You had me at the first line "number 10 is..." No filler preamble just get to it! Top ten list starts with number 10! What a concept. Now to listen to the rest of your video.
I do ramble on a bit which is why the video is nearly 40 minutes long, no time to waste! Thanks for the feedback and let me know what you think - good or bad.
Awesome list! Your top 3 choices fit very nicely with my taste in SF. Hyperion and Fire are spectacular, and Childhood's End blew my mind and is Clark at his best. I read Rendezvous with Rama a long time ago. I loved it (wonder if I still would), but I remember being disappointed in the follow-ups. Great video. 👍
@@bartsbookspace thank you so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment. Let's see how this list holds up after another hundred books!
This is a wonderful list! A number of your selections are in my top 20, and I've been reading science fiction since the 1950's. Our lists would be even closer if you ever decide to include dystopian literature in your science fiction list. If so, you'd probably end up putting Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, A Canticle for Leibowitz, and The Handmaid's Tale somewhere in the top 20-30. Others I highly recommend are The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed (Ursula Le Guin may just be the greatest science fiction author of all time), Ender's Game, More Than Human, The Stars My Destination, and (more recently) House of Suns, Pushing Ice, The Fifth Season, Wool, Red Rising, Ancillary Justice, and The Road.
I really appreciate you saying that. I am a little uncertain about where I will personally draw the line when it comes to the definition of science fiction. I've read a couple of Le Guin's books but not the heavy hitters you mentioned. The Stars My Destination is fantastic and could definitely creep into the top 10. Thanks for watching and hopefully you come back when I get to more of your recommendations.
@SciFiFinds there are thousands of books out there and only so many hours in the day to read. Personally, I would love to see lists of more obscure but worthwhile reads to broaden my horizons.
I'll be reading a mixed bag of popular works and obscurities so it sounds like I've got you covered. Filming a book haul today and then a review of three recent reads later this week. Thanks again for the feedback
"Ordinary people" she said, "can see only a little bit. They can't change much or go any higher than they are, but you're a genius. You’ll keep going up and up, and see more and more. And each step will reveal worlds you never knew existed". I really liked Flowers for Algernon too. So many themes explored in a relatively short book. I've listened to Downward to the Earth on audiobook but need to actually read it to do it justice. I've read The Man in the Maze which I really enjoyed and would recommend it if you haven’t read it already. As for Neuromancer, I think I got used to the style by the 2/3 mark but loved the language he used. I've enjoyed Gibson's prose in other works and really should re-read Neuromancer. It's stuck with me ever since because of it's sheer inventiveness. Solid ranking, well presented 👍
Great comment, thank you! I read The Man in the Maze in the last couple of months and really enjoyed that too, so much so that I've been on a bit of a Silverberg binge this year. P.S. I used to love Bionicles, I'm sure I still have them packed away somewhere.
I commented on another youtuber's top 10 sci-fi list asking their thoughts about Gateway, seeing as I never really see it in any of these top 10s. I really loved the premise and the mystery of the Heechee, along with how the book explores a rather unlikeable main character (although that is a point I have seen people list as a negative). Glad to see it on a top 10! :)
Thank you so much for commenting and subscribing. I've been a big fan of yours for some time. No idea what I am doing at the moment so hopefully I figure it out!
Hyperion is also one of my absolute favorites as well. Based on the qualities you cited for your enjoyment of the work, I think you will really enjoy the sequel. While the entire Cantos is four books, it is really two duologies (or maybe two large volumes: Hyperion+Fall and Endymion+Rise) with fairly concrete demarcations between the first and last two books. Fall of Hyperion is absolutely necessary to round out the overarching story, the arcs of all the characters, the masterfully imaginative science fiction elements, and the greater world building.
Seems this is just your third video - if so well done. I was trying to checkout the books on your shelves whilst listening (great selection by the way) nice to see lots of early SF there :-)
It is indeed and there is plenty more to come hopefully. I have read lots of books on that shelf but definitely not all of them! Any recommendations you'd have for me?
@@SciFiFinds Many - Certainly - far too many classic SF books to cover but here's a few (in no particular order) : 'Web of Everywhere' by John Brunner - 'Cosm' by Gregory Benford - 'The Ship who Sang' by Anne McCaffrey - 'The Caves of Steel' by Isaac Asimov - 'Eon' by Greg Bear - 'Way Station' by Clifford D. Simak - 'The Forever War' by Joe Haldeman - 'Ringworld' by Larry Niven - 'Orbitsville' by Bob Shaw - 'The Demolished Man' by Alfred Bester - 'Dawn' by Octavia Butler - 'Hot Sleep' by Orson Scott Card - Brightness Reef' by David Brin - 'Permutation City' by Greg Egan - - Also final (but with parental warning as it includes a very graphic depiction of evil) 'Mirrorman' by Trevor Hoyle
I really appreciate that while you have some well-known novels, there's also some lesser-appreciated stuff on here. You seem much more interested in ideas than character, which is in contrast to myself... but then I saw "Childhood's End", which is a masterpiece. Might be time to finally read "Rendezvous with Rama".
