<b><h4>100 books thou shalt read before you die</h4></b>
The Hobbit's better than Curious George. George Orwell's 1984 is the scariest book we've ever read. Orson Scott Card's Speaker for the Dead is one of the best books ever written.
Opinions? Yep. But they got us thinking... What are the best books of all time?
Quite the project. But after arguing cherished book lists back and forth for weeks, InQuest came up with a "hall of fame" ranking of the best books speculative fiction has to offer. Anything from fantasy to science fiction to horror was eligible for the list; however, the work had to stand up to certain criteria: originality, historical impact, technical excellence and, of course, it had to be a good read.
You'll notice that a series, like Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" or Michael Moorcock's "Elric," counts as one slot on the top 100. However, sometimes we'll call out individual books like Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire or Piers Anthony's A Spell for Chameleon where we felt the selected book was worthy but not the entire series.
You may find that a lot of your favorites don't show up where you think they should be. Or maybe there's a classic you think we passed over in favor of something else. You may argue with our picks, but you gotta admit it makes an excellent reading list...
<b>100. The Postman.</b> <i>David Brin.</i> You've seen the movie about one man standing up for his ideals in a post-apocalypse America. Now read the book; it's better.
<b>99. Carrion Comfort.</b> <i>Dan Simmons.</i> A secret society of psychic vampires feed off others' misery and play games with human minds.
<b>98. Through the Looking Glass.</b> <i>Lewis Carroll.</i> In the novel that follows Alice in Wonderland, young Alice seeks to return home while exploring a mad, enchanted land and dodging those who seek to do her harm.
<b>97. The High Crusade.</b> <i>Poul Anderson.</i> Dark Age knights commandeer a space craft and conquer the galaxy, converting aliens to Christianity along the way..
<b>96. Snow Crash.</b> <i>Neal Stephenson.</i> The first cyberpunk novel to feature a Matrix with personality and the first hints of virtual reality. Plus, you've gotta love a main character named Hiro Protagonist who's a hacker, samurai-swordsman and pizza-delivery guy for The Mob.
<b>95. The Kraken Wakes.</b> <i>John Wydham.</i> An unusual "invasion from below" premise with a couple similar to Paul and Jamie from "Mad About You" fulfilling the lead roles.
<b>94. Way Station.</b> <i>Clifford Simak.</i> An Earthling is employed by an intergalactic federation to watch over a Way Station they secretly set up on Earth. Can he balance the loyalties to his race and to his employers and prevent an atomic war?
<b>93. "Swords."</b> <i>Fred Saberhagen.</i> The god Vulcan crafts magical blades, each with a specific unstoppable power, and unleashes them upon an unsuspecting world. First, humanity uses the swords to kill the gods. After that, things get violent. Series: more than 10 books, from An Armory of Swords through The Last Book of Lost Swords: Shieldbreaker's Story.
<b>92. "The Four Lords of the Diamond."</b> <i>Jack Chalker.</i> A secret agent has his mind copied into four different bodies to infiltrate four enemy worlds and assassinate their rulers. Series: Lilith: A Snake in the Grass, Cerverus: A wolf in the Fold, Charon: A Dragon at the Gate, Medusa: A Tiger by the Tail.
<b>91. The Songs of Distant Earth.</b> <i>Arthur C. Clarke.</i> Humankind learns that the Sun is going to explode and sends its genetic seed into the universe before the Earth is destroyed. This is hard science-fiction with a reasonably viable method of space travel.
<b>90. Flowers of Algernon.</b> <i>Daniel Keyes.</i> A mentally retarded custodian undergoes a breakthrough surgical technique that triples his IQ. He's got the mind of a genius, but the emotional maturity of a child.
<b>89. Downbelow Station.</b> <i>C.J. Cherryh.</i> Humanity has been exploring space for a few hundred years with sub-light ships, long enough to establish trade routes between orbital stations in a handful of distant solar systems. Downbelow Station is at the crux of the shipping routes, the gateway to Earth's defensive perimeter. Earth authorities worry that the sub-light communication logs - of 10 years or more in some cases - are giving their distant colonies and upstart merchant vessels too much freedom, but when Earth finally cracks down, it's already too late: Scientists at distant Cyteen have already built the first faster-than-light spacedrive, and Cyteen has become the center of a new power called Union. Although Downbelow Station has always prided itself on its neutrality, it's now caught between Earth, Union and merchanter forces, fated to become the center of the conflict.
