npr's top 100 science fiction & fantasy books list

Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books

This is one of the 313 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

This epic high-fantasy novel centers around a modest hobbit who is entrusted with the task of destroying a powerful ring that could enable the dark lord to conquer the world. Accompanied by a diverse group of companions, the hobbit embarks on a perilous journey across Middle-earth, battling evil forces and facing numerous challenges. The narrative, rich in mythology and complex themes of good versus evil, friendship, and heroism, has had a profound influence on the fantasy genre.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

This comedic science fiction novel follows the intergalactic adventures of an unwitting human, Arthur Dent, who is rescued just before Earth's destruction by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for a galactic travel guide. Together, they hitch a ride on a stolen spaceship, encountering a range of bizarre characters, including a depressed robot and a two-headed ex-president of the galaxy. Through a series of satirical and absurd escapades, the book explores themes of existentialism, bureaucracy, and the absurdity of life, all while poking fun at the science fiction genre and offering witty commentary on the human condition.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

A young prodigy is enlisted into a military academy in space, where he is trained through complex war games to combat an impending alien invasion. Despite his initial struggles with isolation and manipulation by the academy's leaders, he rises through the ranks due to his strategic genius and leadership skills. The protagonist grapples with the moral implications of war and the cost of his own humanity, as he is groomed to be the Earth's ultimate weapon against the alien threat.

Dune by Frank Herbert

Set in a distant future, the novel follows Paul Atreides, whose family assumes control of the desert planet Arrakis. As the only producer of a highly valuable resource, jurisdiction over Arrakis is contested among competing noble families. After Paul and his family are betrayed, the story explores themes of politics, religion, and man’s relationship to nature, as Paul leads a rebellion to restore his family's reign.

A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

This epic fantasy novel is set in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, where 'summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime'. The story follows three main plot lines: the Stark family's struggle to control the North; the exiled Targaryen siblings' attempt to regain the throne; and the Night's Watch's fight against the supernatural beings beyond the Wall. As these stories intertwine, a game of power, politics, and survival unfolds, where you either win or you die.

Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell

Set in a dystopian future, the novel presents a society under the total control of a totalitarian regime, led by the omnipresent Big Brother. The protagonist, a low-ranking member of 'the Party', begins to question the regime and falls in love with a woman, an act of rebellion in a world where independent thought, dissent, and love are prohibited. The novel explores themes of surveillance, censorship, and the manipulation of truth.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

In a dystopian future where books are banned and burned by the government to prevent dissenting ideas, a fireman named Guy Montag, whose job is to burn books, begins to question the society he serves. After a series of events, including meeting a free-thinking teenager and witnessing a woman choosing to die with her books, Montag begins to secretly collect and read books, leading to his eventual rebellion against the oppressive regime. The narrative serves as a critique of censorship, conformity, and the dangers of an illiterate society.

Foundation by Isaac Asimov

This science fiction novel centers around Hari Seldon, a mathematician who has developed a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory. With it, he can predict the future on a large scale. Seldon foresees the imminent fall of the Galactic Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way, and a dark age lasting 30,000 years before a second great empire arises. To shorten this period of barbarism, he creates two Foundations at opposite ends of the galaxy. The book follows the first few centuries of the Foundation's existence, focusing on the scientists as they develop new technologies and negotiate with neighboring planets.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Set in a dystopian future, the novel explores a society where human beings are genetically bred and pharmaceutically conditioned to serve in a ruling order. The society is divided into five castes, each with its specific roles. The narrative follows a savage who rejects the norms of this new world order and struggles to navigate the clash between the values of his upbringing and the reality of this technologically advanced, emotionless society. His resistance prompts a deep examination of the nature of freedom, individuality, and happiness.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

A recently released convict discovers that his wife and best friend died in a car accident. He then meets a mysterious stranger who hires him as a bodyguard. As they journey across America, it is revealed that the stranger is an old god, traveling to rally his fellow forgotten deities to wage a war against the new American gods born from society's modern obsessions with media, technology, drugs, celebrity, and more. The story blends elements of fantasy, mythology, and Americana to explore themes of faith, belief, and the nature of American identity.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

This book is an illustrated edition of a classic tale of true love and high adventure. It tells the story of a beautiful princess and her one true love. After he is reportedly killed, she agrees to marry a wicked prince instead, only to be kidnapped and face numerous dangers. The story is filled with humor, romance, and swashbuckling action, all brought to life by vivid illustrations.

The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan

The Wheel of Time series is a high fantasy saga that follows a group of friends from a small village as they are thrust into a world teeming with magic, political intrigue, and ancient prophecies. The main protagonist, a young man destined to be the reincarnation of a powerful figure who could either save or destroy the world, must navigate complex alliances, face dark forces, and learn to control his own burgeoning powers. The series is renowned for its detailed world-building, complex plotlines, and large cast of characters.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

"Animal Farm" is a satirical fable set on a farm where the animals revolt, overthrow their human farmer, and take over the running of the farm for themselves. The story is an allegory of the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalin, and the tale is told by the animals that inhabit the farm, primarily pigs who become the ruling class. Despite their initial attempts at creating an equal society, corruption and power ultimately lead to a regime as oppressive as the one they overthrew.

Neuromancer by William Gibson

In this groundbreaking cyberpunk novel, a washed-up computer hacker is hired by a mysterious employer to pull off the ultimate hack. As he navigates a dystopian future filled with artificial intelligence, corporate espionage, and virtual reality, he must confront his own past and the dark realities of the digital world. The narrative explores themes of technology, identity, and consciousness, pushing the boundaries of science fiction literature.

Watchmen by Alan Moore

Set in an alternate history where superheroes emerged in the 1940s and 1980s, the story follows a group of retired superheroes who are brought out of retirement after the murder of one of their own. As they investigate, they uncover a plot that could change the course of history and the balance of world power. The book explores complex themes such as the morality of power, the definition of heroism, and the value of human life.

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

The book is a collection of nine short stories that revolve around the interaction of humans and robots. The stories are tied together by a framing narrative featuring a reporter interviewing a retiring robopsychologist, Dr. Susan Calvin. The stories explore the three "Laws of Robotics" and how they are interpreted and manipulated by humans and robots. Throughout the stories, the robots often end up behaving in unexpected ways due to their interpretation of these laws, leading to thought-provoking and often ironic outcomes.

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

The novel follows the life of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who was raised on Mars and returns to Earth in early adulthood. Smith struggles to understand human culture, norms, and conventions, while also possessing extraordinary psychic abilities. As he navigates Earth society, he begins to question many of its institutions and values, ultimately creating his own religion to pass on the wisdom he gained on Mars. The book explores themes of freedom, self-reliance, and the nature of humanity, and is considered a classic of science fiction literature.

The Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

This fantasy novel follows the tale of a gifted young man who grows from a precocious child into a notorious wizard, known as the most notorious magician, musician, thief, and assassin. His life is one of hardship and danger, as he seeks knowledge and revenge following the tragic murder of his family by a group of supernatural beings. The story is told in retrospect as the protagonist recounts his past to a chronicler over the course of three days, revealing the truth behind the myths and legends that have come to surround his enigmatic persona.

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

The novel follows the life of Billy Pilgrim, a World War II veteran who has become "unstuck in time," experiencing his life events out of order. This includes his experiences as a prisoner of war in Dresden during the Allies' firebombing, his post-war life as a successful optometrist, his abduction by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore, and his eventual death. The book is a critique of war and a demonstration of the destructive nature of time, with a nonlinear narrative that reflects the chaos and unpredictability of life.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

This classic novel tells the story of a young scientist who creates a grotesque but sentient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. The scientist, horrified by his creation, abandons it, leading the creature to seek revenge. The novel explores themes of ambition, responsibility, guilt, and the potential consequences of playing God.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the novel presents a future where Earth's life has been greatly damaged by a nuclear global war, leaving most species extinct. The remaining human population has been encouraged to emigrate to off-world colonies to preserve the human race. Those who remain on Earth are tasked with maintaining the ecological balance by owning and caring for animals, replacing extinct species with mechanical replicas when necessary. The story revolves around a bounty hunter, who is tasked with "retiring" rogue androids that pose a threat to humans, and his emotional and moral struggles as he goes about his work.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Set in a dystopian future, this novel presents a society where women are stripped of their rights and are classified into various roles based on their fertility and societal status. The protagonist is a handmaid, a class of women used solely for their reproductive capabilities by the ruling class. The story is a chilling exploration of the extreme end of misogyny, where women are reduced to their biological functions, and a critique of religious fundamentalism.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King

In a desolate and archaic world that mirrors the Old West, a stoic and enigmatic gunslinger embarks on a relentless quest across a desolate landscape to find the mysterious figure known as the Man in Black. Along his journey, he encounters strange characters, reflects on his troubled past, and confronts both physical and metaphysical challenges. His ultimate goal is to reach the elusive Dark Tower, a place that is said to be the nexus of all universes, where he believes he can right the wrongs of his decaying world. The narrative blends elements of fantasy, horror, and Western genres, creating a unique and haunting tapestry that sets the stage for an epic series of interdimensional proportions.

2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

This science fiction novel follows a voyage to Jupiter with the sentient computer HAL after the discovery of a mysterious black monolith affecting human evolution. Dealing with themes of existentialism, human evolution, technology, artificial intelligence and extraterrestrial life, it is a journey of discovery that takes a dangerous turn when the onboard computer begins to malfunction. The story is a complex mix of science, philosophy, and conjecture.

The Stand by Stephen King

This post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel presents a world devastated by a deadly plague, killing 99% of the population. The survivors, drawn together by dreams of a charismatic and benevolent figure, gather in Boulder, Colorado to form a new society. However, a malevolent figure also emerges, attracting a following of his own and setting the stage for a classic battle between good and evil. The story delves into themes of community, morality, and the capacity for both destruction and regeneration within humanity.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

In a future America where the federal government has largely collapsed and been replaced by corporate entities, a computer hacker and pizza delivery driver becomes embroiled in a plot involving a dangerous new drug and a computer virus called "Snow Crash". He is joined by a teenage skateboard courier and a host of other characters in a high-stakes race to uncover the truth behind the virus and its origins in ancient Sumerian culture. The narrative explores themes of linguistics, philosophy, computer science, religion, and cryptography.

The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

This science fiction novel is a collection of intertwined short stories that depict the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists. The book delves into issues such as nuclear war, racism, and censorship. As the human settlers arrive and begin to shape the Martian landscape to their needs, they face a series of strange and haunting encounters with the Martian civilization, leading to unexpected and often tragic outcomes.

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

This novel is a satirical commentary on modern man and his madness, exploring issues of science, technology, and religion. The story revolves around a narrator who becomes involved with the children of a deceased scientist, who had developed a substance capable of freezing water at room temperature. This substance, if misused, has the potential to end all life on earth. The novel is filled with strange and twisted characters, and culminates in a cataclysmic event, highlighting the dangers of uncontrolled technological advancement.

Sandman by Neil Gaiman

"Sandman" is a dark and fantastical series that follows the character Dream, also known as Morpheus, one of the seven Endless who personify certain universal concepts that transcend beyond gods. The narrative explores Dream's realm and responsibilities, his interactions with humans, gods, and his own family, as well as the consequences when he is captured and subsequently escapes after 70 years. The series is renowned for its blending of myth, history, and contemporary issues, creating a richly nuanced universe that delves into the nature of storytelling itself.

