20. Revelation Space
Yes, you’re going to find Alastair Reynolds on this list twice. I’ve includedRevengerand its sequels further down this list, but theRevelation Spaceuniverse is a must-read for every sci-fi novel fan.
While it’s possible to read this as a standalone novel, chances are good that you’ll end up wanting to read everything else in the series after the book ends. It’s that good!
19. Ninefox Gambit
Yoon Ha Lee’sMachineries of Empireseries straddles the line between space opera and military science fiction, blending the two with a little science fantasy in the process.
Main character Kel Cheris has to share her consciousness with that of Shuos Jedao, a traitor with information too valuable to let go, but is too dangerous to be left to his own devices.
Related:The Best Modern Sci-Fi Authors
18. Trading in Danger
This is the first book in Elizabeth Moon’sVatta’s Warseries, though there is a noticeable lack of war throughout most of the novel—at least any war that Kylara Vatta herself engages in.
Instead, she’s trapped in the middle and stuck making tough decisions in order to protect herself, her crew, and her cargo. Later books in the series raise the stakes considerably.
17. Skyward
You may be familiar withSkywardseries' author Brandon Sanderson from our roundup of super-long fantasy series worth reading, but he doesn’t only write fantasy.
Yeah, a lot of fans are surprised to learn that Sanderson also writes science fiction from time to time.Skyward, like Sanderson’sThe Reckonersseries, is classified as young adult but don’t let that stop you from reading it. It’s really good.
Related:The Best Books by Brandon Sanderson, Ranked
16. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Bringing a little humor into science fiction is never a bad thing, and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone better at it than Douglas Adams.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxywas a radio play before it was a novel, but the book and its sequels are now considered the definitive way to see the universe through Adams’s eyes.
15. Leviathan Wakes
This first novel in theExpanseuniverse by James S.A. Corey (a.k.a. Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) will be familiar to fans of the TV series, but the events and the order in which they unfold are slightly different in the novel series.
Even if you’ve already watched every episode of the TV series, this book (and its sequels) are all worth reading again!
Related:The Best Sci-Fi Audiobooks That Come to Life Off the Page
14. All Systems Red
Murderbot. That’s the name that the main character of Martha Wells’sMurderbot Diarieshas given themselves because, well, that’s what they’re meant to be.
All Systems Redis a novella—a rather short one—about a robot who wants to get their job done so they can get back to watching their favorite shows. The good news is that there are plenty more in the series after you’ve finished the first.
Related:The Best Sites for Free Sci-Fi and Fantasy Short Stories
13. Pandora’s Star
Before you read Peter F. Hamilton’sPandora’s Star, you need to be aware that it’s really only the first half of a mega-long book.
They’re both worth reading, as the two novels combined feature a truly alien species, wormhole-traveling space trains, and memory crystals that essentially mean immortality. Yeah, there’s a lot here.
12. Revenger
Alastair Reynolds is one of the more prolific authors in science fiction, and while not everything he writes is space opera, the vast majority is.
While some critics have referred toRevengeras young adult,Reynolds himselfcalls it “a straightforward SF novel that also happens to be accessible, and perhaps accessible to somewhat younger readers.”
If you like space pirates andFirefly, you’ll loveRevenger.
11. Ancillary Justice
Ancillary Justiceby Ann Leckie is massively imaginative, big-picture space opera set so far in our own future that it’s barely recognizable.
The plot skips back and forth through time, weaving narrative threads until they form the cloth of the novel, but this is still very much space opera in the classic sense, and in the best way.
10. Old Man’s War
John Scalzi’sOld Man’s Waris, by the author’s own admission, influenced by Robert Heinlein’s novels, particularlyStarship Troopers, thoughOld Man’s Waris a lot more fun.
Following geriatric characters who enter military service to get off Earth and regain their youth, this book’s take on space opera both pays homage to and lightly pokes fun at classic space opera.
9. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Becky Chambers’s debut novelThe Long Way to a Small, Angry Planetwas enough to garner her critical acclaim and a large fan base.
The plot focuses on Rosemary Harper, a young woman with a past that she’d like to escape. What better way to do that than on a spaceship that’s capable of entering warp speed?
The spaceship’s crew include a hodgepodge of different species, all of whom just want to make enough money to retire comfortably.
Of course, the mission they’ve been sent on will make them earn every last cent—but first, they will have to traverse large portions of space that have been devastated by intergalactic war.
Critics and readers alike loveThe Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, which is funny, exciting, and heartwarming. What more could you ask from an author’s first release?
8. Ender’s Game
Ender’s Gameis one of the most classic sci-fi novels for how it reinvigorated the space opera genre despite its YA trappings.
