# Top 3 science-fiction books ever written



## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

Let's hear it!

I'm curious as to why you would consider your selections to be the top 3. I love hearing about what readers look for in sci-fi.


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## intinst (Dec 23, 2008)

Stranger in a Strange Land - Heinlein
Dune - Herbert
I, Robot - Asimov
In no particular order


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## Daniel Arenson (Apr 11, 2010)

Tough one...  I'd say...

Dune, by Frank Herbert
Foundation, by Asimov
Stranger in a Strange Land (or possibly Time Enough for Love), by Heinlein

Runner Ups:

Rogue Moon, by Algis Budrys
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card


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## James Everington (Dec 25, 2010)

Hmmm.

Hyperion - Dan Simmons
Rendevous with Rama - Arthur C Clarke
Neuromancer - William Gibson.

(Maybe)
James


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

Dune and Stranger in a Strange Land get my vote also; for the thrid, probably Look To Windward by Ian M Banks.


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## Patrick Skelton (Jan 7, 2011)

I've always wanted to read Stranger in a Strange Land.  A pretty good read?


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Top 3 in the history of ever? Wow. With a big ole caveat that there are many many runners up, today I choose:

_A Canticle for Leibowitz_ by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
_Ender's Game_ by Orson Scott Card
_Red Mars_ by Kim Stanley Robinson


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## HappyGuy (Nov 3, 2008)

Hmmmmm ..... 

The Foundation series - Azimov
The Rama quartet - Clarke
Childhood's End - Clarke
Time Machine - Wells

I know that's 4, but just three is too tough for me.


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## Chris Northern (Jan 20, 2011)

Patrick Skelton said:


> I've always wanted to read Stranger in a Strange Land. A pretty good read?


Class. Treat yourself.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

_Lord of Light_ by Roger Zelazny: highly original and beautifully written.

_A Canticle for Leibowitz_ by Walter M. Miller, Jr.: haunting, thought-provoking, and very effective.

_Triton_ by Samuel R. Delaney: I'm not even sure I can tell you why, but this book really moved me like few in the genre can.

PS: Ask me tomorrow, and I'll likely give you a different list, though I suspect _Lord of Light_ will still be on it.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

_Dune_, Frank Herbert
_Hyperion_, Dan Simmons
_Neuromancer_, William Gibson


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

Today's list:

_City_ by Clifford D. Simak
_The Martian Chronicles_ by Ray Bradbury
_Flowers for Algernon_ by Daniel Keyes

Mike


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

Martian Chronicles, Dune, and Foundation would probably be my three, but I don't pretend to be well-read in the genre.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I see _Dune_ popping up a lot here (not a surprise). While I liked it a lot, I find it hard to classify it as science fiction: more like heroic fantasy (prophets, a messiah, magical abilities, nobility and medieval culture, witches, etc.) that just happens to take place in a technological civilization. But I suppose it probably was better to market it as sci-fi than as fantasy.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

NogDog said:


> I see _Dune_ popping up a lot here (not a surprise). While I liked it a lot, I find it hard to classify it as science fiction: more like heroic fantasy (prophets, a messiah, magical abilities, nobility and medieval culture, witches, etc.) that just happens to take place in a technological civilization. But I suppose it probably was better to market it as sci-fi than as fantasy.


Any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic?

I think we've all got a preconceived notion of what "fantasy" entails (I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it) and putting Dune under that label would certainly raise eyebrows. Which, of course, leads us back to trying to define the difference between the two. Again.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Basilius said:


> Again.


Woo Hoo! We haven't done that in months! I love that game! Where's Greg?


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Personally, I prefer Heinlein's _I Will Fear No Evil_ I could not get through _Stranger in a Strange Land._ And I refuse to just pick 3!


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Geoffrey said:


> Woo Hoo! We haven't done that in months! I love that game! Where's Greg?


You're twisted, Geoffrey... twisted.


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## Stephen T. Harper (Dec 20, 2010)

7 words.

William Shatner's Tek War: Books 2-4!

(I'm counting numbers as words.  Other wise it's only 5 words  )


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## evrose (Jan 7, 2011)

My top list:

Dune - Frank Herbert
The Foundation Series - Issac Asimov
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress and/or Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein


Although I'm a HUGE Heinlein fan, I wouldn't put Stranger in a Strange Land on my Top 100 list of sci-fi. blech...


