I remember when I first discovered the list. I read the headline: "Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books" and thought about all the science fiction and fantasy I read in my youth. Surely, I've read most of these, I thought.
Not even close.
I don't recall the exact number, but I know I had read less than 20. I had never even heard of many books on the list.
Still, I was determined. So I rolled up my sleeves, entered the book titles into a spreadsheet, and headed to my local public library, resolved to read every book on the list.
Upon closer inspection, I faced a bigger hurdle than I initially realized. The list did not contain 100 books. Many of the "books" were actually multi-volume series: Lord of the Rings is 3 volumes; Dune is 5; A Song of Ice and Fire is 5 large books and still growing; Wheel of Time is 14 volumes and each book averages 850 pages! In total, there were over 300 books in this list.
I did not want to commit to every single book in every series, so I resolved to read at least the first book in each series and to continue a series only if it interested me.
That was 7 years ago.
Last month, I finished The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, completing my goal. I have now read at least one book in each series of the list and I completed all but 10 of the series. I even went back and re-read many of the novels that I had read during my youth, such as Fahrenheit 451, A Clockwork Orange, and Frankenstein.
The list was compiled by conducting a poll of NPR listeners; and, as with all polls, this list is subjective and is limited by those who choose to participate and the time at which it is taken.
It's difficult to argue with the top 5-10. All are classics and very few lists of this sort would deny the impact and quality of any of these.
But some will quibble because their favourite book or series was left out.
Notably absent are Bram Stoker's Dracula", The Narnia Chronicles (although C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy was included), The Hobbit (although The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion made the cut), the Harry Potter series, the Hunger Games series, and any works by H.P. Lovecraft.
This was my first time reading some authors of whom I had heard (Neil Gaiman, Kurt Vonnegut, Terry Pratchett, and others) and many authors with which I was completely unfamiliar (Neal Stephenson, Max Brooks, Peter S Beagle, Joe Haldeman, and others)
For the most part, I greatly enjoyed these books. I took the time to review many of them afterward.
I gave the highest ratings to the following books:
- Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
- The Stand by Stephen King
- Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
- Stardust by Neil Gaiman
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart
- The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle
- The Once and Future King by TH White
- The Belgariad by David Eddings
- The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
The only book I disliked was Kushiel's Dart.
Here are some of my observations after finishing this reading.
There is more variety in science fiction than in fantasy. Most fantasy novels are coming-of-age stories.
A few themes were repeated in multiple novels on the list.
The Arthurian Legend is recounted in the following:
- The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
- The Once and Future King by TH White
- The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
- The Space trilogy by CS Lewis
- The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
Time Travel is a primary topic in each of these stories:
- The Time Machine by HG Wells
- The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
- The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
- The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
- Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
and is at least part of the following stories:
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
- The Dark Tower by Stephen King
- The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
Three novels dealt with the end of the World
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
- Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Vampires are major characters in I Am Legend by Richard Matheson and Sunshine by Robin McKinley and are mentioned in the Discworld series
Most authors appeared only once on the list but 16 appeared multiple times and a few (Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, and Ray Bradbury) appeared 4 times. Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein each had 3 books on the list. 11 authors were listed twice.
Two Graphic Novels made the list: Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons; and The Sandman by Neil Gaiman.
I found it interesting that every book on the list was originally published in English, except the two by Jules Verne: Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I chalk this up to the fact that an American radio network conducted the survey.
