The 100 SF books you have to read

Post by **doc** » August 09, 2005, 04:35:47 PM

At least according to Phobos Entertainment http://www.phobosweb.com/features/100bo ... l 1. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke 2. Foundation by Isaac Asimov 3. Dune by Frank Herbert 4. Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick 5. Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein 6. Valis by Philip K. Dick 7. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 8. Gateway by Frederick Pohl 9. Space Merchants by C.M. Kornbluth & Frederick Pohl 10. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart 11. Cuckoo’s Egg by C.J. Cherryh 12. Star Surgeon by James White 13. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick 14. Radix by A.A. Attanasio 15. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke 16. Ringworld by Larry Niven 17. A Case of Conscience by James Blish 18. Last and First Man by Olaf Stapledon 19. The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham 20. Way Station by Clifford Simak 21. More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon 22. Gray Lensman by E. E. “Doc” Smith 23. The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov 24. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin 25. Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock 26. Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon 27. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells 28. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne 29. Heritage of Hastur by Marion Zimmer Bradley 30. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells 31. The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester 32. Slan by A.E. Van Vogt 33. Neuromancer by William Gibson 34. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card 35. In Conquest Born by C.S. Friedman 36. Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny 37. Eon by Greg Bear 38. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey 39. Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne 40. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein 41. Cosm by Gregory Benford 42. The Voyage of the Space Beagle by A.E. Van Vogt 43. Blood Music by Greg Bear 44. Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress 45. Omnivore by Piers Anthony 46. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov 47. Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement 48. To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer 49. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 50. The Man Who Folded Himself by David Gerrold 51. 1984 by George Orwell 52. The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyl And Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 53. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson 54. Flesh by Philip Jose Farmer 55. Cities in Flight by James Blish 56. Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe 57. Startide Rising by David Brin 58. Triton by Samuel R. Delany 59. Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner 60. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess 61. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 62. A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter Miller 63. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes 64. No Blade of Grass by John Christopher 65. The Postman by David Brin 66. Dhalgren by Samuel Delany 67. Berserker by Fred Saberhagen 68. Flatland by Edwin Abbot 69. Planiverse by A.K. Dewdney 70. Dragon’s Egg by Robert L. Forward 71. Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh 72. Dawn by Octavia E. Butler 73. Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein 74. The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis 75. Forever War by Joe Haldeman 76. Deathbird Stories by Harlan Ellison 77. Roadside Picnic by Boris Strugatsky & Arkady Strugatsky 78. The Snow Queen by Joan Vinge 79. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury 80. Drowned World by J.G. Ballard 81. Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut 82. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson 83. Upanishads by Various 84. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 85. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 86. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin 87. The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham 88. Mutant by Henry Kuttner 89. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem 90. Ralph 124C41+ by Hugo Gernsback 91. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson 92. Timescape by Gregory Benford 93. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester 94. War with the Newts by Karl Kapek 95. Mars by Ben Bova 96. Brain Wave by Poul Anderson 97. Hyperion by Dan Simmons 98. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton 99. Camp Concentration by Thomas Disch 100.A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Post by **Robert_Moriyama** » August 09, 2005, 11:10:22 PM

I'm PRETTY sure I've read at least 59 of them. There are some more that I may have read a long time ago, but I may just be remembering reading ABOUT them (or seeing bad TV or movie or comic book adaptations). Robert 'Apparently I HAVEN'T read everything' M.

Post by **Robert_Moriyama** » August 10, 2005, 07:11:00 AM

I'm impressed. I actually *own* 42 or so of these, or did. I've read about 10 more as Library books over the years.
I'd like to see one of the two Delany books exchanged for a Cordwainer Smith, though.
Do I get extra points for having known CS Freedman during college? LOL!
Dan

That depends. In the Biblical sense? Or just in the 'Hey Friedman! Wassu-u-u-up?' sense? ::) Robert M.

