Top 15 Great Science Fiction Books
- Published August 18, 2007 - 292 Comments
There are so many astounding science fiction books out there that this has been one of the hardest lists for me to put together. I have added and culled but finally I have a list of the most important 15 Science Fiction Books of all time. I realise that not everyone will be satisfied with this list – so please use the comments to add the books that I couldn’t due to space and time. In no particular order…
1. The Time Machine H G Wells
The Time Machine was first published in 1895, making it the oldest book on this list. Considered by many to be one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, this book coined the term “Time Machine” which is almost exclusively used to refer to any device that allows humans to move through time. The book’s main character is an amateur inventor who lives in London. He is never identified, instead being referred to simply as “The Time Traveller”. Having demonstrated to friends that time is a fourth dimension, and that a suitable device can move back and forth in this fourth dimension, he completes the building of a larger machine capable of carrying himself. He immediately sets off on a journey into the future.
2. Stranger in a Strange Land Robert Heinlein
Stranger in a strange land tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human raised by Martians on the planet Mars, upon his return to Earth in early adulthood. The novel explores his interaction and transformation of Earth culture. Typically of Heinlein, this book cover a variety of human taboos, including homosexuality, nudism, and cannibalism. The book introduces the character of Jubal Harshaw who is a central figure in many later books by Heinlein. It won the 1969 Hugo award and has not been out of print since the first publication. Eventually Stranger in a Strange Land became a cult classic, attracting many readers who would not normally have read a work of science fiction.
3. The Lensman Series E E “Doc” Smith
I remember one summer in my childhood when all the other kids were busy hanging out at the movies and playing video games, that I spent every day lying in the backyard all day reading every book that E E Smith wrote (luckily my dad is a keen Sci-Fi fan so he had them all). Doc Smith was my introduction to Science Fiction – and what an introduction it was! The Lensman series was the first set of science fiction novels conceived as a series. It was also the original source which introduced many innovative concepts into science fiction, and a variety of ideas newly introduced in the series later were taken and used to solve non-fictional problems. In this sense the series was ground-breaking and defined an entire genre.
4. 2001 – A Space Odyssey Arthur C Clarke
Interestingly, this book was developed concurrently with Stanley Kubrick’s film and published after the release of the movie. In the background to the story, an ancient and hidden alien race uses a mechanism with the appearance of a large crystal Monolith (black in the film) to investigate worlds all across the galaxy and to encourage the development of intelligent life. This novel was followed by three others: 2010 (also made into a movie), 2069, and 3001. As yet no plans exist for the remaining two to be made in to films.
5. Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury
The novel presents a future in which all books are banned and critical thought is suppressed. The central character, Guy Montag, is employed as a “fireman” (which, in this case, means “book burner”). 451 degrees Fahrenheit is stated as “the temperature at which book-paper catches fire, and burns …” It was originally published as a shorter novella, The Fireman, in the February 1951 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction. Fahrenheit 451 takes place in an unspecified future time in a hedonistic and rabidly anti-intellectual America that has completely abandoned self-control and bans the possession of books. People are now only entertained by in-ear radio and an interactive form of television. The protagonist, Guy Montag, is a fireman, certain that his job—burning books, and the houses that hold them, and persecuting those who own them—is the right thing to do.
6. The Foundation Series Isaac Asimov
The term ‘Foundation Series’ is often used to include the Robot Series and Empire Series, which are set in the same fictional universe. In total there are fourteen novels and dozens of short stories written by Asimov, and six novels written by other authors after his death. The series is highly acclaimed, deservedly winning the one-time Hugo Award for “Best All-Time Series” in 1965. The premise of the series is that scientist Hari Seldon spent his life developing a branch of mathematics known as psychohistory, a concept devised by Asimov. Using the law of mass action, it can predict the future, but only on a large scale; it is error-prone for anything smaller than a planet or an empire. Using these techniques, Seldon foresees the fall of the Galactic Empire, which encompasses the entire Milky Way, and a dark age lasting thirty thousand years before a second great empire arises. These books are captivating and if you start book one, you won’t stop until you finish book fourteen.
7. Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse-Five; or, The Children’s Crusade: A Duty-Dance With Death is a 1969 novel by Kurt Vonnegut. Widely regarded as a classic, it combines science fiction elements with an analysis of the human condition from an uncommon perspective, using time travel as a plot device and the bombing of Dresden in World War II, the aftermath of which Vonnegut witnessed, as a starting point. A disoriented and ill-trained American soldier named Billy Pilgrim is captured by German soldiers and is forced to live in a makeshift prison. Billy has become “unstuck in time” for unexplained reasons so he randomly and repeatedly visits different parts of his life, including his death. He meets, and is later kidnapped by, aliens from the planet Tralfamadore, who exhibit him in a Tralfamadorian zoo with Montana Wildhack, a pornographic movie star.
8. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. The series follows the adventures of Arthur Dent, a hapless Englishman who, with his friend Ford Prefect, an alien from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, escapes the demolition of Earth by a bureaucratic alien race called the Vogons. Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford’s semi-cousin and part-time Galactic President, unknowingly saves the pair from certain death. He brings them aboard his stolen spaceship, the Heart of Gold, whose crew rounds out the main cast of characters: Marvin, the Paranoid Android, a depressed robot, and Trillian, formerly known as Tricia McMillan, a woman Arthur once met at a party who he soon realises is the only other survivor of Earth’s destruction. After this, the characters embark on a quest to find the legendary planet of Magrathea and the Question to the Ultimate Answer.
9. Dune Frank Herbert
Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965, and is frequently cited as the best-selling science fiction novel in history. Dune is set far in the future amidst a sprawling feudal interstellar empire where planetary fiefdoms are controlled by noble Houses that owe allegiance to the Imperial House Corrino. The novel tells the story of young Paul Atreides as he and his family relocate to the planet Arrakis, the only source of the spice melange, the most important and valuable substance in the universe. In a story that explores the complex interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, the fate of Paul, his family, his new planet and its native inhabitants, as well as the Padishah Emperor, the powerful Spacing Guild, and the secretive female order of the Bene Gesserit, are all drawn together into a confrontation that will change the course of humanity.
10. Neuromancer William Gibson
This ’80s novel caused a sensation when it was published. Set in a near-future world, this novel helped to popularize the cyberpunk genre. The novel uses visual power and imagery it’s predecessors were not able to achieve. The main character of Neuromancer is Case, a console cowboy, who, by linking his brain directly with computers, pirates data kept in the cyberspace matrix. This is simulated by a worldwide database with a crippled nervous system. With the aid of Molly (who has concealed cybernetic weapons), they embark on a violent adventure.
11. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K Dick
Published in 1968, this novel, even today, is years ahead of its time. Set in the future, the World War had obliterated millions with entire species extinct. This causes the humans to look for a new home planet. However, large corporations build artificial animals, which look extremely realistic, and are successful in creating artificial humans, used for slave labor. This causes great fear amongst the human population and the androids are subsequently banned. The androids are on the run, and Rick Deckard is brought in to hunt down the escapees to “retire” them. This book was the inspiration for Blade Runner.
12. Gateway Frederik Pohl
Winner of both the Hugo, and Nebula Awards, Gateway is the story of the ultimate futuristic goldrush! Set in the 21st century, Gateway – a large asteroid – has been found; containing hundreds of ancient space ships. All of these ships have pre-programmed courses set. Little is known about the builders of these ships, the Heechee. The curious humans explore the destinations that are preset which result in either vast wealth, or death. The two main characters are Robinette Broadhead, who becomes a prospector, and Sigrid, his digital psychotherapist. Much of the novel consists of Broadhead’s conversation with Sigrid, interspersed with his memories of Gateway and the journeys he has taken in the Heechee ships. A slow moving thinking person’s novel which builds to an amazing crescendo.
13. Ender’s Game Orson Scott Card
Taken from home at the tender age of 7, surrounded by enemies, with no hope and impossible odds, he is Earth’s last hope. Ender excels in the field of combat. The invasion of the alien insects ‘buggers’ looms over the Earth. Ender is put to the test when he leads Earth’s defensive and retailitory attack against the aliens. The dialogue, visuals, and details bond you to the characters and make this story incredible.
14. 1984 George Orwell
George Orwell wrote 1984 a year before his death to show the world the grim and bleak future of a society subject to totalitarianism. It’s a disturbing and chilling story of Big Brother, where sex is frowned upon and only to be used for reproductive purposes. It was written in 1949, four years after the end of WWII and the paranoia and fear that arose from that time, as well as the threat of communism, gave birth to 1984. In the novel the world has been grouped into three opposing forces: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Winston Smith, of Oceania, is living in London, a society where you are monitored constantly through telescreens which are in every room. Even if you are physically alone, you are always being watched and individualism is forbidden. The government provides the ‘entertainment’: movies and music. Crime is monitored by the Thought Police, an elite and secretive government organization that can erase you and all records of your existence.
15. Brave New World Aldous Huxley
Huxley is one of my favourite writers. Brave New World is set in a dystopian future which anticipates developments in reproductive technology, biological engineering, and sleep-learning that combine to change society. The world the novel describes is a utopia, though an ironic one: humanity is carefree, healthy and technologically advanced. Warfare and poverty have been removed and everyone is permanently happy. The irony is that all of these things have been achieved by eliminating many things that humans consider to be central to their identity — family, culture, art, literature, science, religion, and philosophy. It is also a hedonistic society, taking pleasure from promiscuous sex and drug use, especially the use of soma, a powerful drug taken to escape pain and bad memories through hallucinations.
I must, of course, give a tip of the hat to Jules Verne who should be on the list but I just couldn’t decide who to cut in his favor.
Contributors: Ryan Sweeney, and Fritha Keith
1 Dan
August 18th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Let me just say, this site is definitely one of my favorites. I love the constant updates to keep me from doing more important things! Keep up the good work! Nice list, too.
2 Seapixy
August 18th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Great list. I’ve been a big fan of sci fi since I was a kid in the 80s. I’d love to see an expanded list – say top 50 or 100 best books. I’ve read many of the books here – Foundation series, Gateway, Stranger in a Strange Land, etc., but I also have other favorites that didn’t make it – but still think are mind-expanding examples of Sci Fi.
I’d include The Forever War (Joe Haldeman), Ringworld (Larry Niven), Cities in Flight (James Blish), Eon (Greg Bear), and Earth (David Brin).
“Earth” is perhaps my favorite – having read it in 1990 just before the explosion of the internet. Brin includes the “Net” as a character in the book, predicting the coming global connection of all people in real time. When the internet took off in the mid 90s, everything Brin predicted came to be, I was awed by ability of sci fi to predict things to come. Fantastic novel.
3 agnerrah
August 18th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
When I saw the title of your article, I thought ” not another ignorant cyberpunk who’s world began in 1980″ You have created a list for true fans of SCIENCE fiction. It borders on brilliance and speaks of a well rounded education.
Thank you for giving me hope for the future when you youngsters recognize the totality of historic existence.
Leaving Jules Verne off is a judgment call. Don’t feel bad, give him the lifetime achievement award as the instructor of all who followed.
Thank you for not including the “dragon magic spell” genre.
The book that introduced me to science fiction was Bob Heinlein’s… Tunnel in the Sky… at the age of 12 it bounced my brain into places from which it has never returned.
As a modern reference you might give hororable mention to Haldeman’s “The Forever War”. It made the rounds of my platoon just back from Vietnam and opened more than a few eyes. Maybe we can ship some copies to Iraq, or Congress.
4 beep beep whirr
August 18th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Excellent list.
While I truly do appreciate that essentially everything here is a timeless classic (as befits a relatively small list — you’ve got to pack in the best), I agree that someone, somewhere should do an expanded list of 50 or more (not me, I don’t have that kind of time… I’ve got blogs to read, dammit), which among other things would allow for some of the classics that fell by the wayside (like Verne), as well as give room for a few more recent gems.
personally, as far as the recent gems go, Hyperion is one of the best sci-fi books I’ve read in a long time… elegantly crafted, tying together politics, science, language, philosophy, religion, and a host of other elements into an intense narrative. It also manages to fold a bit of cyberpunk and even a little detective noir into the interstellar-empire-space-opera-y storyline. Classy.
5 jfrater
August 18th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
agnerrah: isn’t Heinlein a miracle worker when it comes to words? And Verne definitely deserves the lifetime award – my dad loves him and made me read his stuff from very early on (thank God). Thanks for the addition of Handleman – you have no idea how much of a struggle it was to take only the top 15. I could easily do a top 100 (take note seapixy).
Dan: I appreciate what you have said – it is comments like that that makes me sit down every morning with my cup of tea to write a new list!
Seapixy: thanks for the extras. My amazon wishlist is getting so full that it is going to take a lottery win to buy all my desired books!
6 The Shrike
August 18th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
The quartet of Dan Simmons books: Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion, often referred to as the Hyperion Cantos, is without equal for scope, beauty and sheer creative genius. No SF list should be without at least one of these books.
7 brennan
August 18th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
there aren’t many lists on this site yet so I assumed that it was new. this site was a very good idea and way to gain exposure to interesting information; i think it will be really popular in the future. i just hope that we don’t start getting charged to use it. i am starting my freshman year of college in two weeks (LSU) and that is why quick exposure to new ideas is important to me. after i learn how to make hyperlinks maybe i will make a list.
i had to read Ender’s Game in high school english class (our teacher was into sci-fi). i have read more of the books on this sci-fi list than on the list of banned literary classics.
thanks for the lists, jf.
i’ve heard that the Manifold Trilogy by Stephen Baxter is mind-expanding. it is classified as hard science fiction (as opposed to soft)- the difference being that hard sci-fi deals more intensively with scientific concepts whereas soft sci-fi is basically an interesting yarn that takes place in the future.
8 Matt
August 18th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Good list — I’d have pushed pretty hard to include “Startide Rising” by David Brin, which I think is one of the singularly excellent science fiction books of the last thirty or so years. Problem is, I can’t figure out which of the books on the list I’d kick out for it.
9 jfrater
August 18th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
brennan: I promise I will never charge people to use the site. I have lots of ideas for the future and charging people is definitely not one of them. The site is two months old so you are right – it is quite young. Welcome aboard!
10 Hibryd
August 18th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
“Stranger in a Strange Land”? Ugh. That wasn’t a novel, it was badly-written wish-fulfillment. Let’s start with the author character: a rich super-talent jack (and master) of all trades who has a harem of live-in hotties who do his work for him. Mary-Sue much?
Then the main character picked up enough Martian Skillz to teach all the women who later join his religious cult-harem how to manipulate their own bodies so they all become grade-A Playmates. Oh, and part of this religion is rampant sex with everyone all the time. (How did he even finish the book while masturbating between every page?)
The book itself levels the same charges against humanity (They’re mean! They’re greedy!) that every other sci-fi book falls back on when it’s run out of other ideas, and after awhile the whole thing dissolves into a bizarre religious screed. Plus, a superhuman infallible main character, free of any personal, physical or mental flaws, is just plain bad writing.
11 jfrater
August 18th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
the Shrike: thanks for the addition – even though I couldn’t include everything I wanted to in the list, the comments make up for it
12 jfrater
August 18th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Hibryd: I am mortally offended! That book is one of my favourites! Get thee behind me! Thanks for the comment anyway
13 Crimanon
August 18th, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Enders Game!!!!! Yea, It made the list, Ive got everything in the series save one, And Im trying to get them all In hard back. Im that Hard Core about it. It’s a shame I dont own more of these, I know I should. The girlfriend(such an archaic term), would love the list. I got myself so worked up I cant remember what Iv’e read.
14 Jonah
August 18th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Check out Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. Once you read it, you’ll wish you had put it on this list. (It was originally published as four books starting with Shadow of the Torturer. The version I have is in one book, and I think the current edition is two books, starting with Shadow and Claw.)
15 jfrater
August 18th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Crimanon: hah nice comment – it is good to be passionate about things
Jonah: can you tell us a bit about the book?
16 Silveira Neto
August 18th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
I have read just Brave New World and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. :/
17 Esther N.
August 18th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Ender’s Game is a dreadful book. It’s one of the most emotionally stunted, yet cleverly manipulative things I’ve ever read. I love literature, and good science fiction as part of literature, and can’t help noticing that the genre is held back by some of the absolute crap lionized by the science fiction community. Light by M. John Harrison is a better book than Ender’s Game, but not nearly as quirkily satisfying to resentful children with pathological neurotic revenge fantasies. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Loving Ender’s Game is not more disgraceful than being a fecalphiliac, but also no more noble.
As for the rest of the list, I wouldn’t have Heinlein or Azimov. I could name another dozen P.K. Dick novels that are better than much of the list. 224 and Camp Concentration are also better than most of that which you’ve included. In thirty years some of Egan’s work is going to be seen as worth being here, and probably something by Stross. Octavia Butler, Samuel Delaney and Ursula Leguin also produced some great works that belong here.
18 brennan
August 18th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Dating Tangent:
girlfriend is not only an archaic word, Crim, it is an archaic concept. intelligent young people of the opposite sex are not able to relate to each other in that old way anymore. it is so bizarre. every couple i know is a rapid on-and-off oscillation interspersed with jealous possessiveness and fear. i don’t know how long it has been like this but it seems like a widespread trend headed in a spooky direction.
hesitation, indecisiveness, and insecurity are the hallmarks of the New Dating.
p.s. from now on, all tangents shall begin with (Subject) Tangent. not really, but that would be cool.
19 CyberZombie
August 18th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
Great list!
I’d personally add Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars Trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars) and Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quartet (A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters).
20 Crimanon
August 18th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Bren:If you can think of something that will get the point across I’m all up for it. “Im divorced and I have a girlfriend.” sounds Imature. I’m all up for suggestions.
21 Crimanon
August 18th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Esther: If youv’e ever read any of the interveiws with OSC. You would know that he considers it one of his Worst works. Compare my likes of a book to Scat, fine thats your thing. Far be it for Me to hate on anyone with a taste different than my own.
22 ogaruu
August 18th, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Ender’s game is…”immature” – i have no better word to describe it right now. It is (in my opinion) a prelude to Speaker For The Dead and Xenocide both of which display the interactions between people in a more realistic, believable, (dare I say it?) human way. I would have a lot more to say but this isn’t a book review site.
23 Evangh
August 18th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Gene Wolfe’s “Book of the New Sun” should definitely be on this list. It’s easily as thrilling and complex as Dune or the Foundation series covering all the topics mentioned in the above entries (interaction of politics, religion, ecology etc.) but also muses on the nature of identity, memory and the art of storytelling itself.
It’s set in a very distant future ( it’s never said how far, but humanity has had time enough to conquer the stars and then fall gradually back into a state of feudalism). It follows the adventures of Severian, a former apprentice to the guild of Torturers, as he winds his way through a very alien, but strangely familiar society.
These books are highly recommended. Gene Wolfe is storyteller of the first order, maybe the best living writer in the English language, no hyperbole intended. But they are not an “easy” read like some of the other entries on this list (”easy” does not mean “bad”. I’ve read all of these, save E.E. Smith, and they all deserve the status they’re given here). Wolfe challenges you with a highly subjective, somewhat untrustworthy narrator of questionable sanity. I’ve read the series three times now, and I still feel like there is more to be discovered.
I realize I must sound like I’m in a Wolfe cult to the uninitiated, but give it a try. You won’t regret it.
24 Aaron
August 18th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
Let me 2nd Jonah’s recommendation of Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun series. It’s difficult to describe in any way that does justice, as it’s definitely more about the way it is written (”narrative structure” one might say) than the plot. But in short, its the story of a torturer who becomes of the king of a far future “dying earth”.
…and I’d agree that Ender’s Game is more children’s lit than sci-fi.
25 Will from Austin
August 18th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
What about Kim Stanley Robinson’s “The Mars Trilogy”: “Red Mars” (1992), “Green Mars” (1994), “Blue Mars” (1997) ??
Winners for the Hugo and nebula awards, these books are considered to be the best literary science-fiction novels.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_trilogy
26 Esther N.
August 19th, 2007 at 12:12 am
#
20. Crimanon | August 18th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Esther: If youv’e ever read any of the interveiws with OSC. You would know that he considers it one of his Worst works. Compare my likes of a book to Scat, fine thats your thing. Far be it for Me to hate on anyone with a taste different than my own.
Sorry, it just struck me as a funny line.
27 brennan
August 19th, 2007 at 12:48 am
Crim: “I’m divorced and I’m lovin’ this bitch Tina.”
28 Crimanon
August 19th, 2007 at 1:07 am
Bren: Nice, still too tactless for my taste.
29 Jesse O.
August 19th, 2007 at 1:17 am
Esther N.:
Nobody is impressed nor fooled by your laughable elitism. Hey, you’ve got opinions about sci-fi books, and you’ve lost all perspective on the matter. Good for you!
30 penny
August 19th, 2007 at 1:27 am
Too much recent garbage: Instead, try:
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester
The Midwich C. by John Wyndam
Anton York Immortal by E.O. Binder
Voyage to Arcturus
Odd John by Olaf Stapleton
The Skylark of Space Trilogy by Doc Smith
Slan
Brainwave by Poul Anderson
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Time is the Simplest Thing by Clifford Simak
More than Human by Ted Sturgeon
Donovan’s Brain
Not to mention:
Childhood’s End by Arthur Clarke
War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
31 Jon
August 19th, 2007 at 1:50 am
Ender’s Game is thought by some to be an apologia for Hitler. The series itself is both Mormon and socialism propaganda.
32 Crimanon
August 19th, 2007 at 2:03 am
jon: You and an old roommate of mine have both said the same thing, and I think you’re both reading into it too much. Who cares Its Sci-Fi…Fi=Fiction. FICTION. You don’t have to like it to read it. Use the book however you want it. Just as long as you Learn something from it. Good or bad, you still learn things about the Human element from it. We are Cruel, Xenophobic, and Disturbing. I knew that before I read it.
