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Worlds Without End Blog

The Classics of Science Fiction in 12 Lists Posted at 1:21 PM by James Wallace Harris

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If every science fiction fan voted for their favorite science fiction books, would the most popular books become the classics of science fiction? Is an academic stamp-of-approval required to validate a classic? Are classics simply the books that society fails to forget? Here are twelve sites that identify the best science fiction books. Six focus on science fiction, and I use their top ten books. Six focus on general literature, and I pull out all the science fiction they recognized.

The consistency of these results are amazing, but they also reflect a complete lack of diversity. Only eight women writers appear on these lists. If you follow the links to the full lists, you will see more women writers, and somewhat greater diversity. Worlds Without End appears to be the only site that actively seeks to discern the better newer books, which reveals that women and people of color are writing a great deal of good science fiction. But we have to recognize that the slow process of books gaining wide recognition means those books are often behind current liberal thinking. I expect in another 25-50 years, future lists using the same methods will reflect the best books being published today.

I also expect the most progressive readers in the future will consider some of our currently accepted beliefs shameful. One goal of science fiction is speculating on how future people will think, and those books written today that guess right will be declared classic and visionary. And those that guess wrong will be used as examples of how the past was politically incorrect.

And which books will be forgotten? Because over time, books that are deemed unforgettable, are forgotten. The first list, Classics of Science Fiction, is the oldest list, and its top two books aren’t remembered on the other eleven lists. Most of these books from these lists are 25-60 years old, and even though young readers vote in the polls, they grow up reading books written a generation or two before their time.

Still, it’s amazing to see how many of the old usual suspects show up time and again. It really does suggest that a few books out of every generation acquire the “classic” designation – at least for a while. I expect in a century, most of these titles, and even authors, will spark no recognition. But for now, it’s rather fascinating why and how they are cherished in our memories.

The Demolished Man Dune Ender's Game The Dispossessed A Canticle for Leibowitz

Classics of Science Fiction (meta-list based on 28 lists)

  1. The Demolished Man – Alfred Bester (25)
  2. More Than Human – Theodore Sturgeon (25)
  3. Dune – Frank Herbert (25)
  4. The Foundation Trilogy – Isaac Asimov (24)
  5. A Canticle for Leibowitz – Walter M. Miller, Jr. (24)
  6. Stand on Zanzibar – John Brunner (24)
  7. The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula K. Le Guin (24)
  8. The Time Machine – H. G. Wells (23)
  9. The War of the Worlds – H. G. Wells (23)
  10. Childhood’s End – Arthur C. Clarke (23)

Worlds Without End Top Listed Book of All-Time (53 lists producing 9 meta-lists)

  1. The Dispossessed – Ursula K. Le Guin (13)
  2. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood (13)
  3. Frankenstein – Mary Shelley (13)
  4. Dune – Frank Herbert (12)
  5. The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula K. Le Guin (12)
  6. The Doomsday Book – Connie Wills (12)
  7. The Forever War – Joe Haldeman (11)
  8. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card (11)
  9. Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes (11)
  10. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick (11)

Listopia Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books (ongoing poll at Goodreads, number of votes)

  1. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card (5,244)
  2. Dune – Frank Herbert (4,160)
  3. Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell (3,238)
  4. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury (2,358)
  5. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley (1,937)
  6. A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle (1,624)
  7. Foundation – Isaac Asimov (1,586)
  8. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins (1,454)
  9. The Giver – Lois Lowry (1,283)
  10. Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut (1,283)

Listopia Best Science Fiction Books (ongoing poll at GoodReads, number of votes)

  1. Dune – Frank Herbert (804)
  2. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card (775)
  3. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams (654)
  4. 1984 – George Orwell (552)
  5. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury (428)
  6. Foundation – Isaac Asimov (393)
  7. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley (342)
  8. Hyperion – Dan Simmons (298)
  9. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick (288)
  10. Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein (257)

Top 100 Sci-Fi Books (ongoing poll at Sci-Fi Lists)

  1. Dune – Frank Herbert
  2. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
  3. The Foundation Trilogy – Isaac Asimov
  4. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
  5. 1984 – George Orwell
  6. Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein
  7. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
  8. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke
  9. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick
  10. Neuromancer – William Gibson

NPR Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books (2011 fan poll, > 50,000 votes)

  1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
  2. Ender’s Game – Orson Scott Card
  3. The Dune Chronicles – Frank Herbert
  4. 1984 – George Orwell
  5. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
  6. The Foundation Trilogy – Isaac Asimov
  7. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
  8. Neuromancer – William Gibson
  9. I, Robot – Isaac Asimov
  10. Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein

These lists cover all literature. I’m not limiting myself to the top ten, but listing any science fiction books that got recognized.

