The Top 100 Must-read Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of All Time Poll.

Roxxsmom

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Not sure if it's still open, or if it's being added to at this point.

  • author's name: Connie Willis the Doomsday Book
  • copyright date: 1992
  • genre (either Science Fiction or Fantasy): Science fiction
  • ONE sentence describing why this book belongs in the list:
Because I think it is a really poignant and unusual approach to writing about time travel, and I think the voice, writing and characterization were amazing.
 
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oakbark

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Thanks for collecting the toplist! It was interesting to see which works are popular with the AW members in this day.

If the collection in the toplist isn't enough for you allow me to also recommend

Dying Earth Series by Jack Vance
Consider Phlebas by Iain M Banks
The Gap Series by Stephen Donaldson
Chung Kuo Series by David Wingrove
 

Wilde_at_heart

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I'd recommend We by Yevgeny Zamyatin for anyone interested in dystopian fiction. It's essentially a pre-cursor to both 1984 and Brave New World.
 

Rick Archer

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My two favorites

Stephen King's The Dark Tower series (waited a long time for that to get completed)
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. It was something that was so realistically woven into the fabric of everyday life it stands out.
 

PaulLev

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Isaac Asimov's original Foundation trilogy (1951-1953, science fiction. The plot is second to none.
 

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Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro published 2005, dystopian science fiction--- fascinating account from the point of view of clones who are being raised to be harvested for their organs, great for the profound and poignant depths of humanity that are reached by the author
 

JRTroughton

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If this is still a thing, I'd go for...

The City & The City
by China Mieville.

Published in 2009.
Genre: Science Fiction
Why this book is important: It is an outstanding introduction to the genre. Intelligently written and genre breaking, it's a must for fans of both sci-fi and crime novels.
 

gingerwoman

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Douglas Adams, The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Margaret Atwood, Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood, The Year of the Flood

Margaret Atwood Maddaddam
Margaret Atwood The Handmaid's Tale
L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Michael Crichton, Jurassic Park
Homer, The Odyssey
Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time
C. S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis The Magician's Nephew
George Orwell, Animal Farm
J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus
Bram Stoker, Dracula
Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels
Virginia Woolf, Orlando
Angela Carter The Bloody Chamber
Mercedes Lackey Gwenhwyfar
Stephen King Hearts in Atlantis
Stephen King Insomnia
Marion Bradley's The Mists of Avalon\
Dahl Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Tolkien The Hobbit
Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol
Virgil The Aeneid
(Only including stuff I've actually read.)
 
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Agyar by Steven Brust.

Published in 2004.
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Why this book is important: Breathtakingly beautiful and well written. Hard to put in a specific genre, definitely defies every trope in the books.
 

Jack Oskar Larm

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Late to the show, as usual. I nominate that this 'All Time Poll' be fluid enough for ongoing recommendations ... until the end of time!

I haven't added any further information to the choices in my list, except for those I hadn't seen on a previous list.

Science Fiction
Asimov's Foundation Trilogy (1951 - 53)
Herbert's Dune (1965)
Farmer's To Your Scattered Bodies Go (1971)
Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (1953)
Huxley's Brave New World (1931)

Fantasy
Tolkien's LOTR (1954)
Orwell's Animal Farm (1945)
"A superbly realised parable of the struggles of class, greed and power"
Author/s unknown's Holy Bible (300-600 AD?)
"An imaginative epic tale spanning between the creation and destruction of the world"
 

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William Shakespeare, The Tempest 1590s
Peter Beagle, The Last Unicorn 1968
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale
Anne Mccaffrey, Dragonsong
Mercedes Lackey, Valdemar series
Emma Bull, War for the Oaks
Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
 

Roxxsmom

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Here are some more for me:

Michael Moorcock's Elric Saga
Why? It's just stayed with me over the years.

Fritz Leiber's Fafherd and Gray Mouser books
Why? Classic S&S and darkly funny.

Andre Norton's Witch World Series
Why? Beautiful, well-drawn world.

Ursula K Le Guin's Wizard of Earthsea Trilogy
Why? Amazing world building and storytelling.

Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy
Why? Beautifully written and compelling take on the Arthur legends.

Anne McCaffrey's Dragonflight
Why? Because I just love those dragons.

George RR Martin's ASoIaF series
Why? I think it's responsible for the current fondness for gritty, intense fantasy epics.

Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice etc)
Why? The story, world and characters have grabbed me and not let me go.

