Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels

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Modern Fantasy: The 100 Best Novels (Book), 102 Books

This collection of 100 brief (2-3 page) essays by British sf magazine editor Pringle offers an informed and admittedly subjective guided tour of a genre that encompasses such widely divergent titles as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings (1954-55), Flann O'Brien's The Third Policeman (1967), and Stephen King's Salem's Lot (1975). Following the format of his earlier collection, Science The 100 Best Novels (LJ 7/86), Pringle presents his selections in chronological order and includes a synopsis of the story, a discussion of the author's overall contribution to fantasy literature, critical commentary on the title's significance, and a brief publishing history. An introductory essay tackles the difficulty of defining fantasy, while a "Brief Bibliography" directs readers to other discussions of the genre. By no means a definitive subject guide, this entertaining volume should serve as a solid introduction to the elusive field of imaginative literature.

This list was originally published in 1988 and was added to this site over 2 years ago.

View: List Grid Table
Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
6326 The Day Of Creation J. G. Ballard 1987 British English
4100 Aegypt John Crowley 1987 American English
3442 The Summer Tree Guy Gavriel Kay 1984 Canadian English
5948 The Wandering Fire Guy Gavriel Kay 1986 Canadian English
6077 The Darkest Road Guy Gavriel Kay 1986 Canadian English
6202 The Bridge Iain Banks 1986 Scottish English
5012 The Hungry Moon Ramsey Campbell 1986 British English
4174 Replay Ken Grimwood 1986 American English
6213 The Unconquered Country Geoff Ryman 1986 Canadian English
1551 Hawksmoor Peter Ackroyd 1985 British English
6074 The Dream Years Lisa Goldstein 1985 American English
3160 Who Made Stevie Crye? Michael Bishop 1984 American English
5772 The Digging Leviathan James P. Blaylock 1984 American English
628 Nights At The Circus Angela Carter 1984 British English
5769 The Businessman Thomas M. Disch 1984 American English
2141 Mythago Wood Robert Holdstock 1984 British English
4749 The Glamour Christopher Priest 1984 British English
2191 The Witches Of Eastwick John Updike 1984 American English
1373 Winter's Tale Mark Helprin 1983 American English
5656 Soul Eater K. W. Jeter 1983 American English
5656 Tea With The Black Dragon R. A. MacAvoy 1983 American English
4613 Cold Heaven Brian Moore 1983 British English
2228 The Anubis Gates Tim Powers 1983 American English
4472 Nifft The Lean Michael Shea 1982 American English
3396 Cities of the Red Night William S. Burroughs 1981 American English
1173 Little, Big John Crowley 1981 American English
1166 Lanark Alasdair Gray 1981 Scottish English
5251 The War Hound And The World's Pain Michael Moorcock 1981 British English
2028 The Land Of Laughs Jonathan Carroll 1980 American English
5315 The Vampire Tapestry Suzy McKee Charnas 1980 American English
5326 A Storm Of Wings M. John Harrison 1980 British English
5326 White Light Rudy Rucker 1980 American English
4400 Ariosto Chelsa quinn yarbro 1972 American Unknown
3849 The Unlimited Dream Company J. G. Ballard 1979 British English
5239 Sorcerer's Son Phyllis Eisenstein 1979 American English
3549 Gloriana Michael Moorcock 1978 British English
2059 The Passion Of New Eve Angela Carter 1977 British English
7943 The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever Stephen R. Donaldson 1977 American English
400 The Shining Stephen King 1977 American English
4948 Fata Morgana William Kotzwinkle 1977 American English
2630 Our Lady Of Darkness Fritz Leiber 1977 American English
4819 The Malacia Tapestry Brian Aldiss 1976 British English
3542 The Dragon And The George Gordon R. Dickson 1976 American English
4819 Hotel De Dream Emma Tennant 1976 British English
1293 Salem's Lot Stephen King 1975 American English
3487 The Great Victorian Collection Brian Moore 1975 Canadian English
4710 Grimus Salman Rushdie 1975 British English
1975 Peace Gene Wolfe 1975 American English
3215 The Forgotten Beasts Of Eld Patricia A. McKillip 1974 American English
3241 Sweet Dreams Michael Frayn 1973 British English
224 Watership Down Richard Adams 1972 British English
2066 The Infernal Desire Machines Of Doctor Hoffman Angela Carter 1972 British English
3571 The Day After Judgement James Blish 1971 American English
1836 Grendel John Gardner 1971 American English
3209 Briefing For A Descent Into Hell Doris May Lessing 1971 British English
4257 Jack Of Shadows Roger Zelazny 1971 American English
3166 Red Moon and Black Mountain Joy Chant 1970 British English
1676 Time and Again Jack Finney 1970 American English
2156 The Green Man Kingsley Amis 1969 British English
3950 The Phoenix And The Mirror Avram Davidson 1969 American English
4065 A Feast Unknown Philip José Farmer 1969 American English
3850 Fourth Mansions R. A. Lafferty 1969 American English
1793 The Last Unicorn Peter S. Beagle 1968 American English
3378 Black Easter James Blish 1968 American English
278 A Wizard Of Earthsea Ursula K. Le Guin 1968 American English
1831 The Swords Of Lankhmar Fritz Leiber 1968 American English
1537 The Owl Service Alan Garner 1967 British English
894 Rosemary's Baby Ira Levin 1967 American English
494 The Third Policeman Flann O'Brien 1967 Irish English
3839 Gog Andrew Sinclair 1967 British English
441 The Crying of Lot 49 Thomas Pynchon 1966 American English
3619 Day Of The Minotaur Thomas Burnett Swann 1966 American English
3614 The Eyes Of The Overworld Jack Vance 1966 American English
2803 Stormbringer Michael Moorcock 1965 British English
3456 Glory Road Robert A. Heinlein 1963 American English
2701 Witch World Andre Norton 1963 American English
3269 The Girl, The Gold Watch And Everything John D. MacDonald 1962 American English
3048 Three Hearts And Three Lions Poul Anderson 1953 American English
3259 A Fine And Private Place Peter S. Beagle 1960 American English
2835 The Unpleasant Profession Of Jonathan Hoag Robert A. Heinlein 1942 American English
215 The Haunting of Hill House Shirley Jackson 1959 American English
1953 Titus Alone Mervyn Peake 1959 British English
286 The Once and Future King T. H. White 1958 British English
758 Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury 1957 American English
2011 Pincher Martin William Golding 1956 British English
3142 The Shrinking Man Richard Matheson 1956 American English
17 The Lord Of The Rings J. R. R. Tolkien 1959 English English
2916 The Broken Sword Poul Anderson 1954 American English
1196 Conjure Wife Fritz Leiber 1943 American English
3055 The Sinful Ones Fritz Leiber 1953 American English
1535 The Sound Of His Horn Sarban 1952 British English
2926 The Castle Of Iron L. Sprague de Camp 1950 American English
2136 Conan The Conqueror Robert E. Howard 1935 American English
381 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe C. S. Lewis 1950 British English
525 Gormenghast Mervyn Peake 1950 British English
1919 The Dying Earth Jack Vance 1950 American English
2894 Seven Days In New Crete Robert Graves 1949 British English
2894 Silverlock John Myers Myers 1949 American English
2346 The Well Of The Unicorn Fletcher Pratt 1948 American English
1848 Darker Than You Think Jack Williamson 1948 American English
2844 The Book Of Ptath A. E. van Vogt 1943 American English
629 Titus Groan Mervyn Peake 1946 British English