However, no matter how bad my life got, all I had to do was read Enders Game and I’d realize, “I’m glad I”m not him.”
33 Mary Mele
August 19th, 2007 at 2:50 am
What about C.J.Cherryh? Her Foreigner series is utterly wonderful.
34 Al
August 19th, 2007 at 3:19 am
I would also add my (considerable) weight to the argument for Gene Wolfe’s “Book of the New Sun” to be included. Wolfe’s writing is possibly the best you could ever read; the story is gripping, amazing and just plain incredible; and the language is so good it is challenging.
Another book mentioned in previous comments is “The Demolished Man” by Alfred Bester. If you haven’t read it then you ought to. It is a great story combined with cutting edge typography for it’s time.
I would also suggest Neal Stephenson’s “Cryptonomicon”, “Quicksilver” and “Byzantine” as well. Once again they provide epic story-telling, combined with great ideas and fantastic language. An alternative suggestion would be “Stand on Zanzibar” by John Brunner, as this was innovative in it’s use of factual chapters to gice background to the narrative sections.
If you need to drop anything from your list then “Ender’s Game” should be first to go, as it’s a good read whilst you are a teenager, but it’s hardly a classic. Then you could always lose “Slaughterhouse 5″ and “Fahrenheit 451″ as they are not very readable, and if you really need to lose another then I’d suggest “Brave New World”.
35 Wes
August 19th, 2007 at 3:21 am
I love Hitchhiker’s Guide (in fact I own it in leather), but it’s not really science fiction. It’s comedy which uses SF conventions as a platform for laughs, in the same way Pratchett’s Discworld series does with fantasy.
As a substitute from the seventies, let me suggest Niven’s Ringworld.
The rest of the list is good, although I think Asimov’s Robots of Dawn is probably the best example of his work; it’s the first true link between the Robot and Foundation books and was written at the height of his skills, and just before he lost his mind and characterized the Seldon Plan as a backup to Gaia.
Similarly, I am on the side of those who think Heinlein wrote much better stuff than Stranger. How about… Moon is a Harsh Mistress?
36 Al
August 19th, 2007 at 3:30 am
Ooops!! I forgot about Iain M. Banks!
I’d nominate “Excession” as probably his finest, but “Use of Weapons” is close, and “Player of Games” is not far behind.
I’d agree with Wes on “Ringworld” as well.
37 apple_lipsis
August 19th, 2007 at 3:50 am
Wow, great list. I was thinking of checking out Orson Scott Card – never read him. Really like most of the others. Would have put Slan on there though.
38 Shawn
August 19th, 2007 at 3:54 am
Usually, I hate these “best-of” lists, like those AFI Best 100 Movies, etc., type lists. There is alway at least one entry that makes me go, “what?” You can’t be serious! Like putting “Forest Gump” above “Psycho” or something equally awful.
However, I didn’t have that reaction with this list. I’ve never read “Gateway,” for example and am going to get a copy. Though I wish that DUNE were higher and that “Have Space Suit, Will Travel” was on the list. This was the first SF story I read and loved and that turned me on to the genre). Overall, though, I think that the authors’ choices are valid ones.
But I have one sort-of question:
As I notice that the authors have tried to put “firsts” on the list, shouldn’t FRANKESTEIN by Mary Shelley be on the list? She published it in her own name in 1831 (there was an earlier Anonymous publication).
I guess one could consider it “horror” or “fantasy,” but I think that one could argue that it is really SF. The events hinge on the application of tech, and the story itself considers thing like consciousness, etc.
Okay, I’m going to end with my own personal TOP 15 (or so) list:
“A Door into Ocean” by Joan Slonczewski
“The John Varley Reader”
“Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NiMH”
“Dune” by Frank Herbert
The Foundation Books
The 2001 books
“Have Space Suit, Will Travel”
“Frankenstein”
“Stranger in a Strange Land”
“Great Sky River”, “Tides of Light”, and “Across the Sea of Suns” by Gregory Benford
Hitchhiker’s Guide, etc., by Douglas Adams
“Vermillion Sands” by JG Ballard
39 owlathome
August 19th, 2007 at 3:55 am
A great and thoughtful list (leaning toward the classics). If there were room for one slightly more contemporary title, I would have included Neal Stephenson’s “Snow Crash.” Some sci-fi has great writing, some sci-fi has great ideas and some sci-fi has both. The latter is rarest. I was weaned on Bradbury. In the ’60s we bought TAB (Teenage Bookclub) paperback books at school. Sounds archaic now. LOL I’m also very fond of a Clifford Simak book called “City.” I reread it ever few years. It falls into the catagory of Great Ideas. A far future where all that’s left on Earth are sentient dogs and robots who debate about whether there was ever Man. Love this site and please keep at it. Cheers.
40 owlathome
August 19th, 2007 at 4:17 am
Afterthought: There are no women writers on the list, and IMHO women infused sci-fi with new life in the last half of the old century. Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Lathe of Heaven” and “The Left Hand of Darkness.” James Tiptree Jr. (Alice B. Sheldon) “Her Smoke Rose Up Forever.” And on and on. And see “latter is rarest” above.
41 William
August 19th, 2007 at 4:41 am
I agree with most of your list, but 2001…yuck!–Childhood’s End would have been a MUCH better choice by Clarke. I would also expand your list to include: Frankenstein (since it’s the first science fiction novel ever written), Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, Heinlein’s The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, LeGuin’s The Left Hand Of Darkness and other’s I’m too tired to think of right now.
42 Emily
August 19th, 2007 at 4:49 am
Oh, I hate finding things like this – now I’ve added several more books to my “To Read” list. Although I’ve read and own many of them…
43 chris
August 19th, 2007 at 4:56 am
great list, but where is the classic book called WE?
you know the Russian book that was written before and may have inspired 1984?
44 mooster
August 19th, 2007 at 4:58 am
I must admit that I wouldn’t have Stranger in a Strange Land on a list of Most Important SF (and remember, people, ‘Most Important’ is a different animal than ‘Best’; I’m not an H. G. Wells fan, but he has to be represented here, as does Jules Verne, who is missing.) The problem is, Heinlein is the most influential SF writer of all time, excluding Wells and Verne, but not because of a single book. I suppose I’d cheat and say “all of his juveniles”, which introduced generation after generation to the genre.
As for the total list, I have to go along with Penny (post 28).
45 Mary Mele
August 19th, 2007 at 5:30 am
I agree with Owlathome; women underrepresented.
46 Kit Fenderson-Peters
August 19th, 2007 at 5:42 am
Jubal Harshaw was not a “central figure in many later Heinlein novels.” Apart from Stranger, he shows up as a minor character – basically a cameo – in To Sail Beyond The Sunset. I think that the list author is confusing Jubal Harshaw with Lazarus Long, who is a central figure in several later Heinlein novels. Note that Long makes no appearance in Stranger.
47 krasicki
August 19th, 2007 at 6:24 am
Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” is as good or better than everything on the list.
Asimov’s “I Robot” is a shocking absence.
“More Than Human” by Theodore Sturgeon certainly speaks directly to the new collaborative cyberculture and again a worthy contender.
48 jfrater
August 19th, 2007 at 7:12 am
Kit – You are right – I did overinflate his place in other novels (though he was also in The Number of the Beast, and the Cat Who Walks Through Walls). Something makes me think he was also in Friday but I can’t remember for sure and my copy of that book is not with me at the moment.
Thanks everyone for your comments incidentally, they are all great inclusions and I will certainly use these comments as a source if I am looking at another 10 great sci fi novels.
For the person who mentioned the lack of Jules Verne – I did at least give Verne a tip of the hat at the bottom of the article
49 penny
August 19th, 2007 at 7:37 am
Since several people spoke of Juvenile Sci Fi,
here is a list for that:
A Wrinkle in Time by M.D’Engle
The Time Traders By Andre Norton
Flatland by Abbot
The Tom Swift Series
Galactic Derelict by Andre Norton
Starman’s Son by Andre Norton
Chldren of the Atom by Willmar Shira
The Tripod Series by John Wyndam
Chocky by John Wyndom
Against the Fall of Midnight by Arthur Clarke
The later Oz books ( which are science fiction) by
L.F. Baum
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Heinlein’s have already been mentioned.
I especially loved “Podkayne of Mars”
and I identified strongly with Peewee in
the ( already mentioned) “Have Spacesuit will
Travel”. But Asimov also had Juveniles!
Andre Norton was a famous mainstream children’s author under her real name.
50 Fe
August 19th, 2007 at 7:56 am
Though I rarely read sci-fi, I have to add my vote for Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’. I also have to comment that the lack of Jules Verne borders on a crime. He deserves more than a tip of the hat.
‘Farhenheit’ is one of the few things I can stomach from Bradbury and though I have only read ‘1984′ and ‘Brave New World’ once, they left lasting impressions.
51 loku
August 19th, 2007 at 8:29 am
Very subjective list. In ex. I don’t like The Hitchhiker’s Guide, at all. For me it is a different category book for it (comedy). Twice better was Terence David John Pratchett – Discworld series !!! Also very good one was Jack Finney – The Body Snatchers
Strange that You didn’t mention about Stanislaw Lem or Janusz Zajdel.
My favor is :
Janusz Zajdel – Limes inferior
regards
Loku
52 deadwiiguy
August 19th, 2007 at 8:36 am
a few others of merit…dhalgren`.. giles goatboy,,,,sirius…gormenghast trilogy
53 melmoth
August 19th, 2007 at 9:05 am
Hm, my 2¢ worth, from a snobby point of view:
Frankenstein
The Time Machine
Voyage to Arcturus
Starmaker
Solaris
Fahrenheit 451
1984
The Stars my Destination
The Left Hand of Darkness
Riddley Walker
The Man in the High Castle
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Xenogenesis (trilogy)
Mars trilogy
Stars in my Pocket Like Grains of Sand
There… YMMV.
54 quadszilla
August 19th, 2007 at 11:07 am
“I agree with most of your list, but 2001…yuck!–Childhood’s End would have been a MUCH better choice by Clarke.”
100% agree! Childhood ends >>>> 2001.
I would also agree with some of the ‘meh’ sentiments about stranger.
Other than that it’s a really nice list.
55 aranazo
August 19th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
A few novels no-one has mentioned yet:
Samuel R Delany – Triton
Thomas M. Disch – Camp Concentration
My favorite PKD – Now Wait For Last Year
Akady & Boris Strugatsky – Roadside Picnic
I would also second the people who recommended Gene Wolfe’s book of the new sun.
56 tubanator
August 19th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
It seems, you forgot Stanislav Lem. In my opinion one of the best science-fiction authors ever. Try for example Solaris or the Cyberiad.
But nevertheless it’s a nice good list.
57 Kit Fenderson-Peters
August 19th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
@jfrater: I stand corrected. He does appear in Number, and that was the appearance I was thinking of, not Sunset.
Where does he appear in Cat?
58 jfrater
August 19th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Kit: you were correct about sunset as well – he appeared in three other novels in total (Wikipedia) – I have not read Cat so I am unsure where he appears in it.
59 aaroscape
August 19th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Good and interesting list. I would definitely add neal Stephenson’s Snowcrash on there. Although Cryptonomicon’s probably a better book, Snowcrash is just so influential in terms of the web. I would also add my voice to the clamour for Gene Woolfe’s Books of the New Sun and LeGuin’s Left Hand of Darkness – both seminal. I’m surprised that nobody’s mentioned Michael Moorcock – hugely influential and very prolific. The Pyat cycle, the Dancer’s at the End of Time, and the Blood books are all amazing, if a little strange.
60 Allegra Sloman
August 19th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
melmoth’s list meets more of my criteria for excellence, so I vote for melmoth.
61 bob
August 19th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Gene Wolfe’s “Book of the New Sun”
I’ve tried to read this twice in the last 8 to 10 years. I cannot get past how repulsive the main character is. He reminds me of Stephan R. Donaldson’s character Thomas Covenant.
Personally, my moral compass flips out when the anti-hero shows his/her face.
The one anti-hero that won me over was Jamie Lanister from George RR Martin’s, “A Song of Fire and Ice.”
62 Hrish
August 19th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
@penny – You do mean ‘Against the fall of Night’ , right? Sorry had to nitpick
63 Gordon
August 19th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Great list! And so many great additions from the comments, which would make it that much easier to make a ‘Top 50′ or whatever list. Now I have several books to read just to catch up with all of you!
Another couple of early sci-fi mentions would be Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde’ and ‘The Invisible Man’ by H.G. Wells, both of which used science to explore the human condition.
Any list of sci-fi for juveniles should include Edgar Rice Burroughs, IMHO. Although I cut my teeth on ERB he was far from the best, but OK for kids. Well, except for very politically incorrect stereotypes, that is!
64 rich massena
August 19th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
I think you did a good job given such a short list. I think that the short best-of-list belongs to the past. Science fiction itself is too diverse to be limited to such a format. Dick should have been listed at least five times, Lem is missing. Give us a sci-fi 1000 best list. That said, I will check out Pohl. The book sounds interesting, and makes me think you actually thought of every entry on the list.
65 jfrater
August 19th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Gordon: in the future I foresee an updated listverse.com that lets the users add their own options and voting to decide the position of items in the list. Stay tuned! Note: this will be when the site makes enough money for me to be able to pay a decent designer to do it!
66 Erin Martin
August 19th, 2007 at 7:18 pm
I think the problem here is trying to narrow the greatest books in Science Fiction to only 15. Sorry,just not possible, and the list is going to be very subjective.
Instead, it seems that it would be far easier to name perhaps the the 50 greatest Science Fiction authors of all time. Even then, your list is sure to be criticized.
Great list, by the way. The only book I can think of to add would be Niven’s Ringworld.
67 jfrater
August 19th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Erin: thank you for appreciating the subjective nature of a list like this. At least I know I can do another 5 or more lists of great sci-fi books – just from the comments here alone!
68 David
August 19th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
I didn’t much care for this list, as it seemed a little too “I’m Smart” for me, although certainly some of the comments about the difficulty in narrowing it to just 15 are spot-on. Anyway, I posted my own list on my blog. Drop on by and see what you think….
69 Revie
August 20th, 2007 at 12:55 am
Thanks for the list–it’s always interesting to hear others’ opinions on sci-fi. I’ll put up another vote for Stanislaw Lem’s Cyberiad and Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness. We lost a brilliant mind when Lem passed away last year.
I also want to mention my two all-time favorites: Vernor Vinge’s A Deepness in the Sky and A Fire Upon the Deep.
70 penny
August 20th, 2007 at 2:50 am
Hrish–Correct.
I also agree with Solaris. We have only met one intellect superior to man’s conscious mind so far–and that is man’s unconscious mind! The Ocean in Solaris has many of the same qualities.
I adore ” The Lathe of Heaven”–Leguin’s father was a famous cultural anthropologist of primitive people–and her book truely expresses a shamanistic view of reality.
I am less impressed with her “Left Hand of Darkness” as many of themes were explored ( on an individual level) in Virgina Wolf’s “Orlando”.
It isn’t science fiction, but those who like Harry
Potter, might check out her ” Wizard of Earthsea”
series, which was earlier and had most of the same themes at a far higher intellectual level–and won the children’s literature Newberry Award.
I also strongly second Triton, which is a mixture
of Hesse’s “Glass Bead Game” and V.W’s “Orlando”.
Both are science fiction.
The works of Leigh Bracket are brilliant ( bad prose style, though). I love her name, as it is a
math pun. She is very similar to A.E. Van Vogt.
People here may not know that for all of the hype by George Lucas about how he was inspired by Joseph Campbell–she actually wrote the original version of the Star Wars movie.
I should add some more things: Wells–The Shape of Things to Come: which predicted our current
overcontrolled technocratic dictatorship, among other trends; Sirius, by Olaf Stapleton, the science fiction of Mark Twain (who had a mordant wit) e.g ” A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” and
……HOW COULD I HAVE FORGOTTEN THIS…..
The collected works of Cordwainer Smith!
For example, the ideas of a desert planet with a giant mutated animal providing an immortality drug, and telepathic future people, and a space
travel guild PREDATE
Dune and can be found in Cordwainer Smith. But there are many other gems there. Such as, the short stories ” The game of rat and dragon”,
” The lady that sailed the stars” etc. His work is utterly brilliant!!!
71 penny
August 20th, 2007 at 3:08 am
The reason that I didn’t mention “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is that it is very close to the earlier “Rhinocerous” By Eugene I. Almost a thematic clone. One was written about Fascism, the other about Communism. Still, F., is an excellent writer.
I forgot to mention “When Worlds Collide” by Phillip Wiley. He also created the modern science
fiction comic book superhero, as Superman is largely based on his character in ” Gladiator”.
Later, elements of “Baron Munchausen” were added
to Superman.
72 Jim
August 20th, 2007 at 6:34 am
These are all safe choices, but I hate to see a “best science fiction” list that doesn’t include Bester’s The Stars My Destination. And Snow Crash would be a worthy contender.
I too would not include HitchHiker’s Guide. I’ve tried to read that book a number of times, and can never get past twenty pages.
73 kern
August 20th, 2007 at 6:38 am
i’m suprised nobody has mentioned “perdido street station” by china mieville. so it’s debatable as to whether this book would be considered scifi- most people would consider it in the subgenre of steampunk. Gorgeous writing, and it has some really mindblowing ideas in it(for example, the evolution of a decentralized AI that resides in the city’s trash dump! hello!!) that i’ve never seen in ANY other books like it. And i’m pretty sure it never got an award. don’t get me wrong, i love the classics(the moon is a harsh is awesome and of course anything by harlen ellison rocks) but i get the feeling from a few of the old school guys that they have to base their opinions on somebody elses opinions!(EG. dissing on cyberpunk, at least gibsonian cyberpunk should be a crime!) so what if it got a nebula? read a book and decide for yourself if it’s any good- don’t be elitist and diss the newer stuff just cause it’s new!
another addition to the list should include “pattern recognition” by william gibson.
btw,
love cormac mcarthy’s “the road” but like perdido it’s debateable whether it’d be consided scifi- i think it’s more post-apocalyptic fiction, but a beautiful and sad book nonetheless.
74 owlathome
August 20th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
I would like to mention Connie Willis, who has won more Nebula and Hugo awards than any othe writer: “Doomsday Book,” “Lincoln’s Dreams,” “To Say Nothing of the Dog,” “Passage,” etc. I happen to like time travel stories so she’s a favorite of mine. There is usually a love story at the heart of her plots which may put off some of the “hard” sci-fi fans. “Passage” (the study of drug induced near-death experiences at a hospital in the near future) is classic Willis. If you can get past it’s Chick Flick sensibilites (I hate the term, but sorry it’s also very descriptive) the ending may haunt you, as it did me, for weeks. She has a new book of short stories coming out next month titled “The Winds of Marble Arch.” (I’ve pre-ordered.) She’s fun to read. Which brings me to another thought… she also has a lot of humor in her writing, which is probably another strike against her. Not appreciated in our culture. i.e. try naming a comedy film that has ever won an Oscar. Happy Reading everyone~!
75 ReklawLah
August 20th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
This is a great list. One of the few “best of” lists I’ve seen with which I largely agree. And, despite some negative comments posted by obviously disturbed individuals, “Ender’s Game” is a wonderful book… a perfect example of the Science Fiction genre. It is well-written, thoughtful and above all, entirely plausible.
One omission that I will note is “Snow Crash” by Neal Stevenson. This book single-handledly brought a new generation of fans to the SF genre.
76 mix2323
August 20th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
am thinking of reading Stranger in a Strange Land thanks
77 General X
August 20th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
I commend the list. Beautifully done.
78 Rachel
August 20th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
I have read Fahrenheit 451; the rest of these books are ones I would like to read someday. I will say, however, that I find The Children of Men phenomenal.
79 jfrater
August 21st, 2007 at 1:19 am
Thanks all for the comments – there is enough material here for a second, third, and fourth list!
Mix2323: read Stranger – you will adore it.
80 Steve T.
August 21st, 2007 at 7:59 am
Wonderful list. I’ve read most of them, and will seek out the rest. My further recommendation would be the works of James Hogan. He’s not just a wonderful writer, he’s a hands-on engineer, with a lot of experience in many fields. So he writes the most satisfying hard science fiction I’ve ever read, with no cheap shortcuts like warp drive or transporters, fun as they may be.
Start with Inherit The Stars. Explorers on the Moon later in this century find a human body in a red space suit, and are rather startled since nobody’s missing. Worse, as it turns out, it’s 30,000 years old. At the end of the book, the surprise solution comes from rigorously taking all the implications of evolutionary theory to their logical conclusion. Thrills and chills result.
That, friends, is some smart science fiction.
81 jfrater
August 21st, 2007 at 9:33 am
Steve: thanks for the suggestion – I will check it out.
82 kostrevk
August 21st, 2007 at 9:55 pm
Although they are enjoyable, E.E. ‘Doc’ Smith and Adams lack any real substance. The reason science fiction is now recognized as a substantial genre of literature is because of authors like Heinlien, Clark, Orwell, and the other outstanding authors that use important human themes in their works. I would have replaced those two authors with Joe Haldeman (The Forever War is one of his best and has excellent war themes) and the very important Stanislaw Lem (I’d mention Eden, and/or The Star Diaries just because other works have been mentioned; both deal strongly with human nature/behavior issues). Lem is a Polish science fiction, philosophical and satirical writer. His books have been translated into 41 languages and have sold over 27 million copies. At one point, he was the most widely read non-English-language science fiction author in the world. I’m glad to see he was mentioned in the comments a couple of times as many modern works have a basis in his writing. Oh, I definitely agree with the Jules Verne comments made throughout!
