Alien first-contact stories are a classic of science fiction, and they’re all the more fascinating because they can feel like predictions of a possible future. This is the book that made me fall in

The moment of first contact with extraterrestrials is a staple of science fiction. It usually involves a frantic scientist having a Eureka moment, realising in a single dramatic instant that Earth is being visited by creatures from light-years away.

“If this truth were just known overnight, that would mess up a lot of people,” says Spielberg about the impact of disclosing alien life.

Quickly swapping her Prada heels for frightened glances and an alien invasion in Disclosure Day , Emily Blunt may be confronting a sci-fi benchmark she quietly set years ago.

Steven Spielberg says he is now convinced that alien life has 'visited Earth,' a shift he links directly to recent US whistleblower claims, as he returns to cinemas on 11 June with Disclosure Day, a new film shot in New York and billed as his most reality‑driven take yet on UFOs and extraterrestrial contact.

Scientists are listening in on sperm whale conversations and studying Earth's strangest microbes to prepare humanity for first contact with extraterrestrial life.

There is plenty of intriguing sci-fi on offer this month, whether it’s solar-powered cities from Adrian Tchaikovsky or a strange future from M. John Harrison

Two different ways to tell the same story. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Science fiction is not monolithic. There are, in fact, two major sub-genres that divide sci-fi — hard sci ...