The 25 best science fiction books
The 25 highest-ranked science fiction books in our ranking of 2,816, scored on how much readers love them, their prize, best-list and bestseller record, and current buzz. We rank 313 science fiction books in all. How we rank
- 1
Project Hail Mary95.2Must-Read ScoreProject Hail Mary
A man wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he's there, and two dead crewmates beside him.
Why it made the listGoodreads Choice (science fiction) winner (2021)#1 New York Times bestseller (2 weeks at #1)157 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2021Hugo Award finalist (2022) - 2
Ender's Game94.2Must-Read ScoreEnder's Game
To survive the next attack by a hostile alien race, Earth's government breeds child geniuses and trains them as soldiers.
Why it made the listHugo Award winner (1986)Nebula Award winner (1985)Hugo Award winner (1987, for Speaker for the Dead)33 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2013 - 3
The Fifth Season91.9Must-Read ScoreThe Fifth Season
The Stillness is a supercontinent wracked by earthquakes, and every few centuries a catastrophic Season of ash, darkness and famine nearly ends civilization.
Why it made the listHugo Award winner (2016)Hugo Award winner (2018, for The Stone Sky)Hugo Award winner (2017, for The Obelisk Gate)Nebula Award finalist (2015) - 4
Dungeon Crawler Carl91.8Must-Read ScoreDungeon Crawler Carl
One night, aliens destroy every building on Earth and turn the survivors into contestants on an intergalactic game show: a vast, deadly dungeon where every fight is broadcast to the galaxy.
Why it made the list72 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2025 - 5
Dune90.9Must-Read ScoreDune
On the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the spice melange, the most valuable substance in the universe, young Paul Atreides arrives with his noble family to take over the planet's rule, knowing it may be a trap.
Why it made the listHugo Award winner (1966)One of the best-selling books ever (about 20 million copies)51 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2020PBS Great American Read - 6
198490.6Must-Read Score1984
In the superstate of Oceania, where Big Brother is always watching, Winston Smith works at the Ministry of Truth rewriting history to match the Party's ever-changing version of events.
Why it made the listTIME All-TIME 100 NovelsModern Library 100 Best NovelsBokklubben World Library (100 greatest books) - 7
The Handmaid’s Tale88.6Must-Read ScoreThe Handmaid’s Tale
In the Republic of Gilead, a theocracy that has overthrown the United States government, women have been stripped of their rights, and a falling birth rate has led the regime to assign fertile women to powerful men as handmaids, whose only purpose is to bear children.
Why it made the listBooker Prize winner (2019, for The Testaments)144 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2017Booker Prize finalist (1986)Nebula Award finalist (1986) - 8
The Martian87.4Must-Read ScoreThe Martian
Six days into what should be humanity's greatest achievement, astronaut Mark Watney is stranded on Mars, injured and presumed dead after a dust storm forces his crew to evacuate.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (3 weeks at #1)90 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2014PBS Great American Read - 9
The Hunger Games87.0Must-Read ScoreThe Hunger Games
In Panem, a nation built on the ruins of North America, the Capitol forces each of its twelve districts to send two teenagers every year to the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death.
Why it made the listOne of the ten best-selling books of 2012 (Publishers Weekly)PBS Great American Read - 10
Hyperion87.0Must-Read ScoreHyperion
On the eve of an interstellar war, seven pilgrims set out for the planet Hyperion, home to the Time Tombs, mysterious structures that move backward through time, and the Shrike, a terrifying creature of blades worshipped by a strange church.
Why it made the listHugo Award winner (1990)Hugo Award finalist (1998, for The Rise of Endymion)Hugo Award finalist (1991, for The Fall of Hyperion) - 11
The Stand86.5Must-Read ScoreThe Stand
A weaponized superflu escapes from a military lab and wipes out most of humanity in weeks.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (4 weeks at #1)One of the ten best-selling books of 1990 (Publishers Weekly)PBS Great American ReadBBC's The Big Read - 12
Gideon the Ninth86.3Must-Read ScoreGideon the Ninth
The Emperor needs necromancers, the Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman, and Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines and no more patience for undead nonsense.
