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What are your absolute top ten sci-fi/fantasy novels?

M

MrOogieBoogie

BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
You can list either an individual book or the series, but if you list the series then it might be fun to put in parenthesis your favorite individual book in that series. Anything considered "science-fiction" or "fantasy" is allowed. I know that's a wide-reaching spectrum, but who cares.

My list:

10. The Stand, by Stephen King
9. The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien
8. The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
7. Malazan Book of the Fallen (Memories of Ice), by Steven Erikson
6. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
5. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami
4. Dune, by Frank Herbert
3. 1984, by George Orwell
2. Hyperion Cantos (Hyperion), by Dan Simmons
1. A Song of Ice and Fire (A Storm of Swords), by George R. R. Martin
 
A

Arttemis

Member
I absolutely loved R. A. Salvatore's Paths of Darkness series, particularly The Silent Blade and Servant of the Shard. Daniel Suarez's Daemon was also very fun, and I really need to read its sequel, Freedom. I love popcorn action.
 
V

Vincent Grayson

Member
Man, this is a tough one. I have a real hard time ranking books.

10. A Song of Ice and Fire (Storm of Swords) - George RR Martin
9. Wind-up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami
8. Machine Man - Max Barry
7. Mistborn (first trilogy) - Brandon Sanderson
6. The Lies of Locke Lamora (Red Seas Under Red Skies) - Scott Lynch
5. Book of the New Sun - Gene Wolfe
4. Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky
3. Ghostwritten - David Mitchell
2. Blindsight - Peter Watts
1. Wheel of Time (series, don't have a favorite book) - Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson

Honorable mentions to:
House of Leaves (a top 10 overall, but I ignored horror) - Mark Danielewski
The Death Gate Cycle and Dragonlance Chronicles/Legends trilogies - Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Malazan Book of the Fallen (I'm only 3 books in) - Steven Erikson

I intentionally avoided repeating authors, otherwise there'd be more Murakami, Mitchell, Sanderson, and Wolfe.
 
A

adamy

Banned
not sure, #1 would be:

Neuromancer_%28Book%29.jpg


followed by various works of Phillip K. Dick
 
Wag

Wag

Member
In no particular order:

LOTR
Hyperion
Forever War
The Book of the New Sun
Dune
Foundation
Farenheit 451
The Martian Chronicles
Red Mars
Ender's Game
 
P

Puck Beaverton

Banned
Duuuuuuuuuuuune
Slaughterhouse-Five/Everything Vonnegut
Neuromancer
A Scanner Darkly
Brave New World
A Wizard of Earthsea/Everything Le Guin
Flowers for Algernon
The Hobbit
Book of the New Sun
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Havent read a lot of fantasy, but these books come to mind when I think of favorites

Sci-fi
The Breach - Patrick Lee
Infected - Scott Sigler
Altered Carbon - Richard Morgan
Roadside Picnic - Arkady Strugatsky
Last and First Men - Olaf Stapledon

Fantasy
Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
Perdido Street Station - China Mieville
 
P

psyfi

Banned
Basically everything by Octavia Butler, most of Ursula K Le Guin's works, and Dune.

Dawn and The Dispossessed are my favorite Butler and Le Guin books.
 
Wag

Wag

Member
psyfi said:
Basically everything by Octavia Butler, most of Ursula K Le Guin's works, and Dune.

Dawn and The Dispossessed are my favorite Butler and Le Guin books.
Click to expand...

I liked The Dispossessed but I thought The Left Hand of Darkness was a better novel overall.
 
V

Vulcano's assistant

Banned
1. Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons (Hyperion)
2. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
4. The First Law Series by Joe Abercrombie (Before They Are Hanged)
5. The Culture series by Iain Banks (The Player of Games)
6. The Zones of Thought series by Vernor Vinge (A Fire Upon the Deep)
7. The Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds (Redemption Ark)
8. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
9. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
10. The Expanse by James S. A. Corey (Caliban's War)

---
11.Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
12. Dune by Frank Herbert
12. The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (The Way of Kings)
13. The Ringworld series by Larry Niven (Ringworld)
13. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
14. Rendezvous with Rama series by Arthur C. Clarke (Rama II)
15. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
16. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
17. Foundation series by Isaac Asimov
18. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
19. Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
20. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
 
G

Grenouille

Member
Not gonna rank them but these are the ones I've enjoyed the most:

Fantasy:

The Hobbit
A Song of Ice and Fire
American Gods
Ficciones (Jorge Luis Borges)
Sputnik Sweetheart
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell


Science fiction:

Snow Crash
The Martian Chronicles
Flow My Tears the Policeman Said
The Book of the New Sun
 
M

More_Badass

Member
I got Hyperion, Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and Vernor Vinge's Marooned In Realtime in my To Read folder

Is Gene Wolfe relatively unknown? I rarely see him mentioned in threads like this, but his works seem to be very highly regarded
 
P

psyfi

Banned
Wag said:
I liked The Dispossessed but I thought The Left Hand of Darkness was a better novel overall.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I like that book a lot less than most people seem to. Still good though! I'm an anarchist, so the anarchist themes in The Dispossessed were really fun for me. I'm also into queerness and gender too though, but TLHOD feels somewhat outdated in its discussion of those matters now.
 
