Skip to Main Content (Press Enter)
ACTUALLY GOOD EMAILS FOR BOOK LOVERS
  • New Releases
    New Releases
    Learn More >

  • Browse All Our Lists, Essays, and Interviews
    Browse All Our Lists, Essays, and Interviews
    See What We’re Reading >

  • Join Our Authors for Upcoming Events
    Join Our Authors for Upcoming Events
    Learn More >
  • <
    Books>
  • Popular
  • New & Noteworthy
  • Bestsellers
  • Graphic Novels & Manga
  • The Must-Read Books of 2025
  • Popular Books in Spanish
  • Coming Soon
  • Fiction
  • Classics
  • Romance
  • Literary Fiction
  • Mystery & Thriller
  • Science Fiction
  • Spanish Language Fiction
  • Nonfiction
  • Biographies & Memoirs
  • Wellness
  • Cookbooks
  • History
  • Spanish Language Nonfiction
  • Series
  • Gray Man
  • Rebel Blue Ranch
  • All Souls
  • A Song of Ice and Fire
  • Penguin Classics
  • <
    View All>
  • <
    Kids>
  • Popular
  • New & Noteworthy
  • Bestsellers
  • Award Winners
  • The Parenting Book Guide
  • Kids' Corner
  • Books for Middle Graders
  • Trending Series
  • Who Was?
  • Magic Tree House
  • The Last Kids on Earth
  • Mad Libs
  • Planet Omar
  • Beloved Characters
  • The World of Eric Carle
  • Bluey
  • Llama Llama
  • Dr. Seuss
  • Junie B. Jones
  • Peter Rabbit
  • Categories
  • Board Books
  • Picture Books
  • Guided Reading Levels
  • Middle Grade
  • Graphic Novels
  • <
    View All>
  • <

    Popular

  • Trending
  • Trending This Week
  • Romantasy Books To Start Reading Now
  • Page-Turning Series To Start Now
  • Books to Cope With Anxiety
  • Short Reads
  • Anti-Racist Resources
  • Staff Picks
  • Romance
  • Mystery & Thriller
  • Fiction
  • Memoir & Fiction
  • Features & Interviews
  • Emma Brodie Interview
  • James Ellroy Interview
  • Nicola Yoon Interview
  • Qian Julie Wang Interview
  • Deepak Chopra Essay
  • How Can I Get Published?
  • For Book Clubs
  • Reese's Book Club
  • Oprah’s Book Club
  • Guide: Tell Me Everything
  • Guide: James
  • <
  • <
    Authors & Events>
  • Our Authors
  • Michelle Obama
  • Han Kang
  • Emily Henry
  • Dan Brown
  • Colson Whitehead
  • In Their Own Words
  • Qian Julie Wang
  • Patrick Radden Keefe
  • Phoebe Robinson
  • Emma Brodie
  • Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • Laura Hankin
  • <
    View All>
  • <
    Recommendations>
  • Book Lists
  • The Best Celebrity Book Club Picks of The Year
  • Western Romance Novels
  • Insightful Therapy Books To Read This Year
  • Historical Fiction With Female Protagonists
  • Best Thrillers of All Time
  • Manga and Graphic Novels
  • Articles
  • Start Reading Happy Place
  • How to Make Reading a Habit with James Clear
  • How Can I Get Published?
  • Why Reading Is Good for Your Health
  • 10 Facts About Taylor Swift
  • <
    View All>
  • <
    Audio>
  • Popular
  • New Releases
  • Award Winners
  • Coming Soon
  • Featured
  • Memoirs Read by the Author
  • Our Most Soothing Narrators
  • Press Play for Inspiration
  • Audiobooks You Just Can't Pause
  • Listen With the Whole Family
  • <
    View All>
cart
Penguin Random House

Books

Popular


New & Noteworthy

Bestsellers

Graphic Novels & Manga

The Must-Read Books of 2025

Popular Books in Spanish

Coming Soon

Fiction


Classics

Romance

Literary Fiction

Mystery & Thriller

Science Fiction

Spanish Language Fiction

Nonfiction


Biographies & Memoirs

Wellness

Cookbooks

History

Spanish Language Nonfiction

View All >

Series


Gray Man

Rebel Blue Ranch

All Souls

A Song of Ice and Fire

Penguin Classics

View All >

New Releases
New Releases
Learn More >
close menu

Kids

Popular


New & Noteworthy

Bestsellers

Award Winners

The Parenting Book Guide

Kids' Corner

Books for Middle Graders

Trending Series


Who Was?

