8 Sci-Fi Books That Are Actually Funny

[@cherylmccutchan1282]

Snow Crash is such a delightful romp and one of my favorites by Stephenson. The humor in Good Omens really made me think of Hitchhiker's.

[@WordsinTime]

I'm glad you also enjoyed those Cheryl! I haven't read Good Omens but I did watch the show.

[@cherylmccutchan1282]

@@WordsinTime I also thought Gideon the Ninth was really funny but it's a mix of scifi and fantasy. Gideon is just hysterical.

[@JohnG225]

Agreed. If you love Hitchhikers you'll love Good Omens. Gaiman was a bit fan of Adams, and people often compare Adams and Pratchett.

[@just_kos99]

I'm not a fan of cyberpunk, but something led me to read this book and I absolutely LOVED it!

[@qavahar]

AFAIK Snow Crash originated the words Metaverse and Avatar (as it's used in a technological context nowadays). That's how seminal a book it is. Some of the most entertaining books I've read are by Jasper Fforde. I recommend his The Eyre Affair to nearly everyone. ;)

[@WordsinTime]

Yes, his description of the specs for a VR headset felt like it was written today, not 30 years ago!

[@lissavanhouten6628]

Two more humorous series: Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series and Martha Well's Murderbot series.

[@WordsinTime]

I’ve read the first Murderbot book and Stainless Steel Rat is on my TBR!

[@MrChris20912]

Love these two, especially the darkly humorous Murderbot series. Makes me laugh every time!

[@kleinjahr]

Also the Reief stories and of course Bill the Galactic Hero.

[@JohnG225]

Obviously you know Hitchhikers gets my vote :) I'd recommend checking out the Red Dwarf books too (as well as the TV series). Great sci-fi comedy.

[@WordsinTime]

I’ve seen a bit of the show, I’ll have to try the books!

[@callmeal4183]

For me, the funniest SF book I have read by far is Poul Anderson's The High Crusade. A short book. Published in 1960, it stands the test of time as it is written in ye olde English stylee. My (also short) GR review. "A cautionary tale about how not to conduct an alien invasion, especially if it involves landing in thirteen century Medieval England. Delightful prose, entertaining narrative, unbelievably hilarious world building and wonderful characters. And, of course, the humour. What a treat of a read. Absolutely loved it to bits."

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll check it out!

[@calebcox4963]

Came here to recommend the High Crusade too. Also my favorite comedic novel. Anderson could be really hilarious when he wanted to be.

[@just_kos99]

OMG, the High Crusade was one of my parents' very favorite books. I have to admit, I never read it :(

[@Kim_Miller]

A series of books I'd put in the Dad Jokes box is the Hal Spacejock series by Aussie author Simon Haynes. Hal flies around in his spaceship getting into trouble and having to be saved by his sidekick robot named Clunk. Anyone with a funny bone aged ten to a hundred will find lots of laughs. I used to buy each book as they were released in the early days but Haynes slowed up after book five or six. This video has made me chase them up and it seems there are now twelve books.

[@WordsinTime]

Haha sounds like a fun series Kim!

[@PaulSaether]

'Technicolour Time Machine' by Harry Harrison. In which a film director makes a movie involving hordes of savage Viking warriors by going back in time and filming real Vikings. Many crates of Southern Comfort or Jack Daniels later his cunning plan goes a bit wrong. Also, Christopher Stashacks series about a Warlock and his robot horse is a good laugh.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the recommendations, I’ll have to check those out!

[@PaulSaether]

There is also a short story by Arthur C. Clarke which ends with the line: "A Star-Mangled Spanner". Hope I haven't given the game away there.

[@PaulSaether]

(Clarke and Asimov were great rivals. Each strove to outpun the other).

[@PaulSaether]

The greatest triple pun ever? Asimov described a ranch called "the Focus Ranch" When the father (ranch owner) was asked "Why the Focus Ranch?" He replied: "That's where the sons raise meat". (FOCUS... That's where the sun's rays meet". Beat that.)

[@bertanderson2548]

Please do a whole video about nothing but Vonnegut. “I was a victim of a series of accidents, as are we all.”

[@WordsinTime]

I have 3 more of his novels to read and after I finish I will be making a video on Vonnegut!

