SF CORE Best Lists
- Best Modern Science Fiction Books
- Best Science Fiction Series
- Best Stand Alone Science Fiction Books
- Top 25 Underrated Science Fiction Books
- Best Science Fiction by Women
- Best Science Fiction Books for Young Adults
- Best Science Fiction Books for Children
- The Alternative Top 25 Best Science Fiction List
- Top 25 Science Fiction Books
- Top 100 Best Science Fiction Books
- Top 50 Best Science Fiction Movies of All Time
- Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 21st Century
- Best Sci-Fi TV Shows of All Time
- Best Science Fiction Graphic Novels
SF ERA Best Lists
- Best Science Fiction Books of 2014
- Best Contemporary Science Fiction Books
- Best New Wave Science Fiction Books
- Best Classic Science Fiction Books
- Best Early Science Fiction Books
- Best Proto-Science Fiction
- Best Modern Science Fiction Classics
SF GENRE Best Lists
- Best Hard Science Fiction Books
- Best Cyberpunk Books
- Best Space Opera Books (OLD AND MERGED WITH NEW)
- Best Dystopian Science Fiction Books
- Best Post Apocalyptic Science Fiction Books
- Best Alternate History Books
- Best Time Travel Science Fiction Books
- Best Robot Science Fiction
- Best Artificial Intelligence Science Fiction
- Top 25 Best Mars Science Fiction Books
- Best Literary Science Fiction Books
- Best Books About Science Fiction
- Best Space Opera Books
- Top 25 Post Human Science Fiction Books
- Top 25 Best Science Fiction Mystery Books
- Top 25 Best Science Fiction Books About the Moon
- Best Non-English Science Fiction Books
- Best Science Fiction Games of All Time
- Best Science Fiction Comic Books
- Best Science Fiction Anime
- Top 25 Military SciFi Books
OTHER Best Lists
Macroscope
Author: Piers Anthony
Probably the most significant of Piers Anthony's SF (he did mostly fantasy). The Macroscope floats in orbit; it's like a super Hubble Space Telescope, only that it doesn't use light, but particles called 'macrons', which allow the device to act as a telescope with no distortion, basically arbitrary resolution. Better even, it can see through matter (unlike light), can be focused on anything at any distance, and the information is transmitted instantaneously. The ultimate snooping device, that would give the NSA and its ilk everywhere instant hard-ons. Needless to say, that's what the device is being used for—plus a fig-leaf of science, to keep things respectable. Since macrons can be artificially generated, they can also be used for instant communication. And it looks like someone's communicating all right! There's a powerful macron signal pervading space that carries information, which, when deciphered by a sufficiently advanced intelligence results in driving them insane. Makes you want to stay dumb! Why it's on the list: This is an underestimated classic, dealing with the power of information and knowledge, and what they can do to the minds receiving them. It constructs an intriguing universe, based on a simple premise (that something like a macroscope can exist), and weaves an engaging and thrilling story around it. It's packed with ideas and driven by a small cast of believable and well-drawn characters. Hugo nominated in 1970. Read if you like: Space stories. Imaginative SF. A dash of romance. Reading just for fun.