The novel “The World Jones Made” by Philip K. Dick was published for the first time in 1956.

Doug Cussick works for federal security and decides to report a fortune teller named Floyd Jones to his superiors. Initially, they think he’s a small potato and not worth arresting, but when Cussick claims that Jones spoke of alien creatures arriving to Earth, they realize he knows secret information.

Jones’ interrogation shows that he does indeed know the future, at least for a year. Cussick discovers that alien creatures do exist, even if they appear to be only single-celled organisms, who are arriving on Earth and have been dubbed wanderers. A plan to eliminate Jones fails, and it ends up helping him seize power while a project to colonize Venus is underway.

The novel “Ghosts in the Machine” by Robert J. Sawyer was published for the first time in 2025 as an audiobook and in 2026 as a book. It’s the second book of the Downloaded series and follows “The Downloaded”.

Some of the surviving Earthlings are about to embark on a journey to Mars, while another group is traveling to the stars. The astronauts uploaded their consciousnesses again, but suddenly find themselves confronted by their younger selves.

A check of the state of the quantum system that allows the astronauts’ minds to exist inside it shows that it has entered a crisis. Two versions of the same person can’t coexist without disrupting the system, but which version should be sacrificed? An accident on Earth changes the situation even more.

The novel “His Master’s Voice” (“Glos Pana”) by Stanislaw Lem was published for the first time in 1968. It was translated into English by Michael Kandel.

Peter Hogarth is a mathematician who joins a secret project under the aegis of the US government aimed at deciphering what is believed to be an alien message. Isolated along with many scientists from various disciplines, he must search for meaning in the neutrino wave detected on Earth.

Finding a key to the message is a priority that the scientists of the project, codenamed “His Master’s Voice,” pursue through various paths. The difficulties in understanding an alien language are compounded by the expectations of the Pentagon and politicians aware of the project, as well as the limitations of the scientists themselves.

The novel “Dragonflight” by Anne McCaffrey was published for the first time in 1968 by fixing up two novellas published in previous years, which won the Hugo and Nebula Awards, respectively. It’s the first book in the Dragonriders of Pern series.

F’lar and the bronze dragon Mnementh to whom he’s bonded lead a small force to Ruatha Hold for a Search. Queen Nemorth has laid eggs that require the search for potential dragonriders to bond with. Lord Fax has attempted to eliminate all members of Ruathan Blood to erase their lineage, but Lessa has managed to evade him by posing as a servant.

Lord Fax’s welcome is limited to the bare minimum of courtesy, and Lessa attempts to use her mental powers to provoke a duel between him and F’lar. When Lord Fax’s wife goes into labor, Lessa’s plan appears to be foiled, but she still manages to exploit the situation to provoke a duel and then assert her claim to Ruatha. However, F’lar’s discovery of her powers ends up bringing her to the hatching, where she forges a bond with Ramoth, the new queen.