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Lists about the best (and worst) films, TV series, novels, characters, etc. in every sci-fi genre.

For some fans, their favorite sci-fi movies go much deeper than what happens onscreen. From The Matrix to Mad Max: Fury Road, just about every great science fiction film has at least one or two compelling fan theories. Sometimes these theories are debunked or confirmed by actors, directors, or even sequels, but more often than not, whether or not these theories are really true remains mysterious.For science fiction fan theories to be respected and considered, they have to be supported by considerable evidence. There's usually something out of place or seemingly random that is, in fact, crucial to the underlying theory. Some sci-fi fan theories are so good, that it seems as if they must be true. Others leave the fan-bases arguing endlessly.One way or the other, sci-fi fan theories are some of the best pop-culture theories out there. Some of them have completely <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/ways-internet-changes-how-we-think/hannah-collins?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">changed the way</a> we see movies and have put into question elements that were once considered canonical.&nbsp;Check out this list of outrageous fan theories about your favorite sci-fi films and vote up the ones you think are the most beyond outrageous.

Sci-Fi

There are a bevy of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/must-see-science-fiction-movies/ranker-film" target="_blank">beloved science fiction films</a> that are absolutely amazing, but not that hard to follow. Stories about space marines fighting off bloodthirsty aliens or police officers being reanimated into robotic law enforcers don&#39;t require the audience to do any mental gymnastics. Then, there are movies that make you feel like you need a PhD&nbsp;in quantum physics <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/ambiguous-movie-endings-explained/nathan-gibson" target="_blank">to even start to understand them</a>. If you&#39;ve ever wanted&nbsp;2001: A Space Odyssey,&nbsp;Annihilation,&nbsp;Interstellar,&nbsp;or&nbsp;Under the Skin&nbsp;explained - and were too afraid to ask - you&#39;ve come to the right place.

High-brow sci-fi isn&#39;t a new genre, by any means. In fact, it&#39;s something movie fans have been pretending to understand and appreciate since the early days of filmmaking. Whether the film is told with a nonlinear narrative, features symbolic or surreal imagery to convey characters&#39; inner thoughts, or features incredibly convoluted time travel gimmicks, &quot;smart&quot; sci-fi has <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/most-confusing-movies-ever-made/ranker-film" target="_blank">taunted casual moviegoers for years</a>.

Ultimately, however, when you strip away the pretense and the artifice, even the brainiest sci-fi films can be simple to comprehend (for the most part).

2021 Movies

From reboots to originals, there are plenty of upcoming 2021 science fiction movies to get excited about. Look for Timoth&eacute;e Chalamet taking over Kyle MacLachlan&#39;s&nbsp;role as Paul Atreides in the epic new&nbsp;Dune.&nbsp;The fun doesn&#39;t stop there with LeBron James in&nbsp;Space Jam: A New Legacy. Matrix&nbsp;fans will also be excited for Keanu&nbsp;Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss coming back for the fourth installment in the franchise. Most of the new&nbsp;science fiction movies on this list might not be actually based in science but that just makes them all the more thrilling. But which one should the top the list?

You get to help decide by voting up the soon to be released 2021&nbsp;sci-fi movies.

In the age of the Internet, there aren&rsquo;t many &ldquo;little-known facts&rdquo; left to uncover, and so most of the examples of foreshadowing in sci-fi films has long since <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/foreshadowing-in-the-star-wars-prequels/nathan-gibson" target="_blank">been discovered</a> and discussed ad nauseam. Still, there&rsquo;s something incredibly satisfying about watching <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/harry-potter-books-foreshadowing/alex-welch" target="_blank">old favorites</a>&nbsp;like <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/star-wars-unsung-heroes/williamsbrianjake" target="_blank">Star Wars</a>&nbsp;and noticing some of the easy to miss clues in sci-fi movies you thought you knew by heart. It&rsquo;s a sensation that makes one feel like a seasoned film critic and a masterful detective in one fell swoop.

There are some directors out there that put an <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/surprisingly-smart-fast-and-furious-series-foreshadowing/evan-lambert A Seatbelt In Jurassic Park Hints At Life Finding A Way" target="_blank">intense amount</a> of effort into filling their science fiction movies with foreshadowing, because they know it will make their films all-the-more rewatchable. And, if there&rsquo;s one thing that all science-fiction fans love, it&rsquo;s re-experiencing their favorite stories over, and over, and over again. Call it foreshadowing, call it an Easter egg, or call it spoiling your own ending - the fact is that peppering a plot with hints of future events is a time-honored part of creating science-fiction.

