Top 50 Sci-Fi Books

[psikeyhackr]

An excellent opening line in my opinion. What is your objection to it?

I am not OBJECTING to it as an opening line I just don't see what is so great about it that it deserves so many hits on the net and the entire book isn't that good anyway. Gibbson admitted that he didn't know squat about computers when he wrote it and it shows.

psik

[owlcroft]

A list that includes M. John Harrison's Centauri Device, the author's own least-favorite work, and omits Signs of Life, Light, and Nova Swing (not to mention The Committed Men) is hard to take seriously.

So is the lack of anything by Jack Vance or Brian Stableford or Cordwainer Smith.

There are also quite a few books there by popular authors that don't belong on any "Best" list, though "Top" is a category a deal more flexible. But if it is, as stated, "Books You Must Read", Holy moly, what a joke.

[Randy M.]

I was reading the Forbidden Planet website today, and came across this curiosity... The Top 50 Sci-Fi books, you should read, according to them...

Some interesting choices and some obvious ones...

Personally, I have only read the ones in red:

50. Embassytown
49. Zoo City
48. The Windup Girl
47. Uplift: Book 1: Sundiver
46. The Reality Dysfunction
45. Cat's Cradle
44. SF Masterworks: The Difference Engine
43. SF Masterworks: Centauri Device
42. The Drowned World
41. SF Masterworks: Pavane
40. Make Room! Make Room!
39. The Player Of Games
38. Altered Carbon (GOT THE BOOK IN MY PILE STILL TO READ)
37. SF Masterworks: Dying Inside
36. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Trilogy Of Four
35. SF Masterworks: Blood Music
34. S.F. Masterworks: Lord Of Light
33. SF Masterworks: Rendezvous With Rama
32. Zones Of Thought: A Fire Upon The Deep & A Deepness In The Sky
31. Mars: Book 1: Red Mars
30. SF Masterworks: Ubik
29. Fahrenheit 451
28. The Death Of Grass
27. SF Masterworks: Inverted World
26. SF Masterworks: The Female Man
25. SF Masterworks: Helliconia: Hellonica Spring, Helliconia Summer, & Helliconia Winter
24. S.F. Masterworks: I Am Legend
23. Day Of The Triffids
22. War Of The Worlds
21. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
20. A Canticle For Leibowitz
19. Ender's Game
18. Snow Crash
17. Foundation
16. S.F. Masterworks: The Stars My Destination
15. SF Masterworks: Flowers For Algernon
14. SF Masterworks: Stand On Zanzibar
13. Left Hand Of Darkness
12. S.F. Masterworks: Babel 17
11. Ringworld
10. SF Masterworks: Timescape
9. Childhood's End
8. The Man In The High Castle
7. S.F. Masterworks: Gateway
6. SF Masterworks: Dispossed
5. SF Masterworks: The Demolished Man
4. Neuromancer
3. Fantasy Masterworks: Book Of The New Sun Book 1 & Shadow & Claw Book 1
2. S.F. Masterworks: The Forever War
1. Dune


Shame that BrAVE NEW WORLD is missing from the list...

I feel a little like KatG saying this, but apparently they are focusing on catagory s.f., and so no Brave New World or 1984 or War of the Newts, etc. (Cat's Cradle is sorta, kinda an exception. Maybe.)

That aside, it interests me that from this list you could claim that relatively little noteworthy s.f. has been published since about 1990. The last three entries seem like a stab at correcting that, but their positioning makes them look very much like a stab at balancing the list.

I know most of these by reputation and while I'd argue that Ender's Game is not as good as its reputation, it has an enormous reputation and has been an influence on subsequent writers as well as drawing in scads of young readers to s.f. Ditto Neuromancer: whatever its quality as s.f., it had a huge impact on readers who did not normally read s.f. and so brought readers into the genre. And the list includes a few titles that probably deserve discussion -- Pavane, Inverted World -- but would ordinarily be overlooked by most listers.

It's an interesting list and I bet we've all seen far worse.


Randy M.

[phil_geo]

Wow, I just noticed they picked Brin's Sundiver instead of Startide Rising. I have never met anyone who preferred Sundiver - it is universally considered his weak first novel and the debate is usually whether you should bother to read it or not before starting the award-winning Startide Rising. That is a big slip up.

