Humorous science fiction

[raduz]

Stanislaw Lem who gave us Solaris also wrote some wonderful humourous short stories, look for Tales of Pirx the Pirate, and The Cyberiad, which is outright hilarious. I must find these books again too.

I can second the recommendation of Stanislaw Lem's The Cyberiad It's not only funny, it's beautiful, playful, ironic...a great book.

 

[J-Sun]

I'd second TheDustyZebra's Retief (and Laumer's written several other humorous pieces, many of which are collected in The Lighter Side, though I haven't read it yet, so can't recommend it yet). Also Tim_Eagon's Robots Have No Tails and Victoria Silverwolf's The High Crusade, though the latter is incidentally funny, if I recall correctly, rather than outright comedy.

To add some partly edge recommendations:

Frederik Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth's The Space Merchants is satirical and bitter rather than "humorous" but I recall it being very witty and funny.

Seems like James H. Schmitz's The Witches of Karres worked as a straight, somewhat light adventure novel but did have humor woven in - I know you weren't asking for incidental humor but this may be close enough. Good book, anyway.

Much early Rudy Rucker, at least, is hilarious. It's written for a variety of reasons, not primarily humorous but it has a gonzo style throughout and an often cracked perspective that makes for humor as well - especially Master of Space and Time which, for some reason, I think of as Kuttneresque in ways.

Jonathan Lethem's Gun with Occasional Music is a hardboiled detective novel and a science fiction novel and... it's funny. In a dark way. I mean, it's got gun-toting kangaroos.

 

[Bick]

Definitely check out John Sladek. Tik-Tok is excellent, and very funny as I recall.

I have vague memories of Paul Ableman's "Twilight of the Vilp" as being funny. Rather obscure though...

 

[Laeraneth]

Not sure if this counts as explicity comedic, but... Chris Wooding's Ketty Jay series had me laughing along at numerous points, and much of it is most definitely played for laughs!
First book is Retribution Falls, there's two more since and I believe the fourth (and last I think) is due out next month.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline isn't exactly comedic, but it's... err... 'wry retro' is about as good a description I can think of. If you were a gamer in the 80's, it'll be right up your street and it definitely provided me a few chuckles!

 

[Gramm838]

Not sure if this counts as explicity comedic, but... Chris Wooding's Ketty Jay series had me laughing along at numerous points, and much of it is most definitely played for laughs!
First book is Retribution Falls, there's two more since and I believe the fourth (and last I think) is due out next month.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline isn't exactly comedic, but it's... err... 'wry retro' is about as good a description I can think of. If you were a gamer in the 80's, it'll be right up your street and it definitely provided me a few chuckles!

I'll second the Ketty Jay Chronicles;

And of course the greatest of them all, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

 

[polacks_on_the_moon]

Stanislaw Lem who gave us Solaris also wrote some wonderful humourous short stories, look for Tales of Pirx the Pirate, and The Cyberiad, which is outright hilarious. I must find these books again too.

I was about to mention. Also "Fables for Robots" (org. "Bajki robotów"). A combination of sci-fi and fairy tales/children's literature. Maybe not "hilarious", but humorous, and kinda... cute for sure