In dedication to one of the greatest science fiction authors of all time, a giant in the field of speculative fictionArthur C. Clarke
(16 Dec 1917-19 Mar 2008)
here's my top 10 fiction books of all time. In no particular order at all
1) The Caine Mutiny by Hermann Wouk. Published in 1951, this was a Pulitzer Prize winning World War II novel that featured one of the most dislikeable anti-heros of all time, the notorious Captain Queeg (played to a T by Humphrey Bogart in the movie made from the book). The great thing about Queeg (at least for me) is not only do we find his dislikeable traits in others, we find them in ourselves, and thus Wouk has created the perfect character. I've probably read this entire novel 20 times, and parts of it (the trial scene is spectacular) another 20 times.
2) Starship Troopers by Robert H. Heinlein. This isn't considered to be Heinlein's best by many, Stranger in a Strange Land perhaps being the frontrunner for this giant author in the science fiction genre. But for me ST was it and remains it. The Puppet Masters comes close...
3) Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Classic and timeless. This story ought to be required reading for everyone.
4) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Charles Wallace and Meg. Tesseracts, witches and whiches, IT, this book has so much symbolism... and a fantastic story to boot.
5) The Legion of Space by Jack Williamson. Pulp fiction at it's finest. Williamson uses the theme from the Three Musketeers combined with Shakespeare's Falstaff... my favorite character is Giles Habibula, the hard drinking, always complaining, man of many talents and always a strength when the chips are down. Written in 1934, this novel easily stands the test of time... my 9 year old recently read it and loved it. Nuff said I think.
6) The Stand by Stephen King. Pretty much set the standard by which modern post-apocalyptic fiction is measured. Published in 1977, King had some strong precursors to his magnum opus.... Alas Babylon, On the Beach, Earth Abides; King carried the genre to a new level with a classic story of good vs. evil set in a believable post-apocalyptic world.
7) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Another of my sons favorites. He keeps asking about the sequels and I keep telling him he's welcome to read them, but don't expect the same type of story that is so appealing to juvenile readers.
8) Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I'm not sure that I need to say much about this classic. Hobbits, dwarves, elves, wizards...
9) A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. On the Beach is regarded by most as his best work, but I like this World War II war story set in southeast Asia and Australia.
And of course I will have to list my favorite from the dedication author. Arthur Clarke has written so many classic books and stories, it will be difficult to pick just one favorite, especially since I haven't read his work for many years (something I intend to remedy over the next year). So here it is:
10) The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke. A rewrite of of one of his first novels, Against the Fall of Night, I probably read this when I was 14 or 15 years old. It stuck with me as an example of serious (ands eriously good) science fiction, science fiction against which I measured everything else that I read later.
1) The Caine Mutiny by Hermann Wouk. Published in 1951, this was a Pulitzer Prize winning World War II novel that featured one of the most dislikeable anti-heros of all time, the notorious Captain Queeg (played to a T by Humphrey Bogart in the movie made from the book). The great thing about Queeg (at least for me) is not only do we find his dislikeable traits in others, we find them in ourselves, and thus Wouk has created the perfect character. I've probably read this entire novel 20 times, and parts of it (the trial scene is spectacular) another 20 times.
2) Starship Troopers by Robert H. Heinlein. This isn't considered to be Heinlein's best by many, Stranger in a Strange Land perhaps being the frontrunner for this giant author in the science fiction genre. But for me ST was it and remains it. The Puppet Masters comes close...
3) Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Classic and timeless. This story ought to be required reading for everyone.
4) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. Charles Wallace and Meg. Tesseracts, witches and whiches, IT, this book has so much symbolism... and a fantastic story to boot.
5) The Legion of Space by Jack Williamson. Pulp fiction at it's finest. Williamson uses the theme from the Three Musketeers combined with Shakespeare's Falstaff... my favorite character is Giles Habibula, the hard drinking, always complaining, man of many talents and always a strength when the chips are down. Written in 1934, this novel easily stands the test of time... my 9 year old recently read it and loved it. Nuff said I think.
6) The Stand by Stephen King. Pretty much set the standard by which modern post-apocalyptic fiction is measured. Published in 1977, King had some strong precursors to his magnum opus.... Alas Babylon, On the Beach, Earth Abides; King carried the genre to a new level with a classic story of good vs. evil set in a believable post-apocalyptic world.
7) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Another of my sons favorites. He keeps asking about the sequels and I keep telling him he's welcome to read them, but don't expect the same type of story that is so appealing to juvenile readers.
8) Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I'm not sure that I need to say much about this classic. Hobbits, dwarves, elves, wizards...
9) A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. On the Beach is regarded by most as his best work, but I like this World War II war story set in southeast Asia and Australia.
And of course I will have to list my favorite from the dedication author. Arthur Clarke has written so many classic books and stories, it will be difficult to pick just one favorite, especially since I haven't read his work for many years (something I intend to remedy over the next year). So here it is:
10) The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke. A rewrite of of one of his first novels, Against the Fall of Night, I probably read this when I was 14 or 15 years old. It stuck with me as an example of serious (ands eriously good) science fiction, science fiction against which I measured everything else that I read later.
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