First and foremost, huge thanks to everyone who recommended their favorite novels from Ursula on Twitter. I’m now three deep, but this was my first, and it is still absolutely my favorite. This is also a favorite of Neil Gaiman and countless other writers who were deeply influenced by Ursula. One could argue that without A Wizard of Earthsea, there is no Harry Potter or Hogwarts. Last but not least, Rob Inglis is the perfect narrator for this book. To listen at faster than 1x speed would be sacrilege! Savor instead of optimizing. He also narrated the unabridged The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The movie was pretty decent. The book is 10x that.

Based on real-life. Very similar to The Wolf of Wallstreet. The term big-swinging dick comes from there.

Did you know that there is a whole lore behind Scrooge McDuck? Did you ever wonder who the mother of Huey, Dewey, and Louie was? Did you ever want to know about the Duck dynasty? Well, Don Rosa is the one behind it. And these comics are sensational in their art.

Belgian and French comics are just as powerful as their American counterparts, albeit less well-known. Tin tin is an exception.

You understand why Ramses was seen as a God-empereror. Millenia before Julius Caesear or Ghengis Khan and whilst Europeans were partly still hunkered down in caves, came Ramses. A God-ruler. This 5-book series follows his life, in all its awe-inspiring epicness.

From the same author as my second favorite book series, The Broken Empire, and set in the same world and around the same time. Whilst it might not share a place at the pedestal of the first series, it's better than all the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potters you throw at me. It's a dark, brutal, supremely intelligent book written by nuclear physicist. And it somehow manages to be funny as well.

Ted Chiang delivers. Ted Chiang makes you think. Deeply. Like the finest wine you can drink.

One of the short stories, The Wandering Earth, got adapted in a Chinese scifi blockbuster. Also from my favorite author of all time. I already praised his other two entries in this list, and you can just look those up if you want to know what I think of anything that emerges of Cixin Liu's Einsteinesque imagination.

Since it's the author of my number #1 favorite book series Rememberance of the Earth's Past Cixin Liu, I didn't have a doubt in my mind I'd love this. And of course it delivered. Curve ball after curve ball of brain stimulations that just get your futurist-speculation juices overflowing in a scifi orgasm. That's my critical verdict.

A collection of very thought-provoking scifi shortstories by the Chinese-to-English translator of The Body Problem. Very similar to the other short-story collections Exhalation, To Hold Up The Sky and The Wandering Earth, also in this list. if you're into scifi, this is a well-worth read. Vincent-approved.

Such a rich book. Mystical, literaric, magical. A pure fantasy novel. The anime adaption of course doesn't come close and cannot come close, but it's very well executed and worth watching nonetheless.

Ursula Le Guin is an indisputable champion of the fantasy genre. She's also magnificent in scifi, as this novel can attest. What separated this novel is a beauitiful angle on our-world concepts of Communism and Capitlalism. It beckons the idea: what if the idea of Commusim, enabled by a complete revamp of not only governance but the fundamental way humans interact, could actually work (as opposed to how it failed and continues to fail in the countries of Earth).

Fantastically frames the kind of differing world view that emerges from an Amazonian indigenous tribe without written culture. Such a different way of looking at the world, it's an experience.

I actually didn't like the Lord of the Rings books that much. I preferred the movies (I know unpopular opinion). Whilst it was the other way round with Harry Potter. Of course, the movies have beautiful imagery and music and all that visual magic. But I preferred all the visuals created by Rowling in my head. And, like some other friends, I somehow fell in love with Ginnie Weasley? I don't know man, I was a 13-year old teenage boy. But I guess I defend that love: if screeching girls can fall in love with Justin Bieber, I can fall in love with a fictional character. Fuck you.

Stephen King is a book production machine. You input time into Stephen King, and out come novels. To the degree that when Stephen King decides to write his first fantasy-scifi story, it's a grand 7-book 4250-page long series enmeshing western with horror with fantasy with scifi with adventure. What a series. And you just can't stop. Stephen King is a criminal drug dealer kinpin that sells highly addictive books. I've read them all within a year, intermittently reading other novels and non-fiction knowing that once I finish the series, my stash will be gone forever.