<b>88. The Silence of the Lambs.</b> <i>Thomas Harris.</i> An FBI agent must enlist the help of a sadistic serial killer to hunt down another serial killer.
<b>87. To Your Scattered Bodies Go.</b> <i>Philip Jose Farmer.</i> Anyone who has ever died - you, me, Hitler, Mark Twain - ends up on a strange alien world. The first book in the "Riverworld" series follows the adventures of a lone explorer trying to puzzle out the mysteries of this freakish "afterlife."
<b>86. The Last Unicorn.</b> <i>Peter S. Beagle.</i> When a unicorn recieves word that all the other unicorns have vanished, she embarks on a quest to find her lost fellows. She is mortal for a brief period and is the only unicorn that has ever loved a human being for more than a short time.
<b>85. Crystal Express.</b> <i>Bruce Sterling.</i> Humanity has finally abandoned Earth for space and divided into two factions seperated by biology as well as philosphy. The Shaper faction uses genetic and bio-engineering to adapt their bodies to space while the Mechanists believe in creating superior humans using cybernetic enhancements.
<b>84. Catspaw.</b> <i>Joan Vinge.</i> Cyberpunk, murder-mystery and political intrigue twist together in this page-turner which tells the story of Cat, a half-human psychic, forced to work as a bodyguard for the people he hates most.
<b>83. "Lyonesse."</b> <i>Jack Vance.</i> Supernatural novels full of faeries, witches and inter-kingdom intrigue - and it all takes place beneath the English Channel. Series: Suldren's Garden, The Green Pearl, Madouc.
<b>82. Gun, With Occasional Music.</b> <i>Jonathan Lethem.</i> A private eye gets involved in a murder mystery in a near, dark future populated by leftover humans and animals - like guntoting kangaroos - genetically enhanced to near-human intelligence. Scathingly dark and very funny.
<b>81. The Invisible Man.</b> <i>H.G. Wells.</i> A scientist's sanity and morality is the price of his invisibility formula.
<b>80. "Space Trilogy."</b> <i>C.S. Lewis.</i> A Mars rampant with life. A water covered Venus populated with floating, living "islands." An Earth where King Arthur fights corporate Britain. Series: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength..
<b>79. Stranger in a Strange Land.</b> <i>Robert Heinlein.</i> The Stranger is Valentine Michael Smith, and the Strange Land is Earth. Smith was born on Mars, the only human survivor of our first expedition there. He was raised by Martians, then "rescued" by the second expedition some 25 years later. He thinks of himself as a Martian and uses Martain abilities like levitation without seeing anything unusual about them. Now, like a child raised in the wilderness by wolves, he must learn how to be human... and at the same time, teach his new friends how to think like a Martian. He discovers the joys of sex and free love (which is part of what made this book so popular with the '60s generation), and tries to reconcile the many conflicting teachings of Earthly religions with his Martian knowledge. The reader not only watches Smith's growth, but also gets a tour of a futuristic Earth and all the foilbles of human society.
<b>78. The Mote in God's Eye.</b> <i>Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.</i> It's 3017 A.D. Humanity discovers intelligent aliens in a backward region of space: Should we embrace them or bomb 'em to bits?
<b>77. Something Wicked This Way Comes.</b> <i>Ray Bradbury.</i> Perhaps the subtlest horror story ever written. The Carnival promises to fulfill your greatest wish, but charges the highest price for it. The images from this book will haunt you for the rest of your life.
<b>76. "Lensman."</b> <i>E.E. "Doc" Smith.</i> Classic space opera with pure-as-boy-scout heroes and unrelentingly evil bad guys fighting for control of planet-squishing "doomsday devices." Series: Tri-planetary, First Lensman, Galactic Patrol, Gray Lensman, Second Stage Lensman, Children of the Lens.
<b>75. "Dragonlance."</b> <i>Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman.</i> The creatures of legend, dragons, have returned - and brought darkness and destruction with them. Only one band of adventurers can save the world... if they're not betrayed from within. Series: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night, Dragons of Spring Dawning, Time of the Twins, War of the Twins, Test of the Twins.
<b>74. Dying Inside.</b> <i>Robert Silverberg.</i> An aging telepath starts to lose the grip on his mental powers. A fascinating journey into the mind of an average man granted unusual powers.
