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Sci-fi books have been all the rage for decades, but some great titles don’t get the recognition they deserve. What is considered the first science fiction book, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, was released in 1818, and the genre’s popularity has ebbed and flowed since then. The 1960s through the 1980s saw a massive boom in sci-fi books, but this only made it harder for even exceptional stories to stand out. Over the years, many have joined Frankenstein to gain classic sci-fi status, but others that were just as worthy have been largely forgotten.

Some of the most recognized and praised sci-books of all time include Dune by Frank Herbert (1965), 1984 by George Orwell (1949), The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1968), and much more. They have won awards and have gotten movie adaptations, but beyond this, they have solidified their places within popular culture. Only a book in a million will claim such an honor, but this doesn’t mean these are the only good books in the genre. There are sci-fi novels just as good, if not better, that don’t get enough attention.

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Beggars In Spain By Nancy Kress

3.93/5 Score On Goodreads

Beggars in Spain is a science fiction book set in a future where some humans have been genetically modified to no longer need sleep. This means that a percentage of society has a lot more time to be productive, for better or worse. Eventually, the “Sleepless” leave Earth and establish life on an orbiting space station, but those who remain behind participate in a seemingly never-ending battle for acceptance.

Nancy Kress’s Beggars in Spain began as a novella, which won Hugo and Nebula awards, leading the author to expand her story into a novel and two sequels. The premise itself is simple, with only a subtle shift to a typical sci-fi future, but the way Beggars in Spain explores the impact of this change in society is powerful. Unfortuantely, aside from the novella’s initial awards, the series as a whole didn’t receive nearly enough attention.

9

The I.Q. Merchant By John Boyd

3.45/5 On Goodreads

The I.Q. Merchant follows Dorsey Clayton, the desperate owner of a drug company struggling to keep his business going. However, everything changed when he discovered a drug meant to improve cognition, which could potentially bring society to its full potential. Before Clayton can begin selling the product and turn his life around, he must find someone to test it on.

Written by John Boyd and published in 1972, The I.Q. Merchant has that classic sci-fi novel feel, with a timeless concept still relevant today. The story explores the ethical implications of intelligence-enhancing technology while simultaneously exploring the societal dynamics between people of different cognitive levels. Boyd is best known for his 1968 novel The Last Starship From Earth, but the hidden treasure is The I.Q. Merchant is often overlooked.

8

Blood Music By Greg Bear

3.84/5 On Goodreads

The 1985 sci-fi novel Blood Music puts an interesting twist on the outbreak trope, as biotechnologies Vergil Ulam creates tiny biological computers using his own lymphocytes. When his employment is threatened, Ulam injects these “noocytes” into his body so he can smuggle out his creation, but they quickly begin to change his body. The noocytes become self-aware and develop advanced societies within Ulam’s body, fixing his health concerns while expanding and spreading to others.

Blood Music, named for the songs the noocytes seem to sing from within their hosts’ blood, was well received when it was released in the 1980s and was nominated for Hugo, Campbell, and British Science Fiction Awards in the following years. Greg Bear gained prominence with other sci-fi novels, including 1993’s Moving Mars, but Blood Music has been unfortunately neglected by popular culture.

7

Songs Of Distant Earth By Arthur C. Clarke

3.91/5 On Goodreads

Arthur C. Clarke is best known for co-writing the screenplay for the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, followed by the novels 2010: Odyssey Two and Fountains of Paradise, which were also highly popular. However, one of Clarke’s best works has been slept on in recent years. 1986’s Songs of a Distant Earth sees Earth deal with the knowledge that the sun would explode in 200 years. In an effort to save humanity, a ship full of frozen embryos is sent to the closest habitable planet, with a league of nurturing robots to care for them.

After 700 years, these embryos have become a small but peaceful and thriving society. However, everything they know is turned upside down when a ship filled with frozen humans arrives on their planet—the last of those who escaped Earth 100 years after the embryos were sent away. What is truly special about Songs of a Distant Earth is that Clarke avoids all the obvious conflict tropes, instead telling a tale of optimism and cooperation.

6

The Gate To Women’s Country By Sheri S. Tepper

4.06/5 On Goodreads

Published in 1988, The Gate to Women’s Country is a classic sci-fi novel set in a post-apocalyptic future in which the United States has split into several separate nations. Women’s Country, located around the Pacific Northwest, is an Ecotopia ruled by women. The majority of men are kept outside city walls to serve as guards and protectors, while a select few live among their female counterparts as servitors.

