A Beginner's Guide to Science Fiction
Have you ever wanted to travel the galaxies, meet dinosaurs, or delve into the depths of the sea all without leaving your home? Then we’ve got the books for you!
Welcome to our beginner’s guide to science fiction. Here we’ll break down everything you need to know to get you started on your fantastic voyage into a genre that can be a bit intimidating for some.
But fear not!
You do not need to be a rocket scientist to understand how the USS Enterprise or the Tardis work. So long as you have an imagination and a willingness to explore new worlds, concepts, and ideas, then you too can enjoy the intriguing world of science fiction.
What is science fiction?
Science fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction, which is an umbrella term for all works of fiction that defy the common laws of our reality such as fantasy, superhero stories, etc.. Works of science fiction use scientific fact and theory as the basis for their plots, world-building, etc., and this is what separates them from other genres.
While some authors use proven scientific facts and theories, others use more nebulous science in their stories. In some cases, science fiction has been able to predict future advancements and technological marvels.The works of Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and even Gene Roddenberry (the creator of Star Trek) discussed then-unfounded scientific principles and functions so believably that they inspired future inventors and creators.
The origins of science fiction are a hotly debated topic among scholars and literary critics, but most people can agree that science fiction as we currently know it was defined by the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankensteinin 1818. Shelley’s novel has continuously thrilled, horrified, and mesmerized readers in the 200 years since its publication because of the uniqueness of its powerful narrative.
Although Frankenstein is primarily a gothic horror novel, it differs from its predecessors by one crucial aspect: the monster was created through science, not magic. Up until this point, monsters or villains were usually presented as supernatural or magical creatures. Shelley never goes into detail as to how her monster was created, however, she very clearly states that the protagonist, Victor Frankenstein, used scientific theory and experiments to bring the dead back to life. Her novel was one of the first to explore the relationship between mankind and scientific advancement. Even the 1931 Universal film adaptation of her work, Frankenstein, paved the way for science fiction films by introducing the idea of “the mad scientist,” which would become a staple of the genre.
In short, science fiction is fiction that either explores mankind’s relationship with technology/scientific advancements, such as Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot, or uses a science fiction framework to offer up social commentary, such as Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness.
Usually works of science fiction explore alternative universes or histories where technology made an important impact, causing either utopias, post apocalyptic landscapes, or dystopias such as in The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Others offer up social commentary by exploring the consequences of humankind encountering new worlds or new civilizations such as Robert Wise’s 1951 film, The Day the Earth Stood Still.
What’s the difference between science fiction and fantasy?
Science fiction relies on scientific fact and theory to provide answers whereas fantasy does not. In a fantasy story such as Carlo Collodi’s Pinocchio, a puppet boy is brought to life through the use of magic, without an explanation of what magic really is or how it works. In a science fiction story, such as Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy, a robot is brought to life and given human emotions by his scientist creator. Science fiction involves science. Fantasy involves magic. That is the difference.
What else should I know?
Generally speaking, there are two categories of science fiction that a reader should be aware of: hard science fiction (hard SF) and soft science fiction (soft SF).
Novels in the hard SF category will heavily focus on the relationship of the narrative to the technology or science of its setting. The author will strive to make the science as accurate as possible using theories of chemistry, physic, etc., and this knowledge will be important to the story. For instance, a novel that delivers an exhaustive, in-depth explanation of how its spaceship operates, or the geological compositon of its host planet will most likely fall under the hard SF category. In short, hard SF will heavily promote the science part of its fiction.
Soft SF is the opposite. A soft SF novel may feature a spaceship, but it will not necessarily tell you what kind of fuel it uses or even how it runs because that sort of knowledge has little to no bearing on the narrative. Soft SF novels also tend to focus on more of the social sciences (sociology, psychology, etc) rather than the natural sciences (chemistry, physics, etc.). Both categories have developed their own sub-categories, and sub-sub-categories, but these are the two most important distinctions that beginners should be aware of.
Where should I start?
