I have been working through the Gollancz SF Masterworks, on and off, since I was eighteen years old. There are two lists below: those that I have read (ordered first by rating then alphabetically by author), and those that I have not read (ordered alphabetically by author). I have been reading the series for several years now, and my reading taste has changed in that time. I expect that some of those that I have rated 4-5 stars would not impress me so much if I re-read them now.
★★★★★ - Amazing.
★★★★ - Very good.
★★★ - Good.
★★ - OK: I finished it, but I do not recommend it.
★★ - OK: I finished it, but I do not recommend it.
★ - I did not finish it; I thought it was a bad book.
✪ - I did not finish it; I can see the merits but it is not my type of book.
Read: 114
✪ - I did not finish it; I can see the merits but it is not my type of book.
Read: 114
- The Stars My Destination - Alfred Bester - ★★★★★
- The War with the Newts - Karel Čapek - ★★★★★
- Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke - ★★★★★
- The City and the Stars - Arthur C. Clarke - ★★★★★
- A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick - ★★★★★
- VALIS - Philip K. Dick - ★★★★★
- Arslan - M.J. Engh - ★★★★★
- The Forever War - Joe Haldeman - ★★★★★
- Dune - Frank Herbert - ★★★★★
- Riddley Walker - Russell Hoban - ★★★★★
- Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes - ★★★★★
- The Dispossessed - Ursula K. Le Guin - ★★★★★
- The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula K. Le Guin - ★★★★★
- I Am Legend - Richard Matheson - ★★★★★
- A Canticle for Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller, Jr. - ★★★★★
- Behold the Man - Michael Moorcock - ★★★★★
- The Dancers at the End of Time - Michael Moorcock - ★★★★★
- Ringworld - Larry Niven - ★★★★★
- The Affirmation - Christopher Priest - ★★★★★
- Frankenstein - Mary Shelley - ★★★★★
- Hyperion - Dan Simmons - ★★★★★
- The Rediscovery of Man - Cordwainer Smith - ★★★★★
- Last and First Men - Olaf Stapledon - ★★★★★
- Star Maker - Olaf Stapledon - ★★★★★
- Of Men and Monsters - William Tenn - ★★★★★
- The Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut - ★★★★★
- The Invisible Man - H. G. Wells - ★★★★★
- The Time Machine - H.G. Wells - ★★★★★
- The War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells - ★★★★★
- Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang - Kate Wilhelm - ★★★★★
- The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham - ★★★★★
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - ★★★★
- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe - Douglas Adams - ★★★★
- Non-Stop - Brian Aldiss - ★★★★
- The Demolished Man - Alfred Bester - ★★★★
- R.U.R. - Karel Čapek - ★★★★
- The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe - D.G. Compton - ★★★★
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick - ★★★★
- Dr. Bloodmoney - Philip K. Dick - ★★★★
- The Man in the High Castle - Philip K. Dick - ★★★★
- Slow River - Nicola Griffith - ★★★★
- The Word For World Is Forest - Ursula K. Le Guin - ★★★★
- The Caltraps of Time - David I. Masson - ★★★★
- Dark Benediction - Walter M. Miller, Jr. - ★★★★
- Bring the Jubilee - Ward Moore - ★★★★
- This is the Way the World Ends - James Morrow - ★★★★
- The Space Merchants - Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth - ★★★★
- Inverted World - Christopher Priest - ★★★★
- The Prestige - Christopher Priest - ★★★★
- Downward to the Earth - Robert Silverberg - ★★★★
- Dying Inside - Robert Silverberg - ★★★★
- Odd John - Olaf Stapledon - ★★★★
- Sirius - Olaf Stapledon - ★★★★
- The Man Who Fell To Earth - Walter Tevis - ★★★★
- The Island of Dr Moreau - H.G. Wells - ★★★★
- Random Acts of Senseless Violence - Jack Womack - ★★★★
- The Midwich Cuckoos - John Wyndham - ★★★★
- Lord of Light - Roger Zelazny - ★★★★
- Greybeard - Brian Aldiss - ★★★
- The Drowned World - J. G. Ballard - ★★★
- A Case of Conscience - James Blish - ★★★
- Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke - ★★★
- The Fountains of Paradise - Arthur C. Clarke - ★★★
- Babel-17 - Samuel R. Delany - ★★★
- A Maze of Death - Philip K. Dick - ★★★
- Now Wait for Last Year - Philip K. Dick - ★★★
- The Penultimate Truth - Philip K. Dick - ★★★
- Time Out of Joint - Philip K. Dick - ★★★
- Ubik - Philip K. Dick - ★★★
- Gateway - Frederik Pohl - ★★★