Perhaps not the most in-depth or sophisticated fantasy series like The Broken Earth. But an all-out, page-turning, action-packed and wildly entertaining piece of work. Very relatable characters (and many!) from diverse nations in a compelling fictional world rules by authoritarian mages. Deserves to be in this list. To compare: on a similar level as Game of Thrones, and miles ahead of Eragon.

Oliver Wilde. The man has a way with words. Obviously due to the Victorian-era. But we associate the Victorian era with great literature because of the likes of him. Along with the other gothic entries in this list, The Picture of Dorian Gray was already read for over two hundred years and shall surely be read for some hundred more. Raises questions that dive deep into into minor topics such human morality or the quest for immortality.

Another timeless Victorian English classic, approved by the mere passing of centuries. Truly original for its time and infused into cutlure ever since. Beautiful. And of course horrific as well. A behemoth of Gothic literature.

Vicotrian English is superior English. What a way with words they had in these days. Most certainly atrophying in modern times, in terms of its pitiful vocabularic variety and emphasis on short sentences. All the more refreshing to read an engaging and sophisticated classic in Victorian English. Dracula certainly hits the spot in that regard. I don't even need to go into the story since it's such a classic that it brought vampires into popular culture.

Glorious hard science scifi. Fucking epic in the sheer scope of the fictional universe. Hard to devise believable or to us compelling stories in that kind of setting, since we are currenlty only living on one Earth. But A Fire Upon The Deep does this very well. The concept of transcended beings being confined into regions of the galaxy where physical properties such as gravity wells encumber or fosters transcendence, is the most baffling to me.

A homosexual jew-murdering SS officer in the midst of the second World War. That's the premise. Now let's establish that he is the result of his surrounding – meaning what ANY human can become if surrounded by evil (which is by nature not SEEN as evil since it's the entire society). A clear mark of why we should never judge people in terms of black and white, but that there's a whole fold of grey zone in which humans operate, and that the current spectrum of a gray zone can shift dramatically depending on historical context. And why it's very, I mean very, important to keep society in check at all fucking times, and why German kids in school get pounded with Nazi-history to this day. It's important to know your past (or that of your grandparents) so history doesn't always have to repeat itself.

Frank Herbert's Dune stands as a monumental pillar in the pantheon of science fiction literature. Set against the arid expanse of the desert planet Arrakis, the narrative delves deep into a complex interplay of politics, religion, and ecology. Herbert weaves a tale of feuding noble houses, messianic prophecies, and the enigmatic spice melange, all underscored by profound philosophical ruminations. With its intricate world-building and a pantheon of multifaceted characters, 'Dune' is not just a story but an exploration of human ambition, resilience, and destiny. An epic for the ages, it transcends the confines of genre to remain a timeless meditation on power and identity.

Neal Stephenson, already featured in this list with Seveneves and Diamond Age, masterfully crafts a cyberpunk tapestry that pulsates with frenetic energy and visionary brilliance. Venturing into a near-future dystopia, Stephenson juxtaposes ancient mythologies with the digital zeitgeist, weaving a narrative that's both an exhilarating thriller and a profound commentary on the intersection of technology, language, and society. With its iconic protagonist, Hiro Protagonist, navigating a fragmented America dominated by corporate enclaves and virtual realms, 'Snow Crash' remains a luminous beacon in speculative fiction, unparalleled in its audacity and prescience

Imagine if genetically engineered spiders are accidentally infused with intelligence-enhancing genes within a terraforming project. What if spiders developed as the predominant intelligent species of a planet without humans, going through the struggles in the millenia-spanning path to civilization and technological ascendance? Well, look no further. Oh and if you read the second and third books as well, let's just pour in the same concept for octopi. And maybe let's introduce an alien species UNLIKE ANY OTHER IMAGINED IN SCIFI. Truly, truly incredibly original and fascinating. Finally a book that doesn't try to anthroporomize aliens or just can't go beyond Earth's life as inspiration. Again, a Hugo award winner.

