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Great Science-Fiction & Fantasy Works
Science-fiction & fantasy literature: a critical list with discussions.
You can get a site directory by clicking on the “hamburger” icon () in the upper right of this page.
Or you can search this site with Google (standard Google-search rules apply).
(Be aware that “sponsored” links to other sites will appear atop the actual results.)
“Very well then—many other worlds are accessible to us through the Great Stone and from certain of these worlds we will obtain what we need.”
– The Lemurian Stone,
Stephen Hickman
Site Overview
As the Welcome page states, this site is at bottom simply a list of good science-fiction and fantasy authors and of good books by those authors, along with all sorts of possibly useful or entertaining subset lists. But it has grown in the making, and includes a lot I never originally contemplated. Having by now a huge page count, the site wants a little introductory explaining, so you can better hunt up what you may find of interest here.
I will, for convenience, here repeat the overview you should already have read on that Welcome page:
We can, if crudely, compare this site with a solar system:
the centrum, the “sun” of this site, which has spawned the rest and about which that rest revolves, is a master list of science-fiction and fantasy authors of quality, and their notable works;
the “planets” of this solar system are author pages, one per author, that each carry the book list for that author as given in the master list, but also carry (or will all in time carry) an essay about that author with some comments on the listed books by that author, as well as links to useful further resources about that author available elsewhere on line;
and there is an “asteroid belt” of miscellaneous pages more or less directly related to science fiction and fantasy literature, plus a few “comets”—pages more peripherally related, but still circling the same conceptual sun as the rest.
There is a pretty complete Site Directory, which I have tried to organize logically, in the colored zones of the Site Menu accessible from the “hamburger” icon () in the upper right of this (and every) page of this site.
(The incompleteness of the Menu is that it does not individually list all the many per-author pages—though it does of course include the pages from which you can easily get at them: the full Master List and the summary Authors List; there is also a complete book-titles list page for the stubborn).
But, even though the Menu is thus abbreviated, and color-coded and annotated, at a first glance it can appear daunting, so I’ll go through it here section by section for you. (I omit the site Home Page, as that is self-descriptive.)
Do note what it says at the top of that drop-down Site menu: by running your cursor over any listed page link, you can get a little pop-up briefly stating what the page is about—a shorthand summary of what is said here about that page, lest you have forgotten some of this page’s information. (That only applies to systems wherein you have a moveable cursor, which the one you are reading this on apparently does, or you wouldn’t be seeing this paragraph.)
When you display the drop-down Site Menu, you will see that it is divided into colored zones. The red zone (topmost) appears as shown at the left. Here is some explanation of what each of those menu options leads to when clicked.
Welcome:
That is a summary site overview and brief explanation of some mechanical details; you should already have read that page before coming to this one.
Apologia:
That page describes the criteria used to make these lists and discusses fiction in general and speculative fiction in particular, and you should have read it before coming to this page. It is lengthy, but I think it quite important to read in full before exploring this site. (It also explains the “stars” ranking system for authors.)
When you display the drop-down Site Menu, you will see that it is divided into colored zones. The blue zone (2nd down) appears as shown at the left. Here is some explanation of what each of those menu options leads to when clicked.
This site is oriented toward authors, so these are the pages you will normally use as your targets. Although there are many authors of generally fine work who produce the occasional clunker, and many authors of indifferent or worse work who produce the odd gem, by and large it is by identifying writers of ability that we discover works of merit, and so this site is organized around the authors listed. The subheadings below tell you what’s what with each of those author-related pages.
Author List:
The summary Author List is just that: a bare list, alphabetical, with some preliminary commentary (and my rough ratings, from one to five stars, which ought not to be, and likely will not be, taken too seriously). That page is chiefly meant as a quick-reference list, just so you can see at a glance who is—so far—represented here and who not; it is not a page you are likely to want often.
Master Authors/Books List:
The real center of the site, its “sun”, is this full Books-by-Author Master Authors/Books List, showing all books considered on this site, organized by author.
