Compiling hundreds of the most important science fiction books required much more effort from our editors than similar lists of games, films and TV shows. No wonder, because books are the foundation of all world fiction. As before, the main criterion for us was the significance of this or that work for world and domestic science fiction.

Our list includes only those books and cycles that have become universally recognized pillars of science fiction literature or have had a significant impact on the development of individual science fiction trends. At the same time, we did not give in to the temptation to attribute the main contribution to science fiction to English-speaking authors: almost a fifth of our list is occupied by books by Russian masters of the word.

So, before you are those 100 books that, according to MirF, any self-respecting fan of science fiction is simply obliged to read!

FOREIGNERS OF FANTASTIC

Jonathan Swift "Gulliver's Travels"

A novel that paved the way for the authors of many fantastic trends - from satire to alternative geography. And what is the cost of detailed construction of worlds! "Gulliver's Travels" cannot be squeezed only on a fantastic shelf - this is a phenomenon of universal culture. True, most of us are only familiar with the adapted version, which is part of the "golden fund" of children's literature.

Mary Shelley "Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus"

The book of an English lady, the wife of a famous poet, written "on a dare". Percy Shelley and his friend Byron failed, and the 20-year-old girl wrote one of the most famous "Gothic" novels. But the matter was not limited to one gothic! The story of the Swiss scientist Victor Frankenstein, who learned how to animate dead tissue with electricity, is considered the first truly science fiction work.

Lewis Carroll "Alice in Wonderland"

A fairy tale for children, invented by an English mathematician, had a huge impact on the development of science fiction. Satirical absurdism, an abundance of paradoxes, other dimensions - Carroll's book included many topics that were repeatedly used by science fiction writers of subsequent generations. Carroll's influence on English-speaking culture is especially great - in terms of the number of citations, the stories about Alice are second only to Shakespeare.

Jules Verne "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea"

One of the most famous books of the founding father of SF. Of course, you can put a few more of his novels side by side - "Journey to the Center of the Earth", "From the Earth to the Moon", "Robur the Conqueror", but it is "20 thousand ..." that combines scientific and technical predictions that have come true, a fascinating adventurous plot, cognition and a bright character, whose name has become a household name. Who doesn't know Captain Nemo and his Nautilus?

Robert Louis Stevenson Strange story Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"

The story of two opposite halves of a single personality, at the same time - a moralizing parable about the duality of progress and the responsibility of science to society (later this topic was developed by G. Wells in The Invisible Man and The Island of Dr. Moreau). Stevenson cleverly combined elements of sci-fi, gothic horror and philosophical romance. The result is a book that spawned a lot of imitations and made the image of Jekyll Hyde a household name.

Mark Twain "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court"

Another classic that combines a satire on the writer's contemporary society and a brilliant embodiment of several fantastic ideas, later replicated by hundreds of authors. Time travel, alternative history, the idea of ​​a clash of cultures, the dubiousness of progressorism as a way to change an "inert" society - everything fits under one cover.

Bram Stoker "Dracula"

A novel about vampires that spawned an ocean of imitations in literary and cinematic fiction. The Irish Stoker showed the world an example of a competent "black PR". He took the true figure of the Wallachian ruler - a person of little sympathy, but in historical terms quite ordinary - and created a monster with a capital letter from him, whose name in the mass consciousness is placed somewhere between Lucifer and Hitler.

SCIENCE FICTION

HG Wells "War of the Worlds"

A classic work that opened several directions in science fiction at once. This is the first book about the invasion of the Earth by merciless "aliens". However, Wells went beyond the "war of the worlds" theme. The writer creates an impressive gallery of behavioral models of people in extreme conditions of the threat of total destruction hanging over them. Before us is actually a prediction of the development of society in the period of the coming world wars.

Isaac Asimov, Future History series

The first monumental story of the future in the world science fiction, the most striking part of which is the Foundation trilogy (Hugo award as the best fantasy series of all time). Asimov tried to reduce the development of civilization to a set of laws similar to mathematical formulas. The saviors of mankind are not generals and politicians, but scientists - adherents of the science of "psychohistory". And the action of the entire series covers 20 thousand years!

Robert Heinlein "Starship Troopers"

The novel caused a serious scandal, because many liberals saw in it propaganda of militarism and even fascism. Heinlein was a staunch libertarian whose idea of ​​responsibility to society coexisted with the rejection of the total restriction of personal freedom by the state. "Starship Troopers" is not just a reference "military war" about battles with strangers, but also a reflection of the writer's ideas about an ideal society, where duty is above all.

Alfred Elton Van Vogt "Slan"

The first significant work on biological mutations that threaten humanity with the transition to a new stage of evolution. Naturally, ordinary people not ready to just go to the dustbin of history, so the mutant slans have a hard time. The situation is complicated by the fact that slans are the fruit of genetic engineering. Will mankind itself give birth to its own gravedigger?

