I’m hoping that the film Project Hail Mary might tempt a few more people to try reading science fiction. I’ve been a lover of science fiction since I first read Robert Heinlein way back in the 1970s. I’m a Trekkie and a Whovian and loved Blake’s Seven, but books are always better with SF as the screen can never outdo your own imagination. I still read SF today and I’m amazed that so many people tell me they don’t like science fiction. It’s such a varied genre that I’m firmly of the belief that these people just haven’t found “their SF” yet.
If you’ve not read any, or not much SF but are inspired by the Artemis II mission or Project Hail Mary to give it a try, here are some mostly Moon or Mars oriented titles to start you off.
Artemis – Andy Weir
Of course if you liked Project Hail Mary you should try another Andy Weir book. This one is set on a lunar colony and is about the challenges of life on the moon from the technical to the personal. The main character is Jasmine Bashara, a criminal trying to pull off the biggest heist of her life. Of course it has all Weir’s trademark science-y stuff.
The Apollo Murders – Chris Hadfield
Yes, that Chris Hadfield, astronaut. A pacy cold war style thriller set during the Apollo era and Hadfield brings all his NASA knowledge, making this a very authentic read.
Orbital – Samantha Harvey
This recently won the Booker Prize and deservedly so. A short novella set on a spacecraft orbiting the Earth focusing on the six astronauts and their experiences watching the Earth turn below.
Red Mars – Kim Stanley Robinson
A detailed and thought-provoking story about colonising and terraforming Mars, focusing on the science and politics. It won both the Nebula and BSFA awards for Best Novel.
Leviathan Wakes – James S. A. Corey
I was always going to recommend this. It’s technically not Earth-based but a lot of the action takes place on Mars and various moons of Jupiter. It’s my favourite SF series. It was everything – techy stuff, interesting characters, aliens, strange planets, politics, space battles, a weird detective – there’s something for everyone. And if you can’t commit to reading all 9 volumes, then do yourself a favour and watch the TV series.
The Calculating Stars – Mary Robinette Kowal
An alternative history whereby the Earth is all but destroyed by a meteorite in the 1950s and the only hope for humanity is to colonise The Moon and then Mars. Focussing on a set of women who want to be astronauts in a very male-dominated society. If you liked the TV series For All Mankind, then you’ll love this.
Red Rising – Pierce Brown
Mars-based SF with a nod to fantasy here. Darrow is a Red, member of the lowest caste in a colour-coded society. He works hard at the most dangerous of jobs to provide for his family, but the Reds have been betrayed and lied to by the Gold ruling caste and Darrow sets out to infiltrate their training institute in an attempt to bring them down.
This is by no means a comprehensive list. There really is science fiction for everyone, whether you like detective fiction, literary fiction, fantasy – science fiction has it all. If you’d like to explore more but don’t know where to start, then you could do worse then sign up for one of our SF subscriptions. If you tell us what makes you tick in terms of other genres we can find you some SF along similar lines. And if, like me, you’ve been a fan for a long time, or just fancy going back to where it all started, we do a vintage SF subscription too, full of vintage paperbacks with amazing cover art.
