I love science fiction of all stripes. Nerdy speculative stuff is great, swashbuckling space fantasy rules and the grittiest cyberpunk gets my blood pumping. But when it comes to sci-fi that's actually believable, it really helps when the writers have a scientific background of some kind.
Today, I'm shining a light on some of the best scientist-written sci-fi on the market. Of course, there are many more options to choose from, so feel free to add recommendations in the comments below. For now, let the tractor beam take us away.
'Contact' by Carl Sagan
Sagan is the man who ignited my sincere passion for science. It wasn't until seeing "Cosmos" and reading his non-fiction books that the astonishing aspects of the universe around us really clicked for me. Not only did he have a substantial academic background, but his ability to communicate to laymen has done immeasurable good.
On top of all of that, the man also wrote the superb "Contact" that eventually got turned into a solid movie in the '90s. If you haven't read it, take some time this summer to get around to this classic.
'An Absolutely Remarkable Thing' by Hank Green
Hank Green, noted YouTuber, TikToker and podcaster, is effectively Bill Nye for the Gen Z crowd. Through his online work, he's saved us all from the terror of eating grass and kept us entertained with butt facts. He has spent a lot more time in the science communication game than he did in a lab, but there's no disputing his street cred.
Better yet, he's also taken after his older brother John, and made some sick fictional work too. Both "An Absolutely Remarkable Thing" and its sequel "A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor" are worth checking out.
'The Sixth Winter' by John Gribbin and Douglas Orgill
Gribbin has done it all. He's an astrophysicist, teacher, science journalist, biographer of notable scientists and even a sci-fi writer. His non-fiction (like "In Search of Schrodinger's Cat") is substantially more well-known, but you'll likely enjoy this novel he wrote along with "Douglas Orgill" that's focused on the impacts of climate change.
'Plutoshine' by Lucy Kissick
Kissick currently works in nuclear research, but she also has an impressive background as a planetary geochemist. When she's not busy at her day job, she also writes fiction that imagines the terraforming of Pluto. I don't know where she finds the energy, but at the very least, I'm happy to partake in the fruit of her labor.
'Foundation' by Isaac Asimov
You simply cannot think of a genre writer more impactful than Asimov. His "Foundation" series and "Robot" series remain some of the most influential sci-fi works of all time, and in spite of him being dead for over 30 years now, we can still see his ideas in even the most cutting edge work.
He worked as a chemist during World War II, and he even ended up teaching biochemistry at Boston University. Even after his writing career started to take off, he was still being offered jobs by the US Government, so let's not forget he took the "science" part of science fiction very seriously.
What about the tech that shapes reality? Check out our picks for tech biographies.
