Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time
If you are looking for the best sci-fi books of all time, you have come to the right place. I do not always read science fiction books, so when I do, it is usually the best of the best. I wanted to make a list of my favorite sci-fi books that anyone can enjoy–from the serious fan to the reader who is brand-new to the genre.
Sci-fi books are stories that use advancements in science and technology as major plot devices in the book — think space travel, gene manipulation and time travel. If you are looking for a time travel book, I have a post devoted exclusively to that as well.
It is crazy to think that some aspects of sci-fi are now nonfiction! It makes me wonder where we will be in 50 years and if all the themes in these books will still be just fiction or if time travel may become reality.
Classic science fiction books like the ones below have been pivotal in literature curriculums for good reason. These books demonstrate the amazing imaginations of the authors! Below you will find the best sci-fi books, from new to classic and everything in between. If there is a book you think I should add to this list, please let me know. I would love to add it to my TBR.
The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time
Each colorful block below represents the best book in a subgenre of sci-fi books. Click on the arrow to reveal my “best” pick in any category. You’ll also be able to use a page jump to see more books in that section.
Best New Sci-Fi Book
All This and More – Click here to read the review and see more books in this category
Best Adult Sci-Fi Book
Recursion – Click here to read the review and see more books in this category
Best Sci-Fi Audiobook
Cloud Cuckoo – Click here to read the review and see more books in this category
Best Celebrity Book Club Science Fiction Book
The Measure – Click here to read the review and see more books in this category
Best Science Fiction Book for Teens
Ready Player One – Click here to read the review and see more books in this category
Best Classic Sci-Fi Book
Frankenstein – Click here to read the review and see more books in this category
Best Dystopian Sci-Fi Book
Vox – Click here to read the review and see more books in this category
*Best Sci-Fi Books post contains affiliate links. Purchases made through links result in a small commission to us at no cost to you. Some books have been gifted. All opinions are our own.
New Sci-Fi Books
All This and More
Author: Peng Shepherd
Year: 2024
Genre: Sci-fi
More info: Nationally Bestselling Author of The Cartographer
Age Range: 16+
Plot
I loved The Cartographers so I could not wait to read this book. Marsh is unhappy with her family life, work life, and love life. When she is chosen to be the star of a TV show called “All This and More” she jumps at the chance. The show uses brand-new quantum technology to allow Marsh to change the mistakes of her past. She can choose until she has her perfect life.
The catch? The reader gets to decide what she does next. What seems like a really cool game show is actually a lot more. When weird glitches start appearing, Marsh is unsure if she is imagining them or if there is something wrong.
Why Jackie loves it
This is a choose-your-own-adventure for adults and it is amazing! Don’t worry, you will not have to start again repeatedly. There are strategic spots where you will choose. I think this book is absolutely brilliantly executed. The story is non-stop and the ending is perfect.
Find this book in: Best New Fantasy Books and Sci-Fi Books of 2024 / 20 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time / Best Books for Book Clubs to Read
The Husbands
Author: Holly Gramazio
Year: 2024
Genre: Sci-fi Fiction
More info: April 2024 Read with Jenna Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
Think of this book as Sci-Fi lite. It calls upon sci-fi-based principles – mainly multiverses – but it doesn’t dwell on the scientific for even a moment.
The premise is simple. Lauren, a single woman, comes home one night to a husband she didn’t know she had. Her phone, friends, and photos in her apartment reflect this new life but she can’t remember it. And then something crazy happens.
He goes up to the attic to change a lightbulb and a new husband descends from the attic. Whenever a new husband emerges, the life around her shifts again. So with an endless supply of husbands, she finds herself torn between knowing when to send them back and when to keep one and start living.
Why Kirsten loves it
Easily one of the most unique plots I’ve ever read. Even as a confirmed disliker of Sci-Fi books, I found this story compulsively readable. I had a blast watching Lauren try to figure out her life and the revolving door of husbands had me giggling at times. #gifted by PRH Audio
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Books / Summer Reads 2024 / 2024 Fiction Favorites / Best Read With Jenna Books
Bones Beneath My Skin
Author: TJ Klune
Year: Republished 2025
Genre: Sci-Fi
More info:
Spice Rating:💋💋💋
Age Range: 18+
Plot
It’s 1995 and Nick lost his job and with it, his dignity. He inherited a cabin in Roseland, Oregon after his parents’ tragic deaths. He takes the truck he also inherited and hopes to retreat to the cabin to wallow and regroup. When he gets there, he finds a man named Alex and a 10-year-old girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader.
