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Nov. 15th, 2006 10:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
usernamenumberHaven't done a meme for a while, so here goes (from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
skipperdee)...
This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club. Bold the ones you've read, strike out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved. (skipperdee's addition: underline the ones you read a kajillion years ago and didn't really understand and should thus probably read again.)
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. * Dune, Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. * Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (I excuse myself from not having finished it because I got the original trilogy from the miniseries and radio plays and then read the rest)
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut (Cat's Cradle is better.)
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks (Life is too short.)
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer
There are none on the list that I hated, but I didn find Ringworld and the Demolished Man to be a bit overrated. Plus, though I haven't read it, I wasn't aware that the Silmarilion brought anything to the table that LoTR didn't also bring. And, while I'm at it, where are Vernor Vinge and George R. R. Martin? *fanboy pout*
edit: The more I think about it, the more I understand the choices on that list (except the Silmarilion thing). A much as I love Vinge and Martin, maybe they are both more just-plain-good than genre-changing. Demolished Man did have some really new things in it. In fact, in this light it's The Stars My Destination, which I enjoyed more, that seems out of place on the list. I don't remember any really revolutionary concepts being introduced there. I should probably re-read both sometime, though.
skipperdee)...This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club. Bold the ones you've read, strike out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved. (
skipperdee's addition: underline the ones you read a kajillion years ago and didn't really understand and should thus probably read again.)1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. * Dune, Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. * Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams (I excuse myself from not having finished it because I got the original trilogy from the miniseries and radio plays and then read the rest)
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut (Cat's Cradle is better.)
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks (Life is too short.)
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer
There are none on the list that I hated, but I didn find Ringworld and the Demolished Man to be a bit overrated. Plus, though I haven't read it, I wasn't aware that the Silmarilion brought anything to the table that LoTR didn't also bring. And, while I'm at it, where are Vernor Vinge and George R. R. Martin? *fanboy pout*
edit: The more I think about it, the more I understand the choices on that list (except the Silmarilion thing). A much as I love Vinge and Martin, maybe they are both more just-plain-good than genre-changing. Demolished Man did have some really new things in it. In fact, in this light it's The Stars My Destination, which I enjoyed more, that seems out of place on the list. I don't remember any really revolutionary concepts being introduced there. I should probably re-read both sometime, though.
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Date: 2006-11-16 03:28 am (UTC)I misparsed 'Ringworld' as 'Discworld' and was about to have to get all PratchetFanGirlDefensive on you... *delicate geeky giggle*
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Date: 2006-11-16 04:06 am (UTC)Hey... ;)
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Date: 2006-11-16 12:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-16 06:03 pm (UTC)I'll go back to singing 'Its a small world' again... )
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Date: 2006-11-16 06:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-16 07:40 pm (UTC)She's married to a friend of mine from back at UIowa.