My Top 10 Science-Fiction Books of All Time | As Of 2024

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  • Опубликовано: 24 дек 2024

Комментарии • 694

  • @paulkeith6245
    @paulkeith6245 10 месяцев назад +51

    I love the SciFi classics. My all time favorite is the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. Highly recommended.

    • @jonathonschott
      @jonathonschott 9 месяцев назад +5

      You should check out the future history series by Heinlein. Very comparable, and a fun read, in my opinion Heinlein was the better wordsmith. Also, if you haven't read the entire Asimov future history series starting with I robot and going to the galactic empire series you are missing out

    • @SuperSushidog
      @SuperSushidog 9 месяцев назад +7

      @@jonathonschott Speaking of Heinlein, "Stranger in a Strange Land" shouldn't be left off the list either. Do you grok me?

    • @jonathonschott
      @jonathonschott 9 месяцев назад +3

      @@SuperSushidog you would appreciate this. I can't stand Apple as a company, their active attempts at trying to kill right to repair has potentially taken jobs away from me as an electronics technician. But I gained a little respect for Steve Jobs when he used grok correctly in a quote once. Yes, you are right it should be included, but stranger and starship troopers are kind of low hanging fruit when it comes to suggestions for Heinlein and my reply was to a comment about the foundation series specifically so I countered with a series. But I mean Heinlein; the Green hills of earth, podkayne of Mars, starship troopers, stranger in a strange land, I don't think I ever read a Heinlein and thought 'this is not his best work' because he just had this way with wording that made them fun to read, allegory, the complete package. There is a reason Heinlein was asked to help commentate the Apollo 11 landing, a well earned reason.

    • @BileDuctBalderdash
      @BileDuctBalderdash 4 месяца назад

      Caves of Steel is one of my favorite asimov's

  • @keithhealing1115
    @keithhealing1115 11 месяцев назад +98

    The thing with Douglas Adams is that he manages to put more ideas into a paragraph than many authors manage in a trilogy.

    • @nomadr1349
      @nomadr1349 8 месяцев назад

      It is good, yes, and yet, it is much more stale that the original he plagiarized from.

    • @BrainWeevil
      @BrainWeevil 8 месяцев назад +2

      @@nomadr1349 And that original would be.....? Title? Author? Century?

    • @nomadr1349
      @nomadr1349 8 месяцев назад +2

      @@BrainWeevil Robert Sheckley "Dimension of Miracles".
      You are welcome.

    • @BrainWeevil
      @BrainWeevil 8 месяцев назад +2

      @@nomadr1349 Many Thanks, Good Human! It is quite astonishing for me to hear Douglas Adams described as "stale". But Sheckley is astonishing in his way. I will have to check this out.

    • @matthewzuckerman6267
      @matthewzuckerman6267 7 месяцев назад +2

      @@nomadr1349 Yes, it's fine for writers to borrow from each other, but Adams "borrowed" so much from Sheckley and the results were so much more cartoonish. (The number "42' was "19" in the Sheckley story, wasn't it?)

  • @berserkley
    @berserkley 4 месяца назад +4

    My Top 10 personal favorite science fiction novels (in no particular order):
    Greg Bear: Blood Music
    Robert Charles Wilson: Spin
    Poul Anderson: Brain Wave
    Larry Niven: Ringworld
    Dan Simmons: Hyperion
    Robert Heinlein: Double Star
    Arkady and Boris Strugatsky: Roadside Picnic
    Michael Crichton: The Andromeda Strain
    Cixin Liu: The Three Body Problem
    David Brin: Startide Rising

  • @talkamardesh7562
    @talkamardesh7562 11 месяцев назад +24

    I remember pleading with you to read Hyperion, was so excited finding out you loved it as much as I did. Great list Mike

    • @mikesbookreviews
      @mikesbookreviews  11 месяцев назад +5

      It was incredible and I knew it immediately.

    • @richardhallon1250
      @richardhallon1250 9 месяцев назад

      I was so glad you included Hyperion in your list. Felt all that you mentioned although you described it much more eloquently. It also brought me to tears and the aha moments kept piling on as all the plots came to close and the trilogy culminated. This book made me a bookworm. Now I have to read it again… thank you!

  • @puchi1388
    @puchi1388 11 месяцев назад +28

    I read a childhoods end from your recommendation and I agree, it’s the one book that continues to come back to mind!! It was mind blowing

  • @jamesohagan9108
    @jamesohagan9108 8 месяцев назад +25

    I read Hyperion a long time ago, and the father's tale still moves me.

    • @mikesmith3235
      @mikesmith3235 11 дней назад +1

      See you later Alligator.... 💔

    • @pshep123
      @pshep123 8 дней назад +2

      Recently finished this book, top 5 of all time, regardless of genre. I think what Mike misses in his (glowing) review is that while it is super sci-fi, it's also incredibly human - the stories evoke basic, yet deep emotions that everyone can relate to. Fantastic read.

  • @Coley_-_
    @Coley_-_ 11 месяцев назад +27

    I love Edgar Rice Burroughs. Princess of Mars and Tarzan. Favorite classic writer. I agree that i thought he was ahead of his time and his adventures and writing style holds up well today

  • @deandonkin9926
    @deandonkin9926 11 месяцев назад +19

    Great video! As a father the scholars tale from Hyperion had me breaking down crying. And the Priests tale was 🤯 That book stayed with me for a long while.

    • @rvantong
      @rvantong 11 месяцев назад +3

      I just read the Scholars tale this morning. Truly a heartbreaking story.

    • @deandonkin9926
      @deandonkin9926 11 месяцев назад

      @@rvantong it’s such a great book and I love all the science fiction but it was the heartbreaking human element of the scholars tale that really made me fall in love with it.

