The 222 Greatest Works of Science Fiction
The literati often scorn science fiction works as "space operas", as if they're all about starships zipping around the galaxy battling aliens. And, to tell the truth, this does describe a part of the field—a small part. But serious science fiction readers appreciate it as literature exploring all possibilities of human experience. Past or future. In this reality or elsewhere. With or without a focus on science and technology.
This speculative literature may be as psychologically, philosophically, politically or sexually charged as so-called mainstream literature. Indeed, it's often difficult to know where to draw the line between it and other genres.
Whether you call it science fiction, speculative fiction, SF, scifi or something else, for this list we are selecting from among the works that a consensus of readers and writers think comprise the genre. Titles are chosen based on the same two decades of research and surveys that created the Greatest Literature of All Time and all our other "greatest" lists. Hundreds of sources have been consulted.
The list below is for major works in the field (mainly novels, novellas and story collections). Briefer works are reserved for the Greatest Science Fiction Stories list while multiple works are found on our Greatest Science Fiction Series list.
Like all our lists, this is a continual work in progress.
Latest update: March 5, 2024
1638
The Man in the Moone
Francis Godwin,
England, novel
1752
Micromégas
Voltaire,
France, novel
1818
Frankenstein
England, novel
1827
A Voyage to the Moon
Joseph Atterley,
United States, novel
1864
Jules Verne,
France, novel
1865
From the Earth to the Moon
Jules Verne,
France, novel
1870
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Jules Verne,
France, novel
1872–1874
The Novel of the Next Century
Mór Jókai,
Hungary, novel
1887
Les Xipéhus
J.-H. Rosny,
France, novel
1889
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Mark Twain,
United States, novel
1893
The Angel of the Revolution
George Griffith,
England, novel
1893–1994
Omega: The Last Days of the World
Camill Flammarion,
France, novel
1895
The Time Machine
H.G. Wells,
England, novella
1896
Beyond the Earth
Konstantin Tsiolkovskiy,
Russia, novel
The Island of Doctor Moreau
H.G. Wells,
England, novel
1897
Two Planets
Kurd Lasswitz,
Germany, novel
The Invisible Man
H.G. Wells,
England, novel
1898
The War of the Worlds
H.G. Wells,
England, novel
1917
A Princess of Mars
Edgar Rice Burroughs,
United States, novel
1920
R.U.R.
Karel Čapek,
Czechoslovakia, novel
1922
Ayelita
Alexy Tolstoy,
Russia, novel
The Girl in the Golden Atom
Alexy Tolstoy,
Russia, novel
1924
We
Yevgeny Zamyatin,
Russia, novel
The Land That Time Forgot
Edgar Rice Burroughs,
United States, novel
1926
Metropolis
Thea von Harbou,
Germany, novel
The Garin Death Ray
Alexy Tolstoy,
Russia, novel
1928
The Machine Stops
E.M. Forster,
England, novella
1929
The World Below
S. Fowler Wright,
England, novel
1930
Last and First Men
Olaf Stapledon,
England, novel
1936
War With the Newts
Karel Čapek,
Czechoslovakia, novel
1937
Star Maker
Olaf Stapledon,
England, novel
1938
Who Goes There?
