15 classic science fiction books

Great science fiction deals with some of the most profound questions we will ever face: Are we alone in the universe? What is the next step for mankind? Where can I get one of those giant space lasers? Check out these 15 classic science fiction titles.

1. ‘Frankenstein,’ by Mary Shelley

Published in 1818, "Frankenstein" is one of the first science fiction novels, establishing sci-fi as a distinct genre capable of both deep literary value and timeless storytelling. Victor Frankenstein has become obsessed with the idea of creating life. But when he finally succeeds, he is completely unprepared for what he has created, and for the consequences of playing God.

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Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

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