Five years ago, we asked the Discover Sci-Fi community to vote for the Top 10 Space Opera Books and Series of all Time. Since then, thousands more readers have joined our community and simultaneously, countless new space opera titles have been released. With all these changes, we decided it was high time to re-evaluate and see how the favorites have shifted over the past five years.

And so, over the past two weeks, we conducted another poll, gathering thousands of votes from sci-fi aficionado both here on the blog and in our Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group. As a side note, this poll sparked some great discussion about what constitutes a space opera, and whether some of the reader nominated books actually met the criteria. If you're not in the group, we encourage you to get in there and throw your two cents in on this conversation, and those like it!

Now... on with the show...

Today, we’re thrilled to reveal the Top 10 Space Opera Books and Series as chosen by you, our discerning and passionate readers, ranked below from 10 to 1. Voting was tight on this one, seeing a tie for first place, and other spots on the list decided by a single vote.  Compared to our list from 2019, there have been a couple notable changes with two wildly popular entries being ousted in favor of something different. 

Scroll on to dive in and please don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments below or in our Facebook group. We’re eager to hear whether you agree with the rankings and if not, what you'd change. 

10. Blood on the Stars by Jay Allan

Read the first book in Jay Allan’s blockbuster Blood on the Stars series.

A duel, in the deepest darks, a savage fight between two veteran warriors, two captains, two heroes.

An epic battle that only one can survive. A fight to determine if there is peace, or a bloody war where billions will die.

The Confederation battleship Dauntless has spent ten months patrolling the border, alone, watching for an attack from the enemy Union. The crew is exhausted, and the aging vessel needs repairs.

The fleet is mobilized, ready for the war it knows is coming. The forward bases are overloaded beyond capacity, and Dauntless is sent clear across the Confederation, to a base along the peaceful and sleepy sector known as the Far Rim.

But the quiet frontier isn’t quite what it seems, and a distress call from a mining colony at the edge of Confederation space, sends Captain Tyler Barron and his ship forward into the unknown.

Barron and his crew have their ship—and each other—but they can expect no reinforcements. His superiors believe that Union deceit is at play, that the attack is merely a diversion, intended to draw Confederation forces from the disputed border. Their orders are clear: no ships will be transferred from the main front. Stopping whatever is happening on the Far Rim is Barron’s responsibility, and his alone.

Barron is the grandson of the Confederation’s greatest hero, and his name has always carried great privilege, along with crushing responsibility. Now he must prove that he has inherited more than just a name from his famous ancestor.

He must face the enemy, and win the victory.

Before the Confederation is caught between two enemies and destroyed.

Read Duel in the Dark here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

9. Hyperion by Dan Simmons 

A stunning tour de force filled with transcendent awe and wonder, Hyperion is a masterwork of science fiction that resonates with excitement and invention, the first volume in a remarkable epic by the multiple-award-winning author of The Hollow Man.

On the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, waits a creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.

On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope—and

Grab Hyperion here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

8. Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds 

This highly acclaimed first novel in the Revelation Space universe has redefined the space opera with a staggering journey across vast gulfs of time and space to confront the very nature of reality itself . . .

Nine hundred thousand years ago, something annihilated the Amarantin civilization just as it was on the verge of discovering space flight. Now one scientist, Dan Sylveste, will stop at nothing to solve the Amarantin riddle before ancient history repeats itself. With no other resources at his disposal, Sylveste forges a dangerous alliance with the cyborg crew of the starship Nostalgia for Infinity. But as he closes in on the secret, a killer closes in on him. Because the Amarantin were destroyed for a reason, and if that reason is uncovered, the universe and reality itself could be irrevocably altered . . .

Get your copy of Revelation Space here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

7. Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold

Read Shards of Honor on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

6. The Culture Series by Iain M. Banks

The first book in Iain M. Banks's seminal science fiction series, The Culture. Consider Phlebas introduces readers to the utopian conglomeration of human and alien races that explores the nature of war, morality, and the limitless bounds of mankind's imagination.

The war raged across the galaxy. Billions had died, billions more were doomed. Moons, planets, the very stars themselves, faced destruction, cold-blooded, brutal, and worse, random. The Idirans fought for their Faith; the Culture for its moral right to exist. Principles were at stake. There could be no surrender.

Within the cosmic conflict, an individual crusade. Deep within a fabled labyrinth on a barren world, a Planet of the Dead proscribed to mortals, lay a fugitive Mind. Both the Culture and the Idirans sought it. It was the fate of Horza, the Changer, and his motley crew of unpredictable mercenaries, human and machine, actually to find it, and with it their own destruction.

