The Esquire 75 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

July 14, 2024
75 Books
Stats
esquire.com

Since time immemorial, mankind has been looking up at the stars and dreaming, but it was only centuries ago that we started turning those dreams into fiction. And what remarkable dreams they are—dreams of distant worlds, unearthly creatures, parallel universes, artificial intelligence, and so much more. Today, we call those dreams science fiction.

Science fiction’s earliest inklings began in the mid-1600s, when Johannes Kepler and Francis Godwin wrote pioneering stories about voyages to the moon. Some scholars argue that science fiction as we now understand it was truly born in 1818, when Mary Shelley published Frankenstein, the first novel of its kind whose events are explained by science, not mysticism or miracles. Now, two centuries later, sci-fi is a sprawling and lucrative multimedia genre with countless subgenres, such as dystopian fiction, postapocalyptic fiction, and climate fiction, to name just a few. It’s also remarkably porous, allowing for some overlap with genres like fantasy and horror.

Sci-fi brings out the best in our imaginations and evokes a sense of wonder, but it also inspires a spirit of questioning. Through the enduring themes of sci-fi, we can examine the zeitgeist’s cultural context and ethical questions. Our favorite works in the genre make good on this promise, meditating on everything from identity to oppression to morality. As the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Doris Lessing said, “Science fiction is some of the best social fiction of our time.”

Over two years ago, we published a version of this list featuring 50 books. But why stop at 50? Now, as part of our latest Summer Fiction Week, we’ve cast a wider net and expanded the list to 75 titles. Choosing the 75 best science fiction books of all time wasn’t easy, so to get the job done, we had to establish some guardrails. Though we assessed single installments as representatives of their series, we limited the list to one book per author. We also emphasized books that brought something new and innovative to the genre—to borrow a great sci-fi turn of phrase, books that “boldly go where no one has gone before.”

Now, in ranked order, here are the best science fiction books of all time.

