Annotated Internet Top 100 SF/Fantasy List

Edition Number 175
6th February 1999

I've added my own ratings of the Top 100 list rating all the books that I've read on a scale of 1-1000. If you see a book you want to buy, just click on it or use the search form below to find a book at your favorite bookstore. For full book reviews, visit Invictus' Books Reviews.

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I've added my own ratings of the Top 100 list rating all the books that I've read on a scale of 1-1000.

My
Pos Title Type Author/Editor Score Score Buy
1 Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien 8.86( 1026) 965
2 The Ender Saga S Orson Scott Card 8.59 (846) -  -
3 The Lions of Al-Rassan Guy G. Kay 8.54 (70) -
4 The Vorkosigan Series S Lois M. Bujold 8.46 (101) -  -
5 Dune S1 Frank Herbert 8.40 (882) 915
6 Tigana Guy G. Kay 8.39 (206) -
7 The Annals of the Black Company S Glen Cook 8.36 (84) -  -
8 Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes 8.32 (155) -
^ 9 The Discworld Series S Terry Pratchett 8.31 (122) -  -
10 Gormenghast S2 Mervyn Peake 8.30 (52) -
11 The Hyperion Cantos S Dan Simmons 8.29 (423) -  -
12 A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess 8.29 (83) 945
13 The Princess Bride William Goldman 8.24 (69) 860
14 The Illuminatus Trilogy S R.Wilson/R.Shea 8.22 (36) 390
^ 15 The Stars my Destination Alfred Bester 8.22 (217) 790
16 The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert A. Heinlein 8.22 (426) -
17 Watership Down Richard Adams 8.21 (101) 950
18 The Wheel of Time Series S Robert Jordan 8.19 (422) 910
19 The First Chronicles of Amber S Roger Zelazny 8.17 (354) -  -
20 Lord of Light Roger Zelazny 8.17 (229) -
21 A Fire Upon the Deep Vernor Vinge 8.17 (249) 950
^ 22 The Hobbit J.R.R.Tolkien 8.16 (634) 880
^ 23 Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll 8.16 (94) -
24 The Demolished Man Alfred Bester 8.16 (191) -
25 Palindor D.R. Evans 8.16 (19) -
^ 26 Picnic on the Roadside Strugatski 8.15 (27) -  -
^ 27 Expanded Universe C Robert A. Heinlein 8.15 (25) -
28 The Anubis Gates Tim Powers 8.15 (138) 745
29 Bridge of Birds S1 Barry Hughart 8.15 (69) 855
30 Tales of the Continuing Time S Daniel Keys Moran 8.14 (67) -  -
31 Doorways in the Sand Roger Zelazny 8.14 (63) 860
32 True Names Vernor Vinge 8.14 (61) -
33 The Last Herald Mage Trilogy S Mercedes Lackey 8.13 (52) -  -
^ 34 Doors of his Face, Lamps of his Mouth C Roger Zelazny 8.13 (30) -
35 Memory, Sorrow and Thorn S Tad Williams 8.12 (182) -  -
^ 36 Persistence of Vision C John Varley 8.12 (46) -
37 Feersum Endjinn Iain M. Banks 8.12 (38) -
38 1984 George Orwell 8.11 (351) 990
^ 39 The Sword of Truth Series S Terry Goodkind 8.11 (106) -  -
40 Harpist in the Wind S3 Patricia McKillip 8.10 (54) -
41 The Dragon Never Sleeps Glen Cook 8.10 (14) 985
42 Way Station Clifford Simak 8.09 (154) -
43 The Diamond Age Neal Stephenson 8.09 (88) -
^ 44 The Deed of Paksennarion S Elizabeth Moon 8.08 (29) -
45 Dangerous Visions A Harlan Ellison 8.07 (35) -
46 The Gap into Madness S4 Stephen Donaldson 8.07 (69) 890
47 Something Wicked this Way Comes Ray Bradbury 8.07 (75) -