  • @dougsundseth6904
    @dougsundseth6904 11 месяцев назад +30

    The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Heinlein
    The Weapon Shops of Isher, Van Vogt
    March Upcountry, Weber & Ringo
    Ender's Game, Card
    On Basilisk Station, Weber
    Trading in Danger, Moon
    Pandora's Planet, Anvil
    The Warrior's Apprentice, Bujold
    Flowers for Algernon, Keyes
    Honorable Mentions
    Dune, Herbert
    Star Guard, Norton
    Beastmaster, Norton
    Podkayne of Mars, Heinlein
    Grey Lensman, Smith - Not a book I would recommend now, but it hit me at exactly the right age.

    • @MrSpirit99
      @MrSpirit99 9 месяцев назад +5

      Better list. Especially since it doesn't mention Foundation. I don't get the praise for that.

    • @ButOneThingIsNeedful
      @ButOneThingIsNeedful 3 месяца назад +1

      Flowers for Algernon destroyed me in the best way. Hardest cry ever reading a book.

    • @kevinduffy80
      @kevinduffy80 29 дней назад

      Know what you mean with regards to Lensman E E Doc Smith.

  • @exio6241
    @exio6241 11 месяцев назад +110

    I just read Dune last December because of those damn good dune 2 trailers and I love it the first book I finished after 1 year plus of reading slump

    • @Pokucollector
      @Pokucollector 11 месяцев назад +6

      Dune Messiah is so different. You must read Children of Dune for it to come full circle. Excellent trilogy.

    • @alb0zfinest
      @alb0zfinest 10 месяцев назад +3

      Dune Messiah was embarrassingly bad. Herbert's lack of education really shows and it's unfortunate considering the first Dune was decent. Taking a basic 101 philosophy course could've spared him from so many of these embarrassing texts where he pretends he's saying something enlightening but instead sounds like a high school student who's had their first "complex," thought. Worse, is people really eating that shit up, really shows where we are as a society.

    • @benmorgan9748
      @benmorgan9748 10 месяцев назад +15

      @@alb0zfinestWhat’s worse is all your rogue commas.

    • @ethancoster1324
      @ethancoster1324 10 месяцев назад +1

      ​@@alb0zfinest Twas hard to follow at times, but it was still an alright read.

    • @alb0zfinest
      @alb0zfinest 10 месяцев назад +1

      @@benmorgan9748 Idk, seems to me like not knowing elementary philosophy (esp at the age he wrote the books) is worse than a few misplaced commas.

  • @WordsinTime
    @WordsinTime 11 месяцев назад +23

    I’m glad you enjoyed Childhood’s End. It’s also in my top 10 and I recently purchased the Folio edition, which will be a prized possession!

    • @paulhagelston9246
      @paulhagelston9246 8 месяцев назад +1

      It's such a great book!

    • @craiganderson7986
      @craiganderson7986 8 месяцев назад +2

      It’s one of my favorites. Probably why I was so disappointed with the tv adaptation I caught several years ago. If you’re going to have the audacity to film a book like Childhood’s End, then do the damn book!

  • @Ulmo90
    @Ulmo90 11 месяцев назад +8

    All of Red Rising, Dune, Hyperion and Empire of Silence are up there for me. Ender's Game waa nice but I had some struggles with it.
    Childhoods End sounds like a top addition to my TBR
    Great list Mike!

  • @maltedbarleyman7834
    @maltedbarleyman7834 11 месяцев назад +13

    Great list!! I really love Asimov's Foundation series. Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth being my two favorites.

  • @RedFuryBooks
    @RedFuryBooks 11 месяцев назад +13

    Our top three are the same, albeit in a different order. But we have the same thoughts on Childhood's End. Although it didn't make my list, it's one that I think about A LOT. Great video, Mike!

  • @Kim_Miller
    @Kim_Miller 9 месяцев назад +2

    I'm Australian and retired years ago so I'm from a different place and time from you. Your review of Ender's Game put me in mind of so much stuff from way back. In the 1970s I was an early manager for a US company that was moving into the Aussie market. My management training was Australian but suddenly we had a strongly American world view being presented. So in Ender's Game where you saw things like teamwork, overcome the odds, working hard, busting ass, getting to a higher goal, the world needs you, sacrifice yourself for the greater good, I remembered these themes being upheld in corporate management. When I read Ender's Game I saw manipulation and control, child abuse, narcissistic nationalism, using people up no matter the cost, xenophobia, more child abuse, and leaving people to rebuild themselves after their controllers have done their damage. So, age difference (I'm from the 40s) and opposite sides of the planet sure do make a difference.
    And if you are a recent SciFi reader, wait until you discover Hannu Rajaniemi.

  • @Severian1
    @Severian1 11 месяцев назад +35

    My top 10:
    1. The Book of the New Sun (It's one book split into 4). My favorite book of all time.
    2. Too Like the Lightning. The most philosophical scifi I've ever read.
    3. Hyperion.
    4. Dune.
    5. Demon in White. Although Disquiet Gods might unseat it. Reading the ARC now and it's amazing so far.
    6. Dark Age. Still the best, somewhat diminished by Light Bringer but still great.
    7. Left Hand of Darkness.
    8. The Dispossessed.
    9. Eisenhorn Omnibus. I know, cheating but I read it as such.
    10. Anathem.
    Things may change of course except with New Sun(nothing comes close to it for me), but for now this is it.

    • @ogkushbreath8607
      @ogkushbreath8607 11 месяцев назад +3

      Yeah I always think of Gene Wolfe immediately when I hear a Best Of list for sci-fi. His prose is amazing. Like embarassingly amazing😂 Neil Gaiman said once that Gene “was a much better novelist than he,” and I didnt feel quite so bad lol

    • @elyse49
      @elyse49 11 месяцев назад +2

      That's a good list! 📚
      So nice to see someone mentioning 'Too Like the Lighting' (or the whole series). 🤘
      I'm going to start reading Book of the New Sun after finishing Disquiet Gods and Anathem at some point later in the year.