Here we’ve gathered recommended titles based off of some famous science fiction subgenres. From Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea to Ridley Scott's Alien, the decades and centuries following the publication of Shelley’s Frankenstein would be full of other works of science fiction that cross genre divides in much the same way that Shelley did. This means there is something out there for everyone, so be prepared to boldly go where you haven’t gone before and dive into some science fiction today!
Action/Adventure
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Professor Aronnax, his faithful servant, Conseil, and the Canadian harpooner, Ned Land, begin an extremely hazardous voyage to rid the seas of a little-known and terrifying sea monster. However, the "monster" turns out to be a giant submarine, commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo, by whom they are soon held captive. So begins not only one of the great adventure classics by Jules Verne, the "Father of Science Fiction," but also a truly fantastic voyage from the lost city of Atlantis to the South Pole.
Fifth Element (1997)
Two hundred and fifty years in the future, life as we know it is threatened by the arrival of Evil. Only the fifth element can stop the Evil from estinguishing life, as it tries to do every five thousand years.
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
First serialized in the pulp magazine All-Story Magazine between February and July of 1912, A Princess of Mars is the first novel in Edgar Rice Burroughs’s classic Barsoom series, set on the planet Mars. At the center of the series is the protagonist John Carter, a Confederate Captain of the American Civil War, who finds himself mysteriously transported to the planet Mars. Upon arrival John Carter discovers that the lower gravity of the planet has endowed him a super human strength and agility. This prowess helps him to win the allegiance of the Tharks, a nomadic war-like tribe of green six-limbed aliens.
Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Mars is a desert world, a dying planet which is caught in the conflict between the Green Martians, or the Tharks, and the Red Martians, a group of humanoids who inhabit a loose network of city-states and control the planet’s canals and agriculture. John Carter soon finds himself embroiled in the political conflict between the two Red Martian city states of Zodanga and Helium when he rescues and falls in love with the beautiful Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium. A Princess of Mars is both a romantic adventure and a science fiction tale of fantasy which has been an inspiration to countless science fiction writers ever since its first publication.
Anime
Akira (1988)
Clandestine army activities threaten the war-torn city of Neo-Tokyo when a mysterious being with powerful psychic abilities escapes his prison and inadvertently draws a violent motorcycle gang into a heinous web of experimentation. As a result, a biker with a twisted mind embarks on a path of war, seeking revenge against a society that once called him weak.
Cowboy Bebop: The Complete Series (1998)
The Bebop crew is just trying to make a buck. This motley lot of intergalactic loners teams up to track down fugitives and turn them in for cold hard cash. On their own, any one of them would be likely to get lost in the sprawl of space, but together, they're the most entertaining gang of bounty hunters in the year 2071.
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
In 2029 a female cybernetic government agent and the Internal Bureau of Investigations are hot on the trail of "The Puppet Master", a mysterious and threatening computer virus capable of infiltrating human hosts. Together, with her fellow agents from Section 9, they embark on a high-tech race against time to capture the omnipresent entity.
Comedy
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Seconds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.
Together, this dynamic pair began a journey through space aided by a galaxyful of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox—the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian (formerly Tricia McMillan), Zaphod’s girlfriend, whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; and Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he’s bought over the years.
The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.
Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
Dimension Travel
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Meg Murry, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.
Dinosaurs
The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
The restless, questing intellect of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle spurred him far beyond the ingenious puzzles he constructed for Sherlock Holmes. In The Lost World, Doyle, a devotee of the occult and fantastic tales of adventure and discovery, introduces his readers to Professor Challenger, an eccentric paleontologist, on his suspense-filled search for prehistoric creatures in the wilds of the Amazon. Professor Challenger's doughty troupe includes a skeptical colleague, Professor Summerlee; the cool-headed, plucky sportsman Lord John Roxton; and the narrator, the intrepid reporter Edward Malone. When their bridge to civilization collapses, the explorers find themselves marooned among dinosaurs and savage ape-people.
Originally published in 1912, this imaginative fantasy unfolds with humor and good-natured satirical eye for pedantry. Fans of Arthur Conan Doyle will delight in this rare gem, as will dinosaur fanciers and adventure story aficionados.
