My Top Five Modern Novels (2025 Edition)

As an author, it may be unsurprising to discover that I love to read and write. While both of these activities are typically thought of as independent ones, I also love to discuss works of literature.  This process allows for a deeper analysis of what one has read, a chance to learn about what has (or has not) resonated with others, and an opportunity to organize one’s thoughts on the literature. Sadly, this communal element of reading and writing is often overlooked. Accordingly, I have decided to provide my current list of top five favorite modern books here. Notably, I include the adjective ‘modern’ in my list title, as I hope to later compile a separate list of my top five ancient books. Perhaps unsurprisingly, you will find that all of my favorite novels fall into the areas of fantasy and science fiction.

1.      Frank Herbert’s Dune (1965)

This is definitely the book that set me off on a course of avid reading and interest in the area of science fiction. Initially, the book was published in a serialized fashion from 1963-65, but was later compiled in a novelized form in 1965. While the book was recently popularized by the release of Denis Villeneuve’s excellent film adaptations, Dune: Part One (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2021), the original novelization of the book is equally, and in my opinion even more, exciting. In my opinion, one of the reasons that the novel is superior is due its much more interesting take on Paul Atreides’ and Chani’s relationship, with Chani fully supporting Paul’s political marriage to Princess Irulan, while the film, Dune: Part Two, diverges rather substantially in this regard.

Though now read as part of a hexalogy of books, Dune was originally a self-contained narrative, providing a cautionary tale on the dangers of charismatic leaders (does Max Weber’s work come to mind here for anyone else?). In this regard, the text masterfully combines discussion on several fictional charismatic leaders, initially Baron Harkonnen and Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, but, in a gradual turn of events, eventually the protagonist, Paul Atreides, himself, as the Lisan al-Gaib. My favourite elements of the book include the complex political intrigue conducted by a myriad of unique characters, as well as the attempt to infuse real life cultures into the future of humanity (in this case primarily Middle-Eastern ones). It is also worth noting that the Dune series appears to be heavily influenced by Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, with both exploring the distant future of humanity in an age of interstellar travel.

2.      George Orwell’s 1984 (1949)

1984 has become a close second favourite of mine. I still remember sitting down and finally reading this text for the first time, as I was preparing to give a paper on the ancient Jewish text, Joseph and Aseneth, in Montreal, Quebec. After a hot day of listening to a series of lectures on ancient Jewish literature and then enjoying some lovely local cuisine, I sat down in my rented-out dorm room at McGill University to read and relax… I’m not sure how much I actually relaxed because I ended up on so enamored with 1984, a book that had been on my radar since my high school English classes days. I will admit that as soon as I picked the book up, I struggled to put it back down (and go to bed).

Though written about seventy years ago, the themes in this book feel equally relevant today as a cautionary tale regarding the all too slippery slope towards authoritarianism. The book recounts a dystopian future (though from today’s perspective a dystopian alternative past), in which the world’s states have been gobbled up by three totalitarian super-states. The novel follows Winston Smith, a member of the Outer Party (a retainer party for the government of Oceania), who works for the Ministry of Truth. Though initially an unwitting participant, Winston is swept up into a anti-government conspiracy of disobedience towards the state when he falls in love with colleague, Julia. The twists and turns in this novel were so heart-wrenching that I ended up hardly sleeping the night before my presentation in Montreal. (Thankfully I was not too sleepy the next day for my own presentation, as my heart was still racing from this amazing read). One of the most striking elements in this book for me is the social currency that 1984 (and Orwell’s Animal Farm) has garnered in our modern social discourse around the role that governments should/should not play in human freedom of action and thought.

3.      J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy (1954-55)

I may be cheating here a bit since The Lord of the Rings is often published as a trilogy of books (though sometimes in six volumes), but really Tolkien originally intended this to be a single work. Part of me would like to say that this is my favourite book because it certainly is my favourite franchise overall. However, after reading Dune and 1984, I had to bump it down to the third position in my list. Like many others of my generation, I initially came to the series following Peter Jackson’s masterful 2001-2003 adaptation. (I recognize that my stance on the Jackson films is controversial for many Tolkien novel enthusiasts.) However, I am proud to say that I read the Two Towers (Book 2), Return of the King (Book 3), and the Hobbit (prequel) in high school before watching the associated film adaptations.

