...damned compulsion.

[bzarcher]

jcobleigh hit me with a meme for the top SciFi books of all time. Can't resist it. Damn!


The most significant SF and Fantasy Books of the Last 50 Years (1953-2002), according to the Science Fiction Book Club.

Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicise those you started but never finished, and underline the ones you loved.

The Lord of the Rings, by J R R Tolkien
The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
Dune, by Frank Herbert (I will admit that I couldn't make it through the whole series, though.)
Stranger in a Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
Neuromancer, by William Gibson
Childhood's End, by Arthur C Clarke
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick
The Mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley Liked it? Yes. Loved? Not sure, honestly.
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
The Book of the New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M Miller, Jr
The Caves of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
Children of the Atom, by Wilmar Shiras
Cities in Flight, by James Blish
The Colour of Magic, by Terry Pratchett
Dangerous Visions, by edited by Harlan Ellison
Deathbird Stories, by Harlan Ellison
The Demolished Man, by Alfred Bester
Dhalgren, by Samuel R Delany
Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey (Not that I don't like it, but I like the Harper Hall books better. Or the Ship novels.)
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, by Stephen R Donaldson
The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
Gateway, by Frederik Pohl
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by J K Rowling
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice
The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula Le Guin
Little, Big, by John Crowley
Lord of Light, by Roger Zelazny
The Man in the High Castle, by Philip K Dick
Mission of Gravity, by Hal Clement
More Than Human, by Theodore Sturgeon
The Rediscovery of Man, by Cordwainer Smith
On the Beach, by Nevil Shute
Rendezvous with Rama, by Arthur C Clarke
Ringworld, by Larry Niven
Rogue Moon, by Algis Budrys
The Silmarillion, by J R R Tolkien (Of the people I know, I really only expect narel to have this one totally read. And she probably has it underlined about 8 times.)
Slaughterhouse-5, by Kurt Vonnegut
Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
Stand on Zanzibar, by John Brunner
The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester
Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
Stormbringer, by Michael Moorcock
The Sword of Shannara, by Terry Brooks (I almost marked this as a hate, but it really came down to a strong "Meh." My sister really liked it, though, so I got to listen to it in audiobook form a couple times on cross-country family drives.)
Timescape, by Gregory Benford
To Your Scattered Bodies Go, by Philip Jose Farmer

Comments

[parasaurolophus.livejournal.com]

Hey, I've read all of The Silmarillion!
It was interesting, but very very dry. I wound up reading it on several airplane flights.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

That's the basic problem I have with it, and with the Unfinished Tales.

The polish and engaging style of the Trilogy, and of the Hobbit, just isn't there, and it makes it like trying to read a really, really big textbook.

[jcobleigh.livejournal.com]

MWHAHAHAHA! My work here is done. :)

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

This is not over!

I WILL BE AVEEEEEEEEEEEEENGED!

[cair-anam.livejournal.com]

Dude, I've totally read all of the Silmarillion. And I really enjoy it. There are some great stories in there if you can get past the dry history crap. My recomendation is listening to it as an audiobook honestly.

Hah. Now I want to take this quiz

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Someone made one? Neat.

Do you happen to remember who did it? I loved the old Mind's Eye verions of The Hobbit and LotR.