Best Fantasy Novel
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This list reflects only my personal reading experience, not necessarily corresponding with the impact on fantasy field in general, critical acceptance, etc. Plus my reading time is limited for long novels, so many of good (or new) writers would be absent. ALSO SEE "BEST FANTASY SERIES" _____________________________ FIRST PLACE Best Fantasy Novel J. R. R. Tolkien "Lord of the Rings'' _____________________________________________________ SECOND PLACE Best Fantasy Novel China Mieville "Perdido Street Station" Tim Powers "The Anubis Gates" William Hope Hodgson "The House On The Borderland" _____________________________________________________ THIRD PLACE Best Fantasy Novel James Blaylock "The Elfin Ship" Ray Bradbury "Dandelion Wine"; "The Halloween Tree" "Something Wicked This Way Comes" Richard Ford "Quest For The Faradawn" Henry Kuttner "The Dark World" Joe R. Lansdale "Zeppelins West" George R. R. Martin "Fevre Dream" George McDonald "Phantastes" J. R. R. Tolkien "The Hobbit" Jack Vance "Lyonesse" Roger Zelazny "Amber novels" _____________________________________________________ FOURTH PLACE Best Fantasy Novel Peter S. Beagle "A Fine And Private Place" Mary Brown "The Unlikely Ones" Terry Bisson "Talking Man" Hannes Bok "Beyond the Golden Stairs" Charles DeLint "Greenmantle" Stephen Donaldson "The Wounded Land" Michael Ende "The Neverending Story" John Farris "Wildwood" Raymond E. Feist "Faerie Tale" Stephen Gallagher "Rain" Paul Hazel "Undersea" James Herbert "Lair"; "The Rats" Shirley Jackson "We Have Always Lived In The Castle" Stephen King "The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger" "The Dark Tower: The Wastelands" Henry Kuttner "The Portal in the Picture" Ursula Le Guin "The Beginning Place"; "The Farthest Shore" Fritz Leiber "Conjure Wife" C. S. Lewis "Till We Have Faces" Robert McCammon "The Wolf's Hour" H. Warner Munn "Merlin's Ring" Jack O'Connell "The Resurrectionist" Anne Rice "The Witching Hour" Michael Shea "Nifft The Lean" Peter Straub "Shadowland" A. &. B. Strugatskie "Skazka O Troike" "Monday Begins on Saturday" Thomas Tryon "Harvest Home" Jack Williamson "Darker Than You Think"; "Golden Blood" ------------ Also see: (full navigation tree) BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL: Best SF Novel (General Themes) Best Space SF Novel Best Time SF Novel Best Apocalyptic SF Novel BEST SCIENCE FICTION COLLECTIONS BEST SCIENCE FICTION SERIES: Best SF Series (general themes) Best Space SF Series BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA: Best SF Novella 1920-1960 (general themes) Best SF Novella 1961-now (general themes) Best Space SF Novella 1920-1960 Best Space SF Novella 1961-now Best Time SF Novella Best Apocalyptic SF Novella BEST SCIENCE FICTION STORY: Best SF Story 1920-1960 (general themes) Best SF Story 1961-now (general themes) Best Space SF Story 1920-1960 Best Space SF Story 1961-now Best Time SF Story Best Apocalyptic SF Story BEST FANTASY NOVEL BEST FANTASY COLLECTION BEST FANTASY SERIES BEST FANTASY NOVELLA BEST FANTASY STORY: Best Fantasy Story 1920-1960 Best Fantasy Story 1961-now --------------------- RETURN TO MAIN PAGE |
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May 9, 2009 Two of the Most Entertaining SF Novels from the 1980s "Vacuum Flowers" by Michael Swanwick... and Tim Power's "The Anubis Gates", of course! |
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March 16, 2009 "The Body Snatchers" and Other Alien Pods Fiction by Jack Finney, Vance, Simak and Bloch mind impostors and emotion imitators |
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March 3, 2009 Exploring the Noir and the Grotesque Jack O'Connell "The Resurrectionist" and other newest examples of the bizarre |
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March 1, 2009 Overpopulation, Sex and Sensibility Robert Silverberg's "The World Inside" and other classic sf blasts |
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February 24, 2009 H. P. Lovecraft "At the Mountains of Madness" and other masterpieces of terror including original illustrations |
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February 14, 2009 "Constellations", edited by Peter Crowther original anthology, 2005 full review: mind-bending stories |
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February 9, 2009 The Ultimate Guide to New Writers of SF&F more than 2,000 writers, 1990-2009 Ratings, awards, web links |
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January 5, 2009 The Surreal Office "The Situation", "The Cookie Monster" Weird fiction by Jeff VanderMeer and Vernor Vinge |
