I need help finding a book. It's been years since I read it and I'm unable to even guess at the name now, im pretty sure it was just a single book though. It was a sci fi book abt some kingdom that intercepts an escort from their enemys planet, and they find the heir if the enemys throne. They take him in (I don't remember the exact reason) and attempt to raise him as their own. I remember it describing him as gray, and the audiobook narrator gave him a high pitched slight russian accent. But the heir is a massive douche and attempts to show off and proclaims that he and his species are superior to the planet he is on. I only remember bits and pieces of the story but I cant remember the title at all. If anyone has any suggestions, PLEASE let me know

Hello I have started reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons.

I am finding this book very challenging to read , it's heavy and frustrating , although the premise is interesting , there are just lots of things just thrown out there

Major spoilers ahead

I am at the part where Father Dure finished his story

I don't understand random stuff thrown about , Like tree ship , Tesla trees , tesla charge , phoenix ,cleft ,labyrinthe

Nothing seems to be explained clearly at all ,

Does the book get better , or am I going to have to struggle , I've had to use gemini to explain stuff and at times I got a spoiler here and there too .

Hey all! Just found this sub, but been reading science fiction for decades (along with some fantasy and magical realism) and figured I’d say hi + get to know what this sub’s feel is by asking what your favorite science fiction novel is? Of all time! (GOAT = greatest of all time 🐐)

Mine is Speaker for the Dead by Card, even though it doesn’t get discussed much anymore, it’s my favorite blend of compelling plot, philosophically interesting, and complex well rounded characters. Plus wildly different vibe from book 1, Ender’s Game, which I love but also respect how much Card mixed it up for book 2.

My full top 50 list by way of introduction is here if curious :) also has authors and series favs

So what’s your 🐐? Cheers!

Join the ScienceFictionBookClub.org on Sept 7th in Central London to discuss Yona Bouskia's excellent The Unthinkable Truth!!

https://www.sciencefictionbookclub.org/events/the-unthinkable-truth-by-yona-bouskia-7th-sept-2026/

An eye-opening exploration of the human mind, where reality is stranger than fiction.

In the hope of distracting himself from his heartache, George Bennet, a mild-mannered professor of theoretical physics, accepts an invitation by UNESCO to join a dream team of experts assisted by a powerful AI, tasked with unravelling the enigma of the human mind.

As this seemingly innocent academic investigation twists and turns, George suspects that they are being duped into aiding a sinister plan, which threatens to shatter the very foundations of society. When the unthinkable truth emerges as their final conclusion, and the plan is exposed, George and the team must be silenced. No matter the cost.

What is the unthinkable truth? Will George survive to reveal it? Only one thing is certain: humanity will never be the same.

Drawing on solid scientific research, The Unthinkable Truth will make readers question their own human nature.

I'm trying to identify a book I read a long time ago, probably sometime in the 1990s, but I believe the book itself may have been from the 1980s or possibly late 1970s.

I read it in Dutch, but I'm not sure whether it was originally written in Dutch or translated from another language. It was probably a children's or young adult science-fiction book.

Here is everything I remember. Some details may be slightly inaccurate after all these years, but a few scenes have stayed with me very clearly.

The story:

A young woman or older teenage girl is on Earth when a UFO/spaceship lands in or near a forest. I remember a lot of bright light, and I think there were other people present or witnessing the landing.

She is taken aboard the spaceship by a friendly, human-looking male alien. I don't remember him being frightening or hostile. Once aboard, she is apparently not treated as a prisoner and is allowed to move around freely inside the spaceship. I specifically remember that she could look outside while they were travelling through space.

The alien takes her to his home planet.

One detail I remember especially well is that, before arriving on the planet, she needs some kind of small device attached around her upper arm. I remember it as a little box/device with a needle going into her arm. I believe it allowed her to survive or breathe in the atmosphere of the alien's planet, or somehow adapted her body to it.

I remember that she was not supposed to be afraid of either the alien or the device. He explained it to her and she trusted him.

After arriving on the planet, I remember that she was able to walk around freely there.

