If you’re into multiverses, power plays, or high-stakes revenge served ice cold, you might just love my sci-fi novels. In Delphine Descends, journey with Kathreen as she rises from war-victim to galaxy-class powerhouse with a serious grudge. And in Black Milk, join Prometheus as he shatters the laws of time, space, and sanity for love (and maybe destroys the universe along the way). Links to both below 📖 Delphine Descends (Amazon link) shortlink.uk/P59l Black Milk (Amazon link) shortlink.uk/MHpv
Absolutely agree. I've read thousands of science fiction novels (1800s to 2010s) but Eon is an absolute standout. Thanks for the rec on Spin. Got to catch up on some more recent ones. Future vid, maybe explore Stanisław Lem's massive output of attempts at contact with incomprehensible aliens?
Eon is wonderful ideas sci-fi but an almost unread-ably opaque mess. I have read thousand of books, and in three languages, but I had to fight hard to finish Eon and Eternity.
Great list! Definitely some books I’ve been meaning to read. My recent favorite first contact read was Fiasco by Lem. Then of course Blindsight for the creepy factor and Project Hail Mary for an optimism palate cleanser
"Roadside Picnic" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky also deserves a mention. Although the aliens themselves do not make an appearance (they have already left Earth, without interacting directly with any humans), it provides a very different and interesting perspective on the aftermath. This is the book the film "Stalker" is loosely based on.
High Crusade by Poul Anderson. Aliens invade a medieval village just as it’s preparing to leave for the crusades. It does not go as planned for them and keeps getting worse. Told from the perspective of a monk chronicling events, it’s an extremely funny book.
Fantastic list and a couple I haven't read yet. I would also throw in Rendevouz with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. It feels so authentic and grounded, yet eerie and weird.
I love Childhood's End, and if you can only have one Arthur C Clarke book in the list, I guess that's the one. But of course 2001 A Space Odyssey and Rendezvous with Rama both gave very different takes on the same concept, and all the decades ago when I first read them they utterly captivated me.
I liked Vernor Vinge's Deepness in the Sky. In the far future, a group of humans, high tech space traders, picked up some radio signals from a weird star system and, assuming some specy otherthere may be having their industrial revolution, they mount an expedition, hoping to find unconventional technologies or resources to use & trade. By weird, i mean their star goes bright and dark every few decades/centuries, yet somehow something intelligent lives there.
There were a lot of interesting concepts in that book. Trade federations with shared cultural identity as a requirement for membership, translators that were so good at their jobs that they could make highly alien species relatable, relationships between people aging unevenly due to cryo sleep...
Haven't read Spin but this this idea of something isolating earth from outer space was, afaik, originally conceived in Egan's Quarentine as The Bubble, although is not entirely clear this was made by an alien civilization.
Great list, thanks. Have read nearly all of them. Personally, I would add the old but good "The Black Cloud" by the late Astronomer Fred Hoyle. Also, "Pandora's Star" & "Judas Unchained" (really one book), split into two parts. The Alien (Morning Light Mountain), is one the most original and strange Aliens, in all of Science Fiction.
As other people have already mentioned, Project Hail Mary is a great (and not overwhelming) story of first contact. Blindsight is also a fascinating (perhaps a little overwhelming) and unique vision of first contact. I have to admit that I felt I needed to be smarter to read Blindsight and I needed a cheatsheet to remember who all the characters were. But I'm glad I read it.
I'm missing "To Serve Man" ;-). And it could be argued that "2001: A Space Odyssey" is a first contact novel as well. It's been a while since I read it though, and a lot of the plot elements and motifs have probably become mixed together in my head.
Luv the Blakes 7 cup in the bookshelf, had almost forgotten about that series. Used to watch it as daytime TV on Super Channel back in the mid to late 80s. well played, sir.
Cool list. Have read almost all of them (multiple times) including the recommendations, only exceptions are Spin and Excession. Reminded me to pick up the moties again soon for a reread. And as a bonus not to many things I needed to add to my buy / read list this time (only Excession perhaps, not sure yet) 😂
I would also like to mention the mind blowing novel "Blindsight" by Peter Watts, where he uses a first contact scenario to ask how we can communicate with an extraterrestrial being that has superhuman intelligence but clearly has no consciousness or self-awareness (the "philosophical zombie"). He goes even further and raises the possibility that consciousness is an evolutionary dead end for humanity.
Great video as always - might I recommend as an honourable mention "Pushing Ice" by Alastair Reynolds - I rather enjoyed it. Another would be "Intervention" by Julian May, and the Galactic Milieu Series in general.
