gakked from that_mireille

[katekat]

hmm.....

The most significant SF/F novels from 1953-2006 according to Time. Bold the ones you have read, strikethrough the ones you read and hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put a star next to the ones you love.


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

Things this list leaves out that it should not have ...
* The Glass Hammer & Dr. Adder by KW Jeter
* The Female Man & And Chaos Died by Joanna Russ
* Terminal Cafe by Ian McDonald
* Synners & Mindplayers & Fools by Pat Cadigan
* Random Acts of Violence by Jack Womack

Comments

[emeraldswan.livejournal.com]

41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien*

My absolute favorite Tolkien book. :)

How are you?

[katekat]

it took me three tries to read it, but when i finally did it was ... well, the skies opened, the angels carolled, and all kinds of good stuff happened.

i'm good, but soooo ready for the semester to be over right now. luckily not fairing badly after the car hit me (surprisingly) and ... yeah.

what about you lady? how goes emmy life? oh, i saw that you put the buffy/mal banner up - looks fabulous (if i do say so!) *grin*

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Wow, I now feel sorely under-read. I can honestly say I've only read three books on that list, and attempted to read one more.

Then again, I don't really have the disire to read too many others on that list. Most fantasy/SF tends to make my eyes glaze over.

[katekat]

see, and if you can slog through LKH many of these are far better. but i'm also a scifi/fantasy geek who started reading them in teenagerhood because, well, they were more entertaining than small town life by like a factor of 5.

but please tell me you've read Terry Pratchett at least?

[(Anonymous)]

Starship Troopers made the cut but Pat Cadigan didn't? What the Holy Fuck!? And I love Terry Pratchett - but there isn't a book he has written that belongs in the same list as Dhalgren. Grrrrrrr.......

[gray-ghost.livejournal.com]

And it's me...hi =) But you probably already knew that.

[enkelien.livejournal.com]

I think I should get points for reading stuff by authors that turned up on that list, if not the specific books. "Ringworld", "Integral Trees", whatever. Half of "Heritage of Hastur" vs. half of "Mists of Avalon"? Pfft. :D

[katekat]

you get points. don't worry.

and yeah, i know, Mists of Avalon gets a big raspberry. But then again, it's a pretty weird list.

[dara-starscream.livejournal.com]

Stormbringer was the last book in the series, she sniffled. And nothing by Kay? And would The Stepford Wives be considered a science fiction novel? And nothing by Piers Anthony? (I think Piers Anthony is a phase every sci-fi/fantasy afficiano must go through when they're waiting to grow up.) And if Anne Rice gets an entry, how come nothing by Stephen King counts?

Yes, I'm frantically trying to conceal my lack of well-readness. Hey give me credit, I'm finally tackling (and getting, kind of) Invisible Man.
-BJ

[katekat]

Yeah, it's a totally weird list. And I agree, Piers Anthony is somebody we all totally gotta go through - and he's great stuff. And yeah, I think Anne Rice being on that list was WEIRD.

Go you with your Invisible Man-readingness!! That rocks! it was one of the first books i read that was not scifi/fantasy that i remember making a real impression on me...

oh, and as far as the parallels between it and one flew over the cookoo's nest, i totally think you're right in drawing them - narrative and style both. and i'd never thought of that before!