    • @orgasmequalslove
      @orgasmequalslove 10 месяцев назад +1

      My number one is Book of the New Sun as well. I’ve read it four or five times now and always get something else out of it. Never read a book series with such great re-readability.
      Gonna check out more from your list. Reading Hyperion now.

    • @johnny6128
      @johnny6128 10 месяцев назад +2

      The thought that always springs to mind for me when I reference Book of the New Sun is dark poetry. It’s not what I would consider an easy read but it’s so rewarding.

    • @Vgallo
      @Vgallo 10 месяцев назад

      Is Hyperion hard to read?

  • @mikequist1
    @mikequist1 11 месяцев назад +7

    Thanks for throwing some love to John Carter. A greatly under-appreciated book by an underapprevuated author.

  • @petergee7943
    @petergee7943 11 месяцев назад +8

    Project Hail Mary and The Martian wouod be up there for me, and I read The Kaiju Preservation Society at the perfect time for me and loved it.

  • @warrengilson1835
    @warrengilson1835 11 месяцев назад +4

    Yes!!! Thank you Mike for the ERB love. A Princess of Mars was to me what Harry Potter was to my kids. I was so in love with Dejah Thoras!!!!!

  • @hazeloftraken8351
    @hazeloftraken8351 11 месяцев назад +6

    Saw a Stargate shirt, and needed to check out your video!

  • @dinocollins720
    @dinocollins720 11 месяцев назад +9

    My Grandpa read Dune back in 1965 and it became his favorite book. He got me to read it when I was young and it became an all time favorite for me as well! Very special book for me and my family!

  • @bookdmb
    @bookdmb 11 месяцев назад +3

    Yup to all these. Can also get behind some PKD, Orwell, Atwood, Le Guin, Vonnegut, Murakami, and Huxley.

  • @UTArch1
    @UTArch1 4 месяца назад +2

    I have been a sci-fi addict for more than 60 years, and after reading dozens of comments to your video I was VERY surprised that no one mentioned "The Mote in God's Eye" by Niven and Pournelle -- definitely one of my all time favorites. Also, for those who keep bringing up "Ender's Game", you might want to read "A Planet Called Treason" which was written about 6 years before "Ender's Game" by Card.
    .

  • @rosslangerak8361
    @rosslangerak8361 Месяц назад +1

    Just off the top of my head and in no particular order,
    A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge
    Use Of Weapons by Iain M Banks
    Hardwired by Walter Jon Williams
    Startide Rising by David Brin
    Madness Season by CS Friedman
    The Rift by Walter Jon Williams
    Downbelow Station by CJ Cherryh
    Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
    The Vang by Christopher Rowley
    In The Company Of Others by Julie E Czerneda

  • @AskAScreenwriter
    @AskAScreenwriter 9 месяцев назад +4

    Even if you're not into the cyberpunk genre, I'd still HIGHLY recommend William Gibson's “Neuromancer.” Gibson wrote a LOT of great Sci-Fi, but Neuromancer has become iconic in the genre.

  • @georgejasper8794
    @georgejasper8794 9 месяцев назад +3

    Great list. Read Childhood's End around '74 for a college class - blew me away. Dune I read before that and have read it more than 13 times. It feels fresh every time I read it. Thanks for a great video. Also, if you haven't, read Macroscope. Amazing story with some humor and a cool concept for traveling across time.

  • @timphelps3556
    @timphelps3556 11 месяцев назад +22

    Speaker for the Dead is incredible. I highly recommend you read one book further in the Ender series.

    • @Rumham729
      @Rumham729 10 месяцев назад +1

      agreed! thats like one of my favorite books all time. I can't believe he couldn't have read on given that he loves Ender's game so much.

    • @jamesdylandean614
      @jamesdylandean614 9 месяцев назад +3

      This is one of the mind forming books of my lifetime.

    • @mikenapier3598
      @mikenapier3598 9 месяцев назад +1

      Speaker for the dead was such an amazing, unique take on a very different alien species. One of the most alien in all of sci fi.

    • @jacobbear8841
      @jacobbear8841 8 месяцев назад +1

      Not only that, but following Beans story back to earth was amazing!! Enders shadow is basically just Enders game again from Beans perspective.. but I followed both Enders story and Beans, and loved them both!

    • @ksciaa0103
      @ksciaa0103 8 месяцев назад +2

      I will stan Speaker for the Dead until I myself am dead. Liked it more than Ender's Game, which I already loved. Damn book had me weeping in the end, it was so good.

  • @susantownsend8397
    @susantownsend8397 9 месяцев назад +4

    I was born in 1950 and discovered Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke early on. I understand why some younger readers don’t see their appeal but they were the giants of their time. Other than the ones written before 1960, I read most of the books on this list shortly after original publication and I think that explains some of my tastes.
    I discovered Burroughs and HG Wells in my later teens, enjoyed both.
    Never liked Lovecraft.
    Douglas Adams is in a class by himself.
    I’ve read all the Ender books, including the Bean spin-offs several times. Love love love it.
    Loved Dune, but rapid downhill slide in the sequels.
    Another fave: Pretty much anything by John Scalzi. It’s a guilty pleasure. I like space opera and he has a wild sense of humor.

    • @JBass33
      @JBass33 8 месяцев назад +1

      I was also born in 1950. Absolutely agree about Heinlein, Asimov, and Clark. Also, Ray Bradbury, Theodor Sturgeon, Pohl Anderson, E.E. “Doc” Smith, A.E. Van Vogt, Murray Leinster, Andre Norton, Phillip K. Dick, Lester Del Rey, etc. We truly grew up in the golden age of Science Fiction.

    • @susantownsend8397
      @susantownsend8397 8 месяцев назад

      @@JBass33 Oh my yes! All of those.

