fantasy list<\/a>. Sometime in the not-too-distant future I plan to give you a complete rundown of what I think of the books on these lists — I haven’t read all of them but I’ve read quite a few.<\/p>\nWhen I review a book I’ll rate it out of 5. I only started rating books a couple of years ago, so my ratings from before then are from memory and therefore come with a small grain of salt.<\/p>\n
What do I hope to do with my reviews? For myself, I hope to remember more about the books I read and become more articulate about what I think about them. For you, if you decide that your taste is close to mine I hope to introduce you to great books you didn’t know about and steer you away from horrible books you don’t want to read.<\/p>\n
To start things off, here’s the best of the best — the top 20 books in various categories, of the books I’ve read in the last 20 years.<\/p>\n
Top 20 science fiction novels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- The Hitchhiker\u2019s Guide to the Galaxy \u2013 Douglas Adams<\/li>\n
- Foundation \u2013 Isaac Asimov<\/li>\n
- Evolution \u2013 Stephen Baxter<\/li>\n
- The Demolished Man \u2013 Alfred Bester<\/li>\n
- Ender\u2019s Game \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/li>\n
- The City and the Stars \u2013 Arthur C. Clarke<\/li>\n
- Native Tongue \u2013 Suzette Haden Elgin<\/li>\n
- The Left Hand of Darkness \u2013 Ursula K. Le Guin<\/li>\n
- Warchild – Karin Lowachee<\/li>\n
- A Canticle for Leibowitz \u2013 Walter M. Miller, Jr.<\/li>\n
- The Time Traveler’s Wife – Audrey Niffenegger<\/li>\n
- The Wild Shore – Kim Stanley Robinson<\/li>\n
- Hominids \u2013 Robert J. Sawyer<\/li>\n
- Ventus \u2013 Karl Schroeder<\/li>\n
- Hyperion \u2013 Dan Simmons<\/li>\n
- A Door Into Ocean \u2013 Joan Slonczewski<\/li>\n
- Snow Crash \u2013 Neal Stephenson<\/li>\n
- A Fire Upon the Deep \u2013 Vernor Vinge<\/li>\n
- Passage \u2013 Connie Willis<\/li>\n
- Darwinia \u2013 Robert Charles Wilson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Top 20 fantasy novels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Watership Down – Richard Adams<\/li>\n
- The Last Unicorn – Peter S. Beagle<\/li>\n
- Seventh Son \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/li>\n
- Red Prophet \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/li>\n
- Someplace to Be Flying \u2013 Charles de Lint<\/li>\n
- Good Omens – Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett<\/li>\n
- Dragonsbane \u2013 Barbara Hambly<\/li>\n
- Assassin’s Apprentice – Robin Hobb<\/li>\n
- A Song For Arbonne \u2013 Guy Gavriel Kay<\/li>\n
- The Summer Tree \u2013 Guy Gavriel Kay<\/li>\n
- Tigana \u2013 Guy Gavriel Kay<\/li>\n
- A Wizard of Earthsea \u2013 Ursula K. Le Guin<\/li>\n
- A Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin<\/li>\n
- The Book of Knights – Yves Meynard<\/li>\n
- The Anubis Gates – Tim Powers<\/li>\n
- The Witching Hour \u2013 Anne Rice<\/li>\n
- The Initiate Brother \u2013 Sean Russell<\/li>\n
- Gatherer of Clouds \u2013 Sean Russell<\/li>\n
- Nobody\u2019s Son \u2013 Sean Stewart<\/li>\n
- The Hobbit \u2013 J.R.R. Tolkien<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Top 20 science fiction & fantasy collections<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Anthonology – Piers Anthony<\/li>\n
- I, Robot \u2013 Isaac Asimov<\/li>\n
- Nightfall \u2013 Isaac Asimov<\/li>\n
- Virtual Unrealities \u2013 Alfred Bester<\/li>\n
- The Golden Apples of the Sun – Ray Bradbury<\/li>\n
- The Martian Chronicles – Ray Bradbury*<\/li>\n
- Keeper of Dreams \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/li>\n
- Maps in a Mirror \u2013 Orson Scott Card<\/li>\n
- Stories of Your Life and Others \u2013 Ted Chiang<\/li>\n
- Expedition to Earth – Arthur C. Clarke<\/li>\n
- The Nine Billion Names of God – Arthur C. Clarke<\/li>\n
- Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick – Philip K. Dick<\/li>\n
- Daughter of Regals & Other Tales \u2013 Stephen R. Donaldson<\/li>\n
- Gravity Wells \u2013 James Alan Gardner<\/li>\n
- The Birthday of the World and Other Stories – Ursula K. Le Guin<\/li>\n
- The Wind’s Twelve Quarters – Ursula K. Le Guin<\/li>\n
- Identity Theft and Other Stories – Robert J. Sawyer<\/li>\n
- Iterations – Robert J. Sawyer<\/li>\n
- City – Clifford D. Simak*<\/li>\n
- The Perseids and Other Stories – Robert Charles Wilson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
* collections of linked stories<\/p>\n
Top 6 science fiction & fantasy anthologies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Seeds of Change \u2013 John Joseph Adams<\/li>\n
- Masterpieces – Orson Scott Card<\/li>\n
- Give Me Liberty \u2013 Martin Harry Greenberg & Mark Tier<\/li>\n
- The Road to Science Fiction Volume 4: From Here to Forever \u2013 James Gunn<\/li>\n
- The Savage Humanists \u2013 Fiona Kelleghan<\/li>\n
- The Bakka Anthology \u2013 Kristen Pederson Chew<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Top 13 non-science fiction & fantasy novels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen<\/li>\n
