Science Fiction

I'm a feeler so I definitely look for emption. I don't necessarily have to feel empathy toward a character, but I want to feel something—angry, sad, exhilarated, inspired, motivated.

It seems like so much sci fi focused on whether a story as too much / not enough technobabble, too much / not enough world building. Some of the best sci fi I enjoyed was terrible in the world-building department but was so emotionally gripping I didn't care. (Spin and The Sparrow come to mind, but I'm sure their are others).

For example, people have recommended Andy Weir. Definitely well-researched science. Spectacular world building where I feel like I'm living on the moon. But it was full of quips and twist bait that I never understood how the stakes were dire enough for me to care. No real sense of despiration or tension. Still intriguing, for sure.

Back on the "look for" train, a close second is if there's a metanarrative about current events or themes. Like how 1984 saw the rise of a surveillance state decades before the internet became a thing. Or Fahrenheit 451, which, ironically, is a banned book.