Comments on: Ten of the best…science fiction novels

By: Adam Bruce

Adam Bruce — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:00:38 +0000

I have to agree with pretty much everything on your list. And for everyone who wants to say “hey wait you missed X,” of course there are other works which people should read; but there wasn’t enough room to list them all. I personally think the most complete (if a little long) list is at

http://www2.ku.edu/~sfcenter/sflib.htm

But the ten you cited are all absolute MUST READS of SF. It was interesting that you talked about the whole BS with The Guardian. I’m pretty sure ol’ Osama wouldn’t want to be caught dead with inspiration from anyone other than his twisted interpretation of Allah, much less the Russian-American Atheist, Humanist Jew that was Asimov.

I agree with most of the people on the comments that Dune was the most overrated book in SF history. The characters are worse than cardboard and I hated the unnecessary appeal to mysticism. I know a lot of people really like it, and I have no issue with them liking it as long as they’ve actually read other SF. But I’ve known some people who’ve read either nothing or little else in SF (or any other genre for that matter) but who are convinced Dune’s “The BEST book of science fiction if not of ALL TIME.” These are the people who annoy me; please don’t be one of them.

By: spacerboy

spacerboy — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:30:28 +0000

Asimov is always no.1 for me.

Then:

Heinlein,

Poul,

Vance,

Van Vogt.

By: Murfomurf

Murfomurf — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:29:55 +0000

John Varley ‘The Ophiuchi Hotline’- superbly clever and engaging science fiction!
Greg Bear ‘Eon’- wow- worlds within worlds, memories, intersections…
George R R Martin ‘Dying of the Light’.
Christopher priest ‘A Dream of Wessex’.

I won’t go on- I’m getting all nostalgic!

By: Riktorscale

Riktorscale — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:57:32 +0000

Well there are a lot of great titles that have already been mentioned and i now have a very large list of new authors to investigate. However i am a little shocked that WILLIAM GIBSON has not been mentioned “Neuromancer” is a stunning book. My other fav by him is “pattern Recognition” Definately worth a look.

By: Jon

Jon — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:38:35 +0000

Good list, but, with the exception of A Fire Upon the Deep and Ender’s Game (which was really published in 1985? Sheesh!)it seems to stop circa ’75. Not much representing Cyberpunk here – I think that Neuromancer would get onto most people’s lists (I think that the Sprawl trilogy has had a massive influence on the genre).

By: Random Amy

Random Amy — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:51:06 +0000

For me it will always be Frank Herberts Dune series. x

By: allan

allan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 07:03:49 +0000

A lot depends on your definition of SF, but for hard SF I cannot imagine anything better than Dan Simmons’s Hyperion Cantos. (Hyperion is so good it is in my all-time list for serious fiction.) I also loved reading Benford’s Great Sky River and Tides of Light.

By: Lynette Darr

Lynette Darr — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:38:21 +0000

I agree with most of the greats but having been an avid sf reader for more than 50 years I must add the following:

John Wyndham – The Chrysalids. Read more more often than I can remember and so real it’s fresh every time.

Linda Nagata – Vast. The best hard sf ever written by a woman – or anyone. Stunning vision.

Dean R. Koontz – Lightning. His best. Not just neat time travel but his best characters ever. Shades of Terminator but much more substance.

Robert Silverberg – Thorns. Once read never forgotten and can be addictive.

Theodore Sturgeon – The Dreaming Jewels. An old classic full of charm and wonderful surprises. Even knowing the plot it is still readable time and again.

By: Chris Pindar

Chris Pindar — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 09:42:11 +0000

These sort of lists will always disappoint more people than they satisfy as everyone will have their own list which they think is definitive – me inlcuded. Here’s a few that I was surpirsed to see missed.

Thomas M Disch – The Seedling Stars
Robert Silverberg – Tower of Glass
Michael Moorcock – Behold The Man
Clifford D Simak – Ring around the Sun
Phillip K Dick – Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Ray Bradbury – Damnation Alley
J G Ballard – High Rise

By: justin keevers

justin keevers — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:48:01 +0000

DUNE was a very overrated book in my opinion as well , not bad , but not as epic as everyone else makes out.

Why not read something from Peter.F Hamilton, England’s best selling sci fi author , i suggest reading
“Pandora’s Star then Judas Unchained” (its other half of the series of 2)
great books , and any of his other series are fascinating