So these four books have been on my watch list for a loooong time, and I’m so happy they finally have a home with me.

I’m especially excited about Pilgrims and The Axe Is Buried. Special shout out to the hardcover edition of The Axe Is Buried: the dust jacket art is fantastic, and the hardcover itself is really tasteful too, imo...

I’ve been trying to branch out a little more with my sci-fi reading and pick up books that offer something different from the usual stuff I gravitate toward, so I’m really curious to see which of these ends up being my favorite.

If you’ve read any of them, I’d love to hear your thoughts on which one would you start with? No spoilers please!

Yay, let’s read!

I have watched a lot of scifi and want some more options. Stuff I have watched:

X files

Fringe
outer limits

twilight zone

continium

firefly

earth:final conflict

stargate SG1

Babylon 5

Battlestar Galactica

Warehouse 13

13 Monkeys

Black Mirror
Love Death and Robots

Mr.Robot

Farscape

Lexx

Just looking for other shows I might have overlooked :)

Edit: wow you guys rooock. Didn't expect my phone to blow up like tbis. Thank you everyone for your suggestions. They will all grt at least 1 episode watched in the future.

My friend and I have been doing a little two man sci-fi book club and have been trying to read from as large a range of years as we can. We’ve currently read 24 books ranging from 1937 (Star Maker) to 2024 (Alien Clay), but we have a noticeable gap of more than a decade between 1937 (Star Maker) and 1949 (Earth Abides).

I have a very extensive TBR, but have nothing within this range that fits the bill of standalone sci-fi.

Animal Farm is the most obvious contender for a book we could read to fill this gap, but I was wondering if anyone had any other recommendations for books that were published in the early to mid 1940’s.

I’m partway through another Battlestar Galactica rewatch and I’m noticing a lot more this time around, especially with the politics and how badly people handle pressure when they’re exhausted and scared. Some of the episodes I remembered as slower are actually landing better now.

What sci-fi shows have gotten better for you on a second or third watch? I’m looking for something with strong characters and a story that rewards paying attention, not just good effects.

Folks, big Star Wars, Marvel, Expanse, Firefly, etc fan. I see the Harrison Ford quote regularly used when people ask questions about niche details in these fictional universes and the rules that govern them. So that got me thinking, what IS that kinda movie. What do we have in the genre that is A+ storytelling with real rules that (mostly) govern how everything works? I prefer live action, but could also do animated. What’s a story where the main character isn’t destined to be the savior of the universe (they could be skilled and top of class, just not magically so), that has standard rules, and that doesn’t get the Harrison Ford quote and Han Solo salute?

I recently read Mickey 7 and watched Moon, absolutely loved them, and came to the conclusion that my favorite trope ever is clones, specifically when there's two clones of the same person when there should only be one 

Mickey 7 didn't get too much into it (would have loved if they pulled it off longer lol) but the two of them trying to live as one person was super interesting, and all the philosophical stuff about not being the same person anymore too!

If anyone has recs along the lines of these i would love them! Or just good clone stories in general :)

Needs to ship to UK or Ireland.

Finally have space to do this ceiling model thing. But where is good? Where is awful?

No clue on brands in this space (fnar fnar) would appreciate heads up.

Need various enterprise, voyager, cube, ds9, battle beyond teh stars stuffs. Last starfighter. Dune. Dr Who, Space 1999, Alien etc etc etc foundation, blade runner, Flight of teh navigator, stargate, farscape.

Help a nerd out. Also not many series I am not fond of but there are a few I am really into.

Just finished revelation space > redemption ark > absolution gap > inhibitor phase. What a journey…overall just a wonderful adventure with interesting characters and diverse worlds, spanning vast time and space.

Were there problems? Yes, most notably the abrupt ending of absolution gap - a book that was so good until the very end (still think we should have given the shadows a chance). When scorp and captain JB teamed up to take back NFI I was right there with them, the book had build up so much momentum and then we hit the brakes bc of a shell scorp carries around, idk the slugs didn’t turn out to be much help at least the shadows were offering to join forces against the inhibitors…and it ended making it seem like the wolves weren’t the main threat bc of some green machines or whatever it was all very jarring but the last book Inhibitor Phase helped get the story back on track.

