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SF Novels
1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £3.50
Constructing a society from the ground up is something many SF writers do. Few however have the incredible political, social and psychological insight that Orwell has. 10
WatchmenWatchmen by Alan Moore
Buy new: £10.49 / Used from: £9.50
In spite of the odd narrative diversions and crummy colouring this is a perfect graphic novel. Brilliantly drawn characters and a mind-boggling plot. Speculative fiction of the highest order. 10
DuneDune by Frank Herbert
Buy new: £3.94 / Used from: £0.01
An erudite and refined writer creates a world every bit as intricate as our own. 1st part of a trilogy so dont expect anything too conclusive. 9.5
Fahrenheit 451Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £2.60
I don't entirely know why i enjoyed this book so much. I just couldnt put it down. Was a very easy read with some sparkling characters and a nice kinda moral message. 9
The Drowned World (S.F. Masterworks)The Drowned World (S.F. Masterworks) by J.G. Ballard
Buy used from: £29.05
Mesmerising psycho-evolutionary nonsense. 9
The Man in the High Castle (Penguin Modern Classics)The Man in the High Castle (Penguin Modern Classics) by Philip K. Dick
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £3.30
A look at hum-drum everyday existence in an alternate timeline. A masterful work of speculative fiction with some thrilling stylistic flourishes. 9
Slaughterhouse 5: The Children's Crusade - A Dirty-dance with DeathSlaughterhouse 5: The Children's Crusade - A Dirty-dance with Death by Kurt Vonnegut
Buy new: £5.94 / Used from: £1.99
Loved the style this was written in. A wonderfully resigned and irreverant yet humane attitude to fatality and the atrocities of war. 8.5
Cat's Cradle (Essential Penguin)Cat's Cradle (Essential Penguin) by Kurt Vonnegut
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £3.86
Could there be a cooler version of the apocalypse? Witty and unflinchingly absurdist fiction. 8.5
The Forever War (S.F. Masterworks)The Forever War (S.F. Masterworks) by Joe Haldeman
Buy new: £2.36 / Used from: £1.68
Nowhere will you find a more seamless integration of hard-science and plot. In a sense the definitive SF novel. Engaging, powerful, poignant. 8.5
A Clockwork Orange (Penguin Modern Classics)A Clockwork Orange (Penguin Modern Classics) by Anthony Burgess
Buy new: £3.58 / Used from: £0.99
As a story it failed to leave as much of an impact on me as the film did. The best thing was the language; loved it! The voices in my head were speaking in Nadsat for the next month. 8.5
Replay (Fantasy Masterworks)Replay (Fantasy Masterworks) by Ken Grimwood
Buy new: £2.51 / Used from: £2.64
The one sci-fi EVERYONE can relate to. Who after all has not wished they could have a second chance at life? A profoundly beautiful and lonely take on the "what could have been?" question. 8.5
Brave New WorldBrave New World by Aldous Huxley
Buy used from: £2.30
An intriguing world where the population's docility is ensured by hypnotherapy, genetic engineering and all the sex and side-effect free drugs they can stomach. Shame about the plot though. 8
I Am Legend (S.F. Masterworks)I Am Legend (S.F. Masterworks) by Richard Matheson
Buy new: £4.44 / Used from: £1.00
An unbearably bleak completely enveloping vision of apocalypse. Inescapable and heartbreaking. 8
The Stars My Destination (S.F. Masterworks)The Stars My Destination (S.F. Masterworks) by Alfred Bester
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A constant succession of brilliant, skull-exploding ideas. Didnt enjoy most of it that much but still left it with the same skyscraper-leaping adrenalin rush i got after i first saw the matrix. 8
2001: A Space Odyssey2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £1.62
Having the ideas explained to you doesnt really make the film any better. If you just have to find out though, this is the book to read. A baffling, visionary view of mankind's development. 7.5
Star Maker (S.F. Masterworks)Star Maker (S.F. Masterworks) by Olaf Stapledon
Buy new: £2.45 / Used from: £2.60
A vision of the universe so expansive that the entire human race is less than the tiniest blip. some brilliant ideas, but you'll be lucky to finish it without getting frustrated and giving up. 7.5
Lord of Light (S.F. Masterworks)Lord of Light (S.F. Masterworks) by Roger Zelazny
Buy new: £2.15 / Used from: £1.49
Virtually impossible to follow what's going on. This book rules all the same. Like a spaghetti western cast with hindu gods. Epic battles to make peter Jackson weep into his shoes. 7.5
Babel Seventeen (Babel-17) (S.F.Masterworks S.)Babel Seventeen (Babel-17) (S.F.Masterworks S.) by Samuel R. Delany
Buy new: £2.46 / Used from: £2.00
Hmmmm. As with all the SF masterworks this novel hinges on one or two really awesome ideas, specifically about how language shapes our thoughts. Not a hugely satifying read though... 7
NeuromancerNeuromancer by William Gibson
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £1.36
Someone had to write SF about the impact of the internet on our lives. Gibson just happened to be the first. Not notable and not very good. 5