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What makes any book, particularly a science fiction book, polarizing? Controversy is certainly one way to define a polarizing book. In the current political climate, so many people are trying to ban books, which is keeping controversial books in the public conversation.
For me, the core of what makes a polarizing science fiction book is the love-or-hate relationship that people have with it. If people have dramatically opposing views of a book, that’s pretty polarized. In a genre like science fiction, so often rife with social commentary, the list of polarizing books is pretty long.
Of course, there are a lot of classics on this list. Science fiction has been pushing boundaries and asking big questions since Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein first debuted the genre. Some of these books are banned and taught in classrooms in virtually equal measure. Others on this list are newer, and they’re polarizing science fiction books because of the discourse they’re stirring up in online circles.
Love them or hate them, all of these polarizing science fiction books are excellent and worth a read. How better to weigh in on a conversation than reading and fully understanding what everyone is talking about?
Polarizing Science Fiction Classics
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
This classic of dystopian science fiction is all about a world in which people have virtually no freedoms. They don’t realize it, though. They’re fed drugs to keep them complacent, open and hedonistic in terms of sex, and discouraged from deep thoughts. I read it in high school, but plenty of kids are being denied that as a result of book bans. Since it was published in 1932, it’s been subject to book bans around the world, in fact.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Is there a book more demonstrative of the dangers of censorship? In this classic, firemen don’t put out fires. No. They burn books. This one is particularly insidious in its polarization. Nobody wants to ban a book about book bans, so the banning verbiage has usually centered around violence and adult themes. Really, though, book banners don’t want a book that’s about them.
Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
Dhalgren is a doorstop of a science fiction novel, clocking in at over 800 pages of mind-tripping science fiction. It’s not a book that gets banned, but inevitably leads to deep discussions about reality, perception, sanity, and America. The reviews on Goodreads seem to either call it genius or the most tedious and overlong thing they’ve written. Every person who reads this book seems to have a different takeaway: the hallmark of a great and polarizing science fiction book.
The Giver by Lois Lowry
This little book is another classic of dystopian fiction, set in a world where emotions are eradicated to keep people “happy” and complacent. The main controversy here is the target audience: middle grade readers. Many parents take issue with the topics discussed in The Giver, taking issue with the violence, sexuality, infanticide, suicide, and euthanasia.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
More dystopian fiction? It’s a theme here, no? Now made even more famous after the popular TV series, The Handmaid’s Tale is a frightening vision of patriarchy and religion run amok. Considering that we live in a world where this is the reality in some countries and threatens to be so in others, it’s been a polarizing science fiction book since its release. PEN America listed it as one of the most banned books last year, and Margaret Atwood has become rather polarizing herself.
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
This brilliant classic shouldn’t be polarizing. A Black woman is suddenly transported from modern day to the antebellum American South. Back and forth she goes in this work of speculative fiction examining American slavery as no other book before it. Sadly, racism is still very much alive in America and around the world, leading to book bans and controversy around this important book. In particular, the book is one of the most banned in American prisons.
Recent Polarizing Science Fiction
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
This first book of Leckie’s Imperial Radch trilogy seems like just another great space opera at first blush. Artificial intelligence, space-hopping consciousness, and cool action scenes abound. Leckie’s decision to flatten all pronouns to she/her, however, created controversy with people who think that pronouns are…evil? I guess? It doesn’t take much scrolling through online reviews to find multiple people complaining about the pronouns in this book.
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
My inclusion of Iron Widow is actually less about the book itself (though it has its detractors) and more about the recent Hugo Award controversies. Zhao, an outspoken critic of China and advocate for LGBTQIA+ people, was mysteriously disqualified. While the truth eventually came out, the controversy drew even more eyes and more detractors to the historical fiction/sci-fi blend full of giant mechs.
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
A transgender teen who’s a violin prodigy becomes the student of a master who made a deal with a demon. That teacher is also falling in love with an alien who runs a donut shop. It’s wild and beautiful, a little ridiculous, and so queer that, OF COURSE, it makes bigots mad. The more queer a book, the louder the bigots yell. They are very loud about this book. I won’t link to the many anti-LGBTQIA+ reviews I found. Let them yell: I’ll just read this brilliant book again.
What are some of your favorite polarizing science fiction books? I especially want to hear about recent reads. Need more polarizing books? We’ve got polarizing fantasy recommendations for you.
