Looking to tempt a friend to the dark side? Beloved by readers who don't typically gravitate toward the genre, these sci-fi books are sure to do the trick! Keep this list handy next time you are eager to recommend a science fiction book to a friend who says they "don't read sci-fi." They'll be changing their tune, tout suite! 

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

It is so easy to get sucked into this story, and fast! There are a fair number of action packed battle scenes, but if that's not one's jam, they are pretty easy to read over without missing the heart of the story. 

In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

Ender's Game is the winner of the 1985 Nebula Award for Best Novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Read Ender's Game here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Published in 2014, Emily St. John Mandel's Station Eleven enjoyed something of a renaissance early the recent pandemic (the fact of which Mandel gives a nod to in her newest book, the 2022 release Sea of Tranquility.) Station Eleven is a bit of a slow burn but as with the author's other works, is beautifully written and intricately plotted. Just thinking about it now has us wanting to pick it up again! 

Kirsten Raymonde will never forget the night Arthur Leander, the famous Hollywood actor, had a heart attack on stage during a production of King Lear. That was the night when a devastating flu pandemic arrived in the city, and within weeks, civilization as we know it came to an end.

Twenty years later, Kirsten moves between the settlements of the altered world with a small troupe of actors and musicians. They call themselves The Traveling Symphony, and they have dedicated themselves to keeping the remnants of art and humanity alive. But when they arrive in St. Deborah by the Water, they encounter a violent prophet who will threaten the tiny band’s existence. And as the story takes off, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, the strange twist of fate that connects them all will be revealed.

Read Station Eleven  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

This highly accessible sci-fi classic turns 70 this year and feels just as modern and relevant today as it did in 1953. Fahrenheit 451 manages a lot in less than 200 pages, giving us much to ponder and ultimately leaving the reader with a sense of hope—a welcome surprise given the dystopian setting of the book. 

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.

Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Read Handmaid's Tale  here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

When it hit the shelves fifteen years ago, Suzanne Collins' dystopian thriller The Hunger Games ignited the interest of even the most reluctant readers. And why not? With a fierce, loveable heroine, complex villains, heaps of actions, and unrelenting tension, it has a lot to recommend it! Put this one in a friend's hand and they won't be coming up for air until they've read all three books in the original trilogy and the prequel! 

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to death before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Still, if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

 Grab The Hunger Games here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Save this recommendation for your friend who loves feel-good reads! Becky Chambers is a great storyteller and with The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet treats readers to a well paced tale with incredible worldbuilding, a loveable cast of characters, and so much more. If you haven't read this one, do! Once you do, you to will be singing it's praises to everyone whether they are sci-fi lovers or not! 

Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.

Get your copy of The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

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Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

This one is a fun, fast, mind-bender! Dark Matter was first mentioned on the blog in a post from August 2020 where DSF readers voted it into the top 10 sci-fi stand-alones published since 2010. It's interesting and exciting, yet undemanding, and so hard to put down. These qualities make it a great option for any reader and a fabulous choice for one with an entire day spread out before them to spend doing nothing but reading! 

“Are you happy with your life?”

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. Hiswife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human—a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.

Grab Dark Matter here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

Whatever you do, don't tell the friends you're recommending this one to that it's a zombie book. With outstanding world building, skillful twists, a loveable main, and emotional heft, The Girl With All the Gifts will capture the interest and heart of any reader who gives it a shot! 

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

The Girl With All the Gifts is a groundbreaking thriller, emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end.

Dive into The Girl With All the Gifts here on Amazon. Also available on audiobook.

The Silo Series by Hugh Howey

With the recent success of the first season of Silo on Apple+, this one is an obvious choice! How many of your friends who don't typically read sci-fi have already come running to you to rave about the series? We bet all of you know at least a few! We'd suggest you keep a copy of the book on hand for the next it happens; you can smile and nod and hand it to them to take home. They can thank you later. 

The remnants of humanity live underground in a vast silo. In this subterranean world, rules matter. Rules keep people alive. And no rule is more strictly enforced than to never speak of going outside. The punishment is exile and death.

When the sheriff of the silo commits the ultimate sin, the most unlikely of heroes takes his place. Juliette, a mechanic from the down deep, who never met a machine she couldn’t fix nor a rule she wouldn’t break.