John Wyndham "Day of the Triffids"

The epitome of a sci-fi "disaster novel". As a result of a cosmic cataclysm, almost all earthlings became blind and turned into prey for predatory plants. End of civilization? No, the British science fiction novel is imbued with faith in the power of the human spirit. Say, "Let's join hands, friends, so as not to disappear one by one"! The book started a wave of similar (though often more pessimistic) stories.

Walter Miller "The Leibovitz Passion"

Classic post-apocalyptic epic. After nuclear war the only stronghold of knowledge and culture remains the church in the person of the Order of St. Leibovitz founded by the physicist. The action of the book takes place over a thousand years: civilization is gradually reborn in order to perish again ... A sincere believer, Miller looks with deep pessimism at the ability of religion to bring real salvation to humanity.

Robert Merle "Maleville"

The most meticulous chronicle of existence ordinary person in the world after a nuclear war. A group of people, once in the Malville castle, survive day after day on the ruins of civilization. Alas, their Robinsonade is absolutely hopeless. No one will arrive with mainland", will not save, will not return forever lost. And not in vain, having won a series of brilliant victories, main character dies of banal appendicitis. The world is dead - and there is no future ...

Isaac Asimov, I, Robot

Asimov's stories about robots developed the theme raised by Karel Capek in the play R.U.R. - about the relationship between man and artificial intelligence. The Three Laws of Robotics are the ethical basis for the existence of artificial creatures, capable of suppressing the "Frankenstein complex" (an implicit desire to destroy one's Creator). These are not just stories about thinking pieces of iron, but a book about people, their moral throwing and spiritual experiments.

Philip K. Dick "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

The first example of genuine cyberpunk, which appeared long before the birth of the term itself and the fantastic phenomenon it designated. The acid-gloomy world of the future, whose inhabitants constantly question the meaning and even the reality of their own existence, are themes that are characteristic of this novel, and of Dick's entire work. And the book served as the basis for Ridley Scott's cult film Blade Runner.

William Gibson Neuromancer

The holy book of cyberpunk, where there are almost all of its iconic signs. Brilliantly depicted in a high-tech near future, in which predatory multinational corporations hold power and cybercrime flourishes. Gibson acted as a real prophet of the digital era that has come today, not only foreseeing the problems of information technology development, but also introducing specific computer jargon into wide circulation.

Arthur Clarke "2001: A Space Odyssey"

Based on an old story, Arthur C. Clarke wrote the screenplay for Stanley Kubrick's film - the first real sci-fi epic of world cinema. And novelization has become a symbol of serious space science fiction. No Star Wars, no superheroes with blasters. A realistic story about an expedition to Jupiter, during which the machine mind reaches its limit, but a person is able to go beyond any limits of the possible.

Michael Crichton "Jurassic Park"

Crichton is considered the father of the science fiction techno-thriller. "Jurassic Park" is not the first work of its kind, but one of the most famous, largely due to the adaptation of Steven Spielberg. Being essentially a skillful combination of themes and ideas repeatedly worked out in science fiction - genetic engineering, cloning, rebellion of artificial creatures - the novel has gained millions of fans and many imitations.

PHILOSOPHICAL AND SOCIAL FICTION

HG Wells "Time Machine"

One of the cornerstones of modern SF is the book that pioneered the exploitation of the theme of time travel. Wells also tried to continue his contemporary capitalism into the distant future, in which humanity was divided into two biological species. Even more than the strange society of Eloi and Morlocks, the "end of times" shakes, which marks the complete death of the mind.

Evgeny Zamyatin "We"

The first great dystopia that influenced other classics - Huxley and Orwell, not to mention the many science fiction writers who try to critically predict the development of society. The action of the story takes place in a pseudo-utopia, where the role of a person is reduced to the position of an insignificant cog. The result is an "ideal" anthill society in which "one is zero, one is nonsense."

Aldous Huxley "O wonderful new world»

One of the foundations of literary dystopia. Unlike his contemporaries, who exposed specific political models, Huxley's novel polemicized with idealistic views about the perfection of technocracy. The intellectuals who have seized power will build another version of the concentration camp - albeit a decent-looking one. Alas, our modern society confirms the correctness of Huxley.

George Orwell "1984"

Another classic dystopian novel inspired by the grim events of World War II. Perhaps now in all corners of the world they heard the terms “Big Brother” and “Newspeak” coined by Orwell. "1984" is a satirical depiction of absolute totalitarianism, no matter what ideology - socialist, capitalist or Nazi - it is covered.

Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451

A dystopia based on not political or social, but cultural ideas. A society is shown where true culture has fallen victim to pragmatic rednecks: animal materialism has unconditionally triumphed over romantic idealism. Firefighters burning books is another iconic image of modern civilization. Developments recent years show that the novel is threatened with the fate not of a warning, but of a prophecy!

