The idea is to put the ones you've read in boldface. One thing I don't like about this is that, to me, it makes no sense to lump SF and fantasy books together. To me, that is like conflating organic chemistry with Harlequin romances.
The list is below the fold. Note that I read very little of either genre now, and I never did go for some of the "classics," such as Tolkien.
Oh, and by the way, I o not agree at all with the selection of the "Most Significant." But who would?
- The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
- The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
- Dune, Frank Herbert
- Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
- A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
- Neuromancer, William Gibson
- Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick
- The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
- Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
- The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
- A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
- The Caves of Steel, Isaac Asimov
- Children of the Atom, Wilmar Shiras
- Cities in Flight, James Blish
- The Colour of Magic, Terry Pratchett
- Dangerous Visions, edited by Harlan Ellison
- Deathbird Stories, Harlan Ellison
- The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
- Dhalgren, Samuel R. Delany
- Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
- Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
- The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
- The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
- Gateway, Frederik Pohl
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
- I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
- Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
- The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
- Little, Big, John Crowley
- Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
- The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
- Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement
- More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
- The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
- On the Beach, Nevil Shute
- Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
- Ringworld, Larry Niven
- Rogue Moon, Algis Budrys
- The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
- Slaughterhouse-5, Kurt Vonnegut
- Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
- Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
- The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
- Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
- Stormbringer, Michael Moorcock
- The Sword of Shannara, Terry Brooks
- Timescape, Gregory Benford
- To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer
Comments
Man, you have so got to read Alfred Bester!
Posted by: John Wilkins | March 11, 2007 8:26 AM
Agreed on the Bester, but pick STARS MY DESTINATION. Also ROGUE MOON, my pick for best SF novel ever, with the Bester high on the list.
CITIES in FLIGHT is a collection of four books, very uneven, with the third being a weak juvenile, but EARTHMAN COME HOME is much worth it. Both STAND ON ZANZIBAR and CHILDREN OF THE ATOM are worth knowing.
And how can anyone NOT have read HITCHHIKER'S (Though a collection of the original radio scripts would be even better.)?
Posted by: Prup aka Jim Benton | March 11, 2007 12:41 PM