If you are searching for escapism by reading about a universe far, far away, or simply seeking a mind-expanding journey into a different dimension, then science fiction is the genre for you – and we have book recommendations. Our most popular interview in this section is our discussion of the latest shortlist for the Arthur C Clarke Award for Science Fiction with the prize's director Tom Hunter; in it, he explains why some of the best sci fi books are thought experiments that explore the human condition through extraterrestrial or futurist allegory.
Recently, climate fiction or cli-fi has become a focus of literary efforts, as authors extrapolate from our impending climate crisis. Dan Bloom and James Bradley have selected their picks of the best cli fi books.
Famous examples of the genre are covered by Adam Roberts, who offers his top five science fiction classics. And Orson Scott Card and Philip Reeve also offer their top five sci fi book recommendations. If you've never read any science fiction but are keen to tip your toe, Nicholas Whyte of the Hugo Awards, recommends the best science fiction books for beginners.
Other highlights include Roger Luckhurst discussion of the best books on and by HG Wells, the 'Shakespeare of science fiction.'
Books regularly recommended in this genre include World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks, and Ursula K Le Guin's gender-bending classic of interplanetary diplomacy Left Hand of Darkness.
Our sci-fi section is curated by Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn, who talks us through her own thoughts about science fiction novels in this 5-minute clip.
The Best Apocalyptic Fiction, recommended by Elliot Ackerman
“Imagination is a national security imperative,” according to acclaimed novelist, journalist and decorated US Marine Elliot Ackerman. He’s written a novel with retired Admiral Jim Stavridis, about what would happen if the US went to war with China. Here, he talks us through his favourite books of apocalyptic fiction—and the truths they reveal about war, humanity, and literature.
The Best Science Fiction of 2020, recommended by Tom Hunter
Sci fi is booming, says Tom Hunter, the director of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science Fiction, as he discusses their 2020 shortlist: six novels that embrace classic sci fi narratives, while subverting or reimagining them for a contemporary audience.
The Best of Speculative Fiction, recommended by Ken Liu
Ken Liu, the multi-award winning author of The Paper Menagerie, explains how using elements of fantasy and science fiction can help us examine deep truths about the human condition, as he recommends the best of contemporary speculative fiction.
The Best Sci Fi Books for Beginners, recommended by Nicholas Whyte
Interested in science fiction, but not sure where to begin? Sceptical of spaceships, but never really given them a chance? We asked Nicholas Whyte, administrator of the World Science Fiction Society’s renowned annual Hugo Awards, to recommend five of the best sci fi books that should appeal to readers new to the genre
The Best Time Travel Books, recommended by Annalee Newitz
If you could go back, or forward, in time — would you? Science journalist and sci-fi novelist Annalee Newitz recommends some of the best time travel books and talks us through the dangers and delights of the genre, which take us from the Ordovician period through to the present day.
The Best H G Wells Books, recommended by Roger Luckhurst
Often described as the ‘father of science fiction’, H G Wells was a man of extraordinary charisma and vivid imagination. Yet he suffered terribly from class anxiety and subscribed to political beliefs we now find abhorrent, says the editor and author Roger Luckhurst. He recommends the best books to learn more about the life and work of the British writer H G Wells.
The Best Sci Fi Books of 2019: The Arthur C Clarke Award Shortlist, recommended by Tom Hunter
If you’re hoping to travel to a galaxy far, far away with your next book, these six excellent sci fi novels will help you on your way. Tom Hunter, the director of the Arthur C Clarke Award for science fiction books, discusses the 2019 prize shortlist.
P W Singer and August Cole choose the best books on World War III
What will the next global conflict look like? Two of America’s leading defence experts, P W Singer and August Cole, turned to science fiction to explore the prospect of a future war, and how existing technology might be used in one. Here, they choose five novels depicting a fictional World War Three that served as inspiration.
The Best Cli-Fi Books, recommended by Dan Bloom
Fiction that explores issues of climate change is growing at an unprecedented rate today, says the journalist who coined the phrase ‘cli-fi’, Dan Bloom. Here, he picks the five best books of the field, and introduces us to a globally important, underexplored literary genre
The best books on Zombies, recommended by Greg Garrett
Zombies have returned with a vengeance in recent years, the secret to their undying popularity lying in their ability to embody many different kinds of menace, from social unrest to pandemics, financial insecurity to international terrorism. Greg Garrett, author of Living with the Living Dead, recommends five books to help you prepare for the zombie apocalypse
The Best Climate Change Novels, recommended by James Bradley
The best fiction allows us to hold ideas in our heads about time and space and causality and connection that are difficult to articulate in other ways, argues the Australian author James Bradley. It helps its readers engage with dangers and possibilities that are at the very edge of imagination
The best books on Existential Risks, recommended by The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk
In the rapidly-emerging field of existential risks, researchers study the mitigation of threats that could lead to human extinction or civilisational collapse. We met with four researchers from The Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, to discuss their recommendations of the best books to get a grasp of this dense subject.