[Mostlyharmless]

Wow, I just noticed they picked Brin's Sundiver instead of Startide Rising. I have never met anyone who preferred Sundiver - it is universally considered his weak first novel and the debate is usually whether you should bother to read it or not before starting the award-winning Startide Rising. That is a big slip up.

I prefer Sundiver. Of course it helps to know enough optics to be able to guess how a one eyed individual might be able to estimate distance and how that might relate to holograms.

[Hobbit]

I'm always quite amused by the outrage such lists generate: whilst there are books I'd choose to replace some of those chosen, and some authors I'd put higher/lower on the list, can't say I'm personally passionate enough about it to throw my things up in the air, metaphorically speaking.

We're not sure of the reasons for the choices: personal preference, popularity, award winning status, reputation, influence on the genre or whatever: which is why I tend to see these things as a list. Ultimately they're a list based on some sort of choice.

Yes: I prefer Startide Rising to Sundiver, but Sundiver is an introduction to the author. Cat's Cradle I've read but wasn't too impressed with it. Others love it, same as Slaughterhouse-Five.

Pavane was OK, but in my opinion not fantastic. Just because I say so, doesn't make it so.

They're a list for discussion, not definitive, IMO. As Randy said, not the best but not the worst.

Mark

[phil_geo]

And yes, I knew when I posted that that several people would post their preference for Sundiver, just like it has taken every ounce of control I have to not defend Neuromancer for the 100th time to the same people using the same arguments.

[heretics fork]

I enjoyed Cat's Cradle sir, therefore I demand satisfaction.

*searches for slappin' glove*

[Hobbit]

I enjoyed Cat's Cradle sir, therefore I demand satisfaction.

LOL. Apologies, heretic: see what I mean?

Totally accept that others may like what I do not, and vice versa: our tastes sometimes will therefore differ.

But I'm sure we can agree to disagree, on this at least. Clearly you have the better (though clearly misguided) taste.

Perhaps, instead, we can have a think about what has been published since the 1990's that's worthy of inclusion. Randy feels that the list is rather thin on such books.

Mark

[Loerwyn]

Perhaps, instead, we can have a think about what has been published since the 1990's that's worthy of inclusion. Randy feels that the list is rather thin on such books.

On Basilisk Station. Definitely. It's not a great book as such, but I think it needs to be on there. I'd also commit heresy (pun intended) and go for the first Horus Heresy book by Dan Abnett (Horus Rising? I've forgotten the name) as that series has seen a *lot* of success and praise.

[kennychaffin]

...

Perhaps, instead, we can have a think about what has been published since the 1990's that's worthy of inclusion. Randy feels that the list is rather thin on such books.

Mark

Yes. Why the heck isn't John Love's FAITH http://www.amazon.com/Faith-John-Love/dp/1597803901 on that list, it's certainly one of the better SF books I've read in the last decade! Sheesh! I am serious, it's a very good book IMHO.

[Hobbit]

See: I'd quite like to see a John Scalzi there: takes Heinlein's style and gives it a contemporary twist.

Though perhaps it is that similarity to Heinlein that makes it less likely to be on the list.

Similarly: Is Embassytown the best of Mieville? I'm sure a lot will go for Perdido Street Station....

And instead of The Windup Girl, why not an Ian McDonald instead?

Got to say, though, that as it is from the Forbidden Planet shop's website, the choices will be UK-centric. Faith isn't here, sadly, unless it's on import from Night Shade. (Though the author is British.)

Mark

[phil_geo]

I did a thread called Instant Classics about 3 years ago, and this is what people came up with:

Old Man's War
Hyperion
Snow Crash
Revelation Space
Spin
Altered Carbon
Blood Music
Night's Dawn

[kennychaffin]

...
Faith isn't here, sadly, unless it's on import from Night Shade. (Though the author is British.)

Mark

That's just not right!

[Hobbit]

It happens, Kenny.

Faith's on my 'list-to-buy' through one of those internationally based Internet bookstores... will get to it eventually, just got a lot of other stuff first.

See.... get free books and STILL buy....

Mark