5 generation ship novels that take you on a journey
Science fiction has always been good at finding ways to get from one point in space to another. Some methods are a bit more implausible than others: traveling faster than the speed of light breaks the laws of physics as we know them, but if you don’t mind taking your time, a ship going a bit slower than that will get you where you’re going…eventually.
The generation ship is a familiar trope in SF, a starship that requires several human generations to arrive at its destination. They’re loaded up with passengers who will live out their lives, raise children, and die onboard, preserving a small seed of human civilization as Earth grows ever more distant. It’s been a great platform for stories since the early days of the genre, and seems to be experiencing a resurgence, with featured roles both minor (Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey) and major (SyFy’s recent miniseries, Ascension).
Here are a few of our favorite generation ship stories.
Orphans of the Sky by Robert Heinlein
One of the best-known books of its type, Heinlein’s Orphans of the Sky was originally published in Astounding Science Fiction in May and October 1941, and collected in novel form in 1963. In it, a generation ship named Vanguard is headed for “Far Centaurus” when a mutiny kills off most of the crew. Centuries later, the descendants of the original passengers don’t realize that what they’re on is a starship and have regressed technologically. Later still, Hugh Hoyland is captured by a gang of “muties” (mutated humans), and comes to realize that what he the truth of his world. As he tries to convince his fellow passengers, violence ensues.
Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson’s is well known for his hard SF novels like the Mars trilogy and 2312, and his latest adventure, Aurora, is very much in line with those narratives. The story begins at the tail end of a generation ship’s journey, as it’s approaching Tau Ceti. The passengers are beginning to feel the pinch: some resources are running low, ecological imbalances are beginning to crop up, and the ship itself is undergoing changes of its own. However, arriving to the distant system is only part of the journey, as a segment of the population decides that they’d rather return to Earth, a home that they’ve never seen.
Pinion by Elizabeth Bear
Elizabeth Bear’s 2007 novel is the first of her Jacob’s Ladder series, offering a different take on the generation ship trope. Bear details the workings of a feudal society onboard a decrepit generation ship orbiting a doomed sun. A handmaiden takes care of a wounded angel as the ship’s AI and genetically engineered crew try and take control of the vessel.
Starglass by Phoebe North
In Phoebe North’s YA novel, a generation ship is on its way to Zehava, a planet that might offer salvation to refugees from a doomed Earth. Terra’s mother died during the journey, and the teenager is trying to cope with her life as a spacefarer, even though she has no interest in her assigned duties. Following the murder of a civilian, she is drawn into a growing rebellion onboard the ship, and her loyalties are tested.
The Forever Watch by David Ramirez
Onboard the generation ship Noah, City Planner Hana Dempsey finds herself involved a murder investigation when officer Leonard Barrens enlists her help to solve his mentor’s brutal killing. The investigation takes them on the path littered with human remains scattered throughout the empty portions of the ship, where they discover that things might not be as they seem.