Laugh-Out-Loud Fantasy & Sci-Fi Books

​Have we gone to the dogs? Hear meow-t on this one! Humor can help you live long and paws-purr. So crack open a novel that cracks you up—and if you want some stellar suggestions, check out the list of laugh-out-loud fantasy and sci-fi books that we’ve compiled below!

1. Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi: A young Hollywood agent is tasked with representing an alien race to the human world, dealing with the challenges of making extraterrestrials more palatable to humanity while navigating the entertainment industry’s chaos and self-interest.

2. Archer’s Goon by Diana Wynne Jones: Howard and his family become pawns caught in the middle of a war between wizards who are all after 2,000 words that Howard’s author father failed to turn in to them...words they think hold the key to their freedom.

3. Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente: Humanity must compete in a musical contest with various alien species in order to prove their worth and avoid being annihilated. It blends intergalactic spectacle with the absurdity of human existence.

4. A Night of Blacker Darkness by Dan Wells: a horror-farce in which a man fakes his death to get out of jail. After he’s seen climbing out of a coffin, everyone thinks he’s a vampire. Can he survive vampire hunters and more, and finally commit the bank fraud he was sent to prison for?

5. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams: Don’t Panic! Bring your towel, a Babel fish, and try to get the hang of Thursdays if you can. Oh, and the answer is always 42.

6. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett: (Really any of his books!) Con man Moist von Lipwig is forced to get Ankh Morpork’s post office running efficiently. There are tons and tons of undelivered letters. But shadowy characters don’t want the mail moved, and they just might kill him to ensure that!

7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman: Does this book really need an introduction? As you wish! Pirates, Rodents of Unusual Size, six-fingered men, swashbuckling, and Twue Wuv await inside this captivating book (and movie)!

8. Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy: Twelve-year-old Stephanie inherits her uncle’s estate and learns that the horror stories he wrote weren’t entirely fictional. Pursued by evil forces, she finds help from an unusual source: the wisecracking skeleton of a dead sorcerer.

9. The Tough Guide to Fantasyland by Diana Wynne Jones: a satirical guidebook that humorously navigates through the conventions and clichés of the fantasy genre, providing witty commentary and insights into the various aspects of fantasy travel, from common tropes to predictable plotlines.

10. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams: another wildly imaginative story from Adams, involving ghosts, time travel, and a detective who must save humanity from extinction. (We hear the show is quite different but good.)

11. The Plot Bandits series by Katherine Vick: Fodder of Humble Village is a Disposable, meaning his job is to get killed over and over again every time a new Quest comes to town. But he’s sick and tired of never getting to play hero, and decides it’s time to rebel against the almighty Taskmaster!

12. The Cosmic Turkey series by Laura Ruth Loomis: Janet is forced to become captain of a dilapidated starship with a wacky misfit crew. Their adventures include rescuing a scientist from Pluto, where chocolate is banned, and saving the whole galaxy from a superweapon devised by the reality-TV-loving Cygnoids.

 
What’s your favorite funny fantasy or sci-fi book? Tell us in the comments!


P.S. – ​If you loved these book recommendations, why not sign up for our newsletter? Twice a month, we’ll send you a themed list of fantasy and/or sci-fi book recommendations, and sometimes music or movies too. (Not to mention jokes, games, puzzles, memes, and the occasional recipe!)

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