50 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

Love sci-fi books? Me too (though I confess that I mostly listen to them on tape now.)

If you're looking for a new title and sci-fi author to read, don't miss this ultimate list compendium of 50 best sci-fi books, as compiled by Bobby Bernstein of Nerd Much?

There are some classics there, including my favorite, Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, as well as newer hits like Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I wish they'd include Leviathan Wakes / The Expanse series by James S.A. Corey.

Do you have anything to add to Nerd Much?'s list?


Ursula K. LeGuine, Octavia Butler, Anne McCaffery, Mary Shelley, Leigh Brackett are all female sci-fi writers whose works would definitely qualify as being Best of All Time. Some of the list feels a little stretched and having several books by one author also feels a little bit arbitrary. Not everything Heinlein wrote was gold. Barnes and Noble has a great list of essential readings in women written Sci-Fi. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/50-sci-fi-must-reads-by-women/
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I thought The Giver was really good if that counts as a Sci-Fi, and should have been on the list. My wife and I got into a debate on some of the themes. It is a very thought-provoking book about memories and pain.
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Heinlein was a genius. Stranger is potentially life changing, but so is “ Have Spacesuit, Will Travel.” La Guin’s “Left Hand of Darkness” is a must read for anyone concerned with gender fluidity. Where are Tarzan and the hurling moons of Barsoom? McCaffrey is not for nibbling but best devoured in 1,000 page binges. While I am here, Card’s “Songmaster” goes a long way to explain his brilliance and banning.
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Who the hell thinks that L. Ron Hubbard's "Battlefield Earth" belongs on this list? I enjoy reading lists like this to see what others think. They also give me ideas of what books should be preserved in case civilization collapses - which could happen.
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A.G. Riddle and L. Ron Hubbard are trash. Both are ridiculous and infantile. The worse thing about Riddle's trilogy is that it actually gets worse as it goes along, not to mention his writing is barely above a middle schooler's. Should have been more Stephenson and Reynolds other than the obvious; Seven Eves and Reamde, among others of Stephenson's, are groundbreaking.
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