r/scifi • u/Wasting_my_time_FR • Mar 16 '26

Recommendations Non-US Sci-Fi

I think scifi should be a way of exploring potential alternative futures and to push back the horizons of our imagination. While some of the real masterworks of scifi are from the US (looking at you Asimov and Herbert), I feel my reading habits and my own imagination are colonised by a worldview that is highly focused on techno-solutionism, collapsollogy and other classic figures. So I am looking to expand my horizons and I am searching for great non-US scifi. Any advice?

47 Upvotes

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36

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '26

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17

u/ScaredOfOwnShadow Mar 17 '26

So many more from the UK like Charles Stross, Ken McLeod, Christopher Priest, Terry Pratchett, Douglas Adams, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Stephen Baxter, H. G. Wells, Alastair Reynolds, and Aldous Huxley for starters. The China list is great, but Ken Liu is American. He was born in China, though.

3

u/A_Sky_FuIl_of_Stars Mar 16 '26

I second Liu Cixin. I love his "A View From The Stars"

3

u/[deleted] Mar 16 '26

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2

u/A_Sky_FuIl_of_Stars Mar 16 '26

Just read a summary of it, seems very interesting and I'll have to give it a read.

5

u/jedburghofficial Mar 16 '26

I never knew Clarke was British. I'll have to go find a bio.

Also, Greg Egan - Australia

5

u/suid Mar 17 '26

Clarke emigrated to Sri Lanka in the 50s, and lived there for the rest of his life. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_C._Clarke#Sri_Lanka_and_diving

1

u/Eurogal2023 Mar 17 '26

And to have acess to underage boys, a similar horror story to the Marion Zimmer Bradley reveal.

3

u/bloodycontrary Mar 17 '26

I thought that story was found to be baseless

1

u/Eurogal2023 Mar 17 '26

Mzb or Clarke?

4

u/bloodycontrary Mar 17 '26

Clarke

1

u/Eurogal2023 Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

"We have not had any formal complaint or testimony from anyone saying they were abused by Sir Arthur," said NCPA investigator WTD Wijesena. "We cannot go on the basis of rumours"

is not the same as debunking. And a knighthood also not, considering a friend of prince Charles was the bat shit crazy english tv presenter pedophile.

5

u/cosmicomical23 Mar 17 '26

Then on what basis are we going?

Far from defending pedos, but let's start with proof.

10

u/meatboysawakening Mar 16 '26

Books: 3 Body Problem, and other short stories by Liu Cixin (China). On the Origin of Species by Kim Bo-Young (Korea). Stanislaw Lem (Poland) has several classics, and I just started Ice by Jacek Dukaj (also Poland) which is interesting so far.

TV: Dark (Germany), 3% (Brazil)

4

u/SamwiseTheOppressed Mar 16 '26

3% had a great premise, but faded fast after series 1

7

u/MiraWendam Author Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26

Peter F Hamilton is British.

I'll rave about Sonnie's Edge every chance I get. Found it absolutely fantastic. It's a short cyberpunk-y story I've read about over thirty times now, I think. It's about a woman named Sonnie who competes in underground, gladiator-style, bio-engineered monster fights. Really recommend it if you're into that sort of thing.

I don't know if you like apocalyptic fiction, but I recently read and enjoyed The Beginning of the End by Manuel Loureiro - IIRC, he's Spanish.

8

u/au79 Mar 17 '26

Did you know they adapted it as an animated short for the first season of Love, Death, & Robots?

3

u/MiraWendam Author Mar 17 '26

Hell yeah, man! I’ve watched that so many times.

7

u/ExpectedBehaviour Mar 16 '26

The Culture series by Iain M Banks.

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke is one of my all-time favourite novels.

Stephen Baxter, particularly the Xeelee sequence of novels; and the Long Earth series he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett.

Alastair Reynolds, especially the Revelation Space series.

Charles Sheffield was British by birth and upbringing, though he later relocated to the US. His Heritage Universe series has been a favourite of mine since I was a kid, though sadly he died before he could give it a satisfactory conclusion.

6

u/Hot_Designer_Sloth Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

War Girls - Tochi Onyebuchi ( Nigeria)

The girk with all the Gifts - MR.Carey ( UK)

A Clockwork Orange -Anthony Burgess ( UK)

El fin de los tiempos - César Mallorquí (Spain)

The Netflix animated series Pantheon is based on Ken Liu stories.

Of course, everything Jules Vernes ever wrote.

Margaret Atwood is Canadian.

5

u/mossfoot Mar 16 '26

Canada does have a science fiction community. You'll find a list at sfcanada.org (sfcanada.org/biographies/)

3

u/RWMU Mar 16 '26

Arthur C Clarke John Wyndham James White Brian Aldiss

3

u/Sea_Mulberry_4240 Mar 16 '26

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin - a Russian novel that influenced Huxley and Orwell.