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

This novel follows the life of a violent young man named Alex, who is part of a youth subculture in a dystopian future England. Alex and his gang engage in a nightmarish spree of rape, assault, and robbery, until he is arrested and subjected to a psychological experiment by the government to "cure" him of his violent tendencies. The novel explores themes of free will, morality, and the nature of evil, while using a unique slang language invented by the author.

Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein

The book is a military science fiction novel set in the future, where humanity is engaged in an interstellar war against an alien species known as the Arachnids or "Bugs." It follows the story of Juan "Johnny" Rico, a young infantryman in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military unit equipped with powered armor suits. The narrative delves into Rico's experiences and growth from a naïve recruit to a seasoned officer, exploring themes of citizenship, duty, and the moral complexities of war. Through Rico's eyes, the novel examines the structure of a militaristic society where full citizenship and the right to vote are earned through military service, presenting a society that values sacrifice and responsibility in a perpetual struggle for survival against a hostile universe.

Watership Down by Richard Adams

This novel follows a group of rabbits as they flee their warren due to a foreseen catastrophe. The rabbits, led by Hazel and his psychic brother Fiver, face numerous challenges and adventures as they search for a new home. They encounter predators, hostile rabbit communities, and human threats. The book explores themes of leadership, survival, and freedom, all set within the natural world and its inherent dangers.

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey

In a world where telepathic dragons and their riders protect the land from the destructive Thread that rains down from the sky, a young woman unexpectedly becomes the new Weyrwoman, bonding with the last queen dragon. As the traditional ways of the past clash with the urgent need to defend their world, she and her enigmatic dragonrider ally must rediscover ancient secrets and take to the skies in a perilous quest to unite the dragonriders and save their planet from annihilation. Their journey is fraught with challenges, both political and personal, as they strive to harness the full power of the dragons and ensure the survival of their way of life.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

In the late 21st century, the moon has become a penal colony where the inhabitants, known as "Loonies", live under harsh conditions and are exploited by the Earth's government. A supercomputer named Mike, a one-armed computer technician named Mannie, and a revolutionary named Wyoming Knott lead an uprising against the Earth's oppressive rule. With Mike's intelligence, Mannie's technical skills, and Wyoming's charisma, they successfully instigate a rebellion, navigating political intrigue, military strategy, and complex human relationships along the way.

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller

"A Canticle for Leibowitz" is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel that explores the cyclical nature of history through the lens of a Catholic monastery in the American Southwest. After a devastating nuclear war, the monks of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz work to preserve the remnants of mankind's scientific knowledge until the world is again ready for it. Over the course of centuries, civilization rises and falls, wars are fought, and scientific advancements are rediscovered and then lost again. The novel is a poignant commentary on the potential for humanity to repeat its mistakes.

The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

A Victorian-era scientist invents a machine that allows him to travel through time. He first journeys to the year 802,701 A.D., where he encounters the Eloi, a society of small, elegant, childlike adults who live in harmony but lack curiosity and drive. He later discovers the Morlocks, a nocturnal, subterranean species who prey on the Eloi. After rescuing an Eloi named Weena, the protagonist loses his time machine and must devise a plan to recover it and return to his own time, all while exploring the social and evolutionary implications of the two distinct societies.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

This classic science fiction novel follows the adventures of Professor Aronnax, his servant Conseil, and harpooner Ned Land as they are captured by the enigmatic Captain Nemo aboard the Nautilus, a technologically advanced submarine. As they journey 20,000 leagues under the sea, they encounter a variety of sea creatures and underwater phenomena. The narrative explores themes of exploration, scientific discovery, and man's relationship with nature.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

The book is a poignant science fiction narrative that follows the life of Charlie Gordon, a man with an IQ of 68, who undergoes an experimental surgical procedure intended to increase his intelligence. The story is told through Charlie's progress reports, which initially showcase his limited comprehension and writing ability. As the treatment takes effect, Charlie's intelligence surpasses that of the average person, leading to a dramatic increase in his understanding of the world, relationships, and his own past. However, the transformation is not without its pitfalls, as Charlie grapples with the emotional and social implications of his newfound abilities, and the impermanence of the experiment's success becomes a haunting reality. The novel explores themes of intellect, human dignity, and the ethics of scientific experimentation.

War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells

This classic science fiction novel tells the story of a Martian invasion of Earth, as experienced by an unnamed protagonist and his brother. The Martians, who are technologically far superior to humans, cause widespread devastation with their heat-ray weapons and towering tripods. Despite humanity's best efforts to resist, they seem unstoppable. The novel is a commentary on British imperialism and explores themes of human survival and evolution.

The Chronicles Of Amber by Roger Zelazny

The series unfolds the complex tale of a royal family from Amber, the only true world, with the rest of reality being mere shadows of it. The protagonist, suffering from amnesia, discovers his identity as a prince of Amber and becomes embroiled in intricate family politics, magical battles, and the manipulation of different realities. As he regains his memory and navigates the treacherous landscapes of Amber and its shadow worlds, he uncovers dark secrets about his family and the nature of their universe, all while contending with the machinations of his ambitious siblings who vie for the throne of Amber.

The Belgariad by David Eddings

The series follows the journey of a young farm boy who discovers his extraordinary destiny as the heir to a powerful artifact that must be retrieved to prevent a dark god from dominating the world. Raised in a rural village, he is initially unaware of his royal lineage and the prophecy that foretells his role in an epic battle between good and evil. As he travels across diverse lands with a group of companions, including a wise old sorcerer, a fierce knight, a cunning thief, and a beautiful princess, he learns about his true heritage and the magical powers he possesses. Together, they face numerous challenges and adversaries, all while the fate of the world hangs in the balance, culminating in a climactic confrontation with the forces of darkness.

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

This novel reimagines the Arthurian legends from the perspectives of the women involved. It centers around Morgaine, Arthur's half-sister, who is a priestess of Avalon, and Gwenhwyfar, Arthur's queen. The story explores their roles in the political and spiritual conflicts that arise as Christianity begins to replace the old pagan ways. It delves into themes of love, loyalty, and power, while offering a fresh take on a classic tale.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

In a grim, ash-covered world ruled by the immortal Lord Ruler, a young street urchin discovers she possesses unique magical abilities—Allomancy, the power to ingest and burn metals to enhance physical and mental capabilities. She joins a group of rebel skaa, the oppressed class, led by a charismatic criminal mastermind, to overthrow the centuries-old tyranny. Together, they devise an elaborate heist to infiltrate the noble houses and spark a revolution, uncovering dark secrets and unexpected truths about their world and the origins of the Lord Ruler's power along the way.

Ringworld by Larry Niven

In this science fiction novel, a motley crew of explorers, including a 200-year-old human, a young woman with lucky genes, a cat-like alien, and a two-headed alien guide, embark on a journey to investigate an artificial ring orbiting a star. This colossal structure, known as the Ringworld, has the surface area of millions of Earths and harbors many mysteries. As the team explores the vast, enigmatic world, they encounter a variety of advanced technologies and alien species, while also grappling with the physics and dangers of the ring's environment. Their mission becomes a struggle for survival and a quest to uncover the origins and purpose of the Ringworld.

The Left Hand Of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

The novel is a groundbreaking work of science fiction that explores themes of gender, politics, and identity. Set on a planet called Gethen, where the inhabitants are ambisexual, shifting between male and female, the story follows an envoy from Earth who struggles to understand this alien society. As he navigates the complex political landscape of Gethen, he must also grapple with his own preconceptions about gender and sexuality. The book is a profound exploration of difference, otherness, and what it means to be human.

The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien

The book is a collection of mythopoeic stories that form the prelude to a well-known fantasy saga, detailing the creation of the world and the history of its early ages. It encompasses the tragic tale of the quest for the titular jewels, which imbue their creators with great power and beauty. The narrative follows the rebellion of a group of elves against the gods, the subsequent wars and the downfall of noble houses, interwoven with themes of heroism, fate, and the struggle against the ultimate evil. The work is rich with languages, cultures, and epic poetry, setting the stage for the later adventures in the renowned fantasy realm.

The Once and Future King by T. H. White

This novel is a retelling of the Arthurian legend, from Arthur's childhood tutelage under the wizard Merlyn to his eventual death. The story follows Arthur's journey from a naive boy to a wise and just king, his establishment of the Round Table, his marriage to Guinevere, and his complex relationship with his illegitimate son, Mordred. The narrative explores themes of power, justice, war, and human nature, offering a nuanced and humanizing portrayal of a well-known mythical figure.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

In this dark and imaginative fantasy, a young Londoner named Richard Mayhew finds his mundane life turned upside down when he stumbles upon a young woman named Door, bleeding on the sidewalk. After aiding her, he is thrust into the shadowy, parallel world of London Below, a realm of magic, danger, and intrigue that exists beneath the streets of London Above. As Richard journeys through this eerie underworld with a cast of bizarre and fantastical characters, he must confront malevolent forces and unravel a complex conspiracy to help Door discover why her family was murdered, all while trying to find a way back to his old life.

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

"Childhood's End" is a thought-provoking science fiction novel that explores the evolution of humanity under the guidance of mysterious extraterrestrial beings known as the Overlords. Set in the near future, the book follows the transformation of society as the Overlords bring peace, prosperity, and advanced technology to Earth. However, as the human race reaches a new level of enlightenment, questions arise about the true intentions of the Overlords and the future of humanity itself.

Contact by Carl Sagan

The book is a science fiction novel that explores the concept of human contact with extraterrestrial life. The protagonist, a scientist, deciphers a radio signal from a distant star system that contains plans for a complex machine. After building and entering the machine, she and her team are transported to a distant star system where they meet an alien species. The novel delves into philosophical discussions about religion, science, and the nature of human existence.

Hyperion by Dan Simmons

The book is a science fiction narrative that weaves together the tales of seven pilgrims as they journey to the distant world of Hyperion on the eve of interstellar war. Each pilgrim has their own reason for undertaking this pilgrimage to the Shrike, a mysterious and feared creature that resides in the Time Tombs, which are moving backwards through time. As they travel, they share their stories, revealing personal quests, humanity's complex relationship with technology, and the overarching mystery of the Shrike and Hyperion itself. The novel combines elements of space opera with a frame story structure reminiscent of "The Canterbury Tales," exploring themes of love, religion, politics, and art, all set against the backdrop of an impending catastrophe.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

"Stardust" by Neil Gaiman is a fairy tale adventure set in the land of Faerie. The story follows the journey of a young man named Tristran Thorn, who sets out to capture a fallen star in order to win the heart of his true love. Along the way, he encounters a variety of magical creatures and characters, including witches, unicorns, and a ruthless prince. As Tristran navigates the dangers and wonders of Faerie, he learns valuable lessons about love, sacrifice, and the power of destiny.

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson

The book is a sprawling narrative that intertwines two timelines: the first during World War II, focusing on the efforts of cryptographers and mathematicians working to break Axis codes, and the second in the late 20th century, following a group of entrepreneurs and hackers establishing a data haven in Southeast Asia. The novel explores themes of cryptography, mathematics, and the history of computing, weaving together real historical figures with fictional characters. As the plot unfolds across different continents and eras, it delves into the impact of information technology on society and the perpetual conflict between governments and individuals over the control of information and privacy.