Kurt Vonnegut "Slaughterhouse Five"

A masterpiece of anti-war fiction (and literature in general). The hero of the book is the author's alter ego Billy Pilgrim, a war veteran who survived the barbaric bombing of Dresden. Abducted by aliens, the hero only with their help will be able to recover from a nervous shock and find inner peace. The fantastic plot of the book is just a technique with which Vonnegut fights the inner demons of his generation.

Robert Heinlein "Stranger in a Strange Land"

First sf book to become a national bestseller in the United States. This is the story of "cosmic Mowgli" - the earthly child of Michael Valentine Smith, who was brought up by representatives of a fundamentally different mind and became the new Messiah. In addition to the obvious artistic merit and the discovery of many topics forbidden for science fiction, the significance of the novel is that it finally turned the public perception of SF as literature for immature minds.

Stanislav Lem "Solaris"

The flagship of philosophical science fiction. The book of a remarkable Polish writer tells about an unsuccessful contact with a civilization that is absolutely alien to us. Lem created one of the most unusual SF-worlds - a single mind of the planet-ocean Solaris. And you can take thousands of samples, put hundreds of experiments, put forward dozens of theories - the truth will remain "out there, beyond the horizon." Science is simply not able to unravel all the secrets of the universe - no matter how you try ...

Ray Bradbury "The Martian Chronicles"

A multifaceted cycle about the conquest of Mars by man, where he lives last days strange and once great civilization. This is a poetic story about the clash of two different cultures, and reflections on the eternal problems and values ​​of our existence. "The Martian Chronicles" is one of the books that clearly demonstrates that science fiction is able to touch upon the most complex problems and can compete on equal terms with "big" literature.

Ursula Le Guin, Hein cycle

One of the brightest stories of the future, a masterpiece of "soft" SF. Unlike traditional space fantasy scenarios, Le Guin's relationship between civilizations is based on a special ethical code that excludes the use of violence. The works of the cycle tell about contacts between representatives of different psychologies, philosophies and cultures, as well as about their everyday life. The most significant part of the cycle is the novel The Left Hand of Darkness (1969).

Orson Scott Card "Ender's Game", "Voice of the Missing"

The two novels, followed by the popular but controversial multi-volume cycle, are true masterpieces, the pinnacle of Card's work. "Ender's Game" is a modernized "military" with an emphasis on the psychology of growing up as a charismatic teenage leader. And “Voice…” is, first of all, a story of contact, mutual understanding of fundamentally different cultures. Everyone wants the best; Why do good intentions turn into tragedy?

Henry Lyon Oldie, The Abyss of Hungry Eyes

The first multi-layered philosophical and mythological work in modern Russian science fiction, The Abyss of Hungry Eyes includes various areas of science fiction and fantasy. Creating the universe, the co-authors use a variety of mythological schemes, combining a strong adventurous plot and well-developed characters with a philosophical understanding of current events.

• Goodreads rating: 4.4.
• Awards: International Fiction Award for Fiction (1957), SFinks Award for Book of the Year (2000), Prometheus Award for Hall of Fame (2009).

Peter Jackson's Tolkien trilogy stands the test of time and sets the bar for fantasy fiction. The book is different from the film, so the reader will be pleased with many interesting details and unexpected plot twists.

The hobbit Frodo and his companions set off on a journey through the fairy-tale universe to destroy the Ring and restore peace on earth. Many dangers await them along the way, which will require great valor and courage from little hobbits.

• Goodreads rating: 4.2.
• Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (1966), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1965), SFinks Award for Book of the Year (2008).

The action takes place in the distant future, where social life and culture revolve around "spice", there is a constant struggle for the extraction and use of this special substance. At first glance, it may seem that this is another story of the struggle between good and evil, nobility and selfish interests. However, the book is more polyphonic.

Herbert managed to create a kind of chronicle of the distant future, which explores the issues of politics, religion, ecology and technology, rightfully considered the most striking and original in history.

3. A Song of Ice and Fire, George Martin

• Goodreads rating: 4.4.
• Awards: Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Award - first two books (2001), Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Award - first three books (2002).

This rating would be incomplete without the saga about. The book allows you to follow the endless confrontation between the Starks and Lannisters without downloading the next season of the series. Magic, mystery, intrigue, passion, romance and adventure fill its pages and take the reader to a whole new world.

• Goodreads rating: 4.1
• Awards: Prometheus Award in the Hall of Fame category (1984).

Orwell succeeded in creating the antipode of the great, but not universally recognized, dystopia of the 20th century - Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. The author tries to answer the question, what is more terrible: an ideal consumer society or an ideal idea society? It turns out that there is nothing worse than complete lack of freedom in both the first and second cases.

