Last month, we tackled numbers 1 - 50 of NPR's Top 100 SFF Novels, as voted by 60 000 listeners. This month, we complete our comprehensive guide...

51. THE HYPERION CANTOS by Dan Simmons
First Published: Hyperion, in 1990, followed by The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion, along with several short stories.
Genre: Science-Fiction
Subgenre: Space Opera

In Short:	A far-ranging and comprehensive future history of humanity… and religion. A lot of religion.
Recommended:	Yes, definitely.

“We are created for precisely this sort of suffering. In the end, it is all we are, these limpid tide pools of self-consciousness between crashing waves of pain.”

-- The Fall of Hyperion

Summary: Across centuries and light years we follow the adventures of a diverse bunch of inter-stellar pilgrims who seek, in various ways, to find or escape their destinies… and gods. Dense and often quite dogmatic, it is nevertheless utterly compelling from beginning to end.

On Screen: Warner Bros. apparently has a Hyperion project “in development”, but we all know what that means.

In Other Media: No.

In Popular Culture: Amid various videogame mentions and a bunch of musical tributes (including one by Joe Satriani), Danish metal band Manticora actually released an entire album based on -- and titled -- Hyperion. Who said the concept album is dead?

Awards and Nominations: In addition to a bunch of nominations for all four novels, Hyperion won the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1990; The Fall of Hyperion won the Locus and British Science Fiction Association Awards in 1991; and The Rise of Endymion received the Locus Award in 1998.

Deserving of Top 100 Status: Huh. On the one hand, yeah, pretty awesome. On the other… best ever? Maybe not.

-- Rachel Hyland

52. STARDUST by Neil Gaiman
First Published: 1998
Genre: Fantasy
Subgenre: Romantic Adventure

In Short:	A romance and fairy tale with actual fairies. And stars.
Recommended:	This is a great book.

"It's not hard to own something. Or everything. You just have to know that it's yours, and then be willing to let it go."

-- The tree

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Summary: Tristran promises the most beautiful girl in the village a fallen star. He decides to head off in the direction of the star, which is the land of Faerie. With a little help from his friends, he makes it to the star, who turns out to be the beautiful woman Yvaine. He traps her, and they head out so that he can trade her for his crush’s affections. During this journey, they are injured, and also start to fall in love.

On Screen: A 2007 adaptation was created starring Claire Danes and Michelle Pfeiffer.

In Other Media: There was a DC Comics series with a limited run.

Awards and Nominations: In 1999, the Mythopoeic Society awarded Neil Gaiman the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature for Stardust. The novel was nominated for the Locus Award that same year. In 2000, it received the Alex Award from the American Library Association.

Deserving of Top 100 Status: This is a great book, but why this and not The Neverending Story? The same sort of fable but there are better examples.

-- Sara Paige

53. CRYPTONOMICON by Neal Stephenson
First Published: 1990
Genre: Science-Fiction
Subgenre: Techno-thriller/Historical

In Short:	A brilliantly constructed but long and kind of rambling tale of, well, Math.
Recommended:	Kind of…

Of course, the underlying structure of everything in England is posh. There is no in-between with these people. You have to walk a mile to find a telephone booth, but when you find it, it is built as if the senseless dynamiting of pay phones had been a serious problem at some time in the past. And a British mailbox can presumably stop a German tank. None of them have cars, but when they do, they are three-ton hand-built beasts. The concept of stamping out a whole lot of cars is unthinkable.

Summary: Codebreakers in World War II solve problems, while seventy years later their descendents solve yet more problems. There is humor, intrigue, drama and wit along with more than one very likeable character – and pages upon pages of complex formulae, so be prepared for that and feel free to skip most of it if it makes your brain hurt. It’s not essential to the story.

On Screen: No.

In Other Media: Stephenson’s The Baroque Cycle serves as a kind of prequel to this novel, though not an essential one.

In Popular Culture: Nope.

Awards and Nominations: Won the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 2000, and was also nominated for both the Hugo and Arthur C. Clarke Awards.

Deserving of Top 100 Status: Stephenson’s Snow Crash deserves its place on the list, and further ahead his transformative The Diamond Age should definitely be here, but that’ll do, I think. Also, this book is great, but only just barely science fiction.

-- Rachel Hyland

54. WORLD WAR Z by Max Brooks
First Published: 2006
Genre: Horror
Subgenre: Post-apocalyptic

In Short:	A pseudo-historical memoir of the Zombie Wars, also known as World War Z.
Recommended:	Very much so.

“I think that most people would rather face the light of a real enemy than the darkness of their imagined fears.”

Summary: Years after the conclusion of the Zombie Wars, a UN reporter is told that his oral history will not be included in the official reports. So, he decides to create a history based on the people who lived through it. From a young woman still killing “Zack” in Canada to soldiers on the front line of an offensive assault, the story comes together when these stories intertwine into the last of the world wars.

On Screen: A movie starring Brad Pitt is planned for release in December 2012.

