All right! It’s been a long fun road with Top Tens and now it comes to an end. With my list. Yup. My list.

BOOKS

Dhalgren - Delany’s amazing novel is one of those books that continues to live in your head for the rest of your life.

The Illuminatus! - Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson started something major here. This is the sort of work that has, over the years, invaded the culture to such a degree that if you never read the book you still reference it. So why not just read it.

Lonesome Dove - I love a good western. I mean, westerns are just kick-ass. This is the best western I know, in book form. I haven’t enjoyed any adaptation of it, but the book is amazing.

The Mike Hammer Collection Volume 1 - Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer is the font from which all hard boiled detectives grow. He could do more in short paragraph than many authors can manage in five pages. Tight as hell, his prose worked like a boxing match.

Raymond Chandler: Stories and Early Novels - On the other side of the noir spectrum you have Raymond Chandler. Also a master, his style boils down to a crisp jazz solo. Between Chandler and Spillane you have the building blocks for 90% of all modern noir.

Lord of Light - Zelazny’s greatest book (and a 1,000 Amber fans just screamed) but it’s true! Sorry guys. This is the one to wave in people’s faces and scream about.

The Princess Bride - William Goldman may be the greatest living screenwriter right now, and he is, but the novel that gave rise to his amazing screenplay and stunning movie of the same name is, frankly, better than the movie. Which is why the book is here and the movie is not below. For reals.

More Than Human - My personal favorite Sturgeon work. Sturgeon was one of the all time best writers around. Period. This book is still new and fresh.

Letters from the Earth - I knew there would be Twain on this list but which? That kept me up nights. I finally settled on this, a collection of essays and looks at man and faith from the point of view of Satan.

Classic Feynman: All the Adventures of a Curious Character - If you like science you need to read this book. If you don’t like science you need to read this book. If you are alive today you should probably read this book. If you’re dead - consider picking up a copy.

MOVIES

Leon - The Professional - Leon is, for my money, Besson’s best work. The movie works on every level it attempts. Stunning.

Ghostbusters - Ray, if someone asks you if you’re on their top ten list, you say YES.

Josie and the Pussycats - This might be the most sarcastic movie ever made. Also highly quotable. And funny.

Hudson Hawk - Yes I still adore this highly funny film. I always will. You can disparage it if you like, but you’re wrong.

Shaun of the Dead - Not only was it hysterical but this is also one of the tightest scripts I have ever seen.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - Possibly the greatest script ever filmed, Butch and Sundance just works. It works and you fall in love with it. Also Hill directed this in ways you can’t do anymore.

Brick - Modern noir done interestingly. This movie shouldn’t have worked half as well as it did. But it blew me away when I first saw it and still does, every time I watch it.

The Complete Thin Man Collection - If you’ve never seen any of these you desperately should. The start of the great comedic detective pairings, what we think of now as buddy movies starts here. With one of the best takes on it ever.

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead - The only thing in the world to have changed Shakespeare forever. It’s the sort of film that you watch and then sit back and realize what you just saw. And then you kinda wanna watch it again right away.

Fight Club - It has flaws, but this is the perfect example of the sum being more than the parts. You can find problems, tiny ones, here and there. But all together the movie works across the board.

You can also go buy books with me in them: Bad-Ass Faeries (for some fairy fun, I have a very odd and insane story in it) and The Dead Walk Again! (in which I write a zombie western). You can also go to the Die Monster die! Store and buy the Strange Angel series (which is on sale. Actually you can buy Dead Walk Again there, too, also on sale.)