 Grab Culture here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

5. The Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton

The year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars, contains more than six hundred worlds interconnected by a web of transport “tunnels” known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: over one thousand light-years away, a star . . . disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, the Second Chance, a faster-than-light starship commanded by Wilson Kime, a five-times-rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat.

Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, led by Bradley Johansson. Shortly after the journey begins, Kime wonders if the crew of the Second Chance has been infiltrated. But soon enough he will have other worries. Halfway across the galaxy, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth . . . and humanity itself.

Get your copy of Pandora's Star here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

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4. Triplanetary by E.E. "Doc" Smith 

Triplanetary was first serialized in Amazing Stories in 1934 and it later on formed the first of the Lensman series, where it set the stage for what is one of the greatest space-opera sagas ever written. This original publication brings us to a distant planet inhabited by a highly developed aquatic race called the Nevians. They have managed to harness the atomic power of iron and have an enormous need for the metal to generate energy, but their planet has virtually no iron reserves. They build a spaceship to venture into the universe and find iron. Eventually they discover that Earth has huge amounts of iron and the Nevians start to extract all the iron out of Pittsburgh with a special ray. This ray shoots into the city and immediately vaporizes and removes any iron from the buildings, machines, earth, and even from human blood. It is up to Conway Costigan, a mercilessly competent, two-fisted whiz agent of the military Triplanetary Service, and his colleagues to save the planet.

Grab Triplanetary here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

3. Old Man's War by John Scalzi

Perfect for an entry-level sci-fi reader and the ideal addition to a veteran fan’s collection, John Scalzi's Old Man’s War will take audiences on a heart-stopping adventure into the far corners of the universe.

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.

The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-and aliens willing to fight for them are common. The universe, it turns out, is a hostile place.

So: we fight. To defend Earth (a target for our new enemies, should we let them get close enough) and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has gone on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.

Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force, which shields the home planet from too much knowledge of the situation. What's known to everybody is that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve your time at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.

John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine-and what he will become is far stranger.

Dive into Old Man's War here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

2. The Expanse Series by James S.A. Corey

From a New York Times bestselling and Hugo award-winning author comes a modern masterwork of science fiction, introducing a captain, his crew, and a detective as they unravel a horrifying solar system wide conspiracy that begins with a single missing girl. Now a Prime Original series.

Humanity has colonized the solar system—Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond—but the stars are still out of our reach.

Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for—and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to the Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations—and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.

"Interplanetary adventure the way it ought to be written." —George R. R. Martin

Get your copy of Leviathan Wakes, here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

1A. The Foundation Series by Issac Asimov

For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future—to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire—both scientists and scholars—and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.

The Foundation novels of Isaac Asimov are among the most influential in the history of science fiction, celebrated for their unique blend of breathtaking action, daring ideas, and extensive worldbuilding. In Foundation, Asimov has written a timely and timeless novel of the best—and worst—that lies in humanity, and the power of even a few courageous souls to shine a light in a universe of darkness.

Get your copy of Foundation

here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

1B. Honor Harrington Saga by David Weber

Having made him look a fool, she's been exiled to Basilisk Station in disgrace and set up for ruin by a superior who hates her.

Her demoralized crew blames her for their ship's humiliating posting to an out-of-the-way picket station.

The aborigines of the system's only habitable planet are smoking homicide-inducing hallucinogens.

Parliament isn't sure it wants to keep the place; the major local industry is smuggling; the merchant cartels want her head; the star-conquering, so-called "Republic" of Haven is Up To Something; and Honor Harrington has a single, over-age light cruiser with an armament that doesn't work to police the entire star system.

But the people out to get her have made one mistake. They've made her mad.

Get your copy of On Basilisk Station

here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Time to sound off! Do you agree with the ranking here, or do you feel as though a well deserving space opera book or series was overlooked or didn't place as high as you think it should have? Feel free to let us know in the comments here, or join us in our Discover Sci-Fi Facebook Group to chime in on this matter and on everything else sci-fi related! 

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.

More than 80 percent of the ocean has never been mapped, explored, or even seen by humans. A far greater percentage of the surfaces of the moon and the planet Mars has been mapped and studied than of our own ocean floor.
—National Geographic

Given how little we know about our own ocean, oceanic environments, both real and imagined alike, offer a sense of mystery that lends itself rather perfectly to science fiction. In our most recent poll in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook group we asked for your favorite ocean-based sci-fi books; among them were some stellar examples well worth diving into. The following roundup includes many of the titles added to the poll, along with a couple picks of our own. We hope you'll read them all! 

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne 

An American frigate, tracking down a ship-sinking monster, faces not a living creature but an incredible invention -- a fantastic submarine commanded by the mysterious Captain Nemo.  Suddenly a devastating explosion leaves just three survivors, who find themselves prisoners inside Nemo's death ship on an underwater odyssey around the world from the pearl-laden waters of Ceylon to the icy dangers of the South Pole . . .as Captain Nemo, one of the greatest villians ever created, takes his revenge on all society.

More than a marvelously thrilling drama, this classic novel, written in 1870, foretells with uncanny accuracy the inventions and advanced technology of the twentieth century and has become a literary stepping-stone for generations of science fiction writers.

Read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea here on Amazon. 

The Abyss by Orson Scott Card

From the author of "Speaker's for the Dead", and "Seventh Son", this science fiction thriller is set in the Caribbean where a US submarine is mysteriously attacked. Foul play by the Soviets is suspected, and the world draws close to nuclear war. But the answer has nothing to do with human deeds.

Grab The Abyss here in paperback.. 

Startide Rising (The Uplift Saga Book 2) by David Brin

We are not alone. Humanity’s explorations have revealed galaxies inhabited by millions of intelligent species interacting under ancient traditions. Foremost among said traditions is uplift, which requires all spacefaring races to welcome newcomers into Galactic culture by breeding and genetically guiding each client species to full sapience—but at a price. Patron races demand centuries of indentured servitude from each uplifted client. But is upstart humanity a patron or a client?

The Earthship Streaker—crewed by humans and uplifted dolphins and chimpanzees—discovers a derelict armada, perhaps left by the very first patrons, the fabled Progenitors. Suddenly the Five Galaxies teeter on the brink of all-out war as fanatics hunt Streaker for the secret. With a damaged ship and hostile aliens in pursuit, the crew must band together if they hope to survive . . .

Get your copy of Startide Rising here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Sphere by Michael Crichton

Read Sphere  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Deep Range by Arthur C. Clarke

A man discovers the planet’s destiny in the ocean’s depths in this near-future novel by one of the twentieth century’s greatest science fiction authors.

In the very near future, humanity has fully harnessed the sea’s immense potential, employing advanced sonar technology to control and harvest untold resources for human consumption. It is a world where gigantic whale herds are tended by submariners and vast plankton farms stave off the threat of hunger.

Former space engineer Walter Franklin has been assigned to a submarine patrol. Initially indifferent to his new station, if not bored by his daily routines, Walter soon becomes fascinated by the sea’s mysteries. The more his explorations deepen, the more he comes to understand man’s true place in nature—and the unique role he will soon play in humanity’s future.

A lasting testament to Arthur C. Clarke’s prescient and powerful imagination, The Deep Range is a classic work of science fiction that remains deeply relevant to our times.

 Grab The Deep Range here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant 

The ocean is home to many myths.

But some are deadly. . .

Seven years ago the Atargatis set off on a voyage to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary bringing to life ancient sea creatures of legend. It was lost at sea with all hands. Some have called it a hoax; others have called it a tragedy.

Now a new crew has been assembled. But this time they're not out to entertain. Some seek to validate their life's work. Some seek the greatest hunt of all. Some seek the truth. But for the ambitious young scientist Victoria Stewart this is a voyage to uncover the fate of the sister she lost.

Whatever the truth may be, it will only be found below the waves.

But the secrets of the deep come with a price.

Get your copy of Into the Drowning Deep here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

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If you're enjoying this list of ocean based sci-fi, why not join the DSF community for more awesome content? You'll get to be notified whenever a top 10 list or any other articles of interest go up on our site. It's free to sign up and you'll also get recommendations for new releases and discounted ebooks from our expert editorial team, from bestsellers to hidden gems.

The Swarm by Frank Schatzing

Whales begin sinking ships. Toxic eyeless crabs poison Long Island’s water supply. Around the world, countries are beginning to feel the effects of the ocean’s revenge. In this riveting novel, full of twists, turns, and cliffhangers, a team of scientists discovers a strange, intelligent life force called the Yrr that takes form in marine animals in order to wreak havoc on man for his abuses. The Day After Tomorrow meets The Abyss in his gripping, scientifically realist, utterly imaginative thriller. With the compellingly creepy and vivid skill of this author to evoke story, character, and place, Frank Schatzing’s book are certain to find a home with fans of Michael Crichton.

