# SF Fans - time to get honest.



## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Okay, here's one (of many) list of the top 100 SF books of all time. http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/lists_books_rank1.html

What's the first book on this list you haven't read. I don't have to go far: #6: Stranger in a Strange Land.

We can debate the merits of this list later...


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

I read one line and that's it.  Never read OSC's Ender's Game


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

#12: _Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep_ -- I guess seeing the movie ("Blade Runner") was enough for me?


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

I've read 5 of the top 7, which is kinda amusing since I only recently started getting into SF. I haven't read number one, though, but more and more I'm thinking I should. Stranger in a Strange Land is next in line for books I haven't read.

Glad to see Bradbury up there, though I'd switch Martian Chronicles with Fahrenheit 451. I really, really liked Martian Chronicles.

David Dalglish


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## 1131 (Dec 18, 2008)

I don't even get a hit on list until #4 and I've only read 22 of the books listed.  I did try (and abandoned) Dune and Foundation.  That was a long time ago and some friends have been trying to get me to try them again.  Maybe...


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

imallbs said:


> I don't even get a hit on list until #4 and I've only read 22 of the books listed. I did try (and abandoned) Dune and Foundation. That was a long time ago and some friends have been trying to get me to try them again. Maybe...


I think I've only read 24 of those 100, so don't feel too bad 

And, David, you're right - I'd put _Martian Chronicles_ up there with _I, Robot_ and Varley's _Persistence of Vision_ as the best SF single-author short story collections ever.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I didn't count, but scanning through, I'd guess I've read about 70-75 of them, +/- half a dozen, as some of the older Asimov and Heinlein I don't remember for sure, since I mostly read their books many, many years ago.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

I had to go to number 11 (Neuromancer) to get to the first one I haven’t read.

I have read 76 of the ones on the list.

Mike


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I did better than I thought I would....I only missed #11 and #15 out of the top twenty!  But after that my percentage drops sharply.  I didn't count, but I'd guess I've read about 40% of the books between 21 and 100.  And I've never even heard of #24 or #34 (and a fair number of others lower down)!


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## Gordon Ryan (Aug 20, 2010)

scarlet said:


> I read one line and that's it. Never read OSC's Ender's Game


Funny that, Scarlet, because Ender's Game is probably the only sci fi book I've ever read. It was recommended to me as a study in writing style that I could review for some tidbits of information. Later in life, I met and discussed it with Scott. Now, I am reading perhaps the best cross-over science fiction story I've read, and by cross-over I mean a political military thriller, with sci fi aspects that do not detract from the plausibility of the story. Philip Chen's _Falling Star _ is an outstanding combination of the two genre.

Gordon Ryan


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## JoeMitchell (Jun 6, 2010)

I missed 5 of the top 20, but I'm almost done reading Stranger in a Strange Land.


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## terryr (Apr 24, 2010)

Didn't get far: Orson Scott Card... just never was interested. 

There's a lot of books I know on the list and never finished or got into, either, sad to say. Maybe I was too young when I tried some of them, and I should try again now?   Anyway, I've maybe read half the titles listed.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

I managed three of the top six but overall I've probably only read about a dozen on that list. I would've called myself a sci-fi fan, but frankly, I haven't heard of the vast majority of those books! I may have to hand in my membership card ....


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I have read:

9 of the first 10, but not Ender's Game

6 of the next 10

4 of the next 10

5 of the next 10

2 of the next 10

6 of the next 30

4 of the last 20


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## FrankZubek (Aug 31, 2010)

Actually...I'm shocked that Alastair Reynold's, PUSHING ICE isn't on there

Janus, a moon of Saturn and determined to be an alien artifact, suddenly breaks orbit and heads for deep space!

A mining ship is the only one close enough to pursue and they give chase to gather what info they can. Except they get caught in the slipstream of the alien ship and settle in for a long, long voyage. During the journey, the miners have some squabbles amongst themselves as well as meet the challenges of discovering new life forms.

This is a terrific first contact novel from 2007

And no, it's not on Kindle, I just checked.
But it is in print and if you enjoy first contact books- you should check this out!


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

I got as far as #9 - Starship Troopers.  I've heard it's a good read but have never gotten to it.


