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The Best SF

Here are the top twenty of the books reviewed at SF Reviews. In fact, here are all of the books reviewed, in order of ranking, with the top twenty first.

It's not yet my definitive list: I have still have hundreds of reviews to upload, including reviews of some of my favorite books.

  1. "Lord Of Light" - Roger Zelazny
  2. "Michaelmas" - Algis J. Budrys
  3. "Time Enough For Love" - Robert A. Heinlein
  4. "Footfall" - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
  5. "Ringworld" - Larry Niven
  6. "Sea Of Glass" - Barry B. Longyear
  7. "Lucifer's Hammer" - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
  8. "Free Live Free" - Gene Wolfe
  9. "The Forever War" - Joe Haldeman
  10. "Stand On Zanzibar" - John Brunner
  11. "The Man In The High Castle" - Philip K. Dick
  12. "Marrow" - Robert Reed
  13. "Stars In My Pocket Like Grains Of Sand" - Samuel R. Delaney
  14. "The Lathe of Heaven" - Ursula K. Le Guin
  15. "Pavane" - Keith Roberts
  16. "The Ophiuchi Hotline" - John Varley
  17. "The Mote in God's Eye" - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
  18. "The Ringworld Engineers" - Larry Niven
  19. "Fourth Mansions" - R. A. Lafferty
  20. "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" - Robert A. Heinlein

OK, that's the top twenty best books, now here's the rest, continuing best to worst.

  1. "The Exile Waiting" - Vonda N. McIntyre
  2. "Mona Lisa Overdrive" - William Gibson
  3. "Virtual Light" - William Gibson
  4. "The Big Time" - Fritz Leiber
  5. "Slant" - Greg Bear
  6. "The Gripping Hand" - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
  7. "Farnham's Freehold" - Robert A. Heinlein
  8. "Neuromancer" - William Gibson
  9. "Count Zero" - William Gibson
  10. "The Sparrow" - Mary Doria Russell
  11. "Wizard" - John Varley
  12. "Children Of God" - Mary Doria Russell
  13. "This Immortal" - Roger Zelazny
  14. "The Demolished Man" - Alfred Bester
  15. "Gateway" - Frederik Pohl
  16. "I Will Fear No Evil" - Robert A. Heinlein
  17. "Marooned In Realtime" - Vernor Vinge
  18. "Synners" - Pat Cadigan
  19. "Today We Choose Faces" - Roger Zelazny
  20. "Doomsday Book" - Connie Willis
  21. "The Jagged Orbit" - John Brunner
  22. "Firestar" - Michael Flynn
  23. "Lodestar" - Michael Flynn
  24. "Black Easter" - James Blish
  25. "Where Late The Sweet Birds Sang" - Kate Wilhelm
  26. "Ringworld's Children" - Larry Niven
  27. "Rogue Star" - Michael Flynn
  28. "Falling Stars" - Michael Flynn
  29. "The Postman" - David Brin
  30. "The Drowned World" - J. G. Ballard
  31. "Light" - M. John Harrison
  32. "The Jesus Incident" - Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom
  33. "Eon" - Greg Bear
  34. "Foundation" - Isaac Asimov
  35. "Days Of Cain" - J. R. Dunn
  36. "Deepsix" - Jack McDevitt
  37. "Mindbridge" - Joe Haldeman
  38. "ORACLE" - Kevin O'Donnell Jr.
