If you always try to get to the top, you don't get to the bottom of nothing

[impersona]

Top 100 SF/F books, according to NPR.  Since it seems to have been decided on based to fan-votes, I can understand better why the order is so weird and wonky and leans towards a lot of new stuff. Nabbed from prodigy .  Bold for read, italics for started, underlined for want-to-read.

 

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Not going to argue this one.  The Two Towers is one of maybe three books that had me bawling like a child at the end of it. 

2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams

Yes, a fun and iconic book, but I don't get why it is at #2.  
 

3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card

I really like Card and I get that this is a very iconic book, but it's not my personal favorite from him.  I'd have gone for either the Alvin the Maker series or Timewatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus (Timewatch having the best treatment of time-travel I've ever seen in fiction).
 

4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert

Fucking hated Paul, fucking hated this series.  However, in a heartbeat I would read an entire series about Paul's mother.


5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin

I was reading the audiobook version but fell out of it half-way through because I got busy.  I really need to pick it up again, if only for Anya and Tyrion.
 

6. 1984, by George Orwell

This book is awesome.  It's depressing, yes, but overall I really like the construction of the world - I'm a big fan of dystopians, and it doesn't get much worse than this.  My particular favorite detail in this book is how the very language of the culture is being transformed by the government, with the goal of making its citizens incapable of expressing complex thoughts at all.  

Actually, I do fantasize sometimes about reading stories about the two other major nations of that world, and how those governments are run.  I like to imagine that one looks like a true-blue utopia but they secretly feed their people Soylent Green or something awful like that, and the other is 'real' and the only sane nation left. 


7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

I fail.

8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov

It is really, really hard to pick between Foundation and I, Robot, since both of them do such wonderful things.  I prefer Foundation because it hits the points of human psychology and sociology that I'm interested in on a macro level, as opposed to a micro level.  I, Robot gives you microscopic stories about individuals and small situations that tumble into a Big Picture.  Foundation does the opposite, starting at the macro level with a crazy scientist who claims he has predicted the course of the galaxy-wide human civilization over 30,000 years, and IT IS ACTUALLY ACCURATE mostly, and so you can very clearly see the little cog stories in the books move that Big Picture.  I don't know if I'm making sense but to me, that was a really thrilling way to approach a series.  You know there is a Big Plan, but the thrill is seeing the little people within the plan work and somehow make a difference.

God, I love this series.

9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

Uh this was really awful.  The concept was fine, but the central character was AWFUL and the whole thing felt like Gaiman had a Post-It note on his monitor that said "MAKE IT DARKER AND EDGIER".  The little short-stories in-between chapters and also Anansi were the only redeeming points.
 

11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan

ALL OF MY RAGE IS CONCENTRATED ON THIS SERIES.  When I think about a fantasy book that encapsulates everything I hate in the fantasy genre, I think of Wheel of Time.  It actually ruined me to 'coming of age' novels for a few years.
 

13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell

yay animals <3333
 

14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson

Hey, the title looks cool.  I'll put it on my list.
 

15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore

Well, I did enjoy it.  But as Prodigy said, it is questionable if this book really belongs on this list.  It is good, but it isn't an iconic staple of fantasy or sci-fi by any means.  This is going more by my definition of the genre than anything else - I think of comics as a different type of media, and not as part of what is generally considered the SF/F book genre.  Comics are no less legitimate forms of storytelling, like great classic sci-fi movies or the like, and Watchmen in particular is a fantastic character study..  I fall short because I'm not understanding the logic of including/exclusing different types of media in this list - why comics but not short stories, for example?


16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov

I talked about this a bit up in Foundation.  It is an amazing book of its own though, and probably far more iconic than Foundation.  The stories are just so mind-blowing that you don't know what to do with yourself afterwards.   

I also really like the movie, even though it has balls to do with the book XDDDDDDD


17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein

Ahahahaha I actually like this book.  It was just so batshit crazy and his views on sexuality are still so fantastic and strange that I got a huge kick out of it (though I agree that it is not a book for feminists, but most SF/F sadly is not).   While I will definitely admit to problems within the book, especially a plot that goes MIA for some hundred pages in the middle, I was fascinated by the characters and particularly by Michael.  It is a challenge wrapping your head around the logic of that world, but I thought it was worth the mental shift to do so.  