Post by **Robert_Moriyama** » August 10, 2005, 10:26:54 AM

Wonderful list - I've read most of them, but then, I have had longer than most of you to do so.

I would have included Alfred Bester's "The Stars My Destination", though.

Kate

It's on the list at Number 31. (We'll attribute this to jet lag. LA to Atlanta and back in about 2 days! I figure your stomach is still somewhere around Kansas.) Robert M.

Post by **doc** » August 10, 2005, 12:57:58 PM

I met Brad Linaweaver at a number of Bill Ritch's parties, but I don't immediately recall him attending a B7 club meeting. Then again, that was 15 years ago, and my memory is spotty. Of course, I've been to (and run) enough SF conventions that who I met where blurs together.

Post by **doc** » August 10, 2005, 04:47:40 PM

Ah, i remember that gathering. Yeah, you're right, Linaweaver was there, I'm pretty sure. Also Kim's old boyfriend, Ron, which I mostly remember because she was a bit ill-at-ease around him still.

Post by **doc** » August 12, 2005, 01:02:23 PM

If I finish the list do I get a prize?

Bill

Absolutely. You'll get an authentic Aphelion No-prize! Excelsior!

Post by **Robert_Moriyama** » August 12, 2005, 01:17:19 PM

...On the other hand, I never heard of "Upanishads by Various"

But then, I'm older than most of you and my grandkids are older than some...

Bill

You're not as old as the Upanishads ... "The term Upanishad means literally "those who sit near" and implies listening closely to the secret doctrines of a spiritual teacher. Although there are over two hundred Upanishads, only fifteen are mentioned by the philosophic commentator Shankara (788-820 CE). These fifteen and the Maitri are considered Vedic and the principal Upanishads; the rest were written later and are related to the Puranic worship of Shiva, Shakti, and Vishnu. The oldest and longest of the Upanishads are the Brihad-Aranyaka and the Chandogya from about the seventh century BC. ..." from 'Vedas and Upanishads' http://www.san.beck.org/EC7-Vedas.html#8 I guess if we consider Norse, Greek and Roman, Celtic, etc., religious tales as 'SF', it's not surprising that this list would count Hindu scripture in that category. To be fair, they really should also include the Bible, particularly Genesis, Exodus, and Revelations, all of which have some really great 'special effects' sequences. Robert M.

Post by **doc** » August 12, 2005, 01:33:22 PM

I guess if we consider Norse, Greek and Roman, Celtic, etc., religious tales as 'SF', it's not surprising that this list would count Hindu scripture in that category. To be fair, they really should also include the Bible, particularly Genesis, Exodus, and Revelations, all of which have some really great 'special effects' sequences.

No, the Bible is a mess. The first part tries to cram in a huge cast of chracters at the expense of advancing the plot, then it introduces a major new character in the middle of the book, repetitively loops through his life story four times, and then bogs down into some sort of odd epistolatory section that seems oddly disconnected from the rest of the story. Realizing he's compltely lost the plot, the author pulls a giant deus ex machina wiz-bang ending out of nowhere and pretty much blows everything up. That book seriously needs a good editor.

Post by **Robert_Moriyama** » August 12, 2005, 03:41:06 PM

Well, we're all going to Hell, obviously. That'll make barbecuing easier for Aphelicon 20?? -- no charcoal or propane required. On the other hand, keeping the beer and any salad-like stuff cold will be a pain in the extreme lower back. And I shudder to think what Dan might wear to cope with THAT kind of heat! Robert 'Let's tease Dan about his Aphelicon costume in EVERY thread' M.

Post by **doc** » August 12, 2005, 04:17:28 PM

o/~ Welcome to Texas Underground We got a barbecue all year round Smokin little band with a country sound We like to have a little fun So pull up a chair, you can chew on the fat Gets a'mite dry but we like it like that Dance with the lady in the Stetson hat Welcome to Texas, son o/~ --from "Texas Underground" by Dave Carter

Aphelion

The 100 SF books you have to read

The 100 SF books you have to read

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