More Books From Listed Authors:
Because I have not recently been able to give this site as much time as I would choose to, I have created a More Books page that lists other books yet unread by me by authors already present in these lists, which books I cannot say with reasonable certainty will, on reading, end up here; that doesn’t mean that they are “marginal” works, only that their authors are variable in the quality of their output—these lists very likely contain numerous gems. I have done this so that those who might occasionally drop in here looking for ideas on expanding their reading range may find some fresh material without having to wait on my slow reading pace.
Other Candidate Authors:
Just as there are likely more wonderful books by the authors in these lists than are listed here (as explained just above), there is assuredly some number of comparably fine authors not listed here at all yet (owing, again, to my being one mortal human). As with the list page described above, I want to give those who might occasionally drop in here looking for ideas on expanding their reading range some fresh material without their having to wait on my slow reading pace. I thus, after diligent research into the opinions of folk whose opinions are likely to be meaningful, prepared this list page of Other Candidates for these pages, including at least representative selections of titles by each.
I am working as best life allows at sampling works by these authors—as I type, I have about three dozen volumes on my library table by such yet-untested writers—and am trying to place them ahead of unread works by authors already on the lists. So many books, so little time…
Specialty Lists:
While the author pages just described are the kernel of this site, there is also what some may find of the most immediate interest on this site, a page with various Specialty Sub-Lists of the authors, as shown below.
The Five-Star Masters
The Four-Star Greats
Some Surprises
Writers Translated Into English
100 Top Spec-Fic Authors
Campy Stuff
Golden Oldies:
The world of speculative fiction did not begin in the 19th century: it is at least a couple of millennia old. This page identifies and lists some of those works (currently, from the 2nd through the 16th centuries)—some still famous, some less well remembered. (When, as is often the case, these works were not originally in English, I have made some efforts to identify the best available translations.)
The Bibliographies – Dunsany and Hoffmann:
Some few famed speculative-fiction authors have produced so many short works that are so often collected with considerable overlap in the collection-editions’ contents that I have—in two cases so far—made exhaustive bibliographies for them, with the books and their contents in several cross-referenced lists. (These may be the best bibliographies of those two authors available on line.)
The Individual Author Pages:
These, the “planets” to the Master List’s “sun”, are not shown individually in the “Authors” block owing to their numbers (one page per author—now almost three hundred such pages); you would normally access them from one of the inclusive pages, usually the Master List, as described just above, but possibly also the summary Author List.
Each individual-author page not only repeats that author’s book list from the Master Authors/Books List, but also contains—or will eventually contain, as I get to each—some discussion of that author and, in a general way, the listed books by that author. I say “a general way” because my purpose on those individual-author pages is to give you a sense for the author—a taste, one might say, not a detailed and scholarly analysis—and I take pains to not disclose information about any book that might short-circuit your enjoyment and discovery of it (in short, “no spoilers”).
Each author page also contains links to most of the other useful resources about that author available on the web or (as may be applicable) in print. Even if I have not yet added a discussion on that author, those links will usually lead you to other critics’ thoughts on that author.
As I said, I do not, owing to the length of the list, link those individual pages in the Directory, but they are linked at pretty much every place on this site that particular authors’ names are mentioned.
When you display the drop-down Site Menu, you will see that it is divided into colored zones. The brown zone (3rd down) appears as shown at the left. Here is some explanation of what each of those menu options leads to when clicked.
All Listed Books:
The All Listed Books page shows (and distinguishes between): 1) all titles recommended on this site’s Master List; 2) “to try” titles—works I haven’t read yet but expect will eventually list—by the authors on that list; 3) non-fiction titles about or relevant to the authors on that list as presented in those authors’ pages here; 4) titles from “The Other Books” page here as described just below; and 5) some titles about art and graphics for speculative-fiction works. The list is really just for reference, and is not in my opinion of much immediate use: you are best advised to discover titles as you encounter them in context here and there on this site.
Besides the actual speculative-fiction books comprised in the main author and book lists here, there are a few others—by now, quite a few—cited here and there on this site, some closely related to this field (such as books of speculative-fiction criticism), some rather farther afield; if you have run across such a citation and want to see it again but forget just where you saw it, simply jump to the Other Books page, where that whole lot of odds and ends is collected in one place.
