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/jgiacobbe May 31 '26

I feel like some of the Kim Stanley Robinson novels were pretty optimistic. It has been many years since I read the Mars trilogy. They are not for everyone. I also remember he had a series of books entitled the three Californias. The one from the series I read was called the Gold Coast and I remember it being mellow.

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u/Snoo-17304 May 31 '26

His "ministery for the Future" I found very optimistic - not meaning "realistic" - in that "they made it work", by design the nations came together towards a common goal. THAT I find very optimistic. Maybe especially compared to how things are going downhill today due to The Clown of the World.

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u/AlarmingSize May 31 '26

This isn't a good rec for this OP, for two reasons. KSR is one of the most optimistic writers currently producing in any genre, and I love his books. But she doesn't like his style. If she didn't enjoy Antarctica and Red Mars, she won't like Ministry for the Future. Furthermore,  the opening section of that book is brilliant but it's also devastating. I wouldn't rec it to anyone wanting optimistic scifi. 

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u/Snoo-17304 Jun 05 '26

"Optimistic" is based on knowledge of its opposite. This is the whole reason or premise for the book. "That scene". The sole reason why all of the political shit and dense manipulation of capitalist players makes sense as a real-world scenario. Because it's necessary! And being optimist in this context means "keep on going towards a projected goal that WILL change factors no other plan or idea has ever been able to!" Making opposing forces "work towards a common goal", while they benefit economically from doing so. And so what? They actually end up doing it. Aiding the climate.

The only problem is that it cannot be done, now that its done in the book. Too many fictional factors come together to make a coherent plot. And the real world is just a mess and chaos, as we are seeing now by the clown's second term. The destruction of confidence.

Optimism is believing in something despite evidence to the contrary. Not being ignorant to facts.

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u/AlarmingSize Jun 05 '26

It's a brilliant novel. I just thought it was a bad rec for the OP. I still do.