# NPR's top 100 SF/Fantasy list **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 14, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676 "2011-08-14T13:12:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/21 "2011-08-14T17:02:35Z")
This seems like a pretty reasonable list. usually list makers add (or ignore) a few WTF? entries to get people buzzing about their list but I didn’t see much of that here. Then again I have probably only read or sampled about two third of the list. Edit: Yikes! I didn’t even notice Harry Potter was absent. I guess that is the WTF choice here. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/22 "2011-08-14T17:02:35Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Someone in the comments mentioned Harry Potter was excluded from the list. Was there a reason why? Or did NPR just think it sucks and didn’t make it? Not a HP fan, just curious Narnia and the Hobbit are missing, too. I wonder if they excluded young adult or childrens fantasy? No **His Dark Materials** by Pullman, either, which was aimed at young adults. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/23 "2011-08-14T17:10:31Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > I’m surprised that _Xanth_ made the list. I read those voraciously in middle school, but I would have guessed that due to lack of any new novels coming out in . . . however long it’s been, Xanth would have disappeared into the cracks. The fact that enough people in 2011 actually remembered and thought enough about those books to list them as their favorites surprises me. As spark240 posted, the Xanth series is hardly inactive. Anthony has published a new book in the series every year. (Of course, the last good books in the series were back around 1980.) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/24 "2011-08-14T17:13:30Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > This seems like a pretty reasonable list. usually list makers add (or ignore) a few WTF? entries to get people buzzing about their list but I didn’t see much of that here. Then again I have probably only read or sampled about two third of the list. This list was nominated and voted on by the public. So it’s more a People’s Choice type list. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/25 "2011-08-14T17:15:00Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I’d ditch American Gods (I think we just had a thread about how this book was over-rated) and replace it with “The Stars My Destination”. > > I’d replace “The Belegariad” with “On the Beach”. > > I’d replace “Wheel of Time” with “V for Vendetta”, which not only will get rid of the worst thing on the list, but save someone trying to read through all the suggested books about 127 hours. I agree with all of this - and would bump Dune up to the top three, and maybe Watchmen to the top 5 or 7. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/26 "2011-08-14T17:23:33Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > _I, Robot_ is included, which is a compilation of short stories. Okay then. So it’s not a list of novels. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Narnia and the Hobbit are missing, too. I wonder if they excluded young adult or childrens fantasy? The genesis of _The Princess Bride_, like those, was explicitly as a story for children. Many readers first encounter many of the other titles as young adults or children. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/27 "2011-08-14T17:31:46Z")
The list is a bit weird. It’s full of the sort of shite you expect when you ask 60000 people to name their favourite SF books, but interspersed with worthy selections that don’t seem consistent. It doesn’t seem plausible that the same 60000 noobs who are placing Enders Game at #3 all time (:D) would choose something like Fahrenheit 451 at #7. Throwing Orwell into the mix is a bit silly, although good for a laugh - it’s nice to see one of the most influential novels ever written crack the SF top 10. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/28 "2011-08-14T17:32:30Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’d apply the “worthless abortion” label to anything after _Dune Messiah_. YMMV. Like **Mahaloth** above, I might include _Children of Dune_ too. Maybe. Otherwise, you’re spot on, IMHO. If we’re including series, I’d like for Niven’s Known Space series to be included. Or _The Magic Goes Away_ series, including both books set in L.A. And just include the Discworld series, rather than make me pick my favorite child. If you are going to go book by book, then I’ve no problem with _Small Gods_ making the list, but where the hell is _Night Watch_ then? Or, and this may be a minority view, _Jingo_? Other series that needed to be in there: Alastair Reynolds’s _Revelation Space_ series. Include just the first one, or _Chasm City_ if we must go novel by novel. Charles Stross’s Laundry series. _The Jennifer Morgue_ if you have to go with one. And no Lovecraft? WTF? At least they included one of Fforde’s… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/29 "2011-08-14T17:48:41Z")
> [@](#): > > This list was nominated and voted on by the public. So it’s more a People’s Choice type list. Ah, I was noticing that the list seemed very diverse. That would explain why. > [@](#): > > If we’re including series, I’d like for Niven’s Known Space series to be included. Well, _Ringworld_ made the cut, anyway. The series/individual book distinction seems to be based mostly on how cohesive the series is. _Small Gods_ and _Going Postal_, for instance, have very little connection, beyond being set on the same world. But the Foundation trilogy is very much all a continuation of the same story. I personally wouldn’t have put Xanth on the list (if it absolutely _must_ have some Piers Anthony, then make it the five Incarnations books), but something way down at #99 is necessarily going to be rather iffy. While I have very little quibble about what made the list and what didn’t (aside from the omission of Harry Potter), I do have some complaints about the order. I can’t argue with _Lord of the Rings_ at #1, but _The Moon is a Harsh Mistress_ not coming in until #34? I’ve read almost everything ahead of it on the list, and it’s definitely ahead of most of them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/30 "2011-08-14T18:11:33Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Other series that needed to be in there: Alastair Reynolds’s _Revelation Space_ series. Include just the first one, or _Chasm City_ if we must go novel by novel. Charles Stross’s Laundry series. _The Jennifer Morgue_ if you have to go with one. And no Lovecraft? WTF? At least they included one of Fforde’s… No David Brin surprised me. Also no Peter Hamilton. And if you’re looking for omissions of earlier authors, how about no Alfred Bester or Poul Anderson or Frederick Pohl or Theodore Sturgeon? Or no Robert Silverberg, in either fantasy or science fiction? ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/31 "2011-08-14T18:17:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Well, _Ringworld_ made the cut, anyway. > > The series/individual book distinction seems to be based mostly on how cohesive the series is. _Small Gods_ and _Going Postal_, for instance, have very little connection, beyond being set on the same world. But the Foundation trilogy is very much all a continuation of the same story. > > I personally wouldn’t have put Xanth on the list (if it absolutely _must_ have some Piers Anthony, then make it the five Incarnations books), but something way down at #99 is necessarily going to be rather iffy… _Ringworld_’s certainly his most famous work from that series. My quibble was that if you’re going lump all of Iain Banks’s Culture books under one umbrella (where it’s a rarity for any of the characters to have any connection from one book to the next.), then why not do the same for series where the books rely on each other a bit more? Besides, the answer for Banks is _Use of Weapons_. Maybe throw in _The Player of Games_. For Piers Anthony, I liked his Apprentice Adept series more than the one Xanth book I read. I didn’t read any of the Incarnations; worth the time? ---
**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:** [August 14, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/32 "2011-08-14T18:38:13Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Someone in the comments mentioned Harry Potter was excluded from the list. Was there a reason why? Or did NPR just think it sucks and didn’t make it? Not a HP fan, just curious I think it’s because they’re bringing out a separate list for YA stuff later. Sad lack of Brin. And Cherryh. Also Stross. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/33 "2011-08-14T18:40:13Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > I didn’t read any of the Incarnations; worth the time? The first few at least. Then they got bad, and then went downhill. But I liked _On A Pale Horse, Bearing An Hourglass_ and _With A Tangled Skein_. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/34 "2011-08-14T18:45:09Z")
Too late to edit: And a best-of that doesn’t have _The Stars My Destination_ in the top 5 is made by shitheads. And why just _Small Gods_ when others have series? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/35 "2011-08-14T20:46:27Z")
I’m disappointed, but not surprised, to see Zelazny’s Amber series on the list. I love Zelazny, but the Amber books are far form his best work - much better if _Lord of Light_ were on that list. ---
**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:** [August 14, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/36 "2011-08-14T21:09:56Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Well the list does not outrage me, so that’s a good thing. It’s mostly pretty good stuff. The major flaw I see with it is that it has a few works on it that are CLEARLY fantasy, i.e., “Lord of the Rings” and “Animal Farm.” I don’t think they are SF or anything CLOSE to being SF. Science fiction IS fantasy. The number of SF novels that don’t have fantasy elements is ridiculously small (I count FTL travel as fantasy, since it’s all handwaving) It’s a reasonable list, though hardly definitive. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/37 "2011-08-14T21:17:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > As spark240 posted, the Xanth series is hardly inactive. Anthony has published a new book in the series every year. (Of course, the last good books in the series were back around 1980.) Huh. I had it in my brain that he had died, and that someone had co-authored some final book of his posthumously, way back a decade ago. Guess I must have just confused him with someone else. **ETA:** _A Spell For Chameleon_ was, I think, the first book (of chapter-length variety) I ever read in one sitting. I loved it, and from what I remember, it held up pretty well on subsequent readings, years later. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/38 "2011-08-14T21:28:06Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’m disappointed, but not surprised, to see Zelazny’s Amber series on the list. I love Zelazny, but the Amber books are far form his best work - much better if _Lord of Light_ were on that list. Totally agree, one of my favorite works. I ended up reading Amber because everyone said I had to, but I only found it to be OK. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/39 "2011-08-14T21:34:37Z")
If your favorite book/serie is not on the list, check the [finalists](http://www.npr.org/2011/08/07/138938145/science-fiction-and-fantasy-finalists), maybe it’s there. On the other hand, Thank Xenu for small favors, _Battlefield Earth_ didn’t make the cut for the final list (guess the clams weren’t able to stuff the ballot). ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676/40 "2011-08-14T21:38:17Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > _The Wheel of Time_, on the other hand… Just because you don’t like Padan Fain! Actually I agree with you about the list. When the WoT series is at its best it’s really good. It just drags on in to many spots for it to be among the greats. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nprs-top-100-sf-fantasy-list/592676.md?page=3)