What happens when a world built on rules is handed over to someone who sees no need for them? And what happens when a world broken to its core comes up against someone who won’t stop until things are set to right?

Their world is about to fall. What—and who—will rise?

Get your copy of The Silo Series

here on Amazon.

Which other titles do you feel would be at home on this list of books beloved by non sci-fi fans? Which one of these sci-fi reads will you be recommending to your friends? Are there any book here you previously missed that you're planning to pick up for yourself? 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.

Hey there, sci-fi aficionados! Alex here, your trusty editor at DSF, bringing you an exclusive Q&A with the brilliant mind behind the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series, Skyler Ramirez.

As we celebrate the launch of the sixth book in this action-packed, humor-laden saga, we're diving deep into the creative process, character evolution, and future plans of our favorite space-faring heroes. Buckle up and get ready for a thrilling ride through the mind of an author who has captured the hearts and imaginations of readers everywhere. Let's jump right in!

Alex: Congratulations on the launch of book six 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.

Alex: 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!

Alex: How has the series evolved from book one to book six? 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.

Alex: 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.

Alex: 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.

Alex: Are there any characters who surprised you by taking on a larger role or evolving in unexpected ways as the series progressed?

SR: Jessica Lin, for sure. She started as both a foil and a potential love interest for Brad in The Worst Ship in the Fleet but has very quickly evolved beyond that to be just as much a main character as Brad is. The great thing is that I didn’t originally plan for the stories to be told from her POV along with Brad’s. However, as I continued to write, I found that it was impossible to tell the story any other way, and Jessica needed her own voice. She is awesome and quite possibly my favorite character that I’ve ever written.

Alex: The world-building in the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series is quite detailed. How do you keep track of all the intricate details and maintain consistency across the books?

SR: This is one of the hardest parts of writing, and I’m definitely not perfect at it. I have spreadsheets, summary pages, character pages, and a whole host of both successful and unsuccessful tools for keeping track of the details. I’ve also got color-coded annotated copies of each book in the series sitting on my desk while I write, and I’m constantly opening one or more to recall some story point or character attribute.

Alex: Did you have the entire world and its rules planned out from the beginning, or did it develop more organically as you wrote each book?

SR: A little of both. I like my stories to be character-driven, and very often, I find myself having to abandon the plan I had for a story because I come to an inflection point and think, ‘There’s no way Brad would make that decision.’ So, I have to revise my plot to accommodate how my characters would actually act in various situations. Even though I always have the next 2-3 books planned out in my head and an outline of major ‘galactic-level’ story points, the narrative is constantly evolving and changing. Same with the rules of the world. This isn’t hard sci-fi, but I do try and keep things as consistent as I can without belaboring the scientific details but sometimes I fudge things a bit to fit the narrative.

Alex: What does a typical writing day look like for you when working on the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series?

SR: I just started writing in earnest in the last couple of years, so I’m still not at the point of doing it full-time, and I do have a day job. I may spend one-to-two hours in the early morning hours writing, then go do my day job, have dinner with my family, help get the kids to bed, and then go back and write for another two-to-three hours in the evening. I’m lucky to have an extremely supportive wife and great kids who are on this journey with me and encourage me to take the time to write.

Alex: Are there any overarching themes or messages you hope readers take away from the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series?

SR: Absolutely. It’s a redemption story. But it’s more than that, too. All of my books are about seemingly ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Because I firmly believe that we can all be extraordinary. Sometimes, it’s a matter of being put into the right circumstances, but just as often, it’s about us making deceptively small decisions that add up to great things. I like to think there’s a little of Brad and Jessica in all of us.

Alex: How do you balance humor with the darker elements of the story, especially given the series' unique blend of comedic and heroic elements?

SR: It hasn’t been easy, and I spend a lot of time agonizing over this. My goal isn’t to write ‘fluff’ fiction but to deal with very real-world problems and some intense situations. But I also want people to recognize that humor is one of the most important tools we, as humans, have to help us deal with dark issues. Being able to laugh at ourselves and at tough situations is one of the things that makes humans so powerful as a species.
I also try not to delve too deeply into some of the darker elements of the story. My readers’ own imaginations can do that if needed, but I don’t want to drag them down with the details unless they are directly germane to the story. Reading should make us think, but it should also be an escape that we enjoy.

