TotallyOz Posted August 12, 2011 Posted August 12, 2011 NPR lists the top 100 Science fiction / Fantasy books. I love the list and have read a great deal of them. I really want to read the George R.R. Martin books. As a child, I was in love with the Hobbit and anything Tolkien. Animal Farm and 1984 were high school requirements as were a few others. Some I read in college but most just for pleasure. I am glad The Handmaid's Tale made the list. What is your favorite on this list? http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-picks-top-100-science-fiction-fantasy-books?ps=cprs Quote
Guest hitoallusa Posted August 12, 2011 Posted August 12, 2011 Aww they left out Star Trek. My favorite is Star Wars. [ Quote
Members RA1 Posted August 12, 2011 Members Posted August 12, 2011 As a boy, I was entranced by Asimov, especially the I, Robot series. I like the list and see there are a few on it that I NEED to read. Best regards, RA1 Quote
Members ihpguy Posted August 12, 2011 Members Posted August 12, 2011 Me too. On my next trip back to the States, I will need to stock up. Although was happy to see that one of my faves made the top 30 on the charts, Casey. Quote
Members alanalt Posted August 12, 2011 Members Posted August 12, 2011 Aww they left out Star Trek. My favorite is Star Wars. Let's face it, most Star Trek novels are pretty basic fare - of the 150 or so I've read over the years, very few remained memorable for long after I put them down. The 'Thrawn Trilogy' is certainly at the upper end of the Star Wars novels, but inclusion in a list of the top science-fiction and fantasy novels??? I don't think so! ...I really want to read the George R.R. Martin books. Do. I haven't met anyone who's remotely interested in the genre who hasn't raved about them... I just hope the next book in the series doesn't take 6 years to write! As for the rest of the list I found it odd that some 'picks' consisted of an entire series (12+ books in the case of Robert Jordan), while other picks were a single book lifted from a series - that certainly distorts things from my view. I loved 'Dune', some of Herbert's sequels - not so much. I'd say I agree with around half the picks, but there are some pretty inexcusable omissions in my view: HP Lovecraft and Andre Norton from among the 'classic' writers and Harry Turtledove and especially Guy Gavriel Kay among contemporary authors. Any collection that excludes those four, at least, isn't worth much IMO... Alan Quote
Members JKane Posted August 13, 2011 Members Posted August 13, 2011 Wow, it's rare I read a list like this and am familiar with a lot of the books, let alone agree with the list, but I've read and loved all of the top 5, though the whole list is a pretty populist bent. As much as I liked the Ender books, when I read Card's views on homosexuality (he's a hardcore Mormon and supported their prop-8 BS) I got rid of all his books and decided to not buy any others. Major fan of Dune. If all you know of Dune is Lynch's way too cut up movie (confusing for the sake of confusion, as Lynch likes to do) you have to give it a try! And after you read it maybe seek out the longer "studio" cut of the movie, you'll appreciate it more. I'd agree just Dune though, his sequels and especially his son's prequels you are better off without. Haven't read the latest book in A Song of Ice and Fire, the last one was a disappointment, but after watching the show I kind of want to re-read from the beginning... But the first two or three books are amazing, that's for damn sure! (Game of Thrones is actually the slowest, things really get moving in the following book!) Wow, just scanned the rest of the list, I've read and enjoyed a lot of these. And I 100% agree that leaving out Guy Gavriel Kay is a mistake! Cat's cradle and other Vonnegut are great (though Sirens of Titan may be my favorite--*love* the religion therein!). Canticle for Leibowitz, of course Forever War (where's the movie?)... say important things quite well. 'Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?' is awesome and it made me realize why I've never loved Blade Runner--all the stuff that was left out. Don't know a lot of the fantasy books though. Quote
Guest CharliePS Posted August 18, 2011 Posted August 18, 2011 I love "Slaughterhouse-5" and "Frankenstein." The original short story version of "Flowers for Algernon" IMHO is more effective than the novel. But I am sorry to see that they left out Ursula Leguin's "A Wizard of Earthsea," an exceptionally beautiful book, though not as well known as "The Left Hand of Darkness". (Irrelevant side note: my dog like to shit on Leguin's front yard at her summer home, but Ursula is always nice about it.) Quote
Members MsGuy Posted August 18, 2011 Members Posted August 18, 2011 The original short story version of "Flowers for Algernon" IMHO is more effective than the novel. No need for a modest "IMHO" when you're 100% on target. But I am sorry to see that they left out Ursula Leguin's "A Wizard of Earthsea," an exceptionally beautiful book. And an exceptionally beautiful way of describing it. (Irrelevant side note: my dog like to shit on Leguin's front yard at her summer home, but Ursula is always nice about it.) To me, it's always seemed her stuff was written by a gentle soul. Quote
