Best Outside-the-box Speculative Fiction

1.
American Gods (American Gods, #1)
American Gods (American Gods, #1) 4.10 avg rating — 978,823 ratings
2.
Framed & Hunted: A True Story of Occult Persecution
Framed & Hunted: A True Story of Occult Persecution 4.32 avg rating — 6,865 ratings
3.
Neverwhere (London Below, #1)
Neverwhere (London Below, #1) 4.16 avg rating — 555,461 ratings
4.
Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon, #1)
Perdido Street Station (New Crobuzon, #1) 3.98 avg rating — 74,046 ratings
5.
The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)
The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1) 4.15 avg rating — 2,323,317 ratings
6.
Mean Spirited
Mean Spirited 4.28 avg rating — 5,616 ratings
7.
A Very Bad Thing
A Very Bad Thing 4.15 avg rating — 40,384 ratings
8.
The Standoff (Jack Widow, #12)
The Standoff (Jack Widow, #12) 4.41 avg rating — 2,307 ratings
9.
Fahrenheit 451
Fahrenheit 451 3.97 avg rating — 2,719,100 ratings
10.
The Book of the Dead (Pendergast, #7; Diogenes, #3)
The Book of the Dead (Pendergast, #7; Diogenes, #3) 4.17 avg rating — 39,114 ratings
11.
Wayward Spirits (Witches of Palmetto Point #2)
Wayward Spirits (Witches of Palmetto Point #2) 4.42 avg rating — 7,386 ratings
12.
The Girls Are Gone: The True Story of Two Sisters Who Vanished, the Father Who Kept Searching, and the Adults Who Conspired to Keep the Truth Hidden
The Girls Are Gone: The True Story of Two Sisters Who Vanished, the Father Who Kept Searching, and the Adults Who Conspired to Keep the Truth Hidden 3.71 avg rating — 6,959 ratings
13.
The City & The City
The City & The City 3.90 avg rating — 76,299 ratings
14.
The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town
The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town 3.86 avg rating — 82,847 ratings
15.
Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions
Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions 4.12 avg rating — 20,732 ratings
16.
The Last Guest House
The Last Guest House 3.79 avg rating — 3,584 ratings
17.
The Witches of Scotland Book 1 (The Dream Dancers: Akashic Chronicles, #1)
The Witches of Scotland Book 1 (The Dream Dancers: Akashic Chronicles, #1) 3.97 avg rating — 6,826 ratings
18.
Black Fox: An Indigenous Horror Novel
Black Fox: An Indigenous Horror Novel 4.02 avg rating — 559 ratings
19.
The Left Hand of Darkness
The Left Hand of Darkness 4.10 avg rating — 209,474 ratings
20.
Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1)
Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1) 4.27 avg rating — 285,953 ratings
21.
Stories of Your Life and Others
Stories of Your Life and Others 4.25 avg rating — 120,115 ratings
22.
Devil's Snare (Witches of Palmetto Point #3)
Devil's Snare (Witches of Palmetto Point #3) 4.40 avg rating — 6,032 ratings
23.
Cloud Atlas
Cloud Atlas 4.01 avg rating — 262,740 ratings
24.
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1)
The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, #1) 3.91 avg rating — 650,180 ratings
25.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
by: Ken Kesey
4.20 avg rating — 767,668 ratings
26.
Fight Club
Fight Club 4.18 avg rating — 629,461 ratings
27.
The Windup Girl
The Windup Girl 3.75 avg rating — 77,345 ratings
28.
Lord of Light
Lord of Light 4.05 avg rating — 34,874 ratings
28.
The Scar (New Crobuzon, #2)
The Scar (New Crobuzon, #2) 4.19 avg rating — 34,179 ratings
30.
A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 753,938 ratings
31.
1984
1984 4.20 avg rating — 5,226,750 ratings
32.
The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1; Rincewind, #1)
The Color of Magic (Discworld, #1; Rincewind, #1) 3.99 avg rating — 413,615 ratings
33.
Trainspotting (Mark Renton, #2)
Trainspotting (Mark Renton, #2) 4.11 avg rating — 174,914 ratings
34.
The Elephant Tree
The Elephant Tree 3.85 avg rating — 35,352 ratings
35.
Requiem for a Dream
Requiem for a Dream 4.11 avg rating — 63,286 ratings
36.
Invisible Monsters
Invisible Monsters really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 149,322 ratings
37.
Lunar Park
Lunar Park 3.65 avg rating — 30,302 ratings
38.
The Wasp Factory
The Wasp Factory 3.76 avg rating — 104,981 ratings
39.
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War 4.02 avg rating — 556,648 ratings
40.
Skagboys (Mark Renton, #1)
Skagboys (Mark Renton, #1) 4.06 avg rating — 17,414 ratings
41.
American Psycho
American Psycho 3.80 avg rating — 349,198 ratings
42.
Factotum
Factotum 3.92 avg rating — 74,342 ratings
43.
Embassytown
Embassytown 3.90 avg rating — 33,985 ratings
44.
House of Leaves
House of Leaves 4.09 avg rating — 191,480 ratings
45.
Shadow & Claw (The Book of the New Sun, #1-2)
Shadow & Claw (The Book of the New Sun, #1-2) 4.04 avg rating — 21,841 ratings
46.
Neuromancer (Sprawl #1)
Neuromancer (Sprawl #1) 3.89 avg rating — 354,084 ratings
47.
Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, #1)
Oryx and Crake (MaddAddam, #1) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 281,947 ratings
48.
Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)
Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1) 4.23 avg rating — 1,266,912 ratings
49.
Revelation Space (Revelation Space, #1)
Revelation Space (Revelation Space, #1) 3.99 avg rating — 60,096 ratings
50.
A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1)
A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1) 3.97 avg rating — 1,263,409 ratings
51.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell 3.87 avg rating — 249,856 ratings
52.
Blindsight (Firefall, #1)
Blindsight (Firefall, #1) 4.01 avg rating — 50,893 ratings
53.
Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1)
Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1) 3.99 avg rating — 115,508 ratings
54.
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text 3.89 avg rating — 1,772,343 ratings
55.
The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)
The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1) 4.22 avg rating — 293,186 ratings
56.
Kindred
Kindred 4.31 avg rating — 258,358 ratings
57.
Kraken
Kraken 3.62 avg rating — 28,302 ratings
58.
Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1)
Annihilation (Southern Reach, #1) 3.79 avg rating — 281,946 ratings
59.
Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1)
Ender’s Game (Ender's Saga, #1) 4.31 avg rating — 1,449,781 ratings
60.
Slaughterhouse-Five
Slaughterhouse-Five 4.10 avg rating — 1,451,345 ratings
61.
The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1)
The Sparrow (The Sparrow, #1) 4.14 avg rating — 80,281 ratings
62.
Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1)
Gardens of the Moon (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1) 3.93 avg rating — 132,123 ratings
63.
Animal Farm
Animal Farm 4.01 avg rating — 4,356,757 ratings
64.
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia
The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia 4.25 avg rating — 143,173 ratings
65.
Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs, #1)
Altered Carbon (Takeshi Kovacs, #1) 4.04 avg rating — 112,808 ratings
66.
Lullaby
Lullaby 3.74 avg rating — 102,493 ratings
66.
The 120 Days of Sodom
The 120 Days of Sodom 3.07 avg rating — 14,381 ratings
68.
Titus Groan (Gormenghast, #1)
Titus Groan (Gormenghast, #1) 3.92 avg rating — 23,031 ratings
69.
Creatures of Light and Darkness
Creatures of Light and Darkness 3.94 avg rating — 4,741 ratings
70.
House of Suns
House of Suns 4.24 avg rating — 31,347 ratings
71.
The Forever War (The Forever War, #1)
The Forever War (The Forever War, #1) 4.14 avg rating — 176,937 ratings
72.
Sword & Citadel (The Book of the New Sun, #3-4)
Sword & Citadel (The Book of the New Sun, #3-4) 4.35 avg rating — 14,061 ratings
73.
Ubik
Ubik 4.11 avg rating — 118,744 ratings
74.
Angels
Angels 3.98 avg rating — 5,629 ratings
75.
High-Rise
High-Rise 3.60 avg rating — 36,514 ratings
76.
The Girl with Ghost Eyes
The Girl with Ghost Eyes 3.86 avg rating — 4,419 ratings
77.
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories 3.91 avg rating — 63,243 ratings
78.
Light (Kefahuchi Tract, #1)
Light (Kefahuchi Tract, #1) 3.60 avg rating — 6,528 ratings
79.
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch 4.01 avg rating — 42,325 ratings
80.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
We Have Always Lived in the Castle 3.92 avg rating — 273,825 ratings
81.
The Year of the Flood (MaddAddam, #2)
The Year of the Flood (MaddAddam, #2) 4.07 avg rating — 130,991 ratings
82.
The Blade Artist (Mark Renton, #4)
The Blade Artist (Mark Renton, #4) 3.83 avg rating — 7,939 ratings
83.
Save Yourself
Save Yourself 3.48 avg rating — 3,912 ratings
84.
Dhalgren
Dhalgren 3.78 avg rating — 12,077 ratings
85.
The Dharma Bums
The Dharma Bums 3.93 avg rating — 99,790 ratings
86.
The Time Machine
The Time Machine 3.89 avg rating — 552,952 ratings
87.
Cat’s Cradle
Cat’s Cradle 4.15 avg rating — 428,399 ratings
88.
Invisible Cities
Invisible Cities 4.10 avg rating — 93,535 ratings
89.
The Night Circus
The Night Circus really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1,068,465 ratings
90.
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions 3.81 avg rating — 75,633 ratings
91.
Looking for Jake and Other Stories
Looking for Jake and Other Stories 3.77 avg rating — 5,965 ratings
92.
The Lathe of Heaven
The Lathe of Heaven 4.13 avg rating — 84,212 ratings
93.
Hunger
Hunger 4.04 avg rating — 62,412 ratings
94.
The Chrysalids
The Chrysalids 3.93 avg rating — 60,782 ratings
95.
Gormenghast (Gormenghast, #2)
Gormenghast (Gormenghast, #2) 4.09 avg rating — 14,680 ratings
96.
Iron Council (New Crobuzon, #3)
Iron Council (New Crobuzon, #3) 3.73 avg rating — 16,558 ratings
97.
Reheated Cabbage
Reheated Cabbage 3.68 avg rating — 2,693 ratings
98.
Unanimity (Spiral Worlds, #1)
Unanimity (Spiral Worlds, #1) 4.03 avg rating — 143 ratings
99.
Dawn (Xenogenesis, #1)
Dawn (Xenogenesis, #1) 4.15 avg rating — 60,535 ratings
100.
Pump Six and Other Stories
Pump Six and Other Stories 4.04 avg rating — 8,739 ratings
Next