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## jason10mm (Apr 7, 2009)

Missing only 1, maybe 2 of the top ten, 2001 for sure, can't recall if I've read 451, but I must have. Read most of the rest, except for the Vonnegut and Dick stuff. Nice to see Peter Hamilton get on there, he is strangely overlooked while I think he is one of the most imaginative, forward thinking sci-fi guys currently writing. Kudos for putting Battlefield Earth on there, I really really liked that one.

A lot of older titles, I think the propensity for current authors to serialize their stuff hurts them in retrospect for these sorts of lists. While Weber probably should be on this list for the Honor Harrington novels AS A SERIES, hard to pick any one that stands out. Same with Stephen Donaldson and his Gap series. Awesome stuff all together, but hard to strip one book out. Of course there is no lensman on there that I recall, big omission IMHO.


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## WilliamM (Feb 10, 2009)

i didnt get far ..the first one i didnt read was the first on the list..Enders Game..had a copy of it years agao ..after the first couple chapters I just couldnt get into it at all

another list would be how many of thses titles  are sadly still not available on Kindle


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Shall we play a game? What are your top 20 favorite SF books?

Rank them and I'll compile a list for KB overall and we can geek out and waste time and generally have fun. 

This is my first stab at a top 20 ... although I'm not sure if I"m satisfied with the rankings....


*Item**Book**Author* 1A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M Miller 2The Handmaid's TaleMargaret Atwood 3The Martian ChronclesRay Bradbury 4Alas, BabylonPat Frank 5Earth AbidesGeorge R. Stewart 6Parable of the SowerOctavia Butler 7Ender's GameOrson Scott Card 8The War of the WorldsHG Wells 9Fahrenheit 451Ray Bradbury 10Slaughterhouse FiveKurt Vonnegut 11InterventionJulian May 12Red MarsKim Stanley Robinson 13The PostmanDavid Brin 14DuneFrank Herbert 15The Puppet MastersRobert Heinlein 16AccelerandoCharles Stross17WyrmsOrson Scott Card18The Forge of GodGreg Bear19EonGreg Bear20EvolutionStephen Baxter


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

No. 4 _Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy_. And frankly, I have very little interest in it at all. 
Other than that, I've read 64 out of 100.

I'll come up with a top 10 later.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

#5:  1984 ..just never got around to it


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## stormhawk (Apr 29, 2009)

#15 - Hyperion - Dan Simmons

I have read 72 of the books on the list. I disagree with a lot of the entries, either because they aren't classic enough, or aren't science fiction enough. Come on ... Handmaid's Tale, really?? And to include Carl Sagan's Contact? reasonably good scientist, lousy fiction author. Sphere is one of my least favorite Crichton books ... shouldn't be on a best of anything list.

Yes, I am opinionated.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

On a side note, while I love _Slaughterhouse Five_ and would put that on my top [some number] list of all fiction, I will not include it in my top 20 SciFi list, as I don't consider it SciFi. Yes, there are SciFi like elements in it, but it's not clear that they are not simply delusions (at least, no clear to this reader), nor are they the driving force behind the novel (the historical fire-bombing of Dresden is).


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

stormhawk said:


> #15 - Hyperion - Dan Simmons
> 
> I have read 72 of the books on the list. I disagree with a lot of the entries, either because they aren't classic enough, or aren't science fiction enough. Come on ... Handmaid's Tale, really?? And to include Carl Sagan's Contact? reasonably good scientist, lousy fiction author. Sphere is one of my least favorite Crichton books ... shouldn't be on a best of anything list.
> 
> Yes, I am opinionated.


I would expect nothing less from a science fiction reader. Hence my comment in the original post. We are nothing if not short of opinion. You should see some of the other lists out there. One has Gene Wolfe #1 and no William Gibson at all.

My top ten? It would change the next time I listed them, but as of now it's:

1. _Neuromancer_ - William Gibson (as if you couldn't tell from my avatar...)
2. _Dune_ - Frank Herbert
3. _Ender's Game_ - Orson Scott Card 
4. _Hyperion_ - Dan Simmons
5. _Forever War_ - Joe Haldeman
6. _Foundation_ - Isaac Asimov
7. _The Diamond Age_ - Neal Stephenson
8. _1984_ - George Orwell
9. _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ - Douglas Adams
10. _Martian Chronicles_ - Ray Bradbury

Notable absences on that list are Heinlein and Dick, mostly because I've read very little of their work. And, as I've got 3/4 of the list I linked to earlier still to read, my list will certainly change over time. This is what happens when you essentially quit reading fiction for 15 years.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

That's one of the things I like about the genre - and fantasy as well - there's just so much of it open to interpretation.  Take Alternate History for example; I don't think all alt hist books are necessarily Science Fiction,  but the get classified that way by bookstores, etc.  Same with Post-Apocalyptic and dystopian fiction - there are often science fiction elements, but they're not clearly sci-fi the way a space opera or hard science novel would be.


