CSvax:Pucc-H:Physics:retief (11/22/82)
Some time ago on the sf-lovers digest (maybe a month ago) there was a notice asking if anyone wanted a copy of the all time favorite (or best, i forget) sf books to send in a request to a place that I've been unable to contact. If someone could send me a copy of this list I'd appreciate it. Thanks. Dwight Bartholomew
mclure@sri-unix (11/24/82)
#R:pur-phy:-58700:sri-unix:13200001:000:13200
sri-unix!mclure Nov 22 21:45:00 1982
A couple years ago I conducted a poll on the Arpanet sf-lovers list.
The result is an outstanding reading list for beginners and
seasoned pros alike.
Landmark SF Poll
================
The landmark poll is finally finished. Our thanks go to the 40+ people
who responded with over 120 messages. The list has been divided into
two parts. The first is the actual landmark list, and the second is a
larger list consisting of classics and filler for rounding out the
field. In no way do we claim this to be final, or even objective,
but we do feel it is a reasonable sampling of the better and more
interesting works of SF.
Stuart McLure Cracraft <McLure at SRI-KL>
------------------------------
Landmark: A work which introduced new ideas, new handling of
old concepts, or shaped a major part of the field
and subsequent works.
Landmarks [subject]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Anderson, P. Brain Wave [effects of intelligence]
Asimov, I. The Foundation Trilogy [galactic empires, sociology]
(1) Foundation
(2) Foundation and Empire
(3) Second Foundation
-----. works from the Positronic Robot series [robots]
(1) I, Robot
(2) The Rest of the Robots
(3) The Caves of Steel [future metropolis,
detective]
Bester, A. The Demolished Man [telepathy, murder mystery]
-----. The Stars My Destination [teleportation, decadence]
Blish, J. A Case of Conscience [religion]
-----. The Cities in Flight series [anti-gravity, future history,
end of universe]
(1) They Shall Have Stars
(2) A Life for the Stars
(3) Earthman, Come Home
(4) The Triumph of Time
Bradbury, R. Fahrenheit 451 [censorship]
-----. The Martian Chronicles [colonization]
Brown, F. Nightmares and Geezenstacks [wonderful shorts, joke
climaxes]
Brunner, J. Stand on Zanzibar [over-population]
Budrys, A. Rogue Moon [teleportation,
rite of passage]
Cherryh, C.J. Brothers of Earth [indepth portrayal of aliens]
Clarke, A. Childhood's End [future evolution of man]
-----. The City and the Stars [evolution of man, conceptual
breakthrough]
Clement, H. Mission of Gravity [aliens]
De Camp, L. Lest Darkness Fall [changing the past, history]
-----. Rogue Queen [female protagonists]
Delany, S. The Einstein Intersection [post-holocaust]
Dick, P.K. The Man in the High Castle [alternate worlds]
-----. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch [drug trips]
Ellison, H. I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream [rage]
Farmer, P.J. The Lovers [sex]
Gerrold, D. When Harlie Was One [computers]
-----. The Man Who Folded Himself [time-travel, solipsism]
Haldeman, J. The Forever War [future war from down side]
Harrison, H. Make Room, Make Room [overpopulation]
Heinlein, R. Double Star [politics]
-----. The Past Through Tomorrow [future history]
-----. The Puppet Masters [alien invasion]
-----. Starship Troopers [politics]
-----. Universe [generation spaceship]
Herbert, F. Dune [ecology, superman, eugenics]
Hubbard, L. R . Fear [paranoia]
Huxley, A. Brave New World [eugenics, dystopia]
Keyes, D. Flowers for Algernon [nature of intelligence]
Knight, D. Hell's Pavement [economics]
Kornbluth C. and Pohl F. The Space Merchants [extrapolation]
Le Guin, U. The Dispossessed [socialism]
-----. The Lathe of Heaven [dreams-come-true]
-----. The Left Hand of Darkness [unusual sex]
Leiber, F. The Big Time [alternate worlds]
-----. The Wanderer [disaster]
