What Makes a Book a “Classic” in Science Fiction?

There are some books in science fiction that never seem to fade. Dune. Foundation. The Left Hand of Darkness. Decades later, we’re still reading them, studying them, arguing about them. They’ve carved out a permanent space on the shelf—and not just for their fans, but for the genre itself.

So what is it that makes a book a “classic”?

I’ve been thinking about this lately—not just the books we already call classics, but the ones we’re reading now that might wear that title in a few decades. What’s the secret formula for longevity in science fiction?

What Gives a Sci-Fi Book Staying Power?

Here’s a short, very unscientific list of the ingredients that seem to help a book go the distance:

Big ideas. Classics tend to wrestle with fundamental questions—identity, humanity, power, time, survival. They’re not just about cool tech; they’re about why the tech matters.
Voice. The writing may be sparse (Foundation), lush (Dune), or lyrical (The Left Hand of Darkness), but it has to feel distinct. A classic sounds like no one else.
Re-readability. Great sci-fi doesn’t give you everything on the first read. It leaves doors open. You come back years later and find something new waiting.
Timing. Some books become classics because they hit the zeitgeist just right—Neuromancer, for example—or helped shift the genre’s direction. It’s not just what they say, it’s when they said it.

The Big Book Theory: Length, Immersion, and Emotional Punch

The late David Farland once wrote an essay about what he called “big fat books,” and I think he was onto something. He pointed out that many of the bestselling books of all time—Dune, Gone With the Wind, A Tale of Two Cities—were rejected again and again before someone finally took a chance on them. Why? Because they were “too long.” Too fat. Too much.

But readers don’t seem to mind. In fact, Farland argued that what makes a bestselling story isn’t just the story—it’s the experience. A truly immersive book does more than drop you into a different time or place. It takes you somewhere you want to go, and once you’re there, it gives you the emotional experiences you need to feel. You get to live something larger than life.

He also noted something else: most bestsellers in any genre tend to be long. Not just “300 pages and done” long—thousand page long. Because if the story grabs people, they want to stay.

So if we’re talking about what kinds of books end up as classics… maybe it’s no surprise that so many of them are hefty, immersive reads that aren’t afraid to go deep and wide, emotionally and narratively.

The Current Contenders: Future Classics in the Making?

Speculating about future classics is a fun game—and highly subjective. But here are a few titles that, for me, have that staying power vibe:

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin

The worldbuilding is staggering. The themes—oppression, survival, rage, family—cut deep. And Jemisin’s voice is utterly her own. This trilogy has already won all the awards. I suspect it’s going to be required reading for generations to come.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

This one is on a lot of people’s “future classic” lists. It’s got heart, science, optimism, and an unforgettable interspecies friendship. But full disclosure: it’s not a personal favorite of mine. I wrote about that here: Andy Weir’s Hail Mary – About Five Chapters Too Long.
That said, I do think it has classic potential—just probably not with my vote.

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson

Dense? Absolutely. But it reads like a blueprint for the next century of Earth’s future. If it’s not already being studied in university classrooms, it will be.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers

This one might surprise people, but I think it has the legs to last. It’s small and quiet, but it hits big ideas—what do we do once our world is “fixed”? What does purpose look like in a post-collapse, post-scarcity society? It feels like the next wave of what sci-fi might become.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Evolution, intelligence, and spiders. Lots and lots of spiders. It’s a sweeping, multi-generational epic that asks big questions about what it means to be sentient—and what it means to inherit a legacy, even if it isn’t your own.

The Genre’s Evolving—So Will the Classics

What counts as “classic” sci-fi will shift over time. The canon is expanding. It has to. The stories that last will reflect that change—more voices, new structures, unfamiliar angles on the same old questions.

It’s not just about nostalgia or name recognition. The books that stick with us are the ones that make us rethink how we see the world… and maybe how we see ourselves.

What Do You Think?

So, here’s my question to you: What science fiction book published in the last ten or twenty years do you think we’ll still be reading in fifty? What’s the sleeper hit you think deserves classic status?

Drop your picks in the comments. I’d love to see what stories you think are destined for the long haul.