The result is a bunch of widely and enthusiastically beloved science fiction books. This one—a collection of three volumes Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago previously published as Xenogenesis —is one of the most popular. The absolutely iconic status the film holds in 20th century sci-fi cinema also clearly lodged the novel in the collective memory of Goodreads reviewers, at least.

Which may explain why so many people love this book and the five sequels and film and television adaptations it spawned. It was a toss-up whether to include The Dispossessed or The Left Hand of Darkness on this list, but the former eked out a higher average rating than the former, so here we are. The Dispossessed , like a lot of the best sci-fi, is about technology but also and more importantly about political philosophies and how they affect the worlds that birth them.

So you could have a ton of fun reading the series in different orders and being a huge nerd about it. Your childhood has been vindicated, if only barely I was surprised by the relatively low 4. This classic of weird, fantastical science fiction has some extremely fun names, many of which—Mrs.

Whatsit, Mrs. Who, Mrs. What else do you need to know? The other volume, Children of God , qualifies as top sci-fi too, according to these standards. It won all the awards James Tiptree Jr. Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award, British Science Fiction Association Award… and tells the story of a secret Jesuit mission to an alien civilization, cleverly playing with the histories and possible futures of imperialism and religion.

I knew a Stephenson title belonged on any list of the top sci-fi books, but it was tough to pick a novel by the king of cyberpunk.

Willis has written some classic time travel fiction a couple of which, To Say Nothing of the Dog and All Clear , cleared the 4-star threshold. Doomsday Book was first, and it really shows what magic Willis could cast with a time machine, the humans behind the technology, and an interesting historical setting plague-ridden Europe in this case.

May 16, AM. If you see any books that you do not consider to be science fiction, please mention them in the comments! We'll take a look, maybe debate a bit, and make corrections. If it's a hard decision, we'll automatically consider it science fiction. If it's clearly not science fiction though, we'll make the change.

So far I've removed The Best of H. Lovecraft: Bloodcurdling Tales of Horror and the Macabre because it is fantasy horror, not science fiction horror.

Most of the stories within are focused on ancient gods and fantastical events. I would bring Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness into question as well, but I haven't read it and am uncertain. Is it still about the supernatural?

Is it about the Cthulu mythos? Mythology is nearly opposite to science, right? If so, we should remove it. Jun 08, AM. I appreciate having a list that is specifically for science fiction. I've just deleted the Twilight series books that I found on here already , but there are several more HP Lovecraft books that I think should be deleted as well. I'll leave that to you, Michael. I would make two suggestions, to keep the list as useful as possible and best to implement early on : 1 Only allow books that have at least 50 or or whatever ratings to stay on the list.

This should help ditch some of the authors who like to nominate their titles for every list possible for marketing purposes. There are already 4 of them in the top titles. When these lists get to be 5 or 8 pages long, they get pretty useless if you're looking for new stuff to read - no one ever pages through the whole list.

Just suggestions, I've already voted on the list and added some new books. Looking forward to watching it grow! Carolyn: Please make a case for the Lovecraft books or delete them yourself if you'd like to. If I haven't read them, I may well not know if they're sci-fi or not. Regarding suggestion 1: That doesn't seem like a bad suggestion for Listopia in general, but books like that will be pushed to the bottom of the list anyway, if other people vote, right? Besides, those could be the best sci-fi books ever written for all we know.

Unpopular doesn't necessarily mean bad - it just means not many people have read the book yet. Personally, I want to implement 2, but it doesn't seem fair if several books in a series are outstanding.

Any further thoughts on these issues, anyone? Jun 16, PM. Been getting into the Edgar Rice Burroughs books this year. Sure, not really believable, but great stories all the same!

Nov 21, AM. As of today, I see "Ringworld" by Larry Niven listed twice. Nov 21, PM. Removed 16 duplicates. Dec 01, PM. Good to see you are trying to keep this restricted to sci-fi only. I run the Sci-Fi Lists website scifilists. Lovecraft Dragonflight - Anne McCaffrey McCaffrey cleverly got herself a fair bit of free publicity by arguing the point. Good list overall though. I often come here to see if there is anything relatively new that I have missed adding to my own online poll at Sci-Fi Lists.

This list is pretty close to the mark. Dec 03, AM. Fusionjazz: thanks for pointing out the duplicate. Cindy: thanks for removing the duplicates! I just removed one more. Crocranger: thanks for the information. I agree with all four of your removal suggestions and have removed them from the list.

