Tim’s Favorite Fantasy and SF

A while back an on-line correspondent asked me for my top ten science fiction and fantasy books. I couldn’t whittle it down, so instead I came up with this list of personal "must-reads" -- books that, for me, cross the line from pleasure to necessity. I’ve deliberately ignored historical importance, critical consensus, etc. when compiling this list; instead, it reflects only my own taste.

In determining what is SF and fantasy, I’ve chosen to be as inclusive as reasonably possible. Someday I may annotate these, or at least link to someone’s description, but for now, here’s the bare list.

Richard Adams: Watership Down

Brian Aldiss: Hothouse; Barefoot in the Head; The Malacia Tapestry

Robert Aickman: The Wine-Dark Sea*; Cold Hand In Mine*; Painted Devils*

Poul Anderson: The Broken Sword

J.G. Ballard: The Unlimited Dream Company; Crash; High-Rise; The Terminal Beach*; Best Short Stories of...*

Iain M. Banks: Use of Weapons; The Wasp Factory

Peter Beagle: The Last Unicorn; The Folk of the Air

John Bellairs: The Face in the Frost

James P. Blaylock: The Digging Leviathan

James Branch Cabell: Jurgen; Figures of Earth

John Clute: Appleseed

John Collier: Fancies and Goodnights*

John Crowley: Little, Big; Engine Summer

Samuel R. Delany: Dhalgren; Triton (aka Trouble On Triton); Driftglass*; Tales of Neveryon*

Philip K. Dick: Martian Time-Slip; A Scanner Darkly; Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Thomas M. Disch: 334; Camp Concentration; On Wings of Song; Getting Into Death*; Fun With Your New Head*; The Man Who Had No Idea*; The Businessman

E.R. Eddison: The Worm Ouroboros

Carol Emshwiller: The Start of the End of It All*

John Fowles: The Magus; Mantissa

Alan Garner: The Owl Service; Red Shift

Felix Gotschalk: Growing Up In Tier 3000

Alasdair Gray: Lanark

Richard Grant: Views From the Oldest House

Barry Hughart: Bridge of Birds

Langdon Jones: The Eye of the Lens*

Graham Joyce: The Tooth Fairy

Ellen Kushner: Swordspoint

Ursula K. LeGuin: The Left Hand of Darkness; The Dispossessed; The Wind’s Twelve Quarters*; the Earthsea trilogy

Fritz Leiber: Fafhrd and Grey Mouser series; Our Lady Of Darkness; The Big Time

Rhoda Lerman: The Book of the Night

Jeremy Leven: Satan (His Psychotherapy and Cure)

Kelly Link: Stranger Things Happen*, Magic For Beginners*

Richard Lupoff: Space War Blues

Barry Malzberg: Galaxies; Beyond Apollo; Herovit’s World

A. Merritt: Dwellers in the Mirage

China Mieville: Perdido Street Station

Michael Moorcock: Mother London

C.L. Moore: Jirel of Joiry*

Ward Moore: Bring the Jubilee

James Morrow: Only Begotten Daughter

John Myers Myers: Silverlock

Paul Park: Soldiers of Paradise

Mervyn Peake: Gormenghast trilogy; Boy In Darkness

Pohl/Kornbluth: The Space Merchants

Richard Powers: The Gold Bug Variations; Galatea 2.2

Tim Powers: The Anubis Gates; Last Call

Fletcher Pratt: The Well of the Unicorn; The Blue Star

Christopher Priest: Inverted World; The Prestige

Philip Pullman: His Dark Materials

Joanna Russ: And Chaos Died; The Female Man; The Adventures of Alyx*

Geoff Ryman: The Warrior Who Carried Life; The Unconquered Country; The Child Garden

Darrell Schweizer: The Shattered Goddess

Robert Silverberg: Dying Inside; The Book of Skulls

John Sladek: Mechasm; Roderick

Cordwainer Smith: Norstrilia; Best Stories of*

Olaf Stapledon: Star Maker; Last and First Men, Sirius, Odd John

Elizabeth Marshall Thomas: Reindeer Moon

James Tiptree: Star Songs of an Old Primate*; Out of the Everywhere*

J.R.R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings; The Silmarillion; The Hobbit; "Smith of Wootton Major"

Jack Vance: The Eyes of the Overworld; The Dying Earth

T.H. White: The Once and Future King

Gene Wolfe: The Fifth Head of Cerberus; The Book of the New Sun; The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories*; There Are Doors; Peace

*short story collection