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lil_shepherd
Another useless 'I've read that' meme. This one is the lists of 'best SF and fantasy novels' compiled by Locus from a survey. Bold are ones I've read, italic those I started but gave up on, and normal being those I ain't read. I may comment occasionally.



20th Century SF Novel:

1 Herbert, Frank: Dune (1965)
2 Card, Orson Scott: Ender's Game (1985)
3 Asimov, Isaac: The Foundation Trilogy (1953)
4 Simmons, Dan: Hyperion (1989)
5 Le Guin, Ursula K.: The Left Hand of Darkness (1969)
6 Adams, Douglas: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979)
7 Orwell, George: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)
8 Gibson, William: Neuromancer (1984)
9 Bester, Alfred: The Stars My Destination (1957)
10 Bradbury, Ray: Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
11 Heinlein, Robert A.: Stranger in a Strange Land (1961)
12 Heinlein, Robert A.: The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966) (I still love this book, even though I disagree profoundly with its philosophy.)
13 Haldeman, Joe: The Forever War (1974)
14 Clarke, Arthur C.: Childhood's End (1953)
15 Niven, Larry: Ringworld (1970)

16 Le Guin, Ursula K.: The Dispossessed (1974)
17 Bradbury, Ray: The Martian Chronicles (1950)

18 Stephenson, Neal: Snow Crash (1992) (Ina likes this one. I think I read about five pages, which hardly counts.)
19 Miller, Walter M. , Jr.: A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959)
20 Pohl, Frederik: Gateway (1977)
21 Heinlein, Robert A.: Starship Troopers (1959)
22 Dick, Philip K.: The Man in the High Castle (1962)
23 Zelazny, Roger: Lord of Light (1967)
(This would top my personal list.)
24 Wolfe, Gene: The Book of the New Sun (1983) (You know, all the people I know who dislike this are women. Me included.)
25 Lem, Stanislaw: Solaris (1970)
(Life is too short.)
26 Dick, Philip K.: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968)
27 Vinge, Vernor: A Fire Upon The Deep (1992)
28 Clarke, Arthur C.: Rendezvous with Rama (1973)
29 Huxley, Aldous: Brave New World (1932)
30 Clarke, Arthur C.: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

31 Vonnegut, Kurt: Slaughterhouse-Five (1969)
32 Strugatsky, Arkady & Boris: Roadside Picnic (1972)

33 Card, Orson Scott: Speaker for the Dead (1986)
34 Brunner, John: Stand on Zanzibar (1968) (Though I can think of at least three Brunners I much prefer - including 'Shockwave Rider' which would be number 2 on my personal list.)
35 Robinson, Kim Stanley: Red Mars (1992)
36 Niven, Larry (& Pournelle, Jerry): The Mote in God's Eye (1974)

37 Willis, Connie: Doomsday Book (1992) (I threw this one across the room around chapter 2)
38 Atwood, Margaret: The Handmaid's Tale (1985)

39 Sturgeon, Theodore: More Than Human (1953)
40 Simak, Clifford D.: City (1952)
41 Brin, David: Startide Rising (1983)
42 Asimov, Isaac: Foundation (1950)
43 Farmer, Philip Jose: To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971)
44 Dick, Philip K.: Ubik (1969)
45 Vonnegut, Kurt: Cat's Cradle (1963)
46 Vinge, Vernor: A Deepness in the Sky (1999)
47 Simak, Clifford D.: Way Station (1963)
48 Wyndham, John: The Day of the Triffids (1951)
49/ Keyes, Daniel: Flowers for Algernon (1966)
(Though I much prefer the short story.)
49 Delany, Samuel R.: Dhalgren (1975)


20th Century Fantasy Novel:

1 Tolkien, J. R. R.: The Lord of the Rings (1955) (Quel suprise!)
2 Martin, George R. R.: A Game of Thrones (1996) (Ditto, though I don't think it's justified.)
3 Tolkien, J. R. R.: The Hobbit (1937) (Really?????)
4 Le Guin, Ursula K.: A Wizard of Earthsea (1968)
5 Zelazny, Roger: Nine Princes in Amber (1970)
6 Lewis, C. S.: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)

7 Mieville, China: Perdido Street Station (2000)
8 Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
9 Crowley, John: Little, Big (1981)
10 Adams, Richard: Watership Down (1972)
11 Goldman, William: The Princess Bride (1973)
12 Martin, George R. R.: A Storm of Swords (2000)
13 Beagle, Peter S.: The Last Unicorn (1968) (Great book, though I prefer 'A Fine and Private Place')
14 White, T. H.: The Once and Future King (1958)
15 Pratchett, Terry (& Gaiman, Neil): Good Omens (1990)
16 Kay, Guy Gavriel: Tigana (1990) (Prefer 'A Song for Arbonne' but there you go.)
17 Gaiman, Neil: Neverwhere (1996)

18 Wolfe, Gene: The Book of the New Sun (1983) (Why does this appear on both lists? It's actually SF. I never finished it, but I've read enough about it to know what's going on...)
19 Vance, Jack: The Dying Earth (1950)
20 Bulgakov, Mikhail: The Master and Margarita (1967)
21 Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)

