Amazon Reader's Pick of 100 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books

wyrn

So Amazon created the "100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books to Read in a Lifetime: Readers' Picks" list.

Seems fairly comprehensive to me. It seems to be a great list. Can't see anything at the moment that is missing for me except for Iain M Banks the Culture series. The Player of Games should be there.

I have most of them somewhere in the house, well worn and well read. I'd love to have the digital format. I recently bought the Rama series in one giant hardback format and too lazy to hold it and read it. Pity Amazon didn't do some sort of deal to buy the bundle or a number of books at a good deal.

Yawlboy

Personally I think they are missing:

Raymond E Feist - Magician Series
Iain M Banks - Culture series
Peter F Hamilton - Nights Dawn Trilogy
Stephen R Donaldson - Gap Series
Richard Morgan - Altered Carbon

but thats just me ;-)

keane2097

Yeah the Culture omission is pretty criminal.

croot

Yawlboy wrote: »

Personally I think they are missing:

Raymond E Feist - Magician Series
Iain M Banks - Culture series
Peter F Hamilton - Gap Series

but thats just me ;-)

GAP series wasn't Hamilton, it's Donaldson and pretty nuts its not there but I don't see anything by Hamilton either.

No Steven Erikson or Terry Pratchett either who would be on mine amoung many others I'm sure.

Manach

Offhand, read about 2/3. Unsure about the present of some (Ready player One), the low position of writers like Donaldson and the absence of writers like Pournelle, EE Smith, Wright or Verne.

Yawlboy

croot wrote: »

GAP series wasn't Hamilton, it's Donaldson and pretty nuts its not there but I don't see anything by Hamilton either.

No Steven Erikson or Terry Pratchett either who would be on mine amoung many others I'm sure.

Thanks - made a bit of a mess of that ;-) Need to edit

keane2097

Jesus, didn't even notice that the Malazan stuff wasn't there.

It's a list of mostly good books, but with Malazan for fantasy and Culture for sci-fi it's pretty questionable (to say the list) as any sort of 'best of'.

Trojan

Yawlboy wrote: »

Peter F Hamilton - Nights Dawn Trilogy

You had me until "Nights". Commonwealth series for sure, but while ND is decent, zombie Al Capone loses a lot of street cred.

Trojan

#76 Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1)

I said I was going to start reading this, but got distracted by something else. Is it really this good?

Manach

Trojan wrote: »

You had me until "Nights". Commonwealth series for sure, but while ND is decent, zombie Al Capone loses a lot of street cred.

Never - wise guys of Chicago ruling the space ways. Albeit the Commonwealth was a better realised vision, still have a soft spot for Nightsdawn.

croot

Trojan wrote: »

I said I was going to start reading this, but got distracted by something else. Is it really this good?

Bought it on the kindle along with half a war by Abercrombie yesterday. I've only read the first two chapters because I'm finishing the art of hunting by Alan Campbell but seems pretty good so far.

ixoy

Agree on some of the omissions, although I'd also say Peter F. Hamilton has better work (the Void trilogy for me).

No Culture novel is a big overlook. I'm guessing the reason he isn't there, or Pratchett, is because there's too many of their novels? Too difficult to single out a best.

Trojan wrote: »

I said I was going to start reading this, but got distracted by something else. Is it really this good?

It's over-rated IMO when you look at its award tally. I enjoyed it but it's not as revelatory as it's made out to be and I found the follow up to be a disappointment.

Antar Bolaeisk

Am I looking at the wrong list, I see Pratchett there three times, Good Omens (25), Colour of Magic (62) and Witches Abroad (94). He should be higher in my opinion but at least he's there.

Iain M. Banks should be there though, bit of a glaring omission.

Boskowski

I never understood why Science Fiction got lumped in with Fantasy. They don't have much in common really.
I softened up a bit over the years but while a Science Fiction lover I couldn't stand Fantasy for a long time. Is it thats its the same clientele? I always thought Science Fiction was for geeks and Fantasy was for dreamers.

Starokan

Boskowski wrote: »

I never understood why Science Fiction got lumped in with Fantasy. They don't have much in common really.
I softened up a bit over the years but while a Science Fiction lover I couldn't stand Fantasy for a long time. Is it thats its the same clientele? I always thought Science Fiction was for geeks and Fantasy was for dreamers.

I concur on not lumping the two together all the time, I would think you could do a much better top 100 for each in their own rights.

unreg999

Boskowski wrote:

I never understood why Science Fiction got lumped in with Fantasy. They don't have much in common really. I softened up a bit over the years but while a Science Fiction lover I couldn't stand Fantasy for a long time. Is it thats its the same clientele? I always thought Science Fiction was for geeks and Fantasy was for dreamers.

I agree! I've always read fantasy but never really been into sci-fi... And never understood why they are always lumped together!!

Codofwar

Yawlboy wrote: »

Personally I think they are missing:

Raymond E Feist - Magician Series
Iain M Banks - Culture series
Peter F Hamilton - Nights Dawn Trilogy
Stephen R Donaldson - Gap Series
Richard Morgan - Altered Carbon

but thats just me ;-)

magician by Feist is at #138

Conall Cernach

unreg999 wrote: »

I agree! I've always read fantasy but never really been into sci-fi... And never understood why they are always lumped together!!

There is sometimes a fair bit of crossover. Julian May's Saga of the Exiles, for example, is on the surface a Sci-Fi series with time travel, aliens, energy weapons etc. but reads much more like Fantasy with kings, castles, ogres, goblins, prophecies and all that.

ixoy

Conall Cernach wrote: »

There is sometimes a fair bit of crossover. Julian May's Saga of the Exiles, for example, is on the surface a Sci-Fi series with time travel, aliens, energy weapons etc. but reads much more like Fantasy with kings, castles, ogres, goblins, prophecies and all that.

Yep. Or how about Peter F. Hamilton's Void trilogy? Half Commonwealth sci-fi and half fantasy novel.

In general though there's a lot of people who will only read sci-fi or fantasy yet the bookshops lump them together but wouldn't with say romance and mystery novels (Waterstones separated them out I believe). Basically put all the "weird stuff" in that corner...

seagull

I think it's also that there are some authors who write both, and they like to keep the books together. L.E. Modesitt is an example. His books generally fall clearly into one category or the other. Someone who generally reads one category might find they really enjoy that author, and also like the books that fall into the other category.

Tar.Aldarion

Must work through the ones I haven't read, some good ones missing all right like Erikson.
Remember reading dragonriders of pern as a child and loving it, couldn't remember the name for a long time.

RDM_83 again

Manach wrote: »

Offhand, read about 2/3. Unsure about the present of some (Ready player One), the low position of writers like Donaldson and the absence of writers like Pournelle, EE Smith, Wright or Verne.

If you look at it as a guide to whats popular with current readers or books they are nostalgic about its a pretty good list (look at all that Harry Snotter :mad: ), if your looking at it as a list of authors to check out its pretty poor.

Fantasy- No, Moorcock, Wolfe, Miéville, (probably loads of others but less familiar with Fantasy in general

Sci-Fi - As well as no Verne there is no, Silverberg, Aldis, Sturgeon, Anne Goonan, Stapledon, Pohl

Considering the other stuff of the list I am very surprised Alasteir Reynolds didn't get a look in considering IMO he writes easily accessible books whilst still being pretty damn good sci-fi