Science fiction

Just as with fantasy booklists, science fiction can be split multiple times and ways into genre and subgenre. There are hundreds of great authors and fantastic series, and each will appeal to different people. Often authors can and do appear in several different places, and some even write across major genre divisions.

Below is our attempt to offer a few of the best from each area, but bear in mind that for every name below there are dozens more that we could have listed. And don’t be afraid to branch out from the list and boldly go…

Hard science fiction

Attention to scientific detail, often accurate predictions of the future, and believable technology

• Isaac Asimov
• Stephen Baxter
• Gregory Benford
• Arthur C Clarke
• Peter Hamilton
• Larry Niven
• Alastair Reynolds

Military Science Fiction

Soldiers and armies and warships in space.

• David Drake
• Robert Heinlein
• S.M. Stirling
• David Weber

Comedy

• Douglas Adams
• Harry Harrison
• Mike Resnick

Cyberpunk and computers

The future is now.

• Philip K Dick
• Cory Doctorow
• William Gibson
• Jeff Noon
• Neal Stephenson
• Bruce Sterling
• Charles Stross

Space Opera

Quests, heroes, peril, battles, journeys and more – think Star Wars.

• Isaac Asimov
• Iain M. Banks
• Ray Bradbury
• David Brin
• Arthur C. Clarke
• Robert Heinlein
• Larry Niven
• Alastair Reynolds
• Jack Vance
• Kurt Vonnegut

Alternate History

What might have happened if …

• Stephen Baxter
• Philip K. Dick
• Mary Gentle
• Philip Roth
• Harry Turtledove

Also see our Time travel and alternate history guide.

Soft / social Science Fiction

Sci-fi setting but with the emphasis on character, politics, sociology, issues.

• Ray Bradbury
• Philip K. Dick
• Stephen Donaldson
• Ursula K. Le Guin
• L.E. Modesitt Jr
• Kurt Vonnegut