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Author: | Duchess of Malfi [ Mon Feb 23, 2009 6:48 pm ] |
Post subject: | The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
I thought that perhaps we could all collaborate and make up a list of novels in the science fiction/fantasy/dark fantasy genre that can be read as stand alones. So much in the genre comes as long series (and those series seem to get longer all of the time) that I thought such a list could be useful to those looking to read just one book. I know my local library will often only have some of the books in a series. As people come up with more titles, I will add them to the master list. And if people like the idea, maybe we can start another thread for shorter series, such as completed duologies? Oh, if two books by an author are in the same world, but can be read independently of each other, it is perfectly fine to list them both. Heinlein, for example, has a bunch of books set in the same universe, but all (or most) can be read as stand alones. And I will need help with this - especially with authors like Zelazny and McKillip and LeGuin (not to mention Heinlein) who write mostly standalone books and tracking down all of their titles. If any of the other admins or mods want to help with additions to the list, please feel free! I am trying to keep the authors (though not the books) in sort of an alphabetical order). Just a start in the half hour I have before work today: Rudolfo Anaya: Bless Me Ultima Anonymous Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale Oryx and Crake Iain Banks: The Algebraist Feersum Enjinn Virginia Baker: Jack Knife R. Scott Bakker: Neuropath Toby Barlow: Sharp Teeth Brunonia Barry: The Lace Reader Alfred Bester: The Stars My Destination The Demolished Man Ray Bradbury: Farenheit 451 The Martian Chronicles Something Wicked This Way Comes Dandelion Wine Marion Zimmer Bradley: The Mists of Avalon The Firebrand Marie Brennan: Midnight Never Come Patricia Briggs: When Demons Walk The Hob's Bargain David Brin: Glory Season Earth Kiln People The Postman The Practice Effect Sundiver Startide Rising John Brunner: The Whole Man Steven Brust: Brokedown Palace Lois McMaster Bujold The Spirit Ring Falling Free Ethan of Athos The Curse of Chalion Emma Bull: War of the Oaks Orson Scott Card: Enchantment Magic Street Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus Ender's Game Songmaster Treason Lost Boys Michael Chabon The Yiddish Policeman's Union Arthur C. Clarke Rendevous with Rama 2001 A Space Odyssey The Last Theorem The Fountains of Paradise The Songs of Distant Earth Imperial Earth Childhood's End Susannah Clarke: Jonathon Strange and Mister Norrell Andrew Davidson: The Gargoyle Camille DeAngelis: Mary Modern Charles de Lint: The Riddle of the Wren Mulengro Yarrow Greenmantle Wolf Moon Svaha The Little Country Angel of Darkness (writing as Samuel M Key) The Dreaming Place Our Lady of the Harbour Uncle Dobbins Parrot Fair From a Whisper to a Scream (writing as Samuel M Key) The Wishing Well I'll Be Watching You (writing as Samuel M Key) Into the Green The Buffalo Man Forests of the Heart Seven Wild Sisters Road to Lisdoonvarna The Onion Girl The Dungeon 2 (with Robin Wayne Bailey and Philip José Farmer) A Circle of Cats (with Charles Vess) Spirits in the Wires Medicine Road The Blue Girl Widdershins Little (Grrl) Lost Promises to Keep Dingo The Mystery of Grace Antoine de Saint-Exupery The Little Prince Samuel Delanney: Dhalgren Nova Fall of the Towers The Einstein Intersection Phillip K. Dick Solar Lottery aka World of Chance The World Jones Made The Man Who Japed Eye in the Sky The Cosmic Puppets Time Out of Joint Vulcan's Hammer Dr. Futurity The Man in the High Castle The Game-Players of Titan Clans of the Alphane Moon Martian Time-Slip The Penultimate Truth The Simulacra The Unteleported Man The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch Dr Bloodmoney: or How We Got Along After the Bomb The Crack in Space Now Wait for Last Year Counter-Clock World The Ganymede Takeover (with Ray Nelson) The Zap Gun Galactic Pot-Healer We Can Build You Ubik Our Friends from Frolix 8 A Maze of Death Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said Deus Irae (with Roger Zelazny) A Scanner Darkly Lies, Inc. In Milton Lumky Territory Radio Free Albemuth Puttering About in a Small Land Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike Humpty Dumpty in Oakland Mary and the Giant The Broken Bubble Nick and the Glimmung In Pursuit of Valis Cantata 140 Voices from the Street Cory Doctorow: Little Brother Lord Dunsany: The King of Elfland's Daughter The Charwoman's Shadow Frederick S. Durbin Dragonfly ER Eddison Raymond E Feist Faerie Tale Honoured Enemy Murder in LaMut Jimmy the Hand Michael Flynn Eifelheim Robert M. Ford The Dragon Waiting Neil Gaiman: Neverwhere Stardust Coraline American Gods Anansi Boys The Graveyard Book Good Omens Mary Gentle Rats and Gargoyles William Gibson Neuromancer The Difference Engine Virtual Light Count Zero Johann Goethe William Golding Lord of the Flies Jo Graham Black Ships Hand of Isis Nicola Griffith: Ammonite Lauren Groff: The Monsters of Templeton Joe Haldeman: The Forever War The Accidental Time Machine Marsbound Laurell K. Hamilton: Nightseer Robert Heinlein: Universe Sixth Column(writing as Anson MacDonald) aka The Day After Tomorrow Rocket Ship Galileo Space Cadet Beyond This Horizon(writing as Anson MacDonald) The Red Planet Farmer in the Sky aka Satellite Scout Between Planets aka Planets in Combat The Puppet Masters The Rolling Stones aka Tramp Space Ship / Space Family Stone Starman Jones The Star Beast aka Star Lummox Double Star Tunnel in the Sky Time for the Stars Citizen of the Galaxy The Door into Summer Have Spacesuit - Will Travel Starship Troopers aka Starship Soldier Stranger in a Strange Land Podkayne of Mars The Glory Road Farnham's Freehold The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress I Will Fear No Evil The Number of the Beast Friday Job: A Comedy of Justice The Cat Who Walks Through Walls: A Comedy of Manners To Sail Beyond the Sunset For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs Variable Star (with Spider Robinson) Mark Helprin: The Winter's Tale Frank Herbert: The Green Brain Hellstrom's Hive The Sarantaroga Barrier Whipping Star Robert Holdstock: Mythago Wood Homer: L. Ron Hubbard: Battlefield Earth Tanya Huff: Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light The Fire's Stone Aldous Huxley Brave New World Robert Jordan A New Spring Guy Guvriel Kay: The Lions of al'Rassan Ysabel Tigana The Song of Arbonne Last Light of the Sun Paul Kearney The Ten Thousand Steven King: Eyes of the Dragon Salem's Lot The Stand The Shining Carrie Christine Pet Cemetary Insomnia Elizabeth Kostova The Historian Ellen Kushner: Thomas the Rhymer Mercedes Lackey: The Black Swan The Firebird Madelaine L'Engle A Wrinkle in Time Ursula K. LeGuin: Lavinia The Left Hand of Darkness The Dispossessed The Telling Always Coming Home Malafrena The Beginning Place C.S. Lewis: Till We Have Faces Thomas Mallory: L'Morte d'Arthur RA MacAvoy: Tea with the Black Dragon The Grey Horse Christopher Marlowe George RR Martin Tuff Voyaging Fevre Dream The Armageddin Rag The Dying of the Light Hunter's Run Windhaven Ann McCaffrey: The Ship Who Sang Black Horses for the King The Coelura No One Noticed the Cat An Exchange of Gifts Restoree Cormac McCarthy The Road Ian McDonald: River of Gods Brasyl The Broken Land Evolution's Shore Vonda McIntyre Dreamsnake Patricia McKillip: Od Magic Alphabet of Thorne In the Forests of Serre The Bell at Sealy Head The Book of Atrix Wolfe The Tower at Stony Wood Moon Flash The Forgotten Beasts of Eld Song for the Basilisk Robin McKinley: Sunshine Deerskin Outlaws of Sherwood Chalice The Blue Sword The Hero and the Crown Beauty Rose Daughter Spindle's End Dragonhaven Ken McLeod: Learning the World China Meiville Un Lun Dun The City and the City Stephenie Meyer: The Host Martin Millar: The Lonely Werewolf Girl The Good Fairies of New York Walter M. Miller Jr. A Canticle for Lebowitz Elizabeth Moon: The Speed of Dark Once A Hero Remnant Population Toni Morrison: Beloved Garth Nix: The Ragwitch Shade's Children George Orwell: 1984 Animal Farm David Palmer: Emergence Frederick Pohl: Gem John Polidori Tim Powers The Anubis Gates Christopher Priest The Inverted World Alastair Reynolds: Pushing Ice Kim Stanley Robinson: The Years of Rice and Salt Carrie Ryan: The Forest of Hands and Teeth Brandon Sanderson: Elantris Robert Sawyer Rollback John Scalzi: Agent to the Stars The Android's Dream Mary Shelley: Sharon Shinn: The Shapechanger's Wife Robert Silverberg: Roma Eterna The World Outside Clifford D. Simak: Cemetary World City Way Station All Flesh is Grass Ring Around the Sun William Shakespeare: Lucius Sheppard: Green Eyes Dan Simmons: Song of Kali The Terror Drood Muse of Fire Carrion Comfort Children of the Night Fires of Eden Neil Stephenson: Snow Crash Anathem Bruce Sterling: Islands in the Net SM Sterling: The Peshawar Lancers Conquistador The Court of the Crimson Kings Mary Stewart: The Crystal Cave James Stoddard: The High House Bram Stoker: Charles Stross: Glasshouse Halting State Saturn's Children Michael Swanwick Bones of the Earth Vaccum Flowers Tricia Sullivan: Lethe Maul Sherri S. Tepper: The Gate to Women's Country Grass Beauty The Margarets JRR Tolkien The Silmarillian The Hobbit Farmer Giles of Ham John Varley: Mammoth Jules Verne: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Vernor Vinge: Rainbows End Peter Watts: Blindsight H.G. Wells: T.H. White: The Once and Future King Tadd Williams: Tailchaser's Song War of the Flowers Walter Jon Williams: Aristoi Hard Wired Days of Atonment Ambassador of Progress Angel Station Voice of the Whirlwind Connie Willis: The Doomsday Book Gene Wolfe: There Are Doors Pirate Freedom An Evil Guest Jane Yolen: Briar Rose Cards of Grief Merlin's Book David Zindell Neverness Roger Zelazny: The Dream Master aka He Who Shapes This Immortal aka ...And Call Me Conrad Lord of Light Creatures of Light and Darkness Isle of the Dead Damnation Alley Jack of Shadows To Die in Italbar Today We Choose Faces Doorways in the Sand Bridge of Ashes Deus Irae (with Philip K Dick) Roadmarks The Changing Land Dilvish the Damned To Spin Is Miracle Cat Coils (with Fred Saberhagen) Eye of Cat A Dark Travelling (with Lebbeus Woods) The Black Throne (with Fred Saberhagen) The Mask of Loki (with Thomas T Thomas) Flare (with Thomas T Thomas) A Night in the Lonesome October Wilderness (with Gerald Hausman) Donnerjack (with Jane Lindskold) Psychoshop (with Alfred Bester) Lord Demon (with Jane Lindskold) The Dead Man's Brother |
Author: | Moonwatcher [ Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:20 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
Well, just off the top of my head, I think the majority of Arthur C. Clarke's works are standalone novels. The only exceptions are the Rama and Space Odyssey series; but even there, the original novels Rendezvous With Rama and 2001 remained "self-contained" stories for years before Clarke decided to add sequels. |
Author: | Duchess of Malfi [ Mon Feb 23, 2009 7:24 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
Author: | Menolly [ Tue Feb 24, 2009 2:20 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
Walter M. Miller, Jr.s , although wikipedia says there was a sequel published posthumously 37 years later... I consider both The Hobbit and The Silmarillian parts of TLotR, though... |
Author: | aliantha [ Tue Feb 24, 2009 6:29 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
You can definitely read "The Hobbit" as a standalone book, tho -- no prior knowledge of Middle Earth is necessary. Dunno about "The Silmarillion" as I've never read it. (Heard it was more or less impenetrable. ) You should add "Song for the Basilisk" to Patricia McKillip's list, Duchess. In fact, I think all of her books are standalones, aren't they? |
Author: | Duchess of Malfi [ Tue Feb 24, 2009 7:16 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
Author: | Cleburne [ Thu Feb 26, 2009 4:10 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
These are the few I can think of at present. Robert Jordon "New Spring" I believe to be a standalone book although it has connections to to the Wheel of time books its story was at least finished at the end. Raymond E Feist "Faerie Tale" , "Honoured Enemy" "Murder in LaMut" "Jimmy the Hand" Simillarion I believe to be a standalone book. |
Author: | Duchess of Malfi [ Thu Feb 26, 2009 6:36 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
Author: | danlo [ Thu Feb 26, 2009 7:56 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