Orwell predicted the total power of television, ubiquitous surveillance, and many other cultural phenomena that we see today. Therefore, the book has not lost its relevance over the years.

• Goodreads rating: 4.
• Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (1973), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1972), Locus Award for Best Novel (1973), Dietmar Award for "Foreign Fiction (USA, novel)" (1973).

• Goodreads rating: 4.
• Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (1974), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1973), Locus Award for Best Novel (1974), British Science Fiction Association Award for category "Best Novel" (1974).

The case when the novel received as many as seven prestigious awards in the field of science fiction (Lifehacker listed the most famous of them) and marked the beginning of a series of books by different authors that explore the relationship of earthlings with a different mind.

The action takes place in the near future. Asteroid unusual shape moves across the galaxy towards the solar system. The crew of earthlings land on the surface of the asteroid and begin to collect data that only complicate the search for an answer to the main question: “Who and why created this hulk? ..”

• Goodreads rating: 4.5.
• Awards: Jules Verne Prize in the Novel (USSR) category (1979), Golden Graulli Prize in the Foreign Novel category (1981).

One of the few works of Russian-language science fiction that does not lose, but only gains popularity over time.

"Roadside picnic" is reflected in world culture. According to him, Andrei Tarkovsky shot his legendary film "Stalker". A few decades later, the story formed the basis of a computer game and became the beginning of a series of books that take place in the created fictional world.

After the aliens visited the Earth, Zones appeared on it, in which completely different laws of existence operate. The society turned out to be unprepared for the "gifts" of the aliens and is struggling to adapt to the new reality, following the few Stalkers.

• Goodreads rating: 4.
• Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (1987), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1986), Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1987), Academy of Science science fiction, fantasy and horror in the category "Best Foreign Book (USA)" (1995).

In Russian translation, the book is also known under the titles "Voice of those who do not exist" and "Herald of the Dead". This novel was a direct continuation of the novel "", which also won several literary awards and received a great response from fantasy lovers.

Earthlings meet another race of advanced beings. The differences between them are so great that it almost leads to a new conflict of civilizations.

• Goodreads rating: 4.1.
• Awards: Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel (2001), Hugo Award for Best Novel (2002), Nebula Award for Best Novel (2002), Locus Award for Best Novel (Fantasy)" (2002), Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Award in the category "Best Fantasy (UK/USA)" (2001).

• Goodreads rating: 4.
• Awards: Governor General of Canada Literary Award in the category "Prose in English language" (1985), Los Angeles Times Book Award in the category " Fiction"(1986), Arthur C. Clarke Award in the category "Best Novel" (1987).

Another book based on which the popular was filmed. Margaret Atwood builds a pretty compelling panorama of a future that could come as soon as tomorrow.

In the new world, women do not have the right to own property, work, love, read or write. They are here only for one thing - to give birth. And if some of them are not capable of this, she is left to work in hard labor until her death, which under such conditions comes earlier than usual. The main character of the book, Fredov's maid, challenges the system, for which she has to pay.

• Goodreads rating: 4.1.
• Awards: New Dimension magazine award in the category " Best Book(UK / Sri Lanka)" (1968).

An example of how a book is born after the film of the same name - and finds its audience while living own life. Arthur Clark wrote his science fiction novel based on a screenplay he worked on with Stanley Kubrick. It is believed that the work was ahead of its time.

An unknown object has been discovered on the Moon that sends a powerful signal to. Scientists managed to find out that the signal goes towards one of the satellites of Saturn. The interplanetary ship "Discovery" is sent there to explore the unknown expanses ...

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• Goodreads rating: 4.2.
• Awards: Prometheus Award in the Best Novel category (2012), Alex Award (2012).

In the not-too-distant future, when the world is going through another economic downturn and resource shortages, you can truly feel alive only in the virtual space where the representatives of humanity spend their days. Before death, the creator of this space makes up a series of the most difficult puzzles. The one who solves them first will inherit his huge fortune and power over the whole world. The protagonist decides to try his hand and begins to look for clues.

Today, the writer is working on a sequel, so readers will soon have the opportunity to find out what happened to their favorite characters.

13. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula Le Guin

• Goodreads rating: 4.
• Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (1970), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1969), Italian magazine Nova SF Award for Best Novel (1972), SFinks Award for Best Novel Book of the Year (1996).

Not the most famous novel by an American writer, but big, complex and serious. In it, Le Guin poses and resolves global philosophical and moral questions - this is precisely why fans of intellectual fiction love him.

The book describes the world distant planet Winter, on which the main character arrives with a mission of goodwill - the unification of many planets into one system. But to do this, he must bridge the gap between his own views and the ideas of a completely alien culture with which he encounters.

• Goodreads rating: 4.7.
• Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (1968), Lazar Komarchic Award for Best Foreign Novel (1985).

