Science Fiction Book Club’s top 10

[SadGeezer]

So, waddayathink! Would this list be representative of the Sci Fi Sadgeezer Top Ten?

Science Fiction Book Club’s top 10
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (1953-54) is the “most significant” science fiction and fantasy book of the past 50 years, say editors of the Science Fiction Book Club. The rest of the top 10:

2. Isaac Asimov’s The Foundation Trilogy (1963) traces the life of Hari Seldon, a “psychohistorian” who attempts to map the best course for the next millennium after the fall of the empire.

3. Frank Herbert’s Dune (1965) creates a desert planet whose sole commodity, the intoxicating spice Melange, drives its inhabitants to greed and destruction in the year 10,991. David Lynch directed the 1984 film.

4. Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) features a child from Mars who adapts to life on Earth and founds his own church, which resembles a swinger’s club.

5. Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea (1968) introduces a boy named Sparrowhawk who becomes a wizard’s apprentice.

6. William Gibson’s Neuromancer (1984) introduced cyberspace in the story of a young cyberspace cowboy challenged to hack the unhackable.

7. Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End (1953) tells of aliens who offer peace to humans, who sacrifice greatness in accepting.

8. Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) imagines the world in 2021 after a war has destroyed most species and they are replaced by robotic clones and human-like androids; inspired Ridley Scott’s 1982 movie Blade Runner.

9. Marion Zimmer Bradley’s The Mists of Avalon (1983) retells the story of King Arthur from the female point of view. Became a 2001 miniseries on TNT.

10. Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (1953) creates a futuristic world in which books are banned and burned; remains a staple of high school reading lists and favorite of free speech advocates. A 1966 François Truffaut movie.

[Anonymous]

I’m not sure what their criteria is on making the list (the best selling books perhaps, or what they consider to be the most significant?), but while there is often some overlap between the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres, and they are often lumped together by the non-devout, I think that we can state quite assuredly that 1, 5, and 9 are not sci-fi. BTW, I’ve read all of the books listed but Gibson’s and enjoyed them all very much (and they are all important, even seminal works).

Personally, if one can be rather loose about what sci-fi is (and then there’s a difference between soft sci-fi and hard sci-fi) then I’ll choose (BTW, my criterium is: I have really loved these books ;)):

1. 1984 (Orwell)
2. Brave New World (Huxley)
3. Clockwork Orange (Burgess)
4. Solaris (Lem)
5. Sirens of Titan (Vonnegut)
6. The Metamorphosis (Kafka)
7. Stranger in a Strange Land (Heinlein)
8. The Martian Chronicles (Bradbury)
9. I Robot, or Nightfall (Azimov)
10. The Island of Dr. Moreau (H.G. Welles)
11. The Shadow Out of Time (Lovecraft)
12. Humans (Westlake) — has definite sci-fi elements
13. Foucault’s Pendulum (Umberto Eco)
14. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Adams)
15. Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep (Dick)
16. Frankenstein (Shelley) very influential!
17. The Fountains of Paradise (Clarke)
18. The Tommyknockers (King) — less sci-fi than horror.
19. Footfall (Niven, Pournelle)
20. Holy Sh-t and the Temple of Dung (Logan) “It’s crap and I love it!” (anonymous reviewer)

Gee, I could go on forever, but to tell you the truth, I haven’t read much science-fiction in years.

Okay, some on my list, i.e. Metmorphosis especially and others, are questionably sci-fi too, but if they can be that loose, well… 😀 And it’s in no particular order other than 1984 (questionably real sci-fi) which has been my favourite of all books since I was fourteen.

BTW, I loved the Truffaut version of Fahrenheit 451 (in fact it was the last movie I watched, watched it again that is). It’s one of the few DVDs I own, but Bradbury did not care for the liberties that Truffaut took with the story — for instance, they both have very different endings.

[Anonymous]

Your list is fine Sad, but Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy should take its place on the list.

Its Cult SciFi ALL THE WAY! 8)

And hey everyone, I havent been here in a while……

[Anonymous]

”P8ntballer” wrote:

Your list is fine Sad, but Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy should take its place on the list.

Its Cult SciFi ALL THE WAY! 8)

And hey everyone, I havent been here in a while……

A little late, but welcome back! 😳 Taken me ages to respond I know (was probably distracted by baby business), but better late than never I guess… 🙄

I agree that HGttG should have been on the book club’s list. Hilarious, Adams will always be a god to me. When I started writing fiction, he really was my mentor. From Hitchiker’s to the Dirk Gently books to the most excellent non-fiction humorous take on a very serious issue, Last Chance to See about endangered species (definitely one of my all-time faves).

Whether the list is “cult sci-fi all the way” is debatable. See THIS thread for sad members insight into what constitutes cult sci-fi.

I did like all the books on the list very much (bar the one that I haven’t read).

I’ve read The Lord of the Rings books many times, and love ’em, but I didn’t include it on my list becuase I don’t really think it’s truly sci-fi genre (and I like “fantasy genre” as much as sci-fi — of course all fiction is fantasy in one sense).

I prefer King and Straub’s The Talisman to The Tommyknockers, but didn’t include it because it’s more fantasy/horror than the Tommyknocker’s horror/sci-fi.

But speaking of fantasy. For those who enjoyed the excellent Arthurian novel Mists of Avalon, yu might want to try Mary Stewart’s Merlin books: the Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment. Then there’s Stewart’s The Wicked Day which I haven’t read.

And if you enjoyed, say, A Wizard Of Earthsea and the rest of the Earthsea Trilogy (enjoyable, easy reading novellas), you might enjoy Raum (Carl Sherrell’s pulpy mediaeval demon romance fantasy).