  • @megawavez
    @megawavez 9 месяцев назад +5

    Glad to see Hyperion near the top - what a great book ! The one book I would add to any top 10 list is "Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge.

  • @crossiqu
    @crossiqu 4 месяца назад

    My top 10:
    Hyperion - Simmons
    The 3 Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch - Dick
    Dune - Herbert
    Rendevous with Rama - Clarke
    Foundation (Trilogy) - Asimov
    Ender's Game (+Speaker of the Dead) - Card
    Red/Green/Blue Mars - Robinson
    The Left Hand of Darkness - Leguin
    Gateway - Pohl
    Dying of the Light - Martin

  • @indokenmore
    @indokenmore 19 дней назад

    Hey, just wanted to say thank you for this list! These are some really interesting and unique suggestions. I often find the usual suspects repeated over and over in people’s top 10, and at least most of your 10-4 ranked books gave me some great options that I havent yet read!

  • @katharynbaker5592
    @katharynbaker5592 10 месяцев назад +1

    I love hearing people talk about their favorite book, fills my bookish heart with joy. If you like a little humor with your scifi, and don't mind silliness, I recommend John Scalzi.

    • @jacobbear8841
      @jacobbear8841 8 месяцев назад

      I was literally reading all the comments and shocked no one’s mentioned Scalzi! I love old man’s war! Such a fun series.. not as serious at times as say Dune.. but he’s got hitch hikers guide on here which is totally silly!

  • @noishpa7
    @noishpa7 9 месяцев назад +3

    Great list. Have you ever read Ringworld? Rendezvous with Rama or my alll time favorite Sci Fi novel, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny?

    • @PoeLemic
      @PoeLemic Месяц назад

      Yes, Ringworld & RW ENgineers ... awesome books.

  • @olddoc4430
    @olddoc4430 6 месяцев назад

    I read Childhood’s End in 1959. It was my first science fiction book and I still regard it as life changing in that I never stopped reading science fiction after that. I am turning 78 this year. This literature has been a blessing to me. With love.

  • @dubhmoore575
    @dubhmoore575 11 месяцев назад +4

    Hay Mike, thanks so much for including John Carter of Mars, I love those books! For me they stand the test of time in that i only read them in this millennium! I also loved the movie, I laughed and laughed and enjoyed the action, romance and companion beast/dog ❤❤❤

  • @thamel863
    @thamel863 11 месяцев назад +4

    I'm reading Pandora's Star from Peter F. Hamilton and I'm sure that it would click with you Mike, it is so good!

  • @KingCrusoe
    @KingCrusoe 11 месяцев назад +13

    I'm actually a little surprised you have Frankenstein in your honorable mentions, I wasn't aware before that you had read it!
    Absolutely love that book, and I'm really glad you at least got it mentioned on here!

    • @mikesbookreviews
      @mikesbookreviews  11 месяцев назад +5

      The most important book to this genre.

    • @brianedmond7466
      @brianedmond7466 11 месяцев назад +2

      I was also surprised! Frankenstein is actually my favorite book period, so it hurt just a little bit to see it in the honorable mentions. I'm also not an avid science-fiction reader, but gothic fiction is some of my favorite writing.

    • @Rumham729
      @Rumham729 9 месяцев назад

      I feel like Frankenstein is barely scifi. Frankenstein monster could have been created with magic and the story doesn’t change

  • @Schmitty7546
    @Schmitty7546 4 месяца назад +1

    For me, top few in no particular order: Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, Dune by Frank Herbert, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, The Use of Weapons by Iain M Banks. Heck, Use of Weapons is probably the number one sci fi i've read. It always surprises me when people overlook Iain M Banks. The interwoven structure of the core narratives seem odd at first, but by the end you get one heck of a meditation on the ethics of warfare, at both macro and micro levels.

  • @mosselyn5081
    @mosselyn5081 11 месяцев назад +3

    Burroughs' Mar series was my SF gateway drug, back when I was in high school in the 1970s. SF&F wasn't as big a thing back then. I think my dad must have read the Mars books when he was young, so he bought me one. I gobbled it up in an afternoon. I didn't have money to buy my own (and they didn't have them in the library), so I had to wait for my dad to dole them out to me, one at a time, over many weeks. I remember they had "temple step bouncer" (T&A) covers that would have stopped present me from ever cracking the cover.

    • @mikesbookreviews
      @mikesbookreviews  11 месяцев назад

      I picked up the first back in high school because I saw the cover and thought it was a Conan book. Read it anyways and fell in love.

  • @eriolduterion8855
    @eriolduterion8855 8 месяцев назад +1

    Recommended Science Fiction SINGLE volume novels: Hellspark & Mirable by Janet Kagan; The Byworlder & The Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson; Jack of Eagles by James Blish; Cuckoo's Egg by C.J.Cherryh; The Whole Man & The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner; Shockwave by Walt Richmond; The Power by Frank M. Robinson; Waystation by Clifford D. Simak; The Humanoids by Jack Williamson; Lord of Light, Doorways in the Sand, Creatures of Light and Darkness, & The Dream Master by Roger Zelazny; The Loafers of Refuge by Joseph L.Green; The Galaxy Primes by Edward E. "Doc" Smith; Syzygy by Michael G. Coney; Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein; Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe by George Takai;

  • @kingzzz6509
    @kingzzz6509 5 месяцев назад +1

    Dune is one of the best books I have read as well. I think my favorites would probably be:
    1. Dune
    2. Morning Star
    3. A Princess of Mars
    4. Shadow of the Torturer
    5. The Martian
    6. The Death Cure
    7. Ender’s Game
    8. All Systems Red
    9. Foundation
    10. The Three Body Problem