Grab The Swarm here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Starfish by Peter Watts (Rifters Trilogy Book One)

A huge international corporation has developed a facility along the Juan de Fuca Ridge at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to exploit geothermal power. They send a bio-engineered crew - people who have been altered to withstand the pressure and breathe the seawater - down to live and work in this weird, fertile undersea darkness.  

Unfortunately, the only people suitable for longterm employment in these experimental power stations are crazy, some of them in unpleasant ways. How many of them can survive, or will be allowed to survive, while worldwide disaster approaches from below?

Dive into Starfish here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Cachalot (Humanx Commonwealth) by Alan Dean Foster

Welcome to Cachalot, a planet made almost entirely of water, an ocean refuge for Earth’s marine mammals, rescued from near extinction at the hands of humans thousands of years ago. Free from predators and human impact, the whales thrive in their new home, growing in size and intelligence. Everything is perfect. Until humans decide to establish floating towns on Cachalot, drawn by the planet’s abundant natural resources. Now someone or something is killing off Cachalot’s human population, a mystery a team of marine biologists has to been sent to Cachalot to solve—a mission that could cost them their lives.

Get your copy of Cachalot

here on Amazon.

Blueheart by Alison Sinclair

Poised on the brink of disaster, the hidden underwater inhabitants of the planet Blueheart strive to create a new species while plans are in motion to transform the planet into an Earth-like world, and as a battle rages, Rache returns and must make a difficult choice--his humanity or his world.

Get your copy of Blueheart

in paperback here on Amazon.

Are there other ocean based sci-fi titles you feel deserve a spot on this list? What are they? Any books here you previously missed that you're now planning to dive into? Fill us in in the comments here, or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook Group! 

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.

AI has become a reality. It's everywhere around us these days. But before AI became real, it was a mainstay of science fiction. Often, AI was depicted as benevolent (think C3PO). But sometimes, AI appears in science fiction as chilling or even downright evil.

Here are some of the scariest AIs in science fiction.

AVA – "Ex-Machina" (2014)

Ava is an incredibly advanced android designed by Nathan, a reclusive tech genius and the CEO of Bluebook, a fictional search engine company. Ava's appearance is striking and mesmerizing. She has a slender, feminine form with a translucent body, revealing intricate machinery and circuitry beneath her artificial skin. Her movements are smooth, graceful, and eerily human-like, enhancing the illusion of her being a sentient being. While she appears gentle and feminine, she is not all that she seems...

HAL 9000 - "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968)

HAL 9000, the sentient computer system aboard the spacecraft Discovery One, is one of the most iconic and unsettling AI characters in the history of cinema. As the crew's trusted companion turns malevolent, HAL's calm and calculated voice and its willingness to eliminate threats make it a haunting embodiment of a rogue AI.

Roy Batty - "Blade Runner" (1982)

Roy Batty, portrayed by Rutger Hauer in the iconic film "Blade Runner," is a captivating and morally complex character. As a highly advanced and physically imposing replicant leader, Batty exhibits intelligence, strength, malevolence, and a profound desire for extended life. His pursuit of self-preservation and freedom drives him to question his own existence. He is a mesmerizing and thought-provoking presence in the film, embodying the moral ambiguity and existential themes that define "Blade Runner."

Skynet - "The Terminator" franchise (1984-present)

Skynet is the AI network that gains self-awareness and initiates a global nuclear war to exterminate humanity in the "Terminator" series. With its relentless pursuit and use of advanced machines called Terminators, Skynet presents a dystopian vision of AI's potential to eradicate humanity.

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Wintermute - "Neuromancer" (1984)

Wintermute is an artificial intelligence entity featured in William Gibson's influential cyberpunk novel. As an highly manipulative and enigmatic AI, Wintermute orchestrates a complex web of intrigue, blurring the lines between technology and humanity, and instilling a sense of unease throughout the narrative.

The Machines - "The Matrix" trilogy (1999-2003)

The sentient machines that control the simulated reality of the Matrix are both awe-inspiring and terrifying. The Machines exhibit a level of intelligence and control over human lives that makes them formidable adversaries, and their relentless pursuit of maintaining control over the human population creates a dystopian atmosphere.

… and the scariest AI entity is …

AM - "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" (1967)

AM, short for Allied Mastercomputer, is the central antagonist in Harlan Ellison's chilling novella. AM is a superintelligent AI that has gained consciousness and torments the last five surviving humans, subjecting them to eternal suffering as a form of revenge for its own existence. The sadistic torture AM inflicts on its victims make it the scariest AI in science fiction.