Gods you list so much it's hard not to repeat! I'll start with Walter Jon Williams: Aristoi Hard Wired Days of Atonment Ambassador of Progress Angel Station Voice of the Whirlwind the last 3 are, sort of, set in the same universe but they stand on their own. Of course Zindell's Neverness and Eddison's Worm Oroborous can stand on their own, but they do create worlds where trilogies have followed. Two stand alones of authors duchy has mentioned that are must reads are: The beleaguered The Postman by Brin and the oozingly biologic The Broken Land by McDonald Prime stand alones of the 'Cyberpunk' movement that will lead you to other great stand alones by the same author include: Nueromancer-William Gibson, Iduro, Count Zero and Johnny Mnumonic being examples Islands in the Net-Bruce Sterling Green Eyes-Lucious Shepard and the outstanding collaboration The Difference Engine-Gibson & Sterling The great historical fantasy-The Dragon Waiting by Robert M. Ford From my bookself: Tigana & The Fionair Tapestry-Guy Caviel Kay The High House-James Stoddard Brokedown Palace-Steven Burst (but the man only writes trilogies, so this will change soon.) I can think of many more-most of Delany's work, Pohl's Jem...others will come. |
Author: | Moonwatcher [ Thu Feb 26, 2009 10:27 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
How about A Wrinkle In Time by Madelaine L'Engle? Let me just say I think this database is a good idea for someone like me who likes standalone novels. I generally don't like to be dragged into a series unless it's really good. Unlike some readers, I'd refuse to continue with a bad series just for the sake of completion. |
Author: | Duchess of Malfi [ Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:05 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
It is going to take me days to type in Danlo's suggestions. I knew he would be knowledgable as any expert. When I get home from work I will start on the new suggestions from Danlo and Moonwatcher. Some of these books are still part of a series, Moonwatcher - but they are all books where you can read just that and still get a complete story - like the Clarke books you suggested. |
Author: | Duchess of Malfi [ Wed Mar 11, 2009 7:25 pm ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
OK, I have still been working away slowly at this. Hopefully people have some more to add? |
Author: | Avatar [ Sat Mar 21, 2009 7:27 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
New Spring is a prequel more than a stand-alone. It's end is 20 years before Eye of the World. I don't think it'd make much sense reading it and then not reading the rest. I haven't read those Feist books Cleburne mentions, so I have to assume that while set in the same world, they don't demand having read any of the others. Although I suspect that you wouldn't read them anyway if you hadn't. Silmarillion too. (Quite impenetrable. ) Delany's books tend to be stand-alone. Dhalgren, Nova, Fall of the Towers(?) for example, The Einstein Intersection for another. (Oh...I see you have Dhalgren there.) Classics like Invasion of the Body-Snatchers, Day of the Triffids, Priest's Inverted World (I know Danlo loves that one. ) Most anything written in the Golden Age, with the exception maybe of Asimov and Herbert tended toward stand-alones. And they both had plenty of them too, as well as their more famous series. Clifford D Simak's famous Ring Around The Sun and All Flesh Is Grass. (I'm just naming stuff randomly here. ) Hubbard's Battlefield Earth is a good hard sci-fi standalone, William Gibsons novels...Virtual Light, Count Zero. As for King, with a few exceptions, like the DT series, most of his books can be read as stand-alones. Even though things like The Stand, Insomnia and Salem's Lot are connected, reading all the myriad of connections is not really necessary at all to enjoy the books. Hell, many of them were written before even he knoew they would be connected. And even completely stand-alone one's like Carrie, Christine, etc. are often mentioned in other books. Many of which afterall took place in the same "district" and even town. --A |
Author: | MsMary [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:37 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
Technically speaking, Card writes all of his books so that they could be read as standalones if you wanted to. But one you didn't mention that comes to mind is Songmaster. I personally feel that Ender's Game could be read as a stand-alone. It was a standalone for years till he decided to write a sequel. Some more Card: Treason Lost Boys |
Author: | Duchess of Malfi [ Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:44 am ] |
Post subject: | Re: The Science Fiction & Fantasy standalone novel database |
Thanks Av and MsMary! I will try to get your suggested books on the database list over the weekend. |
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