I'm a sad nerd

[thebitterguy]

Sci Fi and Fantasy novels
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.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr. *
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett *
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling*
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams *
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute -
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut*
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

Comments

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

"Cities In Flight" is actually a cycle of four novels. I had the pleasure of re-reading it recently; it's a little dated in some ways but the basic ideas is wonderful: it's not about antigravity but about how mankind uses technology and innovation to reach for things he never dared reach for before.

Alfred Bester's "The Demolished Man" (another favorite of mine, despite being a little dated) was optioned to be made into a movie -- by none other than Oliver Stone. I would have loved to see the results.

"More Than Human" is one of those books I have read at different times in my life and each time I re-read it I got something entirely new and wonderful out of it.

"Zanzibar" is actually second in my mind to Brunner's other masterpiece, "The Shockwave Rider", which predicted not only the Internet but its social impact -- a good decade-plus before William Gibson.

"High Castle" is a great book, but when it comes to the Dick I re-read, I come back to "Androids / Sheep?" or "Scanner Darkly" most often.

"Foundation", once I got into it, was a surprisingly fast read.

"Forever War" still holds up nicely.

"Dhalgren" is the most infuriating book of all of them printed here, and it is that way by design. I can't think of any other novel I have had such a long-standing love-hate relationship with.

[thebitterguy]

The Blish & Bester books were all defeated because of my inability to make time to read, because they were all library books. I think I (or the wife) have the Sturgeon book somewhere around here. I should dig it out.

I'll try to get those two Brunner books; I had a roommate once who enjoyed his stuff quite a bit.

[newnumber6.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed The Shockwave Rider, but really disliked Stand on Zanzibar.

[thebitterguy]

I motored off to the local UBS and picked up Demolished Man & Cities in Flight, so hopefully I'll get a moment or two to read them.

[uncut-diamond.livejournal.com]

I love Snow Crash merely for the name of the main character.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson*
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card*
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling*
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams *
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute -
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson*
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

[thebitterguy]

Personally, Snow Crash started out really strong, then took a veer into suckville around two thirds in. And I STILL don't know what the hell happened at the end there.

[uncut-diamond.livejournal.com]

Bad shit. With Nukes.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Got you beat, man. The only book on that list that I've read cover to cover is Stranger in a Strange Land (and I loved it). Skimmed Interview with the Vampire, Lord of the Rings, and Dune. Alex started reading Little, Big and the first Harry Potter to me, but we stopped for various reasons I can't remember at the moment.

That's it. And honestly? I don't much care. I've read other Pratchett novels; can't read anything nuclear; most of the rest I'm kind of meh about. Now, if Joanna Russ was on there...

[granolademonic.livejournal.com]

Christ, I've only read seven of these, of which Vonnegut's is my favorite.

While I don't outright hate it like you do, I too found Snow Crash to be overrated.

[grumpydragon.livejournal.com]

Ender's Game and Stranger, Hitchhikers Guide, and Stranger in a Strange land.

Sad. :(

[thebitterguy]

Look at it this way; you get to read them all the other ones for the first time.

[perich.livejournal.com]

I never thought I'd be one of those nerds who flipped out when someone didn't like their favorite thing.

But I have a hard time envisioning the headspace of someone who claims to have hated Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light, which I consider one of the best of the genre.

[perich.livejournal.com]

AND Snow Crash!

[thebitterguy]

Okay, you got me on that. Started out okay, veered into incoherence at the end. Babylonian meme virii?

[perich.livejournal.com]

Yes! Babylonian memetic virii!

...

...

...

Okay, Snow Crash is a novel whose absolute absurdity is either a huge selling point or a big turnoff.

[thebitterguy]

Actually, I've never read Lord of Light. For some reason I was thinking of Donnerjack, which was really shitty.

[ghostwes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Donnerjack was awful. Zelazny was always hit or miss, in my opinion. For every Nine Princes in Amber and Lord of Light there is a Donnerjack or The Black Throne.

[thebitterguy]

I can't read the Amber books because they remind me of a bad relationship.

[ghostwes.livejournal.com]

Ouch.

Still, great books.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

You hate "Snow Crash?"

Wow. You're never living that one down.

[thebitterguy]

We all have our likes and dislikes. pyat hates Aliens.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Really? Huh. So there is one.

Since I made fun of you, I am obligated to ask you, in all seriousness, why you didn't like "Snow Crash."

[thebitterguy]

Like I said, it started out as a really neat setting (although Hiro Protagonist is a joke that got real, real old real, real fast). Then the story started to come out and it was completely incoherent and fairly nonsensical. Babylonian Meme Virii? No thanks.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess it's one of those "accept it or not" propositions. I had trouble with it the first time I read the book, but the second time through, what Stephenson was getting at became much clearer.