Best Science Fiction Book Series
Universe to Explore!
Science fiction is a genre that can never run out of exciting reading material as there are simply countless things that can happen in these types of stories, amazing worlds to explore, deadly and global threats to prevent, amazing alien races to meet, and so much more.
The books that you are about to see in this best science fiction series review are, in our opinion, a few of the top ones out there so make sure to choose your favorites and start reading some amazing stories.
Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov
New World
The first sci-fi series holds seven books for you to enjoy and the plot inside revolves around a crumbling empire that is soon approaching its end and the struggle of forming a new world of the civilization of man.
Sanctuary
A special character from the story has the ability to see in the future and what he sees is something to worry about. The story by Isaac Asimov then focuses on a sanctuary called Foundation that a bunch of the smartest people ever create together as this Foundation will be handling the uprising of a new and better world, and not succumb to the prophecy that has so many worried.
Dune Series by Frank Herbert
Arrakis
Paul Atreides
You will be mostly reading about a character known as Paul Atreides as he is the main character of the entire series and the special thing about him is that he will soon discover a power within him that is simply too much for anyone to believe and this new power will give him the name known as Muad’Dib.
Hyperion Cantos Series by Dan Simmons
Shrike
Time Tombs
You will later find that there are actually a lot more mysterious things in this world than just this deadly and feared monster, there are the Time Tombs where a lot of strange stuff will be presented along the way. There are also more deadly threats for man in the later books as you are about to read some very fascinating stuff.
Vorkosigan Saga Series by Lois McMaster Bujold
Long Series
This is a pretty lengthy series, it has a total of 16 books for you to enjoy reading and the story might even leave you wanting more after you are finished. The plot inside is a vast one and it’s a series with space travel, a lot of advanced technologies, amazing characters, and stuff like that.
Only Civilized Species
The main things to know about this series is that humanity has colonized a galaxy in which they are the only civilized species, they can travel super-fast in space through wormholes, there is a lot of politics in the story once you meet some other civilizations and that’s when the story gets super exciting.
This is just scratching the surface as this series will have plenty more surprises to offer. If we made you interested in the series, take a look at our review of the first book called Shards of Honor.
Revelation Space Series by Alastair Reynolds
Amarantin
Before you get into this story, first there is a bit of history to learn. This is another wonderful science fiction book that first introduces you to the Amarantin civilization and tells you what exactly happened to them.
A Long Time Ago
The story starts as you read about something that happened 900.000 years ago, the Amarantin civilization was just about to discover space flight before something completely destroyed all of it, without leaving a trace.
Dan Sylveste
Then you read about a scientist called Dan Sylveste who is doing everything he can to discover what really happened then before it repeats itself this time. When it comes to great science fiction series, this one hits the spot.
Ender’s Saga Series by Orson Scott Card
Andrew Wiggin
This series by Orson Scott Card tells you an amazing story about a kid named Andrew Wiggin, also known in his computer games as Ender.
Innocent Computer Games
The story starts with him playing computer games and not knowing that he was actually doing the simulated training test released from the army for recruiting the best soldier against a war with aliens.
New Life
Once Andrew proves that he is the best, his new life begins and you are about to see what a war with aliens really looks like, there are countless adventures, many dangers, tons of cool characters, and so much more that this series will have to offer.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Series by Douglas Adams
Freeway
Here is another series that talks about the destruction of Earth and in this one, the reason for our precious planet being destroyed is because it was in the way of a galactic freeway that was being constructed.
Ford Prefect
You get to meet an interesting character who is saved just seconds before the whole Earth is no more and the one who saves him is his old friend Ford Prefect. After this, the series finally begins and you get to read some pretty cool space adventures as these two characters travel to some pretty strange places, meet some unique and weird characters, and simply never let you be bored while reading this amazing series.
Culture Series by Iain M. Banks
Bloody War
Science fiction books with wars never get boring as no two wars are the same and most of them get to a pretty huge scale. This series is another war one alright and you get to read about a war that rages across an entire galaxy. A war that has already taken billions of lives, affected entire planets and moons, and one that wasn’t looking like it could end very soon.
Don’t Miss Out
In the Culture series, you get to read about a bunch of characters, each one with their own breath-taking story and journey to tell. There will also be a lot of cool worlds to read about and everything that happens on them. Make sure not to miss out on this interesting sci-fi series.