Magic Tree House

The Last Kids on Earth

Mad Libs

Planet Omar

View All >

Beloved Characters


The World of Eric Carle

Bluey

Llama Llama

Dr. Seuss

Junie B. Jones

Peter Rabbit

Categories


Board Books

Picture Books

Guided Reading Levels

Middle Grade

Graphic Novels

View All >

The Best Picture Books of 2025 (So Far)
The Best Picture Books of 2025 (So Far)
Learn More >
close menu

Popular

Trending


Trending This Week

Romantasy Books To Start Reading Now

Page-Turning Series To Start Now

Books to Cope With Anxiety

Short Reads

Anti-Racist Resources

Staff Picks


Romance

Mystery & Thriller

Fiction

Memoir & Fiction

Features & Interviews


Emma Brodie Interview

James Ellroy Interview

Nicola Yoon Interview

Qian Julie Wang Interview

Deepak Chopra Essay

How Can I Get Published?

For Book Clubs


Reese's Book Club

Oprah’s Book Club

Guide: Tell Me Everything

Guide: James

Books Bans Are on the Rise in America
Books Bans Are on the Rise in America
Learn More >
close menu

Authors & Events

Our Authors


Michelle Obama

Han Kang

Emily Henry

Dan Brown

Colson Whitehead

View All >

In Their Own Words


Qian Julie Wang

Patrick Radden Keefe

Phoebe Robinson

Emma Brodie

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Laura Hankin

How To Read More in 2025
How To Read More in 2025
Learn More >
Join Our Authors for Upcoming Events
Join Our Authors for Upcoming Events
Learn More >
close menu

Recommendations

Book Lists


The Best Celebrity Book Club Picks of The Year

Western Romance Novels

Insightful Therapy Books To Read This Year

Historical Fiction With Female Protagonists

Best Thrillers of All Time

Manga and Graphic Novels

Articles


Start Reading Happy Place

How to Make Reading a Habit with James Clear

How Can I Get Published?

Why Reading Is Good for Your Health

10 Facts About Taylor Swift

Browse All Our Lists, Essays, and Interviews
Browse All Our Lists, Essays, and Interviews
See What We’re Reading >
Jasmine Guillory Books To Read Right Now
Jasmine Guillory Books To Read Right Now
Read More >
close menu

Audio

Popular


New Releases

Award Winners

Coming Soon

View All >

Featured


Memoirs Read by the Author

Our Most Soothing Narrators

Press Play for Inspiration

Audiobooks You Just Can't Pause

Listen With the Whole Family

View All >

New Stories to Listen to
New Stories to Listen to
Learn More >
10 Audiobook Originals You Need To Hear
10 Audiobook Originals You Need To Hear
Learn More >
close menu
search
Penguin Random House Penguin Random House
cart
search
close search
close search
mobile banner image
The ReadDown

The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time

by PRH Editors

Some of these are classic tales you will surely know, but others are excellent works of science fiction that may have been flying under the radar. So, dear readers, as you make your way down the list, congratulate yourselves on the books you’ve read and add the unfamiliar ones to your TBR list.

  1. 1
    1984 Book Cover Picture
    Add 1984 to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    1984

    by George Orwell

    Our favorite science fiction tends to use the future to illuminate and discuss issues in our present. 1984 is a prime example of this, a dystopian novel where our culture has become the victim of government surveillance and public manipulation. An important read for any age.
    1984 Book Cover Picture
    Add 1984 to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $19.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  2. 2
    1Q84 Book Cover Picture
    Add 1Q84 to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    1Q84

    by Haruki Murakami

    The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo. A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. 1Q84 is a love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, and a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s.
    1Q84 Book Cover Picture
    Add 1Q84 to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $22.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  3. 3
    Altered Carbon Book Cover Picture
    Add Altered Carbon to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Altered Carbon

    by Richard K. Morgan

    Set in a future where interstellar travel is done by “sleeving” one’s consciousness into new bodies, the story follows a private investigator whose past collides with his present as he attempts to solve a rich man’s murder. A dark and gritty cyberpunk experience. Now a Netflix series!
    Altered Carbon Book Cover Picture
    Add Altered Carbon to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.99