I think there's a bit of a balance to be struck somewhere. I see a lot of the same books on RUclips top 10 lists and lots of them are more recent books which I don't think are as good as some of the classics. Thanks for watching and commenting
great job and classic choices. gateway, childhood and hyperion are on my tbr, in fact gateway is next after the king in yellow which is short. the rest i’ve read and enjoyed. definitely read more dune thru chapterhouse, the last entry, which has a hell of a funny twist ending imo, some find it puzzling or aggravating. to add i would highly recommend blindsight by peter watts.
Thanks! I haven't but I definitely will. Hyperion was actually the first book I read this year and I might close out the year with The Fall of Hyperion. Are they as good as Hyperion?
@SciFiFinds The Fall of Hyperion has a different narrative structure, but it does provide some closure to the pilgrims' story. I enjoyed it but not quite as much as Hyperion. I've not read the Endymion duology that follows, but I believe that deals with a separate story arc within the same universe.
Hey, thanks so much! I have a couple of other videos up on the channel with plenty more to come. The next one will be about military science fiction books so look out for that in the coming week
One of the best First Sentences in history of RUclips! ;-) This set aside: having read and enjoyed #10, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, i.e.all but #8, I do agree with you with Hyperion as #1. When I was in Rome with my now late wife, about 25 years ago, we spent a whole day to take a long walk from the Spanish Stairs to the most beautiful Protestant Cemetery only to see, touch and photograph the tombstone of John Keith. Because of #1! "Here lies one, whose name was writ in water". B.T.W., in my opinion, Hyperion has one of the most intriguing First Sentences of all times in a novel.
I notice a beautiful edition of the Book of the New Sun on your shelf. If you've not gotten around to reading it yet, I highly recommend it and think it might place rather highly for you. Also, based on what you already like, I would recommend Ursula LeGuin's "The Dispossessed" and maybe "The Word for World is Forest", as well as Alastair Reynolds' "Revelation Space" and Anne Leckie's "Ancillary Justice".
You've inspired me to finally get around to Fire Upon the Deep, by the way. It's been on my TBR for a while, since another RUclipsr mentioned it, but your description really makes me more interested in reading it.
@@HainishMentat good eye! I bought the Folio edition and have only read Shadow of the Torturer so far. Definitely an intriguing read that I'm going to continue. Thanks for those suggestions, I'll add the ones I haven't read to my TBR 🤝
Jack I just downloaded Gateway with my audible credit! I have a few audiobooks ahead of it, Glorious Exploits, Blood Dimmed Tide & the Silmarillion but I should get to it by October! You sold me on it!
Hey Heidi, nice one! Feel free to come back and let me know what you thought, even if you don't end up enjoying it. I've not heard of the other two before the Silmarillion so I'll look them up.
@@SciFiFinds Hyperion, Dune, Childhood’s End and Rendezvous with Rama are all classics! I haven’t read a Fire upon the Deep but I see it in many lists! Definitely one I’ll eventually get into!
I was recently recommended 'The Machine Stops' by EM Forster (1909); it is quite a short text but hugely impressive for being 115 years old. I'd also highly recommend Roadside Picnic by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (and his short story, 'The Veldt'), and The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney (pacey SF that mixes paranoia with horror/body horror).
Once you finish Hyperion Cantos, I highly recommend "Sun eater" series - thats one of my favourites of all time. It is somewhat inspired by Dune and Hyperion, but unique in its own way.
There is a Folio Society edition of Neuromancer released today, Aug 14th, to celebrate its 40-year anniversary. It's pricey at GBP400, but limited to 500 copies and signed by Gibson and the artist. The artwork and the book overall is quite beautiful.
Great list but definitely needs some Iain M Banks, Larry Niven ("A Mote in God's Eye" is on your shelf but is probably the least inventive and most, uh, "dated" of his books), CJ Cherryh, Ursula K LeGuin, Charles Stross, Stanislaw Lem, and Neal Asher on there; for a random grab-bag of authors who have all written books at least as good as some of the ones on your list. That's the thing though, sci-fi as a genre is as broad as the human imagination... it's like trying to come up with the "ten greatest ideas humans have ever had", how do you even compare some of them to each other when they're trying to be completely different things? Thank for the chapters, came in useful to skip books I haven't read yet to avoid spoilers. Hope to see more videos from you in the future!
I've read A Mote in God's Eye and definitely enjoyed it but not quite enough to make this list for me. I agree that trying to rank these books against each other is a flawed premise but it's fun to try. Thanks for watching and for the suggestions. Lots of reading to do!
29:10 just reading that. Its funny how many exceptional ideas he had for humanity as a society but said with complete concern and utter disdain that people are spending 3 hours a day watching the tv - which is for most far more if we include the handheld ones :)
I also liked it a lot. Very nice idea. I started Rama II and in his introduction clarke said: there are no new ideas in sf, and if it really was brillant i would have thought of it already :)
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Best sci-fi book I and many others I know have read. Amazing. Everyone should read it. Flowers by Algenon is really good too.
I've seen a lot of love for this one. I read The Martian when it came out and thought it was really overrated. Do you think Project Hail Mary is better?
