Where Spaceships Meet Spells: A Guide to Must-Read Science Fiction Fantasy Novels
We’ll start by stating the obvious: everybody has personal preferences. An outstanding book to someone doesn’t mean the same thing to any other person. Some books might be popular, critically acclaimed, and widely regarded as “must-reads” by the vast majority of readers, but no one says you can’t have a different opinion. This applies to books of all genres, and science fiction fantasy novels are no exceptions. We wouldn’t go as far as describing the books in the following list as the “best” or the “greatest” assortment of science fiction fantasy novels; some of them are actually anthologies. But if you’re a newcomer to the genre, and you’re still trying to absorb as many narrative styles as you can take, anthologies are excellent starting points. We also include two stand-alone novels for a little more variety.
Classic Tales of Science Fiction & Fantasy (2016)
As the title says, this anthology is filled with classic sci-fi stories, more specifically from the period between 1858 and 1928. Among the ten stories included, you’re bound to find some timeless pieces such as The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. There are also a few lesser-known stories by well-known authors, like The Dunwich Horror by H. P. Lovecraft and Scarlet Plague by Jack London. Another interesting part is that the book arranges the stories in order of publication, so it might help you get a glimpse of sci-fi fantasy progression as a mixed genre as well.
New Adventures in Space Opera (2024)
Unlike the aforementioned book, which is filled with timeless classics, New Adventures in Space Opera comes with a selection of stories published in relatively recent years. There’s a good chance that you’re already familiar with the works of some authors included in the collection, but also completely unaware of a few others; this is to be expected in an anthology, anyway. This is the book where you’ll come across a variety of discussions, from sentient spaceships and intergalactic battles to political intrigues and gender issues, wrapped neatly in a space opera packaging.
A Wrinkle in Time (1962)
Written by Madeleine L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time is quite philosophical as it touches on the subjects of religious allusions and the meaning of life itself, but it doesn’t mean the allegorical fantasy is no fun. The book tells the story of a group of young people as they embark on an adventure across the universe, guided by Mrs. What, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Who – all three are gifted with supernatural powers. They rip through time and space in a battle against a disembodied but all-powerful brain.
The Big Book of Science Fiction (2016)
An anthology, unless it’s a pretty massive collection with hundreds of thousands of pages, cannot possibly include everything. And at that point, the collection becomes an entire library instead of an anthology. The Big Book of Science Fiction isn’t exactly short at nearly 1200 pages, but not so overwhelming at the same time. It also contains stories from popular authors like Ursula K. Le Guin, Arthur C. Clarke, and H. G. Wells, as well as their lesser-known counterparts, including Valentina Zhuravlyova and Yefim Zozulya. Think of it as an introductory crash course in the basics of science fiction fantasy literature, filled with lessons about aliens, robots, space battles, and technologies gone wrong.
The Big Time (1961)
You get a bit of everything in The Big Time. Authored by Fritz Leiber, the storyline features two factions as they fight against each other in a long-term conflict known as “The Change War.” Both factions are capable of time travel, and their primary method of battle involves altering the course of history. Members of the factions recruit plenty of new soldiers, medical officers, and even entertainers from various timelines to execute battle strategies. Soldiers from the military forces of Joseph Stalin, Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, and Napoleon find themselves fighting for the same team (and sometimes on the opposing sides) on the battlefields. But not everybody is from the bygone centuries; some are purely fictional characters from the future, such as Wehrmacht Landsers and Venusian satyrs from a distant-future Venus.
We think, and as we mentioned earlier, there won’t be any definitive list of must-read novels, simply because readers are not single-minded individuals; they like different things and have their own interests in novels, even if they’re all fans of the science fiction fantasy genre. Somebody’s trash can be another’s treasure, and sometimes you do not know what exactly floats your boats until you’ve read a reasonable number of titles. Anthologies, once again, make for a great place to begin the journey. And anytime you’re ready to delve deeper into the genre, the stand-alone novels should help you prepare for the immensely vast science fiction fantasy road ahead.
Would you classify time travel under science fiction or fantasy? What about alternate history? We’d love to hear from you.
Other Things You Might Want to Know
Some of the most popular dark fantasy novels:
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin
A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin
Aching God by Mike Shel
The Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman
Doomsday by R. L. Gemmill
The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman
The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker
The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe
Recommended science fiction books for kids:
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke
Plants vs. Zombies by Paul Tobin and Ron Chan
Frank Einstein and the Antimatter Motor by Jon Scieszka
Hilo The Boy Who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick
Star Wars Jedi Academy by Jeffrey Brown
Killer Species by Michael P. Spradlin
A few fantasy movies that are based on books:
The Lord of the Ring film series – based on The Lord of the Rings book series by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Hobbit film series – based on The Hobbit, or There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien
Harry Potter film series – based on the Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling
How to Train Your Dragon film series – loosely based on How To Train Your Dragon children’s book series by Cressida Cowell
The Princess Bride – based on The Princess Bride by William Goldman
The Chronicles of Narnia film series – based on The Chronicles of Narnia novel series by C. S. Lewis
Alice in Wonderland – an adaptation and reimagining of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
