Science Fiction Books That Are A Right Laugh

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6 books

Science fiction comes in a variety of subgenres and styles. I like a read with a sprinkling of humour/humor or, even better, a book that’s just plain comical from start to finish. Here’s a selection of some of the droll sci-fi books I have most enjoyed, which I hope you will also find rather jolly. We all need a bit of a laugh sometimes.

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

42nd Anniversary Edition

Douglas Adams, 2009

This must be the most famous, most popular, and possibly still the best funny science fiction book ever written. You must have read it. Surely. No? Are you OK? Go remedy that right away. The story relates the adventures of the hapless Arthur Dent after his escape from Earth just before it is demolished. The book’s full of great gags, terrific (alien and robot) characters, clever ideas, and fabulous wit. Plus, a great story that dazzles with invention at every turn. Marvellous.

The Witches of Chiswick

Robert Rankin, 2011

This book is really funny and set in Chiswick, West London, which is where I live – so what could be more perfect? It tells of the hapless Will Starling. (Note that a common theme in humorous sci-fi is the haplessness of the lead character. The more hapless, the better, and they don’t come more hapless than Will). Anyway, he spots a curious anachronism in a painting that leads him to an adventure involving time travel, weird conspiracy theories, Queen Victoria, the Elephant Man, Jack the Ripper, and the Brentford Snail Boy (don’t ask). The star of the show, however, is undoubtedly a sprout (yes, the vegetable) called Barry the Sprout, which is lodged in Will’s head and communicates telepathically with him, giving him plenty of snarky backchat. A highly inventive joy to read.

Space & Stuff

Simon Carr, 2019

Before I recommend this book, I should say it comes with a health and safety warning. Do not read it if you are allergic to swear words (there are many), or cannot deal with dodgy formatting (also plentiful), or twitch at the sight of punctuation and grammatical errors (ditto), or rage at frequent changes of tense (from past to present, and back again, sometimes within the same sentence). The author is dyslexic, so may be excused many of these foibles. The swear words – possibly the author has Coprolalia? – do undoubtedly enhance the humour, and so you will forgive him for those, too. The author has a unique and distinctive voice that will suck you into his mad world and have you chuckling, sniggering, and even laughing out loud throughout. The story tells of the hapless (duh!) Dave in the bonkers world of Copernicus, where nonsense stuff happens all the time. Part of the joy of the book is the author’s frequent asides at the ridiculousness of what’s going on (which, of course, is his fault as he just made it up). Go on, give it a try.

Schrödinger's Caterpillar

Zane Stumpo, 2012

Clever and witty, and packed with funny incidents and terrible puns, this is the story of hapless (see?) downsizing consultant Graham Paint, who owns the caterpillar of the title. The insect, like its namesake cat, exists in a state of quantum uncertainty and starts spawning alternative realities, each with its own copy of Graham – including a more successful and less likeable version of himself. Chaos ensues for Graham and the police and results in a thoroughly splendid read. I recommend you also check out the book’s trailer(s) on YouTube.

Red dwarf

Infinity welcomes careful drivers

Grant Naylor, 1989

Red Dwarf is the name of a clapped-out spaceship, and the book is based on the brilliant TV series of the same name. The hapless (of course) crew includes Lister, the last surviving human, Rimmer (a hologram), The Cat (who/which evolved from the ship’s cat), Kryten, the OCD robot, and Holly, the onboard computer. The book series is as funny, or possibly even funnier than the TV series and always quirky, ingenious, and fun.

Dark Star

Alan Dean Foster, 1979

The hapless (!) crew of the malfunctioning ship Dark Star are engaged in the totally pointless mission of traveling around the galaxy destroying “unstable planets” – like why would anyone need to do that? Among their encounters on their travels are an alien shaped like a giant beach ball and a philosophical bomb agonizing over its purpose in life – to blow or not to blow. The book is based on the John Carpenter film, which you can buy or rent on YouTube – or just watch clips for free. Or read the book. Or not. It’s entirely up to you.