<b>73. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.</b> <i>Jules Verne.</i> Captain Nemo's exploration of the oceans and battle for their control. Verne's Nautilus predates real submarines.
<b>72. A Fine and Private Place.</b> <i>Peter S. Beagle.</i> A timeless and classic romance between two ghosts who must fight to remember what life and love once were.
<b>71. West of Eden.</b> <i>Harry Harrison.</i> The Earth is ruled by intelligent dinosuars; they discover America, populated by tool-using, Stone Age men. Bloody fights ensue.
<b>70. "Dark Elf."</b> <i>R.A. Salvatore.</i> One of the best series of gaming-related fiction introduces Drizzt Do'Urden, a dark elf (or drow) born with something no other drow has or can afford ro have: a conscience. His hometown, the underground city of Menzoberranzan, is a rough place, and his family achieved its position of power by adhering to the city's Golden Rule: Don't get caught. As Drizzt comes of age, more and more of life in Menzoberanzan becomes repugnant to him, and he can't preform the evil acts his society requires. Eventually, he embarrasses his family, and, being a male in a matriarchal society, the penalty for that sort of thing is death. He has no choice but to escape to the surface world, which doesn't take kindly to dark elves, who have a reputation of being bloodthirsty evil-dooers. Drizzt's quest for acceptance in "good" society and escape from his past lead to many more adventures and battles. Series: Homeland, Sojourn, The Legacy, Siege of Darkness, Starless Night.
<b>69. The Martian Chronicles.</b> <i>Ray Bradbury.</i> A collection of short stories focusing on humanity's encounters with the Red Planet and its eerie inhabitants. It starts with first contact and moves on from there. Every story's got a trademark Bradbury twist.
<b>68. Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat.</b> <i>Harry Harrison.</i> Jim diGriz is the most brilliant con artist and thief in the galaxy. When he's finally captured, the law enforcement has only one choice - make him into one of their own - for it takes a rat to catch one.
<b>67. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.</b> <i>Mark Twain.</i> A 19th century man is transported back to the Round Table where he becomes Arthur's second in command by introducing a number of modern tools like railroads and telephones..
<b>66. "The Gap."</b> <i>Stephen R. Donaldson.</i> From beyond the boundaries of Forbidden Space, the Amnion, an alien race capable of horrific atrocities, want something unspeakable from humanity - and they'll go to unthinkable lengths to get it. Series: The Real Story, Forbidden Knowledge, A Dark and Hungry God Arises, Chaos and Order, This Day All Gods Die.
<b>65. A Spell for Chameleon.</b> <i>Piers Anthony.</i> In Xanth, everyone has a special magic power unique to themselves. Unfortunately, Bink is born without one. Or is he?
<b>64. Midnight at the Well of Souls.</b> <i>Jack L. Chalker.</i> Most of the universe was actually built by an ancient dead race and is maintained by one massive computer. Whoever controls the computer has ultimate power.
<b>63. "Mars."</b> <i>Kim Stanley Robinson.</i> In the year 2026, a group of a 100 explorers sets out to colonize and terraform Mars. Except not everyone wants it that way. Series: Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars.
<b>62. Conan.</b> <i>Robert E. Howard.</i> The ultimate barbarian hero kicks the crap out of a cornucopia of evil sorcerers, trashes a legion of demonic monstrosities and rescues every beautiful princess on the planet. Then he eats breakfast.
<b>61. A Fire Upon the Deep.</b> <i>Vernor Vinge.</i> A god-like artifical intelligence from another universe threatens this universe. One group has the knowledge to stop it, but they're trapped on a primative planet without the technological means for space travel or communication.
<b>60. "Xenogenesis."</b> <i>Octavia Butler.</i> The Oankali aliens have saved the Earth. For a price. Oankali survival requires constant genetic exchange... and we are the mating stock. Series: Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago.