There is another Heinlein book I've read, I Will Fear No Evil, about a crusty old billionaire who scientifically transplants himself into the body of a hot young girl.  While it is technically not his best book, I thought it was amazing how much exploration he did into how the two genders experience love and life, and spends a lot of time following the old man's accepting a brand new point of view as a woman.


18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss

19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Awesome.  I need to read more of his stuff.


20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

For my money, I would have thrown this up in the Top 5.  I love this book, I love re-reading this book, I think it is near perfect.   


21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick

22. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King

Did you know King's making an 8th Dark Tower book?  TREMBLE IN FEAR.

I am a ginormous Stephen King fan, and I know that the Dark Tower is an extremely polarizing subject.  I am not really sure where I stand on the series myself.  I think I'm in love with the over-arching concept more than I was the execution of it.  I thought the first book was a good set-up, but the second and third books are home-run knockouts and by far my favorite fictional books by King. In fact, the third book, The Waste Lands, I would say is my favorite book by any author, period.  The fourth book then was a piece of shit, the fifth book had some moments of awesome but mostly because King references from other fantasy/SF material, the sixth and seven books I wish I could burn out of my brain because they were so so bad.

But the overarching meta concept was totally sound, and I feel like I can see what the Dark Tower could have been.  I thought if King kept it simple, like in the first few books, it could have been a great western/fantasy hybrid series.  The central characters were extremely strong and for the first few books, enjoyable to watch interacting with each other and growing with.  But as King sometimes does, he could not resist throwing in all of the most bizarre shit he could think of without a thought towards editing, and we got a massive clusterfuck.  He lost the threads of character development, most importantly, and because King's strength is his characters, the narrative tumbled out the door with it.

daa-daa-chick?


24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke

25. The Stand, by Stephen King

Certainly would have ranked this above Dark Tower, especially since the concept and message is a bit more iconic.  As I'll mention later though, King has collaborated on a fantasy that blew both The Stand and The Dark Tower out of the water.


26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury

28. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman

30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess

31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein

lololololol


32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams

I LOVE BUNNIES <3


33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey

Yeah was not a fan at all. 


34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein

35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller

I actually don't remember much about the plot, since I read it while I was so young, but I know that I remember it fondly and that it did influence my taste in fantasy/sci-fi a big deal.  I'm also a kid who enjoyed The Postman a big deal.  Dystopian futures are awesome.


36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells

WHY THE FUCK IS THIS AT 36, THIS IS LIKE THE ICONIC TIME TRAVEL SCI-FI NOVEL.  


37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne

38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys

Actually, this book scares the shit out of me cause it played on my greatest fear (of being incapable of operate at my brain-power).  Stupid scary book.


39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells

I love you H.G. Wells foreverz


40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny

Definitely on my to-read list.  I loved his book Damnation Alley.


41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings

42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

My mom has like all of the MZB books which I'm going to end up inheriting.  I should probably read one while she is alive though D:


43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson

44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven

45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin

LeGuin is your god.  I love SF that plays with gender, and it doesn't get better than this.


46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien

Didn't like it, actually. 


47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White

48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke

50. Contact, by Carl Sagan

Also on my bookshelf to read.  I love that damn movie.


51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons

Secret: I only want to read this series because later books are called Endymion and Rise of Endymion.  I also tend to be enchanted by books based on poems (again, see The Waste Lands).


52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson

54. World War Z, by Max Brooks

55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle

Never finished it :<  


56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman

57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett

58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson

59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold

60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett.

61. The Mote In God's Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind

SO BAD.


63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson

I really want to read this one.  


66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist

67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks

ALSO SO BAD but I seem to recall it was less-bad than Sword of Truth and the fucking Wheel of Time.  Like, this was Charming Bad.