[@rachelthompson9324]

my short story collection, Stalking Kilgore Trout, is right down this alley.

[@WordsinTime]

Sounds great Rachel!

[@komfona_zyg7196]

I’d love to read these stories, where can I find them?

[@alanhardwick3258]

Since you did briefly mention fantasy - Terry Pratchett's Discworld series is the daddy. Peirs Anthony's Xanth series should also have an honourable mention (although the humour is more childish), as well as Robert Asprin's Skeeve/Aahz series (can't remember the series name). Also a shoutout to the Pratchett/Gaiman Good Omens. On the sci-fi side, others have already mentioned the Red Dwarf and Stainless Steel Rat books. Another series by Harry Harrison is Bill the Galactic Hero.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the recommendations! I focus on sci-fi for the channel but I hear great things about Discworld!

[@mark4d148]

Another funny series, if you can call 2 books a series are Jasper Ffordes Nursery Crime novels the third book has failed to appear but i think it was meant to be about the Pied Piper. Also try his Thursday Next books. They are definitely a series set in Reading about a literary detective who can actually get into books and interact with the characters, very surreal with some lol moments.

[@WordsinTime]

Sounds fun! I’ve heard of the author, I’ll look them up!

[@BobbyHall-eu1xv]

The most recent Sci-Fi read that made me laugh out loud was Adam Robert's Bete, some of the cantankerous main characters' interactions with the animals are hilarious!

[@WordsinTime]

That sounds fun, I’ll look it up!

[@dqan7372]

Lem has some really funny ones. Good list.

[@WordsinTime]

I’ve heard Lem can be funny. Solaris was on the more serious side but I’m looking forward to reading more styles of his.

[@mikesnyder1788]

@@WordsinTime "Star diaries" is a collection of mostly humorous short stories and a couple of them are absolute classics... and very clever! Move over, Flash Gordon and Luke Skywalker, I'm calling Lem's Ijon Tichy whenever I find myself being pursued by silicon based aliens or discontented robots who don't care a fig about the Three Laws of Robotics!!!

[@ericneff9908]

Fun list! I'm reading Use of Weapons (Iain M. Banks) right now and have had a surprising number of LOL moments.

[@WordsinTime]

Haha I remember that book being pretty dark, but that can punctuate the funny moments.

[@alexdoyle2018]

Great to see a review for Sea of Rust. I think Cargill is a very underrated author ( his fantasy novels are good too). I've been pitching that book as: robots have won the apocalypse and have discovered their problems are just beginning. I'd tend to think of it as more of an action novel, but now that you point it out I can see the comedic side.

[@WordsinTime]

Yeah, it’s a cool book. Great cover too!

[@BookishChas]

Great recommendations Jonathan! I love the Bobiverse books. Snow Crash is one that I’ve been really curious about.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks Chas! I’m glad you enjoyed Bobiverse. Snow Crash seems to be hit or miss, but a lot of people find it fun!

[@digitalquixote3086]

Not sure what category this would fit into, but the funniest SF I have read is Michael Moorcock’s Dancers at the End of Time.

[@WordsinTime]

I’ll have to check it out!

[@mondostrat]

@@WordsinTime It is a great trilogy & my favorite time travel story. There is a scene where the man character meets H.G. Wells & asks him about time travel machines ... the result is HML - hurt myself laughing.

[@mandolinic]

The Cyberiad by Stanstaw Lem, the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchet, anything by Harry Harrison.

[@WordsinTime]

I’m looking forward to Cyberiad and Harry Harrison is on my TBR. I read more sci-fi than fantasy, but I hear great things about Pratchett!

[@mandolinic]

@@WordsinTime If you haven't read Pratchet you've missed out on a great treat. Technically, it's fantasy, but like all great SF it's really commenting on the world today.

[@bookspin]

Great recommendations! I read Old Man's War last summer and loved the sarcastic wit of the dialogue. If you would like to try some exceptionally dry, dark satirical humour, I can recommend Ling Ma's post-apocalyptic novel Severance. Or for something also very dry but more absurdist in tone, The Cabinet by Un-su Kim, an underrated sci-fi gem in my opinion.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check them out!

