Isaac Asimov, A Pebble in the Sky.
A tailor from the Chicago suburbs is sent forward in time to when the Earth is part of a Galactic Empire and finds himself caught up in a revolution. Related to the Foundation series.

Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes.
When the carnival rolls into Green Town, Illinois, the week before Halloween, two boys are drawn to its eerie attractions and confront an evil that will change their lives forever. Waukegan native.

David Brin, Foundation’s Triumph.
Hari Seldon, the creator of the Foundation, escapes from prison on Trantor and roams the galaxy before returning to the ruined city of Old Chicago on Earth. Book 3 of the Second Foundation trilogy; based on the series by Isaac Asimov.

Terry Brooks, Ilse Witch.
When a mad elf is discovered adrift at sea with a map to another continent, a group of misfits race the forces of evil to find the magic he’d been seeking. Book 1 of The Voyage of Jerle Shannara. Sterling native.

Edgar Rice Burroughs, Science Fiction Classics.
Thrilling stories of Pellucidar—a world at the earth’s core—and Barsoom—a Martian civilization explored by John Carter. Oak Park author.

Jim Butcher, Storm Front.
Chicago Wizard Harry Dresden helps police investigate a bizarre double murder that has supernatural overtones. Dresden Files #1.

Philip Jose Farmer, To Your Scattered Bodies Go.
Explorer Richard Burton finds himself one of many Earthlings reincarnated on a strange new world that consists of a long river valley. Book 1 of the Riverworld series. Peoria author.

John M. Ford, The Last Hot Time.
A man leaves his home in Iowa for the bright lights of Chicago, but a strange encounter on the road opens the door to an alternate reality where elves and humans battle like 1920s gangsters.

Roland Green, Voyage to Eneh.
A damaged starship from Earth is forced to land on Kilmoyn where the crew find themselves in the middle of a war. 1st in a series. Chicago native.

Alexander Jablokov, Nimbus.
A struggling jazz musician in Chicago who was once part of a secret government experiment realizes that a series of murders are somehow related to his forgotten past.

Nancy Kress, Beggars in Spain.
A wealthy Chicago couple produce a genetically altered child who requires no sleep but who must fight for a place in the society that shuns her and her kind.

Fritz Leiber, The Leiber Chronicles.
A sampling of the best work by one of the trailblazers of the science fiction genre who set the stage for today’s heroic fantasy, cyberpunk and horror literature. Chicago native.

Frederik Pohl, Gateway.
Explorers from Earth discover an artifact from a long-dead civilization that can take travelers to unknown destinations where they may find immense wealth—or death. Book 1 of the Heechee Saga. Palatine author.

Peter Straub, Mr. X.
A man returns home to Edgerton, Illinois, to visit his dying mother & discovers a shadow world inhabited by his doppelganger and his bloodthirsty father.

Harry Turtledove, Worldwar: In the Balance.
During World War II, an alien race takes advantage of the chaos and invades Earth, while a group of humans—including a University of Chicago physicist—race to save their planet.

Margaret Weis, Dark Heart.
A Chicago cop’s investigation of the murders of two men who had their hearts torn out leads to an immortal man who serves an entity known as the Dragon. Book 1 of Dragon’s Disciple.

Gene Wolfe, The Shadow of the Torturer.
Severian, an apprentice torturer, is exiled for showing mercy to one of his “clients” and begins an adventure-filled journey across a wintry Urth circling a dying sun. Book 1 of The Book of the New Sun. Barrington author.