What is Digg?339 Comments
- roadnottaken, on 02/29/2008, -3/+104A few good selections in here, for sure, but I've never heard of half or more of those books or even their authors. If you didn't have that leading "The," your post would be fine - I'd take those unfamiliar titles and authors as suggested reading. But with that leading "The" I must protest. I read hundreds of SF and fantasy books in junior high through college (not as many since, but some). No 2001? No Ringworld? You should definitely include Gibson, but his "Neuromancer" (ca. 1984) was the one that "altered the course of science fiction writing", not his later work. "The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel." How about Hitchhiker's? Fahrenheit 451? Blade Runner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Just change the title and get rid of "The" and we'll all take it as your personal favorites list. Thanks for some new suggestions, though. - dotlizard, on 02/29/2008, -6/+97no Stranger in a Strange Land? hmmph.
- aaaleman, on 02/29/2008, -3/+77These are all great recommendations. There will always be complaints about why *this one* and not *that one,* but that's typical. Better to think of these as 20 quality sci-fi reads and not the only, or top, sci-fi reads.
There will always be glaring omissions. Let's add 20 more to the list of sci-fi books that can shake and illuminate your worldview... shall we (in no particular order): 1984, Cat's Cradle, Foundation, Ender's Game, Snow Crash, Neuromancer, Dune, The Handmaid's Tale, Stranger in a Strange Land, Never Let Me Go, Brave New World, The Years of Rice and Salt, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, Foucault's Pendulum, Ringworld, The Road, A Clockwork Orange, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Hyperion, and Childhood's End.
I could go on and on. Sci-fi can be truly great literature! - RadiantBeing, on 02/29/2008, -2/+70It's pretty sad that the list had room for Cory Doctorow's mediocre "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" but none for such works as:
1984 by George Orwell
Drowned World by JG Ballard
Dune by Frank Herbert
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
even Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, which introduced genetic engineering to hundreds of millions of people - wontstoptalking, on 02/29/2008, -7/+57What about (insert book here)????!!!
- JAVandiver, on 02/29/2008, -4/+48Nothing by Herbert at all?! I mean Dune is an obvious choice, but also the Eyes of Heisenberg, The Dosadi, The Jesus Incident, Lazarus Effect, and The Ascension Factor?
Also what about Sturgeon? The Golden Helix and More Than Human? - senorcool, on 02/29/2008, -4/+43Vonnegut??????
- italics, on 02/29/2008, -1/+38No Philip K Dick?!
- oceanographer, on 02/29/2008, -2/+35DUNE
- geneticlemon, on 02/29/2008, -2/+34You do realize what you've done ...? I'll never have a free weekend for the rest of my life. Thanks a lot, jackass.
- sourwood, on 02/29/2008, -3/+33Where the ***** is 1984?
- zephc, on 02/29/2008, -7/+35You're in the Sci-Fi section. You want Fantasy, which is over there.
- greensky, on 02/29/2008, -0/+27Dugg for all the comments about books left out of the list.
- divrekku, on 02/29/2008, -4/+30No Dune? pfft. Lame.
- twitchr, on 02/29/2008, -1/+23hmph. No Enders Game or Dune?
- SQLDigger, on 02/29/2008, -1/+22I don't think I can stand to have my life changed 20 times. If I read them in a different order, how will that affect the ultimate outcome?
- instantrobotwar, on 02/29/2008, -0/+19Dugg for my new reading list made from the comments.
- gdgi, on 02/29/2008, -2/+18no snow crash, no neuromancer, no enders game. worst list EVAR
- W00DR0W, on 02/29/2008, -2/+18I agree, no Dune, It's officially a bad list.
- simg, on 02/29/2008, -3/+19Stranger in a strange land,
Dune
Brave New World
Enders Game
are all obvious classics.
Some of my other favourites:
Battlefield Earth and Invasion Earth (10 volumes) by L. Ron Hubbard
Worth reading Invasion Earth if you want to get an insight into the mind of the inventor of scientology.
The Amtrak Wars by Patrick Tilley
Armour by John Steakley - K0NY, on 02/29/2008, -0/+15What? No L. Ron Hubbard? Dianetics will change your life, man! (for the worse, of course)
- SineCurve, on 02/29/2008, -2/+17Definitely. Heinlein, no Frank Herbert, no Clarke. Meh.