<b>59. "2001."</b> <i>Arthur C. Clarke.</i> How did we get to be what we are? The series answers that one fundamentally human question. It begins with the establishment of a connection between our ape-anscestors, struggling to merely survive. We are hopelessly weaker and outnumbered by the other animals of the planet. An outside force plants the seeds of real intelligence by way of a great black "monolith." These first conceptual thoughts launch us toward a chain of events into the future. As the future unfolds, our curiosity leads to the discovery of another such box on the moon - proof positive that we are not the only intelligant force in the universe! It is a discovery that is as impossible for us to understand as our survival problem was millennia ago. Still, humanity presses on, only to discover another box near jupiter, which brings even more events crucial to humanity. In 3001: The Final Odyssey, many of the questions raised in the series are - for good or ill - finally answered. Series: 2001, 2010, 2061, 3001.
<b>58. "Earthsea."</b> <i>Ursula K. Le Guin.</i> A misfit boy named Ged studies to become a wizard and eventually is called to help reestablish the balance of the universe: between light and darkness, male and female, life and death, magic and its ultimate price. Series: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore, Tehanu.
<b>57. "Fionavar."</b> <i>Guy Gavriel Kay.</i> A group of modern-day students is mysteriously transported to a fantasy world in peril. When a malevolent deity is released from 1,000 years of imprisonment, the students discover that their fates are intertwined with those of Fionavar. Series: The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire, The Darkest Road.
<b>56. Good Omens.</b> <i>Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.</i> In this bizarre, end-of-the-world comedy, Armageddon has come, except the and angels and devils aren't ready for it.
<b>55. Slaughterhouse Five.</b> <i>Kurt Vonegut.</i> The horrors of war are examined as one man shifts back and forth between existances, from experiences in WWII Dresden to captivity on the alien planet Tralfamadore.
<b>54. "Pern."</b> <i>Anne McCaffery.</i> Human riders link minds with benevolent, airplane-sized dragons to fight off the all-devouring Thread. Series: Dragonflight, Dragonquest, The White Dragon, Dragonsong, among others.
<b>53. Timescape.</b> <i>Gregory Benford.</i> Near future scientists send messages back in time to 1962 to save the planet.
<b>52. A Clockwork Orange.</b> <i>Anthony Burgess.</i> When ultraviolent Alex gets caught, he undergoes treatment to have antisocial urges artificially controlled. Is a person capable of goodness without free will?.
<b>51. It.</b> <i>Stephen King.</i> A creature which preys upon the weak, the vulnerable, the abondoned. A creature which becomes your worst nightmare.
<b>50. "Wheel of Time."</b> <i>Robert Jordan.</i> One age dies, another unfolds, and the web of fate shapes events as each cycle reincarnates old heros and villains in new flesh. Imprisioned throught the changing of the years is the Dark One, fastened by magic in his mountain prision, Shayol Ghul. He yearns to escape and break all that has escaped his grasp, while his minions scour the land subverting, manipulating and otherwise enforcing his dark will. Enter Rand al'Thor, farm boy. He has no comprehension of the events outside his little village. But when a mysterious woman arrives to open his eyes to the approaching evil, Rand and his friends set out on a quest that will forever change the world. You see, Rand is the Dragon Reborn, the most powerful male sorcerer to live during in this age. He's got the power to level whole cities, to erase history, to challenge the Dark One himself - except it's slowly driving him insane.
<b>49. The Princess Bride.</b> <i>William Goldman.</i> A swashbuckling tale of romance and adventure... plus Rats of Unusual Size.
<b>48. Animal Farm.</b> <i>George Orwell.</i> Mutinous farm animals run off their oppressor to establish a livestock utopia.
<b>47. Mythago Wood.</b> <i>Robert Holdstock.</i> Celtic and Old English myths come alive in a stretch of primeval woodland that generates living "ghosts" from people's unconscious minds.
<b>46. War of the Worlds.</b> <i>H.G. Wells.</i> The classic alien invasion tale of technologically advanced Martian conquerors with an enormous Achillies' Heel.
<b>45. The Wizard of Oz.</b> <i>L. Frank Baum.</i> Dorothy seeks to return home while exploring a fantasy world with her companions. This is the first in a series of Oz books, containing much more material than the classic film such as an encounter with the monstrous Hammerheads and the origin of the Tin Man. Alas, no winged monkeys though.
<b>44. Emphyrio.</b> <i>Jack Vance.</i> On the planet Halma, the ruling Lords have made mechanization and mass production illegal to keep workers poor by limiting their output. Ghyl Tarvoke, the son of a master woodcarver, works to overthrow the traditional system and earn fair treatment for the working class.
