The best thought-provoking science fiction novels set in vivid worlds

I grew up reading every book I could borrow from the science fiction section of my local library. But somehow, I didn’t read anything by Octavia Butler until the mid-2010s. Why weren’t her books forced on me? I would have LOVED them.

This book is disturbing and uplifting, showing that near-future California is declining due to environmental pollution, political upheaval, and economic insecurity. The heroine is Lauren Olamina, a young woman with “hyper-empathy” who takes on other people’s emotions and pain. Lauren also serves as a beacon of hope with her growing “Earthseed” movement that attracts followers (and unwanted attention) as she takes to the road. A vivid world underpinned by hope in the midst of sorrow. 

I was hesitant to pick up this book. Previously, I had enjoyed several of Neal Stephenson’s novels while finding others a bit of a slog. I was skeptical of the premise of Seveneves (the Moon is mysteriously destroyed with disastrous consequences for Earth) because it seemed too simplistic and apocalyptic. Oh boy, was I wrong!

This book delves into the politics of hard choices, the costs of survival, and the small and large-scale tragedies that come during the unrest. The science in this book is astounding: orbital mechanics, genetic engineering, space construction, geophysics and biology, and on and on. But the humans at the heart of the story will win you over. This book stayed with me for a LONG TIME. Unforgettable. 

When I finished this book, I could not stop talking about it. The reasons are myriad. The main character’s scintillating rage drives the book forward, but it’s the creatively imagined world that hooked me. We learn early in the book that some characters can cause and control the shaking of the earth, but they are themselves enslaved by the ruling class.

The mystery unfolds as we learn the deep history of the story world, even as the interpersonal stakes get raised in a series of twists and reveals. The culmination of the series and how it resolves to create one of the most memorable and emotional climaxes I’ve ever read—a fresh, inventive, and vivid secondary world fantasy.

This book puts an inventive twist on familiar and overdone time travel tropes, and I can’t stop thinking about this book in the context of the real world and how topsy-turvy everything seems. To be fair, I didn’t understand what was happening in this book until about the two-thirds mark.

I won’t give away any spoilers, but I will say that William Gibson has imagined possible futures for humanity that are disturbing, intricately detailed, and full of glitter and grime. In addition, the settings and characters mesh well together and create compelling scenarios. Also, this book was even better on the re-read once I understood the premise. The Amazon adaptation was good, too, and it’s a crime if it isn't renewed for a second season.

I sometimes encounter people who haven't read this book, and it’s always shocking to me. I think I had read it five times by age twenty. For me, although I do love the characters, it’s the story world that grips me and fuels my imagination.

For one, the scale is vast. Imagine what our future might look like ten thousand years after we’ve moved into the universe. There are so many fascinating and intricately imagined layers to the story world: how trade works when the Spacing Guild has a monopoly on interstellar travel, how politics in the far future could resemble our feudal past, how storytelling and mythography could be used to influence and control vulnerable populations, and how ecological transformation and religious uprising could go hand-in-hand—a classic.