Fantasy

The upcoming sci-fi and fantasy series of 2021 out of this world - literally. Some of the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/current-sci-fi-tv-shows/ranker-tv?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">new science fiction TV shows</a> and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-fantasy-shows-2021/molly-gander" target="_blank">fantasy series in 2021</a> were supposed to premiere last year but didn&#39;t, making the most anticipated fantasy and sci-fi shows of 2021 even more anticipated. From new additions to favorite franchises to SFF literary favorites making their way to the small screen the upcoming science fiction and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/fantasy-tv-shows-and-series/ranker-tv?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">fantasy TV series</a> are ready to fill your watch list. From streaming to network, which of the anticipated fantasy and sci-fi series are you most excited to see?

If you&rsquo;ve been itching to spend more time in a galaxy far, far away, then Star Wars: The Bad Batch on Disney+ is for you. Maybe you want your fantasy set closer to home? Both Trickster and the animated Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai are both set in a world just a little weirder than our own. But if high fantasy is your thing? Then don&rsquo;t worry because Amazon&rsquo;s The Lord Of The Rings is coming in 2021. Epics just as big are coming in 2021 for science fiction too, with the adaptation of Isaac Asimov&rsquo;s Foundation on Apple TV+. And if you&#39;re just here for the comic book heroes, don&#39;t worry, both Green Lantern and Loki promise to make this year&#39;s sci-fi and fantasy super.

What <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-sci-fi-shows-2020/molly-gander?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">new science fiction shows</a> and upcoming fantasy series are you looking forward to the most in 2020? Vote up the TV shows you can&#39;t wait to watch.

Mistakes & Plot Holes

The science fiction genre is possibly one of the most ambitious in all of film. However, because of these complicated subjects, stories, and characters, a wealth of sci-fi <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/fantasy-movie-plot-holes/oliverhanson?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">movie plot holes</a> has accumulated over the years. Moments when even these ambitions writers and filmmakers missed something, or chose to leave something out that messes with the fim's logic, sometimes leave even the most die hard fans scratching their heads.Below you'll find the worst&nbsp;plot holes in sci fi-movies and noticeable sci-fi movie mistakes. Most of the time fans are able to let these kind of science fiction movie plot holes go, but sometimes the story issues are just too frustrating to look past. Vote up the biggest science fiction plot holes below, and good luck enjoying The Matrix ever again.

With any timeless sci-fi story, there&#39;s always a grain of truth that allows the work to serve as a parable for modern times. However, there are also sci-fi films that find their inspiration directly from real-life events - whether those real incidents serve as a springboard for a totally wild romp or as a direct blueprint for the big-screen adaptation.&nbsp;

As William Randolph Hearst once said, &quot;Truth is not only stranger than fiction, it is more interesting.&quot; As is the case with several of the science-fiction flicks based on true stories, sometimes that adage rings especially true. From alien abductions to international tragedies to mad Third Reich scientists, the wellspring of inspiration for science fiction is nearly boundless.

One of the best things about living in the 21st century is learning just how realistic some of the sci-fi devices of decades past actually were. There was once a time when gadgets like teleporters, hoverboards, and holographic companions seemed like they would forever remain in the realm of the make-believe - but they&rsquo;re already becoming more feasible by the day in the modern era, and some have already arrived outright.

Countless individuals have dreamed about <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/fictional-technologies-you-wish-existed/sarah-blumert" target="_blank">getting their hands on some futuristic piece of tech</a> like a lightsaber or an invisibility cloak, and they might be getting their wish a lot sooner than anyone would have expected. Is the world ready for what happens when science fiction becomes science fact?

The worst deleted scenes in films are simultaneously the best because it shows that the filmmakers had enough awareness to recognize their mistake. Then again, some of these&nbsp;embarrassing scenes cut from sci-fi movies are so bad one has to wonder why they were ever even shot in the first place. Of course, deleted scenes exist in all genres, but science fiction relies on such careful nuance that&nbsp;scenes edited out of sci-fi films can easily save a great movie from becoming a terrible one.Some of the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-sci-fi-movies" target="_blank">greatest sci-fi films</a> have,&nbsp;indeed, been saved by this foresight. Movies like Ghostbusters, Alien, and various Terminator installments have all been rescued at one point or another by someone realizing&nbsp;which scenes absolutely could and could not make it into the film.Whether it be <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/scenes-cut-from-horror-movies/jacob-shelton" target="_blank">deleted scenes deemed too violent</a> for the screen or&nbsp;odd filmmaking decisions, these&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/deleted-scenes/anncasano" target="_blank">omitted scenes changed their films</a>&nbsp;forever. Here are&nbsp;deleted scenes from science fiction movies that would have left their films with a big black eye. Some spoilers are ahead –&nbsp;but only if you've been living under a rock for a decade or more.&nbsp;

