Science Fiction Day Favourtites

Welcome to 2025 and incredibly - it's World Science Fiction day. So, got me thinking in a couple of ways. What are my top 10 favourite sci-fic books/stories. Had to fall back to the days of childhood. The ones that left an impression on me are:

1. The Time Machine by HG Wells : Loved the imagination. Scientist builds time machine and travels a dystopian world of Eloi and Morlocks. What I really enjoyed was the Time Traveller just heading further and further into the future, Wells at his best. 
2. War of the Worlds by HG Wells : The definitive alien invasion Earth novel. It all started here in Surrey, England. The pulsating fear of running from the Martian Fighting Machines to their 'vampiric' secret. Wow, what a ride as civilisation collapses. Typical Wells style throwing in religion and politics.
3. A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs : This is swashbuckling pulp sci-fic at its best. ERB creates a host of memorable characters - from John Carter to Dejah Thoris to Tars Takkas. A host of aliens on Barsoom (Mars - where Wells Martians migrated from). This travels at a frantic pace and spawned another 10 novels.
4. Dune by Frank Herbert : this is epic in everything. A tome of incredible imagination. Following the fall and rise of House Atreides. I just loved the way the thoughts would appear at the beginning of each chapter. A standout classic.
5. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury : Classic short story writer, Ray brings several stories to life via the tattoos on an out-of-work carny. The Veldt - does that feature the first holo-deck? A tale of lions. Kaleidoscope - loved the dialogue - thought, that's how I want to write. And The Long Rain - when it rains on Venus, it really does.
6. The Fabulous Riverboat by Philip Jose Farmer : Ever wondered what happens when we die? This incredible piece of fantasy (or is it sci-fic) carries us into a world where the likes of explorer Richard Burton and Mark Twain travel up a river with hundreds of others looking for a meaning for life and death.
7. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. A wonderfully conceived novel by a true master of the genre. A passing cylindrical spaceship enters the solar system and a group of explorers travel to discover its secrets before it leaves forever. Captivating science and physics as you'd expect from the Minehead-born author.
8. 20,000 Leagues Under Sea by Jules Verne. What's not to like? Verne at his best. Admittedly he does waffle on a bit with the descriptions of undersea life, but you cannot deny the character of Captain Nemo as one of the most memorable ever and coupled with that futuristic submarine the Nautilus - it all makes for an intelligent read.
9. The Incredible Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson. This is Robinson Crusoe on a small scale. Man encounters a peculiar mist and begins to shrink. The fight with the Spider protagonist - lives on long after the story ends - or does it?
10. The Space Vampires by Colin Wilson. Always a big fan of Colin's non-fiction, but this one is stand-out. A little-known classic (although it was filmed in the 80s). Vampires on an abandoned spaceship are brought back to earth and chaos ensues. The hero falling for a beautiful vamp. But these aliens do not suck blood - they drain the lifeforce from the body.

• Any of these grab you? Have you a favourite? The nostalgia has given me an idea for a quick Flash Fiction.


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