{"id":2005,"date":"2010-08-05T20:35:12","date_gmt":"2010-08-06T02:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/?p=2005"},"modified":"2010-08-05T20:35:12","modified_gmt":"2010-08-06T02:35:12","slug":"100_sf_books_everyone_should_r","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/2010\/08\/05\/100_sf_books_everyone_should_r\/","title":{"rendered":"100 SF Books Everyone Should Read"},"content":{"rendered":"

No doubt my teenage self would be surprised and disappointed to learn this, but the truth is I don’t read a lot of science fiction anymore, and even when I did, my interests tended toward the less-respectible, less-than-serious stuff: movie tie-ins, old pulp heroes like Doc Savage<\/a> and John Carter<\/a>, and space opera. So-called “hard” SF<\/a> or the tomes with literary and\/or philosophical aspirations rarely caught my interest. Which means I’m usually at something of a disadvantage when I’m confronted by those lists of the Great Works that occasionally circulate, because I just haven’t read many of the Great Works. Even so, I always feel the compulsion to throw in my two cents anyway because, you know… they’re lists<\/i>. And lists, by their very existence, demand that you comment on them, because they’re inevitably just some other person’s ideas of what constitutes greatness, and we all know that mileage varies. Especially when you’re contrary by nature, as I tend to be.<\/p>\n

Anyhow, here’s one such list of 100 SF books that everyone supposedly needs to read, discovered and meme-ized by the always-reliable Jaquandor<\/a>. Following his lead, I shall bold the titles I’ve read, italicize those I own but haven’t gotten around to reading, and color red the ones I do not own but hope to read one of these days. I’ve also added a twist by striking out the handful of titles that I know I never<\/i> want to read. And of course, there will be commentary. So… onward!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Postman \u2013 David Brin<\/span>
    \n(I never saw the reviled Kevin Costner film, but I hear many good things about its source material.)<\/li>\n
  2. The Uplift War \u2013 David Brin<\/li>\n
  3. Neuromancer \u2013 William Gibson<\/b>
    \n(I reacted rather violently against this book when I first read it back in college. I found its dystopian setting and focus on computers and hacking and weird brain implants and virtual spaces downright repellent, and more than a little confusing, to be honest. Now that     cyberpunk<\/a> tropes and ideas have become more-or-less mainstream, however, I would like to try this seminal novel again sometime.)<\/li>\n
  4. Foundation \u2013 Isaac Asimov<\/b><\/li>\n
  5. Foundation and Empire \u2013 Isaac Asimov<\/b><\/li>\n
  6. Second Foundation \u2013 Isaac Asimov<\/b><\/li>\n
  7. I, Robot \u2013 Isaac Asimov<\/b>
    \n(Fond memories of this one — my mother bought me a paperback copy of I, Robot<\/i> one day when I was home from school, sick. She figured I’d like it because it was about robots, and she knew I loved Artoo and Threepio in Star Wars<\/i>. Needless to say, Asimov’s robots weren’t much like Artoo and Threepio, but I did enjoy the book. And yes, I still have it…)<\/li>\n
  8. The Long Tomorrow \u2013 Leigh Brackett<\/li>\n
  9. Rogue Moon \u2013 Algis Budrys<\/li>\n
  10. The Martian Chronicles \u2013 Ray Bradbury<\/i>
    \n(I’ve owned a copy of this since the fifth grade — it was my freebie selection from the     RIF<\/a> book fair, as I recall. I think<\/i> I’ve read it, but it was so long ago I no longer remember, so I’m putting it in the “own but need to read” category.)<\/li>\n
  11. Fahrenheit 451 \u2013 Ray Bradbury<\/i><\/li>\n
  12. Something Wicked This Way Comes \u2013 Ray Bradbury<\/span><\/li>\n
  13. Childhood\u2019s End \u2013 Arthur C. Clarke<\/b><\/li>\n
  14. The City and the Stars \u2013 Arthur C. Clarke<\/b><\/li>\n
  15. 2001: A Space Odyssey \u2013 Arthur C. Clarke<\/b>
    \n(I had to read 2001<\/i> to try and figure out what the hell happened at the end of the movie.)<\/li>\n
  16. Armor \u2013 John Steakley<\/li>\n
  17. Imperial Stars \u2013 E. E. Smith<\/li>\n
  18. Frankenstein \u2013 Mary Shelley<\/i><\/li>\n
  19. Ender\u2019s Game \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/b><\/li>\n
  20. Speaker for the Dead \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/li>\n