We live in the era of peak television with an almost impossible amount of series to stream and binge. Still, as more and more movies get a television reboot, it&#39;s easy to imagine&nbsp;how some subpar or &quot;just okay&quot; sci-fi movie concepts could be elevated by the small screen. So many <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/movies-that-should-have-been-tv-shows/christian-cintron" target="_blank">TV shows are becoming movies</a> - and more big-name actors are&nbsp;signing on to streaming projects. Maybe Hollywood should give these underappreciated (or underdeveloped) almost-blockbusters a second life on a streaming platform.&nbsp;

Gremlins

If you’re a film buff, you know there are unexplained things in sci-fi movies all the time. Someone will tech the tech or a robot can suddenly fly and no one bats an eye. Sometimes these scifi movies with unexplained plot points work wonderfully without keying the audience in on their artistic choices, but some scif-i films with unexplained moments leave the viewers scratching their heads,&nbsp;trying to figure out what they just witnessed. In the world of film, the suspension of disbelief is necessary for you to go along with&nbsp;a farm boy from Tatooine harnessing a magical force and defeating an army, but&nbsp;suspension of disbelief doesn’t really work when you have him falling in love with his sister.There are plenty of science fiction films where audiences are willing to overlook simple things like characters showing up in a new room, or knowing how to drive a time machine despite never actually seeing one before. However, if&nbsp;you focus on these things, you start to lose the magic of the film. While some scifi films can get away with never explaining their scenes, there are a few that lose viewers completely when they try to pull some of the downright disrespectful jive that you’re about to see. &nbsp;&nbsp;Vote on the sci-fi films that were better off for never explaining that one thing. Vote down the films where the lack of explanation doesn’t really work.&nbsp;

Underrated

Science fiction has always been something of a gamble for film studios. While there have been some epic films like&nbsp;2001: A Space Odyssey, for the most part, the genre is filled with a smattering of good movies, duds, and financial disasters. The biggest problem with sci-fi isn&#39;t that the movies aren&#39;t amazing; it&#39;s that the films tend to garner fan support from a niche community. When that happens, movies that are generally perceived as being bad because of their box office performance&nbsp;aren&#39;t bad at all.

These sci-fi films have received generally poor reviews or had a terrible showing at the box office when they first hit theaters. Despite this, they are beloved by fans all across the world.&nbsp;

For this list, only films that have a 69% or lower on Rotten Tomatoes are considered. Vote up the films worth a rewatch!

Best Movies

What are the greatest sci-fi <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-movies-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword" target="_blank">movies of all time</a>? These good science fiction films are among the most popular movies in cinematic history, with films like Star Wars&nbsp;and Aliens&nbsp;keeping audiences on the edge of their collective seats for decades. This list includes these classics, and many more, so get ready to&nbsp;vote for your favorite&nbsp;sci-fi movies of all time.

Want to see more of the best Sci-Fi? Here are the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A51F9QNouXQ&amp;list=PLocEcTWE9CuoiEM2QZHDpKNLlN3UrYYQA">Best Sci-Fi TV Shows of All Time</a>.&nbsp;

Great sci-fi films include stories of extraterrestrial life, time travel, space travel, robots and more. Some of these amazing science fiction movies are more fantasy-oriented, while others are a bit closer to reality. Either way, sci-fi films keep audiences rapt with tales of science and technology, combined, at times with the supernatural.

Some sci-fi films are based on classic novels or short stories by such heavyweight authors as H.G. Wells (War of the Worlds,&nbsp;The Invisible Man) or Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner,&nbsp;Minority Report).

What are the best&nbsp;sci-fi movies of all time?&nbsp;This list of the best sci-fi films is also crowd ranked, meaning you can rerank your own greatest sci-fi movies. Your reranks can change the overall order of the films on the list! Also, if you love sci-fi, check out this list of the<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-new-sci-fi-tv-shows/ranker-tv" target="_blank"> best new sci-fi shows</a> of the last few years.&nbsp;

If you&#39;re a fan of science fiction, it&#39;s possible you&#39;ve&nbsp;seen every episode of your most beloved sci-fi shows so many times you could storyboard them. Why not check out a few <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/underrated-sci-fi-shows-2010s/jonathan-kantor" target="_blank">underrated ones</a>&nbsp;whose starships have flown under your radar?