The Gate to Women’s Country follows its protagonist, Stavia, through her life and relationships with various boys and men. It explores the impact of this matriarchal dynamic while drawing parallels to the patriarchy. Sheri S. Tepper is known for her feminist science fiction books, and The Gate to Women’s Country, despite being largely forgotten today, is her crowning glory.

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An Accidental Goddess By Linnea Sinclair

4.02/5 On Goodreads

An Accidental Goddess by Linnea Sinclair is a romance science fiction novel following Raheiran Special Forces captain Gillie Davre, who wakes up in a space station over 300 years after her last memory in a battle defending her home. Gillie is surprised to discover that, during the centuries she was asleep, she was presumed dead by her people, who began to revere her as a goddess. She chooses to keep her identity a secret, but this becomes difficult when she falls for Admiral Rynan Mackarian, AKA Mack.

An Accidental Goddess is a touch more comical than other underrated science fiction novels, but it’s a great deal of fun to read. The protagonist, Gillie, has telepathic powers, which adds a nice touch, and the villainous Fav’lhir that threatens her brings about a great deal of old-fashioned good-vs-evil conflict.

4

Hellspark By Janet Kagan

4.37/5 On Goodreads

Hellspark is another Hugo Award winner that doesn’t get nearly enough attention today. The 1988 novel by Janet Kagan is a sci-fi mystery in which a physicist assigned to the survey team of a newly discovered planet is murdered. The crime falls into the lap of Tocohl, a Hellspark trader who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. To get herself out of a world of trouble, Tocohl must solve the mystery herself.

Janet Kagan wrote two novels, including Hellspark, neither of which won any awards or gained widespread recognition. This is quite the injustice, since her 1988 sci-fi mystery novel not only delivers on some great twists, but is simply a lot of fun.

3

The Hormone Jungle by Robert Reed

3.44/5 On Goodreads

The Hormone Jungle is set 2,000 years in the future and follows Chiffon, an android meant specifically for pleasure, who becomes so desperate to escape her crimelord master, Dirk, with a bit of his wealth that she enlists Freestater-for-hire Steward. The two work together to outsmart Dirk before it’s too late for Chiffon, though there is a lot about this pleasure cyborg that Stweard doesn’t understand.

The Hormone Jungle is a heist novel at its core, but with plenty of fun sci-fi features to keep it fresh and unique. Released in 1987, this novel was among the early works of Hugo Award-winning author Robert Reed. The Hormone Jungle never got as much attention as his ’90s novels like Beyond the Veil of Stars, but it’s certainly worth a look.

2

Engine Summer by John Crowley

4.02/5 On Goodreads

John Crowley’s Engine Summer is a post-apocalyptic novel that follows Rush, a curious young man who was born after the devastating event that put an end to civilization. Rather than violence and fear, this book takes a reflective and melancholic look at the passage of time as Rush meets characters who remember what the world had been like before. With each character he meets, Engine Summer‘s protagonist is changed forever,

This 1979 novel had a unique shift in tone compared to other post-apocalyptic sci-fi, which helps it stand out. Still, it’s Crowley’s writing that makes Engine Summer one to remember. The author is best known for Little Big, a fantasy novel published in 1981 that received extensive accolades. Engine Summer might never have earned such success, but it’s undoubtedly an underappreciated treasure.

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Dreams of Flesh and Sand by William T. Quick

3.76/5 On Goodreads

Dreams of Flesh and Sand is a cyberpunk novel by author William T. Quick. It follows the two founders of a powerful corporation, Double En, as they turn against one another in a cyber war. One founder, Norton, hides within Double En’s mainframe, and the other, Nakamura, must team up with his hacker ex-wife to break his enemy out before he becomes one with the matrix and a greater threat than even they could handle.

William T. Quick is known for the cyberpunk sci-fi genre, having co-authored the Quest for Tomorrow books series with William Shatner. He was also recognized for his 2014 disaster thriller, Lightnight Fall, and though Dreams of Flesh and Sand is considered his most successful novel, it has unjustly fallen out of book circles since its 1988 release. However, those who love excellent sci-fi books that don’t get nearly enough attention today are bound to recognize their worth.