She Frightened Me With Science: 6 Sci-Fi Horror Novels - Tor Nightfire

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19 Best Science Fiction Horror Books - The Best Sci Fi Books

The Best Science Fiction Horror Books Of All-Time - Book Scrolling

Firefall, Book 1

Cascada de Fuego, Libro 1

Blindsight

Ceguera Mental

Who Goes There?

¿Quién va allí?

The Hunger Games, Book 1

Los Juegos del Hambre, Libro 1

On the day of the drafting, where competitors are selected to participate in a lethal contest, teenager Katniss Everdeen awakens with her mother and younger sister, Prim, nearby. Her father had perished years prior in a mining accident. She spends her morning hunting in the surrounding forest with her best friend, Gale. That evening, during the drafting ceremony, the mayor recounts the story of how the existing governments of North America crumbled, paving the way for the rise of Panem. Following a brutal war between the Capitol and the districts, the Capitol emerged victorious. As a cruel reminder of their power, the Capitol hosts a deadly competition each year. The mayor then introduces the drunken Haymitch Abernathy, the sole survivor from their district who won the competition in the past. 

Shockingly, Prim is chosen as the female competitor, but Katniss immediately offers herself as a substitute. The male competitor chosen is Peeta Mellark, who Katniss remembers as the boy who once gave her bread from his family's bakery when she was starving. After bidding farewell to their loved ones, Katniss and Peeta depart for the Capitol, persuading their mentor Haymitch, a former winner responsible for procuring gifts from sponsors, to take his duties seriously. Once there, they meet their stylist, Cinna, and stun the audience at the opening ceremony with their fiery black outfits. Following group training and an interview where Peeta confesses his long-time crush on Katniss, they are thrust into the competition.

Katniss spends her first day hiding and avoiding confrontation, as advised by Haymitch. When she discovers Peeta has aligned himself with a dangerous group of competitors, she is shocked and confused. With the aid of a new ally, Rue, she manages to destroy the group's supplies, which leads to Rue's death. A rule change allows two competitors from the same district to be declared winners, which brightens Katniss's spirits as she finds a severely injured Peeta and nurses him back to health. As the competition heats up, they play up their romance for the audience and manage to outsmart the remaining competitors to be the last two standing. Just as they're about to be crowned winners, the rules change once again, stating there can only be one winner. Rather than kill each other, they decide to commit suicide by eating poisonous berries. This forces the game makers to proclaim them both winners. After the competition, they return to their district. However, Katniss's defiance of the Capitol puts her in danger and she must convince everyone that her actions were driven by love and desperation rather than rebellion.

The Hunger Games

Los Juegos del Hambre

I Am Legend

Soy Leyenda

In the freezing climes of the North Pole, the captain of a ship, Robert Walton, encounters a weakened man traveling on a dog-drawn sledge. On rescuing him, Walton learns of Victor and his dreadful creation – a monstrous being crafted from old body parts. Walton hears how Victor, once a happy child living in Geneva, becomes engrossed in the study of natural philosophy and chemistry at the University of Ingolstadt. His obsession leads to the discovery of the secret of life, and he spends months crafting a creature in the solitude of his apartment. However, upon the creature's animation, Victor is horrified and flees in remorse.

Victor's life goes into a downward spiral. As he plans to return home, he learns of his younger brother's murder and is convinced that his monstrous creation is to blame. Returning home, he discovers that an innocent family friend, Justine Moritz, has been falsely accused and executed for the crime. Overcome by guilt and grief, Victor retreats to the mountains, where he encounters the monster. The creature confesses to the murder but pleads for empathy, revealing his loneliness and desperation. He asks Victor to create a companion for him. Despite initial reluctance, Victor agrees and travels to England with his friend Henry to gather knowledge for this daunting task.

In the desolate Orkneys, Victor begins to create a female companion for the monster but is overcome by the possible repercussions of his actions and destroys the second creature. Enraged, the monster threatens Victor's impending wedding night. On the same night, Victor discards the creature's remains in a lake and, unable to return due to the weather, ends up near an unknown town. Here, he is wrongly accused of murder and imprisoned until his acquittal. Upon his release, he marries Elizabeth, but she is murdered by the monster, leading to his father's death from grief. Sworn to revenge, Victor pursues the monster up to the Arctic where he meets Walton. Victor's health worsens, and he dies shortly after. Walton finds the monster mourning Victor's death, after which the creature vows to end his own life to cease his suffering.

