# Favorite SF/Fantasy books that no-one else has heard about **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 29, 2000, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187 "2000-11-29T15:03:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/61 "2000-11-30T15:10:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Badtz Maru \* > \*\*Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars’… It is also out of print and hard to find. Sigh. \*\* Nah. There are at least two omnibus volumes of Daniel Pinkwater’s young adult novels available, and ALAN MENDELSOHN is in one of 'em. (My own personal favorite Pinkwater is the charmingly titled YOUNG ADULT NOVEL.) **Cal:** I’m with you completely on the Great Unknown Verne & Wells fiction! Have you read THE FIVE HUNDRED MILLIONS OF THE BEGUM (_aka_ THE BEGUM’S FORTUNE)? Two rival scientists, one French and one German, inherit a fabulous amount of cash from a dying Eastern potentate. Each uses it to build his own personal Utopia on the Oregon coast. The Frenchman’s is lovely and airy and humanitarian; the German’s is a ghastly polluted totalitarian nightmare. In the climax, the German fires an enormous explosive shell at the Frenchman’s city, but miscalculates and sends it spinning around the Earth, the first man-made satellite. If you get a kick (as I do) out of Verne’s baldfaced bigotries and prejudices, this book is a WEALTH of anti-Teutonic sentiment! (Folks who enjoy spirited anti-Semitism are guided toward the novel HECTOR SERVADAC, _aka_ OFF ON A COMET. Those who prefer to read embarrassing witticisms about American Negroes should pick up ROBUR THE CONQUEROR, _aka_ THE CLIPPER OF THE CLOUDS.) As for Wells, everyone should acquire a good selection of his short fiction. “The New Accelerator,” “The Truth About Pyecraft,” “Jimmy Goggles the God”…truly marvelous Victorian SF/Fantasy. The novel THE WAR IN THE AIR is also terrific. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/62 "2000-11-30T15:23:53Z")
Uke: I’ve read “The Begum’s fortune”. Also “Tigers and Traitors” and “Paris in the twentieth Century” and… well, a bunch of others. Yeah, Verne had his prejudices. Some were his own and some were those of his age. Speaking of black stereotypes, have a look at “The Mysterious Island”. Verne also had a thing about British stubbornness about Gibraltar – it shows up in “Hector Servadac/Off on a Comet” and in the short story “Gil Braltar”. But Verne is always worth reading. (Especially the Walter James Miller annotated copies of “20,000 Leagues” and “From the Earth to the Moon”.) ---
**Author:** ![tourbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@tourbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tourbot)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/63 "2000-11-30T15:27:18Z")
There are some great choices here, in particular Frederic Brown’s short stories, and Stanislaw Lem, who probably doesn’t get as much recognition as he should in the US due to his disagreements with the SFWA (they kicked him out, IIRC). Everyone has heard of Michael Moorcock, and even his worst books seem to remain in print, and continue to sell. His best, in my opinion, was the Dancers at the End of Time trilogy, which has been out of print for years. The characters in this series appear in other Moorcock works (don’t they all?) but somehow this book never reached the popularity of some of his other series. It’s a terrific mix of Oscar Wilde style comedy and light scifi/fantasy. I just checked Amazon, and a paperback comprising all three books of the series is now available. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/64 "2000-11-30T15:36:30Z")
**Cal:** Actually, I wasn’t being sarcastic, or taking Verne to task. I love his writing (I agree with you about those annotated editions, both of which I own), and I really DO enjoy his weird takes on everyone who isn’t a middle-aged bourgeois French author! I’ve just spent the last ten minutes locating and purchasing (Xmas gift for my daughter) a copy of that great little edition of the early Verne novel DOCTOR OX’S EXPERIMENT that Macmillan did in the 1960s…the one that reads sideways and has the illustrations by William Pene du Bois. 'Member that one? British scientist floods an entire Flemish village with pure oxygen, leading the normally plegmatic populace into a frenzy of choler, gluttony, and lust? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/65 "2000-11-30T15:38:42Z")
Weirddave, the only problem I have with Gerrold is that the ideas he gets so much mileage out of tend to be Heinlein’s. Tribbles, read The Rolling Stones. When Harlie Was One, read The Moon is a Harsh Mistress I’ve already mentioned The Man Who Folded Himself. A few of Gerrold’s that were more original - The War of the Chtorr series - currently 4 books, anticipating more. Voyage of the Star Wolf and it has a sequel I haven’t read but I think is sitting on my shelf. Though perhaps it owes a nod to Niven. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/66 "2000-11-30T16:15:58Z")
Uke: Sorry if I took that the wrong way. I’ve just re-read “Dr. Ox’s Experiment”. It appears in a new British edition of Verne that I just picked up in Ireland. I can’t recall the title of the collection, but it includes a lot of stuff from “Yesterday and Tomorrow”, along with some new translations of stories I haven’t read before. (For some bizarre reason the book cover is obviously a re-used cover from “Rendezvous with Rama”. Maybe they thought it looked science fiction-ish.) ---
**Author:** ![barton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@barton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barton)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/67 "2000-11-30T17:03:27Z")
Far and away, when I think great and obscure: Armor by John Steakley As far as I know, he dropped off the face of the earth after writing it - I haven’t seen anything else by him save one unmentionable other that got turned into an unmentionable movie. Shame, really. It earned its permanent place on my shelf. Sometimes I think of it as a kind of lengthy anti-war reply to Starship Troopers. Has a slightly atypical structure. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/68 "2000-11-30T17:47:42Z")
Forgot to mention: “Gossamer Axe” by Gael Baudino, one of the most original fantasies I have read. The book includes a large cast of believeable characters and a magical duel in which heavy metal meets Sidhe magic. Although he is not an obscure author, Philip Jose Farmer’s “When the Stone God Awakens” is an excellent piece of science fiction, IMO. “Strayers from Sheol” by H. Russell Wakefield. Wakefield wrote some of the most original and most frightening ghost stories I have ever read. Am surprised that none of you Wells fans have mentioned “Men Like Gods.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/69 "2000-11-30T17:50:38Z")
