Top 100 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime

Unleash your mind with these 100 extraordinary science fiction & fantasy books. The Amazon editors got together and picked our very favorites, considering criteria such as vision, character creation, world building, and storytelling style.


1
1984
by George Orwell
4.5 avg rating, 7391 reviews, 1961-01-01

2
2001: a Space Odyssey
by Arthur C. Clarke
4.6 avg rating, 713 reviews, 2000-09-01

3
A Canticle for Leibowitz
by Walter M. Miller Jr.
4.3 avg rating, 586 reviews, 2006-05-09

4
A Game of Thrones
by George R. R. Martin
4.6 avg rating, 20517 reviews, 2011-03-22

5
A Wizard of Earthsea
by Ursula K. Le Guin
4.2 avg rating, 755 reviews, 2012-09-11

6
A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L’Engle
4.5 avg rating, 3618 reviews, 2007-05-01

7
Altered Carbon
by Richard K. Morgan
4.3 avg rating, 898 reviews, 2003-03-04

8
American Gods
by Neil Gaiman
4.4 avg rating, 6733 reviews, 2002-04-01

9
Among Others
by Jo Walton
3.7 avg rating, 382 reviews, 2012-01-03

10
Ancillary Justice
by Ann Leckie
4.1 avg rating, 1407 reviews, 2013-10-01

11
ANNIHILATION
by JEFF VANDERMEER
3.7 avg rating, 1762 reviews, 2014-02-04

12
Assassin’s Apprentice
by Robin Hobb
4.4 avg rating, 1648 reviews, 1996-03-01

13
Blood Music
by Greg Bear
4.1 avg rating, 157 reviews, 2014-05-20

14
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
4.2 avg rating, 2858 reviews, 2006-10-18

15
Childhood’s End
by Arthur C. Clarke
4.4 avg rating, 1499 reviews, 1987-05-12

16
Cloud Atlas
by David Mitchell
4 avg rating, 2319 reviews, 2004-08-17

17
Daughter of the Blood
by Anne Bishop
4.2 avg rating, 456 reviews, 1998-03-01

18
Dhalgren
by Samuel R. Delany
3.5 avg rating, 237 reviews, 2001-05-15

19
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K. Dick
4.3 avg rating, 1438 reviews, 1996-05-28

20
Doomsday Book
by Connie Willis
4 avg rating, 887 reviews, 1993-08-01

21
Dragonflight
by Anne McCaffrey
4.5 avg rating, 509 reviews, 1986-05-12

22
Dune
by Frank Herbert
4.6 avg rating, 3070 reviews, 1990-09-01

23
Ender’s Game
by Orson Scott Card
4.6 avg rating, 9129 reviews, 1994-07-15

24
Fahrenheit 451
by Ray Bradbury
4.4 avg rating, 3414 reviews, 1900-01-00

25
Foreigner: 10th Anniversary Edition
by C. J. Cherryh
4.2 avg rating, 165 reviews, 2004-12-07

26
Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley
4.1 avg rating, 3465 reviews, 1905-06-16

27
Good Omens
by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
4.5 avg rating, 2141 reviews, 2006-11-28

28
Graceling
by Kristin Cashore
4.3 avg rating, 1635 reviews, 2009-09-07

29
Grass
by Sheri S. Tepper
4.4 avg rating, 129 reviews, 1993-03-01

30
Guilty Pleasures
by Laurell K. Hamilton
4.3 avg rating, 1032 reviews, 2002-09-24

31
H. P. Lovecraft: Tales
by H. P. Lovecraft
4.4 avg rating, 109 reviews, 2005-02-03

32
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
by J.K. Rowling
4.7 avg rating, 29205 reviews, 1998-09-01

33
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe
by Charles Yu
3.5 avg rating, 217 reviews, 2011-06-28

34
Howl’s Moving Castle
by Diana Wynne Jones
4.7 avg rating, 1374 reviews, 2008-04-22

35
Hyperion
by Dan Simmons
4.3 avg rating, 2159 reviews, 1990-03-01

36
I Am Legend
by Richard Matheson
4.2 avg rating, 1682 reviews, 2007-10-30

37
I, Robot
by Isaac Asimov
4.4 avg rating, 642 reviews, 2008-04-29

38
Interview with the Vampire
by Anne Rice
4.3 avg rating, 896 reviews, 1991-09-13

39
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
4.1 avg rating, 1806 reviews, 2006-08-01

