50 most significant SF/F novels
If you’re into this set of genres, please feel free to copy this into a comment below and tell me what you’ve read. If there’s something I haven’t read here that you think is a travesty, please speak up. I’m looking at you, netmouse.
If you’d rather just pick one book here (or your favorite not listed) to tell me about, please do so! I’m currently reading an anthology of cyberpunk shorts, which I was surprised to discover included the inspiration for Total Recall.
(I can’t say I entirely agree with this list, but when does one ever entirely agree with a collection?)
Also, how long will SF and F be lumped together? I love them both, but the only thing they really have in common is that they (generally) don’t look exactly like today’s world.
This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club. Bold the ones you’ve read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished, and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein * (1961, people. Of course it’s sexist. Is there a baby in that bathwater?)
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson*
7. Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke (yawn)
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury *
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr. (hard to rate. enjoyed some elements, hated others)
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov (I definitely own it, definitely don’t remember it)
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett (I never remember which Pratchett books I’ve read)
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card * (this, The Talisman (King), and Heinlein are how I survived middle school)
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman (I may have read this)
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling *
27. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams * (clearly)
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny * (great concept)
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith (I read Norstrilia instead)
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven (heard much in favor of it, never read)
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut – (I barely remember this book, honestly)
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson * (the best thing he’s written, at this point)
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein * (I gave him up as my favorite author when I was 16 and I’d read everything he’d written… but I’m still soft on him)
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks (This book might be in my house somewhere)
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer
To conserve space, I’ll just list the ones I’ve read. It’s a pitifully short list, in my opinion.
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov *
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson*
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
22. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card *
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling *
27. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams *
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson * (I still prefer The Diamond Age)
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
You have not read Dune. Correct this immediately.
Clearly a major oversight in my SciFi upbringing. I really should remedy it soon. The problem, as I see it, is that I saw the movie when I was young. I didn’t get it and it mostly bored the crap out of me. So the dauntingly large-looking novel was of little appeal. I know better now, but the childhood stigma is still there. In short, I really need to get over myself.
*chuckle* Also, consider seeing the movie now that you’re older.
I am totally not a fan of the Sci Fi version, though.
I liked it! I have it on DVD and also am a big fan of the Children of Dune series. I get the lower production values and don’t have a problem with them, really.
Actually, it had more to do with the acting of the main characters and the removal of the word of power. Ticked me off.
Oh, I have since re-watched the film from a more mature perspective and definitely gained an appreciation for the work. It just still hasn’t been quite enough to get me to read the books yet. Perhaps I will soon.
And I also watched the SciFi version and found it lacking.
….It’s hard to compare the made for tv one to the Lynch one. It’s like comparing Kubrick’s Shining with the made for TV one…..
Both are the stories.
But different medium (film vs tv) allow for different length, I mean, can you image what Lynch would have done if he was giving 6 hours
I didn’t see the Lynch movie until I was much older. By that time I’d read Dune three or four times, I think. It remains my favorite novel to this day.
See, I think if I had approached it from that direction, I’d probably feel much the same way you do about it. But the reverse has left me a little sour on it, sad to say.
How could the Myst books be left off the list?!?!?!
Pfft. Hmph.
*throwing a temper tantrum*
You’ve NEVER READ THE MISTS OF AVALON!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
No, sir or ma’am, I have not!
Why should I?
(that wasn’t me above, BUT…)
It’s really a very good book. Lots of politics and sorcery and female empowerment and war and whathave you. Very little of the Tolkein-esque “we’re a merry band of average folk destined to journey and save the world!” that I, at least, find overdone/weary (and thus cannot read the Shannara books for, it trips me up, or used to). Lots and LOTS of politics and bloodlines, thus kinda drags in spots, but overall, v v good.
First off, I think you’re missing a closing italics tag, as everything from Caves of Steel on is showing up italicized.
Second off, I’ll pull an ikkarus on this one:
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien *
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert *
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson *
7. Childhood’s End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett *
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card **
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson *
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
27. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams 42*
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut *
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson *
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock (just stormbringer?)*
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks (I always thought this was a sad ripoff of The Fellowship of the Ring)
Fixed! :D
Mine:
http://jupiters-angel.livejournal.com/218183.html
I’ve only read a few:
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
22. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling*
The bulk of my scifi reading consists of, well… *points to icon*
I would highly recommend The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn. Fabulous scifi adventure.
Judging from that list
Ones that I think you might.