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December 23, 2008 Mind-shattering Novels of Philip K. Dick "UBIK", "Now Wait for Last Year", etc. |
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December 16, 2008 Theodore Sturgeon's "More Than Human" There’s a problem with this new gestalt being: ...it needs a conscience. |
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December 15, 2008 Jack Williamson's "Legion of Space" Series Classic Space Opera The ultimate weapon, controlled by a gorgeous woman |
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December 14, 2008 Astounding Stories, August 1934 Jack Williamson, Nat Schachner, "Doc" Smith Epic space opera gems and horror surprises |
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December 7, 2008 Rare Pulp SF&F, Issue 3 Leigh Brackett, Fritz Leiber, Vic Phillips Rediscovered gems of wonder & adventure |
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November 27, 2008 William Gibson's Novels "Pattern Recognition", "Neuromancer" A Fractured Delight... |
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November 15, 2008 Alfred Bester "The Computer Connection" "Bester was the mountain, all the rest of us..." Pyrokinetic writing in one neat package |
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November 14, 2008 Two Novels by Samuel R. Delany "Nova" and "Babel-17" New Wave Milestones, and then some. |
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November 11, 2008 Theodore Sturgeon's "The Cosmic Rape" (and more reviews of his fiction) Classic SF at its best and most humane |
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November 10, 2008 Travel Distant Worlds! Vintage Space Travel Posters, and more. Part 3 of Pulp Sf art series... |
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November 3, 2008 Alastair Reynolds' Epic Novels "Chasm City" and "Revelation Space" And it's only the beginning... |
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October 20, 2008 Rare Fantasy Gems by C. L. Moore and Henry Kuttner Hidden Gems of Pulp Fiction When two star writers become husband and wife |
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October 10, 2008 Grand Old Times... in the Future Overview of Pulp Art A Loudly Lurid Universe of Sci-Fi Illustration |
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June 23, 2008 Exclusive: Interview with Nancy Kress From High Fantasy to Hard Science Fiction A Spectrum of Wonder |
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February 5, 2008 Jack Vance "To Live Forever" and other Vance extravaganzas |
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January 23, 2008 Alastair Reynolds "Pushing Ice" Cosmological "noir" chase across space |
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January 18, 2008 Charles Stross "Missile Gap" Mind-bending Cold War world-building |
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January 16, 2008 Hidden Gems of Pulp SF, Part 2 Rare stories from the "Age of Wonder" incl. David Keller, Horace Gold etc. |
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January 12, 2008 Ultra-Rare Serials from "Fantasy Magazine" "Cosmos" + "Challenge From Beyond" incredible line-up of writers |
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December 30, 2007 Hidden Gems of Pulp SF, Part 1 Neat & Rare Stories incl. the mad rally story "The Racer" |
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December 25, 2007 Astounding Stories, June 1935 Full Issue Review incl. Gallun, Schachner, Campbell |
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December 25, 2007 Astounding Stories, May 1941 Full Issue Review incl. Heinlein, Asimov, Eric Frank Russell |
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December 23, 2007 Horace Gold; P. Schuyler Miller "Apocalyptic Blockbusters" "Inflexure" and "Spawn": guilty pleasure |
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December 19, 2007 Exclusive: Interview with John C. Wright Plus his advice to new writers Adventures in Space & Magic |
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November 11, 2007 Frank Belknap Long "The Horror from the Hills" Great Lovecraftian Weird Novella |
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October 13, 2007 Exclusive: Interview with Jeff VanderMeer Plus his Recommended Reading List A Triumph of the Bizarre |
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September 13, 2007 Alastair Reynolds, Part 2 More "Galactic North" Stories A Mixture of Hard Sf, James Bond & Jaws... |
