1955 in science fiction

The year 1955 was marked, in science fiction, by the following events.

Births and deaths

Births

• Catherine Asaro
• Bruce Bethke
• Pierre Bordage
• Steven Brust
• Sue Burke
• Richard Chwedyk
• Massimo Citi
• Brenda Clough
• Julie E. Czerneda
• Jeffrey Ford
• James Alan Gardner
• Steven Gould
• Simon R. Green
• Karen Haber
• Geoffrey Landis
• Paul J. McAuley
• Pat Murphy
• Richard Parks
• Nisi Shawl
• Jack Skillingstead
• Suzanne Weyn

Deaths

• Nat Schachner (b. 1895)

Literary releases

First editions

• ' by F. L. Wallace, a group of disabled outcasts escape to Alpha Centauri and encounter butterfly-like aliens.
• Alien Minds by E. Everett Evans, a secret service agent has the ability to read minds.
• The Big Jump by Leigh Brackett, about humanity's first faster-than-light space mission.
• The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, set in a post-apocalyptic world where telepathic children must hide their abilities.
• Earthlight by Arthur C. Clarke, centers on political tensions and a scientific mystery on the Moon.
• The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov, time manipulators struggle with the ethical implications of altering history.
• Gladiator-At-Law by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth, critiques corporate control and social inequality in a future society.
• Hell's Pavement by Damon Knight, about dealing with asocial behavior by giving everyone a mental imprint of an authority figure that intervenes whenever violent or otherwise harmful acts are contemplated.
• The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett, post-nuclear war society regresses to agrarian life, shunning technology.
• The Magellanic Cloud by Stanisław Lem (in Polish), depicts a space expedition and the challenges of interstellar travel.
• Not This August by C. M. Kornbluth, explores a Cold War scenario where the U.S. is occupied by Soviet forces.
• The Other Side of Here by Murray Leinster, tells the story of an invasion from the fourth dimension, foiled by an insurrection against the invaders' home government.
• Revolt on Alpha C by Robert Silverberg, colonists on a distant planet rebel against an oppressive government.
• Solar Lottery by Philip K. Dick, a dystopian future where leaders are chosen by random lottery and face constant assassination threats.
• Star Bridge by Jack Williamson and James E. Gunn, an adventure story.
• Star Guard by Andre Norton, mercenaries from Earth serve alien civilizations in a galactic federation.
• This Fortress World by James E. Gunn, concerns a man's fight against the power of a future church.
• Timeliner by Charles Eric Maine, a scientist travels forward in time by repeatedly replacing the consciousness of other men.
• Under the Triple Suns by Stanton A. Coblentz, the survivors of the destruction of the earth attempt to settle a new planet.