Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Original Title of “Blade Runner")
1968 | Philip K. Dick
Taken to the big screen as "Blade Runner", this story centers on a hunter in search of "replicants," artificial humans who are banned under death penalty to come to earth. They keep coming, however, for they want to find a solution to their forced "expiration" at thirty years of age. The novel is gritty and the world gray and compelling, and there is no way to tell, all the way to the end, whether the hero is a replicant himself.
Flowers for Algernon
1966 | Daniel Keyes
Charlie Gordon goes from an IQ of 20 to supergenius, and back to his former self. This endearing story is particularly good in portraying his inner self, his ambition to become smarter, and the series of fear, despair, acceptance, and final joy as he sinks back into retardation.
Dune
1965 | Frank Herbert
The planet Arrakis contains two things: lots of sand, and giant worms that produce a substance, "spice", which is necessary for interstellar travel. Naturally, the feudal lords running the galaxy are constantly fighting for control of Arrakis. This book centers on the strife of Paul Atreides against the Harkonnen pretenders. In the process, he will discover special powers and a prophecy that makes him a kind of Messiah for the local inhabitants. The book, written in omniscient style, captivates by portraying the strife, from many points of view, in exquisite detail. The sequels are not nearly as fresh, and often become plain weird.
The Lord of the Flies
1954 | William Golding
I don't mind pessimism, at least in small quantities. This famous novel is dark, dark, dark, but beautifully written and very thought-provoking. A group of British schoolboys are shipwrecked on a desert island. Instead of cooperating and acting like civilised Boy Scouts, they turn into murderous savages.
A tick on the bottom right corner indicates a superior work -- although this is obviously a matter of taste. To give another quality benchmark for films, we have surveyed some leading critics and recorded their views, on a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (outstanding).