"Best Science-Fiction Novel Ever Written (Final Round)" Topic

Resuming an earlier rant--no, not that one--and no offense to OFM, there was an inherent problem. There isn't a "science fiction novel" the way there's a Regency romance or a fair play detective novel, or at least it's a very small fraction of the books filed under "SF." It's a problem with our use of "genre." I have stories on my shelves of romance, war and adventure, political speculation, comedy and horror and genuine speculation about scientific possibilities, all of them "SF stories" by "SF authors." It gets us to the dog show I mentioned earlier.

I can and do enjoy and re-read one finalist more than another, but it's purely a matter of taste, not something I could defend by rational argument. "Best Military SF" might be argued by some sort of standard.

I think anyone would agree that the books listed in this final round are indeed science fiction novels. Regardless of which wins, it's a worthy final few.

Robert is correct: It's too big a genre compared to what most people perceive as "science fiction"— which is popularly conceived of as involving spaceships, robots, computers, ray guns, and time travel (and sometimes all of these).

But speculative, near future or even a "hidden present" technological fiction can also be in the mix— The Andromeda Strain, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Jurassic Park, etc., etc.

Do espionage novels with edge-of-tech spy devices count as science fiction?

How about novels with a scientific premise but no technological elements— as The Lost World and similar works? The science is in an unexpected yet arguably possible survival of prehistoric life (perhaps more so at the time of writing than today).

Or non-existent experimental medicine novels— Flowers for Algernon?

Horror novels based on supposedly alien life forms yet set on Earth in the present or even past?

It's a very loose genre.

Even "military science fiction" raises a discussion of whether The Hunt for Red October qualifies— after all, the titular submarine and its propulsion method did not exist and were pure "informed" technological speculation on the part of Clancy. (And, AFAWK, still do not exist.)

And what of "Steampunk" and VSF? Are these science fiction, even though the technology presented also never existed and might never have been possible?

Yeah, it's probably too big a tent for a poll like this.

But it has been a fun discussion!

Most of my preferred choices have long but the dust.
Add "Earth Abides" to the "Is it really science fiction?" list. And "A Canticle for Leibowitz" too.

doubleones, my point wasn't that any of them weren't science fiction, but that the range of stories was too broad to let us argue on any basis but taste that one was better than another. The standards I'd use to judge a dystopia like 1984 are not the ones I'd use for MilSF like Starship Troopers, and Frankenstein would require a third set.

We're not the only ones, of course. How would you rate Psycho against The Benson Murder Case? But Sf and Westerns, where "genre" can mean location as well as story type, are especially tricky.

Is "A Canticle for Leibowitz" SF ?

Duh, yeah!

Don't overthink it, man. This is easy – except for the wrong books made the final list….

Ima gonna start a Poll on "Best science fiction novels that do not have a movie or tv miniseries".

But the fallout of this Poll left me with no choice but Starship yada yadda. 🤷

It's not as if TMP polls actually reflect the fictional Real Life.
Starship Troopers is good, and its movie … isn't.
Dune has had at least 3 movies etc. naaaah.
Foundation? Even on paper, it's boring.

Whatever. I'm used to being disappointed with Poll results and elections. I'm right, they're wrong. 😄

Hmm. I will admit to returning the library copy of Second Foundation with only a chapter or so read, having concluded that no civilization made up of people that boring was worth caring about. Then at the conclusion of I, Robot, I gave up on Asimov altogether.

OFM, I'd be interested in why you think A Canticle for Liebowitz is iffy as SF. I'd have said being set in a post-Apoc future qualified it right there.

Does the Bible count? (Snark level thru the roof!)

I think Canticle is science fiction. I'm throwing it out as an example of how far a reach sci-fi is. It certainly isn't the same type of story as Tau Zero or Ringworld.

Foundation is surely pretty iffy as a sf novel. Collection of short stories, more like.

Voting here is complicated by the fact that I read them when I was much younger and my reaction to reading them then was undoubtedly different from what my reaction to reading them now would be.

Not snarky, just very insulting to those here on TMP who are Christians. Plus, really unnecessary.