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Friday, August 19, 2011

NPR's Top 100 Fantasy/SciFi Books

It's been a while since I've posted a list of any sort but I got a bit excited when I saw the one Ryan from Wordsmithonia posted. It was a list of the top 100 fantasy/scifi books as compiled by NPR.  There are some great books on there and a lot that I haven't heard of either!  Of course there are also a lot that I don't want to read either ...

Check out the list for yourself below. The ones in red are books I've read (27.5 books) and the ones in blue are ones that I've seen the movie/tv version but not actually read (7 books). Does this list make you want to add anything to your TBR list?

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 & Dave Gibbons
16. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
17. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
18. The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
19. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft 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 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 A. Heinlein
32. Watership Down by Richard Adams
33. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
34. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
35. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
36. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
37. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
38. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
39. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
40. The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny
41. The Belgariad by David Eddings
42. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
43. Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
44. Ringworld by Larry Niven
45. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
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 Gods Eye by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
62. The Sword of Truth Series 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 Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
68. The Conan the Barbarian Series by Robert E. Howard & Mark Schultz
69. The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
70. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
71. The Way of the Kings by Brandon Sanderson
72. 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 Jon Scalzi
75. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
76. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series by Jacqueline Carey
78. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
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 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 Gabaldon
90. The Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock
91. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury (I've read some stories from this collection)
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 Xanath Series by Piers Anthony
100. The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis

18 comments:

Kayris said...

I'll have to send this to my dad. He's a HUGE sci-fi reader and has literally thousands of books. I've read quite a few, my favorite being Anne McCaffrey's Pern series.

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Kayris - I LOVE the Pern books - I tore through all of them years ago and couldn't get enough of the stories.

Trisha said...

You've inspired me to do this myself!

Ryan said...

I love these NPR lists because it makes me realzie how much I still have to read. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Trisha - I'm looking forward to seeing how our lists compare!

Ryan - Thanks for posting it - this was fun. :)

Amanda said...

I definitely want to read more!

Shelley said...

I love this list (just recently added a page to keep track on my blog.) I want to read a lot of them, but right now I've read 8 of the top 10, and I really want to squeeze in the two that I haven't read--Asimov and Gaiman.

Tessa said...

Thanks for linking this great list! I have read some of the books (maybe 10-15) and it inspired me a lot for my next library visit :).

Anonymous said...

great list! I suggest you read I, Robot, so much better than the movie, an excellent book. Emma @ Words And Peace

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Amanda - Me too!

Shelley - I THINK I've read some Asimov but I can't remember for sure so I didn't include it ...

Tessa - I hope you find something good!

wordsandpeace - Thanks, I'll definitely think about it!

Beth F said...

Interesting list. I did a quick count and I think I can check off about 25 -- some the same as you and some different.

Andi said...

GREAT list! I'm teaching a SF/Fantasy class this term, and this would be fun to give to my students. :)

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Beth F - It's not a bad list!

Andi - I hope it gives you some good ideas!

Alyce said...

I've read 13 all the way through and 4 about halfway. I was disappointed that one of my favorites (that I voted for) didn't make the list - The Gate to Women's Country by Sheri S. Tepper.

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

Alyce - I haven't even heard of that one - maybe I should check it out!

Anonymous said...

This isn't my favorite genre but I have read 9 (and currently reading a 10th) I would have liked to have seen The Sparrow by Russell on there.

Heather J. @ TLC Book Tours said...

stacybuckeye - Oh yes, that is a GLARING omission!

Michelle G. said...

Even though you have seen the Princess Bride, you must also read the book. Very interesting narrative voice! I liked the movie but LOVED the book!!!

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