Honor Harrington Series by David Weber
Honor Harrington
Here are 14 books that you will remember reading for a long, long time if you are a true science fiction enthusiast as the story inside by David Weber is among the most exquisite on this list. We included one of the books on our list of the top space opera books, take a look at it! The title of the series says it all. Everything revolves around a character named Honor Harrington and her space adventures.
Heroic Adventures
You get to read about events that include this amazing character as she is described as a heroic person, brave, and never letting anyone down. Don’t worry, you will get to meet her soon enough if you should decide to start off with this amazing and lengthy science fiction series.
Old Man’s War Series by John Scalzi
John Perry
Our next pick one of the best science fiction book series and an amazing and unforgettable story and the reason for that is simply because of the main character and protagonist inside. His name is John Perry and the story follows him as he is about to go and join the army.
Army of Old Men
The special thing here is that he is 75 years old and this army is actually looking for people like him because the war that is currently going on is between humans and aliens. You get to read an entire series about this old soldier and his adventures through space.
Ringworld Series by Larry Niven
Unknown Object
These five books from the Ringworld series hold another great adventure that follows after the discovery of a truly strange and astonishing structure in space. It’s an object, a huge object, that resembles the appearance of a ring.
Further Investigation
A bunch of aliens discover it but are too afraid to explore deeper as who knows what might present itself, it’s a never before seen object before after all. So they form a team of a bunch of characters who will go and explore its contents, what follows next is an amazing story that will leave you wanting more after you are finished reading it.
Moties Series by Jerry Pournelle
2nd Empire
This sci-fi series is actually a trilogy and it’s quite the adored one among science fiction fans. This story starts in the year 3016 and takes place in a world where the 2nd Empire of Man has managed to grow and spread their civilization across the stars.
Alderson Drive
The thing that helped most in this was the Alderson Drive, a piece of tech that has the ability to travel faster than light. Then you discover an alien race called Moties, they are described as dangerous and it’s said that they have been in quarantine for 25 years for reasons that you will find out yourself in the book, we don’t want to give out too many spoilers after all.
Rama Series by Arthur C. Clarke
Rama
First Contact
Then they discover that this is actually a spaceship, an alien spaceship and so begins a story of discovery and mystery. The books will span for many years after the discovery of Rama and the first contact with the aliens inside and you get to find out what exactly goes on in this wonderful story.
Heechee Saga Series by Frederik Pohl
Robinette Broadhead
Our article about the best science fiction series is showing you 6 more books in this series and the plot in this one revolves around a gateway that has opened leading to all the wealth in the Universe and all of the horrors that come with that.
Heechee Spacecraft
The main character who will be discovering this mysterious place alongside you is Robinette Broadhead and he starts his journey to the gateway on the Heechee spacecraft. Half of the series talks about how this character experiences his journey to the gateway and what happens inside. Then you find out what he actually manages to achieve with this whole adventure and so much more is to come in the remaining books.
The Expanse Series by James S. A. Corey
Colonization
Check out this complex story where so many things are happening at the same time. This plot in this one focuses on the fact that humanity has managed to colonize quite a lot of the solar system. Mars, the Moon, Venus, and much more, but they are still unable to travel to other star systems and this is something that might be changing pretty soon.
Complete Package
This story will offer a lot of reading material and quite the unique one as well, there will be super soldiers in space, politicians on Earth, all sorts of deadly threats that are hard to beat, and much, much more. If you are interested in the series, take a look at our selection of hard sci-fi novels.
Space Odyssey Series by Arthur C. Clarke
Weird Occurrence
There are 4 books in this series by Arthur and these 4 books are about to show you a story that talks about, well, a space odyssey. It all starts as something very strange appears on the Moon, something that is not meant to be there by itself.
Dave Bowman
This story will require and force humanity to travel deep within the solar system and so much happens before they reach their destination. A character you will be reading a lot about is Dave Bowman, also known later as the Star-Child. You will soon find out why this series is a bestseller as this space adventure is an unforgettable one, no question.
The Uplift Saga by David Brin
Alien Races
The Uplift Universe is a vast one and you will learn a lot of new stuff about it as you read book after book. There are six books in this science fiction series book and you get to read about a few alien races that interact with humanity.
The sky is not the Limit
Tons of planets to explore, unique and strange characters will make the story all the more impressive and all of that starts as you first read about humanity and their place in this very complicated world. There is a civilization called the Five Galaxies which consists of multiple species and you get to meet each of them.
