The Fantasy Review‘s list of 10 Science Fiction Books Better Than ‘Leviathan Wakes’, According to Goodreads.
Leviathan Wakes is the first in James S.A. Corey’s popular The Expanse series, and currently has a rating of 4.30 on Goodreads. Here is a list of science fiction books (plus sci-fantasy) that have a higher rating (and are also first in a series, or standalones). What do you make of these ratings?
Conjunction (The Wise Society, #1) by A.D. Zoltan
Goodreads Rating: 4.31
From the blurb:
In 2610, as Earth is facing some major challenges, Erin, a lone individual with exceptional intellect manages to outwit the most influential power brokers of the planet, ultimately leading to a complete reorder of human society.
The story continues in the year 3200, when a collective artificial intelligence (thanks to the success of Erin), the so-called Central Intelligent System (CIS) aids humanity in remaking the solar system to its sphere of direct influence….
Ender’s Game (Ender’s Saga, #1) by Orson Scott Card
Goodreads Rating: 4.31
From the blurb:
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race’s next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn’t make the cut―young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.…
The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1) by N.K. Jemisin
Goodreads Rating: 4.31
From the blurb:
This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time.
It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world’s sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester….
The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1) by Suzanne Collins
Goodreads Rating: 4.33
From the blurb:
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, “The Hunger Games,” a fight to the death on live TV.…
Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1) by Neal Shusterman
Goodreads Rating: 4.33
From the blurb:
A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery: humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now Scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own….
Brainwalker by Robyn Mundell
Goodreads Rating: 4.33
From the blurb:
One teen’s incredible journey may just blow his father’s mind… Fourteen-year-old Bernard thinks outside the box. The only problem is that neither his school nor his ultra-rational physicist father appreciate his unique ideas. When he reacts to a stressful situation at school by mooning the class, his suspension sends him straight to his father’s workplace.…
The Stand by Stephen King
Goodreads Rating: 4.35
From the blurb:
A patient escapes from a biological testing facility, unknowingly carrying a deadly weapon: a mutated strain of super-flu that will wipe out 99 percent of the world’s population within a few weeks. Those who remain are scared, bewildered, and in need of a leader. Two emerge—Mother Abagail, the benevolent 108-year-old woman who urges them to build a peaceful community in Boulder, Colorado; and Randall Flagg, the nefarious “Dark Man,” who delights in chaos and violence.…
System Change (System Universe #1) by SunriseCV
Goodreads Rating: 4.43
From the blurb:
That is Derek’s creed, and what’s gotten him through the System Integration on Earth.
Everything changed when the System came. Cute bunnies and beautiful butterflies became savage killing machines. Then the Invaders arrived with a single goal: to obtain ownership of this new habitable planet.
War has raged ever since….
Skyward (Skyward, #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Goodreads Rating: 4.49
From the blurb:
Spensa’s world has been under attack for decades. Now pilots are the heroes of what’s left of the human race, and becoming one has always been Spensa’s dream. Since she was a little girl, she has imagined soaring skyward and proving her bravery. But her fate is intertwined with her father’s–a pilot himself who was killed years ago when he abruptly deserted his team, leaving Spensa’s chances of attending flight school at slim to none.…
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Goodreads Rating: 4.50
From the blurb:
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company….
