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Introduction

The SF Masterworks series is a curated collection of science fiction novels that have shaped the genre since its inception. Established in 1999 by Orion Publishing Group, this imprint set out to preserve and promote works that exhibit exceptional storytelling, imaginative scope, and enduring influence. By reissuing both landmark titles and rediscovered classics, SF Masterworks has played an important role in introducing new generations of readers to the foundational texts of speculative fiction.

Over time, the series has been expanded and restructured to reflect changes in reader interests and the broader literary landscape. The original numbered sequence focused on softcover editions released between 1999 and 2007, followed by a small hardcover line in 2001. In 2010 a relaunch broadened the imprint’s scope, adding contemporary works alongside earlier selections. More recently, “Best of the Masterworks” editions have highlighted standout entries that resonate with modern audiences. Throughout these phases, the series has maintained a consistent editorial standard, selecting books that illustrate the genre’s thematic diversity—from explorations of identity and society to grand tales of interstellar discovery.

Each volume in the SF Masterworks list carries with it a legacy of innovation, whether through pioneering narrative structures, thought-provoking explorations of technology and humanity, or the redefinition of genre boundaries. Collectively, these novels provide a comprehensive survey of science fiction’s evolution, offering readers both a sense of historical context and an appreciation for the imaginative visions that continue to inspire writers and fans today.

Numbered series

Softcover editions (1999–2007)

• The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
• I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
• Cities in Flight by James Blish
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
• The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
• Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany
• Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
• The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
• Gateway by Frederik Pohl
• The Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith
• Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon
• Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
• Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick
• The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
• Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard
• The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
• Emphyrio by Jack Vance
• A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick
• Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
• Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock
• The Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg
• The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
• Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
• Ubik by Philip K. Dick
• Timescape by Gregory Benford
• More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon
• Man Plus by Frederik Pohl
• A Case of Conscience by James Blish
• The Centauri Device by M. John Harrison
• Dr. Bloodmoney by Philip K. Dick
• Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss
• The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
• Pavane by Keith Roberts
• Now Wait for Last Year by Philip K. Dick
• Nova by Samuel R. Delany
• The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells
• The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke
• Blood Music by Greg Bear
• Jem by Frederik Pohl
• Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore
• VALIS by Philip K. Dick
• The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Complete Roderick by John Sladek
• Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick
• The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
• Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
• A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke
• Eon by Greg Bear
• The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson
• The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
• The Dancers at the End of Time by Michael Moorcock
• The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl & Cyril M. Kornbluth
• Time Out of Joint by Philip K. Dick
• Downward to the Earth by Robert Silverberg
• The Simulacra by Philip K. Dick
• The Penultimate Truth by John Brunner
• Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg
• Ringworld by Larry Niven
• The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman
• Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement
• A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick
• Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
• Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
• Life During Wartime by Lucius Shepard
• Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
• Roadside Picnic by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
• Dark Benediction by Walter M. Miller Jr.
• Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
• Dune by Frank Herbert
• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
• The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Hardcover editions (2001)

• Dune by Frank Herbert
• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
• The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
• A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
• Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
• Ringworld by Larry Niven
• The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
• The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

Relaunch series

Softcover editions (2010–present)