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## DaMichaels (Jan 22, 2011)

I'm no master of sci-fi, and maybe this is pushing too much in the fantasy direction (though it is still classified as sci-fi), but Gene Wolfe's _Book of the New Sun_ tetralogy is a really awesome work. It's dense and it's difficult, but there's a big payoff.

I don't know if the _Book of the New Sun_ counts as one book or four books, but I'll throw in a vote for _Dune_, too.


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## fiver (Dec 14, 2010)

1. *Neverness* by David Zindell
2. *Doomsday Book* by Connie Willis
3. *Deathbird Stories* by Harlan Ellison


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

Geoffrey said:


> Woo Hoo! We haven't done that in months! I love that game! Where's Greg?


It never gets old, this argument. But I'm ready for some rough and tumble. I'm not sure what I put down last time, but here we go again:

1. _Dune_ by Frank Herbert
2. _Hyperion_ by Dan Simmons
3. _Slaughterhouse-Five_ by Kurt Vonnegut. (OK, maybe it's not real science fiction.)


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

scarlet said:


> *Personally, I prefer Heinlein's I Will Fear No Evil* I could not get through _Stranger in a Strange Land._ And I refuse to just pick 3!


Yes, yes, yes !!

Dune
I Will fear No Evil

I can't think of a third right now


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Just three? Impossible!

But there'd be something from Heinlein, probably The 
Moon if a Harsh Mistress.

Something from Niven and Pournelle, probably The Mote in God's Eye.

And something from someone else.....Drake, de Camp, asimov, Anderson, Vance....too many candidates.
Sent from my Sprint EVO using Tapatalk


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## Straker (Oct 1, 2010)

At the risk of being repetitious...

1. _*Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion*_ - Dan Simmons
2. _*Dune*_ - Frank Herbert
3. _*The Mote in God's Eye*_ - Niven & Pournelle

Honorable mention: _*Nova*_ - Samuel R. Delany


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (the whole series, as written by him)
Stranger in a Strange Land - Heinlein (I could list 3 or 4 of his alone)
1984 - George Orwell (does this count as scifi?)

Oh and I'll make special mention of _I, Robot _ as being rubbish IMHO. I prefer reading psychology and physics text books instead of getting in my fiction.


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## twhvalentine (Feb 1, 2011)

For me, a tie between _Ender's Game_ and _Ender's Shadow_.


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

I love that the same few titles are in everyone's lists.

1. Dune (Herbert)
2. Hyperion (Simmons)
3. Accelerando (Stross)


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Starship Troopers - Heinlein

The Left Hand of Darkness - Le Guin

Fahrenheit 451 - Bradbury

(in no particular order)


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## Bigal-sa (Mar 27, 2010)

One needs to look at this in different eras:

Antique
War of the Worlds, Wells

Old
Mote in God's Eye, Niven & Pournelle
Rendezvous with Rama, Clarke (I think Lee lost the plot with the 3rd and 4th in the series)
City at World's End, Hamilton

Indie
In her name (Omnibus), Hicks
Genesis, Chafe
Helix, Bryan (in spite of errors)

Awful
Red Mars, Robinson


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## johnmedler (Feb 1, 2011)

Brave New World.
Was Logan's Run a book or just a movie?


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## redshift1 (Jun 20, 2009)

Consider Phlebas  Iain M banks
Endymion  Dan Simmons
Hyperion  Dan Simmons


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

johnmedler said:


> Brave New World.
> Was Logan's Run a book or just a movie?


Logan's run was definitely a book first.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run


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## Zackery Arbela (Jan 31, 2011)

Foundation: Asimov at it's finest 

Dune: For pushing the boundaries of scifi beyond rocket ships and geewhiz science to the frontiers of ecology, religion and the human mind.

The Stainless Steel Rat: which shows that scifi as satire works...and is hilarious to boot.

Honorable mention: strange land, farenheir 451, downbelow station...


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## LaRita (Oct 28, 2008)

Didn't anyone besides me like James P. Hogan's _Giants_ series? Or Doc Smith's _Lensmen_?


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## dmspen (Jan 12, 2011)

LaRita said:


> Didn't anyone besides me like James P. Hogan's _Giants_ series? Or Doc Smith's _Lensmen_?


