Greatest SF novel of all time? And why?

POSTED BY: FREESOUP
UPDATED: Monday, August 10, 2026 16:37
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CAPTBAGGYTROUSERS

Wednesday, October 8, 2003 6:46 PM

Greatest? Yikes. My favorite might well be any of these three:

Snowcrash, The Diamond Age (both by Neal Stephenson)

or

Dune by Frank Herbert (already mentioned I see).

And no matter how much they insist it isn't Frankenstein is a science fiction novel, sorry. What a bunch of jerks.

As an aside, I love how Frankenstein and Dracula (which is straight up horror, no sci-fi there) bookend the 19th Century.

History repeats the old conceits

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HINERMAD

Wednesday, October 8, 2003 7:35 PM

Greatest SF novel? There's only ONE? (Grin)

Seriously, I can't name just one, but I have a short list:

Starship Troopers (as mentioned before) - helped me understand why America's so screwed up. I also like the idea of powered armor.

War of the Worlds - the science was secondary to just trying to save our own butts.

Neuromancer (also mentioned before) - very forward-looking.

I also have some favorites - almost guilty pleasures - that would never be considered great, but I like them anyway: the Lensman and Skylark series (serieses?) by E.E. "Doc" Smith, and most of Andre Norton's SF and fantasy books.

KETHRYVERIS

Wednesday, October 8, 2003 7:44 PM

OK, I had to put my two cents worth in. I'm a big Heinlein fan. The reason I'm where I'm at today is "The Menace from Earth". I wanted to be Holly Jones, spaceship designer. I got close. However, I do agree with whoever said above that he's a bit too preachy with the politics and sex and free love stuff. I liked it when I first read it but when I look back now I don't have much patience for it.

Anyone for "The Foundation" series by Asimov? I've reread them a lot and still enjoy them.

I also was surprised to like "Neuromancer" by William Gibson.

Another longtime favorite is "Stardance" by Spider Robinson.

I could go on and on and on and . . .

Kethryveris

P.S. If you recognize my screen name you know what my favorite fantasy (sword and sorceress) stories are.

IAMJACKSUSERNAME

Wednesday, October 8, 2003 8:09 PM

My personal favourites are Douglas Adams' The hitch hiker's guide to the galaxy (funny funny, and I like the physics), all 4 of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars books (lìngrén jingyì, and I felt for Clayborne), and Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's The mote in God's eye (for the ideas).

But then, what do I know: I didn't like the much praised Ursula le Guin's novels, nor Gibson's Neuromancer. OT: I also couldn't get into Catcher in the rye.
--
I am Jack's username
"Were there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose?" - Mal

DRAKON

Wednesday, October 8, 2003 10:13 PM

Oh Man! How could I forget the classics. Verne, Wells, H.P. Lovecraft (okay maybe not), Edgar Rice Burroughs.

I was raised on Asimove, Heinlein, Bradbury and Clarke. I hate to say it, but I don't know many of these new writers ya'll talking about.

God I feel ancient. (sigh)

"Wash, where is my damn spaceship?"

VETERAN

Wednesday, October 8, 2003 11:12 PM

Talonpest,

I'd wouldn't listen to those gorrmam overliterate snobs, they're probably well on their way to becoming Fox programing executives by now. Rutgers offered Science Fiction as a course when I was in undergrad and Frankenstein was required reading.

MANIACNUMBERONE

Wednesday, October 8, 2003 11:13 PM

I'm glad you mentioned Bradbury. I had forgotten all about "The Veldt." Ray is the man.

CCT

Thursday, October 9, 2003 12:22 AM

It's funny, I thought about trying to start a very similar discussion on SlashDot- I had to move my bookshelf a while back, and piled my books up by author, and was surprised when I looked at it- it was like a bar chart graph from a survey, in this case of me and my reading habits. I had a nearly two foot tall pile of Heinlein, followed by over a foot of Walter Jon Williams, then a little less Michael Crichton, then Neal Stephenson and William Gibson. Obviously quantity /= quality, but I was rather surprised and interested by the result of my "bought, and held onto" poll. For many of us our "favorite author" might not have written our "favorite book".

Other observations were "most beaten from use", from re-reading and lending out. The winner in that category wasn't sci-fi- "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" won that one.