Suo Na: You are not alone. I, too, have a copy of Asimov’s 100 Science Fiction Short Shorts. It has some excellent pieces. BTW, Groff Conklin, a man of impeccable taste, co-edited the book. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/70 "2000-11-30T18:12:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Peyote Coyote \* > \*\*Suo Na: You are not alone. I, too, have a copy of Asimov’s 100 Science Fiction Short Shorts. It has some excellent pieces. BTW, Groff Conklin, a man of impeccable taste, co-edited the book. \*\* There’s also a 100 Fantasy Short Short stories that’s by the same group. Are you sure Groff Conklin is one of the co-editors? He’s one of the all-time great antholgizers, but I thought the 100 Great series was Asimov with Martin Greenburg and (someone) as his co-editors. I’ll double check when I get home. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Screwtape](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Screwtape](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Screwtape)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/71 "2000-11-30T18:18:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GuanoLad \* > Eek! Stephen King wannabe bollocky crap! > \*\* Re-read the OP. We’re not criticizing each other’s choices here, which is why I didn’t say anything about Alan Dean Xerox or that Morrison toy. Let’s keep the gloves on, shall we? ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/72 "2000-11-30T18:25:54Z")
Damn, **Chuck** , why am I not surprised you’d be the only other person on the boards who’s probably heard of _War With The Newts_? I loved that book - my copy is buried in the trunkage I keep stored at Mamma O’s house up in NH. I gotta go get it back. I don’t have anything to contribute since I haven’t read much SF, but I did want to thank you all for providing a good list of stuff that I might enjoy. Time to expand the library again! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@Sassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/73 "2000-11-30T18:53:13Z")
I have some of the collected short stories of Seabury Quinn, which I love. Dated, no doubt - but a charming example of pulp fiction. The books I have are out of print, and I can’t find the novel anywhere that doesn’t want me to spend a fortune on a first edition. I also like, but have trouble finding, Cordwainer Smith. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/74 "2000-11-30T18:55:46Z")
> [@](#): > > There are some great choices here, in particular Frederic Brown’s short stories, and Stanislaw Lem, who probably doesn’t get as much recognition as he should in the US due to his disagreements with the SFWA (they kicked him out, IIRC). I doubt that incident had anything to do with Lem’s reputation in the U.S. I’ve read a bit of Lem, and much of it reads as being very heavyhanded and clunky. “Solaris” is interesting, as is “Memoirs Found in a Bathtub,” but he reinvents the wheel all too much and his satire translates poorly into English. And to set the record straight, Lem wasn’t exactly kicked out of SFWA. He never at any time applied to be a member. The problem was that he was improperly given an honorary membership\*. When he condemned the organization, it caused an uproar and the mistake was discovered. Lem was and is welcome to join SFWA as an active member. \*According to the SFWA bylaws, honorary memberships can only be given to people who aren’t otherwise eligible for membership. Lem, since he has had his work published in English in the U.S., is eligible for active membership. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/75 "2000-11-30T19:19:09Z")
Fenris: Could have sworn that Conklin co-edited 100 Science Fiction Short Shorts, but I may be wrong. I, too, will double-check tonight. Thanks for pointing out the existence of 100 Fantasy Short Shorts; I had not heard of that collection and will try to find it. ---
**Author:** ![Suo\_Na](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@Suo\_Na](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suo_Na)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/76 "2000-11-30T19:37:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Peyote Coyote \* > \*\*Thanks for pointing out the existence of 100 Fantasy Short Shorts; I had not heard of that collection and will try to find it. \*\* This is the one I meant. Did I not put fantasy in the title? If not, I meant to (the exact title always escapes me). I’ve never even _seen_ the SF one; I only just heard about it for the first time while searching Amazon for the other a few months ago. ---
**Author:** ![SoMoMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@SoMoMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoMoMom)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/77 "2000-11-30T20:18:20Z")
A really long time ago I read a fantasy trilogy which I enjoyed. Can’t remember the author. There were called Dragon’s Pawn, Dragon’s Knight, and Dragon’s Queen IIRC. I remember thinking at the time that I wondered why I hadn’t heard of those stories. Gee, maybe I should see if I can find those again and see if I’d still like them. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/78 "2000-11-30T20:18:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Peyote Coyote \* > Although he is not an obscure author, Philip Jose Farmer’s “When the Stone God Awakens” is an excellent piece of science fiction, IMO. My father and I both love this one–we periodically dig it out of his library and reread it. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/79 "2000-11-30T20:24:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SoMoMom \* > A really long time ago I read a fantasy trilogy which I enjoyed. Can’t remember the author. There were called Dragon’s Pawn, Dragon’s Knight, and Dragon’s Queen IIRC. I remember these–I found them a little light, but quite entertaining. The author is Carol Dennis. I particularly liked the “powerful magical artifact/being is a neat freak” bit in the old witch’s house. I like artifacts with personality. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2000, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187/80 "2000-11-30T20:37:16Z")
Suo Na: I believe you did mention fantasy, but I just assumed you were talking about the science fiction book. My bad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-sf-fantasy-books-that-no-one-else-has-heard-about/43187.md?page=5)