Light-Hearted Science Fiction

[jonathan swift]

Can anyone recommend some light-hearted science fiction. Not necessarily humorous, but just something fun, in the vein of like a faery tale, but with robots or space ships or something? I'm looking for novels mostly.

 

[Lady Mer]

Well, I'm not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for... but There and Back Again, by Pat Murphy is a fun little book. It's a retelling of The Hobbit, set in space. (I know, I know... it sounds stupid, but I thought it was fun.)

 

[Tetsubo]

Phule's Company by Robert Asprin

Illegal Aliens by Nick Pollotta and Phil Foglio

 

[WayneLigon]

The Cyberiad: Fables for the Cybernetic Age by Stanislaw Lem is pretty light-hearted in parts. Especially when they deal with the dreaded 'PHT Pirate' only to find out that people have been mis-hearing him all this time and that he is actually the 'PhD Pirate' and so is very sensitive and high-strung. Like most fables, most of the stories can be read on multiple levels and what seems funny and light hearted might not be on closer examination. And the other way 'round, of course.

One of the stories is here.

 

[Dioltach]

There's the Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison. His Death World cycle is also pretty lighthearted, if a bit grimmer and grittier.

 

[Morrus]

Mike Resnick's books are an easy read.

 

[Kralin Thornberry]

The Kent Montana series,is light, if you can find it.

 

[kyloss]

double post

 

[kyloss]

I would nominate the lensman seriesby E E 'Doc' Smith and much of Asimovs stuff though not sure how much of it is light hearted vs just dated abit making it seem more light hearted particularly lensman, and simove it depends on the seriesbut the ones about the boy and his robot were definatley light hearted

 

[Rackhir]

Illegal Aliens by Nick Pollotta and Phil Foglio

Seconded, though possibly difficult to find however I think you can buy a copy off the www.studiofoglio.com website store.

The Bureau 13 novels by Nick Pollotta are also very funny, but are almost fantasy.

They are graphic novels, but the "Girl Genius" stories by the Foglio's are very good. They're victorian/steampunk-ish stories where the industrial revolution turned into outright war. Plus you can read it as a web comic. Though the dead tree editions are very nice.

http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/cgi-bin/gg101.cgi?date=20050221

Phil's Buck Godot Stories (also Graphic Novels) are very, very, very funny. Some of them have started being posted as a web comic as well. Though I'm hoping that they'll put out a collected version of the comic series he did about 15 yrs ago.