5 Sci-Fi Franchises With Great Tie-In Novels All Fans Should Read, Even Though 1 Isn’t Canon
Science fiction is undeniably one of the most successful genres in pop culture, with many sci-fi stories making their way into our collective cultural consciousness. The modern genre is heavily populated by long-standing franchises, many of which have endured for generations to become utterly iconic pieces of pop culture in their own right. The best sci-fi franchises often transcend any single medium, branching out from their original format to reach fans via movies, TV shows, games, comics, and novels. However, most remain best-known for their big and small screen releases, as these typically seem to be the ones that reach the widest audience and therefore achieve the greatest success.
Many great sci-fi franchises have given us books over the years, but only a handful can claim to have truly exceptional tie-in novels. Despite beginning on the big or small screen, the following sci-fi franchises make the leap onto the page in truly outstanding fashion, perfectly translating their visual storytelling to a work of prose. Of course, the authors of the individual novels in question deserve most of the credit, but the fact remains that the following franchises’ tie-in novels are absolute must-reads for sci-fi fans.
5) Star Trek
Over the years, there have been many Star Trek TV shows, with a number of movies also populating the franchise. Gene Roddenberry’s groundbreaking sci-fi franchise first started back in the 1960s, and has continued to expand ever since, enrapturing fans everywhere with its hopeful utopian vision of humanity’s future. There have been many incredible Star Trek novels over the years, with some of the best delivering completely original standalone stories taking place within the franchise’s continuity.
Looking at the long list of official Star Trek tie-in novels outlines just how successful they have been over the years. Almost every separate Star Trek TV show has received written stories featuring its cast or characters introduced as part of its narrative, with several noteworthy examples of just how well they augment the franchise’s mainstream releases. There are few sci-fi franchises as expansive as Star Trek, and its excellent tie-in novels are a big part of its sustained multi-media success.
4) Star Wars
Star Wars is, undeniably, one of the biggest franchises in modern media. At its core are the movies that form the basis of its expansive story, but it has successfully branched out into almost every format and medium imaginable. It’s one of the best-known franchises not just among sci-fi fans, but in the world, and, naturally, it has also had some truly incredible novels. Unfortunately, many of the best tie-in books are no longer official Star Wars canon.
Ahead of Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, the vast majority of official Star Wars novels were scrubbed from canon and rebranded as Star Wars Legends. The huge number of incredible stories included in this featured some truly exceptional books, notably those that introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn and continued the franchise’s story after Return of the Jedi. While the majority of these stories are no longer official Star Wars canon, they remain excellent additions to the franchise that are near-universally beloved by fans.
3) Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is one of the all-time great British sci-fi series that sadly doesn’t get the wider recognition it deserves. While Red Dwarf does continue to boast a cult following, it’s nowhere near as iconic or well-loved as the other franchises on this list. The main aspect of the franchise is the TV show, which initially aired between 1988 and 1999, with a revival bringing Red Dwarf back between 2012 and 2017.
While the Red Dwarf franchise didn’t branch into other media quite as much as the other franchises on this list, it did deliver some exceptional tie-in novels. Over the course of the show’s original run through the late ’80s and throughout the 1990s, four tie-in books were released. Few sci-fi tie-ins managed to so perfectly capture the tone and atmosphere of their shows as completely as the Red Dwarf books, making them an absolute must-read for anyone who is fond of the original show.
2) Doctor Who
Doctor Who is one of the most successful and beloved sci-fi franchises of all time. Since its earliest days in the 1960s through to its hugely popular modern revival, Doctor Who has been a sci-fi trailblazer, combining quirky ideas with grand-scale sci-fi stories, both touching on and defining certain classic tropes within the genre. The show might be the franchise’s backbone, but the Doctor has also featured in numerous comics and novels over the years.
There are quite literally hundreds of tie-in novels written in the Doctor Who universe over the franchise’s long lifespan, and many of them are fan-favorites. Some of the best even rival the entertainment factor of the most popular Doctor Who episodes, delivering original stories that capture the show’s atmosphere of perilous science-fiction adventure perfectly. With such a long list of titles to choose from, fans are unlikely to ever read every Doctor Who tie-in novel, but those who enjoy the show should definitely delve into some of the Doctor’s written adventures as a perfect companion to the series.
1) Firefly
Firefly is an iconic sci-fi show famously cancelled in its prime, and despite only airing for a criminally short run of 14 episodes, the show has lived on through die-hard fans who champion its excellence. While the show itself was never given a full chance to succeed, the story continued in a sequel movie, Serenity, as well as in comic books and novels. There are nine original novels released as tie-ins to Firefly, and all of them help prove exactly why the franchise remains so well-loved even decades after the show’s unceremonious cancellation.
Each of the Firefly novels feels like it could easily have been an episode of the show, capturing the same space-Western spirit as the series and better exploring its characters and their motivations. Sadly, the show’s own short-lived story actually makes the novels even better, as they’re able to tell the stories that the TV show wasn’t able to. For fans desperate to explore more of Firefly‘s universe, the tie-in novels are a must-read, as they superbly deliver on the promise that the show was unable to fulfill.
