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Having grown up on a reading list comprised mostly of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams, I think humor writers don’t get enough credit. It takes skill to make people laugh with nothing but the words you put to paper.
Plus, comedies are a great way to explore meaningful and thought-provoking themes. Humor can get people who wouldn’t otherwise let their guard down to think about issues in a new light. Not only can funny SFF novels entertain readers, but they can be life-changing. The Discworld series, from Vimes’ Boots Theory of Economics to its sage advice on living in a chaotic and strange world, is evidence enough of that.
Whether you’re in the mood for something escapist or witty and profound, you’ll find plenty to enjoy in these 12 funny science fiction and fantasy novels. I’ve included a mix of established authors like Connie Willis and rising stars like Kaliane Bradley to give you a wide range of options for your next read.
After you’ve gone through the recommendations ahead and added them to your TBR, visit Book Riot contributor Elisa Shoenberger’s essay Don’t Panic: Paying Tribute to Douglas Adams for further reading. In it, she visits the legendary writer’s grave in London’s Highgate Cemetery and reflects on how visitors honored his legacy as well as her own connection to Adams’s work.
Now, onto the books!
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley
This witty novel’s unnamed narrator is a British-Cambodian woman working for a secret organization that, to study the effects of time travel, extracts people from different eras who otherwise would not have survived. Her job is to help these “expats” adjust to life in the present.
But when she’s paired with 19th-century explorer Graham Gore, their shared bond over feeling displaced in the world upends everything she expected.
The Afterlife of Mal Caldera by Nadi Reed Perez
If you’re in the mood for a book that’s as hilarious as it is moving, this is the one for you. It follows recently deceased rock star Mal, who’s determined to contact her estranged sister Cris before moving on to whatever comes next.
Things get complicated, however, when sparks fly between her and the medium who agrees to help her with her unfinished business. Why is it that her love life finally takes off after she’s passed on?
to say nothing of the dog by Connie Willis
Taking its inspiration from Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat, this novel captures its delightfully absurd humor but with a speculative twist. While visiting Victorian England for a short mission and a little relaxation, time-traveling Oxford student Ned Henry’s trip becomes unbelievably messy when he loses his only contact and he discovers that a wrong move could cause a butterfly effect for World War II.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
Between its sharp wit and thought-provoking social commentary, this horror comedy is an excellent readalike for Terry Pratchett fans. After being saved from monster hunters by a kindhearted woman named Homily, shapeshifter Shesheshen feels something for the human that she never has before…love? Possibly. But both have more pressing matters at hand, namely the curse killing off Homily’s family with links to Shesheshen’s traumatic past.
Prophet by Sin Blaché and Helen MacDonald
The banter between special agents Adam Rubenstein and Sunil Rao makes this sci-fi thriller’s dark humor stand out. Estranged after a mission gone wrong, Rao and Rubenstein reunite to track down the origins of a drug that sends its targets into a nostalgia-induced delirium. What they discover throws their understanding of reality itself into chaos.
Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis
After waking up with amnesia, Gav is shocked to discover that the Dread Lord that all the goblin henchmen surrounding him keep talking about is none other than… him. But Gav doesn’t feel like a bad guy, despite the princess apparently locked in his dungeon.
How’s he supposed to play along with the evil deeds people expect of him when he doesn’t even know who he wants to be?
Nicked by M.T. Anderson
Brother Nicephorus may be a cloistered monk in 11th-century England, but when he receives a saintly vision, he vows to burgle a holy relic with purported healing powers to save his city from the pox. His traveling companion, a treasure hunter named Tyun, is only too happy to take the fortunes promised to him for the journey.
But a journey that begins with a vision is bound to take a mystical turn, one that transforms Brother Nicephorus and Tyun into very different people than when they set out from home.
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
Although it was created for one purpose—to kill anyone or anything that attacks its assigned research group—sentient android Murderbot would rather be left alone so it can watch TV. But despite its disdain for humans, it ultimately protects the ones in its charge when their mission goes awry.
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
Charles Yu (the Minor Universe 31 version of him, anyway) is a time travel technician. When a customer’s multiverse travels go pear-shaped, it’s him they call to clean things up. With his own universe and self-esteem increasingly troubled, Charles throws himself into his desire to reunite with his lost inventor father.
Key Lime Sky by Al Hess
Autistic and non-binary in rural Wyoming, Denver Bryant often feels out of place. Xe channels xir passion for pie into a blog but, besides one viral post, doesn’t have an avid (or profitable) following.
That all changes when, after accidentally capturing a UFO sighting, xir blog skyrockets in popularity. Now xe must team up with bartender and fellow outsider Ezra to save a town from an alien invasion that doesn’t believe anything strange is happening.
The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey
Blending fantasy and cosmic horror, this darkly humorous read stars Julie, a New York City monster hunter who’s already feeling her age in her early 30s. Folks in her career are often short-lived, with particularly gruesome deaths, and she fears her fate will be no different when she accidentally soul-bonds with an eldritch god.
On Earth As It Is On Television by Emily Jane
Everyone speculates about what humanity’s first contact with extraterrestrial life would look like. But in this novel, their arrival is just as sudden and perplexing as their disappearance. With the knowledge that aliens are real but nothing to do about it, people react to the universe’s absurdity in strange and unexpectedly life-affirming ways.
For more captivating SFF recs, check out the Best Adult Fantasy Audiobooks of All Time.