83 jfrater
August 21st, 2007 at 10:14 pm
kostrevk: thanks for the comment – I agree about Doc Smith but I owe my introduction to Science Fiction to him! Also, Heinlein is definitely one of my all time favourite authors. I have never read a book by him that I did not love.
84 E.D.
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:10 am
I was hoping for The Martian Chronicles, a great Bradbury book.
85 Jaap
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Very nice list, read them all but ee smith. Ender is one of my favorites and I just finished Ender’s shadow, brilliant! I would like some more Niven and Pournelle in the list
86 jfrater
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:19 pm
E.D.: thanks for the addition. Watch out for the second list coming soon
Jaap: Thanks. I strongly recommend you read the Doc Smith books – they are very entertaining.
87 jfrater
August 22nd, 2007 at 6:05 am
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the great suggestions – these comments contain lots of really valuable information for people wanting to find out more about Sci Fi books.
88 warren
August 22nd, 2007 at 7:59 am
The one book not on your list that truly deserves to be there is “A Canticle for Leibowitz”.
Oh, and maybe something from Stanislaw Lem.
Warren
89 Kelsi
August 22nd, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Way to write another controversial one, jfrat. Haha, as always I enjoyed reading it, though I was a bit disappointed not to see anything by Madeline L’Engle on the list, though she may be too childish for this sort of crowd, she knows her science and I used to love her, though I haven’t read anything by her in years. I did read all of the books in the Ender series and was very glad to see that it made your list, as well as Brave New World and 1984, though I agree with those who thought Childhood’s End would have been a better choice for Clarke. I must admit I am not as well versed in scifi as I would like to be, so I haven’t read a lot of the list but I will definately be adding some of these to my ‘to-read’ list. Thanks!
90 jfrater
August 22nd, 2007 at 10:31 pm
kelsi: you are welcome! Thanks for the comment
91 dan üldüzü
August 25th, 2007 at 6:51 am
hi friend,
alot of thanks for your great site.
Do you know any book abput the origin of races?
Have anice day.
92 jfrater
August 25th, 2007 at 7:11 am
dan: races as in human race?
93 David Mackey
August 25th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
Definetly a lack of Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
94 jfrater
August 26th, 2007 at 5:23 am
David: note the tip of the hat at the end of the article
95 Piers
August 26th, 2007 at 6:29 am
Fantastic list, the only one I would have found a place for is Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love” As said a few times this sort of list is subjective and it is almost impossible to please everyone! A great list nonetheless.
96 jfrater
August 26th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Piers: thanks
97 JT
August 28th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
YOU missed one of the very best sci fi books,
Jules Verne a trip to the moon and back.
You could drop some of those more contemporary ones.
JV had NASA nailed 100 years ago.
List is good but JV should be in top 3
98 Kevin
August 29th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
hey, love ur lists, but I think I should bring this to ur attention….i found this on another site…they basically stole ur whole list… http://www.damnfunnypictures.com/html/Top-15-Sci-Fi-Books.html
99 Lynn
August 30th, 2007 at 6:36 am
I’ve read 7 of the books on the list. I’ll probably get around to reading most of the others. I’ve read several books by Heinlein and the only one I liked was The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I guess he’s just a guys’ writer. I’ve also never been able to get into Asimov’s fiction, though I love his non-fiction.
I have read Ender’s Game. I’m not a fan of Card. This was one of the few of his books that I was able to get all the way through. It was actually sort of interesting, in a way, but it was still mostly a waste of time that would have been better spent reading something else.
100 jmt
September 1st, 2007 at 7:39 am
It is interesting that many of the items on this list have little to do with space travel or aliens – I guess its reflective of SF as social commentary.
However, there certainly needs to be a First Contact novel in this list and I can think of no better one that Niven/Pournelle’s “The Mote in God’s Eye”.
I’d also vote for Bester, and would strongly urge replacing “Stranger in a Strange Land” with either “The Moon in a Harsh Mistress” or “Starship Troopers” – both of which are much more emblematic of Heinlien’s writing and story telling.
101 N. O’Brain
September 5th, 2007 at 4:03 am
I’m torn between commenting “More cowbell”, or commenting “More Heinlein”.
“Starship Troopers”?
“The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress”?
Added bonus comment: No Roger Zelazny?
I have the “Lensmen” in e-form and just worked my way through the whole series.
Great stuff, great memories.
102 jfrater
September 5th, 2007 at 4:17 am
N O’Brain: always more Heinlein
103 N. O’Brain
September 5th, 2007 at 5:39 am
” Al | August 19th, 2007 at 3:19 am
An alternative suggestion would be “Stand on Zanzibar” by John Brunner,”
I have an autographed copy.
“49. penny | August 19th, 2007 at 7:37 am ”
Starman’s Son by Andre Norton was the first SF novel I ever read.
Reread through the whole thread, and I still can’t believe that no one mentions Roger Zelazny.
The “Amber” series?
“Lord of Light”?
“Damnation Alley”?
“This Immortal”?
-shared the Hugo Award for Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year with Frank Herbert’s “Dune”
104 jfrater
September 5th, 2007 at 5:45 am
N O’Brain: I haven’t read anything by Zelazny. Is it good stuff? It seems a bit odd that no one has mentioned him when he won a Hugo.
105 David
September 5th, 2007 at 9:49 am
This is a great list. I have read all but the E.E. Smith books. I think that we would all put the book that got us into the genre into a list of top 15 books. I found a good list of the top 100 -
http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/lists_books_rank1.html
I have used this list to raid my local library and have loved it.
Enjoy
106 TGS
September 5th, 2007 at 10:16 am
I would add:
Titan, Wizard, Demon series by John Varley
Hard S/F, wonderfully fanciful characters, satire, pomp, war, politics, strong women, religion, sex (interspecies!), the whole ball of wax.
107 Terrapod
September 5th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Excellent review. I have read every one on the list, including the entire Lensman series which was my childhood favorite. My only peeve is that publishers keep re-releasing older SF books with new covers and us, now older farts, buy them thinking they are a new edition. Used to have all the titles and authors memorized but alas, this is fading. Could add to the list, but I think you are close to the target. BTW, want a true measure of the effect of inflation? 25cent paperbacks are now $7.95!
108 jfrater
September 6th, 2007 at 1:25 am
Great comments guys – thanks
109 Filipe M
September 6th, 2007 at 4:01 am
Well I know it’s subjective, but it’s almost my list. As for the comments well you´ve made my to read list a somewhat bigger than my read time an budget can afford, I can’t forgive you for that, so I hope you all find at least 50 books you´ve to read in the near future and that the first 5 are so amazing that you wish you could read as you sleep, work and the other things that stop you of reading, and that curse the day you’ve ever seen this site.
Thanks a lot jfr!!!
110 jfrater
September 6th, 2007 at 4:47 am
Fillipe M: You are most welcome Now get reading!
111 gabrielAmerican
September 11th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
I’ve recently discovered your wonderful site. Thanks for the creative and engaging lists. Although, some commentators seem to get a bit too riled up (see Esther N). She seems like she would be terribly annoying dinner company. The know-it-all, prone to fits of hyperbole, dramatic type. Was that too personal?
I believe Childhood’s End could have cracked the top 15, but you did a bang-up job, none the less.
I’m glad you included Ender’s Game. True, it may not ring with the literary greatness of Wells, but it is, perhaps, my most favorite story from sci-fi. Adolescent? Yes. But, that’s when my love of sci-fi was peaked. Shallow? Maybe. But, literature is like the oceans. Beyond the horizon lay the ponderous deep like weighty tomes. While, the shallows of beaches are where we allow ourselves to splash and play unconcerned by the criticism of those who will not join us. Those too stilted by life to enjoy the simple joy of…..well, joy
peace
112 jfrater
September 11th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
gabrielAmerican: Thanks for the comment People do get very riled up – though it can be quite entertaining sometimes
113 blink
September 15th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I agree with those who mentioned Dan Simmons’ Hyperion – a sprawling, complex, literary novel. It is brilliantly written and full of fascinating places, people, and themes. He weaves together topics such as politics, religion, technology, ecology, war, language, love, and more. I have not read a scifi book of such scope and depth since Dune.
I’m pleased to see Gateway on the list. Something about that book was just so compelling. The community of people on the asteroid – their relationships, hopes, fears – seemed so real to me.
114 Sam
September 19th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Great list, thank you! I was surprised that noone mentioned Roger Zelasny until I read comment No 103. You should definitely read “Lord of Light” – one of the best books I have ever read.
And I agree with some others about “Ender’s game”, for me it lacks depth and is just interesting story. Hyperion series would have been better choice.
115 jfrater
September 19th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Sam: thanks for the suggestion – I will make sure I read Lord of Light
116 Adrian
September 21st, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Great list!
You should do a fantasy literature list next.
117 Leon G.
September 23rd, 2007 at 9:03 pm
What! No P.K. Dick? For shame. At the very least, I would add The Man in the High Castle. As for Zelazny, Lord of Light is extraordinary, poetic, and a an astonishingly subtle novel– but is it Sci-Fi? I suppose, it is in the eye of the beholder, but I would say no– nor is the Amber series, regardless of how much I love those books. . Personally, I think Lathe of Heaven trumps them all and is, I would suggest, Science Fiction with accents on both science and fiction– a winning combination. As for Enders Game and OSC– they are to Sc-Fi what Jean and Rod McKuen are to modern poetry. Now, please understand that I like Enders Game but I rarely admit it in academic circles. Yes, I am a SF snob. BTW, wonderful site.
118 Winston B.
September 24th, 2007 at 1:02 am
I’m shocked as well at the absence of the wonderful Philip K. Dick. I mean, he wrote so many fantastic and influential sci-fi titles such as Valis, The Man In The High Castle, A Scanner Darkly, Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep (which, as most know, was the basis for the classic film Blade Runner) and, arguably his magnum opus, Ubik (Which was named one of the greatest novels of all time by Time Magazine.)
Other then that, great list!
119 jfrater
September 24th, 2007 at 1:20 am
Winston: umm… what about number 11?
120 Leon G.
September 24th, 2007 at 6:34 am
Woops. Missed that. Still, that is hardly his magnum opus or even close to his best. I agree with Winston although both of us must be short sighted–heh, heh.
121 jfrater
September 24th, 2007 at 6:38 am
Leon: heh okay – at least compromise
122 Joan Heffernan
September 25th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Came upon this site today and know I will spend too much time here. Enjoyed your list. I’ve read some and you and the commentators have tempted me to read others. Naturally, I read all waiting for someone to list my favorite. Not finding it, I recommend “The Man Who Fell To Earth” by Walter Tevis (better known perhaps for “The Hustler”. If you are not familiar with TMWFTE, I think you will find it beautifully written and profound. It also will break your heart.
123 Joan Heffernan
September 25th, 2007 at 9:55 am
I just left a rather long comment that did not send (If it did, I apologize for the repetition). I’ll be briefer here. I enjoyed reading your list and especially appreciated your commentary. I will add the ones I have not read to my list as well as several recommended by your readers. Naturally, I looked at the list and each comment for a reference to my favorite: “The Man Who Fell To Earth” by Walter Tevis (perhaps better known for “The Hustler’). Do you know this work? I think it is profound and funny in parts; but, ultimately, it will break your heart.
Thanks for the list; keep them coming.
124 jfrater
September 25th, 2007 at 10:03 am
Joan: I have not read The Man Who Fell to Earth – but I will definitely do so now – what a great recommendation! Thanks
125 jheffernan
September 25th, 2007 at 10:13 am
First time on site. Third time trying to leave a comment. I’m registered now, so here goes. I had many nice things to say about you, your list, and your readers and there lists, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. I’m all out of time. Here is my recommendation: “The Man Who Fell To Earth” by Walter Tevis. I’m surprised no one mentioned it. Does anyone know it? It is profound and funny, but ultimately heartbreaking
Liked the list!
126 jheffernan
September 25th, 2007 at 10:17 am
*their lists–sorry
127 jfrater
September 25th, 2007 at 10:23 am
jheffernan: sorry – that is probably my fault. I was changing a bit of the code in the background. I see all three of your comments. Sometimes if you get an error, the comment has still posted – so if it happens again just refresh the page and check.
128 jheffernan
September 25th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Thanks
129 Amber
September 26th, 2007 at 1:12 am
I would argue for the second half of the “Amber” series. The original five are much more fantasy. Ghostwheel helps kick the second five to SF. If you want a Zelazny that is a cover-to-cover one sitting, Damnation Alley fits that bill.
Let’s here it for RA Heinlein! I started with him more than 30 years ago. Don’t remember my first, but Farmer in the Sky was one of them. If you don’t like a lot of sex in your SF or Sci Fi, then avoid everything RAH wrote. Oh, and a lot of other fabulous writers.
How about some Viehl (sp?)? I’m waiting for something new from her.
All y’all think alternative history isn’t truly SF? What about Turtledove’s Colonization series? Or Eric Flint’s Ring of Fire? Ya, it’s kinda along the lines of Guns of the South, but still . . ..
There are a couple of others who have ventured into alt history, including Richard Dreyfuss, but that’s all I can pull to mind.
130 TMo
October 5th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
More Vonnegut!!!
Cat’s Cradle?
Sirens of Titan?
131 ninjabear
October 9th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
I’ve read, enjoyed and learned from all but two on the list—which two, I’ll never tell—but some of those authors convinced me to become a sci-fi writer myself.
http://www.ninjabearpress.com
132 loop
October 16th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Thanks to those of you who also recognized “A Canticle for Leibowitz”! A very prescient work that anticipated so much of what we now take for granted! As for “Hitchhiker’s Guide”? Hey great stuff! Who said science fiction has to be serious?
133 Sean the pyro
October 18th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Amber, you are right about Heinlein except for one. My favorite book of his would have to be “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” and has really no sex in it. Perfect for those that can’t handle some of his more extreme books.
134 Callam
October 29th, 2007 at 9:56 am
u fogot to put scientology on ther, dunno if its got a book, but its a great bit of science fiction
135 Fred the Fourth
November 1st, 2007 at 10:50 am
“Ender’s Game”, meh – read the short story instead, it’s much tighter.
“Weyr Search”, Ann McCaffrey (again, the original short story. The thousands of pages of typing that followed is a waste of your time.)
“R.U.R.” Karel Capek, one of the most formative robot / what’s a human? novels.
“War of the Worlds”, H.G. Wells
“Left Hand of Darkness”, LeGuin – the ideas may be related to Wolf’s Orlando, but the execution, breadth, and depth are hard to find in any other SF writing. A little preachy, but not heavy-handed as in “Planet of Exile” or “The Word for World is Forest”, for instance.
“Fantastic Voyage” Asimov – straight adventure, and who can forget Welch in the scuba suit in the movie?
“Canticle for Leibowitz” second the recommendation
“Earth Abides” George R. Stewart, as long as I’m thinking about end-of-the-world.
136 Dangerous Dan
November 4th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
If I were making the list, I’d pair “The Time Machine” with “The Invisible Man”. You mentioned Asimov’s Robot series along with Foundation, so you could do the same for Wells.
I could never get into The Lensman Series E E “Doc” Smith, but I acknowledge that many others thought it great.
Fahrenheit 451, Neuromancer, Gateway, 1984, and Brave New World all do belong on this list, as, of course do something from Heinlein, Asimov and Clarke. One may quibble about which books by Heinlein {Tunnel in the Sky}, Asimov {Robot series} and Clarke {Rendezvous with Rama} belong on the list (and I like what you did with the Asimov entry, although I feel strongly that his Robot series was better and more influential than Foundation), but something from each does belong on the list
I agree with Revie that Vernor Vinge’s A Deepness in the Sky and A Fire Upon the Deep are great, but so is “Marooned in Real Time.”
Many have mentioned several of Neal Stephenson’s books, but few if any have mentioned his “Diamond Age,” which I find to be his best science fiction so far.
Having read “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?” after watching the excellent Blade Runner, I found the book to be a severe disappointment. One of the rare cases where the movie was better than the book it came from. Everyone else I’ve talked with who went out to read the book after seeing the movie agrees.
You list Dune, but show the cover of the Trilogy. In my opinion, this is a mistake. Dune was great. Its sequel, not so great. The sequel to that…
To the list of suggested works by Roger Zelazny, I add, “Eye of Cat”, “My Name is Legion”, and “Doorways in the Sand”.
Also for your consideration, I suggest C.J. Cherryh’s Chanur series, Cyteen Trilogy and “Forty Thousand in Ghehenna.”
I also have to second “Earth Abides” as a great book, but I’m not sure that it quite belongs on this list.
137 Moebius
November 9th, 2007 at 8:02 am
I’ll be very, very short.
Stanislaw Lem!
Fiasco, His masters voice, Solaris…. ))))
138 marius
November 29th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
well, great list, but this is my favorite 15
1.A.Clarke: Robots series
2. F. Herbert: Dune series(all of it)
3. R. Zelazny: Lord of Light + Amber series(I know it’s fantasy, but man, it’s cool)
4. R. Heinlein: Ringworld series
5. Iain M. Banks: Player of Games
6. Lois Mcmaster Bujold: Vorkosigan series
7. D. Adams: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
8. R. Morgan: Takeshi Kovacs series
9. Alastair Reynolds: Chasm City
10. D. Koontz: Odd Thomas
11. W.Gibson: Neuromancer
12. D.K.Moran: The Ring
13. D. Simmons: Hyperion series, screw Endymion crap he really didn’t have to do them
14.Kim Stanley Robinson: Mars trilogy-a long and sometimes hard read, but great nonetheless
15. Gene Wolfe:Urth – Book of the New Sun
139 Simon
November 30th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
Did you consider Vernor Vinge’s A Fire Upon the Deep? It’s the most recent classic that I can think of.
140 AaronSheffield
December 27th, 2007 at 10:25 am
I like this list, all except #2.
R.A.H. himself stated, in “Number of the Beast” ( which personally I would put in the #2 slot) that even he hated that novel, and that the only reason he wrote it was for money.
Don’t get me wrong, “Stranger” is a great read. But any true R.A.H. fan would never place it that high on a list of best Sci-Fi novels of all time.
A comment on a previous comment.
Comment # 138. ( Marius) R.A.H. did not write the Ringworld series. That series was written by Larry Niven, possibly most famous for his collaboration with Jerry Pournelle on the “Mote in God’s Eye” duology.
141 WinstonB
January 8th, 2008 at 2:57 am
Once again, great list.
I really enjoyed reading the comments and other peoples recommendations. I do agree Stanislaw Lem is a wonderful sci-fi write. Some of my personal favorites of his are The Tales of Pirx The Pilot, The Futurological Congress, Return to the Stars, lastly, one of my all-time favorite books, The Cyberiad. I can recite the first story (How The World Was Saved) from that book by memory.
I have yet to check out Fiasco or his other works…
I am quite shocked that not more people have listed Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic.
Also, jfrater, you should do a follow up of this list based on the recommendations listed by fellow viewers here. It’s just an idea.
142 Shorty
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:37 am
I believe that Enders Game is a fantastic book. it reaches topics further than Sci Fi. I prefer to read it from a psycological point of view. I think it is a brilliant illustration of how the borders between genius and madness flirt.
143 Piers
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:35 pm
First of all I would like to, once again, say how much I have (and still do) enjoy this list and all the comments that it has evoked! I had posted a comment on August 26th, 2007 at 6:29 am, alas when I tried to log in it said that I do not exist! So I registered again!
I see that many people put their own list or particular books and authors that they thought should have made the list. I am a R.A.H fanatic so if I had my way the top fifteen books would have all been by Robert, but that’s just me. He changed my outlook on life and the way I thought about many things.
Here is a list of some of my other favourites:
Neverness: David Zindell
The Amtrack Wars: Patrick Tilley
The City and The Stars: Arthur C Clarke
Arthur C Clarke: Robots Series
Why Call Them Back From Heaven: SIMAK
Battlefield Earth: L. Ron Hubbard
It would be remiss of me if I did not add that these list/lists do not contain a hundredth of what I have read. All of these wonderful books have left an indelible mark on my psyche and I am grateful to the genius that is the way of true story tellers. I have loved them all!
144 jfrater
January 22nd, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Piers: I love that too – it really pleases me that almost all of our comments are well thought out and really add value to the lists. We are very lucky.
145 sargelegg
January 24th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Enders game is an excellent novel, it is used by the Marine corps to hel teach officers the psychlogy of leadership. Also Treason by Card is a good book as well. RAH is one of my all time favorite writers I have read all is novels and they are all great.
146 krasicki
January 27th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
I am currently in the middle of The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and I must say, it is very, very good – maybe even great.
147 lostforwords
February 5th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
John Brunner’s Shockwave Rider really belongs on this list. Consider that it was written in the early 70’s….
148 Djb522
February 27th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
i’m currently reading a collection of science fiction short stories, including “Martian Odyssey”, “Arena”, and Asimov’s “Nightfall”. Top 10 Science Fiction short stories would make a good list.
149 Simon
February 27th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I just finished Matter by Iain M Banks. It’s good (finally, another Culture novel!)but, IMHO, his best is Use of Weapons. It makes my personal top 10…
150 IceCube666
March 26th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
I love Sci Fi and have been researching the genre for 12 years so far. My prefernce is reading for pure pleasure and escapism so my list might be a little different than many. I’ve read 240 different authors so far.
