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Obviously with any list there's going to be quite a lot of nits to pick... At any rate, here are mine. Sad to see Stanislaw Lem completely left out in favor of
by subwindow 15y ago
Obviously with any list there's going to be quite a lot of nits to pick... At any rate, here are mine.
Sad to see Stanislaw Lem completely left out in favor of some obviously inferior books (Anathem!?). Also a curious choice for the obligatory Atwood novel. Surprised that Gravity's Rainbow was not on there- I'd put it near the top (maybe it wasn't "Sci-Fi" enough?)
Good to see Canticle for Leibowitz as well as a fair amount of Asimov and Dick.
- zavulon 15y agoHear, hear. Any "Best of Sci-Fi" list that omits Solaris and includes Ender's Game is worthless.
- starpilot 15y agoAny "best sci-fi" list is like a selection of favorite candies. There's fleeting pleasure and some novelty to the experience, but it is what it is and in quantity it's bad for you. If you want to read literature, choose something that will at least make you think better, not just dazzle you with future tech.
- stralep 15y agoI've read Solaris few years ago, and Ender's Game few months ago. I like both books and I do not see a reason for bashing EG. Could you elaborate?
- jockc 15y agoMy favorites are The Invincible and Fiasco
- qjz 15y agoThe demise of any social website also seems to coincide with the first mention of Ender's Game. Could this be the end of HN as we know it?
- cynest 15y agoI don't think that's a good rule at all. Ender's game a is popular children's novel and is likely remembered fondly in any techie/nerd/geek setting. It just shouldn't belong at the top of a "best of scifi" list.
- sid0 15y agoAnathem is the second-best Stephenson after Diamond Age in my opinion.
- BenOfTomorrow 15y agoGravity's Rainbow: recognized, but not recalled, as science fiction. I don't necessarily object to the classification, but it might not come to mind if I were making a list. Also, Pynchon's prose is very rich - I expect popular lists to be dominated by lighter fare.
- zorked 15y agoI find it amazing that the geekiest of all books ever written gets put aside in the geek canon in favor or space robots shooting lasers...
- kitsune_ 15y agoI added Stanislaw Lem in the reddit thread, didn't get a single upvote :( He's one of my favorite (sci fi) authors. Deep, absurd, comical. By the way, I think Solaris is some of his weaker novels. I particularly like The Star Diaries, The Cyberiad and His Master's Voice.
- nazgulnarsil 15y agotry Memoirs Found in a Bathtub if you haven't already. It's like The Man Who was Thursday meets Dr. Strangelove.