This article recommends five classic science-fiction novels praised for maintaining their quality and momentum from beginning to end. It presents the books as examples of the genre’s ability to explore imaginative worlds while examining politics, identity, technology and human behaviour.

The excerpt discusses Frank Herbert’s *Dune*, Ursula K. Le Guin’s *The Left Hand of Darkness* and William Gibson’s *Neuromancer*. *Dune* follows Paul Atreides on the desert planet Arrakis and explores ecological scarcity, colonialism, religion and messianic power; Le Guin’s novel examines gender, sexuality, cultural difference and trust on Gethen; while Gibson’s cyberpunk classic helped establish ideas such as cyberspace, “jacking in” and the Matrix.