The best science fiction novels of all time
The top 3 according to 71 votes from people: Neuromancer · Dune · Nineteen Eighty-Four. (Updated Jul 30, 2026.)
The classics and modern essentials of written sci-fi: Hugo and Nebula winners, the top of the Locus all-time poll and the most-read titles on Goodreads.
Top 25
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1
Neuromancer
William Gibson, 1984. Case, the matrix and the birth of cyberpunk; Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick awards.
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2
Dune
Frank Herbert, 1965. Paul Atreides on the desert planet Arrakis; the first Nebula winner and top of the Locus all-time poll.
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3
Nineteen Eighty-Four
George Orwell, 1949. Big Brother, Newspeak and Room 101; the dystopia that gave us 'Orwellian'.
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4
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card, 1985. A child genius trained in Battle School; Hugo and Nebula.
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5
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams, 1979. Arthur Dent, the towel and 42.
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6
Hyperion
Dan Simmons, 1989. Seven pilgrims travel to meet the Shrike, told in the manner of The Canterbury Tales; Hugo.
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7
The Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood, 1985. Offred in the theocratic Republic of Gilead.
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8
The Three-Body Problem
Liu Cixin, 2008. The Cultural Revolution and first contact with the Trisolarans; the first translated novel to win the Hugo.
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9
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Philip K. Dick, 1968. Rick Deckard hunts androids; the novel behind Blade Runner.
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10
Foundation
Isaac Asimov, 1951. Hari Seldon's psychohistory tries to shorten the dark age after the Galactic Empire falls.
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11
The Martian
Andy Weir, 2011. An astronaut stranded on Mars survives with science and sarcasm; self-published at first.
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12
Fahrenheit 451
Ray Bradbury, 1953. A fireman whose job is burning books.
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13
Childhood's End
Arthur C. Clarke, 1953. The Overlords arrive and humanity's last generation begins.
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14
The Left Hand of Darkness
Ursula K. Le Guin, 1969. An envoy on Gethen, a planet whose people have no fixed sex; Hugo and Nebula.
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15
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley, 1932. A society engineered for happiness with soma and test-tube castes.
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16
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley, 1818. Victor Frankenstein and his creature; often called the first science fiction novel.
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17
The Dispossessed
Ursula K. Le Guin, 1974. A physicist between an anarchist moon and a capitalist planet; Hugo and Nebula.
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18
Snow Crash
Neal Stephenson, 1992. Hiro Protagonist, pizza delivery and the Metaverse, a word this novel coined.
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19
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Walter M. Miller Jr., 1959. Monks preserve knowledge for centuries after a nuclear war; Hugo Award 1961.
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20
Stranger in a Strange Land
Robert A. Heinlein, 1961. A man raised on Mars comes to Earth; it gave English the verb 'grok'.
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21
Solaris
Stanisław Lem, 1961. A living ocean that materialises the scientists' memories.
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22
Flowers for Algernon
Daniel Keyes, 1966. Charlie Gordon's diary after an operation that triples his IQ; Nebula.
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23
Blindsight
Peter Watts's 2006 first-contact novel exploring consciousness and intelligence.
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24
Kindred
Octavia E. Butler's 1979 novel about a Black woman pulled back in time to an antebellum Maryland plantation.
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25
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
Robert A. Heinlein's 1966 novel about a lunar colony's revolution, winner of the Hugo Award in 1967.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 25… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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26
Ubik
Philip K. Dick's 1969 novel about reality slipping away after an explosion on the Moon.
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27
The Stars My Destination
Alfred Bester's 1956 revenge story in a world where people can teleport.
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28
Red Mars
Kim Stanley Robinson's 1992 novel about the first hundred colonists of Mars, first of the Mars trilogy.
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29
The Time Machine
H. G. Wells's 1895 novella that popularized the idea of time travel.
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30
Rendezvous with Rama
Arthur C. Clarke, 1973. A huge alien cylinder enters the Solar System; Hugo and Nebula.
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31
Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir, 2021. A teacher wakes up alone on a ship to save the Sun, and meets Rocky.
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32
The Forever War
Joe Haldeman, 1974. Time dilation makes a soldier return to an unrecognisable Earth; Hugo and Nebula.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (5)
Re-read Hyperion this year. Still one of the best sci-fi books ever.
Dune at #1 is the safe pick but it's earned. Herbert's world still feels alien and real.
Where's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress? And Ubik? Classics missing.
Project Hail Mary is the most fun I've had reading sci-fi in years. Rocky! 🕷️
The Left Hand of Darkness at #2, nice to see Le Guin getting her due 💜