The Great 'SF Masterworks' Read

[AvatarIII]

I'm not sure if anyone else has heard of this series of publications of classic SF books, but i have recently started reading them, and i plan to have read them all eventually, it's a pretty comprehensive list of classic SF, and i have enjoyed all the ones i have read so far, if anyone else has interest in this series, or at least know about it, or has an opinion on it, or has read any of the books under a different publication, feel free to comment.

List of books in spoiler

Spoiler:

Bold = own
Strike = read
Underline = currently reading

List taken from Wikpedia
Number, Book Title, Author, Orig Pub Date, ISBN, Reprint Pub Date (Personal Rating)
1 The Forever War, Joe Haldeman 1974 ISBN 1-85798-808-6 1999 (9/10)
2 I Am Legend, Richard Matheson 1954 ISBN 1-85798-809-4 1999 (7/10)
3 Cities in Flight, James Blish 1950-1962 ISBN 1-85798-811-6 1999 (7/10)
4 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick 1968 ISBN 1-85798-813-2 1999 (8/10)
5 The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester 1956 ISBN 1-85798-814-0 1999 (9/10)
6 Babel-17, Samuel R. Delany 1966 ISBN 1-85798-805-1 1999 (8/10)
7 Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny 1967 ISBN 1-85798-820-5 1999 (7/10)
8 The Fifth Head of Cerberus, Gene Wolfe 1972 ISBN 1-85798-817-5 1999 (8/10)
9 Gateway, Frederik Pohl 1977 ISBN 1-85798-818-3 1999 (9/10)
10 The Rediscovery of Man, Cordwainer Smith 1950-1966 ISBN 1-85798-819-1 1999 (8/10)
11 Last and First Men, Olaf Stapledon 1930 ISBN 1-85798-806-X 1999 (9/10)
12 Earth Abides, George R. Stewart 1949 ISBN 1-85798-821-3 1999 (9/10)
13 Martian Time-Slip, Philip K. Dick 1964 ISBN 1-85798-837-X 1999 (8/10)
14 The Demolished Man, Alfred Bester 1953 ISBN 1-85798-822-1 1999 (8/10)
15 Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner 1968 ISBN 1-85798-836-1 1999 (9/10)
16 The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin 1974 ISBN 1-85798-882-5 1999 (9/10)
17 The Drowned World, J. G. Ballard 1962 ISBN 1-85798-883-3 1999 (7/10)
18 The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut 1959 ISBN 1-85798-884-1 1999 (9/10)
19 Emphyrio, Jack Vance 1969 ISBN 1-85798-885-X 1999 (8/10)
20 A Scanner Darkly, Philip K. Dick 1977 ISBN 1-85798-847-7 1999 (8/10)
21 Star Maker, Olaf Stapledon 1937 ISBN 1-85798-807-8 1999 (8/10)
22 Behold the Man, Michael Moorcock 1969 ISBN 1-85798-848-5 1999 (9/10)
23 The Book of Skulls, Robert Silverberg 1972 ISBN 1-85798-914-7 1999 (9/10)
24 The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds, H. G. Wells 1895 & 1898 ISBN 1-85798-887-6 1999 (8/10 & 8/10)
25 Flowers for Algernon, Daniel Keyes 1966 ISBN 1-85798-938-4 1999 (9/10)
26 Ubik, Philip K. Dick 1969 ISBN 1-85798-853-1 2000 (8/10)
27 Timescape, Gregory Benford 1980 ISBN 1-85798-935-X 2000
28 More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon 1953 ISBN 1-857-98852-3 2000
29 Man Plus, Frederik Pohl 1976 ISBN 1-85798-946-5 2000
30 A Case of Conscience, James Blish 1958 ISBN 1-85798-924-4 2000
31 The Centauri Device, M. John Harrison 1975 ISBN 1-85798-997-X 2000
32 Dr. Bloodmoney, Philip K. Dick 1965 ISBN 1-85798-952-X 2000
