My 25 Favourite Sci-Fi Books of All Time

Here are my 25 favourite science fiction novels that I've read so far (as of June 2023). Let me know some sci-fi books that you love!

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00:00 - 25. Way Station
00:52 - 24. To Your Scattered Bodies Go
01:55 - 23. The Road
02:58 - 22. Dying Inside
04:02 - 21. Blindsight
05:02 - 20. The Children of Men
05:49 - 19. Ring
07:02 - 18. Flowers for Algernon
08:05 - 17. Ubik
09:17 - 16. More Than Human
10:13 - 15. The Dark Forest
11:11 - 14. Spin
12:03 - 13. Dark Matter
13:04 - 12. The Children of Time
14:01 - 11. Demon in White
15:37 - 10. Solaris
16:23 - 9. Frankenstein
17:32 - 8. Project Hail Mary
18:39 - 7. 1984
19:30 - 6. Childhood's End
20:46 - 5. The Fall of Hyperion
22:06 - 4. Ender's Game
23:06 - 3. Cat's Cradle
24:14 - 2. Permutation City
25:14 - 1. House of Suns

#ScienceFiction #Books

[WordsinTime]

These are my favourite sci-fi books based on my enjoyment. There are other amazing books that deserve to be on a "greatest" list but I didn't want to recreate a list similar to many you've seen before. This list is just specific to my reading taste. Let me know some sci-fi books that you love!

[darbyl]

Project Hail Mary is one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. I think readers from outside the sci-fi fandom would enjoy it.

[Yesica]

Cheers to Jonathan for going all the way to outer space to film this video for us!

[RedFuryBooks]

It's great to see your list! And I'm excited that both Hyperion and Cat's Cradle are up for me soon!

[tgibridays]

Love the suit! So many books I need to try out.

[bookspin]

Great list Jonathan! A lot of favourites for me in there, plus you've got me pumped for some TBR books I haven't got round to yet, like Flowers for Algernon, Spin and Ubik.

[TowerBooks]

Perfect timing! I will be going to the city tomorrow and do my usual weekend book shopping and I am trying to expand my SciFi library.

[BookishChas]

Awesome video Jonathan! I definitely need to read more PKD, and Childhood’s end is on my list too. I’m glad you had Hyperion on here, so that I could approve of the video. 😂

[dalejones]

Wool hoooo!!!! I'm so glad you did this list. The video is so well made. The suit was a great idea and Charlie coming in was great too. I have to admit I've been waiting for this video since I found your channel and it didn't disappoint. I have already added a couple of books from it to my TBR. I can see me referring back to it several times so I'm saving it. Great job Jonathan. I hope it gets a million views

[beethoven]

Wow! What an interesting list! I loved the sheer scope of your selections (from 1818 to the present). Your selections cover the 40's. 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's 2000's, and 2010 to the present. It shows you've been reading a whole lot of books, and they're balanced between classical and modern sci-fi. My top 25 contains more classic sci-fi books, including Brave New World, The Left Hand of Darkness, Fahrenheit 451, Dune, and others. But I love the fact that you included More Than Human, one of my most beloved books. Good work!

[Paul_McSeol]

My list would be so radically different. Which is awesome because it highlights just how much great sci fi is out there. I would have included Snow Crash, Altered Carbon, Red Mars, and maybe starship Troopers. And you mentioned a few I really need to put on my TBR. Wonderfully enjoyable video. Thanks so much!

[AndDiracisHisProphet]

Did you know that Baxter and Reynolds have a collaboration? It is called "The Medusa Chronicles" and is the sequel to a short story by Clarke.

[jefffenton]

Nice suit. Nice list. I just started The Dark Forest two days ago!

Too much on the TBR. 😊

[doctormorbuis]

I continue to have a hard time reconciling Ender's Game (and Speaker for the Dead) with the man who wrote them. It's like he didn't understand his own books. Love them both, but it's been a while since I read them. Also happy to see More than Human remembered. I love Theodore Sturgeon and that book in particular is lovely. My favorite Sturgeon is probably his short story, "Slow Sculpture, " but you weren't doing short fiction. You might consider short fiction in the future.

[thomaswrites]

This gives me a lot of books to add to my TBR. 😅 Keep up the good work! The Road, Frankenstein, and 1984 are definitely among my favorites as well! I would also say that Starship Troopers, The Forever War, Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles are also among my favorites.

[mikesnyder]

Three cheers for your including Theodore Sturgeon's "More than human" (9:18) in your listing of favorite SF books. Sturgeon excelled in writing short stories so those who read novels only are not likely to include him on their TBR's. "More than human" is fairly "soft" science fiction although he writes a delightful short scene (in the Fabulous Idiot third of the novel?) of the protagonist inventing a super gravity defying machine to extricate a farmer's tractor that is stuck in cement like mud. I really enjoyed that little scene!

[Greenslime]

Fall of Hyperion (mild spoilers), my favorite chapter was when Gladstone goes for a walk around the Hegemony, visiting several planets and contemplating what's about to happen. In a sense, nothing happens, but it's written so beautifully

[Jearrod]

I just read my first sci-fi book house of suns.. im scared i started at the very top and nothing will be able to live up to it.

I’m so excited to get into the genre now house of suns is an incredible work of art

[Spencer_Beard]

Channels like yours really helped reinvigorate my love of reading sci-fi. I'm the past 14 months I've read 17 total stories (novels and shorts), "Hyperion" is my favorite so far

[doncourter]

Great list! In a future video, can you discuss the popular books and authors that didn't make the list and explain why. For example
Dune, A Fire Upon the Deep, Forever War, Isaac Asimov, Ursula Le Guin, Alfred Bester, etc.