Jurassic Park: A Novel by Michael Crichton
On a remote jungle island, genetic engineers have created a dinosaur game park. But as always there is a dark side to the fantasy and after a catastrophe destroys the park's defence systems, the scientists and tourists are left fighting for survival.
Dystopia
For more recommendations check out our post End of the World as We Know It: Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic, and Dystopian Worlds.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
In a future totalitarian state where books are banned and destroyed by the government, Guy Montag, a fireman in charge of burning books, meets a revolutionary schoolteacher who dares to read and a girl who tells him of a past when people did not live in fear...
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
This look at the near future presents the story of Offred, a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, once the United States, an oppressive world where women are no longer allowed to read and are valued only as long as they are viable for reproduction.
The Philip K. Dick Reader by Philip K. Dick
This collection includes some of Dick’s earliest short and medium-length fiction, including We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (the story that inspired the motion picture Total Recall), Second Variety (which inspired the motion picture Screamers), Paycheck, The Minority Report, and twenty more.
Feminist Science Fiction
Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
A lone human ambassador is sent to Winter, an alien world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants can change their gender whenever they choose. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters . . .
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.
Mizora by Mary E. Bradley Lane
This new edition of Mizora, about an 1880's radical feminist utopia, includes a new, extensive introduction that provides a critical apparatus to appropriately place Mizora and author Mary E. Bradley in the cultural and historical context of the nineteenth century. A precursor to Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward, Mizora is the first all female utopian novel in American literature. The novel follows its heroine Vera Zarovitch, a stalwart, husky woman from the Russian nobility who, after exile to Siberia, withstands the rigors of the Arctic wastelands to become the first woman to reach the North Pole. She becomes caught up in a whirling current that rushes her through walls of amber mists and drops her into the sweet-scented atmosphere of a land lying in the earth's interior - Mizora, a three-thousand-year-old feminist utopia.
Horror
Alien (1979)
Terror begins when the crew of a spaceship investigates a transmission from a desolate planet and discover a life form that is perfectly evolved to annihilate mankind.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The story of Dr. Frankenstein and the obsessive experiment that leads to the creation of a monstrous and deadly creature.
Frankenstein Dreams: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Science Fiction edited by Michael Sims
Long before 1984, Star Wars, or The Hunger Games, Victorian authors imagined a future where new science and technologies reshaped the world and universe they knew. The great themes of modern science fiction showed up surprisingly early: space and time travel, dystopian societies, even dangerously independent machines, all inspiring the speculative fiction of the Victorian era.
In Frankenstein Dreams, Michael Sims has gathered many of the very finest stories, some by classic writers such as Jules Verne, Mary Shelley, and H.G. Wells, but many that will surprise general readers. Dark visions of the human psyche emerge in Thomas Wentworth Higginson's "The Monarch of Dreams," while Mary E. Wilkins Freeman provides a glimpse of “the fifth dimension” in her provocative tale "The Hall Bedroom.'
With contributions by Edgar Allan Poe, Alice Fuller, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, Arthur Conan Doyle, and many others, each introduced by Michael Sims, whose elegant introduction provides valuable literary and historical context, Frankenstein Dreams is a treasure trove of stories known and rediscovered.
The Thing (1982)
Set in the winter of 1982 at a research station in Antarctica, a twelve man research team finds an alien being that has fallen from the sky and has remained buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Unfrozen and unleashed, the Thing creates havoc and terror as it changes forms and becomes one of them.
Neo-Noir
Blade Runner (1982)
Los Angeles, 2019: Rick Deckard of the LAPD's Blade Runner unit prowls the steel & microchip jungle of the 21st century. His job is to track down and eliminate assumed humanoids known as 'replicants.' Replicants were declared illegal after a bloody mutiny on an Off-World Colony, and are to be terminated upon detection. He wants to get out of the force, but is drawn back in when 6 "skin jobs," the slang for replicants, hijack a ship back to Earth. The city that Deckard must search for his prey is a huge, sprawling, bleak vision of the future.