33 Non-Stop, Brian Aldiss 1958 ISBN 1-85798-998-8 2000
34 The Fountains of Paradise, Arthur C. Clarke 1979 ISBN 1-85798-721-7 2000
35 Pavane, Keith Roberts 1968 ISBN 1-85798-937-6 2000
36 Now Wait for Last Year, Philip K. Dick 1966 ISBN 1-85798-701-2 2000
37 Nova, Samuel R. Delany 1968 ISBN 1-85798-742-X 2001
38 The First Men in the Moon, H. G. Wells 1901 ISBN 1-85798-746-2 2001
39 The City and the Stars, Arthur C. Clarke 1956 ISBN 1-85798-763-2 2001
40 Blood Music, Greg Bear 1985 ISBN 1-85798-762-4 2001
41 Jem, Frederik Pohl 1980 ISBN 1-85798-789-6 2001
42 Bring the Jubilee, Ward Moore 1953 ISBN 1-85798-764-0 2001
43 VALIS, Philip K. Dick 1981 ISBN 1-85798-339-4 2001
44 The Lathe of Heaven, Ursula K. Le Guin 1971 ISBN 1-85798-951-1 2001
45 The Complete Roderick, John Sladek 1980 & 1983 ISBN 1-85798-340-8 2001
46 Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, Philip K. Dick 1974 ISBN 1-85798-341-6 2001
47 The Invisible Man, H. G. Wells 1897 ISBN 1-85798-949-X 2001
48 Grass, Sheri S. Tepper 1989 ISBN 1-85798-798-5 2002
49 A Fall of Moondust, Arthur C. Clarke 1961 ISBN 0-575-07317-9 2002
50 Eon, Greg Bear 1985 ISBN 0-575-07316-0 2002
51 The Shrinking Man, Richard Matheson 1956 ISBN 0-575-07463-9 2003
52 The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Philip K. Dick 1965 ISBN 0-575-07480-9 2003
53 The Dancers at the End of Time, Michael Moorcock 1974-1976 ISBN 0-575-07476-0 2003
54 The Space Merchants, Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth 1953 ISBN 0-575-07528-7 2003
55 Time Out of Joint, Philip K. Dick 1959 ISBN 0-575-07458-2 2003
56 Downward to the Earth, Robert Silverberg 1970 ISBN 0-575-07523-6 2004
57 The Simulacra, Philip K. Dick 1964 ISBN 0-575-07460-4 2004
58 The Penultimate Truth, Philip K. Dick 1964 ISBN 0-575-07481-7 2005
59 Dying Inside, Robert Silverberg 1972 ISBN 0-575-07525-2 2005
60 Ringworld, Larry Niven 1970 ISBN 0-575-07702-6 2005
61 The Child Garden, Geoff Ryman 1989 ISBN 0-575-07690-9 2005
62 Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement 1954 ISBN 0-575-07708-5 2005
63 A Maze of Death, Philip K. Dick 1970 ISBN 0-575-07461-2 2005
64 Tau Zero, Poul Anderson 1970 ISBN 0-575-07732-8 2006
65 Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke 1972 ISBN 0-575-07733-6 2006
66 Life During Wartime, Lucius Shepard 1987 ISBN 0-575-07734-4 2006
67 Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, Kate Wilhelm 1976 ISBN 0-575-07914-2 2006
68 Roadside Picnic, Arkady and Boris Strugatsky 1972 ISBN 0-575-07978-9 2007
69 Dark Benediction, Walter M. Miller, Jr. 1951 ISBN 0-575-07977-0 2007
70 Mockingbird, Walter Tevis 1980 ISBN 0-575-07915-0 2007
71 Dune, Frank Herbert 1965 ISBN 0-575-08150-3 2007 (9/10) I own a different copy, but will probably buy this copy for the sake of completeion when the time comes)
72 The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein 1966 ISBN 0-575-08241-0 2008
73 The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick 1962 ISBN 0-575-08205-4 2009

Edit: added ratings, as suggested by no-genius,

[no-genius]

Could you rate the ones you've read?