Epic. And in the original true sense of the word and not in the form it's been diluted to today. An epic scifi tale, surpassing the vast majority of scifi books handling the ubuquitous topic of AI. It's about God and humanity itself, too. And on the side it could also be horror, fantasy, mystery or historical fiction. What an absolute mastercraft of a book. Of course it won Hugo and Nebula Awards, as do many titles in this list.

Another of Walter Moers' illustrated strokes of genius, along with the others in this list (The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear, Rumo and the Labyrinth of Dreaming Books).

What an epic tale about an abandoned cat being adopted (with a mortal condition) by an alchemist - or rather "Schrecksenmeister".

This is true literature. It does things never done before. From the mode of writing, how it engages with the reader, and entirely radical ways of author freedom, as if the rock artist suddely breaks his guitar. It's somwhat what Picasso and Juan Miro did to art. Just way less popularized thanks to it being written in German, and it's rare for non-English books to make the cut to the global stage these days. And it's supposed to be a children's book.

Usually Star Wars has been associated with John Campbell's hero's journey concept. Rumo epitomizes it. It's the perfect hero's journey. An author-illustrated children's book, but easily a contender for any masterful adult's fantasy tale.

Unkown outside of Germany. It's one of the reasons why I'm somewhat sad about having a predominant world language in the world. Books that in my mind should be regarded as fine literature are often unfairly dethroned because of anglo-centricism in the modern world. The 13 and half lives of captain bluebear is such as book. Possibly the best children's book of the last 50 years. Imaginative beyond belief. And literary originality that deserves Pulitzer or Nobel Prizes.

Splendid novel about the father of environmentalism and the term "nature" as we know it today, science-adventurer-polymath Alexander von Humboldt, and Gauss, pioneer of mathematics. Forgotten heroes of our past (Charles Darwin's venerated role model was Humboldt fyi)

This book about the Gentelmen Bastards, an extremely witted group of thieves akin to a fantasy version Ocean's 11, contains many superbly crafted sentences you re-read for the sheer joy of it. I usually go to bed at a specific time and then read fiction to fall asleep, but this book defeated the purpose by keeping me awake well into the morning. Recommended by Tim Ferriss as well.

How did Islam become the fastest-growing religion in the world? And who is largeley responsible for creating an empire that brought forth algebra and the numerical system we use to this day, crucial advancements in medicine, and the first-time in history that it could be possible to make a living only from writing books? If it hadn't been for Saladin who fended off that time's barbaric Crusaders from Europe who would remain nothing but a fragmented shadow of the former Roman Empire until the Renaissance, the world as we know it today would most likely look very different. Phenomenal read for a Westener who was taught more about inconsequential figures such as Henry VI in their Western-centric education.

A modern-day classic and Pulitzer Prize winner.

I won this book for academic performance. It's beautiful. The movie was adapted very well too.

Stephenson's take on a world-ending catastrophy on the scale of an asteroid impact – or maybe something a bit bigger. Divided into three epic parts: the catastrophe itself (which could be a stand-alone book) and then what humanity became centuries later. Speculative futurism at its utmost finest, to the degree that the real-world US Government is considering elements of this novel for its strategic outline of settling the Solar System.

What else to expect from Neal Stephenson, who birthed the term "metaverse", than a mind-expanding and ominously predictive sci-fi classic? The Diamond Age, a favorite of multi-billionare ex-Google CEO and AI pioneer Eric Schmidt, is indicative of where we will go as humanity if technology advances whilst society itself doesn't. A truly masterful novel that should mandatory for all tech-luminaries lest they never acknowledge the wider impact of their creations.

