Top 50 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books

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The Science Fiction Book Club released their list of the Top 50 Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of the last 50 years (1953-2002).

Here's the ones I've read:

  1. Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien
  2. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
  3. Dune, Frank Herbert
  4. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert A. Heinlein
  5. A Wizard of Earthsea, Ursula K. Le Guin
  6. Neuromancer, William Gibson
  7. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
  8. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
  9. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr.
  10. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
  11. The First Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Stephen R. Donaldson
  12. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
  13. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
  14. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin
  15. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
  16. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
  17. The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith
  18. On the Beach, Nevil Shute
  19. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
  20. Ringworld, Larry Niven
  21. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson,
  22. Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner
  23. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
  24. Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
  25. Timescape, Gregory Benford

25 out of 50's not bad! I'll have to read the rest of them sometime. I would probably pick a little differently (Snow Crash above The Stars My Destination and Stand on Zanzibar? And only two "hard" SF books -- granted, two of the best.) but overall I think that's a pretty find book of science fiction. I wonder how much overlap there is with David Pringle's 100 Best Science Fiction Novels which covers 1949-1984. I haven't got time to figure that out now, unfortunately.