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The List

On this page you can find my list of the top 100 science fiction stories since Frankenstein. I put the list together with the help of many internet searches, the Hugo Awards, and my own knowledge. Each title below is linked to my review of that book for easy discovery and reading.

My goal with the list is to better understand the sci-fi genre and share that knowledge with you. Following the line of ideas throughout history is important in ensuring we’re living good lives now and in the future.

If you think I missed an important title, let me know!

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Top 100 Science Fiction Stories

1. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley — 1818

2. Journey to the Center of the Earth – Jules Verne – 1864

3. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Jonathan Swift and Robert Louis Stevensen – 1886

4. The Time Machine – H. G. Wells – 1895

5. The War of the Worlds – H. G. Wells – 1897

6. R.U.R. (play) – Karel Capek – 1921

7. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley – 1932

8. Lost Horizon – James Hilton – 1933

9. At the Mountains of Madness – H. P. Lovecraft – 1936

10. Out of the Silent Planet (Space Trilogy) – C. S. Lewis – 1938

-Voyage to Venus: Perelandra (Space Trilogy)

-That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy)

11. Reason (short story) – Isaac Asimov – 1941

12. Foundation (Foundation Trilogy) – Isaac Asimov – 1942

13. 1984 – George Orwell – 1949

14. Red Planet – Robert A. Heinlein – 1949

15. Space Cadet – Robert A. Heinlein – 1949

16. I, Robot – Isaac Asimov – 1950

17. The Martian Chronicles – Ray Bradbury – 1950

18. Farmer in the Sky – Robert A. Heinlein – 1950

19. The Demolished Man – Alfred Bester – 1952

20. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury – 1953

21. They’d Rather Be Right – Frank Riley and Mark Clifton – 1954

22. I Am Legend – Richard Matheson – 1954

23. Double Star – Robert A. Heinlein – 1956 *Couldn’t find this one.*

24. Minority Report (short story) – Philip K. Dick – 1956

25. Methuselah’s Children – Robert A. Heinlein – 1958

26. The Big Time – Fritz Leiber – 1958

27. A Case of Conscience – James Blish – 1958

28. Starship Troopers – Robert A. Heinlein – 1959

29. A Canticle for Leibowitz – Walter M. Miller, Jr. – 1959

30. Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes – 1959

31. Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein – 1961 *Skipped – see this post for why.*

32. The Man in the High Castle – Philip K. Dick – 1962

33. Here Gather the Stars/Way Station – Clifford D. Simak – 1963

34. Planet of the Apes – Pierre Boulle – 1963

35. The Wanderer – Fritz Leiber – 1964

36. Dune – Frank Herbert – 1965

37. And Call Me Conrad/This Immortal – Roger Zelazny – 1965

38. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein – 1966 *Skipped – see this post for why.*

39. Lord of Light – Roger Zelazny – 1967

40. Stand on Zanzibar – John Brunner – 1968

41. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke – 1968

42. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick – 1968

43. The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula K. Le Guin – 1969

44. Slaughterhouse Five – Kurt Vonnegut – 1969

45. Ringworld – Larry Niven – 1970

46. To Your Scattered Bodies Go – Philip José Farmer – 1971

47. The Gods Themselves – Isaac Asimov – 1972

48. Rendezvous with Rama – Arthur C. Clarke – 1973

49. The Dispossessed – Ursula K Le Guin – 1974

50. The Forever War – Joe Haldeman – 1974

51. Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang – Kate Wilhelm – 1976

52. Gateway – Frederik Pohl – 1977

53. Dreamsnake – Vonda N. McIntyre – 1978

54. The Stand – Stephen King – 1978

55. Kindred – Butler – Octavia E. Butler – 1979

56. The Foundations of Paradise – Arthur C. Clarke – 1979

57. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams – 1979

58. Wizard – John Varley – 1980

59. The Snow Queen – Joan D. Vinge – 1980

60. Downbelow Station – C. J. Cherryh – 1981

61. Startide Rising (series) – David Brin – 1983

62. Neuromancer – William Gibson – 1984

63. Ender’s Game (series) – Orson Scott Card – 1985

64. Contact – Carl Saga – 1985

65. Speaker for the Dead – Orson Scott Card – 1986

66. The Vorkosigan Saga (series) – Lois McMaster Bujold – 1986

67. Consider Phlebas – Iain M. Banks – 1987

68. Cyteen – C. J. Cherryh – 1988

69. Hyperion (series) – Dan Simmons – 1989

70. The Difference Engine – Bruce Sterling and William Gibson – 1990

71. Jurassic Park – Michael Crichton – 1990

72. He, She, It – Marge Piercy – 1991

73. A Fire Upon the Deep – Vernor Vinge – 1992

74. Red Mars (trilogy) – Kim Stanley Robinson – 1993

75. The Giver – Lois Lowry – 1993

76. The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer – Neal Stephenson – 1995

77. Forever Peace – Joe Haldeman – 1997

78. To Say Nothing of the Dogs – Connie Willis – 1997

79. Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson – 1999

80. A Deepness in the Sky – Vernor Vinge – 1999

81. The Neanderthal Parallax (trilogy) – Robert J. Sawyer – 2002

82. Altered Carbon – Richard K. Morgan – 2002

83. Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom – Cory Doctorow – 2003

84. Pattern Recognition – William Gibson – 2003

85. Spin – Robert Charles Wilson – 2005

86. Old Man’s War – John Scalzi – 2005

87. Rainbows End – Vernor Vinge – 2006

88. The Yiddish Policeman’s Union – Michael Chabon – 2007

89. The Hunger Games (trilogy) – Suzanne Collins – 2008

90. The Windup Girl – Paolo Bacigalupi – 2009

91. The City & the city – China Miéville – 2009

92. Blackout/All Clear – Connie Willis – 2010

93. The Martian – Andy Weir – 2011

94. Ready Player One – Ernest Cline – 2011

95. Silo (series) – Hugh Howey – 2011

96. Robopocalypse – Daniel H. Wilson – 2011

97. Redshirts – John Scalzi – 2011

98. 2312 – Kim Stanley Robinson – 2012

99. Ancillary Justice – Ann Leckie – 2013

100. The Fifth Season – N. K. Jemisin – 2015

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