I’m in a tidying-up frame of mind at the moment. This post has been sitting in draft form for months (since 14 November 2006 to be exact). I can’t think why.
The inspiration came from Raph Koster – Hugo Award winners I’ve read, in italics. (Also, it seems doubly apt to look at a list of SF books, given M‘s comment, yesterday.)
2007 Rainbows End, Vernor Vinge
2006 Spin, Robert Charles Wilson
2005 Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke [sitting in the To Read pile]
2004 Paladin of Souls, Lois McMaster Bujold
2003 Hominids, Robert J. Sawyer
2002 American Gods, Neil Gaiman
2001 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J. K. Rowling
2000 A Deepness in the Sky, Vernor Vinge
1999 To Say Nothing of the Dog, Connie Willis
1998 Forever Peace, Joe Haldeman
1997 Blue Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson [I’ve read Red Mars, but never managed the other two in the trilogy.]
1996 The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson [couldn’t get into this one]
1995 Mirror Dance, Lois McMaster Bujold
1994 Green Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson
1993 Doomsday Book, Connie Willis
1993 A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge
1992 Barrayar, Lois McMaster Bujold
1991 The Vor Game, Lois McMaster Bujold
1990 Hyperion, Dan Simmons
1989 Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
1988 The Uplift War, David Brin
1987 Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card
1986 Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
1985 Neuromancer, William Gibson
1984 Startide Rising, David Brin
1983 Foundation’s Edge, Isaac Asimov
1982 Downbelow Station, C. J. Cherryh
1981 The Snow Queen, Joan D. Vinge
1980 The Fountains of Paradise, Arthur C. Clarke
1979 Dreamsnake, Vonda N. McIntyre [I enjoyed this one most.]
1978 Gateway, Frederik Pohl
1977 Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, Kate Wilhelm
1976 The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
1975 The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin
1974 Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
1973 The Gods Themselves, Isaac Asimov
1972 To Your Scattered Bodies Go, Philip Jose Farmer
1971 Ringworld, Larry Niven
1970 The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
1969 Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
1968 Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
1967 The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein
1966 Dune, Frank Herbert
1966 And Call Me Conrad (This Immortal), Roger Zelazny
1965 The Wanderer, Fritz Leiber
1964 Here Gather the Stars (Way Station), Clifford D. Simak
1963 The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
1962 Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
1961 A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M., Miller Jr
1960 Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
1959 A Case of Conscience, James Blish
1958 The Big Time, Fritz Leiber
1956 Double Star, Robert A. Heinlein
1955 They’d Rather Be Right (The Forever Machine), Mark Clifton & Frank Riley
1953 The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester
13 out of 55 titles – not very good. Is it obvious that I’m a fan of Vernor Vinge and Ursula Le Guin?
Are you a science fiction fan? If not, why not?
6 Comments
I think I’ve read 19 of those. Simak was a big favourite for a long time and Way Station is I think his best. I like how he handled teleportation. There’s not much Dick on the list though, nevermind Lem. I’ve read a chunk of golden age SF and bits either side, but not much of late except for Strange and Norrell. Though I did just finish the new Terry Dowling which was yummy.
I’ve only read 15 of those and I class myself as a sci-fi fan!!! Better start picking up a few more of those 🙂
omg, you haven’t read any Lois McMaster Bujold! You’re missing out, you really really are. I have all of the Vorkosigan series, and I’m hoping to aquire the other ones this Christmas. I can lend them to you. They’re awesome. Everyone I’ve forced these books on has been converted :p
Oh dear oh dear – I’ve only read about 3 of these. I do like a bit of sci-fi too. Just not too many robots stuff. Maybe I’m more of a fantasy reader. Are the two discrete genres or can they meet? Because some of what I like seems to me to be somewhere in the middle of both.
Penny: you might like Lois McMaster Bujold then – it’s sorta sci-fi, but focused more on the people than the sci-fi. It’s genre is supposed to be “space opera” :p
Where there is sci-fi-ish stuff, she focuses more on the social and personal effects of it. No robots, but spaceships, wormholes, cloning, genetic engineering. But it’s all about the people, not the technology itself. Some awesome female characters, which I love.
(Sorry if I’m sounding like a fanboy, but these books are really really good… :p)
Hi snail, I’ve not read any Simak or Lem! I always find that whenever I talk about SF with other fans I will inevitably not have read certain authors…
Like Lois McMaster Bujold! Thanks for the recommendation, Akkadis. I’d best start on the Vorkosigan series sometime soon, then 🙂
Penny these titles are all strictly SF, I think. I don’t know how fantasy is defined, officially, though – anyone?