  39. "Beowolf's Children" - Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes
  40. "The Dragons Of Heorot" - Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Steven Barnes
  41. "The Man Who Japed" - Philip K. Dick
  42. "Dead Girls" - Richard Calder
  43. "Accelerando" - Charles Stross
  44. "The Archivist" - Gill Alderman
  45. "The Engines Of God" - Jack McDevitt
  46. "Roadmarks" - Roger Zelazny
  47. "Mother Of Storms" - John Barnes
  48. "Perdido Street Station" - China Mieville
  49. "Full Tide Of Night" - J. R. Dunn
  50. "Heavy Weather" - Bruce Sterling
  51. "Beggars In Spain" - Nancy Kress
  52. "THE SKINNER" - Neal Asher
  53. "I Am Legend" - Richard Matheson
  54. "Days Of Atonement" - Walter Jon Williams
  55. "Mortal Remains" - Christopher Evans
  56. "Tool Of The Trade" - Joe Haldeman
  57. "Old Man's War" - John Scalzi
  58. "Broken Time" - Maggy Thomas
  59. "GRIDLINKED" - Neal Asher
  60. "The Reality Dysfunction - Emergence" - Peter F. Hamilton
  61. "Stranger In A Strange Land" - Robert A. Heinlein
  62. "Dies The Fire" - S. M. Stirling
  63. "Fool's War" - Sarah Zettel
  64. "The Dispossessed" - Ursula K. Le Guin
  65. "Revelation Space" - Alastair Reynolds
  66. "The Reality Dysfunction - Expansion" - Peter F. Hamilton
  67. "The Neutronium Alchemist - Conflict" - Peter F. Hamilton
  68. "Hot Head" - Simon Ings
  69. "The Patterns Of Chaos" - Colin Kapp
  70. "The Fourth World" - Dennis Danvers
  71. "Speed Of Dark" - Elizabeth Moon
  72. "The Lazarus Effect" - Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom
  73. "Half Life" - Hal Clement
  74. "Homeworld" - Harry Harrison
  75. "The Coming" - Joe Haldeman
  76. "Finity" - John Barnes
  77. "Demon" - John Varley
  78. "The Day Of The Triffids" - John Wyndham
  79. "The Star Fraction" - Ken MacLeod
  80. "Alien Earth" - Megan Lindholm
  81. "Greenhouse Summer" - Norman Spinrad
  82. "The Neutronium Alchemist - Consolidation" - Peter F. Hamilton
  83. "Brain Wave" - Poul Anderson
  84. "Sister Alice" - Robert Reed
  85. "Hotwire" - Simon Ings
  86. "Hammered" - Elizabeth Bear
  87. "To Hold Infinity" - John Meaney
  88. "Steel Beach" - John Varley
  89. "Prador Moon" - Neal Asher
  90. "Capacity" - Tony Ballantyne
  91. "Between The Strokes Of Night" - Charles Sheffield
  92. "Bellwether" - Connie Willis
  93. "The Sky Road" - Ken MacLeod
  94. "Code Of Conduct" - Kristine Smith
  95. "The Naked God" - Peter F. Hamilton
  96. "Harm's Way" - Colin Greenland
  97. "Mercedes Nights" - Michael Weaver
  98. "Kiln People" - David Brin
  99. "Cosmonaut Keep" - Ken MacLeod
  100. "Learning The World" - Ken MacLeod
  101. "Hominids" - Robert J. Sawyer
  102. "Nightside Of The Long Sun" - Gene Wolfe
  103. "Titan" - John Varley
  104. "The Inner Wheel" - Keith Roberts
  105. "End Of Days" - Dennis Danvers
  106. "Earthweb" - Mark Stiegler
  107. "Happy Policeman" - Patricia Anthony
  108. "Reclamation" - Sarah Zettel
  109. "A Fire Upon The Deep" - Vernor Vinge
  110. "Jumping Off The Planet" - David Gerrold
  111. "Bouncing Off The Moon" - David Gerrold
  112. "Eater" - Gregory Benford
  113. "Heathern" - Jack Womack
  114. "The Burning City" - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
  115. "Fools" - Pat Cadigan
  116. "Greenwar" - Steven Gould and Laura J. Mixon
  117. "Imperial Earth" - Arthur C. Clarke
  118. "The Sky So Big And Black" - John Barnes
  119. "The Seeds Of Time" - Kay Kenyon
  120. "American Gods" - Neil Gaiman
  121. "Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said" - Philip K. Dick
  122. "The Well Of Stars" - Robert Reed
  123. "A Deepness In The Sky" - Vernor Vinge
  124. "City On Fire" - Walter Jon Williams
  125. "The Collapsium" - Wil McCarthy
  126. "Redemption Ark" - Alastair Reynolds
  127. "This Alien Shore" - C. S. Friedman
  128. "Iron Sunrise" - Charles Stross
  129. "Mars Crossing" - Geoffrey A. Landis
  130. "Bold As Love" - Gwyneth Jones
  131. "Foundation And Empire" - Isaac Asimov
  132. "Vigilant" - James Alan Gardner
  133. "Forever Peace" - Joe Haldeman
  134. "Orbital Resonance" - John Barnes
  135. "Twistor" - John Cramer
  136. "The Stone Canal" - Ken MacLeod
  137. "The Nano Flower" - Peter F. Hamilton
  138. "The Penultimate Truth" - Philip K. Dick
  139. "Shield" - Poul Anderson
  140. "Playing God" - Sarah Zettel
  141. "The Risen Empire" - Scott Westerfield
  142. "Singer From The Sea" - Sherri S. Tepper
  143. "Maul" - Tricia Sullivan
  144. "Mars Underground" - William K. Hartmann
  145. "Rim" - Alexander Besher
  146. "Remnant Population" - Elizabeth Moon
  147. "Hegira" - Greg Bear
  148. "Quarantine" - Greg Egan
  149. "Great Sky River" - Gregory Benford
  150. "The End Of Eternity" - Isaac Asimov
  151. "Stamping Butterflies" - Jon Courtney Grimwood
  152. "Tropic Of Creation" - Kay Kenyon
  153. "Fire On The Border" - Kevin O'Donnell, Jr.
