The joy found in science fiction novels is, of course, entirely subjective. Some love a series that keeps things only galaxy-wide, spanning maybe only a millennia. Others prefer multi-dimensional, million-year space epics. To keep this ‘best of’ list fair, I have tried to pick some of my favorite all-time science fiction book series that cover all bases.
#10 Wayfarer Series – Becky Chambers
The Wayfarer Series by Becky Chambers is one of the most recently published science fiction series on this list, but it still deserves its place. For anyone new to the genre, it is a fantastic gateway into the world of space-based drama and adventure.
Becky Chambers brings the notoriously galaxy-spanning stereotype of sci-fi and reduces it down to three relatively small worlds. Her first book, ‘A Long Way to A Small Angry Planet’, is based almost entirely on a single spaceship, bringing the reader on a journey to a remote planet destined to set the crew up for life. The first book in the series is a wonderful character study, using the medium of aliens and AI to create some fantastically diverse characters.
The next two books, which are planet-based, follow loosely on from this. Without giving too much away, both of these novels look at the complexity of the human spirit when confronted with people who are outside of their comfort zone. They dissect love, prejudice, fear, and many other very human emotions, using the science fiction backdrop to really delve deep into what makes us… human?
#9 The Expanse – James S. A. Corey
Earth is a bloated and failing planet, Mars has become a technocratic threat, and the asteroid belt hosts a vast population of long-limbed outcasts. James S. A. Corey has created a universe in which he has based a phenomenal nine books delving into the conflicts, relationships, and adventures that revolve around these three populations.
The Expanse books stray away from becoming wildly futuristic, instead focusing on the technology we have now, or maybe in the not too distant future. For some, this realism isn’t what they’re looking for in the best science fiction series, but for others, it gives the series the verisimilitude it requires to truly connect.
The Expanse has everything you need from a magnificent space opera, with space battles, politics, relationships, a looming alien threat, and warring factions. If you’re looking for something that may very well take years to read, The Expanse saga won’t leave you wanting. However, if you’re finished and looking for something similar, we have you covered.
#8 The Forever War Series – Joe Haldeman
Haldeman is a veteran of the Vietnam War, and I feel this trauma and disillusionment come through in his collection of Forever War science fiction narrative very clearly. In this collection of books, interstellar has become possible through ‘collapsers’. However, doing so will only take moments for the traveller but years in real time. These are used to transport troops across great distances to fight with the alien ‘Taurans’.
The first book follows Mandella’s path as he goes through his training and is sent to war on a distant planet with an enemy he has never met. While only two years pass for him, almost 30 pass on earth. When he returns after his tour of duty, the earth has changed. His disconnection from a world he once remembered leaves him ‘travel shocked’, and he finds himself completely unable to reassimilate, driving him to sign up for another tour, once again leaving his family and world behind.
The books focus on the way the world moves forward over and over again, leaving Mandella to return to civilizations he no longer recognizes. He is ostracized and outcast despite his many accolades. The books expand on the tragic ways in which war can change a person. I feel The Forever War has deep elements of Joe Haldeman’s personal experience and provide a view into the world of a veteran from a tragic science-fiction perspective.
#7 Enders Game – Orson Scott Card
Depending on how deep you want to get into the monstrous Enders Saga by Orson Scott Card, the story can span five books or 20. Ender’s game, or at least the core five Ender’s Series books, follows Ender as he first fights a war that leaves him in possession of perhaps the last hope of the civilization they wiped out in the form of an egg.
Over the next few books, years pass, opinions on the war change as Ender writes the story of the now-extinct Formics, and humanity spreads itself across the galaxy. The Ender’s Universe, even over the first five books, is vast, infinitely complex, and incredibly engaging. Summing it up can’t be done in a few brief paragraphs. If you are looking for a science fiction saga that spans generations, planets and includes vast and complex ideas, this is the one to pick up. The Ender’s Game saga is magnificently written and infinitely in-depth, rarely not included in any ‘best of’ science fiction list.
#6 Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy – Douglas Adams
For something light-hearted yet still written with incredible skill and world-building, there are few science fiction sagas better than The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy. Douglas Adams puts us in the shoes of Arthur Dent, a regular, everyday Englishman who has been robbed of his home planet and left drifting through the universe.
While the idea of hitchhiking from planet to planet may be many science fiction readers’ dream, for Arthur Dent, it is all just a bit annoying. Douglas Adams wrote this collection of books with the dry humour and satire that is only found in English writers. The worlds and concepts that the books produce are hilarious and incredibly inventive.
Each of the books in the series is a gem in itself, introducing amazing new characters and concepts. Although wildly alien, the world beyond the borders of our atmosphere still suffers from many of the problems we face today. Having Earth turned to rubble for the sole reason of building an ‘Intergalactic Highway’ is one of my favourite planetary destructions in science fiction of all time.