Alex: How have readers responded to the series so far? Are there any memorable interactions or feedback from fans that stand out to you?

SR: The reader reaction has been outstanding and surprising. So many have reached out to me on social media or via reviews to share how much they love the series. The most common thing I hear is, ‘I read all the books in one weekend!’ Which is very humbling because we all have a limited amount of free time, and to think that there are readers who are willing to spend up to 12 hours in a single weekend to read my books is just awesome.

I also have a lot of readers tell me how much they love and/or relate to Brad and Jessica, which is great. Seeing those characters, who are extremely alive to me, come alive for and even inspire others is what makes me want to keep writing.

Finally, a lot of readers tell me they appreciate that I tell my stories without swearing or sex. That means a lot to me because it’s an important part of my writing and my brand, so it’s great to see readers respond so positively to it.

Alex: Now that book six is out, what’s next for the series? Do you have plans for more books, spin-offs, or other projects set in the same universe?

SR: I’ve already started writing book seven. I’m also about to release another short story, Siege of Jalisco, which is part of The Brad Mendoza Chronicles and ties in directly to the plot of book six.

I have two spinoff series already in the same universe. The first is The Brad Mendoza Chronicles, which is a collection of short stories that give Brad’s backstory. The second is A Star Nation in Peril, which is the story of Heather Kilgore, a very influential side character, that ties in directly with the events of Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes. Both are a lot of fun and showcase different storytelling patterns.

I’m also planning at least one other spin-off series about two characters in book six, Sam and Tina DeJong, which will be aimed at a YA audience. Sam and Tina are teenagers that Brad and Jessica save from pirates; they become part of the crew and play critical roles in the plot of book six. My plan is for a series that focuses on the two of them and their future exploits as they set off on their own. They’re really fun characters!

Alex: Are there any new projects or genres you're excited to explore in the future, outside of the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series?

SR: Yes! I have my first series I wrote, The Four Worlds, which is more of an epic space opera with genetic engineering. I’m working on book three of that series now and will release that later this year. It’s a very different flavor of sci-fi from Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes, but it’s also character-driven, and I’m excited to show readers where that series goes.

I also have a mostly finished near-future sci-fi thriller that I’m looking to release in the next year. I won’t share too many details on that yet, but it should be a run ride.

Finally, I’m working with a few other great sci-fi authors on a short story anthology we plan to release later this year. More details on that to come.

Alex: What inspired you to start writing the  Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes  series in the first place?

SR: I was taking a break from writing The Four Worlds series. Those books are long and have POVs of a lot of different characters in them. I decided I wanted to try something different, so I wrote The Worst Ship in the Fleet as a short comedic military sci-fi with a single character’s POV. To my surprise and delight, the book gained a fast following of readers, and I’ve devoted most of the last year to that series.

Alex: Can you share a bit about your personal journey as a writer? How did you get started, and what motivates you to keep writing?

SR: I’ve always been a voracious reader and always knew I wanted to write. But it was probably my first reading of Ender’s Game that really made me decide it was time to start. I began writing my first novel, The Four Worlds – The Truth, while flying back and forth to Europe on business trips. I wrote it off and on for about ten years before COVID and a break between jobs finally allowed me to sit down and finish it. And I guess from there, you could say that I caught the bug. I’ve been writing a ton ever since.

What motivates me to keep going is hearing from readers about how much they like the books and the characters. I enjoy doing something that brings joy to others. On top of that, writing is my stress reliever and I think I’d do it even if my books didn’t sell.

Alex: What advice would you give to aspiring authors who are looking to write their own series or break into the sci-fi genre?

SR: Just write. If you enjoy it, then do it. Not all books make money, but if you get a kick out of sharing your stories, then it almost doesn’t matter how many people read them. Don’t be afraid to put your story out there.

For those who really want to turn it into a career, make sure you’re writing to market. Your work shouldn’t be derivative, but there are some tried and true formulas that work for a reason. Put your own unique spin on things, create some unique and interesting characters, but write something that you know readers will enjoy.

