The Greatest Science-Fiction novel of all time?

[psikeyhackr]

Did they ever make a novelization of the Star Wars Holiday Special?

Yes!

The warehouse burned down and anonymous phone calls with threats were made to the publisher.

 

[Valtharius]

Yes!

The warehouse burned down and anonymous phone calls with threats were made to the publisher.

I heard the phone calls were attributed to a mysterious "Lucas George"

 

[KGeo777]

They did do one-I found an excerpt:


Lumpy the wookie had not seen Han Solo in months. The corellian pilot appeared to be embarrassed and uncomfortable as he stood in their living room next to his friend and partner, Chewbacca. Lumpy assumed this discomfort to be caused by the shorter hairstyle that Solo was sporting on this visit. He could not be sure since all corellians had to be embarrassed for possessing so little hair.

 

[tachyon]

The Dying Earth by Jack Vance

 

[Rob Arnold]

If Brave New World counts then it's that

 

[Moonbat]

Soooo many to choose from, some that have impressed me most

Ringworld - Niven
The Stars my destination - Bester
The player of Games - Banks
Virtual Light - Gibson
Star maker - Stapledon
Three body problem - cixin

I'm trying to work my way through the 'classics' got Hyperion on my to be read pile.

 

[Luiglin]

For me, it's a tie between The Forever War by Joe Haldeman and Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke.

 

[BAYLOR]

Earth Abides by George R Stewart
Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
Waystation by Clifford Simak
The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov
The Humanoids by Jack Williamson
Donovan's Brain by Curt Siodmak


Others from my list . picking the best his hard call.

 

[Mark_Harbinger]

Dune #1

HMs: Flowers for Algernon, Speaker for the Dead, The Dispossessed, A Canticle for Lebowitz, and the rest of the Dune Chronicles* rounds out my top ten (if we're going for the stranded-on-a-desert-island-box-set).

*-and no, I don't include any of the derivative works. Same way I don't count the second Woodstock Festival in '94...sorry.

 

[Guttersnipe]

Out of my limited experience, I'd say Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, but that borders on fantasy. I would say The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells would be a good candidate. Many people wrote about travelling to other planets, but this contains one of the first alien invasions. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne is good too, and is basically a scientific romance that has more actual science in it.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

It's hard to just write down one, so these would be favorites:

The War of the Worlds - Wells
Dying Inside - Silverberg (a masterclass in first-person POV storytelling; if anyone is considering trying a longer story in first person, maybe read this to get an idea of how it could be done)
The Stars My Destination - Bester
Flowers for Algernon - Keyes
The Man in the High Castle - PK Dick
Pattern Recognition - Gibson
A Fire Upon the Deep - Vinge
Gateway - Pohl

But, if I had to choose my all-time favorite SF, it would be: The Mote in God's Eye by Niven and Pournelle. For me about the best aliens ever, a great story, and exciting from start to finish (it's of its time, so beware the sexism).

 

[Rodders]

I have to confess I don't understand how Speaker for the Dead gets so much high praise. I read it ages ago and while it does have some novel ideas, I thought the book was just an okay book. Perhaps I should reread it.

 

[Justin Swanton]

The Greatest Science-Fiction Novel of all time?

Mine!

 

[bedyak]

Got to go with Dune.

Honourable mentions: Ringworld & The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

Dune #1

HMs: Flowers for Algernon, Speaker for the Dead, The Dispossessed, A Canticle for Lebowitz, and the rest of the Dune Chronicles* rounds out my top ten (if we're going for the stranded-on-a-desert-island-box-set).

*-and no, I don't include any of the derivative works. Same way I don't count the second Woodstock Festival in '94...sorry.

I agree, Dune is a titan in the genre.

 

[Droflet]

Normal with this type of post I'd say something like "too many to mention" or something like that. But once again Baylor jogged my poor old memory. So many great novels mentioned but I'd have to at least mention More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon. Wow, just wow.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I agree with War of the Worlds, especially when you consider the time in which it was written. Groundbreaking, inventive and riveting from cover to cover.

If I want something with a little more humour, then HHGTTG is a brilliantly funny scifi read. Many books that attempt to be humorous fall flat on their face, scifi I think especially, but this book does it effortlessly.

 

[Mr Cairo]

Started off reading the Day of the Triffids as a take home and read choice at school. after that I asked the Librarian to recommend a few and I guess she gave me the classics, However like most I will find it impossible to pick 1.

George Orwell - War of the Worlds and1984 (School syllabus book)

HG Wells - The Time Machine

Harry Harrison - Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World (this more tham most is probably THE book that made me want to read anything by one particular author)

John Wyndham - Chocky and Day of the Triffids

John Christopher - The Death Of Grass

Jules Verne - 20,000 Leagues under the sea and Journey to the Centre of the Earth

 

[Pyan]

Can I add the entire 'Culture' sequence by Iain M. Banks, please? I can't think of any other SF series that has given me so much enjoyment over the years.

 

[austin_cambridge]

Le Guin thought WE by Zamyatin was.
The greatest selling would be DUNE followed by STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND by Heinlein.

What SF Novel is the greatest?

I wasn't a fan of Dune at all. I have a lot of books by Heinlein including Stranger in a Strange Land. I've been rereading them all and as I ploughed through Stranger I suddenly remembered how the book ended. As I continued reading I got heartily sick of the word 'grok'. Grok this, grok that, grok be damned. In the end not only had I decided never to read this book again, I sighed with relief when Michael got his come uppance......then I gleefully threw out the book!

 

[PadreTX]

Dune. For me, simply the best.