You'll notice this is more a list of PKD books I've read

Spoiler:

Bold = own
Strike = read
Underline = currently reading

List taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks
Number, Book Title, Author, Orig Pub Date, ISBN, Reprint Pub Date

2 I Am Legend, Richard Matheson 1954 ISBN 1-85798-809-4 1999 (would recommend, probably wouldn't read again)
4 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Philip K. Dick 1968 ISBN 1-85798-813-2 1999 (The first PKD book I ever read - most of which I read in one sitting)
13 Martian Time-Slip, Philip K. Dick 1964 ISBN 1-85798-837-X 1999 (read it in the now-superceded PKD 2007-ish editions - which I don't recommend buying, because they all had typos. But the book itself is good, and I like the way that you keep seeing almost the same scenes, because one of the characters can see the future.)
20 A Scanner Darkly, Philip K. Dick 1977 ISBN 1-85798-847-7 1999 (Maybe one of my favourite PKD books)
26 Ubik, Philip K. Dick 1969 ISBN 1-85798-853-1 2000 (different edition - 2006, orange cover with a spray can and an introduction by Micheal Marshall Smith - no idea. Good book, with some good twists that actually make sense. Read it twice)
32 Dr. Bloodmoney, Philip K. Dick 1965 ISBN 1-85798-952-X 2000 (2007 - same edition as MTS.)
36 Now Wait for Last Year, Philip K. Dick 1966 ISBN 1-85798-701-2 2000 (An interesting take on time-travel: a drug that lets you go back/forward in time. Maybe the 5th PKD book I read.)
43 VALIS, Philip K. Dick 1981 ISBN 1-85798-339-4 2001 (weird, and very post-modern - the author appears as two characters. I liked it, YMMV)
46 Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, Philip K. Dick 1974 ISBN 1-85798-341-6 2001 (Same edition as MTS and Bloodmoney. OK, but nothing special)
51 The Shrinking Man, Richard Matheson 1956 ISBN 0-575-07463-9 2003 (I borrowed it, but didn't finish it. It was OK)
52 The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Philip K. Dick 1965 ISBN 0-575-07480-9 2003 (would re-read, borrowed it)
55 Time Out of Joint, Philip K. Dick 1959 ISBN 0-575-07458-2 2003 (interesting setup, but the twist basically comes out of nowhere.)
57 The Simulacra, Philip K. Dick 1964 ISBN 0-575-07460-4 2004 (meh. OK, but not brilliant.)
58 The Penultimate Truth, Philip K. Dick 1964 ISBN 0-575-07481-7 2005 (I plan to read this soon)
63 A Maze of Death, Philip K. Dick 1970 ISBN 0-575-07461-2 2005 (OK, but not his best. Although the bit at the end in interesting in a mind-screw type way, but maybe it's too derivative of his other stuff.)
71 Dune, Frank Herbert 1965 ISBN 0-575-08150-3 2007 (also read all the sequels, and the BH/KJA sequels that didn't happen. I thought it picked up around Heretics, and Sandworms seemed better than Hunters, but maybe that was just because Hunters lowered my expectations SO. HARD.)
73 The Man in the High Castle, Philip K. Dick 1962 ISBN 0-575-08205-4 2009(I have the Penguin Classics edition. Maybe one of his best books)

Not listed: Eye in the Sky (quite good considering how early he wrote it.)
also, I have the first three volumes of PKD's short stories, and I've read the4th and 5th.

Would take recommendations for the non-PKD books on the list
I'd recommend Ubik, A Scanner Darkly, The Man In the High Castle, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (and too a lesser extent) Now Wait For Last Year, VALIS (for YMMV - and don't read it before A Scanner Darkly), Flow My Tears, Martian Time-Slip and his short stories.