  154. "Monument" - Lloyd Biggle Jr.
  155. "Unto Leviathan" - Richard Paul Russo
  156. "Passage" - Connie Willis
  157. "Carnival" - Elizabeth Bear
  158. "Darwin's Radio" - Greg Bear
  159. "The Cassini Division" - Ken MacLeod
  160. "Dark Light" - Ken MacLeod
  161. "Shadow Of The Hegemon" - Orson Scott Card
  162. "Speaking Dreams" - Severna Park
  163. "Wheelers" - Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen
  164. "Random Acts Of Senseless Violence" - Jack Womack
  165. "City Of Pearl" - Karen Traviss
  166. "Polar City Blues" - Katharine Kerr
  167. "Proxies" - Laura J. Mixon
  168. "Thunder Rift" - Matthew Farrell
  169. "Downbelow Station" - C. J. Cherryh
  170. "Shiva Descending" - Gregory Benford and William Rotsler
  171. "Mappa Mundi" - Justina Robson
  172. "Freeze Frames" - Katherine Kerr
  173. "Angel Stations" - Gary Gibson
  174. "Overshoot" - Mona Clee
  175. "Mindplayers" - Pat Cadigan
  176. "The Puppet Masters" - Robert A. Heinlein
  177. "Technogensis" - Syne Mitchell
  178. "Metaplanetary" - Tony Daniel
  179. "Dawn" - Octavia Butler
  180. "Clip Joint" - Wilhelmina Baird
  181. "Oracle" - Ian Watson
  182. "Blank Slate" - Mark J. McGarry
  183. "Parable Of The Talents" - Octavia Butler
  184. "Night Of Light" - Philip Jose Farmer
  185. "Diaspora" - Greg Egan
  186. "Virtual Death" - Shale Aaron
  187. "White Mars" - Brian Aldiss and Roger Penrose
  188. "The Madness Season" - C. S. Friedman
  189. "Mars Plus" - Frederik Pohl and Thomas T. Thomas
  190. "The Shift" - George Foy
  191. "Northwind" - Gwyneth Jones
  192. "Second Foundation" - Isaac Asimov
  193. "Eternity Road" - Jack McDevitt
  194. "Crescent City Rhapsody" - Kathleen Ann Goonan
  195. "The Braided World" - Kay Kenyon
  196. "Fifty Degrees Below" - Kim Stanley Robinson
  197. "Cyberweb" - Lisa Mason
  198. "Sewer, Gas & Electric" - Matt Ruff
  199. "Wild Seed" - Octavia E. Butler
  200. "The Secret Of Life" - Paul J. McAuley
  201. "Software" - Rudy Rucker
  202. "Kingdom Of Cages" - Sarah Zettel
  203. "Echoes Of Earth" - Sean Williams and Shane Dix
  204. "Gibbon's Decline And Fall" - Sheri S. Tepper
  205. "Anti-Ice" - Stephen Baxter
  206. "Titan" - Stephen Baxter
  207. "Dark Water's Embrace" - Stephen Leigh
  208. "Bloom" - Wil McCarthy
  209. "SUPER-STATE" - Brian Aldiss
  210. "Macrolife" - George Zebrowski
  211. "The Wreck Of The River Of Stars" - Michael Flynn
  212. "We All Died At Breakaway Station" - Richard C. Meredith
  213. "Down The Bright Way" - Robert Reed
  214. "Polymorph" - Scott Westerfield
  215. "Space" - Stephen Baxter
  216. "The Book Of Ptath" - A. E. Van Vogt
  217. "Redworld" - Charles L. Harness
  218. "The God Makers" - Frank Herbert
  219. "Schild's Ladder" - Greg Egan
  220. "Commitment" - James Alan Gardner
  221. "Earth Made Of Glass" - John Barnes
  222. "Time Future" - Maxine McArthur
  223. "After Doomsday" - Poul Anderson
  224. "Resurrection Man" - Sean Stewart
  225. "Absolution Gap" - Alastair Reynolds
  226. "Strength Of Stones" - Greg Bear
  227. "Conquistador" - S. M. Stirling
  228. "Lifehouse" - Spider Robinson
  229. "Nautilus" - Vonda N. McIntyre
  230. "The Rapture Effect" - Jeffrey A. Carver
  231. "Paradox" - John Meaney
  232. "Midnight Robber" - Nalo Hopkinson
  233. "Vulcan's Hammer" - Philip K. Dick
  234. "Blind Waves" - Steven Gould
  235. "Blue Limbo" - Terence M. Green
  236. "Crazy Time" - Kate Wilhelm
  237. "Let The Fire Fall" - Kate Wilheim
  238. "Mayflies" - Kevin O'Donnell Jr.