  • @proto-geek248
    @proto-geek248 10 месяцев назад +1

    Here's a top 10 of my faves,
    off the top of my head,
    in no particular order.
    1 per author,
    so we're not here all night:
    War of the Worlds - Wells
    Solaris - Lem
    Foundation - Asimov
    The Martian Chronicles - Bradbury
    Rendezvous with Rama - Clarke
    Slaughterhouse Five - Vonnegut
    Recursion - Crouch
    Gateway - Pohl
    At the Mountains of Madness - Lovecraft
    The World Jones Made - Dick
    Tales of Known Space - Niven
    Future History - Heinlein
    Dune - Herbert
    The Lathe of Heaven - LeGuin
    The Dying Earth - Vance
    A Boy & His Dog - Ellison
    Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Adams
    Ender's Game - Card
    Who Goes There? - Campbell
    Icehenge - Robinson
    The Ophiuchi Hotline - Varley
    Sphere - Crichton
    🪐

    • @thomshrike
      @thomshrike 9 месяцев назад

      “Gateway” is great!

  • @ithrahmunchswallow468
    @ithrahmunchswallow468 5 месяцев назад +1

    Zahn and Thrawn ❤ My fav Star Wars is still Shadows of the Empire.

  • @jaycianfrini77
    @jaycianfrini77 11 месяцев назад +4

    Great list! I’d go with;
    Martian Chronicles
    Contact
    Nemesis Games
    Stranger In a Strange Land
    Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
    Frankenstein
    The Callahan Chronicals
    Dune
    Lord of Light

    • @7king8debs79
      @7king8debs79 10 месяцев назад +1

      Lord of Light is an incredible book. Up there with The Stars my Destination.

    • @MrVvulf
      @MrVvulf 5 месяцев назад

      @@7king8debs79 Agreed. It is one of my favorite books in SF.
      Zelazny's prose is a bit chummy sometimes, but his "big picture" and world building are second to none. A classic.

  • @redlion145
    @redlion145 8 месяцев назад +1

    Found your channel recently, I dig your content. Seems like you're heavier into fantasy than sci-fi, so I can understand some of the omissions from your list. You still managed to put together a really great list though, we've got lots of overlap.
    Mine would be:
    Dune, Herbert (ofc)
    Neuromancer, Gibson
    Hyperion, Simmons
    Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow and Speaker for the Dead, Scott Card
    Player of Games, Iain M Banks
    The Diamond Age, Stephenson (Snow Crash is great too)
    Way Station, Simak
    Lord of Light, Zelazny
    Three-Body Problem, Liu
    Starship Troopers, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, or Stranger in a Strange Land, Heinlein (hard to pick between these)
    Honorable mentions:
    Ben Bova in general, for getting me into space stories/space opera
    Rendezvous with Rama, Clarke
    Old Man's War, Scalzi
    and (since you dropped a SW novel too) Darksabre, Anderson

    • @MrVvulf
      @MrVvulf 5 месяцев назад

      I found this comment by searching Neuromancer, and was going to do a follow up search for Lord of Light.
      Two of my favorite SF novels of all time.
      I'd add the Foundation series by Asimov as candidates for any top 10 list.

  • @EstebanTrabajos
    @EstebanTrabajos 11 месяцев назад +6

    Gotta check out Book of the New Sun. I don’t exactly know how to explain it, but it feels similar to Sun Eater. Not really the same character depth from the POV or supporting cast but the themes/world kind of feel the same.

    • @mikesbookreviews
      @mikesbookreviews  11 месяцев назад +1

      Christopher (Ruocchio) has been in my ear about it for 3 years ha ha, Wolfe is a huge influence on him.

    • @thomshrike
      @thomshrike 9 месяцев назад

      “Book of the New Sun” is a must. Also Gene Wolfe’s “The fifth head of Cerberus”.

  • @helenasf1782
    @helenasf1782 11 месяцев назад +6

    Really great video Mike! Thank you! Was a great introduction to the stories without going into spoilers. Really appreciate it! Some fab new ones for my tbr!

  • @Redspeciality
    @Redspeciality 8 месяцев назад +2

    You’ve got to read “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir, author of The Martian. It’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. Movie release is 2025, and it’s going to be huge so I recommend reading it beforehand.

  • @matthewkausch8481
    @matthewkausch8481 9 месяцев назад +1

    My favorite book of all time is the Foundation trilogy. I'm amazed every time I read it. Yeah, I know it's technically 3 books, but I bought a volume of the trilogy as a teenager and always consider them in one fell swoop. Big fan of John Carter, as well as the Thrawn trilogy. I've seen a few people recommend Hyperion lately and it sounds fascinating, so that's on my to read list now. However, I'm one of those people who can't agree with you on Dune. My wife loves it, so I gave it a try last year. I found it to be incredibly tedious. I had a hard time getting through it. Good video, though. Thoughtful comments. Thanks.

  • @guitearist
    @guitearist 11 месяцев назад +6

    I started Dune recently and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The first is something special, but my personal favorite was God Emperor of Dune. Leto II's story, coupled with his journal entries, ruminating on his loss of humanity in his quest to preserve it via The Golden Path, was just incredibly compelling and thought-provoking for me. I could see why it would be divisive as it's more of a character study, but what a character indeed. I'm almost hesitant to finish the Frank Herbert original six because of how GEoD left me.
    That said, great list!

