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Hey, guys welcome back today, I will recommend The 16 Best Science Fiction Books for Adults to Read in 2023 and I decided to do all the best adult sci-fi books kind of like following the genre of my high fantasy book recommendations article, which was so much fun to make obviously.
I really like science fiction and it's one of those genres that I do like slower books so a lot of these are gonna be slower books and I have some classics.
The 16 Best Science Fiction Books for Adults to Read in 2023
I have been doing a lot of book recommendations articles I started with the middle grade then went to young adult contemporary, adult science fiction, and fantasy and now I am going to recommend to you guys good sci-fi books under the adult category, and that all are under the genre of science fiction.
So I'm gonna recommend about 16 Best Adults Sci-Fi Books and Series You Won't Want to Miss today and let's get started.
1. Recursion: A Novel
Recursion: A Novel by Blake Crouch
This is an adult science fiction book in which were follow our main character he's a detective who's investigating the so-called false memory syndrome in which people who are infected by false memory syndrome are suffering from mental problems and eventually they try to commit suicide and they died.
what's really shocking about these false memory syndromes is that if you're exposed to people who do have this disease you know and that will get infected and then after a few days you also find yourself trying to you know to commit suicide it's kind of dark and kind of depressing and we're probably I mean character says he's tried to investigate what's really happening here where this false memory syndrome disease came from is it man-made or there's trace and conspires is behind it he's trying to save the lives of these people who are infected and while doing that in the process he was able to discover that it's something big that he something that he didn't really expect so yeah if you are looking forward to your book or a science fiction adult science fiction books they do have a lot of conspiracies and a lot of thriller aspects to it.
I highly suggest this one the main reason why I did not like this book because of the info damping yeah I know science fiction so it's there is speculation there's a lot of info-dumping I do understand that but my problem and this one is that because it was too much I was expecting a lot in front of me but the info-dumping on this one was too much and it kind of affects my in it affected my enjoyment on reading this book.
I was not able to really follow it easily the story was kind of very confusing and vague and it really gave me a really hard time following the story because of the too much info-dumping the plots were cool it was all over the place for me and it needs some you know polishing but at the end of the day it was still a good read if you're not into you adult science fiction books that do you have some like too much important thing then you need to avoid this one.
2. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: A Novel (The Carls)
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: A Novel (The Carls) by Hank Green
This is going to be 'an absolutely remarkable thing' by Hank Green. this is a TV novel Hunting is the brother of John Green, of course, the guys know who John Green II is and the absolutely remarkable thing is an adult science fiction and this is the first of the series I was actually surprised because I was expecting that this is going to be standalone but after reading the first book I discovered that this is the first book of the series I don't know how many books do will be in the series.
we are following our main characters as they're actually Iago and they're actually the first individual or humans who discover the cars are actually basically these are the contraptions that came out of nowhere and they're just all over the earth our main characters able to locate we discover the first Karl's in New York and they tried to film it and try to make a vlog of it and then ours after day it went viral and it changed their life they became an instant celebrity a big social media influencers where they were as the first human beings who got who you know first contact with the carl's what I did not but this again
I did not like this book because I need not really expect is going to be character-driven I was expecting it's going to be a science fiction aerobic watts and this one there's a plot but not much plot and the plot is kind of weak it's more of a character-driven than the plot-driven book so if you are a character-driven reader and you want to read character-driven science fiction I highly suggest you need to check this one out I can say that this is a character-driven because we're following our main characters as we try to follow their lives after they discovered girls.
how it affected them how Fame is and how Fame changed them change their motivations their decisions in life how Carl really changed their relationships with their families and friends it was something that we did not really expect but if you're into that then I highly suggest you pick this one up aside from this issues for this book is because of the pacing it kind of really started really really slow at first but things get you to know things get better towards the end.
3. Feed
Feed by Mira Grant
I'm going to recommend to you guys is an adult science fiction it's a post-apocalyptic this is Feed by a Mira grant. Mira Grant is also known as Shannon McGuire the author of every heart is the Doorway this is the first book of the trilogy and the 2011 Nuga Award, finalist.
this is a zombie apocalypse we're following our main characters in this world where there are zombies everywhere and they are journalists there are brother and sister who were hired by this governor because there's a coming election and the governor needs a public relations officer to help him aid his campaign to win this governor again to the next term and he hired our main characters to help him spread his platforms.
what I do really love about this book is that this is not just a science fiction book it's a satire I think if we're going to take obey the zombie element from this book it's actually a tackle of how the systems in our government are working and there's a lot of conspiracies it brings a lot of ink if it's a fiction but it's again a satyr it affects the how incompetent the process is our government officials are so if you're into that kind of stories where we're following our journalists trying to give light to what's really happening behind the door or behind the offices of the government then you need to check this one out and also there's.
there's this zombie twist to it so they're expecting some you know zombies running after humans where there are guns killing zombies and this action and it's a thriller and of course, the fear of getting infected or being bitten by zombies adds to the ads you know spice to the story so again if you are a reader looking for a science fiction book post-apocalyptic zombie apocalypse with satire to the government and how she did the government is the social aspects of the government I highly suggest you need to read this one this is more of a character-driven also so if you're also a character-driven render you need to check this one out.
