Powell's Essential List: 25 Essential Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books Isn't Enough: Our 25 Honorable Mentions

This is one of the 743 lists we use to generate our main The Greatest Books list.

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Powells' City of Books, 25 Books

Powell's Books has unveiled a follow-up to their celebrated Essential List: 25 Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books of the 21st Century (So Far), introducing an "Honorable Mentions" list that spotlights outstanding titles which narrowly missed inclusion. After extensive deliberations and contributions from the entire Powell's team, this list comprises exceptional science fiction and fantasy books that have significantly impacted the genre. Despite focusing on works published after 1999, to maintain a contemporary perspective, the list also acknowledges timeless classics that, due to various constraints, couldn't be featured in their initial selection. This Honorable Mentions list serves as a tribute to the depth and diversity of the genre, including both beloved works from the last two decades and enduring favorites that continue to resonate with readers. Powell's encourages readers to explore these selections and share their own indispensable titles, further enriching the ongoing conversation about the essential reads in science fiction and fantasy.

This list was originally published in 2022 and was added to this site over 2 years ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
39 Frankenstein Mary Shelley 1818 British English
360 Foundation Isaac Asimov 1951 American English
45 Fictions Jorge Luis Borges 1944 Argentinian Spanish
17 The Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1959 English English
100 Dune Frank Herbert 1965 American English
361 The Left Hand Of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin 1969 American English
2226 Ringworld Larry Niven 1970 American English
3140 Dhalgren Samuel R. Delany 1975 American English
190 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams 1979 British English
1326 Parable Of The Sower Octavia E. Butler 1993 American English
2482 The Golden Compass Philip Pullman 1995 British English
14901 Sabriel Garth Nix 1995 Australian English
17007 The Invasion K. A. Applegate 1996 American English
1621 Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke 2004 British English
13252 How To Live Safely In A Science Fictional Universe Charles Yu 2010 American English
1380 Station Eleven Emily St John Mandel 2014 Canadian English
17007 Autonomous Annalee Newitz 2017 American English
5573 This Is How You Lose The Time War Amal El Mohtar, Max Gladstone 2019 Multiple English
10932 Gideon The Ninth Tamsyn Muir 2019 New Zealand English
9883 A Memory Called Empire Arkady Martine 2019 American English
14901 House Of X Powers Of X Jonathan Hickman 2019 American English
13890 Ninth House Leigh Bardugo 2019 American English
7823 The Invisible Life Of Addie La Rue V. E. Schwab 2020 American English
9241 The Memory Police Yōko Ogawa 2024 Japanese Japanese
17007 Iron Widow Xiran Jay Zhao 2021 Canadian English