The Greatest Science Fiction Series
This selection of science fiction series is based on the continuing research carried out for The Greatest Literature of All Time and additional research into science fiction acclaimed by the world's readers, writers, critics and scholars.
Speculative fiction lends itself well to serialization. Once an author has gone to the tremendous effort of creating a world with distinctive characters and provocative themes—and once readers have been drawn into sharing that world—it's natural to want to explore it further.
For the purposes of this list, a series is defined as comprising at least three novels or novellas, although it may also include stories, poems or other literary works. You may also be interested in The Greatest Science Fiction or The Greatest Science Fiction Stories.
The list is continually updated as new works are discovered and appreciation of older works evolves. Please note the revision date when citing the list.
Latest update: March 5, 2024
The 33 greatest science fiction series
1917–1941
Barsoom
by Edgar Rice Burroughs, United States
Novel series includes A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, The Warlord of Mars, John Carter of Mars and others.
1937–1954
Lensman
by E.E. (Doc) Smith, United States
Novel series includes Triplanetary, First Lensman, Galactic Patrol, Gray Lensman and others.
1938–1945
The Space Trilogy
by C.S. Lewis, England
Novel series includes Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength.
1950–1985
Robot series
Novel series includes I, Robot; The Caves of Steel; The Naked Sun; The Robots of Dawn; and others.
1951–1953
The Foundation Trilogy
Novel series includes
Foundation,
Foundation and Empire, and
Second Foundation.
Critique • Quotes • Buy
1955–1962
Cities in Flight
by James Blish, United States
Novel series includes They Shall Have Stars; A Life for the Stars; Earthman, Come Home; and A Clash of Cymbals (also known as The Triumph of Time).
1964–2000
Hainish Cycle
Novel series includes Rocannon's World, The Left Hand of Darkness, The Word for World Is Forest, The Dispossessed and others.
1965–1993
World of Tiers
Novel series includes The Maker of Universes, The Gate of Creation, A Private Cosmos, Behind the Walls of Terra and others.
1965–1995
Dune
by Frank Herbert, United States
Novel series
Dune's timing was perfect. Launched in the mid-sixties around the beginning of the modern environmental movement, Frank Herbert's ecology-conscious science fiction novel and its many sequels and adaptation.... Critique • Quotes • At the movies • Buy
1968–1997
Space Odyssey series
by Arthur C. Clarke, England
Novel series includes 2001: A Space Odyssey; 2010: Odyssey Two; 2061: Odyssey Three; and 3001: The Final Odyssey.
1970–2004
Ringworld
by Larry Niven, United States
Novel series
Larry Niven's popular novel has dated in the five-plus decades it's been around—though you can still find plenty of hard science fiction fans who consider it a modern classic. Ringworld arose from a certain tradition in.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
1971–1983
Riverworld
Novel series includes
To Your Scattered Bodies Go, The Fabulous Riverboat, The Dark Design and others.
It's difficult to say exactly what constitutes the essential Riverworld series. I started reading it when only the first two books of Philip José Farmer's projected trilogy existed: To Your Scattered Bodies Go and.... Critique • Quotes • At the movies • Buy
1976–2004
Heechee Saga
by Frederick Pohl, United States
Novel series includes Gateway, Beyond the Blue Event Horizon, Heechee Rendezvous, The Annals of the Heechee, The Boy Who Would Live Forever and others.
1979–1992
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Novel series includes
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe and others.
Critique •
Quotes •
At the movies •
Buy
1982–1985
Helliconia
by Brian W. Aldiss, England
Novel series includes Helliconia Spring, Helliconia Summer and Helliconia Winter.
1984–1988
Sprawl trilogy
by William Gibson, Canada
Novel series includes Neuromancer, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive.
1985–2008
Ender series
by Orson Scott Card, United States
Novel series includes
Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind and others.
When I first finished Ender's Game, before starting the second book in the series, I wondered what all the fuss was about. Oh, I enjoyed Ender's Game. It was a real scifi page-turner. But I did not feel good about.... Critique • Quotes • At the movies • Buy
1986–2018
The Vorkosigan Saga
by Lois McMaster Bujold, United States
Novel series includes Test of Honour, Dreamweaver's Dilemma, Shards of Honour, Barrayar and others.
1987–1989
Lilith's Brood
by Octavia E. Butler, United States
Novel series includes Dawn, Adulthood Rites and Imago.
1987–2012
Culture series
by Iain M. Banks, Scotland
Novel series includes Consider Phlebas, The Player of Games, Use of Weapons, The State of the Art, and others.
1989–1999
Hyperion Cantos
by Dan Simmons, United States
Novel series includes Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, The Rise of Endymion and stories.
1991–1993
Thrawn trilogy
by Timothy Zahn, United States
Novel series
1992–1996
Mars trilogy
by Kim Stanley Robinson, United States
Novel series includes Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars.
1992–2011
Zones of Thought series
by Vernor Vinge, United States
Novel series includes A Fire upon the Deep, A Deepness in the Sky, and The Children of the Sky.
2006–2008
Mistborn: Era One
by Brandon Sanderson, United States
Novel series includes The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages.
2008–2010
Remembrance of Earth's Past
by Liu Cixin, China
Novel series includes The Three-Body Problem, The Dark Forest, and Death's End.
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins, United States
Novel series includes The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay.
2011–2021
The Expanse
by James S.A. Corey, United States
Novel series includes Leviathan Wakes, Caliban's War, Abaddon's Gate, Cibola Burn and others.
2013–2015
Imperial Radch Trilogy
by Anne Leckie, United States
Novel series includes Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, and Ancillary Mercy.
2015–2017
Broken Earth trilogy
by N.K. Jemisin, United States
Novel series includes The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, and The Stone Sky.
2015–2018
Binti trilogy
by Nnedi Okorafor, United States
Novella series includes Binti; Binti: Home; and Binti: The Night Masquerade.
2016–2018
Machineries of Empire
by Yoon Ha Lee, United States
Novel series includes Ninefox Gambit, Raven Stratagem, and Revenant Gun.
2017–2021
The Murderbot Diaries
by Martha Wells, United States
Novel series includes All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy and others.
