We Read Science Fiction

28 responses so far ↓

• 1 Vince // Sep 30, 2007 at 11:31 pm

  So why does “The Stars My Destination” only get an honourable mention? What didn’t you like about it?

• 2 Cam // Oct 1, 2007 at 8:00 am

  Hi Vince,

  There is nothing that I didn’t like about “The Stars my Destination,” but as the rest of my list emerges I hope you’ll agree that it was a VERY tough decision.

  I consider all of the books on my HM list to be on my list of “must reads” (which is probably 20-30 novels long). Maybe in the future I’ll review all of these as well, but I have a lot of catching up to do.

  If you feel strongly about it, you’re more than welcome to submit a guest review of this awesome novel! Guest reviews can use their own Amazon Associate ID :)

• 3 Rain // Nov 27, 2007 at 7:58 am

  Do you know how long your list is going to take? I am currently writing a curriculum to be adopted for a science-fiction literature course, and I am curious about your choices (many some of my favorites already). Thanks! Rain

• 4 Cam // Nov 27, 2007 at 8:10 am

  Hi Rain,

  I didn’t know anyone was still reading this site. I didn’t get any great uptake when I started writing these so I switched to reading more instead. However, if I have even one reader then I’ll keep going. It’ll take a bit longer, but I’ll try and get the next one up in a day or two.

  Thanks for reading!
  Cam

• 5 Al L. // Jan 17, 2008 at 8:41 pm

  Cam,

  Great List. Glad to see Heinlein and Herbert. How far down your list would you put Sheckley and PKD?

  Al L.

• 6 Cam // Jan 17, 2008 at 9:25 pm

  Well, I haven’t heard of Sheckley, so why don’t you suggest one for me.

  As for PKD I liked Andorid’s dream and also Man in the High Castle, as well as Pay Check (not the movie). However I’ve had trouble relating to any of his other works and reading his collections, while they’re on my shelf, has never been a high priority. Care to suggest one I may have missed?

• 7 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card | I Read Science Fiction // Mar 20, 2008 at 6:44 pm

  [...] Game by Orson Scott Card is number 6 on my all-time top 10 list of Science Fiction stories you need to read. Written as a novella in 1977 and expanded into a novel in 1985, it won both both the Hugo and the [...]

• 8 James // Mar 25, 2008 at 5:04 am

  Hmmm… I’ve just noticed Dune on the honorable mention list! Personally I would struggle to put much ahead of Dune. The realization of the alternate ecology and sociology of Dune make this a landmark work in fiction, not just science fiction.

  As you have indicated, you are ranking your top 10 on the reading experience and what a book means to you, so I can understand not having this or that book in your Top10. Similarly I would put Dune at #1 in my list as it was one of the first scifi books I read and it’s impact on me could only be described as profound!

  Hyperion is also interesting on the honorable mention list. Initially it would not have made even that list for me! It was not until I re-read it more than 10 years later, followed up by The Fall of Hyperion that the book acquired a much larger significance in my scifi experience. So it would appear (these days) in my own top10 but as Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion which makes sense because it was written as one book put published as 2 separate books.

  Cheers,
  James

• 9 Cam // Mar 25, 2008 at 8:06 am

  HI James,

  Dune is indeed an important work, which is why I couldn’t ignore it completely. However I read it very early on and I’m sure I missed some of the significance as a result. What dragged it down for me was the utter weight of it. It was not a FUN read, even though it was very interesting. It was so interesting in fact that I had to go and find a used book store while on vacation to get the sequel. so, it certainly was compelling.

  If this was a top 20 list, it might be #11 or 12. So it’s not too far out of the running in my books (pun intended). But for me the story needs to have more than JUST good ideas, it needs to be fun, have good characters and be unpredictable too. Dune has the last two, but it wasn’t fun enough to land it ahead of the top 10 on my list.

  Read the debate on the Charles Stross Singularity Sky review. I suspect I’m in the minority again :)

• 10 Gateway by Frederik Pohl | I Read Science Fiction // Apr 8, 2008 at 1:50 pm

  [...] 5 on my all-time favourite novels list is Gateway by Frederik Pohl. This is a hard read for many people due to its use of flash-backs, but [...]

• 11 The Forever War by Joe Haldeman | I Read Science Fiction // Apr 11, 2008 at 8:35 am

  [...] Forever War by Joe Haldeman nearing the top of my all time favourite scifi books at number 4. As is true for most of my list, it won both the Hugo and the Nebula awards. It’s [...]

• 12 Earth Abides by George R Stewart | I Read Science Fiction // Apr 13, 2008 at 9:00 am

  [...] we’re finally into the top 3 of my all-time favorite science fiction novels. This is probably the point where you all really start to disagree with me, but c’est la [...]

• 13 A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge | We Read Science Fiction // Apr 15, 2008 at 2:02 pm

  [...] one of the most honored works in Science Fiction in the past 20 years. Now it’s also my #2 on my top ten science fiction novels list, which I’m sure Mr. Vinge will prize above all the others :). Summary: Clever technology, [...]

• 14 Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein | We Read Science Fiction // Apr 19, 2008 at 10:29 am

  [...] I finally reveal my #1 all time favorite science fiction novel. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein. Why did it win? Because it’s the first [...]

• 15 Richard L Johnson // May 2, 2008 at 6:50 pm

  Dune as honorable mention? Considering the impact it has had (Hmmm, George Lucas owes the Herbert Estate what - a few billion in royalties?) and not to mention being a great read, I would have a hard time keeping it off the Top-10.

  Earth Abides definitely rates, as does Enders Game, but no PKD bothers me.

  Maybe not individually, but in total, PKD has had as much influence on society, SF and the Movies as anyone. Put him down as no home runs, but a lot of doubles and RBIs. And that wins games.