Here’s my list of favorites:
Fred Hoyle – The Black Cloud (1957) [ p.251 ]
James P. Hogan – Inherit the Stars (1977) [ p.140 ]
Joe Haldeman – The Forever War (1974) [ p.218 ]
Frederik Pohl – Gateway (1977) [ p.278 ]
John Wyndham – The Day of the Triffids (1951) [ p.228 ]
Arthur Charles Clarke – Childhood’s End (1953) [ p.222 ]
H G Wells – The First Men In the Moon (1901) [ p.220 ]
Edgar Rice Burroughs – A Princess of Mars (1912) [ p.159 ]
Kurt Vonnegut jr. – The Sirens of Titan (1959) [ p.326 ]
Gordon R. Dickson – Dorsai ! (1959) [ p.249 ]
Alan Dean Foster – Midworld (1975) [ p.179 ]
David Feintuch – Midshipman’s Hope (1994) [ p.391 ]
Robert James Sawyer – Calculating God (2000) [ p.334 ]
John Steakley – Armor (1984) [ p.426 ]
Walter Jon Williams – Dread Empire’s Fall: The Praxis (2002) [ p.438 ]
Francis Paul Wilson – Healer (1976) [ p.261 ]
Fredric Brown – What Mad Universe (1949) [ p.198 ]
Roger MacBride Allen – The Ring of Charon (1990) [ p.500 ]
Kevin James Anderson – Assemblers of Infinity (1993) [ p.355 ]
Edwin Lester Arnold – Gullivar of Mars (1905) [ p.193 ]
Gregory Albert Benford – In The Ocean of Night (1976) [ p.333 ]
Alfred Bester – The Stars My Destination (1956) [ p.197 ]
Stephen R. Donaldson – The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story (1991) Adult Reading only [ p.241 ]
David Gerrold – A Matter For Men (1983) [ p.397 ]
Megan Lindholm – Alien Earth (1992) [ p.385 ]
George R.R. Martin – Tuf Voyaging (1978-1985) [ p.374 ]
Elizabeth Moon – Trading in Danger (2003) [ p.294 ]
John Scalzi – Old Man’s War (2005) [ p.313 ]
Raymond F. Jones – This Island Earth (1952) [ p.191 ]
Tom Godwin – ” The Cold Equations ” (1954) short story [ p.23 ]
James H. Schmitz – ” Gone Fishing ” (1961) short story [ p.57 ]
Thomas J. Ryan – The Adolescence of P-1 (1977) [ p.280 ]
Poul William Anderson – Tau Zero (1970) [ p.208 ]
Isaac Asimov – Nemesis (1989) [ p.362 ]
Isaac Asimov – Second Foundation (1953) [ p.191 ]
Orson Scott Card – Ender’s Game (1985) [ p.384 ]
Stephen Coonts – Saucer (2002)lighthearted humor [ p.340 ]
Michael Crichton – Sphere (1987) [ p.335 ]
Ann Carole Crispin – Starbridge (1989) [ p.306 ]
Robert L. Forward – Rocheworld (1981) [ p.470 ]
Edmond Hamilton – The Star Kings (1949) [ p.190 ]
Dean Koontz – Phantoms (1983) Sci-Fi-Horror [ p.352 ]
Alan E. Nourse – The Universe Between (1951) [ p.160 ]
Jerry Pournelle & Larry Niven – The Mote in God’s Eye (1974) [ p.560 ]
Bob Shaw – Orbitsville (1975) [ p.224 ]
John Herbert Varley – Titan (1979) [ p.277 ]
David Weber – Path of the Fury (1992) [ p.423 ]
Jack Williamson – The Legion of Space (1935) [ p.191 ]
Greg Bear – The Forge of God (1987) [ p.473 ]
Gregory Albert Benford – In The Ocean of Night (1976) [ p.333 ]
Ben Bova – Venus (2000) [ p.382 ]
Edgar Rice Burroughs – Tarzan of the Apes (1912) [ p.245 ]
Ursula K LeGuin – The Lathe of Heaven (1971) [ p.175 ]
Murray Leinster – The Wailing Asteroid (1961) [ p.200 ]
Kim Stanley Robinson – Red Mars (1993) [ p.572 ]
Carl Sagan – Contact (1985) [ p.448 ]
151 Navessa
April 8th, 2008 at 2:38 am
hi – no idea if it’s a great list or not becuase I’ve only read one of the books – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, actually. Amazing book, as I love sarcastic humour like that. Anyway, I have a bit of a problem – at school (I’m 13 and in yr 9), we have to choose 2 books with a theme that connects the two of them, and then write a comparative essay on them. There were a few example pairs, such as Hitchhiker’s Guide and The War of the Worlds, the theme being the final frontier. I read Hitchhiker’s Guide, loving it, but when I started The War of the Worlds, I didn’t particularly like the old Victorian-like english that Wells uses and the depressing plot. I know I’m being a typical teenager and a bit fussy about that, but I don’t like being forced to read a book. So, are there any other books you could suggest with a related theme to Hitchhiker’s Guide that you think I could enjoy? I’ve tried looking myself, your list being inspiration, but I’m finding it hard thinking of a theme in the first place for Hitchhiker’s Guide. Mmm…any thoughts? Thank you for any help you can give me!
152 IveCube666
April 8th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Hi Navessa , if you enjoy Douglas Adams – Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy(1979)you will also enjoy:
1.Robert Sheckley – Mindswap(1966)
2.Rudy Rucker – Master of Time and Space(1984)
3.Spider Robinson – Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon(1977)
Most people recognize that Hitchhiker’s Guide was strongly influenced by Sheckley’s 1966 Mindswap. I understand that Adams admitts to this himself. Have fun !
Ice
Just a comment wrt marius above who lists :
” 4. R. Heinlein: Ringworld series ”
In actuality The Ringworld series was written by Larry Niven (starting with Ringworld in 1970)
153 Simon
May 1st, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Hi
This list obviously misses Stanislaw Lem’s books (Fiasco, Star Dairies for instance). How comes that writer considered once as most widely read (check Wikipedia) has not appeared even once?
Simon
154 IceCube666
May 1st, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Hi Simon, not sure if you were refering to the omission of Lem from my list in particular. I have read his 1974 novel “The Futurological Congress” (p.149). It was ok but not fantastic in my opinion. Perhaps his other work is better.
Usually what I do when I’m researching a new author is read a hundred or so reviews on the various novels an author has written. Then I select the book that appeals to my preferences the most. If I read it and don’t particular love the work then that author is pretty much dead from my point of view.
The way I look at it, there are so many hundreds of authors to try out they only get the one shot. Hopefully all the research I do in advance of selecting the book to read will help me avoid missing something great. Can you imagine if I had read Pohl’s “In the Problem Pit”(1976) first and killed that author from further consideration. I would have missed his brilliant and thoroughly enjoyable ” Gateway “(1977).
Ice
155 Piers
May 1st, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Hey there Ice! I hear what you are saying. If I may be so bold, and to give some advice, it would be this: I used to read anything remotely to do with Science Fiction and then one day I found that I had become so selective that I could not find books that “fitted” the criteria that I had set. The minute I went back to grabbing a book and just reading. (If it was real crap, then I put it down!) All I can say is that the magic came back for me! I discovered stories and authors I would never have read if I stuck to the tried and tested! Cheers.
156 IceCube666
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:53 am
Hey Piers, That’s not a bad suggestion you’ve made – to add in a random element to my search process. It’s what I did when I was younger. In fact that’s how I first came across Frederik Pohl’s Gateway(1977) which stands to this date as one of my top 20 or 30 favorite novels of all time.
My plan, once I’ve finished phase 1 of my “research” project( 12 years so far! ), is to go back to my favorite 40 or 50 authors and read the rest of their stuff. It’ll give me something to do as the years drift by and the demons of age attempt to destroy my will to live. LOL !
Some background on my Sc-Fi Research Project in case anyone is interested ( I’d be shocked if that were the case ! ).
When I was 12 my brother gave me A Princess of Mars(1912) by Edgar Rice Burroughs for . I loved that book. All 12 year olds should read that book. It’ll get them hooked on reading for life. Of course I read the entire series. There’s 11 in total. I went on to read another 35 novels by the same author and enjoyed most of them. He wrote Tarzan(1911). Which stands as one of the best know stories ever written.
Alas, once a guy enters his teens reading drops off the list of priorities and other pursuits move into the forefront. When I graduated from University and was finally done with reading for necessity I decided to see if I still enjoyed reading Sci-Fi.
At the time there was no such thing as the internet so trying to find information on who to read was very difficult. Asking for recommendations was hit and miss since EVERYONE LIKES SOMETHING DIFFERENT. I realized that this is the most absolute truth in fiction.
I knew 2 different people who had read a book called Dune(1965). One guy loved it and the other guy hated it. But wait, its the same book, how can that be ? Well, its as simple as different people like different things. So I suppose it goes without saying that the important thing is to be able to find the novels that YOU enjoy.
So that’s what I set out to do. Listening to other people’s recommendations I came across some stuff I liked and a lot of stuff I hated. It almost put me off reading Sci-Fi altogether.
When the internet came along it became my primary source of information. I no longer asked people I knew for recommendations and thereafter relied on my own internet research.
The good thing about the internet is that you can get 30 or 40 different people’s reviews/opinions on the same book at the clik of the mouse. You can cross correlate several “top 100″ or “best of” lists in a matter of minutes. After a while you get to be able to read between the lines and root out the stuff that you’ll probably like.
My success rate ( ie. finding a book that I LOVE is around 80% ). I still come across some that slip past my radar and make me squirm with annoyance, but not often.
I’ve printed off about 60 different “Best of” lists including of course Hugo, Nebula, Philip K Dick award, etc etc and have methodically gone through EVERY list and researched ALL books written by every author. I keep notes in four 3 ringed binders of all the research for every book/author. I have about 800 pages of notes so far – 5 to 10 novels per page of notes !
When I find a book that looks promising I order it from the inter-library loans department and it usually shows up in a couple weeks.
Once I’ve read the book I write a one or 2 paragraph summary of my thoughts on the authors style and whether or not I enjoyed the book. I then give it a rating based purely on my enjoyment level. An 8/10 would be a book that I loved reading. A 9/10 would be a stunning novel that uttering absorbed me, thrilled me, excited me, moved me, a book that I always looked forward to getting back to as soon as I could, a book that I never wanted to end …
A 10/10 , well … I’ve only given a 10/10 to one novel. In December of 2005 … frequently I could read no more than one or 2 sentances at a time. I would have to stop and breath and relax for a moment before going on. My emotional response was too intense. I’ll probably never give another 10 as long as I live.
Anyway, I’m rambling… So I keep a database of all the books I’ve read ( 331 I believe ). Alphabetic by author (243 authors). With the title and year as well as a page count, my rating and the exact date when I read the book. When I’ve got my top 50 authors list I’ll go back and read the rest of what they’ve written. That should keep me busy for a few more years !
One might say that I am obsessive. They would be correct.
Ice
157 piers
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Hey there again Ice!
Wow, what a response! Hell man, you sound like someone who I would like to meet! I really would love to know what book received the coveted 10/10! Perhaps one or two that received a 9/10 as well! I love books with a passion, but have never gone quite as far as you! It sounds fascinating, I would not mind reading the notes in your four 3 ringed binders that you have kept for the books and authors! Perhaps you should put them up on your website and let up peasants have a gander. I am sure that it will make some brilliant reading! This site and the list that jfrater started was found by luck and I have to tell you and all the other people here, what a really cool experience this has been and still is! It’s been a pleasure to meet you Ice, jfrater as well. Also to all the other folk here for their excellent comments and book lists. Keep the comments coming! I look forward to the E-Mail notifications when new comments are added.
Stay well all, Piers
158 pianomanzz
May 13th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
This list & all the subsequent comments are amazing! I’ve read many of the books listed & agree 100%, but now I see I have a long way to go..
I think we definitely need someone to invent a direct mind upload ala The Matrix training programs other wise I’ll need to live to 200 to get them all in!
Thanks to all,
Zman
159 ocireloki
May 14th, 2008 at 3:00 am
Oh dear god. This is too much fun.
As a professional bookseller and former scifi junkie (my addiction has turned to music and my reading to more diversity) I have so many opinions on this subject its absurd.
I like the list. I don’t agree, but I cannot argue with the selections being great. Many of the books selected are from people who are so important to scifi that one feels the need to select them, though I would not call Clarke a great writer. A great mind, though not a great writer. And while I love Enders Game, I do agree that it is a bit juvenile in its style, akin to much Bradbury.
I’m disappointed that more people didn’t mention John Brunner, particularly Stand on Zanzibar, but perhaps thats because him, as well as Roadside Picnic by Strugatsky have largely been unavailable in the US.
On the contrary, I do defend the Heinlein choice.
Much thanks to the list, and to all the comments, as you have reminded me of a few novels that my more educated friends have recommended over the years. Im particularly enjoying the conversation between piers and icecube as well
-j
160 kiwiboi
May 14th, 2008 at 6:07 am
Ice – ok, I realise that this is specifically a sci-fi list, but it is interesting to come across someone who is, like myself, seemingly obsessive about books. I must have thousands; my garage is unusable due to boxed books that will not fit in the shelves (or on the floor) in my house, and I am currently looking for another garage to rent because I am out of space in my own one. Whilst I do not take the trouble to maintain filed notes like you do (oh…I wish you hadn’t told us that!) I did make a start cataloging my books a year ago, starting with modern ones for which I am able to scan ISBN barcodes (older ones, of course, will need to be entered into the database manually).
My obsession is also characterised by the fact that :
- I still have the first “real” book I read right through at age 6;
- if I come across a copy of one of my favourite books I will often buy it even though I already have it (multiple copies in some cases…I just can’t let it sit there…!!); and
- for many of my favourite books I can tell you the shop/place where I found it and can, in some cases, still remember the moment I discovered it.
I also (modestly) collect literary first editions and antiquarian works and have, on more than one occasion, paid many hundreds of dollars for a book when it seems to me that I am probably the only person on earth who wants it! It goes without saying that once I have it, I carefully put it away and continue to enjoy a “reading” copy of the same work. Anyhow, thank God for AbeBooks and eBay !! BTW, don’t tell my wife about the “hundreds of dollars” thing
Hmmm…reading the above, maybe I am just “obsessive” and the book thing is ancillary
I can still remember when I was a flat-broke university student and there was this book I came across that I just had to have; a cheap(ish) paperback biography. Upon getting a part-time job, I would go every lunchtime and read a chapter before hiding the only copy of the book behind others so it wouldn’t get sold before I had the money. It’s still one of my favourite books – the anguish I went through to get it probably adds to my enjoyment of owning it. (FWIW, the book was called We Will Not Cease; its an autobiography of Archibald Baxter, detailing his ordeal as a conscientious objector in WWI; Baxter is also the father of one of NZ’s most famous poets). Naturally, I have more than one copy of this now
Whilst my reading habits extend from biography, finance, science, sport, literature, art, mathematics, literature (prose / poetry) etc., the one thing I have no appetite for is science fiction ! And, believe me, I’ve tried. for example, Stranger in a Strange Land bored me, I’m sorry to say; as did 2001:A Space Odyssey. As an aside, my friend’s sister was married to Douglas Adams and I even turned down a vague opportunity to meet the guy once (which, of course, I regret now). I just couldn’t get excited over it, whereas my sci-fi friends couldn’t believe my nonchalance.
It’s pleasing to see the great Fred Hoyle on your list above (Sagan too, of course); Hoyle was a scientific giant in his day – though, admittedly, his views on the “big bang” are a litte unorthodox by today’s standards
Ice, a coupla questions :
1. do you collect editions of your favourite authors eg. first or signed eds.? Or is it “merely” the reading that does it for you?
2. did you ever think of collating all of those aspects (style, characterisation, plot etc) that represent a great sci-fi novel to you…and then writing one yourself ? Or, maybe you’ve possibly tried this already…?
Lastly…please do not keep us in suspense; what was the 10/10 book ?
161 IceCube666
May 15th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Hi Piers, Ocireloki, Kiwiboi, its always a pleasure to interact with like minds. Perhaps this is one of the truths of the human experience.
Piers, I plea guilty to dangling the unnamed “10/10 book” out there. Shameful of me to do so. I was curious to see how people would respond. Something that I realized years ago, as I mentioned above, is that different people like and love different things. This is true of course of books, movies, women, food, sleeping positions and so on and so forth. My 10/10 will probably be different than someone else’s 10/10. I would be reluctant to disclose the title and have someone make an entirely valid comment that the book was terrible in their opinion. On some level it would hurt my feelings.
To be fair though I will provide sufficient data for the truly curious ( or for someone as obsessive as myself ) to identify the title with a few clues. I will warn you that there is one little trick to my game that will make the discovery somewhat unexpected. Think of it as a treasure hunt. Of course you may discover the treasure and find you do not like the colour of the gems. LOL
The author is a winner of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. The author is also a past nominee of both the Hugo and Nebula awards. The book was first published in 1993 and the author was 35 years of age at the time of the publishing. You will know you have the correct title if you do an Amazon search for the book and discover 16 reviews ( as of 2008may15 – I just checked ). All 16 reviews rate the novel a perfect 5/5. Of all the titles I’ve researched over the years this is the only book that I’ve seen receive 16 perfect scores.
I should mention also that perhaps part of the reason I loved this particular novel was my ability to identify with the main character, his upbringing having been very similar to my own. Sadly with the way society is going these days I suspect many people have gone through similar experiences.
But enough of that ! I find myself out of control once again on another tangent. Who really cares about my 10/10. Its more important for you to find YOUR 10/10. Maybe its on my list. I hope it is.
The best way to determine whether or not my list is of any use to YOU is perhaps to review the titles first. See if there are any that you have read and if you also liked the same title. If so, you can assume that the chances that you will like other titles on my list is therefore greater. If, on the contrary, you find that some of my favourites do NOT appeal to you then my list is quite likely of no use to you. Pretty simple I think.
I’m guessing that my list will be very useful for 40% of people, moderately useful for 30% of people and disastrously useless for everyone else. LOL !
OK , here’s a little info that may help anyone interested in figuring out whether we may think alike and thus whether our reading preferences may be similar. My vocational background is in science. My work is in the area of reflection data signal analysis. While I do have an undergraduate degree is physics my brain has had enough of complex thought when 5:00pm rolls around and I would thus be considered a LAZY reader. As I said earlier I read for fun, relaxation, escapism, pleasure. I enjoy books that are involving, intelligent, thought provoking, exciting, mysterious, emotionally moving.
I have ZERO patience for authors that are trying to impress me with their vocabulary. If they’re using a ten dollar word when a 50 cent one will do I think they’re missing the point. This is not a technical manual, you are supposed to be telling me a story. It drives me crazy when they’ve chopped the story into seven or eight separate plot streams that will eventually coalesce towards the end. I can never keep track of who’s doing what and where. If the character count gets up to around 50 or 60 by page 100 its a big negative. If the author insists on inventing bizarre multi syllabic names that I cant even pronounce inside my head I’m not happy. If the sentence structure is awkward or runs on too long it bugs me. Have you read J.D.Salinger’s – The Catcher in the Rye (1951) ? One of the great novels of our time. Its easy to read. The way books should be in my opinion.
In short, I like a book that is compelling and enjoyable yet flows smoothly and easily. When I’m reading a book that I enjoy I don’t even notice that I’m sitting in a room reading. My eyes scan the page so quickly that my brain and my consciousness becomes immersed in the story and I detach from my surroundings completely. For me personally this does not happen if I must stop every third sentence to figure something out. Weird yes ?
For people that enjoy challenging complex innovative difficult literary science fiction that makes you work and struggle while you’re reading then my list is not for you. I actually enjoy the pulp SciFi from the 30’s and 40’s – the good stuff anyway – much of it is drivel – but the good stuff is wonderful ! Take another look at my list. Some of it would be considered ” literary ” fiction and I guess much of it would be pulp.
Ok, enough of that. Back to reality. Ocireloki, you mentioned Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic (1977) [p.145] which I read in May of 2003. The story involves a zone of alien garbage presumably left behind after visitors from another world landed on earth for a short stay. The stuff they tossed away is both mysterious and dangerous not to mention highly valuable. Brilliant idea in my opinion and highly original. The only reason it didn’t make it onto my list was the author’s focus on forwarding his political opinions rather than on telling the story. Don’t get me wrong , I did enjoy the book. I just felt that it could have been so much more. But some people like a novel with a little more intellectual meat in them and for those persons Roadside Picnic might be perfect. Me, I’m a simpleton. LOL
Kiwiboi, I share your love of books in much the same way. I too had as many as seven or eight hundred books stored in various bookcases all over my house. Not the thousands that you have but more or less the same concept. I loved the sight of them and I loved the feel of them. But eventually I realized that I had focussed more on the collecting of the books than on the reading of them. Much the same way I object to an author who focusses more on the art of writing than on the art of telling a story.
So one day I loaded up a truck and brought them all to a used bookstore. Of course I had to keep my favourite 20 volumes but that was all. After that point I discovered I spent no time at all searching for books and more time reading. Which seemed to make me happy so I stuck with it. Still, I find myself in my office every once in a while pulling out one of my old favourites from decades ago and just feeling the pages, gazing at the cover and joyously revelling in memories that drift back to me from years ago.
You also asked whether I had ever considered writing a novel myself. Certainly my concept of what represents good science fiction writing will differ from someone else’s, but one thing I can say with 100% confidence is that I am absolutely incapable of writing anything. Everything that I admire and search for in good writing is totally beyond my abilities. I write like a buffoon. Numbers I’m not bad with but words – nope, no way, can’t do it. LOL ! Maybe that’s why I admire good fiction so much. Its like magic to me.
