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Author Topic:   Top 10 Novels

Frodo83 posted 05-20-99 09:46 PM ET
This topic has probably been posted before (has it, Octopus?) but Ii've never seen it and I would like to know what everyone's favorites are. Note that I'm not asking what the top ten novels ever written are...just everybody's ten favorites. That they've read. Mine are, in order:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Shogun by James Clavell
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
1984 by George Orwell
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Richard Adams
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Chancellor AoYoS posted 05-20-99 10:02 PM ET
1. Lord of the Rings (Trilogy)-J.R.R Tolkien
2. Tehanu-Ursula K. LeGuin
3. Wizard of Earth-Sea-Ursula K. LeGuin
4. Romeo and Juliet-Shakespeare
5. The Republic-Plato
6. The Prince-Machiavelli
7. King Lear-Shakespeare
8. Hamlet-Shakespeare
9. MacBeth-Shakespeare
10. The Stand-Stephen King

4Horses posted 05-20-99 10:03 PM ET
Centaur Aisle
The Once and Future King
Watership Down
Watchers
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
1984
The Elfstones of Shanara
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Grendel
SMAC rule book
not necessarily in that order
Brother Greg posted 05-20-99 11:04 PM ET
Lord of the Rings - JRRT
Magician - Raymond E Feist
Earth (I think) - Greg Bear
First Man in Rome (series) - Colleen McCullough
Ender's Game (trilogy) - Orson Scott Card
Legend (or anything else by him) - David Gemmell
Daggerspell (Deverry series) - Katherine Kerr
The Fionavarr Tapestry - Guy Gavriel Kay
The Stainless Steel Rat (series) - Harry Harrison
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad)- David Eddings
I know that's 11, but you'll live. Yeah, this has been done multiple times before, but usually as top 10 sci-fi books, or top 10 fantasy books, and so on. Don't think we've ever had a combined list before though...
Brother Greg posted 05-20-99 11:11 PM ET
Also worthy of mention (damn, here comes my second top 10 ) are:
Faffhrd and the Grey Mouser (series) - Fritz Leiber
Elric of Melnibone (series) - Michael Moorcock (should have made about #3 in my list actually)
Foundation (series) - Isaac Asimov
Greyhawk (series) - Gary Gygax (yes, that Gary Gygax)
Discworld (series) - Terry Pratchett
Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinleim (sp?)
Anyway, better stop now I think.
Valtyr posted 05-20-99 11:39 PM ET
Some of my favourites at the moment include (in no particular order):
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez
The Trial - Franz Kafka
The Castle - Franz Kafka
The Night of Professor Andersen (?) - Dag Solstad
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Jonas - Jens Bj�rneboe
At St. George's (?) - Amalie Skram
Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes
And finally: The Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkien
JB posted 05-20-99 11:43 PM ET
1. Contact - Carl Sagan
2. Rama - AC Clarke
3. Deamon Haunted World - Sagan (Not a novel, but you'll live)
4. Red Planet - RA Heinlein
5. 20,000 Leauges Under The Sea - Joules Verne
6. MYST (I don't remember which one)
7. The Giver (Don't remember author)
8. Red Wall - Brian Jacques
9. 2061 - AC Clarke
10. 2001 - AC Clarke
Hugo Rune posted 05-21-99 03:52 AM ET
The Ultimate Book of Truths- Robert Rankin
Good Omens- Terry Pratchett and Neil Garman
Dune- Frank Herbert
Lords and Ladies- Terry Pratchett
The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams
Murder at the Vicarage- Agatha Christie
Metamorphosis- Franz Kafka
Long Ships- Frans G Bengtsson
The Negotiator- Frederick Forsyth
Murder at the Orient Express- Agatha Christie
CrayonX posted 05-21-99 12:59 PM ET
Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
The Chrysalids - John Wyndham
Left Behind (Series) - Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (it's about the Biblical rapture)
The Goal - Eliyahu Goldratt
Ummm that's all I can remember. I read a lot
of non-fiction stuff.
Imran Siddiqui posted 05-21-99 03:35 PM ET
Hmm, let me see. Novels, eh? Ok, I can go with that (maybe, I read a lot of political theory and history).
Red Storm Rising (Tom Clancy)
Executive Orders (Tom Clancy)
Rainbow Six (Tom Clancy)
MacBeth (Shakespeare)
Julius Ceasar (Shakespeare)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque)
Heart of Darkness (Conrad)
A Rumor of War (Phillip Caputo)
Nectar in a Sieve (somebody)
Hey, like I said I'm into political theory and history!
Imran Siddiqui
Frodo83 posted 05-21-99 03:56 PM ET
Lois Lowry wrote the Giver. Excellent book.
