IST 605: Science Fiction

New Stories, New Authors, and New Perspectives.

Here, I wish to introduce some newer science fiction that tells stories that rely upon the foundations set by the classics. These stories stand on their own, so if classic reading isn't your thing, don't worry! Pick something here that sounds interesting and get reading!

Liu Cixin's Three Body Problem

is an expansive science fiction epic that examines some darker expecations of what might await humanity in the darkness of the cosmos. Written by a Chinese author in the modern world, this series provides readers with a fresh perspective on science fiction--a step away from the plethora of Western authors

Nnedi Okorafor's Binti

is a science fiction horror novel told through an afrofuturist lens. Written by Nigerian American author Nnedi Okorafor, Binti is the first in a series of books which posit a main character from Continental Africa, a typically under-represented ethic group in science fiction, and how they interact with the science fiction world Okorafor builds.

Adrian Tchaikovski's Children of Time

is the first in a series of speculative Science Fiction novel which seek to imagine what intelligence might arise from the leftovers of human civilization following it's collapse. The first novel examines the evolution of different types of intelligence through a failed terraforming project, and the last hope of humanity which flees a dying earth.

Sequoia Nagamatsu's How High We Go in the Dark

is a grim foray into one future which might await humanity. Beginning with the outcomes of climate change and the tolls that takes on human development, Nagamatsu takes the reader on a journey spanning worlds, eras, and space to highlight the indomitable human spirit.