The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread **PLEASE READ FIRST POST** - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

Culhwch · 3rd July 2006, 02:10 PM

Well. I'm not sure how this will go. But nothing ventured...

Introducing the Chronicles Network Hall of Fame!

The idea being to compile a somewhat official list of Chronicles member's favourite books. Okay, here's the deal. Go away and think very carefully about your ten - yes, ten - favourite books in the realm of speculative fiction. Then rank them from first to last. I know this will be hard. Be strong. Once you've settled on your list, come back here and post them in order, 1-10. Once enough votes have been posted, I will start to compile a master list for the Hall of Fame in a seperate thread. As new members vote, or old members finalise their lists, I'll update that thread.

Some ground rules:

Be sure! One vote is all you get, for the time being. I might open the door to revisions after a suitable time, but probably not for awhile.

I considered allowing series to be voted for as a whole, but I figure - ten slots, surely that's more than enough to vote for component books. So books only, at this stage. I will compile a list of favourite series' from the total of individual votes for books in a series. If you do nominate a series, I will take your vote as meaning the first book in that series. For example, if you vote for 'A Song of Ice and Fire', I will give the points to A Game of Thrones.

Well, that's about it. Any questions or suggestions, feel free to ask or put forth. Still very much in liquid state at this point....

GOLLUM · 3rd July 2006, 02:42 PM

Nothing ventured....

OK here's a current list of mainly Fantasy favs as it's the area I'm more specialised at:

1. Steven Erikson - Memories Of Ice
2. Gene Wolfe - Book Of The New Sun (omnibus edn), sorry too hard to split.
3. M. John Harrison - Viriconum Nights
4. R Scott Bakker - The Thousandfold Thought
5. China Mieville - Perdido Street Station
6. Jeff Vandermeer - Veniss Underground
7. Italo Calvino - Invisible Cities
8. Mervyn Peake - Titus Groan
9. Stephen Donaldson - Lord Foul's Bane
10. Lord Dunsany - King Of Elfland's Daughter

It's almost unfair to request a list such as this as I've left several personal favs out, but a reasonable representation of my likes nevertheless.

Would it be possible to split it into favs of Fantasy, SF and Horror, each with a maximum no greater than 10???

Culhwch · 3rd July 2006, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GOLLUM

Would it be possible to split it into favs of Fantasy, SF and Horror, each with a maximum no greater than 10???

Well, now you're just being difficult... Seriously, though, the idea was to have votes all in one list, and then seperate it out into the various genres. Otherwise it might become too unwieldy. Plus I figure I'll have trouble getting to ten in all genres.... But if enough people want seperate lists, I will bow to popular demand.

GOLLUM · 3rd July 2006, 03:06 PM

Point taken. I could fill a top 10 for Horror and Fantasy but would struggle with SF. The only series I didn't tease out as per your suggestion was Wolfe's Book Of The New Sun, but if needs be I may cut it down to 1 of the 4 books over time...

Cheers and Great Idea BTW....

Brys · 3rd July 2006, 03:36 PM

1. Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
2. The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
3. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
4. The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint
5. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
6. The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce
7. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick
8. Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson
9. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville
10. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Very, very difficult to do, but that list looks just about ok to me. There are at least 30 more I would consider for it, but this list is relatively representative.

iansales · 3rd July 2006, 03:55 PM

Not an easy task. And the list might well be different if you asked me a year from today. Some of the books in my ten favourites, I reread regularly; others I need to reread soon, just to see if they still belong on the list...

1 - Coelestis, Paul Park
2 - Dhalgren, Samuel R Delany
3 - Aegypt, John Crowley
4 - Take Back Plenty, Colin Greenland
5 - Undercover Aliens, AE van Vogt
6 - The Ophiuchi Hotline, John Varley
7 - Stations of the Tide, Michael Swanwick
8 - Dune, Frank Herbert
9 - Where Time Winds Blow, Robert Holdstock
10 - Kairos, Gwyneth Jones

Mouse · 3rd July 2006, 04:21 PM

Hmm, ok.
1. A Storm of Swords part 2 Blood and Gold. George RR Martin
2. Assassin's Quest. Robin Hobb
3. Fool's Fate. Robin Hobb
4. The Golem's Eye. Jonathan Stroud
5. Abhorsen. Garth Nix
6. The Mad Ship. Robin Hobb
7. Northern Lights. Phillip Pullman
8. A Cavern of Black Ice. JV Jones
9. A Game of Thrones. George RR Martin
10. The Amber Spyglass. Phillip Pullman

j. d. worthington · 3rd July 2006, 04:46 PM

Before I go jumping in with my ten, I have a question: are collections of short stories allowed? I feel that some of the best books in speculative fiction (in all its permutations) would be these. So... do they come under this heading, or no?

