Datepalm Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I wonder if its better to read others responses first or not. I have, and its sparked some "doh!"s, but now i'm wondering what they've shoved out. Childhoods End - Arthur C. ClarkeHyperion - Dan SimmonsDoomsday Book - Connie WillisASOIAF - GRRMIron Council - China MeivilleSnow Crash - Neil StepehensonCloud Atlas - David MitchellA Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia MarquezThe City and the City - China MeivilleThe Yiddish Policemens Union - Michael ChabonThe Blue Mountain - Meir Shalev (Hebrew - רומן רוסי)1984 - George OrwellTemeraire - Naomi NovikMarket Forces - Richard K. MorganRoger Zelazny - AmberChasm City - Alastair ReynoldsA Deepness in the Sky - Vernor VingeAssassin Trilogy - Robin HobbThe Thief of Time - PratchettPrisoner of Azkhaban - J.K. RowlingI think i've tended towards populism, but i'm going with books that have achieved what they were going for rather than one's that reached higher but fell short. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jussi Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. TolkienSilmarillion - TolkienThomas Covenant series - Stephen DonaldsonA Song of Ice and Fire - G.R.R. MartinThe Prince of Nothing - R. Scott BakkerMalazan Book of the Fallen - Steven EriksonThe Wizard Knight - Gene WolfeRealm of the Elderlings sequence (The Farseer, The Liveship Traders, The Tawny Man) - Robin HobbThe Eternal Champion sequence (Elric, Corum, Erekosë, Hawkmoon, von Bek) - Michael MoorcockThe Dying Earth series - Jack VanceLyonesse trilogy - VanceDune - Frank HerbertDreamsongs - G.R.R. MartinEnder's Game - Orson Scott CardLord of Light - Roger ZelaznyHeroes Die - Matthew Woodring StoverTigana - Guy Gavriel KayDiscworld series - Terry PratchettThe Riddle-Master trilogy - Patricia A. McKillipThe Anubis Gates - Tim Powers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Mongoose Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Lord of Light - Roger ZelaznyThe Dying of the Light - GRRMASOIAF - GRRMThe Gap series - Steven DonaldsonThe Scar - China MeivilleLotR - JRR TolkienThe Amber Chronicles - Roger ZelaznyUse of Weapons - Iain M. BanksAltered Carbon - Richard MorganFarseer Trilogy - Robin HobbEnder's Game by Orson Scott CardThe Long Price Quartet - Daniel AbrahamDune - Frank HerbertThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas AdamsSnow Crash - Neal StephensonSmall Gods - Terry PratchettThe Demolished Man - Alfred BesterThe Forever War - Joe HaldemanThe Prince of Nothing series - R. Scott BakkerWild Cards - Various Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcelo Rebelo Firqoralas Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 The Book of the New Sun - Gene WolfeTigana - Guy Gavriel KayCugel's Saga - Jack VanceArcher's Goon - Diana Wynne JonesASoIaF - GRRMThe Lions of Al-Rassan - Guy Gavriel KayLittle, Big - John CrowleyThe Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories - Gene WolfeThe Seven Citadels - Geraldine HarrisFicciones - Jorge Luis BorgesThe Bridge - Iain BanksThe Iron-Dragon's Daughter - Michael SwanwickWinter's Tale - Mark HelprinPeace - Gene WolfeMagic for Beginners - Kelly LinkThe Unconquered Country - Geoff RymanBridge of Birds - Barry HughartFire and Hemlock - Diana Wynne JonesStations of the Tide - Michael SwanwickChina Mountain Chang - Maureen F. McHugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wastrel Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 What?? Somebody's read my blog? Good gods... if I knew that was going to happen, I'd have actually put some worthwhile content on it at some point...Luwin: but you can READ a graphic novel, but not a Total Art Work. So if you want to put the LIBRETTO from the ring, I'm fine with that, but not the music. Or you can put the music, but only by saying that the score is worth reading (which I suppose some people might think - personally, although I can sight-read, I can't just hear the music in my head by looking at the notes, like some people can).Likewise, you can put, if you really want, the written script for a film, or for a play, but not the film itself, or the performance of it.Hope that's clear and doesn't seem entirely arbitrary. Basically, I think people should be able to push boundaries, but it's essentially about reading, and I don't want lists where the top four are The Dark Knight, the Burj Khalifa, Tracy Emin's Bed and the Goldberg Variations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myshkin Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I also don't think magic realism, allegorical fiction or old style children's book (as opposed to post-Harry Potter YA) should be considered fantasy, so no Marquez, Kafka or Alice in Wonderland appear in my list as well.And yet your list is topped by The Master and Margarita. Just sayin'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheep the Evicted Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 When is the deadline for votes ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MinDonner Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 The Orphan's Tales duology - Catherynne M ValenteStories of your Life and Others - Ted ChiangASoIaF - GRRMThe Day of the Triffids - John WyndhamAgainst A Dark Background - Iain M BanksLotR - TolkienThe Gap series - Stephen DonaldsonThe Lyonesse Trilogy - Jack VanceCryptonomicon - Neal StephensonNight Watch - PratchettHyperion - Dan SimmonsThe Dark Is Rising sequence - Susan