4. The Age of Miracles: A Novel
The Age of Miracles: A Novel by Karen Thompson Walker
This is the first third au novel and this was probably from the year 2011 there 2012 I read this not because someone recommended this I'd read this not because of the story I just picked this one up because of the cover I do feel way back when I was in the first year in pharmacy school I was really rabid I gravitated toward the cover and I picked this one up I didn't really expect it was science fiction.
it was this good I really loved this book again this is another science fiction character-driven story where we are following our main characters who are expecting that the earth will and two months from now humans can't do anything about it but just you know to wait for me I'm through and things in the earth trying to change the gravity tries to change so birds can't fly anymore we else are dying and affects the economy people are scrambling people are in the panic mode and people are really desperate at the same time they don't they couldn't really do anything about it because they can't get out of this planet and this planet is about to you it's for now.
so we're following our main characters as they try to live their life to the fullest while before the earth ends and try to mend relationships and try to fix what was broken before they die it's getting emotional at the same time kind of sad kind of depressing because and start you definitely have this feeling okay this will not end really good it's kind of darker than emotional and that's one thing I really about really liked about this book.
5. Red Rising
let's look I'm going to recommend to you guys is going to be red rising by Pierce Brown. this is an adult science fiction book the first of the series and this one is a mature or an old version or an amateur version of Hunger Games I can say it's a hundred because the plop in this one is that we follow your main characters is trying to survive in this arena where their set of teenagers who are competing for a position in the government and whoever wins will get the highest position will be bid to the highest position.
we are following our main characters in the world we're settled by class in different kinds of classes categorized by color red is basically the lowest of the hierarchy they're considered a slave and our main character is red and he disguised himself with the help of sound you know friends and connections to be gold is basically top gear and those who are joining the competition's you get the spot and the government and the army is basically the gold people.
so in order for him to get there and infiltrate the system he needs to disguise himself as Gold and play the game it's bloody and it's there's a lot of action it's action-packed and something that there's it's a must-read for everyone because again it echoes the hierarchy the social system how unfair the social system is not just in this world but you can actually relate it to what is really happening in this world and in our society, therefore, you need to check this one out how do you recommend it action-packed.
6. Ready Player One: A Novel
Ready Player One: A Novel by Ernest Cline
the next book that I'm going to recommend to you guys is actually my all-time favorite look this is going to be ready player one by Ernest Cline.
if you loved the movie I highly recommend you need to check this book because the book is three thousand times or 1 million times better than the movie good it was kind of disappointing if you've read the book because he expected a lot since the book was really good but I do understand why the filmmakers are only able to produce that kind of quality in the movie to do some limitations but yeah I still do enjoy it but I highly suggest you need to check the book because the book was phenomenal.
we were following our main character Wade he is also known as Possible in the game named Oasis Oasis is basically a virtual reality where in this world it's 2044 earth is chaotic and people are looking for a place to escape the real world they found out the waitress Oasis is in virtual reality where you can be anyone you want to be can be famous rap started can be a celebrity come in illicium.
whatever you want how they died and before he died he released this video that he left a bounty to all the players Neha on the old basis he left some three keys and the golden egg whoever finds the tikis in the golden egg will inherit this Horton and owned the Oasis so everyone in the Oasis and run this world was really desperate or was really doing their best to be to look for the golden I left by holiday because yeah in this world you really want to be the owner of the waste is because if your owner of the Oasis if you inherit the fortune of holiday you'll basically automatically the best or the most you know artful human on earth.
so we were following the main character Wade and so-called parts of the story RA in the Oasis and he was actually the first guy who discovered the first key and the world was really shocked like how did he do it did he cheat how on earth was able to do that he's just a low-level player and the best players on earth wasn't able to you look at the first key does not have any clue how to solve the puzzle left behind how to look for the golden egg and an app of nowhere a low-level from living in the slums was able to locate the first key and yeah all eyes in the world of the races is on him.
what I really love about this one is the pop-culture references to previous years' decades it will definitely impress all your nerds not lie it's a must-read it's really enjoyable and really entertaining fast-paced and it will definitely entertain and your imagination will definitely brick and this book so I'll suggest you need to pick this one up the pacing the writing style the characters and story right above normal they're exceptional so must-read if you love the book I mean if you love the movie you need to read the book since possible.
let's start with the series that got me into sci-fi.