48 The Fionavar Tapestry S Guy G. Kay 8.07 (144) -  -
49 Ubik Philip K. Dick 8.06 (124) -
^ 50 Callahan's Crosstime Saloon S1 Spider Robinson 8.06 (34) -
51 Metaconcert S2 Julian May 8.06 (62) -
52 The Chrysalids John Wyndham 8.05 (70) -
53 Dying Inside Robert Silverberg 8.05 (58) -
54 Replay Ken Grimwood 8.04 (49) -
55 Tea with the Black Dragon R.A.MacAvoy 8.04 (41) 830
^ 56 Startide Rising David Brin 8.02 (380) -
57 The Cyberiad Stanislaw Lem 8.02 (76) -
^ 58 Snow Crash Neal Stephenson 8.01 (262) 915
59 The Foundation Trilogy S Isaac Asimov 8.01 (651) -
^ 60 Voice of the Whirlwind Walter Jon Williams 8.00 (29) -
61 Liege Killer S1 Christopher Hinz 8.00 (43) 705
^ 62 The Best of Cordwainer Smith C Cordwainer Smith 8.00 (24) -
63 Neutron Star C Larry Niven 8.00 (129) -
64 A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M. Miller 8.00 (284) 970
65 Dorsai! S3 Gordon Dickson 7.99 (63) 810
66 Futurological Congress Stanislaw Lem 7.99 (43) -
67 More than Human Theodore Sturgeon 7.98 (90) -
^ 68 The Last Unicorn Peter Beagle 7.98 (36) -
69 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe S1 C.S. Lewis 7.98 (224) -  -
70 Player of Games Iain M. Banks 7.98 (144) 882
71 Chanur's Homecoming S4 C.J. Cherryh 7.98 (29) -
72 The Lyonesse Trilogy S Jack Vance 7.97 (38) -  -
73 The Empire Trilogy S R.Feist/J.Wurts 7.96 (94) -  -
74 Norstrilia Cordwainer Smith 7.96 (50) -
75 Green Hills of Earth C Robert A. Heinlein 7.96 (50) -
76 Vlad the Assassin Series S Steven K.Z. Brust 7.95 (94) -  -
^ 77 Armor. John Steakley 7.95 (20) -  -
78 Exile. S2 R.A. Salvatore 7.95 (26) -
^ 79 Quarantine Greg Egan 7.94 (31) -
80 The Once and Future King T.H. White 7.94 (85) -
81 Lest Darkness Fall L. Sprague de Camp 7.93 (69) -
^ 82 The Blue Sword Robin McKinley 7.93 (26) -
83 The Door into Summer Robert A. Heinlein 7.93 (174) -
^ 84 On Stranger Tides Tim Powers 7.93 (29) -
85 The City and the Stars Arthur C. Clarke 7.93 (112) -
86 A Wizard of Earthsea S1 Ursula Le Guin 7.92 (312) -
87 A Song for Arbonne Guy G. Kay 7.92 (116) -
^ 88 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy S1 Douglas Adams 7.91 (546) 900
^ 89 The Book of the New Sun S Gene Wolfe 7.91 (195) -  -
90 Star Wars : Dark Force Rising S2 Timothy Zahn 7.90 (47) 725
91 Permutation City Greg Egan 7.89 (36) -
92 Good Omens Pratchett/Gaiman 7.89 (155) 420
^ 93 The Dispossessed Ursula Le Guin 7.88 (239) -
94 Animal Farm George Orwell 7.88 (114) 940
95 Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut 7.87 (88) -
^ 96 Crystal Express C Bruce Sterling 7.87 (15) -  -
^ 97 Against a Dark Background Iain M. Banks 7.87 (37) -  -
98 The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch Philip K. Dick 7.87 (73) -
* 99 A Night in the Lonesome October Roger Zelazny 7.87 (28) -  -
100 Faerie Tale Raymond E. Feist 7.86 (35) -  -

{S1}indicates that the book is the 1'st book in a series.
{C}indicates a collection of short stories.
{A}indicates an anthology.
*indicates that the book was not on the chart last week.
^indicates that the book has risen from last week's position.
{SA1}and {SB1} distinguish the first books from different series.

This chart is also available via WWW at

http://www.clark.net/pub/iz/Books/Top100/top100.html

NOTE 1 : When voting for series, _The Book of the New Sun_ will refer to the first four books. _The Urth Cycle_ includes _The Urth of the New Sun_. Also _The Chronicles of Amber_ refers to all ten books. You are also allowed to vote for each book in the series individually.

NOTE 2 : The series below are listed in order of publication rather than internal chronology.

The Ender Saga
Ender's Game   S1  8.59  (846)   My score: 995
Speaker for the Dead   S2  7.87  (486)   My score: 930
Xenocide  S3  7.01  (207)   -
Children of the Mind  S4  6.45  (49)   -

The Annals of the Black Company
The Black Company   S1  8.01  (84)   My score: 970
Shadows Linger   S2  7.87  (43)   My score: 910
The White Rose   S3  8.36  (46)   My score: 980
The Silver Spike   S4  7.58  (31)   My score: 715
Shadow Games   S5  8.03  (35)   My score: 875
Dreams of Steel   S6  7.91  (32)   My score: 920

The Hyperion Cantos
Hyperion   S1  8.29  (423)   My score: 975
Fall of Hyperion  S2  7.79  (255)   -
Endymion   S3  8.12  (81)   My score: 895
Rise of Endymion  S4  2.36  (26)   -

The Illuminatus Trilogy
The Eye in the Pyramid  S1  8.22  (36)   -
The Golden Apple  S2  8.20  (40)   -
Leviathan  S3  8.22  (35)   -

Wheel of Time Series
The Eye of the World   S1  8.04  (422)   My score: 890
The Great Hunt   S2  8.06  (401)   My score: 900
The Dragon Reborn   S3  8.12  (397)   My score: 920
The Shadow Rising   S4  8.19  (385)   My score: 925
The Fires of Heaven   S5  8.16  (379)   My score: 915
Lord of Chaos   S6  8.16  (363)   My score: 910
A Crown of Swords   S7  8.17  (181)   My score: 905

P.S. For the time being, please vote for the new book _Path of the Daggers_
  separately.       -

The First Chronicles of Amber
Nine Princes in Amber   S1  7.93  (354)   My score: 910
The Guns of Avalon   S2  8.17  (252)   My score: 850
Sign of the Unicorn   S3  8.09  (240)   My score: 860
The Hand of Oberon   S4  8.08  (242)   My score: 845
The Courts of Chaos   S5  8.09  (242)   My score: 870

The Last Herald Mage Trilogy
Magic's Pawn   S1  8.09  (48)   My score: -
Magic's Promise   S2  7.75  (46)   My score: -
Magic's Price   S3  8.13  (52)   My score: -

Memory, Sorrow and Thorn
The Dragonbone Chair   S1  7.74  (182)   My score: 930
The Stone of Farewell   S2  8.12  (137)   My score: 900
To Green Angel Tower   S3  8.01  (141)   My score: 940

The Sword of Truth Series
Wizard's First Rule   S1  7.93  (106)   My score: -
Stone of Tears  S2  8.11  (49)   -
Blood of the Fold  S3  4.18  (27)   -
Temple of the Winds  S4  1.27  (15)   -

The Deed of Paksennarion
The Sheepfarmer's Daughter   S1  8.08  (29)   My score: -
Divided Allegiance   S2  7.51  (22)   My score: -
Oath of Gold   S3  8.06  (26)   My score: -

The Fionavar Tapestry
The Summer Tree   S1  7.84  (144)   My score: -
The Wandering Fire   S2  8.02  (130)   My score: -
The Darkest Road   S3  8.07  (128)   My score: -