Those books are fantasy and are not based in science in any meaningful way. Dec 10, PM. Good list, I found some new Titles and Authors to read. Thank you. I think Footfall and Eifelheim would be a good additions. Dec 15, AM. JJ: you need to add those books to the list yourself. You're right about Watership Down. It doesn't even resemble science fiction. I'll remove it. Dec 31, PM. Number , Temblor, is not science fiction. The english title is Shiver. Jan 01, AM. Thank you, Candice.

Temblor has been removed. Jan 03, PM. Just a word about what qualifies as 'science fiction'. At Sci-Fi Lists I constantly struggle with what should and shouldn't be regarded as sci-fi, especially when it comes to 'alternate histories'. Frederik Pohl once commented that: "It is that thing that people who understand science fiction point to, when they point to something and say 'That's science fiction!

If we take Philip K Dick's 'Man in the High Castle' as an example - it has always been regarded as sci-fi by critics and even won a Hugo back in the days when it was strictly a science fiction award. You gotta be kidding! The novel is a 'what if' focussing on Franklin Roosevelt's unrealised proposal to establish a temporary Jewish settlement on the Alaska panhandle in the lead-up to WWII.

So where is the science? It didn't happen and the novel is nothing more than a lengthy speculation on where it might have gone. Hardly science fiction I accept that a lot of stuff is classified as sci-fi simply because it is set in space or the future. However, I think there needs to be a separate rule for alternative histories. If there is some sort of scientific explanation as to why history went astray, then it can be regarded as sci-fi.

Otherwise, leave it to the fantasists. Crocranger: At first thought, I vaguely agree that alternate histories which are not explained scientifically are better categorized as fantasy. However, I have two reasons not to do so. I'll examine them and then explain which argument I think has more weight for this list: 1. Every unexplained alternate history story can be seen as being in the "alternate dimension" genre of sci-fi by default. This isn't a very good argument, but it's not entirely unreasonable.

I won't get into whether or not the idea of alternate dimensions or alternate threads of time is viable, because it's a common sci-fi trope, reasonable or not. Sci-fi "experts" those who choose winners of sci-fi awarsd, specifically the prestigious Hugo consider alternate history stories to be sci-fi stories. Because of this, stores, fans of sci-fi, and libraries assign the sci-fi genre to these books.

I believe that argument 2 weighs strongly in favor of labeling alternate history books as science fiction on Goodreads, since Goodreads is something of a metadata library. Michael wrote: "Crocranger: At first thought, I vaguely agree that alternate histories which are not explained scientifically are better categorized as fantasy.

I'll exam I was actually responding to the note at the top of the list that asks people not to post alternate histories here and says they will be removed. Your philosophy is in line with Pohl's quote and, indeed, is the one I use on my own website.

As for the future, I am going to try and tighten things up a bit at Sci-Fi Lists. Cheers and keep up the good work. I had forgotten that I put that note at the top of the list! I can get away with removing alternate history texts since I made that request. How silly of me. Jan 04, AM. Michael wrote: "I had forgotten that I put that note at the top of the list! As promised, I left the Friday arvo pub session early and came home to spend a scintillating night purifying Sci-Fi Lists of alternate history pretenders.

Besides, not really a big fan of hate mail. Wikipedia calls it a "time-travel fantasy". Have to agree. I would feel a bit guilty posting directly to a list like this, so I offer these suggestions for consideration only. I definitely think the Connie Willis books belong! And agree that the Tim Powers does not. Thanks for categorizing! Please vote for whichever of those books you personally think are excellent.

I can only add The Man in the High Castle, personally. Jan 04, PM. Great to list things, makes life simpler all around. However: The Road? Long time since I read it, but apocalyptic does not equal science fiction. Espen: could you explain? The Road describes a future which is scientifically imaginable, in my opinion. Here's a more elaborate definition: Science fiction quoting the definition at the top of this list deals "with imaginary but more or less plausible or at least non-supernatural content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities.

I'd say it is more of a social commentary on today, or perhaps the zombieinfested, paranoid 70s. It would be watering down the definition of science fiction if every book that is conceivably about an alternative time-line should be listed.

The Road is a dark journey in a bleak landscape, with no proposition of technological salvation - only a vague hope of there being something better, even if I as a reader not for a single moment believed there was something at the end of the rainbow. Nor does it put up any possible social model other than the status quo. The Road might be in the future, it might be set in a technologically or more advanced society, after the event horizon or whatnot. Regarding the things you list: sure, it is plausible, it might be futuristic, but it is not about the science part of fiction.

