,

1

by
4.15 avg rating — 2,382,738 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.35 avg rating — 9,770,785 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
3.90 avg rating — 1,842,279 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
4.10 avg rating — 216,472 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
3.97 avg rating — 1,273,993 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.13 avg rating — 4,341,043 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
4.12 avg rating — 2,775,983 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
4.31 avg rating — 266,780 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
4.35 avg rating — 4,097,144 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
4.26 avg rating — 148,244 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 285,431 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
4.12 avg rating — 3,669,328 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
4.03 avg rating — 64,345 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
3.99 avg rating — 117,768 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,852,238 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
4.13 avg rating — 86,868 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.20 avg rating — 254,695 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
4.14 avg rating — 81,332 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
4.07 avg rating — 39,982 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
4.08 avg rating — 143,188 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
4.10 avg rating — 43,995 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
4.27 avg rating — 30,179 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
4.30 avg rating — 30,758 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
3.67 avg rating — 51,940 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
3.86 avg rating — 1,045,617 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
3.96 avg rating — 1,612,766 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
4.37 avg rating — 21,804 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.43 avg rating — 19,721 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
4.20 avg rating — 39,244 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
4.14 avg rating — 21,882 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
4.07 avg rating — 132,297 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
3.93 avg rating — 3,823 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
4.12 avg rating — 356,945 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
4.32 avg rating — 23,181 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
4.12 avg rating — 1,004,700 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
4.07 avg rating — 604,578 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
3.94 avg rating — 13,144 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
4.04 avg rating — 26,427 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
4.27 avg rating — 26,992 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
4.15 avg rating — 62,498 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
4.20 avg rating — 19,285 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
4.26 avg rating — 58,641 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
4.41 avg rating — 20,239 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
3.99 avg rating — 131,645 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
4.17 avg rating — 21,184 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
3.90 avg rating — 16,336 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
3.81 avg rating — 226 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
4.07 avg rating — 111,310 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
3.84 avg rating — 22,945 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
3.84 avg rating — 10,992 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
4.06 avg rating — 14,052 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
4.33 avg rating — 14,413 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
3.81 avg rating — 16,931 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
4.29 avg rating — 18,484 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
4.32 avg rating — 82,105 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
4.18 avg rating — 4,677 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
4.29 avg rating — 327,863 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
3.93 avg rating — 8,918 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
4.04 avg rating — 4,210 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
3.92 avg rating — 10,886 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
4.17 avg rating — 181,817 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
4.03 avg rating — 13,286 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
3.95 avg rating — 7,701 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
4.07 avg rating — 110,899 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 10,563 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
4.26 avg rating — 12,013 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
3.46 avg rating — 8,937 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
4.17 avg rating — 228 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
4.20 avg rating — 17,385 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
4.39 avg rating — 6,639 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
4.06 avg rating — 42,342 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
4.44 avg rating — 162 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
3.99 avg rating — 11,628 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
3.86 avg rating — 6,736 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
4.13 avg rating — 5,489 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
3.78 avg rating — 5,927 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.06 avg rating — 7,807 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
78

by
4.37 avg rating — 87,225 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
4.08 avg rating — 16,874 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
4.23 avg rating — 1,657 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
4.11 avg rating — 7,349 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
3.88 avg rating — 11,192 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
4.02 avg rating — 82,103 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
3.74 avg rating — 16,287 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
3.80 avg rating — 383 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
4.08 avg rating — 60,024 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
87

by
3.96 avg rating — 16,801 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
3.77 avg rating — 119,301 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
3.90 avg rating — 7,154 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
4.23 avg rating — 457,738 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 16,237 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
3.93 avg rating — 13,701 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
3.95 avg rating — 478,207 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
94

by
4.34 avg rating — 26,842 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
3.94 avg rating — 363 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.96 avg rating — 5,031 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
4.19 avg rating — 28,281 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
4.20 avg rating — 24,325 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
3.71 avg rating — 25,720 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
3.79 avg rating — 38,861 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
1,710 books · 1,551 voters · list created September 13th, 2010 by Kim (votes) .
475 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Kim 549 books
9 friends
Susanna - Censored by GoodReads 3386 books
852 friends
Xenophon 2168 books
29 friends
Sue 1475 books
10 friends
Sammi 1074 books
7 friends
Phoenixfalls 852 books
50 friends
Kamakana 6523 books
453 friends
Claude 10 books
0 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-34 of 34 (34 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Sarah (new)

Sarah The Mote in God's Eye (around #104) by Larry Niven probably shouldn't be on this list...


message 2: by Susanna - Censored by GoodReads (last edited Mar 14, 2012 12:26PM) (new)

Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Excellent point.

Removed, for not being written by a woman:

The Mote in God's Eye, by Larry Niven

ETA: Tried to remove it but failed. Will try again later.


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads Seems to be gone now..


message 4: by nks (new)

nks 41...Is James Tiptree Jr actually a lady? Or is that another one that should be removed?


Susanna - Censored by GoodReads It's a pen name. Her actual name was Alice Sheldon.


message 6: by nks (new)

nks Excellent.


message 7: by Robin (new)

Robin Rutan There is a small series of books written by a woman about a lone human woman on a planet where the local sentient species goes from stage to stage instead of sexual identity including asexual younglings, father and mother. One of the characteristics that might mark the people is the minor magic of making flames overhead to see in the dark.

I cannot remember the author, a woman, not the names of the books in the series. I was hoping to find it on this list. Does anyone have a idea of what books and author I might be talking about?


message 8: by Bella (new)

Bella Swann Robin wrote: "There is a small series of books written by a woman about a lone human woman on a planet where the local sentient species goes from stage to stage instead of sexual identity including asexual young..."

