On the treacherous streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword. Even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. Within this elite, dangerous world, Richard St. Vier is the undisputed master, as skilled as he is ruthless—until a death by the sword is met with outrage instead of awe, and the city discovers that the line between hero and villain can be altered in the blink of an eye.

I rather liked this one though it had it’s patchy bits. Like the fact that one of the original plotlines completely putters out around two thirds of the way through. I actually think that it would have been better to trim the entire Michael Goodwin arc out and downsize the book to a novella. It would have been a much tighter read.

The remaining story was oddly charming though. Kudos to Kushner for having all three of her main characters be bi/homosexual men, especially since this book was written in 1989. Bravo.

As a side note I just realized that my last entry was in December. Which means I didn’t read a single SF/F book during the spring semester. Hopefully I’ll do better this summer now that I’ve got the whole “back in college” thing down a bit. 12 months ago

Looking at the lists on Amazon and B&N and these look promising. I’ve decided against reading anything that has to do with military experiments gone amock, slaved, killer robots or bio engineered global plagues. Just happy stuff. Here are a couple I found.

"How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe: A Novel by Charles Yu" It has time travel and a mother that is trapped in a time loop of making dinner over and over.

“The Lifecycle of Software Objects” Ted Chiang 12 months ago

Looking at the lists on Amazon and B&N and these look promising. I’ve decided against reading anything that has to do with military experiments gone amock, slaved, killer robots or bio engineered global plagues. Just happy stuff. Here are a couple I found.

"How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe: A Novel by Charles Yu" It has time travel and a mother that is trapped in a time loop of making dinner over and over.

“The Lifecycle of Software Objects” Ted Chiang 12 months ago

When the inhabitants of a peaceful world are conquered by the bloodthirsty yumens, their existence is irrevocably altered. Forced into servitude, the Athsheans find themselves at the mercy of their brutal masters.

Desperation causes the Athsheans, led by Selver, to retaliate against their captors, abandoning their strictures against violence. But in defending their lives, they have endangered the very foundations of their society. For every blow against the invaders is a blow to the humanity of the Athsheans. And once the killing starts, there is no turning back.

I really liked this one. The alien culture was fascinating and lovely, the conflict – both the external and internal – was interesting and the characters – even the ones you utterly loath – were very well written.

I kinda wish I was Athshean (before the humans came). 17 months ago

In this wildly disorienting funhouse of a novel, populated by God-like – or perhaps Satanic – takeover artists and corporate psychics, Philip K. Dick explores mysteries that were once the property of St. Paul and Aquinas. His wit, compassion, and knife-edged irony make The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch moving as well as genuinely visionary.

Meh.

I admit, it was not until after the drug Chew-Z was introduced that I realized that Can-D wasn’t simply something that came after Can-A, Can-B and Can-C. Whoops. 17 months ago

Louis Sacchetti is a poet and pacifist imprisoned for refusing to enlist in the war against Third World guerillas. Sacchetti and the other inmates are used in perverse scientific experiments, and Sacchetti is infected with a germ that raises intelligence to incredible heights while causing decay and death.

There were some bits of this that I found rather compelling and some bits that were quite offputting. Overall it balances out as an average novel. One thing that does make it stand out is the fact that it is epistolary, something I don’t run across very often. 18 months ago

Hoping for a better life, five war veterans colonize an abandoned island. They take with them everything they could possibly need – food, clothes, tools, weapons, even wives.

But an unanticipated discovery shatters their dream and replaces it with a very different one. The colonists feel sure that their friendship will keep them together. Only then do they begin to realize that they’ve brought with them rather more than they bargained for.

For one of them, it seems, has been hiding a terrible secret from the rest of the company. And when the truth begins to emerge, it soon becomes clear that the war is far from over.

