Favorite Hugo and Nebula winning novels

[Zac]

Hi Folks! I've only really begun fully immersing myself in science fiction in the last several years. Right now I'm really hooked on going back and reading the classics.

I've recently made a goal for myself to go back and read all of the Hugo and Nebula winning novels that I haven't. I was planning on picking up The Forever War next - mostly because I thought it might follow up really well as a foil to Starship Troopers which I'm about to finish.

I'd love to hear from all of you folks on what some of your favorite H&N winning novels were! Suggestions or opinions?

[Kevin]

Mine would have to be Ender's Game along with its sequel, Speaker for the Dead.

[Maggie]

Do you mean books that won both?
The Windup Girl! Although it is too new to be a classic...lol
But some of the old masters like Clarke's Rendezvous With Rama or Wilson's Spinand of course Dune(my all-time sci-fi fave).
I recently picked up Dreamsnake and hope to get to that sooner than later.

[Zac]

I meant novels that won EITHER, certainly those that won both are on a short list!

Dreamsnake is one that keeps popping up for me - that one intrigues me. I know very little about it, but the brief summaries I've seen it reminds me vaguely of Robert McCammon's Swan Song, which I love. No idea of McCammon harkens anything back to Dreamsnake, but that's what pops in my head.

@Kevin - thanks! I almost can't believe I still haven't read Ender's Game and it's definitely on my near future radar!

[Trike]

The novel Ender's Game didn't do anything for me, because I saw the ending coming from about 20 AUs out. The short story, however, was quite good.

Looking at the lists on Wikipedia, of the Nebulas I've read:

Dune, really liked it.
Flowers for Algernon, preferred the short story, but liked the novel.
Ringworld, loved it. (A gateway drug to Niven's Known Space for me.)
The Gods Themselves, didn't care for it. I liked the idea but the writing was atrocious.
Rendezvous With Rama, enjoyed this one, even though nothing really happens.
The Forever War, one of my all-time favorite books, so yes, liked it.
Man Plus... you know, I recall liking it, but don't remember much about it.
Dreamsnake -- I liked it well enough.
Startide Rising was quite good, but I soon fell out of love with Brin's writing.
Neuromancer was pretty good, but I definitely prefer Gibson's stories from this era.
Speaker for the Dead I hated.
Stations of the Tide I didn't love, but I liked Swanwick's writing enough to read other stuff by him.
Red Mars I disliked intensely. A lot of Mars-themed books came out around this time and I read most of them. Liked none of them.
Moving Mars, see above.
The Terminal Experiment was an interesting examination of death. The book is spookier today, since Sawyer apparently has a time machine. (Near the end in 2011, a news item about Pope Benedict XVI appears on a videophone. That's the current Pope's name. The book was written in 1995.)
Forever Peace isn't as good as The Forever War, but how could it be?
Parable of the Talents is quite good, although my favorite Butler story is Wild Seed.
Darwin's Radio. Total hatio.

...and that's all for the Nebulas. I haven't read any since the Bear book.

[Mitchell]

At one point I had read all the Hugo and Nebula winning novels - but I'm a couple years behind now. That said - the Nebulas are generally better and cooler and weirder than the Hugos. Many I have not reread in quite awhile but these are my memories - Dune (fantastic), Babel 17 (I liked it better when I was younger, disappointed at the reread), Flowers for Algernon (great and basically like the shorter version - just longer), Einstein Intersection (not worth reading), Right of Passages (basically damned good YA and one of my daughter's favorite books), Left Hand of Darkness (good but not as good as its reputation), Ringworld (not as bad on a reread as I remembered), A Time of Changes (a great read, sort of a different spin from Anthem), The Gods Themselves (Asimov being high-brow which and it held up on a reread), Rendezvous with Rama (unimpressed), The Dispossessed (an interesting story of the creation of the Ansible in which the chapters are irritatingly out of order), The Forever War (not as good as its reputation), Man Plus (great read), Gateway (great read but depressing), Dreamsnake (great read but I don't remember why), Fountains of Paradise (a pretty good space colony book), Timescape (timeline communication but a lighter feel than most), The Claw of the Conciliator (fantasy and not super impressive), No Enemy But Time (different style but good so typical Michael Bishop), Startide Rising (Brin is at his best when he avoids writing endings - neither this one or Uplift War really ends and both are great. Anyway ... Dune, Speed of Dark, Darwin's Radio, Doomsday Book are some of the best. And Ender's Game is more of a Hugo than a Nebula - but I'd say the best sf book ever written.

[Cynthia]

I also liked Flowers for Algernon. I preferred Red Prophet and Prentice Alvin to Ender's Game, but that has more to do with me my tastes than quality of writing.