7. The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Boxset
the first place this is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and some of these books you'll notice if you don't like kind of like whimsical science fiction then this is not like the book for you these are the first three books I've heard of of four of them but the first three are five-star books the first one I didn't really like and I still haven't read the fifth one.
but this series is just so crazy and whimsical and amazing I absolutely love it these book covers are really amazing they're shimmering and stuff so you follow this character called Arthur Dent classic British character who is the only one who survives when the earth blows up and he flows his journey through the universe of like what happens afterward this book is so crazy like.
the second one especially the restaurant at the end of the Universe I think might be my favorite one the whole concept of it restaurant at the end of the Universe is so cool for this one I don't know if it's necessary to name the specifics but it a part of it is about this restaurant it repeats the same day over and over at the end of the world so you can see as the world exploding it's supposed to be like so beautiful and exclusive like it's at the same day again and again.
so I think like if you go twice you see yourself twice like there I don't know exactly how it is because I don't remember but it's so crazy like it doesn't really make sense and it's all about like analyzing human habits and what we do but in like a science-fiction context and likeness I absolutely love this book definitely read more by Douglas Adams and unfortunately I haven't led the read the last book but I'm really looking forward to it.
8. Dark Matter: A Novel
Dark Matter: A Novel by Blake Crouch
the next one is Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. This is adult science fiction but it does take place on Earth and it isn't difficult to read so you can definitely still read this if you're younger I think.
but it's just so funny and this is about this man called Jason Desson he has a wife and a child but he chose his family over his career when he was younger and so he wakes up one day after he has been kidnapped in a world where his wife isn't his wife and he doesn't have a child and he's still a scientist and then you kind of get to Pho like how he got there and what happens afterward like.
this book is just crazy it's so good it's a really cool analytical way of looking at the world and I loved the fact of different dimensions if that doesn't spoil too much I highly recommend this book it's so great I really really loved it. it's such an easy read but it's also really funny and he has concepts that I really really enjoyed.
9. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet: Wayfarers 1
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet: Wayfarers 1 by Becky Chambers
next, let's talk about the long way to a small angry planet by Becky Chambers this is a three-book series A Closed and Common Orbit: Wayfarers 2 and Record of a Spaceborn Few: Wayfarers 3. So far these are all companion novels but you kind of should read them in order.
I read all three of the books and this is a character-driven sci-fi so it's definitely easier to approach if you're not that into sci-fi and stuff but the whole concept is that there are these people on a spaceship.
they're all from different parts of the universe and they all are different species which makes it so interesting because they're completely different and they have completely different happy habits and interactions and talking systems and stuff and there are one species in here who basically don't talk with words they talk with like the colors on their cheeks with.
which I think is so cool and it's just really really interesting and it is definitely a slower read I read this one before book two but so I was quite young and I remember it took me quite a long time but I really enjoyed it the second one a closing comment orbit I had to listen to the audiobook because it was so slow.
but I definitely really loved the second one I do recommend this series and I just want to say as I gave it three stars but you also gain a lot from it when you do read it because it really looks at individual humans and not like the technological things of sci-fi it's like looking at the people and I really find that really interesting so I do recommend this series.
10. Blade Runner
Blade Runner by Philip K. Dick
next, we have Blade Runner by Philip k dick. I haven't read anything else by him but I really really love this book if you read or see the movie and you didn't really like it I'm with you I mean the book is so much better the book is much more fun.
and you're kind of following this guy who hunts like robots that are not supposed to be on earth or like artificial intelligence and it's really cool I really liked it I like following kind of like the atmosphere of how Earth turns out like after this like huge world war in the future.
I think the movie did that really well like it showed kind of the atmosphere so well but the main character he's just like I don't know if I hate him or like love him but it's just really great and it's kind of like a dystopian sort of thing but I really liked it.
11. Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel
Slaughterhouse-Five: A Novel by Kurt Vonnegut
next, I have Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-five. This book is sci-fi but it's also kind of not it kind of follows this man who was a soldier during the fire bombings in Dresden and this is kind of just following his life but the main characters and have a normal life he basically experienced his life's in not one line like he jumps from different parts of his life which were it which is what makes this book interesting.
it can be a little bit confusing because it's not like the normal way of living and it's not really sci-fi but something happens with him where he's abducted by aliens at one point and it's just like it's so funny but it's also really really serious because he talks about kind of how this has been fixed his life and you get to follow him in different points and sometimes experience the after before he experienced this event which is really interesting.
so I do recommend this a lot and the cover is really cool I really liked how this book looks and I'm definitely going to read more by Philip k dick and Kurt Vonnegut I have time quake on my shelf so sue.