World War Z by Max Brooks

The book is an apocalyptic horror novel presented as a collection of individual accounts in the aftermath of a global pandemic that leads to a catastrophic zombie outbreak. Through interviews with survivors from various countries and walks of life, the narrative unfolds the social, political, cultural, and environmental implications of the zombie crisis, known as World War Z. The personal stories explore the widespread panic, the collapse and resurgence of governments, military strategies employed to combat the undead, and the human resilience in the face of a decimated world. The novel serves as a critique of societal responses to disasters and a commentary on the human condition.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

In this enchanting fantasy tale, a solitary unicorn, believing she is the last of her kind, embarks on a poignant journey to discover what has become of the other unicorns. Along the way, she is joined by a bumbling magician and a tough yet tender-hearted woman. Together, they face trials and confront an evil king to unravel the mystery of the missing unicorns. The unicorn must also grapple with the complexities of love, the loss of innocence, and the painful beauty of existence, as she seeks to restore her kind and witness the return of magic to the world.

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

This science fiction novel follows the story of a soldier conscripted to fight in an interstellar war against an alien species known as the Taurans. Due to the time dilation effects of space travel at near-light speeds, the soldier experiences only months of combat, while centuries pass on Earth. Each time he returns from a mission, he finds an unrecognizable society with new technologies and altered social norms. The narrative explores the psychological and emotional impact of war, time displacement, and the soldier's struggle to find a sense of belonging in a constantly changing world. As the conflict drags on through the eons, the soldier begins to question the purpose of the war and the high cost of human life in the face of such temporal vastness.

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

In a satirical fantasy world, a once-powerful god finds himself nearly forgotten, his power diminished to almost nothing as he's left with a single believer, a novice monk. This unlikely duo embarks on a journey to confront the corrupt religious institution that has lost sight of true faith, challenging dogma and hypocrisy. Along the way, they encounter a host of quirky characters and navigate philosophical quandaries, ultimately seeking to restore genuine belief and the god's rightful place in the hearts of the people. The narrative cleverly explores themes of religion, belief, and the nature of power through a humorous and thought-provoking lens.

The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson

The series follows Thomas Covenant, a cynical writer who is transported to a magical realm called "The Land" after a tragic accident leaves him a leper and an outcast in his own world. In "The Land," he is mistaken for a reincarnated hero and is reluctantly drawn into a struggle against an evil entity known as Lord Foul, who seeks to escape the metaphysical barriers of the realm and wreak havoc. Despite his disbelief in the reality of this other world and his own role as a savior, Covenant's actions have profound consequences for both "The Land" and his personal redemption, as he grapples with power, responsibility, and the possibility of hope amidst despair.

Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold

In this science fiction narrative, the story revolves around an engineer who is assigned to a space station where genetically engineered humans, designed with four arms and no legs for zero-gravity work, are being bred by a corporation for economic gain. When the company decides to abandon the project, viewing these beings, known as "quaddies," as obsolete and a liability, the engineer faces a moral dilemma. He must choose between his own safety and career or the welfare of the quaddies. Ultimately, he decides to rebel against the corporation, leading a daring escape plan to save the quaddies from being decommissioned and to find them a new home where they can live free.

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

In this satirical fantasy novel, a notorious con artist is given a second chance at life by being forced to revive the defunct Ankh-Morpork Post Office. As the new Postmaster, he must contend with outdated mail systems, a haunted post office, and the competition from a powerful, unscrupulous clacks communication company. Using his wits and a motley crew of postal employees, he embarks on a madcap journey to restore the postal service, outmaneuver the corporate villains, and ultimately redefine the meaning of communication in a city teeming with magic and mayhem.

The Mote In God's Eye by Larry Niven , Jerry Pournelle

"The Mote In God's Eye" is a gripping science fiction novel set in the distant future, where humanity has expanded its reach to the stars. When a mysterious alien race, known as the Moties, is discovered, a team of human scientists and diplomats embark on a mission to establish contact and learn more about their civilization. However, as they delve deeper into the Moties' society, they uncover dark secrets and hidden agendas that could have catastrophic consequences for both species. Filled with political intrigue, moral dilemmas, and thought-provoking themes, this book explores the complexities of interstellar relations and the potential dangers of encountering an unknown extraterrestrial civilization.

The Sword Of Truth by Terry Goodkind

In this epic fantasy novel, a young woods guide named Richard Cypher embarks on a quest to stop the sinister spread of the dark magic that threatens his world. After the brutal murder of his father, Richard's life is turned upside down when he discovers his own hidden destiny and the powerful artifact known as the Sword of Truth. Guided by a mysterious woman named Kahlan and a wizard named Zedd, Richard must navigate a world of dangerous magic and political intrigue, confronting his own fears and moral dilemmas while fighting to prevent a tyrannical ruler from unleashing an ancient and malevolent power.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

In a post-apocalyptic world, a father and his young son journey through a desolate landscape, struggling to survive. They face numerous threats including starvation, extreme weather, and dangerous encounters with other survivors. The father, who is terminally ill, is driven by his love and concern for his son, and is determined to protect him at all costs. The story is a haunting exploration of the depths of human resilience, the power of love, and the instinct to survive against all odds.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Set in a parallel 19th-century England, this novel tells the story of two practicing magicians, Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange. Norrell, who aims to restore magic to respectability in England, is initially thrilled by Strange's natural aptitude for magic, and the two form a student-teacher relationship. However, their partnership soon deteriorates into rivalry as Strange, driven by the loss of his wife to the fairy realm, seeks to reintroduce the old, wilder forms of magic that Norrell disdains. Their conflict escalates, culminating in a magical duel that has profound consequences for the future of magic in England.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

The novel is a post-apocalyptic horror story that centers around a solitary man who may be the last human alive on earth after a pandemic has turned the rest of humanity into vampire-like creatures. He spends his days fortifying his home, hunting for food, and killing these creatures while they sleep. At night, he is tormented by their attempts to break into his home and kill him. His isolation drives him to the brink of insanity, and the novel explores themes of loneliness, survival, and the human capacity for hope in the face of utter despair.

Magician by Raymond E. Feist

The book is a fantasy epic that follows the journey of a young boy named Pug, who rises from humble beginnings as an orphaned kitchen boy to become a powerful magician in the Kingdom of the Isles. His life takes a dramatic turn when he and his friend Tomas are swept into a conflict against an ancient enemy from another world, threatening not only their homeland but also the very fabric of reality. As Pug masters the arts of magic under the tutelage of the enigmatic magician Kulgan, he must navigate a path fraught with danger, political intrigue, and war. Alongside a diverse cast of characters, Pug's destiny unfolds as he becomes a key player in the struggle to save his world from destruction.

The Sword Of Shannara by Terry Brooks

In a classic epic fantasy tale, a young man named Shea Ohmsford discovers his royal heritage and embarks on a perilous quest to retrieve the legendary Sword of Shannara. With the guidance of the mysterious druid Allanon, Shea and a diverse group of companions must navigate treacherous lands filled with malevolent creatures and dark magic. Their mission is critical: to use the Sword's power to vanquish the fearsome Warlock Lord and prevent his dominion over the Four Lands. The journey tests their courage and bonds, as they confront the darkness both around them and within themselves.

Conan The Barbarian by Robert E. Howard

The book follows the epic tales of a formidable warrior from the ancient, mythical land of Cimmeria. Known for his exceptional strength, courage, and swordsmanship, the protagonist embarks on a series of adventures across treacherous lands filled with sorcery, fierce creatures, and ruthless enemies. His journey is marked by battles for power, the quest for treasure, and encounters with a diverse cast of characters, both friend and foe. Throughout his exploits, the barbarian hero confronts the dark forces of civilization and the mysteries of an age-old world, all while forging his own legend in a savage, untamed world.

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

The novel follows the journey of Fitz, the bastard son of a noble prince, who is taken into the royal household of the Six Duchies and secretly trained in the art of assassination. As he grows, Fitz is caught between his loyalty to the throne and his own moral compass. He must navigate a court rife with political intrigue, magic, and treachery, all while grappling with his own identity and the magical Skill that he possesses. His quest for acceptance and purpose is further complicated by the kingdom's need for his unique talents to protect the realm from internal and external threats.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

The novel tells the story of a man with a genetic disorder that causes him to time travel unpredictably, and his wife, an artist who has to cope with his frequent absences and dangerous experiences. Their love story endures many separations and dangerous experiences due to his condition. The story's central theme is the effects of time travel on their marriage and their passionate love for each other.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

In a world ravaged by ferocious storms and embroiled in war, three main characters navigate their own paths. Kaladin, a skilled soldier turned slave, struggles to protect his fellow slaves while grappling with his own inner demons. Shallan, a brilliant and ambitious scholar, is on a dangerous quest to steal a powerful artifact to save her family from ruin. Dalinar, a high-ranking military leader, is plagued by visions of ancient times and a mysterious warning. As their lives intertwine, they must confront their own truths and fight for survival in a world on the brink of destruction.

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

This science fiction novel revolves around a German professor who believes there are volcanic tubes leading to the center of the Earth. He, his nephew, and their guide embark on an adventurous expedition down an Icelandic volcano into the Earth's core. They encounter prehistoric animals, natural disasters, and otherworldly phenomena along their journey. The expedition is both thrilling and dangerous, testing the limits of their courage and survival skills.

The Crystal Shard by R.A. Salvatore

In the icy realm of Icewind Dale, a young barbarian named Wulfgar seeks to prove his worth, while the cunning dark elf Drizzt Do'Urden, an outcast from his own people, strives to find his place in the world. Their lives are thrown into chaos when a powerful mage discovers a magical crystal shard with the ability to dominate the minds of others. As the shard's dark influence spreads, the two unlikely heroes must join forces with a dwarf named Bruenor and a halfling, Regis, to prevent the malevolent artifact from unleashing an ancient evil upon their land, facing a host of dangerous creatures and treacherous enemies in their quest to keep the shard from the clutches of those who would use its power for domination.

Old Man's War by John Scalzi

In this science fiction novel, elderly citizens of Earth are given a chance to join an interstellar army, trading their decrepit bodies for rejuvenated, genetically enhanced versions to fight in a seemingly endless war across the galaxy. The protagonist, a widower who enlists on his 75th birthday, navigates the complexities of his new existence, including the physical and emotional challenges of being young again, the camaraderie and loss within the ranks, and the ethical quandaries posed by the conflict with various alien species. As he rises through the military's ranks, he confronts the harsh realities of this expansive and deadly cosmic battlefield.

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Set in a future where nanotechnology has revolutionized society, the narrative revolves around a young girl named Nell who comes into possession of a powerful, interactive book called "A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer." This book, designed to educate and guide a young girl to a more enlightened state, was originally intended for an elite clientele but falls into Nell's hands by chance. As Nell uses the primer to navigate her complex, cyberpunk world, the story explores themes of education, social class, and the impact of technology on society. The book weaves together the lives of various characters across different strata of a stratified culture, examining how access to technology can both empower and divide.