- City - Clifford Simak - ★★★
- The Fall of Hyperion - Dan Simmons - ★★★
- Hard To Be A God - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - ★★★
- Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - ★★★
- Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut - ★★★
- The Food of the Gods - H.G. Wells - ★★★
- The Shape Of Things To Come - H.G. Wells - ★★★
- Tau Zero - Poul Anderson - ★★
- The Gods Themselves - Isaac Asimov - ★★
- Raft - Stephen Baxter - ★★
- Stand on Zanzibar - John Brunner - ★★
- Rogue Moon - Algis Budrys - ★★
- A Fall of Moondust - Arthur C. Clarke - ★★
- Nova - Samuel R. Delany - ★★
- Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said - Philip K. Dick - ★★
- The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - Philip K. Dick - ★★
- The Body Snatchers - Jack Finney - ★★
- The Centauri Device - M. Jon Harrison - ★★
- The Door into Summer - Robert Heinlein - ★★
- The Female Man - Joanna Russ - ★★
- The Child Garden - Geoff Ryman - ★★
- The Snail on the Slope - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - ★★
- More Than Human - Theodore Sturgeon - ★★
- Eon - Greg Bear - ★
- No Enemy But Time - Michael Bishop - ★
- Transfigurations - Michael Bishop - ★
- Cities in Flight - James Blish - ★
- Synners - Pat Cadigan - ★
- Mission of Gravity - Hal Clement - ★
- The Deep - John Crowley - ★
- Engine Summer - John Crowley - ★
- Martian Time-Slip - Philip K. Dick - ★
- Floating Worlds - Cecelia Holland - ★
- The Shrinking Man - Richard Matheson - ★
- Unquenchable Fire - Rachael Pollock - ★
- A Time of Changes - Robert Silverberg - ★
- The First Men in the Moon - H. G. Wells - ★
- Helliconia - Brian Aldiss - ✪
- Neuromancer - William Gibson - ✪
- Dying of the Light - George R.R. Martin - ✪
- Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds - ✪
- Monday Starts on Saturday - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky - ✪
To-Read: 50
- Half Past Human - T.J. Bass
- The Godwhale - T.J. Bass
- Blood Music - Greg Bear
- Timescape - Gregory Benford
- The Long Tomorrow - Leigh Brackett
- Swastika Night - Murray Constantine
- Dhalgren - Samuel R. Delany
- The Simulacra - Philip K. Dick
- Native Tongue - Suzette Haden Elgin
- Dangerous Visions - Harlan Ellison (ed.)
- Sarah Canary - Karen Joy Fowler
- The Difference Engine - William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
- Take Back Plenty - Colin Greenhand
- Ammonite - Nicola Griffith
- Double Star - Robert Heinlein
- Hellstrom's Hive - Frank Herbert
- The Best of R.A. Lafferty - R.A. Lafferty
- Always Coming Home - Ursula K. Le Guin
- The Compass Rose - Ursula K. Le Guin
- The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
- The Wind's Twelve Quarters - Ursula K. Le Guin
- Fairyland - Paul McAuley
- China Mountain Zhang - Maureen F. McHugh
- Land Under England - Joseph O'Neill
- Jem - Frederik Pohl
- Man Plus - Frederik Pohl
- The Separation - Christopher Priest
- Pavane - Keith Roberts
- Wasp - Eric Frank Russell
- Life During Wartime - Lucius Shepard
- The Complete Roderick - John Sladek
- Norstrilia - Cordwainer Smith
- Earth Abides - George R. Stewart
- Dreaming in Smoke - Tricia Sullivan
- Grass - Sheri S. Tepper
- Raising the Stones - Sheri S. Tepper
- The Gate to Women's Country - Sheri S. Tepper
- Mockingbird - Walter Tevis
- Her Smoke Rose Up Forever - James Tiptree Jr.
- Emphyrio - Jack Vance
- Night Lamp - Jack Vance
- A Deepness In The Sky - Vernor Vinge
- A Fire Upon The Deep - Vernor Vinge
- Doomsday Book - Connie Willis
- Time is the Fire - Connie Willis
- To Say Nothing of the Dog - Connie Willis
- Limbo - Bernard Wolfe
- The Book of the New Sun: Shadow and Claw - Gene Wolfe
- The Book of the New Sun: Sword and Citadel - Gene Wolfe
- The Fifth Head of Cerberus - Gene Wolfe
There are a lot of good books in the series; I see it as the Penguin Classics of science fiction. The SF Masterworks contain something for everyone, but I doubt anyone likes everything. I have a love-hate relationship with the series. I love many of the books; I hate many of the covers and blurbs. The series began in 1999; in 2010 it was relaunched with different cover designs. To Gollancz's credit, the covers have been improving as new editions are released.
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