I've read all of these but the Sladek (read others books by him but not this one). It's an interesting list....
(1) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert Heinlein.
I have rather a problem with Heinlein now and haven't read any for a long time though I quite liked it in my teens. I agree to a large extent with Tielhard. I'm afraid I've finally been put off forever by the wordy pontifications and preachy, teeth gratingly trite, "pearls of wisdom" with which his later bloated novels and series are littered. That, the shallow libertarianism and the very odd sexual politics (die hard reactionary masquerading as hip evolutionary biology) just annoy me so much I find it hard to be fair to some of the earler work which I know to be quite interesting (in and of its time). To be honest it is more than twenty years since I read this particular book but I do remember it as an entertaining read... I still feel that Heinlein is one of the most overrated authors in the genre ever though and it wouldn't be in my top ten.
(2) Tiger! Tiger! - Alfred Bester
It's OK... At the risk of offending the sensibilities of those who consider it a genre classic (which I know it is widely considered to be) I don't really understand what all the fuss is about. Perhaps I should re-read it as again it has been a long time....
(3) Hyperion - Dan Simmons
Great series of books which I really like. I think the last two are actually better than the first ones. My only criticism of Dan Simmons is a style over substance one. The style is good, but when you think back on the coherence of the plot you tend to see some holes (more so actually in his more recent Illium and Olympos books which I think are deeply flawed, but some of the same faults occur in Hyperion). Nevertheless, despite my reservations Hyperion is a "must read" and would probably be in my own top 10.
(4) Fire Upon The Deep - Vernor Vinge
A super piece of science fiction in the classic mold. Several great ideas welded togther in a very neat story - not over long - a fault of much science fiction and fantasy, but really well told and thought provoking. Thoroughly recommended.
(5) Neuromancer - William Gibson
This has almost achieved the "inspired a genre" status of Lord Of The Rings and as such it is a little hard to separate the original from the many imitators. Groundbreaking in its time, but I think if you've read cyberpunk since you might find the edge has been taken off the story.
(6) The Dispossessed - Ursula K Le Guin
I did find the book quite intersting when I first read it but not a page turner... For me it sacrifices a little too much story to the desire to put over ideas but again, it is a long time since I read it and perhaps I need to read it again....
(7) The Muller-Fokker Efect - John Sladek
The only one I've not read. Loved Tik-Tok though which is the only Sladek I have read so I think I will try to get hold of this and give it a go...
(8) The Pastel City - M John Harrison
M John Harrison is one of my favourite if not my favourite authors ever in any genre. This isn't his best book in my opinion but it is perhaps one of the easiest to get into, because it follows the relatively conventional lines of a fantasy book. Some of the later books in the Viriconium series are stranger and less accessable (although better in my opinion once you've got into the author's writing style). I actually would recommend starting with The Pastel City but if you stop there you'll miss the best. Carry on to "A Storm Of Wings", "In Viriconium" and "Viriconium Knights" (a set of short stories). Some of the later ones will be a bit "abstract" for everyone's taste perhaps but I think they are masterpieces.
(9) Stand on Zanzibar
Stylistically interesting in the way it is pieced together from a series of short stacatto chapters and invented newspaper clippings all following the theme that the world is going to hell in a hand cart because of a population explosion. I found it quite provocative when I first read it, but I think it's somewhat dated now. Not my favourite John Brunner (which is the lesser known Jagged Orbit) but still worth reading.
(10) Babel-17 - Samuel R Delany.
Can't remember a lot about this but I do recall it being a fun ride with lots of literary flourishes and pazzaz. It's a relatively uncontroversial book when compared with some of Delany's later work, such as Triton which I think is hard going but just about worth it in the end (though I can totally understand people hating it and wouldn't necessarily recommend it) and Dhalgren which I think is even harder going and not at all worth it in the end... (and I definitely wouldn't recommend!)
A common theme for all these books? Stylistic experimentation to get away from genre cliches I reckon (apart from 4 which is just a damn good tale).
I can see why that appeals to a writer. For me, some of these books have surivived the test of time beyond their initial novelty value and some haven't.