50 "Must-Read" Science Fiction Books

[thatollie]

I've been reading it on and off for a while, I thought A Storm of Wings was a bit hard to enjoy.

 

[Fried Egg]

What was it about Centauri that put you off? Then I could tell you whether it'd be worth you reading another MJH book.

I found his writing style disengaging and abrasive. I expect I will give him another chance though as he is so highly respected.

 

[Connavar]

For a book to stand the test of time, it still has to be read today. Which implies there's a market for it. So it would be in print. The Left Hand of Darkness, Dune, Stranger in a Strange Land, Nineteen Eighty-Four... all still in print.

I've not read Brain Wave or the Norton, and AFAIK they're not the most highly regarded titles by either author. Which suggests time has been less than kind to them...

But you cant judge Poul Anderson by Brain Wave. You judge by his books that have stood the test of time like The Broken Sword,Tau Zero,Flandry etc

Witch World for Norton. All those books are in print,libraries full of them

Its like judging Herbert not for Dune but a less known work.

Authors who are prolific will always have works that are remembered less than others.

 

[iansales]

Egg, MJH is often considered a "writer's writer", and is not an easy read by any means. But The Centauri Device is, I think, an important sf novel because it made the future grubby and dour, in direct counterpoint to the gung-ho happy futures of US sf at that time.

As for Asimov... I don't actually think Foundation is all that good a novel, but it's been so long since I last read The Gods Themselves that I've no idea what it's like.

Connavar - it's not a list of random works by "must read" sf authors, it's a list of "must read" books. Like you say, I'd have thought Tau Zero a better choice than Brain Wave.

I've looked on Amazon.com, and neither Brain Wave nor Witch World are still in print. In fact, they're only available in Kindle editions.

 

[iansales]

I like Aztec Century but I am not sure it is a must-read.

Unfortunately, a lot of the books I wanted to choose were published after 1994... so I picked the best of that author's earlier works instead.

 

[Connavar]

The original Witch World books are in print with Omnibus, several omnibus for other novels of the series.

Ian thats why i said the list of the first post is a personal thing. I mean he/she didnt have Jack Vance and you had Jack Vance book in your.

Its all about taste. Its not facts about classic sf books.

With all due respect to that list if I'm gonna convince a non-fan what's great about classic SF i will give them a Jack Vance novel before an Asimov.....

 

[GOLLUM]

That almost sounds like a threat

Was not intended as such.

What I can't figure is that several people here have been saying how they consider themselves well read in SF and yet have not heard of a number of these titles (original list) let alone own or read them and yet myself, who specialises in Fantasy, owned 80% of the original listing and knew of 46 out of the 50 listed UNLESS I need to REALLY get out more....

I realise some of these are questionable regarding classification of SF but still...

EDIT: Interestingly enough I only knew/own approx 38 out of the 50 Clovis listed, so perhaps that's bringing me back to Earth somewhat....

 

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

Unfortunately, a lot of the books I wanted to choose were published after 1994... so I picked the best of that author's earlier works instead.

I see your point, and to be fair, since your mention of this book, which I must have read 4 or 5 years ago, several incidents from the novel have been returning to me to the extent that a re-read may be in order at some point.

 

[clovis-man]

Clovis, not a bad list but too much Asimov - Foundation yes, but nothing else by him. And I wouldn't put The Stainless Steel Rat anywhere near such a list - I reread it recently and thought it was terrible. For Silverberg, I'd probably pick A Time of Changes. I'd also include something by Ballard, The Centauri Device by M John Harrison, A Case of Conscience by James Blish, lose the Brin and perhaps add in a Dorsai book by Gordon R Dickson, Take Back Plenty by Colin Greenland, A Maggot by John Fowles, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, and, although they're terrible, I'd have to include at least one Lensman book...

Great. I knew I could rely on you to provide some alternative picks. I find your list to be quite interesting. And I considered some of them that I left out of mine. I have to admit that some were omitted just because I didn't care for them, e.g., The Handmaid's Tale. OTOH, I included some that weren't personal favorites just because I felt they were notable for that particular year, e.g., Cyteen and Stations Of The Tide. There are other books by those authors that I like better.

