Where is the best place to start for new readers of science fiction? Which books are the best examples of science fiction available to read today? Which old books stand the test of time, and which new books will we still be thinking about in decades to come?

For episode #550 of the SFBRP, we (Luke and Juliane) compiled our list of 52 “must-read” science fiction books to answer these questions and more. Each book is (typically):

• science fiction (or fantasy with science fiction underneath)
• a novel
• reviewed and rated highly on the SFBRP
• able to hold up to modern reading standards (if not political/social standards)
• not obsoleted by more recent novels tackling the same challenges
• an “important” book (award-winning, on other “masterworks” lists, etc)

While every great novel contains many sub-genres and ideas and influences, we gave each book in this list a “Linked Topic” to reward reading pairs or groups of books. Usually a later book is directly addressing the ideas (plot, characters, themes) in a previous book, and this connection is often made quite explicit by the later author. We believe reading the earlier book first will heighten the experience of reading the later books in each linked topic. The topic should also help guide new readers into finding a book to suit their tastes.

Many other novels by our favourite authors could have made it onto the list, but we set a maximum of three books per author to assure variety and limit the total number of books.

Most novels labeled as in a series are either the first novel in the series or are standalone novels. The two exceptions are Inversions by Iain M Banks and Atlas Alone by Emma Newman, both of which benefit greatly from reading multiple previous novels in the series.

See below for possible future additions. Check out the podcast discussion here.

We’ve reviewed most of these books recently enough, or have read them enough times, to be sure of their place on the SFBRP Must-Read list. However, we plan on re-reading various other novels to see if they should be added to the list in the future. These include:

• C.J. Cherryh – Finity’s End (not yet reviewed on the SFBRP)
• David Zindell – Neverness (also not yet reviewed on the SFBRP)
• Arkady and Boris Strugatsky – Roadside Picnic (it broke my brain but I can’t remember if I should recommend it or not)
• Joe Haldeman – The Forever War (need to check 1970’s books for dated content that would kill my enjoyment of the book)
• Fredrick Pohl – Gateway (again, need to check 1970’s books for enjoyment-destroying dated content)
• Douglas Adams – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (less funny the more you read it?)
• Michel Faber – Under the Skin (how much impact was from the book vs the movie?)
• Arthur C Clarke – 2001: A Space Odyssey (book vs movie issue)
• Suzanne Collins – The Hunger Games (book vs movie issue yet)
• Becky Chambers – The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (will this still be relevant more than 10 years later?)

All ratings are out of 5 stars, based purely on the subjective enjoyment of reading the book. Sometimes I enjoy a book more or less on the second read, so the star rating might not reflect my original experience with the novel. Episodes featuring Juliane show the average of her rating and my rating.

• no rating – the work isn’t a novel, or if it is, I didn’t read enough of it to rate it.
• 0 stars – do not read the book under any circumstance.
• 1 star – only read the book if you are a huge fan of the author and don’t mind being disappointed.
• 2 stars – read it if you want, but don’t blame me if you hate it.
• 2.5 stars – totally average.
• 3 stars – put it on your list for future books to read, or pick it up if you find a copy second hand.
• 4 stars – go out of your way to buy it and read it.
• 5 stars – buy it new right now and read it twice.

Books with equal ratings are arranged by episode order.