Comments on Locus All-Centuries Poll: Novels

Here are my comments on the novel component of the results of the Locus All-Centuries Poll.

20th Century SF Novel:

Their ranking Author : Title (Year) My rating My comments
1 Herbert, Frank : Dune (1965) I read it too long ago to rate but I will read it again.
2 Card, Orson Scott : Ender’s Game (1985) 5 One of my favourites.
3 Asimov, Isaac : The Foundation Trilogy (1953) 5 One of my favourites — the entire series is worth reading.
4 Simmons, Dan : Hyperion (1989) 5 One of my favourites — the entire series is worth reading.
5 Le Guin, Ursula K. : The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) 5 A brilliant novel.
6 Adams, Douglas : The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1979) 5 The funniest book you will ever read.
7 Orwell, George : Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) 4.5 A book that everyone should read — where the term “big brother” comes from.
8 Gibson, William : Neuromancer (1984) 4 A hacker tries to pull off the ultimate hack.
9 Bester, Alfred : The Stars My Destination (1957) 5 A man marooned in space is bent on revenge.
10 Bradbury, Ray : Fahrenheit 451 (1953) 4.5 A book that everyone should read.
11 Heinlein, Robert A. : Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) 4 A human born on Mars returns to Earth and becomes a celebrity.
12 Heinlein, Robert A. : The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966) 4 The colony on the Moon decides it doesn’t want to be ruled by Earth any more.
13 Haldeman, Joe : The Forever War (1974) 4 The effects on humans of a war with aliens and the time dilation of space travel.
14 Clarke, Arthur C. : Childhood’s End (1953) 5 The Overlords arrive at Earth to help humans but they don’t show themselves.
15 Niven, Larry : Ringworld (1970) 4 The exploration of an artificial world that’s a ring around a star.
16 Le Guin, Ursula K. : The Dispossessed (1974) 5 A physicist from a society without government visits his neighbour planet.
17 Bradbury, Ray : The Martian Chronicles (1950) 5 Humans colonize Mars, but there are beings already there.
18 Stephenson, Neal : Snow Crash (1992) 5 Reality and virtual reality are very different in the future.
19 Miller, Walter M. , Jr. : A Canticle for Leibowitz (1959) 5 History tends to repeat itself.
20 Pohl, Frederik : Gateway (1977) 4.5 People don’t understand how the Heechee spaceships work, but they set off on them anyway — of course, some people don’t come back.
21 Heinlein, Robert A. : Starship Troopers (1959) I’ve been assured that I wouldn’t like it.
22 Dick, Philip K. : The Man in the High Castle (1962) 4.5 The Axis powers won World War II and the US now lives under fascism.
23 Zelazny, Roger : Lord of Light (1967) 3.5 A book that I didn’t get to some extent.
24 Wolfe, Gene : The Book of the New Sun (1983) 4 I read the first book — it’s good, but I didn’t understand why people think it’s so brilliant.
25 Lem, Stanislaw : Solaris (1970) 4.5 Humans visit a world where strange things happen.
26 Dick, Philip K. : Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) 4.5 A bounty hunter retires androids who have escaped — the basis of the movie Blade Runner.
27 Vinge, Vernor : A Fire Upon The Deep (1992) 5 One of my favourite books I’ve read in the last few years.
28 Clarke, Arthur C. : Rendezvous with Rama (1973) 4.5 A huge alien ship arrives and people from Earth go to check it out.
29 Huxley, Aldous : Brave New World (1932) 4.5 Everyone is happy, but at what cost?
30 Clarke, Arthur C. : 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 4.5 Worth reading even if you’ve seen the movie.
31 Vonnegut, Kurt : Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) 4 A soldier inadvertently travels through time.
32 Strugatsky, Arkady & Boris : Roadside Picnic (1972) 3.5 A bit too much mystery left at the end for my taste.
33 Card, Orson Scott : Speaker for the Dead (1986) 5 Ender visits a world where sentient beings have been found and are exhibiting some unexplained behaviour.
34 Brunner, John : Stand on Zanzibar (1968) On my shelf.
35 Robinson, Kim Stanley : Red Mars (1992) 4 The colonization of Mars by people from Earth.
36 Niven, Larry (& Pournelle, Jerry) : The Mote in God’s Eye (1974) 4 First contact between humans and a fascinating alien species.
37 Willis, Connie : Doomsday Book (1992) 4.5 A historian travels back to a time when the plague was ravishing England.
38 Atwood, Margaret : The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) I saw the movie.
39 Sturgeon, Theodore : More Than Human (1953) On my shelf.
40 Simak, Clifford D. : City (1952) 5 In the far future intelligent dogs populate the Earth and humans are a myth.
41 Brin, David : Startide Rising (1983) On my shelf.
42 Asimov, Isaac : Foundation (1950) 5 Not sure why it’s on the list twice but it’s still brilliant.
43 Farmer, Philip Jose : To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971) 3.5 It’s readable but doesn’t deserve this spot on the list.
44 Dick, Philip K. : Ubik (1969) 4.5 Some people can read minds, and some other people can prevent someone from reading your mind.
45 Vonnegut, Kurt : Cat’s Cradle (1963) 4.5 A new structure of water is discovered — ice-nine — which is solid at room temperature.
46 Vinge, Vernor : A Deepness in the Sky (1999) 5 A sentient species is forced to hibernate for 215 out of every 250 years because of their planet’s star.
47 Simak, Clifford D. : Way Station (1963) 4.5 Simak is one of my favourite authors I’ve discovered recently.
48 Wyndham, John : The Day of the Triffids (1951) 4 Walking plants terrorize people.
49* Keyes, Daniel : Flowers for Algernon (1966) I read the short story version, which is brilliant.
49* Delany, Samuel R. : Dhalgren (1975) On my shelf.

