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We've tabulated those suggestions and, with the help of an expert panel, narrowed the list to a manageable field of a few hundred titles.OK, so it looks pretty daunting, but I'm going to take on the list. Bold for for books I've read, ► prefixing books that'd get my vote if I got to pick the Top 100 myself, and my commentary in brackets. If I get to the end of the list and have votes left, I'll cheat and add any of what I feel are glaring misses. I'm not going to try to do an actual Top 10 now. I'll figure out my actual votes for NPR later.
There are classics I haven't read, and one I'm in currently in progress on (The Space Merchants) for which I will not vote for not because I can't personally attest to their quality. (This means, for instance, if any Asimov books are on the list, they can't get my vote -- although based on what I've read of the Foundation books -- more than I care to admit -- and some of the short stories, I can't imagine any of the rest of it is any good.)
The Acts Of Caine Series, by Matthew Woodring Stover [Uh, the what of what? Not only have I not read these, I've never even heard anyone mention them. Ever. This is not an auspicious start. They sound OK, I guess, but I'm skeptical of an author who's best known for writing Star Wars novels.]
The Algebraist, by Iain M Banks [This was a fine book, inventive and engaging, but I'm a bit surprised it makes this field.]
Altered Carbon, by Richard Morgan [Again, a fine book, but I don't think I've ever recommended it to anyone.]
American Gods, by Neil Gaiman [Look, I liked the Sandman comic books, and I know people love him ... but if this made the list and I don't see any Lucius Shepard novels by the time I get to the bottom of this list, I'm going to be pissed.]
Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman [Oh boy.]
Anathem, by Neal Stephenson [I love Neal Stephenson and I have books of his in mind for which I'll vote, but this isn't one of them.]
Animal Farm, by George Orwell [Undeniably powerful, there's a reason every school kid gets it assigned. But, I'm afraid that reason is anti-Communism.]
► The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers [Now we're cooking with gas.]
Armor, by John Steakley [Am I really so out of touch? I've no idea what this is. It sounds like another response to Starship Troopers? Which is another argument for ST's inclusion, a book I plan to vote for assuming it's down the list, even though my relationship to it has changed since first reading as a kid.]
The Baroque Cycle, by Neal Stephenson [I bolded based on reading the first one and a half novels. I'm not sure I'll finish and can't put my Stephenson votes here either.]
Battlefield Earth, by L Ron Hubbard [Fuck me. Let me guess, Ender's Game will be in this list as well?]
Beggars In Spain, by Nancy Kress
► The Belgariad, by David Eddings [A blast from my youth. You know what, I really liked these. I'm surprising myself, and suspecting based on what I've seen so far I'm going to have votes to spare so, yes, I'll put these in.]
The Black Company Series, by Glen Cook [I skimmed the Wikipedia entry and lost interest.]
The Black Jewels Series, by Anne Bishop [I don't think I'll be reading these either.]
The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe [This is on my To Do list. I loved Soldier in the Mist and have heard nothing but good things about the rest of Wolfe's output. Embarrassed, actually, that I haven't gotten to this.]
► Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley [A stronger case for this school assignment book than for Animal Farm. It left me a little cold, but I can't put Eddings in and leave Huxley out.]
Bridge Of Birds, by Barry Hughart [I had no idea I'd get this far and have hit so many unreads. Another I've never even heard of.]
The Callahan’s Series, by Spider Robinson [I didn't think these were that great.]
► A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M Miller [This was the one of two sci-fi books in my paternal grandfather's collection. I remember being engrossed by this and loving it, so even though I'd need to reread it to give more than the most high level description, I'm trusting my younger self here with a vote.]
The Cat Who Walked Through Walls, by Robert Heinlein [I just posted recently about Heinlein's worst novel. This is closer to that than to his best.]
Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut [When we get to Slaughterhouse Five, I'll vote for that.]
The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov [See my prefatory comments. Not a chance in hell I'll waste my time on this.]
The Change Series, by S.M. Stirling [Another, who's-a-what-now? entry. I'm sorry folks, I really thought I'd be able to speak to at least 70% of any size list when I leapt into this. These at least sound intriguing.]
► Childhood’s End, by Arthur C Clarke [This is an easy vote.]
Children Of God, by Mary Doria Russell [Don't know it. Sounds awful.]
The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny [I get the inclusion, but these feel more like an honorable mention to me.]
► The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R Donaldson [OK, yeah.]
