By Sam Nelson Published Oct 27, 2026, 12:52 AM EDT Polygon Lists Get some laughs with psychic cats, friendly aliens, and snarky cyborgs
Image: Ballantine Books Add Polygon.com on Google Add as Preferred Source Follow on Google Discover Sign in to your Polygon.com account Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap Science fiction writers imagine humanity's future in order to explore our present and past. The best sci-fi is a mix of cautionary tale and social commentary, but books about heady topics like artificial intelligence, alien encounters, and galaxy-spanning wars are often filled with dense explanations of theoretical technologies or complex political factions. It doesn't have to be that way. While dry and heavy sci-fi can be extremely rewarding to read, the genre also offers plenty of lighter options filled with humor and adventure. If you want some laughs in your future, check out these eight extremely fun sci-fi books that grapple with modern issues facing humanity in the 21st Century.
John Scalzi is a master of comedic sci-fi, whether penning zany novels like Starter Villain or the silly short stories that got adapted to episodes of the Netflix anthology series Love, Death & Robots . Fans of Star Trek: Lower Decks should check out his Hugo Award-winning novel Redshirts , which follows a group of new ensigns on a starship where away missions have an appallingly high casualty rate. Things get far weirder when the new crew begins investigating the nature of their ship’s confrontations with aggressive aliens and looking for a way to save their lives.
Very much a journey over destination book, Becky Chambers’ originally self-published debut novel follows Rosemary Harper, a woman from Mars who tries to escape her past by joining the crew of a ship tasked with tunneling wormholes through space. Rosemary learns a lot from the quirky aliens she shares the ship with as they protect each other in this sweet story of found family. The cozy book is a perfect read for fans of Firefly or Farscape .
The Murderbot Diaries is a hilarious series about Murderbot, a rogue cyborg security guard who would rather be watching soap operas than protecting dumb, helpless humans. While Murderbot’s running internal monologue is always entertaining, the second book in Martha Wells’ series is one of the best. Murderbot gets the perfect foil in an advanced ship AI dubbed Asshole Research Transport. As Murderbot tries to learn more about its past, it has to put up with a new friend who wants to share TV time. Read Artificial Condition before watching the second season of the Apple TV adaptation, which is currently in the works.
The space opera genre gets literal in Catherynne M. Valente's absurdist book where humanity has to compete in the Metagalactic Grand Prix, a Eurovision-like song contest. Filled with over-the-top humor, Space Opera is basically a glam rock tribute to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The washed-up band Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes has to use music to prove humanity is actually sentient, and if they place last, the whole species will be destroyed.
Space operas often feature oddball ensembles, but few are as weird as the crew of La Sirena Negra. The foul-mouthed captain Eva Innocente is on a mission to save her kidnapped sister, and she’s lying to her crew about t…