BVBook Verdict

Fiction

Best Science Fiction Books

Science fiction is the literature of ideas — asking what human life looks like when technology, time or the laws of physics shift. At its best it uses speculation to say something precise and true about the present.

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Dune Frank Herbert · 1965 Editor's Choice Get it on Amazon →
Foundation Isaac Asimov · 1951 Essential Read Get it on Amazon →
The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin · 1969 Essential Read See details →
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick · 1968 Essential Read See details →
Neuromancer William Gibson · 1984 Essential Read See details →
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams · 1979 Essential Read See details →
Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut · 1969 Essential Read See details →
The Three-Body Problem Liu Cixin · 2008 Essential Read See details →
Kindred Octavia Butler · 1979 Essential Read See details →
The Children of Men P.D. James · 1992 Essential Read See details →
The Fifth Season N.K. Jemisin · 2015 Essential Read See details →
We Yevgeny Zamyatin · 1924 Essential Read See details →
The Stone Sky N. K. Jemisin · 2017 Essential Read See details →
A Memory Called Empire Arkady Martine · 2019 Essential Read See details →
Network Effect Martha Wells · 2020 Essential Read See details →
The City We Became N.K. Jemisin · 2020 Essential Read See details →
The Last Cuentista Donna Barba Higuera · 2021 Essential Read See details →
A Song for a New Day Sarah Pinsker · 2019 Essential Read See details →
A Master of Djinn P. Djeli Clark · 2021 Essential Read See details →
The City in the Middle of the Night Charlie Jane Anders · 2019 Essential Read See details →
The Saint of Bright Doors Vajra Chandrasekera · 2023 Essential Read See details →
The Kaiju Preservation Society John Scalzi · 2022 Essential Read See details →
System Collapse Martha Wells · 2023 Essential Read See details →
The Mercy of Gods James S.A. Corey · 2024 Essential Read See details →

More worth reading

I, Robot Isaac Asimov · 1950 Recommended Get it on Amazon →
2001: A Space Odyssey Arthur C. Clarke · 1968 Recommended Get it on Amazon →
The Dispossessed Ursula K. Le Guin · 1974 Recommended See details →
The Man in the High Castle Philip K. Dick · 1962 Recommended See details →
Ender's Game Orson Scott Card · 1985 Recommended See details →
Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut · 1963 Recommended See details →
The War of the Worlds H.G. Wells · 1898 Recommended See details →
The Time Machine H.G. Wells · 1895 Recommended See details →
The Martian Andy Weir · 2011 Recommended See details →
Project Hail Mary Andy Weir · 2021 Recommended See details →
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Becky Chambers · 2014 Recommended See details →
Parable of the Sower Octavia Butler · 1993 Recommended See details →
Hyperion Dan Simmons · 1989 Recommended See details →
The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury · 1950 Recommended See details →
The Sparrow Mary Doria Russell · 1996 Recommended See details →
A Voyage to Arcturus David Lindsay · 1920 Recommended See details →
News from nowhere, or, An epoch of rest, being some chapters from a utopian romance William Morris · 1890 Recommended See details →
R.U.R. and The insect play Karel Čapek · 1920 Recommended See details →
The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams · 1979 Recommended See details →
The Iron Heel Jack London · 1907 Recommended See details →
The Napoleon of Notting Hill Gilbert Keith Chesterton · 1904 Recommended See details →
The food of the gods and how it came to earth H. G. Wells · 1900 Recommended See details →

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Titles that appear on major award winner lists.

The Stone Sky N. K. Jemisin · 2017 Essential Read Get it on Amazon →
A Memory Called Empire Arkady Martine · 2019 Essential Read See details →
Network Effect Martha Wells · 2020 Essential Read See details →
The City We Became N.K. Jemisin · 2020 Essential Read See details →
The Last Cuentista Donna Barba Higuera · 2021 Essential Read See details →
A Song for a New Day Sarah Pinsker · 2019 Essential Read See details →
The City in the Middle of the Night Charlie Jane Anders · 2019 Essential Read See details →
The Saint of Bright Doors Vajra Chandrasekera · 2023 Essential Read See details →
The Kaiju Preservation Society John Scalzi · 2022 Essential Read See details →
System Collapse Martha Wells · 2023 Essential Read See details →
The Mercy of Gods James S.A. Corey · 2024 Essential Read See details →

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