Tucson Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Guy -

by PABlo Bley on Jul.29, 2009, under Fantasy, Horror, Magic Realism, Science Fiction, Speculative Literature, Time Travel

Recommended Fantasy, Sci Fi & Scary Summer Reading List

Depending on how you look at it, perhaps some or even most of these books are the best-written stories of all time, or in fact, the best-selling Sci-Fi, Fantasy, or Horror stories ever.  They are not in any particular order,  because certain of these stories really made a strong impression on me growing up (e.g. Frank Herbert’s books), and yet I’ve listed them without regard to their popularity.

Some of these are older classics that our parents may have read too, and some are pretty new (the latest Harry Potter for instance). Due to my own interests, several of these are on my personal “most recommended books of all time” list and I’ve certainly read most of these over and over.

Some of them don’t exactly fit into a given genre, but a few of them are either currently about to be released as movie versions, or are already top-selling book and movie franchises.

And if high-quality literature is something that you care about, then I’m sure you’ll agree that all of these are capable of taking you to another microcosmic universe, world, or parallel dimension, where romantic and strange things are happening.  A place where the long, hot, summer time months will go by more enjoyably, as you wander through these stories with a sense of wonder.

  1. Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling (FANTASY ADVENTURE)
  2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Series) by Douglas Adams (HUMOR, SCI-FI)
  3. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (TIME TRAVEL)
  4. Life of Pi by Yann Martel (FANTASY ADVENTURE)
  5. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (FANTASY ADVENTURE)
  6. The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy) by J.R.R. Tolkien (EPIC FANTASY ADVENTURE)
  7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman (FANTASY ROMANCE)
  8. Twilight (Series) by Stephenie Meyer (VAMPIRES, ROMANCE)
  9. Ender’s Game (Series) by Orson Scott Card (SCI FI)
  10. Interview with the Vampire (Series) by Anne Rice (VAMPIRES)
  11. The Stand by Stephen King (HORROR, POST-APOCALYPTIC)
  12. Dune (Trilogy + Series + Prequels) by Frank Herbert (SCI FI)
  13. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (FANTASY)
  14. Dracula by Bram Stoker (THEE VAMPIRE)
  15. Dead Until Dark (Series) by Charlaine Harris (VAMPIRES)
  16. Outlander (Series) by Diana Gabaldon (TIME TRAVEL, ROMANCE)
  17. The Shining by Stephen King (FANTASY, HORROR)
  18. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (FANTASY – MAGICAL REALISM, ROMANCE)
  19. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon (FANTASY, SUPERHEROES, COMIC BOOKS)
  20. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (FANTASY ADVENTURE)
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14 Comments for this entry

  • azmouse
    July 29th, 2009 on 12:38 pm

    I loved reading The Stand. Good pick.

    Reply
  • Azwaterman
    July 29th, 2009 on 1:38 pm

    I love all of the ones you mentioned.  I would also say 2 authors were missed here who are cornerstones of the genre….Robert Heinlein and Issac Asimov!!!

    Reply
  • PABlo Bley
    July 29th, 2009 on 1:49 pm

    Azmouse, the Stand had a profound effect on me when I read it (for the first time, in the summer after it came out), so it’s always been up high on my list of favorites.
     
    Azwaterman, I would need a huge list to fill out my favorites, but Heinlein is on my top 3 list for Sci Fi authors. I’ve given away over 20 copies of Stranger in a Strange Land, since I first read it back in the early 70s. So, you can expect future posts about R.A.H.’s work. I’m also in agreement about Asimov.
    Thanks for the feedback !
     
     

    Reply
    • azmouse
      July 29th, 2009 on 3:07 pm

      It kind of did the same for me, as I was at a transitional period when I started reading it. I became very involved with all the individual characters.

      The old HBO series, Carnival, appealed to me in the same way The Stand did.

      Reply
  • bjay100
    July 29th, 2009 on 1:57 pm

    I have read at least 10 of these books.  I will have to put the others in my reading list!
     
    I have some of my own recommendations I would like to throw in:  The Foundation series by Isaac Isimov, Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut, and just about all the others by Steven King.
     
    I read just about every Steven King available when I was pregnant with my son.  Hmmmm, maybe that explains….oh nevermind, lol.  My favorites of his are his short story The Mist and lately I’m really favoring his book From a Buick 8.
     
    I hate to admit it, but I’m a 40-year-old mom who plays a MMORG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game).  No, not WOW – the granddaddy of them all – Ultima Online.  It has lots of storylines and plots written by and driven by the players – as well as lots of killing and bloodshed in-game, but that’s besides the point!  Their stories make for very enjoyable summer reading as their stories often have a lot of creativity, originality, and passion behind them.  Some of them can barely spell, but the imaginations are amazing.  In fact, I’ve encouraged many of the kids on the game to get into writing more seriously and they are taking steps to do that.  Hopefully someday one of them will make your list!

