My Top Ten Speculative Fiction Books

I think everybody that reads has those books that they read over and over because they enjoy them so much. This is my (very abbreviated) list of my favorites. I am more than happy to discuss them at just about any time and just about anywhere. What are yours?


1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. Time Enough for Love by Robert A. Heinlein
3. Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
4. The Element of Fire by Martha Wells
5. The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold
6. Blood Music by Greg Bear
7. Memory, Sorrow & Thorn by Tad Williams
8. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
9. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
10. Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner


Most of these books have sequels or other stories set in the same universe, some are actually more than one book (okay, I cheated), but all of them tell an absolutely captivating story. These are the classics of our genre (or they will be) and they have won awards, sold a gozillion copies, and are still excellent stories as much as 30 or 40 years after they were written. Is there one or two you haven't read? Or one or two you'd add to the list? Gosh, I hope so...drop a comment and tell me how your list differs from mine. I might just get a good idea, and so might you.