I took your advice and read Flowers for Algernon; well, audiobooked it. I was enjoying it - the protagonist was very sympathetic and the mistreatment was emotional as you say. The intellectual vs emotional development was very interesting and I hadn't seen that done being. I got to the conference with the presentation of his study and where he was having feelings of being a lab rat; which was fine and Algernon's journey nicely matched his. And then the book said that a room full of scientists laughed at the video of him failing to achieve the maze and this completely and utterly jumped the shark for me. So much so I hit stop in disgust. The idea that the eminent scientists in the field would laugh at a person with learning difficulties struggling with a test he would be expected to struggle with was so abjectly absurd it tore me away from the suspension of disbelief. If there had been one instance where the video was genuinely funny, maybe a magnanimous laugh but only really if the comedy wasn't the subject. But a room full of researchers on the presentation of one of the greatest discoveries of all time repeatedly laughing and so all of them totally lacking professionalism and medical ethics? Then carrying on like that was fine? Absurd. I suspect this one will be a DNF, really just because of one line. I'm a tough customer I know but it absolutely ruined it for me and I've never had that happen before.
Interesting criticism, something I never considered at that moment. I suppose on thing the book is trying to establish is how oblivious Charlie is to the treatment he receives from others. Would the scientists laugh at a lab rat doing something funny? I'm sure they would. If Charlie had a more typical level of intelligence, they probably wouldn't have expressed their amusement so plainly. Thanks for watching and sorry to hear you didn't get on with the recommendation!
@@carlosbranca8080 Thanks so much! Dune definitely could creep higher depending on my mood, although recency bias could be a factor. What else do you have in your top 10?
I think you have a great delivery, you do not need to change a thing. You just popped up on my home page. You should contact Jonathan@ Words In Time to discuss some books together so more people will find out about your channel. He is in Australia.
Thank you so much Heidi, I really appreciate that. I do subscribe to him and reached out but he said that he tends to collaborate with people he knows more on a personal level. Maybe one day!
I have slightly mixed feelings about Blindsight. I like elements of it and appreciate it for what it is but not sure it's top 10 for me. Thanks for watching :)
If you like Hyperion, you need to read the Endymion series, it closes the circle in a way that makes it hard to believe it wasn't conceived from the start, despite decades between these books. I know Bradley Cooper really wants to make Hyperion, but I think it would be better to make Endymion and Rise of Endymion as a start, then make Hyperion. It worked for Mad Max and Star Wars, and they are much more filmic books. Hyperion is Chaucer's' Canterbury Tales set in an electric universe of pain, very hard to film.
I am definitely going to continue with the Cantos. I did read about Bradley Cooper's interest in developing it for the screen but I agree that it would be extremely difficult. Thanks for watching.
Quite a nice list. Read both Clark books - loved the ideas, but I found the writing to be pretty wooden. Dune is Dune. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. Haven't read a couple of the other ones, but Fire Upon The Deep, Hyperion, and Neuromancer are incredible books - definitely in my top 10 as well. I also loved that, outside of Dune, this list is made up of real sci-fi. Not fantasy parading around with a sci-fi dust jacket.
I can definitely see where you're coming from but the sense of wonder that Clarke instilled in my younger mind is difficult to shake. What are your favourites? I appreciate the comment
In rough order - my top ten. 1. Neuromancer - William Gibson 2. Hyperion - Dan Simmons 3. Dawn - Octavia E. Butler 4. The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradberry 5. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley 6. The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham 7. A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge 8. Solaris - Stanislaw Lem 9. Roadside Picnic - Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky 10. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
Absolutely, it's just an added layer. What I would say though is that Dan Simmons throws a lot of terminology, characters and locations at you very early on. Stick with it and you'll get a good grasp of everything by the end.
Yes, yes, yes. You learn the necessary stuff by reading the novel. I'm German, and I never did hear before of John Keats. My late wife and I did fall in love with him because of the Hyperion novels, and even did visit his tomb when we were in Rome in 1998.
@@tfmajka13 thanks for that. As I mentioned, I quite like reveling in the mystery and I'm assuming that the sequels strip that away. What are some of your other favourites?
@SciFiFinds I agree with most of your list. Childhood's End is my all-time favorite. I first read it in high school and it was a real mind blower. I reread it every few years and it's always good. I read Solaris recently and that is a good one for reveling in mystery. I just started The Three Body Problem.
@@tfmajka13 I was enjoying Solaris until it turned into a an overly descriptive textbook haha. Three Body Problem seems to be a divisive one so be sure to let me know what you think
@@SciFiFinds the first 3 are top notch.. although I liked remaining two as well, but many people do not like the last one. The concepts that Douglas presents in a humorous tone... makes it worthy!
The only one I disagree with on this list is Children of Time; for me, it was the worst sci-fi I've read in a long time. The further I went, the worse it got, and the ending was horrible. It's not the worst thing I've read in 2024, but it's the most disappointing. I first read Neuromancer during the 2000s, and I didn't like the book as much at the time for various reasons. However, I re-read it this year, and it was a smoother and much better experience. For me, it went from a 5/10 to an 8/10. You don't like Philip K Dick, Samuel R. Delany and the Strugatsky brothers?
It's worth reiterating that I'm relatively early in my science fiction reading journey. That being said, I do still love Children of Time. I have only read one PKD (A Maze of Death for some reason) and didn't really like it. Haven't got to Delany yet but I do have Babel-17 sitting on my shelf. Hopefully you can follow along and see how this list evolves. Any you'd recommend specifically?