Miller, W. A Canticle for Leibowitz [religion, post-holocaust]
Niven, L. from The Known Space series [future history]
(1) World of Ptavvs
(2) Ringworld
(3) Neutron Star
(4) The Long ARM of Gil Hamilton
(5) A Gift from Earth
(6) The Shape of Space
Orwell, G. 1984 [dystopia]
Pangborn, E. Davy [post-holocaust]
Piper, H. Little Fuzzy [alien intelligence]
Silverberg, R. Dying Inside [telepathy]
Simak, C. City [future of man]
-----. Way Station [teleportation, first contact]
Smith, C. The Best of Cordwainer Smith [future history, human
animals]
-----. Norstrilia [future history, human
animals]
Smith, E.E. The Lensman series [galactic empire, sense
of wonder]
(1) Triplanetary
(2) First Lensman
(3) Galactic Patrol
(4) Gray Lensman
(5) Second-Stage Lensman
(6) Children of the Lens
(7) Masters of the Vortex
-----. The Skylark series [inventor-scientist hero]
(1) The Skylark of Space
(2) Skylark Three
(3) Skylark of Valeron
(4) Skylark DuQuesne
Stapledon, O. Star Maker [philosophy]
Stewart, G.R. Earth Abides [disaster, post-holocaust]
Sturgeon, T. More Than Human [telepathy, group-minds]
-----. Venus Plus X [sex]
Vance, J. The Dragon Masters [genetics]
-----. The Dying Earth [far future]
Van Vogt, A.E. Slan [wish-fulfillment]
-----. The Weapon Shops of Isher [transcendent superheroes]
-----. The World of Null-A [space opera]
Vonnegut, K . Jr. Cat's Cradle [advent of new wave]
-----. Sirens of Titan [space opera]
Weinbaum, S. A Martian Odyssey [aliens]
Williamson, J. The Humanoids [robots]
Wylie, P. and Balmer, E. When Worlds Collide [early disaster novel]
Wyndham, J. The Day of the Triffids [disaster]
Zelazny Lord of Light [non-Western cosmology]
-----. This Immortal [SF mixture with myth,
immortality]
Classics/filler: A work which remains highly popular or
is useful for filling out the field.
Classics/filler
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Aldiss, B. Barefoot in the head
-----. Hothouse
Anderson, P. Fire Time
-----. The High Crusade
-----. Tau Zero
-----. works from the Polesotechnic Empire series
(1) War of the Wing-Men
(2) Trader to the Stars
(3) The Trouble Twisters
(4) Satan's World
(5) Mirkheim
(6) The People of the Wind
(7) Ensign Flandry
(8) A Circus of Hells
(9) The Rebel Worlds
(10) The Day of Their Return
(11) Agent of the Terran Empire
(12) We Claim These Stars
(13) Flandry of Terra
(14) A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows
(15) Let the Spacemen Beware
(16) Shorter works: Wings of Victory, Margin of Profit,
Birthright, How to be Ethical in One Easy Lesson,
The Season of Forgiveness, Day of Burning, A Little
Knowledge, The Problem of Pain, Lodestar, Wingless
on Avalon, Rescue on Avalon, The Star Plunderer,
Sargasso of Lost Starships, Outpost of Empire, A
Tragedy of Errors, The Sharing of Flesh, The Longest
Voyage, Starfog
-----. Tomorrow's Children
Anthony, P. Macroscope
Asimov, I. The End of Eternity
-----. The Naked Sun
Ballard, J.G. The Crystal World
Bass, T.J. The Godwhale
-----. Half Past Human
Blish, J. The Seedling Stars
Boyd, J. The Last Starship from Earth
Brackett, L. The Eric John Stark series
(1) The Secret of Sinharat
(2) People of the Talisman
(3) The Halfling (1 story: Enchantress of Venus)
(4) The Book of Skaith
(a) The Ginger Star
(b) The Hounds of Skaith
(c) The Reavers of Skaith
-----. The Long Tomorrow
Bradley, M. works from the Darkover series
(1) Darkover Landfall
(2) The Spell Sword
(3) The Shattered Chain
(4) Star of Danger
(5) Winds of Darkover
(6) The Forbidden Tower
(7) The Bloody Sun
(8) The Heritage of Hastur
(9) The Sword of Aldones
(10) The Planet Savers
(11) The World Wreckers
(12) Storm Queen
(13) Two to Conquer
Brown, F. What Mad Universe
Brunner, J. The Jagged Orbit
-----. The Sheep Look Up
-----. The Shockwave Rider
-----. The Squares of the City
-----. The Whole Man
Budrys, A. Michaelmas
-----. Who?
