We’re in a Post-apocalyptic Golden Age. Not even during the Cold War were science fiction books about the apocalypse and life afterward so popular.
Here’s a chart of the top Post-apocalyptic science fiction books, and when they were published.
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Review: The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters
A man dies in an apparent suicide, but a police detective suspects it may be murder. However, he can’t get anyone else to care because a four-mile-wide asteroid is going to hit the Earth in six months and probably wipe out humanity.
Best Dystopian Science Fiction Books
Dystopian art by Alex Andreev
(Updated for 2021)
Dystopian fiction is making us scared. Stop writing it!
Or, we’re writing it because we’re already scared, so we should probably write more.
The future, like the present, can be both wonderful and terrifying.
If you find yourself drawn to dystopian stories, ask yourself, “Why?” Is it because the future looks bleak? Or does a truly fresh start sound pretty good?
It’s okay if the answer is both. Feeling strongly about two or more completely contradictory things is deeply human (annoying, but human).
Review: All Systems Red: Murderbot Diaries #1 by Martha Wells
The least human character in All Systems Red is also the most human. A half-robotic creature (or maybe more than half) privately calls itself Murderbot, and it’s got a good reason to. All the humans around it consider it just another security android, which is fine by Murderbot; it’d rather watch bad TV than have to interact with humans.
Best Modern Science Fiction Book Series
Discovering a new book series is a fantastic feeling. Here’s hoping you find something new below.
If none of these is enough for you, look into the Perry Rhodan series. A new novella has been published weekly since 1961, and there are currently over 2700 stories. If that’s still not enough of a challenge for you, they’re also in German.
Review: Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
My whole family had a ton of fun reading Ready Player One, and its sequel Ready Player Two gives more of the same (this is a good thing). There’s a hugely important, intricate puzzle to be solved that requires massive amounts of 80s pop culture knowledge, and our hero and his friends must crack it before the bad guys ruin everything.
Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
I’m a huge fan of Andy Weir’s first book, The Martian, and his new book, Project Hail Mary, is even better. It’s fast-paced, fun, smart, and bold.
Summer 2021 Science Fiction Reading List
With vaccinations finally available, it seems that some semblance of normal is on the horizon, including safely traveling and seeing friends (in person!). Here are some books to take with you.
Review: Halting State by Charles Stross
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: thirty orcs and a dragon rob a bank…
No? That’s the premise of Charles Stross’s hard-science Halting State, where virtual characters rob a virtual bank for millions of not-virtual dollars, and no one has any idea how to solve the crime. It’s fast-paced, seriously smart, and filled with more Scottish that you usually get in science fiction.
The Best Science Fiction Book Sequels
Sometimes the sequel is nearly as good as the original. For all of these fun books, I recommend that you read the original first, and then lower your expectations just a wee bit for the sequel.