Top science‑fiction authors on Goodreads
Goodreads is a community where readers rate books on a five‑star scale, so an author’s average rating depends on both how readers feel about each book and how many people rated it. We wanted to identify the science‑fiction authors who receive the highest scores and so we looked at the Goodreads pages for each author’s most‑popular science‑fiction work and recorded the book’s average rating (out of 5), the number of ratings and the first publication year. We also noted each author’s birth year from reliable biographical sources (for no particular reason). The authors below are sorted by the Goodreads rating of their highest‑rated book. Only authors whose rating and publication year could be verified with citations are included.
| Rank* | Author (birth year) | Best‑rated sci‑fi book (year) | Goodreads rating (out of 5) | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham 1969/ Ty Franck 1969) | Leviathan Wakes (2011) | 4.31 | Goodreads lists “Leviathan Wakes” with an average rating of 4.31 based on more than 307k ratings and notes that the first book in The Expanse series was published 2 Jun 2011 goodreads.com; the pseudonym James S.A. Corey refers to authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, both born in 1969en.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org. |
| 2 | Orson Scott Card (1951) | Ender’s Game (1985) | 4.31 | The page for “Ender’s Game” shows a rating of 4.31 with more than 1.45 million ratings and states it was first published 15 Jan 1985 goodreads.comgoodreads.com; Card was born 24 Aug 1951 goodreads.com. |
| 3 | Adrian Tchaikovsky (1972) | Children of Time (2015) | 4.31 | Goodreads reports that “Children of Time” has an average rating of 4.31 (over 162k ratings) and was first published 4 Jun 2015 goodreads.comgoodreads.com; Tchaikovsky was born in June 1972 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 4 | N.K. Jemisin (1972) | The Fifth Season (2015) | 4.29 | The first volume of The Broken Earth trilogy, “The Fifth Season,” carries an average rating of 4.29 from more than 321k readers and notes that it was first published 4 Aug 2015; Jemisin was born 19 Sep 1972 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 5 | Frank Herbert (1920) | Dune (1965) | 4.28 | Goodreads shows “Dune” with a 4.28 rating from more than 1.58 million ratings and records that it was first published 1 Jun 1965 goodreads.comgoodreads.com; Herbert was born 8 Oct 1920 goodreads.com. |
| 6 | Dan Simmons (1948) | Hyperion (1989) | 4.27 | “Hyperion” has an average rating of 4.27 and was first published 26 May 1989; Simmons was born 4 Apr 1948 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 7 | John Scalzi (1969) | Old Man’s War (2005) | 4.23 | Goodreads lists “Old Man’s War” with a 4.23 rating (over 226k ratings) and notes that it was first published 27 Dec 2005 goodreads.com; Scalzi was born 10 May 1969 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 8 | Douglas Adams (1952) | The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979) | 4.22 | The entry for “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” lists an average rating of 4.22 with almost two million ratings and indicates it was first published 12 Oct 1979; Adams was born 11 Mar 1952 britannica.com. |
| 9 | Tamsyn Muir (1985) | Gideon the Ninth (2019) | 4.19 | Goodreads records “Gideon the Ninth” with a 4.19 rating (over 174k ratings) and shows that it was first published 10 Sep 2019; Muir was born 14 Mar 1985 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 10 | Isaac Asimov (1920) | Foundation (1951) | 4.17 | “Foundation” has a 4.17 average rating on Goodreads and is noted as first published 30 Aug 1951 goodreads.com; Asimov was born 2 Jan 1920 britannica.com. |
| 11 | Alastair Reynolds (1966) | Redemption Ark (2002) | 4.16 | The Revelation Space series page shows “Redemption Ark” with an average rating of 4.16 and states that the book was published in 2002 goodreads.com; Reynolds was born 13 Mar 1966 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 12 | Robert A. Heinlein (1907) | The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966) | 4.15 | Goodreads lists “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress” with a 4.15 rating and notes its publication on 2 Jun 1966 goodreads.com; Heinlein was born 7 Jul 1907 sciencefiction.loa.org. |
| 13 | Joe Haldeman (1943) | The Forever War (1974) | 4.14 | The Forever War page lists an average rating of 4.14 (over 177k ratings) and states that the first book was published in 1974 goodreads.com; Haldeman was born 9 Jun 1943 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 14 | Arthur C. Clarke (1917) | Rendezvous with Rama (1973) | 4.12 | “Rendezvous with Rama” has a 4.12 average rating and was first published 1 Jun 1973 goodreads.com; Clarke was born 16 Dec 1917 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 15 | Connie Willis (1945) | To Say Nothing of the Dog (1997) | 4.11 | In the Oxford Time Travel series page, “To Say Nothing of the Dog” is shown with a 4.11 rating and is noted as published in 1997 goodreads.com; Willis was born 31 Dec 1945 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 16 | Ursula K. Le Guin (1929) | The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) | 4.10 | Goodreads lists “The Left Hand of Darkness” with a 4.10 rating and records that it was first published 1 Jan 1969 goodreads.com; Le Guin was born 21 Oct 1929 britannica.com. |
| 17 | Philip K. Dick (1928) | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) | 4.09 | The page for “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” lists an average rating of 4.09 and states that it was first published 1 Mar 1968; Dick was born 16 Dec 1928 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 18 | Nnedi Okorafor (1974) | Home (2017) | 4.03 | The Binti series page lists “Home” with an average rating of 4.03 and notes that it was first published in 2017 goodreads.com; Okorafor was born 8 Apr 1974 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 19 | Neal Stephenson (1959) | Snow Crash (1992) | 4.01 | Goodreads records “Snow Crash” with a 4.01 average rating and notes it was first published 1 Jun 1992 goodreads.com; Stephenson was born 31 Oct 1959 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 20 | Ann Leckie (1966) | Ancillary Justice (2013) | 3.99 | “Ancillary Justice” shows a 3.99 rating and states that the novel was first published 1 Oct 2013; Leckie was born 2 Mar 1966 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 21 | Mary Robinette Kowal (1969) | The Calculating Stars (2018) | 3.95 | The Lady Astronaut page lists “The Calculating Stars” with a 3.95 rating and indicates that it was published in 2018 goodreads.com; Kowal was born 8 Feb 1969 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 22 | Charles Stross (1964) | The Atrocity Archives (2004) | 3.90 | On the books‑by‑Charles Stross page, “The Atrocity Archives” is shown with an average rating of 3.90 and is listed as published in 2004 goodreads.com; Stross was born 18 Oct 1964 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 23 | Kim Stanley Robinson (1952) | Red Mars (1992) | 3.86 | The page for “Red Mars” records a 3.86 rating and states that the novel was first published 1 Jan 1992 goodreads.com; Robinson was born 23 Mar 1952 en.wikipedia.org. |
| 24 | Jeff VanderMeer (1968) | Annihilation (2014) | 3.79 | Goodreads lists “Annihilation” with an average rating of 3.79 and indicates it was first published 4 Feb 2014; VanderMeer was born 7 Jul 1968 en.wikipedia.org. |