# Amazon list of 100 Sci Fi and Fantasy books to read in a lifetime **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** books-writing-myths\ **Created:** [October 3, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133 "2020-10-03T18:38:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/21 "2020-10-04T22:01:41Z")
Cool. I had no idea he was still alive ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/22 "2020-10-04T22:03:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Whatever happened to putting a list in, well, a list? The format of that page is terrible. Yeah. Scrolling vertically and clicking for horizontal extension? Bleah. Andre’ Norton has lots of good stuff. The Time Traders, Star Ka’at, The Last Planet… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/23 "2020-10-04T22:17:43Z")
Where’s the Perry Rhodan? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/24 "2020-10-04T22:49:59Z")
That is so wrong, even in jest. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/25 "2020-10-04T23:14:21Z")
He could have said “John Norman” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/26 "2020-10-04T23:29:04Z")
Or Hubbard. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/27 "2020-10-05T00:12:22Z")
They have Harry Potter and Hunger Games but not _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_ or _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland_ or _Gulliver’s Travels_? They are three most important fantasy books ever written!!! \*OK the exact title is _Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships_ ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/28 "2020-10-05T00:19:43Z")
I disagree. Most of Fantasy as a genre is built off the Lord of the Rings. I would rate Gulliver as very important though and credit Alice as one of the most recognizable characters in English Literature. But the Oz books are pushing it and mainly remembered so well for the classic 1939 movie. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/29 "2020-10-05T00:53:55Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > > [@Andy\_L](#): > > > > Eye of Argon > > Isn’t book-length (thank Ghu!) but, yes, everyone here really ought to be exposed to it at some point, preferably in a heavy-drinking party where it gets read aloud. Have you checked out the [MST3K treatment?](http://www.bmsc.washington.edu/people/merritt/books/Eye_of_Argon.html) Pretty brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/30 "2020-10-05T01:20:06Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > They have Harry Potter and Hunger Games but not _The Wonderful Wizard of Oz_ or _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland_ or _Gulliver’s Travels_ ? They are three most important fantasy books ever written!!! > [@What\_Exit](#): > > I disagree. I disagree with your disagreement. Gulliver and Alice are absolutely among the greatest and most important works of fantasy. Although, if you’re going back that far, why not go even farther and include works like The Odyssey and The Arabian Nights? The Oz books were a huge part of my childhood and I have enormous respect for them. I’d take the books over the movie in a heartbeat. And they’re the earliest example I know of of the fantasy series. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/31 "2020-10-05T02:19:28Z")
I readily admit The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is not exactly high literature(especially compared to Lord of The Rings and Gulliver’s Travels) but I still think it is far more deserving to be on the list than either Harry Potter or the Hunger Games. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/32 "2020-10-05T02:21:25Z")
That has some merit. Especially as I’ve all of these and Hunger Games especially doesn’t belong. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/33 "2020-10-05T02:48:44Z")
It’s less a list of books you should read and more a list of books that if you are 35-55 and like SciFi, you probably have read, or at least seen around a lot. It’s like a list of books to read if you want to make conversation with people at Board Game MeetUps. Also, fuck Donaldson and fuck Thomas Covenant. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/34 "2020-10-05T06:22:56Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > Gulliver’s Travels _Gulliver’s Travels_ falls more into the category of social and political satire and allegory than fantasy. Something like Orwell’s _Animal Farm_. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/35 "2020-10-05T06:35:57Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > “Sword of Shannara”? Hunh. Eww. I mean, it’s not garbage - I wouldn’t put it on a list of the 100 worst fantasy novels (probably on the list of the 5 most derivative though). I enjoyed it, sorta, after I finished wincing at the throbbing aura of derivativity is radiated. But it should be nowhere near a top list of 100 of anything, unless perhaps it qualifies for sales figures. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/36 "2020-10-05T07:13:22Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Something like Orwell’s _Animal Farm_ . Which is on the list for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/37 "2020-10-05T07:26:52Z")
It looks like Ursula Le Guin’s _Earthsea_ trilogy is missing. A major omission. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/38 "2020-10-05T07:43:52Z")
They have her for her SciFi - possibly there’s a limit on books by one author? ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/39 "2020-10-05T08:00:45Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > possibly there’s a limit on books by one author? Probably. It’s arguable whether her fantasy or SF was more influential. I found her Earthsea books more memorable. Are there any lists that are better than Amazon’s? ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2020, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133/40 "2020-10-05T08:07:39Z")
Huh. I looked at the list again, and I see that A Wizard of Earthsea _is_ on the list, as well as The Left Hand of Darkness. But I don’t see Animal Farm. Is it possible this list is changing, generated by an algorithm every time you look at it? Or generated every day? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-list-of-100-sci-fi-and-fantasy-books-to-read-in-a-lifetime/922133.md?page=3)