12. The Expanse Boxed Set
The Expanse Boxed Set: Leviathan Wakes, Caliban's War, and Abaddon's Gate by James S. A. Corey
next, I have this series this is expanse series and there is the eighth book is coming out. I think I only read the first three but they're absolutely amazing I think a part of me kind of wants to read all of them before I recommend them to you but I know all of them are gonna be absolutely amazing this is like a space Oprah like epic sci-fi.
you're following these characters who have this job of carrying like ice from the Saturn rings to the belters and the belt is like people who live on the asteroid belts it's like a very like the world is ending and this one person kind of has to save it all but I absolutely love them like the way they're explained it's like so fast-paced it's constantly like a lot of action in the second one a third one you're flowing much more characters and in the first one you're just following two characters basically the captain of the ship who's hauling this ice for water to the bastard bells and you're also following this cop who is a belter and who kind of also kind of alcoholic and it's really interesting with these two people meet.
and it's just such a good series like it's just so insane I really really love it and I highly recommend it overall these books if you have to read one then maybe it would be this series I think or I mean Levitan Wait for the first book this is just so great I love James S.A. Corey.
13. Hyperion
next, we have Hyperion by Dan Simmons. I actually recently did a book review on this I gave this book four stars and it's about these six pilgrimage pilgrims coming from different parts of the universe and they all have this goal of going to this world called Hyperion and Hyperion has this creature called the Shrike who is this mystical creature from like another time who-who lives in the time Tom's where time doesn't really exist in the same ways and they all have different reasons for visiting this place again it sounds a really bit a bit confusing.
but the whole story is told with the backstory of these six pilgrims and when you get the backstory of all those six people then you also kind of understand what's happening in the world and how it works and you get more and more information this is definitely a really really slow read but it's also really rewarding.
I think it was Emma's points that I wanted to DNF it because it's so slow but a slow book isn't necessarily a bad book the other series what was called the expanse is really quick and just kind of like absorbs it and it's really exciting which is something I don't really experience a lot with sci-fi because sci-fi is more like I like really reading the classic part of it I don't know why it's like more advanced kind of but I really recommend this book if you're up for the challenge.
14. Space Opera
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
next is space opera by Katherine M Valente. and I actually haven't read anything else by her and I'm sorry for the reflection I'll put this down but yeah I read this book. so if you wanna watch this thought then it's in the cards and this is about kind of like these alien flamingos coming to earth and there's a hologram of them presented to every single human.
and basically, they're saying that you are alike horrible species and you gonna we're gonna kill you unless you find a machine and perform and like this Melodi Grand Prix kind of thing like a song contest and if you like don't lose then we'll keep you in our like peace like our galactical treaty kind of but if you lose like you're out of here.
so you get to follow this one character who used to have this band and he's kind of like a washed-up rock star and now he has to like to assemble his band again and compete in this context in a contest because all the other people that the flamingo's kind of recommend that performs are dead.
it's really funny and it's kind of crazy and if you don't like this sort of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy theme where it's like not really making sense I kind of in school then you're not kind of like either but if you do it's really fun it was also a slower read and it's like very wordy the way she writes like it's a lot of words in a sentence and it doesn't all really make sense but it's just kind of like you just kinda have to humor yourself with how it's constructed if that makes sense.
so the last two books are both classics and they're kind of similar
15. Frankenstein
the first one is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I think Mary Shelley is such a huge inspiration I absolutely love her and I love everything she did for her time and this is just such a great book in the beginning, but in the end, it's just wrapped up the story so well I really loved it and all the themes that are going like presented in this book I'm just really really good I absolutely love it.
so you're following this one guy who has read all these books about kind of like biology and these things but then he goes to school and all those novels are old and they don't really apply anymore but then he decides to create this monster Frankenstein's monster obviously and it's a lot of information from the old books are not really relevant as well so when he creates this monster he kind of like goes insane in a way and this monster you get to fold his perspective.
as well as he's trying to figure out well why all humans like hating him and he kind of turns out to become the monster everyone thinks he is even though he wasn't created that way it's just really really interesting I absolutely love this book and I highly recommend it and I highlighted so much stuff while reading it it's like one of my favorite books ever I really loved it.
16. The Island of Doctor Moreau
The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells
and the last one is kind of like a recent read the island of Dr. Moreau, you're following this scientist who accidentally gets stranded and picked up by this boat that has all these animals on it and the boat takes the book and takes him to an island where there is kind of these creatures who are half-animal half-human and he meets this doctor called dr. Moreau is making experiments.
and that's basically all I'm gonna tell you it's kind of like the Frankenstein thing but they have two different completely different themes and the storytelling curve is not the same so it's not the same thing but I think I enjoyed this kind of stories I really like it and I will definitely read more by HJ Wells.
I really like sci-fi classics I really do recommend this book this is also an easier classic I mean some sci-fi classics can be a little bit harder but this is just such an easy read yes short chapters so don't worry.
Conclusion of the Best Science Fiction Books for Adults
Thank you so much, guys. so those are the books that I highly recommend best sci-fi books and series under the category of adult and they've general science fiction.
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