But its so funny that you asked because I have fantasized about THAT VERY THING ! I dream about being able to extract all the elements of good writing and a good story and to write the most incredible Science Fiction novel of all time, one that is read and enjoyed by all readers not just readers of Sci Fi. But of course that task will need to be left to someone else. Perhaps once we develop that ” direct mind upload ala The Matrix training program ” mentioned by pianomanzz Zman then my research/database could be cross correlated with James P.Hogans brain and BOOOM !!! – you’d have the thermonuclear novel of the millennium ! But alas, Mr.Hogan is a god and I am a nobody so it’ll never happen. Oh ya, plus, I guess that direct mind upload thingy doesn’t exist yet so that’s a bit of a fly in the ointment … LOL
OK here’s my list again, just in case someone has just joined this site for the first time and doesn’t know what flippin list I keep talking about …
Here’s my list of favourites – Including Publishing Date and Page Count :
Top 100 Science Fiction Books of All Time: ( actually there’s less than 100 )
Top 15 Science Fiction Books of All Time: ( actually there’s more than 15 )
( do you think search engines will be able to pick up on those “Top … Science Fiction” character strings ? )
Intentionally in no particular order at all:
Fred Hoyle – The Black Cloud (1957) [ p.251 ]
James P. Hogan – Inherit the Stars (1977) [ p.140 ]
Joe Haldeman – The Forever War (1974) [ p.218 ]
Frederik Pohl – Gateway (1977) [ p.278 ]
John Wyndham – The Day of the Triffids (1951) [ p.228 ]
Arthur Charles Clarke – Childhood’s End (1953) [ p.222 ]
H G Wells – The First Men In the Moon (1901) [ p.220 ]
Edgar Rice Burroughs – A Princess of Mars (1912) [ p.159 ]
Kurt Vonnegut jr. – The Sirens of Titan (1959) [ p.326 ]
Gordon R. Dickson – Dorsai ! (1959) [ p.249 ]
Alan Dean Foster – Midworld (1975) [ p.179 ]
David Feintuch – Midshipman’s Hope (1994) [ p.391 ]
Robert James Sawyer – Calculating God (2000) [ p.334 ]
John Steakley – Armor (1984) [ p.426 ]
Walter Jon Williams – Dread Empire’s Fall: The Praxis (2002) [ p.438 ]
Francis Paul Wilson – Healer (1976) [ p.261 ]
Fredric Brown – What Mad Universe (1949) [ p.198 ]
Roger MacBride Allen – The Ring of Charon (1990) [ p.500 ]
Kevin James Anderson – Assemblers of Infinity (1993) [ p.355 ]
Edwin Lester Arnold – Gullivar of Mars (1905) [ p.193 ]
Gregory Albert Benford – In The Ocean of Night (1976) [ p.333 ]
Alfred Bester – The Stars My Destination (1956) [ p.197 ]
Stephen R. Donaldson – The Gap Into Conflict: The Real Story (1991) Adult Reading only [ p.241 ]
David Gerrold – A Matter For Men (1983) [ p.397 ]
Megan Lindholm – Alien Earth (1992) [ p.385 ]
George R.R. Martin – Tuf Voyaging (1978-1985) [ p.374 ]
Elizabeth Moon – Trading in Danger (2003) [ p.294 ]
John Scalzi – Old Man’s War (2005) [ p.313 ]
Raymond F. Jones – This Island Earth (1952) [ p.191 ]
Tom Godwin – ” The Cold Equations ” (1954) short story [ p.23 ]
James H. Schmitz – ” Gone Fishing ” (1961) short story [ p.57 ]
Thomas J. Ryan – The Adolescence of P-1 (1977) [ p.280 ]
Poul William Anderson – Tau Zero (1970) [ p.208 ]
Isaac Asimov – Nemesis (1989) [ p.362 ]
Isaac Asimov – Second Foundation (1953) [ p.191 ]
Orson Scott Card – Ender’s Game (1985) [ p.384 ]
Stephen Coonts – Saucer (2002)lighthearted humor [ p.340 ]
Michael Crichton – Sphere (1987) [ p.335 ]
Ann Carole Crispin – Starbridge (1989) [ p.306 ]
Robert L. Forward – Rocheworld (1981) [ p.470 ]
Edmond Hamilton – The Star Kings (1949) [ p.190 ]
Dean Koontz – Phantoms (1983) Sci-Fi-Horror [ p.352 ]
Alan E. Nourse – The Universe Between (1951) [ p.160 ]
Jerry Pournelle & Larry Niven – The Mote in God’s Eye (1974) [ p.560 ]
Bob Shaw – Orbitsville (1975) [ p.224 ]
John Herbert Varley – Titan (1979) [ p.277 ]
David Weber – Path of the Fury (1992) [ p.423 ]
Jack Williamson – The Legion of Space (1935) [ p.191 ]
Greg Bear – The Forge of God (1987) [ p.473 ]
Gregory Albert Benford – In The Ocean of Night (1976) [ p.333 ]
Ben Bova – Venus (2000) [ p.382 ]
Edgar Rice Burroughs – Tarzan of the Apes (1912) [ p.245 ]
Ursula K LeGuin – The Lathe of Heaven (1971) [ p.175 ]
Murray Leinster – The Wailing Asteroid (1961) [ p.200 ]
Kim Stanley Robinson – Red Mars (1993) [ p.572 ]
Carl Sagan – Contact (1985) [ p.448 ]
Enjoy !
Ice
162 kiwiboi
May 16th, 2008 at 2:46 am
Think of it as a treasure hunt. Of course you may discover the treasure and find you do not like the colour of the gems. LOL
Found it. Well, amazon in the UK is out of stock; so I’ll order it somewhere else.
Actually, Ice, I was a little surprised at the plot, as it is not suggestive to me of (what I perceive to be) sci-fi. Notwithstanding this, it seems to be just the sort of thing I would find totally compellng, so thanks so much for the lead.
And have no concerns on the “don’t blame me if it’s not your cup of tea” thing…I know exactly what you mean, and have so often recommended a book making the same disclaimer
Strangely, your choice reminded me straight away of one of my all-time favourite novels. It’s called One Deadly Summer, written by Sebastien Japrisot, a French crime/thriller writer. It’s a book I read probably once a year (I originally purchased a Penguin p/b edition maybe 20 years ago). There is a film of the story, but I found it disappointing. Japrisot is also the guy who wrote A Very Long Engagement, which, as you will know, was recently made into a movie (which I have yet to see).
Have you read J.D.Salinger’s – The Catcher in the Rye (1951) ? One of the great novels of our time. Its easy to read.
LOL, I absolutely hate that book; and, personally, I found the narrative style very, very irritating. Everybody else seems to love it, so maybe I am in a minority of one
But I agree 100% with you about the annoyance of writers whose pretentious style interferes with the story. This one does exactly this for me.
But its so funny that you asked because I have fantasized about THAT VERY THING ! I dream about being able to extract all the elements of good writing and a good story and to write the most incredible Science Fiction novel of all time, one that is read and enjoyed by all readers not just readers of Sci Fi. But of course that task will need to be left to someone else.
Ice…just DO IT ! Would the enjoyment and fulfilment of the writing process not be reward enough? So what if your hopes of publishers fees, author’s royalties, adoration of millions, female stalkers, movie rights etc. etc. don’t come to fruition…!!??…hmmm…ok, sometimes it’s best to leave well enough alone! Just kidding, of course
Seriously though…if you feel so inclined, why not at least give it a try?
And Ice..thanks again for the hint and the interesting comments (I include the other posters in this too – keep it up guys!)
163 kiwiboi
May 16th, 2008 at 2:53 am
Recognising that jfrater published his own list of favourite books, a Your View of the “10 Books You Would Take to a Desert Island – And Why?” would be a great list
164 IceCube666
May 20th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Kiwiboi, I like your honesty ! So you’re one of the guys that hated “The Catcher in the Rye”. While I did mention it as one of the “great novels of our time” and as I understand it is broadly considered as such, it didn’t appeal to me personally either. Although when I checked my database I gave it an ok rating:
J.D.Salinger – The Catcher in the Rye (1951) [ 7.0-6.5/10 p.214 ] 2006may19-2006may23
Not quite the “hate” rating you gave it but no where near the loving comments lavished by literary critics. I guess that just confirms what we knew already, that different people like different things.
I did like the part where the main character got into an in depth discussion with a cab driver about what they do with the fish in the ponds of Central Park NYC. Our hero assumed they would need to remove them every year before the winter freeze up. The cabbie was adamant that the fish were able to continue to live while frozen in the ice by absorbing nutrients through their skin. ” Its their nature ” he would say. That line always cracks me up. In so many ways its an accurate observation one could use to explain the seemingly irrational actions of so many humans on this planet. Its their nature.
Now I’m going to say something that will both shock and displease many : I secretly believe that thousands of people have read ” Dune ” as their first foray into Science Fiction (having heard that it is THE best Sci Fi ever written) and they didn’t like it. Plus, they never read any Sci Fi again, EVER. They figured that if this is the best that the genre has to offer then I’m gonna stick with my mysteries or thrillers or whatever.
I mentioned before that a few people have made that comment to me , that they hated Dune. But the way they said it was as if they were afraid to. Like it was blasphemy. Or that they would be considered stupid for trashing ” The best Sci Fi ever written”. After that I wondered to myself how many people must have read Dune and hated it. And did they ever read any Science Fiction again after that. We’ll never know.
People unfamiliar with the genre have no idea of how broad a range of styles exist in Science Fiction. I believe this is the result of the incredibly broad range of backgrounds of authors writing Sci Fi. You have your 180 IQ scientists who in their spare time compute the divergence velocity of separating galaxies like Sir Fred Hoyle. Then you have your literature major former newspaper editors like Frank Herbert. These brain types think completely differently and as a result their writing styles are completely different.
It is ironic to note that while Hoyle would be considered a brilliant powerful mind his writing style is extremely simple and straightforward. On the other hand one would not assume that a former newspaper editor such as Herbert would have quite the same raw brain power as an astrophysicist but Herbert’s style is incredibly complex, inventive, and challenging. You could almost say it’s the opposite of what you’d expect. In fact it is exactly what I have observed over the last 230 or so authors. The scientists tend to write straightforward prose and the non-scientists use a more convoluted style. Edward Elmer Smith 1890 – 1965 ( aka EE Doc Smith ) was a Phd Chemist who was incredibly popular in the 1940’s and 50’s with his Lensman and Skylark series. He also wrote in a very easy to read style similar to the Heinlein juveniles. I love reading those old Doc Smith books. Mind you, I have the brain of a twelve year old. LOL !
Of course, we get to pick which style we prefer. But I’d hate to think that thousands of people have been turned off Sci Fi because they just happen to pick up a book that didn’t appeal to them. I was almost completely turned off sci fi in my early post University days because of the same thing. I tried to plow through several of the ” Gor” books because I loved the covers and I thought that because I could find them everywhere that they must be popular. Well, the reason that I could find them everywhere was that people primarily purchased them because of the stunning Boris Valejo cover art featuring the smoking hot scantily clad females. Then , once they tried to read the first chapter or two they promptly brought them to the used bookstore to trade for something better. There’s one series of books that sold millions just based on the cover art !
I bet someone who was good with computer programming could build an algorithm that asked the average person 15 or 20 simple questions about who they were, how they thought and what their preferences were and it could spit out a list of the 100 or so books that they would most enjoy – both Fiction AND non-Fiction. Global book sales would go through the roof.
I know amazon tries to do something like this in a very rudimentary way by tracking previous selections but I think it could be done so much better with a little thought.
Of course we all know what would happen – tickets sales for hockey games would plummet , baseball players would no longer make 10 times what the average surgeon earns, the World Wrestling Federation would collapse, funding for space exploration would triple, illiteracy rates would drop to zero, sales of coca-cola and pepsi would vanish, smoking would cease to exist on the planet, overall population health would skyrocket and democratic cultures would no longer vote idiots into presidential power.
And thus the BOOK FINDING SUPER AI will never be built since the wealthy powers that be prefer to keep us stupid ! LOL
Ice
165 Ender
May 20th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I think Ender’s Game is a classic because it brings you into the life of Ender himself. It shows how many people respects him but are not aware of the burden he carries. That brings me to a great question that I think one of you can answer…. Is Ender dead or if he gains his memories as Peter(A clone of his Brother Peter the Hegemon) will he change back to the Ender we all know and love….
P.S. When does the next book to the series come out??
166 Jim
June 15th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Comment #166 on Top 15 SF books…
http://listverse.com/literature/top-15-great-science-fiction-books/
Ice, et. al.,
I won’t (yet) give away the author/title of the 10/10 that got 16/16 5-star amazon ratings, but will give this page to help:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction_writer
I ordered the book, and will try it out.
WHICH TITLE DOES NOT FIT?
I have long wondered whether the greatest SF *film* of all time was more Kubrick’s or Clarke’s (I incline to K), but the novelization of “2001: A Space Odyessy” does not belong here. As others have said, “Childhood’s End” would be a better choice.
DUNE
This does belong, but as IceCube666 said (in post #164), it would not be a good first SF novel to read, if only because it is difficult (though rewarding).
GOOD INTRO TO SF
There are many, of course, but the one that comes to mind is Heinlein’s “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”.
I find Heinlein easy to read, and mostly agree with his worldview/philosophy.
Asimov’s Robot series, while not scintillating, is accessible, and is another “try-this-first”, not-too-challenging intro to SF.
ASIMOV
His best long non-fiction work might be An Intelligent Man’s Guide to Science” – the physical sciences volume (I haven;t yet picked up his life-sciences volume). I was amazed at how he wove a fabric of the history of science – with many cross-references – in this volume. It was mostly old news to a “science-guy” like me, but told very entertainingly, mainly becasue I did not know the stories behind the discoveries.
Anyway, thanks for the tip on (oops, almost called it by name!)
167 Jim
June 15th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
In #39 owlathome said:
“Some sci-fi has great writing,
some sci-fi has great ideas
and some sci-fi has both.
The latter is rarest.”
Indeed, as a whole the ideas are what make SF worthwhile, and we get plenty of that with serviceable writing. The great SF novels should have great writing as well.
In #40 owlathome said:
“Afterthought:
There are no
women writers
on the list”
and cited Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Left Hand of Darkness.”
It has been 30 years since I read this, and remember it as having some novel (to me) ideas.
Regards under-represented-ness, I would say, that for a women to have ONE citation on a list of fifteen and have women “correctly represented” – would require that 6% of published SF authors be women, AND that the best of them are as good as the best of the men.
(simplistic – but a good first try)
Considered another way, this is like saying that the NBA Hall-of-Fame is under-represented by white players.
(since around 1970, about 25% of NBA players are white)
Or, that the ranks of all time chess players is under-represented by the better-half of humanity.
I’m sure that owlathome could think of other examples.
I’d like to see owlathome cite more than three titles by women – that belong in the top 30 or so.
168 IceCube666
June 16th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Hi guys, just wanted to toss in my two cents wrt the subject of female SciFi authors.
Here’s 4 female authors that I love:
Ursula K. LeGuin – Highly intelligent, insightful style that reads smooth like silk. recomm: The Lathe of Heaven (1971)
Ann Carole Crispin – Inventive, gripping straightforward delivery. recomm: Starbridge (1989)
Lois McMaster Bujold – (Former Military Nurse) Emotionally moving stories that are sometimes gruesome. Soap Opera combined with action. recomm: Shards of Honor (1986)
Elizabeth Moon – Classic pulp style, fun, exciting, satisfying in the extreme. Very EASY to read. Imagine if EE Doc Smith had a sister and her name was Liz. recomm: Trading in Danger (2003)
Thanks for not giving away the title of my 10/10 book, Jim ! I will mention one more hint though. The 10/10 book itself is NOT SciFi although the author is a science fiction writer.
Funny that one of my favorite books is not even science fiction. My other favorite is Fred Hoyle’s Black Cloud(1957), but I don’t think many people would rank it as highly so I’m not suggesting it to anyone.
I guess you could read a few reviews for The Black Cloud on Amazon to see if it might appeal to you. Ya never know. LOL
Have fun !
Ice
169 serk01
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:53 am
great list indeed. I was wondering whether “Ender’s Game” would be in here and I am glad to see it. It’s an amazing book and I can never get enough of it. I suggest the parallel story of Bean in the Shadow saga which is a really great series of books.
The same goes of course for the “Hitchiker’s guide to the galaxy”, the whole 5 books of which I seem to be reading every two years. At this rate I will end up reading them almost 30 times before I die!
170 HerrFerret
July 1st, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Wow. Great selection.
I was once stuck in my flat in Nepal during the rather suspicious killing of the nepalese royal family.
But I had these books, and they gave me hope for a better future. I will never forget gateway, reading it while locked in my house…
Great list. May I recommend you read some cory doctorow. Once you do you never go back, he is amazing.
171 b-dogg
July 17th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I am legend is a good classic SF novel, as is The Forever War. However Frankenstein should have been in there somewhere, you could have made the list into a top 20
172 AP
July 18th, 2008 at 3:35 am
Gargh! I guess this is why I wasn’t born a detective…
Ice, give us a little more clue for your 10/10 book.
I was just taking a short break from work earlier, randomly surfing and came across this site.
Here I am 2 hours later (still not working) trying to find your 10/10 book.
.
.
.
Still searching….
173 AP
July 18th, 2008 at 4:50 am
Well, they day is gone, don’t think I’ll get any more work done….. but I think I found it.
I live in a third world country, and the chances of getting this book is slim to none. I can’t remember what I clicked on but I’m now reading it through Amazon online reader.
I am tingling with anticipation. I am on the first few pages and this comment may well be premature, but I have to say I agree with Ice’s statement “If they’re using a ten dollar word when a 50 cent one will do I think they’re missing the point.”
A tip to others, it is now 18 July and till now amazon.com still registers 16 5-star reviews. No 4-star or below reviews.
174 Wagers
August 13th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Excellent list, though 15 is an impossibly small number to work with. I would include The Annubis Gate by Tim Powers, Book of the New Sun by Wolfe, The Stars My Destination by Bester, The Mote in God’s Eye by Pournelle and Niven, Orbitsville by Bob Shaw, Dying of the Light by George R.R. Martin, A Bridge of Time by Robert Charles Wilson, and Dancers at the End of Time (trilogy) by Moorcock. Would have substituted these titles to represent a few of the great authors on your list: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress for Heinlein, The Man in the High Castle or Flow My Tears the Policeman Said for Dick, Rendevouz with Rama for Clarke, and Something Wicked This Way Comes for Bradbury.
175 Wagers
August 13th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Yikes! The correct title for Robert Charles Wilson’s great novel is A Bridge of Years.
Double yikes! My list should have included Way Station by Clifford Simak, the grandest of the Grand Masters.
176 IceCube666
August 13th, 2008 at 10:54 am
“The Stars My Destination by Bester
The Mote in God’s Eye by Pournelle and Niven
Orbitsville by Bob Shaw
A Bridge of Time by Robert Charles Wilson
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress for Heinlein
Rendevouz with Rama for Clarke”
… I love all those books.
This other one you mention ” The Annubis Gate by Tim Powers ” I’ve never read. Is it any good ? Does it read smooth or is it a fair bit of effort to enjoy ? Its the only one on your list I’m unfamiliar with and all the rest I’ve tried and agree are great !
Thanks, Ice
177 Wagers
August 13th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Ice – Powers’ stories are very readable although his plot twists and concepts are a little more challenging than the others on my list, except maybe those by Dick. I’ll say this: The Annubis Gate is without any doubt one of my three favorite SF titles period. If you try it, let me know what you think.
Wagers
178 IceCube666
August 14th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Thanks very much for the info, Wagers. If it is one of your favorite 3 titles and I love the rest of your list my guess is that Anubis will be really good. I’m looking forward to it.
I’ve just checked and there’s a copy in Red Deer I’m going to order. I’ll let you know how it works out. I’m always on the hunt for new authors to try ( 246 different authors so far ).
Much appreciated.
Ice
179 eejones
August 19th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Great discussion – I’m definately checking out some of these titles I haven’t read.
My 2 cents;
No particular order;
The Time Machine
The Stars My Destination
A Canticle for Leibowitz
Cordwainer Smith collection
Kindred (spec. fiction, but could be included here)
Martian Chronicles
The Man in the High Castle
The Left Hand of Darkness
Frankenstein
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Vol. 1 1929-1964 (great short story intro to sci-fi)
It’s always a risk picking “recent” stuff, but maybe along the lines of; Forge of God/Anvil of Stars…
Picking 15 is HARD!
180 nickm
August 19th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I think Margaret Atwood’s “Oryx & Crake” should be on the list. It was even considered for the Booker Prize.
181 IceCube666
August 21st, 2008 at 10:05 am
Hi all, just a quick comment about one of my Sci-Fi favorites : Fred Hoyle – The Black Cloud (1957) [ p.251 ]. I checked Amazon to see what other people thought about it and was pleased to discover that it is quite highly rated ! 17 out of 25 people rated it a perfect 5/5 stars and the remaining few votes were mostly 4/5 or 3/5 stars.
I’ve read about 250 different authors and still consider The Black Cloud to be without question my favorite Science Fiction novel. It is a highly intelligent, exciting, funny, dramatic and compelling story that is fast and easy to read.
Many of the ideas and scientific concepts contained in the story have become scientific reality some 30 or 40 years after the book was published. Fred Hoyle was obviously a man who’s ability to create new concepts and foresee into the future was perhaps only equaled by well known authors Jules Verne and Isaac Asimov.
On top of that his writing style is so easy to enjoy I found myself unable to put the book down. I believe the reason that this particular book is not universally know is that it was originally a British publishing that got very limited release in North America.
If this same story had been published by Arthur Clarke I don’t doubt that it would have been considered his finest work and would be known to all SciFi fans here in NA the same way we are all familiar with his Rendezvous with Rama series or Asimov’s Foundation series.
Anyway, I just wanted to suggest that anyone who enjoys classic Sci-Fi should give Hoyle’s Black Cloud a try and let me know what you think. Have fun !