Now Nick finds himself on a road trip of sorts, trying to protect Artemis who is not who she appears to be.
Trigger Warnings
Homophobia, quick graphic sexual content
Why Jackie likes it
There were so many parts of this story that I loved, the character development and relationships are written as only TJ Klune can. There are intermittent graphic descriptions of sexual encounters that were unexpected and threw me off. I was not expecting some of the scenes. The plot is so original with a theme of found family that Klune includes in so many of his books.
Find this book in: Best Sci-fi Books
Adult Sci-Fi Books
Plot
This 5-star read is making our best books of 2019 list for sure. When people start to become ill with False Memory Syndrome, nobody knows who will get it or how.
Barry is a cop who sees the devastating effect of FMS on the people who contract it. Helen is a scientist who studies memory. Barry and Helen come together to find answers and stop everyone’s past from becoming one distorted memory.
Why Jackie loves it
Blake Crouch is so smart, this book made me think about concepts I had never considered. If you like sci-fi, this is an absolute must-read. If you have never read Sci-fi, this is a perfect book to read first.
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Books / Time Loop Books / Best Books of 2019 / Books Set in New York / Nonlinear Narrative Novels
The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Year: 2014
Genre: Sci-fi
More info: Movie Starring Matt Damon
Age Range: 15+
Plot
There was no question that this book belongs on a list of the best sci-fi books of all time. When Mark Watney becomes trapped on Mars after a dust storm, he has no way to communicate that he is still alive. He has to use his brains, quick thinking, and ingenuity to overcome one obstacle after another and stay alive.
Why Jackie loves it
This sci-fi book was the inspiration for the movie starring Matt Damon. The movie was fantastic. It will not surprise you to hear that the book was better.
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Books
Plot
Twenty thousand years in the future, humans live on multiple planets. The most important substance is called Spice. It is a psychedelic substance that is the only thing that allows for space travel and it is found in only one place, Dune. As forces fight for control of Spice, they are also fighting for existence and continuing their way of life. This is the first in a series of six books.
Why Jackie loves it
I read this sci-fi book after I watched the first movie. The movie was surprisingly true to the first half of the book and I cannot wait to see the second movie.
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Books
Plot
This is a serial killer thriller with a twist. Lou is the victim of a local serial killer who targeted women, took off their shoes, and left them posed around town. After a government program brought these women back to life, they meet in a support group to talk about their experiences.
Even though Lou is happily married with a young daughter, she feels like she needs to know more about the circumstances of her death.
Trigger Warnings
Serial Killer
Why Jackie loves it
This is one of the best sci-fi books I have read in a long time. If you are not sure if you like the genre, this is the perfect pick. It’s a sci-fi “light”.
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Books / Serial Killer Books
Sci-fi Audiobooks
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Author: Anthony Doerr
Year: 2021
Genre: Literary Fiction
More info: National Book Award Finalist
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author
Age Range: 14+
Plot
I don’t know how to begin to describe this book. This is NOTHING like All The Light We Cannot See and yet, I absolutely loved it. It is part historical fiction, part sci-fi, and absolutely amazing.
The book is set in Constantinople in the fifteenth century, Five hundred years later in a library in Idaho and in a spaceship traveling to a new planet sometime in the near future. Even while trying to describe this book, it does not seem to go together and yet, the story of Cloud Cuckoo Land (a story within the Novel) acts as the glue that brings the characters together. The result is an amazing sci-fi book with a very powerful message.
This is not an easy read but is well worth it.
Trigger Warnings
War, school shooting
Why Jackie loves it
I loved this unique sci-fi historical fiction novel. The story within the story was woven perfectly throughout. I think people will either LOVE this book or hate it. But the mark of a good book is one that will be remembered and talked about.
