You Picked the Best Sci-Fi of the 21st Century

What are the best science fiction books of the 21st century? I asked you — my viewers — to submit your Top 10 science fiction novels of all time, compiled every vote, and then filtered the results to highlight only books published since the year 2000.

This video counts down the Top 50 21st Century sci-fi novels as voted by this community, featuring epic space opera, hard science fiction, mind-bending cyberpunk, dystopian classics, and ambitious literary SF. This list represents what readers today consider the new science fiction canon.

Whether you're hunting for your next great read, building a must-read sci-fi list, or curious which modern classics your fellow fans rank highest — this video has you covered.

📚 All rankings are based on viewer votes — this isn’t just one person’s opinion, but a genuine snapshot of the sci-fi community’s favorite books of the last 25 years.

🔥 Featured Authors & Series Include:

Adrian Tchaikovsky • Alastair Reynolds • Peter Watts • Andy Weir • Cixin Liu • Neal Stephenson • Jeff VanderMeer • China Miéville • Ann Leckie • Kim Stanley Robinson • Iain M. Banks • Hugh Howey • Pierce Brown • Ted Chiang • Arkady Martine • Christopher Ruocchio • Paolo Bacigalupi — and many more.

For reference purposes, here's the full list. No peeking till you've watched it all!

50 Aurora, Kim Stanley Robinson
49 Look To Windward, Iain M Banks
48 The Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu
47 A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine
46 The Ministry for the Future, Kim Stanley Robinson
45 Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang
44 Under The Skin, Michel Faber
43 Dogs of War, Adrian Tchaikovsky
42 The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal
41 Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie
40 Cage of Souls, Adrian Tchaikovsky
39 Sea of Tranquility, Emily St John Mandel
38 Empire of Silence, Christopher Ruocchio
37 1Q84, Haruki Murakami
36 The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi
35 Golden Son, Pierce Brown
34 Demon in White, Christopher Ruocchio
33 Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
32 Exhalation, Ted Chiang
31 All the fiends of Hell, Adam Nevill
30 Remainder, Tom McCarthy
29 Red Rising, Pierce Brown
28 Wool, Hugh Howey
27 Flinx Transcendant, Alan dean Foster
26 Embassytown, China Miéville
25 This Is How You Lose a Time War, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
24 Pushing Ice, Alastair Reynolds
23 The City & the City, China Mieville
22 11/22/63, Stephen King
21 Leviathan Wakes, James S A Corey
20 The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Claire North
19 Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell
18 Shroud, Adrian Tchaikovsky
17 Chasm City, Alastair Reynolds
16 Old Man’s War, John Scalzi
15 The Carpet Makers, Andreas Eschbach
14 Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer
13 Seveneves, Neal Stephenson
12 Anathem, Neal Stephenson
11 Ready Player One, Ernest Cline
10 The Road, Cormac McCarthy
9 Pandora’s Star, Peter F Hamilton
8 The Dark Forest, Cixin Liu
7 Altered Carbon, Richard K Morgan
6 The Martian, Andy Weir
5 Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir
4 Revelation Space, Alastair Reynolds
3 Blindsight, Peter Watts
2 House of Suns, Alastair Reynolds
1 Children of Time, Adrian Tchaikovsky

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Space opera videos:
   • What is Space Opera?  The Rise, Fall, and ...  

Top 10s and other List videos:
   • Top 10s, Lists n Stuff  

Book Haul videos:
   • Book hauls  

Reviews:
   • Reviews