Culhwch · 4th July 2006, 07:27 AM

I don't see why not, J. D. I did say books, not novels, so I really have no argument anyway.

On series, I am willing to concede if they are often all in one volume, ie Gollum's vote for Wolfe, or something like The Lord of the Rings.

And Mouse - as Storm of Swords is really one book published in paperback in two parts, I'm going to take your vote for the book as a whole.

Good to see such good a response straight away. Shouldn't be too long before I can post a preliminary list...

Thunderchild · 4th July 2006, 07:28 AM

hope i get the names right...

1.Ringworlds Children - Larry Niven
2.Psyclone - Greg Bear
3.Count Zero - William Gibson
4.The Chrysalids - John Wyndham
5.At the mountains of Madness - H.P. Lovecraft
6.Protector - Larry Niven
7.Enders Game - Orson Scott Card
8.The Missplaced Legion - Harry Turtledove
9.Foundation - Isaac Asimov
10.Rendezvous With Rama - Arthur C Clarke

YOSSARIAN · 4th July 2006, 08:15 AM

I can't believe I'm going to be the first to vote for LOTR. . .
1. LOTR (Which is not a true trilogy and should be counted as a stand-alone)
2. A Storm of Swords
3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
4. The Thousand-Fold Thought
5. American Gods
6. Good Omens
7. Going Postal
8. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
9. A Game of Thrones
10. A Clash of Kings

nixie · 4th July 2006, 09:39 AM

Here goes

Magican- Raymond E Feist

Memories of Ice- Steven Erikson

Thousandfold Thought- R Scott Bakker

Nine Princes of Amber- Roger Zelazny

Shadow of the Torture-Gene Wolfe

Illearth War- Stephen Donaldson

Midnight Tides- Steven Erikson

Wolves of Calla- Stephen King

Tigana- Guy Gavriel Kaye

Mists of Avalon-Marion Zimmer Bradley

Winters_Sorrow · 4th July 2006, 11:08 AM

Well I've tried to give a broad reflection going back to books I also loved as a child

This is my list (at the moment!) but there is an awful lot of books I love now on here.

Magican - Raymond E Feist

A Game of Thrones - George R R Martin

Small Gods - Terry Pratchett

Nightfall - Isaac Asimov

The Twits - Roald Dahl

Young Legionnary - Douglas Hill

Wolf in Shadow - David Gemmell

Battlefield Earth - L Ron Hubbard (hey, I don't agree with the man's beliefs but I really enjoyed this book!)

There's Treasure Everywhere - Bill Watterson

Orion in the Dying Time - Ben Bova

Mark Robson · 4th July 2006, 12:37 PM

My list, based on those that have given me the most enjoyment rather than those which I necessarily think are the best books:

The Lord of the Rings - Tolkien (I can't think of this as anything other than one book either)
Sheepfarmer's Daughter - Elizabeth Moon
Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruis Zafon
Foundation - Asimov
The Crystal Singer - McCaffrey
A Wolf in Shadow - Gemmell
Mortal Engines - Philip Reeve
Sabriel - Garth Nix
The Hidden Stars - Madeline Howard
Magician's Gambit - David Eddings

elvet · 4th July 2006, 01:14 PM

Try as I might, I cannot separate a series into individual books.
My top ten:
Silmarillion
Lord of the Rings
Otherland (Tad Williams)
Liveship Traders (Robin Hobb)
His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman)
Memory, Shadow and Thorn (Tad Williams)
Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (Stephen Donaldson)
DragonsDawn (Anne McCaffrey)
Abhorsen Trilogy (Garth Nix)
Farseer Triology (Robin Hobb)