[Fedechiar]

"The Moon is a harsh mistress" (72) is one of the best SF novels I've ever read. Also, why isn't "The left hand of darkness" (Le Guin) in the list? It's another great book! (if it's there and I didn't see it, my apologies; a week of studying algebraic geometry non-stop has left me quite mentally crippled )

[charliepanayi]

I work for the publisher who does this series, just to say we stopped numbering them after the 72 or so mentioned in this thread and over a dozen more have been added to the list since then. We continue to add one a month: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks#New_design

And why is a novel like The Left Hand of Darkness not in there? Simple really, we don't have the rights - obviously we can only publish stuff we can acquire the rights to.

[no-genius]

Because those are the only books they've published in that series (so far). edit: and that.

Spoiler:

Also from the wikipedia page. (Masterwords New design) - I think the hardback ones are all published in the series, but I'm not sure.

Bold = own
Strike = read
Underline = currently reading
Italic = Not published yet (or for 2011, may not be published yet but I can't be bothered to check).

Title - Author - Original Publication - ISBN - Date Published

Inverted World Christopher Priest 1974 ISBN 978-0575082106 2010
Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut 1963 ISBN 978-0575081956 2010
Childhood's End Arthur C. Clarke 1953 ISBN 978-0575082359 2010
The Island of Doctor Moreau H. G. Wells 1896 ISBN 978-0575095168 2010
Dhalgren Samuel R. Delany 1974 ISBN 978-0575090996 2010
Helliconia Brian Aldiss 1982-1985 ISBN 978-0575086159 2010
The Food of the Gods H. G. Wells 1904 ISBN 978-0575095182 2010
The Body Snatchers Jack Finney 1955 ISBN 978-0575085312 2010
The Female Man Joanna Russ 1975 ISBN 978-0575094994 2010
Arslan M. J. Engh 1976 ISBN 978-0575095014 2010
The Difference Engine William Gibson and Bruce Sterling 1990 ISBN 978-0575099401 2011
The Prestige Christopher Priest 1995 ISBN 978-0575099418 2011
Greybeard Brian Aldiss 1964 ISBN 978-0575071131 2011
Sirius Olaf Stapledon 1944 ISBN 978-0575099425 2011
Hyperion Dan Simmons 1989 ISBN 978-0575099432 2011
City Clifford D. Simak 1952 ISBN 978-0575105232 2011
Hellstrom's Hive Frank Herbert 1973 ISBN 978-0575101081 2011
Of Men and Monsters William Tenn 1968 ISBN 978-0575099449 2011
R.U.R. and War with the Newts Karel Čapek 1921 and 1936 ISBN 978-0575099456 2011
The Affirmation Christopher Priest 1981 ISBN 978-0575099463 2011
Floating Worlds Cecelia Holland 1975 ISBN 978-0575108233 2011
Rogue Moon Algis Budrys 1960 ISBN 978-0575108004 2012
Dangerous Visions Harlan Ellison 1967 ISBN 978-0575108028 2012
Odd John Olaf Stapledon 1935 ISBN 978-0575072244 2012
The Fall of Hyperion Dan Simmons 1990 ISBN 978-0575099487 2012
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams 1979 ISBN 978-0575115347 2012 (I have the Trilogy of four + Mostly Harmless + Salmon of Doubt + read And Another Thing, but avoid if at all possible. A classic, you have to read it)
The War of the Worlds H. G. Wells 1898 ISBN 978-0575115354 2012
The Invisible Man H. G. Wells 1897 ISBN 978-0575115378 2012
Frankenstein Mary Shelley 1818 ISBN 978-0575099609 2012 (I found it a difficult read, but worth it. Would also recommend the Spike Milligan version )
The First Men in the Moon H. G. Wells 1901 ISBN 978-0575115385 2013
The Caltraps of Time David I. Masson 1968 ISBN 978-0575118287 2013
Unquenchable Fire Rachel Pollack 1988 ISBN 978-0575118546 2013
The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe D. G. Compton 1973 ISBN 978-0575118317 2013

I haven't read any of his books on either of these lists, but I recommend Brian Aldiss.

