The Scifi Book Guide for Travel
Every time I travel to a new country for vacation, I have this over-engineered tradition. I read a sci-fi book that's based in the location I'm visiting. Here are some of my favorites:
The Wind-up Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
Locale: Thailand
Synopsis: In 23rd century Bangkok with biotech run amok, a genetically engineered girl fights for survival while political intrigue develops in a world on the edge of environmental collapse.
Rating: 3.75 on Goodreads
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Locale: Galapagos Islands & Ecuador
Synopsis: In an absurd future dystopia, stranded on the Galápagos Islands after a global financial disaster, a quirky crew evolves into a bizarre new species over a million years.
Rating: 3.87 on Goodreads:
The Electric State by Simon Stalenhag
Locale: California
Synopsis: In a beautifully illustrated graphic novel, a girl and her robot traverse a hauntingly beautiful, dystopian Pacifica filled with abandoned technology, in search of a new home.
4.44 on Goodreads
River of Gods by Ian McDonald
Locale: India
Synopsis: With world-building excellence, nine lives intertwine amidst political turmoil, climate chaos, and technological marvels in near-future India on the brink of war, 100 years after independence.
Rating: 3.91 on Goodreads
New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson
Locale: New York
Synopsis: Described in such compelling detail you swear it's true, diverse inhabitants navigate a future shaped by climate change and rising seas in a partially submerged New York City.
Rating: 3.59 on Goodreads
The Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan
Locale: Hawaii
Synopsis: A teenage girl and her father struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic Hawaii cut off from the world after a global electronics failure.
Rating: 3.67 on Goodreads
Tears in Rain by Rosa Montero
Locale: Spain
Synopsis: In a futuristic Madrid, replicant detective Bruna Husky battles a deadly conspiracy that blurs the lines between humans and androids.
Rating: 3.76 on Goodreads
American War
Locale: American South
Synopsis: As near-future America descends into a second Civil War over the use of fossil fuels, one family struggles for survival and the quest for justice in devastating conflict.
Rating: 3.80 on Goodreads
World War Z by Max Brooks
Locale: Global
Synopsis: In a tale way more compelling than the movie, this is an oral history of the global zombie apocalypse, capturing the human struggle, survival, and resilience in the face of an undead pandemic.
Rating: 4.02 on Goodreads