But that's what makes this fun. We not only all have different opinions, we all have different reasons for having those opinions.

 

[Fried Egg]

What I can't figure is that several people here have been saying how they consider themselves well read in SF and yet have not heard of a number of these titles (original list) let alone own or read them and yet myself, who specialises in Fantasy, owned 80% of the original listing and knew of 46 out of the 50 listed UNLESS I need to REALLY get out more....

I realise some of these are questionable regarding classification of SF but still...

I'm pretty sure you own about 80% of all books ever published so it is hardly surprising!

 

[dask]

I have 38 of the 50 in my collection, and of the 12 I don't own 5 titles are unfamiliar to me, and of those 5 there are only 3 authors I've never heard of.

 

[GOLLUM]

I'm pretty sure you own about 80% of all books ever published so it is hardly surprising!

Well 90% may be a more accurate estimate.....

Are you planning on reading more of the Sf Masterwork series in 2010? On the whole it's a very good list to date given issues of publication rights on some classic titles.

 

[Fried Egg]

Well 90% may be a more accurate estimate.....

Are you planning on reading more of the Sf Masterwork series in 2010? On the whole it's a very good list to date given issues of publication rights on some classic titles.

Yes, I will gradually make my way through it, as and when I find them.

 

[Connavar]

I was wondering about The Inverted World by Christopher Priest that was mentioned in that list in the first page.

Is it seen as one of his better books ? Its one of my choices for library books of his and i would like to start there then getting a library book of his latest novel.

 

[CyBeR]

I was wondering about The Inverted World by Christopher Priest that was mentioned in that list in the first page.

Is it seen as one of his better books ? Its one of my choices for library books of his and i would like to start there then getting a library book of his latest novel.

I would highly recommend that book. It's very engaging and Priest really holds on well to the mysteries of his world so as to leave room for the reveals later on. It's a very good read.
My girlfriend got it for me this summer and I really enjoyed reading it.

 

[GOLLUM]

I've got a copy of Inverted World as a NYRB edn. so it sounds like it will be a good read. I'm currently reading priest's story collection Dream Archipelago and it's very good.

That was an early novel, I think '74 from memory....given it's on the NYRB list, usually means it's a quality read.

 

[Connavar]

NYRB ? I saw it listed as SF Masterworks copy in my bookstore catalogue list but i'm not sure if its upcoming version cause i dont see it Sfsite list for SFM.

I looked for Dream Archipelago but there were no library version of it.

Inverted World it is. I should checked his books earlier, his themes sound very interesting. I'm looking for new SF with interesting ideas. Thinking about his latest books.

 

[AE35Unit]

Here's the list that I've read

•352. "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy," Douglas Adams
•353. "Hothouse," Brian Aldiss
•354. "Brain Wave," Poul Anderson
•355. "I, Robot," Isaac Asimov
•357. "The Crystal World," J.G. Ballard
•358. "The Demolished Man," Alfred Bester
•359. "Who Goes There," John W. Campbell
•362. "The Martian Chronicles," Ray Bradbury
•367. "2001: A Space Odyssey," Arthur C. Clarke
•372. "Stranger in a Strange Land," Robert A. Heinlein
•373. "Dune," Frank Herbert+didn't finish,maybe one day!
•384. "Ringworld," Larry Niven
•397. "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth," Jules Verne
•399. "The Island of Dr Moreau," H.G. Wells
•401. "The Day of the Triffids," John Wyndham
All but Dune I enjoyed. Who Goes There is a story not a novel,that became the basis of the film The Thing

 

[J-WO]

Yeah. I've got a copy of the Green Child and its a curio at best.

 

[Spade]

•
•373. "Dune," Frank Herbert
•386. "Nineteen Eighty-Four," George Orwell
•396. "Slan," A.E. Van Vogt
•397. "A Journey to the Centre of the Earth," Jules Verne



I've read these... guess I'm not very well read.