What's the best science fiction book ever written?

Answer 1

First off, a clarification. According to science-fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein, "a handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method."

Given that narrowing down of the genre, to eliminate fantasy, space opera, and science fantasy, I would have to say;

"I Robot" by Isaac Asimov. Asimov's robot stories were collected in I, Robot (1950). They promulgated a set of rules of ethics for robots (see Three Laws of Robotics) and intelligent machines that greatly influenced other writers and thinkers in their treatment of the subject. One such short story, "The Bicentennial Man", was made into a film starring Robin Williams.

(The 2004 film I, Robot, starring Will Smith, was based on a script by Jeff Vintar entitled Hardwired, with Asimov's ideas incorporated later after acquiring the rights to the I, Robot title.)

Answer 2

I read the Planet of the Apes in the late 1960's when I was in High School. It was the biggest novel around. It's fabulous. It had to be as I was a teenager and I couldn't put it down! Everyone should read this especially if they haven't seen the movies! Read it first.

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
If you've seen the progressively cheesier Planet of the Apes movies of 1968-1973, you may be shocked to learn the first movie was adapted from an intelligent, ironic, and literate novel. You'll be less surprised when you learn the original novel Planet of the Apes was written by Pierre Boulle, author of The Bridge over the River Kwai.

In the novel Planet of the Apes, the three Frenchmen making the first interstellar journey discover a remarkably Earth-like world orbiting Betelgeuse--Earth-like, with one crucial difference: The humans are dumb beasts, and the apes are intelligent. Captured during a terrifying manhunt, locked in a cage, and ignorant of the simian language, Ulysse Merou struggles to convince the apes that he possesses intelligence and reason. But if he proves he is not an animal, he may seal his own doom.

Like the first movie, the novel Planet of the Apes has a twist ending, but a twist of a different--yet equally shocking--sort. --Cynthia Ward

Book Description
Before you see the movie, read the original novel!

First published more than thirty-five years ago, Pierre Boulle’s chilling novel launched one of the greatest science fiction sagas in motion picture history, from the classic 1968 movie starring Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowell, through four sequels and two television series . . . and now the newest film adaptation directed by Tim Burton.

In the not-too-distant future, three astronauts land on what appears to be a planet just like Earth, with lush forests, a temperate climate, and breathable air. But while it appears to be a paradise, nothing is what it seems.

They soon discover the terrifying truth: On this world humans are savage beasts, and apes rule as their civilized masters. In an ironic novel of nonstop action and breathless intrigue, one man struggles to unlock the secret of a terrifying civilization, all the while wondering: Will he become the savior of the human race, or the final witness to its damnation? In a shocking climax that rivals that of the original movie, Boulle delivers the answer in a masterpiece of adventure, satire, and suspense.

Answer 3

These are my top four:
1. Neuromancer by William Gibson
2. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
3. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
4. I Robot by Isaac Asimov

Some purists will say it’s Stranger in a Strange by Robert A. Heinlein but I did not really like it and though it took effort to keep interested... Also Hienlien had a narrow view of what "science-fiction" is which would eliminate a large amount of great works here.

Answer 4

For still being of current interest after so long,
"The War of the Worlds" (H G Wells, 1898) has got to be a contender.
The other classics from Wells and the earlier Verne and have perhaps not lasted so well, in the context of a popular awareness and following.

What written in the last twenty years is likely to have ninety years life in it?

If limited to one book I might stop there, because the other best books, in my opinion, have tended to be series...
Brin's Uplift Wars, for example.

Alternately for "one book" I suggest a volume of short stories: "The Collected Stories of Arthur C Clarke."
(ISBN 0-312-87821-4),
The Nine Billion Names of God, The Sentinel, The Star...
And dozens more.

Answer 5

A bit of a vague question, in my opinion, but that's what this is about I guess.

A lot of people have said "Ender's Game" by OSC, which is an amazing sci-fi book. A look of sci-fi readers would probably suggest a different book which I'm surprised hasn't shown up here, and that book is "Dune" by Frank Herbert. I've never read it but have heard good thigs about it.

My personal favorite sci-fi book (an overall favorite book) is one that is no longer in print that very few people have ever heard of: "Capitol" by Orson Scott Card. It's a collection of interrelated stories about the sleep-drug called somec, which follows along with the Worthing Saga (Chronicles? the acutal name eludes me for the moment). I acquired the novel off a CD my cousin gave me that has hundreds of books on it, and I have only ever been able to find the book on E- Bay.

Answer 6

JEM, by Frederick Pohl. This underrated book is a realistic description of what happens when selfish, ignorant, and irresponsible power freaks create a new world.

Anything by Jules Verne. These predictions of the future were very practical, unlike the modern fantasies based on superstitious science of the kind that appeals to useless, escapist nerds, whose motto is, "If it's weird, it's wise." For one thing, outer space is for childish Trekkies. The real scientists that grew up in the 19th Century would be interested in similar huge projects, but on our own planet, where they would have value, possibly something like draining the oceans.

Answer 7

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea - the book that pretty much crated the entire genre of Science Fiction.

Answer 8

I, Robot by Asimov
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Asimov has the lead, but it is very, very close.

Tactics of Mistake by Dickson
Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury
Stranger in a Strange Land by Heinlein
The Foundation series by Asimov
2001 A Space Odyssey by Clarke

Those are the runner-ups.

Answer 9

I Robot -- Isaac Asimov
Stranger in a Strange Land -- Heinlein
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep -- Phillip Dick
Dune -- Frank Herbert The whole series was just great. Think it a must read.

Answer 10

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card