When it comes to both science fiction and fantasy, authors have a habit of writing multi-book epics rather than single, one-time books. So, if you’re looking for a standalone sci-fi tale to enjoy and don’t want to have to invest in multiple books, these are some of the best to pick up.
I will admit that I love a good series of science fiction books, be it the huge Culture series by Iain M Banks or the two-part space operas of Peter F Hamilton’s Pandora collection. However, sometimes, it is nice to have a single book that tells the whole story. Every sci-fi adventure doesn’t need to be thousands of pages long. So, I have dug through my libraries to find some of the best standalone science fiction books I can think of.
Pushing Ice – Alastair Reynolds
There are a multitude of books to choose from Reynolds’ collection of writing, but this one is particularly good. As a former space scientist, Reynolds has a deeper understanding of space and space travel than a lot of writers. This pairs very well with his vast imagination and gripping writing style. As a standalone sci-fi book, this is a great one to pick up.
Pushing Ice follows a group of asteroid ice farmers as they decide to chase after a moon. I say chase because this moon has suddenly dipped out of orbit and is moving like an alien craft. Being the only vessel close enough to give chase, the crew set off in hot pursuit. The story that unfolds is typical of Reynolds’ wonderful imagination, full of intrigue, risk, and excellent science fiction concepts.
The Sirens of Titan – Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut is a hard author to pin down when talking about genres. He fits into many, but in the same sentence, he only fits into one: his own. He is a fascinating writer and has a mind rarely found in any medium of art, let alone science fiction writing. Many of his works have elements of science fiction to them, be they biographical, philosophical, or outwardly science-based. Most of his repertoire is great standalone sci-fi books you can chew through in a few hours.
However, I feel that The Sirens of Titan is one of the more outward science fiction books in his collection. The story takes us between many planets, meeting various alien species caught up in often very human conundrums. The vast and winding narrative covers the beginnings of the universe, transcendence to non-physical existence, and messages being passed across millennia. As with a lot of Vonnegut books, you can only really experience his mind by picking up his books and enjoying the ride.
The Light Brigade – Kameron Hurley
Science fiction often has characters traveling vast distances through space. This is achieved in many ways but often includes cryo sleep, faster-than-light or close-to-light speed travel, and other miraculous technologies. However, the effects, both physically and mentally, aren’t often spoken about. Of course, it can be broached to an extent, but the true tax of interstellar travel on the soft human form isn’t expanded on enough.
With Hurley’s The Light Brigade, this problem is one of the centerpieces of what the book is about, and that makes it quite special. In order to send soldiers across the vast nothingness of space, they are turned into light, blasted across the expanse, and reformed. Understandably, this leaves them never quite the same as they once were. This amazing sci-fi standalone book follows one soldier as he starts to see the war from a different perspective due to misaligned drops. However, what he’s seeing may just be the result of his deteriorating mind. The Light Brigade takes us on a journey into madness and paranoia.
Fahrenheit 541 – Ray Bradbury
Most of the classics of the science fiction genre could make up the entirety of this list, ranging from Frankenstein to most of Phillip K Dick’s collection.
For me, Fahrenheit 451 was one of the most hard-hitting and influential standalone sci-fi books I remember. Bradbury digs deep into a future of censorship and oppression that was predicted way before the world we have around us today. More than ever, surveillance, misinformation, and suppression of opinion are being used to control the populace, and I feel that as a science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451 was way ahead of its time.
Roadside Picnic – Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
These two brothers, writing from behind the Iron Curtain, produced a number of wild sci-fi books that changed the face of the genre forever. Their imaginations and bleak yet often hilarious narratives are referenced heavily in everything from films to games and, of course, other novels. However, Roadside Picnic is by far their most famous and possibly most influential standalone sci-fi book.
If you have ever played the S.T.A.L.K.E.R games, Pacific Drive, or even seen the film Stalker, you will have some idea of what this book is about. At some point, Earth was visited by aliens, but they kept themselves quiet and in relatively small areas. No, they have left, leaving exclusion zones.
