The Top Fifty SF Novels.

[gridlore]

According to the Science-Fiction Book Club.

I've bolded the ones I've read, bolded and underlined the ones I've loved, italicized the ones I started and never finished, and done a strike through on the ones I've read and hated.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien - Read it, liked it, but never fell in love with it the way some do.
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov - Trilogy is the key word here.
3. Dune, Frank Herbert - One of my favorite novels of all time. The sequels, not so much.
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson - Good, but very much a book of its time.
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke - I only read this when it was up for a retro Hugo. Amazing book.
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick - Love Blade Runner, the book lost me.
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 - I really should pick this up again sometime.
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison - I will not make the joke. I will not make the joke. I will not make the joke.
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey - kshandra loves these books. They left me cold.
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card - I loved the novella. The novel goes on a bit too long.
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson Now, I've never been one for book burning...
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman One of the books that formed my views on life and the military.
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 Sheer brilliance.
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice - Gah.
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 - Probably my favorite PKD.
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement - Yay crunchy hard science fiction!
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 - First read this when I was eight, I believe.
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien - Why, oh why???
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 - Along with The Forever War, the book that made me who I am today.
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock - Serviceable fantasy.
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer I love the entire Riverworld series. I've even written fiction set on the River.

Comments

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

Why did you hate Book of The New Sun?

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

I didn't care about the characters and his writing style just put me off.

[claire.livejournal.com]

Starship Troopers was the first SF I remember reading and loving - I was probably 9 years old. About 5 hours or so after I'd finished it, I picked up The Forever War to read. I was a little dazed the following few weeks.

[biomekanic.livejournal.com]

Joe Haldeman is a real pleasure to talk to too.

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

I will not make the joke, I will not make the joke

Aww.

(Actually, I'm a little surprised/embarrassed that I've only read about half of those. And I call myself a fan.)