NPR's Top 100 SF/Fantasy Books

I don't know that I would actually agree with any of those points.

Cycloptichorn

I'd agree with this one:

That does seem an odd option to take.

I don't have a problem with this. Some stories are simply too big to fit in a standard book size. A great example is Erikson's Malazan series; 10 books, all fantastic, probably the best modern fantasy writer out there. Each individual book is good and a few are great; but it's not just the plot of one book, it's the over-arcing story told by the series which is truly fantastic. Same argument for LOTR, etc.

Cycloptichorn

saw a box set of the first 4 books at Costco for $25, think i'll pick it up next time i'm in

I couldn't recommend a writer higher - if you like comedic fantasy. Truly laugh out loud funny.

Cycloptichorn

Yeah, but why name McCaffrey's DragonFlight and not the whole story arc? Xanth was never meant to be as long as it was. Just seems odd and arbitary. Oh yeah, it's a top 100 list. LOTR definitely should be considered as one work.

72, but there are a few I have no intention of reading.

Probably because I never read anything by Fforde, and now I doubt I ever will.

There are quite few "fluff" novels in this list and many more that don't deserve to be on it than my original post reflects.

#50 "Contact." I'm a big fan of Sagan's non-fiction, but this was a sad attempt to make money.

Anything by Pratchett or Anthony. I admit, however, that I am not a big fan of combining comedy with either the genre of Sci-Fi or Fantasy.

The only book that tried to do so and which I enjoyed was "The Incomplete Enchanter" by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague DeCamp. Of course I read this one in the 7th grade and so that might explain the apparent contradiction.

#66 "The Riftwar Saga" by Raymond Fiest. Never read it, but I did get halfway through another unforgettable book by him that informs me to never try this series. This is especailly notable since I have a neurois about finishing books. In my 57 years on earth I have failed to finish only a handful of the thousands of books I've started. Fiest's was one.

#67 "The Shannara Trilogy." This is a shameless and terrible rip off of LOTR.
What is so sad is that those who truly appreciated LOTR were so starved for another fix that they paid Brooks, and those who claimed to appreciate LOTR could be so easily sated with pap. Hideous.

#70 "The Time Traveler's Wife" Not a bad read but way too close to Romance to make this list.

#73 "The Legend of Drizt" Hard to really take seriously any series than can go for more than six books. Never read any of his and so they may be grand, but they have, clearly, been churned out for money and that usually doesn't spell quality. The idea of a Dark Elf as the main character is pretty cool but he named him "Drizt!" (This ranked ahead of "The Diamond Age?!")

#84 "The Crystal Cave" if you want really good historical fiction, go with Mary Renault, not Mary Stewart

#86 "The Codex Alera Series" I certainly appreciate the guilty pleasure of sticking with a series that, for whatever reason, interests you, but Top 100?
Please.

#89 "The Outlander Series." Never read a one, but doesn't this series belong in The Top 100 Romance Novels?

#90 "Elric" belongs much higher than #90. Moorcock caught the Fantasy wave, but took it in another direction. Not only "Elric," but "Hawkmoon."

#92 "Sunshine" How did this make the list and anything by Charlaine Harris not? Admittedly, I've never read a Sookie Stackhouse novel but I did read "Sunshine," and I do watch "True Blood." Clearly, McKinley was trying to cash in on a vampire trend. "Sunshine" begged for a sequel but never got it, because the original didn't make any real dough.

This is classic NPR audience: Sookie's stories are too commercial, but since we like this sort of vampire sex and the single girl shite, let's vote for "Sunshine."

I actaully liked McKinley's "The Blue Sword." It was formulaic to the max bu tit was entertaining. "Sunshine" wasn't too bad either for that matter.

I freely admit, I have a facination with vampires. In my defense, however, it originated something like 49 years ago when I was going to Scream Shows featuring Chrisopher Lee in "The Horror of Dracula," and I was buying the latest edition of Movie Monsters at my local "Stationary Store." (This probably expalins why I have such affection for one of the UK's greatest Hams: Oliver Reed)

Since this facination stayed with me through my struggle with puberty, it probably also explains why I think big breasted women with British accents are so hot.

