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March Madness SF&F Style Redux!
Martians, Go Home by Fredrick Brown
Thanks for the intro G33z3r! Here's what I've put together so far. Last year we did one 64 book bracket pitting Fantasy on one side vs. Science Fiction on the other with the eventual showdown being the "best" of Fantasy vs. the "best" of Science Fiction. This year, we're going to try two separate brackets. On for just Science Fiction and one for just Fantasy. (There are even a couple of cross-overs that fell into the lists for both genres.)
What I've done to this point is create two 60-team bracket leaving the last 4 spots in each bracket empty. That's where all of you come in. Take a look at the lists when I post them and suggest up to four teams to add to each bracket. We'll take suggestions through Midnight on Wednesday, March 12 and I'll get a poll up so that we can vote in the final teams. We'll start the official tournament on Monday, March 17th.
Keep in mind that sometimes a book may already be included in a series that's already in the tourney so please try not to nominate those books individually. Also, be sure to specify which bracket the nomination belongs in.
Fantasy:The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkien
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Discworld by Terry Pratchett
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle
Alice's Adventures In Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss
Peter Pan and Wendy by J M Barrie
The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman
The Amber Chronicles by Roger Zelazny
The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan
The Harry Potter Series by J K Rowling
Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
The Once & Future King by T H White
Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Time Quartet by Madeleine L'Engle
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
The Malazan Book of the Fallen Series by Steven Erikson
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever by Stephen Donaldson
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum
The Sword of Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks
The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien
The City and the City by China Mieville
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Silmarillion by J R R Tolkien
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Black Company by Glen Cook
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Odyssey by Homer
Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover
The Dark Tower by Stephen King
The Sandman Series by Neil Gaiman
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
The Belgariad by David Eddings
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Black Sun Rising by C S Friedman
The Stand by Stephen King
Watchmen by Moore & Gibbons
Witch World by Andre Norton
Science FictionEnder's Game by Orson Scott Card
Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Dune Chronicles by Frank Herbert
1984 by George Orwell
The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
Neuromancer by William Gibson
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlein
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Time Machine by H G Wells
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick
2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Starship Troopers by Robert A Heinlein
Ubik by Philip K Dick
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Ringworld by Larry Niven
The Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons
Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke
The War of the Worlds by H G Wells
Solaris by Stanislav Lem
The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Dhalgren by Samuel R Delany
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Kindred by Octavia E Butler
Rendezvous With Rama by Arthur C Clarke
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Zone One by Colson Whitehead
The Female Man by Joanna Russ
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Stand by Stephen King
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller
Contact by Carl Sagan
The Drowned World by J G Ballard
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K Dick
Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
Gateway by Frederik Pohl
Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov
World War Z by Max Brooks
The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
It might take me a few minutes to digest those lists. :)
For those who don't follow American sports, "March Madness" is the nickname of the college basketball tournament held each year in March. The tournament is a single elimination, with 64 men's teams and 64 women's teams seeded against each other.
"March Madness Science Fiction & Fantasy Style" is a similar elimination pitting different books against each other one-on-one in a series of elimination matches to determine our Group's favorite this year.
This year, the March Madness SF&F Style will have two brackets, one for Science Fiction and one for Fantasy.
Stefan has already compiled a list of 60 seeds in each bracket, based on various popularity lists he's combined mathemagically (listed above).
The remaining 4 entrants in the first round will be determined by a Wildcard Tournament based on titles submitted here! So, if you have some favorite books you think deserve to be part of the tournament, and they aren't already on the above seed list, name them here:
"March Madness Science Fiction & Fantasy Style" is a similar elimination pitting different books against each other one-on-one in a series of elimination matches to determine our Group's favorite this year.
This year, the March Madness SF&F Style will have two brackets, one for Science Fiction and one for Fantasy.
Stefan has already compiled a list of 60 seeds in each bracket, based on various popularity lists he's combined mathemagically (listed above).
The remaining 4 entrants in the first round will be determined by a Wildcard Tournament based on titles submitted here! So, if you have some favorite books you think deserve to be part of the tournament, and they aren't already on the above seed list, name them here:
Fantasy:Fevre dream by GRR Martin
The terror by Dan Simmons (if it qualifies)
Also, I don't want the added books to have to go up against the top guns, so the nominated books will be entered randomly somewhere in the middle of the seedlings.
As for qualifications, some of the lists I c a me across were pretty loose, so if you nominate it, it counts.
Fantasy - The Sword trilogy by Fred SaberhagenThe Lyonesse trilogy by Jack Vance
Scifi - Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie
The Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton
The Expanse series by James S. A. Corey
Why are a bunch of the Ender books listed separately?
On Ender: I think because the first and second are So different in tone and audience that it is difficult to lump them into a series.