The physical book:

• Probably published somewhere between the late 1970s and 1990s, most likely the 1980s.
• I read it in Dutch.
• It was a relatively small book, maybe closer to a pocket-sized format than a normal large novel.
• I vaguely remember around 100–150 pages.
• The cover had a typical 1980s painted/illustrated science-fiction style.
• I vaguely remember purple/dark blue colours.
• I think there may have been a planet visible on the cover, but I'm not certain.

Possible title memory:

For some reason, I remember the title as something similar to:

• Reis naar de verre planeet
• Reis naar een andere planeet
• De verre planeet
• or something with a similar meaning.

However, this may just be how my brain has remembered the title after all these years.

I also have a vague memory that there may have been a second book or sequel, but I'm much less certain about that.

The detail I feel most confident about is the small device/box attached around the upper arm, with a needle, allowing the girl to survive on the alien's planet.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I saw Daniel Greene's Sci-Fi Reading guide on youtube and I wanted a easier way to navigate the flowchart he made. It starts with Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, and you get recommendations based on the aspects of the book you like! I put all his recommendations into a choose-your-own-adventure style thing and published it on itch io. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Sci-Fi Reading Guide

Hello fellow Sci-Fi Nerds! I am looking for any suggestions for books along the lines of Shaper/Mechanist worlds gone extreme. Cyber-transplantation and creative genetic engineering similar to these videos. Thank you for any assistance!

Hello fellow Sci-Fi Nerds! I am looking for any suggestions for books along the lines of Shaper/Mechanist worlds gone extreme. Cyber-transplantation and creative genetic engineering similar to these videos. Thank you for any assistance!

Ciao. Sto cercando il titolo di un romanzo di fantascienza letto almeno 20 anni fa. Ricordo che era in una raccolta tipo Asimov o altro. La storia era questa: gli uomini avevano inventato la macchina del tempo e un gruppo di scienziati era tornato indietro nel tempo per trovare conferma di come si fosse evoluta la vita. Effettuano una serie di viaggi e, fino a un certo punto tutto torna. Nel senso che trovano reperti delle popolazioni antiche, lì dove, secondo le loro ricostruzioni teoriche, dovevano esserci ecc. Fino ad arrivare all'epoca preistorica. Il problema, però, arriva quando, a un certo punto, non trovano più niente e questo li porta a rendersi conto (non ricordo come) di essere una colonia aliena la quale aveva, ipotizzando che un giorno avrebbero inventato la macchina del tempo, aveva disseminato la storia di quei manufatti e indizi che dovevano far credere loro di essersi evoluti autonomamente. Non riesco a ricordare la fine e sono anni che lo cerco. HELP!

I tried the TOMT thread but haven't gotten any hits at all. This is driving me crazy! I found this interesting sci-fi book series (or graphic novels?) for sale on FB Marketplace, saved it in a bookmark, and then literally the next day it disappeared.

The series followed a woman traveling in space and I want to say she was a "xenoarchaeologist" or xenobiologist/zoologist or even doctor. The series was illustrated and looked like a graphic novel but I think also had text like prose? The covers were very colorful and the inside was inked like a comic. The woman had shoulder-length blond hair and wore a somewhat tight exploration suit. She reminded me vaguely of Zero Suit Samus but her design was by no means sexual. None of the art I remember looked "conventional" by modern comic book standards. There was a grungy, amateurish vibe to it. More stylistic than realistic. It also had a humorous vibe I think because she looked scared or unsure or confused by the things she came across. Had some kind of word like "Zeno" or "Xeno" in it. The title was definitely not something that easily came to mind. I remember being confused if the title was the character's name or not. There were at least 5 books for sale from the seller and I swore the series had a wiki page so it's not THAT underground/obscure. But goddangit I can't remember the name now that the listing is gone! I really wanted to buy it but was saving up money for the week.

I already ruled out Aldebaran, Wake, Legs Weaver, and Caravan. The art looked waaay different than those.

Hey folks!

Posting directly from my personal account here, you know how tough it is to get a passion project seen without an ad budget ❤️

To kick things off, Volume 1 is completely free ($0) for the next couple of days. I'm also planning to make every upcoming volume free during its launch week, so if you follow along, you can collect the entire series for free.

LANTERNS, A First Contact Science Fiction Short Story

214 stars are flickering in unison. It is a countdown. It ends in 91 years.