If you would like to read my detailed opinions on the books, I have posted reviews for many of them at goodreads.com
If you are ambitious, below is the complete list:
| Rank | Title | Author | Books In Series | Books I Read | Year Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lord of the Rings | JRR Tolkien | 3 | 3 | 1985 |
| 2 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Douglas Adams | 5 | 5 | 1985 |
| 3 | Ender's Game | Orson Scott Card | 1 | 1 | 2013 |
| 4 | The Dune Chronicles | Frank Herbert | 5 | 5 | 1988 |
| 5 | A Song of Ice and Fire | George RR Martin | 5 | 5 | 2012 |
| 6 | 1984 | George Orwell | 1 | 1 | 1982/2018 |
| 7 | Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury | 1 | 1 | 1977 |
| 8 | The Foundation Trilogy | Isaac Asimov | 3 | 3 | 1985 |
| 9 | Brave New World | Aldous Huxley | 1 | 1 | 1986 |
| 10 | American Gods | Neil Gaiman | 1 | 1 | 2012 |
| 11 | The Princess Bride | William Goldman | 1 | 1 | 2017 |
| 12 | The Wheel of Time | Robert Jordan | 14 | 1 | 2012 |
| 13 | Animal Farm | George Orwell | 1 | 1 | 1986 |
| 14 | Neuromancer | William Gibson | 1 | 1 | 2012 |
| 15 | Watchmen | Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons | 1 | 1 | 1990 |
| 16 | I, Robot | Isaac Asimov | 1 | 1 | 1981 |
| 17 | Stranger in a Strange Land | Robert Heinlein | 1 | 1 | 2010/2018 |
| 18 | The Kingkiller Chronicles | Patrick Rothfuss | 3 | 1 | 2012 |
| 19 | Slaughterhouse Five | Kurt Vonnegut | 1 | 1 | 2012 |
| 20 | Frankenstein | Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley | 1 | 1 | 1976 |
| 21 | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | Pilip K.Dick | 1 | 1 | 2011 |
| 22 | The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood | 1 | 1 | 2013 |
| 23 | The Dark Tower | Stephen King | 8 | 8 | 2013 |
| oo | 2001: A Space Odyssey | Arthur C. Clarke | 1 | 1 | 1978 |
| 25 | The Stand | Stephen King | 1 | 1 | 2016 |
| 26 | Snow Crash | Neal Stephenson | 1 | 1 | 2013 |
| 27 | The Martian Chronicles | Ray Bradbury | 1 | 1 | 1976 |
| 28 | Cat's Cradle | Kurt Vonnegut | 1 | 1 | 2012 |
| 29 | The Sandman | Neil Gaiman | 10 | 10 | 2015 |
| 30 | A Clockwork Orange | Anthony Burgess | 1 | 1 | 1990 |
| 31 | Starship Troopers | Robert Heinlein | 1 | 1 | 2000 |
| 32 | Watership Down | Richard Adams | 1 | 1 | 2012 |
| 33 | Dragonflight | Anne McCaffrey | 1 | 1 | 2012 |
| 34 | The Moon is a Harsh Mistress | Robert Heinlein | 1 | 1 | 2012 |
| 35 | A Canticle for Leibowitz | Walter M. Miller Jr. | 1 | 1 | 2012 |
| 36 | The Time Machine | HG Wells | 1 | 1 | 1977 |
| 37 | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | Jules Verne | 1 | 1 | 1975 |
| 38 | Flowers for Algernon | Daniel Keyes | 1 | 1 | 2011 |
| 39 | The War of the Worlds | HG Wells | 1 | 1 | 1975 |
| 40 | The Amber Chronicles | Roger Zelazny | 10 | 10 | 2014 |
| 41 | The Belgariad | David Eddings | 5 | 5 | 2017 |
| 42 | The Mists of Avalon | Marion Zimmer Bradley | 1 | 1 | 2014 |
| 43 | The Mistborn Trilogy | Brandon Sanderson | 3 | 3 | 2012 |
| 44 | Ringworld | Larry Niven | 1 | 1 | 2014 |
| 45 | The Left Hand of Darkness | Ursula K LeGuin | 1 | 1 | 1986 |
| 46 | The Silmarillion | JRR Tolkien | 1 | 1 | 1988 |
| 47 | The Once and Future King | TH White | 4 | 4 | 2016 |