These exclusion zones are home to many phenomena and unknown mysteries. The plot follows our Stalker as he takes people in and out of this zone, smuggling contraband and exploring the horrors that lie within. The ideas associated with the various alien phenomena are one thing, but the deep and winding philosophies of the often hopeless characters are what make this book such a marvel of science fiction.
Klara and The Sun – Kazuo Ishiguro
Despite being highly critically acclaimed, Klara and The Sun has split its readers more than most books I know. The writer’s style is very particular, and that, in some cases, can turn people off. However, I feel that Ishiguro’s slightly emotionally detached style is perfectly matched to this standalone science fiction novel about AI and a very limited understanding of the world.
This dystopian future is bleak and hopeless but seen through the eyes of something with no prior understanding of where we come from. Watching the world play out from the naivety of something with no history or perception of what is and isn’t gives an interesting perspective on a world that is very familiar to us. I think it takes real talent to be able to remove yourself as an author from deeply ingrained perceptions and write from such a new one.
The Dispossessed – Ursula K.Le Guin
As with a lot of the wonderful authors on this list, Le Guin has many books that can be considered the best standalone sci-fi novels. For the sake of being concise, I have added this to the list. However, if you’re a fan, then seek out as many of her books as you can. She unpacks and expands with great care and details some deeply interesting topics and ideas. I have never read one of her books and not been left pondering for weeks afterward. The Dispossessed is no different.
The Dispossessed takes place on two planets but focuses on only one man. The protagonist, a scientist on the cusp of discovering faster-than-light travel, comes from a planet with an anarchist society. Nothing is owned, and everyone is equal, sharing labor, housing, and everything else. However, scientific progress is seen as wanting and shunned. His theories are blocked by the publications. In an attempt to have his work published and seen, he runs to the neighboring planet. Here, he lives as a capitalist, with all the trappings and finery that come along with it. In this standalone sci-fi book, Le Guin explores the successes and failings of the two politics.
The Peripheral – William Gibson
If you’re looking for a book that will throw you deep into the action from the first page, with science fiction gadgetry and high-octane stakes, Gibson is your man. His breakneck writing style is perfect for the pacing and action he so excitingly illustrates. The Peripheral is a standalone sci-fi book for him that feels a lot longer than its few hundred pages let on. Gibson is a master of the Cyberpunk genre, often being coined as one of the founders.
This science fiction book takes place over two different times. The first is in the not-too-distant future, and the second is in the far future, long after civilization has collapsed. Through the use of virtual reality, our protagonist is able to be transported into what she thinks is a game. What it turns out to be is so much more than that, and we end up with a war spanning multiple timelines.
Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson
Reading through this book, I knew that Stephenson was, in many ways, mocking the science fiction genre. But in doing so, he has produced a book that I absolutely love despite its flaws and obvious overuse of tropes. Snow Crash gives it all, with cyberspace worlds, high-speed motorcycles, biohacking, and a minigun that fires shards of depleted uranium through feet-thick steel.
Snow Crash is a wild ride from beginning to end, providing a proper page-turner. It may not be high art like the writing of someone like Le Guin, but there is nothing wrong with the odd guilty pleasure. As a standalone sci-fi book, it really gets into the fun side of the genre. Despite the slightly mocking tones, there are some great concepts to dig into throughout the book. This is a great first read for beginners to the science fiction genre.
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
To finish the list of the best standalone science fiction books, we turn to an undeniable masterpiece of literature. The book poses the question: Is it more important to be happy or free? In the future, these are the options as humans are genetically engineered and conditioned to fit into their place in society and be satisfied. However, human beings are unpredictable, and there will always be one or two who start to question the status quo. This is what sets Brave New World up as the seminal book that it is, breaking down a controlled society.
Really scrutinizing the subject of complete control and the benefits and problems that come along with it is a huge subject. Brave New World is a sci-fi standalone book that explores many interesting topics. Besides this, it raises awareness of conditioning and how easy it can be to manipulate a society into behaving and thinking in certain ways. These are things we always need to be aware of, both then and now.
Published: Jul 13, 2024 12:49 pm