Your Top 3 SF/F

Fried Egg said:
It amazes me how many people put LOTR in their top 3. It probably wouldn't even feature in my top 100 SF/F.
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Given the audience of this forum, I imagine, consists of not only people who read but those interested in thinking about and discussing what they read ... it amazes me a little too

Michael Moorcock's classic (and quite amusing) analysis of its enduring popularity can be found at: : RevolutionSF - Epic Pooh : Feature

And comes as close to explaining LotR's enduring popularity as anything i've ever seen, although as a leading figure in the "New Wave" MM obviously has an axe to grind against what has come before (oh and Tory's, and several other things).
 
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Fried Egg said:
It amazes me how many people put LOTR in their top 3. It probably wouldn't even feature in my top 100 SF/F.
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That's an easy conundrum to figure out, my cholesterolic friend. You don't like it very much, whereas a bunch of other people do. Nothing amazing about it. Just different taste.

Lots of people continue to like Terry Goodkind. Blows my mind, but they like it, so, there I am. Not really amazing at all (though I comfort myself with the thought that most of them simply don't know any better).
 
soulsinging said:
How do you figure that? There are only 50-odd posts in this thread, and several of them are the tallies? I know because I tried finding all 10 people that voted for Dune, since I have so much trouble finishing it I thought I'd see if the people that love it so much share my taste or if sci-fi just isn't for me.
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Soul, I have been gathering votes from twitter and my blog as well. Will update both over the weekend. Most of the GRRM votes have come from here, so I figured it was only reasonable to balance the list by taking input from multiple sources. I think I posted all this on the first post in the thread but I could be wrong.
 
1. Jack Vance - Dying Earth Series (especially Cugel's Saga 1983)
2. David Gemmell - John Shannow Series 1987
3. A E Van Vogt - The Weapon Makers 1947

The last one is there because it was the book that first made me take interest in Sci-fi
 
ok here we go
I needed to cheat a bit to get as many faves in as possible

The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (some of the best observations on the human condition, wonderfully and humerously expressed)

the Future History series and related books by Robert A Heinlein (too many good books and too many reasons for choosing them but Time Enough for Love is a major factor in this choice)

the Eternal Champion series by Michael Moorcock (the best anti heroes in fantasy ever)
 
1. The Steel of Raithskar-Gandalara Series (1981), Randall Garrett/Vicki Ann Heydron

Ricardo Carillo, an aging language professor with a terminal illness, is flirting with a captivating young woman on a Mediterranean cruise ship. They both watch with wonder, and a growing horror, as a dazzlingly beautiful star quickly grows to engulf the sky and then crashes into the ship.
Ricardo awakens in a blinding hot desert, with no idea where he is and a dead man by his side.
Without knowing how or why, Ricardo finds himself inhabiting the body of a strong, healthy, young man named Markasset. Ricardo quickly learns that Markasset is wanted for murder and the theft of a precious and powerful gemstone, the Ra'ira. Ricardo has only a smattering of Markasset's memories, and no idea if he is guilty or innocent. But with the help of a giant warcat named Keeshah, with whom he shares a telepathic bond, and the beautiful illusionist, Tarani, Ricardo sets out on a quest to recover the missing gemstone and clear his new name.
But what has happened to Markasset? And when will he want his body back? Now that he has a new lease on life, can Ricardo let it go?
The series is full of vivid characters, sword play, great warcats, and a desert world called Gandalara...a kind of alien Arabian Nights.

My favorite series to date.

2. The Forever War (1974), Joe Haldeman

3. Xanth series (1977), Piers Anthony
 
bloggeratf said:
Soul, I have been gathering votes from twitter and my blog as well. Will update both over the weekend. Most of the GRRM votes have come from here, so I figured it was only reasonable to balance the list by taking input from multiple sources. I think I posted all this on the first post in the thread but I could be wrong.
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Ah, mystery solved! I must have missed that... I thought I was losing my mind :)
 
soulsinging said:
How do you figure that? There are only 50-odd posts in this thread, and several of them are the tallies? I know because I tried finding all 10 people that voted for Dune, since I have so much trouble finishing it I thought I'd see if the people that love it so much share my taste or if sci-fi just isn't for me.
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I would have voted for Dune as well if we were talking about just best Books ever not best series, to me the Dune (first) is so good it overshadows the rest of the series.

I guess Dune is a deep book and thus hard to read but (IMO) it's one of the best sci-fi books of all time. And would be 4th on my list, I had it in the top 3 but figured GRRM since I am more-so into fantasy at this time.
 
xenofon said:
my top three:

1. Isaac Asimov - The Gods Themselves (1972)
2. Alexei Panshin - Rite of Passage (1968)
3. Arkadi & Boris Strugatki - Roadside Picnic (1972)

and if it will be a top 3 for the series:

1. Isaac Asimov - Foundation
2. Frederik Pohl - Heechee
3. Orson Scott Card - Ender Trilogy
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What kind of book is Roadside Picnic ? I will get it from SF masterworks since those brothers are one of few authors that arent american,british in that series. Also i know their importance, wanted to try them.
 