I don't remember any aliens. Take a book like Ayn Rands Atlas Shrugged. Some has called it a science fiction tale, and it certainly contains elements of scientific and rational however effed up, conceited and downright inhuman salvation. I disagree, simply because it is a deranged contemporary commentary, but at least it is a fantastic tale fulfilling every list element. The Road does not. Besides, defining a genre by ticking boxes is damned hard.

The Road does not, for my part, tick any science fiction receptors. Jan 05, PM. Espen wrote: "I'd say it is more of a social commentary on today, or perhaps the zombieinfested, paranoid 70s. It would be watering down the definition of science fiction if every book that is conceivably abou I think there is a danger in narrowing the definition of the genre too much. Almost all sci-fi uses the story as a platform to comment on contemporary issues. Otherwise, it would have difficulty achieving relevance.

While the cause of the apocalypse is not clearly identified in 'The Road', McCarthy does a brilliant job commenting on a range of social and environmental issues that are certainly relevant to modern readers, and sets it in a plausible and possible future. Definitely sci-fi. Don't forget, 'science' also includes the social sciences.

As you quite rightly point out, Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged' is a bit debatable as sci-fi. Right wing capitalists who don't give a stuff for humanity go on strike in order to preserve their God-given right to make money without contributing constructively to society. Her novella 'Anthem', on the other hand, fairly clearly depicts a dystopian sci-fi future. Basically the same premise as Shrugged, but with a lot more sci-fi devices.

Rand's imagined future - at least in her eyes - was also plausible and possible. It all comes back to that word 'science'. Whether it involves endangering the planet with political ideology, nuclear weapons, climate change Jan 08, PM. Espen: 1. I was unaware The Road related to the 70's in any way. How did you figure that out? Everyone else I've talked to about the book's setting thought it was focused on the future rather than an alternate timeline. Any story that is about science fiction would be incredibly boring and no one would be likely to vote for it to be on the list.

The Road, like most good novels I don't personally find it to be great, just somewhat good , is about people. You seem to be a bit confused about what science is. We know that bombs for example can be made and used, therefore the setting and events of The Road are possible.

That's what makes it easy to call it science fiction. Since we have not seen aliens yet, they're pushing science fiction a bit further, though they still count as being elements of science fiction because they might exist.

Aliens are certainly not needed for science fiction to work. Claiming that they're essential or even something to look for to determine if a story is sci-fi is a very unusual idea. Feb 07, PM. I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this, but it seems unfair to list, for example, The Foundation Trilogy and each of the Foundation books separately.

I would think that would split the vote, and lower all 4 choices down the list. Feb 11, AM. Today its message has grown m. Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory st. Largely set in a futuristic World State of genetically modified citizens and an intelligenc.

Armada Ernest Cline Zack Lightman has spent his life dreaming. Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut's absurdist classic Slaughterhouse-Five introduces us to Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes unstuck in time after he is abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore.

In a plot-sc. This singular event will shape not only the rest of her life but also the future of mankind. The Fifth Season N. Three te. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pris. Artemis Andy Weir The bestselling author of The Martian returns with an irresistible new near-future thriller—a heist story set on the moon.

Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Leviathan Wakes James S. Corey The first novel in James S. Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars.

Authority Jeff VanderMeer The bone-chilling, hair-raising second installment of the Southern Reach TrilogyAfter thirty years, the only human engagement with Area X--a seemingly malevolent landscape surrounde. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Becky Chambers Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space op.

Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro In one of the most acclaimed and strange novels of recent years, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group of students growing up in a darkly skewered version of contemporary England. Narrated by K. Red Rising Pierce Brown Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable.

Station Eleven Emily St John Mandel An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization's collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group.

The Obelisk Gate N. The season of endings grows darker as civilization fades into the long cold night. Alabaster Tenring — madman, world-crusher, sav. A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess A vicious fifteen-year-old droog is the central character of this classic. In Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of the future, where criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the cent.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick It was January , and Rick Deckard had a license to kill. Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment--find them and then The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Gu.

There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who ha. The Stone Sky N. The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women. Dick's alternate history classic, the United States lost World War II and was subsequently divided between the Germans in the east and the Japanese in t.

Mord on. Written by the China's multiple-award-winning science fiction author, Cixin Liu. In Dark Forest, E. What if you could change it back? Stephen King's heart-stoppingly dramatic new novel is about a man. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future -- to a dark age.

After a dust storm nearly kills him an. Children of Time Adrian Tchaikovsky A race for survival among the stars Humanity's last survivors escaped earth's ruins to find a new home.