100 Must Read Science Fiction Novels is one of The Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide Series, a range of books aimed at readers who are keen to discover titles and authors they may not have encountered previously. The series also aims to outline the history and background of each category of literature that individual volumes cover. Each title describes and recommends 100 books and suggests another 500 titles for further reading, accompanied by thematic lists aimed at those readers wishing to explore a particular strand of writing within the area covered by each volume. The series was inspired by Kenneth McLeish, author of the original Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide (1988), a best-selling general guide to all popular genres of fiction and non-fiction that went through four editions before the author died. Since 2001,the series has been master- minded by Nick Rennison . Other volumes in the series include 100 Must-Read Crime Novels and 100 Must-Read Classic Novels.
The content of the book (in brief) is as follows:
- A Foreword by internationally respected novelist Christopher Priest.
- An Introduction comprising a brief history of science fiction writing and publishing and my own definition of the genre.
- Descriptions of our one hundred chosen books, arranged A to Z by author. Each entry features a (relatively) spoiler-free plot description, some biographical and critical information about each author covered and sometimes some contextual comments.
- Each entry is followed by at least four ‘read on’ suggestions, encouraging the reader to try other books by the same author, on the same theme or written in a complimentary style to the book described in the entry.
- Each entry contains the author’s date of birth (and death is applicable), nationality (and place of birth if different) and note of the title and date of any significant film/TV adaptations.
- Twelve ‘Read on a Theme’ listings are placed strategically amongst the main entries. Some of these refer to Science Fiction in Film, TV or Popular Music.
- Award listings detailing the winners of Hugo, Nebula and BSFA prizes.
- A Glossary of SF and literary terminology used in the book.
- An Index.
Nick wrote forty-five of the main entries while I wrote the remainder of the book, but we collaborated fully on structure and ideas. Both of us made editorial suggestions regarding the other’s work.
Where can you buy the book?
100 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels is on sale in the U.K., Canada, most of Europe, the majority of the Far East, South Africa and Australasia and many other countries worldwide. Please note that the current edition is only available in English. It can be purchased from bookshops such as Waterstone’s or via a number of online stores such as Amazon’s various international sites. The book is not yet available in the U.S.A. (parties interested in acquiring Stateside – or foreign language - rights should contact A & C Black ), so North Americans may wish to consider buying it from Amazon Canada.
Our aims in writing 100 Must-Read Science Fiction Novels:
When Nick and I set out to write this book, the idea was to select a choice of novels that all kinds of readers could work their way through in order to achieve an overview of science fiction writing, describing a variety of titles in order to help readers decide what to read next from the thousands of SF works published to date.
Our intention was not an attempt to present a definitive 'best of' list as (1) we believed this was an impossible task given that we could only focus on one hundred titles (as there are many more masterworks of science fiction than this) and (2) that an honest 'best of' list would be comprised of our personal favourites, some of whom would not be to everyone's tastes.
As friends and work colleagues discovered our title during the writing of the book, I found that they invariably assumed that we were producing a ranked list of the best SF, usually asking the question "What's your number one?". I can only put their assumptions down to the influence of the 'list culture' that currently dominates popular film and music magazines and the similar programme formats Channel Four television regularly employs. Although I generally disagree with the concept of canons, believing that art has moved toward the subjective and personal in the past century, I can see the value of 'universal appeal' and would of course by more than ready to appear on 100 Best Science Fiction Films should C4 ever commission such a show!
Additionally, those friends well versed in SF would often ask if a particular writer or book was included or say something like "I bet The Man in the High Castle is in there,". But because we have aimed to provide an overview of SF rather than just a roster of classics, some excellent books are not included in our one hundred, though most canonical SF works are mentioned somewhere in the text of our modest guide. If your personal SF favourite didn't make it into our book, let us know and we may just include it in a future expanded edition. We were naturally forced to exclude many books we're highly enthusiastic about due to lack of space.
Therefore, our aims were more objective than subjective: we wanted to produce a compact guide that would stimulate debate amongst experienced SF readers while encouraging those with less knowledge of the genre to read a wider range of science fiction than they may have done in the past. We cover the entire history of SF writing, our main entries being published between 1818 and 2002, featuring authors from North America, Britain and continental Europe. We include fan favourites, award winners, classic texts, critically acclaimed titles, a few personal indulgences and books loved by the many customers we've served in our respective careers behind the counter in general bookselling. 100 Must Read Science Fiction Novels is therefore a book for ordinary readers, though we remain confident that those who are widely read in the genre will enjoy comparing their own viewpoints with our own.
Above all, we hope you will take the opportunity to read our book and at least some of the titles we recommend. If you've already read most of our choices, take a look at what we have to say anyway, as we're sure you'll enjoy the ongoing debate on which SF books are the most enjoyable to read and of enduring significance in the history of Science Fiction.
About Nick Rennison:
Nick Rennison is a Yorkshireman born in 1955. We first met in 1988 and spent a year working together as booksellers, when I had the pleasure and honour of being his boss when he really should have been mine. Incredibly well read, erudite and convivial of character, he gradually moved away from bookselling into full-time freelance writing at round about the turn of the century. Author of about a dozen titles, including Poets On Poets (with Michael Schmidt, 1997), The Blue Plaque Guide to London (1999, revised 2003), Freud and Psychoanalysis (2002), Contemporary British Novelists (2004), he also wrote (or at least co-authored) every title in the Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide series.
His best-selling Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorised Biography (2005) has brought Nick widespread acclaim and puts him in the illustrious company of other leading 'fictional character biographers' such as Philip Jose Farmer and George McDonald Fraser. He is currently working on an historical crime novel and a study of Roget while contributing book reviews to the Sunday Times on a weekly basis. Nick doesn't have a website, which is why I'm profiling him here. He is the finest collaborator a writer could wish for and always buys his round.
About A & C Black/Bloomsbury:
Founded in 1807, A & C Black is the reference and specialist non-fiction imprint of Bloomsbury, Britain's largest independent publisher, globally famous for discovering J. K. Rowling and helping create the publishing phenomenon that is Harry Potter. The company is best known for producing the annual Writers and Artists' Yearbook, but they also produce a wide range of other reference, educational, children's, nautical and natural history books.
About Christopher Priest
Christopher Priest kindly provided the foreword for our book. He is the acclaimed and multiple award-winning author of Fugue For A Darkening Island, Inverted World, The Affirmation, The Glamour, The Separation and The Prestige, recently filmed by Christopher Nolan (Momento, Batman Begins), which features a host of 'A List' Hollywood stars. He reputedly coined the term 'New Wave' to describe the modernist literary SF of the 1960s.
I unreservedly recommend all of Chris' books to readers of every persuasion seeking stimulating, front-rank writing that is never predictable and always rewardingly thought provoking. Quite frankly, he's blown my head off more times than even Philip K. Dick, and that's saying something...
Chris and I first met at the World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton in 1987, when he signed some books for me. After having a drink at a party later that day -- during which he introduced me to Leigh Kennedy, the fantastic Texan writer whom he later married -- Chris asked for my phone number after he discovered we both lived in the South West of England.
Since that time we have kept in touch, only meeting infrequently since 1990. In 1997 I commissioned an article entitled The Crossover from Chris, which appeared in Waterstone's Literary Diary 1998: Identity. He is of course a thoroughly sound bloke. Buy and read his books -- you won't regret it.