We might live in a time of rampant conspiracy theories, but perhaps the most enduring revolve around aliens. What’s really going on in Area 51? What about all those alleged incidents? Roswell? Betty and Barney Hill? Even if you’re not interested in topics involving the unexplained and paranormal, you probably recognized at least one of the previous subjects.
It’s fair to say that interest in aliens has experienced a revival after the government released a batch of previously classified files about UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomenon), the modern term for unidentified flying objects (UFOs). More recently, toward the end of 2024, there was even a spike in reported UFO sightings. Now, whether these were legitimate or the result of bored people stuck at home who didn’t know what Starlink satellites look like? That’s up for debate. But no matter what people may say, the interest in extraterrestrials is high.
Life on other planets is a staple of the science fiction genre. So are first contact stories. And given how long this conspiracy theory has been around, of course there are SF books about alien abductions. If that’s something you’re interested in, here are a few selections to get you started.
The Return
In this science-fiction thriller, a graduate student’s efforts to learn more about an alleged alien abductee leads him to uncover a vast, global conspiracy. The story begins with Andrew Leland, a famous astrophysicist who gets abducted by aliens on live TV. Hard to deny the existence of extraterrestrials when it’s broadcast for the entire world to see.
Six years later, though, Leland is found wandering a South American desert and denies ever having been kidnapped in the first place. He then disappears. This inspires legions of people to figure out what exactly happened to the poor man.
Graduate student Shawn Ferris counts himself among that number, but maybe unfortunately for him, he does discover the secret at the heart of the conspiracy.
Voyagers
Ben Bova had such an illustrious a career in science fiction. He served as the editor of Analog for six years. He was the president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. But above all, he was a prolific writer. In fact, he had a reputation for writing hard SF.
In Voyagers, the first installment of a quartet, he asks a simple question. What if humans encounter aliens during the 1980s? Many people reading this may not remember the 1980s—or were even born—but a little cursory research reveals that the 1980s were a contentious time. Politically. Economically. Socially. Now mix all that with 1980s era technology and add aliens. It’s going to be messy.
The Taking
The first novel in a trilogy, The Taking opens with Kyra waking up behind a gas station dumpster. Talk about awkward. Now, some people might assume she’d gone on a bender or taken some illicit substances. She’s a teenager, after all. She doesn’t know her limits. Unfortunately, it would have been better for her had that been the case.
Five years have passed since her last memory. Her boyfriend is in college and dating someone else. Her parents are divorced. And, to top it off, her father has become an alcoholic conspiracy theorist who believes his daughter was kidnapped by aliens. Kyra doesn’t want to believe that’s the case, but as she begins to uncover various unexplained phenomenon, it might be the only logical conclusion.
Mr. Spaceman
Butler’s novel takes a different approach to the alien abduction novel. It’s told from the perspective of the kidnapper. Desi has spent a very long time stationed in space above earth. During that time, he’s observed humans in all our messy, chaotic glory. Sometimes, he even abducts humans to his space vehicle, where he interviews them in hopes of understanding more about the human condition.
Don’t worry. He lets them go—most of them anyway. In one case, he took that woman to be his wife. And over the course of his interviews, one thing keeps coming up over and over again: Why do humans desire what they don’t have?
Bent Heavens
Kraus’s young adult novel blends science fiction and horror in which a teen girl grapples with her father’s legacy. Liv’s father went missing over two years ago. Prior to that, he claimed he’d been abducted by aliens. In fact, he was so sure of this fact that he set traps in the woods to catch those very same aliens. And, of course, he enlists Liv to help him because nothing beats bonding through sharing trauma.
After his disappearance, Liv continues to set and check the traps. Who wants to face the idea that their father might have been mentally ill? But on the day Liv decides to give up and take apart the traps, she finds a grotesque creature caught in one of them. And now she must grapple with the fact that her father might have been telling the truth, after all.
Communion
The previous selections on this list are works of fiction. But when we talk about alien abduction books, it’s an oversight to ignore the vast number of allegedly true accounts. And, arguably, the most famous of these books is Whitley Strieber’s Communion.
Strieber is an established horror writer, and some of his novels like The Wolfen and The Hunger were even adapted into movies. Given that, this book elicits a lot of skepticism. There have been many instances of fictionalized memoirs, this one just involves aliens.
Even if we approach this non-fiction account as true, it does present a well-written example from this category. Strieber recounts his own personal experiences but also includes an overview of the alleged alien abduction phenomenon, which is useful for readers less versed in this corner of the paranormal and unexplained.
Featured image: NASA / Unsplash