<b>43. The Demolished Man.</b> <i>Alfred Bester.</i> A thrilling murder/suspense story which answers the question, "How do you commit murder in a 23rd-Century telepathic society?"
<b>42. Watchers.</b> <i>Dean Koontz.</i> A genetic experiment creates two super-intelligent beasts. One, a twisted creature of evil, escapes and the only one that can stop him is his "brother" - a domesticated dog named Einstien.
<b>41. The Illuminatus! Trilogy.</b> <i>Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.</i> The three books of The Illuminatus are only partly works of the immagination. They tackle all the cover-ups of our time, from who really shot the Kennedys to why there's a pyramid on a one-dollar bill.
<b>40. "The Chronicles of Narnia."</b> <i>C.S. Lewis.</i> This series contains The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, the most famous book of the series, wherein four children step inside a wardrobe in England and emerge into the magical land of Narnia, a land complete with fauns and talking beavers, a land under the rule and spell of eternal winter by the White Witch. Series: The Magician's Nephew, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Last Battle.
<b>39. Starship Troopers.</b> <i>Robert Heinlein.</i> A recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the universe - and into battle against humanity's deadliest enemy. Forget the movie, read the book.
<b>38. Interview with the Vampire.</b> <i>Anne Rice.</i> The novel that took the gothic mystique of the vampire into the nights of modern San Francisco.
<b>37. The Green Mile.</b> <i>Stephen King.</i> The eerie struggle of Death row inmates as they face the electric chair.
<b>36. Blood Music.</b> <i>Greg Bear.</i> A nerdy researcher develops biochips - intelligent cells - and injects them into himself. They spread like a disease, with apocalyptic results.
<b>35. Mindkiller.</b> <i>Spider Robinson.</i> What do you do when you find someone can erase minds? Mindkiller (the first novella in Deathkiller) traces the paths of two men as mysteries in their lives irrevocably draw them to converge on one enigmatic organization - a corporation that is responsible for creating technology that lets people die from pure pleasure. It also has the first permanant means of brain-washing a person. The protagonists decide to try to shut down this cartel, even though they know it will certainly mean their doom. The book reads like a mystery-thriller the first time through, offers rich characterization on a second reading, and underneath it all asks: What makes life worth living?
<b>34. Gulliver's Travels.</b> <i>Jonathan Swift.</i> A shipwreck survivor encounters miniature people, giants and super intelligent talking horses among other things in a series of political satires.
<b>33. "The Book of the New Sun."</b> <i>Gene Wolfe.</i> How many series have a torturer as the main character? Follow along as a young apprentice torturer graduates to mass executioner, moves on to ruler of the world, savior of humanity, and, finally, a ghost. Series: The Shadow of the Torturer, The Claw of the Concillator, The Sword of the Lictor, The Citadel of the Autarch, The Urth of the New Sun.
<b>32. "Hellconia."</b> <i>Brian Aldiss.</i> Civilizations rise and fall on a planet where their year equals 3,000 of our years and winters like an Ice Age. Series: Hellconia Spring, Hellconia Summer, Hellconia Winter.
<b>31. The Hobbit.</b> <i>J.R.R. Tolkien.</i> The hobbit Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf and 13 dwarves embark on a quest to retake the dwarven treasure in the Lonely Mountain. Trolls, goblins, giant spiders and the infamous dragon, Smaug, stand in their way.
<b>30. Fahrenheit 451.</b> <i>Ray Bradbury.</i> Firemen in the world of Guy Montag don't read books; they burn them. And Guy enjoys his job. Ten years as a fireman, he never questions the reasons behind book-burning or the pleasure it gives him... until a 17 year-old girl shares a past with him when people were not afraid to read. Guy becomes someone he had once loathed, a book lover, a person who chooses to reject the laws of organized society and indulge in the sins of the written word. He falls from grace to become the quarry he once hunted, his desire for destruction replaced by a desire for knowledge.
<b>29. Watership Down.</b> <i>Richard Adams.</i> The search for a new home and struggle for survival, all from a rabbit's point of view. A unique take on the biblical story of Exodus.
<b>28. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.</b> <i>Robert Heinlein.</i> The moon is a penal colony ruled by an iron-fisted administration. The citizens want freedom and turn to a self-aware computer for rebellion plans.