Find this book in: Nonlinear Narrative Novels / 20 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time / The Best Audiobooks of All Time / Books about Libraries / Best Books of 2021Â
The Echo Wife
Author: Sarah Gailey
Year: 2021
Genre: Sci-Fi
More info:
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
I picked up this sci-fi psychological thriller because of the cover (#booktruth.) I thought it would be about a first wife upset that she had been replaced by a trophy wife…little did I know, she was replaced by a LITERAL CLONE of herself.
Why Kirsten loves it
I’m not usually into sci-fi, that’s firmly Jackie territory, but it was actually pretty good! If you like Sci-Fi, you would probably REALLY enjoy it. It was clever and interesting, even if it’s not my usual cup of tea.
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Books
Celebrity Book Club Science Fiction Books
The Measure
Author: Nikki Erlick
Year: 2022
Genre: Sci-Fi
More info: July 2022 Read With Jenna Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
This is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read. One day everyone over the age of 22 wakes up to find a string on their doorstep. It’s soon clear that the length of one’s string determines the length of their life.
Soon short stringers are being discriminated against around the globe which begs the question – what is the true measure of a valuable life?
Why Kirsten loves it
This would be a fabulous book club book. There is so much to talk about. Don’t let the fact that this is a sci-fi book deter you if it is not your usual genre.
Find this book in: Best Books for Book Clubs / New Dystopian Novels /Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time / Best Read With Jenna Books
Klara and the Sun
Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
Year: 2021
Genre: Sci-fi
More info: March 2021 Good Morning America Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range:
Plot
I’m not usually a sci-fi girl, but this book was just so special. It’s told from the perspective of Klara, an artificial friend who starts the story waiting to be purchased.
We see Klara’s life in the store as she waits for a friend, and then what her life is like when she’s chosen to be a companion for a young girl with a mysterious illness.
Klara draws her power from the sun, and so she believes she can use the sun’s healing rays to save her friend too.
Why Kirsten loves it
This moving story had me caring for a robot in a way I knew would have thought possible. It is definitely on my list of best sci-fi books of all time.
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Novels/ Popular Dystopian Novels / Good Morning America Book Club
Bewilderment
Author: Richard Powers
Year: 2021
Genre: Sci-Fi
More info: September 2021 Oprah Book Club Pick
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
This book is a sci-fi fantasy-like book that explores brain treatments to correct behaviors in a child with suspected Autism.
Robin is a sweet child who feels deeply and can have big mood swings, but when a treatment is offered to help him sync his brain to that of his dead mother’s, he jumps at the chance.
As the experiment gains momentum and Robin’s behavior changes, his dad Theo wonders about the potential consequences.
Trigger Warnings
Treatment for ASD may be triggering for anyone with an autistic child
Why Kirsten loves it
This story explores the parent-child bond, the growing climate crisis, and autism in a way that will have you thinking about it for months to come.
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Books
Science Fiction Books for Teens
Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline
Year: 2011
Genre: Dystopian Sci-Fi
More info: #1 New York Times Bestseller, A Major Motion Picture
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range:16+
Plot
In 2045, most people spent their days in the OASIS, a virtual reality world. When the elusive creator of the OASIS dies and leaves clues behind, the first person to solve the riddles will be in control of the entire OASIS and a massive fortune.
When Wade Watts solves the first clue, he might fight for his survival to win along with his group of misfit friends. Love, a fight for survival, and a group of loyal friends all give me Lunar Chronicle vibes.
Why Jackie loves it
While this book is technically set in the future, everything about it screams 1980. As someone who lived her teenage years in the 80s, I consider myself an expert. This book is so unlike anything else I have read. It is smart and well-written. As a sci-fi, I feel like this would appeal to those who do not normally read sci-fi as well.
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time / Young Adult Dystopian Novels / Books Set in the 80s / Best Books About Puzzles / Books Like the Lunar Chronicles
Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Year: 2012
Genre: Dystopian Fantasy/ Sci-Fi/ Fairy Tale Retelling
More info: Lunar Chronicles Book 1 of 4
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 10+
Plot
This four-book series is set in the future in a time of disease and war. This series is part twisted fairy tale, part dystopia, and part sci-fi fantasy.
Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel are re-imagined as you have never seen them before. All of them are smart and strong women far from the helpless damsels in distress we know them to be.