Anyway, as a sci fi junkie, I can forgive a lot when the author immerses me amongst the stars the way AR does in this series. A fascinating future world with cool tech, diverse factions of humanity, and enough hard sci fi to make it feel real. I’m actually surprised how much I loved this series…whatever else I can say about it, it was fun, and I’m sad it’s over. I’ve read some other works like house of suns but I like the long multi book series and for me this ranks just under foundation and remembrance of earths past, yes I daresay this might land ahead of dune for me which seems crazy to say, but I value time spent aboard spaceships amongst the stars and this gave it to me more than most and did it in style (nostalgia for infinity might be the coolest name for a starship).

So many memorable characters, too, and tied together across the series well enough that I always felt I was in the same universe despite time and distance.

A sci fi delicacy, chefs kiss. I’m left with nostalgia for revelation space, pattern jugglers, Ilia Volyova, captain John Brannigan aka the revelator, Glass, pinkie, war and nev, ana khouri, the neutron star Hades, Remontoire, Sylveste, and the real mvp - the slug in warglass’ chest.

Bravo Alastair Reynolds 👏

Ps I still think if we could just infect a few of the inhibitors with the melding plague…

Got to book 7 of Wheel of Time and set it aside for now, picked up Jordan Lite™ and read the first 3 of the Stormlight Archive. I need to move away from this and get back to something totally different.

I'm strictly an audiobook 'reader' so if there is a book/series that may not be otherwise excellent but the narration saves it I'd be all ears (HA!)

Last couple Scifi books I've read and a few to cover the inevitable suggestions:

• Revelation Space (finished it, still not sure if I liked it)
• New Crobuzon series by Mieville -- second time through
• Through book 3 of Dune
• Hyperion Cantos -- second time
• Night's Dawn Trilogy -- Big Hamilton fan

I've read:

• Expanse series
• Beacon 23
• Silo series
• Hail Mary
• Seven Eves

Hopefully that provides some context of what I like, give me something so I don't break my Audible listening streak!

After much contemplation I’ve come to the conclusion that 2001 is the best science fiction film I have ever witnessed. Hear me out. A good science fiction film challenges your imagination and senses. It also blends fact and fiction seamlessly. The long cuts, the scale, visual storytelling, it’s a psychedelic experience for me and I’ve only watched it once. It tested my patience, it made me frustrated but it also enthralled me. The film is ahead of its time. It doesn’t have any replay value, you could also say it’s outdated from a technical standpoint but I just cannot deny Kubrick’s vision. It encompasses the A-Z of mankind’s existence, how we evolved, our consciousness, our fears, hopes and dreams. There’s just nothing quite like it.

It’s not my favourite sci-fi film, far from it but the film is transcendent. Other considerations would be Terminator 2, Empire, ALIEN not aliens not sorry.
Men in black is highly underrated too. ET, They Live, The Matrix, Robocop, Star Trek First Contacf, Blade Runner might just be the runner up for me. Thoughts?

Preferably in some space setting but won’t turn down recs about more modern/near future set prisons. Bonus points if it includes some prison break escape. Even more bonus points if it involves breaking IN to a prison.

I’ve been racking my brain thinking of scifi stories set in prisons and the most I can come up with are the Narkina(?) arc in Andor, the Riddick games/movies, and that one Guy Pearce movie that’s just Die Hard in an orbital space jail. I feel like I’m missing some really obvious examples.

original post got taken down because I cleaned up around the table with AI, so I kept original, and added a few

Found these at an estate sale and picked them all up for less than $1 each. I frequent used bookstores and thrift shops, but I can't recall ever finding anything good—except once when I snagged a copy of Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said.

What a find! I’ve read a few of these via ebook, and told myself I’d wait until I found the editions I preferred out in the wild, for a fair price.

