All right you nerds-- NPR Top 100 SF & Fantasy books

Turdacious · Post by **Turdacious** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:24 pm

More than 5,000 of you nominated. More than 60,000 of you voted. And now the results are in. The winners of NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy survey are an intriguing mix of classic and contemporary titles. Over on NPR's pop culture blog, Monkey See, you can find one fan's thoughts on how the list shaped up, get our experts' take, and have the chance to share your own.

A quick word about what's here, and what's not: Our panel of experts reviewed hundreds of the most popular nominations and tossed out those that didn't fit the survey's criteria (after — we assure you — much passionate, thoughtful, gleefully nerdy discussion). You'll notice there are no young adult or horror books on this list, but sit tight, dear reader, we're saving those genres for summers yet to come.

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843 ... tasy-books

Discuss. Just me, but I thought Slaughterhouse Five was horrible. Need to add some of the others to my reading list though. List definitely needs some Frank Miller though.

Turdacious · Post by **Turdacious** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:27 pm

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

Fat Cat · Post by **Fat Cat** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 6:59 pm

lot of good memories included on that list...have to check out some of the ones I haven't read. I recently reread The Hobbit after 20 years and was surprised at how it was a work of children's literature more than fantasy.

Schlegel · Post by **Schlegel** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 3:01 am

Turdacious wrote:

12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan

22. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

25. The Stand, by Stephen King

26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson

41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings

42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley

43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson

46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien

48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

50. Contact, by Carl Sagan

52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman

53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson

54. World War Z, by Max Brooks

58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson

62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind

63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks

69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb

70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore

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

80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire

85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson

89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan

99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony

100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

These do not belong in the top 100. I'm not saying all the others do, but these do not.

Alfred_E._Neuman · Post by **Alfred_E._Neuman** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 11:58 am

Fat Cat wrote:lot of good memories included on that list...have to check out some of the ones I haven't read. I recently reread The Hobbit after 20 years and was surprised at how it was a work of children's literature more than fantasy.

The Hobbit was originally intended to be children's story, based on characters Tolkien made up for his kid's bedtime stories. He went back and re-worked the book to have the ring fall into Bilbo's hands after the idea of The Lord of the Rings began to flesh out.

There's a ton of stuff on that list I need to read. And some of it I have read I don't think belongs in the top 100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy of all time. It would be cool to go down the list and check off all the ones I haven't gotten to yet over the next year or so.

Holland Oates · Post by **Holland Oates** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:56 am

1. Starship Troopers
2. Dune

The rest are details.

Turdacious · Post by **Turdacious** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:26 pm

Fat Cat wrote:lot of good memories included on that list...have to check out some of the ones I haven't read. I recently reread The Hobbit after 20 years and was surprised at how it was a work of children's literature more than fantasy.

Agree. Skimming through that list reminded me that I need to reread some Bradbury.

Schlegel · Post by **Schlegel** » Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:49 pm

The omission of Fritz Leiber is a travesty.

nafod · Post by **nafod** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 2:08 am

Ed Zachary wrote:1. Starship Troopers
2. Dune

The rest are details.

I'd definitely put Starship Troopers well ahead of Ender's Game, which I read recently. Bleh. Dune was awesome and still is. It's where I learned about all those jihadi terms.

I read the crap out of this book, about had it memorized as a kid.

Shafpocalypse Now · Post by **Shafpocalypse Now** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 2:29 am

Schlegel and I agree here.

Omitting Leiber is ludicrious.

Also, Manly Wade Wellman.

vern · Post by **vern** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:27 am

Just me, but I thought Slaughterhouse Five was horrible.

So it goes.

Put Dune at the top and I'm cool with the list.

I also think that Herbert's 'The Santaroga Barrier' is one of his best after the Dune books.

Turdacious · Post by **Turdacious** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:31 am

Hate to do this, but I think this thread needs some rules. If you're gonna recommend an author for the list, please add some recommended books.

Schlegel · Post by **Schlegel** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:16 am

Fine- Fritz Lieber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser books. Start with "Swords and Deviltry.

TerryB · Post by **TerryB** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 3:52 pm

My favorite part of Starship Troopers is the shower scene with the chick Charlie Sheen had kids with.

nafod · Post by **nafod** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:07 pm

protobuilder wrote:My favorite part of Starship Troopers is the shower scene with the chick Charlie Sheen had kids with.

