Science Fiction Books

There are many ways to approach narrating an audiobook, says award-winning narrator Ray Porter, but whatever the narrator’s method, they must bring conviction to the fantastical tales of sci fi. He introduces his top five choices: sci fi classics and award-winning contemporary novels, read for you by the giants of sci fi narration.

There are over 370 books in the Warhammer 40k series. As veteran Warhammer author Graham McNeill explains, the books offer a chance to introduce complexity and depth, while respecting the Lore the fans know and love. There are no greater fans of the 40k world, says McNeill, than the writers themselves. He introduces his top five choices, and gives us a glimpse of the writers’ world - of group workshops, complicated timelines, constant correspondence, and friends for life.

Isaac Asimov is a sci fi icon who wrote over four hundred books - which can make it hard to know where to begin. Alec Nevala-Lee, author of the group biography Astounding, is our guide to this enormous body of work: he tells us where to find Asimov’s best short stories, which of his novels show his true colours, and why his highly readable nonfiction made him a superstar.

Fans vote every year for the best of sci fi and fantasy, in both the Hugo Awards and the Nebula Awards, and the Best Novel spot in each is always one to watch. Our fantasy and sci fi editor Sylvia Bishop introduces the sci fi winners of the last decade: from titles that are now classics of the genre, to the newest writers making waves.

Hard science fiction books build fantastical worlds underpinned by rigorous science. This constraint actually provokes originality, explains multi-award winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky. He talks us through his five favourites, and shows how every sci-fi story exploring science must also explore politics, philosophy and humanity.

Award-winning sci fi books this year have ranged from deep-sea dives to space operas to goats. Our fantasy and sci fi editor Sylvia Bishop talks us through the winning titles.

A series gives a sci fi writer time to develop powerfully layered worlds, says award-winning author and historian Ada Palmer. She talks us through five series that make the most of this complexity, and envision worlds ranging from lunar anarchist settlements to a real-life Plato’s Republic.

Every year, the judges for the Arthur C. Clarke Award highlight the best of the latest batch of science fiction books. In 2024, the six-strong shortlist includes an exploration of octopus intelligence, a queer space opera, and a dystopian novel hailed as the new Hunger Games. Andrew M. Butler, academic and chair of the judges, talks us through the finalists for the title of sci fi novel of the year.  See all our best science fiction books and  best novels of 2024 recommendations

Space opera—a popular subgenre of science fiction—features louder-than-life characters, hair-raising action sequences, and spacefaring civilisations. Kate Elliott, a prolific author of sci fi and fantasy novels, recommends five space opera books that will grab you by the collar and drag you off on an intergalactic adventure.

Ursula Le Guin's most groundbreaking books are considered landmark texts in speculative fiction, exploring themes of colonisation, gender, nationalism and environmentalism through allegorical means. Here, the science fiction scholar Sherryl Vint selects five of the best books by Ursula Le Guin and examines her legacy as one of the great American writers.