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My Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels: #1 – The Martian Chronicles
#1 – The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950)
Back in university, I would take the Greyhound bus to get home for the odd weekend. I took the bus a lot. It was about a 5 hour trip, but it gave me time to actually read books that I enjoy, instead of just physics textbooks. (Not that I don’t love physics :)
Late one Friday night, I boarded the bus and opened up a musty old paperback I had picked up from the used book store. It was called The Martian Chronicles.
I read the entire thing in one sitting.
I had never done that with a book before! Cover to cover, non-stop, I read that book. It kept me enthralled that entire ride home.
The book is a collection of short stories, loosely woven together, detailing the human colonization of Mars. It follows the first humans to land on Mars, their encounter with the indigenous species, and from there it just keeps getting better.
The style of the novel being a collection of short stories means the book never gets stale. There is always a new character or a new problem. I read it about once a year, and still usually read the entire thing in single sitting.
So that’s it! My Top 10 Science Fiction/Fantasy novels. The Martian Chronicles takes the top spot because it continues to be entertaining after so many reads.
What did you guys think of the list? Was I way off base? What did I miss? I’d love to hear your opinions!
Happy Reading!
“We Earth Men have a talent for ruining big, beautiful things. The only reason we didn’t set up hot-dog stands in the midst of the Egyptian temple of Karnak is because it was out of the way and served no large commercial purpose.”
– Ray Bradbury, The Martian Chronicles
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#6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog
#4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
My Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels: #2 – Flowers For Algernon
#2 – Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1966)
This is the only book I’ve ever read that has actually made me cry.
Yup, this 200 pound dude has actually starting shedding tears while sitting and reading a book. This book.
Algernon is a laboratory mouse which has undergone a procedure to increase its intelligence. When the procedure works, the scientists decide to try the procedure on a mentally challenged person named Charlie.
The book is written in the first-person from Charlie’s perspective. Charlie was asked to write progress reports before and after the experiment, and this creates a very unique reading experience.
The first few reports are before the procedure. Charlie has poor grammar, spelling mistakes and finds it difficult to write very much. But you gain a sense of connection with Charlie, especially when he discusses how he is treated by his family and co-workers.
As the procedure begins to take effect, Charlie’s writing becomes more lucid and he actually starts to do his own scientific research. He falls in love. Basically, he begins to live a normal life.
Then, Algernon begins to deteriorate, and Charlie wonders if the same will happen to him.
Despite being published 45 years ago, the themes of ethical scientific research and treatment of the disabled are still very much relevant.
It’s an incredible book that shared the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1966.
“all my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb and my mom always tolld me to try and lern just like Miss Kinnian tells me but its very hard to be smart and even when I lern something in Miss Kinnians class at the school I ferget alot.”
– Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon
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#6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog
#4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
My Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels: #4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
#4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (2002)
It would seem that I have a soft spot for comedic-fantasy novels. Comedy can be very difficult to write and I guess I just appreciate authors who can do it well.
Christopher Moore certainly falls into that category. Most of his books are good, but this one truly blew me away.
The book follows Jesus’ life from the vantage point of his vulgar, well-meaning but not too bright buddy Biff. The book takes the point of view that Jesus was not always the well-spoken leader that he is depicted as in the Bible. He had to hone is craft, practice his healing and work on his vocabulary.
The books also follows Jesus through the ages of 12-30; years that are markedly absent from the Bible. Where did he go? What was he doing? Moore follows these misadventures with heart and hilarity.
To my surprise, the book was not as blasphemous as I thought it would be. I’m not all that religious, but I was a bit worried that the book would cause some backlash in the religious community. But Moore does a great job of making Jesus looks like a real human, but keeping the book humourous; mainly by making Biff the one who does all the blasphemous stuff. He has quite an affinity for prostitutes.
Mary Magdalene is also quite prominent in the novel. She, of course, is not a prostitute, but she grew up with Jesus and Biff. Poor Jesus truly shows how human he is in his relationship with Mary Magdalene, as he knows he cannot marry her, but still cares very much for her.
