# The Classics of Science Fiction (poll) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classics-of-science-fiction-poll/651831 "2013-03-02T16:15:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classics-of-science-fiction-poll/651831/41 "2013-03-04T22:52:32Z")
Dune sucked.:mad: ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classics-of-science-fiction-poll/651831/42 "2013-03-04T23:06:22Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > I have read 1984 but I couldn’t bring myself to vote for it because it does’t fall into the category of science fiction, at least to me. Yeah, that’s how I felt too. I also didn’t vote for “A Clockwork Orange”, or “Flowers for Algernon”, or “Frankenstein” either for the same reasons. I can see how some people might consider them SF, but for me they just don’t fall into that category. (“Frankenstein” especially, as I first read it in an anthology titled “Three Gothic Novels”.) > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I am surprise how many people like\* Lord of Light \*and _A Canticle for Lebowitz_. I read these two books (along with "The Stars My Destination, which was being discussed in another Cafe Society thread) several months ago, as I’m trying to work my way through this list: > **[SF Masterworks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks)** > > SF Masterworks is a series of science fiction novel reprints published by UK-based company Orion Publishing Group, a subsidiary of Hachette UK. The series is intended for the United Kingdom and Australian markets, but many editions are distributed to the United States and Canada by Hachette Book Group. As of June 2022\[update\], there are 188 unique titles in the series, 186 of which have been printed in the relaunched series. Approximately 230 volumes, including hardcover and revised editions, ... This was my second time to read “A Canticle for Lebowitz”. I first read it ages ago when I was in high school. I think I enjoyed it more this second time through. “Lord of Light” was fantastic, I thought. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2013, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classics-of-science-fiction-poll/651831/43 "2013-03-04T23:17:40Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > “Lord of Light” was fantastic, I thought. An Indian guy I knew when I worked at the library read my copy, and wanted to mail it to a friend or relative in India, but I didn’t want to risk not getting it back. I could imagine a Hindi guy screaming and jumping up and down on it. 🙂 Zelazney’s _Creatures of Light and Darkness_ is a similar book with Egyptian mythology, but not as good in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classics-of-science-fiction-poll/651831/44 "2013-03-05T00:10:38Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Zelazney’s _Creatures of Light and Darkness_ is a similar book with Egyptian mythology, but not as good in my opinion. I didn’t know about that. Thanks for the recommendation. (I still have about fifty more books from the SF Masterworks list to read though!) By the way, Jack Kirby did some preliminary sketches for a never-realized “Lord of Light” film. Pretty neat stuff: [http://www.lordoflight.com/art.html](http://www.lordoflight.com/art.html) ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classics-of-science-fiction-poll/651831/45 "2013-03-05T01:52:16Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I suppose that, for me, each book falls into one of five categories: > [ol] > [li]Books that are truly among my favorites, that I really enjoyed or appreciated[/li][li]Books that I’ve read and liked, and though they wouldn’t make my personal Top Whatever, I could see why they’re considered classics[/li][li]Books that I read and thought they were somewhere from “just okay” to “bad” (though I realize I may be missing what others see in them)[/li][li]Books I read long enough ago, and remember little enough about, that I can’t reliably rate them for quality (plus if I read them again today I might have a different opinion)[/li][li]Books I haven’t read[/li][/ol] > I’m not sure whether to vote only for books in category 1, or also for those in category 2. I voted for three. Cat 1: _The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress_. Cat 2:\* Rendezvous with Rama\*, _A Princess of Mars_. I’ve read a total of 18 1/2 of these (the half being the _Foundation_ trilogy; I lost interest around the middle of the second book). I liked _The Martian Chronicles_ and _Fahrenheit 451_ when I read them back around 5th grade, but not when I reread them as an adult; didn’t like _The Man in the High Castle_ at all, and _Stranger in a Strange Land_ is one of the two Heinleins I never finished (tried reading it twice in high school). Oh - I still have the copy of _Dune_ I bought in '78 or '79, but I still haven’t read it… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-classics-of-science-fiction-poll/651831.md?page=2)