Science fiction rarely predicts the future accurately, but it is excellent at exploring possibilities and their consequences. Some books also look ahead using real research.
Classics of science fiction
- Foundation by Isaac Asimov. A mathematician predicts the fall of a galactic empire and plans to shorten the dark age that follows.
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. A future where books are burned and screens dominate life.
- Neuromancer by William Gibson. The novel that popularized the word “cyberspace” and launched cyberpunk.
- The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. Two worlds, one capitalist and one anarchist, compared with nuance.
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. What makes us human, in a world of artificial beings; the basis of Blade Runner.
Modern science fiction
- The Martian by Andy Weir. An astronaut stranded on Mars survives with science and humor.
- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin. China’s most famous science fiction novel, on first contact and physics, winner of the Hugo Award.
- Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. An artificial friend observes the family she serves.
- The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. A near-future story about responding to climate change.
Nonfiction about the future
- Life 3.0 by Max Tegmark. Scenarios for a world transformed by artificial intelligence.
- The Precipice by Toby Ord. A philosopher on the risks that could threaten humanity’s long-term future.
- Factfulness by Hans Rosling. Not about the future as such, but a reminder that trends are often better than we think, which matters for how we imagine what comes next.
Why read about the future?
Science fiction gives us words and images for debates about technology, surveillance, climate and artificial intelligence. It also helps readers imagine alternatives, both warnings and hopes.
For the science behind the universe, see books on science and the cosmos. Epic worldbuilding of all kinds is covered in immersive books.
