publive-image

If you are a video game aficionado, chances are a lot of the themes you play are influenced by science fiction books that you may not have read. But you don’t have to worry about that. Here are the all-time best Sci-Fi books for gamers that either have stirred current games, or involve gaming or game-like aspects in the genre.

Whether you read or listen to science fiction for its ability to contemplate how technology has been changing or will transform our lives, or if you enjoy how its authors use it to hold a mirror up to modern society, you'll find some of your favorite books in these enlisted garners.

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

H.G. Wells's ‘The War of the Worlds’ is one of the first stories to be written about the modern tale of the alien invasion. It remains one of the most influential science fiction novels ever published. The War of the Worlds details a Martian invasion in near an area in London and when people heard about it on the radio, they believed it was actually happening. The War of the Worlds has been the subject of myriad adaptations, including an Orson Welles radio drama; a musical version by Jeff Wayne; and, most recently, Steven Spielberg's 2005 film version, starring Tom Cruise.

Published in: 1897

Genre: Science fiction, Scientific romance

Neuromancer by William Gibson

Neuromancer is a science fiction masterpiece, a classic that ranks as one of the 20th century’s most potent visions of the future. This is William Gibson’s debut novel and is one of the most influential titles of the 80s. If you want to know what work of sci-fi inspired the likes of “Deus Ex”, “Cyberpunk 2077” and other games, the novel Neuromancer is one of the best sci-fi books ever to read and know about that. It’s also an originator of cyberpunk.

Published in: 1984

Genre: Science fiction (cyberpunk)

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is the winner of the Nebula and Hugo Awards. In this book, the character of a brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin tasked with running virtual missions as a training program for a long-running war. Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. This book by Orson Scott Card is worth for gamers who play a lot of games influenced by sci-fi.

Published in: 1985

Genre: Science fiction

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

Snow Crash is a novel, weaving virtual reality, Sumerian myth, and just about everything in between with a cool, hip cybersensibility to bring readers the gigathriller of the information age. The book portrays a character named ‘Hiro Protagonist’, a man who delivers pizza in the real world, but in the Metaverse, a next-level internet, he is a warrior prince who tracks down computer virus that threatens to bring the infopocalypse.

Published in: 1992

Genre: Science fiction, Cyberpunk, Post-cyberpunk

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

Ancillary Justice is Ann Leckie's debut book, where the protagonist is a spaceship’s AI who becomes trapped in a human body and must complete her quest for revenge. She now just has a single, fragile body and must survive a strange new existence. This mind-boggling novel was such a game-changer that it won the sci-fi triple crown – the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Arthur C. Clarke – in the year that it was published. This award-winning book is a must-read space opera.

Published in: 2013

Genre: Science fiction (Space)

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Pierce Brown’s Red Rising, where everything is color-coded, including society. It is an epic blend of science fiction and fantasy, and probably the most video-game-like novel. The novel’s protagonist, Darrow, a Red, the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, Darrow works all day, in this believe that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Encouraged by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power.

Published in: 2014

Genre: Science fiction