[@jackallen6261]

Mission Improbable by JJ Green. British author that centers on Carrie Hatchett, who inadvertently gets hired as a Transgalactic Intercultural Community Crisis Liaison Officer. Anyway, it's funny. It is book one of a series, five books so far...All are good!

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the recommendation, I'll check it out!

[@Paul_McSeol]

Both The Martian and Snow crash are in my top ten best books ever list. Excellent list, and agreed, Hitchhikers is very, very British.

[@WordsinTime]

Haha glad you liked them too Paul!

[@Arkapravo]

Consider a video on Robert Sheckley - he redefined humour in scifi and futurism!

[@WordsinTime]

I’ll check him out!

[@carlizinea]

The guide is the series that really started me on sci Fi and it's still one of my favorites, I have all the 5 individual books, plus salmon of doubt and a beautiful 5 in 1 hard cover shiny and fancy version, also I have made a mug with "don't panic" on the side. And I embroidered myself a hand towel with the intergalactic hitchhikers symbol plus don't panic, so I always have my towel handy!! I love your lists and this one wouldn't be complete without th is amazing book!!! 42 to you all 👍🤖 EDIT: YAAAAAY YOU ARE FINALLY READING BLOOD MUSIC IM SO HAPPY!!!!

[@WordsinTime]

Haha that's a serious appreciation for Hitchhiker's! And I'm pumped to read Blood Music!

[@PrivateIvan]

Nice list, gonna R&D Sea of Rust: sounds up my alley [I've already read and agree with your other recommendations]. That said, next go-around may I recommend two from SF Grandmaster Harry Harrison? I've reread and laughed all the while with his "Bill, the Galactic Hero," (a spoof of Heinlein's ST that's MORE subversive than Verhoeven's), and "Planet Story," which is a genuine space opera, but SO funny! Thanks!

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the recommendation!

[@just_kos99]

I'd highly recommend "The Glory Road" by Robert Heinlein. One of the funniest passages I've ever read! I was reading it when I was 14, just rolling in my bed LMAO. Mom & Dad were in the kitchen next to my room, Dad asked "What's she reading?" Mom said "The Glory Road", and Dad said "Oh". He knew, lol -- both of my parents loved sci-fi which is why I started reading it at 10. Another is "Up the Line" by Robert Silverberg. Make sure you do NOT peek at the last couple of pages or it'll spoil the whole book. Then there's "The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov, one of his "short shorts." Again, don't peek at the end!

[@WordsinTime]

@@just_kos99 That’s cool, I’ll have to check it out!

[@jerryB75]

The funniest SF author to me is Connie Willis.

[@WordsinTime]

I own Doomsday Book but haven’t read it yet. And I’ve heard good things about To Say Nothing of the Dog.

[@jerryB75]

@@WordsinTime they are both excellent. TSNOTD is more of a comedy while Doomsday Book hits all the emotions. It’s the only sci fi book I can remember that made me cry. I had to look up her bio because I couldn’t believe she was American. The humor is very British and very Pythonesque.

[@gregjacob83]

Although I loved 'Old Man's War', I would have picked 'Redshirts' if I had to pick a humourous Scalzi novel. Not only is it Scalzi's best novel, it's also his funniest. Even if you're NOT a Star Trek fan. This book had me laughing out loud.

[@WordsinTime]

I haven’t read Redshirts, I’ll have to try it in the future!

[@AbhijeetBorkar]

I'd recommend Year Zero, and Qualityland as two really funny scifi books.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the recommendations, I’ll look them up!

[@HakimALIGHT]

Excession by Iain M. Banks is absolutely hilarious.

[@WordsinTime]

Glad you enjoyed that one!

[@kohhna]

Good comedic sci-fi: Steve Walker 21st Century Blues and the sequel 22nd Century Blues - very Douglas Adams-ish very british. Harry Harrison The Stainless Steel Rat book series. Terry Pratchett's pre-discworld books The Dark Side Of The Sun and Strata Thigmoo by Eugene Byrne I'd also rec the Red Dwarf series of books, based on the British science fiction sit com and showing off what the writers could do with a better than BBC budget, they were just fabulous. Red Dwarf was always better at the sci-fi than the comedy and this gives the writers a chance to shine.

[@WordsinTime]

I’ve seen some Red Dwarf but haven’t read the books, and Harry Harrison is on my TBR. I’ll have to look up the others!

