NPR Top 100 Science Fiction/Fantasy Books
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all_hell,
Posted on: 2011-08-03 05:39 in Comic and Hero-Villain Culture
I'd definitely put Battlefield Earth on the list of "First to Burn After the Power Goes Out in February, Even Before the Cords of Wood."
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I reserve that honor for Traveller, RuneQuest, and Rolemaster books.
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Originally Posted by Ironik
I'd definitely put Battlefield Earth on the list of "First to Burn After the Power Goes Out in February, Even Before the Cords of Wood."
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Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
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He also plays some interesting structural games with the books, placing some extra constraints on his writing. Significantly, he does all this while making most of them very engaging, entertaining stories. The Taltos series was one of my picks.|
Originally Posted by SlickRiptide
The Vlad Taltos Series - If my avatar doesn't already give it away, I am a big Brust fan and consider this series to be one of the best pseudo-fantasy series around. Or maybe it's a pseudo-sci-fi series. It sort of depends on your viewpoint, and Brust makes it clear that neither classification really matters. This series embraces the idea of the "unreliable narrator" and encourages readers to make their own conclusions about what constitutes "truth", particularly when dealing with history. Pretty much like real life.
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I will say, however, that I think I actually like The Phoenix Guards best of his work. He just has so much fun with the language in it that it's irresistible.
The Way of the Corruptor (Arc ID 49834): Hey villains! Do something for yourself for a change--like twisting the elements to your will. All that's standing in your way are a few secret societies...and Champions of the four elements.
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Ha, that reminds me of a guy in my BF1942 clan that was in high school and thought Modest Mouse was the best band ever. We introduced him to Led Zeppelin and he got all excited, wondering if there was more out there as good as that. As another clanmate older than me said, "we have much to teach you, my son."|
Originally Posted by Slugbug
I agree wholeheartedly that Potter is better than Twilight, I've just had my share of arguments with people who say that Potter is the best thing ever written, only to find out that they don't really read much. I'm just tired of people who say Rowling is the greatest author ever, and then find that they haven't read Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, Lewis, Orwell, Tolkien, etc. Potter is something that from a popularity standpoint I would expect to see on a list like this, but that I would personally leave out of this list were I compiling it. Not that it's a bad series, but certainly not the best.
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Still, I run into a lot more people that belittle Potter more than overly celebrate it, like the well-known critic, Harold Bloom, who said Potter is a passing fad and will not be recalled in the next 20 or so years. So I do find myself thinking about its merits and why it will last, more than anything. I certainly do think it's not a perfect series, and that the fourth and fifth books were overly bloated, but Rowling did get better as the books went, and there is a lot to like about the series.
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Originally Posted by Tenzhi
There's a cult? I picked it up from the grocery store book aisle on a lark after hearing such horrible things about the movie and found it to be moderately interesting, though I wouldn't personally put it on a "Best Of" list.
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The down side: only choosing 10 books out of that list. Think i spent half my choices tagging the books that absolutely should be on a top 100 list. Yea its a popularity contest, but given its being done by NPR, id like to think the people voting have actually read more than a handful of the books on the list.
The upside: a lot of stuff on that list i haven't read, so it'll be nice to expand my reading list over the next few months. hope to add them to whatever e-reader i end up getting.
I dont remember all 10 choices offhand, and while i didn't vote for some of them, it made me smile to see certain writers on that list. (Butcher, Sanderson, Abnett, Salvatore, Eddings, etc.)
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Did you just call Led Zeppelin "good"? I suppose if you like stuff that's been stolen and given heavy guitar overlays, sure. At least Yngwie Malmsteen is honest about it.|
Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
Ha, that reminds me of a guy in my BF1942 clan that was in high school and thought Modest Mouse was the best band ever. We introduced him to Led Zeppelin and he got all excited, wondering if there was more out there as good as that. As another clanmate older than me said, "we have much to teach you, my son."
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Although I will give Zeppelin credit: they've never sued anyone for using their soundbites the way The Rolling Stones have. Keith Richards is particularly litigious when it comes to sampling of his work. In one instance that wasn't even a legitimate gripe, The Verve used the same gospel song as the basis for one of their songs that the Stones used and the Stones successfully sued them for infringement, getting 100% of the royalties as well as writing credit (!!!) for Mick and Keith. For a song Richards and Jagger *stole* from someone else.
I think the only band from that era that swiped more stuff from original artists and passed it off as their own was Deep Purple.
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Y'know, I've never read that book, but the movie is forever seered into my brain right next to the word awesome. |
Originally Posted by SlickRiptide
Watership Down - This is hands down one of the best fantasies of any kind every written. Watership Down is so much more than just a "quest fantasy" with bunnies as protagonists. The proof of this is that so many imitators tried to duplicate its success and managed to fail completely. The mythology of the rabbits is every bit as compelling as that of the peoples in Tolkein's stories. I'd rank it as one of the best novels every written, frankly..
