NPR Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books...

[BuckeyeTillIDie]

This list has no credibility without Harry Potter.

I'm glad someone said it before me

 

[Gatorubet]

Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books



1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
22. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God's Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

----I bolded the books on the list I have not yet read. 8 of 100 ain't bad.

There are of course a few books/series that really have no business on the list (Wizards First Rule, Belgariad, Drizzt) but all in all I'm thrilled to see that most of what I consider to be the best in the genres well represented.

And there's also a flow chart!

If you separate "writers" from "science fiction writers" , I have to say I really admire the word smithing of Bradbury, LeGuin and Zelazny especially. I've never found Heinlein to be particularly poetic, albeit he had a great imagination. Also, glad that little shit Ellison did not make it.

 

[exhawg]

I find it hard to believe that nothing by Michael Crichton is on this list. He was my biggest influence when I wrote my book.

 

[Muck]

Off the top of my head the only really glaring omissions (outside of those mentioned by calibuck) I see from the list are Glen Cook's Black Company books & Tad Williams Memory, Sorrow & Thorn series. Other than that I think it does a good job of representing the best of the genre (and yes some 'blech' made it on the list as well).

I am assuming that C.S. Lewis' Narnia Chronicles are being classified as young adult literature rather than fantasy as I don't see how they would be missing.

Yep. They say in one of the posts that they are doing a separate list for juvie fantasy.

I am a bit surprised by the love for American Gods. It really turned me off of Neil Gaiman and I've made no effort to read anything else of his because of it.

I'm a huge fan of not only Gaiman in general but American Gods specifically. :)

Thorough list, but this isn't 100 books. This is more like 400 books. I guess I don't follow why the list contains some individual books, then others grouped by series, or grouped series that were named retroactive to publication order, and then other specific named trilogies out of large series of books.

Probably because it was easier than thousands of idiots just listing all of the WoT books individually.

I think Pratchett, Salvatore, and Piers Anthony should all be higher (Top 50, minimum) than any of them are rated.

Pratchett? Absolutely!

Salvatore & Anthony on the other hand are lucky to even be on the list.

And then Pratchett has two specific Discworld books listed (57 & 60), instead of a comparable The Discworld Series, like most of the other authors have. #60 - Going Postal was like the 29th Discworld novel!

Yeah that's the weird exception from how they were normally doing things (listing series together under one heading).

The absence of anything by Ed Greenwood, Kate Novak & Jeff Grub, and specifically the Dragonlance Chronicles is disappointing.

Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!

This list has no credibility without Harry Potter.

See buckeyegrad's mention of kiddie books above.

I've read about a third of these. Some, like the Shannara series and Thomas Covenant series I'd just as soon forget that I ever read. Others I felt were so overly narcissistic that I wouldn't recommend them to anyone (for example, every Dune book after Dune). Others, like Watership Down, I would put MUCH higher on the list.

I <3 Watership Down.

The second & third Dune books (Messiah & Children of) should probably be read just for the perspective of the whole story but after that yeah nothing really worth going out of ones way to read.

I understand why people have a hard time with Covenant but I'll always have a soft spot for them because Donaldson was trying to break the mold of the genre at a time when it really needed it. If you had a hard time with those books then you will definitely want to avoid The Gap novels....well written but god...*shakes head*

Same goes for the early Shanarra stuff (soft spot). I read Sword when it first came out as a child, it was actually one of the very first fantasy books I encountered ... even before The Hobbit. But of course I certainly wouldn't put them on a Top 100 list based on quality of writing or originality.

Looking at your list if you want a recommendation from the stuff you haven't read yet...George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice & Fire series. Get it.

Add the Poal Anderson books, that feature Fafred and the Grey Mouser and I agree. Also those by HP Lovecraft, they still give me nightmares, and some by Clark Ashton Smith (forerunner of Conan) that Robert E Howard took as a character.

Excellent choices. It's sad how under appreciated Howard really is. Far too many people only know Conan through the L. Sprague de Camp & Lin Carter pastiches, the comic book, movies and the bad copies that have proliferated through the years.

Original Robert E. Howard prose is beautiful.

I really miss the ability of the old pulp writers to tell a coherent story without needing seven 1,000 page books to do it. Even the early 'novelists' (Poul Anderson) were able to do so much in such a short space.

Stopped reading Terry Goodkind after six of the books, as it was too repetitive...

Goodkind was the author that finally cured me of my "start a series, have to finish it" obsession...such a bad, bad writer.

Anyone got any great new authors?

Steven Erikson, Scott Lynch, Patrick Rothfuss & Joe Abercrombie are the next generation that look to be the future masters of the craft (well Erikson's been around a decade now...but the others are just starting out).

 

[Gatorubet]

I reread the Foundation Trilogy and was struck by the portrayal of verbal recognition software - crazy insightful and prophetic. What a genius Asimov was.

 

[ScriptOhio]

There was a lot of fiction and/or fantasy in this book.

He tells what a great coach/recruiter is, how he runs a "squeaky clean program", and about the fantastic job he did at Ohio State.

 

[Muck]

I bolded the books I HAVE read

And here I thought you had a little geek in 'ya.

 

[sandgk]

Of all those on the list the one (series) I'm surprised I have not read is George R. R. Martin's.

Though I do have a new hardcover copy of A Dance With Dragons that I'm slowly working through.

It doesn't help that he writes so much about the food.

I see a feast described on the page, I get hungry and get out to the kitchen to fix something nice to eat.

Hard to build up a head of reading steam when you're cooking every few pages.

 

[Muck]

Just wait until you get to the rape scenes.

The thing Martin does better than just about anyone is portray a 'realistic' feudal society. Instead of the romanticized Tolkien clones life in Martin's world is nasty, brutish & short.

 

[Gatorubet]

J
The thing Martin does better than just about anyone is portray a 'realistic' feudal society. Instead of the romanticized Tolkien clones life in Martin's world is nasty, brutish & short.

He had me at pushing the kid out the tower window because he saw him screwing his sister the Queen. Pitch perfect for the circumstances.

 

[sandgk]

Just wait until you get to the rape scenes.

He had me at pushing the kid out the tower window because he saw him screwing his sister the Queen. Pitch perfect for the circumstances.

Always practice safe sex?

 

[colobuck79]

He had me at pushing the kid out the tower window because he saw him screwing his sister the Queen.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[xcrunner]

The absence of anything by Ed Greenwood, Kate Novak & Jeff Grub, and specifically the Dragonlance Chronicles is disappointing.

Totally agree re: Dragonlance. I read those books in 7th-8th grade and they got me hooked on fantasy. I had read some fantasy before but Dragonlance really made me love the genre. I always like to read a little bit before I go to bed, and when I started reading Dragonlance, I maintained that habit only it was impossible for me to read for any time less than an hour. I geeked out hard. But those books were really good.

 

[knapplc]

@Muck - I've actually read the Gap series. It was OK, not my favorite. I think my favorite Donaldson books are Mordant's Need. Yet another weak woman (like Gap) who finds her strength in the end, after several physical assaults. Donaldson has an interesting bugaboo about that.

 

[Muck]

@Muck - I've actually read the Gap series. It was OK, not my favorite. I think my favorite Donaldson books are Mordant's Need. Yet another weak woman (like Gap) who finds her strength in the end, after several physical assaults. Donaldson has an interesting bugaboo about that.

Yeah like many writers he seems to have some definite issues that bleed through into his work.

I only read the first book of the Mordant duology and I'm not even sure I finished it at the time. Surprisingly enough a wishy washy pseudo fairy tale with a female protagonist didn't really appeal to the 15 y/o version of me.

Go figure.

And for those pimping the TSR/WOTC crew (Salvatore, Greenwood, Weis/Hickman & Co). The list needs a lot less of them and a lot more Edgar Rice Burroughs, Fritz Leiber & Jace Vance.