@@SciFiFinds the best and most frightening depiction of “alien” is made in that book. Chapter 18 (I believe) to be exact. I’ll be honest.. the second book is not as good which is a serious letdown. But that first book, that chapter.. 🤌🏻
@@Hortonfantastic4 It's a great description of an alien mindset and frightening too, but definitely not best. CJ Cherryh is easily the best at portraying "alien" IMO, with multiple of her novels being entirely from the alien viewpoint as they interact with humanity. (Also a great example of using "the foreign/alien" as a mirror to analyse our own society's blindspots.) "Voyager in Night" is a particular mindf*** in this aspect although probably not the best book of hers to start with for accessibility!
Hey there, I did my best to avoid spoilers entirely or warn you wherever I was going to do mild ones. Anything I talk about in terms of the plot is laid out in these books within the opening sections. Which ones did you feel I went too far with out of interest? Appreciate your feedback
The following books are just as good. They just don’t go in the direction or style that some fans wanted. They’re still brilliantly written thoufh and conclude the story satisfactorily
@@SciFiFindsbook 1 is kinda sorta paralleled after Canterbury tales (structure) with the usual inventiveness he’s known for. Book 2 finishes the story complete with the usual Simmons literary allusions. Books 3&4 are sorta a different story with a portion of it being a sorta love story which is why many SF fans hate it. All 4 really are great and worth reading.
Glad to have found your channel (Thank you 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒀𝑻 𝑨𝒍𝒈𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒎. 👾Maybe the Shrike is the algorithm?) Great list of great finds. Your comments are well spoken, thoughtful, interesting and helpful. Makes me want to reread a few things, and jump into some new ones. I defintely need to read "A Fire Upon the Deep". Keep up the great work, looking forward to more. Thanks! 👽
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You had me at the first line "number 10 is..." No filler preamble just get to it! Top ten list starts with number 10! What a concept. Now to listen to the rest of your video.
I do ramble on a bit which is why the video is nearly 40 minutes long, no time to waste! Thanks for the feedback and let me know what you think - good or bad.
I appreciate getting straight to the point. No preamble.
Thanks for watching and for the feedback
Eloquent, informative, engaging reviews 👍👍👍
Awesome list! Your top 3 choices fit very nicely with my taste in SF. Hyperion and Fire are spectacular, and Childhood's End blew my mind and is Clark at his best. I read Rendezvous with Rama a long time ago. I loved it (wonder if I still would), but I remember being disappointed in the follow-ups. Great video. 👍
@@bartsbookspace thank you so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment. Let's see how this list holds up after another hundred books!
This is a wonderful list! A number of your selections are in my top 20, and I've been reading science fiction since the 1950's. Our lists would be even closer if you ever decide to include dystopian literature in your science fiction list. If so, you'd probably end up putting Brave New World, 1984, Fahrenheit 451, A Canticle for Leibowitz, and The Handmaid's Tale somewhere in the top 20-30. Others I highly recommend are The Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed (Ursula Le Guin may just be the greatest science fiction author of all time), Ender's Game, More Than Human, The Stars My Destination, and (more recently) House of Suns, Pushing Ice, The Fifth Season, Wool, Red Rising, Ancillary Justice, and The Road.
I really appreciate you saying that. I am a little uncertain about where I will personally draw the line when it comes to the definition of science fiction. I've read a couple of Le Guin's books but not the heavy hitters you mentioned. The Stars My Destination is fantastic and could definitely creep into the top 10. Thanks for watching and hopefully you come back when I get to more of your recommendations.
@@SciFiFinds I'll be sure to do that.
Some great recommendations here. I could listen to you recommending books all day. I hope you've made more videos like this.
Thanks for saying that, especially since I'm so new to this. I have more videos on way very soon. Anything you'd like to see me do?
@SciFiFinds there are thousands of books out there and only so many hours in the day to read. Personally, I would love to see lists of more obscure but worthwhile reads to broaden my horizons.
I'll be reading a mixed bag of popular works and obscurities so it sounds like I've got you covered. Filming a book haul today and then a review of three recent reads later this week. Thanks again for the feedback
Subbed because I like how you introduce each book synopsis and explain each plot.
@@kokorospirit5006 thanks so much! I only just started this channel really so hopefully I can refine my approach for future videos.
"Ordinary people" she said, "can see only a little bit. They can't change much or go any higher than they are, but you're a genius. You’ll keep going up and up, and see more and more. And each step will reveal worlds you never knew existed".
I really liked Flowers for Algernon too. So many themes explored in a relatively short book.
I've listened to Downward to the Earth on audiobook but need to actually read it to do it justice. I've read The Man in the Maze which I really enjoyed and would recommend it if you haven’t read it already.
As for Neuromancer, I think I got used to the style by the 2/3 mark but loved the language he used. I've enjoyed Gibson's prose in other works and really should re-read Neuromancer. It's stuck with me ever since because of it's sheer inventiveness.
Solid ranking, well presented 👍
Great comment, thank you! I read The Man in the Maze in the last couple of months and really enjoyed that too, so much so that I've been on a bit of a Silverberg binge this year.