Ice
182 Omar Vega
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Great list!
I find all those mentioned are great books. However, some of my favorites aren’t there. For example, Olaf Stapledon “Starmaker”.
However, what I can’t believe is that Jules Verne and H.G. Wells aren’t in the list either, given they are the most famous and top best sellers of Science Fiction ever.
In any case, all the books in the list are superb.
183 IceCube666
August 25th, 2008 at 7:45 am
Good point Omar. Wells should definitely be on there. I know most people are familiar with his ” The War of the Worlds ” (1898) p.200 but have you ever tried his novel ” The First Men In the Moon ” (1901) p.220 ?
It represents one of the first novels every written involving travel through outer space and exploration of a new world. It is written in a highly engaging fashion with wonderful descriptive passages and some exhilarating action sequences. Try it out and let me know what you think.
Ice
184 zenith
August 29th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I will definitely have to add these books to my reading list, minus Brave New World since I’ve already read it.
185 theraven
September 6th, 2008 at 11:17 am
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess is on I would add. The Tommyknockers by Stephen King is a very underappreciated book, it should at least get an honorable mention.
186 lewie
October 10th, 2008 at 3:36 am
i hate books
187 Piers
October 10th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
To all the dills who come here and post infantile and downright childish remarks, why don’t YOU go get a life? No one here is bothering ANYONE at all! Please go play someplace else!
Back on topic, it good to see the old faces still posting! I have not had a chance to make a turn for a while. Hi to all, glade to see that this is still going strong! Cheers!
188 Bushforvverr
October 12th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
Books did 9/11
189 downhighway61
October 14th, 2008 at 6:30 am
?
What’s up with the comments today?
People are being extra ridiculous.
190 Piers
October 14th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Yes, according to some people only gay people read books!? It’s rather sad that what starts off as something really cool get spoilt by infantile twerps! I suppose I should not take the (flame) bait! Still a great spot to come to, thanks to jf and others. Cheers!
191 Ice Falcon
November 8th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
As far as I am concerned, the Moon is a harsh Mistress and Have Space Suit, Will Travel are the best science fiction Heinlein ever did, Stranger in a strange land included. And as regards Stranger, the book, in case Hybrid didn’t know is about Jesus, just like the Joshua books by Paul Girzone.
192 IceCube666
November 10th, 2008 at 8:49 am
I agree Moon is a great book. Read it a couple years ago. I’ll try Space Suit next.
I’ve also heard Starship Troopers is good. Have you tried that one ?
I was reluctant to put the time into reading it since I ( may ) already know the plot because I have seen the movie. Often the screenplay and novel differ substantially so maybe it would’nt matter. Any thoughts ?
Ice
193 Orson isnt even close
November 10th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
enders game? REALLY? you must be fucked. Enders game over the miriad of science fiction greats. Who comes up with these lists anyway?
194 IceCube666
November 11th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Yes, Ender’s Game. Have you read it ? It’s good.
Did you see the other 14 titles included in the list ? They’re also good. Many of them are classics. I think its the right idea to include a title such as Ender’s Game not only because it was and remains incredibly popular but also since it’s a good idea for such a list to represent a broader spectrum of what people enjoy in Science Fiction. Does that make sense ?
Why just create a list of nothing but Sci-Fi literary classics ? They would all be the same. That’s boring.
If anything I would broaden the range of titles to include one of Edgar Rice Burroughs earlier Sci-Fi pulps: “A Princess of Mars”. It might not be considered classic literature but its wildly entertaining.
In fact, many people believe that “A Princess of Mars”, written in 1911, was THE novel that launched the entire Science Fiction adventure genre. Tarzan , another of ERB’s creations, is the second best known story on this planet after the story of Jesus Christ. So I would say ERB belongs on any top 15 list. LOL !
Think about it.
Ice
195 sha
November 11th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
great list, i had no trouble finding a science fiction book to read for my project
196 Devon
November 15th, 2008 at 3:28 am
I have read a couple of these books but I havn’t yet read slaughterhouse 5 but I have seen the movie which I thought was wonderful but quite odd!??
Can someone explain to me what the author of this book was trying to say in the movie or book???
I didn’t understand that the character Billy (is that his name?) and the stuff about him traveling to another time or planet????
What was the point about all that stuff??? To this day I do not understand what the space stuff had to do with the rest of the movie?
Thanks
197 Piers
November 15th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Billy Pilgrim is the unlikeliest of antiwar heroes. An unpopular and complacent weakling even before the war (he prefers sinking to swimming), he becomes a joke as a soldier. He trains as a chaplain’s assistant, a duty that earns him disgust from his peers. With scant preparation for armed conflict, no weapons, and even an improper uniform, he is thrust abruptly into duty at the Battle of the Bulge. The farcical spectacle created by Billy’s inappropriate clothing accentuates the absurdity of such a scrawny, mild-mannered soldier. His azure toga, a leftover scrap of stage curtain, and his fur-lined overcoat, several sizes too small, throw his incongruity into relief. They underscore a central irony: such a creature could walk through war, oblivious yet unscathed, while so many others with more appropriate attire and provisions perish. It is in this shocked and physically exhausted state that Billy first comes “unstuck in time” and begins swinging to and fro through the events of his life, past and future.
Billy lives a life full of indignity and so, perhaps, has no great fear of death. He is oddly suited, therefore, to the Tralfamadorian philosophy of accepting death. This fact may point to an interpretation of the Tralfamadorians as a figment of Billy’s disturbed mind, an elaborate coping mechanism to explain the meaningless slaughter Billy has witnessed. By uttering “So it goes” after each death, the narrator, like Billy, does not diminish the gravity of death but rather lends an equalizing dignity to all death, no matter how random or ironic, how immediate or removed. Billy’s father dies in a hunting accident just as Billy is about to go off to war. So it goes. A former hobo dies in Billy’s railway car while declaring the conditions not bad at all. So it goes. One hundred thirty thousand innocent people die in Dresden. So it goes. Valencia Pilgrim accidentally kills herself with carbon monoxide after turning bright blue. So it goes. Billy Pilgrim is killed by an assassin’s bullet at exactly the time he has predicted, in the realization of a thirty-some-year-old death threat. So it goes. Billy awaits death calmly, without fear, knowing the exact hour at which it will come. In so doing, he gains a degree of control over his own dignity that he has lacked throughout most of his life.
The novel centers on Billy Pilgrim to a degree that excludes the development of the supporting characters, who exist in the text only as they relate to Billy’s experience of events.
198 Devon
November 15th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Man oh man Piers…I guess I need to read the novel as opposed to just watching the movie….holy cow, did I ever miss a lot..
I do know that the author, a German American, was perhaps making a film that could be construed as anti war but it still lost me overall….
Thank you for your insight….and as I stated earlier, I better grab the novel….
199 Archevol
November 19th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Hey all,
These are all great books… However, Strangers’ misogyny is too much a dominant theme, while Ender’s Game is an absolute classic… for boys’ own sci-fi (ref: The Last Legionnaire et al). Much as I like Pohl, I believe his works have been thoroughly gazumped by Iain M Banks – the best cross sci-fi genre writer to date (AI, gene manip, socio-science – the works, although he too stands on the shoulders of giants. 15 books simply isn’t enough … !
As with everyone, I am swayed by books I read when growing up. However, it would be nice to see a list of ‘most influential’. That way, favourite writers could be offset by effect.
For me, if you’re going for influential, then the body of works that comprises Asimov’s I, Robot should be in there. As should Heinlein’s Starship Troopers – a book so beyond its time it was banned in the US (also created the ideas for entire industries pioneered by companies like Games Workshop).
Also, nothing by HP Lovecraft? Crazed bed-ridden horror short-story writer that he was, he is accredited for being the source of ideas for perhaps 90% of modern horror and sci-fi. Not particularly readable, but very influential. I could go on – and I’ve stuck to English lang works … but I’m off home!
BTW: Those who cite Frankenstein omit that sci-fi wasn’t even a genre then. If you consider it genre breaking, why not Gulliver’s Travels (mechanical cities), and countless others that came earlier?
200 Firestar
November 30th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I have read 9 of these might have forgotten a few though.
201 Kazorek
December 1st, 2008 at 9:04 am
I just read Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke and was so blown away I felt a little silly. I kept think it couldn’t be quite as grandiose an experience as I was making it out to be. I usually read non-fiction cosmology and physics books, but considering how ridiculously gitty and amazed I was last night when I finished (and how much I liked the time machine- being the only other sci-fi book I’ve read) I decided I must just love science fiction books. ANYWAYS (phew).
Judging from the two books I’ve read where should I go next? What would be a good transition from those books? Something that can get me started in the genre. Thanks in advance.
202 IceCube666
December 1st, 2008 at 9:21 am
Hi Kazorek , glad you’re finding Science Fiction to be an enjoyable new discovery. Personally I didnt really start reading SciFi until I was 40(except for a few books when I was 13). Now I love it and have read about 350 books !
Both titles you’ve read ARE great books. If you liked The Time Machine(1895) by H.G.Wells and Childhood’s End(1953) by Arthur C.Clarke you should try – Inherit the Stars(1977) by James P. Hogan and then – The Black Cloud(1957) by Fred Hoyle.
They both have delivery styles and structures that are consistent with your preferences. Plus , and most importantly they are fantastically enjoyable stories !
Have fun
Ice
203 Midas68
December 11th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I not only have to 2nd those nominations for Dan Simmons Hyperion Books(not the endymion ones) as sorely missing.
Not that you have to take out seminal/sentimental works that were important for the field. But this book (and hyperion and fall are one book) Makes ever book fail in comparison.
As Great as DUNE was. Hyperion Raises the bar on every level.
2001 is more significant for its cultural importance.
Ill have to give Heinlein another try after that boring go no where Starship Troopers Debacle.
Not sure why the one poster put Hyperion in his top 15 and had his disciples Alastair Reynolds copy cat Chasim city above it. ( i like the book but it was way out of the writers control/Great Ambition though)
204 Jim
December 12th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Midas,
Thanks for the tip on the Simmons series, I’ll be sure to check it out.
Yes, by all means, try more/another Heinlein. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is a good one to try. I re-read Stranger about a year ago and found it strangely un-satisfying.
I’m a little young to comment on the cultural significance of *Clarke’s* 2001 (*Kubrick’s film is another matter). Since it came our earlier, I have even less of a feel for the cultural impact of Dune.
BUT… Really, the two books are not in the same league. 2001 reads like a workmanlike novelization – with a bit more insight than your typical book-treatment-of-a-film, and the good fortune to novelize a classic SF flick (of which so, so few have been made).
Dune undoubtedly made a huge impact on the SF world – small as it is – enough to have spilled over into my 7th grade world six years after it was first published.
2001? – a good book, but ho hum. Childhood’s End blew my adolescent mind far more. Plus, a vanishingly small percentage of movie goers seek out the book – though, I’ll admit, (again) Kubrick’s 2001 may well have been an exception.
So, I’d say that it’s a stretch to place Dune’s importance over 2001’s.
205 Jim
December 12th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Kazorek,
I wonder if, as a jaded adult, I would find Childhood’s End to be as awe-inspiring as it was that summer evening I finished it at age 12 (13?). It is a slam dunk to say Clarke never matched it.
(pause to check wikipedia and amazon)
Well, now I HAVE to get a copy and read it again. I’m now sure Clarke never came up with a better idea in his published fiction.
What’s next – tough call. On this list, I’d have to go with Neuromancer, then Dune – because Dune is a much more difficult read – with a complex, multi-threaded plot.
In fact, after Neuromancer, I might suggest you go with Brave New World, then 1984 – which involve full-blown dystopia’s (whereas Neuromancer has dystopic elements).
1984 in some respects qualifies as a horror novel. I found it troubling at age 15, but downright horrifying at age 25.
Dune is a big meal, requiring, slow, reflective digestion. Ultimately satisfying – but more of a multi-course meal, than burger-n-fries.
206 Basil
December 18th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Great fun reading all these points of view. My favorite subject is the “Alternate Universes”. Any good ones you could recommend?
207 Charles
December 18th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Gene Wolfe? I highly recommend his Book of the New Sun, and all that follow. Absolutely, hands-down, incredible. Oh, and Roger Zelazny’s Chronicles of Amber. But anyway, great list! I’ll have to give Pohl a try.
208 Charles
December 18th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
For those that like Wolfe, his “Soldier” series is just as rewarding.
209 IceCube666
December 19th, 2008 at 10:09 am
Hi Basil , here’s an excellent alternate universe story that no one has ever heard of by Alan E. Nourse( yr.1928 – 1992): The Universe Between (1951) 160 pages.
This is NOT the type of story where a simplistic plot device is used to immediately transfer you into a different space that is populated by fuzzy bears and guys with spears and clubs. You know the type I mean. The whole story could have been told simply as a tale set in the prehistoric ages. Calling it an alternate universe was just the tool to get you to the fuzzy bears.
Alternate Universe instead is a story where scientists observe some anomalous occurrences in our universe and begin to explore an overlap zone between two realities. Observers in the other universe interpret the ingressions as a hostile act and respond violently.
The various characters are affected by the concept of an unstable spacial structure alternately with disbelief, wonder and terror as the plot progresses.
Extremely well written. A quick and engaging read.
Enjoy !
Ice
2008 December 19 Friday
210 JackNLocke
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Great pick. I loved Enders Game and Fahrenheit 451 alot. I do have a novel for you that was not included in this list. Its called “Childhoods End” by Arthur C Clarke. It was a very good sci-fi novel about mans utopia and trust. “Forever War” was a great sci-fi novel too. Very action packed and gave readers a new look on what the future could be like if mankind isn’t careful. Dont worry about what others think of your list though. Most people dont have a clue on what a good book really is anyway.
211 ImChad
December 25th, 2008 at 10:54 am
Great list, however, you should read Anthem and Job: A Comedy of Justice. Both wonderful books. I’ve read all of the above with the exception of Robots dreaming of electric sheep, or whatever the title is. I’ll check it out. But, please do check out Job: A Comedy of Justice. I’ve read it more than 10 times and can’t get enough of it. Its just a really wonderful piece of literature.
212 tisamy
December 26th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
we had farenheit 451, a brave new world, and slaughterhouse five all for school. good list!
213 JoeEgg
January 5th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
As a very casual reader of the science fiction genre and a latecomer to the game, I have been perusing many blogs and sites to discover which seminal works I should digest before I die. (I only wish I would have started earlier in life with this genre. Such is the result of having a Mother in the English Literature field — all Dickens, Swift and Coleridge… but I digress). I decided this past November to try to read the top 100 science fiction novels of all time — which requires perusing many different lists to distill the ‘perfect list’ for my own reading pleasure.
I have read with relish the above list and the associated comments. And again, as a newcomer to the genre and as one who very little background experience in the vast sci-fi literature as all of you seem to have, I have been very interested to see the opinions of some of these books that I have read over the past two months.
First, I agree with the poster who claimed that Stranger In A Strange Land is little more than a masturbatory fantasy for the author. The book was pretty interesting overall, if you look at it in its sixties era context (and if you can sidestep the political incorrectness of much it’s dated narrative). But I also found it to be way too self serving, and I could feel the author preaching his personal desires through his main character. I also was not keen that the original main character of the story was reduced to not much more than a vending machine whore by the end of the book. I had enjoyed her story and she deserved more. It was a cheap way to end the book.
Ender’s Game, which figures near the top of every list I have looked at, is, in my opinion, very overrated. I found it all a little bit too unbelievable and contrived (I know you are yelling at me because it is a work of fiction. But c’mon!) And I saw the climax coming from a million miles away. It was actually an anti-climax when it finally hit, and I felt a bit cheated. I also did not like how the book effectively ended twice. The second ending did not belong since it only managed to drag the narrative into preachy boredom after a fair amount of action.
I loved the primary premise of Gateway. However, it was somewhat unfortunate that the author went way too far into the ridiculous extreme with the sub-premise (some would say that the psycho-analyst part of the story was actually the main premise, but I disagree). The psycho plot was too contrived and went way too far with every stereotypical malady of the mind — the oedipus complex, the homosexual tendencies, the sexual interest in children, etc. It was too much. And, in a way, the two plots did not quite complement each other in a way that would have left me a satisfied reader. I understand why the author went that way, but it seems he kludged together two pieces that should have been filed down to flat surfaces before affixing.
And Ringworld (not in this list, but several posters have called for it) is just too darn silly for a serious science fiction list. Not intentionally silly like the Douglas Adams books. Just ‘odd’ silly. And too much of the story is writer’s convenience all wrapped up in the idea of a character who is bred for luck. Come on. That is too easy. Again, I liked the idea of the technology presented. I even kind of liked some of the characters. But I came out of that story much unfulfilled and not wanting more.
What do I like so far? I would put the Foundation series at the top. Followed closely by Dune. Serious works of science fiction with serious thought, research and organization employed. Time Machine, definitely. War Of The Worlds, definitely. And I agree that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde should also be included in a seminal list. And as far as that goes, why not Gulliver’s Travels?
Loved Snow Crash (not on the list), it’s one of my favorites so far (and it’s the book that inspired the authors of the Doom series of games, so that is a pretty seminal accomplishment!). But I am slightly puzzled as to why Cryptonomicon would make it into some of these poster’s favorite lists? It’s a great book, except for the six page expose on how to eat Cap’n Crunch cereal. But really, it’s closer to an action adventure with flashbacks into historical drama than to a science fiction story, isn’t it?
My personal all-time favorites would ultimately be those that intrigued me as a kid. Because, after all, the books that you think about and dream about for years and years are the ones that should get top honors. And for that I would pick the Tripod series and Have Spacesuit, Will Travel. Forty years later, I can’t get those books out of my mind — and I wouldn’t want to.
214 Herr Ferret
January 5th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Joeegg. I have the same opinions about those books as you, but I must be a bit easier to please as it didn’t effect my enjoyment one bit
If i can give you my humble recommendations. Read some stephen baxter, It will rock your world. It rocks mine regularly. A fire upon the deep by vernor vinge is both confusing and gripping. For the love of all that is good read tau zero by frederick pohl. Yes its got an ending that was a little too ‘happy’ but I only realised that the scifi book I had just finished reading had minimal scifi. I am pretty excited about what I would call ‘Hard Sci-fi with a plot’ type books. Give them a go
215 JoeEgg
January 5th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Thanks for the recommendations, Herr Ferret. I actually have Tau Zero on my list, and I am looking forward to it.
I have to do some Amazon research on the others. I am intrigued by your Vernor Vinge choice and I am interested in reading it.
I would also mention to others who are looking for the seminal “list of books to read before you die”, just as I am, to check out the Easton Press Greatest Science Fiction of All Time list. I haven’t ordered the series myself yet, as it is too expensive and the economy is preaching “no, no no” in my ear. But I covet owning the majority of the above listed books in leather hard bound, and Easton Press has compiled a pretty serious collection. As somebody once said, “someday my prints will come…”
Again, thanks for the recommendations.
216 JJ
January 8th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Please, please replace Stranger in a Strange Land with Moon is a Harsh Mistress. It’s much better and much less pretentious…If I had to list which RAH books I liked best (most of them), Stranger in a Strange Land would not make the list.
217 JJ
January 8th, 2009 at 10:52 am
By the way, kudos to you for writing a list that’s so good! (Just change the Heinlein book and I’ll be happy. Really. Main premise of Stranger in Strange Land: unbelievably perfect Martian comes to Earth, where he uses his unbelievably powerful powers to change the way people act, in the process fulfilling most male erotic fantasies.)
218 Andyb123
January 14th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
What about the Swedish poet Karin Boye ? She wrote the novel Kallocain in 1940. And also Harry Martinson’s Aniara, a poem (book-length) about a gigantic spaceship drifting aimlessly through space.
219 Eric
January 24th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Just want to advocate for what I think is a modern classic. David Brin’s Kiln People. I have read and reread this one. It’s at the top of a very prestigious list of work. Dittos for Stranger. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is his best work.
220 JoeEgg
January 28th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Fahrenheit 451 as the number 5 on the list? Really?
To reiterate an earlier post, I am a relative newcomer to this genre (or latecomer, I guess would be more appropriate), and I am reading through a self researched list of the top 100 science fiction novels of all time — something I wanted to accomplish before I croaked.
I’ve been pounding through all of the books on this list and have commented on a couple of them in a previous post (and you will all think that I am really negative ‘glass half broken’ with my reviews. This bothers me just a little. But I am unbiased and fresh, so take it how you want.)
I just finished F-451. Am I crazy? Am I the only one who was absolutely bored and annoyed by the constant and unrelenting metaphor and allegory that plagued every friggin’ sentence in this amazingly boring narrative?
O my dear LORD, but I had a hard time getting through this thing. When Bradbury actually used the phrase, “the bombs fell quickly but at the same time they fell slowly”; I almost threw the book through the window. No wait. I almost BURNED the book.
Take out all the phrases that contain, “like the” and “as if it were a” and “not unlike the”… and you have a novel that’s thirty pages long. Seriously.
Listen, I don’t want to disparage the story or Mr. Bradbury. I thing the underlying premise is a good one. And I greatly respect Ray Bradbury for what he has accomplished in his life and especially for his love and promotion of the written word. But come on. He is almost unreadable to an apparently illiterate cretin such as myself.
The book that he somewhat pays homage to, Orwell’s 1984 (he even uses the name ‘Winston’ as a character, cleverly) is by far a better narrative in the same vein and genre. It is written staccato machine gun style as such a terrifying story requires, and with just enough exposition and allegory to be beautiful in prose, but not so flowery and overblown to be a novel of words for the sake of words and not so much for the communication of an idea — not unlike a bloated piece of tripe roasting slowly in the summer sun when the farmers have finished their butcher and the sun is at its zenith and small boys are floating boats in the rippled pond in the distance of memories past… Dear GOD! STOP!