God Emperor Eccles V posted 05-21-99 07:25 PM ET
Hmm, it depends on your preferences, some here only have sc-fi, but who cares.

Macbeth aint no novel, dumbwits.
Jekyll and Hyde was the first novel.
Anyhow to be creative, in no particular order:
Jekyll and Hyde- Stevenson
1984-Orwell
Moby Dick-
Nostromo- Anybody here read it? It is worth it! Conrad
Dune- a personal indulgence
Rainbow- Beckett

How about including proper reasons?
DanS posted 05-22-99 02:17 AM ET
You guys got it all wrong. Where did you get those books from, BG? The next thing you're going to tell me is that Brooks' The Phantom Mennace is way up there on the top 10. Also, with reasons, per Geeve's request.
Tolkien -- The Hobbit -- an entirely imagined world
C.S. Lewis -- The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe -- intricate allegory
Dickens -- Great Expectations -- love as power
Dostoyevsky -- Crime & Punishment -- redemption
Dostoyevsky -- The Idiot -- honor
Tolstoy -- War and Peace -- a national novel
Fitzgerald -- The Great Gatsby -- imagery
Nabokov -- Lolita -- phraseology
Sir Walter Scott -- Ivanhoe -- important
Dumas -- The Count of Monte Cristo -- criminal as hero
The Russians are probably the best novelists, although there don't seem to be many of them translated into English. The Brits closely follow. I only included two American writers (if you include Nabokov as American), but that reasonably could be expanded to several. The French were good novelists too.
For Fantasy, the only other person to consider is U. LeGuin (one of the undisputed triumverate).
I separate sci-fi from fantasy. Completely separate issues.
In SciFi, nobody is on my list, although you could make a case for Dune or Faranheit 457, but I would end up dismissing it. Foundation was excellent and fodder for many discussions, although Asimov's robot books were more innovative and thought-provoking.
Eco, Salinger, Golding, M. Shelley, Conrad, are honorable mentions. Steinbeck and I have differing views on what comprises a novel. I tried to get in Moby Dick and Grapes of Wrath, but they just wouldn't fit.
Valtyr posted 05-22-99 02:36 AM ET
He asked for everyone's favourites. Therefore nobody can get anything wrong, as long as they don't lie (and why do you want to do that?), and the titles they mention are real novels.
Ronbo posted 05-22-99 02:57 AM ET
Well, my choices seem to be a lot less pretentious, but I am a man of simple tastes. In no particular order:
The Wounded Sky/Diane Duane
Justice/Faye Kellerman
StarBridge/A.C. Crispin
Rendezvous With Rama/Arthur C. Clarke
Uhura's Song/Janet Kagan
Fatal Terrain/Dale Brown
Executive Orders/Tom Clancy
28 Barbary Lane/Armistad Maupin
Alas, Babylon/Pat Frank
Atlas Shrugged/Ayn Rand
There are a number of authors out there that I will buy a book of theirs sight unseen...any of the above authors, plus Diane Carey, Johanthan Kellerman, Patricia Cornwell (as long as it is a Scarpetta novel), and Nancy Pickard.

As far as non-fiction goes, I am a political junkie. I will read just about anything political, as long as it is recent and not rigidly left-wing.

DanS posted 05-22-99 03:21 AM ET
"He asked for everyone's favourites. Therefore nobody can get anything wrong, as long as they don't lie."
If only they were novels. I'm asking people to pick it up a notch. To argue why they think this or that novel is or is not good.
Before you know it, we'll have L. Ron Hubbard books being mentioned in the "Top 10." Barf.
Ser_Olmy posted 05-22-99 03:30 AM ET
1. Centuries by A. A. Attanasio
2. Eon by GB
3. Eternity by GB
4. Lord of the Rings by JRRT
5. Dune by Frank Herbert
6. Space Odyssey series by ACC
7. The Forge of God by GB
8. Anvil of Stars by GB
9. Rama (whole series) by ACC
10. Consider Phelbas by Iain M. Banks

Valtyr posted 05-22-99 04:53 AM ET
DanS: "novel n. an extended fictional work in prose dealing with character, action, thought, etc., esp. in the form of a story." (Collins)
Hmmm...nothing here about quality.
Hugo Rune posted 05-22-99 07:10 AM ET
DanS: You seem not to have a sense of humour. Why all the dreary, serious, tedious novels? Read "The Ultimate Book of Truths" instead.
Frodo83 posted 05-22-99 09:34 AM ET
If somebody likes Tom Clancy more than Charles Dickens, then you can't really fault them for that, or maybe you can, but it's all just a matter of opinion. Remember, your favorite novels- not the best. And it's just novels. No plays, no short stories, no non-fiction, no pop-up books.