  • @darknewt9959
    @darknewt9959 6 месяцев назад

    So glad you're a fellow Pierce Brown fan.
    Good list. Here are some others:
    Bobiverse Series by Dennis E Taylor - laugh out loud funny if you like nerd humour
    Extracted Series by R R Hayward (also DELIO) - very funny characters and dialogue
    The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein - a completely different style from Starship Troopers

  • @AlbertGauche
    @AlbertGauche 11 месяцев назад +2

    My top ten Science Fiction books are:
    10: Slaughter-House Five
    9. Princess of Mars
    8. iRobot
    7. Fahrenheit 451
    6.1984
    5. Heir to the Empire (trilogy)
    4. Ringwolrd
    3. Ender’s Game
    2. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
    1. Dune

  • @guerin1701
    @guerin1701 9 месяцев назад

    red rising was the first sci fi series i ever read and they’re really the books that got me to start reading again when i was younger, golden son absolutely blew me away i was floored for the entire book. Great to see it included herez

  • @michaelvcelentano
    @michaelvcelentano 11 месяцев назад +3

    Have you read any Asimov? It’s not all great, but Foundation is definitely worth a read. I just finished the three Empire books and I feel like the best was The Stars like Dust, which explains some things that happen later in the Foundation series

    • @JayWye52
      @JayWye52 Месяц назад

      IMO,Asimov's Foundation and supporting novels is the top of sci-fi. Heinlein is next,The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is tops.

  • @DavidJohnson-of3vh
    @DavidJohnson-of3vh 6 месяцев назад

    Nice list! I read Ender's Game, the short story and the novel. For some reason, I enjoyed the short story more.

  • @aaron-price
    @aaron-price 10 месяцев назад +1

    Similarly, I also started Dune at 15. Blew me away. Unlike many, my favorites in the series were 4, 5, and 6. My school librarian (that's where I borrowed the books from), said, "what's next, Lorna Doone?" Flew right over my head at the time.
    I tried rereading it at around age 40, and just couldn't get into it, so yeah, I agree it has to hit you at the right time.

  • @saldanamoreno
    @saldanamoreno 11 месяцев назад +4

    I recently read Red Dwarf : Infinity Welcomes careful drivers/ Better Than Life, and I thought it was so funny, up there with Hitchiker's Guide. It was an old show on the BBC.

  • @richosburn
    @richosburn 11 месяцев назад +5

    I know this series isn’t for everyone, but the first 4 books in the Horus Heresy series are top notch! Galaxy in Flames (3) and Flight of the Eisenstein (4) were tied as my favorites. Give them a try

    • @richosburn
      @richosburn 11 месяцев назад

      If you want to try them I can loan you the ebooks. This series is out of print at the moment…

    • @vicdelta31415
      @vicdelta31415 11 месяцев назад

      I collected at least 58 ebooks in the series, but haven't started reading it yet though.

    • @richosburn
      @richosburn 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@vicdelta31415, start with the first 4 when you’re ready. I know that’s not a small commitment, but those 4 books are the full road map of what the series is about, and a complete introduction to the world of the series as a whole.

    • @Coolto22
      @Coolto22 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@richosburn I’ve been wanting to get into the 40k universe and got the first few Horus Heresy books. Definitely excited to start hopefully this year!

    • @mikesbookreviews
      @mikesbookreviews  11 месяцев назад

      I've heard great things!

  • @ephraimthemugwump
    @ephraimthemugwump 10 месяцев назад +1

    I agree that beyond the Ender quadrilogy there isn’t much that compares to Enders Game, BUT please give Speaker for the Dead a try. It was so different that at first I didn’t know how I felt about it. But now , after a re-read, Speaker surpasses Enders Game for me, and like you, it’s one of my all-time favorites.

  • @dennislarsen6052
    @dennislarsen6052 4 месяца назад

    A shout-out for the rest of Douglas Adams bibliography! Dirk Gently and Last chance to see are both absolutely phenomenal!

  • @RealHumanBean4U
    @RealHumanBean4U 11 месяцев назад +2

    Mike I think you should check out the novel series Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It's a legendary novel series from Japan that is completely ignored by the USA. It's one of the greatest stories you'll ever experience. So much political intrigue and bromance inspired by the European wars of the 19th century. One of the most fair and unbiased depictions of a Civil War on both sides I've ever experienced.

  • @alanforrester
    @alanforrester 9 месяцев назад

    "Earth Abides" by George R. Stewart
    "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson
    "The Xeelee Sequence" and "The Time Ships" by Stephen Baxter
    "Quarantine", "Diaspora", "Permutation City" and "Schild's Ladder" by Greg Egan
    "The Prestige" by Christopher Priest
    "Tower of Glass" by Robert Silverberg
    "Only Forward" by Michael Marshall Smith
    "Emphyrio" by Jack Vance

    • @jacobbear8841
      @jacobbear8841 8 месяцев назад

      I keep thinking about my list and I love I am Legend.. but then I keep reminding myself he’s talking space ships and lasers. I was also wondering why John Varleys not on the list.. but that’s more fantasy than sci-fi lasers. Same with ready player one.. etc..

  • @mariamason1919
    @mariamason1919 4 месяца назад

    The Dog Stars by Peter Heller / Cold Storage by David Koepp/How High We Go In the Dark by
    Sequoia Nagamatsu /Cixin Liu: The Three Body Problem and EVERYTHING by Emily St John Mandel.

  • @bretts8070
    @bretts8070 11 месяцев назад +4

    I loved Speaker For the Dead. It hit hard in a way that still sticks with me. The two Orson Scott Card books after that? Not so much. At some point I do plan to read the books he put out after that, though (Ender's Shadow, following Bean's POV).

    • @splashpit
      @splashpit 10 месяцев назад

      Don’t waste any time on the others it’s dribble spend the time on other books

    • @jacobbear8841
      @jacobbear8841 8 месяцев назад +1

      I loved Enders shadow and Beans story!

  • @RichardBarclay
    @RichardBarclay 7 месяцев назад

    How did you get hold of a UK copy of Hyperion?

  • @jonnyb6700
    @jonnyb6700 10 месяцев назад

    Former avid reader that just stopped a year or so ago and have made many attempts to get the ball rolling again, and thought I'd check out some sci fi book reviews to get inspired and hope something might stick. Had never heard of Ruocchio before and just started Empire of Silence because of this video and at 42 have the same excitement going into a series as I did at 15 with Lotr. Seriously, it's so good. And looking at Goodreads and just seeing the review rating going up and up and up as the series progresses has added a delightful sense of wonder to an otherwise wonder-less life.

