Significant SF&F books (past and present)

[kate_nepveu]

From here ( explanation; criticism of list [edit: see also my comments at the bottom of the post]).


I am incapable of reading lists that are bolded/starred/whatever to represent certain things without constantly scrolling back up to look at the key. So text-only for you!

[Edit: at Chad's request, I have bolded the books & authors to make them stand out; the bold has no other meaning.]

"Unread" books without further comment are books that I don't have any opinion on.

The Most Significant SF & Fantasy Books of 1953-2002

1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
   Not only have I read it and loved it, I'm re-reading it (still! honest!).
   
2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
   Unread; somehow missed it when I was reading Asimov, and now I doubt I would like it.
   
3. Dune, Frank Herbert
   Unfinished; I recall trying the first few pages and putting it down, bored.
   
4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
   Unread, no desire to read.
   
5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
   Read, barely remembered.
   
6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
   Read, unimpressed.
   
7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
   Read, liked it, don't know how it would hold up.
   
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
   Read, barely remembered (and that was in college; the movie stuck more, and I didn't even really like it).
   
9. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
   Read, disliked.
   
10. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
    Read for school, no opinion.
    
11. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
    Unread, might read.
    
12. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
    I might have read this. I'm not sure.
    
13. The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
    Read, as are the rest of the Robots stories (okay, until whatever point it started explicitly crossing over with the Foundation series).
    
14. Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
    Unread and unheard of.
    
15. Cities in Flight, James Blish
    Unread.
    
16. The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
    Read, and while it's not that good on its own, it was the start of my binge on Discworld (summer, college, Boston Public Library) which has matured into a long and happy relationship.
    
17. Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
    Possibly read some, unsure.
    
18. Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
    Unread, probably.
    
19. The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
    Unread.
    
20. Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
    Unread, scared to try it.
    
21. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
    Read, and a lot more besides, which is embarassing now.
    
22. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
    Read, will never re-read for at least two reasons.
    
23. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Stephen R. Donaldson
    Read, though I really don't know why as I didn't enjoy it.
    
24. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
    Read, don't recall much about it.
    
25. Gateway, Frederik Pohl
    Unread.
    
26. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
    Read, hoping book 7 doesn't suck.
    
27. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
    Read, and the next three (in my universe there was no fifth book).
    
28. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
    Unread.
    
29. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
    Unread, no desire to read.
    
30. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
    Read when too young, should read again.
    
31. Little, Big, John Crowley
    Read, enjoyed, have no desire to read anything else by him.
    
32. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
    Unread, but I intend to read it.
    
33. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
    Unread, unlikely to read.
    
34. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
    Unread, might read.
    
35. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
    Unread.
    
36. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
    Unread.
    
37. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
    Unread.
    
38. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
    Read, enh.
    
39. Ringworld, Larry Niven
    Read, enh.
    
40. Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
    Unread.
    
41. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
    Read, loved parts of.
    
42. Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
    Unread, unlikely to read.
    
43. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
    Read, enjoyed most of it but nevertheless was put off further Stephenson even if people swear he does better endings now.
    
44. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
    Unread.
    
45. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
    Unread.
    
46. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
    Unread, no desire to read.
    
47. Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
    Unread, no desire to read.
    
48. The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
    Read. Well, the second one wasn't a waste of time . . .
    
49. Timescape, Gregory Benford
    Unread.
    
50. To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer
    Unread.
    

[Edit: in addition to the criticisms in Sherwood Smith's post, on thinking about this further, I have more: where is urban fantasy (War for the Oaks), fantasy of manners (Swordspoint), the new space opera (Iain M. Banks, Ken McLeod)? Standard biases for such a list, I guess: toward older, toward hard sf, toward male authors.]

More interestingly: look into your crystal balls, dear readers, and predict the most significant books since 2002. I'll start: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.