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  4. 4
    Amatka Book Cover Picture
    Add Amatka to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Amatka

    by Karin Tidbeck

    Vanja is an information assistant in a world where language literally controls reality. After being sent to the ice colony Amatka to gather intelligence for her government, she falls in love with her housemate and decides to extend her mission. She begins to realize, though, that there is something deeply amiss in this colony.
    Amatka Book Cover Picture
    Add Amatka to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $16.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  5. 5
    Ammonite Book Cover Picture
    Add Ammonite to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Ammonite

    by Nicola Griffith

    Ammonite, Griffith’s first novel, won the Lambda Award and the James Tiptree Jr Award. A human expedition to the planet Jeep is nearly wiped out by a virus that kills all the men and most of the women. Some centuries later, an anthropologist, Marghe, is sent to test a vaccine on the descendents of the original expedition, themselves all women. As she lives and moves among them, Marghe finds herself changed in profound and unexpected ways.
    Ammonite Book Cover Picture
    Add Ammonite to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $17.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  6. 6
    The Best of All Possible Worlds Book Cover Picture
    Add The Best of All Possible Worlds to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Best of All Possible Worlds

    by Karen Lord

    After their homeworld is destroyed, the surviving members of the Sadiri must find a way for their people to continue, despite the fact that most of the survivors are male. To do so, they make their way across the colony planet of Cygnus Beta under the guidance of a woman from the planet’s Central Government, encountering all kinds of people and cultures in their mission to save their vanishing race.
    The Best of All Possible Worlds Book Cover Picture
    Add The Best of All Possible Worlds to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $17.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  7. 7
    The Big Book of Science Fiction Book Cover Picture
    Add The Big Book of Science Fiction to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Big Book of Science Fiction

    edited by Jeff VanderMeer and Ann Vandermeer

    Anthologies rarely make “Best Of” lists, but this one belongs on here — because it contains stories by many of the great science fiction writers we are discussing in our list. Le Guin, Asimov, Doctorow, Liu, Wells, Clarke, Butler, Vonnegut, and the list goes on and on! A wonderful primer for science fiction readers.
    The Big Book of Science Fiction Book Cover Picture
    Add The Big Book of Science Fiction to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $28.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  8. 8
    Binti: The Complete Trilogy Book Cover Picture
    Add Binti: The Complete Trilogy to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Binti: The Complete Trilogy

    by Nnedi Okorafor

    Collected for the first time in a trade paperback omnibus edition, the Hugo- and Nebula-award-winning Binti trilogy, the story of one extraordinary girl’s journey from her home to distant Oomza University.
    Binti: The Complete Trilogy Book Cover Picture
    Add Binti: The Complete Trilogy to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $20.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  9. 9
    The Blazing World and Other Writings Book Cover Picture
    Add The Blazing World and Other Writings to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Blazing World and Other Writings

    by Margaret Cavendish

    An early work of feminist Utopian fiction and proto-science fiction, The Blazing World tells the story of a woman from our earth who travels to another world via a portal at the North Pole, where she becomes empress of a society made up of fantastical half-animal half-human species. The book, published in 1666, reflects Enlightenment-era theoretical science, with Cavendish imagining submarines, boats with engines, and a universe without end.
    The Blazing World and Other Writings Book Cover Picture
    Add The Blazing World and Other Writings to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $17.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  10. 10
    A Canticle for Leibowitz Book Cover Picture
    Add A Canticle for Leibowitz to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    A Canticle for Leibowitz

    by Walter Miller

    Nuclear war razed the Earth, plunging its survivors into a new dark age in which science is reviled and books are destroyed on sight. A small order of Catholic monks dedicated to a legendary miracle worker hold back the wave of ignorance as best that it can as barbarism swells at its gates. A Canticle for Leibowitz is a bittersweet tale that might make you worry about our future as a species.
    A Canticle for Leibowitz Book Cover Picture
    Add A Canticle for Leibowitz to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Mass Market Paperback
    $9.99

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  11. 11
    The Children of Men Book Cover Picture
    Add The Children of Men to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Children of Men

    by P. D. James

    Building a premise that feels all too plausible, British author P.D. James crafted a modern classic that continues to feel disturbingly relevant with each passing year. Inspired by the real issue of declining birthrates around the world, James imagines a world where that birth rate declined to zero, and an England under the thumb of an autocratic government. Within this narrative framework James explores themes of human frailty, the societal necessity of procreation, love, and hopelessness. It is a powerful novel lifted by James’s gift for deft, sharp characterization and steadily rising tension.
    The Children of Men Book Cover Picture
    Add The Children of Men to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  12. 12
    The City & The City Book Cover Picture
    Add The City & The City to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The City & The City