3rd July 2006, 02:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
Culhwch Keep Moving Forward! Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 3,867 Blog Entries: 8	The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread PLEASE READ FIRST POST Well. I'm not sure how this will go. But nothing ventured... Introducing the Chronicles Network Hall of Fame! The idea being to compile a somewhat official list of Chronicles member's favourite books. Okay, here's the deal. Go away and think very carefully about your ten - yes, ten - favourite books in the realm of speculative fiction. Then rank them from first to last. I know this will be hard. Be strong. Once you've settled on your list, come back here and post them in order, 1-10. Once enough votes have been posted, I will start to compile a master list for the Hall of Fame in a seperate thread. As new members vote, or old members finalise their lists, I'll update that thread. Some ground rules: Be sure! One vote is all you get, for the time being. I might open the door to revisions after a suitable time, but probably not for awhile. I considered allowing series to be voted for as a whole, but I figure - ten slots, surely that's more than enough to vote for component books. So books only, at this stage. I will compile a list of favourite series' from the total of individual votes for books in a series. If you do nominate a series, I will take your vote as meaning the first book in that series. For example, if you vote for 'A Song of Ice and Fire', I will give the points to A Game of Thrones. Well, that's about it. Any questions or suggestions, feel free to ask or put forth. Still very much in liquid state at this point.... Last edited by Culhwch; 18th July 2006 at 03:35 PM..

3rd July 2006, 02:42 PM	#2 (permalink)
GOLLUM Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 7,124	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread Nothing ventured.... OK here's a current list of mainly Fantasy favs as it's the area I'm more specialised at: 1. Steven Erikson - Memories Of Ice 2. Gene Wolfe - Book Of The New Sun (omnibus edn), sorry too hard to split. 3. M. John Harrison - Viriconum Nights 4. R Scott Bakker - The Thousandfold Thought 5. China Mieville - Perdido Street Station 6. Jeff Vandermeer - Veniss Underground 7. Italo Calvino - Invisible Cities 8. Mervyn Peake - Titus Groan 9. Stephen Donaldson - Lord Foul's Bane 10. Lord Dunsany - King Of Elfland's Daughter It's almost unfair to request a list such as this as I've left several personal favs out, but a reasonable representation of my likes nevertheless. Would it be possible to split it into favs of Fantasy, SF and Horror, each with a maximum no greater than 10???

3rd July 2006, 03:06 PM	#4 (permalink)
GOLLUM Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 7,124	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread Point taken. I could fill a top 10 for Horror and Fantasy but would struggle with SF. The only series I didn't tease out as per your suggestion was Wolfe's Book Of The New Sun, but if needs be I may cut it down to 1 of the 4 books over time... Cheers and Great Idea BTW....

3rd July 2006, 03:36 PM	#5 (permalink)
Brys Moderator Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 817	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread 1. Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake 2. The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks 3. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes 4. The Onion Girl by Charles de Lint 5. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 6. The Tooth Fairy by Graham Joyce 7. A Scanner Darkly by Philip K Dick 8. Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson 9. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville 10. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro Very, very difficult to do, but that list looks just about ok to me. There are at least 30 more I would consider for it, but this list is relatively representative.

3rd July 2006, 03:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
iansales Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2,243	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread Not an easy task. And the list might well be different if you asked me a year from today. Some of the books in my ten favourites, I reread regularly; others I need to reread soon, just to see if they still belong on the list... 1 - Coelestis, Paul Park 2 - Dhalgren, Samuel R Delany 3 - Aegypt, John Crowley 4 - Take Back Plenty, Colin Greenland 5 - Undercover Aliens, AE van Vogt 6 - The Ophiuchi Hotline, John Varley 7 - Stations of the Tide, Michael Swanwick 8 - Dune, Frank Herbert 9 - Where Time Winds Blow, Robert Holdstock 10 - Kairos, Gwyneth Jones

3rd July 2006, 04:21 PM	#7 (permalink)
Mouse Not a mouse Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 403	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread Hmm, ok. 1. A Storm of Swords part 2 Blood and Gold. George RR Martin 2. Assassin's Quest. Robin Hobb 3. Fool's Fate. Robin Hobb 4. The Golem's Eye. Jonathan Stroud 5. Abhorsen. Garth Nix 6. The Mad Ship. Robin Hobb 7. Northern Lights. Phillip Pullman 8. A Cavern of Black Ice. JV Jones 9. A Game of Thrones. George RR Martin 10. The Amber Spyglass. Phillip Pullman

3rd July 2006, 04:46 PM	#8 (permalink)
j. d. worthington Moderator Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 10,547	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread Before I go jumping in with my ten, I have a question: are collections of short stories allowed? I feel that some of the best books in speculative fiction (in all its permutations) would be these. So... do they come under this heading, or no?