I don't know how to discuss it without spoiling something, so here it goes. Procceed at your discretion. The Lost Fleet series (now more of a universe) started out being a straight military series, but, from the beginning, there were some hints of something... else. Fast forward some twenty books and we are starting to see the first steps of mankind into a multi species society. And it's fascinating to read, the humans slowly (oh so slowly) figuring out the quirks oftheir galactic neighbors. Very much worththeread, even if the beginnings is a little crude.
Great video, as usual. I have read many. The Mote in God's Eye and Eon quite some time ago. Starship Troopers - RAH - is sometimes overlooked as a first contact novel, I also suggest Storm Over Warlock - Andre Norton, and Martians, Go Home - Fredric Brown. There is a bunch.
4:12 _"...How aliens the Moties feel. They're entirely unique, biologically, mentally and culturally... The book dives deep into the messiness of communication, trust and the ethical dilemmas that come with meeting a species that is so different."_ Umm... no. It's a great book and the Moties are wonderful, but psychologically they're human (with specialized savant varieties).
Here is a really great First Contact Book - Not well known but a brilliant read (IMHO): FADE-OUT by Patrick Tilley . Anybody who has read it, let me know what you think
These lists are at the same time great and frustrating, because there are so many books to choose from. No Rama? Niven has lots of alternatives on his own as well. And if you really want to take "extraterrestrial" to the next limit, try Heinlein's "The number of the beast"! John Varley's Titan is a "first contact" that - in a sense - eventually turns out to not be the first. Just too bad most Jack Vance is already way past _first_ contact.
Thanks for the recommendations. Two of my favorite first contact novels are “The Pride of Chanur” and “Foreigner” by C.J. Cherryh. “The Sparrow” by Mary Doria Russell is also quite good.
I like how you didn't explain the first contact in "Spin" at all. The novel kind of does the same. Don't misunderstand: I really mean that in a good way.
I have already read all of those except for Spin and Excession. All of them have been excellent reads. I started reading the culture series, but, just wasn't really getting into it. Will check out Spin soon.
"The Harvest" by Robert Charles Wilson, is another of his first contact books. Beautifully written - as you'd expect from Wilson. & it's a very bleak book, as you've probably gathered from the title....... It was inspired by a famous book & movie franchise which I won't mention, but it goes it's own way, & doesn't imitate at all. Probably my favorite first contact book.
Bears Eon was a good read but suffers from the same problem as Clarke’s 2001. The sequels prove that even the writers themselves did not have any idea where things should actually be heading in the next installment. I stopped with Clarke after he wrote that totally unresolved one about a space cruise ship and a mysterious garage on the banned moon with, if I remember correctly, an actual carport. Especially that last bit was a giant dud after all the monolith stuff 🤣
I have read _Childhood's End_ and _Three-Body Problem._ I liked both (the TV adaptation of the latter was also great). I have had _Excession_ on my reading list for a while. I quit _Consider Phlebas_ after reading a quarter of it, wondering how can this author have fans. But everybody says, 'read Excession, read Excession!' so sure, why not.
I tried reading The Mote in God's Eye, but found the characters flat and the exposition clunky. I bailed after 100 pages, but now I wonder if I shouldn't have forced myself onward. Oh, well.
No Rendezvous With Rama, disappoint. :< Then again, its sequels are terrible so far, and I'm halfway through them wishing they were never written. A Mote In God's Eye was a bit of a disappointment too. Might be the time it was written, but it felt a bit too sexist to me.
![SahBabii - Viking [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/D37cL92JX0I/mqdefault.jpg)
![KSI - Dirty [Official Visualiser]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/VoDh1h1dPUE/mqdefault.jpg)
If you’re into multiverses, power plays, or high-stakes revenge served ice cold, you might just love my sci-fi novels. In Delphine Descends, journey with Kathreen as she rises from war-victim to galaxy-class powerhouse with a serious grudge. And in Black Milk, join Prometheus as he shatters the laws of time, space, and sanity for love (and maybe destroys the universe along the way). Links to both below 📖
Delphine Descends (Amazon link) shortlink.uk/P59l
Black Milk (Amazon link) shortlink.uk/MHpv
💜 + 🖤
Larry Niven's "Footfall". Fantastic aliens with their own slant on first contact!
I'd recommend Blindsight and Echopraxia by Peter Watts.
_Blindsight_ is a great book, with at least two really original science fiction ideas... But its big reveal at the end is stupid and makes no sense.
Absolutely agree. I've read thousands of science fiction novels (1800s to 2010s) but Eon is an absolute standout. Thanks for the rec on Spin. Got to catch up on some more recent ones. Future vid, maybe explore Stanisław Lem's massive output of attempts at contact with incomprehensible aliens?
Eon is wonderful ideas sci-fi but an almost unread-ably opaque mess. I have read thousand of books, and in three languages, but I had to fight hard to finish Eon and Eternity.
