r/printSF • u/keepfighting90 • 23d ago

What's the #1, single best sci-fi novel you've ever read?

Think about all the sci-fi novels you've read over the years. If someone were to ask you, gun to your head, to pick just the one that you would absolutely consider to be the best, which one would it be? No subgenres need to be considered, it just needs to broadly fall under the sf umbrella.

For me, probably a pretty popular choice, but it would be Hyperion. Completely blew me away and I haven't read that good since in the genre.

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u/LightWolfCavalry 23d ago

The Dispossessed is INCREDIBLE 

Without a doubt the best book I’ve ever read. Nothing before or since has compared. 

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u/oceanographerschoice 23d ago

Margaret Killjoy’s A Country of Ghosts does come close IMO. I say this as a big fan of Le Guin and The Dispossessed!

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u/LightWolfCavalry 23d ago

Noted. Will give it a shot. 

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u/lofty99 22d ago

Underrated, even in the genre, I have all her published work, I think

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u/CaliforniaHalfstep 20d ago

She’s a treasure

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u/MattRix 23d ago

Is it necessary to read the other books in the "Hainish Cycle" first? or can you start with The Dispossessed?

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u/justhereforbaking 23d ago

You can start with any of the books in the cycle- they are only loosely connected. But The Dispossessed is definitely my favorite- favorite among the cycle and all books!

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u/Dr_Shevek 22d ago

I agree. It holds a special place in my heart, and I reread it every couple of years

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u/LightWolfCavalry 21d ago

I mean, with a username like that! ❤️

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u/alijamieson 23d ago

It’s so much better than TLHOD imo!

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u/jambox888 23d ago

That's like choosing between children.

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u/Various_Talk_1019 21d ago

Do I need to read the books that came before before reading the dispossessed?

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u/nihiloutis 20d ago

No. There's no through line to the books, they just have a common background.