Space Travel Fiction

Earth has fallen under the influence of the Fermion Party, whose members believe humanity’s future lies in the metaverse, a simulated environment to which people can upload their consciousness to become immortal. As a simulant, one cannot get sick, grow old, or die. Human beings have no business risking their lives in the betaverse, where injury and illness can kill them. And those who wish to explore beyond the solar system blaspheme what the Fermions believe is the natural order.

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.

In the not-too-distant future, a 21-member crew launches from Earth. Their mission: to establish a temporary colony on Mars. Little do they know that colony will become permanent–and the last stand of the human race. Because, without warning, every single person left on Earth simply...vanishes. Now, a thousand years later, the resources needed to sustain life are running out, and the very existence of the Mars colony is threatened. Humankind has only one option–to return to its home planet.

It’s the end of term, and the students are in the grip of revision fever…until a real fever takes over. The only possible cure lies in a distant nebula, but with the whole school under quarantine, who will be brave enough to go and get it?

Following the smash-hit sci-fi comedy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is the second part in Douglas Adams' multi-media phenomenon and cult classic series, read by Martin Freeman. If you've done six impossible things this morning, why not round it...

For three hundred years, humanity’s greatest works of art have been on loan at the Greenwood Museum. It was finally time for them to come home...but the alien curators were disinclined to return them. Force was out of the question. Earth’s government was clear: they were not going to press the issue. So, all we had was guile and hubris to fuel our little intergalactic art heist.

‘Ted Chiang is one of the most exciting writers in science fiction . . . These parables are filled with hope and humanism.’ – The Daily Telegraph From the acclaimed author of Stories of Your Life and Others – the basis for the Academy Award-winning film Arrival – comes a groundbreaking...

Fabulously cosy adventure from bestselling author Rebecca Thorne, featuring shenanigans in space, a sentient starship and the feeling of finding home. Her starship gave her freedom. But could it also become a friend? Torian thought she was getting a bargain: a century-old alien starship...

Alexander's victory over a ruthless pirate lord has made him a marked man. His name now echoes across the frontier, a hero to some, a threat to others, and a prize the self-proclaimed Pirate Emperor Harlow cannot ignore. To defend his home on Eden's End, Alexander seeks allies among the Asgardian Union, a powerful faction born of betrayal and survival. The STO calls them pirates, but Alexander soon learns the truth is far more complicated. While he struggles to earn their trust, Harlow turns his fury toward him. This time, the war will not stop at one world.

Will their heart's desire doom a civilization? The bestselling Void trilogy continues in The Temporal Void, an astonishing and vast space opera from Peter F. Hamilton, set in the world of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is in turmoil, as a cult prepares for its pilgrimage into the Void...

On the remote world of Eden's End, Alexander has carved out a fragile refuge: a workshop turned enterprise, a home for thousands, and a place to raise the daughter he never expected to have. But peace never lasts. The pirate attack that nearly destroyed them has not gone unnoticed. The Sol Treaty Organization has begun to take an interest, and so has Katalynn Char, the ruthless warlord who rules the region. Worse still, the man who first sent the pirates refuses to let Alexander slip away. This time, he has hired a relentless killer, one who will stop at nothing to drag Alexander back.

On a dusty fringe station far from civilized space, Alexander scrapes by repairing the junk no one else will touch. The shop is a dead end, and his memory is fractured, yet each job sharpens instincts he can't explain and reactivates dormant systems with capabilities no civilian machine should possess. Alexander knows he isn't built like any other robot, and someone has noticed. A pirate lord has marked him for capture, convinced Alexander can build the war engines he needs to elevate his rag-tag fleet into an empire.

They could find a bright future . . . or the end of everything. From Peter F. Hamilton, The Evolutionary Void is the startling conclusion to the Void trilogy, set in the world of the Commonwealth Saga. Millions of Leaving Dream pilgrims have boarded ships, and are speeding towards the Void at...

Prador Moon is one of Neal Asher’s most explosive excursions into the Polity universe. It’s also an action-packed prequel to the dramatic events in Neal Asher's Spatterjay novels. It takes one encounter to turn peace into war . . . The worlds of the Polity stretch from Earth Central into the...

Will they find the utopian dream – or a galactic nightmare? From Peter F. Hamilton, The Dreaming Void is the first in an epic space opera trilogy. Set in his expansive Commonwealth universe, it is perfect for fans of Iain M. Banks and Stephen Baxter. AD 3580. The Commonwealth has spread its...

Outer-Space Travels on a Flying Saucer and Alien Abductions. Phasie's best friend gets into hot water - he is abducted by aliens and tickled all night. In order to figure out what happened and get back at the aliens, incredible and fantastic adventures are in store for Phasie.

For centuries, men and women have manned lighthouses to ensure the safe passage of ships. It is a lonely job and a thankless one for the most part. Until something goes wrong. Until a ship is in distress. In the twenty-third century, this job has moved into outer space. A network of beacons allows ships to travel across the Milky Way at many times the speed of light. These beacons are built to be robust. They never break down. They never fail. At least, they aren’t supposed to.

Years after a meteorite strike obliterated Washington, DC—triggering an extinction-level global-warming event—Earth’s survivors have started an international effort to establish homes on space stations and the Moon. The next step–Mars. Elma York, the Lady Astronaut, lands on the Red Planet, optimistic about preparing for the first true wave of inhabitants. The mission objective is more than just building the infrastructure of a habitat–they are trying to preserve the many cultures and nuances of life on Earth without importing the hate. But from the moment she arrives, something is off.

AI meets American Girl Dolls in this quirky novel about a group of preteen androids who have been cast aside and have to make their own way in the world. Max isn't always sweet and bubbly. That wouldn't be an issue except for the fact that she's programmed to be. "Max" isn't even her real name...

Jess desperately wants to be a mother, so when she discovers a young boy lost in the woods near her home, her heart goes out to him. The boy, who Jess and her husband call “Buddy,” can’t tell them his name or anything about his family, but he’s clearly been through a lot. When her husband cautions her not to get too involved, Jess brushes him off. She would do anything for this child—and soon, she’ll have to prove it.