Everyone loves a good science fiction book right? Traditionally sci-fi is associated with male writers, but as we’ve previously established, the ladies of science fiction are killing it in this genre just as much as any other.
Below are some of the top rated female science fiction authors, many of whom may not be nearly as well known as they should be. We’ve gathered picks from authors we feel are incredibly underrated, as well as some that we have added to my own never ending pile of books to be read.
Keep in mind that these authors have written more than the books we’ve included on this list. Be sure to check them out for yourselves and discover all of their stories – for now take a look and discover your next purchase! People rave about these women for a reason. We sure do, and we will be making my way through their works at warp speed.
*Disclosure: We only recommend books which we love and would read ourselves. This post contains affiliate links, as we are part of the Amazon Services LCC Associate Program and others, which may earn us a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
8. Malinda lo – Adaption Series
A YA book set in the near future, this is your classic coming-of-age mixed with science fiction, drama and a dash of romance for good measure. The Adaptation series features a diverse cast, and is truly a modern piece of science fiction. While this story showcases some classic tropes like a love triangle, we’ve found that Malinda Lo really shakes up what she writes and keeps it from being cliché or boring.
She also doesn’t portray characters or events in a stereotypical way, and instead allows her teenage characters to act like teenagers. An example of her modern writing would be the way she handles the love triangle within the story. Instead of being messy and all over the place she focuses on the protagonist and her attraction to both a girl and a boy in a healthy way, and how to let other people into your life without making a mess of everything. This is only the first book in the series!
Across North America, flocks of birds hurl themselves into airplanes, causing at least a dozen to crash. Thousands of people die. Fearing terrorism, the United States government grounds all flights, and millions of travelers are stranded.
7. Malka Older – Infomocracy
The first book in the Cenennial Cycle is Malka’s debut novel – Infomocracy. After this book she went on to publish the rest of the series. This series takes place in the future where technology has merged with everyday life and a super computer that rules everyone’s life, somewhat like Google and Facebook on steroids. We felt like this series really dives deep into politics and sociology while keeping a clear and concise writing style.
A fast-paced, post-cyberpunk political thriller… If you always wanted to put West Wing Aaron Sorkin in a particle accelerator with Snow Crash to see what would happen, read this book.
6. Ann Leckie – Hesperia and Glory
Hesperia and Glory is actually a short sci-fi book. Ann Leckie has written amazing books that showcase the science fiction genre incredibly well. What we didn’t know was that she had written an amazing short science fiction story. I don’t read many short stories but after reading this one, I realized I should! Doing a basic google search I found a podcast of this sort of story and thought that was really fun for while I am working from home!
Ann has won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for her science fiction works and we feel is a great author to keep on your bookshelf, no matter what taste of sci-fi you have.
Scalzi features several very new writers, who acquit themselves admirably, particularly Ann Leckie, whose Hesperia and Glory inverts the John Carter template by having a Prince of Mars mysteriously transported to Earth.
5. Hiromu Arakawa – Full Metal Alchemist
While this is not a novel of any kind, this is a great sci-fi read. This is a manga written by a woman, who had two cartoon adaptations of her story made. We are not someone who reads manga a lot or pays attention to it in any special way. However, we did see the Netflix adaptations and realized that a woman wrote this story.
So of course we had to check out the original manga. You have Alchemy, science, humans, humans with mechanical body parts, and brotherly love. A really great read that you should check out! It has a cult following for a great reason.
In an alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Elric lost his arm and his leg, and his brother Alphonse became nothing but a soul in a suit of armor. While the brothers seek answers in the north, they are blackmailed into aiding their adversaries in a plot that threatens the entire country.
4. Ceri London – Rogue Genesis
Earth. Alien planets. Psychic abilities. This book has everything that makes up a great sci-fi book. If you are looking for some great sci-fi action and self discovery, check this book out! Written extremely well, Ceri London captivates her audience and leaves them grasping for the next book in her series.
3. Octavia E Butler – Kindred
Now this book has been around for awhile. It was originally published in 1979, but it still holds relevance to our lives and is worth reading it. While it may not be as modern as some of the other books on this list, and the author may be a bit more well known, we felt it was so good it should be listed on here if you haven’t read it!
Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stay grows longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is uncertain whether or not Dana’s life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.
2. Nnedi Okorafor – Lagoon
What happens when you mix biology, sea life, and humanity? Well, find out in Lagoon. This book is set in Lagos and opens up with a giant wave grabbing people and pulling them down to where the aliens parked their space ship – underwater. They come back out of the lagoon with the alien ambassador, Ayodele. Now they just need to figure out how to tell the world what just happened , and what is going to happen.
In many ways, Bar Beach was a perfect sample of Nigerian society. It was a place of mixing. The ocean mixed with the land and the wealthy mixed with the poor. Bar Beach attracted drug dealers, squatters, various accents and languages, seagulls, garbage, biting flies, tourists, all kinds of religious zealots, hawkers, prostitutes, johns, water-loving children and their careless parents.
1. Tamsyn Muir – Locked Tomb trilogy
Another piece of modern literature, this book bends sci-fi and fantasy to all new levels. Set in outer space you follow the adventures of Necromancers and their complex society of raising the dead in many, many ways. So far two books have been released, and one novella of sorts that is set before the adventure begins.
You have adventure, space travel, magic, love, and self discovery. A friendships blossoms between two enemies and you sit along for the ride of your life following these two around.
Unlike anything I’ve ever read. Muir’s writing is as sharp as a broken tooth, and just as unsettling. This book is visceral, vivid, and downright violent. In short, absolutely marvelous.