PS Sorry I got Douglas Adams wrong, BG. I won't do it again.
DanS posted 05-22-99 11:29 AM ET
Hugo: too serious? humorless?
Nabokov? Dumas? Tolkien? Narnia?
What are you talking about? For God's sake, I've read enough Piers Anthony books to know good from a total waste of shelf-space.
"an extended fictional work in prose dealing with character, action, thought, etc., esp. in the form of a story."
Yes, that's the case. Thanks for pointing those elements out to me. The best ones have all of these to the ultimate degree. Many (perhaps I should several) S-F authors have thought, but not character or story. For instance, Dick, my favorite sci-fi writer, can be said to have thought, action, and story, but his characters are lacking. Thus, he's not in the top ten. Asimov has thought above all else, but lacks in the other categories.
Enough milquetoast, give me reasons why you like these books. No pretension necessary.
Imran Siddiqui posted 05-22-99 10:20 PM ET
Oh, lest I almost forget:
Les Miserable by Victor Hugo
Imran Siddiqui
Mcerion posted 05-23-99 12:23 AM ET
I'm only going to do English language writers.
Gravity's Rainbow: Thomas Pynchon
Moby Dick: Herman Melville
London Fields: Martin Amis
Post Office: Charles Bukowski
Slaughterhouse Five: Kurt Vonnegut jr.
Tales of Mystery and Imagination: E. A. Poe
Catch 22: Joseph Heller
A Clockwork Orange: Anthony Burgess
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas:
Hunter S. Thompson
Naked Lunch: William S. Burroughs
Valtyr posted 05-23-99 12:54 AM ET
Calm down, DanS! This is not your thread, it's Frodo83's, so he gets to set the premises, not you. I suggest you start your own thread.
Mcerion posted 05-23-99 02:14 AM ET
Before anyone says anything, yeah I know E. A. Poe isn't a novelist, but I like him anyway.
Frodo83 posted 05-23-99 01:51 PM ET
This isn't limited to sci-fi or english-speaking authors. Just your 10 favorite novels. Period.
Jay posted 05-23-99 05:34 PM ET
Not in any order, but:
Tehanu - U. LeGuinn
Tuntematon Sotilas - V�in� Linna
Vieraan Kyp�r�n Alla - Niilo Lauttamus
Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy - S.D. Perry
Resident Evil: Caliban Cove - S.D. Perry
D�den p� Larvef�dder - Sven Hassel
Son of Dawn - Dixie McKeone
And a couple more that I can't remember right now.
DanS posted 05-24-99 10:12 AM ET
Mcerion added a couple of really good ones (the kind that you think--damn, those *were* good books). Pynchon (The Crying of Lot 49 is good too--very similar too Eco's Foucault's Pendulum--great for the conspiracy theorists among us), Vonnegut (he has so much that is good), and Burgess (that book took some time to learn, but it was worth it in spades).
Odd that nobody has mentioned William Gibson, in this cyberworld of ours here. One of the most innovative SF writers of the last 50 years.
Calm down Valtyr about my calming down! There's nothing wrong with challenging others. "Favorite Book" threads normally top out at about 20 posts. I want to hear more!
Saras posted 05-24-99 10:42 AM ET
The Choirboys by Joseph Wambaugh; a funny/sad story of 10 LAPD cops
Dievu Miskas by Balys Sruoga; from the gas chambers of Nazi death camp in Stutthof, with such a dose of black humour that one might think of it as insolent; it's not, the guy really was there.
Sakme apie Juza by Juozas Baltusis; the prewar/postwar Lithuanian village, controversy, deceit and misery.
Three friends - E.M.Remarque
Lord of the flies - William Golding
Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare
Evgenyi Onegin - Alexander Pushkin
And a number of others...
I must admit I enjoy Clancy, too... In fact, there was a real-life prototype of the guy (Marko Ramius, not really a Lithuanian name...) who hijacked the nuke sub. He has a sister, and she stayed in Lithuania and became an actress (a really good one), but due to her brothers' act of defiance she never made a big carreer.
DanS posted 05-24-99 11:02 AM ET
Saras, a question that I've been curious about. In the movie "Hunt For Red October", was Sean Connery's Russian at least passable?
DanS posted 05-24-99 11:05 AM ET
Also it says in the Internet Movie Database that the Swedish version is 1 minute longer than the US version. Did they keep a scene in the Swedish version related to Lithuania that they cut out in the US version?
OK, back to the topic at hand. Books.
