I think I’ve read almost every book on that list, but, despite their being classic novels, I don’t feel compelled to re-read them. This includes the Ursula K. LeGuin offerings, and Childhood’s end (which I think is overrated)
Voted for those I read & liked or considered a powerful work even if I didn’t care for it. Otherwise, no vote.
The quintessential classics are both H.G. Wells’s The Time Machine and *War of the Worlds. *Although several of my favorites are up there (and I picked them) and some not, the aforementioned two along with Flowers for Algernon, Rendezvous With Rama and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress are closest to my nerd-shaped heart.
Kind of a weird list, if you ask me. Looks like it’s attempting to rank novel-length works (although, isn’t Flowers for Algernon more of a novella), yet there are some anthologies listed among them. ??
Nice to see Hyperion make the cut, though.
I voted for ones I’ve read and thought I might enjoy reading again someday.
I know Atwood has offended science fiction fans in the past, wonder if that’s why The Handmaid’s Tale didn’t make the list. Probably not. Vonnegut offended fans, too.
Good list, though naturally I have some quibbles with it. Red Mars is ranked way too low, and even though I enjoyed the Child Cycle, Dorsai was a pretty middling book.
From that list, my favorite’s probably Rama. That book introduced me to sf.
I voted for all the ones I like. Surprised so few rate Hal Clement, he always seemed the most 'sciency" of SF authors to me. I must admit, even though Mission of Gravity is the better-known work, I prefer Clement’s Close to Critical.
I’m not surprised at the low rating the (few) women on the list get. I don’t like that that’s the case, but I’m not surprised.
Way too much stuff on the list that is total drivel, IMO. Too many books on it that are “arty, therefore classics.” The type of stuff that critics want on the list because it makes them feel special but that nobody ever reads in real life.
<grump> I didn’t realize I could vote for more than one until I had already voted. I voted for Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, but there were quite a few others I would have added if I had realized that I could. </grump>
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.
I was going to bitch loudly about where Jules Verne went, and then I saw at the first link that he’s 52nd on the list, right after Neuromancer. Still, if the list is of the Classics of Science Fiction, how is 20,000 Leagues not in the top 50?
Some omissions off the top of my head. Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash. Only one Larry Niven? Really? No The Mote in God’s Eye or Lucifer’s Hammer? Fantastic Voyage needs to be on there, if you’re going to list 5 different Asimovs. None of the Culture books? No 2001?
I am surprise how many people like* Lord of Light *and A Canticle for Lebowitz.
I picked a handful. Much of what makes them my favorite is the order I read them in and my age at the time, so it’s not a real good evaluation of them independently on their merits.
You can guess at least one I voted for, I bet :).
I just finished The Demolished Man this weekend. It was cool-but-weird; I realized at some point that all the science in the book was basically Freudian Psychology, the debunking of which made it an especially unusual book. Beautifully written, though.
Lord of Light is one of my all-time favorites :). But I like Zelazny in general, something about his style and choices of subject matter clicks for me. I tend to re-read most of his stuff, often multiple times. But then I like a number of authors that aren’t getting much love on that list, like Simak, Cherryh or Pohl.
A Canticle for Leibowitz I respect, but wouldn’t re-read.
Haven’t voted because I’m not sure how to vote. Favorites? Or worthy of being called “classics” even if I’m not a fan? A.E. van Vogt was once a big name and influential ( ‘fans are slans’ ), but I don’t care for most of his stuff. Ditto, sadly, with Asimov - I’ve read the Foundation books, but wouldn’t again. Yet Asimov clearly deserves his iconic status.
But I’m pleased to see Dune leading the pack. Both a favorite AND an inarguable classic.
*“A classic is something everybody wants to have read, but no one wants to read.” *–Mark Twain
That said, I’ve read 56 of the 193, 28 of the top 50 and each of the top ten so I have to disagree that nobody reads these books IRL. I think SF works (along with most genre fiction: mystery, adventure, westerns, etc.) are more utilitarian and less pretentious than traditional classics. We’re not exactly talking Uyslses here. If they get read and fans enjoy them, they made his list according to his methodology.
I probably shouldn’t have voted seeing as how Dune and 1984 are the only books from this list that I read. But I love them both tons so I voted for both.
Glad to see Dune in the lead. A phenomenal piece of literature.
Oh poop 
I just now noticed Flowers For Algernon on the list. That’s a personal favorite of mine, one of the only books I’ve read more than once.
It was a great short story that he added a bunch of useless fluff to and turned it into a much weaker novel.
Until recently, I would re-read Dune and the Foundation stories once a year.
I picked up Dune last year from the library, thinking I’d enjoy re-reading it but put it down quickly enough due primarily to the style. I remember not finding the characters likable when I first read it, but not that the manner of the book was annoying. I quite liked the book in high school.