drplokta | (no subject)

This is the Science Fiction Book Club's list of the fifty most significant science fiction/fantasy novels published between 1953 and 2002. Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish*
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester*
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
31. Little, Big, John Crowley*
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny*
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven*
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester*
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's quite reassuring, actually-I've read a lot more of these than I'd have thought I would have done. Oh, that sentance didn't make any sense.

You appear to have read everything ever, though. I have some catching up to do. [grin]

Wow, I think you are the first person of those I've seen doing these lists who has read Children of the Atom by Wilmar Shiras. Is it any good?

It's not bad, but very dated. It's a fix-up collecting several stories of children with amazing mental powers, nicely calculated to appeal to geeky teenagers in a world before the Internet.

So where on earth did you find it?

Children of the Atom - never previously heard of it.
I Am Legend - seen the film, not read the book.
Interview with the Vampire - never been tempted.
Mists of Avalon - we've moved, so the dent in the wall is no longer a problem.

47.5, allowing half a point for Omega Man

I picked up an old SFBC edition (the UK SFBC, not the US one) years ago, I have no idea where.

I Am Legend - seen the film, not read the book.

There's a film? Is it called something different? IMDB says there's one due in 2007 (oooh) but I can't find one that already exists.

I did indeed mention the name of the film in my post ... just somewhat elliptically.

The Omega Man. I saw it in the cinema, back presumably when it was originally released in 1971.

Yes, there were films before you were born *grin*

Also, an earlier (and possibly superior) version, more in keeping with the novel... The Last Man on Earth from 1964, starring Vincent Price.

Thank you both! Amazon only has The Last Man on Earth as a Region 1 DVD, boo. I may have to resort to the naughtyweb.

And yet another person who gave up in the middle of Dhalgren!

Well, it doesn't exactly have a beginning or an end...

Converting it into hypertext is an ongoing project of ||ugh's, I believe.