Esquire’s 50 Best Science Fiction Books of All Time 

Science fiction books are some of the best books out there in our opinion. But not all science fiction books are equal. That is why we decided to look at some of the lists out there. Today, we will be looking at Esquire’s 50 best science fiction books of all time. Keep reading to see which books made their list! 

Esquire’s 50 Best Science Fiction Books of All Time
Esquire’s 50 Best Science Fiction Books of All Time

Esquire might have started off focusing on men’s fashion in the early 1900’s, it has changed a lot since then. Now, they have their hands on a little bit of everything. That makes us wonder how much credibility they have. The only way to find that out is to see how their list holds up. 

Esquire’s 50 Best Science Fiction Books of All Time 

  1. The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey 
  2. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson 
  3. Contact, by Carl Sagan 
  4. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. 
  5. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem 
  6. Neuromancer by William Gibson 
  7. The Book of Phoenix by Nnedi Okorafor 
  8. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess 
  9. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 
  10. This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone 
  11. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein 
  12. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle 
  13. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells 
  14. Rosewater by Tade Thompson 
  15. The Stand by Stephen King 
  16. Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente 
  17. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson 
  18. The City & The City by China Miéville 
  19. Hyperion by Dan Simmons 
  20. Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany 
  21. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers 
  22. The Body Scout by Lincoln Michel 
  23. Zone One by Colson Whitehead 
  24. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami 
  25. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdich 
  26. Ammonite by Nicola Griffith 
  27. Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood 
  28. The Resisters, by Gish Jen 
  29. Shikasta, by Doris Lessing 
  30. An Unkindness of Ghosts, by Rivers Solomon 
  31. Annihilation, by Jeff VanderMeer 
  32. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut 
  33. Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke 
  34. The Complete Robot by Isaac Asimov 
  35. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu 
  36. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 
  37. The Employees by Olga Ravn 
  38. 1984 by George Orwell 
  39. The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu 
  40. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick 
  41. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 
  42. Exhalation by Ted Chiang 
  43. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 
  44. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin 
  45. Kindred by Octavia Butler 
  46. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin 
  47. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury 
  48. Dune by Frank Herbert 
  49. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 

Can’t Argue With This List 

This list contains most if not all of the major science fiction classics. It has A Clockwork Orange, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and The Time Machine. No list is perfect without those and a few others which this list contains. 

Conclusion 

That is all for Esquire’s 50 best science fiction books of all time list. What did you think of their list? Let us know in the comments below! 

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook 

7 thoughts on “Esquire’s 50 Best Science Fiction Books of All Time 

  1. Mark says:

    I am always curious as to the criteria for any of these lists. Why is Dune on the list but Ring World not? Why does The Martian Chronicles make the list but The Martian doesn’t? How about some of the books that cross genres, such as Something Wicked This Way Comes, as I see that book as being horror as well as science fiction and is a great book.

    If the reasons are just preference then my list is every bit as valid as all other lists. If there are actual criteria I would love to know what they are. Perhaps the criteria is just whether the list maker has read to book or not. Have they read Ring World, the Rama series, the Lensman series?

    Reply
  2. Bob Bobson says:

    So you have “The Complete Robot”, which is a collection of novels, not a book, but not the “Foundation” series. You have “Exhale” by Ted Chiang, which is brilliant, but a collection of short stories, not a novel. Nothing at all by Iain M Banks. No “Ender’s Game”. And why does every list like this have to include “Brave New World”? Have you even read it? It is a not particularly original story which is not especially well written. Get sick of people treating it like scifi holy writ.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says:

    Timothy Zahn the Thrawn Trilogy 15 million copies sold Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command why is this not on the list

    Reply
  4. Dana R Booth says:

    I can’t believe you didn’t include Foundation series as this is probably the epitome of science fiction

    Reply
  5. Jan Murphy von Scherrer says:

    What about the Wheel of Time series. And Brandon Sanderson?

    Reply

Leave a Reply