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Best Science Fiction Books

Dive into new worlds with the most acclaimed science fiction books, as featured in leading publications. Each title on this list is recommended by experts and appears in multiple rankings.

Recommendations from 131 articles, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Elon Musk and 162 others.
100 books on the list
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Dune book cover
Dune
Deluxe Edition
Frank Herbert - 2019-10-01 (first published in 1965)
Goodreads Rating
Explore a unique and captivating world in this bestselling science fiction novel, now available in a deluxe hardcover edition. Set on the harsh desert planet Arrakis, the story follows the young Paul Atreides as he navigates a treacherous political landscape where the only valuable resource is a coveted drug called "spice." As Paul's family is betrayed and destroyed, he embarks on a journey that will lead him to a destiny beyond his wildest dreams. With a stunning blend of adventure, mysticism, and politics, Dune is a triumph of the imagination and a true masterpiece of science fiction.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy book cover
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams - 2005-01-01 (first published in 1979)
Goodreads Rating
This hilarious sci-fi adventure follows Arthur Dent, a man saved from Earth's destruction by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Using advice from the guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have"), they traverse space with eccentric characters like Zaphod Beeblebrox and the depressed robot Marvin. Get ready for a galaxy full of laughs and absurdity.
Neuromancer book cover
Neuromancer
William Gibson - 2007-03-03 (first published in 1984)
Goodreads Rating
Experience a world within a world where technology and art collide in Neuromancer, a cyberpunk sci-fi masterpiece that rivals the likes of 1984 and Brave New World. Follow Henry Dorsett Case, once the sharpest data-thief in the business, on a dangerous quest to take down a powerful artificial intelligence controlled by ominous business magnates. With award-winning writing and a gripping plot, Neuromancer challenges our assumptions about technology and ourselves, forever changing the landscape of our imaginations.
Ender's Game book cover
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card - 2004-09-30 (first published in 1985)
Goodreads Rating
Child prodigy Ender Wiggin has spent his entire life training for one purpose: to save humanity from an impending alien invasion. But the pressure and isolation of Battle School, where he is taught to be a tactical and strategic mastermind, may be taking its toll on him. Can Ender lead Earth's military to victory in a real-life battle against the enemy? This bestselling sci-fi novel is now a major motion picture event, starring Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, and Ben Kingsley.
The Left Hand of Darkness book cover
The Left Hand of Darkness
50th Anniversary Edition (Ace Science Fiction)
Ursula K. le Guin - 2000-07-01 (first published in 1969)
Goodreads Rating
Explore a world without sexual prejudice, where gender is fluid and human culture is met with intrigue and curiosity. In this groundbreaking work of award-winning science fiction, a lone human ambassador must bridge the gap between his own cultural beliefs and those of the inhabitants of the icebound planet of Winter. A landmark achievement in intellectual science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness takes readers on a journey through society, psychology, and human emotion on an alien world.
Recommended by
Adam Savage
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? book cover
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
The inspiration for the films Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049
Philip K. Dick - 2008-02-26 (first published in 1968)
Goodreads Rating
In a dystopian future, a bounty hunter named Rick Deckard is tasked with finding and killing rogue androids who look exactly like humans. But as he delves deeper into his assignment, he begins to question his own humanity and the morality of his actions. Will he be able to carry out his task, or will he side with the very beings he was sent to destroy? "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" poses thought-provoking questions about what it means to be alive and explores the thin line between man and machine.
Snow Crash book cover
Snow Crash
Neal Stephenson - 2018-06-01 (first published in 1992)
Goodreads Rating
Step into the Metaverse, a cyberspace where anything goes. Snow Crash has hit the market - a cyberdrug and computer virus that infects the user behind the avatar. Follow Hiro, a freelance hacker and the Metaverse's top swordfighter, and Y.T., a mouthy teenage girl, as they navigate a reality altered by Snow Crash. With themes spanning linguistics, religion, computer science, politics, philosophy, cryptography, and even pizza delivery, this fast-paced adventure is a glimpse into the not-too-distant future.
Brave New World book cover
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley - 1998-01-01 (first published in 1932)
Goodreads Rating
This dystopian novel explores a futuristic World State where citizens are genetically modified and society is based on intelligence. The plot anticipates major scientific advancements in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning, which create a dystopian society where the protagonist challenges the norm.
1984 book cover
1984
George Orwell - 2022-07-01 (first published in 1949)
Goodreads Rating
This influential text from the 20th century delves into a dark and dystopian world unlike any other. Written in 1949 by political satirist George Orwell, the novel portrays a totalitarian society that is both bureaucratic and terrifying. The author's foresight in predicting the future of modern life is remarkable, with themes that are still relevant today. Taking readers through a journey of surveillance, propaganda, and isolation, it is no wonder why 1984 is among the most terrifying novels ever written. A must-read for those seeking a thought-provoking exploration of individuality and the true extent of government control.
The Forever War book cover
The Forever War
Joe Haldeman - 2003-09-02 (first published in 1974)
Goodreads Rating
A reluctant soldier is drafted into an elite Military unit, and sent into a distant thousand-year conflict against an inscrutable alien enemy. As he fights for survival and to complete his duty, time dilation caused by space travel means he is aging months while centuries pass on Earth. Will he ever return home?
The Martian by Andy Weir
Foundation by Isaac-Asimov
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. le Guin
2001 by Arthur C. Clarke
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Ringworld by Larry Niven
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
Contact by Carl Sagan
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter Miller
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
The Stand by Stephen King
Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
Anathem by Neal Stephenson
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
Recursion by Blake Crouch
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
The Female Man by Joanna Russ
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
BLINDSIGHT by Peter Watts
Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
The Children of Men by P. D. James
The City & The City by China Miéville
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks
Ammonite by Nicola Griffith
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal el-Mohtar
The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Gateway by Frederik Pohl
Severance by Ling Ma
Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh
Accelerando by Charles Stross
The Book of M by Peng Shepherd
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
The Great Dune Trilogy by Frank Herbert
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
World War Z by Max Brooks
Death's End by Cixin Liu
Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
Wool by Hugh Howey