22 Tolkien, J. R. R.: The Silmarillion (1977) (Yes, I gave up on it. No, I'm not going to change my mind.)
23 Leiber, Fritz: The Swords of Lankhmar (1968)
24 Jordan, Robert: The Eye of the World (1990)
25 Donaldson, Stephen R.: Lord Foul's Bane (1977) (Ghu help me – I actually finished this!)
26 Bradbury, Ray: Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962)
27 Peake, Mervyn: Gormenghast (1950) (Though I'm not an admirer. In the late 60s I was reading everything remotely SF or fantasy. Lord help me, I even read 'The Human Age' and that's AWFUL.)
28 Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999)
29 Powers, Tim: The Anubis Gates (1983)

30 Martin, George R. R.: A Clash of Kings (1998)
31 Bradley, Marion Zimmer: The Mists of Avalon (1983)
(oh, god, the bad research, it burns.)
32 Hobb, Robin: Assassin's Apprentice (1995)
33 Pratchett, Terry: The Colour of Magic (1983) (Why this book? Pratchett has written much better.)
34 Holdstock, Robert: Mythago Wood (1984)

35 King, Stephen: The Stand (1978)
36/ L'Engle, Madeleine: A Wrinkle in Time (1962)
36 Pratchett, Terry: Small Gods (1992)

38 Ende, Michael: The Neverending Story (1983)
39 Peake, Mervyn: Titus Groan (1946)
40 Howard, Robert E.: Conan the Barbarian (1950)
41 McCaffrey, Anne: Dragonflight (1968) (Not fantasy.)
42 Orwell: George: Animal Farm (1945) (Not fantasy either)
43 Feist, Raymond E.: Magician (1982)
44 Silverberg, Robert: Lord Valentine's Castle (1980)
45 Lovecraft, H. P.: At the Mountains of Madness (1936)
46 Swanwick, Michael: The Iron Dragon's Daughter (1993)

47 King, Stephen: The Shining (1977)
48 Garcia Marquez, Gabriel: One Hundred Years of Solitude (1970)
49 Saint-Exupery, Antoine de: The Little Prince (1943)
50 Hughart, Barry: Bridge of Birds (1984)


21st Century SF Novel:

1 Scalzi, John: Old Man's War (2005)
2 Stephenson, Neal: Anathem (2008)
3 Bacigalupi, Paolo: The Windup Girl (2009)
4 Wilson, Robert Charles: Spin (2005) (This is on my to-be-read pile)
5 Watts, Peter: Blindsight (2006) (As is this.)
6 Morgan, Richard: Altered Carbon (2002)
7 Collins, Suzanne: The Hunger Games (2008)
8 Gibson, William: Pattern Recognition (2003)
9 Mieville, China: The City & the City (2009)
10 Stross, Charles: Accelerando (2005)
11 Mitchell, David: Cloud Atlas (2004)
12 McDonald, Ian: River of Gods (2004)
13 McCarthy, Cormac: The Road (2006)
14 Harrison, M. John: Light (2002)
15* Willis, Connie: Black Out/All Clear (2010) (I have given up on Willis. I can't suspend my disbelief for the plot holes and bad research.)
15* Chabon, Michael: The Yiddish Policemen's Union (2007)

21st Century Fantasy Novel:

1 Gaiman, Neil: American Gods (2001)
2 Clarke, Susanna: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004)
3 Rothfuss, Patrick: The Name of the Wind (2007)
4 Mieville, China: The Scar (2002)
5 Martin, George R. R.: A Feast for Crows (2005) (Martin wrote two of my all time favourite genre novels, neither of which are part of this sequence.)
6 Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007)
7 Bujold, Lois McMaster: The Curse of Chalion (2001)

8 Mieville, China: The City & the City (2009)
9 Fforde, Jasper: The Eyre Affair (2001)
10/ Bujold, Lois McMaster: Paladin of Souls (2003)
10 Pratchett, Terry: Night Watch (2002)
12 Gaiman, Neil: Coraline (2002)

13 Wolfe, Gene: The Wizard Knight (2004)
14 Pratchett, Terry: Going Postal (2004)
15/ Gaiman, Neil: The Graveyard Book (2008)
15 Lynch, Scott: The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006) (Though I may have another go at some stage.)

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Interesting lists, and useful if for nothing else other than to remind me of things I want/need to read if I ever have time (am irritated with my self for having skipped so many of these), & to spark discussion.

I *loved* Lord of Light and certainly think Dune deserved to be up there, but Neuromancer would have topped my list by a mile (Count Zero wouldn't have been on it only because I would have felt wrong putting both and I'd give Neuromancer the slight edge).

I'm male but didn't get very far with Book of the New Sun back in college (tho I did love There are Doors and later An Unexpected Guest by the same author. errr, I think that latter is the right name)

VERY happy to see Nine Princes in Amber so high - I thought Zelazny mostly forgotten these days, and I loved the Amber novels. OTOH, greatly distressed at the complete lack of Patricia McKillip.

Switching centuries, was very surprised but also very happy to see Altered Carbon in the top ten sf novels, tho I woulda put Gibson's Zero Pattern at the top. I understand the love for Pattern Recognition, because the beginning was wonderful, but thought it fell apart at the end ("the end" being the last third or so of the book).

Happy Holidays!

Can't

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