    by China Miéville

    Combining his fantastic weird fiction with a police procedural, Miéville delivers a tightly-knit story that won the Hugo Award. The novel takes Inspector Tyador Borlú, of the Extreme Crime Squad, through two very different worlds on the hunt for a murderer. Astounding storytelling by one of the best writers working today.
    The City & The City Book Cover Picture
    Add The City & The City to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $19.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  13. 13
    Cloud Atlas (20th Anniversary Edition) Book Cover Picture
    Add Cloud Atlas (20th Anniversary Edition) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Cloud Atlas (20th Anniversary Edition)

    by David Mitchell

    As wild as a videogame, as mysterious as a Zen koan, Cloud Atlas is an unforgettable tour de force that, like its incomparable author, has transcended its cult classic status to become a worldwide phenomenon.
    Cloud Atlas (20th Anniversary Edition) Book Cover Picture
    Add Cloud Atlas (20th Anniversary Edition) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Hardcover
    $33.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  14. 14
    Dark Matter (Movie Tie-In) Book Cover Picture
    Add Dark Matter (Movie Tie-In) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Dark Matter (Movie Tie-In)

    by Blake Crouch

    A “mind-blowing” (Entertainment Weekly) speculative thriller about an ordinary man who awakens in a world inexplicably different from the reality he thought he knew — from the author of Upgrade, Recursion, and the Wayward Pines trilogy. Dark Matter is a story about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.
    Dark Matter (Movie Tie-In) Book Cover Picture
    Add Dark Matter (Movie Tie-In) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  15. 15
    Darwin's Radio Book Cover Picture
    Add Darwin's Radio to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Darwin’s Radio

    by Greg Bear

    Bear envisions a world where the next leap in human evolution is not superhero mutations but rather a small step that changes the world. Great characters fighting against bigotry amidst scientific upheaval and government control. Winner of the Nebula Award.
    Darwin's Radio Book Cover Picture
    Add Darwin's Radio to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Mass Market Paperback
    $8.99

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  16. 16
    The Daughter of Doctor Moreau Book Cover Picture
    Add The Daughter of Doctor Moreau to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

    by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

    From the bestselling author of Mexican Gothic and Velvet Was the Night comes a lavish historical drama reimagining of The Island of Doctor Moreau set against the backdrop of nineteenth-century Mexico.
    The Daughter of Doctor Moreau Book Cover Picture
    Add The Daughter of Doctor Moreau to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  17. 17
    Dhalgren Book Cover Picture
    Add Dhalgren to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Dhalgren

    by Samuel R. Delany

    The city of Bellona is not what it once was — most people have fled, leaving behind only the madmen, the criminals, and the desperate. And a young man, a poet known as the Kid. This dense and intricate tale winds its way through issues of race, gender, and sexuality in a near-future, devastated landscape, in a way that simply cannot be missed.
    Dhalgren Book Cover Picture
    Add Dhalgren to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $23.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  18. 18
    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Book Cover Picture
    Add Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

    by Philip K. Dick

    War and pollution have taken their toll on Earth, leaving it very nearly uninhabitable. Those who can afford to do so have fled off-world, leaving what’s left to the not so fortunate, like Rick Deckard. Rick, who makes his living eliminating renegade androids, is prompted to question his work, and even his own identity, during a particularly challenging assignment. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? is an amazing novel, and perhaps one of the most approachable of Dick’s many works.
    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Book Cover Picture
    Add Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  19. 19
    Doomsday Book Book Cover Picture
    Add Doomsday Book to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Doomsday Book

    by Connie Willis

    Time travel is a reality, and, finally, historians can observe the past as it happened. At Oxford College, a trip to 14th century England has gone awry, stranding a young historian in the midst of the bubonic plague. As a team in the present era works to bring her back home, a new and deadly form of the flu begins to spread through London. Is there a connection between the two epidemics? If you like medical mysteries and historical fiction, you’ll love this book.
    Doomsday Book Book Cover Picture
    Add Doomsday Book to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $20.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  20. 20
    Downbelow Station Book Cover Picture
    Add Downbelow Station to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Downbelow Station

    by C. J. Cherryh

    C.J. Cherryh’s body of work is so expansive that if you asked twenty different people for her best book, you’d get twenty different answers. But it’s hard to argue with a Hugo Award and a Locus shortlist, so for my money, Downbelow Station is the place to start. Set in Cherryh’s Alliance-Union Universe, Downbelow Station is a story of corporate space exploration gone awry as humankind expands outwards among the stars.
    Downbelow Station Book Cover Picture
    Add Downbelow Station to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $15.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  21. 21
    Dune (Movie Tie-In) Book Cover Picture
    Add Dune (Movie Tie-In) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Dune (Movie Tie-In)