Foundation Series
Foundation   S1  8.01  (651)   My score: -
Foundation and Empire   S2  7.93  (521)   My score: -
Second Foundation   S3  7.94  (531)   My score: -
Foundation's Edge   S4  6.91  (201)   My score: -
Foundation and Earth   S5  6.79  (184)   My score: -
Prelude to Foundation   S6  6.70  (167)   My score: -
Forward the Foundation   S7  6.81  (147)   My score: -

The Lyonesse Trilogy
Suldrun's Garden   S1  7.97  (38)   My score: -
The Green Pearl   S2  7.61  (33)   My score: -
Madouc   S3  7.89  (37)   My score: -

The Empire Trilogy
Daughter of the Empire   S1  7.83  (94)   My score: -
Servant of the Empire   S2  7.96  (91)   My score: -
Mistress of the Empire   S3  7.95  (79)   My score: -

Vlad the Assassin Series
Jhereg   S1  7.44  (94)   My score: 880
Yendi   S2  7.95  (46)   My score: -
Teckla   S3  7.43  (32)   My score: -
Taltos.   S4  7.92  (35)   My score: -
Phoenix.   S5  7.39  (31)   My score: -
Athyra   S6  6.97  (27)   My score: -
Orca   S7  4.86  (15)   My score: -

The Book of the New Sun / The Urth Cycle
The Shadow of the Torturer   S1  7.86  (195)   My score: 880
The Claw of the Conciliator   S2  7.82  (167)   My score: -
The Sword of the Lictor   S3  7.91  (147)   My score: -
The Citadel of the Autarch   S4  7.91  (147)   My score: -
The Urth of the New Sun   S5  7.25  (65)   My score: -

All of the following novels are not part of "series" as such. Instead of all belonging to a single story, they are more or less separate novels set in the same universe. Because of this, could you please vote for each of the books comprising the series individually (instead of having one vote for the entire series).

The Vorkosigan Series
Shards of Honor   8.18  (94)     My score: -
Barrayar   8.04  (101)     My score: -
The Warrior's Apprentice   8.05  (99)     My score: -
Borders of Infinity   7.86  (58)     My score: -
The Vor Game   7.70  (85)     My score: -
Ethan of Athos   7.19  (57)     My score: -
Falling Free   7.32  (52)     My score: -
Brothers in Arms   7.83  (57)     My score: -
Mirror Dance   8.46  (82)     My score: -
Cetaganda   5.82  (38)     My score: -
Memory.   5.05  (24)     My score: -

Tales of the Continuing Time
Emerald Eyes   8.14  (26)     My score: -
The Armageddon Blues   6.86  (14)     My score: -
The Long Run   8.10  (67)     My score: -
The Last Dancer   8.14  (57)     My score: 920

The Discworld Series
The Colour of Magic   S1  7.48  (122)   My score: -
The Light Fantastic   S2  7.63  (93)   My score: -
Equal Rites   S3  7.51  (85)   My score: -
Mort   S4  7.75  (117)   My score: -
Sourcery   S5  7.59  (71)   My score: -
Wyrd Sisters   S6  7.84  (80)   My score: -
Pyramids   S7  7.39  (94)   My score: -
Guards! Guards!   S8  8.10  (94)   My score: -
Eric.   S9  7.56  (74)   My score: -
Moving Pictures   S10  7.74  (63)   My score: -
Reaper Man   S11  8.20  (81)   My score: -
Witches Abroad   S12  7.99  (67)   My score: -
Small Gods   S13  7.86  (88)   My score: -
Lords and Ladies   S14  7.75  (70)   My score: -
Men at Arms   S15  8.31  (77)   My score: -
Soul Music   S16  8.09  (51)   My score: -
Interesting Times   S17  8.26  (41)   My score: -
Maskerade   S18  7.00  (26)   My score: -
Feet of Clay   S19  5.47  (26)   My score: -
Hogfather   S20  2.93  (15)   My score: -
Jingo  S21  1.49  (12)   -