50 Essential Sci-fi and Cli-fi Books
A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1864)Famous adventure tale that practically launched the genre in 1864.
The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (1898)The Martians come to England. A famous example of invasion literature from 1898.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932)Set in 2540, this novel imagines a radically different future. So good, it’s taught in schools.
When Worlds Collide by Edwin Balmer & Philip Wylie (1933)Earth must be evacuated because another planet is on a collision course.
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)Social sci-fi from the era of Soviet growth where a nasty political system defines the plot.
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart (1949)Written shortly after Hiroshima, this post-apocalyptic novel imagines the rebuilding process.
Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1951)The original novel in a pioneering series. An immense plot that I cannot sum up in a sentence.
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury (1951)18 masterful and highly imaginative short stories from one of the genre's masters.
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953)First Hugo winner. A science fiction detective novel featuring telepathy.
Ring Around the Sun by Clifford D. Simak (1953)Clever invasion novel from the 1950s where aliens introduce devices to disrupt Earth's economy.
Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement (1954)A world-building novel on a planet with variable surface gravity. Insect-like locals, human explorers.
The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett (1955)Following a nuclear war, religious sects create an anti-technology society.
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham (1955)Set way in the future in a fundamentalist society. Telepathy makes people different.
The Death of Grass or No Blade of Grass by John Christopher (1956)A virus kills off all strains of grasses & causes a famine. England descends into anarchy.
Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein (1959)Fine example of military science fiction from the late 1950s. A war against bugs.
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut (1959)Douglas Adams described it as a “tour de force” – a novel set amid a Martian invasion of Earth.
Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank (1959)Frank imagines the effects of nuclear war on a small town in Florida.
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller (1960)Post-apocalyptic science fiction where monks are trying to preserve vital books and humanity.
Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon (1960)20th century Charlie Johns wakes in a future filled with overpopulation, bigotry and no gender.
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem (1961)Humans study a planet while the planet studies them. A novel about miscommunication.
The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard (1962)The ice-caps melt and the world floods. Set in 2145, the protagonist has adapted rather well.
Hothouse by Brian Aldiss (1962)An ecological-themed novel set in the far future with fantasy elements.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (1962)Children’s fiction, with fantasy elements, where a government scientist goes missing.
Dune by Frank Herbert (1965)This novel has sold 12 million copies so can’t be bad. Spice before the Spice Girls.
Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison (1966)Set in 1999, a novel about over-population. Basis for the movie, Soylent Green.
Logan's Run by William F. Nolan & George Clayton Johnson (1967)Age-themed science fiction. Everyone is killed off at 21 but there are “runners.”
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1968)A bounty hunter tracks down escaped androids in a post-apocalyptic future.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1969)Le Guin is prolific and a must-read for everyone. This book details an imagined universe.
Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock (1969)A time travel story where a man goes from 1970 back to AD 28 to meet Jesus.
Ringworld by Larry Niven (1970)From the golden era of the early 1970s. Set in 2850 in a radically different universe.
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (1972)A classic set in the 22nd century, an alien starship enters the solar system.
Roadside Picnic / Tale of the Troika by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky (1972)Roadside Picnic is a classic alien-encounter story from Russia’s most important sci-fi writers.
The Female Man by Joanna Russ (1975)A novel following the lives of four women in parallel worlds. Feminist sci-fi.
Man Plus by Frederik Pohl (1976)Cyborg (where man & machine combine) science fiction as humans attempt to colonize Mars.
The Stand by Stephen King (1978)Apocalyptic novel where a virus kills off most people and it is nightmarish for survivors.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)A radio series. Adams introduced a huge and much-needed dose of humor into the genre.
Nor Crystal Tears by Alan Dean Foster (1982)Imagines the Humanx Commonwealth where humans exist alongside aliens.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1985)Violent futuristic sci-fi where the Earth is threatened by an ant-like species.
Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks (1987)Pure space opera. First in the Culture series, this novel features a sprawling space war between species.
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (1988)Quaddies are genetically modified humans used as slaves. They become obsolete and face a grim end.
Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1989)A complicated story-within-a-story novel with humanity spread across the galaxy.
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1993)First in a readable trilogy imagining the colonization of Mars.
Ribofunk by Paul Di Filippo (1996)Biopunk short story collection – a spin-off from cyberpunk featuring biotechnology.
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (1999)Historical science fiction adored by Geeks for its technology themes.
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (2005)A novel based on cosmetic surgery for teenagers. Modern science fiction on a modern issue.
Old Man's War by John Scalzi (2005)Scalzi's debut saw humans fighting aliens Heinlein-style except old people pull the trigger.
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow (2007)Modern cyberpunk in post-9/11 era. Teenage hackers battle Homeland Security over civil rights.
Acme Novelty Library #19 by Chris Ware (2008)Post-modern plot in a graphic novel. A sci-fi writer & his girlfriend are the last humans on Earth.
Embassytown by China Miéville (2011)Set in a small town on a distant planet, this 2011 novel depicts interaction between aliens & humans.
KSR, ''NEW YORK 2140'', set for March 14, 2017 release
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