Space & the future
The stars are closer than you think. Sometimes too close.
Science fiction and dystopias: ships, alien civilisations, artificial minds and futures that might arrive. Ordered by readers’ ratings, with a series shown once and by the volume it starts with.
496 books behind this door, a series counted once · Outer space · Aliens · Robots & AI
Narrow it down in the finder →The best, according to readers
- 1Project Hail Mary
9.09.0 / 10 - 2Cosmos
8.98.9 / 10 - 3The Martian
8.88.8 / 10 - 4Dune
8.88.8 / 10 - 5Ender's Game
8.88.8 / 10 - 6Flowers for Algernon
8.88.8 / 10 - 7Tress of the Emerald Sea
8.78.7 / 10 - 8Skyward
8.78.7 / 10 - 9The Fifth Season
8.78.7 / 10 - 10Dungeon Crawler Carl
8.78.7 / 10 - 11The Last Question
8.78.7 / 10 - 1211/22/63
8.68.6 / 10 - 13Gödel, Escher, Bach
8.68.6 / 10 - 14Hyperion
8.68.6 / 10 - 15Leviathan Wakes
8.68.6 / 10 - 16The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
8.68.6 / 10 - 17Kindred
8.68.6 / 10 - 18Children of Time
8.58.5 / 10 - 19We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
8.48.4 / 10 - 20Red Rising
8.48.4 / 10 - 21All Systems Red
8.38.3 / 10 - 22The Hunger Games
8.38.3 / 10 - 23The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
8.28.2 / 10 - 24Rocannon's World
7.47.4 / 10
Ways in through this door
Moods behind this door
Where do I start with science fiction if I have never read it?
With highly rated standalone books; in the tool choose “Standalone”. Hard physics is not required: many of these are first of all about people in new circumstances.
Are dystopias here or under “A good scare”?
Here. A dystopia is a picture of a future, so it counts as space and the future even when there is not a single rocket in it.
Which of these have been filmed?
Some. In the tool tick “Filmed” and only books with a film or series remain, still ordered by the book’s rating, not the film’s.