Sorry, folks. Nobody came to this blog to hear negative critique, I’m sure. But it is very interesting to me that everyone on every list I have looked at accepts this book at face value as so important to the genre. Yes, the subject matter is relatively relevant. But Orwell and Huxley did it so much better and so much more readable.
My two cents. Take it to the bank and deposit it or throw it in the gutter.
(FYI: I very much liked Bradbury’s hound characters and I wonder if Neil Stephenson appropriated them for his Snow Crash novel where there exists extremely similar entities but much more sentient.)
221 Jim
January 28th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
JoeEgg,
Yours is the first post in a long while that I did not immediately delete from my inbox (good show).
Even if I disagreed with you about F451, I’d give you points for adding some life to this blog. However, I agree that Brave New World and 1984 pretty much blow away F451 – especially when one considers *influence*
Of the novels on this list I have actually read, I would remove F451. I would also replace 2001 with Clarke’s Childhood’s End (which, I can say with confidence, is his magnum opus) and replace Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land with The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
My memory is hazy after 35 years, but from the plot description, Slaughterhouse Five is more satire than SF per se and is not “great” – thus should be removed.
Hitchiker’s Guide – hmmm – kinda silly – not really great either – more of a snack – ax it.
Now we have three holes to fill – any takers?
But then, like the guy who originally posted this list, I’m not well read enough to make such a list.
222 IceCube666
January 29th, 2009 at 8:54 am
The best Science Fiction novel ever written :
Fred Hoyle – The Black Cloud (1957) [ p.251 ]
I’ve read 249 different Sci-Fi authors, 384 novels so far and that book is unsurpassed. BC more or less DEFINES Science Fiction for anyone who knows the genre.
Compelling, absorbing story written by one of the worlds top astronomers.
Find it, read it.
Ice
223 a reader
January 30th, 2009 at 7:02 am
Well, science fiction is technically a story about what COULD happen in the future and how it would affect us/the world – science-wise.
Personally – also liking the “classic” sci fi book – I think that “near-future” sci fi can be just as interesting and maybe even more scary reading because you can actually imagine it happen. Like e.g. some (not all!!) of Michael Crichtons novels (Prey, The Terminal Man) (and no, I am not saying MC should necessarilly be on a top ten list). As is also the case, or has become in time, for some of the books on the list.
Otherwise sci fi easily just become a set for a good story
224 yeremenko
January 30th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
I loved all the Jules Verne novels started off something great. New pc games are almost an a sci-fi art genre of their own now.
doomoftheshem
I love science fiction writing and think it is a great mind expanding genre, and have tried to use it as a motive in my own fiction writing. I have tried to show the fundamental horrors of not being on top of the food chain in my novel called Doom Of The Shem.
Doom Of The Shem is a science fiction novel that incorporates the horror of military action with the unavoidable hostilities that occur when an alien species invades a planet in search of food. The barbarity of war is brought to light by the work achieved by the nurses and medical personnel of the planets inhabitants. While a full blown military action story emerges from an ensuing war that involves the whole planet. It is especially centred on a squad of the planets army forces, who fight the alien invaders. These nasties try to subjugate captured species my genetic manipulation such as in Dr Moreau, and use these creatures to run fast food outlets across their empire, giving out a free plastic toy with every sale of a Happy Hatchling Brain Burger.
doomoftheshem.blogspot.com
225 Laurent
February 1st, 2009 at 9:59 pm
No one so far has mentioned Scott Westerfeld’s “The Risen Empire”. This is very recent, and so perhaps not worthy of inclusion in a ‘most important’ science fiction list, but here’s why I think it is:
It successfully combines a galactic empire like that of the mighty Frank Herbert with real science and high technology. This might be because I love space opera, and have much less time for books like ‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep’, which strike me as indulgent expansions of single ideas, weak as novels rather than visions of the future. Westerfeld finds a way to unite backward imperialism, the Emperor as a living God, with super-technology. Herbert’s compromise was the Butlerian Jihad, a space-faring society retarded by its own choice in rejecting thinking-machines and embracing prescience. Westerfeld’s society is retarded by immortality, because, as he correctly notices, it’s necessary for people to die for things to change. It’s also a roaring adventure, with space battles and politics and cunning twists. I think if it isn’t important science fiction now, it will be in the future.
Charles Stross is similarly good at high technology and impossibly futuristic societies. I’d say Iain M. Banks was good too, if it weren’t for the Culture being so hard to stomach. A culture ruled by inexplicably benevolent and unbelievably intelligent thinking machines, peopled with a self-indulgent humanity with no need to work and complete control over their entire existence just doesn’t strike me as possible. It’s more like his dream of heaven, or an excuse for him to denigrate all other forms of human society in comparison to his utopia (and it’s a utopia in the original sense of the word, a good place but no place )
I also have to join the cult of Gene Wolfe someone mentioned earlier: I genuinely believe the man is a genius, as good at constructing other worlds as Tolkien and much, much better at writing about them. I’ve no idea why Gene Wolfe isn’t more widely recognised. To the person who objected to the ‘anti-hero’ Severian: I found him perfectly sympathetic, entirely human. Completely unlike Thomas Covenant in that awful series of books, who constantly moans about himself and his bloody leprosy and inexplicably doesn’t jump off the nearest cliff
Kern: I think “Perdido Street Station” hasn’t been mentioned and hasn’t won any awards because, despite inventing an awesome universe and having some really interesting ideas, the characters are mostly wooden and the story moves at the pace of an arthritic snail. It’s hard to feel engaged with the ideas and the universe when you have to slog through a book. The junk-yard AI isn’t mentioned until the last quarter of a very long book, too.
“I have ZERO patience for authors that are trying to impress me with their vocabulary. If they’re using a ten dollar word when a 50 cent one will do I think they’re missing the point. This is not a technical manual, you are supposed to be telling me a story. It drives me crazy when they’ve chopped the story into seven or eight separate plot streams that will eventually coalesce towards the end. I can never keep track of who’s doing what and where.” -IceCube666
The English language is possibly the richest in the world. It has more adjectives than any other language. I am of exactly the opposite opinion to you. ‘Using 50 cent words’ as you put it is nothing more than Newspeak. Our language and cultural heritage is degraded by formulaic and simplistic writing, lazy use of language and straight-forward plot structure. I love to read books that have words I don’t already know in them, I am enriched when I learn them. Obviously not when they’re to the detriment of the story or just to ‘impress’, but when they’re used properly.
“If the sentence structure is awkward or runs on too long it bugs me. Have you read J.D.Salinger’s – The Catcher in the Rye (1951) ? One of the great novels of our time. Its easy to read. The way books should be in my opinion.” -IceCube666
‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is probably the greatest example of a book with (intentionally) absolutely awful sentence structure. It’s an incredibly difficult read, I’m really surprised you’ve cited it as an example of ‘easy to read’ literature. I think perhaps you’re just familiar with the vernacular in which it is written.
Excellent book, though. I love that American conversational style of writing, like “Catch 22″ and “Then We Came to the End”. Only useful as a ‘voice’ for some contexts however, pretty much an American setting in this or the last century. Definitely not the way all books should be.
226 IceCube666
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:16 am
Hi Laurent,
Thanks for your comments. I interpret from your somewhat lengthy response to an article I posted several months ago, that you consider me some kind of an expert and worthy of such a substantial effort on your part. Thank you very much for the compliment. Let me assure you that I do not deserve such attention.
I am what would be considered a lazy reader. I prefer stories that unfold themselves quickly and with little effort on my part. I don’t like to struggle with unfamiliar words and I don’t like to keep track of 67 characters or 9 different plot lines. Its too much work for me.
I think there’s lots of people like me. We just read for fun. We’re not stupid we just like an interesting, exciting, compelling and EASY story. Examples : Fred Hoyle – The Black Cloud (1957), Joe Haldeman – The Forever War (1974), Frederik Pohl – Gateway (1977), John Wyndham – The Day of the Triffids (1951), Arthur Charles Clarke – Childhood’s End (1953), H G Wells – The First Men In the Moon (1901), Kurt Vonnegut jr. – The Sirens of Titan (1959), Ursula K LeGuin – The Lathe of Heaven (1971), Isaac Asimov – Second Foundation (1953).
Perhaps you look at these titles and consider them too easy to read and therefore deficient in some way. Perhaps they have not used enough of that vast English language you speak of. What a shame LOL ! In my opinion the point of writing and reading is not the words themselves but rather the thoughts, emotions and ideas conveyed by the words.
I mean no insult to you or anyone else but I frequently observe that persons who are not receiving sufficient mental stimulation from their vocation typically prefer the more challenging hypercomplicated writing styles. The opposite is often , although not always, true for people who’s work or profession is quite cerebral. They usually like their reading to be a little more straight forward. The same seems to be true of authors. Isaac Asimov was a Professor of Biochemistry, Fred Hoyle was an astronomer most noted for his contribution to the theory of Stellar Nucleosynthesis, EE Doc Smith was a Phd Chemist.
All these authors are wildly popular ( Hoyle’s popularity being in the UK ) and all are highly intelligent scientists. They all write in a direct straightforward style. Most scientists do. They are more interested in the idea being conveyed rather than the tool ( words ) being used to relay the information.
Myself, I’m a physicist ( geophysicist actually ). I work as a remote sensing signal interpreter ( seismic ). I struggle all day long trying to ” see ” and understand concepts that exist only in other dimensions – signal phase, frequency bandwidth, power spectrum. I deal with time frames of one or two milliseconds. If a signal has an anomalous time arrival of TEN milliseconds everyone starts jumping up and down with excitement – LOL ! I’m not trying to confuse or impress you. My point rather is that at the end of a day my brain just wants to relax. So I read the easy stuff.
I must admit though that I do admire those that can truly write well. Whether its the direct prose style or the convoluted style of writing I consider them to be true artists – magicians. As you can tell it is painfully difficult for me to write anything at all. I’m terrible at it. YOU Laurent, seem to have a natural ability to write. I can tell from your article. I envy you.
I like your comment ” Our language and cultural heritage is degraded by formulaic and simplistic writing, lazy use of language and straight-forward plot structure “. Hmmm, you sound angry. It seems that this ” cultural heritage ” you speak of is important to you. I don’t even really know what it is.
Myself, I’m more into things like electro-mechanical engineering, aerospace technology, biomedical sciences, inventions, discoveries, exploration, cool space pictures, and landing stuff on other planets. This “language” and “culture” stuff is … ahhh … boring to me. I’m glad you like it though. We need you guys, kinda.
When I was a kid I read EE Smith, Art Clarke, and Robert Heinlein. I became a scientist because I thought all that flying around in spaceships they did and looking for aliens is interesting and exciting. It aint what I do. But I do use cool science to look for something else. Can I say aint ? Or is it upsetting ?
To me talking about words seems redundant. I figure words should just be used to tell everyone that we’re ” going to the moon ! “. Who cares if some word weirdo says it like ” Our current endeavor is to pursue an undertaking whereby the ultimate objective is to land an occupied interplanetary vehicle upon the surface of earths closest celestial neighbor ” … blah , blah , blah. I know you could write it better. Oh wait , technically interplanetary isn’t correct. Sorry. You get the idea. I much prefer : ” WE’RE GOING TO THE MOON “. Cause then we get a bunch of guys like me together and we actually do it. And guys like you can sit at home and write about it. LOL ! Hey, don’t get mad, I’m just kidding with you.
Ya see, now I’ve written a really long response to your article. Isn’t this fun !?
But you’re correct to say that not ALL books should be written in a straightforward style. I was wrong to suggest that. Silly of me in fact. Everyone likes something different and thankfully there’s something for everyone. So lets not talk about the degradation of cultural heritage whatever that is. Let’s just let everyone enjoy whatever it is that they enjoy. May peace be with you my son.
Ice
( ps I AM an expert , and you’re not – nah nah nah nah , nah-nah )
Monday 2009 February 2
227 Jo
February 2nd, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Amen to that, Ice!
228 mini me
February 2nd, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Ice is my hero.
229 sclarke
February 8th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
i think all those are great books but how could you forget 20000 legues under the sea or the alien quadrillagy
also predator or
star wars
230 sclarke
February 8th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
never forget those ones
231 IceCube666
February 13th, 2009 at 9:08 am
Here’s a book that should definitely be one of the top 15 of all time : The Black Cloud – Fred Hoyle (1957)
An astonishingly prescient, engrossing and intelligent story.
Robert Carlberg of Seattle says it best :
In this slender tale (190 pages) from 1957 — the year of Sputnik and tailfins — renowned astronomer Fred Hoyle managed to foretell AI (artificial intelligence), OCR (optical character recognition), TTS (text-to-speech converters), digital burst communications and a whole host of other technologies which didn’t become commonplace until 40 years later.
Perhaps his most famous innovation in this story, however, is one very few other writers or thinkers have been able to contemplate, even today: non-organic intelligence. Most science fiction assumes “little green men” with bilateral symmetry and carbon-based morphology (think “Twilight Zone” with bad rubber masks). Hoyle was one of the few to theorize information-processing as the hallmark of life and/or intelligence, rather than some biological definition. In this, he is still ahead of us, nearly half a century later.
I agree with everything Mr.Carlberg says. I would add that the Black Cloud is also a fast and highly enjoyable read that every science fiction fan on this planet should find.
Here’s a link to some additional reviews. You will discover that almost everyone who has read the book has rated the Black Cloud a 5/5 or 4/5 – deservedly so. Sheer brilliance.
Ice
2009 February 13
232 JoeEgg
February 13th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Okay, don’t crucify me, you scientifically literate purists.
But I just read the Stainless Steel Rat, and doggone it if it isn’t one of the more entertaining reads I have enjoyed in a long time. It’s Phillip Marlowe goes to space!
For pure and unadulterated enjoyment (in the vein of why we watch Star Wars movies and don’t question the bad science), this is a rollicking fun read.
Can we stick this in the list? After all, if Douglas Adams can be there, so can Harry Harrison, I say!
Rip that miserable Fahrenheit 451 from the list, throw it on the burning garbage heap and put this book in its place!
- JE
233 Lynxer
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Dune–a fabulous book! Great list!
234 nickm
February 24th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
No one’s mentioned Michael Chabon… I would definitely recommend Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood
235 Pete
February 28th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I need help! I’m for the title to a sci fi paperback, about two surviving G.I.s one a Navy fighter pilot the other an American Indian blast back to old west in a super battle tank. Please help.
236 Looser
March 20th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
GREAT LIST i am SO picking these up at the library. jfrater: you may want to TRY the library if only because it saves an INCREDIBLE amount of money. (using the library to get all these books seems a little more economic to me than a lottery win)
237 Looser
March 20th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
oh and i think michael crichton deserves an honorable metion
238 poopondeck
March 30th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
im currently in the middle of Snow Crush.i am loving it. you should put it on your list.
239 nicd
April 6th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Glad to see ‘Enders Game’ up there; its an incredible book.
240 SAUL
April 17th, 2009 at 4:45 am
CHILDHOODS END SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON YOUR LIST AND THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE COMMENTS ON THAT.
241 JoeEgg
April 17th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
I’m sorry, but I just have to make an observation, here.
How is it that so many people who are commenting on this list — people who are apparently readers of literature, or they wouldn’t be here — are so amazingly illiterate?
What has happened to grammar? Where is the proper punctuation? What has happened to at least an attempt at good spelling? And why do people still insist on shouting through the CAPS key?
I am pretty convinced that these atrocious examples of English communication on every blog I view are exemplar of the inevitable fall of Western Civilization.
What a nation (and world) of moronic lunkheads we have become. We are doomed, folks. And it’s all because you all did not pay attention in school.
It makes me sad.
Now back to your regularly scheduled program.
242 Crimanon
April 17th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
JoeEgg: The real sadness of it all is that I, the 100% drop out, still have to correct college students when they insist on using the word “Worser.” OMG n da txt speek! It’s no wonder the rest of the world refers to us as Stupid Americans.
I’m there with you man.
243 gabi319
April 17th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
242. Crimanon – “OMG n da txt speek!…I’m there with you man.”
Count me in as well. I snapped earlier this week when I saw someone write ’sry’ on a comment. She has yet to respond. Part of me hopes I made her cry.
244 oouchan
April 17th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
I saw the post by JoeEgg, gabi and Crimanonand and had to comment that I agree. I will sometimes slip into text speak with my kid when we are texting to each other but not all the time. She states that I take too long when I don’t. (Sorry if I’m slow!)
Sometimes when we are typing, we can get lazy and make some errors which most of us try to correct as we go along. However, when I see words(?) such as OMG, NP, IDK, noes and LOL speak it drives me nuts.
Can anyone spell anymore? I will admit that I am not good at spelling, but I try to proofread and use spell check. I agree with you Crimanon, that Americans are giving themselves (me included) a bad name.
245 Crimanon
April 17th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
gabi319: I’m Laughing out loud.
Fight Back Against The l33t!
246 Jim
April 17th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
In my experience (IME), this
list/blog post/bulletin board post/whatever-you-call-it
is two notches above the typical set of comments on a typical blog.
My hunch is that many who fail to punctuate or spell correctly are (by now) 30-35 years old (YO) and have been posting for years and, more recently, “texting”
I’m older (50) and was first exposed to usenet in 1995 and have been influenced to not spell out the comment usenet phrases (LOL, LOLROTL, IME, IMO, IMHO, FWIW…….).
Much of it is based on a sensibility that does not value punctuation and/or spelling as the previous generation does.
While I find this jarring and somewhat off-putting what really gets me is the apparent cluelessness by one who thinks:
alien quadrillagy,
predator, and
star wars
deserve a mention here.
GMAB!!
247 tonefreak
April 18th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
My top 15
2001
Dune
Norstilia by Cordwainer Smith
Martian Chronicles, Bradbury
Asimov’s Foundation Series
Re-Birth by John Wyndham
The Demolished Man or The Stars My Destination by Bester
All of Heinlein’s “juvenille” sf novels, if you are in your teens.
Left Hand of Darkness by LeGuin
Anthologies:
The Hugo Winners and Dangerous Visions series
Funny. I read all but one of these before I turned 18. I prefer the vintage sf (50′-70’s) to the more recent stuff obviously. So these are personal favorites, so your mileage may vary. And for all of the Star Wars fans, read some EE Smith!
248 Citan_X
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:41 pm
IceCube666’s 10/10 book is Blackburn by Bradley Denton.
Stupid bastard, made me work more than is fair. I can’t wait to read it and tell everyone it is terrible. It still has 16 reviews with a 5/5 rating. (Not for long,muahahaha)
249 IceCube666
May 4th, 2009 at 9:26 am
My thanks to 38.Shawn and 191.Ice Falcon who suggested ” Have Space Suit Will Travel (1958)233p. ” by Robert Heinlein. I read it and loved it.
Went on to read a few more of Heinlein’s Juveniles ( Red Mars, Tunnel in The Sky, Space Cadet ) as well as his Starship Troopers.
Spacesuit and Tunnel are my favorites of the 6 Heinlein’s I’ve read. ALL of Heinlein’s novel are excellent. He now stands as one of my top 20 authors (I’ve read 251 authors so far ).
Working on Edmond Hamilton now. Has anyone read his novel “The Haunted Stars” (1960)? So far it’s fantastic. I read one of his earlier novels “The Star Kings” (1949) which was also excellent.
All 4 Hamilton books I’ve read so far have been great. Try one if you can find one.
The Star Kings(1949) [ 8.5-9.0/10 p.190 ]
The Weapon From Beyond (1967) [ 8.5-9.0/10 p.158 ]
Return to the Stars (1970) [ 8.0/10 p.207 ]
The Haunted Stars (1960) [ 8.5-9.0 so far p.173 ]
They would be considered pulp. Fast easy to read but Hamilton does it with intelligence, style, and a compelling dramatic skill. Hamilton can create a mood and progress a story with such efficiency he puts to shame the majority of modern authors that take two or three HUNDRED pages just to get things started.
Try Hamilton and Enjoy !
Ice
Monday 2009 May 4
250 Holly J
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:59 am
I haven’t read any of those books. My favourite are things like twilight and the Northern Lights Series. Something that can take you into a dream world but isn’t in the slightest bit childish! I love a good book and as but as I want to finish them, I drend having to find the next book
251 Undermind
May 26th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
I wasn’t going to comment, but reading comment number 250 made me feel compelled. What struck me was that I have read almost every one of these books, and I’m not exclusively a science fiction reader. I read everything, but somehow I’ve managed to hit almost every great science fiction book along the way. It makes me feel good to see this list, but also a bit sad that newer “classics” are still so rare. Gibson’s work isn’t even new anymore. He invented the term cyberspace after watching a kid playing an arcade game. Do arcades even exist anymore?
252 New Generation
May 29th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Many of your books on the list are too old to bother with, I’d have to say that out of all them the only one that caught my eye was The Time Machine, and of course The HitchHiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (which i have already read and cherish). Can you make the list more directed towards today’s generation.
253 albedo
May 30th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
I heard so much praise about Neuromancer that I bought it years ago and put it back into my bookshelf after reading the most painfullly boring and cheesy 20 pages I’ve ever experienced.
All those “revolutionary” ideas in Neuromancer were thought through long before and much more consequently and better by Stanislav Lem, as always.
254 Jen
June 1st, 2009 at 6:55 am
I have just read ZodoFF by Julie Hodgson, only just out on Lulu and her personal web..I was so fasinated by the story I thought I might share it… Even thought its for young teens ,I was mesmerised by the story line of the world not being at all right and how children from all over the world came to gether with the help of the “blues Crew”
So different from the usual sci fi novels I read.