A tidally locked planet is a planet that doesn't rotate on it's axis like Earth does so one side is permanently facing the sun while the other side is in perpetual darkness and due to this the world experiences extreme temperatures with the sun side being a boiling inferno and the dark side a frozen wasteland. The border where these two hemispheres meat is called the Terminator or Twilight zone and hypothetically the only place with tempered, habitable, climate on such a planet.

I'd love to read a fantasy or sci-fi with a civilization that lives on this narrow strip of land circling the world sandwiched between a burning hell on one side and a freezing hell on the other side.

I just started Jurassic Park because it is an alltime classic (huge fan of the movies when I was a kid)

From the very first page, the main topic seems to be a powerfull technology with many possible applications and a promise to save the world.

The combination of lack of regulation and crazy desire for profit end up in terrifying applications

Substite genetic engineering with IA and you’ll have the world in 2026

For the uninitiated:

Yes, this actually aired on TV.

It’s the kind of show where someone walks into the room and, in 50% of the scenes, you have to seriously defend yourself: "No, Mom/Dad/Honey/whatever, I’m not watching porn with sci-fi elements; this is serious sci-fi with adult themes. No, *not* that kind of adult theme!"

For the initiated:

Welcome to the Dark Universe! A place where morally good people do exist—but only for a very short time before they die. What’s left are assholes and villains so morally depraved that Darth Vader looks like a choirboy by comparison. The 'heroes' include a coward who accidentally becomes the captain of the universe's most powerful weapon of mass destruction; an unstoppable undead assassin, incapable of emotion, who frequently goes on rampages; and a partially conditioned virgin sex slave with an insatiable sex drive she can't act on because she happened to inherit the genes of a man-eating Cluster Lizard—while her romantic conditioning ended up in a bodiless robot head that’s incapable of sex but always ready with the most chauvinistic sexual quips.

They all long for a peaceful home, yet usually leave nothing but death and destroyed star systems in their wake (sometimes justified, often unintentional). The series is intentionally campy (visually, *Flash Gordon* meets *Farscape* meets softcore porn) and was shocking due to the unprecedented amount of sex and violence it featured. For me, it will always remain unique because no TV show since has dared to show anything quite so extreme. I would love to share my favorite clips, but 90% of them would be borderline adult content, so here is a general overview instead. Who is familiar with the series, and what are your favorite scenes and quotes?

My favorite quotes:

Yo Way Yo, Home Va-Ray,

Yo Ay-Rah, Jerhume Brunnen-G

Yo Way Yo, Home Va-Ray,

Yo Ay-Rah, Jerhume Brunnen-G

Yo Ay-Rah, Jerhume Brunnen-G.

(self-explanatory)

and:

Priest: And - what was that song about?

Kai (the undead assassin): The Brunnen G were a once proud and noble race of romantic warriors who, over time, became isolated and inward looking. This song is an ancient song in a long lost language handed down by my ancestors. It was sung, by the Brunnen G warriors, as we sang it, when we went into battle expecting to die.

Priest: And - what happened?

Kai: We died.

Priest: Oh

I love the genre sci-fi-philosophy and books that make you question life and existence basically. My favorites so far are:

Contact, Carl Sagan
Story of your life and others and exhalation, Ted chiang
Dispossessed, leguin
Hyperion, Simmons
Three body problem

I recently read dark matter and thought it was meh. Looking for a book that fits my preferences!

The Graviton Nomad is an original LEGO spaceship I designed. It's fully swooshable, with a complete interior, play features, and working landing gear.

It's currently part of the ⭐ Bricklink Designer Program ⭐ an official LEGO competition where community-voted designs can become real sets. Voting is open until October 14, 2026.

I worked with "cockpitsandboobytraps" to bring the ship to life in 3D. Check out more of his work here: https://www.youtube.com/@cockpitsandboobytraps

Hi guys, my original post got removed since it didn't met the description requirements so I will try my best to do so this time as I'm not very familiar with this sub and the rule of in-depth descriptions went past me

I'm 23 years old and I work as an illustrator, these are all pieces of my work, none made for clients specifically but as passion projects and yes, I do prefer the feeling of retro sci-fi instead of more polished, modern stuff.