• 16 Cam // May 2, 2008 at 10:44 pm

  Not having Dune on the list is contentious indeed, but having read it twice now I fail to see how it has something the others does not.

  Sure, it was released in a time when few titles were compelling, it it took the “strange world” idea quite far, but can not the same be said about the others on the list? Of them, only Spin has yet to stand the test of time.

  As for PKD, you’re right on both counts. No home runs, so not on my top 10 NOVELS list. If I do a top 10 SciFi Authors he’d be near the very top… interesting idea.. I feel some writing and research coming on. Frank Herbert might even be on that list :)

• 17 DaveyJJ // May 16, 2008 at 10:25 am

  I’m one of those “heretics” in the sci-fi world and agree with Cam that Dune deserves only an honourable mention (and it wouldn’t even make that on my own list). Yes, I know, saying this on a sci-fi blog out loud is tatamount to discussing Hitler in a contentious newsgroup argument.

  I’ve only been reading sci-fi since the early 1970s … hanging out at the late Bakka on Queen Street West and the huge (at the time) sci-fi section in the World’s Biggest Bookstore. I grew up on Vinge, Vance, Asimov, Clarke, JP Hogan, Brin, Bear, Tolkein and their ilk. But I never found Herbert’s work even a satisfying, fun or even interesting read at all.

  I found it was heavy and far too weighty … heavy like Margaret Lawrence dreadful Swamp, err, Stone Angel.

  Label me a heretic if you must, but to my mind there is better sci-fi out there that is far more joyous to read. But to each his own, I suppose … one man’s fish is another man’s poisson.

• 18 Bill // May 26, 2008 at 11:33 pm

  It’s purely personal and somewhat subjective. If they are your top ten then that’s for you to say and decide. No one else.

  I wondered why you chose The Gods for Asimov? I personally think there are a half dozen far bnetter examples of his greatness. Not criticising, just intrigued why this one?

  Why nothing by ACC?

  Have you read anything of Edmund Cooper at all?

• 19 Cam // May 27, 2008 at 9:12 am

  Hi Bill,

  To answer your questions:
  1. I chose “The Gods Themselves” for Asimov for a number of reasons that I list in the linked review. Notably that is an excellent example of unpredicted technological consequences, one of the few times he did Aliens instead of Robots, and a great story to boot.

  2. I’m not familiar with the acronym AAC. Who is that?

  3. No. Why not suggest something. I’m always looking for new authors.

• 20 Kendall // Jun 6, 2008 at 1:11 am

  I presume ACC mean Arthur C. Clarke (e.g., 2001, though I liked 2010 better).

  Everyone’s different–Dune’s one of my all-time favorites, while I didn’t care for Spin at all. (I couldn’t even make myself finish it.) (grin&shrug) There’s no accounting for tastes, eh?

  -Kendall, coming here via Scalzi’s pimp thread ;-)

• 21 Rainer // Jun 30, 2008 at 3:30 am

  Hey,
  you should read some books from Peter F. Hamilton (http://www.peterfhamilton.co.uk/). While most of them are a long read I think one of his books should definitely make it onto the honorable mention list.
  @James, the Hyperion series covers 4, not 2 books (the Endymon books). Only with them the whole story is complete (albeit really long). Another book I loved was Dan Simmons’ Ilium.

• 22 James // Jul 17, 2008 at 8:26 am

  Hi Cam!

  I’m glad that you picked the book that started you on your journey!

  You need to start another list now. How about best short stories? That would be fun!

  Some early nominations:

  Blood Music
  I have no mouth & I must screen
  The last question

  Actually it’s pretty hard to think of short stories off the top of ones head! So could be a good thoughtful list!

  Cheers,
  James

• 23 Cam // Jul 17, 2008 at 9:16 am

  Short stories eh? I’d need to take nominations for that one. I don’t read shorts often. usually only when I’m on an author binge and need one last fix before I move on.. Once I’ve read all of the novels, I sometimes pick up an anthology, but I fear that wouldn’t be a good representation of the genre and format.

• 24 John Scalzi - Favorite Science Fiction Author | We Read Science Fiction // Jul 29, 2008 at 8:17 am

  [...] has been suggested on a number of occasions that I do some sort of top 10 SciFi authors list. However, I don’t think I could easily rank my favorite authors, so instead I’ll [...]

• 25 Al Luther // Aug 3, 2008 at 11:56 pm

  I mentioned Sheckley and PKD, but I think my favorite Robert Sheckley stories were shorts, so of course its in a different category. I guess novel wise, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep probably isn’t a top ten; no doubt PKD had some great ideas, and had the ability to project familiar human reactions in unusual circumstances. Glad to see Simak in the also rans.

• 26 Ben // Sep 7, 2008 at 4:23 am

  Regarding dune and fun try God Emporer…its one of my top 5 but its a dull read just lots of interesting ideas. Dune still has a good story. I thought books 2,3 5 and 6 were a let down till i read Mr Andersons prequals talk about bad.

  I liked stranger in a strange land but it wouldnt make my top 10. Lots of interesting ideas (though less so than Dune and God Emperor) but the story was a bit dull.

  Love all Peter F. Hamilton stuff must read very enjoyable.

  Regards,

  Ben

• 27 rpob // Sep 13, 2008 at 4:16 am

  I am new to science fiction, and I have to say.. this is a great list. Many subjects of interest, I’ve just started reading “The Gods Themselves” and plan to read the 9 other books too.

  Have to say, I’m kind of glad I broke my leg, now I have time to read all of this :)

• 28 Cam // Sep 13, 2008 at 10:40 am

  @rpod: Sorry to hear about your leg. Get well soon. Enjoy the list :)

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