A winner for me anyway…
I bought the book from http://www.cloudydaybooks.com if anyone wants to know.
255 Kevin
June 4th, 2009 at 2:13 am
@250
Then why did you comment here? Twilight is garbage and fluff, possibly one of the worst (and extremely childish) books ever written. Grow up and read a real book.
Anyways, great list, and thank you for all the wonderful suggestions in the comments guys. I’ve just recently gotten into Science Fiction again, and this page single handedly eliminated any free time I would have had in the conceivable future.
256 IceCube666
June 4th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
To Citan_X ( 248 ) DON’T read Blackburn. I don’t recommend it to you. Read … wait let me think … oh ya , READ that book ” Twilight ” referred to above.
Ice
Thursday 2009 June 4
257 JoeEgg
June 4th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I am on a world-wide blog crusade to teach people how to spell the word, “yeah”.
Ice, if you’re German, you’re forgiven.
For all of the rest of you, “ya” and “Yaa” and “Yeh” are incorrect.
The word is spelled, “yeah”. Please commit that to memory.
And if you must use the explicative, “yay”, then do so. But spell it as “yay”. Not as “ya”, “yeh” or “yah”.
End of today’s spelling and grammar lesson. Go out and play. Or at least sit down and read something erudite from the intelligent mind of Dan Simmons.
258 IceCube666
June 8th, 2009 at 8:55 am
To JoeEgg ( 257 ) , Yes I am German. Well, actually half German and half Austrian.
Dan Simmons is not bad. Have you read his Hyperion series ? I say that as a joke since I am 95 % certain that you have.
One thing about his style that is unfortunate is that he does not seem inclined to write an entire story. He writes what are called ” story fragments “. These were popularly know in the 20’s and 30’s and ” cliffhangers “. The intent was and still is to hook the reader or in the case of television, the viewer into coming back for the next installment to find out what happens.
During the prewar period it was common to publish Science Fiction and Fantasy stories as partial fragments in an inexpensive newsprint medium known as ” pulp “. The term ” Pulp Fiction ” refers to mysteries, westerns, as well as the aforementioned Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories that were printed on this cheap medium.
Authors of the day ( eg Robert E. Howard , Edgar Rice Burroughs ) would pump out these story fragments at an alarming speed every week and readers would plop down their 2 cents or 5 cents like addicts for their next fix of adventure. Needing to know what happens next is a compelling motivation.
Its a pathetic way to force readers to buy the next book. The reader never feels satisfied. But like an addict he keeps coming back for more.
In the case of the pulps of 70 years ago the fragments once collected into a single volume would comprise a story of only novella length. Many of Howards Conan stories were repackaged into books and sold in this way years after his early death by suicide at age 34. And it goes without saying that the stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs are among the best told yarns ever created ( Tarzan , The Princess of Mars ).
These authors could be forgiven their story fragment transgressions since the stories they told were of an acceptable length that were simply cut up into microscopic pieces for delivery to the economically disadvantaged masses of the day.
But for Simmons to use the same technique today is reprehensible. Motivated by pure greed.
I remember reading Hyperion (1989) and The Fall of Hyperion (1990) a number of years ago and feeling incredibly frustrated. After slogging through a total of 833 pages I still didn’t know what was going on or where the story was going. Very frustrating. Finally I put an end to it. I could not endure the pain any longer. ” The Fall of Hyperion ” was for me the fall of Dan Simmons. He is forever banished from my list of respected authors.
I have read 251 different authors so far and I am not able to recommend Dan Simmons to anyone. There exist 40 or 50 authors that are far better in virtually every way.
It is sad that Simmons chose to use this underhanded tactic to get people to buy one book after another. I suppose it works on many people. Presumably you are one of those on whom the technique worked. Simmons is a skilled writer that was simply persuaded by greed to fall into the cliffhanger trap that most respectable authors avoid like the embarrassing plague that it is.
Wait … let me not be too hasty … can I ask you , has Simmons written a good novel that is a complete story in one single volume ? If so I shall read it. After such a rant I feel obliged to give him one more chance.
Let me know.
Thanks
Ice
Monday 2009 June 8
259 JoeEgg
June 8th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Ice,
I have the distinct benefit of being a latecomer to the science fiction genre, so by the time I started reading the Hyperion saga, all of the books were already published. I was able to jump from one to the next with no lag time. Therefore, my opinion of his serial writing style is less jaundiced than yours.
As to whether an author should not subscribe to greed and make readers wait for the next installment, I would like to point out Arthur Clarke’s 2001 quadrilogy. You cannot have read 2001 without thinking that someday there would have to be a sequel. And then, thirty odd years later… Likewise, when you read 2011, you just know that there are more books in the offing. And by the time you get to 2061 (arguably one of Clarke’s worst books ever, in my humble opinion), the trend is pretty darn evident.
Author’s are out to make money. If their writing is good, if their stories are strong, I can afford to sit through a serial, I think. Haven’t done it, yet. But willing to give it a go. (can’t wait for that next Twilight book… kidding!)
As to whether there is a Simmons book that is a stand-alone, I would direct you to “The Terror”. This is the first book by Simmons that I read (before I had any notion of the Hyperion series). I had always been fascinated by the historical events surrounding the ship “HMS Resolute” as well as “HMS Terror”. So, simply by reading the blurb on the dust jacket at B&N, I picked it up and read it on an overseas flight. It is not as much as a page turner as Rise of Endymion, but it is a self-contained and pretty decent little horror story. The narrative goes a smidgen too far into the silly supernatural for my tastes, but the historical background of the true story is very well researched and well portrayed.
I find Simmons to be a pretty interesting fellow based on his insertion of so much well researched cultural, religious, historical and art related business into his novels. He went a bit too far with John Keats in the Hyperion books, but I applaud his attempt at erudite literacy.
I am about to read Drood by Mr. Simmons. But first I have to read the Charles Dickens “prequel” which I have been putting off for awhile. I hate reading unfinished works. But I am eating plenty of protein, resting carefully in my arm chair daily and building up my tolerance for another dour Dickens work.
- JE
260 JoeEgg
June 8th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Oh yes. One more trivial and unnecessary thing I must say.
Ice mentioned Edgar Rice Burroughs, one of the great serial novelists.
For any of you who care (and who does?), I just learned recently that ERB is buried under the sidewalk just down the street from my house in Tarzana, California. Right smack dab in the middle of everything with people walking over him all day long.
It’s true. There’s a plaque, there.
That’s all. Carry on.
261 IceCube666
June 8th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Hi Joe , thanks for the recommendation – ” The Terror ” by Dan Simmons. I’ve perused a few reviews and it does sound interesting. A couple people have mentioned that it can drag a bit at times but that doesn’t really worry me.
Yes you are right Edgar Rice Burroughs is the first and perhaps the ultimate serial novelist. In his defense however, he almost always wraps up 90 to 95 % of the story by the end of the novel leaving only tiny bits of interesting unresolved subplot components. Just enough to get you to the next book.
To be honest ERB was undoubtedly quite the business man also when it came to advancing sales of his stories as well. If I understand correctly he was among the first Science Fiction writers who saw their work published in hard cover volumes. Prior to this most Science Fiction was relegated to the lowly pulp medium.
I’ve always loved ERB. His Princess of Mars was the first Sci-Fi I read at age 11. Since then I’ve devoured 31 of his novels and enjoyed the vast majority of them immensely. They are all simple straight forward adventure stories but given that they were written in the early part of the 1900’s he really was in many ways breaking new ground with much of what he created.
He also wrote with a classic tone that for me added to the feel of the narrative in a way that has always succeeded in transporting me back to a period of human history when honor , honesty and integrity were values still to be admired. Unlike the period in which we live today where a person is expected to do whatever he must – lie, cheat, ass kiss, backstab – whatever is necessary to get one’s piece of the pie. Perhaps this is why I generally prefer literature from the early part of the last century. Decency still reigned.
Very interesting that ERB is buried right on the sidewalk. I guess he wanted to stay right in the middle of the action for all eternity – just like John Carter !
Cheers
Ice
Monday 2009 June 8
262 Mil
June 14th, 2009 at 7:16 am
If science fiction litrature was taught as a college class this would be the reading list… and I don’t mean that as a compliment. The list you have is simply a collection of SF books that are a cut above the rest and regarded as ‘defining’ the genre – whatever that means.
Not a single masterwork in the list. You might at least have included Cities in Flight by James Blish.
263 MockStar
June 14th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Two words (and an Initial) Peter F. Hamilton.
I absolutely love his books!!
264 Wolfgang
June 22nd, 2009 at 6:09 am
Great list and discussion here.
I read many of the books here described.
But… I have two small comments:
First: Most of the books here are a bit classical, older ones, the authors often dead.
I can recommend some “newer” authors:
Peter F. Hamilton
Dan Simmons: Ilium
Vernor Vinge: A Deepness in the Sky
and John Scalzi with his Old Man’s War
Second: as otherwise stated: there are some great writers of other languages then english, like Stanislav Lem, A and B. Strugatzki and Andreas Eschenbach of Germany.
265 Userpaul
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:13 am
Agree with wolfgang
I read all the books by the first three authors you have mentioned but not any by Jon Scalzi.
I’m reading OLD MAN’S WAR now…thanks
266 Logan
June 24th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
I would have included a John Wyndham in the top 15, he’s definitely one of my favourite authors of all time, not just in the science fiction genre.
267 JoeEgg
June 26th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Okay, kids. Time for you all to go to Amazon and order a copy of The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester.
In my continuing attempt to read all seminal SF novels before I croak (a task I started in November of 2008 having read only five SF books in my entire life at that point, and realizing I was missing out on an important genre of literature), I finally made my way to this particular volume. Talk about an original and thought provoking rollicking ride of fantastic and colorful creativity. This one ranks right up at the top of my list, thus far.
The book reads like it was written last week even though it was scribed in 1955.
And here’s a little quote from The Simpsons to go along with my recommendation.
From The Simpsons Episode “Lisa’s Substitute,” Springfield Elementary student, Martin, campaigning for class president:
Martin: As your president, I would demand a science-fiction library, featuring an ABC of the genre: Asimov, Bester, Clarke!
Kid: What about Ray Bradbury?
Martin: (dismissively) I’m aware of his work.
268 IceCube666
June 29th, 2009 at 8:26 am
Hi Joe , GREAT POSTING. You made me laugh !
I agree ” The Stars My Destination ” is FANTASTIC. Its one of my favorites. ( see my #150 posting above )
I’m doing the same thing you are – reading all the great Sci-Fi novels ( of the last 100 years ). I started several years ago. 251 different authors so far.
The Stars My Destination was THE FIRST NOVEL I read as part of the project. The VERY FIRST. I’ve read over 300 more since then ! I keep a database of everything I read. Included in my records are the title, author, year pub., page count, date I completed the book, and my rating out of 10 – plus a one paragraph of what I liked or disliked about the authors style as well as the story in particular.
Try this one if you can find it : James P. Hogan – Inherit the Stars (1977) [ 140 p. ]. It will take you about 3 hours to read.
If you enjoy that I have ” several ” titles I think you will enjoy ! ha ha ha
Ice
Monday 2009 June 29
269 IceCube666
June 29th, 2009 at 9:10 am
Hi again Joe,
May I ask which books you have read so far in your quest to read ” all seminal SF novels before (you) croak ” ?
Which ones would you recommend to me ?
Thank you in advance.
Ice
Monday 2009 June 29
270 JoeEgg
June 29th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Ice
Okay, I don’t like to advertise other people’s sites without getting at least 15% of their annual take… However, in order to answer your question, here is is my somewhat lame and lazy approach to the top books in the genre. I went to the following website which has a constantly changing top 100 books based on reader’s votes. I went with the list as of last November, and this is my bible:
http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/index.html
Since November I have read the first thirty of these and a couple of others from later in the list that jumped out at me.
I think you have got me way, way beat if you have read 251 authors in your career. So I can’t imagine I can recommend anything in my meager repertoire that will be new to you. Not to mention, all of these that I list below are probably considered fairly pedestrian by folks who really know the genre.
That being said, I will tell you a few of my favorites thus far — and the ones that stunk that most.
Top marks in Joe Egg’s meager mind:
Foundation Trilogy (Just a great universe and very simple reading. Refreshing after reading Dune. I also enjoyed the very 1940’s conceit of the future.)
The Stars My Destination (Very original and cool. Where’s the movie adaption starring Vin Diesel?)
Hyperion and The Fall of Hyperion (although, these got a bit tedious at times. I still loved the overall stories presented. Fairly erudite stuff, as far as these things go. Kind of Asimov’s Foundation universe on steroids and Red Bull.)
The Hitchhiker series (Just plain silly. But wait a sec. The movie adaption of this series absolutely sucked. Maybe I shouldn’t be hoping for a movie adaption of The Stars My Destination, after all…)
Starship Troopers (The militant and slightly right-wingedness in me identified with Heinlein’s general world view in this one. Basically, kill ‘em all, let god sort ‘em out… I also liked that the book wasn’t polluted with all the usual and stereotypical forced love interest nonsense just for the sake of having such. And although there is not much action in this book either, which many reviewers complained about, I remain very fond of the simplicity of ‘a day in the life of’ style of this story.)
Snow Crash (Such a very odd and wide reaching story. But very original and thought provoking. I also enjoyed ‘The Diamond Age’, but not as much as this one. Cryptonomicon is also very good, but it’s not a science fiction story. So why does it keep popping on these lists?)
Rendezvous With Rama (I loved that this entire story revolves around a mysterious artifact that remains mysterious at the end of the story. I found it very refreshing that the loose ends were not all tied up nicely by the end of the book as the artifact sailed away into endless space. I have resolved to never read the sequels. I understand that these subsequent books try to solve the mysteries presented in the first story and that the result is an abortion of poor story telling and very bad writing.)
The Stainless Steel Rat (Don’t laugh at me. I really enjoyed this silly novel. I mistakenly went on to read the rest of the books in the series and those got progressively worse to the point that it left a bad taste in my mouth in regards to this author. But I have to remember how much I enjoyed the general idea of the first in the series when I first cracked it open. Read only this one. Ignore the rest. This novel should also be made into a fun movie, maybe?)
The Man In The High Castle (I had a very odd reaction to this book. At first, I really hated it. What a bunch of claptrap, I thought to myself. But as the days went on, my mind kept jumping back to it. And back to that final chapter. It disturbed me. It intrigued me. It really made me think. And now, I have gone full circle. The worst book ever has now made it onto my top ten. Must unusual and strange. Read it, perhaps. Tell me what you think.)
1984 (Well written and truly spooky. This book can keep you up at night when you start looking at all that’s going on in other parts of the world right now. Very prescient!)
And now the really worse books ever:
Fahrenheit 451 (What a pile of putrid, stinking marmot flesh. See my comments on this book way back up in the list here, somewhere. I won’t further bore you with another review here. And why do you all like this book so much? Some kind of brainwashing going on, here, folks.)
Brave New World (Yawn. That’s all. Just yawn.)
Ringworld (Again, why do you all like this so much? What a rambling and unnecessary story just to find out that a character in the novel is pure perfection. The subsequent contrived conveniences involved to move the plot forward are just stupid. And besides, as cool as the concept of a ‘ring world’ is, if you know your physics, such a construct is impossible, and this bothered me throughout the entire read. Niven should have done some research. The ring would be unstable with nothing to compensate for it’s yaw tendancy. A Dyson sphere, however, would be theoretically stable. But I digress. Sorry.)
Out Of The Silent Planet (The guy who gave us the Narnia books should have stuck to lions and centaurs. This book and its two sequels are so boring and so preachy and so overtly Christian that I nearly converted to Islam to get the taste out of my mouth. Sorry God. Please don’t smite me.)
And the winner for overall suckfulness:
ENDER’S GAME!!! (Again, what on earth has gotten in to you people? This is seriously one of the lamest stories I have ever read. To be fair, however, the writing is pretty sort of good and the dialog is okay. But the outcome of the story was so blatant from page one that there was nothing to look forward to. And there was really very little plot. Kid is magic and strong. Kid hurts someone. Kid is noticed by establishment. Establishment exploits his powers for the common good. the common good is a bad thing. Kid feels bad. The end. What does this book have that Escape To Witch Mountain didn’t do just as well about twenty years earlier? And besides, I’d much rather think about Kim Richards as that hot little number that my friends and I drooled over as pre-teens, than a kid with the ridiculous nickname of Ender. Yeah, I’m going overboard. It wasn’t that bad, I guess. But I think all the hype has soured my opinion.)
Okay, then, that’s more than enough slobbering rhetoric out of me for today. Please go back to your spreadsheet, now. The boss is coming.
(and thanks for the Hogan recommendation, Ice. I am on my way to my browser to get it right now.)
- JE
271 IceCube666
June 29th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Hi Joe , thanks for your recommendations. I have read many of those books.
I’m going to order Stainless Steel Rat. That one I haven’t read yet.
Based on your comments for the books you seem to like I believe you will also enjoy Frederik Pohl (born yr.1919) Gateway (1977)[p.278].
Gateway was one of the Hugo award winners more than 3 decades ago. The style is easy to read and follow but the themes are intense and gripping. You will probably love this novel.
Enjoy !
Ice
Monday 2009 June 29
272 IceCube666
June 29th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Joe , that austarnet.com list is a pretty decent one. I use about 40 or so different ” TOP 100 ” lists and I’d place the austarnet list among the best 5 or 6 lists for finding good Science Fiction titles.
I have read all the authors on that list except two.
One idea you might try is to read 3 or 4 Amazon reviews before you read a book. I found that it helped me really avoid the authors who may be well regarded but who write in a style which I do not enjoy.
After perusing a number of reviews you will find you are able to ” read between the lines ” and sniff out the really good stuff that you’ll love. And of course more importantly, avoid the crap.
Ice
Monday 2009 June 29
273 smoker
July 7th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
@kostrevk (82):
forever war is one of the best books i have read , and i have read a lot
274 Trekkerette
July 11th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
ST: TOS Pocket Novel, Dreams of The Raven.
I hear it has McCoy developing anterograde amnesia as a result of falling off a horse a SECOND time.
I’d give it a review if I find it.
275 David
July 31st, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Armor and The Stars My Destination have to be in the top 15.
276 frelling_cute
August 4th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Where’s Battlefield Earth?!
277 JoeEgg
August 13th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Holy cow, this board has gotten boring! Where is the discourse on all things literary and science fiction? The interplay between like and disparate viewpoints based on the list above? The erudite discussion pertaining to Tribbles and their proper place in the literary pantheon?
Except for a select handful of you readers who make me laugh and/or think, you are all tired and tedious (and mostly illiterate, sadly, which still fascinates me considering the gestalt of this blog).
I am leaving you forever.
Goodbye, cruel world.
- JE -
278 IceCube666
August 17th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Joe !!
Don’t leave ! We need you.
You still haven’t told me your thoughts regarding ” Gateway ” – Frederick Pohl’s masterpiece.
Also , you must read ” Starman Jones ” – Heinlein. If you’ve ever read Bester’s ” The Stars My Destination ” and enjoyed it you MUST READ Starman Jones.
Given that I am in fact one of the illiterates of which you speak I can say with total confidence that we need the smart people such as yourself to ensure that we don’t hurt ourselves.
DON’T GO !!
Ice
Monday 2009 August 17
279 James Santiago
August 29th, 2009 at 9:31 am
I’m glad you included my favorite science fiction author Isaac Asimov. His books are way more awsome than most sci-fi movies.
James
http://megamillionslottery2.blogspot.com/
280 alex
September 4th, 2009 at 8:54 am
I’m shocked you included both brave new world and 1984 with no mention of We by Yevgeny Zamyatin – a criminally underlooked book which 1984 pretty much steals it’s entire plot from and Orwell has said it was a major influence on 1984, as well as saying that he though it was also a major influence on BNW although Huxley has never qualified that.
The Stars my destination should really be no.1 anyway.
281 Rowena
September 16th, 2009 at 1:45 am
My favourite science fiction book is (and probably always will be) I Robot by Isaac Asimov.
Other than that, all the books I’ve read on here deserve to be on it, and I can’t think of any particular wishes to add. Well done!
282 JoeEgg
September 21st, 2009 at 10:51 am
Okay. I’m back. But only for three minutes and twenty-seven seconds. And only to reply to Ice’s question about F. Pohl’s “Gateway”.
Here is a reprint from my comments back in Post #213, January the 5th, the year of our lord 2009:
— I loved the primary premise of Gateway. However, it was somewhat unfortunate that the author went way too far into the ridiculous extreme with the sub-premise (some would say that the psycho-analyst part of the story was actually the main premise, but I disagree). The psycho plot was too contrived and went way too far with every stereotypical malady of the mind — the oedipus complex, the homosexual tendencies, the sexual interest in children, etc. It was too much. And, in a way, the two plots did not quite complement each other in a way that would have left me a satisfied reader. I understand why the author went that way, but it seems he kludged together two pieces that should have been filed down to flat surfaces before affixing. —
Actually, having just re-read my original post before copying and re-pasting here, I didn’t dislike the book as much as it seems. It was one of those rare stories that kind of seeps into the psyche over time and I keep thinking back on it. I still think the author went a bit overboard, but you are right, Sir Ice. It is an interesting story presented in an unusual way. I give it seven and a half stars out of ten.
And now, my time is up. I am off to more fulfilling bloggery, elsewhere. Good luck with the unwashed masses, Ice. Learn ‘em good!
- Joe -
283 Sam
September 26th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
I read brave new world. Very good. Read it for my AP English class senior year. Afterwards, the whole class debated on which side we woul dhave taken, the two sides being the world we live in now and the world that was presented in the book. I chose the one in the book. Obvious reasons. And if not obvious, the opposite of reasons against it.