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The 101 Best Novels 1985-2010 Meme
Jul. 16th, 2012 12:11 pmFrom Wisse Words::
Which one of those below have you read (italics), do you own (bold) or dislike (struck through)?
( Cut for length... )
I'm rather dubious about the list. Some of the works I have read don't seem to me to be candidates for the best books in that 25-year period (The Golden Age, for example).
The structure also suggests that it's been constructed by choosing 100 different authors and then choosing one novel per author; this means that by definition it's going to exclude many novels which should be on the list, those produced by the really good authors who have produced several works at the height of their powers during that time frame.
Even then, the works selected are not always the best choice for that author: The Diamond Age instead of Cryptonomicon? Is A Fire Upon the Deep really better than A Deepness in the Sky? If you're going to have one Bujold, then Mirror Dance would be a better choice than Barrayar, and I can think of several Stross books which I'd consider to be better than Accelerando (notably Halting State).
I haven't marked any works as "disliked", although I think some of them rather weak (e.g. The Golden Age (I read that, but have successfully avoided the third novel of the trilogy, which I understand goes all wonky and Objectivist, which may give me an unduly positive view of the first volume on its own)).
Which one of those below have you read (italics), do you own (bold) or dislike (struck through)?
( Cut for length... )
I'm rather dubious about the list. Some of the works I have read don't seem to me to be candidates for the best books in that 25-year period (The Golden Age, for example).
The structure also suggests that it's been constructed by choosing 100 different authors and then choosing one novel per author; this means that by definition it's going to exclude many novels which should be on the list, those produced by the really good authors who have produced several works at the height of their powers during that time frame.
Even then, the works selected are not always the best choice for that author: The Diamond Age instead of Cryptonomicon? Is A Fire Upon the Deep really better than A Deepness in the Sky? If you're going to have one Bujold, then Mirror Dance would be a better choice than Barrayar, and I can think of several Stross books which I'd consider to be better than Accelerando (notably Halting State).
I haven't marked any works as "disliked", although I think some of them rather weak (e.g. The Golden Age (I read that, but have successfully avoided the third novel of the trilogy, which I understand goes all wonky and Objectivist, which may give me an unduly positive view of the first volume on its own)).
