Funny Space Fiction

In an alternate America, JFK survived—and didn’t just win the Space Race. He never stopped. Now it’s 1972, and JFK’s ever-expanding space empire is ripping holes in space-time itself—erasing people, places, and entire histories from existence. The only ones who might be able to stop him? Nancy Kranick (Emmy nominee Natasha Lyonne), a former moon nurse lying low in Hoboken, New Jersey… and Richard Nixon, tangled in a conspiracy so bizarre it stretches from the Moon to a Shakey’s Pizza to a parallel-universe Watergate.

The best science fiction scrutinizes our culture and politics, examines the limits of the human condition, and zooms across galaxies at faster-than-light speeds, moving from the very near future to the far-flung worlds of tomorrow in the space of a single sentence. Neil Clarke has selected the short science fiction (and only science fiction) best representing the previous year's writing, showcasing the talent, variety, and awesome "sensawunda" that the genre has to offer.

When petty criminal Cal Carver is locked in a cell with a deranged, semi-naked cannibal, he suspects his life has hit its lowest point. He is mistaken. Abducted by aliens and whisked across the galaxy, Cal is thrown into a team of misfits and criminals and sent on a top secret mission for the president of Space. And that's when everything starts to go very, very wrong....

Read by Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, Sherlock, Marvel) In Life, the Universe and Everything – the third title in Douglas Adams' blockbusting sci-fi comedy series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – Arthur Dent finds himself enlisted to prevent a galactic war. In consequence of a number of...

Mostly Harmless is the fifth and final part in Douglas Adams' much-loved cult classic series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, read by Martin Freeman. Arthur Dent hadn't had a day as bad as this since the Earth had been blown up. After years of galactic wanderings, Arthur finally settles on...

Jacques McKeown is the most celebrated author of star-pilot fiction in the galaxy. He's rich, famous, and living in luxury, and his universe-wide fanbase eagerly awaits any news of his next book. There's just one small hitch. He's not Jacques McKeown. He's Dashford Pierce, star pilot and con artist, and if only the impatient calls from his publisher were the worst of his problems. There's also the last vestige of the Henderson crime gang, trouble brewing in the retired star-pilot community, and a small matter of somebody trying to kill him.

* THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * Scientific American’s #1 Book for 2023 * A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice * A Times Best Science and Environment Book of 2023 * “Helpfully pulls back the curtain on some of the lesser-discussed challenges to humanity’s off-Earth...

*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 STEPHEN LEACOCK MEMORIAL MEDAL FOR HUMOUR* *LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 SCOTIABANK GILLER PRIZE* *LONGLISTED FOR THE FOREST OF READING EVERGREEN AWARD* *SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 ALBERTA LITERARY AWARDS GEORGES BUGNET AWARD FOR FICTION* “A sharp, funny take on capitalism...

Blast off on an adventure with the Space Cadets! From beloved children's author-illustrator Alex T. Smith, the bestselling creator of Claude and How Winston Delivered Christmas, comes a funny and fast-paced adventure through space! Fantastically narrated, Astrid and the Space Cadets: Race from...

Blast off on an adventure with the Space Cadets! From beloved children's author-illustrator Alex T. Smith, the bestselling creator of the Claude series and How Winston Delivered Christmas, comes a funny and fast-paced adventure through space! With out-of-this-world narration and sound effects...

USA Today Bestselling author Rebecca Thorne delights in a brand new cozy science-fiction romance series for fans of Martha Wells. "[Dylan Reilly] Fitzpatrick voices Moss's chapters with meticulous articulation and bitter sarcasm, perfect for the organic computing system. [Natalie] Naudus voices...

Drew Williams continues the Universe After series with A Chain Across the Dawn, an epic space opera chase across the galaxy with witty banter, fantastical planets, and a seemingly unbeatable foe. "The only thing more fun than a bonkers space battle is a whole book packed with bonkers space...

A new standalone sci-fi novel from Edward Ashton, author of Mickey7 (the inspiration for the major motion picture Mickey 17). “Barrie Kreinik, one of the best narrators around, succeeds in making distinct characters not just of Dalton and Neera, Breaker and some of the aliens, but even of the...

Bloomsbury presents Women! In! Peril! by Jessie Ren Marshall, read by Rachel Noe Nishizawa. Full of wry humor, sharp social commentary, and an irrepressible sense of hope, a ferociously feminist debut short story collection from award-winning playwright Jessie Ren Marshall. In this brash and...

'He has something of Roald Dahl's magic, but more heart' - Sunday Telegraph Cosmic is the laugh-out-loud space adventure by bestselling, award-winner Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Liam Digby wanted to see the world, but not quite like this . . . He's just an ordinary twelve-year-old. A very, very TALL...

In a vastly overpopulated near-future world, businesses have taken the place of governments and now hold all political power. States exist merely to ensure the survival of huge transnational corporations. Advertising has become hugely aggressive and boasts some of the world's most powerful...

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Not So Normal Norbert by James Patterson, read by Michael Crouch. NORBERT RIDDLE lives in the United State of Earth, where normal means following the rules, never standing out, and being exactly the same as everyone else. He's been normal his whole...

When an unfortunate incident in a space shuttle simulator turns twelve year old Franklin Wilson into an accidental viral sensation, he attracts the attention of Xavier Drake, the third richest person in the world, who invites Franklin to take part in a competition to become the actual first kid...

Sarya Vald is the galaxy's worst nightmare: a Human. Fortunately, she's the last one. Adopted and raised by the alien Senya, a terrifying sentient spider-like species known as a Widow, Sarya has lived on a space station her entire life, keeping her identity as a human secret even as she puzzles...