Top 10 SF and Fantasy Novels?

[herongale]

So, NPR is doing this thing where they are going to put together a "Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels" list. Earlier they solicited nominations for potential titles, and now they are asking for people to vote: to vote, you are asked to check off your favorite ten (only ten!) titles and submit your ballot

Comments

[kutsuwamushi]

I voted for the books that made a lasting impression on me, even if they weren't the most enjoyable to read. For example, the Dune books -- flawed, problematic, disintegrate into a chaotic mess, but the way that Herbert wove his plot and setting together amazed me.

The Lord of the Rings is similar. Tolkien created a mythology that has become shared by so many people; even though they were sometimes a slog I feel a connection to the setting and characters.

Honestly, after those two, I had a hard time picking. Those two clearly had to be on the list, but there were more than ten remaining that also made a lasting (though slightly lesser) impression. I'm not sure I even remember which ones I settled on.

(I might have loved the Pern books to death when I was in high school--and probably spent more time reading them than either Tolkien or Dune, but even at their best they didn't impress me. They were more like popcorn reading. Now that I'm older I have very little desire to revisit them or the world that they're set in. So I didn't vote for them. )

If Goodkind wins I will kick something.

[herongale]

I tried reading the Goodkind books once, since the cover art interested me. NEVER HAVE THE WORDS "DO NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER" SEEMED MORE APT.

And you know, I've never read Dune, but a few people have mentioned that as one of their top picks, for one reason or another. Would you recommend it to an adult who is a bit jaded in her tastes?

I totally agree with you about the Pern books, btw.

[kutsuwamushi]

It's hard to guess whether you'll like Dune, but I do think you're missing out if you don't give it a try.

As for jaded adult taste - well, it has problems, but they're not because it's unsophisticated. It's an imaginative and unique work. If you hate it, it won't be for the same reasons you hated Goodkind. My main caveat about recommending it is that its premise is problematic. Some people say that the prose is clumsy, but to be honest, Stephenson could knock Herbert out in a clunker contest.

I'm a little hesitant to put my thoughts about the premise in this comment because I feel like flatly stating what it is makes the books sound stupider than they actually are and that destroys the magic a little.

[herongale]

Yeah, I can't really complain about clunky prose if I like Stephenson, can I?

ALTHOUGH WITH STEPHENSON I PREFER TO CHALK IT UP TO OVEREXUBERANT SELF INDULGENCE IN HIS OWN AWESOMENESS. Kind of like what David Foster Wallace does, although not quite on that epic a level.

And you've convinced me. I am going to try Dune. XD