Top 50 Science Fiction Books on Goodreads

What about The Death World trilogy?

Really happy to see Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples on this list! This series changed my opinion about graphic novels and sci-fi. Excited to read other's on the list, particularly Kindred by Octavia Butler and the Ursula K. LeGuin titles.

I've read 6 of these books, and quite a few were on my to be read list. I need some life extending tech to get through that list, though.

I have read four [Starship Troopers, The Mote in God's Eye, 1984 and Foundation] plus parts of one other [The Martian Chronicles]. I have V for Vendetta but haven't gotten around to it yet. Some others I may yet read but others I have no interest in.

Only 11 - gotta get working on the remaining 39!

I've read 5 of them.

And I'll put Jeremy Robinson's THE LAST HUNTER or PROJECT NEMESIS (among many others) up against any of them.

37. But like Candace, many more with sequels. Have read several more than once. One of my all-time favorites-CITY, by Clifford Simak, didn’t make the list

27. :)

12

12 for me, although I have read many others that were also published as parts of a series. It's too bad that Jules Verne did not receive notable mention for his legendary contribution to the genre of Science Fiction.

10

Mystery wrote: "Anissa wrote: "I just need to thank GR for giving Science Fiction its own list this time out. I've been thinking it's a shame SF isn't allowed to have its own chair as a genre. I'm much more a fan ..."
Agreed, agreed, agreed. Have read and reread and reread Bradbury's stories and novels. Some of the stories are masterpieces. "The Veldt," "A Sound of Thunder" And yes, mostly fantasy. Dark fantasy of creatures NO ONE had ever dreamed of before. Or since.

I have read 22 of these and am reading 1 more now - alot more that I thought to be honest. And counting the sequels like Dune, Wool, Ancillary Sword, I,Robot and Foundation series even more. This is a great list, I will have to start on the rest. And I agree Stranger in a Strange Land should be on this list. Glad to see The Three Body Problem on this list for a Chinese writer - that series is very good!

7 from this list. Heinlein is my favorite.

I’ve read 8.

21, I would argue that there are some omissions, like Wells' The Time Machine and Wyndham's Day of the Triffids, but I imagine everyone has their own favourites they would include on this list.

31 read - most of the others are "to read".

The Murakami one caught me off guard, although I shouldn't be surprised to find him on this list. I need to catch up on a lot of his books.

I was surprised to see that I'd read 21 of these already. And most of those that I haven't read I already had on my To Read list. There are some serious gems in the list, but I'm a bit skeptical that all are "Top 50" worthy. Guess I'll find out when I get to them!

I've read 12 of these, and I thought scifi was my main staple. Only thing though, just because it's a distopia novel, doesn't automatically make it science fiction. I haven't a clue what the heck people were thinking when they put The handmaids tale on this list. I read that piece of junk, and couldn't find anything anywhere in it that would classify it as scifi. I'm not sure 1984 belongs on a scifi list either, but what the heck. I've tried multiple times to read that book, and just haven't managed to get through it just yet, though I still have hopes of completing it sometime. Now off to check the fantasy list.

I've only read 14 of them. Need to work on that.

Bill wrote: "The Foundation trilogy needs to be included in this list."

Foundation is there - presumably, it represents all of them.

only 9 from this list

I have read 17, but I recognised some titles that I have yearned for. Surprised, however, to see nothing by Iain M Banks! (Consider Phlebas, Player of Games, Use of Weapons and [my fav] Excession)

16 of these

34

Read 18!

Ummm... I've read 23 of these books!

Dune, Red Rising, The Martian, Ready Player One, The Passage, The Handmaid's Tale - All are HUGE favorites of mine! :)

Doug wrote: "I have read 17, but I recognised some titles that I have yearned for. Surprised, however, to see nothing by Iain M Banks! (Consider Phlebas, Player of Games, Use of Weapons and [my fav] Excession)"

Excession is my favorite too!
Very sad there won't be any more Culture novels...

Always wanted to read Heir to the Empire, just never got to it

I love science fiction but the very good sci go is far and few between. The Martian is the best I've read in a long time, the movie just as good.
I've been reading dystopian books, I love the story of survival, earth in petil.

27

Bill wrote: "30. I used to read a ton of Sci-Fi, but I can't seem to find anything written in the last 20 years that appeals to me."

That is what I find too

That's a contentious list, but Connie Willis's book was a work of great ingenuity and skill.

Forty completed and a couple I have started and not liked. I have also read hundreds more SF books that are not on the list.

20 from this list. I also read several sequels including all of Herbert's Dune and several Robot and Foundation novels from Asimov.

Put me down for 10.

I'm curiou what the modern day definition of science fiction is. From reading analog, Asimov's, and various other venues, I was under the impression that science fiction was strictly in the camp of if the science is removed, and the story collapses, then it's science fiction. If the science is removed, and the story still stands with little to no modification, then it doesn't qualify as scifi. Too many modern day listings claim scifi, when it's thinly disguised something else, often with little to no science in it at all. How does a story like that get classified as scifi? I'm just curious, because as I said before, distopian doesn't automatically make it scifi, and the handmaids tale has very little science in it. 1984 could be argued into the list I guess, but honestly, I don't believe it belongs, but it's been around for a long time, and folks seem to put it for up nomination anytime a scifi list comes along, (probably more out of force of habit than anything else). Admittedly, the story collapses without the science of surveilance, so I guess on that ground, it qualifies, but it just rubs me the wrong way to have stories that take place on modern day earth with normal everyday life in them being classified as scifi. Yeah, I know it was written in 1948, but still...

I have read 24 of these. Want to read a bunch more!

13 of 50

23/50 and bunch sitting on my shelf waiting to be read.

13

That’s a good comment Tanya, Dystopian. I’m not a fan having read for 40 odd years I remember well searching in vain for something that wasn’t dystopian on the shelves of WH Smith in the UK. thank god the beast of Bezos came along and turned it all upside down.

9 read and 9 want-to-read from the list.

Lucky 13!

I've read 14 of them so far.

2. These are 1984 and Slaughter House Five.

Bill wrote: "The Foundation trilogy needs to be included in this list."

Foundation is on the list.

I've read 13 of these, not terrible, but not great for someone who thought he was an avid Sci Fi reader.

Donald wrote: "They have two Robert Hienlien books on the list but the one that should be on there is STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND."

I grok that!

Ive read 18. I cant believe The Time Travelers Wife didnt make the list, yet The Handmaids Tale did?!?! Dystopian novels are going to need their own category soon. LOVE the Expanse Novels!!