Great list! Definitely some books I’ve been meaning to read. My recent favorite first contact read was Fiasco by Lem. Then of course Blindsight for the creepy factor and Project Hail Mary for an optimism palate cleanser
"Roadside Picnic" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky also deserves a mention. Although the aliens themselves do not make an appearance (they have already left Earth, without interacting directly with any humans), it provides a very different and interesting perspective on the aftermath. This is the book the film "Stalker" is loosely based on.
It also influenced Vandermeer's 'Annihilation', which is also another decent first contact novel.
"loosely" being the operative word here.
High Crusade by Poul Anderson. Aliens invade a medieval village just as it’s preparing to leave for the crusades. It does not go as planned for them and keeps getting worse. Told from the perspective of a monk chronicling events, it’s an extremely funny book.
Sounds awesome. I’ll check it out!
“The Mote” is one of my favorite books of all time. I read in the 70s. I felt the characters were kind of Star Trekian.
Absolutely, the writers really spoofed on the Enterprise crew, especially Scotty.
Yes! I expected him to say “I dinna ken the engines can take it”
I thought Eon was a bit boring, but the sequel, Eternity, ROCKS!!
Fantastic list and a couple I haven't read yet. I would also throw in Rendevouz with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. It feels so authentic and grounded, yet eerie and weird.
I like that on a list of First Contact books, the book you list first is Contact.
I love Childhood's End, and if you can only have one Arthur C Clarke book in the list, I guess that's the one. But of course 2001 A Space Odyssey and Rendezvous with Rama both gave very different takes on the same concept, and all the decades ago when I first read them they utterly captivated me.
it always makes my day when i see you have posted a new video :D
Thanks!
I liked Vernor Vinge's Deepness in the Sky.
In the far future, a group of humans, high tech space traders, picked up some radio signals from a weird star system and, assuming some specy otherthere may be having their industrial revolution, they mount an expedition, hoping to find unconventional technologies or resources to use & trade. By weird, i mean their star goes bright and dark every few decades/centuries, yet somehow something intelligent lives there.
Love Vinge!
There were a lot of interesting concepts in that book. Trade federations with shared cultural identity as a requirement for membership, translators that were so good at their jobs that they could make highly alien species relatable, relationships between people aging unevenly due to cryo sleep...
There is another Greg Bear book I would recommend: The Forge of God
I liked "Footfall" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
Haven't read Spin but this this idea of something isolating earth from outer space was, afaik, originally conceived in Egan's Quarentine as The Bubble, although is not entirely clear this was made by an alien civilization.
Great list, thanks. Have read nearly all of them. Personally, I would add the old but good "The Black Cloud" by the late Astronomer Fred Hoyle. Also, "Pandora's Star" & "Judas Unchained" (really one book), split into two parts. The Alien (Morning Light Mountain), is one the most original and strange Aliens, in all of Science Fiction.
As other people have already mentioned, Project Hail Mary is a great (and not overwhelming) story of first contact. Blindsight is also a fascinating (perhaps a little overwhelming) and unique vision of first contact. I have to admit that I felt I needed to be smarter to read Blindsight and I needed a cheatsheet to remember who all the characters were. But I'm glad I read it.
Great recommendations thank you
Glad you like them!
I'm missing "To Serve Man" ;-).
And it could be argued that "2001: A Space Odyssey" is a first contact novel as well. It's been a while since I read it though, and a lot of the plot elements and motifs have probably become mixed together in my head.
Fantastic list. I’ve been meaning to check out Banks for some time and this winter might be perfect for that. Thanks!
Yes! Do it!!! Banks will make your life 90% better. Guaranteed! 👍
Luv the Blakes 7 cup in the bookshelf, had almost forgotten about that series. Used to watch it as daytime TV on Super Channel back in the mid to late 80s. well played, sir.
Cool list. Have read almost all of them (multiple times) including the recommendations, only exceptions are Spin and Excession. Reminded me to pick up the moties again soon for a reread.
And as a bonus not to many things I needed to add to my buy / read list this time (only Excession perhaps, not sure yet) 😂
Great review, but I would have included Rendezvous With Rama!
I would also like to mention the mind blowing novel "Blindsight" by Peter Watts, where he uses a first contact scenario to ask how we can communicate with an extraterrestrial being that has superhuman intelligence but clearly has no consciousness or self-awareness (the "philosophical zombie"). He goes even further and raises the possibility that consciousness is an evolutionary dead end for humanity.
First things first. Picard. No question about it.
Great video as always - might I recommend as an honourable mention "Pushing Ice" by Alastair Reynolds - I rather enjoyed it. Another would be "Intervention" by Julian May, and the Galactic Milieu Series in general.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ll check them out!
I second Pushing Ice. Really interesting premise.
I don't know how to discuss it without spoiling something, so here it goes. Procceed at your discretion.