    by Frank Herbert

    Frank Herbert’s hypnotic vision of a feudal far future shaped by the mind-altering powers of a substance called spice, centered on the planet, Arrakis, where the spice is mined, is a classic that still feels groundbreaking today.
    Dune (Movie Tie-In) Book Cover Picture
    Add Dune (Movie Tie-In) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  22. 22
    Dust Book Cover Picture
    Add Dust to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Dust

    by Elizabeth Bear

    This is generation ship fiction like you’ve never read before. Artificial intelligence, angels, and humans all coexist (albeit not entirely peacefully) on the Jacob’s Ladder, which has been stuck in orbit for centuries. The story follows a noblewoman, a serving girl, and an angel as they journey through the crumbling ship in an attempt to stop a war between their houses — and in the process, change the order of their world.
    Dust Book Cover Picture
    Add Dust to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  23. 23
    The Fold Book Cover Picture
    Add The Fold to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Fold

    by Peter Clines

    When DARPA researchers stumble upon a way to fold dimensions, enabling humans to travel long distances in a matter of seconds, they’re certain their discovery will change the course of human history. But Mike Erikson isn’t so sure. The researchers who test the doorway are coming back … off. And it’s up to Mike to unravel the science and save his team — and everything else. The Fold is an intricate yet fast-paced sci-fi thriller you can devour in a single sitting.
    The Fold Book Cover Picture
    Add The Fold to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $21.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  24. 24
    Foundation (Apple Series Tie-in Edition) Book Cover Picture
    Add Foundation (Apple Series Tie-in Edition) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Foundation (Apple Series Tie-in Edition)

    by Isaac Asimov

    One of the seminal works of hard science fiction, Foundation reimagines the fall of the Roman Empire as taking place on a galactic scale and an effort on a remote planet to protect humanity from a 30,000-year-long dark age. Jumping decades within the narrative and focused on economics and history, Asimov’s most famous book can be a tough read but it’s well worth the investment.
    Foundation (Apple Series Tie-in Edition) Book Cover Picture
    Add Foundation (Apple Series Tie-in Edition) to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $17.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  25. 25
    The Gone World Book Cover Picture
    Add The Gone World to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Gone World

    by Tom Sweterlitsch

    When a Navy SEAL murders his family and disappears, an NCIS agent is tasked with determining whether or not the crime is connected with the Terminus: A mysterious world-destroying event encountered by a top secret team of government time travelers.
    The Gone World Book Cover Picture
    Add The Gone World to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  26. 26
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Illustrated Edition Book Cover Picture
    Add The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Illustrated Edition to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: The Illustrated Edition

    by Douglas Adams

    For sheer absurdist audacity, imagination, bombast, and pure fun, The Hitchhiker’s Guide is tough to beat. It’s an utterly irreverent and wildly imaginative adventure that simultaneously skewers and builds on the tropes and confines of traditional sci-fi. It’s biting satire and pure absurdist humor, all shot through with a vein of cynicism and a surprisingly firm internal logic. Basically, there’s nothing quite like The Hitchhiker’s Guide and you really should read it.
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Illustrated Edition Book Cover Picture
    Add The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Illustrated Edition to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Hardcover
    $22.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  27. 27
    How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe Book Cover Picture
    Add How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

    by Charles Yu

    Charles Yu is searching for his father through quantum space-time, while also performing his job as a time travel technician — helping to save people from themselves after time traveling trips gone awry. Assisted by a nonexistent dog and an operating system with self-esteem issues, his journey to find his missing father is at times hilarious, thought-provoking, and truly poignant.
    How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe Book Cover Picture
    Add How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $17.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  28. 28
    Hyperion Book Cover Picture
    Add Hyperion to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Hyperion

    by Dan Simmons

    A crew of pilgrims swap stories of love, horror, and religious devotion during a long journey to the home of the Shrike: A spike-covered metal horror worshiped like a god. This science fiction take on The Canterbury Tales is an unforgettable, imaginative work of cross-genre fusion.
    Hyperion Book Cover Picture
    Add Hyperion to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.99

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  29. 29
    Kindred Book Cover Picture
    Add Kindred to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Kindred

    by Octavia E. Butler

    The New York Times bestselling author’s time-travel classic that makes us feel the horrors of American slavery and indicts our country’s lack of progress on racial reconciliation.
    Kindred Book Cover Picture
    Add Kindred to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Hardcover
    $27.95

