My favorites of classical SF

Discover timeless classics in science fiction with our curated list of favorite books. Explore must-read masterpieces from legendary authors that shaped the genre.

A Canticle for Leibowitz Cover
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A Canticle for Leibowitz

by Walter M. Miller (Jr.)

The winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel, Miller's bestselling work is a true landmark of 20th-century literature--a chilling and still-provocative look at a post-apocalyptic future.
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Lord of Light

by Roger Zelazny

Earth is long since dead. On a colony planet, a band of men has gained control of technology, made themselves immortal, and now rules their world as the gods of the Hindu pantheon. Only one dares oppose them: he who was once Siddhartha and is now Mahasamatman. Binder of Demons. Lord of Light.
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The Stars My Destination

by Alfred Bester

In this pulse-quickening novel, Alfred Bester imagines a future in which people "jaunte" a thousand miles with a single thought, where the rich barricade themselves in labyrinths and protect themselves with radioactive hit men--and where an inarticulate outcast is the most valuable and dangerous man alive.
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The Demolished Man

by Alfred Bester

In 2301, a psychopathic business magnate comes up with the ultimate plan to eliminate his competition and destroy the order of society.
Gateway Cover
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Gateway

by Frederik Pohl

The Heechee gateways, remnants of an ancient civilization, provide instantaneous passage to the far reaches of the universe but do not ensure destination, return, wealth, or survival.
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The Forever War

by Joe Haldeman

Mandella feels hopelessly frustrated as a foot soldier in a century-long interplanetary war.
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Tower of Glass

by Robert Silverberg

Simeon Krug is a man with a vision, and he has the vast wealth necessary to bring it into being. For Krug wishes to communicate with the stars, to answer signals from deep space. The colossal glass tower that he is building for the purpose soars high above the Arctic tundra, a sparkling monument to his determination and obsession. The androids who are working on it are perfect synthetic creations, created by Krug's own process in Krug's own factories, and their commitment to the project and their loyalty to Krug are beyond question. For they have made him their god and believe that through him they will become flesh and blood. But Krug is not a god, and when the androids learn the bitter truth their anger is terrible and uncontrollable and threatens much more than Krug's tower. Tower of Glass is a tense and powerful novel written with the intense creativity and ferocious imagination which characterize Silverberg's finest work . Dealing intelligently and forthrightly with important themes, it is science fiction at its thrilling best.
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ID: 160010200X
(Type: books)
Brother to Dragons Cover
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Brother to Dragons

 

No summary available.
Nineteen Eighty-four Cover
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Nineteen Eighty-four

by George Orwell

Eternal warfare is the price of bleak prosperity in this satire of totalitarian barbarism.
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The Dispossessed

by Ursula K. Le Guin

Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. he will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.
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The Left Hand of Darkness

by Ursula K. Le Guin

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION—WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY DAVID MITCHELL AND A NEW AFTERWORD BY CHARLIE JANE ANDERS Ursula K. Le Guin’s groundbreaking work of science fiction—winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards. 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... Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.
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Stand on Zanzibar

 

No summary available.
Where Late The Sweet Birds Sang Cover
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Where Late The Sweet Birds Sang

by Kate Wilhelm

The story of an isolated post-holocaust community of clones who are determined to preserve civilization, Where Late the Sweet Bids Sang" is widely regarded as Wilhelm's finest work.
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Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a fireman, his job is to burn books, which are forbidden.
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ID: 0312854064
(Type: books)
The War of the Worlds Cover
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The War of the Worlds

by H. G. Wells

Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitement of each story. Appropriate "reader friendly" type sizes have been chosen for each title—offering clear, accurate, and readable text. All editions are complete and unabridged, and feature Introductions and Afterwords. This edition of War of the Worlds includes a Introduction, Biographical Note, and Afterword by James Gunn. They came form outer space--Mars, to be exact. With deadly heat-rays and giant fighting machine they want to conquer Earth and keep humans as their slaves. Nothing seems to stop them as they spread terror and death across the planet. It is the start of the most important war in Earth's history. And Earth will never be the same.
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The Time Machine

 

No summary available.
The Einstein intersection Cover
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The Einstein intersection

 

No summary available.
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Dhalgren

by Samuel R. Delany

In one of the most profound and bestselling science fiction novels of all time, Samuel R. Delany has produced a novel "to stand with the best American fiction of the 1970s" (Jonathan Lethem, bestselling author of Fortress of Solitude). Bellona is a city at the dead center of the United States. Something has happened there.... The population has fled. Madmen and criminals wander the streets. Strange portents appear in the cloud-covered sky. Into this disaster zone comes a young man—poet, lover, and adventurer—known only as the Kid. Tackling questions of race, gender, and sexuality, Dhalgren is a literary marvel and groundbreaking work of American magical realism.