Best Sci-Fi Books 2024: with new hits and old sci-fi movies

With the best science fiction books of all time, you can explore the unknown from the comfort of your own home.

Sci-fi books that are really good have a way of making us think and amazed us. They also make us want more because they invite us to learn more about their worlds. I’ve found that reading about the recurring themes in science fiction helps me learn more about the morals and culture of the time. This is definitely true of some of my favorite books in this genre. A lot of deep questions come to mind when we read them, like why we exist, how people treat us, and what is right and wrong. Author and Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing said, “Science fiction stands as some of the most thought-provoking social commentary of our time.”

It wasn’t easy to pick the best science fiction books of all time, so we had to set up some rules to help us. Even though we looked at single books as examples of the whole series, we only put one book per author on the list. We also focused on books that added something new and different to the genre. To use a great sci-fi phrase, we looked for books that “boldly went where no one has gone before.”

One thing undoubtedly unites them all: the vivid imaginations their authors possess when it comes to thinking about the world. Although there were some earlier glimmers, Science Fiction (SF) began with the development of modern science in the industrial and scientific revolutions of the early 1800s. Many scholars credit Marty Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1818 to be the first true SF novel. Below, we have mentioned some of the Best Sci-Fi Books.

Best Sci-Fi Books

The Blazing World, by Margaret Cavendish

Best Sci-Fi Books

Features:

  • Early sci-fi work, published in 1666.
  • Imagines a utopian world with advanced technology and exploration.
  • Pioneering female author in the genre.

This is arguably the first science fiction book ever written, and while the language of The Blazing World may be outdated, Margaret Cavendish’s imaginative and fearless feminist writing is not only incredibly brave for its time, but also very relevant today. It is also very important today, as writers such as China Miéville and Alan Moore have cited it as a source of inspiration.

Cavendish’s utopian tale follows the adventures of a kidnapped woman as she travels through an alternate world ruled by humans and animals – fox men, fish men, goose men, etc. She is so beautiful that she becomes their empress and stages an all-powerful invasion of her world, with literal fire (stones) raining down from the sky. This is one of the best Sci-Fi Books you can purchase now.

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Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

Best Sci-Fi Books

Features:

  • Seminal work in science fiction and horror.
  • Explores themes of creation, responsibility, and humanity.
  • Iconic tale of a scientist’s experiment gone wrong.

On a stormy summer night in 1816, 18-year-old Mary Shelley sat down to write a ghost story. It revolutionized our understanding of artificial life, captivated generations of readers, and became the pioneer of science fiction as we know it today. Even the novice reader understands the skeleton of Dr. Frankenstein’s story.

Dr. Victor Frankenstein creates a creature from found body parts, rebels against his creation, and then sees everything he loves destroyed by his progeny. With this groundbreaking novel, Shelley fused primordial allegory with the upheaval and anxiety of the Industrial Revolution, laying the groundwork for the themes and structure of science fiction.

The heavy questions she posed in Frankenstein continue to animate the genre to this day. Why do we fear others? How much responsibility do we have for our own creations, and what does it mean when they come to have a will of their own? Where is the line between what science can do and what science should do? Frankenstein strikes at the very heart of what it means to be human. Thus, this product is one of the best Science Fiction Books available right now.

It also rewards repeat readings so much so that, even two centuries later, we’re still peering at it through new lenses, as queer, transhumanist, and feminist readings locate new depths within the familiar text. Plenty of imitators have tried to match the heights of Frankenstein, but none have come close. We owe everything to Shelley’s ur-textual story of modernity, morality, and progress’ great and terrible cost.

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Dune by Frank Herbert

Best Sci-Fi Books

Features:

  • Epic space opera with political intrigue and complex world-building.
  • Richly detailed universe with unique cultures and societies.
  • Themes of power, religion, and environmentalism.

As cliche as it may be, this book seems like a classic, a story that can be read over and over again. Therefore, Dune has become number one on my list. The novel is set approximately 20,000 years in advance with Dune Leto as the main character.

The plot of this novel takes exciting and shocking twists that leave readers spellbound. The ending is definitely a suspense that will make the reader want to keep reading. The Dune series was a popular hit from the 1990s until 2009. Overall, this is one of the best Sci-Fi Books that you can buy right now.

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Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (1864)

Best Sci-Fi Books

Features:

  • Classic adventure sci-fi novel.
  • Explores a fantastical journey to the Earth’s core.
  • Imaginative depiction of subterranean landscapes.

Although best known as a quintessential adventure novelist, Jules Verne often incorporated science fiction undertones into his work, most notably in his first masterpiece, Journey to the Center of the Earth. This thrilling tale follows geology professor Otto Lidenbrock and his nervous nephew, Axel, as they embark on the titular journey. With the help of their guide Hans, they manage to survive flammable gas chambers, prehistoric creatures, and a LITERAL VOLCANO ejecting their party. If that’s not enough adventure for you, we don’t know what is. Currently, this is one of the best Science Fiction Books that you can buy right now.

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The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury

Best Sci-Fi Books

Features:

  • Collection of interconnected stories about human colonization of Mars.
  • Explores themes of colonization, humanity, and alien encounters.
  • Blend of science fiction and poetic prose.