List byHardcover

The Esquire 75 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

July 14, 2024
75 Books
Stats
esquire.com

Details	Rating	Readers Count
Frankenstein Mary Shelley	3.85	1,541 reads
Dune Frank Herbert	4.28	2,651 reads
The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury	3.99	499 reads
The Fifth Season N.K. Jemisin	4.36	981 reads
Kindred Octavia E. Butler	4.32	398 reads
The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin	4.06	591 reads
Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro	3.82	800 reads
Exhalation Ted Chiang	4.26	398 reads
Station Eleven Emily St. John Mandel	4.09	959 reads
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick	3.94	888 reads
The Three-Body Problem Cixin Liu Ken Liu (Translator)	3.93	1,479 reads
1984 George Orwell	4.2	3,751 reads
The Employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd century Olga Ravn Martin Aitken (Translator)	3.59	70 reads
Brave New World Aldous Huxley	3.88	1,808 reads
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe Charles Yu	3.31	91 reads
The Complete Robot Isaac Asimov	4.11	65 reads
Childhood's End Arthur C. Clarke	4.02	344 reads
Roadside Picnic Arkady Strugatsky Boris Strugatsky Olena Bormashenko (Translator)	4.04	229 reads
The Sirens of Titan Kurt Vonnegut	3.97	274 reads
Shikasta (Canopus in Argos: Archives Series, Book 1): Re-colonised Planet 5 Doris Lessing	3	3 reads
Red Mars Kim Stanley Robinson	3.78	253 reads
Hyperion Dan Simmons	4.27	743 reads
Oryx and Crake Margaret Atwood	3.88	364 reads
Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer	3.68	834 reads
Ammonite Nicola Griffith	3.85	21 reads
Future Home of the Living God Louise Erdrich	3.67	35 reads
1Q84 Haruki Murakami Jay Rubin (Translator) Philip Gabriel	3.7	359 reads
The Forever War Joe Haldeman	3.95	434 reads
Dhalgren Samuel R. Delany	3.35	34 reads
In Ascension Martin MacInnes	3.54	27 reads
The Stand Stephen King	4.16	791 reads
Ancillary Justice Ann Leckie	3.98	500 reads
A Memory Called Empire Arkady Martine	4.16	443 reads
The City & The City China Miéville	3.94	230 reads
Radiance Catherynne M. Valente	3.33	54 reads
The Children of Men P.D. James	3.36	84 reads
Engine Summer John Crowley	3.67	3 reads
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Becky Chambers	4.15	746 reads
Zone One Colson Whitehead	3.32	53 reads
Project Hail Mary Andy Weir	4.44	2,030 reads
A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M. Miller Jr.	3.93	260 reads
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams	4.25	2,432 reads
The Sparrow Mary Doria Russell	3.99	228 reads
The Stars My Destination Alfred Bester	3.85	169 reads
Neuromancer William Gibson Giampaolo Cossato (Translator) Sandro Sandrelli (Translator)	3.85	831 reads
The Mountain in the Sea Ray Nayler	4.13	146 reads
An Unkindness of Ghosts Rivers Solomon	3.95	101 reads
The Body Scout Lincoln Michel	4.5	6 reads
The Time Machine H. G. Wells	3.68	670 reads
A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle	3.76	940 reads
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Robert A. Heinlein	3.78	263 reads
A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess	3.9	626 reads
Solaris: The Definitive Edition Stanisław Lem Bill Johnston (Translator)	3.79	289 reads
Children of Time Adrian Tchaikovsky	4.28	690 reads
Rosewater Tade Thompson	3.8	95 reads
The Resisters Gish Jen	3.5	8 reads
This Is How You Lose the Time War Amal El-Mohtar Max Gladstone	3.87	1,053 reads
Lord of Light Roger Zelazny	3.7	91 reads
The Claw of the Conciliator Gene Wolfe	4.06	58 reads
Excession Iain M. Banks	4.05	109 reads
Semiosis Sue Burke	3.8	79 reads
The Book of Phoenix Nnedi Okorafor	3.92	14 reads
What Mad Universe Fredric Brown	3	3 reads
Sea of Rust C. Robert Cargill	3.68	52 reads
Way Station Clifford D. Simak	4.11	76 reads
Under the Skin Michel Faber	3.65	80 reads
Contact Carl Sagan	4.1	272 reads
Star Maker Olaf Stapledon	3.69	32 reads
Snow Crash Neal Stephenson	3.93	756 reads
Midnight Robber Nalo Hopkinson	4	13 reads
The Ten Percent Thief Lavanya Lakshminarayan	4.5	6 reads
Beautyland Marie-Helene Bertino	4.33	24 reads
Redshirts John Scalzi	3.86	476 reads
The Calculating Stars Mary Robinette Kowal	4.07	254 reads
The Echo Wife Sarah Gailey	3.66	139 reads

