When I was young, I was a fan of both the original Star Trek series and that first Star Wars trilogy. These works made me daydream about teleportation and Tribbles… about the life that might exist on other planets. On trips to the Museum of Natural History or the Liberty Science Center, I favored planetarium sessions where I sat in the dark, staring up at the stars, watching planets drift by. Later on, I’d always get astronaut ice cream from the gift shop. My favorite movie of all time was E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. I slept with my E.T. doll clutched tight to me every night and, when I was slightly older, read the William Kotzwinkle novel based on the screenplay, followed by its sequel, E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet. Despite this, sci-fi wasn’t actually my favorite genre. Not by a long shot. But my dad had a few books and franchises he treasured. And so I treasured them, too. I’ve only recently come back to sci-fi. Horror is my main jam, and has been for quite some time. And while I’ve been getting into narratives about time travel and the multiverse lately, there’s still nothing like a good, solid space travel book to bring you closer to other worlds. Here are some that I recommend. If this list only makes you hungry for more, I suggest checking out this list of must-read space fantasy books, another list of spacefaring comics and graphic novels, and yet 50 more books set in space.