Overlooked Gems:
Overlooked Gems are speculative-fiction books of merit now become too-little known.
Light-Hearted:
Light-Hearted Books are speculative-fiction books that are what you want after a tiresome day, when you want to just put your feet up and read something with some smiles in it—not necessarily comic or twee stuff, but certainly not dark or grim.
Religiously Themed:
Religiously Themed Books are speculative-fiction books involving real theological considerations (not invented story-background religions).
For Younger Readers:
These are speculative-fiction books readable by (or to), as it says, Younger Readers: from things to read to pre-schoolers up to and including “young adult” works. (But note well that I do not list any book on this site that I do not think literate adults could not read for real pleasure.)
100 Great Works:
I have—perhaps unwisely—yielded to the temptation to throw in a version of an apparently mandatory in criticism “100 Best Books” list, except that I have made it a “100 Great Works” list, not a “100 Best Works” list (even my arrogance has limits), plus I have made it a list of “works”, not “books”; that difference is material, because I have used a rather expansive definition of what constitutes a “work” for these purposes (as explained on that page).
Guilty Pleasures:
Sometimes even gourmets just want a big bag of greasy potato chips. These are speculative-fiction works that are not of the sort the rest of this site is about, but that can be read for amusement; not (or not necessarily) what is, or once was, called “camp”, but, well, the literary equivalent of a big bag of potato chips—Guilty Pleasures.
When you display the drop-down Site Menu, you will see that it is divided into colored zones. The violet zone (4th down) appears as shown at the left. Here is some explanation of what each of those menu options leads to when clicked.
Musings:
The Musings are a collection of pensées on science fiction and fantasy that have occurred to me from time to time; some of them augment or expand topics already covered in the Apologia, while others explore independent topics. The collection will grow as time passes, so if you find any of interest, it’s worth checking back occasionally to see if there’s anything new here.
Obiter Dicta:
Obiter dicta is what I call this collection of other thoughts—more peripheral than the Musings—that did not seem to fit well on any other site page. But on it—this miscellaneous of the miscellaneous—there are, for example, a list of some books listed here that you can download free; an explanation—for those who have insisted on skipping over the heavily recommended introductory material here—of why this or that “master” author is not listed here; a few premier general-reference speculative-fiction and general-literature web sites; and some other stuff.
Art and Illustration:
Though the topic of this site is words, art, too, can be a significant aspect of speculative thought, and a page of Science-Fiction & Fantasy Art and Illustration seemed a useful and interesting addition.
Other Sites:
On the theory that sites that link to this one are likely above the average to be of some interest to visitors here (and because it is an internet courtesy to reciprocate linking), there is a page of Other Sites, being all the sites that link to this site that I can readily discover.
Comments By Others:
Also, there is a page of kindly Comments that visitors here have put up on their pages or mailed to me—those from recognized authorities in the field, including some authors, are especially pleasing, but they’re all delightful—there are few rewards to running a site like this, and these are they.
SF&F Movies:
Further, while this site is dedicated to books, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to cast a quick eye over speculative fiction in other media, hence this brief look at SF&F Movies.
Your Host:
And I have provided the also-traditional scant few words about Your Host on this site.
When you display the drop-down Site Menu, you will see that it is divided into colored zones. The green zone (bottom-most) appears as shown at the left. Here is some explanation of what each of those menu options leads to when clicked.
About Online Book-Buying:
While people buy books online all the time, in vast quantities, there are still some useful tips and things to know About Online Book-Buying, and this page might well be useful to you.
About AbeBooks
AbeBooks is an online book-selling organization that is, in effect, a unified storefront for literally thousands of individual book sellers around the world. In my experience, they are the best one-stop shopping site for both new and used books, and are the source we link to for all titles listed on this site. This page tells you more about them and how best to use their services.
Well, you should now know enough about the site to decide for yourself. I’d say perhaps either the Master Authors/Books List or perhaps the Specialty Lists page, which latter includes things like the highest-ranked, the Top 100, and suchlike. Or just poke around and explore.
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