40
Kindred
by Octavia E. Butler
4.6 avg rating, 1327 reviews, 1905-06-25

41
Kushiel’s Dart
by Jacqueline Carey
4.3 avg rating, 792 reviews, 2015-01-13

42
Lord Foul’s Bane
by Stephen R. Donaldson
3.7 avg rating, 581 reviews, 1987-06-12

43
Neuromancer
by William Gibson
4.2 avg rating, 1248 reviews, 1984-07-01

44
Nights at the Circus
by Angela Carter
3.9 avg rating, 46 reviews, 1986-03-04

45
Old Man’s War
by John Scalzi
4.5 avg rating, 2496 reviews, 2007-01-15

46
Outlander
by Diana Gabaldon
4.6 avg rating, 19640 reviews, 1992-06-02

47
Pawn of Prophecy
by David Eddings
4.7 avg rating, 710 reviews, 1986-01-13

48
Perdido Street Station
by China MiƩville
3.9 avg rating, 600 reviews, 2001-02-27

49
Ready Player One
by Ernest Cline
4.6 avg rating, 18967 reviews, 2012-06-05

50
Red Mars
by Kim Stanley Robinson
3.8 avg rating, 1061 reviews, 1993-11-01

51
Red Rising
by Pierce Brown
4.6 avg rating, 4642 reviews, 1905-07-06

52
Riddle-Master
by Patricia A. McKillip
4.5 avg rating, 261 reviews, 1999-03-01

53
Ringworld
by Larry Niven
4.1 avg rating, 740 reviews, 1985-09-12

54
Sabriel
by Garth Nix
4.5 avg rating, 1177 reviews, 1997-08-11

55
Sandman Slim
by Richard Kadrey
4.3 avg rating, 899 reviews, 2014-09-02

56
Slaughterhouse-Five
by Kurt Vonnegut
4.2 avg rating, 3029 reviews, 1999-01-12

57
Snow Crash
by Neal Stephenson
4.2 avg rating, 1611 reviews, 1905-06-22

58
Solaris
by Stanislaw Lem
4 avg rating, 426 reviews, 1905-06-24

59
Starship Troopers
by Robert A. Heinlein
4.6 avg rating, 1897 reviews, 1987-05-15

60
Stories of Your Life and Others
by Ted Chiang
4.4 avg rating, 919 reviews, 2016-06-14

61
Stranger in a Strange Land
by Robert A. Heinlein
4.3 avg rating, 1477 reviews, 1991-10-01

62
The Color of Magic
by Terry Pratchett
4.3 avg rating, 1136 reviews, 2013-01-29

63
The Curse of Chalion
by Lois McMaster Bujold
4.6 avg rating, 536 reviews, 2006-04-11

64
The Dark is Rising
by Susan Cooper
4.5 avg rating, 671 reviews, 1999-10-01

65
The Dispossessed
by Ursula K. Le Guin
4.3 avg rating, 383 reviews, 1994-10-20

66
The Dragonbone Chair
by Tad Williams
4.3 avg rating, 455 reviews, 1989-11-07

67
The Eye of the World
by Robert Jordan
4.5 avg rating, 2638 reviews, 1990-11-15

68
The Forever War
by Joe Haldeman
4.4 avg rating, 2133 reviews, 2009-02-17

69
His Dark Materials
by Philip Pullman
4.5 avg rating, 3936 reviews, 2001-05-22

70
The Golem and the Jinni
by Helene Wecker
4.5 avg rating, 2863 reviews, 2013-12-31

71
The Gunslinger
by Stephen King
4.2 avg rating, 3882 reviews, 2003-07-01

72
The Handmaid’s Tale
by Margaret Atwood
4.1 avg rating, 14774 reviews, 1998-03-16

73
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
4.3 avg rating, 2053 reviews, 1995-09-27

74
The Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
4.7 avg rating, 19673 reviews, 2012-09-18

75
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
4.6 avg rating, 56906 reviews, 2010-07-03

76
The Last Unicorn
by Peter S. Beagle
4.5 avg rating, 779 reviews, 1991-01-01

77
The Left Hand of Darkness
by Ursula K. Le Guin
4.2 avg rating, 607 reviews, 2000-07-01

78
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
by C. S. Lewis
4.7 avg rating, 1854 reviews, 2008-01-02

79
The Lord of the Rings
by J.R.R. Tolkien
4.7 avg rating, 19673 reviews, 2005-10-12

80
The Magicians
by Lev Grossman
3.5 avg rating, 2546 reviews, 2010-05-25

81
The Martian
by Andy Weir
4.7 avg rating, 30604 reviews, 2014-10-28

82
The Martian Chronicles
by Ray Bradbury
4.4 avg rating, 803 reviews, 2012-04-17

83
The Mists of Avalon
by Marion Zimmer Bradley
4.6 avg rating, 1146 reviews, 1984-05-01

84
The Name of the Wind
by Patrick Rothfuss
4.6 avg rating, 7850 reviews, 2008-04-01

85
The Princess Bride
by William Goldman
4.7 avg rating, 7510 reviews, 2007-10-08

86
The Road
by Cormac McCarthy
4.1 avg rating, 4641 reviews, 2006-03-28

87
The Rook
by Daniel O’Malley
4.4 avg rating, 883 reviews, 1905-07-04

88
The Sparrow
by Mary Doria Russell
4.2 avg rating, 953 reviews, 1997-09-08

89
The Speed of Dark
by Elizabeth Moon
4.4 avg rating, 302 reviews, 2004-03-02

90
The Stars My Destination
by Alfred Bester
4.3 avg rating, 504 reviews, 2011-06-30

91
The Sword of Shannara
by Terry Brooks
4 avg rating, 804 reviews, 1983-07-12

92
The Time Machine
by H. G. Wells
4.4 avg rating, 2332 reviews, 2015-11-24

93
The Time Traveler’s Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
4.2 avg rating, 2837 reviews, 2003-12-31

94
The Way of Kings
by Brandon Sanderson
4.7 avg rating, 5953 reviews, 2011-05-24

95
The Windup Girl
by Paolo Bacigalupi
3.9 avg rating, 862 reviews, 2015-05-05

96
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne
4.3 avg rating, 1032 reviews, 2019-03-01

97
Uglies
by Scott Westerfeld
4.4 avg rating, 2242 reviews, 2011-05-03

98
Uprooted
by Naomi Novik
4.6 avg rating, 2489 reviews, 2015-05-19

99
Wool
by Hugh Howey
4.6 avg rating, 13828 reviews, 2013-03-12

100
World War Z
by Max Brooks
4.3 avg rating, 5594 reviews, 2007-10-16