The writer's biographers agree that the science fiction writer was well versed in Eastern culture. And the novel is proof of this, because on its pages the gods of the Hindu pantheon come to life, who interact with people and demons.

This book is more of a philosophical discussion of being than a classic science fiction novel. However, the sharp plot keeps the reader's attention throughout the story.

• Goodreads rating: 4.1.
• Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (1976), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1975), Locus Award for Best Novel (1976), Lazar Komarchic Award for Best Foreign Novel (1986).

The most famous book of the author, thanks to which his name is heard today among fans of science fiction. Haldeman fought in Vietnam, which had a great influence on all his work and this novel in particular. The novel can be called anti-militarist.

The main character is a soldier of the space troops who fights against insidious aliens and dreams of returning home. When he finds himself on his native Earth, he realizes that he feels like a stranger here too. It turns out that finding happiness and your place in life in peacetime is even more difficult than in wartime.

• Goodreads rating: 4.1.
• Awards: Italian magazine Nova SF Award in the category "Best Novel" (1970).

This science fiction novel brought Bradbury his first success. Thanks to him, the writer received many prestigious awards and gained the love of fans around the world.

The novel consists of separate stories-chronicles, in which the author reflects on the pressing issues of the existence of mankind - both on Earth and in the entire Universe. People so dream of conquering the cosmos, but they don’t think about how endless longing for everything human that remains at home can seize them ...

• Goodreads rating: 4.3.
• Awards: Barry Levin Award for Book of the Year (Restored and Expanded Edition) (1990), Balrog Award for Best Novel (1979), World Fantasy Award for Best Novel (1979).

Despite the fact that other books brought great fame, this novel received many awards. Agree, a good reason to pay attention to it.

The population of America is dying out because of the virus, however, even in such a situation, the struggle for world domination does not subside. A mysterious man who can subjugate the weak seeks to seize power. Few of those who managed to survive and retain adequate ideas about good and evil decide to stop the impostor at all costs.

18. Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein

• Goodreads rating: 4.
• Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (1960).

In Russian, this book was also published under other names: Star Infantry, Star Rangers, Space Marines and Space Soldiers. Even if you've seen the film adaptation, the book is still worth reading. Heinlein focuses on important political and social phenomena, and the plot boasts even more unpredictable twists. At the same time, the novel is considered one of the most controversial works of the science fiction writer: after its release, Heinlein was called a militarist and accused of promoting fascism.

Earth is being attacked by a dangerous enemy, and the Star Marines must confront an intelligent Bugs civilization that has nothing to do with humans. In such a war, strength decides everything, because there is simply no time to seek reconciliation.

• Goodreads rating: 4.
• Awards: Nebula Award for Best Novel (1966)

The book will appeal to those who want to take a break from space fantasy, switching to science fiction with a universal face. The novel is deeply psychological and makes you think about the questions of love and responsibility that we often ask ourselves in everyday life.

33-year-old floor washer Charlie Gordon is mentally retarded. Despite this, he has a job, friends and an overwhelming desire to socialize. After he takes part in a scientific experiment, his life is turned upside down. Charlie's IQ almost triples, and he begins to comprehend things familiar to him in a completely new way.

20. Harry Potter books, JK Rowling

• Goodreads rating: from 4.3.
• Awards: British National Book Award for Children's Book of the Year (1998), Nestle Children's Book Award (1997-1999), Whitbread Award for Children's Book of the Year (1999).

• Goodreads rating: 4.
• Awards: Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Award (1995–1999)

• Goodreads rating: 4.2.
• Awards: Geffen Prize (2003)

The novel describes the relationship of people with the intelligent ocean of the planet Solaris. At the same time, Lem disputes the position of other science fiction writers who believe that contact with extraterrestrial civilizations will bring total happiness to humanity. The heroes of Solaris cannot cognize the alien mind, they feel lonely far from the Earth and are afraid of everything new.

The action takes place in the distant future. But the author raises philosophical questions that are relevant for humanity in the present. Perhaps that is why Andrei Tarkovsky made a film of the same name, and the idea of ​​a smart ocean was reflected in the work “Stars are Cold Toys” by Sergei Lukyanenko.

• Goodreads rating: 4.
• Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (1964).

Simak became known for his original ideas, carefully crafted plots, and his ability to talk about complex things in a simple way.

The hero of the novel from the American wilderness. At first glance, he leads a measured and uninteresting lifestyle. Everything would be fine, but only a person is not. This is what attracts the attention of a CIA agent to him.

• Goodreads rating: 4.2.
• Awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (1990).

This novel by an American writer is often compared to the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, where the narrative includes several timelines at once, and several characters can be called the main ones.

Many worlds are involved in an interstellar war, and the fate of mankind depends on how it ends. On the planet Hyperion, which occupies a key place in this confrontation, the Tombs of Time begin to open - gigantic structures that move from the future to the past. Seven pilgrims are sent to these objects to solve their mystery and save people.