[AvatarIII]

I work for the publisher who does this series, just to say we stopped numbering them after the 72 or so mentioned in this thread and over a dozen more have been added to the list since then. We continue to add one a month: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SF_Masterworks#New_design

And why is a novel like The Left Hand of Darkness not in there? Simple really, we don't have the rights - obviously we can only publish stuff we can acquire the rights to.

Interesting that you didn't mention that The Left hand of Darkness IS published in the SF Masterworks Hardcover series

Spoiler:

Number Title Author Year* ISBN
I Dune Frank Herbert 1965 ISBN 0-575-07334-9
II The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin 1969 ISBN 0-575-07219-9
III The Man in the High Castle Philip K. Dick 1962 ISBN 0-575-07335-7
IV The Stars My Destination Alfred Bester 1956 ISBN 0-575-07337-3
V A Canticle for Leibowitz Walter M. Miller, Jr. 1960 ISBN 0-575-07220-2
VI Childhood's End Arthur C. Clarke 1953 ISBN 0-575-07263-6
VII The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Robert A. Heinlein 1966 ISBN 0-575-07336-5
VIII Ringworld Larry Niven 1970 ISBN 0-575-07339-X
IX The Forever War Joe Haldeman 1974 ISBN 0-575-07318-7
X The Day of the Triffids John Wyndham 1951 ISBN 0-575-07338-1

I must say , i much prefer the old style covers, and it was actually the introdcution of the new covers, and fear of the old covers being harder to get hold of that encouraged me to really start reading the series regularly, instead of casually

[charliepanayi]

Ha! So we did, never realised. We must have just had hardback rights.

Whenever one of the existing series comes up for reprint now, we're moving it over to the new cover style, so if you prefer the old covers might be best to snap them up while you can. Though of course some titles won't reprint for a while yet.

[AvatarIII]

Ha! So we did, never realised. We must have just had hardback rights.

Whenever one of the existing series comes up for reprint now, we're moving it over to the new cover style, so if you prefer the old covers might be best to snap them up while you can. Though of course some titles won't reprint for a while yet.

i never understood why some books have publication rights with several publishers for differently bound versions of the same book, that really only makes sense when a publisher only has the ability to publish in one type i guess.

as far as buing them before the covers change, that's my plan, i already have the first 25, so hopefully i'll be safe for a while, and if they go out of print, there's always used copies,

[AvatarIII]

Finished The Fifth Head of Cerberus, it was an interesting book consisting of 3 at first glance unconnected novella's set on two planets in the same system,
mild possible spoilers,

Spoiler:

the first novella, and title novella is actually the least connected to the other two, but does well in worldbuilding, important to understand the other two novellas, the second is an in-universe folklore story, written by a minor character in the first novella, and the third centres around that character during his time in prison after the first novella, with flashbacks to before the first novella in which he is carrying out antropolocial fieldwork, which then goes onto being the basis of the novella he writes whilst in prison.

i'd say in all the book is best appreciated in retrospect, the first novella is great and easily deserving of an 8/10, but the second began to pull that score down, however it wasn't until i read the third novella when i really could appreciate the second, so in all i would give it an 8/10

Next Book: The Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith (which is a collection of short stories within the same universe, the first has feelings of both Dune and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep)

[Jorpho]

I could hardly care less for The Left Hand of Darkness. But why the crap is there no David Brin, I declare?

[AvatarIII]

I could hardly care less for The Left Hand of Darkness. But why the crap is there no David Brin, I declare?

as charlie explained, the series only has books which the publisher (gollancz/orion) has the rights to publish, if the publishing rights are owned by a different publisher, the book is not in the series, it's as simple as that.