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  30. 30
    The Last Policeman Book Cover Picture
    Add The Last Policeman to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Last Policeman

    by Ben H. Winters

    Hank Palace may be the world’s last policeman: As humanity waits for an impending asteroid impact to destroy them all, Palace begins an investigation of what looks to outside eyes like a commonplace suicide. The Last Policeman is a sci-fi murder mystery that explores one question we hopefully will never need to ask ourselves: Why bother solving a murder if everyone’s going to die anyway?
    The Last Policeman Book Cover Picture
    Add The Last Policeman to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $17.99

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  31. 31
    The Left Hand of Darkness Book Cover Picture
    Add The Left Hand of Darkness to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Left Hand of Darkness

    by Ursula K. Le Guin

    Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards, Le Guin’s novel explores the effect of gender and sex on an alien culture where an individual can be ambisexual, and how one Terran man’s rigid ideas on those topics are confronted. Labeled as one of the most important feminist stories of all time, it is a powerhouse tale written with Le Guin’s wonderful prose.
    The Left Hand of Darkness Book Cover Picture
    Add The Left Hand of Darkness to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Hardcover
    $26.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  32. 32
    The Martian Book Cover Picture
    Add The Martian to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Martian

    by Andy Weir

    Andy Weir’s The Martian is the sort of novel that grips a reader from its very first sentence — after all, “I’m pretty much fucked” is a pretty great opening line. With his debut novel, Weir deftly balanced a truly thrilling story of survival with laugh-out-loud doses of black humor and real, cutting edge science. It has a surprising ring of authenticity, but more importantly is an ultimately inspiring testament to humanity’s ingenuity, spirit of adventure, and our better angels.
    The Martian Book Cover Picture
    Add The Martian to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $17.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  33. 33
    The Midnight Library: A GMA Book Club Pick Book Cover Picture
    Add The Midnight Library: A GMA Book Club Pick to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Midnight Library: A GMA Book Club Pick

    by Matt Haig

    Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better?
    The Midnight Library: A GMA Book Club Pick Book Cover Picture
    Add The Midnight Library: A GMA Book Club Pick to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  34. 34
    Neuromancer Book Cover Picture
    Add Neuromancer to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Neuromancer

    by William Gibson

    One of the seminal works of cyberpunk, Neuromancer taps into the counterculture movements and excitement about computers found in the 1980s to tell a story of a world where hackers and cyborgs work together to perform daring heists against massive corporations. It’s a must-read for fans of everything from The Matrix to Ready Player One.
    Neuromancer Book Cover Picture
    Add Neuromancer to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Hardcover
    $28.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  35. 35
    Never Let Me Go Book Cover Picture
    Add Never Let Me Go to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Never Let Me Go

    by Kazuo Ishiguro

    From the acclaimed, bestselling author of The Remains of the Day comes “a Gothic tour de force” (The New York Times) with an extraordinary twist — a moving, suspenseful, beautifully atmospheric modern classic.
    Never Let Me Go Book Cover Picture
    Add Never Let Me Go to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $19.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  36. 36
    Oryx and Crake Book Cover Picture
    Add Oryx and Crake to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Oryx and Crake

    by Margaret Atwood

    The works of Margaret Atwood rarely, if ever, fit neatly into the confines of any particular genre. Oryx and Crake, the first volume in the MaddAddam Trilogy, is the closest she’s come to pure sci-fi. Taking issues of inequality, climate change, and corporate power to bleak and terrifying conclusions, Atwood creates a powerfully imaginative and disconcertingly plausible dystopia that is as thought-provoking as it is difficult to put down.
    Oryx and Crake Book Cover Picture
    Add Oryx and Crake to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  37. 37
    Pandora's Star Book Cover Picture
    Add Pandora's Star to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Pandora’s Star

    by Peter F. Hamilton

    The first in Hamilton’s excellent duology about a future where humans are practically immortal and have used wormholes to colonize hundreds of planets, Pandora’s Star is perhaps most notable for its extremely alien extraterrestrials from the genocidal Prime to the fey Silfen. Combining aspects of a detective novel with hard science fiction, Hamilton explores the perils and pleasures possible in humanity’s future.
    Pandora's Star Book Cover Picture
    Add Pandora's Star to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Mass Market Paperback
    $12.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  38. 38
    Ready Player One Book Cover Picture
    Add Ready Player One to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Ready Player One

    by Ernest Cline

    In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days. When the eccentric creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of fiendish puzzles. Whoever is first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune — and control of the OASIS itself. Then Wade cracks the first clue. Suddenly he’s beset by rivals who’ll kill to take this prize. The race is on — and the only way to survive is to win.
    Ready Player One Book Cover Picture
    Add Ready Player One to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $20.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  39. 39
    The Real Story Book Cover Picture
    Add The Real Story to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Real Story