FYI everyone: The list is both series and/or individual books. I wanted people to pick what was meaningful to them. Still a limit of three though, don't try and sneak another in!
 
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Roadside Picnic is a beautiful book. A little dark but beautiful. It is about a radioactive zone near a city where people suppose that aliens landed. Some loco people make money entering this zone and find artefacts. Nobody knows what the aliens did here and where they were gone.
Tarkovsky made a movie (The Stalker) in 1979 based on this book, but i don't like it. It is a little too artistic and the final is totally different.
You have to read this book, is very good. I recommend another two books of brothers Strugatki: The Time Wanderers and Beetle in the Anthill.
 
A Song of Ice and Fire - GRRM
The Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy G. Kay
The Anubis Gates - Tim Powers
 
Dark Tower Series - Stephen King
Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
Tawny Man trilogy - Robin Hobb
 
Lord of the Rings 1950 J. R. Tolkein 21
A Song of Ice and Fire 1996 George R. R. Martin 14
Dune 1965 Frank Herbet 10
Ender's Game 1985 Orson Scott Card 8
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy 1979 Douglas Adams 7
The Dark Tower Series 1982 Stephen King 5
The Left Hand of Darkness 1969 Ursula K. Leguin 4
The Foundation Series 1951 Isaac Asimov 4
Malazan Book of the Fallen 1999 Steven Erikson 4
The Name of the Wind 2007 Patrick Rothfuss 4
Time Enough for Love 1973 Robert A. Heinlein 3
The Time Traveler's Wife 2003 Audrey Niffenegger 3
The Chronicles of Narnia 1950 C. S. Lewis 3
Speaker for the Dead 1986 Orson Scott Card 3
American Gods 2001 Neil Gaiman 3
Farseer Trilogy 1995 Robin Hobb 3
The Forever War 1974 Joe Haldeman 3
Nineteen Eighty Four 1949 George Orwell 2
Now Wait for the Last Year 1966 Philip K. Dick 2
A Wrinkle in Time 1962 Madeleine L'Engle 2
Neuromancer 1984 William Gibson 2
Riftwar Saga 1982 Raymond E. Feist 2
The Stars my Destination 1956 Alfred Bester 2
Dhalgren 1975 Samuel R. Delany 2
The Dresden Files 2002 Jim Butcher 2
Hyperion 1989 Dan Simmons 2
Vorkosigan Saga 1997 Lois McMaster Bujold 2
The Wheel of Time 1990 Robert Jordan 2
Lord of Light 1967 Roger Zelazny 2
Tigana 1990 Guy Gavriel Kay 2
Discworld Series 1983 Terry Pratchett 2
The Wars of Light and Shadow 1994 Janny Wurts 2
Xanth Series 1987 Piers Anthony 2
The Chronicles of Amber 1970 Roger Zelazny 2
The Belgariad 1982 David Eddings 1
The Chronicles of Prydain 1964 Lloyd Alexander 1
The King of Elfland's Daughter 1924 Lord Dunsany 1
Silver Metal Lover 1981 Tanith Lee 1
The Han Solo Trilogy 1997 A. C. Crispin 1
The Rhapsody Trilogy 1999 Elizabeth Haydon 1
The Majipoor Series 1980 Robert Silverberg 1
Dragonflight 1968 Anne McCaffrey 1
Fire and Hemlock 1985 Diana Wynne Jones 1
Reaper Man 1991 Terry Prachett 1
The Smoke Ring 1987 Larry Niven 1
The Player of Games 1988 Iain M. Banks 1
Spaceman Blues 2007 Brian Francis Slattery 1
One for Sorrow 2007 Christopher Barzak 1
Solaris 1961 Stanisław Lem 1
Spellsinger 1983 Alan Dean Foster 1
Kushiel's Legacy 2001 Jacqueline Carey 1
Brain Plague 2000 Joan Slonczewski 1
Songmaster 1980 Orson Scott Card 1
A Game of Thrones 1996 George R. R. Martin 1
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress 1966 Robert A. Heinlein 1
A Scanner Darkly 1977 Philip K. Dick 1
Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange 2005 Suzanna Clarke 1
Altered Carbon 2002 Richard K. Morgan 1
The Dreaming Void 2007 Peter F. Hamilton 1
The Deed of Paksenarrion 1988 Elizabeth Moon 1
Waylander 1986 David Gemmell 1
The Moirae Effect 2009 Craig Fox 1
On Basilisk Station 1992 David Weber 1
Furies of Calderon 1984 Jim Butcher 1
The Eyes of the Otherworld 1966 Jack Vance 1
Wolf in Shadow 1987 David Gemmell 1
The Mists of Avalon 1982 Marion Zimmer Bradley 1
Good Omens 1990 Terry Prachett & Neil Gaiman 1
The Difference Engine 1990 William Gibson 1
Martian Chronicles 1950 Ray Bradbury 1
Farenheit 451 1953 Ray Bradbury 1
The Curse of Challion 2001 Lois McMaster Bujold 1
Emerald Eyes 1988 Daniel Keys Moran 1
Ubik 1969 Philip K. Dick 1
Rogue Moon 1960 Algis Budrys 1
Man Who Fell to Earth 1963 Walter Tevis 1
Welcome to the Monkey House 1968 Kurt Vonnegut 1
Contact 1985 Carl Sagan 1
Wee Free Men 2003 Terry Pratchett 1
Slaughterhouse-Five 1969 Kurt Vonnegut 1
Road of the Patriarch 2006 R. A. Salvatore 1
Fire Upon the Deep 1992 Vernor Vinge 1
The Hammer and the Cross 1993 Harry Harrison 1
The Seeker and the Mage 2009 R. S. Madden 1
Dr. Bloodmoney 1965 Philip K. Dick 1
A Canticle for Leibowitz 1960 Walter M. Miller 1
The Silmarillion 1977 J. R. Tolkein 1
Gateway 1977 Frederik Pohl 1
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep 1968 Philip K. Dick 1
Rigante Series 1998 David Gemmell 1
The Man in the High Castle 1962 Philip K. Dick 1
Pawn of Prophecy 1982 David Eddings 1
Urban Shaman 2005 C. E. Murphy 1
In the Mothers' Land 1992 E. Vonarburg 1
Beauty 1991 Sheri Tepper 1
A Gift Upon the Shore 1990 M. K. Wren 1
Eathsea 1968 Ursula K. LeGuin 1
Lilith's Brood 1987 Octavia Butler 1
Slan 1946 A. E. Van Vogt 1
Cyteen 1988 C. J. Cherryh 1
Spin State 2003 Chris Moriarty 1
Fire Logic 2000 Laurie J. Marks 1
The Hobbit 1937 J. R. R. Tolkien 1
Dies the Fire 2004 S. M. Stirling 1
Old Man's War 2004 John Scalzi 1
The Sea Beggars 2004 Paul Kearney 1
The First Law Trilogy 2007 Joe Abercrombie 1
The Iron Tree 2005 Cecilia Dart-Thornton 1
Uplift Series 1980 David Brin 1
Nights Dawn Trilogy 1996 Peter F. Hamilton 1
Galactic Milieu Series 1991 Julian May 1
Rama Series 1972 Arthur C. Clarke 1
The Star King 1964 Jack Vance 1
Watership Down 1972 Richard Adams 1
Revelation Space 2000 Alastiar Reynolds 1
Legend 1984 David Gemmell 1
Nightwatch 2002 Terry Prachett 1
Dragonlance Saga 1984 Margaret Weis and Laura and Tracy Hickman 1
The Court of Air 2007 Stephen Hunt 1
Winter of Fire 1993 Sherryl Jordan 1
The Sword of Shannara 1977 Terry Brooks 1
Starship Troopers 1959 Robert A. Heinlein 1
Rite of Passage 1968 Alexei Panshin 1
Roadside Picnic 1972 Arkadi & Boris Strugatki 1
Dying Earth Series 1983 Jack Vance 1
John Shannow Series 1987 David Gemmell 1
The Weapon Makers 1947 A. E. Van Vogt 1
The Future History 1939 Robert A. Heinlein 1
The Steel of Raithskar-Gandalara Series 1981 Randall Garrett 1
The Lions of Al-Rassan 1995 Guy Gavriel Kay 1
The Anubis Gates 1983 Tim Powers 1
The Tawny Man Trilogy 2002 Robin Hobb 1
The Raine Benares Series 2006 Lisa Shearin 1
The Regiment's War 1993 John Dalamas 1
The Stone Dance of the Chameleon 1999 Ricardo Pinto 1
Coldfire Trilogy 1991 C. S. Friedman 1
Brass Man 2005 Neal Asher 1

