Most Anticipated Science Fiction Books, Movies and TV in 2022
Every year I like to do a little round up of the science fiction stories I’m most looking forward to. Though I spend all year talking about varying books, movies and TV shows in the genre, it’s always fun to do a little beginning of the year list.
This year it seems cli-fi (climate science fiction), mulitverse/parallel universe stories and tech-based tales will dominate a lot of my entertainment. No surprise I suppose, but I’m excited to dig into all of these.
Books
The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
Any dystopian book about mothers and children is going to catch my eye. I’m currently writing one so I might be a little biased, but this one sent a chill up my spine. Compared by some to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, the story follows a single mother who, in a moment of desperation, leaves her baby alone at home. Child protective services is called and her daughter is taken. In this future society, however, the mother is constantly observed and monitored and the only way she can get back her baby is to attend a school for bad mothers. In this school, along with rigorous surveillance, the main character is forced to parent AI children who look a little too human. With the creep factor of robot kids and the reality adjacent take on the morality of CPS, this is right up my alley.
How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
I will start by saying I am nervous to read this book. It is about how the effects of climate change release a deadly virus. This has the potential to be very agenda-driven sci-fi, but I’m willing to take the plunge and give it a try because it seems just weird enough to be my taste. I also feel it’s necessary to mention to anyone who would understand that it’s set in 2030. (If you’re not sure why that’s significant, research Agenda 2030. The elite-driven plan that concludes at the end of this decade seems all “world peace,” sunshine and roses, but like all global plans, it is not.)
Aaaaaanyway, this story has a talking pig and an intriguing exploration of what connects all of us living in this universe, so I’m excited to give it a shot.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
I was a big fan of Station Eleven, Emily’s debut novel and though the second book she produced wasn’t something that I got around to, Sea of Tranquility grabbed my attention. Spanning a time from 1912 to 500 years into the future on the moon, this story seems to be using a device that has gained in popularity. This desire to tell overlapping stories that invoke the past, the present and the future are a real thematic touch point at the moment. I’m currently reading Cloud Cuckoo Land which is doing this in profound measures and there are a few other recent releases that call on the same plot hook. And I have to say, I like it. It is a storyline trick that calls on us to review history, reflect on the present and look ahead with the understanding that we are all flawed, imperfect and at times, doomed humans who somehow find a way to persist. This book is said to include a pandemic (I fear we may never depart from this subject), time travel and disrupted universal timelines so I’m curious to see where it goes.
There is also a huge push in current sci-fi that implies we will be space bound several centuries into the future which is quite aligned with what our elite like to tell us, so I’m always interested to see how today’s science fiction writers envision that future.
#scifiIRL: Jeff Bezos predicts humans born in space will visit Earth “the way we visit Yellowstone”
Present Tense Machine by Gunnhild Øyehaug
I love the parallel universe theme. I love stories about mothers and their children. So Present Tense Machine caught my eye. On a regular day in the garden in the 90’s, Anna’s daughter Laura disappears into a parallel universe. Both of their lives proceed in tandem, but they have the creeping question of their reality looming. It sounds quiet and subtle, but an intriguing invocation of a question we can all ask: Is this reality all there is to existence?
The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings
This book claims to invoke Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson and Octavia Butler which is obviously going to catch my attention. In a dystopian future that resembles the Salem witch trials, witchcraft is real and women are commanded to wed by thirty or succumb to constant monitoring. In a world that is already crafting its constant bio-security state, I'm curious to see what current practices look like when they are cast into the future. The “witch element” is also intriguing in that it both invokes our past as well as speaks to a future I tend to imagine: one where human capability goes far beyond what we see today. How would we treat those who are deemed special, unusual and powerful? My guess is… not well given our history. And while I’m always guarded about modern feminist sci-fi, I am also intrigued by any discussion around the inherent power of the divine feminine. The synopsis feels aligned with books like The Power by Naomi Alderman so I’m excited to read Giddings for the first time.
#scifiIRL: The future according to Minority Report may be now. (And this article was written over ten years ago.)
Lightyears From Home by Mike Chen
I always have to save a spot on my shelf for Mike Chen. When I was writing my first book and seeking an editor, it was a post on Instagram from Mike that led me to the lovely Michelle Meade who edited The Luxury of Time Travel and The Origins of Time Travel. His style is also very similar to mine, heart and family centered sci-fi that tows the line between everyday ordinary life and the extraordinary possibilities of our reality.
In this new book, a family is torn apart by an alleged alien abduction. A mystery unfolds and the bonds that tie parents and children and siblings are made evermore difficult with the imposing question: Are we alone in the universe?
This book feels totally reminiscent of the Bledsoe family and I’m looking forward to another of Mike’s stories.
#scifiIRL: I like Nick Hinton’s take on the Bledsoe family as he is a friend of the family as well as an explorer of high strangeness.
I’m sure other books will come across my radar and be stacked on my TBR pile for the year, but these are the books releasing in the first half of 2022 that have me most intrigued.
Movies
Say what you will about the decline of Hollywood, but I still hold out hope that every now and then a good movie will slip in. And if nothing else, something that fills my need for nostalgia. Last year, Don’t Look Up and Dune were just about the only sci-fi movies I really loved. (Why, oh why, did the Matrix have to suck so hard?!) So I’m hoping this year has a little more to offer.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
I don’t know what it is about this trailer, but I can’t wait for this movie. A severely interesting and unusual story about a middle-aged woman who has the ability to travel between multiverses has me hooked. It looks like Cloud Atlas meets Dr. Strange with an unexpected heroine who seems both funny and fierce, so I’m in.