John W. Campbell,
United States, novella
1939
Lest Darkness Fall
L. Sprague de Camp,
England, novel
1940
Sirius
Olaf Stapledon,
England, novel
Kallocain
Karin Boye,
Sweden, novel
1946
The Best of Science Fiction
ed. Groff Conklin,
United States, story collection
Adventures in Time and Space
ed. Rymond J. Healy, J. Francis McComas,
United States, story collection
Vintage Season
C.L. Moore, Henry Kuttner,
United States, novella
The Skylark of Space
E.E. "Doc" Smith,
United States, novel
Slan
A.E. Van Vogt,
United States, novel
1948
The World of Null-A
A.E. Van Vogt,
United States, novel
The Humanoids
Jack Williamson,
United States, novella
Earth Abides
George R. Stewart,
United States, novel
The Dying Earth
Jack Vance,
United States, story collection
1951
The Day of the Triffids
John Wyndham,
England, novel
The Marching Morons
C.M. Kornbluth,
United States, novella
City
Clifford D. Simak,
United States, story collection
Baby Is Three
Theodore Sturgeon,
United States, novella
Player Piano
Kurt Vonnegut,
United States, novel
1953
Earthman, Come Home
James Blish,
United States, novella
Childhood's End
Arthur C. Clarke,
England, novel
Bring the Jubilee
Ward Moore,
United States, novel
The Space Merchants
Frederick Pohl, C.M. Kornbluth,
United States, novel
More Than Human
Theodore Sturgeon,
United States, novel
Mission of Gravity
Hal Clement,
United States, novel
A Mirror for Observers
Edgar Pangborn,
United States, novel
Untouched by Human Hands
Robert Sheckley,
United States, story collection
1955
The Chrysalids
John Wyndham,
England, novel
1956
The City and the Stars
Arthur C. Clarke,
England, novel
Double Star
Robert A. Heinlein,
United States, novel
1957
The Glass Bees
Ernst Jünger,
Germany, novel
1957
The Midwich Cuckoos
John Wyndham,
England, novel
1958
A Case of Conscience
James Blish,
United States, novel
The Big Time
Fritz Leiber,
United States, novel
1959
Starship Troopers
Robert A. Heinlein,
United States, novel
The Sirens of Titan
Kurt Vonnegut,
United States, novel
1960
Rogue Moon
Algis Budrys,
United States, novel
Dorsai!
Gordon R. Dickson,
United States, novel
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Walter M. Miller,
United States, novel
1961
Solaris
Stanislaw Lem,
Poland, novel
Dark Universe
Daniel F. Galouye,
United States, novel
The Moon Moth
Jack Vance,
United States, novella
1962
Hothouse
Brian W. Aldiss,
England, novel
The Drowned World
J.G. Ballard,
England, novel
A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess,
England, novel
The Ballad of Lost C'mell
Cordwainer Smith,
United States, novella
1963
Monkey Planet
Pierre Boulle,
France, novel
Way Station
Clifford D. Simak,
United States, novel
Simulacron-3
Daniel F. Galouye,
United States, novel
The Wanderer
Fritz Leiber,
United States, novel
The Witches of Karres
James H. Schmitz,
England, novel
Flowers for Algernon
Daniel Keyes,
United States, novel
The Last Castle
Jack Vance,
United States, novella
1967
The Cyberiad
Stanislav Lem,
Poland, story collection
The Day of the Dolphin
Fobert Merle,
France, novel
Babel-17
Samuel R. Delany,
United States, novel
The Einstein Intersection
Samuel R. Delany,
United States, novel
Camp Concentration
Thomas Disch,
United States, novel
Dangerous Visions
ed. Harlan Ellison,
United States, story collection
Includes Riders of the Purple Wage (novella); Gonna Roll the Bones; Aye, and Gomorrah; and others
Riders of the Purple Wage
Philip José Farmer,
United States, novella
Lord of Light
Roger Zelazney,
United States, novel
1968
2001: A Space Odyssey
Arthur C. Clarke,
England, novel
Stand On Zanzibar
John Brunner,
United States, novel
Nova
Samuel Delany,
United States, novel
Rite of Passage
Alexei Panshin,
United States, novel
A Boy and His Dog
Harlan Ellison,
United States, novella
Bug Jack Baron
Norman Spinrad,
United States, novel
Slaughterhouse Five
Kurt Vonnegut,
United States, novel
1970
Tau Zero
Poul Anderson,
United States, novel
Ill Met in Lankhmar
Fritz Leiber,
United States, novella
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. I
ed. Robert Silverberg,
United States, story collection
1971
The Queen of Air and Darkness
Poul Anderson,
United States, Novella
1972
Rendezvous with Rama
Arthur C. Clarke,
England, novel
The Sheep Look Up
John Brunner,
United States, novel
Again, Dangerous Visions
ed. Harlan Ellison,
United States, story collection
Includes The Word for World Is Forest, When It Changed, With The Bentfin Boomer Boys On Little Old New Alabama, and others
Beyond Apollo
Barry N. Malzberg,
United States, novel
1973
The Embedding
Ian Watson,
United States, novel
1974
The Forever War
Joe Haldeman,
United States, novel
The Mote in God's Eye
Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle,
United States, novel
1975
Dhalgren
Samuel R. Delany,
United States, novel
Deathbird Stories
Harlan Ellison,
United States, story collection
Includes The Whimper of Whipped Dogs, Adrift Just off the Islets of Langerhans, The Deathbird, and others
Catch That Zeppelin!