  • @anthonnygeoffrey7071
    @anthonnygeoffrey7071 10 месяцев назад +2

    several of these i hadn't heard of but seem like i would like to read, thanks !
    I'm suprissed you didn't mention anything by Isaak asimov. I've read the Robots trilogy recentrly and i loved it, especially The caves of steel.

  • @misomiso8228
    @misomiso8228 4 месяца назад

    Great list, but very sad to not see...
    1. A Fire Upon the Deep, by Vernor Vinge
    2. The Stars my Destination, by Alfred Bester
    3. Any Philip K. Dick book! (Ubik...?)
    Have you read any of these...?

  • @isaacpunch9295
    @isaacpunch9295 11 месяцев назад

    Great video :) always love the positive vibes on this channel.

  • @jfomega
    @jfomega 4 месяца назад +3

    I have to agree regarding "Princess of Mars" still one of my favourite books. Where are The Moon is a harsh Mistress, The Foundation Trilogy, Stranger in a Strange Land, Ring World, Nine Princes in Amber etc. Your list is a little modern heavy for an all time list, just saying.

    • @PoeLemic
      @PoeLemic Месяц назад

      Yes, Ringworld, I do agree.

  • @Coolto22
    @Coolto22 11 месяцев назад

    You’re the reason I picked up Heir to the Empire because I always thought the Star Wars EU was “less than” to the movies, but boy was I wrong! Can’t wait to continue the series

  • @RonSM2112
    @RonSM2112 11 месяцев назад +1

    This list is going to change a LOT when you get to some of those books on your Sci-Fi TBR list. I envy you that experience.

  • @deniseb292
    @deniseb292 11 месяцев назад +1

    good choices, love the stargate tee too 😄

  • @neonWHALE002
    @neonWHALE002 11 месяцев назад +6

    Man, I tried reading Dune twice before I was ready. That third time...blew me away! Have since then read Messiah with ease and looking forward to Children when I get round to it. It was so immersive I could almost taste the spice.

  • @dustinzieg1950
    @dustinzieg1950 9 месяцев назад +6

    Just finished Ender’s Game and it’s pretty much the best book I’ve ever read

  • @Spencer_Beard
    @Spencer_Beard 9 месяцев назад +1

    In no particular order:
    Dune
    Neuromancer
    Hyperion
    Ubik
    A Hymn Before Battle
    1984
    Rendezvous with Rama
    Logan's Run
    Ender's Game
    Starship Troopers

  • @jellevanbreugel325
    @jellevanbreugel325 11 месяцев назад +1

    Good list.
    Really liked the Ender's Shadow series.....

  • @akiyrjana6558
    @akiyrjana6558 3 месяца назад

    Good content. Familiar with all the books you brought along. As a long, long time scifi fan I am just reading Empire of Silence. It is a good, but disturbing mix of Dune and Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. Not bad, at times great, but standing on the shoulder of Farseers or yore. All puns intended. ( I started my scifi journey in the seventies with Bradbury and Clarke as translations to my native Finnish, but my ultimate fave in the genre are Le Guin's The left Hand of Darkness and Wolfe's Sun Cycle.)

  • @LegionOfNeil
    @LegionOfNeil 11 месяцев назад +15

    Ender's Game is #2 for me too. Instead of continuing the series, just read Ender's Shadow. It's Ender's Game timeline from a different view. I was blown away that something like that could be done and live up to the original. Ender's Shadow, just read it :)

    • @kevindeedavis
      @kevindeedavis 11 месяцев назад +2

      I loved the Ender’s Shadow series.

    • @pimaggot
      @pimaggot 10 месяцев назад

      For me speaker for the dead was soooo good.

    • @jacobbear8841
      @jacobbear8841 8 месяцев назад +1

      I think following Beans story is the best part of the series! I read like 3 in total (I think) it’s been a while.

    • @hump1201
      @hump1201 4 месяца назад

      ​@@jacobbear8841definitely agree with you. The Bean books are a lot better than the Ender books I thought. That's not to say the Ender books are bad; it's saying the Bean books are just that good.

  • @frankjones1830
    @frankjones1830 11 месяцев назад

    Hyperion changed everything for me in so many ways. It hadn’t touched Sci Fi until then and I was mesmerized from the get-go. It also led to reading Enders Game and I was off from there. BDalton books used to have these cards, If you like Dan Simmons try these authors and they were so spot on. I kind of miss those days of so much discovery.

  • @lleutenantdan
    @lleutenantdan 8 месяцев назад +3

    I just started Dune a week ago, and I have trouble putting it down to do basic things like eat a meal, lol. I'm loving it so far!
    I'm with you on Jurassic Park though. That was my first "adult" book that I read, when I was about 11. And I loved it. I particularly like how the creative choices in the book vary so wildly from the movie, in terms of characters, their deaths and which ones make it to the final pages. Really good stuff.
    And I am certainly adding a lot of yours to my reading list. Great suggestions, thank you!!
    But I have a question for you, and possibly an idea for another video: What is your top 5 (or 10) books that were spinoffs of an existing tv, movie or book franchise? I've been meaning to sink my teeth into something to start the gears turning for Battlestar, Babylon V or Stargate ... But I wouldn't even know where to start.

  • @MichaelBirdy
    @MichaelBirdy 3 месяца назад

    Great picks!! You had me at Jurassic Park. I will be checking out what I haven't already read here. Thanks, and great video!

  • @jenm8357
    @jenm8357 11 месяцев назад +1

    Interesting list. I haven't read any of the Red Rising, John Carter, or Hadrian Marlowe books yet and now I want to try them. My top ten would also include Hyperion, Ender's Game, and Childhood's End. I'm not sure about the rest of my list. The Road, The Handmaid's Tale, 1984, Brave New World, and Kindred made a big impact on me, but I don't want to reread them any time soon.

