Best sea story (after Moby Dick): Typhoon by Joseph Conrad

Best woods story:  Deliverance by James Dickey

Other good sea stories:  Voyage by Sterling Hayden   The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monserrat Grey Seas Under by Farley Mowat  Endurance by Alfred Lansing

Best Fantasy: The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R. Tolkein  (I know, that’s four books)

Best Science Fiction: The Helliconia trilogy by Brian Aldiss