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## R. M. Reed (Nov 11, 2009)

#15 was the first I haven't read - haven't even heard of it. Then skip to #24.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Hunt for Red October?  How is that science fiction?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

scarlet said:


> Hunt for Red October? How is that science fiction?


The Caterpillar drive? (I would not call it SciFi, either.)


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## JL Bryan (Aug 10, 2010)

I've read the top 13 on this list, and most of the others.

Does this mean my science fiction reading is all downhill from here?


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

My first stab at a top 20. Right now it's just in the order I thought to add things -- it was tough enough trying to pick 20, let alone trying to decide which was better than which.


_Lord of Light_Roger Zelazny_Dune_Frank Herbert_Lucifer's Hammer_Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle_The Martian Chronicles_Ray Bradbury_The Mote in Gods Eye_Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle_A Canticle for Leibowitz_Walter M. Miller_The Stainless Steel Rat_Harry Harrison_Doorways in the Sand_Roger Zelazny_Excession_Iain M. Banks_Foundation_Isaac Asimov_Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy_Douglas Adams_Gateway_Frederick Pohl_Triton_Samuel R. Delany_Eon_Greg Bear_Titan_John Varley_Dorsai!_Gordon R. Dickson_This Immortal 
(a.k.a. And Call Me Conrad)_Roger Zelazny_Starship Trooper_Robert Heinlein_Lord Valentine's Castle_Robert Silverberg_Hammer's Slammers_David Drake

I was tempted to also include Zelazny's "Amber" series here, but since I _know_ it would be at nor near the top of my Fantasy list, I decided I'd save it for later. (Much of his work wanders around the frontier between SciFi and Fantasy.)


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## Cliff Ball (Apr 10, 2010)

I've only read 10 of those books, and I tried to read Ender's Game once, but I just couldn't get into it.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

JL Bryan said:


> I've read the top 13 on this list, and most of the others.
> 
> Does this mean my science fiction reading is all downhill from here?


Yep. Time to switch genres.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

NogDog said:


> On a side note, while I love _Slaughterhouse Five_ and would put that on my top [some number] list of all fiction, I will not include it in my top 20 SciFi list, as I don't consider it SciFi.


Vonnegut himself said he wasn't a science fiction author. Of course, he was pragmatic about. He said (I paraphrase and invent the details) "Science Fictions authors get paid $0.05 a word and literary authors get paid $0.08 a word, ergo, I'm a literary writer."


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

I have read about 75% of these books, all the Heinlein, Asimov, Clark and Zelazny's. But I have not read Ender's Game. Guess I need to fix that.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Here are Basiluis', Nog's and my list combined and weighted. (It's a fun way to spend a lazy, rainy vacation day)


*Place**Book**Author* 1The Martian ChronclesRay Bradbury 2DuneFrank Herbert 3A Canticle for LeibowitzWalter M Miller 4Ender's GameOrson Scott Card 5FoundationIsaac Asimov 6Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams 7Lord of LightRoger Zelany 7NeuromancerWilliam Gibson 8The Handmaid's TaleMargaret Atwood 9Lucifer's HammerLarry Niven & Jerry Pournelle 10Alas, BabylonPat Frank 10HyperionDan Simmons 11Earth AbidesGeorge R. Stewart 11Forever WarJoe Haldeman 11The Mote in God's EyeLarry Niven & Jerry Pournelle 12Parable of the SowerOctavia Butler13The Diamond AgeNeal Stephenson13The Stainless Steel RatHarry Harrison141984George Orwell14Doorways in the SandRoger Zelany14The War of the WorldsHG Wells15ExcessionIain M. Banks15Fahrenheit 451Ray Bradbury16Slaughterhouse FiveKurt Vonnegut17InterventionJulian May18EonGreg Bear18GatewayFrederick Pohl18Red MarsKim Stanley Robinson19The PostmanDavid Brin19Triton Samual R. Delaney20The Puppet MastersRobert Heinlein20TitanJohn Varley21AccelerandoCharles Stross21Dorsai!Gordon R. Dickson22This ImmortalRoger Zelany22WyrmsOrson Scott Card23Starship TroopersRobert Heinlein23The Forge of GodGreg Bear24Lord Valentine's CastleRobert Silverberg25EvolutionStephen Baxter25Hammer's SlammersDavid Drake


