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Science Fiction Book Club(R) Editors

NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- "The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien is the Most Significant Science Fiction/Fantasy book of the last half-century, as selected by the editors of the Science Fiction Book Club.

The Science Fiction Book Club editors have compiled the 50 Most Significant Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of the last 50 Years in honor of the club's 50th anniversary.

"The Lord of the Rings is not only the single most important fantasy novel ever  written, but also the source of the entire fantasy genre as it exists today," said Andrew Wheeler, editor of the Science Fiction Book Club.  The Science Fiction Book Club is owned and operated by Bookspan, a partnership of AOL Time Warner Inc. and Bertelsmann AG.

The editors compiled the list based on four criteria: literary quality, historical importance, originality and readability.

The remainder of the Top 10 list is as follows:

2. "The Foundation Trilogy" by Isaac Asimov  

3. "Dune" by Frank Herbert  

4. "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein  

5. "A Wizard of Earthsea" by Ursula K. Le Guin  

6. "Neuromancer" by William Gibson  

7. "Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clarke  

8. "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick  

9. "The Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley  

10. "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

Of "The Foundation Trilogy," Wheeler said "that Asimov took a wide, expansive view of history and applied that to the canvas of the future, creating a universe of scope and depth unmatched in its day and only rarely since."

Ellen Asher, Science Fiction Book Club Senior Editor, said that "'Dune' brought new ecological insight into science fiction in the 1960s.  Frank Herbert created a world of depth and complexity -- in its climate and landscape as well as its people and their problems -- unequalled at the time, and raised the bar for what science fiction should do."

Asher described Heinlein, author of "Stranger in a Strange Land," as "the single most popular and widest-read science fiction writer of all time. 'Stranger' was not only a phenomenon for science fiction readers.  It jumped the borders into the wider culture, giving a new lexicon to the late '60s and a new way of looking at the world."

Editor Wheeler said of "A Wizard of Earthsea," "Science fiction and Fantasy are famously popular with teenagers, and 'Wizard' was the great entryway into these worlds for the Baby Boom generation and beyond."

According to Wheeler, "Neuromancer," "ignited a literary movement -- the Cyberpunks -- and launched a million impressionable readers headlong into the world of computers.  Gibson, more than anyone else, realized that the future would not be in outer space -- it would be in cyberspace.  The world of the Internet -- especially the go-go capitalist frenzy of the late '90s -- is straight out of 'Neuromancer.'"

Arthur C. Clarke, author of "Childhood's End," is the third of Science Fiction's famous "Big Three" (along with Asimov and Heinlein).  "'Childhood's End' showcases all of his great strengths: his transcendent vision, his cold clear eye on the way people really are, and his transparent writing," said Wheeler.

Of Philip K. Dick, author of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," Senior Editor Asher said, "when other science fiction writers created mighty-thawed engineer heroes, Dick wrote about everyday men and women, living one day at a time in a world they often didn't understand."

Senior Editor Asher said of "The Mists of Avalon Asher" that it "re- imagined the legend of King Arthur from the point of view of the women in his life, imbuing an ancient legend with new life and bringing feminism to fantasy.  It was a huge success and the wellspring of a new flood of fantasy -- some feminist, some Arthurian, many both."

"Fahrenheit 451" "presents a future the writer fears will come to be and wants to stop" said Wheeler. "Bradbury foresaw a world without books, without learning -- a world of complacent know-nothings, the suburban 1950s on a cosmic scale -- and wrote his fiery tale to keep it from ever happening."

A complete list of the Science Fiction Book Club's 50 Most Significant Science Fiction & Fantasy Books is available at the club's web site www.sfbc.com .

About Science Fiction Book Club  

Founded in 1953, The Science Fiction Book Club is the world's leading book club devoted to science fiction and fantasy books.  Recognized as a major influence on the genre, The Science Fiction Book Club offers its members a comprehensive selection of the latest novels, anthologies, and reprints of classic titles.

About BOOKSPAN  

BOOKSPAN is the premier direct marketer of general interest and specialty book clubs.  With more than 9 million members, its book clubs include Book-of-the-Month Club, The Literary Guild(R), Quality Paperback Book Club(R), Doubleday Book Club(R), and more than 30 others.  Created in March 2000, BOOKSPAN is a partnership between Doubleday Direct, Inc. (owned by Bertelsmann Inc.) and Book-of-the-Month Club Holdings LLC (owned by AOL Time Warner).

SOURCE  Bookspan  

CO:  Bookspan

ST:  New York

SU:  SVY

www.prnewswire.com
 
03/03/2003 07:00 EST