4th July 2006, 07:27 AM	#9 (permalink)
Culhwch Keep Moving Forward! Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 3,867 Blog Entries: 8	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread I don't see why not, J. D. I did say books, not novels, so I really have no argument anyway. On series, I am willing to concede if they are often all in one volume, ie Gollum's vote for Wolfe, or something like The Lord of the Rings. And Mouse - as Storm of Swords is really one book published in paperback in two parts, I'm going to take your vote for the book as a whole. Good to see such good a response straight away. Shouldn't be too long before I can post a preliminary list...

4th July 2006, 07:28 AM	#10 (permalink)
Thunderchild Indefatigable Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 167	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread hope i get the names right... 1.Ringworlds Children - Larry Niven 2.Psyclone - Greg Bear 3.Count Zero - William Gibson 4.The Chrysalids - John Wyndham 5.At the mountains of Madness - H.P. Lovecraft 6.Protector - Larry Niven 7.Enders Game - Orson Scott Card 8.The Missplaced Legion - Harry Turtledove 9.Foundation - Isaac Asimov 10.Rendezvous With Rama - Arthur C Clarke

4th July 2006, 08:15 AM	#11 (permalink)
YOSSARIAN Enjoy the Era Vulgaris Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 288	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread I can't believe I'm going to be the first to vote for LOTR. . . 1. LOTR (Which is not a true trilogy and should be counted as a stand-alone) 2. A Storm of Swords 3. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 4. The Thousand-Fold Thought 5. American Gods 6. Good Omens 7. Going Postal 8. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 9. A Game of Thrones 10. A Clash of Kings

4th July 2006, 09:39 AM	#12 (permalink)
nixie pixie druid Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 2,874 Blog Entries: 3	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread Here goes Magican- Raymond E Feist Memories of Ice- Steven Erikson Thousandfold Thought- R Scott Bakker Nine Princes of Amber- Roger Zelazny Shadow of the Torture-Gene Wolfe Illearth War- Stephen Donaldson Midnight Tides- Steven Erikson Wolves of Calla- Stephen King Tigana- Guy Gavriel Kaye Mists of Avalon-Marion Zimmer Bradley

4th July 2006, 11:08 AM	#13 (permalink)
Winters_Sorrow Unreg. Mutant Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,937	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread Well I've tried to give a broad reflection going back to books I also loved as a child This is my list (at the moment!) but there is an awful lot of books I love now on here. Magican - Raymond E Feist A Game of Thrones - George R R Martin Small Gods - Terry Pratchett Nightfall - Isaac Asimov The Twits - Roald Dahl Young Legionnary - Douglas Hill Wolf in Shadow - David Gemmell Battlefield Earth - L Ron Hubbard (hey, I don't agree with the man's beliefs but I really enjoyed this book!) There's Treasure Everywhere - Bill Watterson Orion in the Dying Time - Ben Bova

4th July 2006, 12:37 PM	#14 (permalink)
Mark Robson Dragon Writer Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 2,072	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread My list, based on those that have given me the most enjoyment rather than those which I necessarily think are the best books: The Lord of the Rings - Tolkien (I can't think of this as anything other than one book either) Sheepfarmer's Daughter - Elizabeth Moon Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruis Zafon Foundation - Asimov The Crystal Singer - McCaffrey A Wolf in Shadow - Gemmell Mortal Engines - Philip Reeve Sabriel - Garth Nix The Hidden Stars - Madeline Howard Magician's Gambit - David Eddings

4th July 2006, 01:14 PM	#15 (permalink)
elvet Easily amused Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 635	Re: The Chronicles Network Hall of Fame - Voting Thread Try as I might, I cannot separate a series into individual books. My top ten: Silmarillion Lord of the Rings Otherland (Tad Williams) Liveship Traders (Robin Hobb) His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman) Memory, Shadow and Thorn (Tad Williams) Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (Stephen Donaldson) DragonsDawn (Anne McCaffrey) Abhorsen Trilogy (Garth Nix) Farseer Triology (Robin Hobb)

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