NPRs Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy Books of All Time

Updated 15 days ago
100 Books
npr

In 2011, NPR set out to make a list of what their listeners believed to be the best science fiction and fantasy books ever written. More than 5,000 people nominated books, then over 60,000 people voted on the best ones. This list is highlights the most popular books voted by NPR readers across these two genres.

Position	Details	Rating	Readers Count
#1	The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien	4.54	1,282 reads
#2	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams	4.25	3,069 reads
#3	Ender's Game Orson Scott Card	4.26	2,254 reads
#4	Dune Frank Herbert	4.29	3,393 reads
#5	A Game of Thrones George R.R. Martin	4.37	2,875 reads
#6	1984 George Orwell	4.21	4,762 reads
#7	Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury	3.9	2,885 reads
#8	The Foundation Trilogy: Foundation, Second Foundation, Foundation And Empire Isaac Asimov	4.19	214 reads
#9	Brave New World Aldous Huxley	3.88	2,255 reads
#10	American Gods Neil Gaiman	4.03	1,896 reads
#11	The Princess Bride William Goldman	4.18	842 reads
#12	The Eye of the World Robert Jordan	4.01	1,340 reads
#13	Animal Farm George Orwell Boris Grabnar (Translator) Celâl Üster (Translator) Celâl Üstüner (Translator)	4.04	3,728 reads
#14	Neuromancer William Gibson	3.8	1,096 reads
#15	Watchmen Alan Moore	4.43	1,126 reads
#16	I, Robot Isaac Asimov	4.06	796 reads
#17	Stranger in a Strange Land Robert A. Heinlein	3.68	503 reads
#18	The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss	4.41	1,866 reads
#19	Slaughterhouse 5 Kurt Vonnegut	4.08	1,750 reads
#20	Frankenstein Mary Shelley	3.85	1,925 reads
#21	Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick	3.93	1,119 reads
#22	The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood	4.09	2,070 reads
#23	The Gunslinger Stephen King	3.61	1,204 reads
#24	2001: A Space Odyssey Arthur C. Clarke	4.07	679 reads
#25	The Stand Stephen King	4.17	993 reads
#26	Snow Crash Neal Stephenson	3.94	955 reads
#27	The Martian Chronicles Ray Bradbury	3.99	598 reads
#28	Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut	4.09	800 reads
#29	The Absolute Sandman, Volume One	4.62	81 reads
#30	A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess	3.93	813 reads
#31	Starship Troopers Robert A. Heinlein	3.73	498 reads
#32	Watership Down Richard Adams	4.08	541 reads
#33	Dragonflight Anne McCaffrey	3.8	253 reads
#34	The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Robert A. Heinlein	3.82	359 reads
#35	A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M. Miller Jr.	3.94	352 reads
#36	The Time Machine H. G. Wells	3.69	840 reads
#37	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea Jules Verne Anthony Bonner (Translator) Jakob Gunnarsson (translator)	3.57	430 reads
#38	Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes	4.27	1,224 reads
#39	The War of the Worlds H. G. Wells	3.71	498 reads
#40	Nine Princes in Amber Roger Zelazny	3.62	199 reads
#41	Pawn of Prophecy David Eddings	3.89	287 reads
#42	The Mists Of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley	3.91	224 reads
#43	Mistborn: The Final Empire Brandon Sanderson	4.45	2,649 reads
#44	Ringworld Larry Niven	3.61	386 reads
#45	The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin	4.06	744 reads
#46	The Silmarillion J.R.R. Tolkien	3.93	628 reads
#47	The Once and Future King T. H. White	3.8	177 reads
#48	Neverwhere Neil Gaiman	4.12	1,042 reads
#49	Childhood's End Arthur C. Clarke	3.97	434 reads
#50	Contact Carl Sagan	4.08	332 reads
#51	Hyperion Dan Simmons	4.26	941 reads
#52	Stardust Neil Gaiman	4	878 reads
#53	Cryptonomicon Neal Stephenson	4.23	444 reads
#54	World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War Max Brooks	3.9	954 reads
#55	The Last Unicorn Peter S. Beagle	3.89	193 reads
#56	The Forever War Joe Haldeman	3.96	546 reads
#57	Small Gods Terry Pratchett	4.28	423 reads
#58	Lord Foul's Bane Stephen R. Donaldson	3.27	149 reads
#59	Shards of Honour Lois McMaster Bujold	3.88	140 reads
#60	Going Postal Terry Pratchett	4.36	398 reads
#61	The Mote in God's Eye Larry Niven Jerry Pournelle	3.76	194 reads
#62	Wizard's First Rule Terry Goodkind	3.69	400 reads
#63	The Road Cormac McCarthy	4.02	1,369 reads
#64	Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke	3.99	637 reads
#65	I Am Legend Richard Matheson	3.93	560 reads
#66	Magician: Apprentice Raymond E. Feist	4.01	373 reads
#67	The Sword of Shannara Terry Brooks	3.33	240 reads
#68	The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian Robert E. Howard	3.92	45 reads
#69	Assassin's Apprentice Robin Hobb	4.1	715 reads
#70	The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger	3.95	778 reads
#71	The Way of Kings Brandon Sanderson	4.61	1,952 reads
#72	Journey to the Center of the Earth Jules Verne	3.71	267 reads
#73	Homeland R. A. Salvatore	3.93	224 reads
#74	Old Man's War John Scalzi	4.13	860 reads
#75	The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer Neal Stephenson	4.04	307 reads
#76	Rendezvous with Rama Arthur C. Clarke	3.94	540 reads
#77	Kushiel's Dart Jacqueline Carey	3.87	183 reads
#78	The Dispossessed Ursula K. Le Guin	4.21	451 reads
#79	Something Wicked This Way Comes Ray Bradbury	3.89	336 reads
#80	Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West Gregory Maguire	3.38	521 reads
#81	Gardens of the Moon Steven Erikson	3.99	538 reads
#82	The Eyre Affair Jasper Fforde	3.9	288 reads
#83	Consider Phlebas Iain M. Banks	3.58	471 reads
#84	The Crystal Cave Mary Stewart	3.91	69 reads
#85	Anathem Neal Stephenson	4.13	315 reads
#86	Furies of Calderon Jim Butcher	3.89	264 reads
#87	The Shadow of the Torturer Gene Wolfe	3.7	208 reads
#88	Heir to the Empire Timothy Zahn	4.06	361 reads
#89	Outlander Diana Gabaldon	3.9	589 reads
#90	Elric of Melniboné Michael Moorcock	3.47	155 reads
#91	The Illustrated Man Ray Bradbury	3.95	219 reads
#92	Sunshine Robin McKinley	3.58	91 reads
#93	A Fire Upon the Deep Vernor Vinge	3.94	288 reads
#94	The Caves of Steel Isaac Asimov	3.96	327 reads
#95	Red Mars Kim Stanley Robinson	3.72	325 reads
#96	Lucifer's Hammer Larry Niven Jerry Pournelle	3.66	98 reads
#97	Doomsday Book Connie Willis Rafael Marín Trechera (Translator)	3.82	243 reads
#98	Perdido Street Station China Miéville	3.99	287 reads
#99	A Spell for Chameleon Piers Anthony	3.36	112 reads
#100	Out of the Silent Planet C. S. Lewis	3.81	186 reads