Wow. I’ve been way busy. Busy at work, busy at home, busy with my game The Sellswords of Luskan. I broke the cardinal rule and split the party—5 ways!—for a series of vignettes, and managing that has taken all of whatever time I usually have for posting to this blog. So, while I’ve been meaning to write a full Race Report for the Hartford Half-Marathon, I just haven’t been able to find the time, and at this point, the race is starting to feel like old news. It was a good race, I’m glad I ran it, and I feel like I ran well, but by now we’re now almost a full week into a planned two-week hiatus, and I feel like I’m not only mostly recovered from the year’s training, I’m actually itching to get back out there.
Weird, I know.
In past years, I’ve just loved this time of the season not only because it’s nice to rest but also because it’s nice to reconnect with my family. But this year is different. The kids are a little older and more independent this year, I ran my last race as a partnership with my wife, so it’s not like I’ve not seen her lately, and anyway, managing the training regime is just easier with the bike-commute as an added daily occurrence. They’re my simple, non-goal, oriented maintenance-type workouts. Having them in the schedule made this year a lot easier to manage—which was good because there was a lot to balance at times.
In any event, it’s the offseason, and I didn’t come here to write about running or triathlon. Today, I want to talk about NPR’s list of the Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy books. This list has been a matter of some debate around my office, and I thought that writing about it a bit might make for a kind of an easy post.
If you’re wondering, I’ve read almost half of the books listed. Not half of the entries but rather most of the series and fewer of the single-volume notables. I’ll underline those that I’ve read and comment where I think appropriate. Your comments are also more than welcome, especially in reference to the ones I’ve not read. I commute daily on the train and read at least as much as anyone I’ve ever met, so I’m always looking for recommendations.
1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien.
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. Adams is a worthy second, I think.
3. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. This might be a little high for Ender’s Game, but it is a modern classic. Still… more classic than Dune? I dunno about that. It is, however, on the Army’s list for novels about leadership, and it made Card’s career. Also: several of the sequels are notable in their own right, especially Speaker for the Dead.
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert. I liked the first book tremendously, but the rest is garbage.
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin. I’d read the first two books before this became a thing. Now with the HBO series, the books are impossible to find at the library, and I don’t want to buy them because I know damn well that every library in America has a copy in its collection. Still, it might be three more years before I finish these. *sigh*
6. 1984, by George Orwell. I loved 1984. This is one of those “required reading”-type books that I think folks actually ought to read for themselves. Don’t settle for the Cliff Notes. 1984 is incredibly relevant to today’s world. In fact, in many ways, it’s more relevant now than it was when it was written as an allegory of the dangers of Communism. It’s a very serious warning about the dangers of the War on Terror.
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. In contrast, I think you can get Fahrenheit 451 from the Cliff Notes.
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov. As with Dune, I liked the first book and thought the others were unnecessary sequels.
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley. BNW is another all-time favorite. It spoke to me when I read it in high school, and I liked it even more when I re-read it as an adult.
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. I’m not the biggest Gaiman fan, but I’m planning to read this sometime in the next six months.
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman. Great movie. Can the book really be any better? Frankly, I’m skeptical.
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan. The first book is amazing. The second book is very good. The third book is good. After that, I strongly recommend the book summaries on Wikipedia. Then you can pick up the new WoT-concluding trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, which is based on Jordan’s notes but otherwise superior to all but the very first book in the series. I have great respect for Jordan as a man and as an author, but folks, there’s a reason why virtually everything Sanderson has ever written is included on this list.
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson. This book was the basis for the film “Johnny Pneumonic”. Also the first work of the sub-genre “cyber-punk”. I made my librarian order it.
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore. Argh. I hate Alan Moore’s work. Besides which, how can you include Watchman but leave off The Dark Knight Returns? It defies all logic to include the deconstruction without including at least one prime example the basic source material.
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein. First time I read this, it blew my mind. Then I read it again a few summers ago and didn’t think it held up so well. Not sure what that proves.
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss. This is supposed to be a thinking man’s version of Harry Potter. I’ve not read it but plan to.
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut. How is Slaughterhouse-Five sci fi?
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. I love this book, having read it maybe thrice. Also: I dated a direct descendant of Mary Shelly briefly when I was in high school. We didn’t really hit it off, but I will still say that I think that she was both very pretty and very smart. Finally: this is considered to be the first science fiction novel.
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
22. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King. I’ve read a few of the Marvel comic adaptations. To my taste, they are wildly inconsistent in quality.
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson. I’m reading Snow Crash right now. I like it a lot, but it dragged a bit through the middle. Still, the high concept is amazing, and the execution is both smart and snarky. With that said, I prefer Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon by a good bit, and frankly, I’m a bit scandalized that it’s not on this list somewhere. Ten books by Neil Gaiman and nothing by Morgan? What the Hell is wrong with people?