The first in this series of classic book retellings introduces us to Cinder. She is a cyborg (part human, part machine) who lives with her……..you guessed it….. two step-sisters and stepmother.
Why Jackie loves it
I read the first book and immediately read the rest of the books in the series. Even though this is a series that is over a decade old, it is still one of the best YA fantasy book series I have read and still recommend it all the time to teens and adults alike
Find this book in: YA Dystopian Books / YA Romance Fantasy Books / Best Teen Fantasy / Books Like The Selection / Best YA Romance Books / Best Books for 10-year-olds / Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time
Find more books like this in: Books Like Cinder
The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Year: 2008
Genre: YA Sci-Fi
More info: Hunger Games #1
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 10+
Plot
This is the first book in the Hunger Games series and it is epic! In the aftermath of what was once North America, there are 12 Districts surrounding the capital.
Each year, each district sends one boy and one girl to fight to the death in a competition called “The Hunger Games”. Katniss Everdeen volunteers as a tribute to save her younger sister, Prim, from certain death in the games where it is kill-or-be-killed.
Trigger Warnings
Death, Violence
Why Jackie loves it
This sci-fi book has everything, but at its heart, it is a book about family, love, and survival. This book has a heart while also being a total page-turner!
Why Kirsten loves it
I’m not usually a sci-fi girly, but Jackie convinced me to read this one and I finished the entire series in a week and immediately binged the movies!
Find this book in: Books Like The Hunger Games / Young Adult Fantasy Series / Books About Sisters / Sci-Fi Books / Books Like Fourth Wing / YA Dystopian Novels / Fun Books for Teens / The Best Books Like Fourth Wing / Best YA Romance Books / Books for 11-year-olds / Reality TV Novels
The Thousandth Floor
Author: Katherine McGee
Year: 2017
Genre: Sci-Fi
More info: New York Times Bestseller
Spice Rating:💋
Age Range: 16+
Plot
Set 100 years in the future in a 1000-floor tower, New York’s privileged elite navigate romance, privilege, and temptation in this sci-fi YA novel.
It gave me Gossip Girl vibes with a futuristic feel, except it opens with someone falling to their death from the top floor. Avery Fuller is genetically designed to be perfect, but is her life as perfect as it seems? If you love sci-fi, forbidden love stories, and the fight for survival of the Hunger Games, this book is perfect for you to read.
Why Kirsten loves it
I love the plot of this book and the fact that it is set in the future adds to the books appeal.
Find this book in: Books Like the Hunger Games / Sci-Fi Books / YA Dystopian Books
Classic Sci-Fi Books
Plot
This classic sci-fi book is also a story of triumph and tragedy. It brings up many philosophical questions that are still relevant today. Just because we can, does that mean we should? This awe-inspiring book is imagination at its finest.
Why Jackie loves it
This iconic book was a must for the best sci-fi books of all time. Viktor Frankenstein and his monster are more than they appear on the surface.
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time
The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
Year: 1993
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Age: 12+
More info: The Giver #1, Newbery Medal Winner
Plot
Set in a dystopian world, the main character Jonas is special because he is the Receiver. In his idyllic community, he is the one who holds the secrets. As he meets with the Giver to receive the secrets and learn about life before his community began, his eyes are opened to the kind of world he is living in and just how different it is to the way the world used to be.
Trigger Warnings
Child death, Death, Suicide
Why Kirsten loves it
This classic book for kids is one of the most influential novels of our time and one of the best sci-fi books ever written. I vividly remember the ending of this story and how emotional I got while reading it as a preteen in school. The movie is not my favorite adaptation, but it’s also worth watching.
Find this book in: Books Like the Hunger Games / YA Dystopian Novels / Coming-of-Age books for Teens / Best Books for 12-year-olds / Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time / Newbery Award Winners
A Wrinkle in Time
Author: Madeleine L’Engle
Year: 1962
Genre: Middle Grade Sci-Fi
Age: 8 – 11
More info: Time Quintet #1, Newbery Medal Winner
Plot
This classic sci-fi book for tweens tells the story of Meg, a high school student, who must travel through space and time to rescue her father.
Along with her younger brother and her friend, Meg learns about the tesseract- a wrinkle in time and space that she must travel through to save her father from Evil.