Alex: Are there any resources or tips you found particularly helpful in your writing career that you would recommend to others?

SR: There are a lot of Facebook groups for indie authors to gather and share ideas, ask each other for help, etc. I also strongly recommend Bryan Cohen’s ad school for anyone who wants to learn how to market their books on Amazon.

Alex: What other books or series would you recommend to fans of the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series who enjoy a blend of humor and heroism?

SR: My friend Andrew Moriarty has some great stories in his Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire series as well as his Adventures of a Jump Space Accountant series. I also recommend anything by Clive Cussler—not sci-fi, obviously, but a great mix of heroic story and witty banter.

Alex: Can you share a few books that you’ve recently read and loved? What did you enjoy about them?

SR: There are so many of them, but I’ll share a few.

• Forsaken Mercenary by Jonathan Yanez: a great example of imperfect people rising to the challenge of heroism.
• The Adventures of a Xeno-Archaeologist series by Jenny Schwartz: a gripping story of reluctant heroes.
• The Carbon Chronicles series from Chloe Garner: an action-packed misfit crew story.
• I’ve also started reading Sunken Spaceship by Anthony J. Melchiorri and, Night Owls by Stephen Gay and am enjoying both.

Alex: What classic sci-fi novels do you believe every fan of the genre should read at least once?

SR: For sure, Ender’s Game. I’ve reread it several times and enjoy it each and every time I do. Then, Timothy Zahn’s original Thrawn Trilogy. Whether or not you’re a Star Wars fan, those books are masterful as character-driven narratives. I also love the Honor Harrington stories from David Weber and think they represent the pinnacle of military sci-fi. And, of course, anything from Hugh Howey. His books are just refreshingly different and hard to put down.

Alex: Are there any modern sci-fi books that you think are redefining the genre?

SR: Hugh Howey. His books are unique and fun to read. They focus on people first and are very character-driven. His world-building is masterful. Who else could write an entire series taking place in a missile silo and keep us all on the edge of our seats the entire time?

No surprise, but I also think that Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere stories are redefining the genre and really blurring the lines between fantasy and sci-fi.

Alex: Do you listen to audiobooks? If so, are there any narrators or audiobook versions of books that you would recommend?

SR: At any given time I’m reading at least one book on Kindle and listening to at least one on Audible. I will listen to just about anything narrated by Michael Kramer and Kate Reading. They are incredible, especially when narrating Brandon Sanderson’s amazing books. I’m also partial to stories told by the two narrators who have brought Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes to life on audiobook, Michael Murphy and Madeleine Brolly. They’re both really good at what they do. At this point, I hear their voices in my head as I’m writing dialogue for Brad Mendoza and Jessica Lin.

Alex: You write clean sci-fi. Tell us why you chose to omit swearing and sex from your books.

SR: I’ve written whole narratives on why I choose to only write clean fiction. First, I believe it’s more challenging to write something clean that doesn’t lean on explicit sex scenes and a lot of profanity for shock or entertainment. Second, even though I write for adults, I tell my stories with my teenage children in mind. I don’t ever want them to get embarrassed or uncomfortable about something their dad wrote. And third, I’m a very religious guy and choose to let that come out in my writing; even though I don’t explicitly talk about religion much at all in ‘Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes’, I try to write with the same values that I live by.

I’ve had a lot of readers reach out or leave Amazon reviews telling me how much they appreciate the cleanliness of my books, so there’s a market for it and people who prefer it that way. I love giving them something they can read, enjoy, and feel good about.

Check out the latest release in the series: The Worst Traitors in the Confederacy

And there you have it, folks! A fascinating dive into the world of Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes and the mind behind its creation. It's clear that this series is more than just a space opera; it's a journey of redemption, growth, and the human spirit's resilience, all wrapped in thrilling adventures and a good dose of humor. Our author has not only built a compelling universe but also crafted characters who feel real and relatable, facing challenges that resonate with all of us.

Stay tuned for more updates, and if you haven’t already, dive into the Dumb Luck and Dead Heroes series. It’s a ride you won’t want to miss. Until next time, keep reading and keep dreaming!

“…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.