Ga*ked from lahosken

[darcydodo]

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. [And I'm adding: Underline the ones that you have on your shelf but have never read.]

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(*) [I have general warm fuzzy feelings towards Terry Pratchett, and if this were, say, Wyrd Sisters it would definitely have an asterisk by it.]
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* [I loved it when I read it, which was in 5th grade. I'm just saying.]
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson [I didn't hate it in the way that I hated, say, The Soprano Sorceress, which is the only book I've read by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. But I think I was also way too young when I started Lord Foul's Bane. I should try them again some day.]
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 [err, does just reading the introduction count as starting it? My sig file had a quote from the intro for a while....]
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

I also probably own a couple more of these than I've underlined, but I'm not going into the garage (where the bookshelves with most of my sci-fi are) to check, because I'm lazy.

Comments

[lessachu.livejournal.com]

Alfred Bester is awesome!

[asarwate.livejournal.com]

The man in the high castle? Over a scanner darkly? WTF?

[darcydodo]

Now I'm confused. Are you saying WTF about them being on there (which The Man in the High Castle is, but the other isn't)? Are you saying WTF about them not being on there (which as best I can see Over A Scanner Darkly isn't, but the other is)? Are you saying WTF about me not having read them? :) Or is it something else entirely?

So yeah, I'm confused. ;)

[asarwate.livejournal.com]

Well, A Scanner Darkly is a better book, IMHO. The Man in the High Castle won an award though, so I suppose that's why it goes on there.

[glamwhorebunni.livejournal.com]

I know! Scanner D definitely belongs on there more than High Castle. Hell, VALIS does...

[magna-maxima.livejournal.com]

What! No Philip Pullman, yet they dare to put Harry Potter on this list? Well then. ;)