10 best science fiction books of all time

Do you normally think of JRR Tolkien, HG Wells, Isaac Asimov, Jules Verne, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury or George Orwell when you hear Sci-Fi? Or are you thinking of more recent authors?

We've rounded up some of the largest reader surveys from Goodreads and National Public Radio's Books. The following top 25 best science fiction books ever have been voted by thousands of dedicated science fiction readers. Click on a title below to go to the Goodreads page if you want to learn more.

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien

A must-read if: you love epic quests and fantastic characters.

Frodo the hobbit and his companions embark on an epic quest to destroy the Ring of Power and restore peace to Middle-earth. Made into a hugely popular movie, the Lord of the Rings trilogy stands the test of time and sets the bar for all fantasy / sci-fi.

See Also: 10 best short stories everyone should read in 2021

2. Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

A must read if: you want to meet some of the funniest and most original aliens in the universe.

First in this comedy sci-fi series, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy followsArthur Dent in his adventures across the galaxy. As the sole survivor after Earth is destroyed to make way for an intergalactic bypass, Dent encounters a motley cast of aliens, including Zaphod Beeblebrox, president of the Milky Way, and Marvin the depressed android.

3. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card

A should read if: You like the deep strategy of space wars.

In this 1985 military sci-fi novel, Ender Wiggin is a genius called up to Battle School to train for the interplanetary war against the alien Buggers. Card creates a layered world of fascinating alien technology.

4. Dune, Frank Herbert

A must if you: You like to dive deep into the politics and factions of interstellar noble houses.

It takes place in the distant future, where life and culture revolve around the use and exchange of the herbal blend. Dune follows the young Paul Atreides, heir to House Atreides, and explores the complex politics, religion, ecology and technology among the many factions vying for control of the spice trade.

5. A Song of Ice and Fire, George RR Martin

A must read if: You loved the HBO series and want to go deeper.

No list would be thorough without the Game of Thrones saga. Immerse yourself in the world of the Stark Royal Family, the Lannisters and the Neverborn demons, barbarian hordes and other threats.

6. 1984, George Orwell

A should read if: The ubiquity of technology and government oversight worries you.

A futuristic society in which a totalitarian government watches over all citizens and orchestrates all activities. With themes of nationalism, censorship and surveillance, the story is as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1949.

7. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

A must read if: you have ever been horrified by someone reading a book.

Television dominates and books are banned. Sounds like a nightmare, but this popular book is still touted as a favorite. A firefighter whose job it is to make fires is beginning to see the value of printed works.

8. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

Recommended if: you have ever worried about technology that controls the masses.

, a classic prophetic novel, Brave New World describes the horrors of a future world devoid of any individual freedom - a world in which material comfort and physical pleasure provided by drugs and sex are the only concerns.

9. Animal Farm, George Orwell

Must read if: You want to experience the greatest allegory ever written.

Farm animals overthrow their human owners and set up a very flawed government that looks strangely familiar. An interesting and compelling critique of the Russian Revolution of 1917, every child has yet to read Animal Farm in high school.

10. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov

Recommended if: you like world-saving intrigues and intergalactic coups d'état.

A group of psychologists led by psycho-historian Hard Seldon is planning a colony that encourages art, science and technology in the declining Galactic Empire to preserve the knowledge of mankind. The plan is to build Foundations that will reduce the Dark Age from 30,000 years to 1,000 years.

11. Neuromancer, William Gibson

A should read if: you want to know where the terms "cyberspace" and "the Matrix" came from.

Case, a burnt-out computer wizard, steals a security code that is locked in the most highly guarded database in the solar system. Neuromancer is complete with the rise of Cold War mega-corporations and espionage, military conspiracy and sociopathic hologram makers, and much more.

12. Stranger in a Foreign Country, Robert A. Heinlein

Read this if: You want to challenge your social and cultural norms.

Born and raised on Mars, Valentine Michael Smith comes to Earth and baffles Western culture with its superhuman abilities. Mike has a claim to legal ownership of Mars, which makes him a valuable asset to Earth's government.

13. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut

A must read if: you want to understand the consequences of war and laugh at the same time.

Billy Pilgrim returns home from World War II to be kidnapped by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore, who teach him that time is an eternal present. Billy travels back and forth in time, visiting his birth, death, every moment in between repeatedly and out of order.

14 Kindred

A must read if: You want a complex story that's part slave memoirs, part fantasy, and part historical fiction.

A young black woman living in California in the 1970s suddenly and inexplicably finds herself on a slave plantation in Maryland in 1815. When she rescues a white child from drowning, she realizes he is her ancestor and, although he grows into a despicable man who owns slaves, she must protect his life if she ever hopes to be born.

15. The Handmaid's Tale

A should be read if: You are terrified of the prospect that men control the reproductive system of women.

