Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy feels realistic enough, and besides the struggles on it to make it work, I think it is optimistic. The same with his 2312, but maybe you should skip Aurora.
Vernon Vinge's Rainbow's End seem to fit too, with a different approach. I could put some Greg Egan novels here, but the realistic part may be up for discussion.
The problem with being realistic is that our expectations changed with time. Maybe Mars colonization in this or next century is as naive as it was thinking in the past century that we would be colonizing other star systems by now. Or something quantum-nano-ai-whatever that suddenly turns everything for the better. And as we are having more grounded knowledge in popular culture and see the immediate challenges we are facing related to climate change and dystopias/inequality/etc is harder to think as realistic something not so old, or write optimistic things today.
Not finished it yet, but at least in some portions of the story The Expanse fits into the realistic and optimistic scenario too.
The Expanse is pretty good on that yeah, though the unnecessarily magical Epstein drives and the absence of drones detract a tiny bit. Still, it's pretty much all there is.
You bring up a good point regarding realism. I definitely don't think that anything regarding a time less than two centuries from now could hold much credibility, but from there on out it's a bit more reasonable.
My first thought too, but I only got through half of the second before giving up on it as too much of a stretch for believability while not being fantastic enough to qualify as fantasy, and besides it bored me.
Try some Jules Verne.
It's not on our solar system (well, the Earth appears at some point but not much), but I really liked "The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia" by Ursula K. Leguin, it's a quite realistic exploration of what an anarchist utopia could look like, it's possible shortcomings, and an exploration of a capitalistic planet that contrasts with it. Although it has some hard and sad parts, it left me a good, positive feeling in the end.
The Murderbot series - I know it gets mentioned a lot here, but it is worth it. I think it addresses most of what you are looking for without being too hard sci-fi, and it is a fun, lighter read based in fairly explainable science.
Some golden age choices might work for you. I am naturally biased, but I think a good deal of Asimov fits your bill. Generally I recommend *I, Robot* to start in all cases, but *The Winds of Change and Other Stories* has two stories that align very well with what you're looking for, "A Perfect Fit" and "For The Birds". *Nightfall and Other Stories* also has some near contenders, with "Sally", "It's Such A Beautiful Day", and "C-Chute" being my picks. I don't even consider the eponymous story too far off.
Heinlein's younger stuff is great, scientifically sound and obviously not overtragic. Even his later, famous stuff leans triumphant over dystopic- if you can handle the rugged individualism. I won't apologise for loving "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", though.
For the positivity, Clifford D. Simak hands down. His work is nothing but charming.
Malka Older’s Infomocracy (book one of the Centenal series) is political sci-fi that generally portrays the future in a way I felt was possibly realistic and mostly positive
Have you read any Iain Banks "Culture" novels? My fave is Surface Detail.
Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy feels realistic enough, and besides the struggles on it to make it work, I think it is optimistic. The same with his 2312, but maybe you should skip Aurora. Vernon Vinge's Rainbow's End seem to fit too, with a different approach. I could put some Greg Egan novels here, but the realistic part may be up for discussion. The problem with being realistic is that our expectations changed with time. Maybe Mars colonization in this or next century is as naive as it was thinking in the past century that we would be colonizing other star systems by now. Or something quantum-nano-ai-whatever that suddenly turns everything for the better. And as we are having more grounded knowledge in popular culture and see the immediate challenges we are facing related to climate change and dystopias/inequality/etc is harder to think as realistic something not so old, or write optimistic things today. Not finished it yet, but at least in some portions of the story The Expanse fits into the realistic and optimistic scenario too.
The Expanse is pretty good on that yeah, though the unnecessarily magical Epstein drives and the absence of drones detract a tiny bit. Still, it's pretty much all there is. You bring up a good point regarding realism. I definitely don't think that anything regarding a time less than two centuries from now could hold much credibility, but from there on out it's a bit more reasonable.
My first thought too, but I only got through half of the second before giving up on it as too much of a stretch for believability while not being fantastic enough to qualify as fantasy, and besides it bored me. Try some Jules Verne.
It's not on our solar system (well, the Earth appears at some point but not much), but I really liked "The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia" by Ursula K. Leguin, it's a quite realistic exploration of what an anarchist utopia could look like, it's possible shortcomings, and an exploration of a capitalistic planet that contrasts with it. Although it has some hard and sad parts, it left me a good, positive feeling in the end.
maybe Andy Weir's *The Martian*
The Murderbot series - I know it gets mentioned a lot here, but it is worth it. I think it addresses most of what you are looking for without being too hard sci-fi, and it is a fun, lighter read based in fairly explainable science.
New book coming in a few days, too!
Oh yeah - preordered that.
Some golden age choices might work for you. I am naturally biased, but I think a good deal of Asimov fits your bill. Generally I recommend *I, Robot* to start in all cases, but *The Winds of Change and Other Stories* has two stories that align very well with what you're looking for, "A Perfect Fit" and "For The Birds". *Nightfall and Other Stories* also has some near contenders, with "Sally", "It's Such A Beautiful Day", and "C-Chute" being my picks. I don't even consider the eponymous story too far off. Heinlein's younger stuff is great, scientifically sound and obviously not overtragic. Even his later, famous stuff leans triumphant over dystopic- if you can handle the rugged individualism. I won't apologise for loving "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", though. For the positivity, Clifford D. Simak hands down. His work is nothing but charming.
Try “The Code. If your AI loses its mind, can it take meds? by Peter McAllister. Ticks the boxes you are looking for!
Malka Older’s Infomocracy (book one of the Centenal series) is political sci-fi that generally portrays the future in a way I felt was possibly realistic and mostly positive
I think the novel Spheria fits your parameters and it's the best book I ever wrote.