Why it made the listHugo Award finalist (2020)Nebula Award finalist (2019) - 13
Red Rising86.2Must-Read ScoreRed Rising
On Mars, society is divided into castes by color.
Why it made the list25 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2014Goodreads Choice (science fiction) finalist (2023, for Light Bringer) - 14
11/22/6385.9Must-Read Score11/22/63
Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Maine, learns that the local diner holds a portal to 1958.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (5 weeks at #1)One of the ten best-selling books of 2011 (Publishers Weekly) - 15
The Dispossessed85.9Must-Read ScoreThe Dispossessed
Shevek is a brilliant physicist from Anarres, a barren moon settled two centuries earlier by revolutionaries who built a society with no government, no property and no money.
Why it made the listHugo Award winner (1975)Nebula Award winner (1974) - 16
Ready Player One84.6Must-Read ScoreReady Player One
In 2045, the world is in crisis, and most people escape into the OASIS, a vast virtual reality universe.
Why it made the list#1 New York Times bestseller (1 week at #1)141 weeks on the New York Times bestseller lists since 2011PBS Great American Read - 17
All Systems Red84.5Must-Read ScoreAll Systems Red
In a future run by corporations, survey teams on distant planets come with a Company-supplied security android.
Why it made the listHugo Award winner (2021, for Network Effect)Nebula Award winner (2020, for Network Effect)Goodreads Choice (science fiction) finalist (2023, for System Collapse)Goodreads Choice (science fiction) finalist (2021, for Fugitive Telemetry) - 18
Foundation83.9Must-Read ScoreFoundation
The Galactic Empire has ruled for twelve thousand years, and only one man knows it's dying.
Why it made the listHugo Award winner (1983, for Foundation's Edge)Nebula Award finalist (1982, for Foundation's Edge)PBS Great American Read - 19
A Deepness in the Sky83.7Must-Read ScoreA Deepness in the Sky
After thousands of years of searching, humans are about to make first contact with an alien race on a planet whose strange star switches off for centuries at a time.
Why it made the listHugo Award winner (2000)Nebula Award finalist (1999) - 20
A Memory Called Empire83.5Must-Read ScoreA Memory Called Empire
Mahit Dzmare is the new ambassador from Lsel, a small, independent mining station, to the vast Teixcalaanli Empire, whose poetry-loving culture she has admired all her life.
Why it made the listHugo Award winner (2020)Hugo Award winner (2022, for A Desolation Called Peace)Nebula Award finalist (2019)Nebula Award finalist (2021, for A Desolation Called Peace) - 21
Barrayar82.9Must-Read ScoreBarrayar
Cordelia Naismith, a scientist and ship captain from a peaceful, progressive world, has married Aral Vorkosigan, a warrior from the militaristic planet Barrayar, and moved there.
Why it made the listHugo Award winner (1992)Nebula Award finalist (1991) - 22
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy82.6Must-Read ScoreThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
One Thursday, Arthur Dent wakes up to find his house about to be demolished for a highway bypass.
Why it made the listPBS Great American ReadBBC's The Big Read - 23
Parable of the Sower82.5Must-Read ScoreParable of the Sower
In 2024 California has fallen apart: climate change, poverty and violence have turned cities into ruins, and families hide behind walls.
Why it made the listNebula Award winner (1999, for Parable of the Talents)Nebula Award finalist (1994) - 24
The Three-Body Problem82.4Must-Read ScoreThe Three-Body Problem
During China's Cultural Revolution, a young astrophysicist named Ye Wenjie watches her father beaten to death and is sent to a secret military base that searches the sky for alien life.
Why it made the listHugo Award winner (2015)Nebula Award finalist (2014)Hugo Award finalist (2017, for Death's End) - 25
Old Man's War82.0Must-Read ScoreOld Man's War
On his 75th birthday, John Perry visits his wife's grave and joins the army.
Why it made the listHugo Award finalist (2006)Hugo Award finalist (2009, for Zoe's Tale)