P

Puck Beaverton

Banned
More_Badass said:
I got Hyperion, Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and Vernor Vinge's Marooned In Realtime in my To Read folder

Is Gene Wolfe relatively unknown? I rarely see him mentioned in threads like this, but it seems his works seem to very highly regarded
Click to expand...

He's not a big name commercially, but he's definitely respected by his peers and fans.
 
M

MrOogieBoogie

BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
More_Badass said:
I got Hyperion, Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and Vernor Vinge's Marooned In Realtime in my To Read folder

Is Gene Wolfe relatively unknown? I rarely see him mentioned in threads like this, but his works seem to be very highly regarded
Click to expand...

I've read the first two books of his Book of the New Sun series and thought they were just alright, but not enough for me to finish the series. I'm not huge on Wolfe's prose, and I couldn't stand the protagonist.

Vulcano's assistant said:
1. Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons (Hyperion)
2. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
4. The First Law Series by Joe Abercrombie (Before They Are Hanged)
5. The Culture series by Iain Banks (The Player of Games)
6. The Zones of Thought series by Vernor Vinge (A Fire Upon the Deep)
7. The Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds (Redemption Ark)
8. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
9. Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson
10. The Expanse by James S. A. Corey (Abaddon's Gate)

---
11.Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
12. Dune by Frank Herbert
12. The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson (The Way of Kings)
13. Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
14. Rendezvous with Rama series by Arthur C. Clarke (RamaII)
15. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
16. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
17. Foundation series by Isaac Asimov
18. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
19. Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
20. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Click to expand...

May I ask what you preferred about First Law over Stormlight? Trying to decide what series to dive into next and the unanimous praise of Stormlight on Amazon and Goodreads is mighty tempting.
 
C

Chemo

Member
01 Dhalgren (Samuel R. Delany)
02-11 The Culture Series (Iain M. Banks)

Some Gibson stuff after that.
 
B

besada

Banned
Great Sky River Series -- Gregory Benford
Mars Trilogy - Kim Stanley Robinson
Hyperion -- Dan Simmons
Uplift Series -- David Brin
The White Plague - Frank Herbert
Ringworld Series -- Larry Niven
Years of Rice and Salt -- Kim Stanley Robinson
Manifold Trilogy -- Stephen Baxter
Diaspora - Greg Egan
Kiln People -- David Brin
Queen of Angels - Greg Bear
Culture Series - Iain M Banks
Dune - Frank Herbert

I listed 13, most of them series, and it's still causing me physical pain to leave certain authors and works out. No Alastair Reynolds, Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, etc. I also realize I left fantasy out altogether. Too hard.
 
P

Pickman

Member
No order, and I'm including entire series as one entry:

The Martian
The Riyria Revelations
Revelation Space
The Expanse
Stormlight Archives
The Shadow Campaigns by Django Wexler
The Stand
Jurassic Park (Nostalgia, not a very good book)
Blindsight
Black Jack Geary space captain extraordinaire books
 
G

Grenouille

Member
More_Badass said:
I got Hyperion, Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and Vernor Vinge's Marooned In Realtime in my To Read folder

Is Gene Wolfe relatively unknown? I rarely see him mentioned in threads like this, but it seems his works seem to very highly regarded
Click to expand...

I see him being mentioned all the time in "best sci-fi" lists, especially here on gaf. But yeah, he is kinda unknown, you have to be into sci-fi books to have heard of him I suppose. He has never been published in my country and I first came across his name when Neil Gaiman described him as "best living writer" or something like that in American God's intro.
 
N

nasax

Member
I've only recently started to get into science fiction novels so I'm subscribed to this thread to get some ideas. I've only read so far Wool, The Martian, American Gods (well currently reading), Fahrenheit 451, Ready Player One, The Running Man and 14.
 
S

Switch Back 9

a lot of my threads involve me fucking up somehow. Perhaps I'm a moron?
Grenouille said:
I see him being mentioned all the time in "best sci-fi" lists, especially here on gaf. But yeah, he is kinda unknown, you have to be into sci-fi books to have heard of him I suppose. He has never been published in my country and I first came across his name when Neil Gaiman described him as "best living writer" or something like that in American God's intro.
Click to expand...