Saras posted 05-24-99 11:11 AM ET
No it was not passable! I barely understood a word!
What scene about Lithuania? When they they sail on the Red October up the P-something river and Connery says this looks like Nemunas? Bull$hit, Nemunas is a small brook compared with that one.
Back to books, though.
OldWarrior_42 posted 05-24-99 11:26 AM ET
Saras....I saw the movie long time ago for The choirboys....does that count. How about "One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Alexander Solzenitsen (sp?). Only read a couple of novels. That was one ,also The Hobbitt and Lord of the Rings.Also saw the movie for that one too. One of my alltime favorites. I dont read too many novels , I have too short an attention span. I like short stories and mag articles better. I can go thru them at one sitting and retain the info. If I read a novel ,after I put it down I lose track if I dont get back to it right away. My loss though ....oh well.
Saras posted 05-24-99 11:33 AM ET
No, Choirboys the movie probably sucked (most of them do). I read in the Internet Movie database that they changed the end. How did the movie end?
Noisy posted 05-24-99 04:15 PM ET
Not in any order:
1 The Day After Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein:
one of his kiddies ones, but the only book I remember reading in a single session.
2 Consider Phlebas - Iain M. Banks
Science Fiction just doesn't come any harder, and for me the ending just makes it: all that effort, and it's just a footnote!
3 High Citadel - Desmond Bagley
It's about a plane crash in the mountains, and the survivors have to fight off some terrorists, or something. I haven't thought about this book for years - thanks for reminding me.
4 The Reality Dysfunction - Peter F. Hamilton
Staggeringly brilliant. I can't wait for the third in the series.
5 Any of the Quiller books - Adam Hall (Elleston Trevor)
I'd bet on Quiller against any other secret agent anywhere, anyhow, anytime.
6 When Eight Bells Toll - Alistair MacLean
I've not read this for so long, that I can't remember whether I love it for the film version rather than the book. Another of his that was brilliant was Ice Station Zebra, but what a crap film. Sorry - just looked on Amazon, and I want to change my MacLean vote to HMS Ulysses.
7 Something by Freddy Forsyth - Day of the Jackal or Odessa File
Just because of the detail of the research.
8 A Perfect Spy - John Le Carre
You want a book about what makes a person's personality - this is the one for you.
9 HHGTTG - DA
Because.
10 Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers - Harry Harrison
I only wish I could follow half of the references he is making to the Science Fiction genre in this excellent pastiche (I'll just have to look that word up - well, it's near enough).
Made it to ten. Might have to come back and revise a few when I've thought about it a bit longer.
Not many classics in there. I did try to educate myself once, but didn't get very far - just a Conrad and a few Kiplings. (Do you like Kipling? I don't know - I've never Kippled.)
Noisy
Micromanager to the Stars
ejrolon posted 05-24-99 06:27 PM ET
i am just listing the ones i have read over three times
stranger in a strange land (r.heinlein)
elric series (michael moorcock)
cien anos de soledad (garcia marquez)
lord of the rings (jrr tolkien)
red storm rising (tom clancy)
2001 (arthur c clarke)
narnia chronicles (c.s. lewis)
dune series (frank herbert)
chaos (james gleick)
battlefield earth (l.r. hubbard)
watership down (richard adams)
the hitchhikers's guide to the galaxy (douglas adams)
sorry i went over
OldWarrior_42 posted 05-24-99 10:26 PM ET
Saras.... man that was so long ago when I saw it , I dont remember how it ended. I didnt think it was that good a movie though,obviously , since I dont remember much. Usually when a movie is good you tend to remember it. I do believe though that it was one of James Woods' first movies.
Mcerion posted 05-25-99 03:58 PM ET
Did anyone enjoy Henry Miller's "Tropic of Cancer"? The first 3/4's of that book are raw, vital and brilliant. The bidet scene was hilarious.
Picker posted 05-26-99 03:43 PM ET
1. Romance of the Three Kingdoms - i cant spell it
2. The Sword of Truth - Terry Goodkind
3. Daughter of the Empire - Raymond E. Feist
4. Jhereg - I don't know
5. Serpentwar Saga - Raymond E. Feist
6. Dark Tower Series - Stephen King
7. Lord of the Rings - JRRT
8. Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
9. Betrayal at Krondor - Raymond E. Feist(I hate Raymond E. Feist!)
10. My own demented ramblings - Denny Pick
Pik's Rambling and Emulation
Spoe posted 05-26-99 04:48 PM ET
Some of my favorites:
Ender's Game
Dune, Frank Herbert
The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco
The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane
Starship Troopers, R.A.H.
Stranger in a Strange Land, R.A.H.
Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
The Mote in God's Eye, Larry Niven, Fred Pohl
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemmingway

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Author	Topic: Top 10 Novels
Frodo83	posted 05-20-99 09:46 PM ET This topic has probably been posted before (has it, Octopus?) but Ii've never seen it and I would like to know what everyone's favorites are. Note that I'm not asking what the top ten novels ever written are...just everybody's ten favorites. That they've read. Mine are, in order: East of Eden by John Steinbeck Watership Down by Richard Adams The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien Shogun by James Clavell Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Catch-22 by Joseph Heller 1984 by George Orwell The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Richard Adams The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Chancellor AoYoS	posted 05-20-99 10:02 PM ET 1. Lord of the Rings (Trilogy)-J.R.R Tolkien 2. Tehanu-Ursula K. LeGuin 3. Wizard of Earth-Sea-Ursula K. LeGuin 4. Romeo and Juliet-Shakespeare 5. The Republic-Plato 6. The Prince-Machiavelli 7. King Lear-Shakespeare 8. Hamlet-Shakespeare 9. MacBeth-Shakespeare 10. The Stand-Stephen King
4Horses	posted 05-20-99 10:03 PM ET Centaur Aisle The Once and Future King Watership Down Watchers A Swiftly Tilting Planet 1984 The Elfstones of Shanara The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Grendel SMAC rule book not necessarily in that order
Brother Greg	posted 05-20-99 11:04 PM ET Lord of the Rings - JRRT Magician - Raymond E Feist Earth (I think) - Greg Bear First Man in Rome (series) - Colleen McCullough Ender's Game (trilogy) - Orson Scott Card Legend (or anything else by him) - David Gemmell Daggerspell (Deverry series) - Katherine Kerr The Fionavarr Tapestry - Guy Gavriel Kay The Stainless Steel Rat (series) - Harry Harrison The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad)- David Eddings I know that's 11, but you'll live. Yeah, this has been done multiple times before, but usually as top 10 sci-fi books, or top 10 fantasy books, and so on. Don't think we've ever had a combined list before though...
Brother Greg	posted 05-20-99 11:11 PM ET Also worthy of mention (damn, here comes my second top 10 ) are: Faffhrd and the Grey Mouser (series) - Fritz Leiber Elric of Melnibone (series) - Michael Moorcock (should have made about #3 in my list actually) Foundation (series) - Isaac Asimov Greyhawk (series) - Gary Gygax (yes, that Gary Gygax) Discworld (series) - Terry Pratchett Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinleim (sp?) Anyway, better stop now I think.
Valtyr	posted 05-20-99 11:39 PM ET Some of my favourites at the moment include (in no particular order): One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garc�a M�rquez The Trial - Franz Kafka The Castle - Franz Kafka The Night of Professor Andersen (?) - Dag Solstad The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy Jonas - Jens Bj�rneboe At St. George's (?) - Amalie Skram Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes And finally: The Lord of the Rings - J R R Tolkien
JB	posted 05-20-99 11:43 PM ET 1. Contact - Carl Sagan 2. Rama - AC Clarke 3. Deamon Haunted World - Sagan (Not a novel, but you'll live) 4. Red Planet - RA Heinlein 5. 20,000 Leauges Under The Sea - Joules Verne 6. MYST (I don't remember which one) 7. The Giver (Don't remember author) 8. Red Wall - Brian Jacques 9. 2061 - AC Clarke 10. 2001 - AC Clarke
Hugo Rune	posted 05-21-99 03:52 AM ET The Ultimate Book of Truths- Robert Rankin Good Omens- Terry Pratchett and Neil Garman Dune- Frank Herbert Lords and Ladies- Terry Pratchett The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy- Douglas Adams Murder at the Vicarage- Agatha Christie Metamorphosis- Franz Kafka Long Ships- Frans G Bengtsson The Negotiator- Frederick Forsyth Murder at the Orient Express- Agatha Christie
CrayonX	posted 05-21-99 12:59 PM ET Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger Lord of the Flies - William Golding The Chrysalids - John Wyndham Left Behind (Series) - Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins (it's about the Biblical rapture) The Goal - Eliyahu Goldratt Ummm that's all I can remember. I read a lot of non-fiction stuff.
Imran Siddiqui	posted 05-21-99 03:35 PM ET Hmm, let me see. Novels, eh? Ok, I can go with that (maybe, I read a lot of political theory and history). Red Storm Rising (Tom Clancy) Executive Orders (Tom Clancy) Rainbow Six (Tom Clancy) MacBeth (Shakespeare) Julius Ceasar (Shakespeare) The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain) All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque) Heart of Darkness (Conrad) A Rumor of War (Phillip Caputo) Nectar in a Sieve (somebody) Hey, like I said I'm into political theory and history! Imran Siddiqui
Frodo83	posted 05-21-99 03:56 PM ET Lois Lowry wrote the Giver. Excellent book.