With all the options out there, you are certain to find some new favorites. For every Doctor Who, Futurama, Firefly, or The Orville, there&rsquo;s a Red Dwarf, Final Space, Other Space, and Making History.&nbsp;All of the following have a lot of fun with the genre, serving up solid comedy in unique&nbsp;sci-fi&nbsp;worlds.

Few TV genres are as tricky to get right as the science-fiction series. However, this also allows for there to be an unlimited number of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/underrated-sci-fi-shows-2010s/jonathan-kantor" target="_blank">sci-fi shows</a> with different tones, scopes, and stories depending on the platform they&#39;re coming from - be it a big-budget network smash hit, or a smaller and more intimate <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-very-best-of-premium-cable-original-programming?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">cable series</a>. There are some excellent current sci-fi shows on television&nbsp;- but which do you think are the best?

It&#39;s time to pick the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/underrated-sci-fi-shows-funny/erin-cody" target="_blank">best sci-fi shows on television</a> right now - those you think everyone should be watching. These are <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-scifi-television-series-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">sci fi TV shows</a> or sci fi series that voters have agreed are the best of the genre - at least for the current crop (we all know Battlestar Galactica would outrank them all!). However, new&nbsp;sci-fi shows like Timeless&nbsp;and Lost In Space might quickly climb up&nbsp;the list.&nbsp;

Check out this list of the best 2020 sci-fi shows on television right now and vote up the good current science <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/historical-fiction-tv-shows-and-series/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">fiction shows</a> you think deserve the top spots. Whether you prefer an epic story of sister clones fighting to survive, or an anthology series for the ages, if it&#39;s a great sci-fi airing now, you&#39;ll find it below.

Best TV

Babylon 5

Here is a&nbsp;list of the best sci-fi shows and best sci-fi series of all time, as ranked by hundreds of Ranker voters. This list includes long-running sci-fi TV shows like <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-doctor-who-companions-of-all-time">Doctor Who</a> as well as some of the best <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/tv-shows-canceled-before-their-time">canceled shows</a> of the genre. Science fiction TV shows have been around for decades, and some of the longest running shows have fallen into this category. Popular shows such as <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/most-interesting-star-trek-characters">Star Trek</a> have enjoyed several incarnations, and fan-favorite shows like Firefly and The X-Files have made the crossover from TV to the big screen.Thanks to networks like SyFy, FX, and The CW, new&nbsp;sci-fi&nbsp;TV shows premiere every year. Sci-fi series&nbsp;like&nbsp;The Expanse, Orphan Black, and The 100&nbsp;continue to raise viewership ratings and grow fan bases. Netflix has also contributed to the science fiction genre with their original series Stranger Things,&nbsp;which was met with rave reviews.&nbsp;Vote for your favorite science fiction shows to move them to the top of the list, or press re-rank to create your own list of your favorite science fiction series. Be sure to stop by to vote on the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/top-50-british-sitcoms-of-all-time/markaroni">best British sitcoms</a> and <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-shows-currently-on-the-air/acrosstheflame">best current TV shows</a> airing right now.Are you a sci-fi&nbsp;fan? Check out this list of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/current-sci-fi-tv-shows/ranker-tv" target="_blank">current sci-fi shows</a> to watch.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Debunking

There are two main types of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-sci-fi-movies">science fiction films</a>. There are the films like Star Wars, which are rooted in fantasy and folklore, and don&rsquo;t care about <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/science-fiction-movie-plot-holes/oliverhanson">getting the scientific details correct</a>. Then, there are the films on this list, the filmmakers of which pay great attention to scientific detail, and aim to get as much of the science correct as humanly possible. Here are the most accurate sci-fi movies ever made.

Many of these movies take place in the future. If filmmakers want to make accurate sci-fi <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/the-best-space-movies/all-genre-movies-lists" target="_blank">movies about space</a>, like in Interstellar or Moon, they have to think about the likelihood of future technology. Interstellar is&nbsp;on this list not&nbsp;because anyone thinks that we will be able to travel through a wormhole in the near future in order to reach a distant habitable planet in order to save the human race. That&rsquo;s the fiction part of science fiction. It&#39;s on this list because the film&rsquo;s&nbsp;Gargantua black hole is considered the most realistic depiction of a black hole ever seen in the movies.