• The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
• I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
• Cities in Flight by James Blish
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
• The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
• Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany
• Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
• The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
• Gateway by Frederik Pohl
• The Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith
• The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
• Ubik by Philip K. Dick
• Inverted World by Christopher Priest
• The Simulacra by Philip K. Dick
• Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick
• Time Out of Joint by Philip K. Dick
• VALIS by Philip K. Dick
• Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore
• Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
• Helliconia by Brian Aldiss
• The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
• The Female Man by Joanna Russ
• The Complete Roderick by John Sladek
• Arslan by M. J. Engh
• Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
• The Centauri Device by M. John Harrison
• The Difference Engine by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling
• The Prestige by Christopher Priest
• Greybeard by Brian Aldiss
• Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick
• Sirius by Olaf Stapledon
• Hyperion by Dan Simmons
• Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss
• The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke
• City by Clifford D. Simak
• Hellstrom’s Hive by Frank Herbert
• Of Men and Monsters by William Tenn
• Pavane by Keith Roberts
• Timescape by Gregory Benford
• Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg
• Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
• More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon
• The Affirmation by Christopher Priest
• R.U.R. and War with the Newts by Karel Čapek
• Floating Worlds by Cecelia Holland
• Blood Music by Greg Bear
• Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys
• Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison
• Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
• Eon by Greg Bear
• Odd John by Olaf Stapledon
• The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
• Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon
• The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
• Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
• Roadside Picnic by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
• Synners by Pat Cadigan
• Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler
• Ammonite by Nicola Griffith
• The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe by D. G. Compton
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
• Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
• Unquenchable Fire by Rachel Pollack
• The Caltraps of Time by David I. Masson
• Engine Summer by John Crowley
• Take Back Plenty by Colin Greenland
• Slow River by Nicola Griffith
• The Gate to Women’s Country by Sheri S. Tepper
• The Sea and Summer by George Turner
• Wasp by Eric Frank Russell
• To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
• The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
• This Is the Way the World Ends by James Morrow
• The Deep by John Crowley
• Time Is the Fire: The Best of Connie Willis by Connie Willis
• No Enemy But Time by Michael Bishop
• Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein
• Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
• A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke
• A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick
• The Penultimate Truth by John Brunner
• Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack
• Transfigurations by Michael Bishop
• The Door Into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein
• Dr. Bloodmoney by Philip K. Dick
• Half Past Human by T. J. Bass
• The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett
• The Godwhale by T. J. Bass
• Jem by Frederik Pohl
• The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson
• A Case of Conscience by James Blish
• Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.
• A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick
• Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
• The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman
• Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement
• Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
• The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Downward to the Earth by Robert Silverberg
• Hard to Be a God by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
• Night Lamp by Jack Vance
• Life During Wartime by Lucius Shepard
• Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
• Dark Benediction by Walter M. Miller Jr.
• The Wind’s Twelve Quarters and The Compass Rose by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Dying of the Light by George R. R. Martin
• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Nova by Samuel R. Delany
• The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis
• A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
• Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith
• Monday Begins on Saturday by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
• Fairyland by Paul J. McAuley
• Always Coming Home by Ursula K. Le Guin
• A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge
• Swastika Night by Murray Constantine
• China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh
• Shadow and Claw (The Book of the New Sun, Vol. 1) by Gene Wolfe
• Sword and Citadel (The Book of the New Sun, Vol. 2) by Gene Wolfe
• Limbo by Bernard Wolfe
• The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells
• The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
• The Shape of Things to Come by H. G. Wells
• The Food of the Gods by H. G. Wells
• The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells
• The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
• The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
• The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
• The Doomed City by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
• Raising the Stones by Sheri S. Tepper
• The Embedding by Ian Watson
• Cryptozoic by Brian Aldiss
• Land Under England by Joseph O’Neill
• Raft by Stephen Baxter
• Dreaming in Smoke by Tricia Sullivan
• Fools by Pat Cadigan
• The Best of R. A. Lafferty by R. A. Lafferty
• Light by M. John Harrison
• Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin
• Snail on the Slope by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
• The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner
• Lord Valentine’s Castle by Robert Silverberg
• River of Gods by Ian McDonald
• A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg
• The Andromeda Anthology by Fred Hoyle & John Elliot
• Worlds of Exile and Illusion by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Bold as Love by Gwyneth Jones
• Desolation Road by Ian McDonald
• Castles Made of Sand by Gwyneth Jones
• The Best of Greg Egan by Greg Egan
• The Inhabited Island (new translation) by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
• The Separation by Christopher Priest
• Needle in a Timestack by Robert Silverberg
• White Queen by Gwyneth Jones
• Kairos by Gwyneth Jones
• Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
• Life by Gwyneth Jones
• The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
• The Second Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
• Growing Up Weightless by John M. Ford
• The Secret of Life by Paul McAuley
• Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny

Hardcover editions (2010–2017)

• Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
• Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
• The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells
• The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
• The Food of the Gods by H. G. Wells
• Dune by Frank Herbert
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
• The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
• Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
• The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
• A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
• The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells
• The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams
• Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams
• Feersum Endjinn by Iain M. Banks
• The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
• The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
• The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
• Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
• Neuromancer by William Gibson
• The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

Best of the Masterworks

Softcover (2022–23)

• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
• Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
• I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
• The Female Man by Joanna Russ
• Neuromancer by William Gibson
• The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
• The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Gateway by Frederik Pohl
• Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
• The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis
• Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
• Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler
• Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
• Roadside Picnic by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky
• The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells
• The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
• The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
• Synners by Pat Cadigan
• To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

Hardcover (2022-23)

• Dune by Frank Herbert
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams