NPR picks top 100 sci-fi & fantasy novels.

[Jim147]

But the series "begins" with dragonflight.

As I thing the entire pern series is valuble, but it is set in losely related trilgious and single novels, one should begin either with Lessa or Dragonsdawn.

Which Lackey?

I didn't know it started with Dragonflight. I picked up Dragonsong by accident in the late '70's and read that part of the story first. I was busy wrenching racecars when Dragonsdawn came out. I still found time that winter to read it. I still have the copy I bought in '88.

It would be hard to leave out Moreta as a great stand alone story in the Pern series.

I'm just starting Fiddler Fair. I've read the Half Blood series she did with Norton and I have read a couple of other books by her over the years.

I've read Feist's Serpant War Saga but I need to start at the beginning one of these days. That should fill up a winter month. Or maybe put them in the building with the eotwawki supplies.

jim

jim

[MechAg94]

Kinda weird.  I ticked thru them.  I read 7 of the first 9 (7 of 9???), 16 of 32, but only 32 of 100.  Some of the greats were omitted.  No Stirling, no Weber, noTurtledove, phooey says I.

Don't forget David Drake.  I don't know if people would consider his stuff hard scifi, but he has written some good stories.  His more recent Lt. Leary series fits that mold, and Hammer's Slammers has been around for a while.

[MechAg94]

its the ones they did pick. The Hobb books are very recent and... Well, good, not great. Like I said earlier, McKinley should have been disqualified, hers are classed as young adult, and her seminal works are The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown and Deerskin, although a couple of her recreation fairy tales could have been included as she was the begining of that trend.

I am just stunned that Merecades Lackey isn't on there. Between her Velgarth series and the Chrome Circle stuff, she belongs there.

Although, seeker, I disagree with Rowan. I think the Pegasus series is better.

I wouldn't recognize the author's name, but I have read The Blue Sword and Hero and the Crown.  They were good easy to read fantasies.  I guess since one of them was in my high school library, young adult fits.  However, I would suggest that a lot of the fantasy out there is "young adult". 

[Jim147]

"Young adult"

I have to stay young in my mind. It's sure not happening with the years in my life or the life in my years.

jim

[BlueStarLizzard]

I didn't know it started with Dragonflight. I picked up Dragonsong by accident in the late '70's and read that part of the story first. I was busy wrenching racecars when Dragonsdawn came out. I still found time that winter to read it. I still have the copy I bought in '88.

It would be hard to leave out Moreta as a great stand alone story in the Pern series.

I'm just starting Fiddler Fair. I've read the Half Blood series she did with Norton and I have read a couple of other books by her over the years.

I've read Feist's Serpant War Saga but I need to start at the beginning one of these days. That should fill up a winter month. Or maybe put them in the building with the eotwawki supplies.

jim

jim

I started with the Dragonsinger triology as well.

As for Lackey, I started with the Velgarth stuff and just went from their.

Most of her newest stuff is much more "feminine" in nature. Tounge in cheek fairy tale retellings and the Elemental Masters series. Although Elemental Masters is really good. A lot of the newer ones are set in WWI England.

[MicroBalrog]

Drizzt must be burned indeed.

[birdman]

Don't forget David Drake.  I don't know if people would consider his stuff hard scifi, but he has written some good stories.  His more recent Lt. Leary series fits that mold, and Hammer's Slammers has been around for a while.

Indeed!

And no Dietz.

Also, good omens wasn't on the list, and that makes birdman sad

[roo_ster]

Of the 100 on the list I have read those not crossed out.


1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
If REH's Conan is the answer to "What is best in sword & sorcery, non-epic fantasy," LotR is the answer to "What is best in epic fantasy."  Toss in a useful and interesting depth of environment & character second to none.

2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
Need to read this.

3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
The Hitler/Nazi accusations discredit the accusers.

4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
Not appreciated by Asimovian "hard, concept scifi," but superior IMO.  Herbert has fantstical bits, but produces a universe that is coherent and addresses an issue, hydraulic despotism, by analogy in a "realistic" ways others could not manage.

5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
So, what is the skinny on this one?

6. 1984, by George Orwell
Yes, it takes place in the "future" and qualifies as scifi, but seems less fiction because so much of it came to pass.  Truthfully, though, it is only as out of placein scifi as CS Lewis's Narnia books are out of place in fantasy.  I must admit to liking the way it does not fall into the "technological progress means more freedom" trap/myth.

7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
A much better fit for scifi than 1984, IMO.

8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
I read several of Asimov's scifi books, to include a couple of these.  IA is a a wooden writer of fiction. 

9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
More scifi than 1984 and its "opposite" in the totalitarian dystopia category, in that totalitarian control is imposed by trying to make the most people's lives pleasurable.

10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
Scoop?

11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
The movie is great, but lacks the acrid nature of the father/son interaction and punts instead for the grandfather/son interaction.

12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
tl;dr

13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
Allegory, allegory, allegory. 

14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
Revolutionary a the time, now taken to absurdity by Ray Kurzweil and others.

15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
Graphic novel that is scifi, but the "graphic" portion is disqualifying in a list like this.  As usual, the gn was much deeper than the movie.

16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
I already commented on IA

17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
Strangest RAH book.  My least favorite of his.  MIAHM is much better.

18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
Scoop?

19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
There are aliens, but this is not really scifi.  Could be gods, demons, spirits, whatever. 

20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
Worth considering a classic.  A must read.

21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
Much more ambiguous than Blade Runner, which was a mike foxtrotting masterpiece of scifi film.  Probably the best ever.  It ages better than any scifi of that era.  Ages better than most any scifi made on a sliding scale of "five years ago."

22. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
I read it years ago and like most SK, it was 7th-grade level and easily forgettable.  SK has produced great stuff, but 90% of his work is not worth reading.

24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
Terrific book.  Never can stay awake through the movie.

25. The Stand, by Stephen King
One of SK's better works.  He is only moderately hostile to Christianity, which is an improvement over his usual adolescent hostility.

26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
Gotta read this.

27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
Bradbury is pretty good stuff.

28. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
Good read, like most of KV.

29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
Scoop?

30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
Prophetic scifi and a terribly apt analogy.  We live in his world.

31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
One of RAh's better works and a testament to the short & sweet scifi novel that tells the tale without requiring the slaughter of whole groves of trees.

32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
Fantasy in the way of CS Lewis: allegory.

33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
I never could get into her books.  I read half of this and half of another.

34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
Great book, but the reliance on the mulligan was too much, IMO.

35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
Gotta read this.

36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
I must admit I am not inclined to read HG Wells due to his thoroughly noxious political beliefs.

37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
I read this too early and did not like it.  I should try again.

38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
Scifi tragedy.

39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
Read best if the voice in your head sounds like Welles.

40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
Is this any good?

41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
Great for kids who have not yet read JRRT.

42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
I must admit, I judged the book by hte cover nad thought it looked too "chicky" as a kid.

43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson

44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
Pretty good, but not great.

45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
What's the scoop on LeGuin?  Worth my time?

46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Really good sourcebook for LotR, but not deserving of reading as a novel.  "Fantasy History."

47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
Read it years ago.  FOrgot about it.  Must not have been very good.

48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
I've only read 2001 & 2010 by ACC.

50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
This would have been 4X better if it was 2X shorter.

51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons

52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
Gotta read this.

54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
Not as good as I hoped, but better than a lot of zombie fiction out there, which is zombie-like in its putrescence.

55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle

56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
Can't recall if I read this or not.  What's the scoop?

57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
I hear this/TP is libertarian porn that goes on too long and is undermined by being too political and forgetting the story part.

58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
Ugh.  Subtitle: "How many books can you write about a self-pitying, unsympathetic ahole rapist in the most florid prose since a medieval romance?"  Don't. Waste. Your. Time.

59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
Yeah, I have nothing.  Never heard of it.

60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett

61. The Mote In God's Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
I like all LN/JP collaborations, to include this one. 

62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind

63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
I hear this is a good book to cut your wrist to, not because it is bad, but because it is depression decanted into cellulose.

64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
Great short story.  Not really in the league if the other novels, though.

66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist

67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
Hey, Terry, why don;t you do a s****y copy of LotR?  Fine for kids before they read LotR.

68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
THE classic low fantasy/sword & socery stories.

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
Back when I ran RPGs, I did not allow ambidextrous characters and all drow were murdered on sight. 

74. Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
Some of the best scifi to come out in the last few years.  Teh sequel was also pretty good.  The third book, not so much.

75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson

76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
What is the scoop?

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
Loved this as a kid.

80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
I feel like I ought to read this.  Tell me why.

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
I read all her Merlin/Arthur books.  In retrospect, way too wordy without enough action.  The end result was something like The View mashed with Le Morte de Arthur.

85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
Is every Stephenson book on this list?

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
MM was the conscious anti-JRRT & anti-REH.  MM was to JRRT/REH what Clint Eastwood was to John Wayne, if Clint was a whiny & jealous *expletive deleted*bag with talent.  It worked for him, mostly.  I especially like The War Hound and the World's Pain.

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
Didn;t read any more IA after the first few duds.

95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson

96. Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
All other "comet/asteroid hits Earth" stories/movies are but pale shadows.

97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis

98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville

99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
PA is a freak and his Xanth books not worth your time if you are pas the 4th grade.  The Adept series is a little better.

100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
Need to read this.







Conspicuous by their absence, Scifi

Jerry Pournelle's Mercenary books.

Niven's Mn-Kzin Wars


Conspicuous by their absence, Fantasy
Fritz mf-ing Lieber.  Co-equal with REH.  Not listing FL is a scandal.

HP Lovecraft?  Hellooooo!

Campbell

de Camp

August Derleth

Bram Stoker

Edgar Rice Burroughs

More REH, like Solomon Kane.

JK Rowling

Indeed!

And no Dietz.

Also, good omens wasn't on the list, and that makes birdman sad

Which Dietz?  The Dietz I read was simply awful.  Just awful.

[birdman]

Dietz is good just for it's awfulness...when I'm in the mood for "tech destroys stuff" pulp, I read Dietz.

A few that you have crossed off that you should read (and some others)
Clarke--fountains of paradise, imperial earth, songs of distant earth (some of his best hard scifi).  The Rama series is only really good in the first one, then it gets...campy? No, not the right word...but the first novel is the best, after that, it's not Clarke, it's the other author, and Clarke is phoning in his part

Hitchhikers guide is a must read...please follow it with good omens (gaiman/pratchett) for "hitchhikers guide to the apocalypse"

Cryptonomicon is the shizznit...one of the best books I've read in a long time, and Stephenson has a gaiman/pratchett/Adams kind of humor...it really has laugh out loud parts.

Red/green/blue mars (Robinson)--the first one is awesome as hard scifi...the second has some great parts, the third is a book for the "shippers" of the fan base

Also left off is the reality dysfunction series!

[Gowen]

No H. Beam Piper?  This guy is classic early Sci-fi.  He invented many main stream ideas of space fantasy.

[Phantom Warrior]

Gosh, where to start...

Pretty happy that "Defying Gravity" came up on my playlist at the same time I scrolled past "Wicked", even though I've never read it.

Read through three pages of comments just to say it's appalling that someone would say "Snowcrash" is one of Stephenson's weakest books.  I'm looking at you, Balog.  

I also am disappointed that no Weber made it on the list.  And I think I would have picked the Dresden Files over the Codex Alera for Butcher.

Read most of the first 10 but I couldn't get through "The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy."  The overall feeling I got was someone taking a lame joke too far.  I put it down within the first few chapters.

Very happy to see Lord of the Rings, "Ender's Game" (the rest of the Bean series is excellent as well), Dune, the Song of Fire and Ice, the Wheel of Time, and "Neuromancer" in the top 15.  Even though I quit reading the Song of Fire and Ice because it was too depressing for me.

Would have like to see the Vorkosigan Saga and "Cryptonomicon" higher up but I guess those are personal preferences.  "Cryptonomicon" is fun just for all the math in it.

Very glad to see that even though the Star Wars universe has become the sub-par wasteland that Star Trek became 10 years ago something by Timothy Zahn made it on the list.  That guy can write some Star Wars.

[Balog]

I'm actually reading Snowcrash as we speak. The pseudo-religious Sumerian bs is annoying, but it's the incredibly 80's "The Japanese are going to take over the world" vibe I don't like. Between that and the dated cultural referrences (lame 80's rap, skateboarding as culturally important etc) the whole thing seems incredibly dated. Diamond Age was way better, despite the similar azn obsession. Heck, Zodiac was better and even that hasn't aged well.

[zahc]

You are obviously taking snow crash too seriously. You do realize the book was written 8 years after Neuromancer, don't you? It's a cartoon, not a broadway production.

[lee n. field]

You are obviously taking snow crash too seriously. You do realize the book was written 8 years after Neuromancer, don't you? It's a cartoon, not a broadway production.

I didn't read it for a long time, because it looked like a literary knock-off.

[AJ Dual]

I didn't read it for a long time, because it looked like a literary knock-off.

That was the point. 

Hiro Protagonist?    

Cryptonomicon was probably the hardest I've ever laughed at a book, even including Hitchiker's Guide...

[AZRedhawk44]

I do think that the Illuminatus Trilogy possibly deserves a spot in there as well... ideally it would displace the Vonnegut Slaughterhouse Five entry.  Much better humor/parody sci-fi. 

[Gowen]

One of the things not taken into account with some of the older sci-fi/fantasy writers is that they had to "invent" much of what we take for granted in sci-fi writing.  Back in the 30's, 40's and 50's they had no idea of what was in outer space.  Some of Lester Del Ray's stuff may seem hokie by today's standard and many of Andre Norton's early writings about space travel would be considered silly.  These people were the foundations to the writers we have today.  Tolkien wrote the Hobbit in the 30's.  He and C.S. Lewis started the modern fantasy land writings.  Before them, maybe H Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs, not many (I'm sure I missed some). Many of the old writers wrote some pretty darn good stuff for the time.  Look up Haggard's book Eric Brighteyes, a viking book with no equal.  H Beam Piper, he created an Earth Federation of planets. This was back in the 50's and these stories were very good.

[birdman]

One of the things not taken into account with some of the older sci-fi/fantasy writers is that they had to "invent" much of what we take for granted in sci-fi writing.  Back in the 30's, 40's and 50's they had no idea of what was in outer space.  Some of Lester Del Ray's stuff may seem hokie by today's standard and many of Andre Norton's early writings about space travel would be considered silly.  These people were the foundations to the writers we have today.  Tolkien wrote the Hobbit in the 30's.  He and C.S. Lewis started the modern fantasy land writings.  Before them, maybe H Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs, not many (I'm sure I missed some). Many of the old writers wrote some pretty darn good stuff for the time.  Look up Haggard's book Eric Brighteyes, a viking book with no equal.  H Beam Piper, he created an Earth Federation of planets. This was back in the 50's and these stories were very good.

Earlier (pre-30/40's) I would agree we didn't know much, but the era of the big scopes (Wilson, palomar, etc) changed most of that, starting in the 20's...and in the 50's well, we had put stuff in space, discovered the van Allen belts, etc. So there aren't as many excuses then.  But I see your point regarding early scifi.

[Perd Hapley]

I don't see the list anywhere. Is it not available for mobile devices?

One of the things not taken into account with some of the older sci-fi/fantasy writers is that they had to "invent" much of what we take for granted in sci-fi writing.  Back in the 30's, 40's and 50's they had no idea of what was in outer space.  Some of Lester Del Ray's stuff may seem hokie by today's standard and many of Andre Norton's early writings about space travel would be considered silly.  These people were the foundations to the writers we have today.  Tolkien wrote the Hobbit in the 30's.  He and C.S. Lewis started the modern fantasy land writings.  Before them, maybe H Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs, not many (I'm sure I missed some).

Lewis said he was inspired by George MacDonald. Also, his description of planets in his space trilogy is pretty goofy, to the modern reader, but he said he was more concerned with the mythological significance of the planets. If you know anything about Lewis, this explanation makes sense.

[Devonai]

Okay McCaffrey.

I read the Harper series first and then the Dragon Riders books. When there was just the three of each.

I'd have went with The Masterharper of Pern as her strongest book of the series.

And then you have the Dinosaur Planet/Planet Pirates series. That one spanned generations.  

As I can see by reading this we all have different ideas on what the best sci-fi fantasy is. I would have had Witch World up close to the top. I would have put Kantrowitz on there somewhere.  

My wife has the Outlander series. All signed by Gabaldon. I never took her as a sci-fi reader.

I just remembered I have a Lackey downloaded on my other computer. I'm headed home for a cold drink and a little reading.

jim

Gosh, you're too kind.  Maybe my trilogy taken as a whole could land in the top 500 sci-fi novels of all time, but I still think my first book is the weakest entry.  Several of my friends have encouraged me to rewrite the first book entirely.  That sounds worse than driving rusty nails into my head with a rubber mallet.  Instead my hope is to get my fourth novel published by Baen or another traditional outfit and revisit the Reckless Faith series after that.  If offered a new contract, I'll put forth the effort.

Some thoughts on the OP:  As I've said in RAH threads, Beyond This Horizon and Friday are fun reads, the former should have made the list just because of its publication date.  The Cat Who Walks Through Walls was a mess, and probably the only one I won't read again... ever.  I've not read Stranger in a Strange Land because the synopsis simply doesn't sound compelling, but I should pick up The Moon is a Harsh Mistress soon.

Monster Hunter International and Monster Hunter Vendetta deserve a place on the list, though they aren't strictly either fantasy or sci-fi in my opinion.  Perhaps "The 100 Most Awesomest Novels Of All Time" would be a better place.  I have yet to read Monster Hunter Alpha or Hard Magic.

Stephenson is a tough call for me.  I loved Snowcrash and The Diamond Age, but couldn't get through Cryptonomicon.  I also started on Anathem and barely made it through the first quarter.  As Rooster adroitly stated in his post regarding The Wheel of Time series: tl;dr. :D  Honestly, neither caught my attention or drew me in.  Same with A Canticle for Leibowitz, actually, while I'm on the subject.

[drewtam]

I finished Monster Hunter Alfa a couple days ago. I think its Larry's best book in the series. I'm not a creative writer type, so I can't explain why it works so well; but I think the smaller story scope helps.