You're thinking of Denise Richards I bet, and she wasn't in that scene.

...and yet, you're still probably right.

tough old man · Post by **tough old man** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:29 pm

WARHAMMER 40,000 all 75 books in the series.

Shafpocalypse Now · Post by **Shafpocalypse Now** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 12:26 pm

Manly Wade Wellman - any of the Silver John novels, which are mostly out of print, but might be found online if you look.

Wellman was a friend and contemporary of Leiber.

dingleberry · Post by **dingleberry** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 4:03 pm

Best sci fi book for kids is "A Wrinkle in Time" I read this in fifth grade and still remember it.

I'm in the middle of the "Song of Ice and Fire" series now. So far it has been enjoyable but it does plod from time to time.

Yes I Have Balls · Post by **Yes I Have Balls** » Sat Aug 27, 2011 6:50 pm

I've read many of those books, and have recently added many of them to my Amazon queue. A little shocked that John Norman's "Gor" series didn't make the list. Lot's of great sexual content for randy young teen dudes.

Dunn · Post by **Dunn** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 11:49 am

Read a good many of these. In fact I am reading through Jordan's "Wheel of Time" right now.

I agree that Lieber and Wells should have been on there somewhere.

tough old man · Post by **tough old man** » Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:00 pm

I would add most books by Dan Abnett.

j-cubed · Post by **j-cubed** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:55 pm

There's some contemporary books (say 1990 and above) which I think are just as good but not on the list because they are not "classics" - some on the lower portion of the list could be replaced with others pretty easily.

One of my favorites, Elizabeth Moon and her "Deed of Paksennarrion" should be on that list, but isn't.

msr2112 · Post by **msr2112** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 9:11 pm

Nary a mention of the great Phillip K. Dick! Only one in the top 100.
Recommendations:

Probably his most accessible: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (on the list)
Somewhere between really fucked up and pretty fucked up: A Scanner Darkly
Extremely fucked up (and that's putting it mildly): Ubik
Redefines fucked up and paranoid: Radio Free Albemuth

WildGorillaMan · Post by **WildGorillaMan** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 1:13 pm

Yes I Have Balls wrote:I've read many of those books, and have recently added many of them to my Amazon queue. A little shocked that John Norman's "Gor" series didn't make the list. Lot's of great sexual content for randy young teen dudes.

Even as a randy teen dude I was never able to finish reading a single Gor novel. Even to my less-educated sensibilities the writing was godawful, S&M notwithstanding.

As an interesting counterpoint, about a year ago I got my hands on a trove of small press hardcovers of Robert E Howard's works, mostly his less well known stuff, like Western, Weird Western, and other pulp genres that he's less famous for. I'm only now getting around to reading some of them.

I'm currently reading Almuric, which is about an earthman transported to a savage world where he himself becomes more savage than civilized and ends up triumphing. It's ground that has been well tread, owing much to Edgar Rice Burroughs, and of course many authors have followed, such as John Norman and his execrable Gor books.

Paleotards would love Almuric; it's a paen to the Western fascination with the Noble Savage and the notion that only by living wild can man be truly fulfilled. I bring this up mostly because as a counterpoint to Norman's misogyny, Howard's book carries his trademark chivalry that is evident in all his work, that even though the hero is a hard and stoic killer, he protects and venerates women, treating them with care and kindness at odds with the way he comes at the rest of the world with clenched fists. By contrast, the Gor books are little more than background fluff to support Norman's twisted fantasies.

WildGorillaMan · Post by **WildGorillaMan** » Sat Sep 03, 2011 1:16 pm

tough old man wrote:WARHAMMER 40,000 all 75 books in the series.

There are some fantastic novels in both the 40k and fantasy series, but there are just as many that are dreck. I've bought almost all of them over the years, and while some I have read and re-read, the majority have gone to the used book store after one read.

Warhammer authors to seek out:

Dan Abnett
William King
Sandy Mitchell

Authors to avoid:

CS Goto. I'm pretty sure he's actually a retarded baboon with a typewriter.

IGX

All right you nerds-- NPR Top 100 SF & Fantasy books

All right you nerds-- NPR Top 100 SF & Fantasy books

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