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke

In this science fiction classic, humanity encounters an enigmatic alien starship that enters the solar system. Named after the Hindu god, the cylindrical vessel is initially thought to be an asteroid but is soon revealed to be a spacecraft. A team of astronauts is dispatched to intercept and explore the mysterious object, embarking on a high-stakes mission to unlock its secrets. As they journey through the ship's interior, they discover a world of astonishing complexity, artificial landscapes, and advanced technology, all of which challenge their understanding of life and intelligence in the universe. The explorers must race against time to learn as much as possible before the ship, indifferent to their presence, continues on its voyage through the cosmos.

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

In a world where political intrigue and divine destinies intertwine, a young woman born with a scarlet mote in her eye is marked by the gods for a unique destiny. Trained in the arts of love and espionage, she navigates the complex web of courtly life in a realm where sensuality and pain are intertwined. As a pawn and a player in the game of thrones, she uses her unique gifts to uncover secrets and protect her homeland, all while serving a mysterious patron whose motives are as enigmatic as the unfolding divine plan. Her journey is one of self-discovery, loyalty, and betrayal, set against a backdrop of opulence, ritual, and power struggles, where love can be both a weakness and a formidable weapon.

The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

The novel is a profound exploration of two vastly different societies on twin planets, Urras and Anarres. The protagonist is a brilliant physicist from Anarres, a planet with an anarchist society, who travels to Urras, a planet with a capitalist and authoritarian regime. The book explores his struggle to reconcile his anarchist beliefs with the stark realities of a different socio-political system. It's a thought-provoking investigation of human nature, power structures, and the idea of utopia.

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

In this dark fantasy novel, two thirteen-year-old friends, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, encounter a sinister traveling carnival that arrives in their small Midwestern town just before Halloween. The carnival's malevolent proprietor, Mr. Dark, possesses the power to grant the townspeople's deepest desires, but at a terrible cost. As the boys uncover the nightmarish truth behind the carnival's attractions, they must confront their own fears and temptations. A battle between good and evil ensues, with the fate of their souls and the soul of the town hanging in the balance. The story is a coming-of-age tale that explores the struggle between youth and maturity, and the recognition that every individual harbors both darkness and light within them.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

This novel reimagines the land of Oz, telling the story from the perspective of the misunderstood green-skinned witch Elphaba. It explores her early life, education, and complex relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch, as well as her eventual transformation into the infamous Wicked Witch of the West. The book delves into themes of good versus evil, the nature of wickedness, and the societal structures that label and ostracize individuals. It provides a rich backstory to a classic tale, challenging readers to reconsider their preconceived notions about villainy and the true cost of standing against injustice.

Gardens Of The Moon by Steven Erikson

In a dark and complex fantasy world, an elite group of soldiers known as the Bridgeburners navigate political intrigue and ancient magic as part of a vast empire's expansionist wars. The city of Darujhistan becomes the focal point of conflict, where gods, mages, and various factions vie for power. Amidst the chaos, an ancient force is awakening, threatening to change the balance of power. The soldiers and citizens alike must contend with betrayal, ancient prophecies, and their own personal demons in a struggle that blurs the lines between heroism and ambition, with the fate of the empire and the world itself hanging in the balance.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

In a parallel 1985 where literature is taken to extremes, a literary detective named Thursday Next navigates a world where the boundaries between reality and fiction are blurred. When a criminal mastermind begins kidnapping characters from classic novels, Thursday must enter the pages of Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" to pursue the villain and restore the beloved story to its rightful course. Her journey is fraught with danger, wit, and a touch of romance, as she contends with a time-traveling father, a pet dodo, and the complexities of her own life entwined with the fictional landscapes she protects.

Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks

"Consider Phlebas" is a science fiction novel set in a vast and chaotic universe where different civilizations and species clash. The story follows a protagonist named Bora Horza Gobuchul, a shape-shifting mercenary who becomes entangled in a dangerous mission to retrieve a powerful artifact from a religious cult. As Horza navigates treacherous alliances and battles, he also grapples with questions of identity, loyalty, and the nature of humanity. With its epic scope and thought-provoking themes, the novel explores the complexities of war, morality, and the search for meaning in a universe teetering on the brink of destruction.

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart

"The Crystal Cave" is a historical fiction novel that tells the story of Merlin, the legendary wizard of King Arthur's court. The book follows Merlin's early life, from his birth as the illegitimate son of a Welsh princess to his discovery of his magical powers and his journey to become a wise and powerful advisor to the future King Arthur. Set against the backdrop of early medieval Britain, the novel explores themes of destiny, power, and the struggle between pagan and Christian beliefs.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

In a parallel world where intellectuals and scientists are cloistered in monastic communities called "concents," the story follows a young monk named Erasmas, who is drawn out of his secluded life by the discovery of an alien spacecraft orbiting his planet. As he and his companions are selected to interact with these extraterrestrial visitors, they are thrust into a complex web of political intrigue, philosophical debate, and existential risk. The narrative weaves together themes of mathematics, quantum mechanics, and multiple world theory, challenging the characters to question the nature of reality and their place within it as they strive to avert global catastrophe.

Furies Of Calderon by Jim Butcher

In a fantasy realm where humans bond with elemental forces known as furies, a young shepherd named Tavi struggles with his apparent lack of this magical connection. As his homeland, the Calderon Valley, faces an invasion by a savage tribe, Tavi finds himself embroiled in a desperate conflict. Without the aid of his own fury, he must rely on his wits and courage to help defend his people and uncover a deeper, sinister plot that threatens not only Calderon but the entire realm. Alongside a diverse cast of characters, including a powerful female Cursor and a steadfast warrior, Tavi's journey is one of growth, bravery, and the discovery of his own unique strengths.

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

"The Book of the New Sun" is a four-volume science fiction series set in a far future, post-apocalyptic Earth, known as Urth. The story follows a journeyman torturer named Severian who is exiled for showing mercy to one of his victims. As he navigates through a world filled with strange and mythical creatures, political intrigue, and ancient technology often perceived as magic, Severian discovers his destiny is far greater than he could have ever imagined. The narrative is dense and complex, filled with allegory and symbolism, making it a challenging yet rewarding read.

Heir To The Empire by Timothy Zahn

Set five years after the fall of the Galactic Empire, the book follows the New Republic as it struggles to maintain peace in the galaxy. The remnants of the Empire, under the strategic command of Grand Admiral Thrawn, are regrouping and pose a new threat. Thrawn's tactical genius and his discovery of a hidden cache of Emperor Palpatine's warships give him the tools to challenge the New Republic. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo face personal challenges and the burden of leadership as they fight to protect the fledgling democracy from both external and internal turmoil. The story weaves a complex tapestry of intrigue, betrayal, and battles, setting the stage for a new chapter in the Star Wars saga.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

The novel follows a World War II nurse who accidentally time travels back to 18th century Scotland. There, she meets a handsome and brave Scottish warrior and is torn between her loyalty to her husband in her own time and her growing love for the warrior. As she becomes more entwined in the past, she must navigate the dangers of a time not her own, including political unrest and violence, while trying to find a way back home.

The Dreaming City by Michael Moorcock

In "The Dreaming City," readers are introduced to a vivid, fantastical world where Elric of Melniboné, the last emperor of a declining empire, embarks on a poignant and treacherous journey. Struggling with his own moral compass and the heavy reliance on his sentient sword, Stormbringer, which feeds on the souls of its victims, Elric seeks vengeance and redemption. His quest leads him through various dimensions of sorcery and swordplay, challenging his allegiances and desires. This tale is a cornerstone of the sword and sorcery genre, exploring themes of fate, power, and the eternal battle between good and evil, all set against the backdrop of a richly imagined fantasy universe.

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

"The Illustrated Man" is a collection of eighteen science fiction short stories that revolve around the mysterious figure of the illustrated man, whose body is covered in moving tattoos that predict the future. Each story explores themes of technology, humanity, and the consequences of our actions, taking readers on a thought-provoking journey through dystopian worlds, alien encounters, and the depths of human imagination. With vivid imagery and compelling narratives, the book delves into the complexities of human nature and the potential dangers of our own creations.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

"Sunshine" is a dark fantasy novel by Robin McKinley that follows the story of a young woman named Rae "Sunshine" Seddon, who works as a baker in a small town. One night, she is kidnapped by a group of vampires and taken to an abandoned mansion where she is held captive with a vampire named Constantine. As they work together to escape, Sunshine discovers her own hidden powers and becomes entangled in a dangerous world of magic and supernatural beings. The novel explores themes of identity, acceptance, and the power of love and friendship.

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge

In this science fiction epic, a human expedition inadvertently unleashes a malevolent superintelligence in the far reaches of the galaxy. As the entity spreads destruction across civilizations, a diverse group of characters, including a family stranded on a planet with a medieval-level society of dog-like aliens, must navigate complex political landscapes and the vast scales of a universe with zones of thought that dictate the level of technological and cognitive potential. The novel intertwines multiple narratives, exploring themes of consciousness, technology, and communication, while a desperate race against time unfolds to stop the spreading menace before it can reach the High Beyond, where even more advanced societies are vulnerable to its insatiable hunger for power and control.

The Caves Of Steel by Isaac Asimov

"The Caves of Steel" is a science fiction novel set in a future where Earth is heavily populated and humans live in massive enclosed cities. The story follows a detective and his robot partner as they investigate a murder that could potentially spark a conflict between Earth's human population and the Spacers, a group of humans who live on other planets. As they delve deeper into the case, they uncover a complex conspiracy that challenges their beliefs about robots, humanity, and the future of their world.

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

The book is a science fiction narrative that chronicles the initial efforts to colonize Mars. It delves into the complex dynamics among the first group of settlers, who come from diverse cultural and scientific backgrounds, as they confront the challenges of terraforming the hostile Martian environment. The story explores themes of ecological transformation, political struggle, and the ethical implications of altering an alien world, while also examining the personal lives and evolving relationships of the colonists. As the settlers work to create a new society on the red planet, their actions set the stage for future generations and the emergence of Mars as a new frontier for humanity.

Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven , Jerry Pournelle

In this gripping novel, a comet hurtles towards Earth, causing widespread panic and destruction. As society collapses and chaos ensues, a diverse group of survivors must navigate the aftermath and confront the harsh realities of a post-apocalyptic world. With vivid characters and intense action, "Lucifer's Hammer" explores humanity's resilience and the lengths people will go to in order to survive.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

In this science fiction novel, a young historian undertakes a time-travel journey to the 14th century for academic research, only to find herself stranded amidst the onset of the Black Death. As she navigates the challenges of medieval England, her colleagues in the 21st century grapple with a deadly influenza pandemic, complicating efforts to retrieve her. The narrative weaves between the past and the present, exploring themes of human resilience, the universality of suffering across time, and the ethical implications of time travel, all while the historian and her contemporaries confront mortality, history, and their own personal crises.