Capek, K. War with the Newts
Card, O.S. Songmaster
Cherryh, C. J. The Faded Sun Trilogy
(1) The Faded Sun: Kesrith
(2) The Faded Sun: Shon'jir
(3) The Faded Sun: Kutath
Clarke, A. The Fountains of Paradise
-----. Rendezvous with Rama
-----. Tales from the White Hart
Clement, H. Needle
Clifton, M. and Riley, F. They'd Rather be Right
Delany, S. Babel-17
-----. Nova
Del Rey, L. Nerves
Dick, P.K. Ubik
Dickson, G. R. The Alien Way
-----. The Dorsai/Childe series
(1) Necromancer
(2) Tactics of Mistake
(3) Soldier, Ask Not
(4) Dorsai (lengthened form of The Genetic General)
(5) Spirit of Dorsai
(6) Lost Dorsai
-----. None But Man
Disch, T. Camp Concentration
Ellison, H. Alone Against Tomorrow:
Stories of Alienation in Speculative Fiction
-----. Deathbird
Farmer, P.J. The Riverworld series
(1) To Your Scattered Bodies Go
(2) The Fabulous Riverboat
(3) The Dark Design
(4) The Magic Labyrinth
Harrison, H. Deathworld
Heinlein, R. Citizen of the Galaxy
-----. The Door into Summer
-----. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
-----. 6XH
-----. Starman Jones
-----. The Star Beast
-----. Stranger in a Strange Land
-----. 3XH
Henderson, Z. The People series
(1) Pilgrimage: The Book of the People
(2) The People: No Different Flesh
Holland, C. Floating Worlds
Hubbard, L. R. Typewriter in the Sky
Kuttner, H. (as Lewis Pacgett) Robots Have No Tails
Kornbluth C. and Pohl F. Gladiator-at-Law
Lafferty, R.A. Past Master
Leiber, F. Gather, Darkness!
Lem, S. The Cyberiad
-----. The Futurological Congress
-----. The Invincible
-----. Solaris
McCaffrey, A. The Dragons of Pern Trilogy
(1) Dragonquest
(2) Dragonflight
(3) The White Dragon
McIntyre, V. Dreamsnake
Moorcock, M. Behold the Man
-----. The Dancers at the End of Time series
(1) An Alien Heat
(2) The Hollow Lands
(3) The End of All Songs
(4) The Legends from the End of Time
(5) A Messiah at the End of Time
Niven, L. from the Known Space series
(1) Protector
(2) Ringworld Engineers
(3) The Patchwork Girl
(4) Inconstant Moon
(5) Tales of Known Space
Niven, L. and Pournelle, J. The Mote in God's Eye
Panshin, A. Rite of Passage
Pohl, F. Gateway
-----. Jem
-----. Man Plus
Robinson, S. and J. Stardance
Schmitz, J. Witches of Karres
Shaw, B. A Wreath of Stars
Sheckley, R. Untouched by Human Hands
Silverberg, R. The Man in the Maze
-----. Nightwings
-----. A Time of Changes
Spinrad, N. Bug Jack Barron
-----. Destiny Times Three/Riding the Torch
Tenn, W. Of Men and Monsters
Vance, J. The Alastor cluster series
(1) Trullion: Alastor 2262
(2) Marune: Alastor 993
(3) Wyst: Alastor 1716
-----. The Demon Princes series
(1) The Star King
(2) The Killing Machine
(3) The Palace of Love
-----. The Durdane Trilogy
(1) The Anome
(2) The Brave Free Men
(3) The Asutra
-----. Emphyrio
-----. The Planet of Adventure series
(1) City of the Chasch
(2) Servants of the Wankh
(3) The Dirdir
(4) The Pnume
Van Vogt, A.E. Destination Universe
-----. The Mixed Men
-----. More than Superhuman
-----. The Players of Null-A
-----. The Silkie
Varley, J. The Persistence of Vision
-----. The Titan Series
(1) Titan
(2) Wizard
Wilhelm, K. Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang
Zelazny, R. Creatures of Light and Darkness
-----. Doorways in the Sand
-----. My Name is Legion