swap_horiz Rainbows End Alternatives

1

Exhalation

Exhalation is a 2019 collection of science fiction short stories by Ted Chiang that explores profound themes regarding f...

Philosophical Hard SF Short Stories Hugo Winner

9.2 Excellent

2

The Fifth Season

The Fifth Season is a 2015 science fiction novel by N.K. Jemisin, winner of the Hugo Award for Best Novel, set on a cont...

Geological Apocalypse Hugo Winner Jemisin

9.2 Excellent

3

A Canticle for Leibowitz

This 1959 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by Walter M. Miller Jr. won a Hugo Award and explores Catholic monastic...

Classic Religion Hugo Winner Post Apocalypse

9.1 Excellent

4

Mirror Dance

Mirror Dance is a 1994 science fiction novel by Lois McMaster Bujold that won the Hugo and Locus Awards for its explorat...

Space Opera Clone Hugo Winner Bujold

8.9 Great

5

The Obelisk Gate

The Obelisk Gate is a 2016 science fiction novel by N.K. Jemisin, second in the Broken Earth trilogy, and winner of the...

Sequel Apocalypse Hugo Winner Jemisin

8.9 Great

6

Children of Time

Children of Time is a 2015 science fiction novel by Adrian Tchaikovsky that won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for its depic...

Space Opera Uplift Tchaikovsky Hugo Winner

8.8 Great

7

Cryptonomicon

Cryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by Neal Stephenson intertwining World War II codebreaking with a 1990s tech startup in a s...

Wwii Crypto Techno Thriller Near Future

8.7 Great

8

A Deepness in the Sky

A Deepness in the Sky is a 1999 science fiction novel by Vernor Vinge that explores the emergence of an alien civilizati...

Space Opera Hard SF First Contact Vinge

8.7 Great

9

Speaker for the Dead

Speaker for the Dead is a 1986 science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card, serving as the sequel to Ender's Game and winn...

Card Sequel Anthropology Aliens

8.7 Great

10

The Three-Body Problem

The Three-Body Problem is a 2008 science fiction novel by Chinese author Liu Cixin that won the Hugo Award and depicts h...

Hard SF Chinese First Contact Hugo Winner

8.7 Great

11

Parable of the Sower

Parable of the Sower is a 1993 dystopian science fiction novel by Octavia E. Butler that follows a young woman surviving...

Race Near Future Dystopia Butler

8.7 Great

12

The Stone Sky

The Stone Sky is a 2017 science fiction novel by N.K. Jemisin concluding the Broken Earth trilogy, and winner of both th...

Sequel Apocalypse Hugo Winner Jemisin

8.7 Great

13

Red Mars

Red Mars is a 1992 hard science fiction novel by Kim Stanley Robinson depicting the colonization and terraforming of Mar...

Hard SF Mars Colonization Hugo Winner

8.6 Great

14

A Fire Upon the Deep

A Fire Upon the Deep is a 1992 space opera novel by Vernor Vinge, notable for its layered universe and exploration of hi...

Space Opera Aliens Vinge Zones Of Thought

8.5 Great

15

Gateway

Gateway is a 1977 science fiction novel by Frederik Pohl, winner of multiple major genre awards, about prospectors explo...

Classic Mystery Aliens Hugo Winner

8.5 Great

16

Lord of Light

Lord of Light is a 1967 science fiction novel by Roger Zelazny that won the Hugo Award and features colonists on a plane...

Classic Hinduism Hugo Winner Zelazny

8.5 Great

17

The Windup Girl

Published in 2009 by Paolo Bacigalupi, this biopunk science fiction novel won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for its dy...

Climate Biopunk Near Future Hugo Winner

8.5 Great

18

Barrayar

Barrayar is a 1991 science fiction novel by Lois McMaster Bujold that won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, detailing the e...

Space Opera Sequel Hugo Winner Bujold

8.5 Great

19

Beggars in Spain

Written by Nancy Kress and published in 1993, this novel explores genetic engineering and sleeplessness, winning both th...

Genetic Engineering Near Future Social SF Hugo Winner

7.8 Good

20

Darwin's Radio

Written by Greg Bear and published in 1999, this science fiction novel about a retrovirus-driven evolutionary leap won t...

Hard SF Genetics Near Future Bear

7.0 Good