realized” (The New York Times Book Review) breakthrough novel from visionary author Neal Stephenson, a modern classic that predicted the metaverse and inspired generations of Silicon Valley innovators

Hiro lives in a Los Angeles where franchises line the freeway as far as the eye can see. The only relief from the sea of logos is within the autonomous city-states, where law-abiding citizens don’t dare leave their mansions.

Hiro delivers pizza to the mansions for a living, defending his pies from marauders when necessary with a matched set of samurai swords. His home is a shared 20 X 30…


Book cover of We Don't Eat Our Classmates

Amanda Noll Author Of I Need My Monster

From my list on humorous picture books from someone who loves funny kid books.

Why am I passionate about this?

I never actually stopped reading children’s literature. Even as a grown-up, I figured out a way to read picture books every day. After earning a master’s degree in education, I found myself back in the library reading to students. I love reading funny books; they are more engaging and more likely to get kids reading and keep them reading. I love humor and think it is perfect in the shorter format of picture books. 

Amanda's book list on humorous picture books from someone who loves funny kid books

Amanda Noll Why did Amanda love this book?

I love to read this as the school year is beginning. Children can identify with feeling different on the first day of school.

I love how Penelope (the main character who happens to be a T Rex) is blithely oblivious to the impact she has on the students around her. The tables are turned when she crosses paths with a hungry goldfish. 

By Ryan T. Higgins,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked We Don't Eat Our Classmates as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

It's the first day of school for Penelope Rex, and she can't wait to meet her classmates. But it's hard to make human friends when they're so darn delicious! That is, until Penelope gets a taste of her own medicine and finds she may not be at the top of the food chain after all. . . . Readers will gobble up this hilarious new story from award-winning author-illustrator Ryan T. Higgins.


Book cover of The Unstrung Harp; or, Mr. Earbrass Writes a Novel

Jason Cheeseman-Meyer Author Of Vanishing Point: Perspective for Comics from the Ground Up

From my list on for people who draw people.

Why am I passionate about this?

Drawing and painting people has been my passion and my profession for a couple of decades now. Fine art, comic books, animation, illustration – as long as I'm drawing people, I'm happy. I love the challenge of trying to capture (or create) a living, breathing, thinking person on paper. And I love talking about art books with other artists. Which ones are great, which ones miss the mark, which ones have tiny hidden gems in them. This list is a mix of books I love, and books I heartily recommend.

Jason's book list on for people who draw people

Jason Cheeseman-Meyer Why did Jason love this book?

You're drawing, you're painting, you're doing whatever you do – you're making things that weren't there before. You're creating images, you're creating visual stories. Sometimes creation is a thrill, and sometimes it's a bizarre disorienting struggle. Nobody expresses the creative life quite like Mr.Earbrass (and Edward Gorey). Is it a how-to book? No. Is it a how-not-to book? It's not really that either. It's a story about an eccentric novelist crafting his latest book. I give this weird little storybook as a gift to artist and writer friends all the time. Everyone I've given it to just raves about it.

By Edward Gorey,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Unstrung Harp; or, Mr. Earbrass Writes a Novel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

On November 18th of alternate years Mr Earbrass begins writing 'his new novel.' Weeks ago he chose its title at random from a list of them he keeps in a little green note-book. It being tea-time of the 17th, he is alarmed not to have thought of a plot to which The Unstrung Harp might apply, but his mind will keep reverting to the last biscuit on the plate." So begins what the Times Literary Supplement called "a small masterpiece." TUH is a look at the literary life and its "attendant woes: isolation, writer's block, professional jealousy, and plain boredom."…


Book cover of Carry on, Jeeves

Maurice Holloway Author Of Blood on Charing X Road

From my list on for great character definitions.

Why am I passionate about this?

I learnt to read at about the age of three or four and have been devouring books ever since. However, it took a few decades for me to begin creating my own stories. I have a passion for writing and whenever I can, I try to help new writers improve their expertise. I’m a strong believer in writing groups, for that reason. My first book, born from a few-hundred-word short story at my writing group, turned into a three-book thriller series. Since then I’ve branched out by publishing a rom/com, a humorous ghost story as well as a standalone thriller.

Maurice's book list on for great character definitions

Maurice Holloway Why did Maurice love this book?

I’ve selected this title as it’s one of the first Jeeves and Wooster books but, to be honest, you could choose any one; they’re all brilliant.

That goes for pretty much all of Wodehouse’s stories. I realise everyone knows these two characters from the various TV series produced over the years. But they may not have read the books. They should. It’s a great credit to the author that whichever actors portray this pair, and others such as Lord Emsworth of Blandings, the characters are instantly recognisable.

I think PG Wodehouse’s characterisation is superb. I admire his eye for details, not only in appearance but in mannerisms and speech. Wooster – the young gentleman – is wealthy, foppish, dapper, scatterbrained and idle. Jeeves – the gentleman’s gentleman – is someone who “from the collar upwards, stands alone.” That phrase alone tells the reader everything they need to know about the…

By P. G. Wodehouse,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Carry on, Jeeves as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As a child, Robin Bayley was enchanted by his grandmother's stories of Mexican adventures: of bandits, wild jungle journeys, hidden bags of silver and a narrow escape from the bloody Mexican Revolution. But Robin sensed there was more to these stories than anyone knew, and so he set out to follow in the footsteps of his great-grandfather.

The Mango Orchard is the story of parallel journeys' a hundred years apart, into the heart of Latin America. Undaunted by the passage of time and a paucity of information, Robin seeks out the places where his great grandfather Arthur 'Arturo' Greenhalgh travelled…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Atlantis, secret society, and France?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about Atlantis, secret society, and France.

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