Books by Andy Weir
“I’ve read it three times, I think it’s wonderful. It’s not a romance – it’s about friendship, and this is part of our theme of bringing human emotions to sci fi. The setup is that a new thing has been discovered that eats stars, and it’s been discovered in our sun, in the very near future. At first this doesn’t seem like a huge problem, but then it very much is. Scientists, including the main character, realise that the sun is going to go out unless they can find a way to kill these things – they’re called astrophages, a very cool name. The book opens with the main character, Ryland, waking up from a stasis sleep on a ship with no idea who he is or how he’s got there…As with all Andy Weir’s characters, he’s really funny and he responds to terrible bad luck and confusion with this endless good cheer.” Read more...
The Best Sci-Fi Romance Novels
Natasha Pulley, Novelist
“It’s a fabulous book of something that will likely be in our near future. The book started as chapters that were released for free and everyone was effusive in their praise for the accuracy of the technical details and the acumen of the writer to get everything just right. Even though it’s fiction, everything’s based on technology and methods that exist. It required no new technology that we don’t have right now.” Read more...
Space Travel and Science Fiction Books
Christopher Mason, Scientist
Interviews where books by Andy Weir were recommended
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.
Space Travel and Science Fiction Books, recommended by Christopher Mason
Space travel may be the stuff of science fiction but some of it is getting closer and closer to becoming reality. What’s more, we have a duty to pursue it, says Christopher Mason, Professor of Genomics, Physiology, and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine and author of The Next 500 Years, a blueprint of how to set about leaving our solar system. Here, he recommends his favourite science fiction about space travel, and an essential philosophy book.
The Best Sci-Fi Romance Novels, recommended by Natasha Pulley
Sci fi opens up new possibilities for romance stories, unconstrained by social reality. It’s an exciting time for the genre, says Natasha Pulley, bestselling author of The Mars House. Through her five contemporary favourites, she explores how human emotion – including romantic love and friendship – elevates the best sci-fi novels, creating stories with realism and depth.
The Best Audiobooks: the 2022 Audie Awards, recommended by Michele Cobb
The movie industry has the Oscars to celebrate its achievements, but if you love audiobooks, you’ll be more interested in the Audies. Here Michele Cobb, Executive Director of the Audio Publishers Association, talks us through the 2022 shortlist for ‘audiobook of the year,’ as well as one of her favourite books from the fiction category.