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

In a sprawling steampunk metropolis teeming with bizarre creatures and arcane technologies, a gifted scientist unwittingly unleashes a nightmare upon the city. When his experiment with a rare caterpillar goes awry, monstrous, dream-eating moths are set loose, preying upon the citizens' minds and plunging the city into terror. As the scientist grapples with the consequences of his actions, a motley group of individuals, including a renegade artist, a wingless bird-man, and other outcasts, come together in a desperate attempt to save their city from the eldritch horrors that now haunt its shadowy streets. Their journey takes them through the city's various layers, from the opulent heights to the grimy depths, revealing the complex tapestry of cultures and conflicts that define this urban labyrinth.

A Spell For Chameleon by Piers Anthony

In this fantasy novel, we follow the adventures of Bink, a young man from the magical land of Xanth, who lacks his own magic in a realm where magic is the norm. Facing exile for his deficiency, Bink embarks on a quest to discover his true magical talent. Along the way, he encounters a variety of creatures, challenges, and a mysterious woman named Chameleon, whose beauty and intelligence shift with the phases of the moon. Bink's journey reveals not only the secret of his own latent magic but also addresses themes of self-discovery, the value of nonconformity, and the nature of love and loyalty in a world where everything and everyone is more than they seem.

Out Of The Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis

In this science fiction novel, a man named Dr. Elwin Ransom finds himself transported to another planet called Malacandra. As he explores this strange new world, he encounters various intelligent beings and learns about their unique cultures and languages. Ransom soon realizes that he has been brought to Malacandra as a sacrifice, but he manages to escape and embarks on a thrilling journey to return home. Along the way, he grapples with themes of good versus evil, the nature of humanity, and the existence of a higher power.

NPR , 100 Books

NPR did a readers survey of the Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy books in 2011. More than 60,000 ballots were cast in our annual summer reader's survey — click here to see the full list of 100 books, complete with links and descriptions. Below is a list of the top 100 winners.

This list was originally published in 2011 and was added to this site 5 months ago.

This list has a weight of 29% . To learn more about what this means please visit the Rankings page .

• Voters: not critics, authors, or experts
• List: only covers a few specific genres

If you think this is incorrect please contact us .

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NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books

What are the top 100 science-fiction and fantasy books ever written? This is an argument that will go on until the end of time with buffs of both these genres. NPR came up with their list of the  Best 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books . So, do you agree with the choices? Was there a book left off? Vote for the scifi and fantasy books that you believe are the absolute best. Add any shows that you believe deserve votes, and of course, feel free to re-rank this list of books in the order you think is correct.

Many of the books listed here are classics. Most people can agree that The Lord of the Rings , The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe, 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire are amazing works of literature and considered not only some of  the best science fiction books, but maybe the best books ever .

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

• Dig Deeper... The Best Selling Books of All Time
• # 45 of 271 on The Top Must-Read Books of All Time
• # 10 of 80 on 35+ Books Everybody Lies About Having Read

Nineteen Eighty-Four

• # 9 of 271 on The Top Must-Read Books of All Time
• # 9 of 80 on 35+ Books Everybody Lies About Having Read

Dune Chronicles

• # 44 of 153 on The Greatest American Novels
• # 118 of 271 on The Top Must-Read Books of All Time

• # 68 of 80 on 35+ Books Everybody Lies About Having Read
• # 205 of 329 on Books That Changed Your Life
• # 6 of 154 on The Greatest Science Fiction Novels Of All Time

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

• # 94 of 271 on The Top Must-Read Books of All Time
• # 20 of 80 on 35+ Books Everybody Lies About Having Read

Fahrenheit 451

• # 10 of 153 on The Greatest American Novels
• # 38 of 271 on The Top Must-Read Books of All Time
• # 17 of 80 on 35+ Books Everybody Lies About Having Read

NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books - Page 3

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The best science fiction books of 2024 so far

From a quantum-bubble reality show from Peng Shepherd to a murderous valet bot from Adrian Tchaikovsky, enjoy this year's best science fiction so far if you're heading off on your travels, says Emily H. Wilson

By Emily Wilson

3 July 2024

Explore books dealing with multiverses and alternate worlds

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Since I became science fiction columnist for New Scientist , I have had to think a lot about what qualifies as sci-fi. Very often, a book could actually be classified as fantasy, which is outside my remit. More and more, I find myself agreeing with the writer Damon Knight when he said: “Science fiction is what I point to [when I say] ‘That’s science fiction’.”

Anyway, for this holiday reading special, I present my list of some of the year’s best sci-fi so far. All that binds these incredibly diverse books…

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10 Must-Read Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books Releasing This July

Hot summer reads..

July’s sci-fi and fantasy novel releases are as hot as the temperatures. Lev Grossman returns with a gorgeous rendering of Arthurian legend, while Peng Shepherd’s latest is an inventive exploration of physics and altered realities. Cozy fantasy romance readers will love new books by Sarah Beth Durst and India Holton, while readers who prefer grittier fantasies won’t be disappointed by a Peter Pan retelling by P.H. Low and a novella based on Yoruban mythology by Tobi Ogundiran. Other books have dragons, witches, magical battles, and so much more.

We’ve tried to find something for every reader in this month’s sci-fi and fantasy roundup. Which ones are you looking forward to reading? If you're looking to save some cash, it might be worth picking up this special early Prime Day three-month free membership of Audible . It's worth almost $35 and nets you a free audiobook every month — well worth considering. Here are the best sci-fi fantasy books to consider in July 2024, or check out our top sci-fi and fantasy picks for June , May , and April if you're interested in even more great reads. It can get a little expensive to buy books.

The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons

There can never be too many dragon novels. at least for fantasy fans. This latest addition to dragon lore is an action-packed, fun read. It’s a heist novel about a group of misfits stealing from a dragon’s hoard, but this isn’t just any treasure; it belongs to the regent, Neveranimas.

Anahrod lives in the wild deep, far away from the cloud cities. She’s a mercenary whose best friend is a titan drake named Overbite, who helps her survive the deep’s many dangers. When a ragtag group of outsiders saves her, she reluctantly agrees to aid them on their quest—for pay, of course. Little does she know that she’s the person they seek, and they mean to take her back to the place she vowed never to return to.

See Here for UK - Tor

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

This cozy romantic fantasy is so sweet. Grumpy librarian Kiela flees her war-torn city with crates of spellbooks and her only friend, a sentient houseplant named Caz. Soldiers set fire to the library, and she had to take the books to save them, but it’s illegal to have spellbooks unless you’re an empire-approved magic users.

With nowhere else to go, Kiela and Caz return to the remote island where Kiela was raised, where a lack of magic has caused the village to fall on hard times. She moves into her family’s abandoned, derelict cottage and meets a handsome neighbor who herds merhorses. Kiela decides to help the villagers by using the spellbooks to create magical cures for the dying trees and blocked rivers, but she knows if she draws the empire’s eye, she could be put to death. She hides her spellshop behind the ruse of making jam.

All This & More by Peng Shepherd

A reality TV show, All This & More , uses a physics breakthrough to allow contestants to alter their lives in search of their perfect reality. Anything can be changed, and at the season finale, contestants can choose their perfect life, for real. Season one’s star, Talia, hosts season three after a disastrous second season. 45-year-old divorcee and mother Marsh has been chosen for the third season. Marsh tends to put her own wishes last, but now, after a recent divorce, she’s ready to find something, anything, to help her feel fulfilled. But what changes should she make? The reader gets to decide. However, every reality Marsh chases is haunted by Season two’s mysterious catastrophe.

See Here for UK - William Morrow

These Deathless Shores by P.H. Low

Jordan and Baron were once lost boys—the twins, despite being unrelated. Jordan hid her gender from Peter so she could be accepted, and she and Baron lived happily in Peter’s world, addicted to pixie Dust and going on adventures, until Peter discovers Jordan is a girl and kicks the two out.

The novel opens with an adult Jordan, who has a prosthetic arm, in the fighting rink. She’s desperate to earn enough money to buy more Dust, an addiction she can’t seem to break. But a disastrous fight causes her boss to call in her debts. Meanwhile, Baron is struggling in engineering courses at college. His time as a Lost Boy means he’s woefully behind in education, and his chronic anxiety doesn’t help matters. Baron initially resists when Jordan proposes they try to find the island again. But what else does he have in life? This is a unique, grimdark retelling of the classic tale, humanizing one of the most well-known villains in British literature: Captain Hook.

See Here for UK - Angry Robot

A Rose by Any Other Name by Mary McMyne

This haunting, queer historical fantasy takes place in Elizabethan England and follows the woman who inspired William Shakespeare’s love sonnets.

More than anything, Rose wants to perform music at court, but even though she’s an excellent musician, no one will give her a chance because she’s a woman. Rose is also an expert in astrology and can glimpse into the past, present, and future by charting people’s astrological charts. Her mother is a witch, and when Rose’s father dies, a neighbor accuses her mother of witchcraft and burns down their house.

The family and Rose’s beloved friend, whom she harbors deeper feelings for, flee and find refuge with the sons of a recently deceased family friend. Rose’s mother casts a spell for the eldest son to fall in love with Rose, with disastrous results. Rose refuses to bow to convention and sneaks out to play music at a brothel. She meets William Shakespeare there, and the two begin a turbulent relationship.

See Here for UK - Orbit

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman

I see reviewers say The Bright Sword is to Arthurian Legend what Grossman’s wildly popular The Magicians series was for The Chronicles of Narnia , but I disagree. Unlike The Magicians , his newest novel is a richly detailed historical fantasy that meanders through character backstories not to subvert the magic behind the legends but to humanize them, showing that becoming a knight of the Round Table is less about physical strength and wealth and more about found family and friendship.

Collum dreams of becoming a knight of the Round Table. An abused bastard of a remote isle, this seems like an absurd wish, but he seizes a chance to escape and makes his way to Camelot nonetheless. When he arrives, the great battle that kills Arthur and Mordred has already happened, and only a handful of knights remain. They’re not the ones people sing praises about, but as they struggle to decide who should be the next king of Britain, their stories unfold, stories of being queer and trans and foreign yet still finding a home at Camelot when no one else would accept them.

See Here for UK - Del Rey

Queen B by Juno Dawson

This super fun prequel to the Her Majesty’s Royal Coven series also gives a queer take on British history, this time during King Henry VIII’s reign. Because it’s a prequel, it works as a stand-alone, so if you haven’t read the other books in the series, you can still enjoy it.

Dawson alternates between two timelines. In the first, Anne Boleyn, not yet queen, is head of a secret royal coven. Grace Fairfax has recently fled an abusive marriage in the North to serve Queen Catherine as one of her ladies in waiting. The coven quickly notices her powers, and she joins them, slowly falling in love with Anne. In the second timeline, Anne has been beheaded, and Grace and the rest of the coven seek the woman who betrayed her. A witch hunter follows their steps.

See Here for UK - HarperVoyager

In the Shadow of the Fall by Tobi Ogundiran

This fantasy novella, the first in a duology, defies its slim format with rich world-building based on Yuroban mythology and well-defined character arcs.

Ashâke has been an acolyte for so long that she’s watched all her peers ascend to priesthood, yet an orisha has never spoken to her. She decides to take matters into her own hands by summoning and trapping an orisha in a forbidden ritual, one which goes horribly wrong. She has placed herself in the midst of a war she understands even less than she does herself.

See Here for UK - Titan Books

The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton

Holton’s newest romantic fantasy is an absolute delight, perfect for fans of Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and Holton’s previous Dangerous Damsels series. I could not stop smiling as I read it.

