The Top 100 Must-read Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of All Time Poll.

Jason

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Has there been a summary list posted somewhere that I can't find?
 

NickP

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Haven't got ll the way through the nominations but haven't seen Joe Abercrombie yet. The First Law world is as riveting as any other and there is a streak of cynicism and brutality seldom seen in fantasy.

Also, Leo Grossman's The Magicians, a fabulous, erudite and often funny work of art - the thick plottens.
 

Jimmy

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Would Starship Troopers qualify?
 

ManWithTheMetalArm

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The Orc of Many Questions, by Shane Michael Murray, 2013, epic fantasy. A book that acknowledges many of the orc/evil minion tropes and plays with them by giving them solid, tragic, world building reasons why orcs are the way they are and will leave you feeling sorry for our greenskinned friends.
 
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JNG01

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The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe (mind-bending exploration of humanity, space, time, meaning, and God)
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein
 

dickson

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I have two entries:

The Boy in Darkness, Mervyn Peake, first published 1956, fantasy.

An unforgettable dreamlike visit to a claustrophobic timelocked world.

Lud-in-the-Mist, Hope Mirlees, 1926, fantasy

A masterpiece of low fantasy that goes places that I really did not see coming.
 
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Tod Moran

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Childhood's End, Arthur Clarke - 1984, G. Orwell - Brave New World, A. Huxley in addition to several others already mentioned.
 

Singcali

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The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. Fantasy Adventure Pub 1990. First book of the Wheel of Time series. 14 books in all.
Follows three young men and their struggle against an ever going struggle against the Shadow. Get ready for multiple lpts and twists.

Just heard they will be making a tv series of it.
 

sheils

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OK looks like the list is officially closed to voting, but as the thread is still open and people are adding their votes, I figure I'll add mine:

New nominations:

Epic of Gilgamesh, author unknown, fantasy. Why should it make the list? Because it's the earliest known written story and as such, it is the first to delve into themes and elements of fantasy and heroism.

The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger, 2003. Why should it make the list? Because it's not squarely SFF, which I think this list (which is supposed to be a tool for writers, after all) could use to expand writers' horizons and conceptions of their genre.

A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess, 1962. Why should it make the list? Because it's a classic (and exists on lots of "Top X" book lists) and involves a gritty dystopia, an anti-hero, and an examination of free will.

Throwing in my votes:
Ender’s Game
Dune
Harry Potter
Lord of the Rings
Chronicles of Narnia
Brave New World
1984
The Odyssey
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Handmaid’s Tale
Snow Crash
The Forever War
Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy
A Song of Ice and Fire
Kingkiller Chronicle
The Stand
Slaughterhouse 5
Farenheit 451
A Canticle for Leibowitz
A Wrinkle in Time
Flowers for Algernon
Never Let Me Go
 

Singcali

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The Mongoliad by Neal Stephenson and Greg Bear.

A group of crusader knights go on a covert mission to kill the Mongol Khan. Great series.
 

Lehssner

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The Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton (2012), Science Fiction. A modern classic that combines elements of crime, horror and conspiracy in a massively compelling Si-Fi world.
 

Charke

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Dune is a must read. It's an interesting land mine of a series though. The last book was written based on Herbert's notes and, well, I despise the final ending. Pretty much everything leading up to that ending is amazing and the series has ballooned out into dozens of novels.

- Mark Charke
 

indianroads

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I didn't see this listed - but I may have missed it.

The Gods Themselves by Asimov - I've heard that this novel is the only thing written by Asimov with aliens in it... and he really does a number with it.
 

DulciePercy

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This is an interesting thread for a new chum. It will expand my reading list :)

As others have done, I will add a few items I think deserve at least one vote.

For heavy science:
Greg Egan, Schild's Ladder and/or The Clockwork Rocket Trilogy

For heavy lit:
Herman Hesse, The Glass Bead Game (I noticed recently it has been awarded a "retro-hugo")
Samual Beckett, The Lost Ones
Jose Saramago, Blindness

For more fun, if you don't count the end of humanity:
Kurt Vonnegut, Galapagos



Apropos post just above - from memory aliens turn up also on the last page of Asimov's Foundation Trilogy.
 
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AEMcRoberts

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Pathfinder series, Orson Scott Card, 2010, Science fiction/fantasy. A fantastic blend of hardcore science fiction and a fantasy, with an intriguing premise and incredible time traveling science.