Amazon's best 100 sci-fi and fantasy books

Kramodlog · Oct 8, 2015

Interesting list. http://www.amazon.com/s?rh=i:english-books,n:12661600011&ie=UTF8

I recognized many great novels (Dune, Snow Crash, Lord of the Rings), a lot of classics (The Time Machine, I, Robot, Starship Troopers) and some I never heard of (Graceling? Curse of Chalion?).

My only contentious entry is Max Brook's World War Z. What the... ? And maybe Foundation would have been a better choice for Asimov.

A bit more detail on CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/07/living/amazon-best-100-science-fiction-fantasy-books-feat/

delericho · Oct 8, 2015

Some good books on that list. Indeed, some great books on that list.

But I'm afraid I can't take seriously a list that includes "Outlander" and yet somehow omits both "Twilight" and "Spellfire".

Umbran · Oct 8, 2015

It seems to be not so much "best" as "Amazon editor's favorites", which is not necessarily the same thing.

As for "World War Z" - yes, it is a wonderful book, with some excellent storytelling.

Mallus · Oct 8, 2015

Hmmm... it's got both Edding's Pawn of Prophesy and Delany's Dhalgren. I approve!

The list's surprising not bad. No M. John Harrison and Michael Swanwick. That's a serious oversight. I'd jettison a few of the more recent works in favor of something by Hannu Rajaniemi and the Expanse series. And no Harlan Ellison (did I miss him?). But still, not bad.

edit: needs some Angela Carter, too (unless I missed her).

MarkB · Oct 8, 2015

goldomark said:
I recognized many great novels (Dune, Snow Crash, Lord of the Rings), a lot of classics (The Time Machine, I, Robot, Starship Troopers) and some I never heard of (Graceling? Curse of Chalion?).

I can heartily recommend Curse of Chalion, and indeed pretty much anything by Lois McMaster Bujold.

tomBitonti · Oct 8, 2015

Just noticed big changes over the last day. The number of voters has increased, and the books on the list have changed quite a bit. I would expect the list to change even more as new votes arrive.

Note that the list is "100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime", not "Amazon's best".

Also, while the blurb states "The Amazon editors got together and picked our very favorites, considering criteria such as vision, character creation, world building, and storytelling style", the list of considerations is probably not at all complete. There is no indication that those criteria were the primary criteria.

Thx!
TomB

Nellisir · Oct 9, 2015

Thoughts:
- The Martian is a fad choice.
- The inclusion of Ready Player One just killed this whole list for me.
- Altered Carbon isn't bad (I'm actually considering rereading it right now), but top 100 good? I don't think so.
- Old Man's War? <sigh>
- Wool was fantastic. Good choice.
- Ditto Perdido Street Station. I feel like that's been forgotten in recent years...at least by me. I should really read Un-Lun-Dun.
- I'll say Ancillary Justice is marginal. It's good, but not sure if it's top 100 good.
- The lack of Tigana, Bridge of Birds, The Black Company, or Chronicles of Amber pretty much seals it. This is a list, but it's not a top 100 list.
- Or Never Let Me Go. That book still kinda creeps me out. If you're going to put The Time Traveler's Wife up there, Never Let Me Go is valid and better.

Umbran · Oct 9, 2015

Nellisir said:
Thoughts:
- The Martian is a fad choice.

The Martian is perhaps teh best "Yay! Science!" book in many years. Positive sci-fi is a rarity these days, so it is terribly refreshing.

- Old Man's War? <sigh>

A sigh is not informative criticism. What's your problem with it? It's a good book.

- The lack of Tigana, Bridge of Birds, The Black Company, or Chronicles of Amber pretty much seals it. This is a list, but it's not a top 100 list.

Well, that would depend - top 100 of what? Of those you list, I've only read the Bridge of Birds (which is awesome, I'll grant, but it also seems to be out of print, which makes it a poor candidate for a bookstore to recommend it). The others clearly wouldn't be on *my* top 100. I am pretty sure there are books I love that you haven't read...

Nellisir · Oct 9, 2015

Umbran said:
The Martian is perhaps teh best "Yay! Science!" book in many years. Positive sci-fi is a rarity these days, so it is terribly refreshing.

It's definitely "Yay! Science!", and it's very readable, but it's not a great book. It's a fun book, and a good book, and a book I absolutely recommend, but it's not Top 100.

A sigh is not informative criticism. What's your problem with it? It's a good book.

I found it extremely derivative of The Forever War and several other books, and not particularly memorable or meaningful.

Well, that would depend - top 100 of what?

Top 100 SF and Fantasy books you should read in your lifetime. Are we reading the same thread? It's not Top 100 Marmalades of Pembrokeshire.

Of those you list, I've only read the Bridge of Birds (which is awesome, I'll grant, but it also seems to be out of print, which makes it a poor candidate for a bookstore to recommend it).

Being in print wasn't one of the listed criteria. You should really read Tigana, and _something_ by Zelazny. Lord of Light gets tossed around a lot. I've got a soft spot for I, Immortal, but that might just be me.

NK Jenisen's Hundred Thousand Kingdoms should be on this list. David Brin's The Postman. Little, Big, by John Crowley.

The others clearly wouldn't be on *my* top 100. I am pretty sure there are books I love that you haven't read...

So...I should write a list of Top 100 SF & Fantasy Books That You've Already Read? That seems silly. You write it.

I didn't disagree with any of the books I haven't read, only those I have. I'd be interested to know what SF & Fantasy books you've read that you think would be worth including in a list of this sort, but it's an odd sort of critique to point out that you wouldn't recommend books I mention because you haven't read them (but you ought to).

Now that I think about it, Little, Big might be the most wrongful exclusion from this list. And it IS in print.

Jhaelen · Oct 9, 2015

I've found that a common problem of 'top 100 lists' (especially a top 100 of all time) is that it's very hard to properly evaluate recently published titles. These titles are typically fresh on your mind while you only vaguely remember the great titles of years long past. Hence, recent titles tend to end up being rated too favourable compared to older titles.

Another problem is picking a single novel if it's part of a series. Often, it's really the series that is great, not so much any one of the individual novels. So which one do you pick for such a list? The first one? That's often not really the best title in a series.

P.S.: Is this the list you're discussing? The OP appears to be on my ignore list...

Amazon's best 100 sci-fi and fantasy books

Kramodlog

Naked and living in a barrel

delericho

Legend

Umbran

Mod Squad

Mallus

Legend

MarkB

Legend

tomBitonti

Adventurer

Nellisir

Hero

Umbran

Mod Squad

Nellisir

Hero

Jhaelen

First Post

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