CooperGood Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry PratchettIt - Stephen KingEarthsea trilogy - Ursula le GuinDeadhouse Gates - Steven EriksonLast Argument of Kings - Joe AbercrombieThe Female Man - Joanna RussWatchmen - Alan MooreVellum - Hal Duncan(I'm hoping the Chiang counts as it's short stories rather than a novel, but what the hell :)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of Godsgrace Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 And yet your list is topped by The Master and Margarita. Just sayin'.Well, you have to put the border somewhere. I usually decide on basis whether a given book elicits willing suspension of disbelief - which of course is individual thing. OTOH, this forces me to admit The Cyberiad is far more problematic case than The Master and Margarita, and if it was written not by Stanislaw Lem but by some author not usually associated with SpecFic I probably would disqualify it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maithanet Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Ender’s Game – Orson Scott CardWatchmen – Alan MooreThe Road – Cormac McCarthySong of Ice and Fire – GRRM1984 – George OrwellPrince of Nothing – R Scott BakkerDune – Frank HerbertWheel of Time – Robert JordanFlowers for Algernon - Daniel KeyesHandmaid’s Tale – Margaret AtwoodLord of the Flies – William GoldingI Am Legend – Richard MathesonThe Stand – Stephen KingSlaughterhouse Five – Kurt VonnegutFirst Law – Joe AbercrombieStarship Troopers – Robert HeinleinDo Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Phillip K DickNeuromancer – William GibsonThe Mote in God’s Eye – Larry Niven and Jerry PournelleLife of Pi – Yann MartelGood lists so far. The Clockwork Orange and Gene Wolfe are getting more love than I expected. Not being able to put Sci-Fi short stories threw me off, otherwise I'd definitely have Nightfall and Nine Billion Names of God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaesterLuwin Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Luwin: but you can READ a graphic novel, but not a Total Art Work. So if you want to put the LIBRETTO from the ring, I'm fine with that, but not the music. Or you can put the music, but only by saying that the score is worth reading (which I suppose some people might think - personally, although I can sight-read, I can't just hear the music in my head by looking at the notes, like some people can).Likewise, you can put, if you really want, the written script for a film, or for a play, but not the film itself, or the performance of it.Hope that's clear and doesn't seem entirely arbitrary. Basically, I think people should be able to push boundaries, but it's essentially about reading, and I don't want lists where the top four are The Dark Knight, the Burj Khalifa, Tracy Emin's Bed and the Goldberg Variations.Fair enough. And reading opera librettos is actually fairly boring, so that's going off my list. The revised edition is below:The Silmarillion, J.R.R. TolkienGravity's Rainbow, Thomas PynchonThe Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. TolkienDer Ring Des Nibelung, Richard WagnerDune, Frank Herbert (Up one tier)The Blind Assassin, Margaret AtwoodSpeaker for the Dead, Orson Scott CardDon Quixote, Miguel de CervantesThe Iliad, HomerThe Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan (& Brandon Sanderson)Kafka on the Shore, Haruki MurakamiA Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. MartinThe Gunslinger (Original Version), Stephen King (Up one tier)Foundation and Empire, Isaac AsimovA Clockwork Orange, Anthony BurgessThe Phantom Tollbooth, Norton JusterHard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Haruki MurakamiV., Thomas PynchonThe Eyes of the Overworld, Jack VanceThe Once and Future King, T.H. WhiteThe Road, Cormac McCarthy (New Addition)Some people are objecting to inclusion of classical epics and the like. I'm sympathetic to that point of view, but in the end I found it easier to be as inclusive as possible when making my list, rather than spending time worrying over some sort of arbitrary border separating "genre" from the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russjass Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Lord of the rings J.R.R. TolkeinStarship Troopers Robert HeinleinBrave New World Aldous Huxley1001 Arabian Nights Various authors/oral tradition (debatable as to "genre" but i think fantasy applies)Black Man (13 US title Richard MorganDune Frank HerbertRoyal Assassin Robin HobbA Game of Thrones George R. R. MartinSmall Gods Terry PratchettMagician Raymond E. FeistThe Folk of the Faraway tree Enid Blighton (for kids but worth reading)Memories of Ice Steven EriksonThe Lies of Locke Lamora Scott LynchLast Argument of Kings Joe AbercrombieChronicles of Narnia C. S. LewisThe Scar China MeivilleThats it. Not the full twenty, everything else i can remember was distinctly average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Robert of Dobolina Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 I'm guessing part of the objection to classical epics is that they really weren't "fantasy" to their original audiences. Which is fine, but they're "fantasy" to me and enormously influential as such, so for me they count.I just realized that I can't really get away with citing the Orhan Pamuk book from my original list as genre fiction. So here's an amendment to replace it:The Gospel According to Jesus Christ - Jose Saramago.Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie.The Iliad & The Odyssey - Homer.The Mahabharata - Anonymous.Soldier of the Mist - Gene Wolfe.China Mountain Zhang - Maureen F. McHugh.The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin.A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter Miller.My Name Is Red - Orhan Pamuk.A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess.Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell.Gojiro - Mark Jacobson.The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood. (up one tier)Riddley Walker - Russell Hoban. (new addition)Dune - Frank Herbert.Vast - Linda Nagata.White Queen - Gwyneth Jones.The Last Dancer - Daniel Keys Moran.The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien.The Eden Trilogy - Harry Harrison.The Culture Series - Iain M. Banks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stego Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Ender’s Game – Orson Scott CardETC...Maithanet,I love your list. I love every single work on it. Not once did I shake my head in mockery or condescension. Gold star to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maithanet Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Maithanet,I love your list. I love every single work on it. Not once did I shake my head in mockery or condescension. Gold star to you.Thank you! Have you actually read all of those? I wasn't going for terribly obscure titles, but to go 20 for 20 on anyone else's list is...impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Cheesevillage Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 A Song of Ice and Fire, George RR MartinThe Handmaid's Tale, Margaret AtwoodLittle, Big, John CrowleyLord of the Rings, JRR TolkienTam-Lin, Pamela DeanBriar Rose, Jane YolenThe Fionvar Tapestry, Guy Gavriel KayAmerican Gods, Neil GaimanThe Newford books, Charles DeLintMockingbird, Sean StewartBeauty, Sheri S. TepperFoundation, Isaac AsimovThe Bloody Chamber, Angela CarterBrain Rose, Nancy KressMythago Wood, Robert HoldstockLyonesse, Jack VanceLeft Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. LeGuinWaking the Moon, Elizabeth HandPalimpset, Catherine ValenteCity of Golden Shadow, Tad WilliamsRidiculously hard, and I'm sure my list will be wildly different from most boarders'. I had a terribly hard time sticking to traditional sf/f and not including magical realism. (This is why Rushdie, Byatt, Chabon, Fowles, Erdrich, Allende, etc did not make my list. I admit that Sean Stewart probably should have been left off once I made that decision, but I couldn't resist. I adore that book.) Some of the works I picked are admittedly difficult. Tam-Lin is by no means a perfect book, but I almost always list it as one of my favorites because it did what the very best books do for me: It inspired me to read other things. City of Golden Shadow I adored, but the series it's a part of disappointed me greatly in the end. Etc. But that's the end result of my thinking. It would probably be different tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wastrel Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 You can include Magic Realism if you want, you know... other people have... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Cheesevillage Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 You can include Magic Realism if you want, you know... other people have...The problem is that I get tearing off into things that are really only very minimally fantasy at best. I found that the line between magical realism with what I considered an acceptable level of fantasy (Michael Chabon) and what I thought probably wasn't (John Fowles) was just too hard for me to hold onto. So I did it this way. Tomorrow I'd probably choose differently. (But then, I'd be putting things like the Antelope Wife and Mistress of Spices on the list and I'd be so far off the beaten path I might as well not be voting! This way there were at least overlaps with a few other people.)Also, I forgot Bradbury. How did I forget Bradbury?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wastrel Posted January 22, 2010 Author Share Posted January 22, 2010 OK.Update: I've entered everybody's votes! Hooray! Now to wait for more people to enter their votes... this takes more work than you might think. Got the hang of it now, though. [And it's easier now that most people are voting for things already mentioned, so fewer new titles have to be written out]I must say, I'm somewhat surprised by the results so far, which don't really match m anticipations - some things are popular that are never mentioned here, while things that are often mentioned have yet to show up.So far, only two people have NOT voted for ASOIAF (or a volume thereof), and only six people have not voted for Tolkien. The most diversely nominated author is Gene Wolfe, with an astounding nine works nominated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stego Posted January 22, 2010 Share Posted January 22, 2010 Thank you! Have you actually read all of those? I wasn't going for terribly obscure titles, but to go 20 for 20 on anyone else's list is...impressive.Mate, you underestimate my sickness. I have not read the works of Jose Saramego. Those are the only entries I've seen so far that I haven't read.ETA: Until Lady Cheesevillage. I've read Kress, but never even heard of Brain Rose. Ditto for Hand and Waking The Moon. And I sure as hell have not read all of the Newford Books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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