► The City And The City, by China Miéville [Strong novel. Yes, I'm down this. I'm currently the most recent review on LibraryThing for this one -- I'd permalink the review if I saw a way to do it.]
City And The Stars, by Arthur C Clarke
► A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess [I loved this one. I've not been good about reading other Burgess though, I think because A Soldier Erect underwhelmed.]
The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher [Because of the name, I'm not even going to look it up.]
The Coldfire Trilogy, by C.S. Friedman [Well, I doubt I'll get to these, there's more interesting looking stuff out there.]
The Commonwealth Saga, by Peter F Hamilton
The Company Wars, by C.J. Cherryh
The Conan The Barbarian Series, by Robert Howard [I read at least one of these, but even now I'd go back to Burroughs for John Carter or Tarzan if I wanted a pulp read.]
Contact, by Carl Sagan [Carl Sagan is a personal hero. But not because of this book.]
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson [I'm still holding out for the Stephenson I really liked.]
The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart
The Culture Series, by Iain M Banks [Haven't read them all yet, so I think by my rules I can't vote, but I have no reason to think I won't be able to when I'm done.]
The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King [I've read Cujo, Carrie, Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Dead Zone, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, and Different Seasons. I tried to start The Stand and the first of the The Dark Tower Series, but felt like I'd put in my time.]
The Day of Triffids, by John Wyndham
Deathbird Stories, by Harlan Ellison [Oh, Harlan Ellison, you mad, brilliant curmudgeon. I thank you heartily for your work on the Dangerous Visions compilations, for your submitted version, and hilarious dismissal of the final televised version, of "The City on the Edge of Forever", your numerous controversies, and some fantastic short stories. In the end, your writing is generally overrated. But much better than Asimov!]
The Deed of Paksennarion Trilogy, by Elizabeth Moon [Good grief, another name I can't bother researching.]
► The Demolished Man, by Alfred Bester [I can vote for both this and The Stars My Destination, but not The Computer Connection.]
The Deverry Cycle, by Katharine Kerr
► Dhalgren, by Samuel R. Delany [All the suspect entries had me worried, so quite relieved to be able to cast a vote here. I hope this isn't the only Chip Delaney novel I get to vote for.]
► The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson [Finally, one of my Stephensons.]
The Difference Engine, by William Gibson & Bruce Sterling [I prefer Sterling on his own.]
► The Dispossessed, by Ursula K LeGuin [A no-brainer. Of course this gets a vote.]
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K Dick [It's worth a read if you haven't, but not one of my favorites.]
Don’t Bite The Sun, by Tanith Lee
Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis
Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey [No interest.]
Dreamsnake, by Vonda McIntyre [Her Star Trek novels are some of my favorites in that series.]
► The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert [I even liked the David Lynch movie and the Sci-Fi Channel version. This is another easy vote.]
Earth, by David Brin [I've never had anyone recommend this to me.]
► Earth Abides, by George R Stewart [Another old classic I'm relying on youthful memories of being engrossed, though I'm not sure I'll risk a reread. Still, it made a huge impression on me. Yes.]
The Eisenhorn Omnibus, by Dan Abnett [When somebody I trust mentions this, I'll look into it.]
The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock [I tried to read some Moorcock as a kid. Did nothing for me.]
Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card [I read it. I read it all the way through. And I do understand why people get caught up into it. They're just not people I like.]
Eon, by Greg Bear
The Eyes Of The Dragon, by Stephen King [I've already listed all the King I've read and it's all I am going to read.]
The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde [There is no reason to think I'd like this.]
The Faded Sun Trilogy, by CJ Cherryh
Fafhrd & The Gray Mouser Series, by Fritz Leiber [I will eventually get to Leiber. This is another I actually feel bad about not being able to speak to.]
► Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury [I'm voting for this because it's an important gateway to sci-fi. Better sci-fi. Bradbury is overrated but I'd recommend this to a kid I thought was smart but hadn't read, well, much of anything yet.]
The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb
The Female Man, by Joanna Russ [I will get to this.]
The Fionavar Tapestry Trilogy, by Guy Gavriel Kay [There is a lot of suspect material in this list. I deem this suspect.]
A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge [I'm late to the game on Vinge, but I liked Rainbow's End quite a bit.]
The First Law Trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie [Maybe I'm too easily turned off by trilogies that look like hack work based on shitty covers, but don't people just look at this stuff and think, "Gah, that's got to be rubbish"?]
► Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keyes [Absolutely.]
The Foreigner Series, by C.J. Cherryh
► The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman [Hah, this was, until recently, one of those "I know I need to read but just haven't yet because I'm watching way too much TV," that I'm glad I finally read. Easy vote.]
The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov [That people like this still amazes me.]
► Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley [Was even better than I expected.]
The Gaea Trilogy, by John Varley
The Gap Series, by Stephen R. Donaldson [I read Donaldson voraciously through the Covenant books, but burned out in Mordant's Need and didn't even start The Gap Series.]
The Gate To Women’s Country, by Sheri S Tepper
Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett
The Gone-Away World, by Nick Harkaway
The Gormenghast Trilogy, by Mervyn Peake
Grass, by Sheri S Tepper
Gravity’s Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon [Really? Meh.]
► The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood [Absolutely, yes.]
Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End of The World, by Haruki Murakami
The Heechee Saga, by Frederik Pohl [I'm knee deep in The Space Merchants and loving it. But I haven't read encouraging things about his other work?]
► The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams [Wait, all these series and trilogies, but THGTTG is listed on its own?]
The Hollows Series, by Kim Harrison
House Of Leaves, by Mark Danielewski
The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons [One of these days.]
► I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson [Man, the Will Smith movie was tedious though.]
I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov [See my prefatory comments, no intention of ever considering reading more Asimov.]
The Illuminatus! Trilogy, by Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson [If I read these, it will be out of respect for my man Sean R., I'm a bit skeptical though.]
The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury ["A Sound of Thunder" and Fahrenheit 451 are enough. Actually, I like SWTWC, maybe just those and we jettison F451? I'm not changing my vote. I've got a long way to go and no time for second guessing.]
The Incarnations Of Immortality Series, by Piers Anthony [People are kidding with this, right?]
The Inheritance Trilogy, by N.K. Jemisin
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne [I'm not sure every pioneering book needs to be in the Top 100.]
Kindred, by Octavia Butler
The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss
Kraken, by China Miéville [I'll get through all of Miéville eventually. He's outstanding.]
The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey
Last Call, by Tim Powers [Not this one. It was good, not great.]
The Last Coin, by James P. Blaylock [I'll buy this from Mark V. Ziesing and read it eventually.]
The Last Herald Mage Trilogy, by Mercedes Lackey
The Last Unicorn, by Peter S Beagle [Just because something has a unicorn in it, or the word "unicorn" in the title doesn't necessarily mean it's going to suck. But I'm not taking any chances.]
The Lathe Of Heaven, by Ursula K. LeGuin [I remember being bored and disappointed with this after loving her classics. I see TLHOD is next, that's a gimme.]
► The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore
The Lensman Series, by EE Smith [Massive Eye Roll. I only read these because I felt obliged and had time. It was wasted time. Did you ever read the Tom Swift books as a wee laddie rummaging through your grandparents' attic? The Lensman books are worse.]
The Liaden Universe Series, by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
The Lies Of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch
Lilith’s Brood, by Octavia Butler
► Little, Big, by John Crowley [Yes, but ... I don't think I'm getting to any other Crowley. I felt like this was a deserving classic, but one I sometimes felt more grudging admiration for than unalloyed enjoyment.]
The Liveship Traders Trilogy, by Robin Hobb – never read it.
Lord Of Light, by Roger Zelazny
► The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien [Undeniable.]
► Lord Valentine’s Castle, by Robert Silverberg [I've always felt the series -- again, why are some series seemingly favored and this given solo treatment? -- gets short-shrifted. It's not a philosophical or deep series, but I found it immensely enjoyable. I'm a huge Silverberg fan though, so take me cum grano salis here?]
Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle [I picked this up a bunch of times in various bookstores but never talked myself into giving it a try.]
Lud-in-the-Mist, by Hope Mirrlees
The Magicians, by Lev Grossman
The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson
► The Man In The High Castle, by Philip K Dick (Not his best, but sure. I'll go with this.]
The Manifold Trilogy, by Stephen Baxter
► The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson [Now, here, I wish I could vote for each book on its own. I would, too. It's that good, beginning to end.]
The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury [Enough already.]
Memory And Dream, by Charles de Lint
Memory, Sorrow, And Thorn Trilogy, by Tad Williams
Mindkiller, by Spider Robinson
The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson
The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley [Meh.]
► The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein [Even if you don't like Heinlein's prose, his characters, his politics, or anything about it, I don't see how you could keep this off any list of the great sci-fi novels.]
