The Top Science Fiction Books in the Public Domain

For more than 200 years, science fiction as a genre has been in existence and as a result of time, many of the writer’s greatest works have fallen into the public domain. Their fall into the public domain may be attributed to many reasons, part of which may be the fact that their intellectual property rights have expired. However, you will be amazed as you make your way down the list we culled. Here is our selection of the top 10 Sci-Fi Books in the public domain;

Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus

By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

This impressive novel for any age by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley tells the story of Victor Frankenstein – a young scientist who creates a hideous sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment. This novel is a combination of Science fiction and Gothic horror story. However, It was argued that it should be considered the first true science fiction story. The author started writing this impressive work when she was 18 and got it published anonymously in London, 1818 when she was 20.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

By Robert Louis Stevenson

This Scottish written novella was published in 1886. The story is centred on John Gabriel Utterson – a London lawyer who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Jekyll and the evil Mr. Hyde. Today this work is commonly known by many as Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde or simply Jekyll & Hyde.

Anthem

By Ayn Rand

This outstanding novella is an introduction to Ayn Rand’s philosophy of human nature. This Russian-American written dystopian fiction was first published in1938 and the story takes place at an unnamed Communist or Fascist-like dictatorship of the future, where an individual has no rights, existing solely to serve the state. The story centres on a young man named Equality 7-251 who rebel by carrying out secret research and flees into the wilderness with the one he loves when his activities are discovered.

The War of the Worlds

By H.G. Wells

This novel by H.G. Wells was one of the first and greatest works of Sci-Fi ever written and was first published serially by Pearson’s Magazine in the UK. It is one of the earliest novels to detail the catastrophic conflict between humans and extraterrestrial Martians which has inspired a lot of adaptations and imitations as it is regarded as the landmark work of science fiction.

The Tim Machine

By H.G. Wells

The Time Machine earned H.G Wells a successful and a reputation as the father of science fiction. The novel was his first and considered the progenitor of the “Time Travel” subgenre. The novel detailed the Time Traveller’s journey 800,00 years beyond his own era where he discovers two bizarre races – the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks – who not only represent the duality of human nature but offer a terrifying portrait of the future men as well. For generations to come, this must-read novel will continue to enthral its reader.

2BR02B

By Kurt Vonnegut

The title 2BR02B is pronounced “2 B R naught 2 B” with reference to the famous phrase from William Shakespeare, Hamlet “to be, or not to be”. This novel present life and death in a society where ageing has been cured with individuals with an indefinite life span. However, Population control is mandated by the government through infanticide and government-assisted suicide.

The Island of Doctor Moreau

By H.G. Wells

This is another pick from H.G. Wells’s classic collections. This classic work centres on a mad scientist’s experiment involving vivisection to address issues such as ethics and evolution. Begins with a shipwreck scenario involving a gentleman named Edward Prendick who got stranded on a Pacific island lorded over by the notorious Dr. Moreau.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

By Mark Twain

This tale was inspired by Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur and was published in 1889. This novel features the story of a commonsensical Yankee who is carried back in time to Britain in the Dark Ages with the celebration of homespun ingenuity democratic values in comparison with the superstitious ineptitude of a feudal monarchy.

The Hanging Stanger

Philip K. Dick

This novel is another impressive one on the top 10 list, written by an American writer, originally published in the magazine Science Fiction Adventures in December 1953. Ed Loyce starts his Packard and drives in the direction of his TV Sales Store after a hard day’s work at his basement. Having seen a haggard bundle hanging from a solitary lamp-post in the City Square, he was startled after taking a close examination to discover to it is indeed that of a dead man in a state of advanced death and decay.

The Princess of Mars

Edgar Rice Burroughs

This novel is the first of Edgar’s Barsoom series serialized in the pulp magazine, All-Story Magazine from Feb-July, 1912. It is a tale of a gentleman and a Civil war Veteran from Virginia – unexpectedly found himself on the perilous red planet, Mars. Finds himself captured by a band of six-limbed, green-skinned savage men called Tharks. In his bid to win his freedom he met a captive Dejah Thoris – the princess of the rival clan of Helium.