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Stories of Isolation

Starbreaker

Starbreaker

Fleet Admiral
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This may be a bit of an odd request, but I find that some of my favorite novels come from a feeling of isolation or imminent danger, whether it's out in space or deep underground. Basically... a character or group that is lost in unfamiliar territory far from home.

Some examples of what I'm looking for:

The Terror by Dan Simmons - two ships lost in the North Pole being chased by a giant polar bear... cooler than it sounds

Deepsix by Jack McDevitt - crew stranded on an island and having to deal with local flora and fauna while trying to get back to a ship

The Dark Beyond the Stars - the crew of a generational ship about to head into a great starless expanse

Deeper by Jeff Long - characters making a descent into Hell... literally
 
Have you read "Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell?

That's the story on which the Thing movies have been based.
 
Have you read Alan Steele's Coyote? It's a collection of stories about a primitive, isolated colony that's far from Earth, and might be what you're looking for.
 
I do love The Thing and Tau Zero looks like something that would be right up my alley. Thanks for the suggestions so far. You guys are good!
 
You might also try Frederick Pohl's Man Plus.

ETA: Now that I think about it, Man Plus is about a cyborg on Mars, and I read a number of survival-on-Mars books a few years ago. Mars Crossing by Geoffrey Landis, The Martian Race by Gregory Benford, and First Landing by Robert Zubrin are all decent books, though I wouldn't describe any of them as "great".
 
Poul Anderson also has Starfarers, The Long Way Home and The Boat of a Million Years. He also has the short story In Memorium.

Larry Niven has A World Out of Time.

Fredrik Pohl - The World at the End of Time

Maybe even Joe Haldeman's The Forever War.
 
The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell would probably meet your criteria. Especially the main character.

Not my favorite military science fiction series, but if you like the isolation vibe, it certainly has that.
 
By chance I finished reading Mary Shelley's The Last Man last week. Early romantic poetic style, but if you can appreciate that some, the characters are bits and pieces of Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, but when the novel finally gets down to the last man, it's pretty effective.

Isn't there some William Hope Hodgson novel or two that's supposed to be in this vein?
 
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