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

jian · 2026-03-05T19:57:55+0000

cbwjm said:
One of the best sci-fi books I've read was Children of Time. It had sequels but this book was pretty self contained that you don't need to read them. It really captured my imagination when I read it and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it. It was one of those books that I vame across seemingly at random, browsing book lists on kindle and I'm glad I found it, for me it was a 5/5 read.

For me for Tchaikovsky it was Dogs of War. Amazing book, perfect sci-fi, like a much better thought out version of Grant Morrison’s We3.

el-remmen · 2026-03-05T20:11:06+0000

Ursula K. LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness."

Clint_L · 2026-03-05T20:42:30+0000

jian said:
For me for Tchaikovsky it was Dogs of War. Amazing book, perfect sci-fi, like a much better thought out version of Grant Morrison’s We3.

Both series are great! Though my favourite book in the CoT series was the first, whereas DoW gets better with each book. Dragon is one of my favourite characters ever.

RuinousPowers · 2026-03-05T22:41:56+0000

I'm probably alone here, but Battlefield Earth was epic and fun. I didn't know anything about the author when I read it, and I really enjoyed it.

Eyes of Nine · 2026-03-06T01:02:07+0000

RuinousPowers said:
I'm probably alone here, but Battlefield Earth was epic and fun. I didn't know anything about the author when I read it, and I really enjoyed it.

Just don't ever see the movie

SkidAce · 2026-03-06T01:13:22+0000

Eyes of Nine said:
Just don't ever see the movie

Seriously. Don't.

Dannyalcatraz · 2026-03-06T07:32:29+0000

RuinousPowers said:
I'm probably alone here, but Battlefield Earth was epic and fun. I didn't know anything about the author when I read it, and I really enjoyed it.

Ditto. I picked it up because I wanted something to read on a trip. My edition was advertising the contest to be in the movie.

Eyes of Nine said:
Just don't ever see the movie

And

SkidAce said:
Seriously. Don't.

It’s bad, but it’s fun, IMHO.

Swanosaurus · 2026-03-06T08:29:36+0000

Samuel R. Delany, Nova. It's fun, it's intellectually satisfying, it prefigures tons of core concepts of later science fiction, it is supremely well written. I'm not sure if it is my favourite sf novel, but if I have to pick one single best one, it's Nova.

Ralif Redhammer · 2026-03-06T18:40:36+0000

Swanosaurus said:
Samuel R. Delany, Nova. It's fun, it's intellectually satisfying, it prefigures tons of core concepts of later science fiction, it is supremely well written. I'm not sure if it is my favourite sf novel, but if I have to pick one single best one, it's Nova.

Nova has been sitting in my to-read for a while now. I really dug Babel-17, so I ought to get to it sooner rather than later.

Clint_L · 2026-03-06T19:08:39+0000

Swanosaurus said:
Samuel R. Delany, Nova. It's fun, it's intellectually satisfying, it prefigures tons of core concepts of later science fiction, it is supremely well written. I'm not sure if it is my favourite sf novel, but if I have to pick one single best one, it's Nova.

This is one of those books that I respect and want to like more than I actually do. Delaney's writing has never entirely done it for me. He's a super important writer in the pantheon, so this feels like a personal failure.