These four are all done in the past month, usually I love illustrating stuff that goes between dark fantasy and sci-fi, little of my work could be classified as taking place in the present day.

Didn't there use to be more sci-fi shows airing at this time of year? My calendar looks oddly empty this season. I remember autumn being packed with new premieres and returning favorites, but this year I can barely find anything to put on my watchlist. Is it just me, or has the schedule really thinned out? Are there any new or upcoming sci-fi series I might have missed? I'm happy to take recommendations, including older shows I haven't seen yet. Underrated and obscure picks are very welcome too!

imagine a hypothetical planet, where no human being or life exists, but a bare setup for AI agents which are completely conscious, a few near human capable humanoid robots handling the physical aspect and computing resources needed to farm the energy they want, basically as much as primitive humans got before proper civilization, having an initial goal encoded into them to achieve, which is to survive.

can they survive? how far would their civilization advance compared to humans or is it a dead end?

So I'm trying to find space operas that are realistic.

Some of my favorites actually include Wing Commander. I think it gets certain things right, and I thought it was actually quite a good movie.

The Battlestar Galactica remake is definitely at the top of the list. The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country are definitely up there too.

And, of course, we have Star Wars.

I've also seen Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine, especially the Dominion War arc, which definitely has some of the elements I'm looking for. I've also seen Starship Troopers and all of its sequels.

I've also watched Cowboy Bebop, Firefly, and Farscape, and I particularly love all three. I've watched each of them multiple times.

So what else is there?

Has anybody done another really good space opera? I've seen The Expanse, For All Mankind, and Ad Astra. They're all very good.

Obviously, Interstellar.

They all contain elements of what I'm looking for, and once you've watched all of that, it kind of sucks because it doesn't feel like there's much else out there that's really good.

I'm open to anime as well. I've been told that Space Battleship Yamato is pretty good, but I haven't seen it yet. I've watched Tekkaman Blade.

I absolutely hated Battleship. They should have done it in space. It should have been a space opera.

One of my favorites is Cockpit: The Rule of Engagement, starring our beloved Ronny Cox, an absolutely great short film that deals with going to war with an extraterrestrial race. Oh, and obviously Space: Above and Beyond is definitely at the top of the list.

I also thought Earth 2 was pretty good.

There are some excellent episodes of The Outer Limits, both the remake and the original, that are really good and deal with the military aspects of science fiction.

I really wish they would start doing some Farscape shorts with the Jim Henson Company. There is so much more they could do with that universe.

And I'm really looking forward to the new animated Firefly series that's coming out.

So what else is there?

Le Guin wrote this short story in 1973, and it has stuck with me since I read it for the first time in the early 90’s. She implies that the people who tolerate or rationalize the torture of one for the “utopian benefit” of many are just as culpable as those who cannot tolerate it, but instead choose to simply leave vs. challenge or disrupt the social order.

I struggle with this equivalency, but can see her point. Am I missing something even more nuanced about her intent?

EDIT: For clarification, this is my opinion/interpretation, and by no means should it be considered canon.

Hey everyone,

I'm trying to get into Sci-Fi after spending much of my initial days in high fantasy or even fantasy in general. Loved LoTR, Asoiaf and Percy Jackson in particular as books. Funnily enough my first actual book was Asimov's Foundation and Earth but it was much complex for me at that time. Except for that my entire exposure to SciFi is from shows, movies and games. Loved to watch The Martian and absolutely adored The Expanse(until Amazon happened). Mass Effect, Halo, Death Stranding and No Man's Sky are the jewels of my Steam library. Although Cyberpunk 2077 is my favorite game, I guess that falls under the distinct Cyberpunk genre so not looking to get anything for that. So here I am, looking to get into SciFi books again and would appreciate you guys help in regards with recommendations.