20th Century Fantasy Novel:

Their ranking Author : Title (Year) My rating My comments
1 Tolkien, J. R. R. : The Lord of the Rings (1955) I read it too long ago to rate but I will read it again.
2 Martin, George R. R. : A Game of Thrones (1996) 5 A brilliant novel — I will read the rest of the series when he finishes it.
3 Tolkien, J. R. R. : The Hobbit (1937) 5 A great novel.
4 Le Guin, Ursula K. : A Wizard of Earthsea (1968) 5 A fabulous novel — the entire series is well worth reading.
5 Zelazny, Roger : Nine Princes in Amber (1970) 3.5 It didn’t grab me as much as I expected it to — I don’t feel it deserves this spot on the list.
6 Lewis, C. S. : The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) I’m familiar with the story and I don’t think I need to read the book.
7 Mieville, China : Perdido Street Station (2000) On my shelf.
8 Gaiman/Pratchett : Good Omens (1990) 5 Very funny, better than the other Gaiman or Pratchett books I’ve read.
9 Rowling, J. K. : Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) I’m skeptical of this one.
10 Crowley, John : Little, Big (1981) 3.5 I liked the atmosphere but the story didn’t quite do it for me.
11 Adams, Richard : Watership Down (1972) 5 A brilliant novel, one of my favourites.
12 Goldman, William : The Princess Bride (1973) I love the movie, and haven’t quite gotten around to reading the novel.
13 Martin, George R. R. : A Storm of Swords (2000) On my shelf.
14 Beagle, Peter S. : The Last Unicorn (1968) 5 A unicorn heads off on a quest to discover what happened to the other unicorns.
15 White, T. H. : The Once and Future King (1958) I started reading it but it wasn’t doing it for me.
16 Kay, Guy Gavriel : Tigana (1990) 5 A brilliant novel by one of my favourite authors.
17 Gaiman, Neil : Neverwhere (1996) 4.5 There’s another world beneath our own.
18 Wolfe, Gene : The Book of the New Sun (1983) 4 I read the first book — it’s good, but I didn’t understand why people think it’s so brilliant.
19 Vance, Jack : The Dying Earth (1950) 4.5 A great book that I read fairly recently.
20 Bulgakov, Mikhail : The Master and Margarita (1967)
21 Rowling, J. K. : Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000) I’m skeptical of this one.
22 Tolkien, J. R. R. : The Silmarillion (1977)
23 Leiber, Fritz : The Swords of Lankhmar (1968)
24 Jordan, Robert : The Eye of the World (1990)  4 It’s a good novel but there’s no way I was going to read the entire hugely long series.
25 Donaldson, Stephen R. : Lord Foul’s Bane (1977) This is one of the first fantasy books I read many years ago — I hope that I would still like it if I read it again.
26 Bradbury, Ray : Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) On my shelf.
27 Peake, Mervyn : Gormenghast (1950)
28 Rowling, J. K. : Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1999) 3.5 It’s certainly readable, and if kids like it that’s fine, but for adults there are better books to be found.
29 Powers, Tim : The Anubis Gates (1983) 5 A professor gets trapped in the 19th century.
30 Martin, George R. R. : A Clash of Kings (1998) On my shelf.
31 Bradley, Marion Zimmer : The Mists of Avalon (1983) 4.5 A gripping retelling of the King Arthur story from the point of view of the women.
32 Hobb, Robin : Assassin’s Apprentice (1995) 5 The latest addition to my own list of best fantasy novels.
33 Pratchett, Terry : The Colour of Magic (1983) 3.5 I read this a while ago but didn’t find it that funny — Mort was funnier.
34 Holdstock, Robert : Mythago Wood (1984) 3.5 This novel didn’t grab me as much as I expected.
35 King, Stephen : The Stand (1978) On my shelf.
36* L’Engle, Madeleine : A Wrinkle in Time (1962) 4 It’s good, but more for kids.
36* Pratchett, Terry : Small Gods (1992)
38 Howard, Robert E. : Conan the Barbarian (1950)
39 Ende, Michael : The Neverending Story (1983) 4 A boy reads about a fantastic world and then enters it.
40 Peake, Mervyn : Titus Groan (1946) 4 A unique world.
41 McCaffrey, Anne : Dragonflight (1968) 4 It’s good but I expected it to be better given that it’s the start of a hugely long series.
42 Orwell : George : Animal Farm (1945) 4 It’s good but a bit obvious.
43 Feist, Raymond E. : Magician (1982) 4 I read the first book.
44 Silverberg, Robert : Lord Valentine’s Castle (1980) On my shelf.
45 Lovecraft, H. P. : At the Mountains of Madness (1936)
46 Swanwick, Michael : The Iron Dragon’s Daughter (1993) On my shelf.
47 King, Stephen : The Shining (1977)
48 Garcia Marquez, Gabriel : One Hundred Years of Solitude (1970)
49 Saint-Exupery, Antoine de : The Little Prince (1943)
50 Hughart, Barry : Bridge of Birds (1984) On my shelf.

