Meme Alert!
Dec. 12th, 2008 08:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
semiotic_pirateThanks be to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
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.
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov*
3. Dune, Frank Herbert*
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein*
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Leguin*
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson*
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey*
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card*
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams*
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin*
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke*
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven*
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson*
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein*
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford*
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer
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.
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.
1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov*
3. Dune, Frank Herbert*
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein*
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Leguin*
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson*
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey*
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card*
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams*
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin*
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke*
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven*
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson*
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein*
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford*
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer
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.