The Book of the New Sun Series by Gene Wolfe
Severian
Here is one of the best science fiction book series out there that has a unique plot to it. This type of story writing is not common but it’s great to read about. The story starts as you get to meet the main character of the series, the young Severian.
Guild of Torturers
He has just been cast out of his own city and from the Guild of Torturers because he committed one of the greatest sins, he showed mercy to his victim. The story continues as he is exiled from his city and a lot of adventures await in the world beyond.
Takeshi Kovacs Altered Carbon Series by Richard K. Morgan
Envoy
This trilogy, as you can guess from the title, talks about a character known as Takeshi Kovacs and the events going on in his world. We dedicated a whole article to this amazing series, make sure to check out our Altered Carbon series review. Takeshi is an ex-U.N. envoy who has recently turned private eye, killing bad guys easily, and working for a bigger goal, helping a planet’s government put down a bloody revolution.
Choosing Sides
This is just a bit of info about this character from the first book, you will later find out that when it comes to choosing sides, Takeshi only works for his own side and does what is best for him, as a good survivor will always do. You will have a lot of fun with this character, no doubt.
The Gap Cycle Series by Stephen R. Donaldson
Space Travel
The Gap Cycle is a brilliant science fiction series that tells you a thrilling story in a series of five books. The main plot happens in a world where humans have perfected space travel and have reached various areas of the stars, mainly for commerce.
Main Story Arcs
There are two major story arcs that these books describe and lead to. One of the story arcs follows Morn Hyland, an ensign in the United Mining Companies Police and he is just trying to stay alive after he was unfortunately captured by a raider named Angus Thermopyle. The second arc talks about three interesting characters who have a lot to do with the UMCP and their CEO, Holt Fasner.
Zones of Thought Series by Vernor Vinge
Amazing Story
Our next choice for one of the best science fiction series out there is Zones of Thought, a sci-fi series that has only three books inside, but these two books are enough to tell you another amazing story.
Five Zones
The world in which this story takes place is divided into five zones, the whole universe is basically divided into them and every intelligent species belongs in their own zone, based on their evolution and abilities.
Slowness Zone
Humans belong in the slowness zone where nothing is yet able to travel faster than light. Make sure to discover the rest of the zones and the excitement that comes with them.
The Wheel of Time Series by Robert Jordan
Rand al’Thor
The Wheel of Time also holds a highly adventurous plot where you get to meet more amazing characters and travel to some pretty amazing place. The first book of the series, The Eye of the World, introduces you to the main character, Rand al’Thor, and so begins this epic adventure.
Incredible, Yet Familiar
We covered the first book in our list of books like Eragon. Don’t hesitate to check it out! The series is actually science fiction and fantasy as there are quite a lot of things that can relate to myth and legend. Places the story takes you to are incredible and kind of familiar, nonetheless, the series is fun to read.
Mars Trilogy Series by Kim Stanley Robinson
Colonization
Most science fiction fans absolutely love reading stories about Mars and all kinds of events related to our neighbor planet. The reason for this is because we are closer than ever to colonizing Mars and reading stories like these can sure bring a lot of excitement.
Brave Colonists
Anyway, this amazing trilogy talks about 100 colonists who will bravely volunteer to go to Mars and attempt settling there. The mission is hard, there is a lot of terraforming to be done and a lot of mysteries to uncover.
Hainish Cycle Series by Ursula K. Le Guin
Humanoid Species
Gdemiar
These races that we speak of are the Gdemiar who live in caverns, the elvish Fiia, and the warrior clan Liuar. It’s an average old day on their planet until they witness an object approaching from above, coming from the stars. This object turns out to be an alien ship and so begins the battle for survival. You get to see intense battles as the story progresses, book after book, it just gets better and better.
The Lost Fleet Series by Jack Campbell
At Last
And finally, the last book in our review is a story that will be told throughout a series of 11 books and it all starts in Dauntless, the first book.
Deadly Enemies
The book starts out with another outstanding war between two deadly enemies. The Alliance and the Syndics. They have been fighting for centuries and in the middle of that war, you get to meet Captain John Geary as he comes out of a long hibernation and continues his amazing and legendary heroic acts.
Robert Hazley
Robert is a science fiction and fantasy geek. (He is also the best looking Ereads writer!) Besides reading and writing, he enjoys sports, cosplay, and good food (don't we all?). Currently works as an accountant (would you believe that?)