I cut my ebook teeth on the Lensman series. Great space opera. In a similar style, check out Cosmic Engineers by Clifford D Simak, published in 1950. 
The Giants series was also good. But to consider it as the BEST...I don't know. James Hogan's a good writer, but the books are fairly simple. Most of the books people have listed are deep in detail and story breadth. I do love the way the first Giants book starts though.

My top 3?
Dune
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Dragon's Egg or Rocheworld by Robert Forward


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

tim290280 said:


> Logan's run was definitely a book first.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan%27s_Run


However, you cannot vote for it if you've not read it, based solely on the movie.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

johnmedler said:


> Brave New World.
> Was Logan's Run a book or just a movie?


It was a book first, but completely different from the movie.

I just reread Hitchikers Guide to the Universe and was amazed to see how much stuff I DIDN'T remember... But was dissappointed, because 30% of the ebook was this whole stupid thing about the movie being made. So I thought the book was long and it was actually pretty short.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

scarlet said:


> It was a book first, but completely different from the movie.
> 
> I just reread Hitchikers Guide to the Universe and was amazed to see how much stuff I DIDN'T remember... But was dissappointed, because 30% of the ebook was this whole stupid thing about the movie being made. So I thought the book was long and it was actually pretty short.


Have you seen the Kindle omnibus edition with all the books: _The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_?


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

NogDog said:


> Have you seen the Kindle omnibus edition with all the books: _The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_?


no, I hadn't. thanks.


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## K.C. Neal (Jan 5, 2011)

I start with _Ender's Game_ and _Stranger in a Strange Land_, and then my brain threatens to explode when I try to pick only one more....


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

I find it interesting that so many readers prefer _Enders Game _ when I thought _Speaker for the Dead_ the better, more mature novel. Maybe because Ender's wounderkind role was supressed.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Bigal-sa said:


> Awful
> Red Mars, Robinson


I know that quite a few people hate this series. I've read them 3 or 4 times and will probably read them in the future as well....


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

I'd probably put Robinson's Mars books (as one long novel) in the top 10 science fiction list.


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## sbaum4853 (May 3, 2010)

NogDog said:


> I see _Dune_ popping up a lot here (not a surprise). While I liked it a lot, I find it hard to classify it as science fiction: more like heroic fantasy (prophets, a messiah, magical abilities, nobility and medieval culture, witches, etc.) that just happens to take place in a technological civilization. But I suppose it probably was better to market it as sci-fi than as fantasy.


I think the ecology in that book puts it in the sci-fi category.

My top 3
1. Dune (just one of the best books ever)
2. Speaker For the Dead (I tell people to read Ender's Game just so they can get to this amazing sequel)
3. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress (Heinlein was just so dang smart - his politics in this book rocked my world)


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## deckard (Jan 13, 2011)

Neuromancer----William Gibson

The Left Hand of Darkness---Ursula Le Guin

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep---Philip K. Dick


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## Erik Williams (Jun 13, 2009)

1. VALIS - Philip K. Dick
2. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Heinlein
3. Fahrenheit 451 - Bradbury


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

How does one choose 3 from a lifetime of reading both the "giants" and "newcomers" in this genre??

~Rendezvous with Rama                        (ie. all of Clarke's work)
~20,000 leagues under the Sea              (ie. all of Verne's work)
~Time Machine                                    (ie. all of Wells' work) 

Right now, I am half way through "Ship Breaker" (Paolo Bacigalupi) which is quite good.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Geemont said:


> I find it interesting that so many readers prefer _Enders Game _ when I thought _Speaker for the Dead_ the better, more mature novel. Maybe because Ender's wounderkind role was supressed.


Seconded. Speaker was definitely the better book. Ender makes for a better gateway book, though, and because of that has wider appeal. It also seems to have quite an impact on younger readers. I blew through _Ender's Game_ in a single day (unusual for me), but it took me three tries starting Speaker before I could continue.


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## WilliamM (Feb 10, 2009)

tough to name just 3..too many good ones out there..
2001
Dune
Foundation


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## MartyS (Feb 3, 2011)

My favorites:

Dune
Childhoods End
2001 and 3001, the middle books are not as good but do provide some background for 3001.
The first 2 Rama books, then it kind of lost it's way.


For best hard science fiction world building I'd go with 2 from Alan Dean Foster:

Sentenced to Prism, world of mostly solar powered life based on silicon.
Midworld, world covered with several mile deep sentient forest.


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## dmspen (Jan 12, 2011)

Oh! I just thought of another favorite.
The Deathworld Series by Harry Harrison.


