The Greatest Soft Science Fiction Books of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
363 The Left Hand Of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin 1969 American English
2566 The Caves Of Steel Isaac Asimov 1954 American English
2900 City Clifford D. Simak 1952 American English
7798 The Windup Girl Paolo Bacigalupi 2009 American English
11109 Powers Ursula K. Le Guin 2007 American English
11109 A Song for a New Day Sarah Pinsker 2019 American English
11825 Lilith's Brood Octavia E. Butler 1987 American English
13941 The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet Becky Chambers 2014 American English
14207 Planet Of The Apes Pierre Boulle 1963 French French
14210 The Word For World Is Forest Ursula K. Le Guin 1972 American English
14728 The Naked Sun Isaac Asimov 1957 American English
14820 The Lathe Of Heaven Ursula K. Le Guin 1971 American English
14984 Exit Strategy Martha Wells 2018 American English
14984 Metro 2033 Dmitri Glukhovsky 2005 Russian Russian
14984 Dark Matter Blake Crouch 2016 American English
14984 A Psalm For The Wild Built Becky Chambers 2021 American English
17120 The Child Garden Geoff Ryman 1989 British English
17120 Fairyland Paul J. McAuley 1995 British English
17120 The Calcutta Chromosome Amitav Ghosh 1995 Indian English
17120 Dreaming In Smoke Tricia Sullivan 1999 British English
17120 Distraction Bruce Sterling 1998 American English
17120 Beggars In Spain Nancy Kress 1991 American English
17120 Her Smoke Rose Up Forever James Tiptree Jr. 1990 American English
17120 A Closed And Common Orbit Becky Chambers 2016 American English
17120 Nexus Ramez Naam 2012 American English
17120 A Prayer For The Crown Shy Becky Chambers 2022 American English
17120 To Sleep In A Sea Of Stars Christopher Paolini 2020 American English