{"id":17051,"date":"2020-12-04T20:22:25","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T01:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/?p=17051"},"modified":"2025-03-17T15:00:41","modified_gmt":"2025-03-17T19:00:41","slug":"classics-vs-moderns-sf-f-novels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/classics-vs-moderns-sf-f-novels\/","title":{"rendered":"Classic vs. modern: SF & fantasy novels"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s nearly impossible to come up with the best 20 SF novels — but 40 is doable. I thought it might be interesting to split them into 2 groups, old vs. new.<\/p>\n

Here are the best 20 SF novels from the classics (up to 1990) and the best from the modern period (1991+).<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Classic<\/strong><\/td>\nModern<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy \u2013 Douglas Adams<\/td>\nEvolution \u2013 Stephen Baxter<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Second Foundation \u2013 Isaac Asimov<\/td>\nExistence \u2013 David Brin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Player of Games \u2013 Iain M. Banks<\/td>\nSemiosis \u2013 Sue Burke<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Demolished Man \u2013 Alfred Bester<\/td>\nThe Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet \u2013 Becky Chambers<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Martian Chronicles \u2013 Ray Bradbury<\/td>\nThe Humans \u2013 Matt Haig<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Uplift War \u2013 David Brin<\/td>\nAncillary Justice \u2013 Ann Leckie<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Speaker for the Dead \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/td>\nBlasphemy \u2013 Douglas Preston<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The City and the Stars \u2013 Arthur C. Clarke<\/td>\nHouse of Suns \u2013 Alastair Reynolds<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Man in the High Castle \u2013 Philip K. Dick<\/td>\n2312 \u2013 Kim Stanley Robinson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Stainless Steel Rat \u2013 Harry Harrison<\/td>\nThe Sparrow \u2013 Maria Doria Russell<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Children of Dune \u2013 Frank Herbert<\/td>\nHominids \u2013 Robert J. Sawyer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Dispossessed \u2013 Ursula K. Le Guin<\/td>\nThe End of All Things \u2013 John Scalzi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Left Hand of Darkness \u2013 Ursula K. Le Guin<\/td>\nAnathem \u2013 Neal Stephenson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Canticle for Leibowitz \u2013 Walter M. Miller, Jr.<\/td>\nSnow Crash \u2013 Neal Stephenson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Wild Shore \u2013 Kim Stanley Robinson<\/td>\nBones of the Earth \u2013 Michael Swanwick<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Golden Fleece \u2013 Robert J. Sawyer<\/td>\nChildren of Time \u2013 Adrian Tchaikovsky<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
City \u2013 Clifford D. Simak<\/td>\nPassage \u2013 Connie Willis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hyperion \u2013 Dan Simmons<\/td>\nDarwinia \u2013 Robert Charles Wilson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Door Into Ocean \u2013 Joan Slonczewski<\/td>\nSpin \u2013 Robert Charles Wilson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Marooned in Realtime \u2013 Vernor Vinge<\/td>\nA Fire Upon the Deep \u2013 Vernor Vinge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

 
\nHere are the best 20 fantasy novels from the classics (up to 1990) and the best from the modern period (1991+).<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Classic<\/strong><\/td>\nModern<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Watership Down \u2013 Richard Adams<\/td>\nDragon and Phoenix \u2013 Joanne Bertin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Last Unicorn \u2013 Peter S. Beagle<\/td>\nA Turn of Light \u2013 Jule E. Czerneda<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Sword of Shannara \u2013 Terry Brooks<\/td>\nSomeplace to Be Flying \u2013 Charles de Lint<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seventh Son \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/td>\nHow to Stop Time \u2013 Matt Haig<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Red Prophet \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/td>\nAssassin\u2019s Apprentice \u2013 Robin Hobb<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good Omens \u2013 Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett<\/td>\nThe Last Light of the Sun \u2013 Guy Gavriel Kay<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Princess Bride \u2013 William Goldman<\/td>\nLord of Emperors \u2013 Guy Gavriel Kay<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Replay \u2013 Ken Grimwood<\/td>\nThe Historian \u2013 Elizabeth Kostova<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dragonsbane \u2013 Barbara Hambly<\/td>\nA Game of Thrones \u2013 George R.R. Martin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tigana \u2013 Guy Gavriel Kay<\/td>\nThe Book of Knights \u2013 Yves Meynard<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
A Wizard of Earthsea \u2013 Ursula K. Le Guin<\/td>\nLamb \u2013 Christopher Moore<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Only Begotten Daughter – James Morrow<\/td>\nThe Night Circus \u2013 Erin Morgenstern<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Anubis Gates \u2013 Tim Powers<\/td>\nThe Clockmaker\u2019s Daughter \u2013 Kate Morton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Interview With the Vampire \u2013 Anne Rice<\/td>\nThe Time Traveler\u2019s Wife \u2013 Audrey Niffenegger<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Witching Hour \u2013 Anne Rice<\/td>\nThe First Fifteen Lives of Harry August \u2013 Claire North<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The First Book of Swords \u2013 Fred Saberhagen<\/td>\nThe Initiate Brother \u2013 Sean Russell<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Hobbit \u2013 J.R.R. Tolkien<\/td>\nNobody\u2019s Son \u2013 Sean Stewart<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Lord of the Rings \u2013 J.R.R. Tolkien<\/td>\nMy Real Children \u2013 Jo Walton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Dying Earth \u2013 Jack Vance<\/td>\nTooth and Claw \u2013 Jo Walton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Dragonbone Chair \u2013 Tad Williams<\/td>\nA Sorcerer\u2019s Treason \u2013 Sarah Zettel<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