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## TWErvin2 (Aug 7, 2010)

*Lord of Light * by Zelazny
*The Time Machine * by Wells
*Dune* by Herbert

There are a lot of runner ups.


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

It seems if we were all to vote on  ONE book, that Dune would win.


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## Kevis Hendrickson (Feb 28, 2009)

My vote goes to Dune, Foundation, and 2001.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Lyndl said:


> It seems if we were all to vote on ONE book, that Dune would win.


In spite of my poking a bit at it earlier for its fantastical elements, it _was_ a ground-breaking work, in some ways -- but not to the degree -- as was _The Lord of the Rings_ to the (pure) fantasy genre. Its depth in things like politics and power groups as well as its unique world-building were (almost?) unique at that time. It certainly had a large impact on me when I first read it oh so many years ago.

_However_, it has not held up for me over the years extremely well. I think that is partly that the supernatural elements are a turn-off for me now whereas they did not bother me back then, and partly that I've developed an even stronger aversion to the concept of royalty and the right to rule based on who your parents were. So, if I were to base my "voting" solely on the impact a book made on me the first time I read it, _Dune_ might well crack my top 3 list; but based on what I would enjoy reading _now_, it probably would be somewhere in the bottom half of my top 10 sci-fi list.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

A few nitpicks.

2001 is a novelization of a movie, not a novel.  Somepeople will try to claim that it isn't a novelization because it was written at the same time as the film and even Clarke admitted in an introduction that he had a hard time separating the book and the movie apart in his mind.  And unless there is someone who has read and book and not seen the movie, then I'd say voting for 2001 is putting a movie in the top lists of novels and that's just wrong.

As for Dune, at the time Herbert wrote it, there was a much stronger belief in the Powers of the Mind that have't held up to modern science but would have been less fantasy back then.


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

Geemont said:


> A few nitpicks.
> 
> 2001 is a novelization of a movie, not a novel. Somepeople will try to claim that it isn't a novelization because it was written at the same time as the film and even Clarke admitted in an introduction that he had a hard time separating the book and the movie apart in his mind. And unless there is someone who has read and book and not seen the movie, then I'd say voting for 2001 is putting a movie in the top lists of novels and that's just wrong...


Not sure I follow that logic. A movie is a movie regardless of whether it is adapted from a pre-existing piece of literature or if it is created from a never before published screenplay, is it not? I do not see why the converse would not also be true. If the novel stands on its own as a good book (and I am not arguing for or against that right now for _2001_), then it is a good novel, regardless of its origin; just as a good movie (though I realize that's pretty much an oxymoron for you) is a good movie, regardless of its origin.

Now, whether someone who has read the book and seen the movie may have their view of the book skewed by their impression of the movie may be a valid point, but it does not in and of itself automatically disqualify the book from, in fact, being a quality piece of literature (or not). (Personally, I found the movie and the novel to be complementary in this case, though I would rate the movie as more important in the world of film-making than I would rate the novel in the world of literature; but since my tastes are certainly not mainstream, that in no way is a significant indicator on how others will feel.  )


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## MartyS (Feb 3, 2011)

2001 is not a normal novelization, most novelizations simply expand on the movie a bit to give the characters more depth, 2001 had quite a few plot differences.

I was somewhat upset that he then made the sequels follow the movie instead of the book.  But it was a better choice since what we learned about Jupiter and Saturn from our probes made Jupiter a better choice, kind of lucky it turned out that way.

I actually like 3001 more than 2001 or the middle books, but I don't think it would stand on it's own.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

@NogDog

A lot is going to depend on termology.  A book written from a screenplay should be called a novelization, not a novel.  There are different ways to describe books: novel, novella, novelette, and novelization are some, but calling WAR AND PEACE a novella isn't using the right termology.

As for 2001 I'd say that it doesn't have an independent existing apart from the film: they're joined at the hip.  That's way saying it is one of the best books is liking voting for dog at a cat show.


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## Steven L. Hawk (Jul 10, 2010)

My top three:

1. _Ender's Game_
2. _Dune_
3. _Farenheit 451_


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## James Everington (Dec 25, 2010)

Surely "novelization" means turning something _into _ a novel? So how can the end result not be a novel? (Whether it's a good one is a seperate issue...)

I read 2001 as a kid years before I ever saw the film, so it certainly had an independent life as a book for me....


