If you’re a fantasy or science fiction reader, you’ve probably already seen NPR’s top 100 list of science fiction and fantasy novels. This list is based on nominations from the public, with some review by a panel of three experts to ensure that a consistent definition of science fiction and fantasy was applied. To that end, no horror or young adult, although NPR tells us those categories are coming. To give you an idea of how many voted, the book rated #100 on this list received 1,452 votes. Lord of the Rings received 29,701. The list skews British, and overwhelmingly male – but the exclusion of young adult books may have taken out a lot of books by female authors like J.K. Rowling, Ursula LeGuin, and yes, Stephenie Meyer.
What do I think of the list? Well I’m happy to say I’ve read quite a lot of these. The top 50 seems pretty spot on to me – although I’m a pretty mainstream reader. I don’t claim to know the finer points of the genre, and as a nomination-based list, this isn’t meant to tell us the highest quality, just the most popular.
I have some gripes with the lower fifty – Wicked? The Kushiel series seems pretty cheesy to me but I haven’t read it. I’m not sure anything seems obviously missing, although if you’re interested you can see the full list of nominations here.
What I’d recommend from this list? I don’t think you can go wrong with the first seven, although they won’t be for everyone. After that, The Princess Bride, Animal Farm, Slaughterhouse Five, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Stand, The Martian Chronicles, and Watership Down, are all personal favorites. I can also recommend Something Wicked This Way Comes, I am Legend, and the Eyre Affair. On a slightly more girly note, but still good reading, are The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Outlander series.
Books on this list I need to read? I’d like to read more by Asimov, Heinlein, Gaiman and Pratchett. I’ve read books by them that aren’t on this list – and it’s hard to know which books to read by these prolific authors so the list helps. I’ve been meaning to read something by Jules Verne. I’ve never read Robert Jordan but I’m wondering if I ought to. I also don’t think I’ve read anything by Niven though my husband recommends him.
I’ve read many of the female authors on this list except for Lois McMaster Bujold, Mary Stewart, and Connie Willis (this year’s Hugo winner). I think more of the female authors on this list are fantasy, although some like LeGuin and McCaffrey cross genres. I would call Shelley and Atwood science fiction. Are there more good female fantasy writers than science fiction writers? Is there a lack in both categories?
I’ve bolded the books I’ve read, or read part of (in the case of series, not individual books). There are a few where I didn’t finish a book, or I read it so long ago I’m not sure.
What do you think of the list? What’s missing? What would you recommend?
1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert
5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin
6. 1984, by George Orwell
7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
8. The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov
9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson
15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore
16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley
21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick
22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King
24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke
25. The Stand, by Stephen King
26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson
27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury
28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut
29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein
32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein
35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller
36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys
39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells
40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings
42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld, by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien
47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White
48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman
49. Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Contact, by Carl Sagan
51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons
52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
54. World War Z, by Max Brooks
55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman
57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson
59. The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson
66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist
67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard
69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne
73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson
76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin
79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde
83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks
84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher
87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe
88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury
92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
93. A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge
94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov
95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson
96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
The Book Stop 
Just so you know Kim Stanley Robinson is not a woman. He’s a multi-Hugo winning sci-fi author of some repute so you should check him out. You really should check out some of Ursula Le Guin’s sci-fi if you want female authors — she’s one of the best. The Left Hand of Darkness is pure class.
Ack! Thanks for the correction. A lot of names are hard to tell — I shouldn’t have assumed. I’ve struggled a little bit with LeGuin. Tried The Dispossessed but didn’t love it.
I recommend Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut, A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller, The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin, The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman, The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. Le Guin….
THe list is lacking somewhat in old classics…. Heavily geared toward new works — sadly.
Wow, thanks for bringing this list to my attention! I have been really getting into science fiction lately and will definiely check out some of the titles on the list.
I’ve only scanned the list – but I didn’t see any John Wyndham? Did I miss him somwhere? It seems a bit strange to me that he wouldn’t have something on the list. He’s the master in my books.
That’s the point I was making — the list is sorely lacking in old classics — the works of John Wyndham for example — the tip of the iceberg.
I’ll check out John Wyndham. I think of Wells, Verne, Shelley and Orwell as classics, but I don’t doubt this list missed a lot. I read a critique that most of the top rated books are also movies — is that because the best books get made into movies, or because what gets made into movies become our favorite books?
I did question some of the selections on this list as well. I guess Wicked counts as fantasy and World War Z is sci fi (though I’d think of it as more of a horror novel) but I guess the voters have spoken. I have to second Joachim’s recommendation of Cat’s Cradle as well as suggesting Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange.
Both of those suggestions sound great, thanks! I think the line between horror, fantasy and sci fi can be pretty blurry. I think the line between young adult and adult is pretty blurry too. Nearly every adult I know loves Harry Potter, so I’m not sure excluding those makes sense.
If you haven’t yet, *read* Domesday Book. Given what else you’ve picked, you’ll love it.