Science Fiction
From /lit/ Wiki
This page is meant to cover the basics works and stellar pieces of science fiction literature. While the bulk of Science Fiction is trashy genre-work there are genuine masterpieces. The purpose of this article is to illustrate those masterpieces as best as possible. As always however, this list is imperfect and always growing. If there is anything missing please add to it. If there is a work you think is missing, feel free to add it.
The Big Three
Isaac Asimov
| Title | Author | Description | Pages | Book Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Caves of Steel | Isaac Asimov | A Science Fiction / mystery novel set on earth some 3 millennia in the future. The overall plot features the dealings of a detective and his highly intelligent android partner. | 288 |  |
| The Complete Robot | Isaac Asimov | A collection of 31 of Isaac Asimov's short stories, they share a theme of the interaction of humans, robots and morality, and put together tell a larger story of Asimov's fictional history of robotics. Includes the story "Runaway" which outlines Asimov's laws of Robotics. | 496 |  |
| The Gods Themselves | Isaac Asimov | 304 | .jpg) | |
| The Foundation Trilogy | Isaac Asimov | 678 |  | |
| The Naked Sun | Isaac Asimov | Another Science Fiction/Mystery Novel that features a protagonist who manages to circumvent the laws of robotics in order to have his wife murdered. | 288 |  |
Arthur C. Clarke
| Title | Author | Description | Pages | Book Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001: A Space Odyssey | Arthur C. Clarke | 320 |  | |
| Childhood's End | Arthur C. Clarke | Story regarding the future of mankind after the advent of a "devil-like" alien race appears and offers them a golden era of prosperity. | 256 | .jpg) |
| The Collected Short Stories of Arthur C. Clarke | Arthur C. Clarke | A Collection of nearly every short story Arthur Clarke has ever published tallying at over 100. Includes: The Nine Billions Names of God, The Sentinel, and his flash fiction "God said, 'Cancel Program GENESIS.' The universe ceased to exist." | 976 |  |
| The Fountains of Paradise | Arthur C. Clarke | 332 |  | |
| Rendevous with Rama | Arthur C. Clarke | Classic book featuring mankind's encounter with the alien vessel Rama. | 274 |  |
Robert Heinlein
| Title | Author | Description | Pages | Book Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Robert Heinlein | The tale of a genetically modified female, designed to be superior physically, and mentally to normal human beings. The story follows her struggles with the prejudice against artificial humans and her attempts to assimilate. | 368 |  |
| Have Space Suit - Will Travel | Robert Heinlein | 256 |  | |
| Methuselah's Children | Robert Heinlein | 183 |  | |
| The Moon is a Harsh Mistress | Robert Heinlein | 384 | .jpg) | |
| Orphans of the Sky | Robert Heinlein | 224 |  | |
| Starship Troopers | Robert Heinlein | One of Heinlein's most famous pieces of science fiction, Starship Troopers follows the eyes of a human soldier going through the ranks in an alien war. | 263 |  |
| Stranger in a Strange Land | Robert Heinlein | 528 |  | |
| Time for the Stars | Robert Heinlein | 256 |  |
Early and Proto Science Fiction
| Title | Author | Description | Pages | Book Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Jules Verne | 426 |  | |
| A Journey to the Center of the Earth | Jules Verne | 256 |  | |
| A Voyage to Arcturus | David Lindsay | 274 |  | |
| Frankenstein | Mary Shelley | 328 |  | |
| The Invisible Man | H.G. Wells | 208 |  | |
| The Island of Dr. Moreau | H.G. Wells | 160 |  | |
| The Last Man | Mary Shelley | 352 |  | |
| True History | Lucian of Samosata | 44 |  | |
| Micromegas | Voltaire | 48 |  | |
| The Time Machine | H.G. Wells | 104 |  | |
| The War of the Worlds | H.G. Wells | 138 |  |
Golden Age Science Fiction
| Title | Author | Description | Pages | Book Cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Princess of Mars | Edgar Rice Burroughs | 160 |  | |
| The Big Time | Fritz Leiber | 152 |  | |
| The Day of the Triffids | John Wyndham | 256 |  | |
| The Demolished Man | Alfred Bester | 256 |  | |
| Dorsai! | George R. Dickson | 288 |  | |
| The Martian Chronicles | Ray Bradbury | 288 |  | |
| Mission of Gravity | Hal Clement | 203 |  | |
| Out of the Silent Planet | C.S. Lewis | 160 |  | |
| Slan | A.E. nan Vogt | 272 |  | |
| Star Maker | Olaf Stapledon | 232 |  | |
| Stars My Destination | Alfred Bester | 272 |  | |
| To Your Scattered Bodies Go | Philip Jóse Farmer | 184 |  | |
| Triplanetary | Edward E. Smith | 240 |  | |
| The Voyage of the Space Beagle | A.E. van Vogt | 224 |  | |
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158 |  | |
| Who Goes There | John W. Campbell, Jr | 168 |  | |
| The World of Null-A | A.E. van Vogt | 272 |  |
Modern Science Fiction
| Title | Author | Description | Book Cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Fire Upon the Deep | Vernor Vinge | ||
