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[akashiver]

From danielmc

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.

(Note: I'm not striking out anything, 'cause seriously, if I hated it that much, I didn't finish.)

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
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin*
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
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.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
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 *
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson*
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
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*
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
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
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49.Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

Not bad. I don't know about the ranking of those books - c'mon, _Do Androids Dream_ at #8? _The Color of Magic_ as the only Pratchett worth ranking? - but it's not a bad "if you've read this you're probably a geek" list.



On a different note: for my geek posse - if you were to recommend some fantasy novels to a person new to the fantasy genre (but willing to expeirnce new things), which ones would you recommend?

Comments

[lyceum-arabica.livejournal.com]

maybe some neil gamen... half literature/realism half fantasy... good omens or neverwhere

or alternatively, i've always like robert aspirin's myth series. it's self-contained... no need to come in knowing fantasy archtypes, it's witty and well-written with well-developed characters... and has the general feel of a 'road to ______' buddy movie.

[anima-mecanique.livejournal.com]

I read Phillip Jose Farmer's The Other Log of Phileas Fogg and it was abysmal. Is his other stuff any better?

Seriously, he kept saying 'patricide' when he meant 'fratricide', fucked up the characterization of several well-established fictional characters, had amazingly stilted 'Victorian' dialogue, and actually felt the need to add an aside on how Phileas Fogg, described as "fair-haired" in the original book, could be either a blond or a light brunette (thanks, I speak English too).

[moonandserpent.livejournal.com]

Wait. You loved The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever? *peers at you* Fascinating.

Oh, and Tim Powers' Last Call. Danielewski's House of Leaves and... *sigh* Gaiman's American Gods.

[moonandserpent.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I've given Snow Crash to many virgins who loved it.

[danielmc.livejournal.com]

i think she may have kept the * from my post, since she did not bold it.
and for me, it was helpful to me when i read it. don't think i will read it again.

i have necromancer and snow crash on my shelf...just havent gotten to them yet.

[moonandserpent.livejournal.com]

Just curious... since it makes me want to punch Stephen R. Donaldson in the face. (Something that I had to be talked out of doing at ICFA :P)

[danielmc.livejournal.com]

i'm with you on the punch thingee.
the second trilogy was horrid.
"The One Tree"...i still have scars from that one.

[akashiver.livejournal.com]

Wot he said. A result of me cutting n' pasting, not of some hitherto unknown Donaldson love.

Although, now that I have counterintuitively fessed up to the D-love, I suppose I ought to check out the book. Just how badly will it appall me?

[moonandserpent.livejournal.com]

Depends how much you like dickhead, whiner, leper, rapists who never grow as a person as your main character with all problems solved by last minute deus ex machina.

[gollumgollum.livejournal.com]

The Dark is Rising series, if they're willing to overlook the fact that they're YA novels. (Honestly, about the only thing to overlook is that they star young adults and don't have any swearing.) And then follow it up with Neverwhere so they don't think you're a big softie. (;

(Okay, yeah, i'm a big fan of the stuff that's set in the secret side of our world.)

[deadmanwade.livejournal.com]

Im a big fan of The dying Earth series by Jack Vance. Fantasy, with light sci-fi elements. big fun with very big words

[tooth-and-claw.livejournal.com]

Wait, did they seriously not list any of the Chronicles of Narnia or am I just missing it?

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

Gee, you'd think I'd have opinions on the question, but I really don't know. Where's the person coming from? Are they likely to enjoy sword and sorcery or weird faerie magic?

Some early fantasies for me: Tolkien, Prydain, Blue Sword which lots of girls like though anima and I both found it forgettable, Monkey/Journey to the West. Mercedes Lackey is popular for some though I've never read her. I count Pern as ScF but some would disagree; anyway, I enjoyed Dragonsinger et al. _Damiano_ by MacAvoy -- actually I started with _Raphael_ and picked up the books because of the names.