God Emperor Eccles V	posted 05-21-99 07:25 PM ET Hmm, it depends on your preferences, some here only have sc-fi, but who cares. Macbeth aint no novel, dumbwits. Jekyll and Hyde was the first novel. Anyhow to be creative, in no particular order: Jekyll and Hyde- Stevenson 1984-Orwell Moby Dick- Nostromo- Anybody here read it? It is worth it! Conrad Dune- a personal indulgence Rainbow- Beckett How about including proper reasons?
DanS	posted 05-22-99 02:17 AM ET You guys got it all wrong. Where did you get those books from, BG? The next thing you're going to tell me is that Brooks' The Phantom Mennace is way up there on the top 10. Also, with reasons, per Geeve's request. Tolkien -- The Hobbit -- an entirely imagined world C.S. Lewis -- The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe -- intricate allegory Dickens -- Great Expectations -- love as power Dostoyevsky -- Crime & Punishment -- redemption Dostoyevsky -- The Idiot -- honor Tolstoy -- War and Peace -- a national novel Fitzgerald -- The Great Gatsby -- imagery Nabokov -- Lolita -- phraseology Sir Walter Scott -- Ivanhoe -- important Dumas -- The Count of Monte Cristo -- criminal as hero The Russians are probably the best novelists, although there don't seem to be many of them translated into English. The Brits closely follow. I only included two American writers (if you include Nabokov as American), but that reasonably could be expanded to several. The French were good novelists too. For Fantasy, the only other person to consider is U. LeGuin (one of the undisputed triumverate). I separate sci-fi from fantasy. Completely separate issues. In SciFi, nobody is on my list, although you could make a case for Dune or Faranheit 457, but I would end up dismissing it. Foundation was excellent and fodder for many discussions, although Asimov's robot books were more innovative and thought-provoking. Eco, Salinger, Golding, M. Shelley, Conrad, are honorable mentions. Steinbeck and I have differing views on what comprises a novel. I tried to get in Moby Dick and Grapes of Wrath, but they just wouldn't fit.
Valtyr	posted 05-22-99 02:36 AM ET He asked for everyone's favourites. Therefore nobody can get anything wrong, as long as they don't lie (and why do you want to do that?), and the titles they mention are real novels.
Ronbo	posted 05-22-99 02:57 AM ET Well, my choices seem to be a lot less pretentious, but I am a man of simple tastes. In no particular order: The Wounded Sky/Diane Duane Justice/Faye Kellerman StarBridge/A.C. Crispin Rendezvous With Rama/Arthur C. Clarke Uhura's Song/Janet Kagan Fatal Terrain/Dale Brown Executive Orders/Tom Clancy 28 Barbary Lane/Armistad Maupin Alas, Babylon/Pat Frank Atlas Shrugged/Ayn Rand There are a number of authors out there that I will buy a book of theirs sight unseen...any of the above authors, plus Diane Carey, Johanthan Kellerman, Patricia Cornwell (as long as it is a Scarpetta novel), and Nancy Pickard. As far as non-fiction goes, I am a political junkie. I will read just about anything political, as long as it is recent and not rigidly left-wing.
DanS	posted 05-22-99 03:21 AM ET "He asked for everyone's favourites. Therefore nobody can get anything wrong, as long as they don't lie." If only they were novels. I'm asking people to pick it up a notch. To argue why they think this or that novel is or is not good. Before you know it, we'll have L. Ron Hubbard books being mentioned in the "Top 10." Barf.
Ser_Olmy	posted 05-22-99 03:30 AM ET 1. Centuries by A. A. Attanasio 2. Eon by GB 3. Eternity by GB 4. Lord of the Rings by JRRT 5. Dune by Frank Herbert 6. Space Odyssey series by ACC 7. The Forge of God by GB 8. Anvil of Stars by GB 9. Rama (whole series) by ACC 10. Consider Phelbas by Iain M. Banks
Valtyr	posted 05-22-99 04:53 AM ET DanS: "novel n. an extended fictional work in prose dealing with character, action, thought, etc., esp. in the form of a story." (Collins) Hmmm...nothing here about quality.
Hugo Rune	posted 05-22-99 07:10 AM ET DanS: You seem not to have a sense of humour. Why all the dreary, serious, tedious novels? Read "The Ultimate Book of Truths" instead.