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That'll probably backfire though when I get old; "Man that was totally... bzzzt... Watership Down!"
Anyways, Bigwig FTW!
------->"Sic Semper Tyrannis"<-------
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I was even more disappointed by the Watership Down animated movie than I was by The Hobbit one. Sometimes it sucks to have read the book first. |
Originally Posted by ebon3
Y'know, I've never read that book, but the movie is forever seered into my brain right next to the word awesome.
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Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound
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Harry Potter is not anywhere in the same zip code as Twilight. By no means is JK a stellar writer, but she's a decent writer and more importantly she had a story to tell that was engaging. I think people will look favorably upon Harry Potter in twenty years.|
Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
I'm with you on Twilight, but there is more to Potter than just being popular, which is about all I can say for Twilight.
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Twilight is primarily interesting for its ability to be the canonical example for the phrase "this writing hurts my teeth."
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Oh, I agree. Rowling can come up with a good story, decent characters, and strong dialogue, but she's not going to be noted for her style (though I did notice that getting stronger in the last two books).|
Originally Posted by Arcanaville
Harry Potter is not anywhere in the same zip code as Twilight. By no means is JK a stellar writer, but she's a decent writer and more importantly she had a story to tell that was engaging. I think people will look favorably upon Harry Potter in twenty years.
Twilight is primarily interesting for its ability to be the canonical example for the phrase "this writing hurts my teeth." |
Twilight... man, I still don't know how that thing got published. It does all the stuff editors tell writers not to do if they want to be published. Telling, not showing, overly difficult to follow, etc. The few pages I've managed to read really did hurt my teeth.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
According to one review I read, one of the interesting things about that book is that Meyer goes into nearly microscopic detail about the men in the story but never once describes the protagonist. This allows every female from 8 to 80 to imagine that *she's* the main character.
I don't know how accurate that is, since I'm not interested in the books. I tried to read a Harry Potter novel and bounced off the immense crappiness of it. So many people claim Twilight is worse (which seems hard to imagine) that i never bothered.
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I think its best to veiw the potter novels as the litterary equivelnt of popcorn flix. They are not horrible by any means and they do have some very interesting stories to tell thru the many charectors in them. As kids to teen novels that you can enjoy with your family and friends, they succeed very well.
Twilight on the other hand is just female porn like romance novels are. Shallow and tasteless with a what of today's ideals of what young women think they want in the dark and mysterious stranger. Nevermind that he such a jerk to the main protagonist female.
Now we aren't ready quite yet to let the catgirls out of the bag.... (quote from ex libris)
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Your not helping, wouldn't want to ruin one of cherished childhood memories by reading the book and making the movie lame. |
Originally Posted by Tenzhi
I was even more disappointed by the Watership Down animated movie than I was by The Hobbit one. Sometimes it sucks to have read the book first.
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Hmmm, I thought that Bella was explicitly stated to be in high school, so I don't know if that holds water. Though I suppose that characterization would allow most to step in her shoes (or imagine they did, back in high school). |
Originally Posted by Ironik
According to one review I read, one of the interesting things about that book is that Meyer goes into nearly microscopic detail about the men in the story but never once describes the protagonist. This allows every female from 8 to 80 to imagine that *she's* the main character.
I don't know how accurate that is, since I'm not interested in the books. I tried to read a Harry Potter novel and bounced off the immense crappiness of it. So many people claim Twilight is worse (which seems hard to imagine) that i never bothered. |
Heh, I used to think Harry Potter was a stupid fad until I was student teaching and my kids dared me to read the first four books in four days. I did it and had lots of fun reading them (still not sure how I crammed them in around teacher prep). The first book grabbed me from the start by making fun of the Dursleys... something about British writers (like Roald Dahl and CS Lewis) making fun of mean people that just cracks me up. But everyone has things they like and don't like. I'm beyond being surprised when people disagree on whether something is good.
Guide: Tanking, Wall of Fire Style (Updated for I19!), and the Four Rules of Tanking
Story Arc: Belated Justice, #88003
Synopsis: Explore the fine line between justice and vengeance as you help a hero of Talos Island bring his friend's murderer to justice.
Grey Pilgrim: Fire/Fire Tanker (50), Victory
Quote:
By the Black Rabbit of Inlè, Watership Down is one of my all-time favorite novels. Perhaps right behind To Kill A Mockingbird. And trust me, the animated movie cannot hold a candle to the book.|
Originally Posted by ebon3
Y'know, I've never read that book, but the movie is forever seered into my brain right next to the word awesome.
That'll probably backfire though when I get old; "Man that was totally... bzzzt... Watership Down!" Anyways, Bigwig FTW! |
Sadly, I had stopped paying attention to the NPR list near the bottom and didn't even realize WD was on it.