<b>27. I, Robot.</b> <i>Issac Asimov.</i> Short stories that set the standard for intelligent robots in science fiction. Most famous for setting down the Three Laws of Robotics now taken for granted.
<b>26. Le Morte d'Arthur.</b> <i>Sir Thomas Malory.</i> The definitive collection of Arthurian tales - from Lancelot's betrayl to the birth of Mordred to invisible knights.
<b>25. The Stand.</b> <i>Stephen King.</i> A virus wipes out most of the world's population. While pockets of people fight to restore civilization, a demonic power threatens the remnants of America. Read the original, edited version.
<b>24. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.</b> <i>Douglas Adams.</i> The book that kicked off the five-book trilogy. Arthur Dent is rescued just before the Earth is demolished for a galactic freeway. He and his companion Ford Prefect encounter a depressed robot, visit the world where sofas come from and brave the dangers of Vogon poetry.
<b>23. A Princess of Mars.</b> <i>Edgar Rice Burroughs.</i> In the first book of the "John Carter" series, a Confederate soldier finds himself transported to Mars where he wins acclaim as a warrior.
<b>22. "Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser."</b> <i>Fritz Leiber.</i> A barbarian and master thief band together and bungle their way through encounters with assassin guilds, deadly sorcerers and scheming gods. Series: Ill Met in Lankhmar, Lean Times in Lankhmar, among others.
<b>21. The Time Machine.</b> <i>H.G. Wells.</i> A time-traveler explores a conflict in the year 802,701 A.D. between the meek and beautiful Eloi and the underground-dwelling, ruthless Morlocks.
<b>20. Ringworld.</b> <i>Larry Niven.</i> A space expedition crashes on an artifical planet shaped like a giant hula hoop 190 million miles in diameter. The survivors must fight the barbarian descendants of the original builders as they adventure across the ring in search of answers.
<b>19. "The Uplift Trilogy."</b> <i>David Brin.</i> All the other races across the galaxy - including sentient dolphins and chimps - gained intelligence by genetic modification or "uplift" and can trace their heritage to their benefactors. Mankind cannot, leaving them at the bottom of the universal totem pole against technologically superior and often hostile alien races. Earth launches a spacecraft into the sun in search of the patrons who may have uplifted man, but the magnetic life-forms from their turn nasty. Or do they? In Startide Rising, a dolphin-crewed spaceship discovers the secret everyone wants. The ship goes into hiding on a water world, and while the aliens shoot it out above the planet, many dolphins mutiny. In The Uplift War, hostile aliens invade Earth's least protected colony world in an effort to price out Startide Rising's secret.
<b>18. Lightning.</b> <i>Dean Koontz.</i> A time traveler from the past seeks to avert Nazi Germany's alterations of the present.
<b>17. The Anubis Gates.</b> <i>Tim Powers.</i> A modern scholar gets caught up in time travel, body-swapping, swashbuckling and sorcery in London, circa 1810. Think Charles Dickens meets Indiana Jones.
<b>16. The Sword of Shannara.</b> <i>Terry Brooks.</i> The first book in the "Shannara" series pits Shea Ohmsford against the evil Warlock Lord and his Skull Bearer minions. This book was pivotal in popularlizing modern fantasy.
<b>15. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep.</b> <i>Philip K. Dick.</i> A Bladerunner policeman is assigned to hunt down androids posing as human and questions the definition of "humanity" in the process.
<b>14. Frankenstein.</b> <i>Mary Shelley.</i> The classic tale of a mad scientist's creation, a monster pieced together from graveyard body parts, and the monster's struggle to have the world recognize his humanity.
<b>13. Tigana.</b> <i>Guy Gavriel Kay.</i> In an act of revenge, a powerful sorcerer erases the kingdom of Tigana from existance. But a small band of heroes clings to the memory of their homeland and quests to restore Tigana once again to its rightful place.
<b>12. The Stars My Destination.</b> <i>Alfred Bester.</i> When Gully Foyle gets screwed over and vows revenge, he transforms himself into an all-powerful quasi-Superman with the power to change the universe.
<b>11. "Hyperion."</b> <i>Dan Simmons.</i> The Shrike: The ultimate killing machine that can stop time with a thought. The Hegemony/AI Consortium alliance: an empire that dominates an entire galaxy. The Ousters: eon-long mutated humanoids bent on overthrowing the Hegemony. Add them up and you've got Armageddon. Series: Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion.
