Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels : An English-Language Selection, 1949-1984 [Paperback]

David Pringle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1997

This lively and authoritative guide will app eal to both newcomers and connoisseurs of the genre. Informa tive and readable, Pringle''s choices focus on landmarks by k nown artists and also unearth the talents of those that are lesser known. '

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Beginning with George Orwell's 1984 (1949) and ending with William Gibson's Neuromancer (1984), the editor of British sf magazine Interzone presents brief (two-page) essays on 100 books that he considers to be landmarks of the genre. Pringle freely admits his subjectivity in selecting these titles; nevertheless, most important sf authors are represented here, and a thought-provoking introduction makes a case for his omissions. Each essay provides a synopsis of the book, a brief history of the author, and, in most cases, a critical commentary. This is not intended as a definitive reference source; in fact, a bibliographic essay directs readers to more serious studies of the genre. A good introduction for the novice sf reader, this belongs in large libraries where books about science fiction are in demand. Jackie Cassada, Asheville-Buncombe Lib. System, N.C.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub; 2 edition (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786704810
• ISBN-13: 978-0786704811
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,020,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read yourself out of here..., April 2, 2000

By 

William Ramos (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels : An English-Language Selection, 1949-1984 (Paperback)

I first bought this book as a student in 1987. At the time a friend had recommended three or four books of Science Fiction (by authors like Arthur C Clarke and Brian W Aldiss). When I bought David Pringle's guide to the 100 best SF novels from a small shop in London, it introduced me to a much broader scope of fiction. A fiction based on science (to varying degrees), that always had something important to say about us. David Pringle's guide takes us through the "golden age" of SF, the sixties and seventies "experimental" stage of SF and the best of the early eighties SF. Thanks to Mr Pringle, I have travelled back in time, viewed our planet from the future, witnessed history unravel itself from a different prospective, I have flown into space and witness the development and regression of the human race. Finally, I would like to mention one book recommended in this guide that almost changed my life (dramatic words yes, but I still think about this book 12 years later). That book is: Theodore Sturgeon's "More than Human". I would never have read that book if it were not for Mr Pringle's fine commentry.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not many like this, August 25, 2004

By 

B. PERKINS (Denton, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels : An English-Language Selection, 1949-1984 (Paperback)

I suppose if you want to argue with the books that Pringle selects, you might give this 4 stars, but as far as what Pringle is trying to accomplish, I really haven't seen this book's equal. One of the biggest problems in reading s-f (or any genre fiction, I suppose) is that you have to wade through a lot of dreck in order to get to the good stuff.

Well, Pringle has selected a good beginning list of "the good stuff." He devotes the same two pages to each book, and doesn't seem to favor one school of s-f over another, giving the volume as a whole a very balanced feel.

Lastly, a couple of caveats: first, the book does limit itself to the time frame listed in the title, beginning with Orwell's 1984 and ending with Gibson's Neuromancer; it would be interesting to read Pringle's thoughts on the last twenty years. Lastly, Pringle's reviews contain "spoilers;" as he's trying to write thoughtful mini-essays on the books in his list, he occasionally refers to specific plot twists while discussing them.

All in all, a very nice job.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Beware this title..., May 29, 2006

By 

thetwonky (Northridge, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels : An English-Language Selection, 1949-1984 (Paperback)

First of all, be cautioned that this list was not the result of some poll or grading system based on genre accolades...it is simply the opinion of David Pringle, one man who admits this point in the book's introduction. Although I do believe Pringle really knows the genre including gems like Bernard Wolfe's Limbo and Malzberg's Galaxies.
But there are some dogs here, given the time period. Harrison's Centauri Device is thirty years behind its time reading like a scientific romance pulp with stock characters and is extremely unimaginative for the time it projects. Ian Watson's Miracle Visitors is just poorly written, despite some keen parody of the American lifestyle. Which brings me to my biggest complaint, the decidedly British slant of this book. It also seems Pringle tried too hard to include female authors (there is a sudden burst toward the latter years). Some titles have merit -Russ' Female Man for instance- but Carter's Heroes and Villains is quite forgettable. The greatest strength of this book is the inclusion of many books that I enjoyed that are on the bubble of the genre- Marge Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time and William Golding's The Inheritors are two outstanding novels.

Find this book, find some titles you may not have sought out yourself and then see how others view those titles, not only Pringle. After all, there are plenty of ways to research these titles on the internet.