I was also not convinced that individual novels are the right building blocks to construct a chronology of a quarter century of the genre. Quite apart from the facts that many of the choices are individually questionable, and single volumes may fairly not represent longer series (Bujold, Banks, etc), sf also includes short stories and other media. Sure, it's valid to look only at novels; but it's also a huge constraint.
Anyway, I've read 49 of the 101 entries (in bold below, actually 52 of the 105 books listed). Which have you read? Which should I read (please tell me in comments?
Which of these books have you read?
The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood (1985)
17(3.2%)
Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card (1985)
18(3.4%)
Radio Free Albemuth, Philip K Dick (1985)
6(1.1%)
Always Coming Home, Ursula K Le Guin (1985)
7(1.3%)
This Is the Way the World Ends, James Morrow (1985)
5(0.9%)
Galápagos, Kurt Vonnegut (1985)
4(0.8%)
The Falling Woman, Pat Murphy (1986)
6(1.1%)
The Shore of Women, Pamela Sargent (1986)
4(0.8%)
A Door Into Ocean, Joan Slonczewski (1986)
4(0.8%)
Soldiers of Paradise, Paul Park (1987)
0(0.0%)
Life During Wartime, Lucius Shepard (1987)
4(0.8%)
The Sea and Summer, George Turner (1987)
0(0.0%)
Cyteen, CJ Cherryh (1988)
9(1.7%)
Neverness, David Zindell (1988)
3(0.6%)
The Steerswoman, Rosemary Kirstein (1989)
5(0.9%)
Grass, Sheri S Tepper (1989)
11(2.1%)
Use of Weapons, Iain M Banks (1990)
11(2.1%)
Queen of Angels, Greg Bear (1990)
5(0.9%)
Barrayar, Lois McMaster Bujold (1991)
17(3.2%)
Synners , Pat Cadigan (1991)
4(0.8%)
Sarah Canary, Karen Joy Fowler (1991)
4(0.8%)
White Queen, Gwyneth Jones (1991)
4(0.8%)
Eternal Light, Paul McAuley (1991)
3(0.6%)
Stations of the Tide, Michael Swanwick (1991)
6(1.1%)
Timelike Infinity, Stephen Baxter (1992)
2(0.4%)
Dead Girls, Richard Calder (1992)
2(0.4%)
Jumper, Steven Gould (1992)
5(0.9%)
China Mountain Zhang, Maureen F McHugh (1992)
10(1.9%)
Red Mars, Kim Stanley Robinson (1992)
16(3.0%)
A Fire Upon the Deep, Vernor Vinge (1992)
14(2.6%)
Aristoi, Walter Jon Williams (1992)
5(0.9%)
Doomsday Book, Connie Willis (1992)
15(2.8%)
Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler (1993)
8(1.5%)
Ammonite, Nicola Griffith (1993)
5(0.9%)
Chimera, Mary Rosenblum (1993)
1(0.2%)
Nightside the Long Sun, Gene Wolfe (1993)
2(0.4%)
Brittle Innings, Michael Bishop (1994)
3(0.6%)
Permutation City, Greg Egan (1994)
11(2.1%)
Blood, Michael Moorcock (1994)
2(0.4%)
Mother of Storms, John Barnes (1995)
6(1.1%)
Sailing Bright Eternity, Gregory Benford (1995)
1(0.2%)
Galatea 2.2, Richard Powers (1995)
1(0.2%)
The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson (1995)
15(2.8%)
The Transmigration of Souls, William Barton (1996)
0(0.0%)
The Fortunate Fall, Raphael Carter (1996)
2(0.4%)
The Sparrow/Children of God, Mary Doria Russell (1996/1998)
10(1.9%)
Holy Fire, Bruce Sterling (1996)
6(1.1%)
Night Lamp, Jack Vance (1996)
2(0.4%)
In the Garden of Iden, Kage Baker (1997)
3(0.6%)
Forever Peace, Joe Haldeman (1997)
9(1.7%)
Glimmering, Elizabeth Hand (1997)
2(0.4%)
As She Climbed Across the Table, Jonathan Lethem (1997)
0(0.0%)
The Cassini Division, Ken MacLeod (1998)
12(2.3%)
Bloom, Wil McCarthy (1998)
3(0.6%)
Vast, Linda Nagata (1998)
3(0.6%)
The Golden Globe, John Varley (1998)
4(0.8%)
Headlong, Simon Ings (1999) (??)
2(0.4%)
Cave of Stars, George Zebrowski (1999)
0(0.0%)
Genesis, Poul Anderson (2000)
2(0.4%)
Super-Cannes, JG Ballard (2000)
1(0.2%)
Under the Skin, Michel Faber (2000)
1(0.2%)
Perdido Street Station, China Miéville (2000)
13(2.4%)
Distance Haze, Jamil Nasir (2000)
0(0.0%)
Revelation Space, Alastair Reynolds (2000)
9(1.7%)
Salt, Adam Roberts (2000)
2(0.4%)
Ventus, Karl Schroeder (2001)
1(0.2%)
The Cassandra Complex, Brian Stableford (2001)
1(0.2%)
Light, M John Harrison (2002)
7(1.3%)
Altered Carbon, Richard Morgan (2002)
8(1.5%)
The Separation, Christopher Priest (2002)
7(1.3%)
The Golden Age, John C Wright (2002)
1(0.2%)
The Time Traveler’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger (2003)
12(2.3%)
Natural History, Justina Robson (2003)
3(0.6%)
The Labyrinth Key/Spears of God, Howard V Hendrix (2004/2006)
0(0.0%)
River of Gods, Ian McDonald (2004)
5(0.9%)
The Plot Against America, Philip Roth (2004)
3(0.6%)
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro (2005)
5(0.9%)
The House of Storms, Ian R MacLeod (2005)
0(0.0%)
Counting Heads, David Marusek (2005)
3(0.6%)
Air (Or, Have Not Have), Geoff Ryman (2005)
6(1.1%)
Accelerando, Charles Stross (2005)
11(2.1%)
Spin, Robert Charles Wilson (2005)
9(1.7%)
My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time, Liz Jensen (2006)
0(0.0%)
The Road, Cormac McCarthy (2006)
5(0.9%)
Temeraire /His Majesty’s Dragon, Naomi Novik (2006)
12(2.3%)
Blindsight, Peter Watts (2006)
5(0.9%)
HARM, Brian Aldiss (2007)
0(0.0%)
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, Michael Chabon (2007)
11(2.1%)
The Secret City,Carol Emshwiller (2007)
0(0.0%)
In War Times, Kathleen Ann Goonan (2007)
2(0.4%)
Postsingular, Rudy Rucker (2007)
0(0.0%)
Shadow of the Scorpion, Neal Asher (2008)
0(0.0%)
The Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins (2008-2010)
8(1.5%)
Little Brother, Cory Doctorow (2008)
12(2.3%)
The Alchemy of Stone, Ekaterina Sedia (2008)
1(0.2%)
The Windup Girl, Paolo Bacigalupi (2009)
5(0.9%)
Steal Across the Sky, Nancy Kress (2009)
2(0.4%)
Boneshaker, Cherie Priest (2009)
2(0.4%)
Zoo City, Lauren Beukes (2010)
6(1.1%)
Zero History, William Gibson (2010)
4(0.8%)
The Quantum Thief, Hannu Rajaniemi (2010)
7(1.3%)