[@alexdoyle2018]

Other funny sci Fi: Space Opera by Catherine Valenti, reads like a Douglas Adams take on Eurovision. Mechanical Failure by Joe Zieja has a scoundrel getting drafted in to the space navy and reads like a lighter Catch-22.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the recommendations Alex, I’ll check them out!

[@evanb6862]

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune has some seriously quippy robots. I found the overall story to just be ok, but I really loved Nurse RATCHED and the vacuum bot RAMBO. I also thought the Monk and Robot books by Becky Chambers were pretty funny as well.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the recommendations, I’ll check them out!

[@juanreinbergcortes7893]

I'll have to read more Vonnegut. I only read Slaughterhouse Five and it was more emotionally exhaustinh than funny to me. I'll give this one a try! Thanks for your lists!

[@WordsinTime]

Slaughterhouse-Five is heavy and Breakfast of Champions is pretty absurd. And books like Cat’s Cradle and The Sirens of Titan are somewhere in between.

[@juanreinbergcortes7893]

@@WordsinTime thanks! Added to my list!

[@bookjack]

I have to give it to Hitchhikers for funniest book but i loved Old Mans War too. Snow Crash not so much 😅 I'm reading Sea of Rust right now. Not a fan of the action sequences but its got some neat ideas anywyas And i just finished Blood Music! Gripping stuff. Eager to see what you think

[@WordsinTime]

Sea of Rust is one of the rare books where I enjoyed the flashbacks as much as the present timeline. Glad you enjoyed Blood Music, looking forward to it!

[@frankhott5568]

Expeditionary Force Series by Craig Alanson……snarky AI appropriately called “Skippy” should be on the list!

[@WordsinTime]

@@frankhott5568 I’ve heard good things!

[@BionicBeaver-01]

Coincidentally We are Legion (We are Bob) arrived today. It’s on my TBR, with Sea of Rust. Hope to get to those soon! Might be March tho! Too much stuff on my list for this month. Need to read faster! P.S. The Poet in Hyperion made me laugh a lot!

[@WordsinTime]

Awesome, I hope you enjoy! And yes Martin is pretty funny!

[@fernbedek6302]

Alastair Reynolds makes me laugh sometimes… usually just before or after being extremely dark, though.

[@WordsinTime]

Haha yes sometimes he gets you unexpectedly

[@YourQueerGreatAuntie]

I love me some Scalzi, but Old Man's War is my least favourite of what I've read. For absolute LOLs and absorbing entertainment, I'd recommend Agent to the Stars or the KaiJu Preservation Society. I think he has some outstanding SF chops, as in Red Shirts and The Android's Dream. Also, his rewrite of Little Fuzzy, Fuzzy Nation. Helps that pretty much all the audiobooks are read by Will Wheaton, with Zachary Quinto taking on the Dispatcher series, and Amber Benson in the Locked In books.

[@WordsinTime]

I’ll have to check out more of his books. That’s cool that they got talented performers for the audiobooks.

[@YourQueerGreatAuntie]

@@WordsinTime Will Wheaton got a (not very nice!) character named after him in KaiJu.... I always recommend Red Shirts for fans of Lower Decks - in a "Scalzi got there first!" kind of way

[@MrChris20912]

Heh, I forget who used it, but another science fiction author used the name Kilgore Trout as a pen name for some very tongue in cheek science fiction ( one of which was "Venus on the Halfshell", if I remember correctly.)

[@WordsinTime]

I haven’t read it but it was Philip Jose Farmer!

[@MrChris20912]

@@WordsinTime yes! Thank you! Another delightfully fun author.

[@TuftyMcTavish]

Blimey, “Blood Music”! I know I’ve said this in the past, probably multiple times, but I read this as a youngster. I know this because I don’t own it, but I *definitely* remember it - I did not get on with it, hence the recollection - so I must have borrowed it from the Library, probably in my late teens/very early 20’s - i.e. a ‘while’ ago 😉 Curious to see how you get on with it. I wonder how I would find it were I to read it now - not going to happen, but it’s an interesting thought experiment none-the-less. I do own Bear’s “Eon” which I’ve apparently read but nowadays recall nothing. I just looked at the synopsis and it sounds great! I must have read that donkey’s years ago too 🤷‍♂️ My copy of “Eon” is a 1990 re-printing.

