Poll

[aliseadae]

What do you consider to be the most influential works of speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy or horror)? Answer in comments.

ETA: The works don't have to be the most well known! I'm looking for more obscure works too as long as they are influential.

Comments

[parmandiriel.livejournal.com]

Dune, Lord of the Rings

[pentatonikk.livejournal.com]

Well, Lord of the Rings is sort of an obvious one, so yes--but I'd also second the inclusion of Dune. I'd add Jules Verne too if we're going back that far, and various mythologies, specifically Greek and Norse if we're going back that far.

I have a feeling I'm missing something really big but I'm not sure what. hm :/

[vcmw]

umm, for some of these I'm conflating a body of work set in the same universe as one item. It seems easier. And I suspect this is like naming all 50 states which I can never do and then later I think of whichever states I forgot but then I've forgot other ones.

Things I've read and liked that I think are very influential:
Joanna Russ's The Female Man
Emma Bull's War for the Oaks
Charles de Lint's Newford stories.
Isaac Asimov's Foundation stories
Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics
Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer (not necessarily the print fiction, but the world as a whole and the character tropes)
Samuel Delany's Neveryon books
William Gibson's Neuromancer
Robin McKinley's Hero and the Crown / Blue Sword (the Damar books)
Patricia McKillip's Forgotten Beasts of Eld & Riddlemaster of Hed trilogy
Lord Dunsany's The King of Elfland's Daughter & The Charwoman's Shadow
Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn
Ursula LeGuin's Wizard of Earthsea trilogy, the Dispossessed, and The Left Hand of Darkness
Anne McCaffrey's Pern books, and the short stories/novellas that grew into The Ship Who Sang, The Rowan, and To Ride Pegasus

Works I hear cited but have never read:
the E. R. Eddison books (Worm Ouroboros etc)
Marvyn Peake's Gormenghast books
H. P. Lovecraft

[aliseadae]

ooh, thank you so much. That was exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. I'm trying to put together a list of influential works that should be added to BSFFA's (Beloit Science Fiction and Fantasy Association) library. I've asked around in a couple of places but I've also been reading a list of the winners of the World Fantasy, Mythopoeic, Hugo, Nebula and Tiptree (because I wanted to) awards and jotting down things that seem important. It is really, really fun to do this. I'm enjoying myself. I wonder what sort of list the membership of Fourth Street would come up with if asked the same question?

[lerite.livejournal.com]

In YA Fantasy, Pat Wrede, especially the Alanna books. Her short story collection whose name I'm forgetting is adult and awesome.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

In addition to what's already been listed:

Hope Mirlees, Lud in the Mist
Samuel Delany, Driftglass (ss collection)
Robert Heinlein, The Past Through Tomorrow (short stories), Starship Troopers, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land
Alfred Bester, The Demolished Man and The Stars My Destination
Arthur Clarke, Childhood's End and 2001
Theodore Sturgeon, like, a gajillion of the short stories
Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan series
Octavia Butler, Blood Child (ss coll), Kindred, everything everything else
Gordy Dickson's Dorsai books, particularly the early ones
Judith Merrill, short stories
Fred Pohl, Man Plus and the Heechee stuff

This is far worse than having to name 50 states, because with 50 states you know there are 50 of them, whereas this is an open-ended question. Read Sheckley. Read Avram Davidson. Charles Sheffield and Nancy Kress in short story form. Kate Wilhelm and Damon Knight ditto (although some of Kate's earlier novels are still pretty good--I'm reading her second most recent mystery, and I'm afraid it's not very well-written, sigh). And this isn't even the stuff I think is the most brilliant: John M. Ford, Steven Brust, Pamela Dean, Jo Walton, and I'm not just saying that because all of them are my friends (or in Mike's case, was when he was alive). Oh, and speaking of my friends, I think Pat Wrede and Caroline Stevermer's Sorcery and Cecelia did a lot to create the fantasy of manners subgenre; that's pretty influential. Ditto Ellen Kushner with Swordspoint. Oh, Iain M. Banks has to be in there somewhere. For good or ill I must admit Harlan Ellison and Larry Niven and David Brin have all influenced people in their ways; hell, John Norman did. (Don't read John Norman. Seriously. Your life is too short. Everyone's life is too short.) Oh, in another lowbrow way, there's always Edgar Rice Burroughs; nobody could deny his influence early on, even if they winced at it.

This is a long, long conversation. The list of non-genre writers who have been the strongest influence on genre writers is another good long conversation.

[aliseadae]

Thank you!

Mm yes, I should make this into a reading list as well as create my list of things that BSFFA (Beloit Science Fiction and Fantasy Association) might want to add to the BSFFA library.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Oh, heh. I'd been assuming British SF Award when you said BSFFA. The extra F was apparently optional in my brain.

[voey.livejournal.com]

Zelazny and LeGuin both ushered in the more emotional shininess of New Age sci-fi. Spider Robinson also, ftw.