P.S. I used to love Bionicles, I'm sure I still have them packed away somewhere.
Great video. Nine of the books on your list I know, but behind your back in the bookshelf in the Book of the New Sun. Watch out!
Thank you sir! Haha, good eye. I've only read Shadow of the Torturer so far. You're a fan of that series?
I commented on another youtuber's top 10 sci-fi list asking their thoughts about Gateway, seeing as I never really see it in any of these top 10s. I really loved the premise and the mystery of the Heechee, along with how the book explores a rather unlikeable main character (although that is a point I have seen people list as a negative). Glad to see it on a top 10! :)
I loved it! Often I'll be intrigued by a book's premise but then it doesn't deliver on the concept. I think Gateway does. Thanks for watching
Great list and summaries!
Thank you so much for commenting and subscribing. I've been a big fan of yours for some time. No idea what I am doing at the moment so hopefully I figure it out!
Just came across your channel, really enjoyed this list. Wrote down some books in my TBR. Cheers from Argentina.
Great to hear that! If you do read any of them, feel free to come back and let me know what you thought
Hyperion is also one of my absolute favorites as well. Based on the qualities you cited for your enjoyment of the work, I think you will really enjoy the sequel. While the entire Cantos is four books, it is really two duologies (or maybe two large volumes: Hyperion+Fall and Endymion+Rise) with fairly concrete demarcations between the first and last two books. Fall of Hyperion is absolutely necessary to round out the overarching story, the arcs of all the characters, the masterfully imaginative science fiction elements, and the greater world building.
Thanks for that, very insightful. I hear mixed things but it sounds like we're on the same page with regards to what makes Hyperion great
Seems this is just your third video - if so well done. I was trying to checkout the books on your shelves whilst listening (great selection by the way) nice to see lots of early SF there :-)
It is indeed and there is plenty more to come hopefully. I have read lots of books on that shelf but definitely not all of them! Any recommendations you'd have for me?
@@SciFiFinds Many - Certainly - far too many classic SF books to cover but here's a few (in no particular order) : 'Web of Everywhere'
by John Brunner - 'Cosm'
by Gregory Benford - 'The Ship who Sang'
by Anne McCaffrey - 'The Caves of Steel'
by Isaac Asimov - 'Eon' by Greg Bear - 'Way Station' by Clifford D. Simak - 'The Forever War' by Joe Haldeman - 'Ringworld' by
Larry Niven - 'Orbitsville' by Bob Shaw - 'The Demolished Man' by Alfred Bester - 'Dawn' by Octavia Butler - 'Hot Sleep' by
Orson Scott Card - Brightness Reef' by
David Brin - 'Permutation City' by
Greg Egan - - Also final (but with parental warning as it includes a very graphic depiction of evil) 'Mirrorman' by Trevor Hoyle
I really appreciate that while you have some well-known novels, there's also some lesser-appreciated stuff on here.
You seem much more interested in ideas than character, which is in contrast to myself... but then I saw "Childhood's End", which is a masterpiece. Might be time to finally read "Rendezvous with Rama".
I think there's a bit of a balance to be struck somewhere. I see a lot of the same books on RUclips top 10 lists and lots of them are more recent books which I don't think are as good as some of the classics. Thanks for watching and commenting
Nice vid! Definitely gonna be coming back to this vid for some cool recommendations.
@@PaperbackVoyager thanks for watching and let me know your thoughts if you read any of them
great job and classic choices. gateway, childhood and hyperion are on my tbr, in fact gateway is next after the king in yellow which is short. the rest i’ve read and enjoyed. definitely read more dune thru chapterhouse, the last entry, which has a hell of a funny twist ending imo, some find it puzzling or aggravating. to add i would highly recommend blindsight by peter watts.
Thanks! I will definitely carry on with Dune even though I hear mixed things. I have never heard of King in Yellow, will go and check that one out now
Excellent list, Hyperion tops mine as well! Although it's been many years since I read it. Have you read The Fall of Hyperion or the Endymion books?
Thanks! I haven't but I definitely will. Hyperion was actually the first book I read this year and I might close out the year with The Fall of Hyperion. Are they as good as Hyperion?
@SciFiFinds The Fall of Hyperion has a different narrative structure, but it does provide some closure to the pilgrims' story. I enjoyed it but not quite as much as Hyperion. I've not read the Endymion duology that follows, but I believe that deals with a separate story arc within the same universe.
The Endymion books are set 400 years into the future in the same universe. If I remember correctly.
Really good list, really well summarized. Excited for more content from him
Hey, thanks so much! I have a couple of other videos up on the channel with plenty more to come. The next one will be about military science fiction books so look out for that in the coming week
One of the best First Sentences in history of RUclips! ;-)
This set aside: having read and enjoyed #10, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, i.e.all but #8, I do agree with you with Hyperion as #1. When I was in Rome with my now late wife, about 25 years ago, we spent a whole day to take a long walk from the Spanish Stairs to the most beautiful Protestant Cemetery only to see, touch and photograph the tombstone of John Keith. Because of #1!
"Here lies one, whose name was writ in water".
B.T.W., in my opinion, Hyperion has one of the most intriguing First Sentences of all times in a novel.
