Best sci-fi novels ever

reply to post by solvectra


So true, I have forgotten all about Michael Moorcock .... I loved his Martian novels back in the 80's, and Fritz Leiber too.

For Raymond E Feist who was mentioned a few posts ago, every book he has ever written, except one, are all set in the same world, so be aware of that when you read them. (Faerie Tale is the one exception)

And yes, Michael Moorcock is a legend in the field as well, but I can see younger people not knowing who he is, so that's probably why he wasn't mentioned earlier. Same with Fritz Leiber.


edit: a good reading list for fantasy/scifi is one given by the late Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons and Dragons. In one of the early Dungeon Master manuals, he gave a list of influences on the game. This is a good list, particularly because many of the people on here are earlier writers that the younger generation may not have encountered, as many of them are dead now. If ATS had existed 30-40 years ago and this thread were created, we would be talking about these people.

Anderson, Poul. THREE HEARTS AND THREE LIONS; THE HIGH CRUSADE; THE BROKEN SWORD
Bellairs, John. THE FACE IN THE FROST
Brackett, Leigh.
Brown, Frederic.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice. "Pellucidar" Series; Mars Series; Venus Series
Carter, Lin. "World's End" Series
de Camp, L. Sprague. LEST DARKNESS FALL; FALLIBLE FIEND; et al.
de Camp & Pratt. "Harold Shea" Series; CARNELIAN CUBE
Derleth, August.
Dunsany, Lord.
Farmer, P.J. "The World of the Tiers" Series; et al.
Fox, Gardner. "Kothar" Series; "Kyrik" Series; et al.
Howard, R.E. "Conan" Series
Lanier, Sterling. HIERO'S JOURNEY
Leiber, Fritz. "Fafhrd & Gray Mouser" Series; et al.
Lovecraft, H.P.
Merrit, A. CREEP, SHADOW, CREEP; MOON POOL; DWELLERS IN THE MIRAGE; et al.
Moorcock, Michael. STORMBRINGER; STEALER OF SOULS; "Hawkmoon" Series (esp. the first three books)
Norton, Andre.
Offutt, Andrew J., editor SWORDS AGAINST DARKNESS III.
Pratt, Fletcher. BLUE STAR; et al.
Saberhagen, Fred. CHANGELING EARTH; et al.
St. Clair, Margaret. THE SHADOW PEOPLE; SIGN OF THE LABRYS
Tolkien, J.R.R. THE HOBBIT; "Ring Trilogy"
Vance, Jack. THE EYES OF THE OVERWORLD,; THE DYING EARTH; et al.
Weinbaum, Stanley.
Wellman, Manly Wade.
Williamson, Jack.
Zelazny, Roger. JACK OF SHADOWS; "Amber" Series; et al.

The most immediate influences upon AD&D were probably de Camp & Pratt, REH, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance,
HPL, and A. Merritt; but all of the above authors, as well as many not listed, certainly helped to shape the form
of the game.

reply to post by DragonsDemesne


Sterling E Lanier, huh? I keep asking about the guy but seems no one has ever read any of his works. There aren't many of them but I enjoyed the two Hiero books. Too bad he never got around to finishing them off.

reply to post by DragonsDemesne


How could I ever forget Philip Jose Farmer with his "Riverworld"-series.... and then he had another book, about alien sexual encounters (not pornography), and I will always remember one of those stories, in which a human male fell in love with a female of a tri-sexual species, and one night when she was sleeping, he saw a creature emerging from her mouth, and he thought it was a parasite and killed it, and then it was the alien's baby!!!! That left an impression on me for the rest of my life......

Man, too damn many to mention. I remember my first one though. Space Eagle. I read that when I was about 8 or 9. Great for the kids. I haven't read it as an adult but it would probably suck now.

Originally posted by Hellhound604
I remember one story clearly, in which it was some enhanced dogs escaping from a biolab ..... must've read that in the late 70's or the early 80's.

That sounds to me like the Dean Koontz book, Watchers. One of my favorites.

reply to post by yeahright


Nope, now that I have thought further about it, the books name was "Alien Encounters", great read.... would love to read it again....