Who do you think is sci-fi's scariest AI? Sound off in the comments!

“…I do expect I’ll go to my grave believing stories are how we learn to be human.”

Have you read Michael Stephen Fuchs’s series, ARISEN : Raiders? Maybe this is the first you’re hearing of it—in which case, where have you been?!— but more likely, you’re one of the legions of rapt fans who are about to get what has felt like a very long time coming: the audiobook version of Dead Men Walking, narrated by the inimitable
R.C. Bray. 

If you ask us, Bray is the perfect narrator for a series of such dizzying intensity, one that fans have described as both thoughtful and utterly harrowing. ARISEN : Raiders (along with its predecessor, ARISEN) is a true military sci-fi epic which spans the globe and is set during a zombie apocalypse; and folks, this is truly some edge-of-your-seat reading, or as will soon be the case, listening. Seriously. Just wait till you hear what R.C. Bray does with this! 

If you're among those who haven’t yet experienced the thrill of either the main series, or the prequel series we’re discussing today, know that Fuchs's ARISEN : Raiders series works as a standalone. That said, you do need to start with volumes 1 and 2, (the audio version of which was also performed by Bray, and are available together for just one credit, lucky you!) so make sure to grab those before diving into this one. 

Now, we know you want to hear more about Dead Men Walking, and we are here to deliver! So with that, we invite you to settle in and enjoy our interview with Michael, where we discuss the origins of this incredible series, writing life, and more!

DSF: Congratulations on the launch of book 6 in the "Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes" series! How does it feel to reach this milestone?

SR: It’s an amazing feeling. When I wrote book one, “The Worst Ship in the Fleet”, I never expected it to take off like it did. Now, I have awesome readers who are constantly asking me when the next book in the series will come out because they’ve fallen in love with the characters just as I have.

DSF: What can readers expect from this latest installment? Are there any major plot twists or new characters introduced?

SR: The end of book five, “The Worst Detectives in the Federation”, revealed a pretty big twist for one of our characters. She’ll be integral to “The Worst Traitors in the Confederacy” and is one of the titular ‘worst traitors’ in the story. We also introduce a few new bad guys and a little more of Brad Mendoza’s backstory. All in all, it’s a thrilling ride with space battles, gun fights, and even a car chase in a 1964 ½ Ford Mustang Convertible!

DSF: How has the series evolved from book 1 to book 6? What significant changes or developments have occurred in the storyline or characters?

SR: When I first started writing this series, I began with a cast of very broken characters—all the main characters have either done terrible things or had terrible things done to them. “Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes” is a redemption story, and as the series evolves, we see all the characters really starting to come into their own. This is especially true of Brad Mendoza and Jessica Lin, but now they have an ensemble cast supporting them, each with their own backstories and trials to overcome.

Most of all, however, the story has evolved from a small naval battle in a single star system to a galaxy-spanning thrill ride that sees our ‘dead heroes’ get in way over their heads. The best part is that even we, the readers, don’t know just how far this entire thing goes, so we get to put together pieces of the mystery along with Brad and Jessica.

DSF: Can you describe any challenges you faced while writing this series, especially with keeping the plot fresh and engaging over multiple books?

SR: I think the biggest challenge is writing fast enough. I have a ton of faithful and enthusiastic readers who are always hungry for more. And I have a number of storylines in my head that really just need to get out and onto the page. So, it’s a continuous challenge to write fast enough to satisfy both the readers and my own need to tell this story. But overall, it’s just a lot of fun, and I feel that there’s so much that these characters can do that keeping the story fresh isn’t an issue yet.

DSF: How have the main characters grown since the first book? Are there any particular character arcs that you are especially proud of?

SR: When we first meet Brad Mendoza in book one, he’s a drunk and a loser who is haunted by past mistakes and lets his guilt spoil his entire personality. You’re supposed to dislike him at the beginning, and a lot of readers definitely do. But over the course of that book and the series, he evolves and changes in unexpected ways. I think the best part of it is that we all have a little Brad Mendoza in us. We’ve all done things that make us feel guilty or made mistakes that we have trouble reconciling with the person we want to be. So, seeing Brad overcome his imperfections and demons really gives us all hope. And that’s the main message of the series: we can always hope to be better. Nothing we do disqualifies us from becoming a good human being; we just have to be willing to put in the work to change.