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When speaking of Watership Down, saying that the novel exceeds the film in every respect is NOT a way of saying that the film was lacking. On the contrary, I think that it does the best job of telling the story that an animated film could have done at the time. It's completely faithful to the plot and, more importantly, it's completely faithful to the spirit. I enjoy and appreciate the film whenever I see it.
In fact, some scenes, like when Bigwig sits on the road to illustrate the indifference of the Hrududus, just need to be experienced visually as the film shows it. heh.
What it says is that if you have only seen the film and you thought it was a great story then you SHOULD read the novel because you'll discover that it's an even BETTER story. It's one of those cases where I think you'll find that the novel expands your appreciation for the film rather than diminishing it.
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I actually was given the books and read the first three in one night (the first three are kind of short). Soon after I went to the bookstore to pick up the fourth book the day after it released, and I actually saw kids in the bookstore with their parents struggling to *lift* the book and carry it to the register. Seeing that was my first real inkling of just how much pull Harry Potter had with its readers. Kids wanted to read books too heavy for them to carry.
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Originally Posted by Grey Pilgrim
Heh, I used to think Harry Potter was a stupid fad until I was student teaching and my kids dared me to read the first four books in four days.
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I don't really think of Watership Down as fantasy or sci-fi, but I voted for it anyhow. How could I not? It's the first book I remember reading, and it has been with me ever since. I can't comment on the movie, but I wholeheartedly recommend the book.
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That's how I felt about Animal Farm's inclusion on the list as well.|
Originally Posted by peterpeter
I don't really think of Watership Down as fantasy or sci-fi...
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And my previous post was not intended as an indictment of the WD movie, just to say that the novel is even better. Not in the same league by a long shot, but I feel the same way about Jurassic Park - a fun, and mostly faithful movie, but much better on the written page.
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The results are in.
Top 10:
1. LotR
2. Hitchhiker's Guide
3. Ender's Game
4. Dune Chronicles
5. Song of Ice & Fire
6. 1984
7. Fahrenheit 451
8. Foundation Trilogy
9. Brave New World
10. American Gods
I was pretty close.
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Originally Posted by Ironik
I'm guessing most of the top finishers are a foregone conclusion: LotR, Song of Ice & Fire, Ender's Game, Hitchhiker's Guide, Armor by Steakley, Perdido Street Station, etc. and so yawn.
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Interestingly, for your picks, Armor isn't even in the top 100, and Perdido Street Station came in at #98.
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I had ultimately voted for LotR, Hitchhikers, Ender's Game, 1984, Fahrenheit, Foundation, Brave New World, and American Gods. My other two votes were for World War Z and Watchmen.|
Originally Posted by Ironik
The results are in.
Top 10: 1. LotR 2. Hitchhiker's Guide 3. Ender's Game 4. Dune Chronicles 5. Song of Ice & Fire 6. 1984 7. Fahrenheit 451 8. Foundation Trilogy 9. Brave New World 10. American Gods I was pretty close. |
I have to admit, my voting wasn't "clean." Its not what I think the absolute best top ten are, especially because I didn't have good criteria for that anyway. I felt that LotR, Hitchhikers, Ender's Game, and Foundation should be on there as among the most important, period. I felt 1984, Fahrenheit, and Brave New World were historically strong and influential. I then added American Gods and World War Z as contemporary representation and to represent some of my own personal preferences, and Watchmen as my strongest comic book medium work. It was a close call against the entire Sandman series in total, but I felt Gaiman was already represented in American Gods.
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Gaiman and Card over any of Philip K. Dick's books on that list? Absurd.|
Originally Posted by Ironik
The results are in.
Top 10: 1. LotR 2. Hitchhiker's Guide 3. Ender's Game 4. Dune Chronicles 5. Song of Ice & Fire 6. 1984 7. Fahrenheit 451 8. Foundation Trilogy 9. Brave New World 10. American Gods |
EDIT: Oh come now, PKD couldn't even crack the top twenty? What is wrong with the world today? (Apart from being, you know, being under the control of the Black Iron Prison.)
Logout bug ate my post. Grr.
My "vote up to letter F" strategy netted me three in the top ten: Ender's Game, Dune, and Foundation.
Of my other picks, Flowers for Algernon was at #38, The Forever War at 56, the Elric Saga at #90, and Lensmen, the Deed of Paksenarrion and Armor didn't crack the top 100.
I wouldn't have voted for LotR because it was going to land in the top 3 anyway. Song of Fire and Ice is not finished and got an (undeserved) boost from the HBO series. Top 100, sure, but not top 10. 1984, Farenheit 451 AND Brave New World all being in the top 10 is a tribute to high school English courses. As to American Gods, it was good, and I love Gaiman's work, but that was my least favorite of his works.
On the list, I have read 23 of the top 25, 42 of the top 50, 55 of the top 75, and 68 of the top 100.
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Goodbye may seem forever
Farewell is like the end
But in my heart's the memory
And there you'll always be
-- The Fox and the Hound