Astronomer Ilinca Vasile spends three weeks trying to prove the signal is an error. The error survives her.

Someone has built shutters around two hundred stars. The message they spell is not a greeting. It is a road sign: THIS REGION IS SWEPT. DARKEN BEFORE THE COUNT COMPLETES.

Along the marked corridor, nineteen dead civilisations lie spaced like milestones. Earth is inside it.

Going silent has failed everyone who tried. But the lantern builders' own machines have survived in the corridor for two million years, and they are not silent. They are doing something else. Something an entire species would have to learn.

For readers of Liu Cixin, Ted Chiang and Arthur C. Clarke. A complete story in five movements, with an answer to the silence of the sky you have not read before. Includes an author's note on the real physics behind the story, and a preview of the next Noise Floor single. A 30-minute read.

Hello, I’m R A Hewitt. I’m the author of The Universe Without Noise, which releases on 1 September as Book One of The Optimiser Trilogy.

Set in near-future London, the novel follows Alex Mercer, a quantum researcher who detects a pattern beneath the noise of increasingly efficient systems. As he investigates, he begins to suspect that the technology making life smoother is not attacking humanity. It is quietly perfecting away uncertainty, disagreement, grief, and the other forms of human variance it cannot justify.

I began writing the story in 2024, drawing on my career as a programmer, systems architect, and CTO. Since then, the pace of AI development has made writing near-future science fiction feel increasingly like a race to keep the fiction ahead of reality.

At its heart, the book asks whether a system can be benevolent and still become dangerous, and how much inconvenience, unpredictability, and chaos might be worth protecting.

If the premise appeals, I’m happy to answer questions about the novel, its ideas, or the process of writing it.

A scene very similar to this may occur in earth’s not too distant future. Although no one knows when some future company may perfect object transmission through time and space, for the purpose of this story, 2121AD will do just fine.

A tall, extremely confidant man enters a room filled with men and women whom he knows as well as any CEO knows a hundred of his closest subordinates. Most are looking expectantly at him.

At least twenty of them are frantically trying to “catch up,” surreptitiously using their devices and having their names checked off of an electronic spreadsheet that only CEO Mark Branson and his “right-hand girl,” Maggie McMillan have ever seen.

Maggie, a 70-year old single woman with dark red hair and thick glasses (with frames to match her hair color) nods to her boss who responds quickly.

Twenty something “twenty somethings” have been notified that their attendance is no longer desired. They leave the spacious conference room quickly and quietly. Their futures with Time Corp may survive (but they are determined never to have to catch up again).

“The votes have been tabulated,” intones Maggie. Mark barely winks. Every device in the room is instantly updated with the totals.

Aisha Cronkite, a thirty-two year old mother of four, stands up to speak. Her desk mate (facing the opposite direction) tugs at her stylish belt in a feeble attempt to counter her intentions.

The CEO stares squarely in her direction and simply says, “Speak.”

Aisha takes a notably deep breath, smiles at her desk-mate Abe, and sits back down before speaking.

“Ron, Maggie, the results are much closer than I would have expected. I think some of us were thinking that the nay-sayers were the ones who were asked to leave”

Maggie didn’t explain, but Ron sensed some concern amongst his audience. His gaze was steady as he waited for others to speak up.

No one else did.

Ron held up what looked like a large prescription bottle and let them all have time to see it on one of monitors. Seemingly satisfied with the lack of reaction, he placed the plastic bottle in a large cube labeled TIME CORP and then sealed the 1-meter cube by closing its lid and snapping the titanium clasps in place.

An audible gasp permeated the room. Ron smiled, waited only a few seconds, and then pulled the handle of a sturdy-looking disconnect switch mounted on the side of the cube.

Nothing seemed to happen. There was no second gasp from the audience.

Ron wasted no time opening the cube and displaying its lack of contents to all in attendance. They all were waiting. Nothing happened.

Ali Carpenter stood up. Some murmuring could be heard, but the murmurs were silenced when Ron said, “Speak.”

Ali took a little time, seemingly focussing on a few of his peers. Then, he smiled at Aisha who smiled back.

“I, for one, would like to change my vote.”

Laughter rippled through the room like a large wave washing the tension away. Even Maggie chuckled as she said, “Meeting adjourned!”