    Reply
  • bjay100
    July 29th, 2009 on 2:02 pm

    Oh yea, I’m about to leave a strange comment.
     
    I always wondered if it was just me and curious if others feel this way.  I’ve found when I buy a really old book written way back from a used bookstore, and it has that old book smell and old typeface, that it seems to help me get more into the story.
     
    And I also have to throw in more suggestions – books by Jules Verne.  It was required reading for me in school.  Nowadays, I’m not seeing the books on the reading lists for kids.
     

    Reply
  • PABlo Bley
    July 29th, 2009 on 2:20 pm

    Bjay100,
    There is a very special magic associated with books, and old books are the most imbued with it. It’s a curious combination of senses that we employ to pick up on all of that, but it makes for good associations with the stories that we are most impressed with.

    I also find that if I was listening to specific music during my first read of these favorites,  just hearing that same music again will take me back in time, to when I was first encountering the creative imaginations of these and other favorite authors.

    Books are perfect for passing along “idea viruses” , and even though I’m heavily into technology, I’ll always be inclined to treasure the real thing, especially if there is history that emanates from the printed pages, impressions received from all of the previous readers that have handled it before I got my hands on it.

    I’ll be sure and make more lists like this in the future.

    Reply
    • bjay100
      July 29th, 2009 on 2:34 pm

      Along the same lines….you mentioned The Stand.  I read the book and saw the movie.  At the beginning of the movie they play Don’t Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult.  Now whenever I hear that song, I see the intro to the Stand in my mind and then get a craving for Steven King.
       
      Such a great intro:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUAvTn3uz5w

      Reply
      • azmouse
        July 29th, 2009 on 3:16 pm

        That is one of my favorite, all time songs ever!

        Haven’t thought about this in sooo many years, but reading all the comments brought to mind some old books I had to read, probably around middle school. I got them for my kids when they were around the same age. I had a teacher in seventh grade that would read aloud all of Ray Bradbury’s books. I loved the way he read The Illustrated Man!! I’ll have to read it again!
        A couple of other middle school must-reads were, Flowers in the Attic and Lord of the Flys.

        Great stuff and grood old days! Thanks for making me think of that time again.

        Reply
        • bjay100
          July 29th, 2009 on 3:27 pm

          Oooooo Flowers in the Attic.  Great book series!  That brings back memories of other books I read at the time like Audrey Rose by Frank De Felitta.  Scary!  Gives me chills right now just thinking about it.
           

          Reply
  • On a limb with Claudia
    July 29th, 2009 on 4:53 pm

    It’s interesting. I don’t think of my self as a sci-fi fan. i would have said none, but I’ve read 14 of the books on your list.

    Reply
  • PABlo Bley
    July 29th, 2009 on 7:19 pm

    Claudia,
    Less  than 1/3 of the titles I’ve listed could be considered traditional SciFi (& that’s stretching to cover the time travel  ones too).  It’s just that these are all the kind of books that will keep you up late at night, or could be hard to put down until finished. Or even better, the kind to take to the beach or the mountain cabin, to be read on an extremely relaxing summer vacation.

    Also,  I find myself getting more out of each re-read on most of these too, due to the outstanding quality of the writing involved. They might be considered as the category that most modern writers would aspire to.

    It could be that most of these are the type of stories, that leave a lifelong impression on anyone who ever reads them, and for that reason are often favorites even for those who aren’t completely obsessed with speculative literature or adult fantasy.

    They are all perfect to share with younger readers too (especially teens), as a yardstick to compare to the movies or spin-offs that might be popular renditions of the best of this type of literature. If that’s the case, I hope that titles like these are all easy enough to obtain, that they might be a catalyst for younger generations of readers, who will learn that great writers are some of the most interesting thinkers that exist.

    Reply
  • Logical Lizard
    August 2nd, 2009 on 1:44 pm

    Comrades: I agree that Heinlein will always be welcome on my Top Thirty list (yay for Friday, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and especially the little-known Door Into Summer) but then I am a Golden Age of Science Fiction nut, so A.E. Van Vogt and Clifford Simak are also at the top of my list, along with—OF COURSE—the mighty Philip K. Dick. But anyone who puts Doug Adams and the HHG at his #2 is tops in my book (cheers Pablo!). Ditto for the Ender’s Game series and Dune. Dune is not only one of the greatest S.F. epics ever, it is one of the greatest epics ever written, regardless of genre. Frank Herbert read two hundred books while studying desert ecosystems and cultures for background material. Now that is research. No wonder Dune is so engrossing. Cheers — LL
    p.s. And let’s please not forget Neuromancer. Oh, and Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War. OMG and Alfred Bester—a science fiction writer so great in influence that he had a charcater on Babylon Five named after him! How cool is that? Okay, I’ll stop for now. Thanks for the terrific list Pablo. That generated a lot of comments! I am jealous : )

    Reply

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