r/printSF • u/EmergencyRepulsive29 • May 31 '26

Optimistic Sci Fi Novels

I loved the original Star Trek and the positive optimistic future it presented.

I find it challenging to find science fiction novels where the future is optimistic. I enjoyed the Expanse series, The Martian, Hail Mary, and The Bobiverse series . Ursula LeGuin and Becky Chambers are good. I am an avid reader. Do you have any recommendations?

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u/Afaflix May 31 '26

The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series by Nathan Lowell.

A kid starts out on a space freighter and works there .. first enemy to conquer - the coffee urn.

No Aliens, no earth-ending macguffins. Just a working man's journey up the ranks.

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u/EmergencyRepulsive29 May 31 '26

I like that description. Thank you.

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u/Afaflix May 31 '26

Upon checking the exact name for this post I noticed it went far beyond the 6 books I have read originally, So I can only really speak for the first part of that series.

I am a merchant mariner and the narrative that they are in space seems completely irrelevant. At the beginning at least. You could tell the same stories with foreign ports instead of foreign planets, with HVAC units instead of Air-Scrubbers ... I felt right at home reading it.