Sorry to hear about your wife, I was in Rome last month and it was beautiful! Thanks again
I notice a beautiful edition of the Book of the New Sun on your shelf. If you've not gotten around to reading it yet, I highly recommend it and think it might place rather highly for you.
Also, based on what you already like, I would recommend Ursula LeGuin's "The Dispossessed" and maybe "The Word for World is Forest", as well as Alastair Reynolds' "Revelation Space" and Anne Leckie's "Ancillary Justice".
You've inspired me to finally get around to Fire Upon the Deep, by the way. It's been on my TBR for a while, since another RUclipsr mentioned it, but your description really makes me more interested in reading it.
@@HainishMentat good eye! I bought the Folio edition and have only read Shadow of the Torturer so far. Definitely an intriguing read that I'm going to continue. Thanks for those suggestions, I'll add the ones I haven't read to my TBR 🤝
@@HainishMentat it's great to hear that, you'll have to come back and let me know what you thought!
Agree about Gibson being the best prose stylist in sci-fi. Great reviews all round.
Thanks Robert
Jack I just downloaded Gateway with my audible credit! I have a few audiobooks ahead of it, Glorious Exploits, Blood Dimmed Tide & the Silmarillion but I should get to it by October! You sold me on it!
Hey Heidi, nice one! Feel free to come back and let me know what you thought, even if you don't end up enjoying it. I've not heard of the other two before the Silmarillion so I'll look them up.
Great and versatile list of works!
Thanks for that! What are your personal favourites?
@@SciFiFinds Hyperion, Dune, Childhood’s End and Rendezvous with Rama are all classics!
I haven’t read a Fire upon the Deep but I see it in many lists! Definitely one I’ll eventually get into!
A very Solid List 💯
Thanks mate! Let's see how well it holds up after I get through another 100
Yep, Hyperion has such a vibe, I think it's one of those books that creates atmosphere... such a good book
So good! What are some of your other favourites?
@@SciFiFinds old man's war by John scalzi
The Lathe of heaven by ursula le guin
Blindsight by watts Peter
Project hail Mary by weir andy
I was recently recommended 'The Machine Stops' by EM Forster (1909); it is quite a short text but hugely impressive for being 115 years old. I'd also highly recommend Roadside Picnic by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (and his short story, 'The Veldt'), and The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney (pacey SF that mixes paranoia with horror/body horror).
Thanks for those recommendations, I will definitely check out the ones I haven't read.
Once you finish Hyperion Cantos, I highly recommend "Sun eater" series - thats one of my favourites of all time. It is somewhat inspired by Dune and Hyperion, but unique in its own way.
Have heard lots of good things about it so I will hopefully get around to it at some point. Thanks for watching and for the suggestion!
There is a Folio Society edition of Neuromancer released today, Aug 14th, to celebrate its 40-year anniversary. It's pricey at GBP400, but limited to 500 copies and signed by Gibson and the artist. The artwork and the book overall is quite beautiful.
Wow! Not sure I can spring for it at that price but I'll go and have a look
Great list but definitely needs some Iain M Banks, Larry Niven ("A Mote in God's Eye" is on your shelf but is probably the least inventive and most, uh, "dated" of his books), CJ Cherryh, Ursula K LeGuin, Charles Stross, Stanislaw Lem, and Neal Asher on there; for a random grab-bag of authors who have all written books at least as good as some of the ones on your list.
That's the thing though, sci-fi as a genre is as broad as the human imagination... it's like trying to come up with the "ten greatest ideas humans have ever had", how do you even compare some of them to each other when they're trying to be completely different things?
Thank for the chapters, came in useful to skip books I haven't read yet to avoid spoilers. Hope to see more videos from you in the future!
I've read A Mote in God's Eye and definitely enjoyed it but not quite enough to make this list for me. I agree that trying to rank these books against each other is a flawed premise but it's fun to try. Thanks for watching and for the suggestions. Lots of reading to do!
Hyperion. It blew me away.. Bravo to Dan Simmons
Glad you agree. Thanks for watching!
29:10 just reading that. Its funny how many exceptional ideas he had for humanity as a society but said with complete concern and utter disdain that people are spending 3 hours a day watching the tv - which is for most far more if we include the handheld ones :)
It's quite amazing how prescient it is. Let me know what you think when you finish it!
I loved every bit of it. Gonna start Rendezvous with Rama next :)
@@kasparkirschbaum7588 Come back and tell me when you've finished that too, I love it!
I also liked it a lot. Very nice idea. I started Rama II and in his introduction clarke said: there are no new ideas in sf, and if it really was brillant i would have thought of it already :)
I'm not sure whether to read on with that series - You'll have to let me know if it's worth it
Tom Godwin's Space Prison (free on Gutenberg). My favourite after 65 years reading SF.
@ILParr wow that's a huge endorsement. Will add it to the list, thanks!
A Fire Upon the Deep is one of my favorite books Deep concepts..
Made me emotional about a plant... thanks for watching and commenting!
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Best sci-fi book I and many others I know have read. Amazing. Everyone should read it. Flowers by Algenon is really good too.
I've seen a lot of love for this one. I read The Martian when it came out and thought it was really overrated. Do you think Project Hail Mary is better?
