12 Sci-Fi TV Shows You’re Better Off Reading

By Joshua Tyler
| Published 7 seconds ago

Science fiction was born in literature, first imagined by the pens of people like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. It has since become one of the most significant pieces of modern screen culture, where we’re wowed by amazing ideas broadcast through our screens. But even the best of those efforts doesn’t always capture the best of what the author intended.

These are the best science fiction TV shows worth reading.

12. Under the Dome

Under the Dome by Stephen King traps a small town beneath an invisible, impenetrable barrier, and then watches what happens as society breaks down. The CBS series turns that premise into a sci-fi thriller with conspiracies and action scenes, but it loses the moral rot at the center of the story.

The novel is longer, meaner, and far more psychological. It’s not about the dome, it’s about the people inside it: corrupt leaders, panicked citizens, and the slow collapse of decency under pressure. King digs into politics, power, and mob mentality with brutal precision. If the show felt like a soap opera, the book is a slow-motion riot.

11. Nightflyers 

Nightflyers by George R.R. Martin is a sci-fi horror novella about a group of scientists on a doomed mission aboard a haunted spaceship. The TV adaptation tried to stretch that tight, claustrophobic story into a full series and lost what made it work. 

The book is compact, tense, and disturbing, blending hard science fiction with psychological dread. The characters are sharper, the mystery more focused, and the pacing relentless. The show adds backstory and filler, but it dilutes the core. If you want the stripped-down, eerie version that sticks with you, the novella delivers everything the series tried and failed to 

10. Altered Carbon

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan is a brutal cyberpunk noir set in a future where consciousness can be digitized and transferred between bodies. The Netflix show nails the visual aesthetic: sleek tech, gritty cities, body-swapping action, but loses the edge. 

The book is colder, smarter, and far more political. It digs into class, identity, and what happens when death no longer matters for the rich. Takeshi Kovacs isn’t a hero; he’s a violent, morally broken man shaped by a system that’s rotted from the core. If you want something sharper and less sanitized than the series, the novel gives you the real cut.

9. Childhood’s End 

Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke is a philosophical sci-fi novel about a peaceful alien invasion that ushers in the end of humanity as we know it. The Syfy miniseries hits some of the plot beats but misses the tone. 

The book isn’t about spectacle, it’s about loss, transcendence, and what it means to evolve beyond being human. Clarke’s writing is cold, clinical, and quietly tragic. The aliens aren’t villains, but their presence makes humanity obsolete. The show adds drama and sentimentality that dulls the impact. If you want the full existential weight of the story, the book is the only version that matters.

8. The Man In The High Castle

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick imagines an alternate history where the Axis powers won World War II and divided the U.S. between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. The Amazon series builds a compelling world, but it turns the story into a slow-burning resistance thriller. 

The book is stranger and more unsettling. It’s less about plot and more about perception, culture, and what truth even means under totalitarian rule. Characters question their reality, not just their politics. Dick’s version isn’t action-heavy; it’s psychological and philosophical. If you want the original ideas without the Hollywood filter, the novel’s the way in.

7. The 100

The 100 book series by Kass Morgan follows a group of juvenile prisoners sent from a space station back to a long-abandoned Earth to test its habitability after a nuclear apocalypse. The TV show took the premise and ran in a darker, more action-heavy direction. 

The books are smaller in scale but more focused on character development and emotional realism. Relationships are more complex, motivations clearer, and the world-building less chaotic. You get tighter plotting and more internal perspective. If the show felt like it lost control halfway through, the books offer a more consistent, character-centered version of the same core 

6. 3 Body Problem

The Three-Body Problem is a hard science fiction novel by Liu Cixin that starts with a secret military project in China and unfolds into a first-contact scenario with an alien civilization. 

The Netflix show has only been on for one season so far, and it covers the basic story. Still, the book gives you the full scope, scientific theory, historical context, and the bleak logic behind the characters’ decisions. It’s not about action; it’s about ideas: physics, sociology, and the fragility of human civilization. The writing is cold, clear, and relentless. If you’re tired of shallow sci-fi and want something that makes you think hard, the book delivers what the show only hints at.

5. Brave New World

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a dystopian classic set in a future where humanity is engineered, drugged, and conditioned into passive obedience. The Peacock TV series modernized the surface, adding glossy visuals, updated dialogue, and more explicit rebellion, but stripped out the novel’s cold philosophical bite.

The book is clinical, satirical, and deeply unnerving. It’s less about plot and more about systems: how comfort replaces freedom, how pleasure suppresses thought. Huxley’s world isn’t a nightmare; it’s a dream taken too far. If the show felt like just another sci-fi drama, the novel remains a sharper warning about trading meaning for stability.

4. Silo

The Silo series by Hugh Howey is a post-apocalyptic mystery set in a massive underground bunker where humanity survives in rigidly controlled isolation. The Apple TV+ show captures the visual bleakness and hits many major plot points, but the books go deeper into the paranoia, philosophy, and slow-burn tension that define the world.

Starting with Wool, the series builds a layered, grim reality where knowledge is dangerous and questions are deadly. The pacing is methodical, the reveals unsettling, and the structure, told across shifting timelines and protagonists, keeps the stakes personal. If you want a dystopia that unfolds like a puzzle, the books give you every chilling piece.

3. The Expanse

The Expanse books are a grounded, character-driven sci-fi series set in a future where humanity has colonized the solar system. Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt are locked in political tension, and a crew of unlikely allies gets pulled into events that reshape civilization. 

The TV show is excellent and a must-see, but the books go deeper. You get more world-building, more nuanced politics, and clearer insight into each character’s motivations. The pacing is tighter, the stakes feel heavier, and the science holds up. If you want smart sci-fi that respects your intelligence, start with Leviathan Wakes and see where it takes you.

2. Dune 

The Dune books by Frank Herbert are dense, philosophical science fiction set on a desert planet where control of a rare resource, spice, determines the fate of empires. 

You know the hit movies, but decades before that, there was also an excellent miniseries based on the book. All are worth watching, but they can’t capture the depth. The books dig into religion, ecology, power, and human psychology in a way no adaptation has matched. Paul Atreides isn’t just a hero, he’s a warning. The writing is deliberate and demanding, but it rewards attention. If you want more than just palace intrigue and desert battles, the novels give you the full weight of Herbert’s vision.

1. Foundation

Foundation by Isaac Asimov is a classic sci-fi series about the fall of a galactic empire and a plan to shorten the resulting dark age using math and reason. No battles, no chosen one, just ideas. The Apple TV+ series uses the name but discards the heart of it. 

The books are about psychology, sociology, and intellectual strategy. The show turns it into a space opera, with action scenes and invented characters that miss the point. Asimov’s work isn’t cinematic, but that’s the strength. It’s thoughtful and unsettling in quiet ways. If you want the real Foundation, skip the show and read the books.