• Goodreads rating: from 4.
• Awards: Lituanikon Prize (2006).

The cycle can be attributed to the so-called dark fantasy. The main character - the witcher Geralt - protects people from monsters. The action takes place in the world of many races, peoples, communities, each of which strives to defend its interests at all costs.

Sapkowski draws analogies with our reality and makes fun of . The cycle is not over yet, and, according to the author, the next book should be released very soon.

I read 6 books from this universe on the advice of an anime friend and decided to share my IMHO with respected readers:

The SAO book series, of course, is worthy of all praise, but I, as a person who has recently read a sufficient number of LITRPG and other "hit" series, cannot but note the serious disadvantages inherent in both the entire genre of this kind of literature and books on SAO in particular .

1. The protagonist (as in 90% LITRPG) is disproportionately cool like Duke Nyukem and Chuck Norris combined. From book to book, he practically doesn’t deal with pumping and farming epic gear, but thanks to his 6th sense and other mystical skills he single-handedly kills bosses designed for raids (Dragon with metal, infernal Santa, etc.), has exorbitant hitpoints and a hurricane regen that allows you to " game with death SAO" calmly confront a dozen red PKs. The only one who was "leaked" by PVP by our legendary bender - Kirito - is Allah GM and the creator of the game is a gloomy Japanese genius and the main villain in combination.
2. Harem. No. Not this way. A HARAM of female characters that he saved, protected, freed, helped, etc. The GG wanders in the footsteps of the Black Swordsman Kirito and sighs sadly about the heavy female lot, because the heart of a real samurai is already occupied by the brave Asuna. One of those who "feel how the heart shrinks at the sight of a thin, black-haired boy" is GG's sister, who became a cousin of the author's pen. Fortunately, there is no mass shipping and it does not seem to be expected. Although who knows, fans of tentacles and hentai....
3. As I wrote above in paragraph 1, a true hero should not waste time on boring leveling and farming epics. Indeed, in the VRMMO of the future Land of the Rising Sun, it is possible to transfer an already pumped character not just from the Horde to the Alliance and vice versa, but .... from game to game. Imagine: you are a level 90 from the game Vedmak Online, you get into a Mechwarrior and start cutting on an imbo robot with 2 swords! Where did robots get their swords from? But there were, yes. Only until GG, no one used them at all because they did not know how. Quite noobs, they believed in a gauss gun, naive. Approximately in the same way, an ordinary Japanese schoolboy in less than a week of real time "bent" all the top players in the multiplayer shooter Gun Gale Online. Chuck Norris cries with envy.

In a word, you can read a series of books about SAO if you are not annoyed by the "loud sounds of the button accordion" constantly playing "out of the wide open windows" of the plot. Killing time in the subway or somewhere else is the most it. At least, for me personally, SAO was easier to read than the Korean "Lunar Sculptor". But in reality, if I had to choose VRMMO ceteris paribus, I would rather play Valdira's World than SAO.

For some reason, it is customary for us to believe that science fiction as a genre remained in the 20th century, unable to withstand competition at the beginning of the century with the fantasy genre that soared to the top of the tops. In the framework of the post-Soviet space, this is probably what happened. Yes, and other branches of science fiction strongly pressed in the new millennium - urban fantasy, teenage dystopias and love zombie novels have concentrated most of the reader's attention on themselves. But thanks to new writers (Vernor Vinge, Alastair Reynolds, Peter Watts) abroad, SF is alive and well and even more intellectual, artsy and profound than ever. Fortunately, domestic publishing houses are gradually beginning to translate new foreign classics of science fiction. This top will introduce you to the best SF novels already translated and published in Ukraine.

Robert Ibatullin "The Rose and the Worm" (2015)

The year of publishing: 2016
Publisher: Celado
Who will like: fans of Robert Wilson's Spin trilogy and fans of Asimov's Foundation
Why you should read: meticulous scientific reliability of what is happening and a realistically possible, thoughtful future of mankind

The alien race Aquilian attacked the Earth. After long and fierce battles, mankind managed to win back their homeland, but the planet becomes uninhabitable. Meanwhile, the Space Fleet, created by people on Venus, is successfully mastering the solar system, and the militaries are preparing the superweapon "Swarm of Fireflies" that repelled enemy attacks for a war with already independent earthly colonies. In a short-lived civil brawl, the Space Fleet loses, and the former colonies of Earth gain official independence. While people are fighting by hook or by crook for the remnants of power, humanity begins to be threatened by a danger a hundred times worse than the attack of the Aquilians and civil war.