- The DaVinci Code \u2013 Dan Brown<\/li>\n
- Shogun \u2013 James Clavell<\/li>\n
- Tai-pan \u2013 James Clavell<\/li>\n
- Gai-jin \u2013 James Clavell<\/li>\n
- Noble House \u2013 James Clavell<\/li>\n
- Whirlwind \u2013 James Clavell<\/li>\n
- Generation X \u2013 Douglas Coupland<\/li>\n
- Too Many Blackbirds \u2013 Ken Ledbetter<\/li>\n
- Life of Pi \u2013 Yann Martel<\/li>\n
- Ishmael \u2013 Daniel Quinn<\/li>\n
- The Story of B \u2013 Daniel Quinn<\/li>\n
- My Ishmael \u2013 Daniel Quinn<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Top 5 graphic novels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns \u2013 Frank Miller<\/li>\n
- The Amazing Spider-man \u2013 J. Michael Straczynski<\/li>\n
- Superman: Grounded \u2013 J. Michael Straczynski<\/li>\n
- Angel season 6 \u2013 Joss Whedon et al<\/li>\n
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 8 \u2013 Joss Whedon et al<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Top 3 comic strips<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Bloom County – Berke Breathed<\/li>\n
- The Far Side – Gary Larson<\/li>\n
- Calvin and Hobbes – Bill Watterson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Top 12 nonfiction books<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Reflections of Eden – Birut\u00e9 M.F. Galdikas<\/li>\n
- Outliers \u2013 Malcolm Gladwell<\/li>\n
- The Tipping Point \u2013 Malcolm Gladwell<\/li>\n
- Through a Window \u2013 Jane Goodall<\/li>\n
- The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight \u2013 Thom Hartmann<\/li>\n
- Manufacturing Consent \u2013 Edward S. Herman & Noam Chomsky<\/li>\n
- The Last Lecture \u2013 Randy Pausch<\/li>\n
- Beyond Civilization \u2013 Daniel Quinn<\/li>\n
- Amusing Ourselves to Death – Neil Postman<\/li>\n
- Why Do People Believe Weird Things \u2013 Michael Shermer<\/li>\n
- Native Roots \u2013 Jack Weatherford<\/li>\n
- What Would You Do? \u2013 John H. Yoder<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Top 12 Star Trek books<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- The Lost Years \u2013 J. M. Dillard<\/li>\n
- Spock\u2019s World \u2013 Diane Duane<\/li>\n
- How Much for Just the Planet? \u2013 John M. Ford<\/li>\n
- Double, Double \u2013 Michael Jan Friedman<\/li>\n
- Crucible: McCoy – Provenance of Shadows <\/em>\u2013 David R. George III<\/li>\n
- Crucible: Spock – The Fire and the Rose <\/em>\u2013 David R. George III<\/li>\n
- Crucible: Kirk – The Star to Every Wandering <\/em>\u2013 David R. George III<\/li>\n
- Ishmael \u2013 Barbara Hambly<\/li>\n
- Enterprise: The First Adventure \u2013 Vonda N. McIntyre<\/li>\n
- Prime Directive \u2013 Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens<\/li>\n
- Vulcan\u2019s Forge \u2013 Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz<\/li>\n
- Vulcan\u2019s Heart \u2013 Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Top 7 Star Trek: The Next Generation books<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- Imzadi \u2013 Peter David<\/li>\n
- A Rock and a Hard Place \u2013 Peter David<\/li>\n
- Q Squared \u2013 Peter David<\/li>\n
- A Call to Darkness \u2013 Michael Jan Friedman<\/li>\n
- Destiny: Lost Souls <\/em>\u2013 David Mack<\/li>\n
- Destiny: Mere Mortals <\/em>\u2013 David Mack<\/li>\n
- Destiny: Gods of Night <\/em>\u2013 David Mack<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Top 6 Babylon 5 books<\/strong><\/p>\n\n- The Passing of the Techno-Mages: Casting Shadows <\/em>\u2013 Jeanne Cavelos<\/li>\n
- The Passing of the Techno-Mages: Summoning Light <\/em>\u2013 Jeanne Cavelos<\/li>\n
- The Passing of the Techno-Mages: Invoking Darkness <\/em>\u2013 Jeanne Cavelos<\/li>\n
- Legions of Fire: The Long Night of Centauri Prime <\/em>\u2013 Peter David<\/li>\n
- Legions of Fire: Armies of Light and Dark <\/em>\u2013 Peter David<\/li>\n
- Legions of Fire: Out of the Darkness <\/em>\u2013 Peter David<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I’m always reading something, and most of what I read is science fiction or fantasy. I find if I read a book that’s not science fiction or fantasy I’m often vaguely unsatisfied at the end. In the last couple of years I’ve been filling in some gaps in my reading by reading books on the […]<\/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":[29,60,7,27,54,9,56,42,23,28,8,59],"class_list":["post-20","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-my-thoughts","tag-anthologies","tag-babylon-5","tag-book","tag-collections","tag-comic-strips","tag-fantasy","tag-graphic-novels","tag-lists","tag-nonfiction","tag-novels","tag-science-fiction","tag-star-trek"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20","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=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2504,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20\/revisions\/2504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidmswitzer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}