Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Spec Fic Listy

I snagged this from Michael Stone's LiveJournal.

50 years of Spec Fic Books ...
According to the Science Fiction Book Club, these are the 50 most significant SF & Fantasy Books of 1953-2002. Bold the ones you've read, underline the ones you hated, italicize the ones you couldn't get through, asterisks for the ones you loved.

*1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
3. Dune by Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
6. Neuromancer by William Gibson
*7. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
*10. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (hey, I even teach this one)
11. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom by Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight by James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway by Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
*28. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

29. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big by John Crowley
32. Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement
35. More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach by Nevil Shute
*38. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld by Larry Niven
40. Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien (ummm...what?)
42. Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
*45. The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein
47. Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
49. Timescape by Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer

Looks like I have some reading to do...

6 comments:

Jamie Eyberg said...

I have a lot of reading to do. I haven't even heard of a lot of these books. But then again I don't read a lot of fantasy. That might have to change.

Aaron Polson said...

I haven't read that much fantasy myself.

As with any list, one must take it with a grain of salt. Or two.

Cate Gardner said...

I am so not posting this - I've only read three (Farenheit 451, Harry Potter & Interview with a Vampire). I was disappointed to see there was no John Wyndham books on the list. Now his stories I've read.

Anonymous said...

Um...why is Sagan's "Contact" not up there?

Aaron Polson said...

The source is the Science Fiction Book Club. I guarentee most (if not all) of these titles are in their catalog.

Rob Brooks said...

I've read a goodly handful of them, but nothing in the fantasy realm, either. And it still doesn't really pique my interest. I'd like to see this list with some horror thrown in there.