My Sc-Fi A to Z // #scifimonth

In 2018 I did a My A to Z of fantasy for Wyrd & Wonder. This year I decided to make one for science-fiction which was even harder than I thought. I think it shows that I am not as knee deep into sci-fi as I am with fantasy. But I still tried my best.

The suggested books I have not all read myself. However I tried to find the books that seemed to fit with the terms. Maybe you will find some new sci-fi books as I did to add to your tbr.

A is for Aerospace

Aerospace is the human effort in science and engineering to fly in the atmosphere of Earth and Space. If that isn’t sci-fi I don’t know what is.

Suggested: From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne

B is for Bionics

Bionics is the use of biological methods and systems found in nature to study and designing engineering and new technology. That is very typical for sci-fi I say.

Suggested: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

C is for Cyborg

Cyborg is short for Cybernetic Organism. It has organic and biomechatronic parts. We don’t have cyborgs just yet but they do speak to our mind as shown in sci-fi.

Suggested: The Man That Was Used Up by Edgar Allan Poe

D is for Dystopia

A Dystopia is a futuristic world that is undesirable with often a lot of injustices and fear. A lot of sci-fi can be considered dystopian. They build on our fears of now and how our current world leaders are acting.

Suggested: Red Rising by Pierce Brown

E is for Extraterrestial

Extraterrestial is a thing or a being that beyond our own planet. Hello aliens.

Suggested: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

F is for Future

Future is the period of time that comes after now or the present.Sci-fi likes to take us into the future as more is possible there then in our current time.

Suggested: Want by Cindy Pon

G is for Galaxy

A galaxy is a collection of stars and planets that are held together by the same gravity. In a galaxy they rotate around a central being. Earth is in the Milky Way and circles around the Sun.

Suggested: Defy the Stars b Claudia Gray

H is for Hard SF

Hard SF is science-fiction that is very focused on the science aspect of things.

Suggested: The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu

I is for Infinity

There are various meanings of infinity all of which I think work for sci-fi. 1. Time or Space that has no end 2. A place that is so far away that it cannot be reached 3. A number that is larger than all numbers or an extremely large number of something. It all fits with sci-fi for me. Sci-fi shows the infinite possibilities we have.

Suggested: Edge of Infinity edited by Jonathan Strahan

J is for Jam Drawing a Blank #oops

K is for Kinetic Energy

Kinetic Energy of an object is the energy that it gets due to its motion. We like to have a lot of motion in our sci-fi books…

Suggested: Out of the Dark by David Weber

L is for Light Year

Light year is the distance light travels in one year which is almost 6 trillion miles. Light year in sci-fi is also used to indicate how fast one is travelling with a space ship.

Suggested: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson

M is for Magnitude

Magnitude is used with measuring the level of an earthquake. How much energy they release in comparison to other earthquakes. It is also used how to determine an angle and used as an indication of how bright a star is.

Suggested: Imaginary Magnitude by Stanislaw Lem

N is for Nanotech

With nanotech one manipulates matter on an molecular and atomic scale. As in, it is super tiny and it can be used to change our physical bodies.

Suggested: To Be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers

O is for Orbit

Orbit is the curved path in space that is followed by an object going round and round. In sci-fi it is often used to say a ship is in orbit around the planet for instance.

Suggested: Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman

P is for Parallel Universe

Parallel Universes are universes that are theorized to exist next to our own but we cannot detect them. In sci-fi this often means that there are similar universes where there are small or big diversions from our own current life.

Suggested: Firebird trilogy by Claudia Gray

Q is for Quantum

Quantum refers to the minimal amount of energy that is required for a change of any phsycial propierty in interaction. The idea that you can change something be interacting with it is something that speaks to the imagination of many sci-fi writers.

Suggested: The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi

R is for Rocket

A rocket is a projectile that can be propelled to a great height and distance which is why it is often used for travel in space.

Suggested: R is for Rocket by Ray Bradbury

S is for Space Opera

Space Opera is a subgenre of Science-Fiction that was seen as one that  focuses on the romantic and sometimes melodramatic happenings of the male main character. It was used initially as an insult but space opera has grown to be a widely loved subgenre that is now more defined as a dramatic adventure that is most often set in space with space ships.

Suggested: Revenger by Alastair Reynolds

T is for Timeline

A timeline is a representation of a period of time on which events are marked. Many sci-fi books have a timeline and use time as an added factor. Some series are marked my a very long timeline.

Suggested: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson

U is Utopia

Utopia is the opposite of a dystopia. It is a futuristic setting in which everything is perfect. Sci-fi likes to play with this. Often more along the lines of something not being a true utopia.

Suggested: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

V is for Vacuum

No not the Vacuum cleaner but a Vacuum in space. That is a space entirely devoid of matter.

Suggested: Gateway by Frederik Pohl

W is for Wavelength

Wavelength, as the name suggests, is the distance between two waves of energy. Like with sound waves.

Suggested: Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

X is for X-Ray

While you might think of x-rays at the hospital here we mean an electromagnatic wave of energy with a short wavelength that can pass through many materials. When it comes to powers people can get, x-ray eyes seems quite popular…

Suggested: New Super-Man by Gene Luen Yang  (not sure if he has x-ray vision like the first superman, but honestly this sounds too good to not mention)

Y is for Yes, I have no clue again #oops2

Z is for Zodiac

Zodiac is a belt of the heavens which concludes the positions of the sun, the moon and all the known planets. It is also divided into 12 signs, the known zodiac signs. Zodiac and its signs seems to hold something almost magical to peopel so it stands to reason that it comes back in sci-fi books.

Suggested: Zodiac by Romina Russell

So what do you think? What terms do you think fit best for a sci-fi a to z? Which would you pick for J or the Y?