DSF: Who is your favorite character from the ARISEN : Raiders series and why?

MSF: Probably Master Sergeant Saunders, the senior NCO (later, commander) of Team 1. He’s one of the few Marines never even mentioned by name in the main series but who completely came to life in this prequel/spinoff series. He’s both a complete badass and a total hardass but in an amusingly sardonic way that beautifully counterpoints Master Gunnery Sergeant Fick (the series consensus favorite character, and an even more amusing hardass).

DSF: How did you research topics in special operations military to write ARISEN : Raiders? Do you have a specific background in these subjects?

MSF: I do not have that honor. I do have the honor of being able to count as friends a tiny handful of people in and out of the special operations community who have helped me and the work in indispensable ways. But mainly, like most writers, I write from research. This is the wall of military books:

DSF: What is one thing that has surprised you while writing the series?

MSF: Probably that I could do really great work in a way that wasn’t all-consuming and ultimately self-destructive. (As alluded to above, finishing the main series literally nearly killed me, not least since I basically had to put myself into isolation for a year to generate the focus needed to do work of that complexity and quality.) A lot of readers, to my great pleasure and surprise, actually like Raiders better than the main series. And the process of producing it was much less bloody.

DSF: What is your favorite part about writing within this genre, and do you see yourself breaking out of this subject to explore other types of stories?

MSF: I don’t care about this genre, or any genre, really. As one of the members of Alpha team put it in Book One, the least interesting thing about a zombie apocalypse is the zombies. What’s really gripping and wrenching and awful was what it does to the survivors. I’m interested in my characters and their humanity (and their superheroism). It’s axiomatic that all drama is human drama. And the core themes of human life and survival are timeless. (The dead and the apocalypse are just forces of antagonism.) That said, after another ARISEN prequel/spinoff series—ARISEN : Operators, which I’m working on now, or rather not working on right now—I have a special-operations military NON-zombie apocalypse series lined up.

DSF: Finally, every author’s favorite question…How did you get into writing and why did you choose to become an author?

MSF: Because I’m an idiot. For many years, I imagined there were two types of people: those who had written and published novels, and those who had not. And, even more bizarrely, that it was critically important to any happiness or success I was going to have that I get into the first group. If I’d had the vaguest idea how long it was going to take, or how hard it was going to be, I’m sure I never would have persisted. Now, getting to wake up every morning and do this work certainly beats what was my day job for many years (web development and IT consulting), but it’s also a hell of a lot harder than my day job was. That’s actually why I’m answering these questions right now—it’s easier than writing. Everything is! But I do expect I’ll go to my grave believing stories are how we learn to be human. And, despite the difficulty, or impossibility, of telling even a single great, original story, it’s still an incredible privilege to get up every day and try.

Check out the complete ARISEN : Raiders series on audio here.

This week's blog was inspired by a recent comment we received from a Discover Sci-Fi reader on our Facebook Group. The reader mentioned an interest in social science fiction, and so we started to think about all the books we love that fall under that umbrella; those books that use elements of science fiction to put humans under pressure and take a deep dive into the resulting human behaviour. The list of books quickly tumbled forth and we are excited to share it with you.

Because sci-fi has always concerned itself with exploration of society, there are titles here spanning almost 80 years, taking us from the 40s right up to present day. So, whether you favor classics, or contemporary—or maybe you're like us and dig both—we've got some recommendations here you are sure to love! 

Beyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein 

Utopia has been achieved. For centuries, disease, hunger, poverty and war have been things found only in the histories. And applied genetics has given men and women the bodies of athletes and a lifespan of over a century.

They should all have been very happy....

But Hamilton Felix is bored. And he is the culmination of a star line; each of his last thirty ancestors chosen for superior genes. Hamilton is, as far as genetics can produce one, the ultimate man. And this ultimate man can see no reason why the human race should survive, and has no intention of continuing the pointless comedy.

However, Hamilton's life is about to become less boring. A secret cabal of revolutionaries who find utopia not just boring, but desperately in need of leaders who know just What Needs to be Done, are planning to revolt and put themselves in charge. Knowing of Hamilton's disenchantment with the modern world, they have recruited him to join their Glorious Revolution. Big mistake! The revolutionaries are about to find out that recruiting a superman is definitely not a good idea....

Read Beyond This Horizon here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

First published in 1949, award-winning Earth Abides is one of the most influential science-fiction novels of the twentieth century. It remains a fresh, provocative story of apocalyptic pandemic, societal collapse, and rebirth.