It is incredible to think about just how accurate some of the predictions are in these movies. From space exploration in film to accurate movie spaceships, writers and directors worked tirelessly to not just entertain us but to wow all the astrophysicists in the audience as well. Let us know what impresses you the most about accurate sci-fi films in the comments section below.

Blast forward in time and help rank the best TV shows set in the future. Since the early days of television, futuristic themes and settings have always been a hot commodity. Whether it&#39;s a show&nbsp;from 1996&nbsp;looking into the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/movies-and-tv-shows-set-in-2017/thaneeconomou" target="_blank">crazy future world of 2017</a> and <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/movies-shows-set-in-2019/jonathan-kantor" target="_blank">2019</a> or a hilarious cartoon set thousands of years from now, a broad range of TV shows have been set in the future&mdash;whenever that may be. From alien communication to flying cars and teleportation, nothing&#39;s off limits when it comes to the future&mdash;which is what makes these shows so great.

For whatever reason, there&#39;s a long list of animated shows set in the future, from the hit cartoon Futurama to the classic Duck Dodgers. Perhaps it&#39;s because drawing a futuristic world is easier than physically creating one. Whatever the reason, we&#39;ll take it. Of course, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-new-sci-fi-tv-shows/ranker-tv" target="_blank">top sci-fi shows</a> set in the future also include live-action&mdash;and they&#39;re often more entertaining. Just think of such titles like Planet of the Apes, Lost in Space, and Doctor Who. In short, there&#39;s a wide selection of both modern shows about the future and those made decades ago.

What&#39;s your favorite show set in the future? Check out the list of futuristic series below and vote up your choices. And if you&#39;d like to take a trip to the past, check out some <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-shows-set-in-the-50s/ranker-tv" target="_blank">TV shows set in the 50s</a>.

The year 2020 may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it&rsquo;s now upon us, and now might be a good time to start looking for forewarnings in the portrayals of 2020 in fiction. Various films, TV shows, books, and video games set in the year 2020 have made predictions and wild guesses about what the dawn of the newest decade would look like, and some have definitely proven more accurate than others.

As one might imagine, many of the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-shows-set-in-the-2020s/ranker-tv" target="_blank">best stories set in the 2020s</a> consist of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/best-dystopian-and-near-future-sci-fi-flicks" target="_blank">dystopian or downright apocalyptic futures</a>, and some days it seems like they weren&#39;t too far off. There&#39;s also some reason for optimism hiding in the popular fiction set in 2020, however, and perhaps some hope that the world isn&#39;t doomed - or, at the very least, that we&#39;ll all have robots when the end days come.

Smarts

An intelligent sci-fi movie isn't necessarily hard to come by, but in a sea of thousands of alien-wrangling and space-ship-flying films, they can certainly be overlooked for their wit and progressive thinking. In other words, plenty of clever and thought-provoking sci-fi&nbsp;flicks are out there, many of which may change how you view the genre—while some may even make you think twice about the existence of extraterrestrial beings. In short, these aren't your average, <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/must-see-science-fiction-movies/ranker-film" target="_blank">quintessential sci-fi&nbsp;films</a>.&nbsp;Of course, it's not just how convincing or thought-provoking a movie is that makes it intelligent. Even the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-sci-fi-movies" target="_blank">best sci-fi&nbsp;movies</a> can miss the mark here. Whether it's the general storyline or even the setting, such as a dystopian wasteland set 30 years in the future, a sci-fi&nbsp;film can boast intelligence and cleverness in a variety of ways. Take 12 Monkeys for instance. While time travel was nothing a movie hadn't done at the time, the film's screenplay, dialogue, and setting (not to mention the acting) all work hand-in-hand to make it one hell of a mind-boggling journey. But is it the best sci-fi movie of its kind?Be the deciding factor here and vote up your favorite intelligent sci-fi movies below, while voting down any films you feel aren't as smart or cerebral as the next. You can also add your own choices to the list.

