At the end of 2018 I set a goal for myself of reading all of the books on the Top 100 Fantasy and Top 100 Science Fiction book lists.
Wow. I was/ am ambitious. Fortunately, I’ve read a number of them already, so it isn’t really 200 books to read, more like . . . ulp . . . 140. That’s . . . *sigh* a bit under three books a week.
I’ve also created a list with notes and comments about the books so you, my invisible friend, can follow along. I’ll update monthly.
Here are the science fiction books I’ve read previously (21 of them!)
| 1984 | Orwell, George | x | SF | It’s a classic for a reason, and all the more prescient in these times |
| A Clockwork Orange | Burgess, Anthony | x | SF | Disturbing in many ways and on many levels. |
| A Wrinkle in Time | L’Engle, Madeleine | x | SF | Gorgeous, perfect, the ‘YA’ tale of the strength of the self against evil is timeless. |
| Anathem | Stephenson, Neal | x | SF | Love the writing, or hate it Stephenson’s books are intricate and well-plotted. |
| Cinder | Meyer, Melissa | x | SF | Billed as a modern Cinderella tale, I did not like it much, |
| Contact | Sagan, Carl | x | SF | Supremely well done sci-fi world building here on Earth. |
| Dragonflight | McCaffrey, Anne | x | SF | One of the few books that can be called both fantasy and sci-fi accurately, it’s also a coming of age in a perfectly envisioned world we would recognize, and long for. |
| Dune | Herbert, Frank | x | SF | Many say just read this one, and it is the best of Herbert’s universe. I re-read it almost annually and find new details to savor each time. |
| Ender’s Game | Card, Orson Scott | x | SF | Perhaps because I read this as an adult, I found it horrifying and disturbing. |
| Fifth Season | Jemisin, N.K. | x | SF | I wish I could love this novel as much as so many others have. Brilliantly well-written with a thoroughly envisioned world. |
| Foundation | Asimov, Isaac | x | SF | A classic that holds up, decade after decade. I prefer Asimov’s ‘Robots’ series, but the Foundation arc is consistently fascinating. |
| Jurassic Park | Crichton, Michael | x | SF | A pulse-pounding story enfolds a cautionary tale about the limits of science, especially when there aren’t any. |
| Neuromancer | Gibson, William | x | SF | We are living in the times that Gibson envisioned, and if should terrify you. |
| Stranger in a Strange Land | Heinlein, Robert | x | SF | Heinlein’s female characters are problematic yet refreshing for the era in which they were written. That aside, it’s a rollicking good story. |
| The Handmaid’s Tale | Atwood, Margaret | x | SF | Disturbing and prescient and a must-read that I intensely disliked — because it was a world I never wanted to see. The irony is traumatizing. |
| The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy | Adams, Douglas | x | SF | Goofy, funny, and full of valuable advice. |
| The Hunger Games | Collins, Suzanne | x | SF | Another world I never want to see; a book I really can’t recommend. |
| The Last Policeman | Winters, Ben | x | SF | Why bother to solve a murder when the world is (literally) coming to an end? This is a well-written novel I recommend to others . . . But I didn’t love it. |
| The Real Story | Donaldson, Stephen R. | x | SF | No. No. No. The first in a series in which the archetypal roles of Hero, Villain, and Victim change roles. I think it was an excuse for the author to explore rape and abuse in a sci-fi context. I cannot recommend it on any level or for any person. |
| The Stand | King, Stephen | x | SF | King is a best-seller for a reason, and this HUGE story is one reason. Terrible times reveal the truth buried inside each of us. Brilliant. |
| Watchmen | Moore, Alan | x | SF | Set in an alternate universe in which superheroes exist, but are either outlawed or act as govt agents. Who watches the Watchmen? Moore’s excellence shines clearly. |