Brave New World Nineteen Eighty-Four Slaughterhouse - Five A Clockwork Orange Fahrenheit 451

Modern Library List of 100 Best Novels (MLA)

  1. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley (#3)
  2. 1984 – George Orwell (#13)
  3. Slaughterhouse-Five (#18)
  4. A Clockwork Orange (#65)

100 Best Novels of the 20th Century (Radcliffe Publishing Course)

  1. 1984 – George Orwell (#9)
  2. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley (#16)
  3. Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut (#29)
  4. A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess (#49)
  5. Cat’s Cradle – Kurt Vonnegut (#66)
  6. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams (#72)
  7. The War of the Worlds – H. G. Wells (#85)

The 150 Best English Language Novels of the 20th Century (compiled by librarians)

  1. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury (#28)
  2. Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein (#31)
  3. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke (#66)
  4. Dune – Frank Herbert (#86)

The Best English Language Novels from 1923 to the Present (Time Magazine, alphabetical)

  • 1984 – George Orwell
  • A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess
  • Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
  • Neuromancer – William Gibson
  • Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut
  • Snowcrash – Neal Stephenson
  • Ubik – Philip K. Dick

1,001 Books to Read Before You Die (Popular book, editor’s choice)

  • Chocky – John Wyndham
  • Cryptonomicon – Neal Stephenson
  • Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? – Philip K. Dick
  • The Drowned World – J. G. Ballard
  • Foundation – Isaac Asimov
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams
  • I, Robot – Isaac Asimov
  • Neuromancer – William Gibson
  • Solaris – Stanislaw Lem
  • Stranger in a Strange Land – Robert A. Heinlein

The Greatest Books (meta-list, 107 lists, all literature, just 17 SF books out of top 500)

  1. 1984 – George Orwell (#23)
  2. Brave New World – Aldous Huxley (#82)
  3. Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut (#124)
  4. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne (#149)
  5. A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess (#164)
  6. The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood (#189)
  7. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams (#265)
  8. Dune – Frank Herbert (#270)
  9. Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell (#284)
  10. A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle (#295)
  11. Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury (#307)
  12. The Time Machine – H. G. Wells (#327)
  13. The Road – Cormac McCarthy (#366)
  14. The War of the Worlds – H. G. Wells (#378)
  15. Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand (#379)
  16. Neuromancer – William Gibson (#382)
  17. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Arthur C. Clarke (#411)

Update 6/29/16:

Just found a 13th list. The Library of Congress opened its 2016 version of “America Reads” exhibit June 16th, where the public voted for the books. See this explanation, “The books that have shaped American life.” Here are the SF books it includes – (order from the list):

  • Slaughterhouse-Five – Kurt Vonnegut
  • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress – Robert A. Heinlein
  • A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
  • Dune – Frank Herbert
  • Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand
  • Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury

Interestingly, the 2012 exhibit, where the books were chosen by the curators, only three science fiction titles were selected, Atlas Shrugged, Fahrenheit 451 and Stranger in a Strange Land.

 

1 Comment

Jean   |   13 Feb 2021 @ 18:19

I am a fan of sify from way back, i’m 77, and do read the recent stuff, and recent fiction and mystery, i found The Stone Sky pretty creative, but also a year or so ago felt a bit nostalgic for Heinlein’s Door into Summer. The man knew cats is all i’m sayin’. That was fun to read again.
There is another book i’m trying to remember the Author for. it has an old guy in a ruined world who in wondering around in that world finds an old woman, but he also stumbles onto something he thinks is an elevator, but it doesn’t go anywhere but leaves dust on the floor when he tries to use it. You know where this is going, right? So was it a book or story, and who was the author? Seeking minds want to know, if you might have a clue. I’ve also got to thinking about Sturgeon who was also one i liked to read, (racy for his day if memory serves, but now we have Gabaldon and herds of others) but he should be easy to find. I’m a Kindle user, because i can make the print as easy to read as possible and because it makes my library easier to haul around.
Anyway, if you happen to remember the story I’m trying to remember, let me know. I love your lists, by the way.there are a few i missed, and some i skipped, but now I have more books for my must read list. Thanks!

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