The Worlds of Science Fiction

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Books

Sometimes you want to treat your intellect as well as your imagination. That's where these sci fi novels come in. These are the best science fiction novels <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/podcasts-for-smart-people/jacob-shelton?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">for smart people</a>, from the darkly comical to the expansive and epic.&nbsp;Some great <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-science-fiction-novels-of-all-time?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">science fiction books</a> for smart people are travel tales while other good intelligent science fiction novels are about alien life forms. Many of the best hard sci fi novels have even been adapted into award-winning films.What books will you find on this list of the <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-sci-fi-movies?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">best sci fi</a> novels for smart people? If you're a fan of the classics, you might vote&nbsp;Brave New World by Aldous Huxley to the top. This timeless work appeals to intelligent readers because of its themes of class discrimination and psychological manipulation. It is largely considered one of the best science fiction works of all time. Dune by Frank Herbert is another intelligent sci fi book celebrated by readers all over the world. Other good books features on this must-read list include The Martian Chronicles, The Diamond Age, and The Man in the High Castle.Which smart sci fi book is your favorite? Give the best novels a thumbs up and please add any intelligent science fiction works that are missing.

Sci Fi Novels for Smart People | Intelligent Science Fiction Books

The Best Sci Fi Novels for Smart People

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AMAZON

Foundation

Foundation is the first novel in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy. Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951 which, together, form a single plot.
Foundation saw multiple publications—it also appeared in 1955 as part of Ace Double's novel series as D-110 under the title The 1,000-Year Plan. Four of the stories were originally published in Astounding Magazine between 1942 and 1944, and the fifth was added when they first appeared in book form. A further two books of short stories were published shortly after, and decades later, Asimov wrote two further sequel novels and two prequels. Later writers have added authorized tales to the series. The Foundation Series is often regarded as one of Isaac Asimov's best works, along with his Robot series.

Dune

Dune is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. It won the Hugo Award in 1966, and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel. Dune is the world's best-selling science fiction novel and is the start of the Dune saga.
Set in the distant future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which noble houses, in control of individual planets, owe allegiance to the Padishah Emperor, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose noble family accepts the stewardship of the desert planet Arrakis. As this planet is the only source of the "spice" melange, the most important and valuable substance in the universe, control of Arrakis is a coveted — and dangerous — undertaking. The story explores the multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the forces of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its "spice".
Herbert wrote five sequels: Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune.

Rendezvous with Rama

Rendezvous with Rama is a hard science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke first published in 1973. Set in the 2130s, the story involves a 50-kilometre cylindrical alien starship that enters Earth's solar system. The story is told from the point of view of a group of human explorers who intercept the ship in an attempt to unlock its mysteries. This novel won both the Hugo and Nebula awards upon its release, and is regarded as one of the cornerstones in Clarke's bibliography.

1984

2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. It was developed concurrently with Stanley Kubrick's film version and published after the release of the film. Clarke and Kubrick worked on the book together, but eventually only Clarke ended up as the official author. The story is based in part on various short stories by Clarke, most notably "The Sentinel". By 1992, the novel had sold 3 million copies worldwide. For an elaboration of Clarke and Kubrick's collaborative work on this project, see The Lost Worlds of 2001, Arthur C. Clarke, Signet, 1972.
The first part of the novel is similar to the plot of an earlier Clarke story, "Encounter in the Dawn".

The Martian Chronicles

The Martian Chronicles is a 1950 science fiction short story collection by Ray Bradbury that chronicles the colonization of Mars by humans fleeing from a troubled and eventually atomically devastated Earth, and the conflict between aboriginal Martians and the new colonists. The book lies somewhere between a short story collection and an episodic novel, containing stories Bradbury originally published in the late 1940s in science fiction magazines. The stories were loosely woven together with a series of short, interstitial vignettes for publication.

The Martian

The Martian is a 2011 science fiction novel written by Andy Weir. The story follows an American astronaut, Mark Watney, as he becomes stranded alone on Mars in the year 2035 and must improvise in order to survive. The Martian, a film adaptation directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, was released in October 2015.

Red Mars

Kim Stanley Robinson's science fiction Mars-colonization novel.

Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is a satirical novel by Kurt Vonnegut about World War II experiences and journeys through time of a soldier named Billy Pilgrim. It is generally recognized as Vonnegut's most influential and popular work. Vonnegut's use of the firebombing of Dresden as a central event makes the novel semi-autobiographical, as he was present during the bombing.

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The Man in the High Castle

The Man in the High Castle is an alternate history novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The novel is set in 1962, fifteen years after the end of a fictional longer Second World War. It concerns intrigues between the victorious Axis Powers—Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany—as they rule over the former U.S., as well as daily life under the resulting totalitarian Fascist and imperialistic rule. Reported inspirations for the work include Ward Moore's alternate Civil War history, Bring the Jubilee, various classic World War II histories, and the I Ching. The novel includes the construction of a novella within the novel that constitutes an alternate history within this alternate history. The Man in the High Castle won a Science Fiction Achievement Award in 1963. It has since been translated into many languages, and a recent pilot episode of a television adaptation from Amazon Studios has been greenlighted to run as a series. Various further short works by the same author are reported to serve as followup information.

