The best sci-fi books of all time

published 28 April 2023

The sci-fi genre has created some of the most engrossing books ever made. Through mind-altering prose and astonishing ideas that point to a future we mostly fear, those authors that live in this realm have taken many of us to new worlds with their tomes.

The term sci-fi can cover all manner of topics. This genre is all-encompassing, finding room for stories set in the distant future and those not set in any recognisable timeline whatsoever.

But the way the best sci-fi novels look at how we, or those like us, react to change is a common theme.

The definition of ‘science’ in this context can be relatively fluid, while its role within narratives can be dominant or just a conduit for explorations of the human condition.

Whether it’s dealing with fantastical discoveries or things a lot more tangible, the novels listed below are the sort of thing many a sci-fi fan will be intrigued by… if you haven’t read the books in question already.

Upvote your favourite and suggest more science fiction classics for this shortlist below.

UPDATED: While there are hundreds of books that could have made up our best sci-fi books list, we have kept it to a cool 20, mixing it up with stone-cold classics and some newer novels that have expanded the world of science fiction in print.

Additional Contributor: Becca Caddy

Best sci-fi books

H. G. Wells wrote War of the Worlds in the late 1800s. It follows an unnamed protagonist in Surrey and his brother in London as Martians invade England. It’s one of the earliest novels about a conflict between humankind and an alien race, influencing many sci-fi stories that have come since and many people who went on to work in science-based roles.Orson Welles infamously directed and starred in a 1938 dramatisation of War of the Worlds for radio, which allegedly caused mass panic among listeners who didn’t know the story was fictional.Image Credit: Collins

William Gibson’s Neuromancer was published in 1984, and it’s one of the first stories in the cyberpunk sci-fi sub-genre. It’s set in the future and focuses on the story of Henry Chase, a computer hacker, or “console cowboy”, hired for a job that brings him into contact with a super-AI entity.The novel was a huge success, winning the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award when it was released. Now, nearly 40 years later, it’s still considered one of the best sci-fi novels. If you enjoy it, try more of Gibson’s work. Neuromancer is Gibson’s debut novel and the first book in the Sprawl trilogy.Image Credit: Harper Voyager

Considered the first sci-fi novel and one of the greatest, Frankenstein was written by Mary Shelley when she was only 18 before it was published anonymously a few years later in 1818. It’s about a young scientist called Victor Frankenstein who reanimates body parts to create a creature in a dark and dangerous scientific experiment.In 1816, Mary Shelley, Percy B Shelley and Lord Byron allegedly had a competition to see who could write the best horror story, which is how Shelley wrote Frankenstein, inspired by her travels around Europe. Her story has since hugely influenced popular culture and many stories that have followed.Image Credit: William Collins

Polish author Stanisław Lem wrote Solaris in 1961. The story is about the crew onboard a research station on an alien planet covered by a vast ocean. The crew learn that this ocean is a form of intelligent life but nothing like humankind.The book has been adapted several times for radio, theatre and movies. Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 adaptation is considered one of the best sci-fi movies of all time, and Steven Soderbergh's 2002 version is a great watch too – although Lem allegedly didn't think either nailed some of the book's central themes.Image Credit: Faber & Faber

Exhalation is technically a collection of short stories rather than a novel. But each one is so inventive, mind-blowing and fantastically written that we had to add it to this list. You’ll be thinking about some of them for weeks or months after you’ve read them. The topics covered include time travel, alternate realities, bioethics and AI, and significant themes like free will, humanity’s nature, and discovery.If you enjoy Exhalation, you should also read Chiang’s first collection of short stories, Stories of Your Life and Others. The story this collection is named after is the one the movie Arrival is based on.Image Credit: Picador

Children of Time is written by prolific author Adrian Tchaikovsky. It’s about humanity’s escape from Earth to find a new home amongst the stars, but nothing goes according to plan. This is an epic time and space-spanning novel that’s long but highly engaging, and it was awarded the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2016.If you enjoy Children of Time, Tchaikovsky has penned two follow-up novels in the series, Children of Ruin and Children of Memory. A potential film adaptation is also in the works, which would be challenging but wonderful to see interpreted on the big screen.Image Credit: Pan

A Wrinkle in Time might be a children’s novel, but we think it’s a brilliant read for all ages, and many people credit it as their gateway into the world of sci-fi. It’s about Charles and Meg Murray, who travel through space and time or, to be exact, through “a wrinkle in time” to find their father. They find themselves on a planet where a huge, pulsating brain has enslaved everyone.A Wrinkle in Time is an enchanting story that’s become a must-read for kids interested in sci-fi and fantasy. After you’ve read the book, watch the movie. In 2018 it was adapted into a film starring Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine.Image Credit: Puffin

Vurt is a brilliantly bonkers sci-fi book and the debut novel from British author Jeff Noon. It’s about a man called Scribble and his gang of friends, the Stash Riders. The story centres on a drug that’s also a shared virtual reality you can access by sucking on feathers. The Stash Riders are looking for Scribble’s missing sister, Desdemona, who might be trapped in one of these alternate worlds.Vurt’s story has been compared to the Greek myth of Orpheus, who ventured to the underworld to save his wife, Eurydice. Like many other books on this list, Vurt won the Arthur C. Clarke Award when it was released back in 1994.Image Credit: Pan

This explosive book by British writer Naomi Alderman is a dystopian sci-fi and fantasy story in which women suddenly develop a superpower. It enables them to send out electrical jolts from their fingers, which can cause pain or even death. This speculative fiction book explores all the ways these new abilities change everything.Not only is the story fresh and fascinating, but the novel is brilliantly written by Alderman, weaving together four different points of view to explore how women assert their new dominance all over the world.Image Credit: Penguin

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