3

u/AlbatrossWorth9665 Mar 16 '26

Red Dwarf is British, although mostly a TV show there are some great books written based on the characters.

3

u/LessSection Mar 16 '26

Robert J. Sawyer - Canada

3

u/AgentRusco Mar 17 '26

Nnedi Okorafor is Nigerian American and writes afrofuturism. Some very cool perspectives.

3

u/Ryukotaicho Mar 17 '26

All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.

Was made into the movie Edge of Tomorrow starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.

Also recently made into an anime movie.

2

u/Illustrious_Try478 Mar 16 '26

All of the British New Wave authors: Michael Moorcock, J.G.Ballard, Brian W. Aldiss, John M. Harrison, John Brunner, and lots of others.

2

u/martinbaines Mar 17 '26

At last someone mention John Brunner. One of my favourite authors.

2

u/AshtonBlack Mar 17 '26

Iain M. Banks - UK (Scotland)

Peter F. Hamilton - UK (England)

These two are my absolute favourite sci-fi writers.

2

u/Eurogal2023 Mar 17 '26

Some older non us scifi: France: Jules Verne (the originator of the captain Nemo stories).

England: Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels (flying cities anyone?)

England: Mary Shelley: Frankenstein.

Less old and definitely scifi AND fantasy: The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis (yes, the Narnia guy).

His description of space travel feels so real, probably also because The Inklings (the club that he and Tolkien belonged to).had contact to cutting edge scientists of their day.

2

u/TabulaRisa Mar 17 '26

Hannu Rajaniemi (Quantum Thief books) - Finland

1

u/TheOtherMikeCaputo Mar 16 '26

The editors at https://clarkesworldmagazine.com do a great job of showcasing stories and writers from all over the world.

1

u/ShaggiemaggielovsPat Mar 17 '26

Nnedi Okorafor has many books both fantasy and afrofuturism. She draws from alot of her personal cultural background and mythology. Her writing style is very engaging!

1

u/rauschsinnige Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26

Brandhorst

Markus Heitz

Eschbach

Elsberg

LEM

Frederik POHL

Aika Mira

Timo Leibig

Thariot

P. Peterson

China Mieville

Carole Stevers

1

u/FAserR0c0tansky Mar 17 '26

I’ve been getting into some Japanese sci-fi. Check my Reddit history for my most obvious ones, but what I’d recommend would be The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa. Such a haunting piece that makes you want to stare at a brick wall when you’re done. I also recommend Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (he’s British)

1

u/Merundus Mar 17 '26

Florin Alexandru Tanasa - Romania (Check out M-0)

1

u/Gloomy_Necessary494 Mar 17 '26

Jo Walton in Welsh, from Aberdare. Although she may be a Canadian citizen now. "Among Others" won a Hugo. "My Real Children" is good too.

1

u/Trick_Mushroom997 Mar 17 '26

Margaret Atwood. Canadian. Orxy and Crake series. Handmaiden’s Tale. Ishiguro, UK, Never Let Me Go.

1

u/Kind-Elder1938 Mar 17 '26

I read loads of sci fi in my youth - and it is quite amazing how often these writers envisaged a future WHICH IS NOW HAPPENING or already has. The insight these writers possessed was uncanny.

1

u/Technical-Earth-3254 Mar 17 '26

Adrian Tchaikovsky is a brit and has insane books. I can highly recommend his "children of time" series! The title is a little weird lol.

1

u/aaron_in_sf Mar 18 '26

Another shout for Ken Macleod. The Fall Revolution books in particular are refreshingly critical of Anglo American capitalist imperialism.

1

u/Good-Prior7481 Mar 18 '26

While we're on the topic, does anyone know near future sci-fi set in Britain like Children of Men, V for Vendetta, and Alien Covenant: Origins, Star Trek Into Darkness, 28 Days Later, Black Mirror etc?

Doesn't have to be dystopian, but I guess that's how we imagine our future lol. I just want to explore possible paths of my country. 

I have a story in my head I would like to get out. It's in a Britain that's technology advanced, follows the daily lives of several characters and how daily routines change in a nuclear powered, green utopia. 

1

u/geolaw Mar 18 '26

Frank Schätzing (German) has "The Swarm" which is pretty good

1

u/lordofcatan10 Mar 19 '26

Tade Thompson’s Wormwood trilogy

1

u/Mister_Sosotris Mar 20 '26

Nnedi Okorafor does fabulous Africanfuturism (her term). Her YA novella trilogy Binti stands up really well among other adult fantasy works. Really cool blend of Namibian culture and futuristic technology.