Lois McMaster Bujold's Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls
Why? Wonderful writing, world and characters.

Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series (Luck in the Shadows etc.)
Why? These often get overlooked, but they've got great characters and are a lot of fun.

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale
Why? Haunting and beautifully written and proof that you don't need plagues of zombies to have a grim, scary dystopia.
 
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lrose20

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author's name: Marie Brennan
copyright date: 2014
genre (either Science Fiction or Fantasy): Fantasy
ONE sentence describing why this book belongs in the list:
While the first novel set the scene, this sequel delves into an exciting victorian-esque society beginning to understand dragons, as well as the world around them.
 

greendragon

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Just in case it gets updated some day:

Anne McCaffrey, Dragonriders of Pern Series, 1968, scifi. Because dragons are COOL - and because she inspired my lifelong love of science fiction and fantasy with these books.

Neil Gaiman, American Gods, 2001. fantasy. Fantastic world building and mythology.

Robin Hobb, Farseer books, 1995, fantasy. Great worldbuilding, characters with fascinating lives.

Margaret Atwood, A Handmaid's Tale. 1985. dystopian fiction. Because 30 years since I've read this, it still occasionally gives me disturbing dreams.

Mercedes Lackey, Valdemar series, fantasy, worldbuilding, fantastic characters, and complex politics.

Robert Heinlein, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, 1966, scifi. Incredible characters, complex interactions, great vision of current situations.

JRR Tolkien, LOTR, of course.

GRR Martin, Game of Thrones series. fantasy - complex politics, groundbreaking in it's grittiness, not afraid to kill off EVERYONE.

Brave New World, Aldous Huxley, 1932. dystopian fiction. Another that gives me disturbing dreams at night, 35 years after reading it the first time.

Marion Zimmer Bradley, Mists of Avalon, 1982, historical fantasy. Epic, from the female and pagan POV rather than the normal male/Christian POV.

Diana Gabaldon, Outlander, 1991, historical fantasy. Epic, interstitial, grand adventure with very real characters.

Piers Anthony, Incarnations of Immortality series, 1983, urban fantasy. Great concept of humans taking on immortal jobs. Great world-building.
 

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The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle, published 1974, Science Fiction.

A brilliant take on humanities first contact, in which humans are the more developed culture - but only on the surface.
 

Vladimir Grimmasi

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China Miéville,Perdido Street Station, 2000, science fiction. One of the most imaginative and detailed science fiction novels I've read recently.
 

Tantalus

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  • Songs of Seraphina
  • Jude Houghton
  • 2015
  • Fantasy
  • "Some battles bleed so much, and for so long, that the earth never truly forgets their dead. Some battles are born of oppression, and some of greed, and some simply because it was written in the stars." Blew me away...
 

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Hunter of Worlds by C. J. Cherryh.

Copyright in 1977.
Genre: Science Fiction
Why this book is important: It is the best exploration of alien concepts and thought processes.
 

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Song of Ice and Fire - George RR Martin

The Scar - China Mieville

Little, Big - John Crowley

Hyperion - Dan Simmons

The Wind-Up Girl - Paolo Bacigalupi

Revelation Space - Alistair Reynolds (Triumvir Volyova for the win)

Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny

The Player of Games - Iain M. Banks

The Prince of Nothing - R. Scott Bakker

Under Heaven - Guy Gavriel Kay

Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell

Snow Crash - Neil Stephenson

The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
 

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Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat
author's name: Harry Harrison
copyright date: 1987
genre (either Science Fiction or Fantasy): Science fiction

Doesn't get more fun than watching a philosophical bank robber fight against the futuristic robocops as he tries to pull off ever more challenging heists and finds himself up against the legendary "Special Corps" that target the most notorious criminals in the League's planetary systems.
 

JC4085

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Your list looks like an inventory of my bookshelf in high school... that would have been 1982 - 86 btw. Well, except for the George RR Martin. Didn't know him until the IT series. I would add The Left Hand of Darkness to your list as well.
 

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Blindsight by Peter Watts, 2006 Science Fiction

A brilliant hard-scientific psychological evaluation of how the different species would interact in a First Contact: the Humans and the Vampires from Earth opposite the alien Scramblers.
 

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Blindsight by Peter Watts, 2006 Science Fiction

A brilliant hard-scientific psychological evaluation of how the different species would interact in a First Contact: the Humans and the Vampires from Earth opposite the alien Scramblers.

Watts has made Blindsight and some other novels available for download here.