• Science Fiction - The Martian by Andy Weir
  • Science Fiction - The Word for World is Forest by Ursula Le Guin
  • Science Fiction - Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
  • Science Fiction - Starship Troopers by Robert A Heinlein
  • Science Fiction - The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

Science Fiction, recommended by Scientists on Five Books

“The best science fiction is heavy on science and light on fiction,” Professor Chris Mason told us in his interview on science fiction and space travel. A geneticist and computational biologist at Cornell, he is just one of several scientists who have recommended sci-fi books on our site. Here, we’ve collected all our sci-fi books recommended by scientists—good choices for readers who like their fiction scientific.

  • The Best Science Fiction of 2023: The Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist - Venomous Lumpsucker: A Novel by Ned Beauman
  • The Best Science Fiction of 2023: The Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist - The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard
  • The Best Science Fiction of 2023: The Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist - Plutoshine by Lucy Kissick
  • The Best Science Fiction of 2023: The Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist - The Anomaly by Hervé le Tellier, translated by Adriana Hunter
  • The Best Science Fiction of 2023: The Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist - The Coral Bones by E.J. Swift
  • The Best Science Fiction of 2023: The Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist - Metronome by Tom Watson

The Best Science Fiction of 2023: The Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist, recommended by Tom Hunter

Every year, the judges of the Arthur C Clarke Award select the best sci-fi novels of the previous twelve months. We asked prize director Tom Hunter to talk us through the six science fiction books that made the 2023 shortlist—including a space opera romance and a high-concept action thriller that has already won the most prestigious award in Francophone literature.

  • The Best Sci Fi Books on Space Settlement - Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
  • The Best Sci Fi Books on Space Settlement - The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
  • The Best Sci Fi Books on Space Settlement - Cibola Burn by James S. A. Corey
  • The Best Sci Fi Books on Space Settlement - Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
  • The Best Sci Fi Books on Space Settlement - The Word for World is Forest by Ursula Le Guin

The Best Sci Fi Books on Space Settlement, recommended by Erika Nesvold

We look to the stars and imagine a new home for humanity, an escape from the troubles that plague us here on Earth, but as astrophysicist Erika Nesvold points out, many of our problems will join us on our voyage. Here, she selects five science fiction books that illuminate the challenges and possible conflicts we’ll face if we head for this new frontier.   

  • The Best Books by Arthur C. Clarke - The Sands of Mars by Arthur C. Clarke
  • The Best Books by Arthur C. Clarke - The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke
  • The Best Books by Arthur C. Clarke - A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke
  • The Best Books by Arthur C. Clarke - The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke
  • The Best Books by Arthur C. Clarke - The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke

The Best Books by Arthur C. Clarke, recommended by Paul March-Russell

Arthur C. Clarke is one of the biggest names in science fiction, epitomizing an era of space exploration and scientific optimism. Paul March-Russell, co-editor of the essay collection Rendezvous with Arthur C. Clarke, talks us through his work and argues that Clarke should be remembered for the nuances of his writing and his humility about man’s place in the awe-inspiring cosmos.

  • The Best Sci-Fi Mysteries - Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
  • The Best Sci-Fi Mysteries - Lock In by John Scalzi
  • The Best Sci-Fi Mysteries - The City & the City by China Miéville
  • The Best Sci-Fi Mysteries - The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
  • The Best Sci-Fi Mysteries - A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

The Best Sci-Fi Mysteries, recommended by Mary Robinette Kowal

When the rules for technology, geography and even personal identity can be changed, murder mysteries get complicated – and fascinating. Mary Robinette Kowal, award-winning novelist and author of the Hugo-nominated mystery The Spare Man, talks to us about her top five sci-fi mystery books – and takes us on a tour of the whodunnits, howdunnits, and whydunnits available to us in science fictional worlds.

  • The Best Science Fiction Books About Aliens - Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
  • The Best Science Fiction Books About Aliens - Solaris by Stanisław Lem
  • The Best Science Fiction Books About Aliens - Semiosis by Sue Burke
  • The Best Science Fiction Books About Aliens - The Sparrow by Maria Doria Russell
  • The Best Science Fiction Books About Aliens - Embassytown by China Miéville

The Best Science Fiction Books About Aliens, recommended by Jaime Green

Science fiction helps us work through not only the possibilities of the cosmos but also the nature of humanity itself, argues Jaime Green—science writer and author of a new book on the search for alien biology, The Possibility of Life. Here she highlights five classic works of sci-fi that explore ideas of consciousness and communication in the setting of outer space.