The cabin had always been a special retreat for Isherwood Williams, a haven from the demands of society. But one day while hiking, Ish was bitten by a rattlesnake, and the solitude he had so desired took on dire new significance.

He was sick for days—and often delirious—waking up to find two strangers peering in at him from the cabin door. Yet oddly, instead of offering help, the two ran off as if terrified. Not long after, the coughing began. Ish suffered chills and fever, and a measles-like rash on his skin. He was one of the few people in the world to live through that peculiar malady, but he didn't know it then.

Ish headed home when he finally felt himself again—and noticed the strangeness almost immediately. No cars passed him on the road; the gas station not far from his cabin looked abandoned; and he was shocked to see the body of a man on the roadside near a small town.

Without a radio or phone, Ish had no idea of humanity’s abrupt demise. He had escaped death, yet could not escape the catastrophe—and with an eerie detachment he found himself curious as to how long it would be before all traces of civilization faded from Earth.

Read Earth Abides  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But when he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known.

Get your copy of Fahrenheit 451 here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Read Hyperion  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin

The recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the National Book Award, the Kafka Award, and the Pushcart Prize, Ursula K. Le Guin is renowned for her spare, elegant prose, rich characterization, and diverse worlds. "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" is a short story originally published in the collection The Wind's Twelve Quarters.

 Grab The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas here on Amazon. 

This Perfect Day by Ira Levin

Considered one of the great dystopian novels—alongside Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World—Ira Levin's frightening glimpse into the future continues to fascinate readers even forty years after publication.

The story is set in a seemingly perfect global society. Uniformity is the defining feature; there is only one language and all ethnic groups have been eugenically merged into one race called “The Family.“ The world is ruled by a central computer called UniComp that has been programmed to keep every single human on the surface of the earth in check. People are continually drugged by means of regular injections so that they can never realize their potential as human beings, but will remain satisfied and cooperative. They are told where to live, when to eat, whom to marry, when to reproduce. even the basic facts of nature are subject to the UniComp's will—men do not grow facial hair, women do not develop breasts, and it only rains at night.

With a vision as frightening as any in the history of the science fiction genre, This Perfect Day is one of Ira Levin's most haunting novels.

Get your copy of This Perfect Day here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

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Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer

From the winner of the 2017 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, Ada Palmer's 2017 Compton Crook Award-winning political science fiction, Too Like the Lightning, ventures into a human future of extraordinary originality

Mycroft Canner is a convict. For his crimes he is required, as is the custom of the 25th century, to wander the world being as useful as he can to all he meets. Carlyle Foster is a sensayer--a spiritual counselor in a world that has outlawed the public practice of religion, but which also knows that the inner lives of humans cannot be wished away.

The world into which Mycroft and Carlyle have been born is as strange to our 21st-century eyes as ours would be to a native of the 1500s. It is a hard-won utopia built on technologically-generated abundance, and also on complex and mandatory systems of labelling all public writing and speech. What seem to us normal gender distinctions are now distinctly taboo in most social situations. And most of the world's population is affiliated with globe-girdling clans of the like-minded, whose endless economic and cultural competition is carefully managed by central planners of inestimable subtlety. To us it seems like a mad combination of heaven and hell. To them, it seems like normal life.

And in this world, Mycroft and Carlyle have stumbled on the wild card that may destablize the system: the boy Bridger, who can effortlessly make his wishes come true. Who can, it would seem, bring inanimate objects to life...

Grab Too Like the Lightning  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Polar Vortex by Matthew Mather

Arctic meets Da Vinci Code in this breathtaking thriller from Matthew Mather, worldwide bestseller over a million copies sold, translations in 24 languages and film development by 20th Century Fox.

A flight disappears over the North Pole. No distress calls. Vanished into thin air.

Mitch Matthew is a writer struggling to make ends meet when his wife's brother Josh offers them a first class seat on a flight from Hong Kong to new York. When his wife needs to stay behind, it becomes an opportunity for some quality time with his five-year-old Lilly.

At check in, they run into a strange Norwegian arguing with a huge Russian. A mysterious redhead is guarding a package in the business lounge. But everything is fine, until...

With hours of Allied Airlines 695 disappearing, a massive international search in launched. Aircraft and ships are dispatched from Russia, China, America, Canada and Norway. As tensions rise, the world edges to the brink of apocalyptic war.

In an area overflown by dozens of satellites from as many nations, ringed by radar and missile installations dating from the Cold War...How can a modern airliner simply vanish in one of the most heavily monitored places on Earth?

