This is a really good list. If you count series I have only partially read, as well as books I am currently reading, I have read 57 of the 100 books listed.
Jacob:
Top 100 sci-fi/fantasy books as decided by NPR listeners’ votes. Anything missing? Before answering that, know that they omitted all young adult fiction, which explains the absence of Rowling, Pullman, Narnia, Earthsea, et al.
- Goddamn right Lord of the Rings is number one!
- Impressed with A Song of Ice and Fire snagging fifth place given its youth.
- Will admit to falling headfirst into the vortex of The Wheel of Time, but that crap took a massive nose-dive into sprawling, sluggish over-complexity. Full disclosure: dropped the series books ago, so can’t speak to the most recent entries.
- Same story with the Sword of Truth series, but due less to overreaching and more to boredom. Might be a good series. The Syfy show they made out of it is terrible/awesome for mindless viewing.
- Need to read Neuromancer. Supposedly one of the best. Anyone know first-hand?
- Neil Gaiman and Neal Stephenson have an impressive number of appearances.
- Huzzah for a Star Wars novel making the list! Haven’t read any of those since middle school.
- I think the whole Ender series (or at least the core of it), rather than just Ender’s Game, deserve some recognition here.
- Here is some interesting commentary.
- I’ve got my reading cut out for me.