Caverns of Socrates by Dennis L. McKiernan
Combines SF and Fantasy, as a group of gamers are asked to test a new AI gaming system, of course, insert “bad thing” and watch the fun.
Legend of Nightfall by Mickey Zucker Reichert
“Bad Guy” must save “Good Guy” from even “Worse Guy”.
Fun Fun Fun (haven’t gotten my hands on the sequal yet)
Songs of Fire and Ice Series, George RR Martin.
Good Epic Fantasy. I like it better than Wheel of Time, or Sword of Truth….could because it hasn’t been ruined by too many books.
……I think those would be some of my faves.
Re: Judging from that list
The first book you mention reminds me of a series by Tad Williams. The first book was great, though intensely long, and the other 3 or 4 books were ALSO intensely long… and not so great.
The second book you mentioned reminds me of Villains by Necessity, which was a pretty fun read.
Re: Judging from that list
Haven’t read Tad Williams…..
Amazon’s “Villains by Necessity” ……
Re: Judging from that list
this one, you mean? What about it?
Re: Judging from that list
nothing really.
Just seeing what it was about.
:)
Re: Judging from that list
I agree! Song of Ice and Fire! I’ve been re-reading them for the 3rd time all the way through and it’s been wonderful. Yay for George RR Martin!
Also, I like Robin Hobb’s Fitz series. Starts with Assassin’s Apprentice.
Re: Judging from that list
I wanna see what happens to Jon Snow and the Wall!!!
And Daenerys…..
gggrrr…….
Re: Judging from that list
I loved the Legend of Nightfall. You might like the “Assasin’s” trilogy by … Robin Hobb, I think it is. Rather similar setup about the forces of evil and the forces of good, but a bit more epic, IIRC.
You should read Gene Wolfe. I don’t necessarily agree that this is his best — I’m partial to the Litany of the Long Sun, m’self — but Wolfe is a wunnerful, wunnerful read.
Whyfor? What is it you like about his style?
The first thing that comes to mind is his characterization. His characters are believable and sympathetic, something that sometimes lacking in speculative fiction. He’s also very down to earth, and matter of fact about the fantastic things that he writes. It’s almost all far-future speculative fiction, though a few instances of alt-universe and such do come to mind (Knight and Wizard, most notably.)
A word of warning, however, he may be an acquired taste. One of the other things I very much like about him is re-readability. Which is almost a necessity, because his writing tends toward the dense. Compounded with the fact that he also tends to not spend a lot of time explaining anything remotely obvious, there have been passages where I’ve had to re-read a few times to get the leap that’s just been made.
As a last caveat, if you go in looking for The Book of The Short Sun, you may not find it, as such. It’s a collective title for four novels, usually old as two books, entitled “Shadow & Claw” and “Sword & Citadel.” However, I would probably recommend a book of his shorter stuff to start with, most specifically “The Fifth Head of Cerberus: Three Novellas”
Arthur C Clarke – Fountains of paradise
The man who brought us the very concepts of weather satelites, and communications satelites, presents clearly the concept for a “beanstalk” orbital tower.
Spider Robinson – Death Killer (Stupid name, forced by his publisher)
A well thought out, subtle, and interesting look at the effects, both personal and global, of brain-reward technology, and the possiblitys of memory erasure, memory implanting, and person-to-person memory transferal.
Those are the two I would suggest.
I really enjoyed Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke but I thought it went downhill after that book. I also REALLY like The Sword of Shannara, but a lot of people don’t. *shrug* I’ve probably read it a dozen times.
Fun fact about Total Recall: short story by Philip K. Dick, screenplay by random loser, novel adapted from screenplay by Piers Anthony. It stunk out loud by the time it made to the end of the procession.
Bleh, indeed. I enjoyed the short story, though after reading it, I’d say it’s clear I wouldn’t want to see it expanded. Even if my retina weren’t already burned out by the movie.
I have read:
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J.K. Rowling *
27. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams * (clearly)
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny *
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks (This book might be in my house somewhere)
Apparently I have some reading to do!!
I’ve read a pretty significant chunk of the 50 books listed there, but for me the most significant sci fi book I’ve read in the last hmmm probably about ten years is one that doesn’t generally get shelved with the rest of the Sci Fi. It was The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I guess it’s less about the time travelling, and more about the relationship between the time traveler and the people he loves, but man is it ever good. It made me cry and cry and cry from the beauty of it. I highly recommend this book to any and all people in earshot.
I own it, but I still haven’t read it yet. I’ve owned it for, like, two years. Weird.
Oh man, you really should read that