Top 50 Sci-Fi Books

[hawkeyye]

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

Thats a good list. I just finished Chasm City for the second time. Absolutely a must on any list, including this top 50 one here. Which it isnt. So it sucks.

[heretics fork]

Yeah, that's a very good list for the most part. I wasn't a big fan of Spin but I loved the others.

[MMerle]

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
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

GREEN = have read

[ian_sales]

Ones I've read are in bold...

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
37. SF Masterworks: Dying Inside
36. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: The Trilogy Of Four
35. SF Masterworks: Blood Music
34. SF 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. SF 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. SF Masterworks: The Stars My Destination
15. SF Masterworks: Flowers For Algernon
14. SF Masterworks: Stand On Zanzibar
13. Left Hand Of Darkness
12. SF Masterworks: Babel 17
11. Ringworld
10. SF Masterworks: Timescape
9. Childhood's End
8. The Man In The High Castle
7. SF Masterworks: Gateway
6. SF Masterworks: Dispossessed
5. SF Masterworks: The Demolished Man
4. Neuromancer
3. Fantasy Masterworks: Book Of The New Sun Book 1 & Shadow & Claw Book 1
2. SF Masterworks: The Forever War
1. Dune

A bit of a random list - quite a few titles are in the Masterwork series though not mentioned as such like the others. Only Red Mars, but all the Helliconia and HHGTTGbooks? Have tried reading The Windup Girl, but can't get past the racism. Hate Fahrenheit 451 the book but love the film. Ironically. And there are some really bad novels on the list, like Foundation.

[owlcroft]

For myself, I find that selecting a "Best X-many" books is quite enough of a task; sorting them into some more or less exact order seems just imposible.

There are also always questions of whether a given book or series is "sf" or "fantasy"; it's not always obvious. What, for example, is John Crowley's "Aegypt" series? So some of these may border on fantasy, but I feel them close enough to include.

Well, using generous criterai on that question, and just going alphabetically by novel or series title, I'd cite these (which by chance rather than design total 51):

"Aegypt" by John Crowley:

The Solitudes
Love and Sleep
Daemonomania
Endless Things

"Anima" by M. John Harrison

The Course of the Heart
Signs of Life

A Billion Days of Earth by Doris Piserchia

"The Briah Cycle" by Gene Wolfe (a work with three major subdivisions)

"Book of the New Sun"

The Shadow of the Torturer
The Claw of the Conciliator
The Sword of the Lictor
The Citadel of the Autarch
The Urth of the New Sun
Empires of Foliage and Flower (in the collection Starwater Strains)

"Book of the Long Sun"

Nightside the Long Sun
Lake of the Long Sun
Caldé of the Long Sun
Exodus from the Long Sun

"Book of the Short Sun"

On Blue's Waters
In Green's Jungles
Return to the Whorl

The Deep by John Crowley

"The Demon Princes" by Jack Vance

The Star King
The Killing Machine
The Palace of Love
The Face
The Book of Dreams

"Dies Irae" by Brian Stableford

The Days of Glory
In the Kingdom of the Beasts
Day of Wrath

Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman

The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe

The Golden Apples of the Sun [stories] by Ray Bradbury

The Green Child by Herbert Read

"The Instrumentality of Man" by Cordwainer Smith

Norstrilia
The Rediscovery of Man [stories]

Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright

Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter

Past Master by R. A. Lafferty

Pavane by Keith Roberts

"Planet of Adventure" by Jack Vance

The Chasch
The Wanek
The Dirdir
The Pnume

The Complete Qfwfq [stories] by Italo Calvino

Report on Probability A by Brian W. Aldiss

The Unholy City by Charles G. Finney

"Viriconium" by M. John Harrison

The Pastel City
A Storm of Wings
In Viriconium (aka The Floating Gods)
Viriconium Nights [stories]

A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay

Many are Oldies But goodies.

[Ropie]

A Billion Days of Earth by Doris Piserchia

I sought out, bought and read this one on your (indirect) recommendation, Owl, and hated almost every word of it I really wanted to like it as it's such a strange book, but although the words went in they made absolutely no sense to me. Shame!

[owlcroft]

I sought out, bought and read this one on your (indirect) recommendation, Owl, and hated almost every word of it I really wanted to like it as it's such a strange book, but although the words went in they made absolutely no sense to me. Shame!

Alas. Well, differences of opinion are why they race horses.

Apparently the late, great Ted Sturgeon once said of this novel: "If you only read one book this year, make it this one."

[Ropie]

I've read precisely 50% of those on the list. From it, I'd extract these 10 as favourites:

Blood Music
Rendezvous With Rama
Red Mars
Ubik
The Death Of Grass
Inverted World
Day Of The Triffids
A Canticle For Leibowitz
Left Hand of Darkness
Book Of The New Sun

As SF lists go I think it's a good one - reasonably broad in scope but, I think I'm right in saying, ignoring anything that isn't American or English. I could happily read/re-read my way through that list and only hit a few bumps on the way (Cat's Cradle, MIAHM). Like a few others, I'm not a Dune fan and it wouldn't be anywhere on my list but it's still an important book.

I'm surprised to see Timescape in the top 10 - is it really better than Left Hand of Darkness or Canticle for Leibowitz? I haven't read it but its reputation is not as prominent as the others in the top 10.

[INeedAUserName]

I was rather disappointed with Dune. I'd heard endlessly how it was the science fiction novel to read, but I found it rather average, bordering on boring through some parts.

[psikeyhackr]

I was rather disappointed with Dune. I'd heard endlessly how it was the science fiction novel to read, but I found it rather average, bordering on boring through some parts.

This is why we need a better rating system for books. I think I like Dune more than you but not nearly as much as some people seem to say they do. The story has a lot more "atmosphere" and less excitement or even ideas than a lot of other SF. So readers need to figure out what they like and we need the different characteristics rated in relation to some references.

psik

[Hitmouse]

This is why we need a better rating system for books. I think I like Dune more than you but not nearly as much as some people seem to say they do. The story has a lot more "atmosphere" and less excitement or even ideas than a lot of other SF.

psik

Well, time moves on and innovative novels can seem mundane, trite, and clicheed in comparison to their successors. Allowing for the hype and hubris, Dune was pretty special when it came out in relation to its predecessors and its contemporaries, and in the perspective of the mid-late 1960s in general.

[psikeyhackr]

Well, time moves on and innovative novels can seem mundane, trite, and clicheed in comparison to their successors. Allowing for the hype and hubris, Dune was pretty special when it came out in relation to its predecessors and its contemporaries, and in the perspective of the mid-late 1960s in general.

But I read it not long after it came out. I am not saying there is anything wrong with Dune because it is old.

As far as I am concerned Revelation Space can't touch it, though I suppose it tries to have "atmosphere" also. It does not have characters that I could give a damn about.

psik

[Chrysippus]

But I read it not long after it came out. I am not saying there is anything wrong with Dune because it is old.

As far as I am concerned Revelation Space can't touch it, though I suppose it tries to have "atmosphere" also. It does not have characters that I could give a damn about.

psik

That was my big complaint about Revelation Space too. Cool story, cool world, one-dimensional characters. Worth reading, to be sure, but not upper echelon stuff, I don't think.

[Shadowcharge]

For good characters, read "Against Infinity" by Gregory Benford. Really gripping tale.

[INeedAUserName]

Oddly enough, I'm finding myself enjoying Dune Messiah. I really don't know what it is, but I like this one much better than Dune.