Offred is a maid in the Republic of Gilead, which was once the United States. Gilead is now an oppressive world where women may not read and are only appreciated as long as they are viable for reproduction.

16. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Arthur C. Clarke

A must-read if: you are interested in intelligent people who care about intelligence.

2001: A Space Odyssey follows two astronauts on their journey through space and how their lives are endangered by the jealousy of their computer, HAL. A tense confrontation between man and machine results in a brain-teasing journey through space and time.

17. The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

Recommended if: you like children's literature with a revolutionary appeal.

Katniss Everdeen takes her sister's place in the Hunger Games, where tributes from each of the world's 12 districts compete until only one is alive at the end. Katniss must weigh her own survival against love.

18. Ready Player One, Ernest Cline

A must read if: you are interested in movies and games from the 80's.

Wade Watts feels best when he is in the virtual world OASIS. He tries to solve the creator's complicated game to win the ultimate prize - and confront the real world he wants to escape from.

19. A Song of Praise to Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.

A must read if: you don't see complicated issues in black and white.

Winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel of 1961, A Canticle for Leibowitz casts a chilling and provocative look at a post-apocalyptic future. The monks of the Order of St. Leibowitz try to preserve vestiges of civilization.

20. The Time Machine, HG Wells

A must read if: you are interested in the relationship between space and time travel.

A British inventor creates a time machine that sends him far into the future, 802,701 AD, where underground Morlocks hunt for the childlike Eloi. The Time Machine is a warning that things don't always get better as time goes by; they just change.

21.20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne

A must read if: You want a futuristic (and often terrifying) underwater adventure.

Professor Arronax and his two companions are trapped in a fantastic submarine with the insane Captain Nemo. They get to see exotic ocean creatures and strange sights hidden from those above them.

22. The War of the Worlds, HG Wells

A must read if: you love your socks deterred by alien invasions.

The War of the Worlds was broadcast by radio in the US Some people panicked when they thought real aliens from another planet were taking over Earth, without realizing it was Wells' famous story.

23. Hyperion, Dan Simmons

A should read as, "a being who defied the laws of nature and communicated only through death" terrifies or intrigues you.

Seven pilgrims set out on a journey to the world of Hyperion. Dominated by a terrifying and mysterious creature, the Shrike, the pilgrims hope to learn the secret to save humanity.

24. I, Robot, Isaac Asimov

A should read if: you are concerned about the "singularity", the point where artificial intelligence is beyond human capacity.

Robot shows the development of robots from their primitive origins to the present, where their ultimate perfection in the not-too-distant future could make humanity obsolete.

25. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman

A must read if: you like military sci-fi commenting on why we need war and soldiers.

Private William Mandella is drafted into an elite military unit sent through space and time to fight the Millennial Conflict. As he tries to survive and return home, Mandella ages for months, while the earth he left behind ages for centuries.

26. Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes

Recommended if: You don't mind crying while reading.

Experimental brain surgery turns a mouse into a genius. Then it works for the dumb Charlie Gordon, who becomes intelligent and interesting, but soon the mouse starts to deteriorate.

Editors 'Choice

Our list wouldn't be complete without adding our top 5 Editors' Choice books:

1. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki Murakami

A must-read if: you love science fiction, detective stories and postmodern manifestations all merged.

Murakami follows a man's descent into the Kafkaesque underworld of contemporary Tokyo, uniting East and West, tragedy and farce, compassion and detachment, slang and philosophy.

2. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle

A must if you like quantum physics, fractions and megaparsecs.

Meg Murry, her little brother Charles Wallace and their new friend Calvin travel the continuum of space and time. They are on a quest to rescue Meg and Charles's father, who is being held captive by evil forces. New movie coming March 2018.

3. The Road, Cormac McCarthy

Should you read if: you think about the big questions like what does it mean to be "civilized"?

A father and son walk alone across burnt America to reach the coast. Nothing moves, it's cold and dark, and they have nothing but a gun to defend themselves, the clothes they wear, and a can of trashed food.

4. The Time Traveller's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger.

Read if: You haven't cried properly for a while and need the emotional release.

Boy meets girl with a fantastic twist: he's a time traveler slipping in and out of time. Henry and Clare meet over time as Henry chases Clare until they are finally in a place where their age is right and they can get married. But time travel really gets it out of Henry.

5. The Chrysalids, John Wyndham

A should read if: You are at the stage of your life wondering where you fit into this world.

This is a great way to get older kids involved in the genre. In this 1950s sci-fi classic, a fundamentalist Christian society believes that any deviation from normalcy is a sign of blasphemy. When a group of children shows signs of mutation in the form of telepathy, they should keep it a secret to avoid being banished or even killed.

Conclusion

Another long post, but it wouldn't be complete if we omitted any of the above books.

Let us know in the comments below if we missed your favorite Sci-Fi book. Or let us know if the book was better than the movie or vice versa.