Even if you are not religious at all, you will really enjoy this book. I’d call it a Bro-mance set 2000 years ago, and it is awesome.
“Nobody’s perfect. Well, there was this one guy, but we killed him….”
– Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
All Entries
#6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog
#4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
My Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels: #5 – Doomsday Book
#5 – Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (1992)
Another novel by Connie Willis which follows time travelling historians. This time, a history student is sent back to the 14th century, further back in time than any history student before her.
She wishes to go back to the 1320, but she ‘accidentally’ arrives in the year 1348; the time of the Black Death epidemic in England.
The story then switches back and forth between the 14 century and the 21st century, where a history professor desperately tries to bring his lost student home. However, another wrench is thrown in the machinery when a flu epidemic breaks out in the 21st century as well.
Is it possible the Black Death came forward in time?
Despite the dark overtones of being in the worst flu epidemic in history, Willis manages to make this more of a dark-comedy than a straight up thriller.
The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula awards and is considered one of the greatest works of science fiction in recent history.
All Entries
#6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog
#4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
My Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels: #6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog
#6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (1997)
Connie Willis has become one of my favourite authors. Most of her books take place in the same universe, in which University history professors have access to time-travel technology to help them study the past.
‘To Say Nothing of the Dog’ is a comic science fiction story following the (mis)adventures of Ned Henry and Verity Kindle, two folks from the year 2057 who have been sent back to pre-World War II England.
Their objective is to find the ‘Bishop’s Bird Stump’, a piece of Victorian…something, that is necessary for a wealthy American woman to complete the restoration of the Coventry Cathedral, which was destroyed by German bombings during the war.
While the main story sounds a tad dry, Willis’ hilarious writing style, lovable characters and possible time paradoxes make this a real page turner; something difficult to do for a comedy novel.
“Cats, as you know, are quite impervious to threats”
– Connie Willis, To Say Nothing of the Dog
All Entries
#6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog
#4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
My Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels: #7 – The Stars My Destination
#7 – The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (1956)
First serialised edition cover - Image via Wikipedia
Often described as ‘The Count of Monte Cristo‘ in space, this is a hum-dinger of a novel.
It follows the adventures of Gully Foyle, the lone survivor aboard a destroyed merchant spaceship called the Nomad. He waits in darkness for 6 months for a rescue.
When he spots another spaceship passing by, the Vorga, he fires some rescue flares and thinks he will finally be rescued.
The Vorga leaves him behind.
From that moment on, his only mission is revenge on the Captain of the Vorga. His quest takes him through a prison escape, facial reconstruction, and a slew of other craziness that I won’t spoil for you.
All this takes place in a world in which people can instantly transport themselves, or ‘jaunte’, from one place to another.
Seriously, how can this book not be good? I’ve read it many times and it is thrilling every single time.
Yes, no matter how we defend ourselves against the outside we’re always licked by something from the inside. There’s no defense against betrayal, and we all betray ourselves.
– Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination
All Entries
#6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog
#4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
My Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels: #8 – The Wheel of Time Series
#8 – The Wheel of Time Series (1990 – 2012)
Cover of
This epic 14-book series is finally coming to a close in 2012. If you haven’t read the series, here is the skinny:
The Dark One is going to break out of his sealed prison to destroy the world and a group of kids from a small village have to stop him.
You know, that old gag.
Even though the premise is a bit overused, the first 5 or 6 books of the series were great. Literally, fantastic! Engaging characters, funny dialogue, magic and Trollocs.
Obviously drawing from Tolkien, the author, Robert Jordan, expanded on Tolkien and created an incredibly detailed and believable world in which all these events transpire.
But then, things went to hell.
Jordan had created such a detailed world, and his books sold so well, that he went a bit nuts with it. Books 6 through 11 had a much slower pace, more politics, more subplots, and less action. Most of these middle-books were by no means bad; they were still entertaining and I somewhat enjoyed them. But they had nothing on those first 6 installments.