Isaac Asimov is an intellectual force of nature who brought AI into the cultural perception of 20th century. I mean, he literally invented the word "robotics". Many also call him the godfather of science fiction. Whilst the Foundation series was written 1951, he already grasped so many things about the futur that his sci-fi doesn't even "feel" like old sci-fi. But The Foundation series goes beyond scifi: it's probably more useful to a aociology education than any textbook on sociology. It could serve as a TEXTBOOK FOR HISTORY even though it's ABOUT THE FUTURE. And to wrap things up in hyperboles: for me, this work of fiction constitutes a philosophical classic, very much on the same level as ancient Greek or modern-day German philosophers do. I actually believe Asimov will be regarded the same way centures and millenia from now.

I'm plagued about what should be my number 3. I cannot decide. But 10 out of the 41 books set on the Discworld (yes, that many) are mighty contenders. Not only are they phenomenally imaginative fantasy novels – they're easily the most funny books I ever read. They're funnier than most comedy movies or standup shows I've encountered thus far. Almost every page triggers either a chuckle or full-on laugh attack, and I find myself often rereading the culprit sentence a couple of times with a wide grin. Terry Pratchett (may he rest in peace) truly helped me through my dark teenage years.

Another fantasy/sci-fi hybrid, and very original. I love it when the genre moves beyond elves and orcs and dragons. Jemesin (who won the Hugo-award btw) manages to craft a very believable dystopian world plagued by geological disasters and those who keep it in check, and she perfects the character of the broken heroine.

The most under-the-radar fantasy sci-fi hybrid out there. Right after The Three-Body Problem series, my favorite novels. Extremely dark though, darker than Game of Thrones. And the main character is not just an anti-hero: he is a vicious monster that you end up rooting for, a barely adult genius with parrallels to Death Note's Light Yagami that doesn't cease to amaze with strategic sleights of hand to obliterate his enemies. The setting is a very broken and sinister world, portraying the darkest side of what humanity can become.

The triology, whose first book is the most recognizable "The Three Body Problem", is my absolute number #1 favorite most special and loved work of written word of all time. It's the most epic (as in grand scale epic), mindbending and imaginative story ever written, especially the climactic third book. The triology has been hailed by the world's most influential people like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Barack Obama, Mark Zuckerberg and Neil Gaiman. Rememberance of Earth's Past dives extremely deep into humanity's and the universe's most crucial questions. And, for those fundamental questions, hard science is essential. This is why I believe powerful science fiction is just as important and relevant as classic philosophy in the discussion of these questions. Aristotle, Confucius, Nietzsche or the Buddha simply didn't possess scientific knowledge and understanding of the universe we have today. And philsophy without the intersection of science, in my mind, only paints half the picture. It's futurism at it's finest, and I strongly believe many elements of this book are of predictive nature – just as Neal Stephenson predicted crypto, surveillance and the metaverse. Seriously – I'm mad how averse the average person is to science-fiction. There's so much to be taught in good scifi. I place this on the same pedestal as anything from the likes of Dostoevski, Tom Sawyer or Shakespeare. Actually, I personally find the thought patterns and ideas discussed in these books more important than in any of the other literature just mentioned. Because it's about the fundamentals of the universe and very existence. Not so much intellectual abstractions or mere human nature. This is so much fucking deeper.

At first I thought: okay another one of the Hunger Games / Jupiter Ascending chewed-over boring fantasy/scifi ripoff. But the writing just pulls you in so you bear with that initial prejudice. Fast forward three months and I savagely consumed all six books of the Red Rising saga. It's phenomenal. Military scifi at it's finest, with more out-of-the-blue betrayals and plot twists than Game of Thrones. Action-packed and full of technology delights you expect from good scifi. Splashed with philosophical wisdom that changes your mindset more than most self-help books. One of my favorite reads of 2024. I bet you they will make a movie series out of this. It reads just like a blockbuster.

Hard speculative scifi at it's finest. What a series. Not literature in any ways, but a pure delight in terms of crafting a world based on current technological directions. The best and most realistic take I've seen on the concepts of digitally immortalizing humans, VR and terraforming.