In Other Media: This book is taken from 2003’s The Zombie Survival Guide, also by Max Brooks.

In Popular Culture: In the book, pop culture references abound, although are perhaps slightly obscure. Except for that one about Megatron. Also, Archaeology Magazine, a publication of the Archaeological Institute of America, ran an article in 2007 discussing the likelihood of Brooks’ zombie theories, brought about by The Zombie Survival Guide.

Awards and Nominations: The audiobook version won an Audie Award (2007).

Deserving of Top 100 Status: Although it’s new, it’s worthy.

-- Sara Paige

55. THE LAST UNICORN by Peter S. Beagle
First Published: 1968
Genre: Fantasy
Subgenre: Magic and Mythology

In Short:	A truly enchanting adventure.
Recommended:	Hell, yes!

The unicorn lived in a lilac wood and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam, but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea.

Summary: A unicorn, believing herself to be the last of her kind, leaves the safety of her enchanted forest to seek answers. Along the way she meets Schmendrick, the hapless magician and Molly, the shrewish bandit’s wife, who help her in her quest to elude the fearsome Red Bull and free her kin from a selfish King’s imprisonment. Also, she falls in love.

On Screen: The much-beloved and astonishingly faithful 1982 Rankin Bass production, featuring the voices of Christopher Lee, Angela Lansbury and Mia Farrow, among others.

In Other Media: There’s an audiobook, a six-issue IDW comic book and a musical version – penned by Beagle – was produced in 1998, with an unrelated stage show performed in Chicago in 2009. In 2005, Beagle released a follow-up short story, “Two Hearts”, and there was much rejoicing.

In Popular Culture: Nothing too memorable.

Awards and Nominations: Nope.

Deserving of Top 100 Status: Well… look, it’s wonderfully engaging, but maybe not?

-- Rachel Hyland

56. THE FOREVER WAR by Joe Haldeman
First Published: 1974 (though several expanded editions have been published since)
Genre: Science Fiction
Subgenre: Military

In Short:	An introspective story about how an interstellar war affects both the soldiers fighting and back on Earth.
Recommended:	Yes.

"Tonight we're going to show you eight silent ways to kill a man."

Summary: An alien species is discovered when colony ships are attacked, and so a space navy (the United Nations Exploratory Force) is assembled, with one of the recruits being William Mandella. As he is repeatedly sent out to do battle with the "Taurens", due to relativistic effects, every time he returns from a year of fighting, Earth has advanced a decade or more. He and the soldiers find that things have changed almost too much for them to deal with, while the war itself has its own problems due to the Taurens able to advance their technology at a faster rate than the UNEF (again, due to light-speed-esque travel times). Near the end, it turns out that the Taurens were not even responsible for the initial attack, and the war ends, leaving Mandella and others to find a new place in the galaxy.

On Screen: A film adaptation is supposedly in the works, helmed by Ridley Scott.

In Other Media: A graphic novel version, and a related board game.

In Popular Culture: Viewed as both a direct response to Starship Troopers, as well as a hidden biography on the Vietnam War, this book has influenced many other books since.

Awards and Nominations: Won both the Nebula (1975) and Hugo (1976), as well as the Locus Award.

Deserving of Top 100 Status: Quite.

-- K. Burtt

57. SMALL GODS by Terry Pratchett
First Published: 1992
Genre: Fantasy
Subgenre: Humor

In Short:	The thirteenth book in the Discworld series and a hilarious pisstake on religion.
Recommended:	It's Prachett – Do I REALLY need to answer that? Or have you no sense of humor?

REMIND ME AGAIN, he said, HOW THE LITTLE HORSE-SHAPED ONES MOVE.

-- Death

Oh, and also:

"Oh, a very useful philosophical animal, your average tortoise. Outrunning metaphorical arrows, beating hares in races... very handy."

-- Om

Summary: The god Om has a slight miracle mishap, and is trapped inside the body of a tortoise. This is unfortunate, since Brutha, Om's disciple and the only person who can hear his voice, doesn't really believe that a god would want to be in the body of a tortoise, and since gods can do anything they want... well... you see how this works. Eventually Om succeeds, and proceeds to try and crusade to force others into his flock. BUT Brutha isn't a fan, and as his head priest/prophet guy he has some sway. Eventually Brutha convinces Om to stop his smiting ways… for one hundred years at least…

On Screen: There was a radio adaption, BBC no less. Also a stage adaption at one stage.

Deserving of Top 100 Status: Pratchett + Satire = WIN!

-- Jason Murdoch

58. THE CHRONICLES OF THOMAS COVENANT THE UNBELIEVER by Stephen Donaldon
First Published: Lord Foul’s Bane in 1977, followed by eight books so far, with the allegedly final book due out in 2013.
Genre: Fantasy
Subgenre: Epic

In Short:

There are some out who say that this is a boring, long-winded set of books and I would agree if it wasn’t such an amazing journey.