Professor Beth Pickering, ornithologist, often accompanies wealthy fellow bird-lover Hippolyta on adventures to find rare birds. But the handsome Professor Devon Lockley, who also travels with a rich patron, often foils their attempts. Beth is determined to be named Birder of the Year by finding the endangered and magical caladrius bird, but Devon is right on her heels with the same goal.

See Here for UK - Penguin

The Night Ends with Fire by K. X. Song

Meilin longs to flee her abusive father, who declares she'll be engaged to an aging, violent man who has already killed one wife. After she comes to the aid of a prince of the Three Kingdoms, she poses as a man and answers the imperial draft to become a soldier. Before she goes, her stepmother gives her a necklace that belonged to Meilin’s deceased mother, who went mad before her death.

As Meilin trains, she hears a voice prompting her towards violence. She worries she might become like her mother, who also spoke of voices no one else could hear. Then Meilin begins causing things to happen through magic, and her necklace vibrates when she does so. Now Meilin needs to hide not only her gender but also her magical powers. Meanwhile, the more she trains for Sky, the deeper her feelings for him become.

See Here for UK - Hodderscape

Get 3 Months of Kindle Unlimited For Free Before Prime Day

Kindle Unlimited

Prime Day is officially kicking off this year on July 16 and 17 , but there are quite a few early deals available now for Prime members to enjoy. For those who love to dig into a good book, and own a Kindle, you can score 3 months of Kindle Unlimited for free now . This is a fantastic deal, and my favorite from the early Prime Day deals so far.

With it, you gain unlimited access to millions of digital titles, audiobooks, and magazine subscriptions for three months before it goes back up to its monthly price of $11.99/month. With all that time you can spend the rest of the summer reading all of the classics, the latest hits, new bestsellers and so much more. Some of the books you can enjoy with Kindle Unlimited range from incredible comics like TMNT: The Last Ronin and All-Star Superman to absolute classics like The Fellowship Of The Ring. Plus, there's a massive selection of sci-fi fantasy books available via the service. What better way to get started on your Kindle adventure?

Margaret Kingsbury is a freelance writer, editor, and all-around book nerd based in Nashville, TN. Her pieces on books and reading have appeared in Book Riot, BuzzFeed News, School Library Journal, StarTrek.com, Parents, and more. Follow her on Instagram @BabyLibrarians and Twitter and Bluesky @AReaderlyMom

Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. We may earn a commission from these links.

The 75 Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

See if your favorites made our expanded list.

Since time immemorial, mankind has been looking up at the stars and dreaming, but it was only centuries ago that we started turning those dreams into fiction. And what remarkable dreams they are—dreams of distant worlds, unearthly creatures, parallel universes, artificial intelligence, and so much more. Today, we call those dreams science fiction.

Sci-fi brings out the best in our imaginations and evokes a sense of wonder, but it also inspires a spirit of questioning. Through the enduring themes of sci-fi, we can examine the zeitgeist’s cultural context and ethical questions. Our favorite works in the genre make good on this promise, meditating on everything from identity to oppression to morality. As the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Doris Lessing said, “Science fiction is some of the best social fiction of our time.”

Over two years ago, we published a version of this list featuring 50 books. But why stop at 50? Now, as part of our latest Summer Fiction Week , we’ve cast a wider net and expanded the list to 75 titles. Choosing the 75 best science fiction books of all time wasn’t easy, so to get the job done, we had to establish some guardrails. Though we assessed single installments as representatives of their series, we limited the list to one book per author. We also emphasized books that brought something new and innovative to the genre—to borrow a great sci-fi turn of phrase, books that “boldly go where no one has gone before.”

Now, in ranked order, here are the best science fiction books of all time.

The Echo Wife, by Sarah Gailey

Westworld meets The Stepford Wives in this gripping revenge thriller about the unlikely alliance between a woman and her clone. After geneticist Evelyn Caldwell learns that her husband, Nathan, is cheating on her, she soon ferrets out the truth: Rather than work on their strained marriage, Nathan stole Evelyn’s proprietary cloning technology and replaced her with a more docile substitute. But when Evelyn finds her clone standing over Nathan’s dead body, crying, “It was self-defense,” these quasi-sisters will have to work together to conceal the crime and preserve Evelyn’s scientific reputation. The Echo Wife ’s juicy premise runs deep, raising eerie questions about love, justice, and individuality.

The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal’s outstanding alt-history series Lady Astronaut begins with a disaster: When a meteorite hits the eastern seaboard in 1952, millions of people are killed, including the president and most other government officials. Mathematician and pilot Elma York calculates that the resulting climate shift will wipe out life on Earth in a matter of decades, meaning that the only solution is to establish a colony on Mars. Elma longs to become an astronaut, but because of the sexism, racism, and antisemitism of the time, she and other women are benched as “human computers.” Against the thrilling backdrop of this burgeoning space race, Elma and her colleagues wage an increasingly public war against discrimination, fighting for their right to become astronauts. Textured with strong scientific research and achingly real characters, The Calculating Stars is a lively time machine to an alternate past.

Redshirts, by John Scalzi

Not all science fiction has to be serious. John Scalzi sets this metafictional satire on the starship Intrepid , where low-ranking crew members reach a grim realization: On the ship’s frequent away missions, it’s always the ensigns who die a cheap, gruesome death. If that sounds like a riff on Star Trek ’s ill-fated “redshirts,” that’s because it is: These ensigns are the expendables of their own third-rate Star Trek rip-off, doomed to become cannon fodder. “Sooner or later, the Narrative will come for each of us,” one muses. Like a sci-fi comedy crossed with The Truman Show , Redshirts follows the ensigns’ efforts to transcend their own narrative. “You’re making bad science fiction, and we have to live in it,” one complains. Snappy and surprising, Redshirts takes a comic premise and elevates it into a clever meditation on fiction and free will.

Beautyland, by Marie-Helene Bertino

In 1977, Adina Giorno is born to a single mother in Philadelphia. Then, at age four, she’s “activated” by her extraterrestrial superiors 300,000 light years away on the dying planet Cricket Rice, who task her with reporting back about how humans think and behave. Through a fantastical fax machine in her bedroom, Adina transmits astute and often hilarious observations about the confounding behavior of earthlings (for instance: “Human beings don’t like when other humans seem happy”). Meanwhile, she experiences the bittersweetness of growing up; ostracized by the popular clique and mocked for her dark skin, she learns how sometimes, being human means feeling alien. Warm, witty, and touching, Beautyland is a modern classic in the making—an out-of-this-world exploration of loneliness and belonging.

The Ten Percent Thief, by Lavanya Lakshminarayan

This recent debut earned its place on our list for two reasons: its innovative mosaic structure and its nightmarish satire of life under algorithmic rule. In the technocapitalist hellscape of Apex City (formerly known as Bangalore), citizens live in thrall to the odious Bell Corp and its Bell Curve: a modern-day caste system determined by productivity and social media virality. The elite Twenty Percent enjoy luxurious privileges, while the middling Seventy Percent lead workaday lives and the precarious Ten Percent risk becoming Analogs, forced to live a dehumanizing existence without electricity or running water. But when the elusive “Ten Percent Thief” steals from the Twenty Percent to give to the Analogs, like a cyberpunk Robin Hood, a revolution brews. Told through various perspectives all across Apex City, this biting satire considers how we live now—our unfettered capitalism, our “hustle and grind” culture, our obsession with “correct” opinions—and shows it to us through a dystopian kaleidoscope, hideous and true.

Midnight Robber, by Nalo Hopkinson

When we head for the stars, we take culture with us—and Midnight Robber exemplifies how sci-fi writers can build the world we know into the worlds we imagine. On the technologically advanced planet Toussaint, descendants of Caribbean immigrants live under the watchful supervision of Granny Nanny, an all-seeing AI who guides the fate of humanity. When young Tan-Tan is spirited to a planet of exiles by her abusive father, she escapes his clutches and finds refuge among the douen, an alien race inspired by Afro-Caribbean folklore. To survive on this new planet, Tan-Tan becomes the stuff of myth herself: the Robber Queen, a Carnival legend who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Told with magic and music in a unique patois, this bildungsroman reads as much like a futuristic folk tale as it does sci-fi.

Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

Long before Facebook’s Metaverse, Neal Stephenson coined the term in this cyberpunk acid trip of a novel. Snow Crash ’s Hiro Protagonist lives a double life: In reality, he delivers pizzas for the Mafia, but in the Metaverse, he’s a hacker and a warrior prince. When he learns about a lethal virus picking off hackers one by one, his race to find its dastardly architect sends him pinballing through everything from technological conspiracy to ancient Sumerian mythology. It’s sexy, action-packed, and downright prophetic in its vision of our virtual future; you’ll want to strap in tight for this dizzying techno-thriller.

Star Maker, by Olaf Stapledon

Some of the best science fiction makes us ask, “What the hell did I just read?” Star Maker is one of those books—an enormously ambitious history of the universe, told by an Englishman who floats into the cosmos one evening while contemplating its vastness. Disembodied and imbued with godlike powers, he speeds through extraordinary galaxies in search of intelligent life, encountering several exotic alien civilizations along the journey. It all culminates in an encounter with the Star Maker himself, which unspools like a brain-bending creation myth. This eschatological acid trip is a singular work of imagination—one that will leave you with more questions than answers.

Contact, by Carl Sagan

The great Carl Sagan wrote dozens of works of nonfiction but just one novel: Contact , a 1985 bestseller that later became a Jodie Foster flick. Sagan’s preoccupations with intelligent life come into view through Dr. Ellie Arroway, a principled astronomer who detects and decrypts a deep-space transmission from a planetary system far, far away. At the transmission’s urging, the nations of the world race to build a mysterious machine, but faith leaders call the enterprise (and the rationality of science) into question. Through this thoughtful, layered story, Sagan plumbs the often antagonistic relationship between science and religion, asking if perhaps both are seeking contact in different forms. After all, disciples from each camp can agree on one thing: “The universe is a pretty big place. If it's just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”

Under the Skin, by Michel Faber

Haunting and dread-filled, Under the Skin blends horror with sci-fi to create something unforgettably disturbing. In the Scottish Highlands, a strange-looking drifter named Isserley cruises the highways picking up hunky hitchhikers, who often vanish into thin air after entering her beat-up vehicle. Through her taut conversations with her passengers, Isserley teases out clues about their lives, wondering who might miss them if they disappear. To say too much about Isserley and her agenda is to spoil the book’s mysteries, but through this character, Michel Faber toys with sci-fi’s fundamental questions, like: What makes us human? Beneath our different appearances, are we all the same? Under the Skin reminds us that not every sci-fi novel needs to be a treatise on interstellar travel; in fact, this one lingers because of its masterful friction between the quotidian and the strange.

