Literary Science Fiction Books to Expand Your View of the Future

One reason I love reading science fiction is because of how it uses imaginative visions of the future to teach us something about our present and our past. Distant sci-fi worlds full of aliens, robots, and cyborgs allow us to zoom out from our narrow view of the world and think about what it means to be human in a sprawling timeline and universe full of unknowns. Literary science fiction does an especially good job of creating complex characters and ethical quandaries in futuristic settings that invite readers to think deeply about their own place in the world. Of course, “literary fiction” is a famously ill-defined genre. Most book lovers would say literary fiction is recognizable by its elegant prose and a certain high-brow sensibility. At best, it’s storytelling that wows you, and at worst, it feels like snooty books for people who want to feel smarter than the average reader. I think literary writing means deeply layered characters, beautifully crafted prose, and a mastery of storytelling that makes you feel like you’re in good hands, even when the story frightens you. These literary science fiction books tell engaging stories set in futuristic worlds, but they’ll also make you...