Brave New World

Brave New World is a novel written in 1931 by Aldous Huxley and published in 1932. Set in London of AD 2540, the novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that combine profoundly to change society. Huxley answered this book with a reassessment in an essay, Brave New World Revisited, and with Island, his final novel.
In 1999, the Modern Library ranked Brave New World fifth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2003, Robert McCrum writing for The Observer included Brave New World chronologically at number 53 in "the top 100 greatest novels of all time", and the novel was listed at number 87 on the BBC's survey The Big Read.

The Left Hand of Darkness

The Left Hand of Darkness is a 1969 science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin. It is part of the Hainish Cycle, a series of books by Le Guin set in the fictional Hainish universe, which she introduced in 1966. It is among the first books published in the feminist science fiction genre, and the most famous examination of sexless androgyny in science fiction.
Left Hand won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards as the year's "best novel" according to convention participants and science fiction writers respectively. In 1987, Locus: The magazine of the science fiction & fantasy field ranked it number two among "All-Time Best SF Novels", based on a poll of subscribers. That same year, Harold Bloom edited a critical anthology about the book and said in the introduction that "Le Guin, more than Tolkien, has raised fantasy into high literature, for our time".

A Canticle for Leibowitz

A Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American writer Walter M. Miller, Jr., first published in 1960. Set in a Catholic monastery in the desert of the Southwestern United States after a devastating nuclear war, the story spans thousands of years as civilization rebuilds itself. The monks of the fictional Albertian Order of Leibowitz take up the mission of preserving the surviving remnants of man's scientific knowledge until the day the outside world is again ready for it.
A Canticle for Leibowitz is based on three short stories Miller contributed to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. It is the only novel published by the author during his lifetime. Considered one of the classics of science fiction, it has never been out of print and has seen over 25 reprints and editions. Appealing to mainstream and genre critics and readers alike, it won the 1961 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel.
Inspired by the author's participation in the Allied bombing of the monastery at Monte Cassino during World War II, the novel is considered a masterpiece by literary critics.

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Stranger in a Strange Land

Stranger in a Strange Land is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians. The novel explores his interaction with—and eventual transformation of—terrestrial culture. The title is an allusion to the phrase in Exodus 2:22. According to Heinlein, the novel's working title was The Heretic. Several later editions of the book have promoted it as "The most famous Science Fiction Novel ever written".
Heinlein got the idea for the novel when he and his wife Virginia were brainstorming one evening in 1948. She suggested a new version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, but with a child raised by Martians instead of wolves. He decided to go further with the idea and worked on the story on and off for more than a decade. His editors at Putnam then required him to cut its 220,000-word length down to 160,067 words before publication. In 1962, it received the Hugo Award for Best Novel.
In 1991, three years after Heinlein's death, Virginia arranged to have the original uncut manuscript published.

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The Dispossessed

The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia is a 1974 utopian science fiction novel by Ursula K. Le Guin, set in the same fictional universe as that of The Left Hand of Darkness. The book won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1974, won both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1975, and received a nomination for the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1975. It achieved a degree of literary recognition unusual for science fiction works due to its exploration of many ideas and themes, including anarchism and revolutionary societies, capitalism, individualism and collectivism, and the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis.
It features the development of the mathematical theory underlying the fictional ansible, an instantaneous communications device that plays a critical role in Le Guin's Hainish Cycle. The invention of the ansible places the novel first in the internal chronology of the Hainish Cycle, although it was the fifth Hainish novel published.

The Forever War

The Forever War is a military science fiction novel by American author Joe Haldeman, telling the contemplative story of soldiers fighting an interstellar war between Man and the Taurans. It won the Nebula Award in 1975, and the Hugo and the Locus awards in 1976. Forever Free and Forever Peace are, respectively, direct and thematic sequel novels. The novella A Separate War is another sequel of sorts, occurring simultaneously to the final portion of The Forever War. Informally, the novels compose The Forever War series; the novel also inspired a comic book and a board game.
The Forever War is the first title in the SF Masterworks series.