Written by the critically acclaimed Orson Scott Card (who remains theonlyperson to win a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in a row),Ender’s Gameis his defining achievement.
The plot follows Andrew “Ender” Wiggin as he’s recruited by the military to aid them in their war against “the buggers,” a species of alien insectoids that are warring against Earth.
At the military academy, Ender is tasked with playing war strategy games, which reveal that he’s a genius of unparalleled proportions.
Ender’s Gameis the one space opera that every adolescent should be given the opportunity to read. It’s that good.
Related:The Best Geeky Bookends for Your Fantasy, Sci-Fi, or Anime Bookshelf
7. Startide Rising
First published in 1983, David Brin’s novelStartide Risingis the second book in hisUplift Sagaseries and his most celebrated work.
The critically acclaimed book is set in 2489 C.E. After a series of mishaps, the spaceshipStreakerdiscovers what appears to be an alien corpse.
Intrigued by their discovery, they notify their commanders on Earth, sending a hologram of the extraterrestrial. But when they get a chilling reply from their higher-ups, things become exceedingly complicated.
Winner of both the Nebula and Hugo Awards,Startide Risingis a classic space opera that’s still worth reading today.
6. Falling Free
When Lois McMaster Bujold debuted the Vorkosigan Saga in 1986, it was to the delight of every fan of sci-fi literature—and the best work in this historic series remains the fourth book,Falling Free.
It follows a strange development in human anatomy where genetically altered humans have arms where their legs should be. Yikes…
Given the moniker “Quaddies,” these people were designed—by a large corporation—to function in weightless environments, all for the purpose of exploiting them for cheap labor.
In fact, they go as far as declassifying them as humans. What follows is a novel about freedom, capitalist greed, and the human condition.
5. Gateway
Frederik Pohl’s groundbreaking novelGatewaywon the Nebula Award, the Hugo Award, and the John W. Campbell Award when it was first published in 1977. How’s that for critical acclaim?
The story follows the phenomenon of Gateway, an interstellar portal that was carefully crafted by the Heechee, an alien race that’s been extinct for quite a while now.
Today, humans use Gateway as a way to travel through space and find either immense wealth or painful death. The choice is never certain.
The first book in what would become the Heechee Saga,Gatewayis a mesmerizing work of must-read science fiction.
4. Hyperion
Hyperion, one of the most famous space opera novels of all time, has the unique distinction of being based onThe Canterbury Talesby the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer.
The story is set in the year 2732, where humans living on space stations are planning an invasion of Hyperion, a distant planet with so-called Time Tombs that are moving backwards in time.
It’s an interesting start to what would become theHyperion Cantosseries, and it’s one of the best modern science fiction series, having won the Hugo Award in 1989.
3. Solaris
Before it became the romance drama film starring George Clooney,Solariswas a sci-fi masterpiece directed by Andrei Tarkovsky—but before it was eventhatfilm,Solariswas a haunting space opera novel written by Polish author Stanisław Lem in 1961.
The story follows a crew of scientists who venture out to a space station to better understand an alien intelligence that they’ve come across. However, what awaits them is beyond their wildest imaginings.
While it wouldn’t be until 2011 that the novel finally got a translated version that received the author’s blessing, the story ofSolariswas universally lauded well before that.
2. Foundation
One of the most critically acclaimed works of science fiction of all time, Isaac Asimov’sFoundationis the novel that launched one of the best space opera series ever written.
The story takes place in a Galactic Empire, in which mathematician Hari Seldon dedicates himself to the innovation of a new branch of science called psychohistory.
In his development of this new field, he discovers something rather troubling: the entire world as he knows it is about to end, right before plunging headlong into thousands of years of dark ages.
Isaac Asimov is known for being a titan of the science fiction world, with short stories and novels alike. However, his crowning achievement is undoubtedlyFoundation, which would have made the top of this list if it weren’t for just one other space opera novel…
1. Dune
Before Denis Villeneuve made his very popular movie adaptation ofDunein 2021, Frank Herbert’s landmark novel was considered unfilmable. After all, David Lynch tried and failed quite badly when he tried to adapt it in 1984.
Why was it considered unfilmable? BecauseDunewas simply too vast, too bold, too original in its vision. (Some even say that Villeneuve’s adaptation still misses the mark and falls short.)
This epic, winding narrative follows the story of Paul Atreides, who arrives on the hostile planet of Arrakis after his father is sent to farm it for spice, a very sought-after commodity in this world.
Frank Herbert’s novel was followed by five sequels and has since been described as the bestselling science fiction novel of all time. It’s a clear pick for the best space opera novel ever written.
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