I read through the four New Sun books earlier this year and the series is certainly like nothing I've ever read. Shit had crazy depth. Tough read at times as well if I'm being honest.
 
ThisGuy

ThisGuy

Member
I wouldn't say my favorite, but one I have not seen mentioned that I believe deserves mentioning: Stranger in a strange land.
 
H

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
American Gods, Neil Gaiman
Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe
The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chang
Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin
The Scar, China Mieville
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
1984, George Orwell
Cetaganda, Lois McMaster Bujold

Sorted. Although I'm not sure about HHGG these days. It's been a few years.

More_Badass said:
Is Gene Wolfe relatively unknown? I rarely see him mentioned in threads like this, but his works seem to be very highly regarded
Click to expand...

He's highly regarded by those who do know him but he's never broken into the mainstream.
 
C

Cat Party

Member
I'm not well read enough to really contribute but Ancillary Justice by Anne Lecke is my favorite that I can think of.
 
T

TheCthultist

Member
10-4. Seven Dark Tower books with Wind through the Keyhole included in varying orders depending on the day of the week.
3. A Game of Thrones
2. A Memory of Light
1. The Dark Tower (the last book)

...I don't read a lot of fantasy/sci-fi...
 
V

Vulcano's assistant

Banned
MrOogieBoogie said:
I've read the first two books of his Book of the New Sun series and thought they were just alright, but not enough for me to finish the series. I'm not huge on Wolfe's prose, and I couldn't stand the protagonist.



May I ask what you preferred about First Law over Stormlight? Trying to decide what series to dive into next and the unanimous praise of Stormlight on Amazon and Goodreads is mighty tempting.
Click to expand...

I'm biased towards endings or satire, and Stormlight hasn't got an ending yet and First Law is Satire. I really loved the two books that are out however. Also it has a Shonen feel to it, that I don't dislike in the amounts these first two books have, but it is there and it takes itself very seriously, while the first law does a bit of the opposite and I loved that humor.
 
R

Ratrat

Member
Not my all-time favorites, but are often overlooked:

Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan
Voyage of the Space Beagle by AE Van Vogt
The Stars my Destination by Alfred Bester
Tuf Voyaging by George R. R. Martin
 
G

GreenMonkey

Member
1) Robin Hobb, Fitz/fool books
2) Asimov, Robot series
3) GRR Martin, Song of Ice and Fire
4) C.S. Friedman, Coldfire trilogy
5) Mercedes Lackey, The Last Herald-Mage trilogy
6) Feist/Wurts, Empire trilogy (I guess Feist's Magician series in general up until Serpentwar, didn't like it as much after that)
7) Scott Lynch, Locke Lamora books
8) Brandon Sanderson, Mistborn
9) Weis/Hickman, Legends trilogy (like Raistlin, plus time travel, no apologies)
10) R.A. Salvatore, first Dark Elf Trilogy (ditto)


Favorite stand-alone books:

Frank Robinson - The Dark Beyond the Stars
Phyllis Eisenstein - Born to Exile / In the Red Lord's Reach

(for those of you that haven't read Eisenstein, she's an old friend / influencer of GRR Martin, she talked him into putting the Dragons into ASOIAF).


Want to put in some Joe Abercrombie somewhere but I haven't re-read anything of his yet as I was kind of late to the game there. I like to re-read a couple of times before something makes my top books list.

I've tried to read Malazan, I know I'll see it on a few lists, I've hit books 1/2 a couple of times now. I found it very dense and hard to get into. Still mean to keep trying, sometimes good books are like this (Gene Wolfe comes to mind).
 
M

MrOogieBoogie

BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Vulcano's assistant said:
I'm biased towards endings or satire, and Stormlight hasn't got an ending yet and First Law is Satire. I really loved the two books that are out however. Also it has a Shonen feel to it, that I don't dislike in the amounts these first two books have, but it is there and it takes itself very seriously, while the first law does a bit of the opposite and I loved that humor.
Click to expand...

Huh, cool. Thank you. Which series do you think has the stronger characters? More immersive writing?

Also, quite surprised I haven't seen much love for the Kingkiller Chronicles considering the universal praise.
 
H

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
Cat Party said:
I'm not well read enough to really contribute but Ancillary Justice by Anne Lecke is my favorite that I can think of.
Click to expand...

my man

I couldn't fit that into my list but it'd be in the top 20 somewhere.
 
N

NipplesAndToes23

Member
I haven't read ten ones that I like (excluding the entire Harry Potter series), but I'll go ahead and just say that everyone should read Wild Seed by Octavia Butler.
 
