Must-read Sci-fi & Fantasy books

[Earniel]

I saw the idea on another forum.

What are the must-read fantasy and sci-fi books? Which are the novels any fantasy or sci-fi fan should have on their shelf? New, old, doesn't matter which. And if you can, tell us why you think so.

For me the list will have to include:


Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien (obviously)
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury (talk about a scary distopia!)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Sometimes a bit too absurd for my taste, but quotes are everywhere, so it is an influential book.
20,000 Leagues under the Sea - Jules Verne (Verne was such a visionary, even today his books haven't become overly dated despite their age.)
The Lost World - Arthur Conan Doyle (Dinosaurs! Whee!)
Small Gods - Terry Pratchett (hard to pick a Discworld book that jumps out, they're all pretty good. But Small Gods was an awesome read.

[Nerdanel]

What are the must-read fantasy and sci-fi books? Which are the novels any fantasy or sci-fi fan should have on their shelf? New, old, doesn't matter which. And if you can, tell us why you think so.

The Dune series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dune_%28novel%29) by Frank Herbert - it's such a great commentary on politics, religion and human nature... You'll learn a lot from reading it.

The Illuminatus! trilogy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illuminatus!_Trilogy) by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson - a really well-written story that I can't really describe in words... It's to some extent about conspiracy theories so crazy and well discussed that one almost starts believing them.

I'll come back with more when I come up with them ;)

[GrayMouser]

If I was doing an "Ïntro to Science Fiction" course , just as influential science fiction, not considering literary merit, and restricted to novels:

1) War of the Worlds/The Time Machine; H.G.Wells
While Jules Verne had a great technical imagination, he was a pretty stiff writer. Wells takes his ideas much further, and with deeper meaning. Plus, alien invaders and time travel. 'Nuff said.

2) The Foundation Series (original three only ); Isaac Asimov
A seminal work (and considering the nature of early SF, sexist connotations very much intended). While galactic empires were pioneered by Doc Smith, Asimov set the standard for what came later.

3) Childhood's End; Arthur C. Clarke. He was a better short story writer e.g. "The Star" or "9 Billion Names of God", but this is his best long fiction. Popularized the whole "group mind" and galactic evolution theme originally pioneered by Olaf Stapledon.

4) Something by Heinlein- a toughy; he's got to be on the list, but for what?
Stranger in a Strange Land is his most well-known, but not exactly representative of his contribution to SF. I'd be forced to go with either Universe, the first "oh, gee, we forgot we're actually living on a multi-generation starship"; or Citizen of the Galaxy, one of his juveniles, but a pretty good distillation of the essence of Bob.


5) Dune- the first book, not the series.

6) The Stars My Destination: Alfred Bester- author most neglected by non-hard-core fans, but an inspiration for later writers, in many ways a pioneer of "New Wave".

7) A Canticle for Liebowitz; Walter M. Miller jr.- best SF on a religious theme, and you've got to have a post-apocalyptic story somewhere on the list

8) The Left Hand of Darkness; Ursula K. LeGuin. The rise of "soft" SF, based on the social sciences, also marks the entrance of ( gasp) girrrls into what had been an almost entirely male genre.

9) The Female Man; Joanna Russ. First major novel to deconstruct (oh, no, the dreaded D word) the gender issues in the field itself.

10) Philip K. Dick, again, which one? Ubik is his best, but definitely stretches the limits of SF; maybe Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep or Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said.

Many other honorable mentions, of course.

[inked]

Science Fiction

OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET, PERELANDRA, and THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH by C.S. Lewis.

E.E. "Doc" Smith's LENSMEN series.

Concur on A CANTICLE FOR LIEBOWITZ and Asimov's Trilogy, but must add I, ROBOT.


Fantasy

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA

LOTR

the novels of Charles Williams:
War in Heaven (1930)
Many Dimensions (1931)
The Place of the Lion (1931)
Shadows of Ecstasy (1931)
The Greater Trumps (1932)
Descent into Hell (1937)
All Hallows' Eve (1945)

These pass the test of having been read many times and being on my shelves.

Really though you cannot leave off Dante's Comedy, either.

[GrayMouser]

I guess it depends on how you interpret the question- whether it's

1- "books you should read to get a good overview of science fiction" or

2- "books you love and would highly recommend"

For question 1, yes, "I, Robot" should be on there, but I was trying to keep the list down to ten- and of course it should be titled "The first 60 years" or "Part 1" or something like that. They're not old, they're classic- like me. ;)

If I expanded it I would include Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, and Last and First Men or Starmaker by Olaf Stapledon- a writer greatly admired by C.S.Lewis (though of course he totally disagreed with Stapledon's worldview).

As it stands it's eight Americans and two Brits; eight men and two women, and all whte AFAIK- though I think that says more about SF than it does about my choices!

If it's Question 2, the list would be different, and The Space Trilogy would definitely be on it.

Never read any Williams, though I've wanted to for years- are there any in the public domain? Cursed copyright laws; they're supposed to encourage authors, not keep their great-grandchildren on Easy Street.

[Varnafindë]

Charles Williams died around 1945 - his works are probably not in the public domain yet.

[mithrand1r]

I saw the idea on another forum.

What are the must-read fantasy and sci-fi books? Which are the novels any fantasy or sci-fi fan should have on their shelf? New, old, doesn't matter which. And if you can, tell us why you think so.



It is difficult to get an essential list since there is so much that I would like to include. Here are some books that I think are must reads.


The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
.
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
.
Watership Down by Richard Adams
.
The Belgariad by David Eddings (1982-1984)
.
The Once And Future King by TH White (1958)
.
Journey To The Center Of The Earth by Jules Verne
.
The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis (1942)
.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeliene L’Engle (1962)
.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (1900)
.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
.
The World of Pooh: The Complete Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne

[Earniel]

Winnie-the-Pooh? I have to say I wasn't expecting to see that one come up. Interesting choice.

[inked]

Well, Earniel, Pooh is fantasy.

I find the books that I read and re-read and re-read are the best to recommend. They may not have that critical mass of approval in all the right circles but they have readability and meaning and provoke thought. So, must reads for me are the "I must re-reads" that are worth the time.

I was never a Pooh fan myself, probably turned off by Disneyfication, but I can grasp the concept if one reader is continually drawn in.

And, again, Dante really ought to be on the list of my recommends.:thumb:

[mithrand1r]

Well, Earniel, Pooh is fantasy.

I find the books that I read and re-read and re-read are the best to recommend. They may not have that critical mass of approval in all the right circles but they have readability and meaning and provoke thought. So, must reads for me are the "I must re-reads" that are worth the time.

I was never a Pooh fan myself, probably turned off by Disneyfication, but I can grasp the concept if one reader is continually drawn in.

And, again, Dante really ought to be on the list of my recommends.:thumb:

Regardless of Disneyfication, the story was fun to read.

I have only read Dante in High School, but I do not remember it well.

[inked]

Then you must, Must, MUst, MUSt, MUST order the Dorothy L. Sayers translation and read it immediately. You shall never have a better introduction to Dante or high Fantasy! On my oath as an Entmooter! Even the subCreator Tolkien himself went to meetings of the Dante Club (cf. Letters). What higher accolade could there be? (At least on the 'Moot?)

[GrayMouser]

I disagree with the inclusion of Dante/Milton/the Odyssey/Orlando Furioso etc. in lists of this type, not, obviously, on literary grounds, but on the question of genre.

I think "Fantasy" as a genre -not to mention "Science Fiction"- should be restricted to modern (19th-century on) works where both author and reader acknowledge they're entering into imaginary worlds.

"Frankenstein" (1818) would be my nominee for the first 'true' SF, George MacDonald's "Phantastes" (1858) for the first work in "Fantasy".

As well I would distinguish children's books like Pooh, "The Wind in the Willows" "Alice", and even my own personal favorite Moomintroll, from Fantasy.

[mithrand1r]

I think that there are books that fit outside of your boundaries.

Gulliver's Travels could be considered a fantasy book. At the moment, I can not think of another pre-1800 fantasy/sci-fi books..

Why should children stories not be considered as fantasy or sci-fi books?

I disagree with the inclusion of Dante/Milton/the Odyssey/Orlando Furioso etc. in lists of this type, not, obviously, on literary grounds, but on the question of genre.

I think "Fantasy" as a genre -not to mention "Science Fiction"- should be restricted to modern (19th-century on) works where both author and reader acknowledge they're entering into imaginary worlds.

"Frankenstein" (1818) would be my nominee for the first 'true' SF, George MacDonald's "Phantastes" (1858) for the first work in "Fantasy".

As well I would distinguish children's books like Pooh, "The Wind in the Willows" "Alice", and even my own personal favorite Moomintroll, from Fantasy.

[GrayMouser]

I think that there are books that fit outside of your boundaries.

Gulliver's Travels could be considered a fantasy book. At the moment, I can not think of another pre-1800 fantasy/sci-fi books..

Why should children stories not be considered as fantasy or sci-fi books?

Sorry, late reply (well, not by the standards of this forum ;) )

Gulliver would be, if anything, an early science fiction- no magical or supernatural elements at all.

Science fiction has a natural early limit, which is the emergence of science. Isaac Asimov considers Somnium, by Kepler, to be the first sf, though the transportation to the Moon is by demon.

As for fantasy, there's a long history of fantastical tales- probably the most common and most popular form of story in human history (and prehistory).

Call it modern fantasy, if you will- a distinct genre that emerged from the Romantic movement in the 19th Century.

I think one essential element of (modern) fantasy is the drawing of distinct boundaries between our world and the fantasy one. This holds true whether the other world is self-contained like Middle Earth, or whether characters can travel back and forth, like Narnia.

Children's stories, like Pooh or The Wind in he Willows tend to simply ignore the distinction. Again, it's not a hard-and-fast rule, and opinions will differ on where to draw the line.

[ringbearer]

read the sf short stories of Cordwainer Smith! (one of the old collections was called "you will never be the same")
These are truly remarkable...

[GrayMouser]

Yeah, one of my favorites of the old-timers. Science-fantasy that truly gives the feeling of otherness.

[Lefty Scaevola]

Then you must, Must, MUst, MUSt, MUST order the Dorothy L. Sayers translation (of Dante) and read it immediately. You shall never have a better introduction to Dante or high Fantasy! On my oath as an Entmooter! Even the subCreator Tolkien himself went to meetings of the Dante Club (cf. Letters). What higher accolade could there be? (At least on the 'Moot?)

I prefer the Hollanders' translation.