I'll second Ancillary Justice for a sci-fi wild card, and it seems wrong to have no Guy Gavriel Kay on the fantasy list -- but which to recommend? I'll go w/Tigana since it has a strong magic element.
Also noticed -- no LE Modesitt? I'll suggest The Magic of Recluse for fantasy.And I'd love to see Elizabeth Bear make it to the sci-fi list; Carnival is my fav, but perhaps Hammered/the Jenny Casey books are better known?
No surprise, I have a few modest suggestions, mostly by thinking of authors who really ought to be represented.
In SciFi:
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
True Names by Vernor Vinge
Riverworld (To Your Scattered Bodies Go) by Philip Jose Farmer
Earth Abides by George Stewart
Cyteen by C J Cherryh
In SciFi:
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
True Names by Vernor Vinge
Riverworld (To Your Scattered Bodies Go) by Philip Jose Farmer
Earth Abides by George Stewart
Cyteen by C J Cherryh
For science fiction:Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds
For fantasy:
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Sorry, realized I duplicated a book there! My apologies, the lists are a lot to digest
Seconding Old Man's War for Sci-fi. Let me think.Fantasy:
Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones
I'll have some more later when I think of them!
I have a few Fantasy titles I think ought to be invited to the party:
Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard
Elric saga by Michael Moorcock
Pern (Dragonflight) by Anne McCaffrey
Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard
Elric saga by Michael Moorcock
Pern (Dragonflight) by Anne McCaffrey
Hillary wrote: "it seems wrong to have no Guy Gavriel Kay on the fantasy list -- but which to recommend? I'll go w/Tigana since it has a strong magic element."
Last year I thought Kay was over-represented in the initial seed; this year, despite an expanded field, he got shut out. (Stefan has changed his method of compiling the initial seeds.) Even though I'm not a fan of Kay myself, I agree he has a big following and he ought to be in the mix somewhere.
Last year I thought Kay was over-represented in the initial seed; this year, despite an expanded field, he got shut out. (Stefan has changed his method of compiling the initial seeds.) Even though I'm not a fan of Kay myself, I agree he has a big following and he ought to be in the mix somewhere.
G33z3r wrote: "I have a few Fantasy titles I think ought to be invited to the party:Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard
Elric saga by Michael Moorcock
Pern (Dragonflight) by Anne McCaffrey"
Pern is already on the list...don't know about Elric.
For fantasy I'll nominate 'Magician' by Raymond E. Feist. As a standalone fantasy novel it's up there with the best. Of course you could equally nominate the whole Riftwar series of books, they were of variable quality particularly later on, but still an excellent series overall.How is the winner of each 'match' decided? Is it a vote, discussion or what?
Would you put Darkover by Marion Zimmer Bradley on the Fantasy or Science Fiction list? The series covers both.
Steve wrote: "How is the winner of each 'match' decided? Is it a vote, discussion or what?..."
Well, I suggested holding combat to the death between the members who suggested each title, using whatever weapons were described in their respective books, but there were some complaints about the logistics of meeting at an arena and the advantage of wielding the One Ring.
So each head-to-head match is decided by voting.
Well, I suggested holding combat to the death between the members who suggested each title, using whatever weapons were described in their respective books, but there were some complaints about the logistics of meeting at an arena and the advantage of wielding the One Ring.
So each head-to-head match is decided by voting.
I agree w/G3z33r that CJ Cherryh should be represented on the sci-fi list.And I keep thinking of writers and works (def. too many to include them all!) not on the fantasy list: Janny Wurts' Wars of Light & Shadow; Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince books; Sean Russell; Jennifer Roberson's Cheysuli series; The Far Kingdoms by Cole/Bunch; more recently, Naomi Novik's Temeraire books; Carol Berg; Kate Elliott. I like Michele's suggestion of Fred Saberhagen's Swords trilogy; I'm not sure how they'd hold up for me in a re-read, but they're definitely fondly remembered.
There's a general lack of urban fantasy on the pretty wide-ranging fantasy list, so I'll put in a recommendation for Jim Butcher's Dresden Files.
Whatever makes the final mix, though, looking forward to the "madness."
Seconding Jim Butcher's work with the Urban Fantasy and also Naomi Novik.
why no Fred Brown? Martians, Go Home and/or The Lights in the Sky are Stars
Last day for nominations. I'll get the voting bracket put together and posted tomorrow.
All the teams for both brackets are locked in and ready to go. To view the final brackets, you can look here:
Stefan wrote: "All the teams for both brackets are locked in and ready to go. To view the final brackets, you can look here:"
SciFi Madness 2014
Fantasy Madness 2014
SciFi Madness 2014
Fantasy Madness 2014
Some tough choices will have to be made.... some interesting matchups in the first round.