68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard

69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb

70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

?????????


71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson

72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne

73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore

Ahahaha I used to read these as a teenager.  I grew out of them but I'm happy to see Salvatore still making money.


74. Old Man's War, by John Scalzi

75. The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson

76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke

77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey

I PROMISE I WILL FINISH THE FIRST BOOK, K. 


78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin

79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury

80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire

The play is awesome, even if the book isn't.


81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson

82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks

Never heard of this before but the title looks cool.


84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart

85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson

86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher

87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe

88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn

89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan

90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock

91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury

92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley

While there are other books of McKinley's I enjoyed better (Rose Daughter, Deerskin, most of Dragonhaven except for the god damn stupid last 70 pages), I am happy enough to see her on this list.


93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge

94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov

THE BEST BUDDY-COP BOOK EVER WRITTEN.


95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson

uuuuuuuuuuuuughn the books have been on my shelf for years and I still haven't gotten around to them.



96. Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville

99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony

100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis


 
Books I would have put in my Top 5 (no particular order):

Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

The Foundation series - Isaac Asimov

The Talisman series - Stephen King and Peter Straub.  King and Straub bring out the best in each other, and I think of these two books as THE definitive way of mixing fantasy with modern life.

The Time Machine - H.G. Wells


Should have been on the list:

Howl's Moving Castle - Diana Wynne Jones?  Hello?

Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling.  I really don't get why this isn't on the list. 

His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman.  Is it because it's considered a children's book?

The Twelve Kingdoms - Fuyumi Ono

The Winds of Altair - Ben Bova.  Actually, fairly surprised that neither Ben Bova nor Greg Bear made the list.

The Alchemist - Paolo Coelho (though I guess that would put into question if this book was really fantasy or not)

Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis.   I have always thought of Narnia as the twin series to LotR, so it really shocked me to see LotR but no mention of this.  da fuck

Blood Music - Greg Bear.  ru  recommended this book and it fucking blew my brains out of my ears with how fucked up it was.  JACKED UP I TELL YOU.  (I loved it)

Leviathan - Scott Westerfield.  Read it for Deryn Sharp, my god, the most pimp character in fiction there ever was.

Sphere and/or Andromeda Strain - Michael Crichton.  Andromeda Strain being one of the first full-length novels I remember reading and forever a nostalgic favorite of mine (Cujo being the first grown-up novel I remember reading at somewhere like age 8, and NOT a favorite, my god, bad choices).  Sphere is a constant re-read for me because it is so close to my heart.  Again, I guess it becomes a debate about genre, but I don't think there is a reason to include King but exclude Crichton since they have similar places in the market.
  -----------------

I bought Super Smash Brothers: Brawl last week.  Should have bought it years ago, it should have been called Nintendo Fanfiction: The Game due to its story mode. I have my sights on getting a 3DS within the next few months, but getting some new clothing and some non-plastic furniture is a big higher on my list right now.  DID YOU KNOW THAT OREGON TRAIL - 3D WILL BE RELEASED ON THE 3DS?  Also a Professor Layton and Phoenix Wright team-up game.  God dammit.

Comments

[prodigy]

I actually think Crichton deserves to be on this list way more than he is, Jurassic Park for Pete's sake -- whatever you think of his writing quality (and I don't think overly much), he's been iconic and influential in how we imagine genetics- and near-future-based sci-fi undeniably and in some of the "fears of progress" horrific monsters envisioned in the blurred place between science fiction and horror. Andromeda Strain is another one. Agree that both King and Crichton are pretty much sci-fi authors who became so popular that they transcended genre in readership, but not in the stuff they wrote, exactly.

I am always delighted to find another person who dislikes the massively overrated American Gods. As for Stranger In A Strange Land, I just found it unbelievably meandering and felt like I was listening to a drunk person ramble and becoming embarrassmentsquicked for how awkward they'd be when they sobered up and realized they spent like two hours nattering to me in a hot tub after meeting me five minutes ago. And I'm surprised you didn't get dragged into at least reading by the mid-2000s hype of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell at some point -- I was turned off it for a few months due to how much hype it had, actually, but obviously by my own list I came around.

