I’ve always loved being a sci-fi fan – there’s just so much good stuff out there! Seriously, the movies, shows, and books constantly take you to incredible places – the future, alien planets, worlds where technology is beyond anything we can imagine. While everyone knows and loves some classics, it’s a shame that so many other great sci-fi stories get overlooked or lost as new ones come out. It feels like there’s always a hidden gem waiting to be discovered.
This is particularly true when it comes to science fiction books. So many new and exciting sci-fi titles are released each year that it’s easy to lose track of them. As a result, there are likely some fantastic books that sci-fi fans have overlooked or forgotten. Here are seven underrated sci-fi novels every fan should consider reading—and we’re hoping to see #2 adapted into a movie or series!
7) The Need by Helen Phillips
Helen Phillips’ novel, The Need, is likely to spark strong opinions, but it’s a compelling story that’s worth reading. It centers on Molly, a scientist home with her young children, who faces her deepest fears when a mysterious intruder appears, seemingly knowing everything about her family. The plot takes unexpected twists and turns, evolving into a thought-provoking exploration of anxiety, motherhood, and identity.
While some readers find fault with the novel’s intense focus on a particular aspect of motherhood and its surprising ending, The Need is a compelling sci-fi thriller. It skillfully explores themes of maternal love and self-discovery, building suspense that will stay with you long after you finish reading, and ultimately leaves you pondering more than it resolves.
6) The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Biopunk is a fascinating but often overlooked sci-fi subgenre, and Paolo Bacigalupi’s first novel, The Windup Girl, is a fantastic place to start – and a truly essential sci-fi read. The story unfolds in a future Thailand devastated by climate change, resource depletion, and widespread bioterrorism. The world has reached a critical point where food is scarce and calories have become a form of currency.
The novel The Windup Girl centers around Emiko, a genetically engineered woman left in Thailand by her creator. She lives in hiding because people like her are outlawed. While the story involves a revolution, it’s much more complex than that. The book builds a detailed and immersive world that can be disturbing, but tackles important and thought-provoking ideas.
5) Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
If you enjoy stories that reimagine history and blend it with epic space adventures, then Radiance is a great choice. The novel presents a world unlike our own, where space travel is common but sound in movies is still new because the Edison family controls the technology. Set in a reimagined late 1980s, the story follows filmmaker Severin Unck, who is trying to make a name for herself outside of her famous father’s shadow by creating documentaries across the solar system. She vanishes while investigating the mysterious disappearance of a deep-sea colony on Venus.
As a huge cinema fan, I was really struck by how cleverly this novel is put together. It tells Severin’s story by feeling like you’re piecing it together from found recordings, bits of gossip columns, and other media formats. It’s not just that the story creates a fascinating, alternate version of our solar system and history – it’s how it’s told, using these different media techniques, that makes it so special and immersive.
4) The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
As a huge sci-fi fan, I stumbled upon The Calculating Stars, and let me tell you, it’s the start of an amazing four-book series – basically getting four great reads in one! The story kicks off in 1952 with a massive meteorite hitting the East Coast, wiping out a huge chunk of the US and, even worse, setting off a chain reaction that could eventually kill everyone – kind of like what happened to the dinosaurs. This disaster really pushes humanity to focus on colonizing space. We follow Elma York, a brilliant mathematician brought in to help with the moon landing efforts, who quickly realizes there’s a huge double standard – why aren’t women allowed to be astronauts? She’s determined to change that and becomes incredibly driven to be the first Lady Astronaut. It’s a fantastic story!
This book—and the series it’s based on—is inspired by true events, like the incredible women who performed calculations for NASA’s early space missions and the first female astronauts hopefuls known as the Mercury 13. It also playfully asks, ‘What if things had gone differently?’ It’s a beautifully written, high-stakes story that’s a joy to read, built around a fascinating ‘what if’ scenario.
3) Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Just a heads-up: this book features spiders, which might bother some readers. However, it’s a really good story and worth sticking with! I highly recommend the entire Children of Time series – be sure to check out the sequels, Children of Ruin and Children of Memory, as well.
Okay, so this series is… different. It’s set way in the future, after Earth is basically falling apart. Humanity tried to fix things by prepping another planet, but a virus meant to help monkeys evolve took a wild turn. Instead of apes, it created intelligent, evolving spiders! It’s a surprisingly deep story about what happens when our best-laid plans go wrong, and really digs into themes of evolution and just plain survival. Honestly, it’s a bizarre premise, but trust me – it’s incredibly compelling and really, really good.
2) The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
If you’re looking for a thrilling sci-fi mystery, check out The Echo Wife. It’s about Dr. Evelyn Caldwell, a scientist who discovers her husband has secretly used her cloning research to create a perfect copy of her—named Martine. Things get complicated when Nathan begins an affair with Martine, and then she kills him, claiming self-defense. Now, both Evelyn and Martine are stuck with a huge problem to solve together.
This thriller is packed with drama and excitement, and features a compelling story where the clone takes control. It has a similar feel to the show Black Mirror. Many readers think it would make a fantastic movie, and thankfully, a film adaptation is in the works. Annapurna Pictures bought the rights back in 2021, but there haven’t been any new developments announced since then.
1) An Accidental Goddess by Linnea Sinclair
Sci-fi fans shouldn‘t miss romance, and a great pick is Linnea Sinclair’s An Accidental Goddess. The story follows Gillaine Davre, a Special Forces captain who awakens three centuries after her ship was destroyed. Believed dead, her people now worship her as a goddess. Gillaine tries to live a normal life by keeping her identity hidden, but things get complicated when she falls for Admiral Rynan Mackarian—one of her devoted followers.
This story blends space adventure, time travel, and a thrilling amount of action with a touch of romance. It’s an entertaining science fiction read, but it also explores deeper themes, especially as the main character, Gillaine, grapples with questions of who she is.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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2026-04-05 23:15