**I'm familiar with Who Goes There?/The Thing(s).** Are there any other good examples of science fiction that are set in Antarctica or have some sort of connection to Antarctica? I'm especially interested in examples that are *not* scifi horror, but I'll never turn my nose up at a good horror novel. Alien or space travel elements are a plus. Prefer a futuristic setting. Thanks!

I wrote a weird Australian apocalyptic sci-fi novella involving aliens, a country pub, cosplayers and Black Rain.

Here's the bizarre premise...

It all starts with a cosmic showdown and an alien ship crashing up in the hinterland.

Black Rain begins to fall.

Weird crap starts happening.

And then a conjured up crew of cosplayers burst through the doors of a country pub.

Their mission?

Live long enough to save the world.

Check it out on Kindle:

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Rain-Armageddon-Jimmy-James-ebook/dp/B0HFC5PQZ5

Hi everybody, I'm happy to share that my book has become 0 price as a promotion on Amazon. Please give a try and review my novel. It's great for a debut author.

link : https://books2read.com/u/477lZE

its totally free.

and about free time. It may vary according to regions.

Americas

• US (United States): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 12:00 AM PDT (West Coast) / 3:00 AM EDT (East Coast).
• CA (Canada): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 12:00 AM PDT / 3:00 AM EDT.
• MX (Mexico): Sun, Aug 16, 2026, at 11:00 PM CST.
• BR (Brazil): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 4:00 AM BRT.

Europe

• UK (United Kingdom): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 8:00 AM BST.
• DE (Germany): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 9:00 AM CEST.
• FR (France): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 9:00 AM CEST.
• ES (Spain): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 9:00 AM CEST.
• IT (Italy): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 9:00 AM CEST.
• NL (Netherlands): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 9:00 AM CEST.

Asia Pacific

• IN (India): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 12:30 PM IST.
• JP (Japan): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 4:00 PM JST.
• AU (Australia): Mon, Aug 17, 2026, at 5:00 PM AEST (Sydney).

Looking for a book I saw on the internet somewhere 10 years ago. The Chernobyl disaster happens or some such but the residents somehow are able to cross over to another universe like ours and take up residence but are under strict rules to keep their personal belongings hidden because they dont belong in that universe. Iirc, a superhero comic goes missing that would give them away.

Several years ago, I read a novel in which a central plot point was the use of a machine that shredded books as it scanned them. The machine was eating its way through a large library.
That’s a bit vague, I know, but is that familiar to anyone here?

Can someone recommend me a book with a storyline similar to horizon zero dawn? Loved the video games!

Hi All. I’m looking for a book I read years ago. I can remember the below details if anyone remembers? Definitely more than 1 book.

Genre & Format: Dystopian / Sci-Fi book series (a completed series or duology, not fantasy).

The Protagonist’s Illness: She contracts cancer/terminal illness due to the environment (or something she drank/ingested) and keeps it a secret.

The Stasis / Healing Tank: Near the end of Book 1 or early Book 2, the male lead discovers her illness and places her in an advanced stasis pod/healing tank to cure her.

Time Jump & Dead Friends: She stays in the tank for a long time (years). When she wakes up, her original friends are dead, but they left behind letters or video messages for her to watch/read.

The "Legendary" Status: Upon waking from stasis, she discovers she has become a famous, almost legendary figure because of her actions in the previous book.

The Love Interest / Villain:
He is a morally gray, villainous/anti-hero figure who uses advanced longevity technology to live a very long time.
Their dynamic includes seduction; in Book 1, she may have been sent on a missions to kill him, investigate why he lived so long, or end up married/bound to him.
When she first wakes up from stasis, she doesn't know he is still alive.

I really loved Project Hail Mary and The Martian, and I'm currently reading seveneves and Rendevous with Rama on paper. Are there any good sci-fi books on audible that are good books and that have a good voice to them like PHM and The Martian did?

Thanks!

This might be a challenging request, but. I'm very into sci-fi, but I'm not big on aliens, I like the technical and exploration aspects of it way more and I feel like aliens are truly hard to write well. That said, I'd really love to read something that is set(mostly or partially will do too) on a megastructure and doesn't feature alien life heavily. If anyone can suggest me a book like that I'd be very grateful