The best SFF books with emotionally scarred characters

A science fiction adventure, a cautionary tale, a master’s class in worldbuilding and use of language and plot construction, an exploration of religious belief, an exploration of the depths and breadth of the human heart... there are so many levels on which I appreciate this book!

One is its wealth of wonderful characters. Of all the innumerable novels I’ve read, The Sparrow has the characters I’d most love to know.

It’s clear from the start that something goes terribly wrong with this Jesuit-sponsored mission to Alpha Centauri. There are traumas for readers to endure along with the characters. But notwithstanding what happens, the book doesn’t end in despair.

Just to warn, this book does have some sexual violence.

I’m strongly recommending this fantasy in spite of the fact that Book 3 is still not available.

As in my previous pick, we have a contrast, or more of a gulf, between the main character as we first meet him and the boy and man he used to be – but all these versions are compelling. The worldbuilding is rich and original, revealed gradually and masterfully.

I would bet that I’m among many readers who long for Kvothe to somehow, against all the somewhat mysterious odds, regain what he’s losing and has lost.

First, this is in most respects the beginning (in internal chronology) of a wonderful SF series, the Vorkosigan Saga. Each book can be read in isolation but adds to the depth and richness of the series as a whole.

Second, the reader is introduced to Cordelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan, two strong and unique characters who meet under daunting circumstances that become even more challenging. The title aptly (if cryptically) describes the crisis with which Aral must cope, with a competence that conceals its almost unbearable effect on him.

Speaking of competence, it’s remarkable how Bujold conveys so much of the essence of two very different societies so efficiently.

What does Stephen, paladin sworn to the Saint of Steel, do when the god dies?

The berserker rage can still rise and overwhelm him, but with no holy purpose behind it. Co-protagonist Grace is a perfumer, well nigh indomitable but struggling to overcome her own traumatic past. Throw them together and add... comedy and romance?

Well, yes, and Kingfisher pulls it off in her own inimitable fashion, with terrific worldbuilding and a suspenseful, engrossing plot. This is an entertaining and ultimately hopeful read.

I seem to be drawn to troubled characters—hence this list—and Robinette (Bob) Broadband is surely troubled.

We see his struggle from the book’s beginning, in which a virtual psychoanalyst, Sigfrid, attempts to get him to face and discuss his emotions. Sigfrid is itself an intriguing and, while it claims not to be sentient, still a sympathetic character.

Key aspects of the SF worldbuilding are also doled out carefully throughout the book, and then in the three books that follow. The scope of this imagined future and the importance of the stakes are revealed as the series continues.