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September 10, 2007 Alastair Reynolds Review "Galactic North" staring down infinity... |
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September 9, 2007 Most Shocking Article "Holey Fools" by M. Christian Warning: Gross Subject Matter |
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September 7, 2007 Alfred Bester Review "The Stars My Destination" "...nail it to the Retro Hugo voting board..." |
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September 4, 2007 Larry Niven Review "Neutron Star" "better get GP alien ship hull" |
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September 3, 2007 Poul Anderson Review "Ensign Flandry" "or how to start a sub-genre..." |
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September 1, 2007 Thomas M. Disch Review "The Squirrel Cage" "...seriously mind-bending stuff..." |
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August 31, 2007 Henry Kuttner Review "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" (The Last Mimzy) "...great storyline for a pretty average movie..." |
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August 30, 2007 Robert A. Heinlein Review "The Moon is the Harsh Mistress" "...it caused a tooth ache, and put my brain on freeze..." |
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August 29, 2007 Frank Herbert Review "Destination: Void" "...a layered cake of ideas and a scientific extrapolation on a genius level..." |
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August 28, 2007 Harlan Ellison Review "The Abnormals" "...editors slapped the most outrageous titles on his stories..." |
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August 28, 2007 James White Review "All Judgement Fled" "...the tension is palpable, soon to grow almost unbearable..." |
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August 26, 2007 Grand Adventure Strikes Again Space Opera Article, by Avi Abrams Based on Arthur Clarke's "Against the Fall of Night" |
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August 21, 2007 William Gibson Review "Burning Chrome" "...sheer pyrotechnics and exuberance of style..." |
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August 19, 2007 Ace Double: Murray Leinster "The Pirates of Ersatz /The Mutant Weapon" "...the characters might as well be cats or hamsters..." |
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August 18, 2007 Astounding Stories, May 1935 Pulp SF Magazine Review with many original illustrations |
Also read recent posts:
Author's Pen Names - Most Complete List Ever
The Wonder Timeline: SF&F Restrospective
Space Adventure Article
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"SF&F Reading Experience" is a part of "Dark Roasted Blend / Thrilling Wonder" family of sites. We try to highlight the most entertaining and rewarding science fiction and fantasy, with emphasis on memorable reader experience, not necessarily general acceptance by the critics. Have fun! Most reviews were written by Avi Abrams, unless otherwise noted. The reviews also appear on the historical restrospective page. Feel free to submit your own review, if the story is not listed here. All major OFFICIAL AWARDS are highlighted in BLUE ("winner" has a letter "W" by it, otherwise it is a runner-up only) Our PERSONAL AWARDS (ratings) are highlighted in RED and PURPLE: --/ first place : --/ second place : --/ third place : --/ fourth place : --/ cool : (equal to fifth place) ALL "BEST OF" LISTS ARE LOCATED HERE These awards are given in the following categories: - novel : - series : - novella : - story : - collection : Also, there are our personal STYLE / GENRE SPECIFIC AWARDS. These reflect the content and the lasting impression on the reader: --/ wonder award sense-of-wonder, "visual intensity" and inventiveness --/ idea award originality of idea / concept --/ adventure award exhilarating plot, excitement / action --/ style award outstanding literary qualities, inimitable style --/ romance award intense and beautiful love / relationships --/ humour award funny and cool --/ emotion award touching, lasting impression, sensitivity --/ shock value altogether wild --/ awesome scale mind-boggling; further enhances sense-of-wonder --/ rare find very hard to locate, mostly from old pulps, never reprinted, etc. Again, please feel free to leave your own review or comments under every writer's entry; and recommend other fiction you liked. |
1 Comments:
I have personally read most of your list and agree most heartily with your superb tastes and judgement.
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