I took your advice and read Flowers for Algernon; well, audiobooked it. I was enjoying it - the protagonist was very sympathetic and the mistreatment was emotional as you say. The intellectual vs emotional development was very interesting and I hadn't seen that done being.
I got to the conference with the presentation of his study and where he was having feelings of being a lab rat; which was fine and Algernon's journey nicely matched his. And then the book said that a room full of scientists laughed at the video of him failing to achieve the maze and this completely and utterly jumped the shark for me. So much so I hit stop in disgust. The idea that the eminent scientists in the field would laugh at a person with learning difficulties struggling with a test he would be expected to struggle with was so abjectly absurd it tore me away from the suspension of disbelief. If there had been one instance where the video was genuinely funny, maybe a magnanimous laugh but only really if the comedy wasn't the subject. But a room full of researchers on the presentation of one of the greatest discoveries of all time repeatedly laughing and so all of them totally lacking professionalism and medical ethics? Then carrying on like that was fine? Absurd.
I suspect this one will be a DNF, really just because of one line. I'm a tough customer I know but it absolutely ruined it for me and I've never had that happen before.
Interesting criticism, something I never considered at that moment. I suppose on thing the book is trying to establish is how oblivious Charlie is to the treatment he receives from others. Would the scientists laugh at a lab rat doing something funny? I'm sure they would. If Charlie had a more typical level of intelligence, they probably wouldn't have expressed their amusement so plainly. Thanks for watching and sorry to hear you didn't get on with the recommendation!
Good list! Needs more Jack Vance though 😊
Thanks! I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never read any Vance. Where do I start?
@@SciFiFinds His Demon Prince series was my first taste of his SF and got me hooked on his fantastic SF & Fantasy 😊
10:20 - in CoT, the timeline covers a couple thousand years, not decades.
@@gosnooky ah yes, it seems I missed that in the edit. Thanks for that
Funny, my number 1 and 2 are the same as yours but i do have Dune as my number 3. I also have A Fire Upon the Deep and Rama in my top ten. Good video
Oh and Subscribed!
@@carlosbranca8080 Thanks so much! Dune definitely could creep higher depending on my mood, although recency bias could be a factor. What else do you have in your top 10?
I think you have a great delivery, you do not need to change a thing. You just popped up on my home page. You should contact Jonathan@ Words In Time to discuss some books together so more people will find out about your channel. He is in Australia.
Thank you so much Heidi, I really appreciate that. I do subscribe to him and reached out but he said that he tends to collaborate with people he knows more on a personal level. Maybe one day!
sabes como se traduce el primer libros al español Frederik pohl
It looks like there's a Spanish translation. Good luck finding it and let me know what you think if you do read it
all great choices...Blindsight should be considered as well!
I have slightly mixed feelings about Blindsight. I like elements of it and appreciate it for what it is but not sure it's top 10 for me. Thanks for watching :)
11:00 have you read the sequels? The second one is just as good imo
Not yet, another one for the list!
Great video.
@@NiceTryGuvnah thank you! What are your favourites?
I read more fantasy but looking too start sci-fi so your video helps!
Excellent!
@@kcharles8857 thank you! Any favourites yourself?
Hyperion is so sick
Saludos de Colombia he leido algunos otros los tendre en cuenta .
It's so cool to have you watching, thanks for commenting
If you like Hyperion, you need to read the Endymion series, it closes the circle in a way that makes it hard to believe it wasn't conceived from the start, despite decades between these books.
I know Bradley Cooper really wants to make Hyperion, but I think it would be better to make Endymion and Rise of Endymion as a start, then make Hyperion. It worked for Mad Max and Star Wars, and they are much more filmic books. Hyperion is Chaucer's' Canterbury Tales set in an electric universe of pain, very hard to film.
I am definitely going to continue with the Cantos. I did read about Bradley Cooper's interest in developing it for the screen but I agree that it would be extremely difficult. Thanks for watching.
Quite a nice list. Read both Clark books - loved the ideas, but I found the writing to be pretty wooden.
Dune is Dune. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either.
Haven't read a couple of the other ones, but Fire Upon The Deep, Hyperion, and Neuromancer are incredible books - definitely in my top 10 as well.
I also loved that, outside of Dune, this list is made up of real sci-fi. Not fantasy parading around with a sci-fi dust jacket.
I can definitely see where you're coming from but the sense of wonder that Clarke instilled in my younger mind is difficult to shake. What are your favourites? I appreciate the comment
In rough order - my top ten.
1. Neuromancer - William Gibson
2. Hyperion - Dan Simmons
3. Dawn - Octavia E. Butler
4. The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradberry
5. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
6. The Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham
7. A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge
8. Solaris - Stanislaw Lem
9. Roadside Picnic - Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky
10. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
Is it's fine reading hyperion without knowing any of the classic and philosophical references or would it be confusing
Absolutely, it's just an added layer. What I would say though is that Dan Simmons throws a lot of terminology, characters and locations at you very early on. Stick with it and you'll get a good grasp of everything by the end.
You can definitely enjoy it for what it is, and it might inspire you to go digging for the references on your own :)
Yes, yes, yes. You learn the necessary stuff by reading the novel. I'm German, and I never did hear before of John Keats. My late wife and I did fall in love with him because of the Hyperion novels, and even did visit his tomb when we were in Rome in 1998.