- neognostic, on 02/29/2008, -2/+16I couldn't get to the comments fast enough, to leave out Heinlein's masterpiece is unacceptable. How many other Sci-Fi books have songs written about them? Leon Russell ftw -This book did change my life in many profound ways.
- aliengoods, on 02/29/2008, -5/+191984 isn't science fiction, since it's happening.
- cyclades, on 02/29/2008, -10/+24Buried for being the crappiest list I've ever read.
- victorycig, on 02/29/2008, -1/+15Exactly what I was thinking. That book really did change my life. I recommend it to all diggers.
- doctechnical, on 02/29/2008, -0/+13While I loved "The Andromeda Strain" (and most of the other Chchton I've read) I wouldn't call the book "life-changing". A ripping good read, yes.
- PleaseJustDie, on 02/29/2008, -2/+15I read that list just to see if Ender's Game was going to be on it. I'm sadly disappointed it wasn't, when I read that book there were so many spots where I just set it down and actually just had to think about what was going on and the whole scale of it for a few minutes.
And 1984 is still science fiction. We don't have thought police yet. We can still think it as long as we don't say it. - noseeme, on 02/29/2008, -0/+12Thank you to the author for not including Dianetics or anything by Hubbard. :)
- kakihara0513, on 02/29/2008, -1/+13I think Hyperion can be up there.
Ender's Game...? - Yage2006, on 02/29/2008, -0/+12Also surprised not one Philip K Dick novel, If you want a book that will change your outlook on life you have to try to get through VALIS by P K D.
- fantasticFlan, on 02/29/2008, -0/+11Like Frankenstein, The Time Machine, and I Robot are less obvious choices than Dune
- twinklyJesus, on 02/29/2008, -1/+12Not only Stranger in a Strange Land, but Farenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, 1984, ??? What gives?
- redlantern64, on 02/29/2008, -2/+13Buried as inaccurate until they add at least ONE Heinlein book to their list, and yes, preferably Stranger in a Strange Land.
- cyranthus, on 02/29/2008, -0/+10im gonna dig this for the Lovecraft story... but SHAME on you for not including 1984 (changed my life!) and Fahrenheit 451! Shame... shame shame!
- TnTBass, on 02/29/2008, -0/+10Its not on the list as fiction anymore. It has now been taken as truth.
- Ramble, on 02/29/2008, -1/+10No Neuromancer? No 1984 or Brave New World? Maybe not strict sci-fi but damn near close enough.
- Enasni1212, on 02/29/2008, -0/+9Simple, stop reading.
- thespudmall, on 02/29/2008, -4/+13No andromedia strain?
- jezsik, on 02/29/2008, -0/+9Hmm, I found it a bit contrived. I prefer his earlier stuff even it is dated by todays' standards.
- dracken, on 02/29/2008, -2/+11A list without the foundation series ? Bah.
- cheezus, on 02/29/2008, -1/+9I really can't imagine this list existing, particularly TWENTY long, without including Stranger. WTF?
- JAVandiver, on 02/29/2008, -0/+8More Dick: The Man In The High Castle and The Divine Invasion.
I entirely agree with Gibson's Neuromancer series being superior, but at least the author of this list did not include Difference Engine over it. - damndj, on 02/29/2008, -0/+8Snow Crash?
- santiago1, on 02/29/2008, -0/+8Anything by Harlan Ellison!
- JoshuaLowe, on 02/29/2008, -1/+9How is Dune not on that list? Dune (and Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune, and God Emperor of Dune) practically reads like a summary of current events.
- JoshuaLowe, on 02/29/2008, -7/+14Also, no Starship Troopers?
- lukifer, on 02/29/2008, -1/+8The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. (Don't see the fnords.)
Oh, and The Forever War, by Joe Haldemann. - PunkRockRalph, on 02/29/2008, -1/+8a scanner darkly anyone?
- inactive, on 02/29/2008, -0/+7Hyperion didn't change my life, but it did make me alter my plans for a few weeks... awesome series of books.
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