Gollancz SF and F Masterworks series - lists

@yetistomper is planning to review the entire Gollancz SF and F Masterworks series - 123 books in total - on his blog Stomping on Yeti in collaboration with other reviewers. An ambitious project, but possibly a very worthwhile one as each book is a classic in it's own right. Several years ago I decided to start collecting both series... I didn't get very far, but I did create a full list of each series. I am posting these here as a reference for myself, but if others find it useful, well, that's good, isn't it?!

Titles marked in bold I either own or have read (or both!)

GOLLANCZ SCIENCE FICTION MASTERWORKS SERIES

1. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
2. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
3. Cities in Flight by James Blish
4. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
5. The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
6. Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany
7. Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
8. The Fifth Head of Cerberus by Gene Wolfe
9. Gateway by Frederik Pohl
10. The Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith
11. Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon
12. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
13. Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick
14. The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester
15. Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
16. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
17. The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard
18. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
19. Emphyrio by Jack Vance
20. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick
21. Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon
22. Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock
23. The Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg
24. The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells
25. Flowers for Algernon Daniel Keyes
26. Ubik by Philip K. Dick
27. Timescape by Gregory Benford
28. More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon
29. Man Plus by Frederik Pohl
30. A Case of Conscience by James Blish
31. The Centauri Device by M. JohnHarrison
32. Dr. Bloodmoney by Philip K. Dick
33. Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss
34. The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke
35. Pavane by Keith Roberts
36. Now Wait for Last Year by Philip K. Dick
37. Nova by Samuel R. Delany
38. The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells
39. The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke 
40. Blood Music by Greg Bear
41. Jem by Frederik Pohl
42. Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore
43. VALIS by Philip K. Dick
44. The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
45. The Complete Roderick by John Sladek
46. Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick
47. The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
48. Grass by Sheri S. Tepper
49. A Fall of Moondust by Arthur C. Clarke
50. Eon by Greg Bear
51. The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson
52. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
53. The Dancers at the End of Time by Michael Moorcock
54. The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth
55. Time Out of Joint by Philip K. Dick
56. Downward to the Earth by Robert Silverberg
57. The Simulacra by Philip K.Dick
58. The Penultimate Truth by by Philip K. Dick
59. Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg
60. Ringworld by Larry Niven
61. The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman
62. Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement
63. A Maze of Death by Philip K. Dick
64. Tau Zero by Poul Anderson
65. Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C.Clarke
66. Life During Wartime by Lucius Shepard
67. Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
68. Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
69. Dark Benediction by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
70. Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
71. Dune by Frank Herbert
72. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
73. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

GOLLANCZ FANTASY MASTERWORKS SERIES

1. The Conan Chronicles: Volume 1: The People of the Black Circle by Robert E. Howard
2. The Book of the New Sun. Volume 1 by Gene Wolfe
3. Little, Big by John Crowley
4. King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany
5. Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance
6. Time and the Gods by Lord Dunsany
7. The Broken Sword by Poul Anderson
8. Elric by Michael Moorcock
9. The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny
10. Replay by Ken Grimwood
11. The Book of the New Sun. Volume 2 by Gene Wolfe
12. Lyonesse: Suldrun's Garden by Jack Vance
13. The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers
14. Lyonesse: The Green Pearl and Madouc by Jack Vance
15. Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin
16. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
17. The First Book of Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber
18. The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll
19. The Worm Ouroboros by Eric Rücker Eddison
20. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip
21. Darker Than You Think by Jack Williamson
22. The Compleat Enchanter by L. Sprague de Camp
23. Hour Of The Dragon by Robert E. Howard
24. Voice of Our Shadow by Jonathan Carroll
25. The Emperor of Dreams by Clark Ashton Smith
26. The Riddle-Master's Game by Patricia A. McKillip
27. A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay
28. The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick
29. Corum: The Prince in the Scarlet Robe by Michael Moorcock
30. The History of the Runestaff by Michael Moorcock
31. The House on the Border Land and Other Stories by William Hope Hodgson
32. Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson
33. Viriconium by M. John Harrison
34. Lud-In-The-Mist by Hope Mirrlees
35. Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper
36. Time and Again by Jack Finney
37. Mistress of Mistresses by Eric Rücker
38. Gloriana by Michael Moorcock
39. The Well of the Unicorn by Fletcher Pratt
40. Swords Against Death by Fritz Leiber
41. Peace by Gene Wolfe
42. The Dragon Waiting : A Masque of History by John M. Ford
43. Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams by Catherine Lucille Moore
44. The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers
45. The Mabinogion by Evangeline Walton
46. Grendel by John Champlin Gardner Jr.
47. Was by Geoff Ryman
48. Song of Kali by Dan Simmons
49. Sea Kings of Mars and Otherwordly Stories by Leigh Brackett
50. The Mark Of The Beast And Other Fantastical Tales by Rudyard Kipling