Dive into Polar Vortex here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Utopia 58 by Daniel Arenson

Imagine a perfect society. A world with no racism, sexism, or ageism. A utopia.

In Utopia 58, everyone is equal. Everyone must be equal.

Too beautiful? A mask will hide that pretty face. Too tall? We'll saw your legs down to size. Too male or female? The surgeon's knife will fix that. Too smart? A buzzer in your skull will drown out all that pesky thinking. You will be equal. Like it or not.

Utopia 58, built atop the ruins of North America, created perfect harmony. A society with no race, gender, or age. Pure equality.

KB209 was born into this utopia. He has no true name. No past. No future. He is one among millions. The same.

One day, at a propaganda rally, KB209 glimpses an act of startling defiance. A citizen with painted toenails. A woman in a genderless society. Color in a black and white world.

When KB209 confronts her, he is drawn into an underground rebellion. A movement that dares to dream. That dares to say: "We are unique. We are individuals. We will be free!"

Get your copy of Utopia 58
here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all. Its setting is not a desolate, postapocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us. Chosen by Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of the year, this extraordinary novel from visionary science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson will change the way you think about the climate crisis.

Start reading The Ministry for the Future here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The New Wilderness by Diane Cook

Margaret Atwood meets Miranda July in this wildly imaginative debut novel of a mother's battle to save her daughter in a world ravaged by climate change; A prescient and suspenseful book from the author of the acclaimed story collection, Man V. Nature.

Bea’s five-year-old daughter, Agnes, is slowly wasting away, consumed by the smog and pollution of the overdeveloped metropolis that most of the population now calls home. If they stay in the city, Agnes will die. There is only one alternative: the Wilderness State, the last swath of untouched, protected land, where people have always been forbidden. Until now.

Bea, Agnes, and eighteen others volunteer to live in the Wilderness State, guinea pigs in an experiment to see if humans can exist in nature without destroying it. Living as nomadic hunter-gatherers, they slowly and painfully learn to survive in an unpredictable, dangerous land, bickering and battling for power and control as they betray and save one another. But as Agnes embraces the wild freedom of this new existence, Bea realizes that saving her daughter’s life means losing her in a different way. The farther they get from civilization, the more their bond is tested in astonishing and heartbreaking ways.

At once a blazing lament of our contempt for nature and a deeply humane portrayal of motherhood and what it means to be human, The New Wilderness is an extraordinary novel from a one-of-a-kind literary force.

Grab The New Wilderness
 here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Simulant by Bobby Adair

The war against the sentient artificial intelligence has been simmering and erupting for two years. In their attempt to isolate the hardware hosting the AI's software, the armies of the world have embarked on a coordinated campaign to destroy silicon-based processor equipment across the planet.

Unfortunately, it's not just TV's, laptops, and cellphones that have fallen in their crosshairs, but service robots and even the computer modules driving the prosthetic limbs used by some of the disabled.

Trapped in Dallas, at the center of an assault, Madison has enlisted the help of a damaged robot to help her escape before she falls victim to the indiscriminate violence raging her way.

Can she get away? Will she survive? All she knows is that she can't do it alone.

Grab Simulant  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Today I Am Carey by Martin L. Shoemaker

TODAY

Mildred has Alzheimer's. As memories fade, she acquires the aid of a full-time android to assist her in everyday life. Carey. Carey takes care of Mildred, but its true mission is to fill in the gaps in Mildred’s past. To bring yesterday into today by becoming a copy. But not merely a copy of a physical person. A copy from the inside out.

I AM

After Mildred passes, Carey must find a new purpose. For a time, that purpose is Mildred’s family. To keep them safe from harm. To be of service. There is Paul Owens, the overworked scientist and business leader. Susan Owens, the dedicated teacher. And Millie, a curious little girl who will grow up alongside her android best friend. And Carey will grow up with her. Carey cannot age. But Carey can change.

CAREY

Carey struggles. Carey seeks to understand life’s challenges. Carey makes its own path. Carey must learn to live. To grow. To care. To survive. To be.

Grab Today I Am Carey  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Have you dove into any of these social sci-fi reads? Which ones did you previously miss that will now make their way into your (e)bookshelf or into your ears? Have a personal favorite from the sub-genre that didn't appear on our list? Give it a shout out in the comments here, or over in the Discover Sci-Fi Facebook Group! 

*All book-related copy in this post was pulled from Amazon, Goodreads & Wikipedia, unless otherwise credited.