There is also sooooo much multiverse content and I heard an intriguing theory the other day that the multiverse is meant as a way to condition us and soften us to the metaverse so cynical goggles are also on for these reality-bending watches.
Thor: Love and Thunder
I have to say, Thor: Ragnorok is hands down my favorite Marvel movie of the last five years or so. I am a big fan of Taika Waititi and Chris Hemsworth is far too handsome to be as funny as he is. So say what you will about Marvel movies, but this storyline is my most-anticipated sequel.
Moonfall
Okay, so I was excited about this movie, but I have heard it is awful. Still, I can’t help but be curious about a movie that plays on the theory that the moon is not some stationary celestial body in the sky, but rather a satellite. This is a pretty “out there,” but regularly cycled theory about the moon and I always like to see how Hollywood depicts these ideas. Even if done poorly it could be a fun spark for a conversation about the theories surrounding the moon.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-verse
Of all the Spiderman’s, Miles Morales is my favorite. I absolutely adored the first (especially with the loafy Jake Johnson aka Nick Miller of New Girl as the failed Spiderman) and it is a movie I will definitely be taking my kids to. Also… more multiverse. (I didn’t put Dr. Strange on my list because frankly I don’t like that particular Marvel storyline, but I will undoubtedly be forced to watch that as well. Still, this is the superhero multiverse sequel I’m actually looking forward to. And yes, I also watched the Tom Holland multiverse movie… it was fine. People in the theater cheered when Toby McGuire showed up, which I found super weird.)
The Adam Project
We got our first look at the trailer during the Super Bowl, but if I’m being honest, I was onboard this movie without it. Ryan Reynolds + time travel was really all I needed to know. And yes, I’m aware RR plays basically the same guy in every movie, but I love it and I don’t tire of it and I’m not ashamed. I liked Free Guy last year. I liked Deadpool. I’m in when it comes to him and sci-fi, okay?
Don’t Worry Darling
This movie intrigues me. It has a Stepford Wives vibe as well as an intense murder thriller angle. I totally fell in love with Florence Pugh in Black Widow so I’m excited to see her in a fresh role. There isn’t much detail about this movie other than it’s sci-fi and Olivia Wilde is directing it, but I like the promise of the teaser trailer.
Jurassic World: Dominion
I can distinctly remember watching Jurassic Park in the movie theaters as a kid. It was loud and scary and amazing and I can still watch it with glee to this day. I have also been shamelessly a fan of the Chris Pratt since Parks and Rec days, so that’s a strong selling point too. This movie offers the exact summer blockbuster/nostalgia bomb I want by bringing back all the original cast and mixing them with the new cast. I’m here for it, I don’t care if it’s a cheap trick, I’m watching it. Take my money. Now.
TV
It’s always hard to peg what the best sci-fi TV shows will be because you always get some unexpected releases from streaming services that aren’t advertised much in advance. So a lot of my picks tend to be follow ups from an already established series, but there are a couple of intriguing new shows I’m excited to check out. And anything new I come across I’ll try to share as I go.
Stranger Things 4
Over the years, it feels like it’s become popular to shit all over Stranger Things. To pick it apart and over critique it, but dammit, I love this show! E.T., The Goonies, Stand by Me, Now and Then… these were some of my favorite movies as a kid and Stranger Things is that genre. So regardless of how each season is sort of just a reflection of the last, I’m going to watch it with excitement. Some rumors have also been floated that this season could involve time travel, which would be a fun new take on the universe.
This also gives me an excuse to do a deep dive on The Montauk Project, so yeah, I’m watching it.
Upload 2
I was a little late to the party watching Upload in late 2021, but I was genuinely impressed by this show. Last year I talked about some of the very best #scifiIRL elements in my review of the show. It is a glaring critique on tech’s integration with consciousness and where we’re headed as well as a satirical look at singularity. The characters and scenarios are ridiculous, but it’s also so easy to see how we could end up here.
Shining Girls
Lauren Beukes’ time travel book Shining Girls, has been on my TBR pile FOREVER. But nothing has motivated me more than seeing Elizabeth Moss taking on the lead role in the TV show. So I guess this is the year I have to finally get on the wagon and read the book to prepare for the show.
The Boys 3
It’s raunchy, it’s gross, it’s graphic. Season two kind of sucked, but I still want to see the gang of goofballs they assemble in this show take on the truly awful Supes. I think it’s a perfect representation of what people in power do. If there actually were superheroes, these guys would probably suck ass (like celebrities), and that’s what the show is all about. We can look at our world now and know superheroes would be portrayed as our saviors (like Bezos and Gates and Musk), you know that they wouldn’t be these benevolent forces Marvel represents, they’d be ego-driven maniacs foisted upon us by propaganda. And so I’m here for the allegory hoping the overt anti-Trump retoric of the second season is dropped and the hilarity of the first season returns. (To be clear, it’s not because I love Trump that I hated season two, it’s because I hate when a good show gets overtaken by political BS and loses what made it good to begin with.)
The Peripheral
There isn’t a ton of information out there about this other than the idea of a murder taking place in cyberspace. With the emerging narrative around metaverse “crimes” I think it will be interesting to see where this goes. The show is executive produced by the creators of Westworld which gives me some hope of its ability to shed light on the looming future ahead. And since it’s going to Amazon, I hope it also has some of the same intelligence that Upload has.
I’d love to hear what science fiction stories you’re looking forward to this year. Share over on Instagram!