Both series first appeared in 1999/2000 and seem pretty dated now. Personally I think there should be no more than one book per author in each list, but, as it is a published series of books, it may be that gollancz did not have the rights to publish other authors I think should be included e.g. Asimov.

So what do you think? Which books would you include on a 'best of' science fiction or fantasy? Add your choices using the comments.

Murf's Wishlist - March additions

I tend to use my amazon wishlist as a way of listing books I want to read. I know I should be using GoodReads or LibraryThing, but I have been browsing amazon and trawling through Listmania for new titles for years now and it's a hard habit to break.  Now that I read a lot of book reviews - see the list of Blogs I follow in the sidebar - I have new sources of reading material, recommended by reviewers whose opinions I respect.

At the beginning of every month I will post a list of the books I have added, be they pre-orders, new titles or classics. If it is crossed through, then I have bought it!

MARCH ADDITIONS

• Guardians of Paradise by Jaine Fenn
• Dead Souls by Ramsey Campbell, et al.
• Horns by Joe Hill
• Mina: the Dracula Story Continues by Marie Kiraly
• The Alchemist and the Angel by Joanne Owen
• Riddle Master by Patricia A. McKillip
• The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
• The Convent by Panos Karnezis
• A Matter Of Blood: The Dog-Faced Gods Trilogy by Sarah Pinborough
• The World House by Guy Adams
• Spellwright by Blake Charlton
• The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow & Thorn) by Tad Williams
• Mr Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett

My Top 40 Female SFF Writers

[First posted 14 February 2010]

Never being one to shy away from a challenge, I have responded to @hagelrat's suggestion that I make my own list by creating this... My Top 40 Female SFF Writers!

This is a personal list, based on books and authors I have encountered over the years (yes, I have read every one listed here) and is not a comprehensive list of female authors in the SFF genre. There may be what some consider to be 'glaring omissions', but this is MY list. If a particular author is not included it is for 2 reasons:

• I have never read any of her books e.g. Carol Berg
• I have read at least one of her books but didn't enjoy it e.g. Robin Hobbs

Of course there are some real favourites in there, authors that I would read every word they ever committed to paper. Jacqueline Carey and Anne Bishop fit in that category, Sherri Tepper and Anne Rice to a lesser extent. Some new authors are included too; Kaaron Warren, N K Jemisin and Aliette de Bodard are 3 writers I have discovered in the last 2 months and are worthy of inclusion. Others are what I consider 'comfort' reads... I know exactly what to expect but enjoy the worldbuilding or lead characters e.g. Kelley Armstrong, Sherrilyn Kenyon or Michelle Sagara.

