The Fantasy Review’s list of The 11 Most Beloved Science Fiction Book Series of All Time.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Check out our review of Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
From the blurb of book 1:
Who will inherit this new Earth?
The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age — a world terraformed and prepared for human life…
Dune by Frank Herbert
From the blurb of book 1:
Paul Atreides, son of Duke Leto Atreides, and all of his family have been sent to the planet Arrakis, having been outmanoeuvred by their arch-enemy Baron Harkonnen.
Arrakis – also known as Dune – is an arid place, but a planet of fabulous wealth, the only source of a drug prized throughout the Galactic Empire: Spice.
What will happen next will change everything. There are secrets on Dune, known only to the planet’s native people, the Fremen. They have been waiting for their moment to make their move…
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Check out our review of Foundation by Isaac Asimov.
From the blurb of book 1:
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future—to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire—both scientists and scholars—and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation...
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
From the blurb of book 1:
It’s an ordinary Thursday lunchtime for Arthur Dent until his house gets demolished. The Earth follows shortly afterwards to make way for a new hyperspace express route, and Arthur’s best friend has just announced that he’s an alien. At this moment, they’re hurtling through space with nothing but their towels and a book inscribed in large, friendly letters: DON’T PANIC...
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
From the blurb of book 1:
“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”
In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.
But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern…
Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
From the blurb of book 1:
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the reach of galactic law, waits a creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all...
Red Rising Saga by Pierce Brown
From the blurb of book 1:
“I live for the dream that my children will be born free,” she says. “That they will be what they like. That they will own the land their father gave them.”
“I live for you,” I say sadly.
Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he toils willingly, trusting that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children...
Wayfarers by Becky Chambers
From the blurb of book 1:
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain...
The Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin
From the blurb of book 1:
A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants’ gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters…
The Expanse by James S.A. Corey
From the blurb of book 1:
Humanity has colonized the solar system—Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond—but the stars are still out of our reach.
Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, the Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for—and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why...
Silo by Hugh Howey
From the blurb of book 1:
The world outside has grown toxic, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. The remnants of humanity live underground in a single silo.
But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they want: They are allowed to go outside…
