100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels to Geek Out Over
JulieIf your answer to every question is 42. If you can quote the three laws of Robotics. If you want to say “my precious” every time you see a gold band. Then this list is for you. We asked our 3,000 bibliomaniacs what their favorite SciFi/Fantasy novels were, and here are their top 100 answers.
(1) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (2) A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (3) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (4) The Two Towers, (5) The Return of the King, (6) The Fellowship of the Ring and (7) The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (8) Neuromancer by William Gibson (9) Hyperion by Dan Simmons (10) Dune by Frank Herbert (11) The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (12) Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (13) 1984 by George Orwell (14) Ubik by Phillip K. Dick (15) A Storm of Swords by George R. R.Martin (16) The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury (17) Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, Jr. (18) Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (19) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (20) The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (21) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle (22) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (23) The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle (24) Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (25) Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
(26) Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (27) The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick (28) The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov (29) Elantris by Brandon Sanderson (30) I Will Fear No Evil by Robert A. Heinlein (31) Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind (32) A Princess of Mars by E. R. Burroughs (33) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (34) Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey (35) The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks (36) The Once and Future King by T.H. White (37) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (38) Foundation by Isaac Asimov (39) Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman (40) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick (41) Anathem by Neal Stephenson (42) The Black Company by Glen Cook (43) The Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn (44) Magic of Recluse by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. (45) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (46) The Legacy of Heorot by Larry Niven, Stever Barnes and Jerry Pournelle (47) Dark is the Sun by Philip Jose Farmer (48) Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber (49) Dying Inside by Robert Siverberg (50) A Watch on the Rhine by John Ringo
(51) The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers (52) Dies the Fire by S. M. Strilling (53) Old Man’s War by John Scalzi (54) The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers (55) The Eye of the Pyramid by Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson (56) The Electric Church by Jeff Sommers (57) Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut (58) Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake (59) Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner (60) Mort by Terry Pratchett (61) Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susana Clarke (62) Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (63) Ladyhawke by Joan D. Vinge (64) I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (65) Armor by John Steakly (66) Lathe of Heaven, (67) Earthsea Chronicles and (68) Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin (69) The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey (70) The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (71) War With the Newts by Karel Capek (72) Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (73) To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (74) Stardust by Neil Gaiman (75) Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link
(76) The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (77) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (78) Mockingbird by Walter Tevis (79) This is the Way the World Ends by James Morrow (80) Battle Cry by Jack McKinney (81) Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marrillier (82) Resurrection by Arwen Elys Dayton (83) Parable of the Sower and (84) Kindred by Octavia Butler (85) The Subtle Knife and (86) The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman (87) Grass by Sheri Tepper (88) Three Days to Never by Tim Powers (89) Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany (90) The Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis (91) Logan’s Run by William Nolan & George Clayton Johnson (92) White Mountains by John Christopher (93) Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov (94) Mister Monday by Garth Nix (95) Ringworld by Larry Niven (96) The Misenchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans (97) Robopacalypse by Daniel H. Wilson(98) The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor (99) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (100) The Giver by Lois Lowry
Now, Dune has been on my reading list for a while, but I am definitely going to have to read Ender's Game. The Hyperion series and The Looking Glass Wars just made it onto my reading list as well. What about you? See anything to add to your reading list?
You can find these books and more at your local Half Price Books. Stop in today, and our Sci-Fi-Lovin' Bibliomaniacs will help you find your book.
-- Julie
This website is made from 100% completely recycled materials.
Reader Comments (17)
Do you have this in a print-friendly list? Some of us geeks like to have lists that we systematically tackle.
Are these in order as to best being # 1 ? If so, I do not agree with
Enders Game being first, LOTR and Dune are far superior as are many others on this list. Randy Jones from Store 024 in Clear Lake,TX
Surprised The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson was not on this list..It is right up there with LOTR and The Shannara Series...Randy from Store 024...
Any chance of getting this list in an easily downloadable and printable format, such as PDF or DOC? I'd love to take this with me next time I'm at HPB.
I really liked the Old Man's War series.... I've only read 32 of the books listed... I'm surprised more Larry Niven didn't end up on the list.... I'll be making my future shopping lists from this list though. I need some new to me books.
Hi guys! We'll work on putting together a downloadable list for you. Thanks! ~Kristen D.
@Randy Jones... OMG! The Thomas Covenant series was amazeballs! Every time I mention it to someone they've never heard of it. Granted it took me forever to get through the first half of the first book but after that I couldn't put them down.
I'm so disappointed that The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams was #33. It should have been 42!
Love it! BTW, in your list at #90 you have CS Lewis' book That Hideous Strength listed as "The Hideous Strength".
So you used up 3 slots with one novel?
I was surprised to see that Lynn Flewelling, Tanya Huf, Mercedes Lackey, Robin Hobb and Lois McMaster Bujold didn't make the list. These are the power women of sci-fi and fantasy in my library. Going to the old "if you were stuck on a deserted island" concept, as long as I got these gals new books as they came out I would live a happy literary life. I normally wait to buy books until they come to Half Price Books, but these ladies sometimes send me out to the full price stores on the day they get released.