I know it's already on the list but might you be thinking about Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness?


message 9: by LindaJ^ (new)

LindaJ^ How do 2 books with only 69 and 66 ratings, respectively, make it to ##16 and 17 on the list? Both have 22 votes, so I suspect those 22 people may be friends and not serious sci fi readers!


message 10: by Jain (new)

Jain Linda wrote: "How do 2 books with only 69 and 66 ratings, respectively, make it to ##16 and 17 on the list? Both have 22 votes, so I suspect those 22 people may be friends and not serious sci fi readers!"

Vote trading by Goodreads authors. :-( You can email GR support or flag the list anytime you notice suspicious activity of this sort and--in theory, at least--GR will investigate the situation and remove any books whose list placement they consider in violation of GR policies.


message 11: by Julia (new)

Julia If there is a librarian on this list, can you please run the combine duplicates? Crystal Singer (Anne McCaffrey) and Plan B (Sharon Lee) are both listed more than once.


message 13: by Mitchell (new)

Mitchell Friedman Nothing stops the list creator from setting a minimum number of ratings to be on this list. I especially like a combined rule - like any book published later than 2000 needs 500 ratings to be on this list.

And then any librarian on this list will help enforce that rule.


message 14: by Martini (new)

Martini Removed some fantasy books that I accidentally added - thought I was on another list. Sorry.
Also ran the combine duplicates.


message 15: by Julian (new)

Julian White I thought Margaret Atwood insists that she doesn't write Science fiction...


message 16: by LindaJ^ (new)

LindaJ^ Julian wrote: "I thought Margaret Atwood insists that she doesn't write Science fiction..."

She does, but no one agrees with her -- she writes science fiction, although it is very literary science fiction!


message 17: by Ashley Marie (last edited Apr 12, 2015 07:13AM) (new)

Ashley Marie I would consider removing the following:
Gone Girl, 311.
Dark Places, 622.

Also To Kill a Mockingbird, 719.


message 18: by Jane (new)

Jane Ashley wrote: "I would consider removing the following:
Gone Girl, 311.
Dark Places, 622.

Also To Kill a Mockingbird, 719."


Done, thank you for your attention.


message 19: by Jane (new)

Jane Removed "Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer-Bradley, because it is Fantasy, not Science-Fiction.


message 20: by [deleted user] (new)

Can you please add How To Train Your Dragon series? Good list:)


message 21: by Jane (last edited Apr 19, 2015 01:05PM) (new)

Jane Amanda_S55 wrote: "Can you please add How To Train Your Dragon series? Good list:)"

Dear Amanda, HTTYD would be Fantasy, not Science-Fiction. Sorry.
If you are not familiar with the difference, here is a short article about it:
https://www.writingclasses.com/Writer...
But thank you for the recommendation anyway!
Greetings Jane


message 22: by Jane (last edited Apr 19, 2015 01:45PM) (new)

Jane Removed :
- Diana Gabaldons Highlander-Saga
- Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter, #5)by J.K. Rowling
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4) by J.K. Rowling
for being Fantasy, not SiFi.


message 23: by jagle (new)

jagle Should "The Maze Runner" be on this list? I thought the author was male...


message 24: by Gary (new)

Gary Denton A few of the books in the top 100 seem to be either trading upvotes and favorable reviews; or have organized favorable PR campaigns by independent or small press authors.
They are easy to spot with total reviews under 400.


message 25: by William (last edited Jan 05, 2016 05:47AM) (new)

William The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August; superb, wonderful.

Added.

Claire North's first novel was written at 14 yrs old!

http://io9.gizmodo.com/claire-north-u...


message 26: by Megalion (new)

Megalion This list seems to have been blown up with a lot of fantasy reads. .. I adore the Temaire books by Naomi Novik, but that's fantasy.


message 27: by Jain (last edited Apr 21, 2016 09:44AM) (new)

Jain Megalion wrote: "I adore the Temaire books by Naomi Novik, but that's fantasy."

I haven't yet read the whole series, so feel free to correct me if this changes in later volumes, but I can't remember them containing any magic or other intrinsically fantastical elements. The dragons are, as far as I can recall, fairly scientific dragons.

(For the record, I shelved them as fantasy myself. But there's enough room for reasonable disagreement that I wouldn't feel comfortable removing them from this list.)


message 29: by Gabe (new)

Gabe Removed Conservation of Shadows for being written by a man


message 30: by Kenys (new)

Kenys Gosh darn Dragon Dawn is on this list too. This author has a small army of fanatics that vote up the book all over the lists.


Women_of_the_Future This is such a great list!

For anyone who'd like to join a group to read some of these, check out Women of the Future. We do monthly reads and have an annual reading challenge.

We also maintain a bookshelf that only lists adult SciFi & Speculative Fiction authored by womxn (no young adult). It is a private group, but all are welcome!

Group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Group Bookshelf: https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...


message 32: by Sally (new)

Sally 4 duplicates found and removed


message 33: by Rachel Adiyah (last edited Dec 22, 2022 03:00PM) (new)

Rachel Adiyah Kim Stanley Robinson is a MAN. His picture is on his Goodreads page. So the Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars books should be removed.


message 34: by Sally (last edited Dec 27, 2022 05:13AM) (new)

Sally Duplicates removed.

1 Kim Stanley Robinson that I found was removed.
If there is another one still on the list, please put the item number so I can find it.


back to top



Related News

Good news, book nerds! And movie nerds! And TV nerds! It’s time once again for our regular roundup of new and upcoming book-to-screen...

Anyone can add books to this list.