What is the single best science fiction novel of all time?

[Parmandur]

Nope. Still not seeing it. There’s not a single sf novel
In the top ten. Pair of Harry Potter books and the Hobbit.

Here, you have to scroll a bit to get to them: List of best-selling books - Wikipedia

 

[Hussar]

Here, you have to scroll a bit to get to them: List of best-selling books - Wikipedia

AHh, I see what you were doing. I searched for best selling SF books. That's why my list is very different from yours.

 

[Parmandur]

AHh, I see what you were doing. I searched for best selling SF books. That's why my list is very different from yours.

A lot of those click bait lists consolidate series, it seems, which gives a different picture. A 40 book series where each entry sold a few hundred thousand copies consistently (Ringworld, Foundation) is great business, but a very different beast from Dune or 1984 selling more with one book.

 

[GreyLord]

Well, the answer I'm going to give will be hated by MANY here. Many will dislike it simply due to it's association with the author.

However, it is probably my favorite SF book of all time, and perhaps one of my favorite novels of all time. It is also immensely thick.

Battlefield Earth.

 

[tleilaxu ii]

Dune is up there: I've revisited a few times over the last 40 years and I can't say I've ever been disappointed with it.

But my vote goes to The Dispossessed by Le Guin.

100%

for me, the holy trinity is Le Guin, P.K. Dick, and Jack Vance. The first book I would recommend to new readers of each would be Le Guin's 'Four Paths to Forgiveness', Dick's 'Ubik', and Vance's 'Ports of Call' (or Suldrun's Garden if fantasy is allowed).

For unheralded books, I think Bruce Sterling's 'Holy Fire' is quite interesting. Definitely deserves a larger readership.

The best place to find a lot of interesting Sci-Fi, is in Gardner Dozois' yearly 'Best of' anthology, which continued until his untimely death in 2018. That's the most 'bang' for your time.

As a Dune lover.... the problem with Dune&c. is that Herbert was by profession a journalist and thus a dilettante and by disposition a pedant. This can be an unfortunate combination and can subject the reader to pompous bloviating. Most of the time this bloviating remains interesting and engaging. Most of the time. His command of the language is also only adequete (a common sci-fi sin to be sure). Compare his relative mastery of the language to Tolkien, for example.

 

[Reynard]

Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke

 

[Deset Gled]

As a Dune lover....

Identity verified.

 

[jian]

I’m less into sci-fi than fantasy but my personal choice would be Lest Darkness Fall by L Sprague de Camp, if it counts. It’s not sci-fi in that there’s no explanation of how the time travel happens, but it is in that it explores ramifications and effects on history in a logical way.