M

MrOogieBoogie

BioShock Infinite is like playing some homeless guy's vivid imagination
Blasian Persuasion said:
I haven't read ten ones that I like, but I'll go ahead and just say that everyone should read Wild Seed by Octavia Butler.
Click to expand...

What are some you've read that you didn't like?

jetjevons said:
Still can't get over how great the Hyperion series is.
Click to expand...

I loved both Hyperion and its sequel, but man, I was NOT prepared for how great that first book is. Never cried so hard reading a book before.
 
G

gforguava

Member
Feels like I'm missing something obvious but here we go:

10. The MaddAddam trilogy(favorite individual entry is Oryx and Crake) by Margaret Atwood
9. The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
8. The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
7. The Dark Tower series(favorite individual entry is Wizard and Glass) by Stephen King
6. The Dune series(favorite individual entry is God Emperor of Dune) by Frank Herbert
5. The Southern Reach trilogy(favorite individual entry is Acceptance) by Jeff VanderMeer
4. The Elemental Logic series(favorite individual entry is Earth Logic) by Laurie J. Marks
3. The Abhorsen trilogy(favorite individual entry is Sabriel) by Garth Nix
2. The Innkeeper's Song by Peter S. Beagle
1. The Riverside series(favorite individual entry is The Privilege of the Sword) by Ellen Kushner and co.


edit: The Last Unicorn is what I am missing, should definitely be up there somewhere.
 
C

casiopao

Member
Ratrat said:
Can you read Japanese?

Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Dune by Frank Herbert
Click to expand...

I can read to certain degree and of course, there are some fine soul which translated the novel so i can keep following the series.^^(Some is filled with some proper anime adaptation so i am very hyped towards some novel there.^^)
 
V

Verdre

Unconfirmed Member
1. The Last Unicorn - Peter S Beagle

"It's the princesses who have no time," she said. "The sky spins and drags everything along with it, princesses and magicians and poor Cully and all, but you stand still. You never see anything just once. I wish you could be a princess for a little while, or a flower, or a duck. Something that can't wait."
Click to expand...

2. The Folk of the Air - Peter S Beagle

I am a black stone, the size of a kitchen stove. They wash me in the stream every summer and sing over me. I am skulls and cocks, spring rain and the blood of the bull. Virgins lie with strangers in my name, the young priests throw pieces of themselves at my stone feet. I am white corn, and the wind in the corn, and the earth whereof the corn stands up, and the blind worms rolled in an oozy ball of love at the corn's roots. I am rut and flood and honeybees.
Click to expand...

3. The 13 Clocks - James Thurber

The clocks were dead, and in the end, brooding on it, the Duke decided he had murdered time, slain it with his sword, and wiped his bloody blade upon its beard and left it lying there, bleeding hours and minutes, its springs uncoiled and sprawling, its pendulum disintegrating.
Click to expand...

4. Dragonsbane - Barbara Hambly

I do not understand what it is and, like you, I shall never be able to return to what I have been.
Click to expand...

5. Through Wolf's Eyes - Jane Lindskold

Is she become a rag doll? Are the wolves become children? It seems quite possible, there on the twilight fringes of dying.
Click to expand...

6. Six-Gun Snow White - Catherynne M. Valente - This is such a horrific title for such a beautiful little story.

Love was a magic fairy spell. Didn't the girls in my books hunt after love like it was a deer with a white tail? Didn't love wake the dead? Didn't that lady love the beast so hard he turned into a good-looking white fellow? That was what love did. It turned you into something else.
Click to expand...

7. Starfish - Peter Watts - I don't have a lot of favorite scifi, but I thought Starfish was wonderful. (Sadly I thought the sequels were kind of crap)

She pushes off. The darkness embraces her. She swims, not looking back, until her legs grow tired. She doesn't know how far she's come. But it must be light-years. The ocean is full of stars.
Click to expand...

8. Night Watch - Sergei Lukyanenko

Do you remember the fairy tale about the mermaid? A witch gave her legs, she could walk, but she felt like there were red-hot knives stabbing into her feet all the time. That story's about us, Maxim! We always walk over sharp knives, and that's something you can never get used to. But Hans Christian Andersen didn't tell the whole story. The witch could have done things differently: the mermaid walks, and the knives stab other people. That's the way of the Dark.
Click to expand...


9. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - Catherynne M. Valente

You and I, being grown-up and having lost our hearts at least twice or thrice along the way, might shut our eyes and cry out: Not that way, child! But as we have said, September was Somewhat Heartless, and felt herself reasonably safe on that road. Children always do.
Click to expand...

10. Best Served Cold - Joe Abercrombie
 
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