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Top 50 Science Fiction Books on Goodreads
-Ray Bradbury
Don't pack up your dinosaurs, fellow sci-fi readers. You're among friends here.
When we set out to uncover the top science fiction books on Goodreads, our journey—searching through hundreds of books and thousands of ratings and reviews—was a spacewalk down memory lane, from revisiting the sci-fi heroes we grew up with, like young brainiac Ender and hapless (and homeless) Arthur Dent, to returning to beloved worlds created by Ursula K. Le Guin, Isaac Asimov, Octavia Butler, and many more.
The bar needed to be high. Every book on our list has at least a four-star average rating from Goodreads members. Unfortunately, this means that dinosaur king himself Michael Crichton failed to make the cut, along with other big names in the genre like Kim Stanley Robinson, William Gibson, and H.G. Wells. But while some classics may be missing, recent favorites from Emily St. John Mandel, Nnedi Okorafor, and Pierce Brown round out the list.
Without further ado, let's boldly go where many readers have gone before. Tell us how many of the top 50 sci-fi books you've read in the comments!
How many have you read? Tell us in the comments!
Check out complete coverage of Sci-Fi & Fantasy Week:
The New Frontier of Science Fiction
The Most Anticipated Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Top 50 Science Fiction Books on Goodreads
Check out complete coverage of Sci-Fi & Fantasy Week:
The New Frontier of Science Fiction
The Most Anticipated Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Top 50 Science Fiction Books on Goodreads
Comments Showing 451-500 of 934 (934 new)
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Keyo
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Aug 21, 2018 07:49AM
I've read several of these. I must say that my favourite sci fi book is The Player of Games by Ian M Banks.
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20 but some of them were so long ago that I really need to read them again. Dune is my all time favourite.
Of this list, I have either read or now own 30. I have added two more that caught my eye. I love this website for this reason, all of the exposure to books I would not have found on my own.
I've read 21 of these. Not sure what that says about me...I don't think you can have a complete list of the best sci-fi without Iain M Banks, though!
16, want to read one more, but not excited for the rest of it.
Two books missing:The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North
Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke
Dune is great.
Fabio wrote: "Two books missing:The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North
Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke
Dune is great."
Two great books, I am not sure I'd call Harry August Sci-Fi. More fantasy, to my mind. Regardless, it was a terrific read. Love to see some follow-up books, maybe with other characters.
One of my all time favorites is "The Moon is A Harsh Mistress" by Robert Heinlein.
18 of 50 with 1 on my nightstand and 5 more on my Kindle
I've been reading SF for a long time, so I've read 26. I'm really looking forward to the Three-Body Problem, which I've heard such incredible things about. A better way to create a list might be by writer rather than work. In my estimation, just about everything by Ursula LeGuin and Octavia Butler could be on this list. And I hope you'll eventually have some Ted Chiang on this list—he's the most interesting SF writer I've encountered in quite a while.
I've read a handful or 2 of these. 1984 and The Martian being the favorite of the ones I read. I have several of the other books on my TBR, so hopefully I'll get to them eventually. I'm especially looking forward to reading more from Le Guin.
Can someone please remind me what makes The Handmaid's Tale a sci-fi novel?
16 of them. Adding the rest to my list instantly
Where is Dandelion Wine ? Not even 1 book by E.E. "doc" . Smith ?
I'm reading Red Rising right now and I'm LOVING it!
Pınar wrote: "Can someone please remind me what makes The Handmaid's Tale a sci-fi novel?"It is dystopia, which is a sub-genre of science fiction.
Julie wrote: "I'm surprised that Station Eleven and Handmaid's Tale are science fiction."Good question: Are dystopian futures really science fiction?
Is this list available on an ongoing basis ?? And if so where do we access it ?I've been reading SF for over 40 years but have only read 16 I think, that said there are a few I still want to read on this list, but also a number that don't interest me and that I'm surprised to see
I've read 17 and there are another 13 that I have either physical or electronic copies of, waiting to be read.
40. Never considered comics before - will check those out and the Marukami
Only 9 of these but a few more are on my to-read list. I focus more on authors I think (Philip Dick, Arthur Clarke) and that classic series of "SF Masterworks": whenever in doubt I just pick something from there - it has yet to disappoint.
29 from my list, plus at least 2 others. Ian M. Banks would fit.
I've read 18 books on this list. Looks like i have some catching up to do!
Hi Bimughda. The "Dune" series are as follows:1. Dune. 2. Dune Messiah. 3. Children of Dune 4. God Emperor of Dune 5. Heretics of Dune 6. Chapter House Dune. After this, the series is continued by his son, Kevin Herbert.
I've read 5 of the ones on this particular list but my 2 favourite sci fi authors are John Wyndham and Zenna Henderson. I have read The Chrysalids and The People over and over. Perhaps they are considered fantasy rather than sci fi - I don't know. The ones I have read are Ender's Game, Dune, 1984, Slaughterhouse 5 and Childhood's End.
I've read 15 of these, which is more than I'd expected considering I don't really think I read much scifi compared to other genres.
Janet wrote: "I've read 5 of the ones on this particular list but my 2 favourite sci fi authors are John Wyndham and Zenna Henderson. I have read The Chrysalids and The People over and over. Perhaps they are con..."The Chrysalids 3.92
The Secret People 3.24
Thus both missed the cut-off point.
Anne wrote: "32I'm intrigued by Saga in that I've never heard of it. Going to have to go check it out."
It's great for non comic readers especially.
I'm a big fan of Ann Leckie's Ancillary series; as along-time SCIENCE fiction reader (emphasis intended) I enjoyed the speculative fiction and character development. She displaced Alastair Reynolds for me as the 'watch for the next book' author. I will say Dr. Reynolds' original Revelation Space series (of which Chasm City was my favorite) was what drew me back to SF, after a long hiatus caused by poor stories and characters.
I've read 23. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of my favorite books ever.
Bimugdha wrote: "Paul wrote: "Dune is one of the best books ever."please give me a reading order of the DUNE series :("
Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune. Don't read any of the sequels/prequels written by Herbert's kid and/or Kevin J. Anderson. They're garbage.
14, with most others on my to-read shelf.I’ve tried Vonnegut, and he’s just not for me.
7 so far, with several others on my shelf waiting to be read!- 1984
- Binti (all 3!)
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
- Saga
- Starship Troopers
- Station Eleven
- The Three-Body Problem
I find it interesting the second book in Ann Leckie's trilogy is on her and not the first book.
17 will be checking out some of the others soon & rereading some old favorites from this list. My personal sci-fi favorite is Engine Summer by John Crowley.
I have read 33, but a few of the ones I haven’t read sound intriguing!
