The Top 26 SF Books You’ve Never Read
As discussed and selected by our loyal SF Signal readers. Without further adieu, the list:
- Evening’s Empire by David Herter
- The Alacrity Fitzhugh and Hobart Floyt trilogy by Brian Daley
- The Book Of Ash by Mary Gentle
- Celestial Matters by Richard Garfinkle
- Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind (Manga version) by Hayao Miyazaki
- Wringland by Sally Spedding
- Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber
- Pawn’s Dream by Eric S Nylund
- The Worm Oroborous by E.R. Eddison
- The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson
- Voyage To Arcturus by David Lindsany
- Tetrasomy Two by Oscar Rossiter
- The Purple Book by Philip Jose Farmer
- Dinner At Deviant’s Palace by Tim Powers
- Eclipse by K.A. Bedford
- Evogiua by Steve Jordan
- Gradisil by Adam Roberts
- Neverness by David Zindell
- Vurt by Jeff Noon
- Noir by K.W. Jeter
- The Planet Strappers by Raymond Z. Gallun
- Enemy Stars by Poul Anderson
- The Legion Of Space by Jack Williamson
- Dead Heat by Del Stone Jr.
- The Heaven Makers by Frank Herbert
- E.L.V. by Nick Nielsen
I’ve actually read a couple of these, aside from the ones I started the original post with. Dinner At Deviant’s Palace, while a decent book, isn’t up to par with Powers’ later works. However, it still contains his signature style of unusual fantastical elements. I’d recommend it. As for Neverness, I remember reading it and thinking it was really slow. As for Dead Heat, read our review! And yes, it was post #4 on our site. So, lots of good stuff here. Space opera, adventure, mystery, time travel and, of course, zombies. This might be a good list for someone to work through and maybe even review. I bet John has most of these books squirreled away somewhere in a box in his house…
Related posts:
- SF Signal Reader Challenge #3 – SF Books You Haven’t Read
- What Were the First Books You Read by These Authors?
- POLL RESULTS: SF Books Read in the The Top 100
- POLL RESULTS: Fantasy Books Read in the Top 100
- Does a Book’s Popularity Entice You to Read it?
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I’ve just cracked open Neverness (ordered it from the library the day it was mentioned in the original post). A great idea for a post, this was, and should keep me reading at this tail end of summer.
i have been reading the night land very very slowly…so far it is hard to read…of course i felt the same way about lord of the rings so what the hell do i know.
There is actaully a short story written more recently in this same world as the the night land and reading that much of the suprise might have been taken out reading the book thus the slow reading.
I would also like to add “Knights of the Limits” to that list.
by Brighten J bailey or something…really original work there
I have three, of which I’ve read Lindsay’s. Worth the time.
Blessings.
For the locals who are interested: Thanks to my absurd biblioholism, I own copies of Evening’s Empire, The Book of Ash, Celestial Matters, Conjure Wife, Pawn’s Dream, The Worm Oroborous, The Purple Book, Dinner at Deviant’s Palace, Vurt, Noir, The Planet Strappers, Enemy Stars, The Legion of Space and Dead Heat if you’d like to read any of them. (Sadly, I’ve only read one of these – Dead Heat).
Also note: The Night Land and A Voyage to Arcturus are available on Gutenberg.
I have read Dead Heat and its a fantastic book, and its an incredibly fast read. I also have JP’s copy of Celestial Matters and should be getting to that soon…
Hey, I’ve read two of these! Noir by KW Jeter and Pawn’s Dream by Eric Nylund.
I highly recommend all of Eric Nylund’s work except his sequel to Signal to Noise. That was one of the most disappointing books I’ve ever read. I haven’t read any of Nylund’s Halo books. But other than that it’s all good.
I have a copy of KW Jeter’s Infernal Devices on my to-be-read shelf. I’ve heard good things.
Thanks for uncovering some (possibly) hidden gems!
BTW, I think Steve Jordan’s book is spelled, Evoguia.
Noir by K. W. Jeter takes today’s world and extends it to a logically possible future that is eerie…gruesome…haunting…one of the most memorable books I have ever read!
Dan Bresnahan
Have read Pawn’s Dream and Noir from the list, Noir i can’t really remember much beyond I enjoyed it, borrowed it off a friend years ago so doubt i can re-read. Pawn’s Dream however was great. Alternate universe story where a guy in the other universe when he sleeps, long lost family and all that… Nyland has a real easy reading style although I agree the sequel to Signal to Noise was shocking. I would actually rate Game of Universe as slightly better (mash up scifi and magic with some really interesting ideas scattered about). Have read a couple of his halo novels and really enjoyed them… almost tempted me to play the game…