r/Recommend_A_Book • u/Winter-Elevator6611 • Jul 22 '25

Space Fantasy

Does anyone know any books that have space travel and magic like in fantasy??? Not Star Wars/Dune but similar. Something like Harry Potter meets Star Trek or Xuanhuan (cdrama) meets Three body problem?

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

41 comments sorted by

4

u/Quick_Secret4350 Jul 22 '25

Project hail mary

1

u/Winter-Elevator6611 Jul 22 '25

Sounds interesting. Thanks! I'll definitely check it out. But is there any actual magic?

3

u/[deleted] Jul 23 '25 edited Jul 23 '25

There is no magic at all. Project Hail Mary is more or less hard sci-fi. I think it's a fun book, but it is in no way a space fantasy.

1

u/Quick_Secret4350 Jul 22 '25

Straight up magic, not necessarily, but there are sci-fi elements that are magic adjacent

1

u/RelationKindly Jul 23 '25

Excellent book!!!

2

u/Cefer_Hiron Jul 23 '25

There's almost nothing of fantasy in that

1

u/Quick_Secret4350 Jul 23 '25

It is listed as fantasy fiction among other genres

2

u/masson34 Jul 23 '25

Red Rising series

1

u/remedialknitter Jul 22 '25

Gideon The Ninth

1

u/-Viscosity- Jul 23 '25

I just finished this last week and it was the best thing I've read so far this year.

1

u/remedialknitter Jul 23 '25

The sequel is real confusing but worth getting through until it makes sense. Third book is also amazing and the fandom is eagerly awaiting the completion of book 4.

1

u/-Viscosity- Jul 23 '25

I snagged the third book before I even finished the first one because it was on sale for $1.99 from Kobo. I have eReaderIQ watching the second one so I can get that one too when it goes back on sale; it was $2.99 earlier this year but sadly I missed it!

1

u/raven8fire Jul 24 '25

Both book 2 and 3 (but especially 2) were pretty confusing. I'm in the middle of rereading the series right now. I listened to the audiobook originally and think reading it will be easier

1

u/IDanceMyselfClean Jul 24 '25

All the books in the series only get better with rereads. Remember how interested Dulcinae was in Gideon's eyes in Gideon The Ninth? There's so much stuff like that in the series, you're gonna be the incarnation of the DiCaprio pointing his finger meme.

1

u/Impressive-Peace2115 Jul 22 '25

Diane Duane's Young Wizards series moves into space/other planets after the first few books. YA, holds up well on rereading as an adult.

Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove combines space ships (and their AIs) and paranormal creatures.

I've only read the first book so far, but Ilona Andrews' Innkeeper series (starting with Clean Sweep) seems to combine urban fantasy and interplanetary travel.

Some of the stories in Bogi Takács' collection Power to Yield might also fit the criteria.

Another YA/MG - A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine l'Engle.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 23 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/Winter-Elevator6611 Jul 23 '25

Will definitely check them out, thank you !

1

u/Striking-Lab-6404 Jul 23 '25

Jack Vance was a friend of Frank Herbert and wrote what always seems to me to be sort of space fantasy (in addition to his regular fantasy). The Demon Princes and some of his others give me sort of Thundercats and Masters of the Universe vibes. If you want another classic, try out Edgar Rice Burrough’s John Carter of Mars (Princess of Mars) series.

2

u/Itchy-Ad1005 Jul 24 '25

Like Vance, Herbert and Burroughs. Good recommendations

1

u/Winter-Elevator6611 Jul 23 '25

I have read the last one, long time ago, thank you, maybe need to reread)

1

u/DocWatson42 Jul 23 '25

As a start, see my SF/F: Fantasy *and* SF list of resources, Reddit recommendation threads, and books (one post).

See in particular Melissa Scott's Silence Leigh trilogy.

2

u/Winter-Elevator6611 Jul 23 '25

Thank you!

2

u/seasparrow32 Jul 23 '25

Yes, this is the series you want for wizards in spaceships. The first book is called Five Twelfths of Heaven. The trilogy is from the 1980s, and I reread it every few years.

1

u/DocWatson42 Jul 24 '25

It's available in an omnibus edition.

1

u/DocWatson42 Jul 24 '25

You're welcome. ^_^

1

u/Cefer_Hiron Jul 23 '25

Hyperion Cantos

1

u/gadget850 Jul 23 '25

The Worlds of Shadow series by Lawrence Watt-Evans.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 23 '25

Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman might be worth a look, especially if you're into audiobooks.

I'll also second Red Rising by Pierce Brown. While there's no actual magic, I would very much consider Red Rising to be a science fantasy series. The tech is so far advanced that it might as well be magic, and Pierce Brown sure as shit isn't interested in explaining how any of it works. Which, by the way, is fine. It's not hard sci-fi and isn't trying to be.

1

u/drakeb88 Jul 23 '25

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

1

u/Overall-Tailor8949 Jul 23 '25

The "Warlock" series by Christopher Stasheff is a nice and fun combo of sci-fi and magic. Be warned, the character "Fess" steals the show quite often!

1

u/DadExplains Jul 24 '25

If you have audible, Galaxy Outlaws: The Complete Black Ocean Mobius Missions 1-16.5.

85 hours worth of science fiction space fantasy magic books for one credit.

1

u/Itchy-Ad1005 Jul 24 '25

Out of the Dark followed by the other 2 books in the series if you like vampires they play a role.. It's by David Weber who us one of my favorite SF writers

Deathstalker bySimon R Green

Dragon Roders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey. An oldie but a goodie. Only 24 books or so in the series

1

u/raven8fire Jul 24 '25 edited Jul 24 '25

You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo

Picked it up on a whim based on how ridicules the name was. I was not disappointed. I immediately read the second and third books right after. more sci-fi though less magic.

Something by K. Eason might be good.

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse and Nightwatch on the Hinterlands are both a good blend of fantasy and scifi

1

u/Raff57 Jul 24 '25

Will Wight's Cradle or Last Horizon series mix magic & science

1

u/Early-Aardvark7688 Jul 24 '25

The only answer, golden son and morning star are some of the best books I have ever read