The Lost Fleet series (now more of a universe) started out being a straight military series, but, from the beginning, there were some hints of something... else.
Fast forward some twenty books and we are starting to see the first steps of mankind into a multi species society. And it's fascinating to read, the humans slowly (oh so slowly) figuring out the quirks oftheir galactic neighbors.
Very much worththeread, even if the beginnings is a little crude.
Great video, as usual. I have read many. The Mote in God's Eye and Eon quite some time ago.
Starship Troopers - RAH - is sometimes overlooked as a first contact novel, I also suggest Storm Over Warlock - Andre Norton, and Martians, Go Home - Fredric Brown. There is a bunch.
James White, "All Judgment Fled". It needs to be a film.
P*rn? 😀
4:12 _"...How aliens the Moties feel. They're entirely unique, biologically, mentally and culturally... The book dives deep into the messiness of communication, trust and the ethical dilemmas that come with meeting a species that is so different."_
Umm... no. It's a great book and the Moties are wonderful, but psychologically they're human (with specialized savant varieties).
Here is a really great First Contact Book - Not well known but a brilliant read (IMHO): FADE-OUT by Patrick Tilley . Anybody who has read it, let me know what you think
Merry Christmas, Darrel-san! 🙂 ❤
Thanks so much! Merry Christmas 🎄 ☺️
These lists are at the same time great and frustrating, because there are so many books to choose from. No Rama? Niven has lots of alternatives on his own as well. And if you really want to take "extraterrestrial" to the next limit, try Heinlein's "The number of the beast"! John Varley's Titan is a "first contact" that - in a sense - eventually turns out to not be the first. Just too bad most Jack Vance is already way past _first_ contact.
I recently read Fear the Sky by Stephen Moss. Great combination of first contact and spy thriller
Awesome. I’ll take a look at it!
Thanks for the recommendations. Two of my favorite first contact novels are “The Pride of Chanur” and “Foreigner” by C.J. Cherryh. “The Sparrow” by Mary Doria Russell is also quite good.
I like how you didn't explain the first contact in "Spin" at all. The novel kind of does the same. Don't misunderstand: I really mean that in a good way.
Kirk of Picard stopped being a good yardstick the moment STP came out :(
Contact is one of my all time top ten favorites
0:14 Those words is it possible to use them together in a sentence like that?
A lot of Stanislaw Lem's books. I especially want to mention "Fiasco". Also a story where the roles are flipped.
I have already read all of those except for Spin and Excession. All of them have been excellent reads. I started reading the culture series, but, just wasn't really getting into it. Will check out Spin soon.
4:07 reminds me of the "To Serve Man" Twilight Zone episode😍 thanks for all the great recs.
Anything which is more cosmic horror?
Any of the ten or so Alien novels. Xenomorphs are scary.
😺✌️
Your description of Eon sounds like a direct cribbing of Rendezvous with Rama.
I’ll be referencing this video for quite some time
"The Harvest" by Robert Charles Wilson, is another of his first contact books. Beautifully written - as you'd expect from Wilson.
& it's a very bleak book, as you've probably gathered from the title.......
It was inspired by a famous book & movie franchise which I won't mention, but it goes it's own way, & doesn't imitate at all.
Probably my favorite first contact book.
The Mote. Best. Sci-fi. Novel. Ever.
Gibraltar Earth by Michael McCollum
First book in trilogy. Earth versus alien empire.
Mr Sagan passed away.
Bears Eon was a good read but suffers from the same problem as Clarke’s 2001. The sequels prove that even the writers themselves did not have any idea where things should actually be heading in the next installment. I stopped with Clarke after he wrote that totally unresolved one about a space cruise ship and a mysterious garage on the banned moon with, if I remember correctly, an actual carport. Especially that last bit was a giant dud after all the monolith stuff 🤣
I have read _Childhood's End_ and _Three-Body Problem._ I liked both (the TV adaptation of the latter was also great).
I have had _Excession_ on my reading list for a while. I quit _Consider Phlebas_ after reading a quarter of it, wondering how can this author have fans. But everybody says, 'read Excession, read Excession!' so sure, why not.
I tried reading The Mote in God's Eye, but found the characters flat and the exposition clunky. I bailed after 100 pages, but now I wonder if I shouldn't have forced myself onward. Oh, well.
No Rendezvous With Rama, disappoint. :< Then again, its sequels are terrible so far, and I'm halfway through them wishing they were never written.
A Mote In God's Eye was a bit of a disappointment too. Might be the time it was written, but it felt a bit too sexist to me.
thanks--one of these days do "alien aliens"...things where the aliens are REALLY alien. Obviously Solaris but what else
alien encounter itch
no, that's a different kind of book
Best scifi first contact is men are from mars woman are from venus.