Recommended:

You have to be ready to spend long periods of intense reading before you follow Stephen Donaldson’s creation and like another modern epic set you have to be in for the long haul as he seems to come up with new chronicles when you think there cannot possibly be any more. I mean come on Stephen, Chronicles 1 and 2 I can understand but then we get three more tomes that even I, an ardent fan, struggle to read. I’ve defended the Chronicles for a long time so find it hard to say that but damn it I will finish them, eventually, maybe, hopefully.

“We didn't make the world. All we have to do is live in it.”

Summary: Prepare yourself when you read Thomas Covenants story as he would have to be one of the most reluctant and downright angry heroes you will ever meet. Thomas suffers from leprosy and has lost everything including his wife because of his ailment. He is subjected to solitary confinement on his farm and whenever he ventures into the town nearby he is looked at as well a leper. Pulled through to the land by magic, Thomas becomes known as the White Gold Wielder (because of his wedding ring) and looked at as a savior from the evil Lord Foul. Of course, he is used to being scorned and kept at arm’s length but in The Land he is looked at as the one to rid them of a great evil. His constant bad mood does tend to get on your nerves while reading but following him becomes an addiction – well, it did for me.

On Screen: No.

In Other Media: In 1985, Karen Wynn Fonstad released The Atlas of the Land, a cartographer’s vision of The Land.

In Popular Culture: Nothing comes to mind.

Awards and Nominations: Lord Foul’s Bane won the British Fantasy Society’s Best Novel Award in 1977; The Wounded Land and The One Tree, Books 1 and 2 of the Second Chronicle, both won the Balrog Fantasy Award.

Deserving of Top 100 Status: The first trilogy, sure.

-- Brendan McDonald

59. THE VORKOSIGAN SAGA by Lois McMaster Bujold
First Published: Shards of Honor, 1986; a whole slew of novels and novellas thereafter
Genre: Science Fiction
Subgenre: Space Opera

In Short:	Space opera at its finest.
Recommended:	Hell, Yes!

“Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself. … There is no more hollow feeling than to stand with your honor shattered at your feet while soaring public reputation wraps you in rewards. That’s soul-destroying. The other way around is merely very, very irritating…Guard your honor. Let your reputation fall where it will. And outlive the bastards.”

-- A Civil Campaign

Summary: This long series of novels relates the many adventures of Miles Vorkosigan, Man of Action. Now, Miles is not your typical manly sci-fi hero. In utero exposure to a deadly toxin has severely stunted his growth, and a life of adventure has left him with an array of medical problems. However, the fast-talking, super-determined Miles is never one to let something as trifling as mere physical impediment slow him down. Over the course of the books, we see Miles evolve from callow teen trying to survive the Academy to deep-space mercenary and admiral of his own fleet to member of the Emperor's Imperial Security force to youngest Imperial Auditor (sort of a galactic troubleshooter) ever appointed on his home planet of Barrayar. Along the way, we meet his family (in fact, the first two books are all about his parents; Miles himself barely appears), his friends, his enemies, his clone-brothers, his lovers, and eventually his children.

On Screen: Never, and it’s so long and involved that it would be hard to do the series justice. On the other hand, that’s what they said about A Song of Ice and Fire, and we all know what happened there, so…

In Other Media: Surprisingly little, although there’s evidently a French comic book version of The Warrior’s Apprentice.

In Popular Culture: Less than one would expect.

Awards and Nominations: As a starting point, The Vor Game, Barrayar, and Mirror Dance all won Hugo Awards for Best Novel; the novella The Mountains of Mourning won a Hugo AND a Nebula for Best Novella. Falling Free, which is set in the Vorkosiverse but doesn’t actually involve any of the Vorkosigan family, won a Best Novel Nebula. Barrayar and Mirror Dance also won Locus Awards for Best Novel. And those are just the wins. A comprehensive list of nominations would be too long to reproduce here.

Deserving of Top 100 Status: Yes.

-- Kate Nagy

60. GOING POSTAL by Terry Pratchett
First Published: 2004
Genre: Fantasy
Subgenre: Humor

In Short:	In this thirty-third Discworld outing, Pratchett turns his attention to… er… the Post Office.
Recommended:	YES!

“Steal five dollars and you were a petty thief. Steal thousands of dollars and you were either a government or a hero.”

Summary: A conman sentenced to death is given a choice: his life will be spared if he will consent to take over the Ankh Morpork Post Office. Moist von Lipwig by name, he then faces mounting challenges including a monopolistic competitor, a disinterested populace, unionized workers and an assassin, as well as a very challenging romantic entanglement and, of course, the natural enemy of any postman: dogs!

On Screen: A 2010 television mini-series aired on the UK’s Sky One in 2010.

In Other Media: An audiobook, of course.

In Popular Culture: Not really.

Awards and Nominations: Shortlisted for the Nebula and Locus Awards.

Deserving of Top 100 Status: Um. Look, I love me some Discworld and Pratchett is terrific, but why this one and not any of his many earlier, some might say better, works I know not. Also, why does he get two entries on the list from the same series? That’s just odd.

-- Rachel Hyland