Rendezvous with Rama is one of my favorites too. I read two of the sequels and I didn't find them to be very interesting. So, be forewarned.
@@tfmajka13 thanks for that. As I mentioned, I quite like reveling in the mystery and I'm assuming that the sequels strip that away. What are some of your other favourites?
@SciFiFinds I agree with most of your list. Childhood's End is my all-time favorite. I first read it in high school and it was a real mind blower. I reread it every few years and it's always good. I read Solaris recently and that is a good one for reveling in mystery. I just started The Three Body Problem.
@@tfmajka13 I was enjoying Solaris until it turned into a an overly descriptive textbook haha. Three Body Problem seems to be a divisive one so be sure to let me know what you think
Thank you.
"Left Hand of Darkness" by Ursula K leGuin!
It's on my TBR! I loved The Word for World is Forest by her so I'm looking forward to her more acclaimed works.
My heart goes with Hitchhiker's Guide to galaxy!
I still haven't read it but I will get to it. Is the whole series good?
@@SciFiFinds the first 3 are top notch.. although I liked remaining two as well, but many people do not like the last one.
The concepts that Douglas presents in a humorous tone... makes it worthy!
Great list. I have some reading to do! Consider me subbed
Thanks for that, I really appreciate it
The only one I disagree with on this list is Children of Time; for me, it was the worst sci-fi I've read in a long time. The further I went, the worse it got, and the ending was horrible. It's not the worst thing I've read in 2024, but it's the most disappointing.
I first read Neuromancer during the 2000s, and I didn't like the book as much at the time for various reasons. However, I re-read it this year, and it was a smoother and much better experience. For me, it went from a 5/10 to an 8/10.
You don't like Philip K Dick, Samuel R. Delany and the Strugatsky brothers?
It's worth reiterating that I'm relatively early in my science fiction reading journey. That being said, I do still love Children of Time. I have only read one PKD (A Maze of Death for some reason) and didn't really like it. Haven't got to Delany yet but I do have Babel-17 sitting on my shelf. Hopefully you can follow along and see how this list evolves. Any you'd recommend specifically?
You need some Peter F Hamilton in your life. May I suggest Pandora’s Star
I have Pandora's Star on my shelf but have never read it. The page count is quite intimidating but I will get around to it
@@SciFiFinds the best and most frightening depiction of “alien” is made in that book. Chapter 18 (I believe) to be exact. I’ll be honest.. the second book is not as good which is a serious letdown. But that first book, that chapter.. 🤌🏻
@@Hortonfantastic4 I've heard that before. Super intriguing. Will make a video on it once I get around to it.
@@Hortonfantastic4 It's a great description of an alien mindset and frightening too, but definitely not best. CJ Cherryh is easily the best at portraying "alien" IMO, with multiple of her novels being entirely from the alien viewpoint as they interact with humanity. (Also a great example of using "the foreign/alien" as a mirror to analyse our own society's blindspots.) "Voyager in Night" is a particular mindf*** in this aspect although probably not the best book of hers to start with for accessibility!
You must not have read enders game. It would be high on your list
Your suspicions are correct, I've never read it. I will get to it soon
Loved Hyperion but the sequels put me in a reading slump. So now I have a bad taste in my mouth for the whole series.
Oh no! I've heard such mixed things. I'll approach with caution
Downward to earth sounds similar to time of changes. Another silverberg book lol
Just read A Time of Changes recently and really enjoyed it. Definitely some shared themes although the settings and plots are quite different
You need some christopher ruocchio
Is Empire of Silence the best place to start? Thanks for watching
Why would you do spoilers? Is this a list or a review?
You already ruined it before I could get back to my phone to stop you. :(
Hey there, I did my best to avoid spoilers entirely or warn you wherever I was going to do mild ones. Anything I talk about in terms of the plot is laid out in these books within the opening sections. Which ones did you feel I went too far with out of interest? Appreciate your feedback
@@SciFiFinds Children of Time.
hyperion is so good but the following books were so bad that it almost diminishes what hyperion achieved
Oh really? I will go into them with slightly lower expectations then
The following books are just as good. They just don’t go in the direction or style that some fans wanted. They’re still brilliantly written thoufh and conclude the story satisfactorily
Oof, I disagree. The following books expand on the mythos and are greatly paced. Love them all
@@HakimALIGHT interesting to hear mixed opinions! I'll definitely continue reading the series
@@SciFiFindsbook 1 is kinda sorta paralleled after Canterbury tales (structure) with the usual inventiveness he’s known for. Book 2 finishes the story complete with the usual Simmons literary allusions. Books 3&4 are sorta a different story with a portion of it being a sorta love story which is why many SF fans hate it.
All 4 really are great and worth reading.
Glad to have found your channel (Thank you 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒀𝑻 𝑨𝒍𝒈𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒎. 👾Maybe the Shrike is the algorithm?)
Great list of great finds. Your comments are well spoken, thoughtful, interesting and helpful. Makes me want to reread a few things, and jump into some new ones. I defintely need to read "A Fire Upon the Deep". Keep up the great work, looking forward to more.
Thanks!
👽
Thanks so much! Always feel free to recommend me things or let me know if you disagree on anything