Jason store 091 Westerville, Ohio
Two of my favorite authors did not make this list: Alastair Reynolds and David Gemmel. Both are amazing, Also Ben Bova is great too. I'm not really a big fan of lumping Sci-Fi together with fantasy because to me Sci-Fi is all about what is possible, wheras Fantasy is purely imaginative. Both have their merits but should be separated.
Not one book by Arthur C. Clarke? Rendezvous with Rama? Childhood's End? 2001?
Why does every list always omit Jack Vance ?
Kathryn, I had the same concern about a printable list So I made one. I am going to enclose it in an email to HPB. If anyone would like it I have it saved in an Open Office document.
HPB.com
100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels to Geek Out Over
posted by Julie in Fiction, Staff Picks • August 21, 2012
(1) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
(2) A Game of Thrones by
George R. R. Martin
(3) Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
(4) The Two Towers,
(5) The Return of the King,
(6) The Fellowship of the Ring and
(7) The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
(8) Neuromancer by William Gibson
(9) Hyperion by Dan Simmons
(10) Dune by Frank Herbert
(11) The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
(12) Stranger in a Strange Land by
Robert Heinlein
(13)1984 by George Orwell
(14) Ubik by Phillip K. Dick
(15) A Storm of Swords by
George R. R.Martin
(16) The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
(17) Who Goes There? by
John W. Campbell, Jr.
(18) Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
(19) The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by
Robert A. Heinlein
(20)The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
(21) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
(22)The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by
C.S. Lewis
(23) The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
(24) Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
(25) Something Wicked This Way Comes by
Ray Bradbury
(26) Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
(27) The Man in the High Castle by
Phillip K. Dick
(28) The Robots of Dawn by Isaac Asimov
(29) Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
(30) I Will Fear No Evil by Robert A. Heinlein
HPB.com
100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels to Geek Out Over
posted by Julie in Fiction, Staff Picks • August 21, 2012
(31) Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind
(32) A Princess of Mars by E. R. Burroughs
(33) The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
(34) Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey
(36) The Once and Future King by T.H. White
(37) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
(38) Foundation by Isaac Asimov
(39) Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman
(40) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Phillip K. Dick
(41) Anathem by Neal Stephenson
(42) The Black Company by Glen Cook
(43) The Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn
(44) Magic of Recluse by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.
(45) Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
(46) The Legacy of Heorot by Larry Niven, Stever Barnes and Jerry Pournelle
(47) Dark is the Sun by Philip Jose Farmer
(48) Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber (49) Dying Inside by Robert Siverberg
(50) A Watch on the Rhine by John Ringo
(51) The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
(52) Dies the Fire by S. M. Strilling
(53) Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
(54) The City of Dreaming Books by
Walter Moers
(55) The Eye of the Pyramid by Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson
(56) The Electric Church by Jeff Sommers
(57) Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
(58) Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
(59) Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
(60) Mort by Terry Pratchett
(61) Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susana Clarke
HPB.com
100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels to Geek Out Over
posted by Julie in Fiction, Staff Picks • August 21, 2012
(62) Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
(63) Ladyhawke by Joan D. Vinge
(64) I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
(65) Armor by John Steakly
(66) Lathe of Heaven,
(67) Earthsea Chronicles and
(68) Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
(69) The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey
(70) The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
(71) War With the Newts by Karel Capek
(72) Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
(73) To Say Nothing of the Dog by
Connie Willis
(74) Stardust by Neil Gaiman
(75) Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link
(76) The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
(77) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
(78) Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
(79) This is the Way the World Ends by
James Morrow
(80) Battle Cry by Jack McKinney
(81) Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marrillier
(82) Resurrection by Arwen Elys Dayton
(83) Parable of the Sower and
(84) Kindred by Octavia Butler
(85) The Subtle Knife and
(86) The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman
(87) Grass by Sheri Tepper
(88) Three Days to Never by Tim Powers
(89) Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany
(90) The Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
(91) Logan’s Run by William Nolan &
George Clayton Johnson
(92) White Mountains by John Christopher
(93) Fantastic Voyage by Isaac Asimov
(94) Mister Monday by Garth Nix
(95) Ringworld by Larry Niven
(96) The Misenchanted Sword by
Lawrence Watt-Evans
(97) Robopacalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
(98) The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
(99) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
(100) The Giver by Lois Lowry
HPB.com
100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels to Geek Out Over
posted by Julie in Fiction, Staff Picks • August 21, 2012
It seems you have missed several authors that deserve inclusion in this list, at least in my opinion. The most startling omission is The Book Of The New Sun by Gene Wolfe, this shows up in almost every list I have ever seen. I would add the seemingly underestimated Riverworld series by Philip Jose Farmer, and any of the work by Julian May.