The Veldt
A nursery's virtual reality walls become terrifyingly real when two children's African veldt fantasy takes on a life of its own.
Science Fiction Stories
Classic Sci-Fi Short Stories, Novels & Novellas
Science fiction is the literature of "what if?" — stories that imagine future technologies, alien worlds, time travel, and the consequences of scientific discovery. The genre splits into two broad traditions: hard science fiction, grounded in real scientific principles (Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov), and soft science fiction, which explores how technology reshapes human society and identity (H.G. Wells, Aldous Huxley, George Orwell).
From the earliest speculative tales of Margaret Cavendish's The Blazing World (1666) to the golden age masters like Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick, science fiction has consistently anticipated real-world breakthroughs — submarines, space travel, artificial intelligence — while warning us about the human cost of unchecked power.
Explore our collection of classic science fiction stories, novels, and novellas, all available to read online for free.
Science Fiction Short Stories
The Variable Man
A Little Journey
Mr. Spaceship
Harrison Bergeron
In a future where everyone is forced to be equal, a fourteen-year-old genius breaks free from his government-imposed handicaps.
Zero Hour
Second Variety
A Martian Odyssey
A stranded astronaut on Mars encounters bizarre alien life forms, including a birdlike creature named Tweel who becomes an unlikely ally.
The Fight of the Good Ship Clarissa
Adjustment Team
It's a Good Life
A small town lives in terror of a six-year-old boy with godlike powers who can read minds and reshape reality on a whim.
In the Year 2889
Pillar of Fire
A dead man rises from his grave in a sterile future where all horror fiction has been burned and the concept of death itself is being erased.
The Defenders
The Hanging Stranger
Asleep in Armageddon
Beyond the Door
The Empire of the Ants
2 B R 0 2 B
The Golden Man
All Cats Are Gray
A colorblind spacer and a stray cat team up to salvage a cursed derelict ship that has killed everyone else who boarded it.
Defense Mech
Tony and the Beetles
Pygmalion's Spectacles
A professor invents spectacles that immerse the wearer in a fully realized virtual world — a remarkably prescient 1935 vision of virtual reality.
Science Fiction Novels
The War of the Worlds
The Time Machine
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
The Invisible Man
Frankenstein
1984
Brave New World
A Journey to the Center of the Earth
Around the World in 80 Days
The Island of Doctor Moreau
A Princess of Mars
Animal Farm
Youth
The Land That Time Forgot
The First Men in the Moon
The Blazing World
The Mysterious Island
The Sleeper Awakes
Science Fiction Novellas
Dystopian Science Fiction
Dystopian fiction imagines futures where oppressive governments, unchecked technology, or societal collapse have stripped away individual freedoms. These cautionary tales remain as relevant today as when they were written. Explore our full Dystopian Stories collection.
1984
Brave New World
Harrison Bergeron
In a future where everyone is forced to be equal, a fourteen-year-old genius breaks free from his government-imposed handicaps.
The Machine Stops
Anthem
The Scarlet Plague
