101 science fiction books to read?

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by David Munch

Heh, I think I got the next 10 years covered in this thread.. Thanks a lot guys!

I have Dan Simmons's Hyperion at home, and I've also started on it. For those of you that have read it, what is your take on it? (General terms, no spoilers, I haven't finished it yet.)

I was so angry when I reached the end that I've never read any Simmons again.

[ctol]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I was so angry when I reached the end that I've never read any Simmons again.

Sorry you did not like the first book. I on the other hand, think it and its three sequels are some of the best sci-fi ever written. I like the way he wrote each book in its own style yet the dove-tailed into each other to tell a complete story. Hopefully some day you will give these books and some of his others a try. He is an amazing writer,

[ctol]

Originally Posted by David Munch

Heh, I think I got the next 10 years covered in this thread.. Thanks a lot guys!

I have Dan Simmons's Hyperion at home, and I've also started on it. For those of you that have read it, what is your take on it? (General terms, no spoilers, I haven't finished it yet.)

You might also find his retelling of the Trojan War that begins with Ilium and continued in Olympos. Interesting sci-fi on take on the Troy legend.

[Ubikzz]

Thanks for the link to the list.

I like lists, but you have to remember they are a kind of self fulfilling prophecy, the more there are people who pick books from those kind of lists, the more they will tend to vote for the books already on it.


What shocked me completely is that there is no single book of Jack Vance in the first 100. For some odd reason, Jack Vance seems to thrive better in Europe (with translated versions) then in his own country.


If you like to travel wonderful worlds, with unseen landscapes, never heard of customs, customs that are so odd, so strange, so upsetting or funny, then check out Jack Vance. He is a -the- master in imagining and conveying them with words. His scenes and settings are like painted landscapes described in every minute detail they are more lifelike then real life. If you like to be immersed in colour, odour, feelings, characters, action ... need I say more. Be warned, it is difficult to snap out of it.

A small selection (in no particular order):

- The Languages of Pao
- The Houses of Iszm
- Son of the Tree
- Demon Princes (a 5 vol. series)
- The Many Worlds of Magnus Ridolph (collection of stories)

Personally I do not like the Dying Earth series (which is in the 100-200 list), it is a good series, but I did not feel connected.

[Acreo Aeneas]

To add to the growing list, my three top favorites:

Otherland (series) by Tad Williams - I own the entire four book series on paperback and hardcover. They're all available in paperback form now as well as hardcopy. Don't know if there are ebook versions of the series or not.

Honor Harrington (series) by David Weber - One of the few military sci-fi novel series that I actually got hooked on past the second novel. Quite well known and at last count including spin-offs, the series covers about 14 books. May be a turn off for some as it gets into the fictional military hardware quite a bit (though it's based on real experimental science to a point).

The Falcon Banner (series) by Christopher P. Lydon - (Not to be confused with the talk show host by the same first and last name.) A nice lengthier sci-fi series that revolves around future human civilization that had advanced to the point where select humans could "ascend" and take on a semi-omnipotent form (hard to explain a paragraph). Endearing characters (with a surprise) and a good paced storyline.

[rtype]

I have over that last while bought any of the Gollancz masterworks series that I have happened across in the local book shops, I had never heard of a lot of the authors but have enjoyed all I have read(which is most of them now).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks

Just finished Pavane, really enjoyed it.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by rtype

I have over that last while bought any of the Gollancz masterworks series that I have happened across in the local book shops, I had never heard of a lot of the authors but have enjoyed all I have read(which is most of them now).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks

Just finished Pavane, really enjoyed it.

Thanks for that link, I don't think I had that one! Karma man Karma!

[calvin-c]

I'm not sure it would even be possible for me to limit my list to 100 books.

Suggestions that I don't think have been made yet (some of these depend on the sub-genre you prefer):

Piers Anthony's Xanth books. Punny and more Fantasy, but usually classed with SF.
David Drake's Belisarius series. (Military SF, but also has Alternate History basis, i.e. the military is horseback, swords, archers, etc.)
L Sprague deCamp's Lest Darkness Fall. Sort of like Mark Twain's Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (which I would also recommend although it's not usually classified as SF)
The Lost Fleet series (can't remember the author, but it's a pseudonym anyway. John Hemry, I think.)
And so many more that I can't remember offhand.

[David Derrico]

I can strongly recommend pretty much anything by Timothy Zahn. I really appreciate his writing style and world-building ability. For a great example of the latter, I would recommend the Conqueror's trilogy. His first three Star Wars novels (the Thrawn trilogy) were quite good if you're interested in that universe.

I also enjoy the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. For classics, Asimov is tough to beat.

[AFK_Matrix]

I don't think anyone has mention him but I love Peter F. Hamiltons books, especially the Night's Dawn Trilogy. Thats 3 huge 1000+ page books but its cracking read. I have also read all of his other books apart from the Dreaming Void and the second book in that series, but I'll be reading them when my ereader turns up

[ruskie]

Yeah Hamilton's books are nice. I've read quite a bit from him. Even liked the merc MilSF stories and some of the others.

Another I miss is the Culture series by Iain M. Banks...

Scratch that... both are on the top list.

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by Bossman

Check out

http://home.austarnet.com.au/petersy...oks_rank1.html

I have read 85 out of the 101 on that list but only a handful as ebooks...I can say it is a a farily solid list, I would swap out a few titles for others, but then again so would any of us...one could hardly go wrong reading those titles over a year's time, ok, 6-months if you are really into it every day.

It was not until I hit #28 Jurassic Park that I hit my first have not read title....

[brecklundin]

You might also look at the first 6-8 novels in the Gor series. At the time they were very original and still work well in today's world. After about #8 the series just became uninteresting and I suspect was being written by someone other than the original author, John Norman because the style changed so abruptly...he might have provide notes and an outline but I am unsure he actually wrote more than a couple of the rest of the series.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gor (spoilers for sure)

But they are not taxing reads and good escapist fun...you can read a bit on the Wiki page for the series....though it does contain spoilers. I see Amazon, Fictionwise and Ereader stores all have most of the series in ebook format so I assume there are other sources as well for ebook versions.

[drmaxx]

Originally Posted by weateallthepies

I'm not sure why Ender's Game is rated so highly. I enjoyed it but it's far from the must read that it gets pegged as, well IMO anyway.

+1 - Overrated in my book - but still a good book to read.

I really like Philip K Dick - especially the short stories. But only if you're sane enough to handle substantial doubts about reality and perception :-).

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by ctol

You might also find his retelling of the Trojan War that begins with Ilium and continued in Olympos. Interesting sci-fi on take on the Troy legend.

I really enjoyed them and would recommend them as well.