[@WordsinTime]

Haha hopefully I enjoy and remember it fondly many years from now!

[@lurchEbean]

I'd recommend anything by Yahtzee Croshaw. Will Save the Galaxy for Food and Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash are the most sci-fi of his books, but they're all good.

[@WordsinTime]

I’ll have to look those up!

[@dalejones4322]

Some of my favorite books are in this list. I just read Blood Music and it was a great book. I hope you enjoy it.

[@WordsinTime]

Awesome, I’m looking forward to it!

[@dirkjenkinz595]

Speaking as an old fart, may I say: What? No Eric Frank Russell? Tsk.

[@WordsinTime]

I’ll have to check him out!

[@callmeal4183]

Wasp is good

[@MrChris20912]

Hah, yeah, "Blood Music" is definitely not comedic! But, it will take the imagination in some unexpected directions. At the time it came out the concepts were still somewhat new and few authors had done anything like this. (At least from what i could tell in my own reading.)

[@WordsinTime]

Haha nice! Looking forward to it!

[@colin1818]

I offer this humble sacrifice to the algorithm gods. Bless the Maker and his Water. Bless the coming and going of him. May his passage cleanse the world. May he keep the world for his people.

[@WordsinTime]

The algorithm is life 🙏

[@MuleFace100]

I read Blood Music last year - I thought it was excellent.

[@WordsinTime]

That's great! I'm excited for it!

[@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd]

have laughed my way through four on your list and think you'll really like blood music⚛😀

[@WordsinTime]

That's great Frank! I'm looking forward to Blood Music!

[@neemarafi]

LETS GO!

[@WordsinTime]

He shoots he scores! 🎯

[@cugal1613]

Great list. I have read several of the books but didn’t find them funny at all….but I am a miserable old sod. The only sci-fi book that made me laugh out loud was Dancers at The End Of Time by Michael Moorcock. One of the best series ever written IMO but never seems to get any mentions anywhere.

[@WordsinTime]

I’ve heard good things about Moorcock!

[@cugal1613]

@@WordsinTime get it on your future list…you won’t regret it. You will not have read anything quite like it.

[@cugal1613]

One thing though I hated it until I was about a 100 pages in but after that it’s been my favourite ever since.

[@bookdmb]

I’m going to cheat and say Red Dwarf. I’m interested in Bobiverse though. Is it similar to Hitchhiker’s at all?

[@WordsinTime]

I’ve seen the show but haven’t watched the books. Bobiverse is a little similar to Hitchhiker’s as it’s on the nerdier side haha. But I’d say it’s a little more similar to Andy Weir than Douglas Adams.

[@colin1818]

@@WordsinTime - "I've seen the show but haven't watched the books" I'm curious. When you're watching these books....what precisely are you expecting them to do?

[@WordsinTime]

@@colin1818 I expected the words to move more. And be louder.

[@elisabasta]

Definitely all Scalzi's are "more of the same thing", and not only the ones on this series. Not necessarily a negative critic tho, I like them for when I'm brain dead. You can enjoy them almost (almost) as much as the bizillion volumes in the Vorkosigan’s saga. Also, please can we delete that Weir dude from, like, everywhere? Come on, his "humor" is as if somebody was creating a 90's sitcom but stopped because his dad told him we'll would all end up cringing at the show, _except he didn't stop_. WHY. Oh, those hours I wasted reading "The Martian" last year, I want them back! Also #2: go Douglas Adams, go, best humor ever. You gotta love that absurdism.

[@WordsinTime]

Haha good to know!

[@evangossell1980]

Old man’s war!!

[@WordsinTime]

I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@mondostrat]

Your core might be overheating a bit, Mooky ... 'Sea of Rust' 'taint funny

[@WordsinTime]

Haha don’t remember that one

[@mondostrat]

@@WordsinTime There was a robot named Orval in Nike 14 who made sculptures out of robot parts & randomly called people 'Mooky'.

[@hanswurst4768]

Good picks except for snow crash. That book is more than cringe and the worst sci fi book I ever read/dnf‘d

[@WordsinTime]

Haha oh no