If you share a facination for vampires, fear not. You don't have to slog through Sookie and Anita tales:

Anno Dracula and The Bloody Red Baron - Kim Newman

Fevre Dreams - George R. R. Martin

The Dragon Waiting - John M. Ford

Those Who Hunt The Night - Barbara Hamby (Despite the utterly chezzy title.)

The Saint-Germain Series - Chelsea Quinn Yarbro: Some are not much more than Romance novels when Yarbro was looking for money, but the earlier novels are great: "Hotel Transylvania," "Path of The Eclipse,"and "Tempting Fate."

Believe me, if you have not read Mieville, and in particular, "Perdido Street Station," you must, and you will elevate in much much higher in such a list as this than #98

I have just purchased "Embassy Town," and will read it soon, but Mieville has written only one book that has not blown me away: "Kraken"

Mieville has proudly announce that he will write a novel in each and every weird genre, but if you want something that is really good in the peculiar genre of "Kraken," read "The Somnambulist," by Jonathen Barnes.

I love Greg Bear but he. clearly borrowed from Barnes (or whomever Barnes borrowed from) in his "City At The End Of Time," (an excellent read by the way.)

I have absolutely no knowledge of the following authors:

Rothfuss (#18)
Sanderson (#43)
Hobb (#69)
Fforde (#82)
Zahn (#88)

Are any of them worth spit?

@Finn
Timothy Zahn wrote some of the best Star Wars books around. He was the first author I read that had written a SW book. I have since read about 60 of them.

There is a reason why his Thrawn Trilogy is listed and none of his own original work is listed. I have read a few of his works but I really wasn't that impressed. I recommend the Thrawn Trilogy and his Hand of Thrawn duology.

I really enjoyed the first two Blackcollar books by Zahn (number 3 is OK, as it wraps up the series), and I thought the Cobra series was good.

They transformed "Contact" from a mediocre book to an excellent movie, though.

I've written of my disdain for Cormak McCarthy's The Road elsewhere....

I think they give Pulitzer's based on the vocabulary demonstrated by the author, rather than any skill at storytelling.

Loess. I can honestly say I looked up "loess" while reading this book.... It was the highlight of the entire novel.

Sad to say, I've read the series. They keep defeating enemies only to find bigger and bigger enemies behind them.... No literary merit whatsoever, IMO.


Agreed.

And he's a good dark elf, to boot.

The first couple of books were entertaining, but it suffered toward the end. Hidden prince comes into his power just in time to save the Realm? Been there; done that.

I don't think Moorcock would necessarily agree with you there. Why did you mention Hawkmoon and not the entire 'eternal champion' series, Corum, Erikose. Moorcock was the editor of New Worlds at the time, and a lot of the eternal champion stuff was written (very quickly, some books in approx 3 days) to fund the magazine.

Moorcock won the Nebula Award for Behold The Man. The Jerry Cornelius books were also highly regarded, especially The Condition Of Muzak winning the Guardian Fiction Award.

@Drew
I have read War Horse and The Icarus Hunt. They were ok, but they didn't push me to read more of his novels. Since I have a nook and a huge desire to read I will check out a few of his series. Thanks for the heads up. Always looking for good sci fi.

As an aside, I am currently reading a series by Bob Mayer called Area 51. Its cheesy but it weaves an interesting story of human history and alien interaction.

Yeah, those are pretty mediocre.

Imagine discovering Heinlein by reading Farnham's Freehold or Sixth Column.....

I was wondering if anyone was going to mention that book. I get why it was on the list, but omg most depressing book on the planet.

There a handful of really depressing books on the list:

1984, by George Orwell
13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut
22. The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys

The book, The Road, is much better then the film adaptation.

Back when I was reading the book, I remember thinking (about half way through)...find wood, make fire, try to sleep, walk. Next day, find wood, make fire, try to sleep, walk. Next day, find wood, make fire...and on and on and on lol. I made myself stick it out to the end, and then wondered why.

ETA...I can't remember how the film ended, but I remember sobbing as I reached the last few pages of the book.

I guess you could consider Animal Farm and 1984 to be science fiction. I never did, but guess everything has to be squeezed into a catagory.