Ender's Game

Ender's Game is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled mankind after two conflicts with the "buggers", an insectoid alien species. In preparation for an anticipated third invasion, children, including the novel's protagonist, Ender Wiggin, are trained from a very young age through increasingly difficult games including some in zero gravity, where Ender's tactical genius is revealed.
The book originated as the short story "Ender's Game", published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Elaborating on characters and plot lines depicted in the novel, Card later wrote additional books to form the Ender's Game series. Card released an updated version of Ender's Game in 1991, changing some political facts to reflect the times more accurately; e.g., to include the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
Reception of the book has generally been positive. It has also become suggested reading for many military organizations, including the United States Marine Corps. Ender's Game won the 1985 Nebula Award for best novel and the 1986 Hugo Award for best novel.

The Mote in God's Eye

The Mote in God's Eye is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, first published in 1974. The story is set in the distant future of Pournelle's CoDominium universe, and charts the first contact between humanity and an alien species. The title of the novel is a wordplay on Luke 6:41–42 and Matthew 7:3–5, which names a star as seen from a newly settled planet. The Mote in God's Eye was nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards in 1975. Robert A. Heinlein, who gave the authors extensive advice on the novel, described the story as "possibly the finest science fiction novel I have ever read."

Ringworld

Ringworld is a 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. It is followed by three sequels and four prequels, and ties into numerous other books set in Known Space. Ringworld won the Nebula Award in 1970, as well as both the Hugo Award and Locus Award in 1971.

Cat's Cradle

Cat's Cradle is the fourth novel by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, first published in 1963. It explores issues of science, technology, and religion, satirizing the arms race and many other targets along the way. After turning down his original thesis in 1947, the University of Chicago awarded Vonnegut his Master's degree in anthropology in 1971 for Cat's Cradle.
The title of the book derives from the string game "cat's cradle." Early in the book, the character Felix Hoenikker was playing cat's cradle when the bomb was dropped, and the game is later referenced by his son, Newton Hoenikker.

Starship Troopers

Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published hardcover in December 1959.
The first-person narrative is about a young soldier named Juan "Johnnie" Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry, a futuristic military service branch equipped with powered armor. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs". Rico and the other characters discuss moral and philosophical aspects of suffrage, civic virtue, juvenile delinquency, corporal punishment, capital punishment, and war.
Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960.

Time Enough for Love

Time Enough for Love is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published in 1973. The work was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1973 and both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1974.

The Invention of Morel

La invención de Morel — translated as The Invention of Morel or Morel's Invention — is a science fiction novel by Adolfo Bioy Casares. It was Bioy Casares' breakthrough effort, for which he won the 1941 First Municipal Prize for Literature of the City of Buenos Aires. He considered it the true beginning of his literary career, despite being his seventh book. The first edition cover artist was Norah Borges, sister of Bioy Casares' lifelong friend, Jorge Luis Borges.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Something Wicked This Way Comes is a 1962 fantasy novel by Ray Bradbury. It is about 13-year-old best friends, Jim Nightshade and William Halloway, and their nightmarish experience with a traveling carnival that comes to their Midwestern town on one October. The carnival's leader is the mysterious "Mr. Dark" who seemingly wields the power to grant the citizenry's secret desires. In reality, Dark is a malevolent being who lures these individuals into binding themselves in servitude to him. He is revealed to possess a tattoo bearing the likeness of each person he has thus tricked. Mr. Dark's presence is countered by that of Will's father, Charles Halloway, who harbors his own secret desire to regain his youth because he feels as though he is too old for Will.
The novel combines elements of fantasy and horror, analyzing the conflicting natures of good and evil which exist within all individuals. Unlike many of Bradbury's other novel-length works, such as Dandelion Wine and The Martian Chronicles, which are fix-ups, Something Wicked This Way Comes is a single full-length narrative.

Solaris

Solaris is a 1961 Polish philosophical science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem. The book centers upon the themes of the nature of human memory, experience and the ultimate inadequacy of communication between human and non-human species.
In probing and examining the oceanic surface of the planet Solaris from a hovering research station the human scientists are, in turn, being studied by the sentient planet itself, which probes for and examines the thoughts of the human beings who are analyzing it. Solaris has the ability to manifest their secret, guilty concerns in human form, for each scientist to personally confront.
Solaris is one of Lem’s philosophic explorations of man’s anthropomorphic limitations. First published in Warsaw in 1961, the 1970 Polish-to-French-to-English translation of Solaris is the best-known of Lem's English-translated works.

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Sometimes you want to treat your intellect as well as your imagination. That's where these sci fi novels come in. These are the best science fiction novels ...