So, here it is, in no particular order: 

My Top 40 Female SFF Writers 

1. Sherri Tepper – Grass

2. Jacqueline Carey – Kushiel’s Dart

3. Anne Bishop – The Black Jewels trilogy (one volume)

4. Anne Rice – The Mayfair Witches

5. Octavia Butler – The Parable of the Sower

6. Marian Zimmer Bradley – The Mists of Avalon

7. Katherine Kerr – Palace

8. Joan D Vinge – The Snow Queen

9. Ursula le Guin – The Left Hand of Darkness

10. Kaaron Warren – Walking the Tree

11. Jaine Fenn – Principles of Angels

12. Margaret Atwood – A Handmaid’s Tale

13. Elizabeth Moon – The Speed of Dark

14. Angela Carter – Nights at the Circus

15. Storm Constantine – Storm for the Sacred

16. Anne McCaffrey – The Ship Who Sang

17. Catherynne M Valente – Palimpsest

18. Juliet Marillier – Daughter of the Forest

19. Sara Douglass – Battleaxe

20. Connie Willis – Doomsday Book

21. Tanith Lee – The Secret Books of Paradys

22. Nancy Kress – Beggars in Spain

23. N.K.Jemisin – The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

24. Karen Miller – Empress

25. Jennifer Fallon – Medalon

26. Sherrilyn Kenyon – Acheron

27. Mary Doria Russell – The Sparrow

28. Starhawk – The Spiral Dance

29. Maria V Snyder – Poison Study

30. Julian May – The Many-coloured Land

31. Faith Hunter – Bloodring

32. P D James – Children of Men

33. Michelle Sagara – Cast in Secret

34. Aliette de Bodard – Servant of the Underworld

35. Alex Bell – The Ninth Circle

36. Elizabeth Haydon – Prophecy

37. Celia Friedman – Black Sun Rising

38. Wendy Alec – The Fall of Lucifer

39. Kelley Armstrong – Bitten

40. Justina Robson – Living Next Door to the God of Love

What do you think? Have I missed any you consider to be conspicuous by their absence? Feel free to comment, but remember, this is my own personal selection! I am, however, very open to suggestions for new authors to try...

NextRead and Hagelrat's Top 50 SFF Book List: my response...

[First posted 14 February 2010] 

Today @nextread and @hagelrat posted their combined list of Top 50 SFF reads: see the full list on either Unbound! or NextRead blogs... and a very eclectic list it is too! Both classics and very recent books are included and the list covers pretty much every SFF sub-genre and then some. What came as a surprise to me was the number [15] that I had never heard of before... could they be children's or YA? I tend to skip that section when looking for a new read, so maybe I should pay more attention there!  

An even bigger shock came when I counted the number I had read myself... 19. Only 19 out of 50!!?? I have some serious catching up to do and lots more books to add to my amazon wishlist. So I began thinking... what are my Top favourites from the list? How many do I own but haven't read yet? What have I started but abandoned? 

Let us deal with my Top 10 from Hagelrat and Nextread's list... in no particular order:  

1. Queen of the Damned - Anne Rice  
2. Farenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury  
3. Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
4. World's End - Mark Chadbourn  
5. Nights of Villjamur - Mark Charan Newton  
6. The Hobbit - J.R.R.Tolkien  
7. Bitten - Kelley Armstrong  
8. A Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter  
9. Dracula - Bram Stoker   
10. Mythago Wood - Robert Holdstock  

There are a few books listed that are in my TBR pile, namely:  

1. Spanky - Christopher Fowler  
2. Dead Witch Walking - Kim Harrison  
3. Blood Ties - Pamela Freeman  
4. A Madness of Angels - Kate Griffin  
5. Midnight Never Come - Marie Brennan  
6. The World House - Guy Adams  

And some I've started but put aside for various reasons... (must go back to these!)  

1. Seeds of Earth - Michael Cobley
2. Under the Dome - Stephen King 
3. Greywalker - Kat Richardson  

Overall, I was genuinely intrigued by this list. I have read a number of reviews by both Next Read and Hagelrat, so know that I have broadly similar tastes to them. I now have several new authors to investigate, some books to revisit and others to be read for the first time. My ever-growing TBR pile needs to be re-ordered! I think I am getting to like this list business, maybe I should create my own list of Top 50 SFF reads? Now there's a thought...