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It's a jungle out there in the world of Science Fiction, and like the Fantasy book genre, there's a lot of crap to sift through. Due to popular demand, we've created a dedicated sister site to BestFantasyBooks.com that's only about Science Fiction.

It's our goal to do our best to aid in your search for the best Science Fiction novels. Some of these choices on the lists are well known, genre defining classics and others are a bit more obscure. But every one of these science fiction books is a rip-roaring read for one reason or another.

Science Fiction vs. Fantasy

Science Fiction readers tend to be a bit pickier, a bit more cynical than Fantasy readers. While both genres share some similarities, there are also some stark differences. The rules that govern science fiction are more ridged – a good science fiction needs to make sense and the ideas need to be backed with at least the appearance of science. Science Fiction is a universe that is possible (however unlikely); while fantasy is not. While Fantasy has undergone a renascence the past 10 years and graduated to mainstream (much in part due to the “Potter” books and the Lord of the Ring movies), Science Fiction has been left a bit behind in the literary world (besides Sci-Fi films). That’s not to say there haven’t been some awesome works; but compared to fantasy, there are far fewer science fiction books written these days.

History of Science Fiction

The Science Fiction genre has undergone some dramatic changes since the beginning. Science Fiction today is more about variation than extrapolation. Instead of introducing new ideas (based on cutting edge research, as was the case in the heydays of the 50’s and 60’s of Hard Science Fiction), Science Fiction is more concerned with incorporating literary conventions and turning classic ideas into often worn-out tropes. All those big grand ideas that first came out have now been used and re-used so many times they are standard science fiction tropes. Many a science fiction writer seems more interested in the human problem resulting from the big ideas, than the big ideas themselves. Morals and humanity occupy the thoughts, not science.

March 2014

BestScienceFictionBooks.com undergoing a major update over next couple months-- site layout being updated with a brand new one, new lists and pages added, etc.

Make sure you check out our new Best Science Fiction Author Biography Pages.