A lot of people have commented on Heinleins writing style- I think it's important to remember when these books were written, and the insecurities, fears, and ambitions of that time. His books don't really fit in todays world- they are rooted in the 50's and 60's. When we had the bomb, and were RIGHT, damn it! :)

I think Stephensons "Snow Crash" is a good one, as well as "Cryptonomicon" (which noone seems to have mentioned).

I guess my favorite is "Hardwired" by Walter Jon Williams. I'm afraid I'd have to concede that there's no way everyone would agree on that (or any book, for that matter), but it grabbed me. Actually, I like his writing style, his protagonists are often very flawed, so much so that you find yourself a little troubled by it. For example, in "Days of Atonement" the hero is a hard-ass small town cop, rather corrupt, who ends the story hunting down the "bad guy" while chanting "arm and sword of the lord". Right, but for the wrong reasons... do you support him or not?

Now, not only do I want to re-read about a dozen books I own, I've collected a bunch of suggestions for new books! Good thing winter is coming!

cct

BLACKSTAR

Thursday, October 9, 2003 3:12 AM

Oh, boy, tough subject. Umm, here go my top three.
1) Midshipman's Hope, by David Feintuch. This is the first of seven books about the life of one of the most realistic characters I've ever read about. I'd recommend this book to anyone, even those who aren't sci-fi fans.
2) The Night's Dawn Trilogy, by Peter F. Hamilton.
This is one of the most expansive universes I've read in sci-fi, one that I feel rivals Dune in politics, uniqueness, and depth, if not as creative. Beware, though, that this is no easy read. Even though it is a trilogy, all three parts of the trilogy are 2 novels, meaning 6 in total. There are even deeper meanings in the story, if you need that kind of thing....
3) Icarus Hunt, by Timothy Zahn. In contrast to the last two, this is a stand alone novel, that's just plain fun. It's the kind of novel you can read without having to think of the deeper meaning behind the storyline.

Honorable mention includes Starship Troopers, as mentioned above, the Honor Harrington books, as mentioned above, the Herris Serrano/Esmay Suiza series by Elizabeth Moon, and Warchild by Karen Lowachee. Oh, and the Star of the Guardians/Mag Force 7 books by Margaret Weis.
All of the above are excellent reads, I recommend them all. Anyway, thus ends my sci-fi mini rant.
-Blackstar, Can Do.

Oh, my God! Who's flying this thing? Oh, right, that would be me...

EMBASSY

Thursday, October 9, 2003 3:48 AM

There are a large number of ways to attack the "Best SF Novel" question, as you browncoats upthread have offered. And one can certainly pick nits of all sorts with any of the ones mentioned here. Rather than annoying everyone by saying something like "Snow Crash is full of blantantly expository bits where there should be storytelling," or "Starship Troopers never addresses its own didactic lessons," I'll throw in a few books I've liked, sentimental favourites really, for discussion and to draw your ridicule.

1: The Door Into Summer by Robert Heinlein. It's a romance, basically, and Embassy is a sucker for a good romance. Our hero is shanghaid by a wicked woman and his business partner into 30 years of cold sleep, in which future he finds a place for himself and a way back to the past he left. Also contains the best feline character ever.

2: Little Fuzzy by H. Beam Piper. Piper's writing career was tragically cut short by his own hand around the time I was born in the early 1960s, but Little Fuzzy stands out as his classic take on the question "What is a person?". Piper's 'verse is a fun place, with plenty going on (one of his books has a back story remarkably similar to Firefly's). In Little Fuzzy, the Chartered Zarathustra Company owns a Class IV uninhabited planet, lock, stock, and barrel, until a fairly intelligent creature walks out of the forest and calls the company's charter into some legal doubt.

3: Mother of Storms by John Barnes. This is a huge book, with a lot of fascinating ideas running around. There is a really large storm, virtual reality run amok, a love story, and a crime tale.

4. Household Gods by Judith Tarr and Harry Turtledove. This is a rare time travel tale where the 20th century protagonist goes back to Roman times and instead of improving the past, the past improves her.

5. Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold. The story of a man who conceals a weakness from those who need to know about it, lies about it, and is caught. The resultant disgrace significantly changes and matures the character. Origin of one of the saddest lines I have ever read: "The only thing you cannot give up for your heart's desire is your heart."

Okay, these are just some more or less randomly selected favourites of mine. Favourite novels outside the genre is a very different list, of course, but that's a conversation for another time.

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