Speculative Fiction Bookmeme
NPR survey for the top 100 Sci-fi/Fantasy books. Stolen from kahvi.
Bolded - have read
Underlined - read a book from a series or stopped reading a single book at some point
Italicize - ones you fully intend to read
1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien - I really slogged through The Two Towers, but The Return Of The King was worth it, IMO.
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams - Nobody, but nobody, could write like DNA. I still think Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency was his best, though.
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov - See The Robot books, below, for my thoughts on IA.
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan - It started really interestingly. But it just turned into too much plot, too many characters, too much politicking, and not enough goddam plot.
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Vonnegut is such a brilliant writer...
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley I read this back in high school, and adored it to bits. I was going through a bit of a goth phase.
22. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
23. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood - I know, I went to a women's college and I didn't read The Handmaid's Tale? But I didn't.
24. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
25. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke - Childhood's End made me wonder what was going on in his brain. But 2001 was fun.
26. The Stand, by Stephen King - The man can suck you into a world.
27. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
28. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
29. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
31. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess - I liked the book a lot better than the movie. The book had some optimism in it, at the end, and though that might be Pollyanna-ish, I appreciated it.
32. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams - Just a fantastic book. There's no describing it, other than "Read it, it's something completely different."
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells - It was shortly after I read this (and The Time Machine) that the TV show came out, which might explain my strange affection for what really was a terrible TV show - but it tried.
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings - The Elenium/Tamuli is my guitly pleasure. I read The Belgariad like I would eat a Necco wafer. I don't really know why it made this list.
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley - Same as #47.
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven - I went through a serious Larry Niven phase in high school. I had to reluctantly come to the conclusion that he has some strange issues going on with women. But he still does hard speculative sci-fi better than just about anyone, so I turned a blind eye to that for a while.
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin - One of the most beautifully written sci-fi books ever. She created a whole world, with its own politics and mythology and figures of speech and conventions and... the whole package, and I never got the sense that the world-building was getting in the way of the story. I do enjoy Roccanon's World, too, even though it isn't as fantastic as LHOD.
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White - It never dragged me in, not even in my biggest King Arthur buff stage. I don't know why.
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God's Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind - Read it in high school, barely remember it. It didn't hit me hard, obv. :p
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy - No Country For Old Men scared the crap out of me (I found the movie easier to take, actually). I don't know if I'll work myself up for The Road.
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks - Another one I read in high school and barely remember.
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov - I love the whole Robot series, with Daneel probably being one of the most fully human characters Asimov ever wrote, oddly enough. Although about the time of The Naked Sun, I had to come to the conclusion that Asimov, too, has some strange ideas going on with women (and sex).
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony - Mindless fluff, fun enough for the first few but it got too annoying as time went on. I also made the mistake of reading far enough into Incarnations of Immortality to learn the guy has some serious issues with sex, particularly older guys with underage girls.
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis - He's a totally sexist homophobic anti-rationalist god-botherer, but he writes really well. I found The Space Trilogy's preachiness less annoying than in the Narnia books. Well, until That Hideous Strength, and at that point it was so over-the-top I could just forget about it and enjoy the story. The Head? Fantastic.
Bolded - have read
Underlined - read a book from a series or stopped reading a single book at some point
Italicize - ones you fully intend to read
1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien - I really slogged through The Two Towers, but The Return Of The King was worth it, IMO.
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams - Nobody, but nobody, could write like DNA. I still think Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency was his best, though.
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov - See The Robot books, below, for my thoughts on IA.
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan - It started really interestingly. But it just turned into too much plot, too many characters, too much politicking, and not enough goddam plot.
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Vonnegut is such a brilliant writer...
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley I read this back in high school, and adored it to bits. I was going through a bit of a goth phase.
22. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
23. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood - I know, I went to a women's college and I didn't read The Handmaid's Tale? But I didn't.
24. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
25. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke - Childhood's End made me wonder what was going on in his brain. But 2001 was fun.
26. The Stand, by Stephen King - The man can suck you into a world.
27. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
28. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
29. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
30. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
31. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess - I liked the book a lot better than the movie. The book had some optimism in it, at the end, and though that might be Pollyanna-ish, I appreciated it.
32. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams - Just a fantastic book. There's no describing it, other than "Read it, it's something completely different."
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells - It was shortly after I read this (and The Time Machine) that the TV show came out, which might explain my strange affection for what really was a terrible TV show - but it tried.
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings - The Elenium/Tamuli is my guitly pleasure. I read The Belgariad like I would eat a Necco wafer. I don't really know why it made this list.
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley - Same as #47.
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven - I went through a serious Larry Niven phase in high school. I had to reluctantly come to the conclusion that he has some strange issues going on with women. But he still does hard speculative sci-fi better than just about anyone, so I turned a blind eye to that for a while.
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin - One of the most beautifully written sci-fi books ever. She created a whole world, with its own politics and mythology and figures of speech and conventions and... the whole package, and I never got the sense that the world-building was getting in the way of the story. I do enjoy Roccanon's World, too, even though it isn't as fantastic as LHOD.
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White - It never dragged me in, not even in my biggest King Arthur buff stage. I don't know why.
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God's Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind - Read it in high school, barely remember it. It didn't hit me hard, obv. :p
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy - No Country For Old Men scared the crap out of me (I found the movie easier to take, actually). I don't know if I'll work myself up for The Road.
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks - Another one I read in high school and barely remember.
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov - I love the whole Robot series, with Daneel probably being one of the most fully human characters Asimov ever wrote, oddly enough. Although about the time of The Naked Sun, I had to come to the conclusion that Asimov, too, has some strange ideas going on with women (and sex).
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony - Mindless fluff, fun enough for the first few but it got too annoying as time went on. I also made the mistake of reading far enough into Incarnations of Immortality to learn the guy has some serious issues with sex, particularly older guys with underage girls.
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis - He's a totally sexist homophobic anti-rationalist god-botherer, but he writes really well. I found The Space Trilogy's preachiness less annoying than in the Narnia books. Well, until That Hideous Strength, and at that point it was so over-the-top I could just forget about it and enjoy the story. The Head? Fantastic.