  21. Dune \u2013 Frank Herbert<\/b><\/li>\n
  22. The Dosadi Experiment \u2013 Frank Herbert<\/li>\n
  23. Journey Beyond Tomorrow \u2013 Robert Sheckley<\/li>\n
  24. The Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy \u2013 Douglas Adams<\/b><\/li>\n
  25. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? \u2013 Philip K. Dick<\/b><\/li>\n
  26. Valis \u2013 Philip K. Dick<\/span><\/li>\n
  27. A Scanner Darkly \u2013 Philip K. Dick<\/span><\/li>\n
  28. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch \u2013 Philip K. Dick<\/span><\/li>\n
  29. 1984 \u2013 George Orwell<\/b><\/li>\n
  30. Slaughterhouse Five \u2013 Kurt Vonnegut<\/b><\/li>\n
  31. Cat\u2019s Cradle \u2013 Kurt Vonnegut<\/span><\/li>\n
  32. The War of the Worlds \u2013 H. G. Wells<\/b><\/li>\n
  33. The Time Machine \u2013 H. G. Wells<\/b><\/li>\n
  34. The Island of Doctor Moreau \u2013 H. G. Wells<\/span><\/li>\n
  35. The Invisible Man \u2013 H. G. Wells<\/b><\/li>\n
  36. A Canticle for Leibowitz \u2013 Walter M. Miller, Jr.<\/span><\/li>\n
  37. Alas, Babylon \u2013 Pat Frank<\/li>\n
  38. A Clockwork Orange \u2013 Anthony Burgess<\/li>\n
  39. A Journey to the Center of the Earth \u2013 Jules Verne<\/b><\/li>\n
  40. From the Earth to the Moon \u2013 Jules Verne<\/span><\/li>\n
  41. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea \u2013 Jules Verne<\/b>
    \n(I seem to be fairly well-versed in the progenitors of the genre, at least, i.e., Verne and Wells.)<\/li>\n
  42. Old Man\u2019s War \u2013 John Scalzi<\/b>
    \n(I really enjoyed this one and its sequels, but it seems a little too recent to be on a list like this. It’s only five years old. I don’t know, though. Perhaps there are those who consider it an instant classic.)<\/li>\n
  43. Nova Express \u2013 William S. Burroughs<\/li>\n
  44. Ringworld \u2013 Larry Niven<\/b><\/li>\n
  45. The Mote in God\u2019s Eye \u2013 Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle<\/b>
    \n(I really grooved on Niven at one point in my life — late high school\/early college — and I’d like to re-read his stuff, but I’m half afraid it wouldn’t work for me any longer.)<\/li>\n
  46. The Unreasoning Mask \u2013 Philip Jose Farmer<\/li>\n
  47. To Your Scattered Bodies Go \u2013 Philip Jose Farmer<\/i>
    \n(I picked this one up at a library sale for a quarter, entirely because I saw on the first page that its protagonist is none other than Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton, the real-life Victorian adventurer and explorer who has fascinated me since my early twenties. I really need to get this onto the “read soon” stack.)<\/li>\n
  48. Eon \u2013 Greg Bear<\/li>\n
  49. Jurassic Park \u2013 Michael Crichton<\/b><\/li>\n
  50. The Andromeda Strain \u2013 Michael Crichton<\/b>
    \n(Crichton. Man. I used to be a tireless defender of him, because I found his books both immensely entertaining and thought-provoking. Then     things changed<\/a>. And now… well, I enjoyed these books in their time. Let’s put it like that. I won’t be re-reading them. I can’t think of any other author I’ve had such a complete — and visceral — change of heart about.)<\/li>\n
  51. Lightning \u2013 Dean Koontz<\/li>\n
  52. The Stainless Steel Rat \u2013 Harry Harrison<\/b>
    \n(I read this in middle school, as well as several of its sequels, and thought they were all delightful. I they probably haven’t held up very well, though.)<\/li>\n
  53. The Fifth Head of Cerebus \u2013 Gene Wolfe<\/li>\n
  54. Nightside of the Long Sun \u2013 Gene Wolfe<\/li>\n
  55. A Princess of Mars \u2013 Edgar Rice Burroughs<\/b><\/li>\n
  56. Cryptonomicon \u2013 Neal Stephenson<\/li>\n
  57. Snow Crash \u2013 Neal Stephenson<\/li>\n
  58. The Stars My Destination \u2013 Alfred Bester<\/li>\n
  59. Solaris \u2013 Stanislaw Lem<\/b>
    \n(Baffling book. I never could make heads or tales of what was happening in it.)<\/li>\n
  60. Doomsday Book \u2013 Connie Wills<\/li>\n
  61. Beserker \u2013 Fred Saberhagen<\/b><\/li>\n
  62. The Time Traveler\u2019s Wife \u2013 Audrey Niffenegger<\/li>\n
  63. The Word for World is Forest \u2013 Ursula K. LeGuin<\/li>\n
  64. The Dispossessed \u2013 Ursula K. LeGuin
    \n(Weird. I’ve always understood the must-read LeGuin book was The Lathe of Heaven<\/i>. I’ve heard of The Dispossessed<\/i>, at least, but that other one? Complete mystery…)<\/li>\n
  65. Babel-17 \u2013 Samuel R. Delany<\/li>\n
  66. Dhalgren \u2013 Samuel R. Delany<\/li>\n
  67. Flowers for Algernon \u2013 Daniel Keyes<\/b><\/li>\n
  68. The Forever War \u2013 Joe Haldeman<\/b><\/li>\n
  69. Star King \u2013 Jack Vance<\/li>\n
  70. The Killing Machine \u2013 Jack Vance<\/li>\n
  71. Trullion: Alastor 2262 \u2013 Jack Vance<\/li>\n
  72. Hyperion \u2013 Dan Simmons<\/li>\n
  73. Starship Troopers \u2013 Robert A. Heinlein<\/b><\/li>\n
  74. Stranger in a Strange Land \u2013 Robert A. Heinlein<\/i><\/li>\n
  75. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress \u2013 Robert A. Heinlein<\/i>
    \n(I’ve long been a fan of Heinlein’s “juveniles” — of which, Starship Troopers<\/i> is the last, marking the transition point into the next phase of his writing \u2013- as well as his early “future history” short stories and novellas, but I’ve never gotten around to his later, longer, and by all accounts weirder<\/i> stuff. One of these days…)<\/li>\n
  76. A Wrinkle in Time \u2013 Madeleine L\u2019Engle<\/b>
    \n(A childhood classic that I revisited a few years ago. My thoughts on that occasion are     here<\/a>.)<\/li>\n
  77. More Than Human \u2013 Theodore Sturgeon<\/li>\n
  78. A Time of Changes \u2013 Robert Silverberg<\/li>\n
  79. Gateway \u2013 Frederick Pohl<\/li>\n
  80. Man Plus – Frederick Pohl<\/li>\n
  81. The Day of the Triffids \u2013 John Wyndham<\/span><\/li>\n
  82. Mission of Gravity \u2013 Hal Clement<\/li>\n
  83. The Execution Channel \u2013 Ken Macleod<\/li>\n
  84. Last and First Men \u2013 W. Olaf Stapledon<\/li>\n
  85. Slan \u2013 A. E. van Vogt<\/li>\n
  86. Out of the Silent Planet \u2013 C. S. Lewis<\/li>\n
  87. They Shall Have Stars \u2013 James Blish<\/li>\n
  88. Marooned in Realtime \u2013 Vernor Vinge<\/li>\n
  89. A Fire Upon the Deep \u2013 Vernor Vinge<\/li>\n
  90. The People Maker \u2013 Damon Knight<\/li>\n
  91. The Giver \u2013 Lois Lowry<\/li>\n
  92. The Handmaid\u2019s Tale \u2013 Margaret Atwood<\/span><\/li>\n
  93. Contact \u2013 Carl Sagan<\/span><\/li>\n
  94. Atlas Shrugged \u2013 Ayn Rand<\/span><\/li>\n
  95. The Fountainhead \u2013 Ayn Rand<\/span>
    \n(Okay, here’s a pair of novels I have zero<\/i> interest in reading. Everything I’ve heard about Rand and her philosophy — which I understand is basically “I got mine, screw you” — suggests that I wouldn’t be able to get through one of her books without hurling it across the room. My blood pressure is already too high because of my job, I don’t need to add to it.)<\/li>\n
  96. Battlefield Earth \u2013 L. Ron Hubbard <\/span>
    \n(And again, I’ve heard too much about Hubbard’s “religion” to have any interest in his fiction.)<\/li>\n
  97. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur\u2019s Court \u2013 Mark Twain<\/b><\/li>\n
  98. Little Brother \u2013 Cory Doctorow<\/span>
    \n(Like Old Man’s War<\/i>, this is too recent to rank alongside something like Dune<\/i> or Foundation<\/i> as one of the “must-reads,” but it’s supposed to be really good, and I’ve enjoyed Doctorow’s writing on     Boing Boing<\/a>.)<\/li>\n
  99. Invasion of the Body Snatchers \u2013 Jack Finney<\/i><\/li>\n
  100. Planet of the Apes \u2013 Pierre Boulle<\/b>
    \n(You know… this may be blasphemy in some eyes, but I think I prefer the movie version to Boulle’s novel. The 1968 Charlton Heston movie, I mean, not Tim Burton’s abysmal remake, which was somewhat closer to the novel, but still a mess.)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    And there you have it. A curious list, really… I’ll confess I haven’t even heard of many of the titles. But as I said, I’ve been out of the genre for a while, and anyway this is all just some guy’s opinion…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    No doubt my teenage self would be surprised and disappointed to learn this, but the truth is I don’t read a lot of science fiction anymore, and even when I did, my interests tended toward the less-respectible, less-than-serious stuff: movie tie-ins, old pulp heroes like Doc Savage and John Carter, and space opera. So-called “hard” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-memes-and-quizzes","category-the-bookshelf"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2005\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jasonbennion.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}