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

NogDog said:


> My first stab at a top 20. Right now it's just in the order I thought to add things -- it was tough enough trying to pick 20, let alone trying to decide which was better than which.
> 
> 
> _Titan_John Varley


Had I gone beyond 10, that was certainly on my list. My question is who would be the first author I'd list twice. Might be Stephenson, Card, or Asimov.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Ask me tomorrow and I'd make a few changes, especially in the 11 to 20:

1. Dune by Frank Herbert 
2. Hyperion by Dan Simmons
3. The Day Of The Triffids by John Wyndham
4. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury  
5. Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock 
6. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson 
7. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart 
8. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
9. Diaspora by Greg Egan fiction
10. Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks 
11. Slaughter-House Five by Kurt Vonnegut
12. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
13. The The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
14. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
15. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
16. VALIS by Philip K. Dick 
17. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card 
18. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
19. The Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg 
20. A Deepness in the Sky  by Vernor Vinge


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## Groggy1 (Jun 21, 2010)

I got to number 16 - Brave New World - never interested me.

The list is OK but what in the heck is _Neal Stephenson Snow Crash _ doing on it? Gods - talk about a book that didn't do a darned thing for me.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Here's my list of 20 21. They are listed only loosely in order, because I don't know of any way to assign any values to them to get a ranking. To be included on this list, a book must be one that I'll re-read every so often.

1. Way Station by Clifford D. Simak
2. Dune By Frank Herbert
3. Double Star by Robert Heinlein
4. Voyage of the Space Beagle by A. E. van Vogt
5. The Long Loud Silence by Wilson Tucker
6. Shadows in the Sun by Chad Oliver
7. City by Clifford D. Simak
8. The Humanoids by Jack Williamson
9. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
10. Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny
11. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
12. Wasp by Eric Frank Russell
13. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
14. The Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein
15. Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement
16. Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin
17. The Fittest by J. T. McIntosh
18. Robots Have No Tails by Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner)
19. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
20. The Stars, My Destination by Alfred Bester
21. The Carpet Makers by Andreas Eschbach

Mike

(edited to add item 21... I can't believe I forgot to list it!)


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

I'm curious about a couple listings:



Geemont said:


> 17. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
> 20. A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge


Specifically, why those and not their predecessors? Specifically, I think yours is the first list I've seen that ranks Speaker for the Dead above Ender's Game. Depending on criteria, I could agree. I've found a bit of negative correlation between the age of the reader and their reaction to Ender's Game. I read EG in one day, but had to restart Speaker three times. I was 21 or 22 when I read them.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Basilius said:


> I'm curious about a couple listings:
> 
> Specifically, why those and not their predecessors? Specifically, I think yours is the first list I've seen that ranks Speaker for the Dead above Ender's Game. Depending on criteria, I could agree. I've found a bit of negative correlation between the age of the reader and their reaction to Ender's Game. I read EG in one day, but had to restart Speaker three times. I was 21 or 22 when I read them.


Let me feed into your negative correlation, I read Speaker for the first time in college and found it a difficult slog to get through. But when I read it again in my 30's, I was incredibly into it.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Basilius said:


> Specifically, why those and not their predecessors? Specifically, I think yours is the first list I've seen that ranks Speaker for the Dead above Ender's Game.


I've stated elsewhere I think _Speaker_ is better than _Ender's Game_. It a deeper book, as I see it. And it was the book Card wanted to write in the first place. EG was back story. I first read EG in my forties.

Someone else wondered why _Snow Crash_ was on the list. I didn't think much of it either. Although readers who pick it up young seem to like it better. I read SC in my late thirties. Maybe it is the same for EG. The younger you read it, the more the you like it.