If you expected “Fahrenheit 451” on this list, you haven’t spent enough time with “The Martian Chronicles,” Bradbury’s masterpiece. Radically poetic and rich in metaphor, “The Martian Chronicles” is a remarkable leap forward for a genre that has never been “literary” enough. Bradbury’s series begins on an Earth destroyed by nuclear war. The Americans set out to conquer Mars in hopes of a fresh start, but they are unaware that the red planet is about to conquer them. Overall, it is one of the best Sci-Fi Books that you can buy.

Bradbury’s Mars is a dreamlike landscape of devastated cities, populated by a dwindling race of ancient and unknowable beings. In scintillating stories that swing from dark tragedy to pure comedy, Bradbury showcases humanity’s exploration and desolation on Mars, while dismantling mid-century mythologies of American exceptionalism. Told in a language that is both elegiac and sinister, fantastic and fabulous, Les Chroniques martiennes transforms and transcends its genre.

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The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (1895)

Best Sci-Fi Books

Features:

  • Early and influential work of time travel fiction.
  • The protagonist travels to the distant future, encountering different civilizations.
  • Explores social and evolutionary themes.

The Time Machine is often credited as the work that sparked the concept of time travel via a time machine – drum roll please! In this seminal novel that launched H.G. Wells’ career, a time-traveling explorer visits a future 800,000 years away. Instead of encountering an advanced and superior society, he discovers that the Earth is dying and the races that still inhabit it are at war. To return home, he will have to explore the tunnels where the sinister Morlocks live and discover the darker side of human nature. So, if you want one of the best Sci-Fi Books, we highly recommend this product.

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The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin

Best Sci-Fi Books

Features:

  • Part of the Broken Earth trilogy, critically acclaimed.
  • Set in a world plagued by frequent catastrophic natural disasters.
  • Features powerful characters with unique abilities.

Like many science fiction writers, it is impossible to classify Jemisin in any one genre. Much of her work belongs to the hybrid genre of science fantasy, and this film, the first in her Hugo Award-winning “Broken Earth” trilogy, represents a paradigm shift. The Fifth Season introduces Jemisin’s signature phenomenal worldview: the dangerous continent of Stillness, a place of volcanoes, earthquakes, and tectonic upheaval. Still, it is one of the best Sci-Fi Books that you can consider.

It is home to the Orojens, who have the power to manipulate the elements but are subject to persecution and lynching. Through the stories of three extraordinary women, Gemisin brutally and unsparingly depicts the tragedy of Orogen’s life. Gemisin weaves a shocking tale of institutional oppression as these unforgettable characters seek safety and independence.

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The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

Best Sci-Fi Books

Features:

  • Seminal work in alien invasion fiction.
  • Martians invade Earth, challenging humanity’s survival.
  • Themes of imperialism and technological warfare.

One of the first stories to be written about the human-alien conflict, this novel was a hit the year it was published, but rose to huge fame in 1938 during Orson Welles’ radio drama broadcast. War of the Worlds details a Martian invasion in an area near London – and when people heard about it on the radio, they believed it was actually happening. The story has been firmly embedded in our collective consciousness ever since and has undoubtedly influenced all subsequent works of extraterrestrial fiction in major ways. For now, this is one of the best Science Fiction Books you can consider.

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Exhalation, by Ted Chiang

Best Sci-Fi Books

Features:

  • Collection of thought-provoking sci-fi short stories.
  • Explores philosophical and ethical questions with scientific themes.
  • Acclaimed for its depth and imagination.

In this wonderful collection of short stories, one of the most awarded science fiction writers of our time tells nine wonderful tales about time travel, artificial intelligence, and alternate worlds. A merchant passing through an alchemist’s portal learns the familiar lesson that it is impossible to erase the past. Another example is of a software tester who spends 20 years of his life emotionally raising an artificial intelligence like a digital pet.

The remarkable title piece, structured like a diary in which a mechanical scientist dissects his own brain, offers profound wisdom about consciousness. Think about the wonder of being, and rejoice that it can be done.” Light and thought-provoking, this is a deeply felt and deeply human story about man and machine. This is one of the best Sci-Fi Books.

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Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)

Best Sci-Fi Books

Features:

  • Classic dystopian novel set in a totalitarian society.
  • Themes of government surveillance, control, and manipulation.
  • Introduced concepts like “Big Brother” and “Thoughtcrime.”

In the age of big data, digital surveillance, fake news and “enemies of the people,” Orwell’s post-war classic has never seemed more relevant. Set in a future Britain where the ruling ‘Party’ has imposed restrictions on the thoughts and individuality of its citizens, Nineteen Eighty-Four has had an incredible impact on our modern lexicon. Some of the terms coined by Orwell include Big Brother, thought crime and Room 101. Overall, it is one of the best Science Fiction Books that you can buy.

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Amy Hinckley
Amy Hinckley
The Dell Inspiron 15 that her father purchased from QVC sparked the beginning of her interest in technology. At Bollyinside, Amy Hinckley is in charge of content editing and reviewing products. Amy's interests outside of working include going for bike rides, playing video games, and watching football when she's not at her laptop.

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