 
\nBonus list! Here are the best 18 SF and fantasy collections from the classics (up to 1990) and the best 19 from the modern period (1991+). A couple of the classics were published later, but the stories are old.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Classic<\/strong><\/td>\nModern<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gold \u2013 Isaac Asimov<\/td>\nFirst Meetings \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I, Robot \u2013 Isaac Asimov<\/td>\nKeeper of Dreams \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nightfall \u2013 Isaac Asimov<\/td>\nExhalation \u2013 Ted Chiang<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Redemolished \u2013 Alfred Bester<\/td>\nStories of Your Life and Others \u2013 Ted Chiang<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Virtual Unrealities \u2013 Alfred Bester<\/td>\nElements \u2013 Suzanne Church<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Golden Apples of the Sun \u2013 Ray Bradbury<\/td>\nGravity Wells \u2013 James Alan Gardner<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maps in a Mirror \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/td>\nOrganisms \u2013 James Alan Gardner<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Expedition to Earth \u2013 Arthur C. Clarke<\/td>\nThe Birthday of the World and Other Stories \u2013 Ursula K. Le Guin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Nine Billion Names of God \u2013 Arthur C. Clarke<\/td>\nFour Ways to Forgiveness \u2013 Ursula K. Le Guin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick \u2013 Philip K. Dick<\/td>\nThe Other Wind \u2013 Ursula K. Le Guin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Daughter of Regals & Other Tales \u2013 Stephen R. Donaldson<\/td>\nThe Paper Menagerie and Other Stories \u2013 Ken Liu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Burning Chrome \u2013 William Gibson<\/td>\nCounting Tadpoles \u2013 Uncle River<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Eye \u2013 Frank Herbert<\/td>\nIdentity Theft and Other Stories \u2013 Robert J. Sawyer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Wind\u2019s Twelve Quarters \u2013 Ursula K. Le Guin<\/td>\nIterations \u2013 Robert J. Sawyer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Best of Walter M. Miller, Jr. \u2013 Walter M. Miller, Jr.<\/td>\nThe Engine of Recall \u2013 Karl Schroeder<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Callahan\u2019s Crosstime Saloon \u2013 Spider Robinson<\/td>\nStarlings \u2013 Jo Walton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Over the River & Through the Woods \u2013 Clifford D. Simak<\/td>\nThis is the Year Zero \u2013 Andrew Weiner<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The Aliens Among Us \u2013 James White<\/td>\nImpossible Things \u2013 Connie Willis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
 <\/td>\nThe Perseids and Other Stories \u2013 Robert Charles Wilson<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s nearly impossible to come up with the best 20 SF novels — but 40 is doable. I thought it might be interesting to split them into 2 groups, old vs. new. Here are the best 20 SF novels from the classics (up to 1990) and the best from the modern period (1991+). Classic Modern […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[7,9,42,28,8],"class_list":["post-17051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-my-thoughts","tag-book","tag-fantasy","tag-lists","tag-novels","tag-science-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17051"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24351,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17051\/revisions\/24351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}