The sci-fi genre is filled with modern and old classics. Choosing which books to read is hard with so many books to choose from. That is why we have made a list of the 25 must read science fiction books you all time. Keep reading to find out which books made out list!
This genre is filled with amazing novels. Hopefully, this list will encourage you to read even more sci-fi books. 25 books doesn’t feel like enough. And while these are the must read sci-fi books, there are others that fall right below this category. You can see the full list below!
The 25 Must Read Science Fiction Books of All Time
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
- Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
- Foundation by Isaac Asimov
- The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
- The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide by Douglas Adams
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- Hyperion by Dan Simmons
- Ringworld by Larry Niven
- I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
- Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
- The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
- Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
- The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
- Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
- Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
- Kindred by Octavia Butler
Ender’s Game
A sci-fi novel that is loved by millions of readers all over the world is Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. The novel is about Andrew “Ender” Wiggin, a six-year-old boy who is sent to training camp to play simulated war games where he faces off against aliens. The plot, writing and questions about morality make this a novel unlike any other.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
One of my favorite books on this list is Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. It is a brilliant novel that will have you thinking a lot. It is must read sci-fi and the questions in the novel are more relevant today than ever before. The movie adaptation was given the title The Blade Runner and is considered a classic movie that fans of the novel are sure to love!
Dune
A novel that jumps out from the sci-fi genre has to be Dune by Frank Herbert. Whether or not you have read much sci-fi books, there is a good chance that you heard about this novel. It is a sci-fi novel that has amazing world building and has resonated with many readers. Many critics consider this the best sci-fi book ever written.
Nineteen Eighty-Four
One of the most popular dystopian novels must be The Handmaid’s Tale. Some people may have read it in school while others read it for fun but either way, it is an impactful novel. Another classic dystopian novel that is up there is 1984. They both tackle serious issues and make us imagine the worst-case scenarios.
The Time Machine
The concept of time travel by a vehicle moving forward or purposely travel forward or backward in time was first introduced in The Time Machine by H. G. Wells. This was Wells first novel and it has become memorable for its invention of time travel, a term Wells is credited as creating. While this novel does leave a lot to be desired, its influence on the science fiction genre cannot be ignored.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
One of my all-time favorite sci-fi novels and series on the list is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The writing is brilliant and the humor is timeless. The fate of planet Earth is at stake yet Adams has the reader laughing throughout the book. This novel changed the way I saw sci-fi novels and became a lifelong fan after reading the series.
Frankenstein
When talking about must read sci-fi novels, then Frankenstein has to be included in that conversation. Not only because it is the first but because it is a great novel. Even two centuries later, readers still flock to this novel as Mary Shelley makes us wonder who is right; Frankenstein or his monster?
The Handmaid’s Tale
Even if you aren’t always reading books, there is still a good chance you have read The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. It is taught in most schools across the United States. The brilliant dystopian novel tackles heavy themes which has made it one of the most censored books in the world.
Hyperion
A sci-fi novel that you will get immersed in is Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It follows a group of people who travel to Hyperion, and the travelers share their stories of how they were chosen for the pilgrimage. The writing, storytelling, and world building make this one of the best sci-fi books out there.
Childhood’s End
Earth is visited by aliens and humans surrender peacefully after witnessing the superior technology of the Overlords. Now, mankind is peaceful, poverty is no more, and there are no more wars. Humanity is peaceful but the cost may be much more than anyone expected. r Arthur C. Clarke
Station Eleven
Emily St. John Mendel’s novel Station Eleven is one of the best dystopian novels ever written. It is about a band of actors and musicians who travel around the Great Lake region in a post-apocalyptic word. But the band runs into trouble when they encounter a self-proclaimed ‘Prophet’ who uses violence to get whatever he desires.
Conclusion
That is all for this list of the 25 must read science fiction books of all time. How many of these books have you read? What books would you have included on the list? Let us know in the comments below!
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What nothing by Iain M. Banks? No “Use of Weapons”? “Surface Detail”? “Consider Phlebas”? or what about William Gibson “Necromancer”? “Pattern Recognition”? “Count Zero”? “The Peripheral” ? come on! Any one of the books I have mentioned has more imagination, is better written and demands more attention than all of the first three books in your. list put together. Not impressed at all.
Neuromancer, but yeah…
No Piers Anthony that’s disappointing
Uh, Gene Wolfe may be better than all of them.
Have you ever read any John Wyndham?
Margaret Atwood is overrated: even books actually written for children treat them more like adults. Overly didactic and hysterical.
What Margaret Atwood did you read? Certainly not The Handmaids Tale.
Great list! Thank you:-)
Robert Heinlein wrote a great many books – while A Stranger in a Strange Land is perhaps the best known, my favourite is The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
I think I’d also include the Saga of Pliocene Exile series (four books by Julian May), West of Eden by Harry Harrison, and A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
Where is Lem?
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch!
A brilliant and haunting novel about the multiverse.
I would remove one book: 2001 A Space Odyssey because it is a movie novelization. I would add Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles and Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash.
Where is ‘A Canticle for Lebowitz’?
Must, a very harsh and demanding word, particularly when there are no qualifications to support it.
“Cities in Flight” by James Blish.
Good list. To the other posters, I note you did not say these are the best sci Fi of all time, but must reads. They are a solid collection of classic and a few modern titles that have shaped the genre and left a mark. I agree with some of the posters above that a few books may be better, or at least just as influential, like Neuromancer, Snow Crash, and Gene Wolf’s works. But I like the overall shape, even if I didn’t really enjoy some of them (I’m looking at you Heinlein and Asimov). One thing to think about is the impact of authors of color who have shaped the last 10 years of sci Fi, like Nnedi Okorofor and NK Jemisin.
I read Enders game over 24 hours. I couldn’t put it down.
Piers Anthony To Our Scattered Bodies Go series. For me, second only to Ringworld.
That’s by Philip Jose Farmer; not Anthony.
This is missing some of the greatest work by international authors: Stanlislaw Lem’s His Master Voice, the Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic, Cixin Liu’s Three-Body Problem
Station Eleven is, perhaps only in my opinion, a strange novel to include in this list since it’s not scince fiction. Yes, it has a science fiction graphic novel within the story, but Station Eleven is much better described as dystopian or survivalist fiction. Beyond this, although some aspects of this novel really appealed to me, I find it puzzling how so many reviewers (or list creators) heap so much praise on Station Eleven, while apparently overlooking several significant problems. It has flimsy characters, relationships between major characters are left hanging, and even includes major characters who aren’t really relevant to the story. The plot is much more facile than I suspected at the beginning, and most of the emotionally complex events are told in retrospect or are alluded to, as if the author was afraid to delve into them. It’s a story of cute notions of post-apocalyptic reality, seemingly in service of the author’s notion of what is required for life to be considered worth living. This focus on theme over story, added to flat characters, really compounds the feeling that the story’s promise has gone unfulfilled. It’s a big leap to include this novel in any “must read” or “greatest ” list.
I did read about half of them. Not all good, mind you.
A. A. Attanasio’s Radix tetrad and Solis are quite a treat too.
I would add Nor Crystal Tears by Alan Dean Foster.
I don’t think of Station Eleven as dystopian, even though it is post apocalyptic. There’s too much joy and hope and people continuing to create art and find meaning even with the bad and scary parts.
A wrinkle in time is good.
And H.G Wells >>>