I haven’t been reading a lot of fiction lately (aside from some of the stuff at this board ;)), any suggestions from my fellow sadgeezers?

[Anonymous]

By the way, here’s the Sci-Fi Lovers top 200 sci-fi books list.

(The last time I posted a link to their top 100 sci-fi shows it led to much furrowing of brows, gnashing of teeth, kicking of heels, banging of fists, and beating of chests 😉 — the list was/is hardly canon; best not to take such polls terribly seriously…)

Their top twenty (author first):

1 Herbert, Frank: Dune
2 Card, Orson Scott: Ender’s Game [S1]
3 Asimov, Isaac: Foundation [S1-3]
4 Gibson, William: Neuromancer
5 Le Guin, Ursula K: The Left Hand of Darkness
6 Heinlein, Robert: Stranger in a Strange Land
8 Niven, Larry: Ringworld
9 Heinlein, Robert: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
10 Pohl, Frederik: Gateway
11 Orwell, George: Nineteen Eighty-Four
12 Haldeman, Joe: The Forever War
13 Miller, Walter: A Canticle for Leibowitz
14 Le Guin, Ursula K: The Dispossessed
15 Clarke, Arthur C: Childhood’s End
16 Brin, David: Startide Rising [S2]
17 Bester, Alfred: The Demolished Man
18 Wolfe, Gene: The Shadow of the Torturer [S1]
19 Adams, Douglas: The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy [S1]
20 Brunner, John: Stand on Zanzibar

[Anonymous]

Problem with me and creating a top-10 list is I don’t know the name of half the Sci-Fi Ive read, so here’s a few stories and maybe you can tell me the titles =p

There’s a series about a future world ruled by giant fat guys living in tanks for thousands of years running the planets through a type of Internet who can apparantly see the future. Meanwhile on one of the uncontrolled planets a race of Indians(Native Americans) have mental powers and magic or something but are being invaded by some real sick puppy who has a harem of women under his control.

Kind of an old series, maybe 70s. I read it so long ago I forget most of it, but was a damn good series.

Then there was this Heinlein book called Portal in the Sky or something. Where these kids before graduation go on survival tests on other worlds randomly. Except in this case the guy ends up starting a new civilization after they are abandoned there.

That was a really good read, another great Heinlein story is about these kids growing up in what they think is a normal life, but slowly they realize their parents and the entire civilization are all aliens (one of the boys has a dog with a prehensile tail). When I first saw the Matrix I thought it was a ripoff of this (I was wrong obviously).

There’s a lot of great short-stories I like too, especially Stephen Kings “Langoliers”.

Then there’s another great short story (not King) about this guy going on a pilgramage away from his village, and over the course of the story you begin to realize things like ‘rivers of basalt’ are freeways, and everything the person is describing is what was human civilization, and the kicker at the end is he see’s a human statue and wonders why it has so few arms and legs compared to his 6 or something.

Wish I had a better memory or didn’t read so dang much so I could remember these titles.

[nursewhen]

Oh dear, I’ve only read 1,8 and 10 of the original list. Didn’t like LOR (yawn), wasn’t too impressed with Electric sheep but I did like fahrenheit 😀

I did much better on Logan’s list, having read and loved
1984 (Orwell), Brave New World,The Martian Chronicles, I Robot , Frankenstein, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,The Island of Dr. Moreau

and read but not particularly enjoyed
Clockwork Orange and Do Androids Dream Electric Sheep

My recommendation for a ripping read is

Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith

[fluffy bunny]

Well I class LOTR as fantasy (rather than sf)

Anyway- here’s someone else’s list that I happen to agree with mainly (sorry if it’s a top 50 rather than a top 10). It’s missing one or 2 like Wyndham’s Chrysalids and Adam’s Hitchikers

Foundation Trilogy (Foundation/Foundation and Empire/Second Foundation) – Isaac Asimov
Timescape – Gregory Benford
The Demolished Man – Alfred Bester
The Stars My Destination – Alfred Bester
Cities in Flight – James Blish
Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
The Martian Chronicles – Ray Bradbury
Startide Rising – David Brin
Stand on Zanzibar – John Brunner
Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead – Orson Scott Card
Childhood’s End – Arthur C. Clarke
Rendezvous with Rama – Arthur C. Clarke
Mission of Gravity – Hal Clement
Dhalgren – Samuel R. Delany
The Man in the High Castle – Philip K. Dick
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?- Philip K. Dick
To Your Scattered Bodies Go – Philip Jose Farmer
Neuromancer – William Gibson
The Forever War – Joe Haldeman
Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein
Dune – Frank Herbert
Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
The Dispossessed – Ursula Le Guin
The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula Le Guin
I Am Legend – Richard Matheson
A Canticle for Leibowitz – Walter M. Miller
Ringworld – Larry Niven
The Mote in God’s Eye – Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell
Gateway – Frederik Pohl
Mars Trilogy (Red/Green/Blue Mars) – Kim Stanley Robinson
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Dying Inside – Robert Silverberg
City – Clifford D. Simak
Hyperion – Dan Simmons
Norstrilia – Cordwainer Smith
Star Maker – Olaf Stapledon
Snow Crash – Neal Stephenson
Earth Abides – George R. Stewart
More Than Human – Theodore Sturgeon
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne
A Deepness in the Sky – Vernor Vinge
The Time Machine – H.G. Wells
The War of the Worlds – H.G. Wells
Doomsday Book – Connie Willis
The Day of the Triffids – John Wyndham
Lord of Light – Roger Zelazny

[lexxrobotech]

It’s funny how many things we can have in common as scifi fans. I know a lot of the books mentioned here.

One that I didn’t see mentioned was Carl Sagans ‘Contact’. I thought the book was fantastic… MUCH better than the movie.

[Author]

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