The author of the novel, Robert Ibatullin, is a physicist by education. As he himself admits, the beautiful rendering of words is not his forte, but as far as scientific reliability is concerned, in this book all assumptions and facts are proved by the writer's calculations. Yes, critics scold the work for the places of poor language, but this shortcoming is compensated by the author's meticulousness in scientific trifles, as well as the real, bright and living world of the possible future of the Earth. This is the same classic "hard" science fiction that modern readers have buried for no reason and refuse to believe in its existence. Read to all non-believers in a healthy and living SF. Take in small portions to avoid scientific overdose.

Peter Watts "False Blindness"

The year of publishing: 2006
Translation: 2009
Publisher: AST
Who will like: lovers of Stanislav Lem, in particular the work "Fiasco"
Why you should read: a deep, thoughtful plot, an ideal fantasy world that you want to visit

On one day in 2082, thousands of millions of lights lit up in the sky of our planet. People called them fireflies, and later discovered alien activity at the edge of the solar system. For reconnaissance of the situation and possible first contact with the aliens, people send the Theseus spacecraft. Only a completely unusual crew ventured on such a trip - the list of the team includes a complete schizophrenic linguist, a vampire, and it is not clear why the person who is here is without emotions.

The name of Peter Watts has long been thundering among foreign lovers of space fiction. The novel "False Blindness" was published in the West back in 2006. The translation into Russian came out in 2009, and last year the book was republished and the novel gained new life. And yes, Watts writes intricately, intricately, and as deeply as possible. But along with this, the author chews on his large-scale knowledge in the exact sciences and puts the quintessence of an ideal fantasy book into the reader’s mouth, which you want to read to the end even if it’s already getting light outside.

Chris Beckett "In the Dark of Eden"

The year of publishing: 2012
Translation: 2016
Publisher: AST
Who will like: those who like "The Village" by Kira Bulychev and "Stepchildren of the Universe" by Robert Heinlein
Why you should read: indescribable and cozy atmosphere of the old and "Golden" science fiction,

John Redlight is fifteen years old. He and his relatives live on the unknown planet Eden. The fact is that John and his relatives, long-time descendants of earthlings who were once in this system, founded a base here, left the settlers and never returned. And the heirs of these people are still waiting for the return of their ancestors and, with varying degrees of success, are mastering an unfriendly world called Eden.

Despite the fact that the protagonist of the book is a teenager, this is an award-winning sci-fi classic, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award. "In the Darkness of Eden" takes the reader back to the "Golden Age" of science fiction, when aliens were always terrible six-eyed creatures with teeth on their hands, and on unknown planets with acidic vegetation, telepathic monkeys lurked. Despite the seeming banality, Chris Beckett has created a bright and surprisingly detailed world based on hundreds of genre clichés, which you definitely want to visit. And it seems that behind the nearest tree you will definitely meet Alisa Selezneva and her famous team. Recommended to everyone who misses the good old science fiction.

Adam Roberts "Glass Jack"

The year of publishing: 2006
Translation: 2015
Publisher: AST
Who will like: lovers of the works of Alfred Bester "Tiger! Tiger!" and Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Sign of the Four"
Why you should read: strong philosophical overtones, intricate detective line, ambiguous and charismatic protagonist

Seven notorious criminals are sent to a distant asteroid - they will serve their sentence and mine ore for eleven years. Prisoners know that as soon as they are left alone, a brutal and bloody struggle for power will begin. Six of them are seemingly born killers and dominant males, and the seventh is frail, downtrodden and, moreover, legless. The Zeks think that he will die first, but they do not suspect that the disabled goner will be the most dangerous person on this cursed asteroid.

British writer Adam Roberts is internationally renowned as a scholar of the history of science fiction, and his collection of essays on the subject won the British Science Fiction Association Award in 2016. And Mr. Roberts is a professor of philology at the University of Cambridge and a lecturer at the University of London.

Therefore, despite the apparent simplicity of the plot with the convicts, his novel Glass Jack is a complex and often philosophical work filled with references to the classics of world literature - Shakespeare, Kipling, Dickens, Salinger and others. In addition, this novel, like the collection of articles, also won the British Science Fiction Association Prize and the John Campbell Memorial Prize for Professor Roberts. The Glass Jack novel is most likely not suitable for easy and comfortable reading. The book touches on many ethical, philosophical and scientific questions and also has a detective component. Tell me, isn't that what a perfect example of a real, intellectual sci-fi novel should be?

Daniel Suarez "Flow"

The year of publishing: 2015
Translation: 2015
Publisher: AST
Who will like: those who liked "A Billion Years Before the End of the World" by the Strugatsky Brothers
Why you should read: peppy space action, with elements of cyber-punk, the technologies in the book are based on real-life inventions

John Grady physicist. He and his team came up with a device that subdues gravity. It would seem that scientists are waiting for fame, success, money and entry into the annals of history. But the Bureau of Technical Control operates on Earth, which is designed to hide from humanity the truth about the actual technical progress of people. They close down Grady's lab, and he is offered to work for them and become one of the many chosen ones who control the history of the planet. And when John refuses, he is sent to a secret prison of the highest class "Hibernity", where they keep all the scientists who made incredible discoveries in their time. Now the forced prisoner and his new genius friends must find out the truth about the Bureau of Technical Control and tell the world the real state of things.

