Ten science fiction novels you pretend to have read

Charlie Jane Anders, editor at io9, checked in with some favorite writers and came up with a list of "10 science fiction and fantasy books that everybody pretends to have read — and the reasons why you should read them for real."

One entry on the list:

Dune by Frank Herbert

The classic novel about a desert planet and the power of the Spice Melange.
It's hard to believe that people haven't actually read this book — but Pat Cadigan, author of Synners, Dervish is Digital and many other books, says she believes a lot of people "probably think they've had the Dune experience from either the movie or the Syfy miniseries." Also, a lot of people probably "read around" Dune, reading the prequels and the sequels, but never actually dive into the original book. "It's not an easy read," says Cadigan, because it's both dense and complex. But if you've only read the other books or seen the adaptations of this masterwork, you haven't had the proper Dune experience. This is a "full-immersion experience that has to be read to be fully appreciated," says Cadigan.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Dune is also on John Mullan's lists of ten of the best vendettas in literature and ten of the best deserts in literature, and among the best and worst childbirth scenes in sci-fi & fantasy.

--Marshal Zeringue