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## robins777 (Aug 10, 2010)

Top 3 a bit hard to picked because there were so many good SF books published.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adam
The Mars series books by Kim Stanley Robinson
Neuromancer by William Gibson

Followed closly by,

The Foundation series - Azimov
Dune by Frank Herbert


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## WaltC (Dec 4, 2008)

I strongly agree with Dune, Foundation, Neuromancer and just about anything written by Zelazny; they are all near the top of my list.  To add 3 books that I didn't see mentioned:

1 - "The Maker of Universes", Farmer
2 - "The Peace War", Vernor Vinge
3 - "Ringworld", Niven


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

James Everington said:


> Surely "novelization" means turning something _into _ a novel?....


What James said.  To my mind, a "novelization" is, at worst, a _sub-set_ of "novel".

From Wiktionary:

*novelization* (plural novelizations)

1. The writing of a novel based on fact; fictionalization.
2. A text novel that is an adaptation of a story from a visual medium such as film.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

NogDog said:


> What James said.  To my mind, a "novelization" is, at worst, a _sub-set_ of "novel".
> 
> From Wiktionary:
> 
> ...


And I have to say the best example of definition #1 I've ever read was Frederick Pohl's _Chernobyl_.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Zackery Arbela said:


> Foundation: Asimov at it's finest
> 
> Dune: For pushing the boundaries of scifi beyond rocket ships and geewhiz science to the frontiers of ecology, religion and the human mind.
> 
> ...


Oh, I had forgotten _The Stainless Steel Rat_. It was one of my favorite novels in my teens. Yes, it does show that science fiction can work as satire. Hilarious novel.

I can't tell you how much I dislike the Ender series and I think that is a gender thing. His opinion of women comes through, I think. Much the same with _Dune_--plus the homophobia in _Dune_ (my opinion). Neither are on my list of novels I even like, although I know some women who like _Dune_, so I'm not saying it's universal, but both came close to turning me against science fiction. Fortunately, I ran into some others (Tiptree for example and Le Guin) that had the opposite effect.


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## Lyndl (Apr 2, 2010)

Geemont said:


> A few nitpicks.
> 
> 2001 is a novelization of a movie, not a novel. Somepeople will try to claim that it isn't a novelization because it was written at the same time as the film and even Clarke admitted in an introduction that he had a hard time separating the book and the movie apart in his mind. And unless there is someone who has read and book and not seen the movie, then I'd say voting for 2001 is putting a movie in the top lists of novels and that's just wrong.


A rose by any other name? At the end of the day, it's a _book_. The subject of the post is Top 3 science-fiction books ever written, so surely any _book_ is qualified for inclusion?


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## MartyS (Feb 3, 2011)

James Everington said:


> I read 2001 as a kid years before I ever saw the film, so it certainly had an independent life as a book for me....


Same for me, it was one of the first full length books I read as a kid, didn't see the movie for probably another year, in the early 70s when it was in the 3rd run theaters, I remember going to see it with my dad and uncle at one of the last really big screens left in CT, then they started tearing them down to build multiplexes.

I forgot to mention The Hitchhiker's Guide in my list, that series is so unique it's hard to compare it with anything else, it's sort of it's own category. And it was first written as a radio play, so I guess it doesn't count either...


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## WilliamM (Feb 10, 2009)

Geemont said:


> A few nitpicks.


agreed..that is nitpicking


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## BMathison (Feb 4, 2011)

Yes, seriously -- what a challenge to pick 3 books.

1. The Hyperion Series (4 books)-- Dan Simmons
2. Neuromancer -- Gibson
3. A young adult sci fi book in my small Catholic grade school's library.  I don't know the title, don't remember the entire story, but there was a picture of a boy without hair on the front cover.  It was about a group of humans that had gone underground at some point in earth's history.  One of the boys discovers a way out to the surface, and the story revolved around his discovery that there is another world besides their own.  It was totally life-changing for me, as it sparked my imagination like no other book.


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## antares (Feb 13, 2011)

Worlds Without End posted the results of the 1998 Locus poll of the best sf novels (published before 1990) here: http://www.worldswithoutend.com/lists_locus_bestsf.asp

The list does not include two of my favorites: The Space Merchants (F Pohl & C Kornbluth) or The Integral Trees (L Niven).

I am surprised that A Bester's The Stars My Destination did not get more votes.

Live long and prosper


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