Come away, dear reader, to worlds where starships thunder through the void like galleons upon stormy seas, where heroes clad in battle-armor face terrors most magnificent, and where every turned page promises adventure of the most breathless sort.
If your heart yearns for tales that quicken the pulse and fire the imagination, then gather close—for we shall reveal the finest action-packed science fiction stories, both newly minted and timelessly beloved.
The Most Anticipated Action Sci-Fi of 2026
Jitterbug by Gareth L. Powell
What marvellous mischief awaits among the ruins of Jupiter and Saturn! In this twisting tale from the BSFA award-winning author, a crew of bounty hunters aboard the sentient ship Jitterbug discovers that rescuing a lone survivor from pirates shall entangle them in conspiracies most dangerous.
Copernicus Brown and his peculiar crew must unravel the secrets hidden within a stolen data crystal before powerful forces silence them forever—all whilst something ancient and vast creeps toward them from the depths of space. A romp of wit, banter, and found family amidst cosmic peril.
Platform Decay by Martha Wells
Our beloved Murderbot returns! In this eighth instalment of the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning series, our sardonic security construct must conduct a rescue mission whilst contending with the most terrifying challenge imaginable: spending time with humans it doesn’t know, including—heaven help it—children.
Between evading capture, rescuing friends, and managing a kindergartener attached like a barnacle, Murderbot delivers the dry wit and explosive action that has captured so many hearts.
Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall
Picture, if you will, Moby Dick reimagined among the atmospheric currents of Jupiter, where Leviathans swim and spermaceti—a hallucinogenic substance—sustains humanity’s scattered remnants.
Described as “Gideon the Ninth meets Moby-Dick,” this neon-drenched debut follows a narrator who joins a whaling barque to flee medical creditors, only to fall under the spell of a fanatically driven captain pursuing the beast that wounded her. Adventure, danger, and the monster-haunted atmosphere of a gas giant await.
Detour by Jeff Rake and Rob Hart
From the creator of Netflix’s Manifest comes a mind-bending thriller. When police officer Ryan Crane saves a billionaire from assassination, he earns passage on humanity’s first crewed mission to Titan. The journey outward proves uneventful enough—but when the crew returns to Earth, they find a world subtly wrong.
Loved ones bear different histories; familiar truths have shifted. What conspiracy awaits in this reality that is not quite their own?
Timeless Action Sci-Fi Every Reader Must Experience
Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
What if, at seventy-five years of age, one could trade a failing body for youth restored—green-skinned, cat-eyed, and magnificent?
John Perry does just this, joining the Colonial Defense Forces to battle alien threats across the stars. Yet Scalzi’s triumph lies not merely in the spectacular battles, but in the wit, wisdom, and humanity Perry carries into this strange new existence.
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards, this masterwork follows William Mandella through an interstellar war where time dilation becomes the cruellest enemy. Whilst Mandella ages months in combat, centuries pass on Earth—and each return home finds a society more alien than the foes he fights.
Joe Haldeman, a Vietnam veteran, transmuted his experiences into science fiction of haunting power, creating a tale where the action constantly transforms alongside the centuries.
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
The adventure that launched The Expanse begins here! When ice-hauler Jim Holden and his crew discover an abandoned ship called the Scopuli, they stumble upon secrets that could ignite war across the solar system. Meanwhile, detective Miller searches for a missing woman whose trail leads to the same deadly mystery.
George R.R. Martin praised it as “interplanetary adventure the way it ought to be written”—and indeed, the action begins immediately and never relents.
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
In a future where consciousness can be downloaded between bodies, death becomes merely inconvenient for those wealthy enough to afford new “sleeves.” Takeshi Kovacs, an Envoy-trained mercenary, finds himself occupying a new body on Earth, tasked with solving a billionaire’s murder—his own.
This Philip K. Dick Award winner delivers cyberpunk at its grittiest: hard-boiled investigation wrapped in dazzling technology and relentless action.
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Meet Hiro Protagonist—pizza deliveryman by day, legendary warrior in the Metaverse by night.
When a strange drug called Snow Crash begins felling hackers both digitally and physically, Hiro teams with teenage courier Y.T. to uncover a conspiracy spanning linguistics, archaeology, and ancient Sumerian mythology. Stephenson’s wildly inventive satire, which coined the very term “Metaverse,” remains as thrillingly readable as ever.
Armor by John Steakley
On the planet Banshee, soldiers in powered armor face endless hordes of insectoid aliens called Ants. Felix survives mission after mission, protected not only by his suit but by something cold within him—a killing machine he names “The Engine.”
Written as a response to Starship Troopers (which Steakley felt lacked sufficient action), this cult classic delivers unflinching military science fiction that examines both the horror and necessity of the warrior spirit.
Neuromancer by William Gibson
The novel that birthed cyberpunk and remains the only book to win the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards simultaneously.
Case, once the sharpest data-thief in the matrix, has been neurally crippled and cast out of cyberspace—until a mysterious employer offers one last chance. This tale of hackers, AIs, and corporate intrigue in the neon-lit sprawl defined an entire genre and inspired everything from The Matrix to modern visions of virtual reality.
Choosing Your Next Adventure
For those who crave space opera with witty crews and found family, begin with Jitterbug or Leviathan Wakes. If military science fiction calls to you, Old Man’s War, The Forever War, and Armor await with their explorations of combat both spectacular and profound. Cyberpunk enthusiasts shall find no finer starting points than Neuromancer, Altered Carbon, or Snow Crash. And for something delightfully genre-defying, Hell’s Heart promises an adventure unlike any other.
Whatever path you choose, dear reader, extraordinary journeys await—tales in which laser fire illuminates the dark between stars, human courage meets impossible odds, and the grandest adventures of imagination stand ready to sweep you away. To read such stories is to remember that wonder never truly grows old, and that second stars to the right still beckon, even across the infinite canvas of space.