| 48 | Neverwhere | Neil Gaiman | 1 | 1 | 2015 |
| 49 | Childhood's End | Arthur C. Clarke | 1 | 1 | 1977 |
| 50 | Contact | Carl Sagan | 1 | 1 | 2011 |
| 51 | Hyperion | Dan Simmons | 1 | 1 | 2013 |
| 52 | Stardust | Neil Gaiman | 1 | 1 | 2017 |
| 53 | Cryptonomicon | Neal Stephenson | 1 | 1 | 2013 |
| 54 | World War Z | Max Brooks | 1 | 1 | 2013 |
| 55 | The Last Unicorn | Peter S Beagle | 1 | 1 | 2017 |
| 56 | The Forever War | Joe Haldeman | 1 | 1 | 2014 |
| 57 | Small Gods | Terry Pratchett | 1 | 1 | 2015 |
| 58 | The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever | Stephen R Donaldson | 3 | 3 | 2014 |
| 59 | The Vorkosigan Saga | Lois McMaster Bujold | 23 | 10 | 2016 |
| 60 | Going Postal | Terry Pratchett | 1 | 1 | 2014 |
| 61 | Mote in God's Eye | Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle | 1 | 1 | 2013 |
| 62 | The Sword of Truth | Terry Goodkind | 12 | 1 | 2018 |
| 63 | The Road | Cormac McCarthy | 1 | 1 | 2012 |
| 64 | Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell | Susanna Clarke | 1 | 1 | 2014 |
| 65 | I Am Legend | Richard Matheson | 1 | 1 | 2014 |
| 66 | The Riftwar Saga | Raymond E. Feist | 3 | 3 | 2018 |
| 67 | The Sword of Shananara | Terry Brooks | 3 | 3 | 2017 |
| 68 | Conan the Barbarian | Robert E Howard | 3 | 3 | 2016 |
| 69 | The Farseer Trilogy | Robin Hobb | 3 | 3 | 2017 |
| 70 | The Time Traveler's Wife | Audry Niffenegger | 1 | 1 | 2005/2018 |
| 71 | The Way of Kings | Brandon Sanderson | 1 | 1 | 2018 |
| 72 | Journey to the Center of the Earth | Jules Verne | 1 | 1 | 1976 |
| 73 | The Legend of Drizzt Series | RA Salvatore | 24 | 1 | 2017 |
| 74 | Old Man's War | John Scalzi | 1 | 1 | 2014 |
| 75 | The Diamond Age | Neal Stephenson | 1 | 1 | 2015 |
| 76 | Rendezvous with Rama | Arthur C. Clarke | 1 | 1 | 1990 |
| 77 | The Kushiel's Legacy Series | Jacqueline Carey | 9 | 1 | 2017 |
| 78 | The Dispossessed | Ursula K LeGuin | 1 | 1 | 2017 |
| 79 | Something Wicked This Way Comes | Ray Bradbury | 1 | 1 | 2017 |
| 80 | Wicked | Gregory Maguire | 1 | 1 | 2006 |
| 81 | The Malazan Book of the Fallen series | Steven Erikson | 10 | 1 | 2018 |
| 82 | The Eyre Affair | Jasper Fforde | 1 | 1 | 2017 |
| 83 | The Culture series | Iain Banks | 10 | 1 | 2018 |
| 84 | The Crystal Cave | Mary Stewart | 3 | 3 | 2018 |
| 85 | Anathem | Neal Stephenson | 1 | 1 | 2016 |
| 86 | The Codex Alera Series | Jim Butcher | 6 | 1 | 2017 |
| 87 | The Book of the New Sun | Gene Wolfe | 4 | 4 | 2018 |
| 88 | The Thrawn Trilogy | Timothy Zahn | 3 | 3 | 2014 |
| 89 | The Outlander series | Diana Gabaldon | 7 | 1 | 2017 |
| 90 | The Elric Saga | Michael Moorcock | 6 | 6 | 1990 |
| 91 | The Illustrated Man | Ray Bradbury | 1 | 1 | 2016 |
| 92 | Sunshine | Robin McKinley | 1 | 1 | 2017 |
| 93 | A Fire Upon the Deep | Vernor Vinge | 1 | 1 | 2015 |
| 94 | The Caves of Steel | Isaac Asimov | 1 | 1 | 1988 |
| 95 | The Mars trilogy | Kim Stanley Robinson | 3 | 3 | 2014 |
| 96 | Lucifer's Hammer | Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle | 1 | 1 | 2015 |
| 97 | Doomsday Book | Connie Willis | 1 | 1 | 2015 |
| 98 | Perdido Street Station | China Mieville | 1 | 1 | 2017 |
| 99 | The Xanth series | Piers Anthony | 40 | 1 | 2018 |
| 100 | The Space trilogy | CS Lewis | 3 | 3 | 2013 |