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. 101.
    Of All Possible Worlds
    by William Tenn

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  2. 102.
    The Midwich Cuckoos
    by John Wyndham

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  3. 103.
    The Big Time
    by Fritz Leiber

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  4. 104.
    The Crystal World
    by J. G. Ballard

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  5. 105.
    Babel 17
    by Samuel Delany

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  6. 106.
    The Einstein Intersection
    by Samuel R. Delany

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  7. 107.
    Pavane (Del Rey Impact)
    by Keith Roberts

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  8. 108.
    Bug Jack Barron
    by Norman Spinrad

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  9. 109.
    The Doors of His Face, The Lamp of His Mouth
    by Roger Zelazny

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  10. 110.
    334
    by Thomas Disch

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  11. 111.
    The Embedding
    by Ian Watson

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  12. 112.
    BEFORE THE GOLDEN AGE A SCIENCE FICTION ANTHOLOGY OF THE 1930S
    by Asimov Isaac (edited By)

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  13. 113.
    Dorsai (Dorsai/Childe Cycle)
    by Gordon R. Dickson

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  14. 114.
    The Best of C.M. Kornbluth
    by C. M. Kornbluth

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  15. 115.

  16. 116.
    Engine Summer (Engine Summer)
    by John Crowley

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  17. 117.
    War with the Newts (European Classics)
    by Karel Capek

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  18. 118.
    That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy, Book 3)
    by C.S. Lewis

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  19. 119.
    Who Goes There?
    by John W. Campbell

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  20. 120.
    The Illustrated Man
    by Ray Bradbury

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  21. 121.
    On the Beach
    by Nevil Shute

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  22. 122.
    The Lovers
    by Philip Jose Farmer

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  23. 123.
    The Wanderer
    by Fritz Leiber

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  24. 124.
    The Past Through Tomorrow
    by Robert A. Heinlein

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  25. 126.
    The Fifth Head of Cerberus: Three Novellas
    by Gene Wolfe

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  26. 127.
    The Wind's Twelve Quarters: Stories
    by Ursula K. Le Guin

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  27. 128.
    ?
    The best of C. L. Moore
    by Catherine L Moore

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  28. 129.
    A Martian Odyssey and Other Science Fiction Tales
    by Stanley G. Weinbaum

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  29. 130.
    Dreamsnake
    by Mc Intyre

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  30. 131.
    Riddley Walker
    by Russell Hoban

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  31. 132.
    The Snow Queen
    by Joan D. Vinge

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  32. 133.
    The Fall of Hyperion
    by Dan Simmons

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  33. 134.
    Red Mars (Mars Trilogy)
    by Kim Stanley Robinson

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  34. 135.
    Doomsday Book
    by Connie Willis

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  35. 136.
    She
    by H. Rider Haggard

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  36. 137.
    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Norton Critical Editions)
    by Robert Louis Stevenson

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  37. 138.
    The Girl in the Golden Atom
    by Raymond King Cummings

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  38. 139.
    ?
    The Clockwork Man
    by E. V. Odle

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  39. 140.
    The Absolute At Large
    by Karel Capek

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  40. 141.
    Deluge
    by S. Fowler Wright

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  41. 142.
    Perelandra (Space Trilogy, Book 2)
    by C.S. Lewis

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  42. 143.
    Animal Farm: Centennial Edition
    by George Orwell

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  43. 144.
    Bring the Jubilee (Millennium Fantasy Masterworks)
    by Ward Moore

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  44. 145.
    ?
    E Pluribus Unicorn
    by Theodore Sturgeon

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  45. 146.
    LONG TOMORROW
    by LEIGH BRACKETT

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  46. 147.
    ?
    The Death of Grass
    by John Christopher

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  47. 148.
    Under Pressure
    by Frank Herbert

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  48. 149.
    ?
    The Black Cloud
    by Fred Hoyle

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  49. 150.
    The Drowned World
    by J. G. Ballard

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Created by CitizenKing on Mar 07, 2008.
 

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