by Walter Tevis (1979)
In a world where the human population has suffered devastating losses, a handful of survivors cling to what passes for life in a post-apocalyptic, dying landscape. People wander, drugged and lulled by electronic bliss, through a barren landscape with no children, no art, where reading is forbidden. From this bleak existence, a tragic love triangle springs forth. Spofforth, the most perfect machine ever created, runs the world, but his only wish is to die. Paul and Mary Lou are a man and a woman whose passion for each other sparks a jealousy in Spofforth—and provides the only hope for the future of human beings on earth.
Gene Wolfe
The Shadow of the Torturer is the first volume in the four-volume series, The Book of the New Sun. It is the tale of young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession -- showing mercy toward his victim -- and follows subsequent journey out of his home city of Nessus.
Joan D. Vinge
The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge is an acclaimed literary masterpiece celebrating major critical honors and timeless storytelling.
Thomas Burnett Swann
Day of the Minotaur by Thomas Burnett Swann is an acclaimed literary masterpiece celebrating major critical honors and timeless storytelling.
J. R. R. Tolkien
The war of the jewels is a celebrated work by J. R. R. Tolkien (Grand Master, Creator of Middle-earth), recognized for masterclass storytelling and lasting literary resonance.