Details	Rating	Readers Count
Frankenstein Mary Shelley	3.85	1,541 reads
Dune Frank Herbert	4.28	2,651 reads
The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury	3.99	499 reads
The Fifth Season N.K. Jemisin	4.36	981 reads
Kindred Octavia E. Butler	4.32	398 reads
The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin	4.06	591 reads
Never Let Me Go Kazuo Ishiguro	3.82	800 reads
Exhalation Ted Chiang	4.26	398 reads
Station Eleven Emily St. John Mandel	4.09	959 reads
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick	3.94	888 reads
The Three-Body Problem Cixin Liu Ken Liu (Translator)	3.93	1,479 reads
1984 George Orwell	4.2	3,751 reads
The Employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd century Olga Ravn Martin Aitken (Translator)	3.59	70 reads
Brave New World Aldous Huxley	3.88	1,808 reads
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe Charles Yu	3.31	91 reads
The Complete Robot Isaac Asimov	4.11	65 reads
Childhood's End Arthur C. Clarke	4.02	344 reads
Roadside Picnic Arkady Strugatsky Boris Strugatsky Olena Bormashenko (Translator)	4.04	229 reads
The Sirens of Titan Kurt Vonnegut	3.97	274 reads
Shikasta (Canopus in Argos: Archives Series, Book 1): Re-colonised Planet 5 Doris Lessing	3	3 reads
Red Mars Kim Stanley Robinson	3.78	253 reads
Hyperion Dan Simmons	4.27	743 reads
Oryx and Crake Margaret Atwood	3.88	364 reads
Annihilation Jeff VanderMeer	3.68	834 reads
Ammonite Nicola Griffith	3.85	21 reads
Future Home of the Living God Louise Erdrich	3.67	35 reads
1Q84 Haruki Murakami Jay Rubin (Translator) Philip Gabriel	3.7	359 reads
The Forever War Joe Haldeman	3.95	434 reads
Dhalgren Samuel R. Delany	3.35	34 reads
In Ascension Martin MacInnes	3.54	27 reads
The Stand Stephen King	4.16	791 reads
Ancillary Justice Ann Leckie	3.98	500 reads
A Memory Called Empire Arkady Martine	4.16	443 reads
The City & The City China Miéville	3.94	230 reads
Radiance Catherynne M. Valente	3.33	54 reads
The Children of Men P.D. James	3.36	84 reads
Engine Summer John Crowley	3.67	3 reads
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Becky Chambers	4.15	746 reads
Zone One Colson Whitehead	3.32	53 reads
Project Hail Mary Andy Weir	4.44	2,030 reads
A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M. Miller Jr.	3.93	260 reads
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams	4.25	2,432 reads
The Sparrow Mary Doria Russell	3.99	228 reads
The Stars My Destination Alfred Bester	3.85	169 reads
Neuromancer William Gibson Giampaolo Cossato (Translator) Sandro Sandrelli (Translator)	3.85	831 reads
The Mountain in the Sea Ray Nayler	4.13	146 reads
An Unkindness of Ghosts Rivers Solomon	3.95	101 reads
The Body Scout Lincoln Michel	4.5	6 reads
The Time Machine H. G. Wells	3.68	670 reads
A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle	3.76	940 reads
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Robert A. Heinlein	3.78	263 reads
A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess	3.9	626 reads
Solaris: The Definitive Edition Stanisław Lem Bill Johnston (Translator)	3.79	289 reads
Children of Time Adrian Tchaikovsky	4.28	690 reads
Rosewater Tade Thompson	3.8	95 reads
The Resisters Gish Jen	3.5	8 reads
This Is How You Lose the Time War Amal El-Mohtar Max Gladstone	3.87	1,053 reads
Lord of Light Roger Zelazny	3.7	91 reads
The Claw of the Conciliator Gene Wolfe	4.06	58 reads
Excession Iain M. Banks	4.05	109 reads
Semiosis Sue Burke	3.8	79 reads
The Book of Phoenix Nnedi Okorafor	3.92	14 reads
What Mad Universe Fredric Brown	3	3 reads
Sea of Rust C. Robert Cargill	3.68	52 reads
Way Station Clifford D. Simak	4.11	76 reads
Under the Skin Michel Faber	3.65	80 reads
Contact Carl Sagan	4.1	272 reads
Star Maker Olaf Stapledon	3.69	32 reads
Snow Crash Neal Stephenson	3.93	756 reads
Midnight Robber Nalo Hopkinson	4	13 reads
The Ten Percent Thief Lavanya Lakshminarayan	4.5	6 reads
Beautyland Marie-Helene Bertino	4.33	24 reads
Redshirts John Scalzi	3.86	476 reads
The Calculating Stars Mary Robinette Kowal	4.07	254 reads
The Echo Wife Sarah Gailey	3.66	139 reads

The Esquire 75 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

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The Esquire 75 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time