    by Stephen R. Donaldson

    While best known for his Thomas Covenant epic fantasy, Donaldson has also written one of the best science fiction stories. The Real Story and its four sequels are riveting. Nothing is quite what it seems and the gritty, complex characters drive a narrative where anything is possible.
    The Real Story Book Cover Picture
    Add The Real Story to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  40. 40
    Red Rising Book Cover Picture
    Add Red Rising to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Red Rising

    by Pierce Brown

    The story of slave Darrow rising above his status to take on his overlords is new and fresh and is filled with amazingly-wrought characters and action-packed sequences. An instant classic.
    Red Rising Book Cover Picture
    Add Red Rising to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  41. 41
    Slaughterhouse-Five Book Cover Picture
    Add Slaughterhouse-Five to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Slaughterhouse-Five

    by Kurt Vonnegut

    Kurt Vonnegut weaved together the disparate strands of science fiction and his personal experiences as a World War II prisoner of war to create Slaughterhouse-Five‘s Billy Pilgrim: A soldier who has become “unstuck in time.” We witness the horrors of war and the uncertainties of peacetime as Billy bounces back and forth across the timeline of his birth, life, and eventual death. Gutsy, strange, and sympathetic, Slaughterhouse-Five is Vonnegut at his best.
    Slaughterhouse-Five Book Cover Picture
    Add Slaughterhouse-Five to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  42. 42
    Sleeping Giants Book Cover Picture
    Add Sleeping Giants to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Sleeping Giants

    by Sylvain Neuvel

    The first book in The Themis Files trilogy examines how the discovery of an ancient alien artifact on earth affects both individuals and the world. It’s true to science fiction’s mission of asking big questions about human nature and the pursuit of knowledge.
    Sleeping Giants Book Cover Picture
    Add Sleeping Giants to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  43. 43
    The Stand Book Cover Picture
    Add The Stand to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Stand

    by Stephen King

    Stephen King’s sprawling apocalyptic opus is a long-time favorite among his devoted fans — it’s also one of his finest novels. Beginning with a computer error in a laboratory that releases a global pandemic, King builds an epic story of survival, resilience, and the ultimate struggle of good vs. evil. It melds elements of horror, fantasy, and post-apocalyptic sci-fi into a 1,100 page doorstop of a novel that cemented Stephen King as the pre-eminent horror writer of his generation.
    The Stand Book Cover Picture
    Add The Stand to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $22.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  44. 44
    Station Eleven Book Cover Picture
    Add Station Eleven to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Station Eleven

    by Emily St. John Mandel

    A flu pandemic devastates humanity, killing off almost everyone and bringing modern civilization to a grinding halt. Station Eleven explores the first days of the epidemic, as well as the future it created. This oddly optimistic work of apocalyptic literature teaches us that survival alone is insufficient, and that we must have art to give it meaning.
    Station Eleven Book Cover Picture
    Add Station Eleven to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  45. 45
    Stories of Your Life and Others Book Cover Picture
    Add Stories of Your Life and Others to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Stories of Your Life and Others

    by Ted Chiang

    Despite his relatively small body of work, Ted Chiang has made a serious impression on the science fiction landscape. The best-known story in this collection is, of course, the titular one, which was the basis for the film Arrival, but the other stories here are absolutely not to be missed. Chiang does what the best sci-fi writers do — he doesn’t invent solely for invention’s sake, but rather uses his remarkable imagination to tell poignantly human stories that cut straight to your heart.
    Stories of Your Life and Others Book Cover Picture
    Add Stories of Your Life and Others to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $19.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  46. 46
    Stranger in a Strange Land Book Cover Picture
    Add Stranger in a Strange Land to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Stranger in a Strange Land

    by Robert A. Heinlein

    A seminal, genre-defining work and a perfect distillation of the ways in which speculative fiction examines what it is to be human. This is the story of a human man raised by Martians, entirely isolated from his own species — and on his return to Earth, he finds he has just as much to learn from humanity as he does to teach them.
    Stranger in a Strange Land Book Cover Picture
    Add Stranger in a Strange Land to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $19.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  47. 47
    The Underground Railroad Book Cover Picture
    Add The Underground Railroad to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The Underground Railroad

    by Colson Whitehead

    Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. An outcast even among her fellow Africans. So, when Caesar urges her to join him on the Underground Railroad, she seizes the opportunity and escapes with him. In Whitehead’s ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor: Engineers and conductors operate a secret network of actual tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora embarks on a harrowing flight from one state to the next, encountering, like Gulliver, strange yet familiar iterations of her own world at each stop.
    The Underground Railroad Book Cover Picture
    Add The Underground Railroad to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $17.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  48. 48
    Valor's Choice Book Cover Picture
    Add Valor's Choice to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Valor’s Choice