So many of Jordan’s followers began to lose faith. With 2-3 years between books and very few plot advances, people were understandably frustrated and wondered if the series would ever get finished.
Then Robert Jordan died.
He passed away on September 16, 2007 from cardiac amyloidosis. But he did pass on all his notes to another fantasy author: Brandon Sanderson.
Sanderson took over the final books of the series, three in total. Two have been released and they have received rave reviews. It seems the Wheel has turned and the magic of the series has returned.
So that is where we are now. Waiting on the very last book. Devout fans will be flocking to the bookstores when ‘A Memory of Light’ is released, supposedly in March of 2012.
And I will be one of them.
Despite the flaws of some of the middle installements of this series, ‘The Wheel of Time’ is an incredible work of epic fantasy and should not be missed.
The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again.
– Robert Jordan, The Wheel of Time
All Entries
#6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog
#4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
My Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Novels: #9 – The Harry Potter Series
#9 – The Harry Potter Series
Jacket art of the Bloomsbury edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher
Most people love it, some people haaaate it. And frankly, when my little sister started gobbling up these books back in elementary school, I was pretty skeptical.
They looked like kiddie nonsense and I wanted nothing to do with them. But then, my sister was sick in the hospital so it fell to me to wait in line at the bookstore with all the folks dressed as wizards in order to get her pre-ordered copy of ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ as soon as it was released. So I had a bad association with the books until I got to college.
Waiting for the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in a Californian bookshop (Borders, Sunnyvale), 5 minutes before the books official publication. Photo by Zack Sheppard
Then, friends started reading them. The movies were making millions (billions, even). They were even teaching the books in some of the University’s English classes! I decided I should at least give them a shot.
When I did, I was dragged kicking and screaming into a world of boys living under cupboards and giant groundskeepers and fortune-telling wizard teachers.
But once I was in, I did not want to leave.
The books just get better as they go along. The story becomes more intricate; the complex web of characters get more evolved and grown up. By the time Harry and his pals get to be 17, they are in the middle of a life and death struggle that is as far from a Roald Dahl children’s fantasy book as you could get.
So if you love them, great! Me too!
If you hate them, well that’s your opinion.
And if you haven’t read them, give them a try. These books will appeal to all ages and you won’t be able to put them down.
‘Scars can come in useful. I have one myself above my left knee which is a perfect map of the London Underground.’
– J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
All Entries
#6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog
#4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
My Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books: #10 – Watership Down
So yes, I am away on vacation.
You can hear about how things are going by checking my Twitter feed. I’ve never driven across British Columbia before so I’m sure I’ll have lots to tweet about.
But in the meantime, you are getting a special treat. My second Top 10 list! This time it’s my top 10 sci-fi/fantasy novels. (The first was my Top 10 Sci-Fi Movies)
A quick caveat. These are my favourite novels. Not necessarily the most well written, well crafted, though provoking, social commentating sci-fi books of all time. They are simply the books I can read over and over and over again and never get tired of them.
If you disagree, let me know! I’d love to hear about your favourites, and I really enjoy getting book recommendations too, so don’t be shy.
Ok, let’s get started with…
#10 – Watership Down by Richard Adams (1972)
Image via Wikipedia
You might think that a group of rabbits trying to find a new home sounds like a Disney movie. But Richard Adams turns this mundane idea into an enthralling heroic fantasy story.
Engaging characters and a surprising amount of creepiness (the strange rabbits in Cowslip’s warren gave me the heebie-jeebies) set this novel apart from other, more childish stories.
A good deal of violence and religious overtones make this book a grown-up fantasy that anybody would find entertaining. There was also an animated version that follows the novel quite closely, though I would not recommend it for young children. (Apparently there is a Facebook support group for those who were traumatized by the movie as a child)
So this book is a great start to my Top 10 Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels. And there is a lot more yet to come!
All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.
– Richard Adams, Watership Down
All Entries
#6 – To Say Nothing of the Dog
#4 – Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal
A Quantum of Knowledge 