One reason I love reading science fiction is because of how it uses imaginative visions of the future to teach us something about our present and our past. Distant sci-fi worlds full of aliens, robots, and cyborgs allow us to zoom out from our narrow view of the world and think about what it means to be human in a sprawling timeline and universe full of unknowns. Literary science fiction does an especially good job of creating complex characters and ethical quandaries in futuristic settings that invite readers to think deeply about their own place in the world.
Of course, “literary fiction” is a famously ill-defined genre. Most book lovers would say literary fiction is recognizable by its elegant prose and a certain high-brow sensibility. At best, it’s storytelling that wows you, and at worst, it feels like snooty books for people who want to feel smarter than the average reader. I think literary writing means deeply layered characters, beautifully crafted prose, and a mastery of storytelling that makes you feel like you’re in good hands, even when the story frightens you. These literary science fiction books tell engaging stories set in futuristic worlds, but they’ll also make you think about humanity and your own life from new perspectives.
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As You Wake, Break the Shell by Becky Chambers
I had the good fortune of reading an advanced copy of this new release, and while it was a treat to get to read it early, it also meant I had to spend months absolutely dying to talk about it with someone who had read it too. Now it’s here, and let me tell you, it’s phenomenal. Becky Chambers brilliantly uses a distant planet inhospitable to human life as a setting to explore the gifts Earth has given us and all we stand to lose if we don’t protect it. Full of dazzlingly complex characters and other-worldly encounters, it’s a mind-blowing book that left me dying for the sequel. I was late to the Becky Chambers bandwagon, but now I’ll be riding that wagon for life.
Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim
Fans of Apple TV’s Severance, do not sleep on Isabel J. Kim’s mind-bending debut, Sublimation. In a world much like but not quite our own, people who immigrate create a second copy of themselves the moment they cross the border, leaving one self behind in their old country as a second self moves on to their new home. These two selves, now different “instances”, can choose to go their own ways. Or they can keep in touch, perhaps even hoping to reintegrate into one person someday. Rose Kang hasn’t spoken to her Korean instance, Soyoung, since she moved to America as a child. When Soyoung asks Rose to return to Korea for their grandfather’s funeral, she has a secret plan that would upend both of their lives. It’s a gripping premise that’s beautifully executed with complex characters and propulsive prose.
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Africanfuturist writer Nnedi Okorafor’s Death of the Author is a bit like a mind-bending sci-fi story within a gripping literary novel. Nigerian American professor Zelu fears she’s hit rock bottom when she’s fired from her university job right as her latest novel is rejected, coinciding with her sister’s wedding amidst a tangle of family drama. Desperate to turn around her financial situation, Zelu writes a fast-paced sci-fi novel about AI after the end of humanity. It’s a runaway success — but the story also starts to haunt Zelu’s real life in unsettling ways. Okorafor is a must-read author for sci-fi fans, and this book is an excellent place to start.
Luminous by Silvia Park
In this character-driven high-tech dystopian novel set in a reunified Korea, the widespread popularity of robots and bionic enhancements have blurred the lines between human and machine. Three siblings grapple with their new world: one is an investigator of robot crimes, another is a robot designer, and the little brother they thought they’d lost forever lives on with the help of robotic parts, destined to find them again. It’s a perspective-shifting novel that questions what it means to be human in the digital era.
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Sequoia Nagamatsu starts his extraordinary story with a dark moment for humanity: Researchers in the Arctic Circle have discovered an ancient and extremely dangerous virus emerging from melting permafrost. Things get much worse for a while, as the virus claims countless lives and reshapes the world for future generations. But as we travel forward in time across generations with each chapter, we slowly see a more hopeful future take shape. It’s a stunning and heart-rending story that explores how humanity always finds a way to remake ourselves to survive.
Time Travel for Beginners by Jaclyn Moriarty
Weaving sci-fi elements into our contemporary world, Jaclyn Moriarty’s Time Travel for Beginners deeply explores the lives of three people in Sydney who patronize a new time travel agency to go looking for answers to today’s problems in the past. But the more they look into the agency’s methods and start experimenting with time travel, the more the ripple effects of their actions begin to change everything. It’s a bit whimsical and playful for some fun haters to call it “literary”, but who among us couldn’t use a little more (cleverly written) whimsy these days?
Pedro the Vast by Simón López Trujillo, translated by Robin Myers
Part dystopian sci-fi, part eco-horror, this surreal novella by Chilean writer Simón López Trujillo will crawl under your skin and stay there long past the final chapter. A strange fungus is uncovered as the source of an illness among eucalyptus farmers. All those infected die — until Pedro awakens from a coma, making bizarre statements an expert mycologist thinks might be prophecies coming directly from the fungus. With hypnotizing prose and intriguing insights into the relationship between humanity and nature, it’s a challenging and deeply rewarding read.
Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera
This experimental, multidimensional novel tells an epic love story against the backdrop of an expansive, dark sci-fi world. Two souls first meet as survivors of a war in a fractured nation searching for peace. Once they’ve connected, no amount of violence or disaster can tear them apart. They’re reincarnated in life after life and always find each other across generations, continents, and universes. Vajra Chandrasekera’s gorgeous writing and expansive world-building make this a sci-fi story like no other.
The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
Lily Brooks-Dalton’s The Light Pirate dabbles in sci-fi, cli-fi, dystopia, and fantasy. But no matter what you call it, it’s an undeniably brilliant book that will spin you up in a web of gorgeous prose and have you obsessed by the end of the first chapter. In a near-future Florida eroded by climate change, a baby is born in the middle of a hurricane and given the storm’s name: Wanda. Wanda witnesses horrific natural disasters due to climate change, but the circumstances of her birth also left her with an inexplicable gift for survival. Brooks-Dalton is an enormously gifted writer, and her characters from this book have continued to stick with me for years since reading it.
I hope this list helped you find more literary science fiction to add to your TBR! You might also enjoy:
- 8 Must-Read Literary Fantasy Books
- Thought-Provoking Novels About AI
- Best Science Fiction Books of the Century (So Far)