Post-Apocalyptic
For more recommendations check out our post End of the World as We Know It: Apocalyptic, Post-Apocalyptic, and Dystopian Worlds.
Mad Max (1979)
In a world after a nuclear war, where gas is scarce, civilization is slowly fading away. After one cop's family is killed by a ruthless gang, he goes after them, seeking revenge.
Planet of the Apes (1968)
After crash-landing on an uncharted planet, astronaut Taylor finds himself trapped in a savage world where talking apes dominate the human race.
Robots/Andriods/Cyborgs, etc.
Be sure to see even more mecha recommendations here!
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
The three laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm 2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
With these three, simple directives, Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future--a future in which humanity itself may be rendered obsolete. Here are stories of robots gone mad, of mind-read robots, and robots with a sense of humor. Of robot politicians, and robots who secretly run the world--all told with the dramatic blend of science fact and science fiction that has become Asmiov's trademark.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
By 2021, the World War has killed millions, driving entire species into extinction and sending mankind off-planet. Those who remain covet any living creature, and for people who can’t afford one, companies built incredibly realistic simulacra: horses, birds, cats, sheep. They’ve even built humans. Immigrants to Mars receive androids so sophisticated they are indistinguishable from true men or women. Fearful of the havoc these artificial humans can wreak, the government bans them from Earth. Driven into hiding, unauthorized androids live among human beings, undetected. Rick Deckard, an officially sanctioned bounty hunter, is commissioned to find rogue androids and “retire” them. But when cornered, androids fight back—with lethal force. Dick's novel served as the inspiration for Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982).
All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka; translated by Alexander O. Smith
When the alien Mimics invade, Keiji Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor called a Jacket and sent out to kill. Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again. On his fifth iteration, he gets a message from a mysterious ally -- the female soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch. Is she the key to Keiji's escape or his final death?
Romance
Warrior's Woman by Johanna Lindsey
Experienced in combat but not in love, the beautiful, untouched Amazon flies with Martha, her wise-cracking, free-thinking computer, to a world where warriors reign supreme—and into the arms of the one man she can never hope to vanquish: the bronzed barbarian Challen Ly-San-Ter.
A magnificent creature of raw yet disciplined desires, the muscle-bound primitive succeeds where no puny Kystran male had before—igniting a raging fire within Tedra that must be extinguished before she can even think of saving her enslaved world . . .
Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi
Alana Quick is the best damned sky surgeon in Heliodor City, but repairing starship engines barely pays the bills. When the desperate crew of a cargo vessel stops by her shipyard looking for her spiritually-advanced sister, Nova, Alana stows away. Maybe her boldness will land her a long-term gig on the crew.
But the Tangled Axon proves to be more than star-watching and plasma coils. The chief engineer thinks he's a wolf. The pilot fades in and out of existence. The captain is all blond hair, boots, and ego . . . and Alana can't keep her eyes off her. But there's little time for romance: Nova's in danger and someone will do anything—even destroying planets—to get their hands on her!
Space Opera
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.
Star Trek: The Original Series. Season 1(1966-1967)
In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.
Time Travel
Doctor Who The Complete First Series (2005)
The Doctor and his companion Rose travel around the universe and through time to battle Daleks and other evil aliens.
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
First published in 1895, the novel follows the adventures of a hypothetical Time Traveller who journeys into the future to find that humanity has evolved into two races: the peaceful Eloi—vegetarians who tire easily—and the carnivorous, predatory Morlocks.
After narrowly escaping from the Morlocks, the Time Traveller undertakes another journey even further into the future where he finds the earth growing bitterly cold as the heat and energy of the sun wane. Horrified, he returns to the present, but soon departs again on his final journey.
While the novel is underpinned with both Darwinian and Marxist theory and offers fascinating food for thought about the world of the future, it also succeeds as an exciting blend of adventure and pseudo-scientific romance. Sure to delight lovers of the fantastic and bizarre, The Time Machine is a book that belongs on the shelf of every science-fiction fan.
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Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!
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Book descriptions taken from NYPL catalog unless otherwise noted.