5 Best Rated Sci fi Books 2026 To Read For An Outlandish Story Experience

This Sci-fi story is written for an edge of the seat reading experience, it is the story of Ryland Grace who is struggling with fading memory in outer space, with no human contact. The protagonist is unaware of the looming threat which will bring destruction for humans on Earth and his mission is crucial to tackle the impending doom. Author Andy Weir has done a remarkable job of creating intrigue with every turn of the page and has progressed the story for a truly outlandish and thrilling experience of reading. The reading at times will get witty and funny and would also be quite a scientific read to satiate your logic and reasoning despite this being a work of fiction. 

This book stands to be a classic science fiction read and is hailed by many as a pioneer in the genre. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells is written for the curious mind, it has a slight dystopian flavor and comes with an interesting plot that follows the adventure of a time traveller, who visits the future and sees a world divided and corrupt with power hungry Morlocks that prey on another species termed Eloi. This paperback edition of the classic novel is thrilling to read and would make you understand the value of classic literature more, and why it stands to be an inspiration for future generations to pick on and develop stories around the same theme with some speck of originality.  

Frank Herbert’s Dune is another classic read which has a proper world built for the readers to dive in and form theories about. It has been adapted as a major motion picture and has made it quite the popular Sci-fi book in the modern literary circles. Dune offers a messiah known as the Lisan al-Gaib, a perilous planet called Arrakis, hidden secrets of the Bene Gesserit and the Kwisatz Haderach all in a culmination of a beautiful and complex story of survival, power, exploring the fine line between myth and reality. For Sci-fi and fantasy fiction lovers Dune stands to be a must read book of all time. 

For a true modern day sci fi read the Murderbot Diaries part named All Systems Red would be a great choice to pick in 2026. This story for many is a haunting tale, one that shows a machine having independent thoughts and breaking free from the imposition of slavery, being a security android. The twist in the story is that this machine-like structure is part human, so maybe for the readers that turns out to be relief, knowing that the free will is definitely exclusive to humans and not machines. The plot of the story is super interesting and would keep your attention intact till the very end. 

Explore such recommendations in our Reading Corner section.

This dystopian sci-fi novel is contemporary literature and shows riveting and cartoon packed class struggle of sorts, where the protagonist Darrow runs on vengeance against the elite section, all this is set in the red palmer of Mars which adds in the twist of sci-fi magic. The Red Rising is a good book to pick in this year’s list of sci-fi books to try, for it is a page turner that will keep you glued to it till the end with undivided and uncompromised attention. The wring if the book is easy and to follow and would not make you feel left out, rather it will be an inviting exercise to finish reading this book.