  239. "Dark Universe" - Daniel F. Galouye
  240. "Heaven's Reach" - David Brin
  241. "Candle" - John Barnes
  242. "Someone To Watch Over Me" - Tricia Sullivan
  243. "The Wizard Of Linn" - A. E. Van Vogt
  244. "Salt" - Adam Roberts
  245. "Chasm City" - Alastair Reynolds
  246. "Orbitsville" - Bob Shaw
  247. "The Space Machine" - Christopher Priest
  248. "Hunting Party" - Elizabeth Moon
  249. "Sinister Barrier" - Eric Frank Russell
  250. "K-PAX" - Gene Brewer
  251. "Darwin's Children" - Greg Bear
  252. "Lightpaths" - Howard V. Hendrix
  253. "Open Prison" - James White
  254. "King David's Spaceship" - Jerry Pournelle
  255. "There Is No Darkness" - Joe Haldeman and Jack C. Haldeman II
  256. "The Shift Key" - John Brunner
  257. "Einstein's Bridge" - John Cramer
  258. "Crossing The Line" - Karen Traviss
  259. "The World Before" - Karen Traviss
  260. "Maximum Ice" - Kay Kenyon
  261. "The Fury Out Of Time" - Lloyd Biggle Jnr.
  262. "Stations Of The Tide" - Michael Swanwick
  263. "Bones Of The Earth" - Michael Swanwick
  264. "Ancients Of Days" - Paul J. McAuley
  265. "Pandora's Star" - Peter F. Hamilton
  266. "Virgin Planet" - Poul Anderson
  267. "Satan's World" - Poul Anderson
  268. "The Rebel Worlds" - Poul Anderson
  269. "The Byworlder" - Poul Anderson
  270. "Chains Of Light" - Quentin Thomas
  271. "Kuldesak" - Richard Cowper
  272. "Bios" - Robert Charles Wilson
  273. "The Difference Engine" - William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
  274. "Steel Helix" - Ann Tonsor Zeddies
  275. "Proteus In The Underworld" - Charles Sheffield
  276. "Cave Of Stars" - George Zebrowski
  277. "The Martian Race" - Gregory Benford
  278. "Seeker" - Jack McDevitt
  279. "Mammoth" - John Varley
  280. "Matriarch" - Karen Traviss
  281. "Treason" - Orson Scott Card
  282. "Flashforward" - Robert J. Sawyer
  283. "The Dark Wing" - Walter M. Hunt
  284. "Futureland" - Walter Mosley
  285. "Navohar" - Hilari Bell
  286. "Mortal Gods" - Jonathan Fast
  287. "The Long Twilight" - Keith Laumer
  288. "Falling Free" - Lois McMaster Bujold
  289. "Life During Wartime" - Lucius Shepard
  290. "Wyrms" - Orson Scott Card
  291. "Tea From An Empty Cup" - Pat Cadigan
  292. "Evolution's Darling" - Scott Westerfield
  293. "Ground-ties" - Jane Fancher
  294. "Armed Memory" - Jim Young
  295. "The Crucible Of Time" - John Brunner
  296. "Rift" - Kay Kenyon
  297. "The Kindly Ones" - Melissa Scott
  298. "Destroying Angel" - Richard Paul Russo
  299. "The Dream Master" - Roger Zelazny
  300. "The Fountains Of Paradise" - Arthur C. Clarke
  301. "Wave Without A Shore" - C. J. Cherryh
  302. "The Practice Effect" - David Brin
  303. "Hard Drive" - David Pogue
  304. "Direct Descent" - Frank Herbert
  305. "The Second Experiment" - J. O. Jeppson
  306. "Hunted" - James Alan Gardner
  307. "Saturn's Race" - Larry Niven and Steven Barnes
  308. "The Winter Of The World" - Poul Anderson
  309. "Airship Nine" - Thomas Block
  310. "Light Raid" - Connie Willis and Cynthia Felice
  311. "Heads" - Greg Bear
  312. "Orphans Of Earth" - Sean Williams and Shane Dix
  313. "Sound Mind" - Tricia Sullivan
  314. "Project Maldon" - Chris Atack
  315. "Glory Season" - David Brin
  316. "Millennium" - Jack Anderson
  317. "A Trace Of Memory" - Keith Laumer
  318. "A Plague Of Demons" - Keith Laumer
  319. "The Infinite Cage" - Keith Laumer
  320. "River Of Dust" - Alexander Jablokov
  321. "Invasion Earth" - Harry Harrison
  322. "Red Thunder" - John Varley
  323. "Fallen Angels" - Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle and Michael Flynn
  324. "Judas Unchained" - Peter F. Hamilton
  325. "Calculating God" - Robert J. Sawyer
  326. "Engineman" - Eric Brown
  327. "The Outcasts Of Heaven Belt" - Joan D. Vinge
  328. "The Shadow Of Heaven" - Bob Shaw
  329. "VANESSA" - David L. Howells
  330. "Beyond Infinity" - Gregory Benford
  331. "Earthman Come Home" - James Blish
  332. "Double Contact" - James White
  333. "The Parafaith War" - L. E. Modesitt Jr.