Mordant’s Need, by Stephen Donaldson [See my notes on the Covenant books above.]
► More Than Human, by Theodore Sturgeon [A classic.]
The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle [Niven & Pournelle again, eh?]
The Naked Sun, by Isaac Asimov [Please.]
The Neanderthal Parallax Trilogy, by Robert J Sawyer
► Neuromancer, by William Gibson [Gibson, on the whole, is wildly overrated. But you have to give him this one.]
Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman [He's fun to read on twitter. I liked his Doctor Who episode OK.]
The Newsflesh Trilogy, by Mira Grant
The Night’s Dawn Trilogy, by Peter F Hamilton
Novels Of The Company, by Kage Baker
Norstrilia, by Cordwainer Smith
The Number Of The Beast, by Robert Heinlein [See TCWWTW above.]
Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi [I'll be reading this soon, it's near the top of the To Read pile.]
On Basilisk Station, by David Weber
The Once And Future King, by T.H. White [I need to include Arthurian fantasy here, and since Steinbeck's TAOKAAHNK seems to have been skipped, this'll do.]
Oryx And Crake, by Margaret Atwood
The Otherland Tetralogy, by Tad Williams
The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan
Parable Of The Sower, by Octavia Butler
The Passage, by Justin Cronin
Pattern Recognition, by William Gibson
► Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville [Instant classic.]
The Prestige, by Christopher Priest [A very good movie. I guess I might read the book.]
The Pride Of Chanur, by CJ Cherryh
The Prince Of Nothing Trilogy, by R Scott Bakker
► The Princess Bride, by William Goldman [I wasn't sure this would make it. I, like just about everyone else, loved the movie, but I feel closer to the book. Goldman is not a great writer, but I love this and Marathon Man.]
Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge [I'm not sure this is in the first hundred, but I liked it.]
► Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke [I'll be frank, Clarke is not my favorite. But, yes, this.]
Replay, by Ken Grimwood
Riddley Walker, by Russell Hoban
The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E Feist
Ringworld, by Larry Niven
The Riverworld Series, by Philip José Farmer [Suspect.]
The Road, by Cormac McCarthy [You're welcome to your McCarthy; I found this tedious, pretentious, and irritating.]
The Saga Of Pliocene Exile, by Julian May
The Saga Of Recluce, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman [Wait, what? ... OK, I see The Watchmen down the list so I guess comic books are in play. I did like The Sandman comics. But, no, I'll give you The Watchmen but that's it.]
The Sarantine Mosaic Series, by Guy Gavriel Kay
► A Scanner Darkly, by Philip K. Dick [This is the PKD I was waiting for.]
The Scar, by China Miéville [Soon.]
► The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks [This is a hard one. I read and was engrossed in these as a kid. They are what they are though. If Brooks had turned out to be a genius who cut his teeth on Tolkien, I'd be more inclined to let childish affection prevail. I'm just not sure. OK, after tapping the keys and wavering, I'm leaning towards giving these the vote, so in the interest of time I'm doing it with reservations.]
The Shattered Chain Trilogy, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Silmarillion, by JRR Tolkien [No.]
► The Sirens Of Titan, by Kurt Vonnegut [I read Vonnegut in a great rush after Slaughterhouse-Five and put this near the top of his output. I don't think I'm going to go any deeper though.]
► Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut [When I read this, it clicked. Full on.]
Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett
► Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson [It's not perfect. I don't think it's his best, but it's more than good enough for this list.]
The Snow Queen, by Joan D Vinge
Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem [No. Maybe if I could read Polish?]
► Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury [Yes, and move on.]
Song for the Basilisk, by Patricia McKillip
A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin [Here's what I'm going to do, when Game of Thrones is available on DVD, I'll marathon it as long as I find it's as good as advertised.]
The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis
The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell
The Stainless Steel Rat Books, by Harry Harrison [I flipped through these in the bookstore as a kid, I was told there were a fun read. They looked like shit. And, I read several Destroyer books and even still like the old Remo Williams movie. But I couldn't bring myself to these.]
► Stand On Zanzibar, by John Brunner [This and The Sheep Look Up. Wait, where the fuck is The Sheep Look Up? Idiots.]
The Stand, by Stephen King
Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
► The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester [Bester's best.]
► Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein – a crypto-fascist polemic thinly-disguised as a novel; the film is infinitely superior.
