i love scifi but i often struggle with super dense hard science scifi and i usually prefer scifi that has a more litfic feel (ie. attention to prose, themes and the craft of writing) or that deal with soft science ideas like sociology, anthropology and humanity’s relationship to culture, the environment and technology. i’ve already read
– some of Murderbot
– all of Becky Chambers (Wayfarers + Monk and Robot)
– Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
– The Light Pirate and Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks Dalton
– Drunk On All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson
– The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itäranta
– Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke
– This Is How You Lose The Time War
– The Membranes by Chi Ta Wei
– Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
– Klara and the Sun and Bewilderment are on my radar
by sophiecap
7 Comments
I would recommend anything by Connie Willis and Ursula LeGuin right off the bat. Both of them write more about people than gadgets.
The “juvenile” books by Robert Heinlein like _Have Spacesuit, Will Travel_ would also work.
A lesser-known author whom I like to recommend is Mur Lafferty. I just finished a recent book of hers, _Station Eternity_, which is a sci-fi murder mystery.
Lois Bujold Vorkosigan series,
Ursula le Guin Hainish cycle especially Left Hand of Darkness
There is more. r/printsf can help you out
The other replies already said Ursula Le Guin but I have to pile on with that.
Also, Samuel R Delany!
Will save the galaxy for food and Will destroy the galaxy for cash by Yahtzee Croshaw. An unemployed star pilot tries to get by in a universe where transporters are a thing. The main character defined himself through the job of star pilot, but the job is now obsolete, leaving him with a crisis of identity.
A Half Built Garden by Ruthanna Emerys is perfect to scratch that Becky Chambers itch
Have you read the “Native Tonge” trilogy by Suzette Haden Elgin? It’s sci-fi focused on linguistics, communication, and how that effects how societies function.
Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go
Also, definitely read Ted Chiang. My goodness, his work is SO beautiful. The Story of Your Life is what the movie arrival is based on and I think it may be one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever read.