Frodo83	posted 05-22-99 09:34 AM ET If somebody likes Tom Clancy more than Charles Dickens, then you can't really fault them for that, or maybe you can, but it's all just a matter of opinion. Remember, your favorite novels- not the best. And it's just novels. No plays, no short stories, no non-fiction, no pop-up books. PS Sorry I got Douglas Adams wrong, BG. I won't do it again.
DanS	posted 05-22-99 11:29 AM ET Hugo: too serious? humorless? Nabokov? Dumas? Tolkien? Narnia? What are you talking about? For God's sake, I've read enough Piers Anthony books to know good from a total waste of shelf-space. "an extended fictional work in prose dealing with character, action, thought, etc., esp. in the form of a story." Yes, that's the case. Thanks for pointing those elements out to me. The best ones have all of these to the ultimate degree. Many (perhaps I should several) S-F authors have thought, but not character or story. For instance, Dick, my favorite sci-fi writer, can be said to have thought, action, and story, but his characters are lacking. Thus, he's not in the top ten. Asimov has thought above all else, but lacks in the other categories. Enough milquetoast, give me reasons why you like these books. No pretension necessary.
Imran Siddiqui	posted 05-22-99 10:20 PM ET Oh, lest I almost forget: Les Miserable by Victor Hugo Imran Siddiqui
Mcerion	posted 05-23-99 12:23 AM ET I'm only going to do English language writers. Gravity's Rainbow: Thomas Pynchon Moby Dick: Herman Melville London Fields: Martin Amis Post Office: Charles Bukowski Slaughterhouse Five: Kurt Vonnegut jr. Tales of Mystery and Imagination: E. A. Poe Catch 22: Joseph Heller A Clockwork Orange: Anthony Burgess Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Hunter S. Thompson Naked Lunch: William S. Burroughs
Valtyr	posted 05-23-99 12:54 AM ET Calm down, DanS! This is not your thread, it's Frodo83's, so he gets to set the premises, not you. I suggest you start your own thread.
Mcerion	posted 05-23-99 02:14 AM ET Before anyone says anything, yeah I know E. A. Poe isn't a novelist, but I like him anyway.
Frodo83	posted 05-23-99 01:51 PM ET This isn't limited to sci-fi or english-speaking authors. Just your 10 favorite novels. Period.
Jay	posted 05-23-99 05:34 PM ET Not in any order, but: Tehanu - U. LeGuinn Tuntematon Sotilas - V�in� Linna Vieraan Kyp�r�n Alla - Niilo Lauttamus Resident Evil: The Umbrella Conspiracy - S.D. Perry Resident Evil: Caliban Cove - S.D. Perry D�den p� Larvef�dder - Sven Hassel Son of Dawn - Dixie McKeone And a couple more that I can't remember right now.
DanS	posted 05-24-99 10:12 AM ET Mcerion added a couple of really good ones (the kind that you think--damn, those were good books). Pynchon (The Crying of Lot 49 is good too--very similar too Eco's Foucault's Pendulum--great for the conspiracy theorists among us), Vonnegut (he has so much that is good), and Burgess (that book took some time to learn, but it was worth it in spades). Odd that nobody has mentioned William Gibson, in this cyberworld of ours here. One of the most innovative SF writers of the last 50 years. Calm down Valtyr about my calming down! There's nothing wrong with challenging others. "Favorite Book" threads normally top out at about 20 posts. I want to hear more!
Saras	posted 05-24-99 10:42 AM ET The Choirboys by Joseph Wambaugh; a funny/sad story of 10 LAPD cops Dievu Miskas by Balys Sruoga; from the gas chambers of Nazi death camp in Stutthof, with such a dose of black humour that one might think of it as insolent; it's not, the guy really was there. Sakme apie Juza by Juozas Baltusis; the prewar/postwar Lithuanian village, controversy, deceit and misery. Three friends - E.M.Remarque Lord of the flies - William Golding Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare Evgenyi Onegin - Alexander Pushkin And a number of others... I must admit I enjoy Clancy, too... In fact, there was a real-life prototype of the guy (Marko Ramius, not really a Lithuanian name...) who hijacked the nuke sub. He has a sister, and she stayed in Lithuania and became an actress (a really good one), but due to her brothers' act of defiance she never made a big carreer.
DanS	posted 05-24-99 11:02 AM ET Saras, a question that I've been curious about. In the movie "Hunt For Red October", was Sean Connery's Russian at least passable?
DanS	posted 05-24-99 11:05 AM ET Also it says in the Internet Movie Database that the Swedish version is 1 minute longer than the US version. Did they keep a scene in the Swedish version related to Lithuania that they cut out in the US version? OK, back to the topic at hand. Books.
