The introductory paragraph doesn’t actually claim that all of the books are sf, although it would be easy to get that impression. The list is described as a list of narrative works that should be part of every sf reader’s repertoire. Based on that criterion, I don’t see any problem with religious texts, children’s books, or fantasy being on the list. The sf fan who limits himself only to books that are clearly and inarguably science fiction is missing out on a lot of good reading, and I would argue is likely limiting their enjoyment of good sf by not having a good knowledge of related materials.
Based on that standard, I think that the Old Testament would make a good foundation book for understanding and fully appreciating a lot of good sf, while not being science fiction itself, it could well belong on a list of books every sf fan should read.
My score was 26/100, though I have about 20 of those on my books to be read list.
This list would not be a good starting place for your purposes. Some of the books would be just fine, of course, but some others would be very age-inappropriate. Stranger in a Strange Land, for instance, has some pretty explicit sex in it, and he might not fully appreciate dystopian novels like Brave New World or 1984 (but then again, he might).
One excellent place to start would be Heinlein’s juvenile novels. My favorite is Space Cadet; other good ones include Farmer in the Sky, Red Planet, The Rolling Stones, Tunnel in the Sky, and Podkayne of Mars (as well as several others; all of Heinlein’s juvies are good). Also good would be The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Starship Troopers, and Double Star. Anything by Asimov would also be OK: Nothing of his is nearly as good as Heinlein’s best, but (unlike Heinlein) even his worst is still pretty decent.
This is a personal pet peeve, so take it with a grain of salt.
Adoptamom II: Do not start your son on 50-year-old sf that may turn him off the field entirely. Start with books by modern authors with modern sensibilities. There are dozens of great authors writing great young adult fantasy and science fiction today.
At scifan.com, you can find the most comprehensive listing of young adult f&sf I’ve ever seen.
I’ve read 45 of them Maybe more, some were rather forgettable. I, too find the list a little strange.
I would include Where Late the Sweet Bird Sang by Kate Wilhelm.
We Have Always Lived in The Castle* and * The Haunting of Hill House* by Shirley Jackson, should be there if Frankenstein and * The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde* are included.
Lucifer’s Hammer* by Larry Niven (and Frederik Pohl?) ( I think) I’ve always been convinced that David Brin got his Postman from LH.
Where is Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever? Oh no! brain fart! I can’t remember who wrote it…
Enough… We probably all have our 100 must reads to qualify as a true Science Fiction aficionado.
That’s a neat site. Maybe you should do a thread to see how many of those books people have read. It would be interesting. (and if people had access to a database copying and pasting would be an easy way to keep track of a list that long…)
I just look again at the list, and something struck me. Are we sure this isn’t simply their overstock SF books?
Don’t mind me, I’ve always been cynical.
Well, since Phobos is a small press, since none of their own publications are on the list, since the “Buy” link goes to Amazon, and since nobody would have “overstock” on 100 random old famous sf books, three of whom don’t even have “Buy” links in the first place, my guess is that cynical isn’t exactly the right word.
I should have responded to this sooner, but for that age I highly recommend William Sleator. His books The Green Futures of Tycho and Interstellar Pig were some of my favorites, but everything of his I’ve read is great.
I think these guys really are referring to the Upanishads. Wtf? How does a collection of Hindu sacred texts wind up on a Sci-Fi book list? I know somebody wrote about a spaceship called “Rama”, but come on.
