Best Sci Fi Books

Great science fiction books provide more than just entertainment. This is a genre that blends social commentary with visionary science in thought-provoking stories that send our imaginations on epic adventures. From sweeping space operas to classic masterpieces and cutting-edge, modern science fiction, find your new favorite sci fi book in our collection.

Sub-genres of Science Fiction

Here is a (non-comprehensive) guide to sub-genres in science fiction:

Hard Sci-fi: This type of sci fi digs deep into science and technology for high-level accuracy and in-depth scientific detail. Book suggestion: Contact by Carl Sagan

Soft Sci-fi: A branch of sci fi that focuses more on social conditions, politics, economics, anthropology and/or human emotion over accurate science. Book suggestion: The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin

Cyberpunk: Features the juxtaposition of scientific advancement, such as cybernetic implants and virtual reality with grimy, near-future settings, poverty and crime, often associated with the phrase “high tech, low life.” Book suggestion: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick

Space Opera: Space operas are defined by expansive plots that may span across worlds or entire galaxies, and typically feature melodramatic narratives and advanced technologies that may tend more toward the magical than the realistic. Book suggestion: Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Dystopian: Dystopian sci fi takes us to worlds that have collapsed under conditions like authoritarian control and advanced technologies gone wrong. Dystopian stories often explore humanity’s survival in bleak futures. Book suggestion: Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood

Climate Fiction: Also called “cli-fi,” climate fiction explores the effects of climate change and global warming on the earth and its inhabitants. Book suggestion: The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

Time Travel: An arm of sci fi that depicts characters moving through time using methods like mechanics, quantum physics of time-dilation. Book suggestion: Kindred by Octavia Butler