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## northtexas (May 16, 2010)

_1. Way Station by Clifford D. Simak_

Read this for the first time over 40 years ago and is still my all time favorite SF book.


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## drenfrow (Jan 27, 2010)

I started out strong on the list but steadily declined.  

I've read:

17 of the books from 1-20 (haven't read Ender's Game (but downloaded it last week), Starship Troopers or Hyperion)
14 from 21-40,
11 from 41-60,
9 from 61-80 and
7 from 81-100
for a total of 58 which is rather disappointing.


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## Groggy1 (Jun 21, 2010)

How about a curve ball for all these list types (I can't stand lists and spreadsheets cause hives).

How do you weigh the age of the book?  Bradbury and the Robot series Drakes Hammers Slammers


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Groggy1 said:


> How about a curve ball for all these list types (I can't stand lists and spreadsheets cause hives).
> 
> How do you weigh the age of the book? Bradbury and the Robot series Drakes Hammers Slammers


I didn't consciously do any weighting based on age, but primarily on how much the book affected me when I first read it, and then secondarily on how it has stood up over time. Since I'm not exactly a spring chicken, my list is undoubtedly slanted somewhat toward the older SF, as something like _I, Robot_ probably affected me more when I read it in as a young teen for the first time in the late '60s, than it would if I were to read it for the first time ever today.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

1)  Frankenstein, Shelley (not because I particularly like it, but because it started the whole science fiction thing, in my opinion)

2)  Ringworld, Niven

3)  The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Heinlein

4)  The Mote in God's Eye, Niven & Pournelle

5)  City, Simak

6)  Starship Troopers, Heinlein

7)  Guns of the South, Turtledove

8 ) The Glory Game, Laumer

9)  The Stainless Steel Rat, Harrison

10) I, Robot, Asimov

11) To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Farmer

12) 2001:  A Space Odyssey, Clarke

13) Dune, Herbert

14) The Last Planet, Norton

15) The Forlorn Hope, Drake

16) Lest Darkness Fall, DeCamp

17) Startide Rising, Brin

1 The Space Willies, Russell

19) The Andromeda Strain, Crichton

20) Callahan's Crossstime Saloon, Robinson

I tried to use NogDog's criteria of impact on me at the time I read it, and to a lesser extent how well it has held up over time.  Andre Norton gets in there simply because her books played a huge role in getting me into reading science fiction, and heavily influenced my development as a fan.  In a couple of cases, I've listed one representative book out of a huge body of work by the author, Laumer, Harrison, and Turtledove fall in that category especially.  I could've added a lot more Robert Heinlein books, but I felt two in my top twenty was enough for one author.  If I'd strictly followed NogDog's rule, Heinlein would have more representation.  I am very fond of "space opera" books by authors such as A. Bertram Chandler, Elizabeth Moon, and David Weber, but I concluded that these aren't really "great" books, just ones I enjoy a lot--They tend to blend together in my mind in many cases, unlike Heinlein's books for instance.

For me as for about everyone else, the relative rankings are only very approximate.


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## bvlarson (May 16, 2010)

An excellent list of SF classics, but that mostly means they are old and were big in their distant day.... That said, I've read almost all of these. I don't consider most to be great reads today, but they were formative to the genre.
-BVL


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

bvlarson said:


> I don't consider most to be great reads today, but they were formative to the genre.


Fair enough. I don't find most of the current stuff very compelling. I guess it depends a lot on what you read at a particular stage.

Mike


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

This is a simple calculation. (simple even for those who blaspheme about not liking lists) This is a combination of all six of our lists with #1 weighing 20 points and #20 weighing 1 point. I tried adding in the age of the book but I realized, after looking up all the publishing dates, that I just didn't care ....

EDIT: Because I can, I redid the list adding a weight to the rankings based on how many people listed a given book ....


