Legend of the Corsair

Thanks be to sunfell:

This is a list of the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy novels, 1953-2002, according to the Science Fiction Book Club.

Instructions: Bold the ones you've read, strike-out the ones you hated, italicize those you started but never finished and put an asterisk beside the ones you loved.
( Read more... )

While I understand some of the choices on the list, I don't understand others. Nor do I like how they stopped with 2002. What's up with that? Oh. The list is a chestnut, apparently, and has been around since - of course - 2003. I wish there was some explanation of their criteria. Best sales, most influence on the genre, best writing -- something more than a list we're all going to spend far too much time debating and grumbling about who they left off. By the way, you aren't supposed to notice that 11-20 are alphabetical, eh? I like this commentary about the list - the comments back and forth and such. BTW: when you corner the bookseller (Science Fiction Book Club) to give out the top ten only they give this (to USA Today)as their answer:

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1953-54) is the "most significant" science fiction and fantasy book of the past 50 years, say editors of the Science Fiction Book Club. The rest of the top 10:

2. Isaac Asimov's The Foundation Trilogy (1963) traces the life of Hari Seldon, a "psychohistorian" who attempts to map the best course for the next millennium after the fall of the empire.

3. Frank Herbert's Dune (1965) creates a desert planet whose sole commodity, the intoxicating spice Melange, drives its inhabitants to greed and destruction in the year 10,991. David Lynch directed the 1984 film.

4. Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) features a child from Mars who adapts to life on Earth and founds his own church, which resembles a swinger's club.

5. Ursula K. Le Guin's A Wizard of Earthsea (1968) introduces a boy named Sparrowhawk who becomes a wizard's apprentice.

6. William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984) introduced cyberspace in the story of a young cyberspace cowboy challenged to hack the unhackable.

7. Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End (1953) tells of aliens who offer peace to humans, who sacrifice greatness in accepting.

8. Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) imagines the world in 2021 after a war has destroyed most species and they are replaced by robotic clones and human-like androids; inspired Ridley Scott's 1982 movie Blade Runner.

9. Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon (1983) retells the story of King Arthur from the female point of view. Became a 2001 miniseries on TNT.

10. Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (1953) creates a futuristic world in which books are banned and burned; remains a staple of high school reading lists and favorite of free speech advocates. A 1966 François Truffaut movie.

All of which I have read. Excellent.

Another interesting list is the top 50 science fiction and fantasy novels for socialists, of which I've read 9.

If you saw ME in a police car, what would you think I got arrested for?

Answer me, then post to your own journal and see how many crimes you get accused of.

Many thanks to crabbyolbastard

I'm going to participate in a meme... Though I have rarely posted/participated in interactive memes - not sure if I've ever done one of these kinds - I've decided this one is just too interesting. That and it isn't as intensive as the 50 question challenges.

Why Not?

Post a picture in my comments of what you think describes me when you think about what/who I am.

Give no written explanation though. Just an image.

Copy and paste into your own journal and see what others think about you in pictures!

Blame this one on tambyrd

Your Thinking is Concrete and Sequential

You are precise, orderly, and realistic. You tend to get to the point and get things done. Difficult, detailed work is easy for you. You take things step by step. Time limits aren't a problem for you either. You work well with deadlines. What does drive you crazy is any sort of task that isn't precisely laid out. You don't like anything to be ambiguous. You prefer to deal with the facts at hand.

Gah. Gonna need to take a nap soon I think.

thanks go to morgan_dhu for reminding me of this one:

Make the horses SING! That was just way too much fun for such a simple site. This for me qualifies as a meme and is labeled as such. Have fun with the mindlessness and addictiveness of the singing horses animation.

Of course, my geeky side came out when I decided to post my results... I used an html editor in my widgets to cut out the extraneous stuff - like some picture and this person's other tests. Myah!

Pure Nerd 91 % Nerd, 39% Geek, 13% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd. The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful. Congratulations! Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on nerdiness You scored higher than 99% on geekosity You scored higher than 99% on dork points