G33z3r wrote: "Stefan wrote: "All the teams for both brackets are locked in and ready to go. To view the final brackets, you can look here:"SciFi Madness 2014
Fantasy Madness 2014
"
How do we actually vote?
Jonathan wrote: "How do we actually vote?"
Patience. I think Stefan is going to use SurveyMonkey (similar to last year), but with 128 books in the competition, he has a lot of questions to set up.
Patience. I think Stefan is going to use SurveyMonkey (similar to last year), but with 128 books in the competition, he has a lot of questions to set up.
G33z3r wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "How do we actually vote?"Patience. I think Stephan is going to use SurveyMonkey (similar to last year), but with 128 books in the competition, he has a lot of questions to set up."
Excellent. I for one am very glad we have people like Stephan in our group to do amazing work like this!
Stefan wrote: "All the teams for both brackets are locked in and ready to go.
Play-in round winners:
Sci-Fi:
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
River World Series by Philip Jose Farmer
Revelation Space Series by Alastair Reynolds
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
SciFi Madness 2014 SF Bracket
Fantasy:
Conan the Barbarian Series by Robert E Howard
Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock
The Book of Swords Trilogy by Fred Saberhagen
The Dresden Files Series by Jim Butcher
Fantasy Madness 2014 Fantasy Bracket
For voting, see the March Madness SF/F style Round 1 Voting topic
And thanks again to Stefan for engineering this!
Play-in round winners:
Sci-Fi:
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
River World Series by Philip Jose Farmer
Revelation Space Series by Alastair Reynolds
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
SciFi Madness 2014 SF Bracket
Fantasy:
Conan the Barbarian Series by Robert E Howard
Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock
The Book of Swords Trilogy by Fred Saberhagen
The Dresden Files Series by Jim Butcher
Fantasy Madness 2014 Fantasy Bracket
For voting, see the March Madness SF/F style Round 1 Voting topic
And thanks again to Stefan for engineering this!
Round 2 is up and ready for voting. The voting links can be found in this thread March Madness SF&F Style Round 2
If you're interested in seeing the complete bracket including Round 1 results here are the links for those:
Sci-Fi Madness 2014
Fantasy Madness 2014
Get those last minute votes in for Round 2! I'll be collecting final tallies and posting the new bracket sometime this evening!
The Sweet 16 is up and ready for voting. The voting links can be found in this thread March Madness SF&F Style Sweet 16
If you're interested in seeing the complete bracket including Round 2 results here are the links for those:
Sci-Fi Madness 2014
Fantasy Madness 2014
Elite 8 time!The voting links can be found in this thread March Madness SF&F Style Elite 8
If you're interested in seeing the complete bracket including Sweet 16 results here are the links for those:
Sci-Fi Madness 2014
Fantasy Madness 2014
I'll be closing the voting on the Elite 8 tomorrow. Get those final votes in!
Final 4 time!The voting links can be found in this thread March Madness SF&F Style Final 4
If you're interested in seeing the complete bracket including Elite 8 results here are the links for those:
Sci-Fi Madness 2014
Fantasy Madness 2014
Stefan wrote: "Final 4 time!..."
Huh. Ender's Game gets eliminated. Mild surprise.
Huh. Ender's Game gets eliminated. Mild surprise.
Last chance to get Final 4 votes in. I'll be finalizing this evening.
Final 4 time!The voting links can be found in this thread March Madness SF&F Style CHAMPIONSHIPS
If you're interested in seeing the complete bracket including Final 4 results here are the links for those:
Sci-Fi Madness 2014
Fantasy Madness 2014
Hmm. Narrow wins for both Dune (over HHGttG) and Song of Ice & Fire (over Narnia) in the semis.
I guess we all knew who was going to win the fantasy bracket before the tournament even started :) but I find the final (LoTR vs. Song of ice and fire) very interesting.
Bryan wrote: "I guess we all knew who was going to win the fantasy bracket before the tournament even started :) but I find the final (LoTR vs. Song of ice and fire) very interesting."I find both really interesting. You have two sets of books which are often compared to each other as the 'best' of each genre going up against each other.
I'm going to make one final call for Championship votes. I will be tallying up the votes sometime tomorrow, so get those last minute votes in!
Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy
Books mentioned in this topic
The Lord of the Rings (other topics)The Foundation Trilogy (other topics)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (other topics)
The Lord of the Rings (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
George R.R. Martin (other topics)Frank Herbert (other topics)
(By the way, you can still see last year's SF/F March Madness 2013 Results. (view spoiler)[Lord of the Rings won. (hide spoiler)]
More details on this year's contest in brackets to be announced. (Comments, suggestions,... be quick.)
And a big Thank You to Stefan for creating the tournament last year and coming back for more this year!