The Lord of the Rings is an absolute masterful work recounting the tale of the fellowship’s attempt to destroy the One Ring, a source of great power and evil sought out by the Dark Lord Sauron. However, the writing style of the work is not for the faint of heart. Tolkien is relatively infamous for writing full paragraphs that describe the scene’s flora and fauna, such as hills for instance. This style can cause a reading impediment for those who lack the determination to read, but the story and themes are absolutely unequalled in modern fantasy fiction. Given Tolkien’s academic background in English language and literature, the book evidences strong influence from Celtic, Norse, Mediterranean, and other mythology. Much of this gives the reader the sense that The Lord of the Rings serves as an alternative ancient history to the joined continent of Britain and Europe, which is precisely how I like to imagine it. Particularly moving on my end are Tolkien’s unmatched themes of friendship, particularly between the members of the fellowship of the ring (Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, and Legolas), as well as Tolkien’s famous treatment of the problem of death and suffering in war.

4.      Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg’s Positronic Man (1992)

Though the Positronic Man was originally composed by Isaac Asimov as a short story, “The Bicentennial Man” (1976), it was later expanded into a novel by Asimov, along with Robert Silverberg (1993). Both versions of the text are well-written and fun to read, but the latter version with its narrative expansions make for the superior edition.

While there was a movie adaptation, Bicentennial Man (1999), featuring the late Robin Williams, the novel is far superior to the later adaptation in this case, with the film diverging on several key elements of the story (for instance adding in an unnecessary romance between the protagonist, Andrew, and Portia, a descendant of Andrew’s former owners). The novel tells the story of Andrew Martin, a robot of the NDR series, who displays some unique elements in his positronic brain function. Over the span of two centuries, he attempts to become more human (both from a physical and legal perspective). The text does an excellent job of attempting to question precisely what it means to be ‘human’ and resonates strongly in light of modern developments and questions around artificial intelligence.

5.      Isaac Asimov’s Forward the Foundation (1993)

Truthfully, I had a hard time picking a fifth book for this list. The first three in my list were quite clear to me, but the latter two were a bit of a struggle to make decisions on, primarily because no other novels jumped out at me in quite the same was as Dune, 1984, and The Lord of the Rings. There are certainly many other novels that I have enjoyed, but not to the heightened extent of the first three in my list.

That all said, I do really enjoy Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series, particularly Books 4-5 and the prequel books. (I am not a huge fan of the more famous original three.) Asimov’s later four Foundation books however just seem like such a massive upgrade from the original three, in terms of their writing style, elaboration on the narrative, character development, and story. Among these four, I actually struggled to hone in on my favourite volume, but I think it is Forward the Foundation, the second prequel book and the final volume written by Asimov in the series. (I think that I would rank the other six volumes in the series as follows: 2) Foundation and Earth, 3) Foundation’s Edge, 4) Prelude to Foundation, 5) Second Foundation, 6) Foundation, and 7) Foundation and Empire.)  Forward the Foundation follows the development of Professor Harry Seldon’s psychohistory, a mathematical field that attempts to predict the future contours of human social history through complex algorithms. The two prequel books also serve as a tie-in to Asimov’s Galactic Empire Trilogy, serving to help to bridge the gaps between the two series, as well as to his Robot series. What I particularly enjoyed in this book was having a chance to learn about Harry Seldon’s complex family and friendships. Particularly tragic is reading about how Seldon’s entire support network (especially his wife, son, granddaughter, and best friend) falls apart, as he attempts to develop psychohistory into a veritable science. Notably, Seldon’s pursuits could be read as merely selfish ambition, but Seldon increasingly becomes convinced in the necessity of his work for the long-term survival of the human species into the distant future. Hence, he is faced with the terrible choice of living out his life in piece with his family and friends, or sacrificing everything for the hypothetical betterment of the entire human species in the distant future.

And that is that! I hope that you enjoyed my top five modern novels list. You’ll likely notice some common themes in my personal reading preferences—epic and grand scale adventure, empire, decline, and, of course, professors (J. R. R. Tolkien, Andrew Martin, and Harry Seldon)! We’ll see if my reading preferences stand into the future, or whether my list changes.

What’s on your list? Until next time!

(Prof.) AK-M