#5 Commonwealth Saga – Peter F Hamilton
The Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton is a monstrous pair of books, but ones that I tore through. These two novels take us through a serious case of ‘curiosity almost killing the cat’. When a star mysteriously disappears from the sky, a spaceship is sent to find out why.
A Dyson sphere surrounds the sun, enclosing it completely. However, when it is approached, it disappears, releasing a genocidal hive-mind alien into the universe, previously trapped for everyone’s good. The next few books cover the relentless spread and devastation of this all-encompassing life form.
These books highlight the futility of war against an alien life form that is phenomenally better suited to genocide than even humans. The sense of fear and dread that Hamilton creates in this science fiction saga is second to none for me. The foul, polluting, planet-devouring parasite that begins its journey to ‘The Commonwealth’ is truly an alien to fear.
These books create a universe rich in action, relationships, politics, and difficult decisions. Despite their vast length, they rarely feel like they drag and will keep you flipping pages cover to cover.
#4 Hyperion Cantos – Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons breaches many topics, from religion to sex and everything in between, in his Hyperion Cantos. Although the first two books mostly focus on the lives of the central five characters, as the science fiction saga opens up, so does his universe.
The Hyperion Cantos saga presents us with a universe populated by humans, a seemingly benevolent AI, and other humanoid but friendly aliens. Humanity has spread itself across galaxies, utilising the wormhole technology provided by AI. However, there are factions of aliens who choose to remain separate from AI, and war is breaking out.
On the planet of Hyperion, tombs are opening up, moving backward through time, and with them is coming an evil never before witnessed by humanity. As the time tombs start to emerge, alien forces fight over the control of Hyperion.
The Hyperion Cantos explores where this evil is coming from, who created it, and what humanity can do to save itself. Dan Simmons is not afraid to go big when it comes to the events in his science fiction saga, creating some of the best ‘Oh Shit’ moments of many in this list. The saga spans thousands of years and shakes up everything the foundations of the first books lay out.
#3 Dune – Frank Herbert
Hell, you can’t have a ‘best of’ science fiction saga list without good old Dune on there, can you? Sandworms, future sight, rebel forces, and interplanetary genocide are always going to be a recipe for a good time. Frank Herbert created six books before his death, and then his son capitalised and wrote three preludes after.
These books take you on a journey based around the production of Spice, a material only found on the planet of Arrakis. This Spice powers interstellar travel and provides extra sensory perception, making it one of the most treasured resources in the universe.
However, there is a boy prophet. The Dune series covers the rise from a small freedom fighter cell to galactic-wide genocidal warlords of the inhabitants of Arrakis under the guidance of a boy hopped up on huffing interstellar spaceship fuel. The writing of these certainly tails off after the first three books, but Dune always must be included in any best of science fiction list.
If you’re finished with this saga, and looking for something in the same thread, try one of these on for size.
#2 The Foundation Series – Isaac Asimov
Isaac Asimov is widely regarded to be one of the granddaddies of science fiction, and rightfully so. Many will know the film I, Robot, starring Will Smith. This is loosely based on the book of the same name from the Foundation Series produced by Isaac Asimov.
If you want to dig into some of the earliest science fiction novels ever written and witness phenomenal world-building, prediction, and galaxy-spanning writing, I cannot recommend the Foundation series highly enough. Beyond the wonderful storytelling, the cultural significance and genre-defining work these books hold cannot be ignored.
There are seven books in the saga, but three core ones. Due to their vast reach, reading them all in order isn’t essential. The books cover many theories both in technology and psychology of the time, capturing the paranoias and fascination of the 1950s.
#1 The Culture Novels – Iain M Banks
As I mentioned at the beginning of this piece, of course, any ‘best of’ science fiction list is going to be heavily subjective. The Culture Novels by Iain M Banks are, for me, where I have found the most joy in any science fiction writing.
The universe Banks creates with his many varied and creative worlds never fails to pull me in. The books in his science fiction saga can really be read in any order, with some crossover in characters and planets. Each book is a standalone tale captured within the Culture universe.
These novels take place in a future utopia, with everything living in a post-scarcity society. The AI of the planet-sized ships is beyond our understanding of intelligence but entirely benevolent, seeing humanity as a sweet pet rather than a threat. Humans live how they choose, deciding on the paths they want to take, aided by the ships.
This doesn’t mean the universe of The Culture Novels isn’t without its drama. Many incredible and beautifully crafted narratives are pulled from this world. Rather than creating stories from struggle and conflict, Banks chooses to take the path of resistance and arm humanity to the hilt but still create adventure and struggle.
The Culture Series has, for me, some of the most interesting concepts and beautiful writing in Science Fiction sagas. The many varied books that have come from it are each incredibly individual, with each one digging into a new concept or conflict. Pick any one of these up, and you’ll immediately understand why.