*Place**Book**Author**Place**Book**Author*1DuneFrank Herbert26Left Hand of DarknessUrsula K. le Guin2The Martian ChronclesRay Bradbury27Lord of LightRoger Zelany3FoundationIsaac Asimov28Way StationClifford D. Simak4A Canticle for LeibowitzWalter M Miller29The Handmaid's TaleMargaret Atwood5The Mote in God's EyeLarry Niven & Jerry 
Pournelle30The Day of the TriffidsJohn Wyndham6CityClifford D. Simak31Double StarRobert Heinlein7The Moon is a Harsh MistressRobert Heinlein32EonGreg Bear8Fahrenheit 451Ray Bradbury33Alas, BabylonPat Frank9Childhood's EndArthur C. Clarke34Voyage of the Space BeagleA. E. van Vogt10Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams35Behold the ManMichael Moorcock11I, RobotIsaac Asimov36The Forever WarJoe Haldeman12HyperionDan Simmons37The Long Loud SilenceWilson Tucker13Ender's GameOrson Scott Card38CryptonomiconNeal Stephenson14Earth AbidesGeorge R. Stewart39Parable of the SowerOctavia Butler15Lucifer's HammerLarry Niven & Jerry 
Pournelle40Shadows in the SunChad Oliver16The Stainless Steel RatHarry Harrison41The Diamond AgeNeal Stephenson17NeuromancerWilliam Gibson42Guns of the SouthHarry Turtledove18RingworldLarry Niven431984George Orwell19Doorways in the SandRoger Zelany44Do Androids Dream of Electric 
Sheep?Philip K. Dick20Slaughterhouse FiveKurt Vonnegut45The Glory GameKeith Laumer21Starship TroopersRobert Heinlein46The HumanoidsJack Williamson22Red MarsKim Stanley Robinson47The War of the WorldsHG Wells23To Your Scattered Bodies GoPhillip Jose Farmer48DiasporaGreg Egan24The Puppet MastersRobert Heinlein49ExcessionIain M. Banks25FrankensteinMary Shelly50Use of WeaponsIain M. Banks


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

*Place**Book**Author* *Place**Book**Author*51InterventionJulian May76The Man in the High CastlePhilip K. Dick522001: A Space OdysseyArthur C. Clarke77Robots Have No TailsLewis Padgett53A Clockwork OrangeAnthony Burgess78The Space WilliesEric Frank Russell54GatewayFrederick Pohl79The Andromeda StrainMichael Crichton55WaspEric Frank Russell80The Book of SkullsRobert Silverberg56The PostmanDavid Brin81Lord Valentine's CastleRobert Silverberg57SundiverDavid Brin82Trading in DangerElizabeth Moon58Triton Samuel R. Delaney83Callahan's Crossstime Saloon Spider Robinson59The Last PlanetAndre Norton84A Deepness in the SkyVernor Vinge60The Forlorn HopeDavid Drake85EvolutionStephen Baxter61Mission of GravityHal Clement86Hammer's SlammersDavid Drake62TitanJohn Varley87Hunting PartyElizabeth Moon63AccelerandoCharles Stross88The Stars, My DestinationAlfred Bester64Dorsai!Gordon R. Dickson89The Carpet MakersAndreas Eschbach65Lest Darkness FallL. Sprague de Camp 66Rite of PassageAlexei Panshin 67VALISPhilip K. Dick 68ExpendableJames Alan Garner 69The FittestJ. T. McIntosh 70Speaker for the DeadOrson Scott Card 71Startide RisingDavid Brin 72This ImmortalRoger Zelany 73WyrmsOrson Scott Card 74The Forge of GodGreg Bear 75Job: A Comedy of Justice Robert Heinlein 


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## David &#039;Half-Orc&#039; Dalglish (Feb 1, 2010)

bvlarson said:


> An excellent list of SF classics, but that mostly means they are old and were big in their distant day.... That said, I've read almost all of these. I don't consider most to be great reads today, but they were formative to the genre.
> -BVL


Martian Chronicles? Fahrenheit 451? Dune? I, Robot? Slaughterhouse Five? Hitchhiker's Guide? Neuromancer?

These are not books I think of when someone says "dusty old read"... For many of these, I've come late to the party, and found them infinitely more enjoyable, and far more ambitious, than most newer books I'd been reading.

David Dalglish


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## Groggy1 (Jun 21, 2010)

I still hate lists, but it could be a fun basis for the "goodreads" ebook club suggestion list...


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Groggy1 said:


> I still hate lists, but it could be a fun basis for the "goodreads" ebook club suggestion list...


Hadn't thought about that, but you're right.


