My top ten Fantasy and Science Fiction novels.
by Michael Scott
It started out innocently enough: a group of SF readers comparing books, making recommendations, comparing authors and plots.
And, as if often the case, the conversation grew heated, and ended with each writer being challenged to “Give us your top ten…”
So here they are, in no particular order, except that they in easy reach…
1. Andre Norton’s Witch World, volumes 1 to 6 – especially Three Against the Witch World. (OK, so I know there are six here, but they are one series … I know this series is dated and that the writing is sometimes not very good, but the imagery, the imagination…
2. Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover Novels. Some are brilliant, (Two to Conquer, Heritage of Hastur, Stormqueen), others are less successful. I find the later collaborations simply do not catch the sheer awe-inspiring power of the earlier works.
3. Thomas Burnett Swann. An extraordinary and often underrated writer. His Day of the Minotaur and Weirwood are superb re-workings of classical folklore. If you like Charles de Lint, check out Swann.
4. David Gemmell. I like Gemmell’s writing. Simple as that. Simple plots, strong writing, real characters. (OK – so I didn’t like Lion of Macedon and Dark Prince, but no-one’s perfect).
5. Katherine Kurtz. The original Camber series (Camber of Culdi, Saint Camber and Camber the Heretic) and the first Deryni series (Rising, Checkmate and High…) Here the fantasy is so good that it approaches mythic folklore. I can still remember the impression they made on me when I first read them.
6. John Whitbourn. A Dangerous Energy & Popes and Phantoms. Absolutely brilliant. Read them
7. Chelsea Quinn Yarbo. The Count de Saint Germaine Series. The best vampire series. Full stop. Brilliantly researched. Superb characters with the finest fictional vampire after the much overworked Dracula. The first books were written before Anne Rice wrote Interview. The Count de Saint Germaine is a far more interesting and fully rounded character than Lestat.
8. Robert McCammon. Swan Song and They Thirst. I prefer Swan to King’s The Stand, which unfortunately eclipsed it somewhat, and They Thirst is a brilliant twist on the vampire theme, a reworking of Matheson’s I am Legend (Made into a movie as The Omega Man.)
9. Harry Harrison, Stainless Steel Rat. I was once sent out of class for reading one of the early Rats behind a math book. The teacher knew something was wrong when I started laughing uncontrollably. Math was never that funny.
10. I’ve reached ten and haven’t even started yet. I haven’t mentioned authors like Mike Resnick, Patrick Tilley, David Brin, CJ Cherryh, Mary Gentle, Orson Scott Card…
Last One: The very first science fiction book I ever read: Pilgrimage to Earth by Robert Sheckley. The much tattered edition I have was published in 1959 by Corgi Books for the princely sum of 2 shillings and 6 pence (less than a 50 cents at the time). I include it here without apology.
Photo © Perry Hagopian
Michael Scott is one of Ireland’s most highly regarded and prolific authors, an authority on mythology and folklore. He has been hailed by the Irish Times as “the King of Fantasy in these isles.” His first book in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, The Alchemyst, was named a Book Sense Children’s Pick, an Amazon Best Book of 2007, and a selection for the Texas Lonestar Reading List 2008-2009, among other accolades. The second book in the series, The Magician, received honors including the Children’s Indie Next Pick and 2008 CBC Children’s Choice. Michael Scott lives in Dublin, Ireland.
Visit Michael online at: MichaelScott.com | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube
Catch the rest of Michael Scott’s blog tour:
May 31 (Monday): Fantasy Book Critic
June 1 (Tuesday): Mundie Moms
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About The Necromancer
The fourth book in the New York Times bestselling series The Secrets of the Nicholas Flamel-The Necromancer
San Francisco:
After fleeing to Ojai, then Paris, and escaping to London, Josh and Sophie Newman are finally home. And after everything they’ve seen and learned in the past week, they’re both more confused than ever about their future. Neither of them has mastered the magics they’ll need to protect themselves from the Dark Elders, they’ve lost Scatty, and they’re still being pursued by Dr. John Dee. Most disturbing of all, however, is that now they must ask themselves, can they trust Nicholas Flamel? Can they trust anyone?
Alcatraz:
Dr. Dee underestimated Perenelle Flamel’s power. Alcatraz could not hold her, Nereus was no match for her, and she was able to align herself with the most unlikely of allies. But she wasn’t the only one being held on the island. Behind the prison’s bars and protective sigils were a menagerie of monsters-an army for Dee to use in the final battle. And now Machiavelli has come to Alcatraz to loose those monsters on San Francisco.
Perenelle might be powerful, but each day she weakens, and even with Nicholas back at her side, a battle of this size could be too much for her. Nicholas and Perenelle must fight to protect the city, but the effort will probably kill them both.
London:
Having been unable to regain the two final pages of the Codex, Dee has failed his Elder and is now an outlaw-and the new prey of all the creatures formerly sent to hunt down Flamel.
But Dee has a plan. With the Codex and the creatures on Alcatraz, he can control the world. All he needs is the help of the Archons. But for his plan to work, he must raise the Mother of the Gods from the dead. For that, he’ll have to train a necromancer. And the twins of legend will make the perfect pupils. . . .
