Classics of Science Fiction

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The Classics of Science Fiction
by James Wallace Harris

What are the classic books of science fiction? Who decides which book is a classic? Do the critics and scholars know best or in the end, are the readers the real judges? What qualities define a classic book?

I got the idea to look up a number of "recommended" or "best of" lists to see what other people had to say, and then compile a database that would represent a consensus of opinion. Using the lists I "assembled" the Classics of Science Fiction list by selecting books that were on a minimum number of refering lists.

(For full essay see http://classics.jameswallaceharris.com)

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  1. 51.
    Neuromancer
    by William Gibson

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  2. 52.
    20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
    by Jules Verne

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  3. 53.
    THE WORLD BELOW
    by S. FOWLER WRIGHT

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  4. 54.
    Out of the Silent Planet (Space Trilogy, Book One)
    by C.S. Lewis

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  5. 55.
    LEST DARKNESS FALL
    by L. SPRAGUE DE CAMP

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  6. 56.
    Adventures in Time & Space

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  7. 57.
    I, Robot
    by Isaac Asimov

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  8. 58.
    Starship Troopers
    by Robert A. Heinlein

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  9. 59.
    The Sirens of Titan
    by Kurt Vonnegut

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  10. 60.
    UBIK
    by Philip K. DICK

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  11. 61.
    Slaughterhouse-Five
    by Kurt Vonnegut

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  12. 62.
    The Gods Themselves
    by Isaac Asimov

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  13. 63.
    Dhalgren
    by Samuel R. Delany

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  14. 64.
    Deathbird Stories
    by Harlan Ellison

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  15. 65.
    The Female Man (Bluestreak)
    by Joanna Russ

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  16. 66.
    Helliconia Spring
    by Brian W. Aldiss

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  17. 67.
    Startide Rising
    by David Brin

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  18. 68.
    Hyperion
    by Dan Simmons

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  19. 69.
    The Lost World (Modern Library Classics)
    by Arthur Conan Doyle

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  20. 70.
    R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) (Penguin Classics)
    by Karel Capek

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  21. 71.

  22. 72.
    THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS
    by John Wyndham

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  23. 73.
    Caves of Steel (Robot City (Paperback))
    by Isaac Asimov

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  24. 74.
    Mirror for Observers
    by Edgar Pangborn

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  25. 75.
    Cities in Flight
    by James Blish

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  26. 77.
    Rite of Passage
    by Alexei, Panshin

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  27. 79.
    Beyond Apollo
    by Barry N. Malzberg

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  28. 80.
    Norstrilia
    by Cordwainer Smith

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  29. 81.
    Man Plus (SF Masterworks)
    by Frederik Pohl

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  30. 82.
    No Enemy but Time
    by Michael Bishop

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  31. 83.

  32. 84.
    The Hampdenshire Wonder
    by J. D. Beresford

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  33. 85.
    Odd John
    by Olaf Stapledon

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  34. 86.
    Sirius (Gollancz Collectors' Editions)
    by Olaf Stapledon

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  35. 87.
    Double Star
    by Robert A. Heinlein

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  36. 88.
    Rogue Moon (Gold Medal SF, L1474)
    by Algis Budrys

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  37. 89.
    Davy
    by Edgar Pangborn

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  38. 90.
    Roadside Picnic (SF Collector's Edition)
    by Arkadi Strugatsky

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  39. 91.
    The Best of Henry Kuttner
    by Henry Kuttner; Introduction By Ray Bradbury

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  40. 92.
    The Persistence of Vision
    by John Varley

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  41. 93.
    Blood Music (Ibooks Science Fiction Classics)
    by Greg Bear

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  42. 94.
    Ender's Game (SFBC 50th Anniversary Collection)
    by Orson Scott Card

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  43. 95.
    Gulliver's Travels (Penguin Classics)
    by Jonathan Swift

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  44. 96.
    Looking Backward
    by Edward Bellamy

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  45. 97.
    A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
    by Mark Twain

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  46. 98.
    A Voyage to Arcturus
    by David Lindsay

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  47. 99.
    Gray Lensman (The classic Lensman series)
    by E. E Smith

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  48. 100.
    Player Piano
    by Kurt Vonnegut

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Created by CitizenKing on Mar 07, 2008.
 

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