<b>10. 1984.</b> <i>George Orwell.</i> The Ministry of Truth says you will enjoy this book. It's the only book you can read; there are no others available. You will spend two hours after dinner every day reading this book; the telescreens insure this. Big Brother is your friend.
<b>9. The Man in the High Castle.</b> <i>Philip K. Dick.</i> Full of paranoia and sophisticated reality games, this "what if Nazi Germany had won" storyline is the best alternate history ever written.
<b>8. "Elric."</b> <i>Michael Moorcock.</i> An albino warrior/sorcerer from a dying race seeks out a soul-sucking sword and gets cought up in the ultimate battle between Order and Chaos. Series: Elric of Melnibone, Sailor on the Seas of Fate, The Weird of the White Wolf, The Vanishing Tower, The Bane of the Black Sword, Stormbringer, among others.
<b>7. Dune.</b> <i>Frank Herbert.</i> The first book in the "Dune" series tracks one of the most powerful psychics in the universe, Paul Atreides as he learns to deal with the political machinations and enviromental savagery of the desert planet Arrakis while balancing his growing powers.
<b>6. "Foundation."</b> <i>Isaac Asimov.</i> Monumental tale of a galactic empire spiraling into decline and the secret society of scientists manuevering to control the damage. The story begins on the capital planet of an empire that has stood for millenia. And just one person, mathematics professor Hari Seldon, knows what's going to happen. Seldon has discovered a new science - psychohistory - that allows him to predict and control the future. Psychohistory proves that the fall of the empire can't be stopped, but actions can be taken to shorten the coming gloom and lay the foundation for a Second Empire. Gripping throught, it doesn't rely on violence to further the plot for as the character Salvor Hardin says, "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
<b>5. "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever."</b> <i>Stephen H. Donaldson.</i> A real-world leper, Thomas Covenant, get transported to a fantasy world besieged by a corrupt and malevolent force. Only Covenant can save the world with the "wild magic" he's brought with him, but he doesn't believe this fantasy world exists. Series: Lord Foul's Bane, The Illearth War, The Power That Preserves, The Wounded Land, The One Tree, White Gold Wielder.
<b>4. Neuromancer.</b> <i>William Gibson.</i> A down-on-his-luck hacker and a sleek razor-nailed mercenary discover the secrets of a new born AI. Cyberpunk's first defining work and the first of Gibson's Sprawl books.
<b>3. "Ender."</b> <i>Orson Scott Card.</i> By age 8, Ender Wiggins becomes Earth's greatest military genius. Confronted with the realities of war, Ender chooses to abandon the military and become a "speaker for the dead," a councilor, truthspeeker and arbitrator between families in need of guidance. Unfortunately, the universe has other plans for him. Series: Ender's Game, Speaker for the Dead, Xenocide, Children of the Mind.
<b>2. "The Chronicles of Amber."</b> <i>Roger Zelazny.</i> Amber is the one, true world. All others, including Earth, are merely shadows. Prince Corwin, rightful successor to the Amber throne, must master these alternate realities, fight demonic assassins and survive the ruthless schemes of his own family to gain the crown. First Series: Nine Princes in Amber, The Guns of Avalon, Sign of the Unicorn, The Hand of Oberon, The Courts of Chaos.
<b>1. "The Lord of the Rings."</b> <i>J.R.R. Tolkien.</i> The granddaddy of fantasy literature, of course, notches our top spot. Besides reinventing the entire fantasy genre and influencing generations of writers, Tolkien's tale tells one helluva story... The hobbit Frodo Baggins inherits a magical ring from his Uncle Bilbo who found it in The Hobbit (#31). The Ring grants the wearer invisibility, but it's also the Dark Lord Sauruon's ring, the One Ring which binds all other magic rings and holds the heart of Sauroun's power. Corrupting the wearer, it must be destroyed within the fires of Mount Doom lest it be recovered by its creator and used to conquer all of Middle-earth. Frodo - along with his trusty hobbit friends, the wizard Gandalf and a company of elves, dwarves and men from across the land - sets out on a quest to destroy the ring. Can he alone bear the burden of a all-powerful, all-corrupting ring? And what parts will the heir to the throne, Aragorn; the spirits of the dead; and the twisted former ring-bearer, Gollum play in the conflict with Sauron?