UPDATED: 90 people have voted so far.

Also, I am looking to restart this thread in some way that the first post will always hold the updated list. Any ideas beyond a link to the google doc? I was thinking maybe an img that I can just change but keep at the same address. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
 
The Silmarillion 1977 J. R. Tolkein 1
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this is part of LOTR as is the Hobbit it should be credited with LOTR, imo cos this is about whole series not just one book
 
rai said:
Yet another ..

1)LOTR (far and away number one)

2)Chronicles of Amber (1970-) have to think that's what this forum was named for (as opposed to Narnia). Really nice blend of alt universe and fantasy.

3)GRRM
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I see LOTR or were you mentioning someone else? Let me know whose post and I'll change it around for next week. Thanks for keeping me honest :p

Never mind. I see what you mean. Hmmmm, I tend to agree and I'll change it around on the next update.
 
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Ender's Game (1985), Orson Scott Card
The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), Ursula K. Leguin
Frankenstein (1818), Mary Shelley

It was very hard to choose because there are so many good books out there!
 
1.Malazan Book of the Fallen 1999

2.The Riftwar Raymond E Feist 1982

3. The Great book of Amber 1970

Hard to pick number 3 considered Kings Dark Tower series, Abercrombie's First Law Series plus a few others but finally settled on Amber as its a classic series that will never grow old
 
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