  • @focusrelax8838
    @focusrelax8838 11 месяцев назад

    Hi! 3 questions - Trying till find your other videos about 1) Hyperion - worth reading book 2-4?
    2) And about Enders game did you read all of them? I’m trying to get into it aswell not sure just to read the first or all of them?
    3) did you read Asimov foundation 1-7? Your thoughts?

    • @mikesbookreviews
      @mikesbookreviews  11 месяцев назад +2

      1) only read the first 2. I was mixed on the 2nd one.
      2) I say in this video I never read the sequels
      3) I have not read any Asimov yet.

    • @jacobbear8841
      @jacobbear8841 8 месяцев назад +1

      I’ve read all of Enders game.. there’s also the story of Enders shadow, following the character Bean, and all the kids who go back to Earth after Enders Game.. or you can follow ender and stick with him. I’ve read and loved them all! Def recommend!!

  • @yotsman42
    @yotsman42 6 месяцев назад

    As a teen in the 50s some of my favourite early scifi books include SLAN by A.E VanVogt, The Wailing Asrteroid by Murray Leinster and The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. Ty for your lists.

  • @ithrahmunchswallow468
    @ithrahmunchswallow468 5 месяцев назад

    Princess of Mars!!! So far ahead of everything. I reread it recently and noticed the Total Recall nod.

  • @ButOneThingIsNeedful
    @ButOneThingIsNeedful 3 месяца назад

    22:42 -- Blue-tipped pages? No way! How utterly cool!

  • @bobfitzpatrick8952
    @bobfitzpatrick8952 9 месяцев назад

    Had to smile...Tim Zahn used to go to our SF meetings years ago. Nice man. And yes, those Star Wars books were really good. I made my own list - I really love Larry Niven's "World of Ptavvs."

  • @dracul74
    @dracul74 11 месяцев назад +2

    Love most of these books. Not sure why, but Hyperion didn’t click with me. Might try it again. Currently loving the Murderbot books…. Also read Old Man’s War last year and loved it. Funny my bookstore had Skyward in the adult sci-fi section and so I bought it (it’s YA)… liked it a lot. Will read at least the next book in the series.

  • @fduniho
    @fduniho 8 месяцев назад

    Going over my read science fiction books, I compiled this list in no particular order. I initially got ten in one pass, but I made some substitutions for a couple books whose titles were hard to read in the thumbnail images of the book covers I was looking at. Where applicable, I included only one per series,. Also, I stuck to more standard science fiction instead of including the superhero genre, and I limited myself to novels.
    The Positronic Man by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg
    Celestial Mechanics by Richard Garfinkel
    A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
    Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
    Unwind by Neal Shusterman
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
    The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells
    Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
    We are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
    Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
    Here are some honorable mentions:
    1984 by George Orwell
    The Humans by Matt Haig
    Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
    Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
    The Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
    Tik-Tok by John Sladek
    Crazy Foolish Robots by Adeena Mignogna

  • @Chels101
    @Chels101 11 месяцев назад

    Where did you get your mug??!!? I wanna look but I’m not finished with the series yet and am afraid of spoilers lol

    • @mikesbookreviews
      @mikesbookreviews  11 месяцев назад +1

      Creative Leigh Crafts on Etsy. She does amazing work.

    • @Chels101
      @Chels101 11 месяцев назад

      @@mikesbookreviews thank you! Love your videos and loving Red Rising trilogy

  • @GenuinelyCurious120
    @GenuinelyCurious120 4 месяца назад

    Dammit Mike! My TBR list is getting longer and longer and longer and longer... You really knocked it out of the park with your Bound and Broken recommendation.

  • @jeffsanders7691
    @jeffsanders7691 10 месяцев назад +2

    I’ve yet to read dune so my opinion my change but the “Children of time” series is my current favorite Sifi

  • @mattv2099
    @mattv2099 7 месяцев назад

    I got nothing from childhoods end. The ending made zero sense to me. It was an easy read but whatever point it was making was lost on me. I even read reviews after I read it trying to figure out why people thought it was such a great book. Still didn't get it. Guess I need a full spoiler review and breakdown to have any chance of understanding why people thought it was amazing. I enjoyed it and it was a page turner. Just didn't understand what or grasp whatever theme was so good about it.

  • @bruhder5854
    @bruhder5854 4 месяца назад

    I'm not much of a reader. What would you recommend to me?

  • @gregray4011
    @gregray4011 8 месяцев назад +5

    Favorite Star Wars books, just edging out Heir of the Empire for me, is the Darth Bane trilogy. Read several times...will read again. Thanks for all your Booktubing work Mike!

    • @JazzAK6969
      @JazzAK6969 Месяц назад

      Couldn't agree more! Those books are awesome. I've read several times as well and I can't put them down when I start. I honestly didn't enjoy Heir and abandoned the Thrawn trilogy because of it.

  • @nimthiriel9
    @nimthiriel9 11 месяцев назад

    Great shirt Mike!!! Thanks for sharing your top 10 Sci Fi books.

  • @fangs1972
    @fangs1972 11 месяцев назад

    Favourites: "The Han Solo Adventures" by Brian Daley, "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" by Alan Dean Foster, "Lasher" and "Taltos" by Anne Rice, "X-Files: Fight the Future" and "X-Files: I Want to Believe" novelizations.

  • @jaecubed592
    @jaecubed592 11 месяцев назад

    Oh.... You did it... Save this for my walk later today. Can't wait. TY sir!

  • @j1gsaw
    @j1gsaw 11 месяцев назад +1

    Have you read any of the culture novels by Ian m banks? Stand alone books in a common universe. I recommend player of games