  334. "In The Country Of The Blind" - Michael Flynn
  335. "Passion Play" - Sean Stewart
  336. "The Light Of Other Days" - Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter
  337. "Crown Of Empire" - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
  338. "The Languages Of Pao" - Jack Vance
  339. "The Bridge" - Janine Ellen Young
  340. "Blade Runner 2 - The Edge Of Human" - K. W. Jeter
  341. "Prisoner Of Dreams" - Karen Ripley
  342. "Limit Of Vision" - Linda Nagata
  343. "Branch Point" - Mona Clee
  344. "Anvil" - Nicolas van Pallandt
  345. "Shadow Puppets" - Orson Scott Card
  346. "The Falling Woman" - Pat Murphy
  347. "A Hidden Place" - Robert Charles Wilson
  348. "Lord Demon" - Roger Zelazny and Jane Lindskold
  349. "Starmind" - Spider Robinson and Jeanne Robinson
  350. "Chaos Come Again" - Wilhelmina Baird
  351. "When We Were Real" - William Barton
  352. "Equator" - Brian Aldiss
  353. "Slow Freight" - F. M. Busby
  354. "Brute Orbits" - George Zebrowski
  355. "Quantico" - Greg Bear
  356. "Burning Tower" - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
  357. "Trouble And Her Friends" - Melissa Scott
  358. "In The Drift" - Michael Swanwick
  359. "Humans" - Robert J. Sawyer
  360. "Black Sun Rising" - C. S. Friedman
  361. "Earth" - David Brin
  362. "Infinity Beach" - Jack McDevitt
  363. "Second Contact" - Mike Resnick
  364. "Cloud's Rider" - C. J. Cherryh
  365. "Vast" - Linda Nagata
  366. "Timeline" - Michael Crichton
  367. "Fallen Dragon" - Peter F. Hamilton
  368. "Privateers" - Ben Bova
  369. "Donnerjack" - Roger Zelazny and Jane Lindskold
  370. "Flesh and Silver" - Stephen L. Burns
  371. "Black Snow Days" - Claudia O'Keefe
  372. "Eternity" - Mack Reynolds and Dean Ing
  373. "Halo" - Paul Cook
  374. "Gilpin's Space" - Reginald Bretnor
  375. "Heartlight" - T. A. Barron
  376. "Sunstorm" - Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter
  377. "To Fear The Light" - Ben Bova and A. J. Austin
  378. "Seasons Of Plenty" - Colin Greenland
  379. "Cradle Of Saturn" - James P. Hogan
  380. "Flare" - Roger Zelazny and Thomas T. Thomas
  381. "Virtual Destruction" - Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason
  382. "The Barsoom Project" - Larry Niven and Stephen Barnes
  383. "The Silk Code" - Paul Levinson
  384. "Reunion On Neverend" - John E. Stith
  385. "A Thousand Words For Stranger" - Julie E. Czerneda
  386. "Angel Of Destruction" - Susan R. Matthews
  387. "Ashes Of Victory" - David Weber
  388. "Against Gravity" - Gary Gibson
  389. "Timeshare" - Joshua Dann
  390. "Starfarers" - Poul Anderson
  391. "Inherit The Earth" - Brian Stapleford
  392. "Virus Clans" - Michael Kanaly
  393. "Murphy's Gambit" - Syne Mitchell
  394. "To Bathe In Lightning" - Anne Gay
  395. "A Miracle Of Rare Design" - Mike Resnick
  396. "The Stonehenge Gate" - Jack Williamson
  397. "The Z Sting" - Ian Wallace
  398. "Heirs Of Earth" - Sean Williams and Shane Dix
  399. "Saturn Rukh" - Robert L. Forward