Top 15 Sci-Fi Books To Read (so says Sun Media)

[Hemi-Cuda]

what the hell is Battlefield Earth doing on that list? what accolades or awards has it ever gotten? all it is, is thinly veiled scientology propaganda. terrible list for that selection alone

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by Aeneas

Hyperion is certainly a favourite of mine.

I also enjoyed The Legacy of Heorot.

Second troutman's Riverworld suggestion, and sevenarms The Forever War.

And I always like to throw out The Wolves Of Memory by Effinger, Silverberg's majipoor books, or is there any love for Gene Wolfe's Shadow of the Torturer?

I found Peter F Hamilton's Pandora's Star quite remarkable.

I'd put Hyperion on the list too, and the Mars Trilogy. I enjoyed Forever War, Pandora's War and Shadow of the Torturer as well. I'm shamed to admit I've never read Riverworld or the Majipoor books despite their significance in the field.

Foundation comes across as a bit dated now and some of the writing isn't great, so whether it makes a list like this depends on your criteria.

I might also add Use of Weapons (Iain M. Banks) to my own list.

[Ped]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I can't remember if I've read "Battlefield Earth", or not, it could have been that book I tried to read, but L. Ron Hubbard is a terrible writer. Maybe if you're 10 years old, he's interesting but it's no wonder he went into another line of work.

What makes you think he did?

[Knalus]

I've thought about it, and I would have to go with a different Niven co-authored book - other than Mote in God's Eye, if I were to pick one of his. Lucifer's Hammer was one of my favorite books ever, and one of my go-to Christmas gifts if I couldn't figure out what to get someone.

[photon]

Guh I've tried Red Mars twice in the last 6 months and couldn't get into it.

[Knalus]

The other choice I would put in there for consideration: A Princess of Mars. I thought it was just so much fun.

[troutman]

Books we read in my Fantastic Literature course at UWO, many years ago:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_Look_Up

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canticle_for_Leibowitz

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_%28novel%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon%27s_Egg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Left_Hand_of_Darkness

[scotty2hotty]

Another big thumbs up here for Ender's Game.

As a small aside, I just finished 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Sort of sci-fi-ish (deals with time travel). A bit slow in the middle, but all in all an awesome read.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by troutman

Jurassic Park is an okay movie treatment, and an awful book. Timeline might be the worst book I have ever read, in any genre.

I really liked that book - better than the movie.

But it was probably because I was 12 at the time.

[Finny61]

I would put all of Crichton's work as nothing more than leisure read, my favorite of his would have to be The Great Train Robbery. I'm not a big fan of Sci-fi so I can't comment on most of the titles listed. Dan Simmons has had some other good novels outside of the Sci-fi realm like The Terror and Summer of Night.

[Hack&Lube]

Like Enders game, not a fan of Orson Scott Card's political views (think Glenn Beck).

[Aeneas]

Originally Posted by Finny61

I would put all of Crichton's work as nothing more than leisure read, my favorite of his would have to be The Great Train Robbery. I'm not a big fan of Sci-fi so I can't comment on most of the titles listed. Dan Simmons has had some other good novels outside of the Sci-fi realm like The Terror and Summer of Night.

I really liked The Terror. Phases Of Gravity would be another by Simmons that is outside Sci-fi.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Fahrenheit 451?

I'm a sucker for dystopian themes though.

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Fahrenheit 451?

I'm a sucker for dystopian themes though.

Good one - and one that still seems relevant.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by Knalus

I've thought about it, and I would have to go with a different Niven co-authored book - other than Mote in God's Eye, if I were to pick one of his. Lucifer's Hammer was one of my favorite books ever, and one of my go-to Christmas gifts if I couldn't figure out what to get someone.

I've tried to get into Lucifer's Hammer a couple of times. Does it just start slow or is the pacing the same throughout?

[Sr. Mints]

Ender's Game is utterly amazing. Hyperion is very good space opera, too--it's more of a collection of novellas which get tied up. One of my favourite villains, and I enjoyed the sequels more, I think. The Mars trilogy is pretty good. Oryx and Crake had a very 1984ish feel, and I enjoyed it.

I agree with others that this is a pretty common list, and if I were to try and stray away from what you might find commonly find on such lists, but are also worth reading: American Gods, The Forever War, Caves of Steel, The Stars My Destination, Snow Crash, The Thrawn trilogy (Star Wars, if you're into that), Wind-up Girl.

[Sr. Mints]

As for Jurassic Park, I believe I was in grade three when I read it, and thought it was the best thing in the world at the time. When I was in grade four or five, the movie came out and I was blown away. It was truly the first time I'd seen dinosaurs as real creaures, and not skeletons, and it really struck a chord with my imagination. It remains one of my favourite movies/books based on those memories alone.

[Julio]

Pretty much agree with a loot of the choices, although I would have probably chosen "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" for Heinlein. I'd boot out Battlefield Earth, and put in as my dark horse pic either "Starseed" by Spider Robinson (although more of a novella)o r "Lord Valentine's Castle" (if it is si-fi enough). A personal favorite that probably isn't on a lot of people's list is Moving Mars by Greg Bear.

[driveway]

I'll throw out the Uplift series by David Brin, The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, and The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi.

David Brin has the best aliens ever, Mote In God's Eye is just all-around phenomenal, and Paolo Bacigalupi is the new William Gibson.

[AltaGuy]

I enjoyed every one of the Culture novels by Iain M. Banks. For sheer grandiosity in sci-fi I haven't read much better. Use of Weapons and Surface Detail were two of my favourites.

Should note that these two books fit together in a pretty cool way.