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. I’m also fascinated by the history and development of philosophical ideas.
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 & 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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