Top Fifty Science Fiction and fantasy books in fifty years.

[Celestial Dung]

http://www.sfbc.com/doc/content/sitelet ... nmsfctop50

The Science Fiction Book clubs version of the top fifty in fifty.

A interesting list if nothing else. Very surprised that Interview with a vampire made it to 29. I like Rice myself but realize there is a hugh Anti-Rice group sneaking around.

Farenheit 451 makes a top ten appearance but wondering about the abscence of Martian Chronicles.

And given the times what else would be number one? Goooooo Tolkien!

[JaNell]

My unedited take on:
The Most Significant SF & Fantasy Books of the Last 50 Years, 1953-2002

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert - It was OK.
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein - Influenced out entire society, especially the free love movement. Why is this lower than Dune?
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson - Yeah cyberpunk!
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke - I read it, but it didn't make much of an impression.
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick - Bladerunner. A great, thought provoking movie from a novella.
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley - Yes. the movie adaptation sucked, though. I love the book so much that I had to turn the movie off...
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury - Yes.
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe - Not read this one, but Mr. Wolfe (and his wife) are sweet people. They're willing to pose for silly pictures, too.
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr. - Good.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov - Not read.
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison - Good writer, vicious personality. But what do I know? I'm dead to him...
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card - Good, but overrated.
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling - Well, I enjoyed it and it got kids reading...
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams - Influencial in SF society. 42.
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson - Omega Man
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice - Thank you.
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien - I quit reading the Bible to get me sleepy after I discovered this book.
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson - Fun, but dang can't the man stay in a tense for even, say, a whole paragraph?
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein - I like Heinlein. He's very spotty, though.

What's most embarassing is the number of books on the list that I haven't read. Anything not mentioned from the list, I haven't read, or forgot immediately...
There are a few classics listed that have, in my opinion, been outclassed in the last few decades.
I also think that the list is too trendy - not because of Rowling, but rather The Silmarillion and Snow Crash, IMO.
Also, where is The Illuminatus! Trilogy or Schrodinger's Cat? Hitchhiker's Guide is amusing, and often quotable, but Robert Anton Wilson makes you think.

[doctorthoss]

Great readings lists on sci-f-/fantasy. Here's a link to a list of the "must read" horror books as compiled by the Horror Writers Association.

http://www.horror.org/readlist.htm

[iblis]

The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett - imho this should be higher. but then, i'm a discworld junkie.

A interesting list if nothing else. Very surprised that Interview with a vampire made it to 29. I like Rice myself but realize there is a hugh Anti-Rice group sneaking around.

i'm not anti-Rice, however i don't feel that her books were as good as they've been hyped up to be. i own them, and i'll likely buy more of them. but i wouldn't dream of putting her Interview above, say, The Positronic Man, by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg. (later made into the movie, The Bicentennial Man, this is a book-length adaptation of the original The Bicentennial Man, written by Asimov.)

[JaNell]

i'm not anti-Rice, however i don't feel that her books were as good as they've been hyped up to be. i own them, and i'll likely buy more of them. but i wouldn't dream of putting her Interview above, say, The Positronic Man, by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg. (later made into the movie, The Bicentennial Man, this is a book-length adaptation of the original The Bicentennial Man, written by Asimov.)

But how much did that book influence society, as well as other writers?
If I read it, I don't remember, and that's a sad thing.
Interview, however, I read fifteen or so years ago, didn't like it, and simply didn't get it. After I got older, I read it again, got it this time, looked around, saw how influential it was in the counterculture, and in literature, and just had to say, "Wow".

[iblis]

i'm not anti-Rice, however i don't feel that her books were as good as they've been hyped up to be. i own them, and i'll likely buy more of them. but i wouldn't dream of putting her Interview above, say, The Positronic Man, by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg. (later made into the movie, The Bicentennial Man, this is a book-length adaptation of the original The Bicentennial Man, written by Asimov.)

But how much did that book influence society, as well as other writers?
If I read it, I don't remember, and that's a sad thing.
Interview, however, I read fifteen or so years ago, didn't like it, and simply didn't get it. After I got older, I read it again, got it this time, looked around, saw how influential it was in the counterculture, and in literature, and just had to say, "Wow".

as i'm on my first cup of coffee, i can only offer you one example off-hand:

commander Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation is obviously (at least loosely) based on Andrew, the protagonistic robot-seeking-to-be-human in The Bicentennial Man. so while i guess it may not have influenced society, it certain did influence media.

i'll have more later, i swear.

i also say that Stephen King and Peter Straub's The Talisman should be on that list somewhere.

[JaNell]

<snip>

commander Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation is obviously (at least loosely) based on Andrew, the protagonistic robot-seeking-to-be-human in The Bicentennial Man...
<snip>

And Maria from Metropolis, and Pinnochio...
Although his brother seems to have a touch of Frankenstein in there, too.

A lot of it is really a matter of opinion - for example, people talk about The Handmaid's Tale, which is good, but Sherri Tepper's The Gate to Women's Country kicks it right out of the bookshelf for social commentary and, more importantly, portraying women not as mere victims of patriarchal society, but as being capable (and culpable) people who are victims and collaborators and the potential saviors of human society right along with the men.

[div]

do you know how few people i know have read Schrodinger's Cat? and how few of those have actually finished The Illuminatus! Trilogy? personally, i thought they were great... Masks of the Illuminati wasn't bad either. i really should read more Wilson...

[JaNell]

do you know how few people i know have read Schrodinger's Cat? and how few of those have actually finished The Illuminatus!

Several people on this board have read it...
Jack, I think. Some others. In fact, I'm always surprised when SF type peoples haven't read them; they seem like one of those standards...

[SeeingI]

I have actually read a surprisingly high number of these, but as a sci-fi aficionado, I feel I should print out this list (and the horror one) and not rest till I've read them all.

It reminds me of when I was a teenager & got into "Rocky Horror," I felt I couldn't call myself a true sci-fi fan till I'd seen all the movies referenced in "Science Fiction Double Feature." I was rather proud that I'd seen most of them, but had to track the rest down. Still haven't seen "Doctor X." For shame.

[Lost Traveler]

Interesting list but cant we keep sci-fi and Fantasy seperate? and if not why wast the horror list included

[Celestial Dung]

Trying to seperate Science Fiction from Fantasy never works. For one thing...No matter how plausible your science in Science Fiction is it's still a fictional element. It's still a fantasy element, although a more plausible one.

Another matter is that Science Fiction and Fantasy are natural sibliings. They both deal with wonder and imagination. The most imaganative of genre's in my opinion. They both try to present an existence that does not exist.

Sometimes horror does mesh into the above two fields and with good reason. But overall horror literature deals with firght and that can be done with or without specluative features.

[Lost Traveler]

Ok ill give you all of that, but....LOTR over "DADOES"or the fondation triolgy?....no if any of the hobbit seires(spell) gets in then ONLY the "Hobbit" will service. (and I still belive there is a differance,....ok there is an obvious differance..but I think if we try we can come up with a funtimental differance).