Saras	posted 05-24-99 11:11 AM ET No it was not passable! I barely understood a word! What scene about Lithuania? When they they sail on the Red October up the P-something river and Connery says this looks like Nemunas? Bull$hit, Nemunas is a small brook compared with that one. Back to books, though.
OldWarrior_42	posted 05-24-99 11:26 AM ET Saras....I saw the movie long time ago for The choirboys....does that count. How about "One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Alexander Solzenitsen (sp?). Only read a couple of novels. That was one ,also The Hobbitt and Lord of the Rings.Also saw the movie for that one too. One of my alltime favorites. I dont read too many novels , I have too short an attention span. I like short stories and mag articles better. I can go thru them at one sitting and retain the info. If I read a novel ,after I put it down I lose track if I dont get back to it right away. My loss though ....oh well.
Saras	posted 05-24-99 11:33 AM ET No, Choirboys the movie probably sucked (most of them do). I read in the Internet Movie database that they changed the end. How did the movie end?
Noisy	posted 05-24-99 04:15 PM ET Not in any order: 1 The Day After Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein: one of his kiddies ones, but the only book I remember reading in a single session. 2 Consider Phlebas - Iain M. Banks Science Fiction just doesn't come any harder, and for me the ending just makes it: all that effort, and it's just a footnote! 3 High Citadel - Desmond Bagley It's about a plane crash in the mountains, and the survivors have to fight off some terrorists, or something. I haven't thought about this book for years - thanks for reminding me. 4 The Reality Dysfunction - Peter F. Hamilton Staggeringly brilliant. I can't wait for the third in the series. 5 Any of the Quiller books - Adam Hall (Elleston Trevor) I'd bet on Quiller against any other secret agent anywhere, anyhow, anytime. 6 When Eight Bells Toll - Alistair MacLean I've not read this for so long, that I can't remember whether I love it for the film version rather than the book. Another of his that was brilliant was Ice Station Zebra, but what a crap film. Sorry - just looked on Amazon, and I want to change my MacLean vote to HMS Ulysses. 7 Something by Freddy Forsyth - Day of the Jackal or Odessa File Just because of the detail of the research. 8 A Perfect Spy - John Le Carre You want a book about what makes a person's personality - this is the one for you. 9 HHGTTG - DA Because. 10 Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers - Harry Harrison I only wish I could follow half of the references he is making to the Science Fiction genre in this excellent pastiche (I'll just have to look that word up - well, it's near enough). Made it to ten. Might have to come back and revise a few when I've thought about it a bit longer. Not many classics in there. I did try to educate myself once, but didn't get very far - just a Conrad and a few Kiplings. (Do you like Kipling? I don't know - I've never Kippled.) Noisy Micromanager to the Stars
ejrolon	posted 05-24-99 06:27 PM ET i am just listing the ones i have read over three times stranger in a strange land (r.heinlein) elric series (michael moorcock) cien anos de soledad (garcia marquez) lord of the rings (jrr tolkien) red storm rising (tom clancy) 2001 (arthur c clarke) narnia chronicles (c.s. lewis) dune series (frank herbert) chaos (james gleick) battlefield earth (l.r. hubbard) watership down (richard adams) the hitchhikers's guide to the galaxy (douglas adams) sorry i went over
OldWarrior_42	posted 05-24-99 10:26 PM ET Saras.... man that was so long ago when I saw it , I dont remember how it ended. I didnt think it was that good a movie though,obviously , since I dont remember much. Usually when a movie is good you tend to remember it. I do believe though that it was one of James Woods' first movies.
Mcerion	posted 05-25-99 03:58 PM ET Did anyone enjoy Henry Miller's "Tropic of Cancer"? The first 3/4's of that book are raw, vital and brilliant. The bidet scene was hilarious.
Picker	posted 05-26-99 03:43 PM ET 1. Romance of the Three Kingdoms - i cant spell it 2. The Sword of Truth - Terry Goodkind 3. Daughter of the Empire - Raymond E. Feist 4. Jhereg - I don't know 5. Serpentwar Saga - Raymond E. Feist 6. Dark Tower Series - Stephen King 7. Lord of the Rings - JRRT 8. Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan 9. Betrayal at Krondor - Raymond E. Feist(I hate Raymond E. Feist!) 10. My own demented ramblings - Denny Pick Pik's Rambling and Emulation
Spoe	posted 05-26-99 04:48 PM ET Some of my favorites: Ender's Game Dune, Frank Herbert The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane Starship Troopers, R.A.H. Stranger in a Strange Land, R.A.H. Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson The Mote in God's Eye, Larry Niven, Fred Pohl The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemmingway