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What are your favourite sci-fi/fantasy "novels"?


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Hi guys, I am aware that a thread for best fantasy series of all time already exists, but I was just looking to find out opinions of what people's favourite science fiction or fantasy books are. They can be part of a series, or they can be stand-alone.



My 20 personal favourites are:



1. Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card


2. The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch


3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by JK Rowling


4. A Game of Thrones, by GRRM


5. The Guns of Avalon, by Roger Zelazny


6. A Storm of Swords, by GRRM


7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by JK Rowling


8. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman


9. Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Routhfuss


10. The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson (haven't read WoR yet; from the reviews, it looks like it can knock this off my top 10)


11. The Fires of Heaven, by Robert Jordan


12. The Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan


13. The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Routhfuss


14. Dune, by Frank Herbert


15. Lord of the Rings, by JRR Tolkein


16. The Drawing of the Three, by Stephen King


17. A Shadow Rising, by Robert Jordan


18. Foundation, by Isaac Asimov


19. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by JK Rowling


20. Sign of the Unicorn, by Roger Zelazny





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1. Toll the Hounds by Steven Erikson


2. Midnight Tides


3. Memories of Ice


4. Reaper's Gale


5. The Bonehunters


6. The Cold Commands by Richard Morgan


7. Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock


8. The City in the Autumn Stars by Michael Moorcock


9. The Stealer of Souls by Michael Moorcock


10. The Dark Tower by Steven King


11. The Gunslinger


12. The Drawing of the Three


14. The Wastelands


15. Song of Susannah


16. Wolves of the Calla


17. Wizard and Glass



The rest of the Malazan cycle, ASOIAF, and The Twilight Reign in no particular order.


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The top 3 are pretty set until I read something else to force its way in but otherwise the ranking is almost arbitrary and could change at any time, and several books could be in and out if I made this list again next week. But:

1. The Scar by China Mieville

2. Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson

3. The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

4. Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

5. Vellum by Hal Duncan

6. Faith by John Love

7. Black Man by Richard Morgan

8. Caine's Law by Matthew Stover
9. Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds

10. Thunderer by Felix Gilman

11. Dune by Frank Herbert

12. Magician by Raymond E. Feist

13. Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle

14. The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov

15. The Judging Eye by R Scott Bakker

16. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

17. The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

18. Zoo City by Lauren Beukes

19. The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie

20. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

There's a couple that didn't make it because I can't pick one book out of the series (Daniel Abraham and Gene Wolfe, most notably). And I'm quite surprised I didn't end up doubling up any authors, but the list filled a lot easier than I'd expected...

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No particular order here but 1) Anathem by Neal Stephenson


2) Use Of Weapons by Iain Banks


3) LOTR


4) The Gods Themselves by Asimov


5) Dracula by Stoker


6) Friday by Heinlein


8) The Stars My Destination By Alfred Bester


9) ASOIAF


10 The Odyssey by Homer


The people I had to leave off such as Fritz Leiber, Clarke, Stephen King. Alastair Reynolds, Harlan Ellison, Robert Silverberg, Phil Farmer, Phil Dick.....


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I'm tired of those threads. Can't we have a "what are the worst SF/F books" you've read.

But since I'm here my favorite fantasy books at the moment,

<ul>

1. The Darkness That Comes Before.

2. Titus Groan.

3. The Scar.

4. Dune.

5. Excession.

6. The Player of Games.

7. Lord of The Rings.

8. Second Foundation.

</ul>

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  • 2 weeks later...

Blade of Tyshalle, the second book in the Acts of Caine series. It's a book that would be worth reading for the action scenes alone. Same goes for the world-building. It's a book that'd be worth reading twice for the characters, or the prose. Those things combined, along with a brilliant plot that never lets go, make it my favorite book.

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This is going to be a tough list, especially as I'm not particularly widely read in the genres; but here goes (and trying not to pick repeats from the same series).



10= His Dark Materials (Pullman)


10= 1984 (Orwell)


9. Watership Down (Adams)


8. Night Watch (Pratchett)


7. The Fountains of Paradise (Clarke)


6. Lord of the Rings (Tolkein)


5. Goblet of Fire (Rowling)


4. Shadow Rising (Jordan)


3. Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (Adams)


2. A Storm of Swords (GRRM)


1. Nation (Pratchett)





Actually, having made the list, it's not so much the thinly read that's the issue, but leaving out the likes of "American Gods" "Hitchikers' Guide", or even a guilty pleasure like "Pillars of the Earth". I did cheat a little by trying to limit myself to 1 book per series though


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Not ranked, and I'd probably come up with a different list if you asked me again in a month, but for now:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
Fires of Azeroth by C. J. Cherryh
Vellum by Hal Duncan
Now Wait For Last Year by Philip K. Dick
The Clockwork Rocket by Greg Egan
The Dragon Waiting by John M. Ford
1610 by Mary Gentle
The Children of Men by P. D. James
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Cosmonaut Keep by Ken MacLeod
Iron Council by China Mieville
Woken Furies by Richard Morgan
The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman
In The Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente
Peace by Gene Wolfe

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