Why Jackie loves it
I remember loving this science fiction book as a kid. As far as classic sci-fi books go, this is a must-read.
Find this book in: Classic Books for Kids / Kids Audiobooks / Best Sci-fi Books / Middle Grade Books / Best Books for 10-year-olds / Newbery Award Winners
Plot
Bradbury’s dystopian classic is one of the most well-known pieces of modern literature but I hadn’t read it! I don’t usually gravitate to books like this, but I heard so many people speak about the relevancy of this novel today.
It’s so true. This sci-fi book offers a grim look at our future if our society continues down the road of this technology obsession we seem to have.
Guy Montag is a fireman whose job is to destroy anything illegal including books. People are expected to spend the day with their television. When he meets a new young neighbor, he begins to question everything he has learned.
Why Kirsten likes it
If you liked 1984 or The Circle, you will devour this book. Sci-fi is usually not my preferred genre, but I did enjoy this book. This is a dystopian novel that was ahead of its time. Not only does this book stand the test of time, but more than 60 years after its publication, it is even more relevant to our society and our obsession with technology.
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time / Best Dystopian Novels / Classic Novels / Books About Books
Dystopian Sci-fi Books
Vox
Author: Christina Dalcher
Year: 2018
Genre: Sci-Fi
More info: National Bestseller
Age Range: 15+
Plot
Once I got into this sci-fi book /dystopian novel, I could not put it down. The story takes place in the United States when a fundamentalist has become president.
Slowly, he has removed all rights from women, including the right to speech. Every woman is given 100 words a day and a bracelet with a counter to ensure compliance.
Trigger Warnings
Removal of women’s rights
Why Jackie loves it
This book was so well-written and creepy. I loved it, although I have to say that it was a little close to how I feel these days. The scariest dystopian novels, in my opinion, are the ones that seem plausible. This one does hit close to home.
Find this book in: Dystopian Novels / Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time
Plot
This sci-fi book is funny, scary, and poignant – a true genre-defying work of fiction unlike any other! It’s a dystopian thriller about a dinner party in a wealthy area that coincides with the dawn of a dystopian apocalypse.
When Liz begrudgingly goes to influence Britta’s dinner party, the last thing she expects is the glimmer – a strange sparkling cloud that kills everything it comes in contact with. Now Liz needs to find a way to survive the evening in a completely different way than she expected.
Trigger Warnings
pandemic
Why Kirsten loves it
I was completely immersed in this novel. I didn’t want to put it down, though it did have me wondering if I could in fact survive the apocalypse. #gifted By Dreamscape Media
Find this book in: Best Sci-Fi Books / Best Dystopian Novels of All Time
Last Murder at the End of the World
Author: Stuart Turton
Year: 2024
Genre: Sci-fi
More info: Bestselling Author of 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Age Range: 15+
Plot
Like all of Stuart Turton’s books, this one is a well-crafted sci-fi. A group of one hundred and twenty-two people is the last to survive a fog that has swept the planet and killed everything and everyone in its wake. The island on which they live is surrounded by the fog and is held off by the utopia on the island. When someone is found murdered, it is up to them to solve the murder in order to fend off the fog that threatens to consume the island. However, everyone has had their memory wiped and they only have 107 hours to solve the case.
Why Jackie loves it
The beginning of the book was confusing because I did not know who the narrator was. I am glad that I stuck with the book because all the questions were answered and the answers were surprising. I should have known from reading all of Turton’s books that the answers would be smart, complex, and unexpected. If you love sci-fi, this is a sci-fi mystery that should not be missed
Find similar books in: 20 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time
Expert Tip
If you are new to sci-fi, even the name can be intimidating. The books I have added to this list are not all “hard-core” sci-fi. Some of the books fall into other genres as well and are a perfect introduction to the genre. Here are some things to consider
- Consider starting with some of the classics. The books on this list are timeless.
- Some of the books in the teen section have a romance element as well. These are addictive series that are hard to put down once you start reading them.
- Books from the celebrity book clubs are very readable. Consider picking up one of those if its your first time reading a sci-fi
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a sci-fi book?
Sci-fi books are stories that use advancements in science and technology as major plot devices in the book — think space travel, gene manipulation and time travel.
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Epilogue
What do you think are the best sci-fi books of all time?