Writer Daniel Suarez has recently burst onto the sci-fi scene. However, his third work, The Flow, won the Prometheus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2015. It's not "hard" sci-fi, it's more like sci-fi cyberpunk. And it's a dizzying action against the backdrop of large-scale conspiracy theories, organically woven into the technology of the future. And yet, the author thinks through every detail of a realistic continuation of the history of mankind, and the technologies in the book were invented on the basis of existing developments, which will make it interesting for any modern gadget lover and fan of serious fiction to read Potok.

Alastair Reynolds "Doomed World"

The year of publishing: 2010
Translation: 2016
Publisher: ABC-Atticus
Who will like: fans of Jan Weiss and the novel "The House of a Thousand Floors" and fans of Vernor Vinge's book "Fire Above the Abyss"
Why you should read: the perfect mix of sci-fi, thriller and space opera

In the far future, at the end of Earth's history, there is a huge skyscraper called the Blade that stretches through the layers of the atmosphere. Inside, the building is divided into areas that, in addition to enmity with each other, differ in the level of technological development - somewhere people have access to the latest modern biotechnologies, and in some areas residents use steam engines. On the upper floors, which almost touch the cosmos, angels live - posthumans who want to subjugate the entire skyscraper. Killon works in a mortuary in one of the lower regions. Concurrently, he is a secret agent of these inhabitants of the Heavenly Floors, and one day he finds out that the owners want to eliminate him, for the unusual and secret information he received and transferred to the "top". He understands that if he does not leave the Blade, then the angels will get to him, so Killon decides to go on a crazy journey through the already dying and deadly planet Earth.

The name Alastair Reynolds is known to fans of science fiction and space opera. In addition to his incredible writing talent, Mr. Reynolds has a couple more tricks up his sleeve - he is an astrophysicist by training and at one time worked for the European Space Research Center. Therefore, Alastair knows how and what to write about. However, the novel "The Doomed World" is the author's most unusual work. This is more of a planetary fantasy with elements of action, thriller and space opera. However, the hand of the master dominates here too, so we have a novel that can be advised to absolutely all fans of science fiction. How and what Alastair Reynolds writes about cannot but please a sensible reader. The book is definitely worth reading.

John Love "Faith"

The year of publishing: 2012
Translation: 2015
Publisher: Fantasy Book Club
Who will like: those who like Herman Melville's Moby Dick and the White Whale and Scott Westerfeld's Sequence
Why you should read: SF with elements of a classic parable and philosophical overtones, the main characters are spaceships

Vera is an alien spaceship that helped the human Commonwealth destroy the militant Shahran Empire. After three hundred years of oblivion, the miraculous alien ship returns, but only now it confronts people. To respond to the superpowerful "Faith", people create new and superpowerful space cruisers of the "outsider" class - their teams are the most dangerous criminals and scumbags in the system, who now need to destroy the "Vera" and its owners and prevent humanity from dying once again. One of these ships called "Charles Manson" enters into battle with aliens. It even has a slim chance of winning, but what the cruiser will face afterward makes attacking the Faith child's play.

The debut novel by British science fiction writer John Love made a lot of noise in the circles of fans of the genre. And although the work did not receive any awards, critics and readers noted the first creation of the Englishman and even put him on a par with modern classics of the genre Reynolds, Watts and Hamilton. The novel "Faith" is a space opera with elements of a parable, where the main characters are not people, but two warring and extraordinary ships "Vera" and "Charles Manson".

Naturally, these are not all the books of modern science fiction that we would like to talk about. There are still a lot of novels that are already being translated or have been translated into Russian (so far, the Ukrainian sci-fi book publishing is a real disaster). Most likely we will talk about them in the following articles, but for now, share your impressions, read books and further wishes. What part of SF has hooked you that we haven't talked about?

Read fiction online on the literary platform Litnet you can at least around the clock. The fantasy genre is probably the most diverse of all literary trends. The most famous works of world literature were created in this genre.

Features of books in the genre 2020

On the pages of science fiction novels, fighting men meet in fierce battles. spaceships, rage star Wars, brave pioneers are looking for a way to new planets or , and star pirates are robbing galactic caravans. All this is fiction, which you can read online for free or buy an e-book in the fantasy genre. Time travel and robots, alternative history, and are waiting for you on the pages of novels and stories that are convenient to open in the reader of our platform. Or maybe you want to download free science fiction books? Of course, for those who like to read online, this function is also available.

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