[Sarah]

There are some Listopia lists that might help you decide:
http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/11...

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/24...

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/67...

Some of my favorite joint winners are the Left Hand of Darkness, Dreamsnake, Forever War, the Dispossessed, and Doomsday Book.

[Chris]

I would have to give it to Ender's Game here, though not to its sequel. Couldn't stand the sequels. Neuromancer's not a bad choice, and Flowers for Algernon is rather firmly engrained in me from childhood, so I'd say have at that one--it's a quality read.

[Zac]

Thanks for the feedback folks! Just read Starship Troopers and I'm half way through The Forever War (which thankfully is -SO FAR at least- everything that Starship Troopers was not). I did grab a copy of Ender's Game this weekend and I look forward to that as well.

[*Kashi*]

[Rollie]

Out of the Hugo and Nebula winning books, I have only read Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead. Well, it's just odd for me that I did find Speaker better than Ender's Game. And of now, I'm currently reading Dune which is so far great.


But hoo hoo! Out of the books mentioned by you guys above, there are only one or three that I don't currently have. And the rest? Well, to be all read this year, too.

[Snail in Danger (Sid)]

My favorite Hugo winners are probably Cyteen and Mirror Dance.

Nebula Winners ... I liked Dune and Paladin of Souls well enough. (PoS was also a Hugo winner but I'd put it behind the other two.)

[Candiss]

My favorites from among the Hugo and/or Nebula winners are, in no particular order:

[Sarah]

I loved Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang.

[Tad]

I'm a big fan of Speaker for the Dead. I love Ender's Game and I think Speaker is a great sequel and contrast.

Also a huge fan of Gateway. I think sometimes it gets overlooked as a classic. I also loved the whole mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson and A Deepness in the Sky is my all-time favorite.

[Eric]

Of the Hugo/Nebula winners I've read my favorites are:
Dune by Frank Herbert
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

[Justin]

I don't think I've read that many, actually.

Dune - Definitely liked it. I want to go back and read it and then read the next couple in the series.

The Gods Themselves - Despite the fact that I loved the Foundation and Robot series, I didn't care much for this novel.

The Forever War - Very good, but a bit dated. I found the views of sexuality in this book to be extremely shallow. Definitely worth a read

Gateway - I really liked this one. There's so much mystery in the universe created, and the sci fi takes a bit of a back seat to the character development. I found the Freud references to be a bit unintentionally comical though. I've been told that it's better not to continue with the series.

Foundation's Edge - A continuation of the Foundation universe. I liked it quite a bit - not as good as the original short stories/novel, but strong. Much better than its sequel, though.

Neuromancer - Liked it, but my impression is that it's pretty weak now when compared to other and more recent cyberpunk novels. It probably deserves a second reading to catch on to everything that is going on.

Ender's Game - People seem to either love or hate it. I liked it, personally. It didn't blow my mind and I found it a bit predictable, but it's a good read.

I also read Harry Potter, but didn't include it. There are plenty others I plan to read this year though.

[Bill]

I finished and reviewed 'Salem's Lot...ho-hum... and started Intruder by my favorite SF author CJ Cherryh, book #13 in the Foreigner series.

[Joon]

Haven't read too many of either. About all I can really note in this topic is that Jack McDevitt gets nominated for a Nebula just about every year (I actually think he holds the record now, though sadly he's only one once), and he's easily my favorite author.

[Jonesmikey]

Dune, I reread the series every couple of years. It's so good. So so good. I just finished Ender's Game and I liked that too. Dune though, wow.

[Katy]

So many good books, so little time. I am trying to read the short list of joint Hugo-Nebula winners this year and am enjoying that.

[Gary]

Ender's game: Great book, but nothing next to Neuromancer by William Gibson.

This man's work is so profound I have undertaken five or more readings of each Sprawl trilogy book and passed countless hours in contemplation just assembling the big picture of his philosophy. Incredibly deep, with implications that extend all the way to the end of the road. The Difference Engine is just as phenomenal, though not a prize-winner. His later work is less ably compelled, but still fascinating.

The other great work of our time is Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber, which has been foundational in helping me navigate the higher possibilities of experience and identity.

Anything by either of these authors is beyond the reach of Orson Scott Card, Dan Simmons (who I also like) and their rank, IMHO.

[Maggie]

so far, Neuromancer and Dune are my favorites.

[Gary]

Here's a shocker about Neuromancer that took me many years to realize:

Remember how Corto was rehabilitated by an experimental cybernetic therapy? Wintermute rebuilt his broken personality, creating the Armitage identity.

But the whole book is really about the experience of Case in the same program of rehabilitation! Think about it!