Project Hail Mary, The Martian, Contact. Somewhat in line with a better future mentioned in the essay, The Ministry for the Future and the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson posit some solutions to some big technological challenges with a lot of time with each side in the political debate, though whether one finds it optimistic lies with the reader.
I was as disappointed as everbody else by Artemis, but Project Hail Mary was a great return to form and a great Space MacGyver Procedura. Definitely left me fired up and feeling positive as well. I really appreciate just the joy in knowledge that Weir's books revel in.
I might just be vulnerable to maudlin storylines but Project Hail Mary made me tear up a couple of times. The audiobook adaptation is tremendous with sound effects, too.
But it begins with a nightmarish heatwave that kills hundreds of thousands in India, which may be a little hard for some people to handle (judging by the reactions of people I've recommended it to...)
When you realize all that must work (not in the physical world, but in the human one) perfectly for that problem to be solved it becomes very pessimistic.
The human part of that book is fantasy, and not a great one. At some point the suspension of disbelief crash into pieces.
Literally anything written by Liu Cuxin. Not overtly positive all the time but always infused with a deep historical optimism about humanity and the power of science + engineering.
Also I second Ministry for the Future.
Reading the newer translation of We right now also and the first 1/2 or so is weirdly positive. Not what I remembered at all.
I'd disagree. Modern day Trek is optimistic, just not in the naive way the original series and TNG were, where it was simply taken for granted that humans had evolved beyond their base vices and utopia was simply a natural expression of their enlightened nature. That isn't something one can aspire to. In modern Trek, humans are humans and human nature is realistic, and those utopian ideals have to be struggled for.
I liked the _The Deluge_ (great characterization), Doctorow is generally good and _Walkaway_ was great, his _The Lost Cause_[1] is also a fairly hopeful novel.
A Half Built Garden was lovely, I thought.
Ada Palmer had a good write-up on Hopepunk. Many of the example books come towards the latter half of the write-up. https://beforewegoblog.com/purity-and-futures-of-hard-work-b...
i tried "half built garden" and just could not continue reading it. why is everyone so obsessed with their genders and pronouns?
Thanks, hopepunk is a fun new concept to learn about.
Project Hail Mary, The Martian, Contact. Somewhat in line with a better future mentioned in the essay, The Ministry for the Future and the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson posit some solutions to some big technological challenges with a lot of time with each side in the political debate, though whether one finds it optimistic lies with the reader.
I was as disappointed as everbody else by Artemis, but Project Hail Mary was a great return to form and a great Space MacGyver Procedura. Definitely left me fired up and feeling positive as well. I really appreciate just the joy in knowledge that Weir's books revel in.
A film adaptation of Project Hail Mary wrapped filming last year and is set to be released in 2026.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Hail_Mary_(film)
I might just be vulnerable to maudlin storylines but Project Hail Mary made me tear up a couple of times. The audiobook adaptation is tremendous with sound effects, too.
The Monk & Robot books[1] are my personal favorites in the whole genre.
[1]: https://us.macmillan.com/series/monkrobot
agreed, especially the first book. the other becky chambers books in the "long way to a small angry planet" series are also quite good.
The novella "To Be Taught, If Fortunate," the only Becky Chambers book not part of either of those series, is also good.
The Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson. Realistic and optimistic climate fiction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_for_the_Future
But it begins with a nightmarish heatwave that kills hundreds of thousands in India, which may be a little hard for some people to handle (judging by the reactions of people I've recommended it to...)
Yeah I stopped after that and still find myself thinking about it from time to time...if the book gets happier from there, I'll pick it up again.
When you realize all that must work (not in the physical world, but in the human one) perfectly for that problem to be solved it becomes very pessimistic.
The human part of that book is fantasy, and not a great one. At some point the suspension of disbelief crash into pieces.
Literally anything written by Liu Cuxin. Not overtly positive all the time but always infused with a deep historical optimism about humanity and the power of science + engineering.
Also I second Ministry for the Future.
Reading the newer translation of We right now also and the first 1/2 or so is weirdly positive. Not what I remembered at all.
You and I must have read different books or imagine vastly different things under the term "optimism".
Star Trek is often considered the archetype of optimistic science fiction.
Sadly its present-day incarnations are often anything but, so it's not an easy rec anymore.
The TNG Picard character was a man of _principles_ that you just don't see anymore on TV.
4 replies →
I'd disagree. Modern day Trek is optimistic, just not in the naive way the original series and TNG were, where it was simply taken for granted that humans had evolved beyond their base vices and utopia was simply a natural expression of their enlightened nature. That isn't something one can aspire to. In modern Trek, humans are humans and human nature is realistic, and those utopian ideals have to be struggled for.
2 replies →
A Miracle of Science (webcomic, 2002-2007)
https://www.project-apollo.net/mos/
It takes it a long while to get there, but L.E. Modesitt, Jr.'s "Forever Hero Trilogy" has always felt optimistic to me.
The "Delta V" books by Daniel Suarez.
I've been recommending "The Deluge" by Stephen Markeley, which is simultaneously very dark and quite optimistic.
"Walkaway" by Cory Doctorow
I liked the _The Deluge_ (great characterization), Doctorow is generally good and _Walkaway_ was great, his _The Lost Cause_[1] is also a fairly hopeful novel.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Cause_(novel)
[dead]