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## drenfrow (Jan 27, 2010)

Here's my list:

1. The Left Hand of Darkness-Ursula Le Guin
2. Childhood's End-Arthur C. Clarke
3. The Mote in God's Eye-Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
4. A Canticle for Leibowitz-Walter Miller
5. City-CLifford Simak
6. Foundation-Isaac Asimov
7. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress-Robert Heinlein
8. Dune-Frank Herbert
9. Lucifer's Hammer-Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
10. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy-Douglas Adams
11. Fahrenheit 451-Ray Bradbury
12. I, Robot-Isaac Asimov
13. Sundiver (Uplift Trilogy)-David Brin
14. Ringworld-Larry Niven
15. Neuromancer-William Gibson
16. To Your Scattered Bodies Go-Philip Jose Farmer
17. Expendable-James Alan Gardner
18. Job: A Comedy of Justice-Robert Heinlein
19. Trading in Danger (Vatta's War series)-Elizabeth Moon
20.  Hunting Party (Serrano Legacy series)-Elizabeth Moon

Rankings are nebulous.  I tried to think of books that have stayed with me over the years.  I realized I read most of these in the 80's and these are books that still come to my mind as something I would recommend to someone or books I just loved.  The last couple are more recent series that I loved enough to actually pay full price for a new paperback when it was published.  High praise indeed from me as I was always the queen of half-price books. 

This exercise made me realize that the SciFi books that really made a true impact on me are all old.  What does that mean?  I am still finding SciFi that I really enjoy but I don't get that world-view changing impact.  I think it's because in my 20's my mind was still being formed and these books could have a strong effect, but in my 40's, that's just not going to happen.  Or...are they just not writing them like they used to?  Interesting...


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## Valmore Daniels (Jul 12, 2010)

From the OP, the first book I have not read is 24 Neal Stephenson Snow Crash

Out of the top 100, I have also not read:

34 Stanislaw Lem Solaris 
36 Madeleine L'Engle A Wrinkle In Time 
42 Neal Stephenson Cryptonomicon 
44 Philip K Dick UBIK 
52 Neal Stephenson The Diamond Age 
54 Iain M Banks Player Of Games [S2] 
57 Kurt Vonnegut The Sirens of Titan 
68 Gene Wolfe The Shadow of the Torturer [S1] 
71 Philip K Dick The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch 
73 Connie Willis Doomsday Book 
76 Dan Simmons Ilium 
83 Clifford Simak Way Station 
84 Iain M Banks Use of Weapons [S3] 
86 Edwin A Abbott Flatland 
87 Richard Morgan Altered Carbon [S1] 
90 John Scalzi Old Man's War 
91 Philip K Dick VALIS 
94 Julian May The Many-Colored Land [S1] 
95 Clifford Simak [C] City 
96 Stanislaw Lem [C] The Cyberiad 
98 James Blish [C] Cities in Flight


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Valmore Daniels said:


> 94 Julian May The Many-Colored Land [S1]


This one is the beginning of one of my favorite story lines. 4 books in this series followed a prequel and another trilogy. Unfortunately, they are out of print as pbooks and none are available as ebooks.


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## stormhawk (Apr 29, 2009)

Valmore Daniels said:


> From the OP, the first book I have not read is 24 Neal Stephenson Snow Crash


I would strongly suggest that you rectify this deficit.


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## Valmore Daniels (Jul 12, 2010)

stormhawk said:


> I would strongly suggest that you rectify this deficit.


Noted !


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## jackwestjr_author (Aug 19, 2010)

I've only read two of the top ten.  Hard core SF does not do it for me.  Ask me to imagine a new world with characters that extend the boundaries of what is human and I lose interest.  On the other hand, I love the SF movies if there is interesting character development and suspense.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Geoffrey said:


> This one is the beginning of one of my favorite story lines. 4 books in this series followed a prequel and another trilogy. Unfortunately, they are out of print as pbooks and none are available as ebooks.


I agree I loved those books in junior high. The later books set in the future didn't do as much for me


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

number 11 (Neuromancer) is the first I haven't read


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## Tuttle (Jun 10, 2010)

I've read at least some of the first seven, though not all of multiple of those (I will get around to finishing Stranger in a Strange Land someday, really I will)

Of the entire list I've read about a quarter of them. Though while I like hard sci fi I am not generally a huge fan of space operas.


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## Groggy1 (Jun 21, 2010)

Valmore Daniels said:


> Noted !


eh you can pass and not miss much.


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