Here are my first 20 "Best SF Books" - please note that often these books are older publications rather than 'new SF.' ie. they are books I have just read (or re-read) recently and enjoyed.

Click here to go back to my newest SF book choices.

Click here to go back to my Second Twenty SF book choices.

Cover	Title/Author	Publisher/Code	Notes
	'Farnham's Freehold' by Robert A. Heinlein	Corgi (1964) ISBN 0-552-11237-2	A book of two half's - the first half is brilliant capturing as it does the fear of Atomic Warfare and the use of fall-out shelters - whilst the second half is set in a rather strange future. Not suitable for younger readers.
	'The Ship who Sang' by Anne McCaffrey	Corgi (1971) ISBN 0-552-09115-4	First in what was to become a series of books where the spaceship is a leading character in the story. The Ship and the Captain work as a team. This book also supports Anne McCaffrey claim to being an SF writer rather than Fantasy writer.
	'The Caves of Steel' by Isaac Asimov	Grafton (1954) ISBN 0-586-00835-7	Murder mystery involving robots. This is the first story involing Lije Baley. In it Baley has to investigate a crime and his partner during this task is R. Daneel Olivaw - Robot Daneel Olivaw.
	'The Naked Sun' by Isaac Asimov	Panther (1958) ISBN 0-586-01016-5	Second murder mytery involving robots but this time it happens on another world 'Solaria' and Lije Baley is sent off-world to investigate. The unusual setup of the society he finds on this planet compicates his task.
	'The Day of the Triffids' by John Wyndham	Penguin (1951) ISBN not known	One of the first SF books I read. A story I found exciting although young readers may think after it's treatment in film that it was a Horror story. Something that happened to other Wyndham novels ie. 'The Midwich Cuckoos.'
	'Stranger in a Strange' Land by Robert Heinlein	NEL (1961) ISBN 450-01690-0	One of the first Heinlein books I read. A rambling story written at a time whem much of SF was either in the form of short stories or 'novelettas.' I think it set the trend for science-fiction stories to become longer and longer.
	'Eon' by Greg Bear	Legend (1985) ISBN 0-09-954710-4	To my mind one of the greatest SF stories of all time - only to be eclipsed by its even more brilliant sequel 'Eternity.' Above Earth appears 'The Stone' containing a number of chambers that slowly reveal their secrets. But it is not an alien structure.
	'Eternity' by Greg Bear	VGSF (1989) ISBN 0-575-04613-9	Sequel to Eon - brilliant! The whole story development from the hollow 'Stone' itself to the infinity of 'The Way' show what a fertile imagination Greg Bear has. I couldn't wait for the third book to appear.
	'Legacy' by Greg Bear	Legend (1989) ISBN 0-09-935071-8	Third book in series - this story takes place on a world along the 'Way' - Eon's infinitely long artifical universe. A good story but without the 'breadth' of either of the other two stories. But 'The Way' is infinate and so there may be more to come.
	'Way Station' by Clifford D. Simak	Methuen (1964) ISBN 0-413-36900-5	One of my all-time favourite stories. This story again shows the fertile imagination of the writer. Time, immortality and space are interweaved in a story that is both simple dispite taking place on a grand scale.
	'The Forever War' by Joe Haldeman	Orbit (1994) ISBN 0-8600-7882-5	Great story written by a Vietnam veteran. This story combines three of my favourite 'themes' in good SF - Grand scale, time-travel (of sorts) and Man's social future. For Haldeman alienation and war's futitity are central to the story. Not suitable for younger readers.
	'Ringworld' by Larry Niven	DelRay (1970) ISBN 0-345-33392-6	Based on a fantastic concept for it's time. A 'Known Space' novel. An engineered world that forms a enormous ring round a Sun. Another story that I have just read again after twenty years or so.
	'Orbitsville' by Bob Shaw	Orbit (1975) ISBN 0-7088-4917-2	On an even greater scale than 'Ringworld.' The story takes place on a vast world enclosing a Sun (Dyson sphere?) which would have as much land surface as a million, million Earths. Space enough for any Cult or Society to settle and live to their own rules.
	'Startide Rising' by David Brin	Bantam (1982) ISBN 0-553-17170-4	Second in series involving 'client' races being 'uplifted.' Humans and the uplifted dolphins feature here. Dolphins that have developed to become the great Navigators of Space. This will also be the next of David Brin's books to make it to film.
	'The Uplift War' by David Brin	Orbit (1987) ISBN 1-85723-371-9	Third and best story in the Uplift series. So complex that it needs a 'cast of characters,' word definitions and a map! But don't let that put you off reading one of the best ever SF reads.
	'Timescape' by Gregory Benford	Sphere (1980) ISBN 0-7221-1630-6	Tachyons and and faster than light - backwards in time - communication. The story is told from two 'times' and centers on a project to warn of ecological danger that endangers the whole planet.
	'The Demolished Man' by Alfred Bester	Penguin (1953) ISBN 0-14-010121-7	As it says on the cover 'Classic Science Fiction' with crime and telepathy. Don't let the fact that this story was written in the early Fifties put you off reading it - because this story still works - a great read.
	'Dawn' by Octavia Butler	Gollancz (1987) ISBN 0-575-04268-0	A very imaginative tale of alien contact. In the story Lilith Iyapo is used by the Oankali in their plans, plans that include altering human DNA. There is at least one follow up book 'Adulthood Rites - Xenogwnesis II' which I have not read yet although I have a copy.
	'The Winds of Gath' The Dumarest Saga by E.C.Tubb	Arrow (1968) ISBN 0-09-907610-1	Adventure stories! This is the first of at least 28 books as Dumarest searches for the fabled planet Earth. All the stories are very similar but I find them a very enjoyable in a comic-book kind of way. They are out of print now and I am always looking for missing copies. They are numbered and I now have (Updated in RED) - 1,2,3,4,5,8,9,10,11,13,19,20,21,25,26 and 27.
	'Star King' The Demon Princes Novels by Jack Vance	Grafton (1964) ISBN 0-586-07307-8	First of five books were Kirth Gersen hunts down the killers of his family. In each book he catches up with one of the 'Demon Princes' but each story is quite different as he uses their weaknesses to try to overcome them.