[no-genius]

Incidentally, there's a Philip K Dick thread.

[AvatarIII]

finished The Rediscovery of Man, it's a good book, and i am a fan of short story collections, particularly if they are interconnected in any way, and as this is a set of stories set withing the same universe written between '59 and '66 there is a good coherence between them, I recommend the book to anyone who enjoys 60s era SF, the writing style and tone are very similar to PKD and Frank Herbert, or i should say the feel of the universe is similar to that of Dune, however the stories themselves reminded me more of PKD. there is often a running theme of the stories being told as if they were legends from long ago, often with mentions of certain characters having been portrayed by actors or actresses over the centuries, which is quite an interesting touch.

[AvatarIII]

Last and First Men.... Wow, is all i can say, this book is pretty amazing, a lot of the science is wrong, and at it's time it was written as a hard SF speculative novel, but it has aged well and now is easily readable with only a little more suspension of disbelief, considering it is a book with almost no dialogue, (i think there is one conversation early on in the book, but that's it) it was surprisingly well paced, and it felt more like reading a nature documentary at times, although a nature documentary about as yet non existent future evolutions of mankind.
a lot of the way the book is written, and the authors attitudes are quite old fashioned, as is much of the science, but things like the portrayals of alien species, and speculations as to how mankind could evolve were both fascinating and timeless, and i totally recommend the book to anyone who enjoys SF, or Lovecraft or Clarke (who both loved this book)

I've moved into the book's spiritual successor/sequel "Star Maker" which is apparently an exploration of the entire galaxy in the way that Last and First Men was an exploration of the future within our solar system.

[AvatarIII]

Star Maker
i was slightly disappointed in this book, mostly because i felt i enjoyed the less acclaimed Last and First Men, which was more coherent, and grounded, even if it was dated severely by the lack of the prediction of the rise of fascism, interestingly something the author himself refers to on the afterword/glossary for Star Maker, in a paragraph about justifying his use of the "expanding universe theory" which he fears may be debunked sooner or later and date the book again (oh the irony) however some of the other theories in the book have dated worse, for example a timeline at the end of the book puts the age of our universe at 50bn years, and the age of the oldest stars at almost 20bn, also the book was before the concept of black holes, and in fact it describes the last days of the universe as a place where dying stars are inhabited as if they were planets (with very high gravity obviously, but nothing approaching the strength of black holes).
Star Maker is a good book, but it is hurt by it's grandeur and lack of focus, it seems to dip into lots of different things and then conveniently step back away as soon as it's getting interesting. it's also hurt by a lack of the linearity that Last and First Men had, by jumping around in time within the universe it loses itself sometimes, also the feeling that the book is a novel with a narrative and a narrator with a personality, where Last and First Men felt more like an account (albeit fictionalised) but it felt more like a documentary than a story.

enough of the flaw though, it's still a great book, and Olaf Stapledon is like the Carl Sagan of the 1930's this book is like Pale Blue Dot, but written almost 60 years prior, 20 years before Sputnik even, which is what makes this book amazing, and should not be missed by anyone who enjoys big ideas or philosophical SF.
some bits of the book are possibly deserving as low as 7/10 score but there were enough good bits for me to give it an 8/10 on the whole


I have decided to give reading these a short hiatus for now, just to read one book that I have been putting off for ages, I will start again soon.

[AvatarIII]

I've read a few of these since my last post, but I just finished The Book Of Skulls, and it was pretty amazing, not really SF, well, no more SF than Indiana Jones movies, but is was a pretty powerful character piece, kind of like Stephen King, but much more concise (only 221 pages!) well worth a read.

[AvatarIII]

a few more read, making 25 in total, still not a bad book in the bunch, but that's not surprising.

Flowers for Algernon was particularly touching, which is normally what it takes for me to give it 9/10, especially if it hasn't got sense-of-wonder going for it. I might have to seek out the films made based on it for comparison.