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The top 10 most iconic sci-fi characters all time.
All classic sci-fi, I however, disagree on the order. HGTTG belongs last.
I wonder how many responders had read all ten books. I have. I agree strongly with all being in the top ten. The fact Heinlein has three in the mix is not surprising. Moon is my personal #1. In the early sixties I and a group of teens took the Santa Fe to Chicago for the Hugo Awards and met with Robert Heinlein and the great Isaac Asimov. The fondest memory of my youth. Thanks for the list.
R.A.H. should certainly be on the list, Adams, not so much. I would put War of the Worlds in instead.
I did not like Stranger in a Strange Land but agree with the rest. I’d say Revelation Space deserves the place instead.
My list would have to include the Forever War
Mine too
Oh God yes.The Forever War set the standard for Military Sci Fi. Old Mans War is homage to that book.
Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut. Hands down the best.
There’s some interesting choices there…so many great books missing at the expense of some mediocre Heinlein novels. Where is The Day of the Triffids? The Time Machine? Neuromancer? Cryptonomicon? Nothing by Philip K Dick? Is 1984 really science fiction? Surely it’s more social and political commentary? Foundation may have been great in it’s day but it doesn’t stand up to the test of time, although I accept it is incredibly influential. What criteria were used in the voting?
Where is Solaris?!
Starship Troopers was my first science fiction novel and remains my favorite. Most of the rest of the list I read immediately after ST and while I have reread Dune twice more over the years, I am a trooper at 💓
Such choices are necessarily subjective but I wonder at their being no LeGuin on the list. Poul Anderson is also missing, as is Chip Delaney. Still, I can’t decide on any to eliminate except the Asimov.
I like them all but hhgttg as great. Not seeing Ursula Leguinn left hand of darkness or I robot or Red green and Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson or Eon by Greg Bear
Then of course, there’s Heinlein’s Door into Summer. A ‘re-readble’. I’d have a hard job picking my best ever, but that would definitely rate right up there.
The only book I haven’t read is the hitchhikers guide and from the movie I’ve seen I have no intention of reading the book. All the others are incredible, each in a different way and as far as I’m concerned the order is immaterial all 9
books stand number one.
Hey Ken. Do not be put off reading Hitchhikers by a poor film that did nothing to show the wit of Adams. Its nothing like any other sci-fi you will have read – a delight on every page.
I tried to read the book several times but I just can’t get interested in it. Much like “Ender’s Game” it is a recognized as among the top in the genre but not for me.
Never mind the movie. Never mind the books. Find the original radio series that started it all – 12 half hour episodes that will keep you mightily entertained.
Also missing: Murray Leinster; Tom Godwin (Mother of Invention); Brian Stableford (The Fenris Device); James Blish (many, including Cities in Flight and of course the Star Trek novelisations); and I’d have suggested Anderson’s _The Makeshift Rocket_ as my personal favourite.
As far as Heinlein’s novels go, I think _… And He Built a Crooked House_ was his best.
And I’d have gone with _The Ship Who Sang_ as McCaffrey’s best SF, but YMMV.
Er, second best. _The Moon …_ was his best.
Cities in Flight is iconic and Mayor John Amalfi an enduring character
Definitely needs H G Wells.
A list like this is always going to divide. I’d rather see a list of 250(arbitrary number) books and the number of votes each received.
Having said that, i disagree with almost every book on this list.
Iain M Banks, Samuel Delany, Theodore Sturgeon, Joe Haldeman, John Scalzi, Alistair Reynolds, Peter F Hamilton, Octavia Butler, Connie Willis,
Neal Stephenson, William Gibson, Greg Bear, Stanislaw Lem, Kurt Vonnegut, PKD, Charles Stross…
What happened, did people stop buying books in 1990?
Oh – I’m glad someone else thought that! Butler, Stephenson and Gibson got me into sci fi and some of these are very difficult to get into!
No Edgar Rice Burroughs? A Princess of Mars was a great book that started a great series.
As I approach the decrepit age of 70 I look back to the “journeys” taken in my imagination. ERB I began reading before my teens. I distinctly remember THe CHESMEN of MARS as the FIRST Adult book I ever read.
One book I think could have been on some list, somewhere, was Pat Franks “Alas, Babylon”…….
As I look at the world today i fear something has been lost and I doubt that mankind will find again that spark that was kindled over a century ago. When Moon Landings became repetitive and non exciting we should have noticed.
I’m old fashioned and think the old NPR poll got it right because as much as I love Heinlein there’s other more deserving books.
https://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/139085843/your-picks-top-100-science-fiction-fantasy-books
7. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
I do not count DRAGONS as Science Fiction. It is a shame that some people do.
I’ve read each and everyone of these. Several more than twice. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of my all-time favourites. Andre Norton. Arthur C. Clarke and Phillip Dick could all mhave been contenders as well.
I’ve read each and everyone of these. Several more than twice. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is one of my all-time favourites. Andre Norton. Arthur C. Clarke and Phillip Dick could all have been contenders as well.
I read all the Heinlein books and loved them. I read all of the “Top Ten” listed. Personally, I think Tunnel In The Sky should have been in the ten but I did love Herbert’s Dune very much. Starship Troopers was great as well, and I was quite shocked when the movie came out and it had such graphic violence. I took my young children and was quite shocked.
1984 is many things, but science fiction it is not. Plus, Also, Too, Besides; I have read all these and Foundation, IMO, is hardly the best. To be honest, I could name a few books that should be on this list, because they are better. Again, my opinion. Still, 1984 does not belong.
These all seem books that men of a certain age might love – or am I wrong? I’ve read classics like the time machine, the day of the triffids, 1984 etc but have really struggled to get through some of these which seem very dated. The only one I’ve read being Enders Game. I’d love to know what the criteria were and why they are almost all from the same time period. Should I really try to read these again?
No mention of Clifford Simak and Way Station
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Awesome,thanks for this valuable information
This list really needs an update, or alot of spaces added to it.
No offense gang, but if you put Starship Troopers on the list as a scifi favorite, you should definitely be dropping John Steakley’s “Armor” at least one space above it. Except for a lull in the middle, it’s a really awesome read. It’s… “Starship Troopers” with combat and a protagonist with severe PTSD issues. Fellow vets should appreciate this one. Trust me.