21st Century SF Novel:

Their ranking Author : Title (Year) My rating My comments
1 Scalzi, John : Old Man’s War (2005) On my shelf.
2 Stephenson, Neal : Anathem (2008) On my shelf.
3 Bacigalupi, Paolo : The Windup Girl (2009) On my shelf.
4 Wilson, Robert Charles : Spin (2005) 5 A brilliant novel by one of my favourite authors.
5 Watts, Peter : Blindsight (2006) 4.5 A bit difficult to read, but fascinating ideas.
6 Morgan, Richard : Altered Carbon (2002) On my shelf.
7 Collins, Suzanne : The Hunger Games (2008) I’m skeptical of this one but I might give it a try at some point.
8 Gibson, William : Pattern Recognition (2003) 4.5 A great novel.
9 Mieville, China : The City & the City (2009)
10 Stross, Charles : Accelerando (2005) On my shelf.
11 Mitchell, David : Cloud Atlas (2004)
12 McDonald, Ian : River of Gods (2004)
13 McCarthy, Cormac The Road (2006) On my shelf.
14 Harrison, M. John : Light (2002) On my shelf.
15* Willis, Connie : Black Out/All Clear (2010) On my shelf.
15* Chabon, Michael : The Yiddish Policemen’s Union (2007)
17* Simmons, Dan : Ilium (2003) On my shelf.
17* Niffenegger, Audrey : The Time Traveler’s Wife (2003)  5 I highly recommend it to all.
19* Doctorow, Cory : Little Brother (2008
19* Ishiguro, Kazuo : Never Let Me Go (2005) Just saw the great movie version recently.

21st Century Fantasy Novel:

Their ranking Author : Title (Year) My rating My comments
1 Gaiman, Neil : American Gods (2001) I started reading it but it didn’t grab me.
2 Clarke, Susanna : Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (2004) On my shelf.
3 Rothfuss, Patrick : The Name of the Wind (2007) On my shelf.
4 Mieville, China : The Scar (2002)
5 Martin, George R. R. : A Feast for Crows (2005) I’ll read it when the series is finished.
6 Rowling, J. K. : Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007) I’m skeptical of this one.
7 Bujold, Lois McMaster : The Curse of Chalion (2001)
8 Mieville, China : The City & the City (2009)
9 Fforde, Jasper : The Eyre Affair (2001) 4.5 A great book — different and clever.
10* Bujold, Lois McMaster : Paladin of Souls (2003)
10* Pratchett, Terry : Night Watch (2002)
12 Gaiman, Neil : Coraline (2002) I saw the movie, which was OK.
13* Wolfe, Gene : The Wizard Knight (2004) On my shelf.
13* Abercrombie, Joe : The Blade Itself (2006)
15 Pratchett, Terry : Going Postal (2004)
16* Gaiman, Neil : The Graveyard Book (2008)
16* Lynch, Scott : The Lies of Locke Lamora (2006)
18 Jemisin, N. K. : The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (2010)
19 Le Guin, Ursula K. : Lavinia (2008) On my shelf.
20 Sanderson, Brandon : Mistborn (2006)

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