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Top 10 Best Modern Sci Fi Books Updated 03 /2024

Dennis Lehane
  Mar 29, 2024 10:49 AM

Here we ranked and reviewed the top 10 Best Modern Sci Fi Books that are highly rated by 100,903 customers.

 


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Best Modern Sci Fi Books

Any discussion of sci-fi always starts and ends with the best writers in the field. Among them are Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Phillip K. Dick and so on. H.G. Wells, Frank Herbert and so on are also there. Their sci-fi skills aren't the only thing that binds them together. It was all done before 1980. Because sci-fi is all about the future, a lot of talk about the best sci-fi books is about books written a long time ago.

Sci-fi books were still written in 1980. In the last 30 years, a new group of sci-fi authors has come up and made their mark on the genre with their own masterpieces. Those who write books about science fiction, or "modern sci-fi masters," are on this list. They are just starting to earn their place in the history of the genre. These must-read sci-fi books are for people who love science fiction and want to read something that doesn't have all the baggage of a book that was written a long time ago.

The Expanse | published 2011 – 2020

Books Written by: James S.A. Corey

Two different writers, Daniel Abraham and Ty Frack, use the pen name James S.A. Corey when they write together. The Expanse is the name of a series of sci-fi books that take place in a near future where humans have colonized the solar system and are under pressure from both politics and population to reach out into the stars.

James Holden is the main character in each book in the The Expanse series, but other characters play a role as well. The book's focus shifts from one book to the next. There are parts of the first book that make it look like a zombie movie. In the second book, Han Solo and his crew in the Millenium Falcon seem more real.

The thing that makes The Expanse unique is how it looks at human nature and politics, and how it applies scientific realism to the outer space world it lives in, too. It's very likely that if humanity ever spreads outside of Earth's atmosphere, it will look a lot like everything in the The Expanse books.

The Expanse has also become a great TV show, which is now on Amazon Prime. If the show is good, it's not better than the books. Make sure you both read and watch The Expanse, because both are important.

Old Man’s War | published 2006

Book Written by: John Scalzi

They are sent to space and given new bodies so they can fight aliens. In Heinlein's Starship Troopers world, there was a lot of war. The war itself is enough to make people want to see it. But the idea behind what sends our hero there is what really makes this book great.

There is a lot to think about in Old Man's War, but it also talks about how cruel humans are. In the best parts, it reminds me of both Starship Troopers and Wrath of Khan, and maybe Cocoon, too, all in one movie all at once.

During the story, an officer named John Perry is on a mission. It's a story about an adventure, so don't worry about getting bogged down in all those high-minded ideas. But Scalzi is very good at putting his ideas together in a confident, easy-to-read story. A sci-fi book called "Old Man's War" is great.

The Commonwealth Saga | published 2002 – 2010

Books Written By: Peter F. Hamilton

Sci-fi books written by Peter F. Hamilton and set in the same world as the Commonwealth Saga are all part of it. Some of them connect in a story way, and some of them don't connect at all except for being in the same place. Because Hamilton has a unique way of writing about sci-fi, you should read all of his books.

There are many things that Hamilton's sci-fi books think about. They take readers into a future that's as far away from us now as King Arthur's worlds were from our own. In Hamilton, we go on a journey to see not only what we will be, but also what we can be.

If you want to get into Hamilton's world, I'd start with Pandora's Star and its direct sequel, Judas Unchained. These two books are part of a single story that starts when humanity suddenly comes up with instantaneous teleportation. Become a new person after going through the doorway with Hamilton.

The Dark Tower Series | published 1982 – 2004

Books Written by: Stephen King

There are a lot of sci-fi books in the Dark Tower series, but Stephen King is best known for writing fantasy and horror books. There was a story called The Gunslinger that came out in 1982 called "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger came after him." It took him through seven epic books to go on a journey across dimensions, time, and space.

They call him Roland and he's a cowboy, kind of. He comes from a world that looks a lot like our medieval past mixed with a Clint Eastwood movie. To find the Dark Tower, which he thinks is at the center of everything. His world was destroyed by an evil force, and now he's on a quest to find it. He makes new friends as he goes, and they form a bond that goes beyond words.

On this list, there are some sci-fi book series that make you cry. This one is full of violence and sadness, but also heart-wrenching beauty and joy. Read all seven books, don't watch the Dark Tower movie, and say thanks.

The Liaden Universe | published 1988 – 2010

Books Written by: Sharon Lee & Steve Miller

Agent of Change was the first sci-fi book to be written (though not the first in terms of when it was written). It would later become known as the Liaden Universe. This sci-fi series includes nine different books. All of them are set in the same future, but each book is very different from the other.

If you want to read about a small group of people playing cat and mouse on a single planet, for example, Agent of Change is the book for you. I think Balance of Trade is the best book in the series. It tells the story of a group of people who work on a huge intergalactic merchant ship as they move from one planet to another. Then there are romance novels and political thrillers, which are all set in the same imaginary world. The best part is that it all fits together. Some of the stories are bigger parts of the same whole, each told in a different way and from a different point of view.

Hyperion Cantos | published 1989 – 1997

Books Written by: Dan Simmons

In fact, there are four sci-fi books in the Hyperion Cantos. It starts with Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion. Then it goes on to tell another part of the story. The second two, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion, tell a different story. A future where man thinks he has conquered the universe but hasn't is what they make up. They all work together to tell the same story.

First, a few people go on a journey to a planet called Hyperion, which is very different from Earth. Impossible and seemingly all-powerful, The Shrike, will be waiting for them there. He takes people and impales them on his tree of pain (which is every bit as horrible as it sounds). I don't think there's ever been a book that was more thought-provoking and emotional. It doesn't matter if it's sci-fi or not. When you read Dan Simmons's book, you'll learn a lot about humanity and the universe while having a lot of fun with science fiction.

On Basilisk Station | published 1992

Book Written by: David Weber

On Basilisk Station is the first book in David Weber's Honorverse series, which is a huge sci-fi series. I'm not going to recommend the whole series. Start with this one book, then stop reading them when you think you're done with the series. You can read On Basilisk Station as a stand-alone book, and it's still good.

You can read this book about a female military commander named Honor Harrington and her ship, the Fearless. They are on a mission, fighting, and are the last line of defense against an invasion in a very far-off part of space where they are alone. He makes Honor one of the most powerful female characters in literature, and he knows how to make strategy and tactics in outer space look fun at the same time.

The Time Ships | published 1995

Book Written by: Stephen Baxter

Stephen Baxter, a British author, wrote The Time Ships, a follow-up sci-fi book that was approved by the H.G. Wells estate to mark the 100th anniversary of The Time Machine. In the book, he looks at the paradox that was accidentally created by the original story.

Wells' book ends, and now the Time Traveler has gone back in time to save a girl he left to die at the hands of the Morlocks. Along the way, he notices that time has moved on a lot. He stops to look into it, and he finds out that he's messed up the timeline and the future he left behind never happened. In his efforts to fix the timeline, he only makes it worse, even putting his own life and the lives of everyone else in danger.

It's a complicated, thought-provoking story in the tradition of all of Wells' stories. It makes you think about your moral obligations to your future and your past. Baxter is very good at writing in a style that sounds like "Wellsian" writing from the 1800s, but he still fits in with modern steampunk fans and fans of the original Wells.


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