Fahrenheit 451 is there, I didn’t see Asimov though, I might have missed it though.
Why Thomas Covenant? I mean the first series was okay but I will never forgive Donaldson for thinking 400 pages of everyone moping on a boat and finding out the trip was useless was a good idea for a story.
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No Cordwainer Smith, no L Sprague De Camp (I haven’t read any L Sprague De Camp, should I?)?
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I had proper history of something or other culture (celtic maybe) by De Camp at one time and I remember bugger all other than I read most of it. I am sure I have read more than a few short stories from him over the years definitely some Conan stories.
Sadly, Peake is not that well known in the US. Obviously, the list is skewed to books that are in print and Amazon thinks they can sell–basically books already well known, and mostly of relatively recent vintage. This is not a list for stretching anyone’s boundaries. I wouldn’t be surprised if publishers had to kick in some promo dollars for inclusion.
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These lists always seem heavily weighted toward whatever is recent and hot. There are plenty of authors out there whose works have stood the test of time, rather than whatever made the bestseller list within the last year.
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I, Robot
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I’m sorry - I’m very old school I guess, I really really want them to separate fantasy from science fiction. I’d rather see two lists of 100 books than have them combined. Also it looks like they were very careful not to repeat any authors. There are one or two who might merit multiple books being listed. For example ‘Starship Troopers’ or "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress’ and “Stranger In A Strange Land”.
I thought “A Deepness in the Sky” by V. Vinge should not have been omitted.
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Hah! I just re-entered the thread to plug Venus on the Half Shell!
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I think this is freely editable by anyone with such mind…
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There’s a joke in there somewhere…
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No A. E. Van Vogt, no Jack Vance, no Clifford Simak, no Iain Banks (Use of Weapons would suit very well), no Poul Anderson, maybe not the best Cherryh or McMaster Bujold (I’d prefer Downbelow Station and the two novels comprising Barrayar respectively), no John Wyndham, no James H. Schmitz (The Witches of Karres is a rollicking good read), no John Brunner, no Fritz Leiber, and the list goes on…
Sure, why not? The Viagens Interplanetarias books and Lest Darkness Fall are well worth your time.
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A few authors are represented more than once. In creating the most effective top 100 list, I would have made the list with 100 unique writers, to ensure maximum exposure, then I would try to choose the one book that would ensure the reader would chase down all the others.
If I were any good at this sort of thing, that is.
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I always thought Tamora Pierce should get more attention. Her fantasy novels are fantastic.
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I get why one might pick Dhalgren out of Delany’s work, but I’ve always liked Nova, which is both shorter and probably more accessible for many. After all, who doesn’t like a Grail Quest story?
And my top 100 would have to include Gene Wolf, likely something from the Book of the Long Sun.
For PKD, both UBIK and The Martian Time Slip spring to mind, but I’d have to ponder a bit before deciding what to include.
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John Wyndham, John Brunner, Mary Gentle?
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No “War of the Worlds”, unless I missed it.
Come on guys! Wells deserves a token entry, and there is none better as a token.
TBH, I would bump multiple author entries, since there’s more than 100 “must read” sci-fi authors. I guess it depends on the stated intent of the list, though?
If it was me, I might actually list more “deep cuts” by the authors, great, but lesser-known works. For example, “The Nine Billion Names of God” by Clarke. Or, “Job: A Comedy of Justice” by Heinlein instead of “Stranger in a Strange Land”.
Hunger Games should be dropped. Not because it isn’t good (it is), but it’s not great. The subject matter is really a split between YA sci-fi and YA romance, and while it has some nice surprises, the plot is largely well-trod. Good, but not truly great. For the same reasons, Harry Potter deserves to get dropped (sorry).
Piers Anthony deserves an entry, but I’m far too biased to pick one fairly. Probably either of the first two Xanth books would be my pick.
No Edgar Rice Burroughs? Damn shame.
Aasimov totally earned his place on the list, but “I, Robot” maybe should be swapped out for the first “Foundation” book.
All in all, somewhat small complaints.
EDIT: If we’re going to allow World War Z entry, it’s only fair to add Anne Rice. It didn’t do much for me personally, but “Interview” is a shoe-in.
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