| A Time of Changes | Robert Silverberg | ||
| The Algebraist | Iain M. Banks | ||
| Babel-17 | Samuel R. Delany | ||
| Behold the Man | Michael Moorcock | ||
| Beyond Apollo | Barry N. Malzberg | ||
| Bill, the Galactic Hero | Harry Harrison | ||
| Blood Music | Greg Bear | ||
| Camouflage | Joe Haldeman | ||
| Consider Phlebas | Iain M. Banks | ||
| Cryptonomicon | Neal Stephenson | ||
| Darwin's Radio | Greg Bear | ||
| The Dispossessed | Ursula K. Le Guin | ||
| Doomsday Book | Connie Willis | ||
| Downbelow Station | C.J. Cherryh | ||
| Dune | Frank Hebert | ||
| Dying Inside | Robert Silverberg | ||
| Ender's Game | Orson Scott Card | ||
| The Faded Sun Trilogy | C.J. Cherryh | ||
| Fire time | Poul Anderson | ||
| Flowers for Algernon | Daniel Keyes | ||
| Footfall | Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle | ||
| The Forever War | Joe Haldeman | ||
| The Forge of God | Greg Bear | ||
| Gateway | Frederik Pohl | ||
| Halcyon Drift | Brian Stableford | ||
| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Douglas Adams | ||
| Hyperion | Dan Simmons | ||
| I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream | Harlan Ellison | ||
| Ilium | Dan Simmons | ||
| The Illuminatus! Trilogy | Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson | ||
| Kiln People | David Brin | ||
| The Left Hand of Darkness | Ursula K. Le Guin | ||
| Lord Valentine's Castle | Robert Silverberg | ||
| Lord of Light | Roger Zelazny | ||
| Man Plus | Frederik Pohl | ||
| The Man Who Metled | Jack Dann | ||
| The Man Who Folded Himself | David Gerrold | ||
| Mote in God's Eye | Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle | ||
| Moving Mars | Greg Bear | ||
| Old Man's War | John Scalzi | ||
| The Peace War | Vernor Vinge | ||
| Rainbow's End | Vernor Vinge | ||
| Red Mars | Kim Stanley Robinson | ||
| Revelation Space | Alistair Reynolds | ||
| Ringworld | Larry Niven | ||
| Rite of Passage | Alexei Panshin | ||
| River of Gods | Ian McDonald | ||
| Singularity Sky | Charles Stross | ||
| Slaughterhouse Five | Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. | ||
| The Snow Queen | Joan D. Vinge | ||
| Solaris | Stanislaw Lem | ||
| The Sparrow | Mary Doria Russell | ||
| Spin | Robert Charles Wilson | ||
| Sundiver | David Brin | ||
| Tau Zero | Poul Anderson | ||
| Think Like a Dinosaur and Other Stories | James Patrick Kelley | ||
| This Immortal / ...And Call Me Conrad | Roger Zelazny | ||
| Timescape | Gregory Benford | ||
| The Time Ships | Stephen Baxter | ||
| Troika | Stepan Chapman | ||
| Ubik | Philip K. Dick | ||
| Vurt | Jeff Noon | ||
| World of Ptauus | Larry Niven |
Cyberpunk
| Title | Author | Description | Book Cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accelerando | Charles Stross | ||
| Altered Carbon | Richard K. Morgan | ||
| The Diamond Age | Neal Stephenson | ||
| The Difference Engine | William Gibson & Bruce Sterling | ||
| Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep | Philip K. Dick | ||
| Islands in the Net | Bruce Sterling | ||
| Neuromancer | William Gibson | ||
| Permutation City | Greg Egan | ||
| Snow Crash | Neal Stephenson | ||
| Software | Rudy Rucker |
Post Apocalyptic
| Title | Author | Description | Book Cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Canticle for Leibowitz | Walter M. Miller, Jr. | ||
| A Wrinkle in Time | Madeleine L'Engle | ||
| The Chrysalids | John Wyndam | ||
| Cloud Atlas | David Mitchell | ||
| The Deep | John Crowley | ||
| Dies the Fire | S.M. Sterline | ||
| Dr. Bloodmoney | Philip K. Dick | ||
| Dreamsnake | Vonda M. McIntyre | ||
| The Dying Earth | Jack Vance | ||
| Earth Abides | George R. Stewart | ||
| The Elfin Ship | James Blaylock | ||
| I Am Legend | Richard Matheson | ||
| Lucifer's Hammer | Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle | ||
| The Mount | Carol Emshwiller | ||
| The Nightland | William Hope Hodgson | ||
| The Planet of the Apes | Pierre Boulle | ||
| The Postman | David Brin | ||
| Ravage | Rene Barjavel | ||
| Riddley Walker | Russell Hoban | ||
| The Road | Cormac McCarthy | ||
| Shadow and Claw | Gene Wolfe | ||
| The Tripods Trilogy | Samuel Youd |
Dystopian
| Title | Author | Description | Book Cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | George Orwell | ||
| A Scanner Darkly | Philip K. Dick | ||
| Brave New World | Aldous Huxley | ||
| Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury | ||
| Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said | Philip K. Dick | ||
| The Giver | Lois Lowry | ||
| The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood | ||
| Logan's Run | William F. Nolan & George Clayton Johnson | ||
| The Man in the High Castle | Philip K. Dick | ||
| Stand on Zanzibar | John Brunner | ||
| We | Yevgeny Zamyatin | ||
| Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang | Kate Wilhelm | ||
| The World Inside | Robert Silverberg |
