Top 50 SF Novels Intermeme

[packbat]

After the fifth or so time I saw this turn up on my flist, I gave in. Modified version from and by elynne.

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. (added: underline the ones you haven't read but really want to.)



1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien (My dad read this to me and my sibs when we were kids, but I've never read it through.)
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov (I've only just started reading Asimov's fiction, though I read a couple of his nonfiction books as a kid.)
3. Dune, Frank Herbert (Not underlined because the movie was very odd, but lots of people recommend it.)
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 (I read "Minority Report" – I think I'm fine without more of his oddness, thanks.)
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. (Didn't get it.)
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 (Quit this one in anger, actually, right after decoding that message the protagonist got.)
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 (Strangely, I'm a fan of HP fanfic, but not of the book.)
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 * (One of the first SF books I read. I was a complete Hal Clement fanatic when I was younger – must have read a dozen or more of his novels, and a book of short stories.)
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 (I find it odd that this one made the cut. It was good, but top-50 good?)
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson ** (Incredible, incredible book.)
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner (Don't know why, actually, but I want to read it.)
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'm sorta surprised "The Gate to Women's Country" by Sheri S. Tepper isn't here. Nor "A Case of Conscience" by James Blish. I wonder what other omissions I'm not noticing.