Stations Of The Tide, by Michael Swanwick
Steel Beach, by John Varley
► Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein [This is not, as I think is -- or was -- widely believed, Heinlein's best. But, while flawed, I guess it's my fondness for all those Heinleins I read that makes me want to include this.]
Sunshine, by Robin McKinley
The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind
The Swordspoint Trilogy, by Ellen Kushner
The Tales of Alvin Maker, by Orson Scott Card [Good grief, no.]
The Temeraire Series, by Naomi Novik
The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn
Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay
Time Enough For Love, by Robert Heinlein [I'm going to list at least three or four better Heinlein choices once I'm through this.]
► The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells [Yes.]
The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
To Say Nothing Of The Dog, by Connie Willis
The Troy Trilogy, by David Gemmell
Ubik, by Philip K. Dick [When we get to the Ubiks and VALISes ... I'm fence-sitting.]
The Uplift Saga, by David Brin
The Valdemar Series, by Mercedes Lackey
VALIS, by Philip K Dick [See Ubik.]
Venus On The Half-Shell, by Kilgore Trout/Philip Jose Farmer
The Vlad Taltos Series, by Steven Brust
The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Vurt Trilogy, by Jeff Noon
► The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells [Yep, this one as well.]
► Watchmen, by Alan Moore [Close enough. Barely.]
► Watership Down, by Richard Adams [I think of this as a children's classic, but, yes. It's a great book.]
The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson
Way Station, by Clifford D Simak
We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin
The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan
When Gravity Fails, by George Alec Effinger
Wicked, by Gregory Maguire
Wild Seed, by Octavia Butler
The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi
► World War Z, by Max Brooks [It really is good. I think it will hold up well, not just riding the zombie wave. Also, where the fuck is Green Eyes?!]
The Worm Ouroboros, by E.R. Eddison
The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony [I was a kid. I read three or four a day over a week or so. Look, I'm not proud. It just happened. Leave me alone with my shame on this one.]
► The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by Michael Chabon [Happy to see this on the list. Yes.]
1632, by Eric Flint
► 1984, by George Orwell [Yes.]
2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C Clarke [Like I said, Clarke is not one of my favorites.]
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne [I read it too young, I think. Don't remember it all, it's all jumbled up with movies in my head.]
We made it! First impression: way too much fantasy and not nearly enough great sci-fi for how much iffy material made it in. I knew going in it would be both, still ... I count 50 votes for me, and that was being generous.
OK, let's get to what was missed.
Start with only the Mars books representing Kim Stanley Robinson. The Three Californias should have been included as well, not to mention The Years of Rice and Salt, Antarctica, and The Memory of Whiteness. Even Icehenge was more deserving than several on this list. And that's just the novels. There's six misses, at least.
No Lucius Shepard?! Let's, at a minimum, have Green Eyes, Life During Wartime, and The Golden.
Only one Delaney? I'm going to insist on Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand and Triton.
I would have included Stephenson's Zodiac: The Eco Thriller.
No Ballard?! Crash & High Rise being excluded is tantamount to lunacy. What of Aldiss? Barefoot in the Head should have been there, Frankenstein Unbound, too. Morrow would have made my list for The Wine of Violence, The Continent of Lies, Only Begotten Daughter, and This Is the Way the World Ends. and Silverberg only had one Valentine book, never mind the rest of his prodigious output? I would have liked to have voted for Wolfe's Soldier of the Mist. I'm a little surprised we had some Powers, but not Dinner at Deviant's Palace or On Stranger Tides.
Some classics I expected to see: Rogue Moon, by Algis Budrys, The Last and First Men and The Star Maker, by Olaf Stapledon, Stoker's Dracula.
I would've rather seen Time's Arrow, by Martin Amis than The Road. Paul Theroux's O-Zone was better than The Road if we just want to stay with literary types doing genre.
Has everyone forgotten John Myers Myers or am I the only one who enjoyed Silverlock, The Moon's Fire Eating Daughter and The Harp and the Blade?
As for Heinlein, it seems inexcusable to include some of those late novels without including The Puppet Masters, Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, Podkayne of Mars, Citizen of the Galaxy, Rocketship Galileo, and Tunnel in the Sky. Even JOB: A Comedy of Justice would have been a better choice than TCWWTW.
I know I'm forgetting a bunch of stuff I'll kick myself for later, but this is going to have to do it.
See Ian Sales's take on the same. It was seeing his post that made me jump in do this exercise.