“Mundane” science fiction focuses on already-existing or very plausible technology. No ray guns, warp drives, or time travel here. It’s an unfortunate name, since “mundane” also means “boring,” and these stories are anything but.
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The Best Dying Earth Books
23 Best Fantasy Mystery Books
We like mystery because life is mysterious, and storytelling exists to help us figure out how to live. Mysteries help us figure out how to deal with the unending avalanche of unknowns in our own lives (probably not directly, unless you deal with dead bodies a lot).
Some say that mysteries are popular because people like puzzles. Well, I like a certain kind of mystery, but I’ve never been a puzzle person.
I like Raymond Chandler mysteries, the hard-boiled detective who fights to stay alive while prowling dark alleys and darker minds. Often, I don’t care that much about the final reveal of who the real criminal is. It’s the journey, the tortuous path that I like.
In fantasy especially, the who-dunnit can easily become a what-dunnit.
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The Best Planetary Romance Books
Art from the game MARS Adventure Omnibus (Savage Worlds) by Adamant Entertainment
In planetary romance, the bulk of the action consists of adventures on one or more exotic alien planets, which usually have distinctive physical and cultural backgrounds. Many planetary romance stories are a little goofy and pulpy, but some take their characters a little more seriously. Note that the “romance” part of the term doesn’t refer to romantic love, but to the old-timey definition of romances as a kind of adventure tale (science fiction itself used to be called “scientific romance”).
The Best Xenofiction Books
If you have a non-human point of view, you’ve got xenofiction. Stories can be from the perspective of aliens, AI, robots, sufficiently transformed humans, or even animals, and they’re all in this list.
23 Best Fantasy Graphic Novels
Sandman, © Vertigo Comics
There’s still a stigma to reading graphic novels. As a grown man, I wouldn’t do it in public. However, at home, I love them and I encourage my kid to read every one he gets his hands on.
At their best, graphic novels combine deep, thoughtful storytelling with real works of art. I’m glad to see that great comics are still being written and drawn (and inked and colored).
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Review: Early Riser by Jasper Fforde
The Earth is just a tiny bit farther away from the sun in Early Riser, but that’s enough to make the winters harsh enough that humans have evolved to hibernate. The exception are the Winter Consuls, a group of misfits tasked with keeping the sleeping population safe.
9 Best Ben Bova Books
Ben Bova wrote over 120 science fiction and fact books and won the Hugo six (!) times. Unfortunately, he recently passed away at the age of 88 due to Covid-19-related pneumonia and a stroke. This list is a tribute to his vast body of work, which focused on hard science.
However, his writing style may come across as dated to modern readers, as does an occasional reliance on clichés and stock characters.
The Worst Warlock by A. A. Livingston & Dan Livingston
Apologies for the self-promotion, but my New-York-Times-bestselling wife and I wrote an audiobook and I’m pretty excited about it.
The Worst Warlock is a humorous fantasy narrated by excellent British actor Carey Mulligan.
Review: Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick by David Wong
I’m a big fan of author David Wong, and his latest family-friendly-read-aloud-to-the-kids book, Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick, is awesome. As usual, Wong combines outrageous humor with surprisingly deep, three-dimensional characters, and very little literal dick-punching.