If the pull for you was how psychohistory and the Mule’s emotional sway steer events, you’ll love how The Left Hand of Darkness uses anthropology and diplomacy to drive history. Watching Genly Ai navigate Gethen’s gender-fluid society and survive a perilous trek with Estraven mirrors the way Bayta, Toran, and Ebling Mis parse cultures and motives to alter the fate of worlds—only here the decisive lever is custom and kinship rather than equations.

If Bel Riose’s campaign, Ducem Barr’s quiet subversion, and the Foundation’s diplomatic chess were your jam, Ancillary Justice delivers a fresh dose of empire-level scheming. Breq’s hunt through the Radch uncovers a split at the heart of ruler Anaander Mianaai, echoing the way imperial politics and hidden agendas in “The General” decide the fate of entire sectors.

If the jolt of discovering Magnifico’s true nature as the Mule hooked you, The Player of Games offers that same knife-twist in a different register. Master gamer Gurgeh enters the Empire of Azad’s world-defining game, only to learn the stakes and manipulations run far deeper than advertised—much like how Bayta and Toran’s quest peels back layers of misdirection until the revelation upends everything.

If you enjoyed tracing Bayta, Toran, and Ebling Mis as they investigate the Second Foundation and the Mule’s identity, try The Caves of Steel. Detective Elijah Baley and R. Daneel Olivaw follow a crisp trail of evidence through a future Earth, fusing procedural beats with SF worldbuilding—the same satisfaction you got from each revelation tightening the net around an unseen puppeteer.

If the sweep from Bel Riose’s frontier war to the Mule’s empire-toppling rise thrilled you, A Fire Upon the Deep goes full supernova. As Ravna and Pham race to stop the Blight, and factions from the Tines to the Skroderiders collide across the Zones of Thought, you’ll get that same sense that a handful of choices—like Bayta’s final, fateful act—can reroute the destiny of civilizations.