    by Tanya Huff

    Humans may have been granted membership to the Confederation, but the price is service as soldiers to protect the more “civilized” races. When Staff Sergeant Torin Kerr and her platoon are pulled from leave for a supposedly easy mission, they have no idea that they are about to walk into a conflict greater than any they had faced before.
    Valor's Choice Book Cover Picture
    Add Valor's Choice to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  49. 49
    The War of the Worlds Book Cover Picture
    Add The War of the Worlds to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    The War of the Worlds

    by H. G. Wells

    Who can forget this classic tale of alien invasion? As the widely-told story goes, the radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds briefly incited panic among millions of American listeners as they believed the nation was truly under attack by alien invaders (although it might not have happened exactly like that). Regardless, the tale now holds a firm place in our pop-cultural history, and has inspired countless adaptations and original works of science fiction throughout the hundred years since it was published.
    The War of the Worlds Book Cover Picture
    Add The War of the Worlds to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Mass Market Paperback
    $5.95

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  50. 50
    Watchers Book Cover Picture
    Add Watchers to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Watchers

    by Dean Koontz

    Dean Koontz has made a career out of infusing sci-fi and speculative trappings into his particular brand of horror. Watchers came during a stretch in the mid-80’s that made Dean Koontz a perennial bestseller. Featuring a super-intelligent Golden Retriever and relentless genetically engineered monstrosities, Watchers explores themes that would become common in Koontz work going forward — shady government organizations and the ethical quandaries of unchecked scientific advancement. With Watchers, Koontz really began to find his footing as a writer.
    Watchers Book Cover Picture
    Add Watchers to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $17.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  51. 51
    Woman on the Edge of Time Book Cover Picture
    Add Woman on the Edge of Time to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Woman on the Edge of Time

    by Marge Piercy

    In the 1970s, Connie Ramos finds herself wrongfully imprisoned in a mental institution, where she is contacted by Luciente, an emissary from a utopian society in the year 2137, who shows her a classless, highly individualistic future focused on social justice and self-actualization. But this is only one possible future — the other potential timeline is a hypercapitalist, class-stratified nightmare, and Connie’s actions alone will decide which eventuality comes to pass.
    Woman on the Edge of Time Book Cover Picture
    Add Woman on the Edge of Time to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $18.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  52. 52
    World War Z Book Cover Picture
    Add World War Z to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    World War Z

    by Max Brooks

    World War Z is a chronicle of the end of the world — or, as its subtitle indicates, an oral history of the zombie apocalypse. The novel’s written style is unlike many zombie stories in that it’s written not as narrative prose, but as a series of recordings of witnesses during the war. The audiobook edition is especially compelling: It’s performed by a full cast, making it an incredibly immersive reader experience.
    World War Z Book Cover Picture
    Add World War Z to bookshelf
    Add to Bookshelf

    Paperback
    $19.00

    Buy from Other Retailers:

  • Share:
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on X
  • Pin it
  • SMS
  • Email

More to Explore

See all
ACTUALLY GOOD EMAILS FOR BOOK LOVERS

Connect

Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from Penguin Random House

global.penguinrandomhouse.com

© 2025 Penguin Random House

  • About Us
  • Our Story
  • Our People
  • Our Contributors
  • Locations
  • Management
  • Social Impact
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers
  • Imprints
  • Quick Links
  • Partnerships
  • Media Queries
  • Influencers
  • Company Reads
  • PenguinRandomHouse.biz
  • Email Preferences
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • CA Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Info
  • Affiliate Program Disclosure
  • Avoid Publishing Scams
  • Help
  • Publishing Process
  • FAQ
  • Shopping & Shipping FAQ
  • For Educators
  • Subrights
  • Permissions

Connect

Sign up for news about books, authors, and more from Penguin Random House

global.penguinrandomhouse.com

© 2025 Penguin Random House

Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

Raise kids who love to read

Brightly

Raise kids who love to read

Today's Top Books

Today's Top Books

Want to know what people are actually reading right now?

An online magazine for today’s home cook

TASTE

An online magazine for today’s home cook

×
My Account
Sign In Create An Account
Hi,
Member Since

Account Overview Recommendations Orders Account Details Email Preferences Bookshelf

Success!

Your account has been created. Upload book purchases, access your personalized book recommendations, and more from here.