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Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Book Lists

The Classics of Science Fiction

The Classics of Science Fiction list, compiled by James Wallace Harris and Michael Jorgensen, is an attempt to create a definitive list of the best Science Fiction books. Harris and Jorgensen collected 65 SF book recommendation lists and generated a cumulative list of books that included any title that was on at least 10 of those lists. The result is a ranked list of 139 books.

This is the recently updated version 4 of the Classics list. Be sure to visit https://classicsofsciencefiction.com for more information including an extensive essay on the methodology used to create the list.

 1. (1965)
 2. (1959)
 3. (1969)
 4. (1953)
 5. (1949)
 6. (1950)
 7. (1974)
 8. (1984)
 9. (1956)
 10. (1975)
 11. (1953)
 12. (1970)
 13. (1989)
 14. (1962)
 15. (1985)
 16. (1961)
 17. (1966)
 18. (1974)
 19. (1973)
 20. (1953)
 21. (1993)
 22. (1895)
 23. (1992)
 24. (1979)
 25. (1977)
 26. (2006)
 27. (1932)
 28. (1968)
 29. (1898)
 30. (1953)
 31. (1992)
 32. (1967)
 33. (1998)
 34. (1992)
 35. (1985)
 36. (1966)
 37. (1959)
 38. (2009)
 39. (1818)
 40. (1961)
 41. (1975)
 42. (1995)
 43. (1962)
 44. (1963)
 45. (1949)
 46. (1980)
 47. (2008)
 48. (1954)
 49. (1975)
 50. (2004)
 51. (1952)
 52. (1983)
 53. (1969)
 54. (1956)
 55. (1930)
 56. (2013)
 57. (1996)
 58. (1971)
 59. (1958)
 60. (1953)
 61. (1951)
 62. (1972)
 63. (1950)
 64. (1963)
 65. (1959)
 66. (1999)
 67. (1968)
 68. (1969)
 69. (1986)
 70. (1917)
 71. (1937)
 72. (1954)
 73. (1972)
 74. (1988)
 75. (2002)
 76. (1974)
 77. (1988)
 78. (1974)
 79. (1985)
 80. (1990)
 81. (1870)
 82. (1962)
 83. (1966)
 84. (1987)
 85. (1962)
 86. (1924)
 87. (1981)
 88. (1940)
 89. (2003)
 90. (1989)
 91. (1992)
 92. (1972)
 93. (1970)
 94. (1991)
 95. (1980)
 96. (1982)
 97. (1956)
 98. (1896)
 99. (1864)
 100. (1993)
 101. (1982)
 102. (1977)
 103. (1998)
 104. (1938)
 105. (1986)
 106. (1979)
 107. (1954)
 108. (1985)
 109. (1968)
 110. (1967)
 111. (1968)
 112. (1990)
 113. (1993)
 114. (1941)
 115. (1935)
 116. (1966)
 117. (1957)
 118. (1967)
 119. (1960)
 120. (1978)
 121. (1991)
 122. (1865)
 123. (1951)
 124. (1976)
 125. (1968)
 126. (1970)
 127. (1972)
 128. (1946)
 129. (1949)
 130. (1948)
 131. (1962)
 132. (1979)
 133. (1968)
 134. (1955)
 135. (1966)
 136. (1889)
 137. (1897)
 138. (1971)
 139. (1920)