If I had to pick one word for this novel it would be “unsurprising”. Sure there’s information you don’t have, plot threads which you don’t know where they’re going… but when they develop you’re left with a “ho-hum, well of course” feeling. 19 months ago

Set a hundred years in the future, An Evil Guest is a story of an actress who becomes the lover of both a mysterious sorcerer and private detective, and an even more mysterious and powerful rich man, who has been to the human colony on an alien planet and learned strange things there. Her loyalties are divided—perhaps she loves them both. The detective helps her to release her inner beauty and become a star overnight. And the rich man is the benefactor of a play she stars in. But something is very wrong. Money can be an evil guest, but there are other evils. As Lovecraft said, “That is not dead which can eternal lie.”

The plot was fragmented, uninteresting and limped along like a lame animal that should be put down. The style was irritating with a constant back and forth patter (half of which should have been cut) and only the vaguest shades of descriptive text. Anything interesting happen? Phsst, chapter break, fast forward and now the characters are talking about what happened. The main character is involved in romances with both of the leading men, neither of which has the slightest bit of chemistry or believability. She’s irritating, and spends most of the book worrying about getting fat or if her make-up is alright or crying on the phone or trying to remember what she just said.

Ugh.

This is the second Gene Wolfe book I’ve read and it’s the second I’ve hated (i tried a third one once… but that didn’t end well). This makes me nervous because Wolfe has seven entries on the top 100 list, including the number one spot, with a total of sixteen books. This might be extremely painful. 19 months ago

In a world where the slightest edge can mean the difference between success and failure, Leisha Camden is beautiful, extraordinarily intelligent … and one of an ever-growing number of human beings who have been genetically modified to never require sleep.

Once considered interesting anomalies, now Leisha and the other “Sleepless” are outcasts—victims of blind hatred, political repression, and shocking mob violence meant to drive them from human society … and, ultimately, from Earth itself.

But Leisha Camden has chosen to remain behind in a world that envies and fears her “gift”—a world marked for destruction in a devastating conspiracy of freedom … and revenge.

There were some interesting questions brought up in this book… but after a certain point it felt like the characters where just banging you over the head with their social philosophies (if i took shot every time i read the word “community” i’d be dead of liver failure 217 times). 19 months ago

At the dawn of the nineteenth century, two very different magicians emerge to change England’s history. In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging on land and sea, most people believe magic to be long dead in England – until the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight.

Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell’s student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear.

I loved it.

Creative and original, at times the imagery was so vivid you could taste it. This is definitely going on my list of books to buy if I ever get any money. 20 months ago

I picked up my first set of books from the library yesterday. The one at the front of the queue is a rather intimidating 800 page hardcover; it looks more like a lethal weapon than a book.

Ah well…

Also stopped by a used bookstore and acquired three more books from further down the list for $1.50 :) 22 months ago

100. The Word For World is Forest, Ursula K. LeGuin
99. Sorcerer’s Son, Phyllis Eisenstein
98. Beggars in Spain, Nancy Kress
97. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Philip K. Dick
96. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
95. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke
94. The Company, K.J. Parker
93. An Evil Guest, Gene Wolfe
92. Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton
91. Dhalgren, Samuel Delany
90. Camp Concentration, Thomas M. Disch
89. Swordspoint, Ellen Kushner
88. Song of Kali, Dan Simmons
87. Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card
86. A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter Miller
85. Sphere, Michael Crichton
84. Fevre Dream, George R.R. Martin
83. The Alteration, Kingsley Amis
82. Dragonflight, Anne McCaffrey
81. The Anubis Gates, Tim Powers
80. Watership Down, Richard Adams
79. Griffin’s Egg, Michael Swanwick
78. Altered Carbon, Richard K. Morgan
77. Free Life Free, Gene Wolfe
76. Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
75. Ringworld, Larry Niven
74. Schismatrix, Bruce Sterling
73. OMW Series (Old Man’s War/Ghost Brigades/Last Colony/Zoe’s Tale), John Scalzi
72. Maske: Thaery, Jack Vance
71. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
70. The Martian Chronicles, Ray Bradbury
69. Flow My Tears the Policeman Said, Philip K. Dick
68. The Gods Themselves, Isaac Asimov
67. Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson
66. The High Crusade, Poul Anderson
65. A Song for Lya, George R.R. Martin
64. At the Mountains of Madness, H.P. Lovecraft
63. Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes
62. Wildlife, James Patrick Kelly
61. The Book of Knights, Yves Maynard
60. The Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan
59. Forever Peace, Joe Haldeman
58. Nightwings, Robert Silverberg
57. The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
56. Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
55. Gravity’s Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
54. Book of the Short Sun (On Blue’s Waters/In Green’s Jungles/Return to the Whorl), Gene Wolfe
53. The Forever War, Joe Haldeman
52. Foundation Septology (Prelude to Foundation, Forward teh Foundation, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Foundation’s Edge, Foundation & Earth), Isaac Asimov
51. Earthsea Trilogy (A Wizard of Earthsea/Tombs of Atuar/Farthest Shore), Ursula K. LeGuin
50. The Wizard Knight (The Knight/The Wizard), Gene Wolfe
49. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
48. The Demon Princes (Star King/Killing Machine/Palace of Love/The Face/Book of Dreams), Jack Vance
47. Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
46. The Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver/Confusion/System of the World), Neal Stephenson
45. Alastor (Trullion/Marune/Wyst), Jack Vance
44. The War of the Worlds, H.G. Wells
43. Flatland, Edwin Abbott
42. Farmer in the Sky, Robert Heinlein
41. A Scanner Darkley, Philip K. Dick
40. Animal Farm, George Orwell
39. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
38. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut
37. Lyonesse, Jack Vance
36. Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein
35. True Names, Verner Vinge
34. Ubik, Philip K. Dick
33. The Hyperion Cantos (Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion/Endymion/Rise of Endymion), Dan Simmons
32. Citizen of the Galaxy, Robert Heinlein
31. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
30. A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge
29. Pale Fire, Vladimair Nabokov
28. More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon
27. Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury
26. 1984, George Orwell
25. I Am Legend, Richard Matheson
24. The Cadwal Chronicles (Araminta Station/Ecce and Old Earth/Throy), Jack Vance
23. Lost Horizon, James Hilton
22. Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
21. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum
20. The Fifth Head of Cerberus, Gene Wolfe
19. A Song of Ice & Fire (Game of Thrones/Clash of Kings/Storm of Swords/Feast for Crows/Dance with Dragons/Winds of Winter/Dream of Spring), George R.R. Martin
18. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
17. The Fionavar Tapestry (Summer Tree/Wandering Fire/Darkest Road), Guy Gavriel Kay
16. The Master and the Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
15. The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick
14. All My Sins Remembered, Joe Haldeman
13. The Lord of the Rings (Fellowship of the Ring/Two Towers/Return of the King), J.R.R. Tolkien
12. Planet of Adventure, Jack Vance
11. Dune, Frank Herbert
10. A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
9. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. LeGuin
8. The Book of the New Sun (Shadow of the Torturer/Claw of the Conciliator/Sword of the Lictor/Citadel of the Autarch), Gene Wolfe
7. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
6. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
5. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
4. The Dispossessed, Ursula LeGuin
3. Dying Earth Series (The Dying Earth/Eyes of the Overworld/Cugel’s Saga/Rhialto the Marvellous), Jack Vance
2. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein
1. The Book of the Long Sun (Nightside of the Long Sun/Lake of the Long Sun/Calde of the Long Sun/Exodus from the Long Sun), Gene Wolfe 22 months ago

Looking at this list a little closer it seems that there are a number of trilogies/tetralogies/etc entered under a single heading. There’s also a hexology which has individual entries for the fourth and sixth book and none for the others. Huh.

I think they should change the name to Top 144 Top 163 and I’m bumping my estimated date of completion to -three years- five years a really long time from now. 22 months ago

Although I generally consider myself to be a sci-fi/fantasy fan, it occurred to me recently that I haven’t actually read too many of the classics within the genres.

After some browsing, I selected this list of the top 100 SF/F books as my starting point. I’ll aim for one a week or so and hope to finish within two years. The list will be read from 100 to 1 with some skipping around if books in a series are listed separately or if I have trouble getting a hold of a copy.

As a general rule, I will read every book on the list even if they are already familiar to me. 22 months ago