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3 Best Sci-Fi Books To Read This Weekend (November 14-15)
The article recommends three science fiction books for a weekend read, each offering a different take on the genre. They explore Victorian social conventions, identity in a far-future galaxy, and survival on Mars, showing the range of stories science fiction can tell.
The picks are *Poor Things* by Alasdair Gray, a Frankenstein-inspired novel set in Victorian Glasgow whose letters challenge the account of Bella Baxter’s life; *House of Suns* by Alastair Reynolds, about clones facing an attack six million years in the future; and Andy Weir’s *The Martian*, in which stranded astronaut Mark Watney uses his scientific skills and humour to survive.
In short
- Three science fiction novels suit a weekend reading list.
- *Poor Things* revisits Frankenstein and Victorian society.
- The other picks explore cosmic identity and survival on Mars.
Explained simply
Science fiction uses imagined settings, technologies or futures to explore people and society. Its stories can range from historical settings reshaped by a strange premise to distant galaxies and survival in space.
Alasdair Gray’s Poor Things draws on Frankenstein and Victorian Glasgow, while Alastair Reynolds’s House of Suns follows clones in a far-future galaxy. Andy Weir’s The Martian centres on astronaut Mark Watney, stranded on Mars and trying to stay alive.
Together, the books show how the genre can examine identity, social expectations and problem-solving under pressure. They also offer different styles and scales, from competing accounts of one life to events spanning millions of years.