[impersona]

As for Crichton and King, I am the kind of reader who can forgive some bad writing if the story and ideas are solid enough. Don't get me wrong, Crichton got really bad in his last few years, but his earlier works and concepts I find to be wonderful. I find Eaters of the Dead to be a beautiful book, and Timeline to be punchy and riveting (especially as many of his books are on the long side.)

I could see him being excluded from the list because some people argue that Crichton is more on the Thriller end of the genre spectrum, but then why not keep King in Horror? I'm really just confused by this list.

I will not defend Stranger in a Strange Land. In fact, I agree with what you say. I think the book completely forgot that it had a plot during a few hundred pages XD

AND I forgot, but Jonathan Strange is on my to-read list XD I've had someone actively campaigning for me to read it by now. I'm sure I was under a rock when the hype was going on, cause I am uninformed about literary trends XD

[prodigy]

I think there's a reason Crichton and King's works adapt well to screen, especially King's: they have great ideas. King's just had so many lasting, punchy ideas, and the film career of his stories attests to that much. He is a person who thought of The Stand and The Shining and Misery all -- that's evidence enough that he has a hell of an idea-brain. Actually, I find his movies more watchable than his books are readable at times, and I don't entirely eman that as an insult.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell definitely numbers among my favorite books (in the top 20 or so), but it was hell of overhyped when it was in hardcover, its publisher put a lot of effort into trying to net non-genre readers as well as genre readers; I wonder how well it succeeded, on whole, it's definitely subsided back into its genre by now (where it belongs inasmuch as anything belongs anywhere, anyway, so I'm not complaining). I sometimes hear complaints that the writing is boring, but in fact I think those are mis-aimed criticisms because the problem isn't so much that the writing isn't engaging as it is that the plot pace is so slow that you get bored anyway even if you like the writing and characters. Which I did get bored anyway -- it was some 1/3 of the way in before I realized that I was genuinely invested and 1/2 before I was addictively page-turning. Just as a forewarning. Also, if you're not interested in The Vaguely Homo Frenemy Rivalry Of Mr. Willfully Impulsive And Mr. Bullheadedly Uptight, this book is probably not for you. But it has some of the most beautifully sketched fantasy concepts I've seen in real-world-based fantasy, ever, and I love it.

[impersona]

I might have read it sooner if it was named The Vaguely Homo Frenemy Rivalry of Mr. Willfully Impulsive and Mr. Bullheadedly Uptight! Will definitely bump it up on my to-read list then, once I get my schedule more in order XD

Totally get you on King's movies - and that's a compliment in a way, cause the idea is great enough to make smooth jumps between writing and films. I like to think that his brilliance in writing dialogue, and likeable, realistic protagonists is a big boost too. THE GREEN MILE, MAN.

[prodigy]

JS&MN also suffers from attempts-to-be-progressive-about-gender-and-race-that-don't-really-work-out, to some degree, but I'm curious to see what you think of it all. Inherently it just has a really cool world mythology that isn't all that borrowed from existing mythologies, and two main characters that are interesting, so I hope you enjoy it.

That's definitely true re. King -- also, situations you inherently invest in. So many cases where it doesn't matter if you'd like the character in a sitcom or an ensemble cast: their life and current plight is impossible not to be on the edge of your seat about.

[sporky_rat]

If you can't find a copy of The Chronicles of Amber, let me know, I've got a two booker of the main series you can borrow. :D

[impersona]

zomg thank you ;-; I assume that means that you enjoyed the series?

[sporky_rat]

Oh my god yes. I adored them. I might be crazy, but I did. The main character is an ass, but it's still very well written and a great story.

[caltastic]

Brandon Sanderson in general and the Mistborn books in specific are brilliant, and I was so so happy to see them on the list, even as jacked up as it was.

[kol]

I'm glad we live in the same house so I can spew my vitrolic hatred of everything this list choses to be to you in person instead of incoherently raging in your journal. :)