The best science fiction novels that draw you in with incredible worldbuilding

This alternate universe set in Cairo had everything I was looking for at the time—a fast-paced reimagining of Middle Eastern history and folklore with a compelling female protagonist. But above all, it’s fun. The story starts strong and maintains an exciting, gripping pace throughout as Agent Fatma investigates the murder of a secret brotherhood in a world populated by magical beings. It’s such a fascinating and richly developed universe that I immediately wanted another book set in this world after turning the final page. And luckily, there are more!

So much has already been said about this weird and wonderful novel, but I’ll add my voice to the mix. I haven’t read anything else quite like it. (Necromancers in space! Dueling royal houses meets locked room mystery!) At times, it can be a lot to absorb, but once I got pulled into the novel’s strange universe, with a galactic empire, skeletons, and necromancers competing for power, I was hooked. It helps that the protagonist, Gideon Nav, is a funny, irreverent guide throughout the story—the dialogue is sharp and stylish, and the humor is biting. Years later, I still think about this book with a smile. 

This novel is a minefield of big ideas and creative, mind-bending worldbuilding. I love science fiction that explores the idea of parallel worlds and multiverses, and this story includes a sentient spaceship that is able to travel between universes and even create its own bubble universe. The aliens in this story are also portrayed in a diverse way and the technology is creative and realistic. But despite the strong worldbuilding, Nophek Gloss also gives plenty of attention to the story and characters. This is a coming-of-age revenge story with a brutal, devastating opening and a powerful narrative that includes themes that resonated with me—overcoming trauma, found family, and the cost of revenge. 

What makes great worldbuilding, as opposed to just good worldbuilding? It’s hard to define, but the world should feel complex but not confusing, different but still relatable, and drive the story the author wants to tell. The Windup Girl remains my ultimate blueprint for how to get it right in my own novels. This novel follows several characters in 23rd Century Thailand that includes a refugee, an economic hitman, a well-meaning law enforcement officer, and a genetically-modified, synthetic human named Emiko. Climate change is a big theme and forms the basis for how the characters operate and survive in this complex, morally murky, and magnetic world. 

What is consciousness? I wish more science fiction novels explored this question, so when I found one that combines an alien encounter with big ideas about life and the human condition, I got excited. Very excited. This novel explodes with creativity, from the way it depicts aliens who’ve arrived at the edge of the solar system to observe Earth, to a resurrected vampire (yes, you read that right) who’s been included on the space crew sent to investigate the alien outpost. The novel wrestles with the idea of what it means to be conscious, and whether humans, with their sense of selfhood and empathy, might be a deviation in the universe.