Frankenstein

The Expanse, Book 1

El Espacio, Libro 1

Leviathan Wakes

Leviatán Despierta

A Novel

Una Novela

Carrion Comfort

Confort de Carrona

During a regular stroll, a responsible and trusted attorney, Mr. Utterson, hears a horrific story from his friend Enfield about a terrifying individual, Mr. Hyde, who violently assaults a young girl. This man slips into a doorway and reappears to compensate the girl's family with a cheque endorsed by a reputable man. Intriguingly, Mr. Hyde is the beneficiary of a will belonging to Dr. Jekyll, a close friend and client of Utterson. As a result, Utterson starts having nightmares featuring a faceless figure terrorizing the city.

Wanting to unravel the mystery, Utterson goes to Jekyll and their mutual acquaintance Dr. Lanyon for more information. Utterson finds Hyde's appearance grotesque and disturbing. Jekyll advises Utterson not to worry about Hyde, but soon Hyde is suspected of brutally murdering Sir Danvers Carew, another client of Utterson. A note allegedly from Hyde to Jekyll expresses remorse and bids farewell, but Utterson's clerk notices a striking resemblance between Hyde's and Jekyll's handwriting. Jekyll seems relieved for a few months but then abruptly starts declining visitors. 

The story takes a drastic turn when Lanyon dies due to a shock related to Jekyll and leaves a letter for Utterson, to be opened after Jekyll's demise. Jekyll's butler, Mr. Poole, informs Utterson about Jekyll's prolonged seclusion in his laboratory and his unrecognizable voice. They break into the laboratory only to find Hyde's body, dressed in Jekyll's attire, and a letter from Jekyll. The letters reveal that Jekyll was trying to separate his good side from his darker impulses, leading to his transformation into Hyde. Initially, the transformations were by choice, but they soon became involuntary. Jekyll decided to stop becoming Hyde after involuntarily transforming and killing Carew. As the transformations became more frequent and difficult to reverse, Jekyll found himself trapped. The letters end with Jekyll anticipating his permanent transformation into Hyde and the end of his own life.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

El extraño caso del Dr. Jekyll y Mr. Hyde

Our protagonist, a resident of a town just outside London, narrates a tale of Martian invasion on Earth towards the end of the nineteenth century. When a falling star lands near his home, he along with several scientists discovers it's a large metallic cylinder housing extraterrestrial beings from Mars. These Martians, piloting large machines resembling creatures, emerge from the cylinder. They possess superior technology including a Heat-Ray, capable of incinerating anything in its path, as they demonstrate by annihilating the crowd gathered around the crash site, narrowly sparing the Narrator.

Despite the danger, life continues for the oblivious locals around the crash site. Military forces are deployed and another Martian cylinder lands, prompting the protagonist to seek refuge in Leatherhead, another town on the outskirts of London, with his wife. Upon returning to his town, Woking, he encounters more Martian machines and an artilleryman who describes the devastating power of the Heat-Ray. The protagonist and artilleryman barely escape a confrontation with the Martians at the Thames river. Meanwhile, the Narrator's brother successfully aids in the escape of two women amidst a mass exodus from London. 

The protagonist and a clerical associate find themselves trapped in a partially destroyed building due to another Martian cylinder landing. Owing to the Cleric's erratic behavior drawing attention, he is taken by the Martians, barely sparing the protagonist's life. Eventually, the protagonist discovers the Martians have all succumbed to earthly bacteria, having no immunity due to the lack thereof on Mars. Despite the massive loss, the protagonist believes the Martian invasion was beneficial in making humans aware of extraterrestrial threats. However, he remains haunted by the death and destruction he witnessed.

18 Best Sci-Fi Horror Books of All Time

Blindsight

Firefall, Book 1

Who Goes There?

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, Book 1

I Am Legend

Frankenstein

Leviathan Wakes

The Expanse, Book 1

Carrion Comfort

A Novel

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The War of the Worlds

The Girl With All the Gifts

The Andromeda Strain

The Day of the Triffids

Triffids, Book 1

I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream

Stories

Infected

Infected, Book 1

The Luminous Dead

A Novel

World War Z

An Oral History of the Zombie War

Boneshaker

Salvation Day

Sources

What To Read Next

18 Best Sci-Fi Horror Books of All Time

Blindsight

Firefall, Book 1

Who Goes There?

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, Book 1

I Am Legend

Frankenstein

Leviathan Wakes

The Expanse, Book 1

Carrion Comfort

A Novel

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The War of the Worlds

The Girl With All the Gifts

The Andromeda Strain

The Day of the Triffids

Triffids, Book 1

I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream

Stories

Infected

Infected, Book 1

The Luminous Dead

A Novel

World War Z

An Oral History of the Zombie War

Boneshaker

Salvation Day

Sources

What To Read Next

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