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury. I loved the TV mini-series. The book is also well worth reading.
28. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman. I haven’t read the whole thing, but I’ve read enough to know that it doesn’t speak to me. Also: in no universe would I ever describe this as a more seminal work of sequential art than The Dark Knight Returns. Frank Miller got jobbed here. Twice if you include Sin City (though I wouldn’t) or 300 (which I would).
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess. This was a book?
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein. ‘Nother of my all-time favorites that’s on the Army’s official reading list. Like a lot of Heinlein’s work, there’s a Hell of a lot of other books out there that owe their existence to Starship Troopers.
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein. I would’ve ranked The Puppet Masters above this, especially given the iconic stature of the movie it spawned, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”.
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller. Got this in the stack for next week.
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings. I’ve been meaning to get his series for my daughter Hannah. I read it when I was ten and LOVED it. Been looking forward to re-reading it with her. It’s classic genre stuff, but still very, very enjoyable. That said, I’ve not seen it in either the library or the bookstore lately.
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Tried to read this but couldn’t finish. It’s a little dry for my tastes.
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson. The first two books of this series are truly remarkable. The first one is an industrial good-vs.-evil story with a few very novel twists. The second is to that what the “Godfather II” is to the “Godfather”. More than worth your time, trust me. The third book is okay, but a little High Fantasy for me, especially given where the series started.
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin. My favorite thing about this book was the Foreword. I liked the rest okay, but the Foreward was just terrific. That might sound anti-climactic, but I didn’t find it so. I just think that LeGuin framed her story very nicely with that bit of introductory work.
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White. ‘Nother Arthurian book I couldn’t get through.
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood's End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks. Soon to be a movie with Brad Pitt. For a zombie book, this is quite the rah-rah patriotic crowd-pleaser.
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett. Never read this book, but there was a really excellent comic series from Image that was also called Small Gods.
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson. Been meaning to read this for years.
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett. Prachett has a lot of books on this list. Between her and Gaiman, there’s a lot of stuff on here that just doesn’t appeal to me.
61. The Mote In God's Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. Also on my shelf right now. And yes, I’m aware it’s a movie. I’ve not seen it.
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist. I didn’t love this series, but I’ve been thinking of re-reading it because I’m wondering if I missed something. I was like ten when I read it the first time, and some of the Krondor-based sequels have been pretty good. So it seems hard to believe that the actual basic source material wouldn’t be better.
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks. Argh. Don’t read this one. Who even likes this crap? Brooks wrote a very nice novelization of the first Star Wars prequel, but I’ve always thought the Shannara series was derivative garbage.
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard. I’ve read maybe a half-dozen of the stories, but they’re devilishly hard to find in a library.
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb. Apprentice assassin with super powers. ‘Nuff said.
70. The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson. Amazing stuff here. By the time Sanderson finishes this series, it’ll easily eclipse Jordan’s WoT. The comparisons are inescapable, but Sanderson is a much better writer.
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore. This is hit-or-miss, but when Salvatore is on, he’s really entertaining. Still, there are better Forgotten Realms novels out there, including both Ereviss Cale trilogies and anything by Elaine Cunningham.
74. Old Man's War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury. Didn’t like this one much.
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire. Didn’t like this one much, either.
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher. Codex Alera but no Dresden Files? WTF? Dresden Files was a TV show. A good TV show! That said, I agree that Codex Alera is the better series. Butcher’s scene structure is always right on, and the way he turns the typical Hero’s Journey plotline on its head is simply unbelievable. The hero’s power is that he has no powers? Brilliant!
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn. These were the first Star Wars expanded universe novels. The first two are pretty good. The third one ends with a discordant CLANG!
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock. I’ve read a few of Moorcock’s books. I quite liked them. Moorcock’s stuff is sword-and-sorcery with a side of drug-induced-hallucination. Awesomely strange, but not to be taken in large doses.
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer's Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle. This is supposed to be good military fiction.
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony. I’ve read maybe half of these. After a while, they’re spectacularly groan-worthy. It’s astonishing that they sold as well as they did. I much prefer Bio of a Space Tyrant.
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
So there you have it. There are some notable absences here (The Dark Knight Returns, Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon trilogy, the Harry Potter series, David Drake’s Hammer’s Slammers series, and David Weber’sHonor Harrington series to name a few), but I still find this list to be full of worthwhile stuff. Certainly it’s given me a way to direct my reading for the next six months or so.
If you want to see a map of the list, consult SF Signal’s flowchart. Huge but brilliant. If nothing else, it’ll give you a clue about what some of the books you’ve never heard of are about. Plus, they also have one for Netflix.
Happy reading.
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