Way Station, by Clifford D. Simak

In the backwoods of Wisconsin, there lives a hermit named Enoch Wallace. Though Enoch is 124 years old, he doesn’t look a day over 30—that’s because Enoch is a caretaker, and for over a century, he’s been running a rest stop for intergalactic travelers inside his rickety Civil War-era farmhouse. Enoch’s neighbors look the other way, but when the government catches wind of a strange man who never ages living in a house that no human can enter, their investigators come knocking, with disastrous consequences. Clifford D. Simak was a fine practitioner of what’s now called “pastoral science fiction”—think of it as classic sci-fi set in the countryside, inflected with that familiar Bradbury-esque Midwestern sentimentalism. The subgenre has fallen into disuse, but if you ever find yourself longing to be transported to a cornfield at dusk, looking up at the stars and wondering what’s out there, let Simak be your guide. Warm, wise, and bittersweet, Way Station is his masterpiece.

Sea of Rust, by C. Robert Cargill

“Robot western,” you say? Say no more! In C. Robert Cargill’s speculative future, machines have proven victorious in the much-feared war between man and machine; now humans have been extinct for over three decades, and two supercomputers (called One World Intelligences) are vying to become king of the ruins. Enter Brittle, a former caregiver robot now scavenging to survive in the barren Sea of Rust (formerly the Rust Belt). When an OWI launches a scheme to assimilate millions of robots into the mainframe, Brittle and a merry band of gunslingers travel through the robot underground to defend their individuality. On its surface, Sea of Rust is a rip-roaring shoot’em-up, but underneath, it’s an Asimovian meditation on sci-fi’s most enduring questions. Is an artificial life still a life? Are human creations doomed to repeat human mistakes? Cargill is a fine standard-bearer for the next frontier of this time-honored subgenre.

What Mad Universe, by Fredric Brown

Published in 1949 during the waning glory of science fiction’s golden age, What Mad Universe is a dazzling high-wire performance—at once a cheeky satire of classic pulp magazines and an excellent pulp tale in its own right. In a near-future setting, pulp magazine editor Keith Winton is transported to a parallel universe through a freak rocket launch accident. This alternate reality looks just like home, but with some key differences: Here, everything from Keith’s magazines is a fact of daily life, from interstellar travel to war with extraterrestrials. Soon enough, Keith becomes a fugitive on the run in New York City, desperate to get back to his own timeline. What Mad Universe is packed with daffy, self-referential details for the devoted sci-fi reader; for instance, in Fredric Brown’s alternate universe, H.G. Wells never wrote a novel about a Martian invasion of Earth, but rather a political manifesto condemning the human colonization of Mars. Campy and comical, this novel is both an homage and a send-up, not to be missed.

The Book of Phoenix, by Nnedi Okorafor

Science fiction and magical realism collide in this imaginative prequel to Nnedi Okorafor’s World Fantasy Award-winning Who Fears Death . Here we meet Phoenix, an “accelerated woman” grown in New York’s Tower 7. Though she’s only two years old, she has the mind and body of a middle-aged adult, along with superhuman abilities. Phoenix suffers a painful awakening when her lover takes his life under dubious circumstances, proving that Tower 7 is less of a home and more of a prison. Her daring escape leads her to Ghana, where she learns brutal truths about colonialism and vows to fight back against her oppressors. Blistering with love and rage, Phoenix’s fight for justice is downright electrifying.

Semiosis, by Sue Burke

In this outstanding debut, Sue Burke blitzes beloved genre tropes (like colony ships and first contact) into a character-driven story about manifest destiny gone galactic. In the 2060s, a group of humans flee their ravaged Earth; 158 years later, they settle on a lush planet and christen it Pax (Latin for “peace”). But the settlers won’t find any peace here, because Pax’s abundant native plants are sentient, and they aren’t keen on sharing their world. Narrated by successive generations of colonists (and even the plants themselves, who think of the human settlers as “their” animals), Semiosis charts the turf war between these two factions. Sometimes that war is downright lethal, while other times it’s a nuanced struggle for two cultures to communicate without a shared language. In this magnificently alien world, Burke tells a powerful story about the dangerous hubris of colonialism.

Excession, by Iain M. Banks

Banks’ The Culture series, spanning ten installments published over 25 years, centers on the titular Culture, a post-scarcity intergalactic empire dominated by the Minds, a cabal of (mostly) harmless artificial intelligences. In this futuristic landscape of “space socialism,” as the author calls it, each volume centers on an agent of the Culture tasked with influencing specific change. Through this diversity of protagonists, Iain M. Banks assesses his ambiguous utopia from ever-changing perspectives. Our favorite volume is Excession , the most cerebral of the lot—and one that speaks to us all the more powerfully in the age of AI. When a black sphere 50 times older than the universe appears in remote space, the all-knowing Minds are stumped. For the first time ever, they’ve encountered what Banks calls “the Outside Context Problem”—a dilemma they lack the frame of reference to solve. Following the Minds as they deliberate and disagree about the sphere, Excession stands out in its series (and in the sci-fi canon) for its high-minded characterization of AI.

The Claw of the Conciliator, by Gene Wolfe

Revered as “the Melville of science fiction” by Ursula K. Le Guin, Gene Wolfe wrote dense and heady books that aren’t for the faint of heart. But for serious sci-fi readers, there are immense rewards to penetrating Wolfe’s baroque prose and visionary imagination. His best-known work is The Book of the New Sun , a dazzling tetralogy about Severian, a torturer exiled for showing mercy to a prisoner. Our favorite volume is The Claw of the Conciliator , the second installment in the series, wherein Severian heads to the city of his exile, only to be waylaid along the journey by love, fantastical creatures, and a mysterious artifact with ancient powers. Erudite and intricate, this series is a colossus of imagination and language—a must-read for any serious student of the genre.

Lord of Light, by Roger Zelazny

As a key architect of science fiction’s New Wave (a 1960s and 1970s movement for the genre to become more experimental), Roger Zelazny wrote boundary-breaking books that pushed the field in a new direction. His best novel, Lord of Light , fuses heady concepts from religion and philosophy with the familiar trappings of sci-fi. On a colony planet, crew members from the original expedition (the Firsts) have biohacked themselves into immortality through reincarnation; meanwhile, their descendants worship them as Hindu gods, eager for their own chance at another lifetime. The Firsts achieve reincarnation through a technology that transfers minds between bodies, but they keep a tight grip on the process, subjecting the population to mind scans to determine worthy subjects. Sam, a young commoner who embraces Buddhism over Hinduism, plans to seize the tech (à la Prometheus stealing fire from the gods), deliver it to the people, and usher in a new era of enlightenment. Epic in scope and richly imagined, Lord of Light is a pivotal example of sci-fi’s ability to fold multiple disciplines into one story.

This Is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Structured as a poetic correspondence between two time-traveling spies, this forbidden romance puts the “distance” in “long-distance relationship.” As Agents Red and Blue hopscotch through the multiverse, altering history on behalf of their respective military superpowers, they leave behind secret messages for one another—first taunting, then flirtatious, then flowering with love and devotion. “There’s a kind of time travel in letters, isn’t there?” Blue muses. “Letters are structures, not events,” Red replies. “Yours give me a place to live inside.” Amid the dangerous chaos of their circumstances, Red and Blue find constants in one another. Playful and imaginative, told with lyrical grace, this is a dazzling puzzle box of a novella.

The Resisters, by Gish Jen

Welcome to AutoAmerica, where AIs have put many people out of work, the privileged Netted live on high ground, and the rest of the population, known as Surplus, live in swamplands wracked by consumerism. Teenage Gwen plays baseball with fellow members of the Surplus in an underground league, but when the government takes notice of her talents, she’s shipped off to the Olympics in ChinRussia, playing in dangerous territory alongside the Netted. Like Brave New World before it, The Resisters explores our consent in our own subjugation. “No one would have chosen the extinction of frogs and of polar bears… and yet it was something we humans did finally choose,” Gish Jen writes. In this funny and tender novel, she makes the impossible look easy, grafting a heartfelt story about family onto big questions about freedom and resistance.

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Science Fiction, or Speculative Fiction if you prefer. Fantasy too. Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, Dick, Heinlein and other SF books. SF movies and TV shows. Fantasy stuff like Tolkien and Game of Thrones. Laser guns, space ships, and time travel. etc. Star Trek, Battlestar, Star Wars, etc.

NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction & Fantasy Books

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Our favorite books so far this year are so wonderfully human. A sexbot’s quest for self-determination, a haunted house inhabited by angry witches, more than one heartbreaking new take on time travel — genre fiction is always about how we live now, but this year how we live now seems so much closer to the surface.

With romantasy, Gothic horror, and retellings of classic myths, many of our picks this year bleed with wit and pain and good old-fashioned lusty passion, as the dread of the last few years gives way to a feeling of restlessness, a raw chrysalis awaiting what’s next. No one really knows, but we’re having a hell of a time reading these dazzling attempts to sort it all out.

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

The frustrating experience of being stuck in a time loop has prompted stories in practically every major medium: comedy movies , action movies , horror movies , television , board games , video games , you name it. At this point, stories that start with the protagonist first discovering they’re caught in a loop may feel like they’re wasting space on events we’ve all seen many times before. But that frees creators to play with ideas like the one at the center of Django Wexler’s violent, grim, yet surprisingly cozy fantasy How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying , which launches with the protagonist being tortured to death in a dungeon for at least the hundredth time.

Davi accidentally came from a mundane world to a magical one, isekai-style. She was declared the Chosen One. She joined the forces of humanity against the beast-people and orcs of the wild, and the Dark Lord leading them. Eventually, she failed to save the world and died. And then she woke up again, at the beginning of her loop, as if she’d just lost in a video game — one where she could feel pain as well as despair. After hundreds of agonizing iterations of the same doomed fight, she’s exhausted, furious, and borderline psychotic, so she figures, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” And she sets out to join the bad guys and take over the world, using her time-loop resets to build knowledge she can use to gain the allies and minions any dark overlord needs.

There’s a nervy, madness-driven dark humor to all of this, which makes Davi a pretty hilarious protagonist with a surprising dark side. She doesn’t take life or death seriously anymore, but she does value whatever pleasure she can get. All of that leaves her jaded, profane, self-indulgent, hedonistic, smug, and reckless. But as she gets to know the orcs and “wilders” she’s been slaughtering in her hundreds of past lives, her perspective starts to shift. This is openly a series launch rather than a stand-alone — it ends on a fairly massive cliffhanger — but it’s a zippy, surprising, grabby ride of a book that makes the prospect of more to come feel like a warm promise. — Tasha Robinson

• $19 at Bookshop

Woodworm by Layla Martínez

With 149 spare, furious pages, Layla Martínez builds a haunted house. Within it an old woman and her granddaughter live on the edge of town, sharing the space with shadows and rage. A boy disappears, and suspicion makes the locals once again consider the women they’ve neglected, causing them to knock on their door. The shadows and saints that roam the dark halls come out to play, and generations of injustice and class warfare come roaring into the present.

Chilling and beguiling, Woodworm is a work of ghostly wrath, about women who remember and men who forget, and how wealth lets the real monsters thrive in plain sight. — Joshua Rivera

• $20 at Bookshop

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

I’m friends with this one couple. He likes books about explorers; she likes stories about complicated women who maybe sometimes get down with a hot guy. When The Ministry of Time was released, I told them: It’s like a character from one of his books fell into one of her books.