Fritz Leiber,
United States, story
The Female Man
Joanna Russ,
United States, novel
Norstrilla
Cordwainer Smith,
United States, novel
1976
Man Plus
Frederick Pohl,
United States, novel
Houston, Houston, Do You Read?
James Tiptree, Jr.,
United States, novella
1977
Stardance
Spider and Jeanne Robinson,
Canada, novel
Gateway
Frederick Pohl,
United States, novel
1978
Dreamsnake
Vonda M. McIntyre,
United States, novella
The Persistence of Vision
John Varley,
United States, novella
1979
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
England, novel
The Fountains of Paradise
Arthur C. Clarke,
England, novel
The Walking Shadow
Brian Stableford,
England, novel
Engine Summer
John Crowley,
United States, novel
Enemy Mine
George R.R. Martin,
United States, novella
1980
Timescape
Gregory Benford,
United States, novel
Riddley Walker
Russell Hoban,
United States, novel
The Snow Queen
Joan D. Vinge,
United States, novel
The Shadow of the Torturer
Gene Wolfe,
United States, novel
1981
Downbelow Station
C.J. Cherryh,
United States, novel
The Saturn Game
Poul Anderson,
United States, novella
1982
No enemy But Time
Michael Bishop,
United States, novel
1983
Startide Rising
David Brin,
United States, novel
1984
Neuromancer
William Gibson,
Canada, novel
Press Enter[]
John Varley,
United States, novella
Blood Music
Greg Bear,
United States, novel
United States, novel
Contact
Carl Sagan,
United States, novel
1987
Consider Phlebas
Iain M. Banks,
United States, novel
Watchmen
Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons,
United States, graphic novel
1988
The Player of Games
Iain M. Banks,
Scotland, novel
Cyteen
C.J. Cherryh,
United States, novel
The Last of the Winnebagos
Connie Willis,
United States, novel
1989
The Mountains of Mourning
Lois McMaster Bujold,
United States, novella
Hyperion
Dan Simmons,
United States, novel
1990
The Difference Engine
William Gibson, Bruce Sterling,
Canada, United States, novel
The Eye of the World
Robert Jordan,
United States, novel
1991
Beggars in Spain
Nancy Kress,
United States, novella
1992
Snow Crash
Neal Stephenson,
United States, novel
A Fire Upon the Deep
Vernor Vinge,
United States, novel
Red Mars
Kim Stanley Robinson,
United States, novel
Doomsday Book
Connie Wills,
United States, novel
1994
Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge
Mike Resnick,
United States, novel
1995
The Terminal Experiment
Robert J. Sawyer,
United States, novel
The Diamond Age
Neal Stephenson,
United States, novel
1997
Forever Peace
Joe Haldeman,
United States, novel
1999
Cryptonomicon
Neal Stephenson,
United States, novel
2000
The Ultimate Earth
Jack Williamson,
United States, novella
2002
Stories of Your Life and Others
Ted Chiang,
United States, story collection
Paladin of Souls
Lois McMaster Bujold,
United States, novel
The Time Traveler's Wife
Audrey Niffenegger,
United States, novel
2004
The Swarm
Frank Schätzing,
Germany, novel
2005
Spin
Robert Charles Wilson,
Canada, novel
Never Let Me Go
Kazuo Ishiguro,
England, novel
2006
The Road
Cormac McCarthy,
United States, novel
2007
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
Michael Chabon,
United States, novel
2008
The Three-Body Problem
Liu Cixin,
China, novel
The Dark Forest
Liu Cixin,
China, novel
The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins,
United States, novel
Anathem
Neal Stephenson,
United States, novel
2009
The Windup Girl
Paolo Bacigalupi,
United States, novel
2010
Death's End
Liu Cixin,
China, novel
Blackout/All Clear
Connie Willis,
United States, novel
2011
The Man Who Bridged the Mist
Kij Johnson,
United States, novella
The Martian
Andy Weir,
United States, novel
2013
Ancillary Justice
Ann Leckie,
United States, novel
2015
The Fifth Season
N.K. Jemisin,
United States, novel
Binti
Nnedi Okorafor,
United States, novella
2017
The Stone Sky
N.K. Jemisin,
United States, novel
All Systems Red
Martha Wells,
United States, novella
2018
The Calculating Stars
Mary Robinette Kowal,
United States, novel
2020
Network Effect
Martha Wells,
United States, novel
