The Basics.

[Stego]

I limited my absolute minimum required reading to a mere 30 books. I didn't even include Gormenghast or Gaiman or Gateway. It was hard to limit this list. It was painful.

But I see folks talking about reading Jenny friggin Wurtz and I know they have not cracked Clarke or Dick. It's freaking criminal.

Let's hear from everyone who has read all of these absolute must-reads. I'll give you a gold star.

[Cuchulain]

I've read eight of the thirty and I own a copy of most of the others. Will get to them some day.

Edit: I've seen you recommend Pangborn's Davy several times now. I've been trying to get hold of a copy, but no luck so far. That book is in sore need of a reprint.

[Switchback]

Jesus, maybe you should just get over yourself??? Or is there a be-all and end-all to enjoying fantasy books? Because if there is, i think I want to quit...

[Horza]

Here we go again...

[MattL86]

I dunno about that list. You obviously went by personal favourites as opposed to actual popularity. Which is fine, but then no two people are going to agree on what "the basics" are.

For the record, any basics list which does not include Watership Down is, IMO, disqualified. :P

You have The Once and Future King though, so that's good.

[niamh]

I would have thought not including 1984 in SF basics was the criminal thing :uhoh:

Not liking SF per se I've only read 4 of those (3 of them fantasy). But I read Wells, and Orwell, and Verne, and Barjavel. Do I get a spare cookie?

[aidan]

You forgot Eddings.

[Larry.]

Only 21, although I've read alternate selections or partials of another half-dozen or so. Not a fan of Heinlein, Asimov, or Card, but I have at least read some of their work in the past.

[Ratatoskr]

Well, I for one should like to thank you for your list. I've heeded suggestions of yours before, to my advantage. I've read some on the list, have others already on my to-read pile and will put yet others there now on your suggestion. Just one question: I've read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and I don't think I'll ever run out of stuff I want to read before the other Narnia books in this life. Can I get the gold star anyway?

[AverageGuy]

I can understand the impact most of those had -- the Foundation Trilogy, Starship and Stranger, Ender's Game, The Forever War, Book of the New Sun, Fahrenheit 451, etc. -- but not all of them. Like The Anubis Gates, while I read and loved it, what makes it one of The Basics?

[Grogsmash]

The absolute minimum reading to do what? If it was the absolute minimum to be able to discuss things on this forum, surely it would include Wizard's First Rule?

[Renasko]

Nope. Going just off limited lists like this one is a bad thing for any reader.

[alguien]

This is the third or fourth time I've seen Canticle for Liebowitz mentioned on the internets.

I'll have to check it out sometime soon...

ETA: having just read the New Sun stuff by Wolfe, I now scored 11/30. What about Adams or Pratchett? Shouldn't there be an entry for genre satire?

[MadMardigan]

That's a mighty big list. I've read 6 of those books, and in some cases other books by authors on the list. That's really maybe too big and some of those books are too far in the past to expect someone new to the genre to back-track and read. If I had to make a short list of what you really MUST read to navigate the genre and recognize what's original, what's derivative, and what's so ridiculously derivative so as to lack any original premise of it's own, that list would be:

J.R.R Tolkein

C.S. Lewis

T.S. White

Frank Herbert

Isaac Asimov

Robert Heinlein

I think from there, you get a lot of authors bringing new things to the table. Some are on the list, some I think are missing (Matheson? Vance?) But I think if you have some exposure to at least those 6, you won't humiliate yourself in a conversation with fellow enthusiasts.

[Jaxom 1974]

I cannot believe you didn't include the 80's pulpy fiction of DragonLance. Come on, there's a true genre classic, right there. ;)

I know you were being snarky, but depending on the type of list you've got, in a lot of cases, I'd argue that you need the first two trilogies on a "Must Read" list...the rest can be left to one's discrestion.

Again, it depends on what the "Must Read" means in terms of the list...

[Galactus]

16/30.

EDIT: Wait, is "The People of the Black Circle" a Conan story? If so I've read it.

[Stego]

Well, I for one should like to thank you for your list. I've heeded suggestions of yours before, to my advantage. I've read some on the list, have others already on my to-read pile and will put yet others there now on your suggestion. Just one question: I've read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and I don't think I'll ever run out of stuff I want to read before the other Narnia books in this life. Can I get the gold star anyway?

Sure sure. You tasted it. You don't have to love it.

[Stego]

I can understand the impact most of those had -- the Foundation Trilogy, Starship and Stranger, Ender's Game, The Forever War, Book of the New Sun, Fahrenheit 451, etc. -- but not all of them. Like The Anubis Gates, while I read and loved it, what makes it one of The Basics?

The first Steampunk novel. Arguably the finest time-travel novel ever penned. (One may accept Replay by Ken Grimwood, of course.) It is also a top notch horror novel. As such, it hits a lot of bench marks for speculative fiction, and it's the finest work by one of the finest living authors in any genre.

[Datepalm]

Why Starship Troopers? Two Heinleins is too many anyway, and then why not The Moon is a Harsh Mistress?

Narnia is a kids book. I have fond memories of it, but I wouldn't recommend it to an adult. (or to a child, for that matter, but thats a different story.)

Enders Game needs to die as a genre classic.

Generally, there are way better books out there that are not on the list, and there are way more "basic" books that would give a reader a sort of genre foundation that aren't necessarily particularly objectively good. For example, I think that to get the most out of Abercrombie or even Bakker or Martin, you really need to have read at least a bit of Eddings/Dragonlance/Shannara/etc. Either its a list of really good books, or its a list of general education books.

ETA - I was stunningly underwhelmed by Anubis Gates. Annoying characterization, boring plot.

[Stego]

I would have thought not including 1984 in SF basics was the criminal thing :uhoh:

Not liking SF per se I've only read 4 of those (3 of them fantasy). But I read Wells, and Orwell, and Verne, and Barjavel. Do I get a spare cookie?

You say you don't like SF, haven't read much of it, then you judge me on what the basics are.

It's consistently the blind leading the blind around here. I took the time to offer up a basic list so that folks can have the most basic background and be able to speak without sounding woefully ignorant.