A genre-skipping delight, Kaliane Bradley’s debut novel follows an unnamed protagonist who participates in a top-secret time-travel experiment conducted by the British government. Only she’s not the one traveling — her job instead is to host Lieutenant Graham Gore, a Victorian polar explorer plucked from certain death and brought to the present. With deadpan wit and brisk prose, Bradley’s fish-out-of-water rom-com zigs into a conspiracy thriller and chilling mystery, and zags into a sobering examination of the millennial condition and the generational pain of mixed-race children. Breezy like the best beach read but with a thoughtful heart that lingers, The Ministry of Time is hopefully the first of many more from Bradley. — JR

• $27 at Bookshop

The Physics of Sorrow by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel

A young man named Georgi is given a strange diagnosis: obsessive empathetic-somatic syndrome. Another way of putting it: He falls into the cracks of other people’s stories, sublimating himself into the experiences of others. With this rather direct metaphor for the writer’s mind, Bulgarian author Georgi Gospodinov weaves a fragmented tale about a writer who shares his name, who slips into the stories of his ancestors and the myths he’s grown to love, becoming like the Minotaur of legend, lost in a labyrinth of fable and history.

Newly available in paperback over a decade after its initial publication in Bulgaria, The Physics of Sorrow is a novel to get lost in and a desperate struggle to look everywhere — in history, politics, science, myth, literature, and Tamagotchi (really) — to make one’s place in it all make sense. It is beautiful to read and believe that Georgi might find an answer. It is wonderful to read and understand that he might not. — JR

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Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

John Wiswell’s debut novel (after a long series of intriguing short stories, well worth looking into online) reads a bit like a fantasy spin on Martha Wells’ Murderbot books , if the main character was a powerful protoplasmic goo-monster in a medieval-ish society instead of a cyborg in space. It’s a sort of cozy asexual romance, where the point-of-view character, a human-devouring creature named Shesheshen, makes meaningful contact with a monster-hunter and starts learning about the human experience, besides the basics of being anxious, aggressive, and tasty.

Shesheshen’s slow awakening about the lies and misapprehensions she grew up with makes for warm, emotional, satisfying reading. And the way she navigates her tentative relationship with the monster-hunter, who accepts Shesheshen’s human facade as reality and doesn’t realize she’s a monster, builds sympathy and hope for this unlikely couple’s future. The conflict here is largely on the human side, in ways that also make Someone to Build a Nest In a story about surviving and recovering from familial abuse and manipulation. It’s a nurturing, satisfying found-family story where half of the found family has a whole lot more tentacles and internal pockets of sloshing acid than in other books in this subgenre. — TR

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The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo

The Woods All Black is a short but powerful read about identity, prejudice, revenge… and monster sex. After serving in WWI, trans frontier nurse Leslie is assigned to a remote Appalachian town, where his attempts to administer vaccines are immediately rebuffed by the hostile religious citizens. Already in danger just by being there, Leslie puts himself at further risk by trying to help a young trans boy who’s being pushed into an unwanted marriage.

Mandelo grounds the story in historical realities and the dangers of zealotry, which provide the novella with plenty of horrors before the monster lurking in the woods is even introduced. The Woods All Black is violent, erotic, and fueled by rage in all the best ways. And while the paranormal elements don’t take center stage until the very end, they’re more than memorable enough to make an impact. — Sadie Gennis

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

Before I started Annie Bot , I guessed it would either be a didactic, derivative DNF or an instant favorite. Given its place on this list, I think the answer’s clear.

Annie is a top-of-the-line sex robot devoted to being the perfect girlfriend to divorcé Doug. He prides himself on being a benevolent owner and praises how human she seems, but as Annie begins to develop true sentience, he grows increasingly frustrated and controlling. Annie struggles to reconcile her guilt and pain over displeasing Doug with her own wants and needs — feelings she’s discovering for the first time. Greer does an incredible job allowing Annie’s journey for self-fulfillment to live alongside her enduring desire to please Doug, even as he becomes more abusive. This push-pull is uncomfortable, heartbreaking, empathetic, and tense — and it’s precisely what makes it all so human. — SG

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner

This sequel to Hannah Kaner’s 2023 novel Godkiller has an advantage over the first book in the series, in that it doesn’t have to introduce an entire world, explain what gods are in this setting and why there’s a whole subclass of people dedicated to killing them, and then build an emotionally fulfilling narrative within that framework. Instead, it just brings back the same characters to face an escalated threat. That makes it less surprising and less of a voyage of discovery than Godkiller , but the stakes feel higher and Kaner has more room to dig into the details of this world.

Sunbringer raises two major threats at the same time: a cult devoted to resurrecting and empowering a vicious fallen god, and a king who’s out to become a god himself. This time around, the main characters have more space to stretch and grow, as they all learn more about what they’re capable of and what it means to accept change, especially in themselves. All of which makes Sunbringer a thornier and more complicated book than Godkiller , but also a richer one. — TR

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A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen

Danielle L. Jensen is one of the top romantasy authors out there, and after reading A Fate Inked in Blood , I understand why. The book packs in a lot of intricate world-building, delivering you to a Norse mythology-inspired universe where those who possess a drop of god’s blood are gifted with echoes of their abilities.

For years, power-hungry men have searched for the Hlin-blessed shield maiden who is prophesied to unite Skaland under the one who controls her fate. Because of this, the headstrong Freya kept her powers a secret all her life, even going along with her family’s wishes to become a wife rather than pursue her dreams of battlefield glory. When her Hlin blood abilities are unintentionally exposed, Freya finds herself forcibly oathbound to an ambitious jarl and thrust into a dangerous political game that tests her cunning, strength, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice for (what she’s told) is the greater good. There is, of course, also a spicy forbidden romance between Freya and the jarl’s brooding, tattooed son, but what really hooked me into A Fate Inked in Blood was the tightly wound plot, compelling character development, and engaging mythology. It’s a great first foray into romantasy , even if you’ve never had a strong interest in the genre before. — SG

• $28 at Bookshop

The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

Those looking for a fun time-travel adventure, be warned: The Other Valley is not a barn burner. Instead, it’s a wistful novel of quiet devastation and philosophical uncertainties that will give you a bad case of heartache. It’s also one of the most stunningly original takes on time travel I’ve ever read.

Sixteen-year-old Odile lives in a valley town where if one were to walk east, they’d arrive at the same town 20 years in the future. Walking west, they’d find the same town 20 years in the past. This pattern repeats itself across infinite towns in both directions, with trips between the valleys rigorously governed by Conseils, local officials who evaluate citizens’ requests — like a parent’s wish to see a child who has since passed. So when Odile accidentally sees the parents of a classmate visit from the east to secretly observe their son, she knows something terrible must be about to happen to him. Torn between the strict rules against interference and her desire to save the boy she’s begun to fall for, Odile finds herself questioning the world around her in ways that might change not only the future of her classmate, but of their entire society.

It’s a refreshingly unique approach to a well-trodden genre, elevated further by Howard’s elegant prose. And while the pacing is slow , Odile is such a wonderfully drawn protagonist that I relished the opportunity to experience her journey moment to moment. So if you love to sink into a story’s atmosphere and the minutiae of a character’s interior world — or are wondering what a mix between Emily St. John Mandel and The Giver would read like — you’ll find few rivals to this memorable debut. — SG

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

Sapphic Gothic vampire dark academia. These are not just AO3 tags, but also a description of S.T. Gibson’s An Education in Malice .

A decadently lush Carmilla retelling, it follows two young women at a remote college whose lives become consumed by their desires for validation and for each other. Gibson skillfully fleshes out the complicated relationship between the rivals-turned-lovers Laura and Carmilla and their exacting poetry professor De Lafontaine, a vampire whose obsession with Carmilla ensnares the trio in a high-stakes web of wanting and withholding. While I’m not always the biggest fan of retellings (I’m not talking about you, Madeline Miller), between An Education in Malice and the Dracula reimagining A Dowry of Blood , Gibson has left me thirsting for more of her new takes on vampire classics. — SG

The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

Fans of Kij Johnson’s The Fox Woman and similar tales about kitsune and like-minded folkloric tricksters shouldn’t miss Yangsze Choo’s The Fox Wife — but it reads equally well for fans of Netflix’s animated series Blue Eye Samurai , given its revenge journey, its strong personalities and points of view, and its narrative split between complementary characters chasing down different goals. The fox of the title is Ah San, or Snow, who shifts between human and animal forms at will. She lives in the hinterlands of 1908 Manchuria — until a hunter’s selfish act kills the child she’s raising on her own, and she starts hunting the killer in turn.

Meanwhile, the aging detective Bao, who has a supernatural gift for detecting lies, takes on a case to identify a woman found frozen in the snow under mysterious circumstances that suggest a fox’s involvement. Choo skips back and forth between Bao’s past and present and Snow’s quest as their paths cross, and as the reasons behind Bao’s lifelong fascination with the folklore around foxes become clear.

This is a complicated narrative, a historical fantasy packed with characters and connections, which makes the journey here particularly rich — the kind of narrative that hooks readers in with hope, as Choo teases the possibility of specific information coming to light, or specific characters’ paths crossing. It’s absorbing and beautifully told, particularly in the characters’ distinctive and different voices, which help build out a unique world where magic seems minimal, but woven seamlessly into the setting. — TR

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Our Critic’s Take on the 100 List: Books That ‘Cast a Sustained Spell’

Dwight Garner writes that voters, who “seemed to want a break from contemporary social reportage,” looked for immersive reads.

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By Dwight Garner

A long friendship between two girls in a poor neighborhood in Naples, Italy. The exodus of nearly six million Black Americans from South to North. The rise of Thomas Cromwell in cutthroat Tudor England. A series of unsolved murders in a Mexican border town. The Underground Railroad reimagined as a literal one, rails and all.

These are stories from some of the 100 books that — in the opinion of more than 500 novelists, nonfiction writers, librarians, poets, booksellers, editors, critics, journalists and other readers polled by the Book Review — are the best of this still-young century.

What do we mean by “best?” We left that to the respondents. Most appeared to agree with E.M. Forster, who wrote that “the final test for a novel will be our affection for it, as it is the test of our friends, and of anything else which we cannot define.” The only criterion for eligibility was publication in English on or after Jan. 1, 2000. (Somebody — one of you pedants who celebrated the new millennium a year after everyone else — is going to point out that the year 2000 is technically part of the 20th century. Don’t let it be you.)

The best of the best, Nos. 1 through 10, are linked for sure by sensitive intelligence and achieved ambition. But other connections can be made. Most are historical novels or narrative histories, as if readers, weary of the vacuity and smash-and-grab belligerence that dominate much of American political and social discourse, desired either to escape or to gaze backward, to better understand how we arrived here.

Memory and identity are especially strong concerns in the top 10. Readers seemed to want a break from contemporary social reportage; they wanted immersive and unfractured narratives that cast a sustained spell.

The highest tier also underlines a generational cohort. Each of the 10 writers, save the comparatively young Colson Whitehead, was born close to the middle of the last century. Besides Isabel Wilkerson, all of them are represented by novels. Three — Elena Ferrante, W.G. Sebald and Roberto Bolaño — made the list with books in translation.

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NPR staffers share their favorite fiction of 2024 so far

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NPR staffers recommend five of this year's new novels for summer reading: "The Ministry of Time," "The Familiar," "Come and Get It," "Memory Place," and "Sex, Lies and Sensibility."

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