My Top Weird Fantasy & Sci Fi Books You'll Love..Maybe

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  • Опубликовано: 29 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 116

  • @PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy
    @PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy 20 дней назад +9

    The Canterbury Tales is actually much funnier than Hyperion, which still gives me the heebie-jeebies thirty years after reading it because of the Shrike. No Shrike in The Canterbury Tales, though the Bubonic Plague is alluded to, and that’s kind of terrifying too. Thank you for all the weirdness, Brian! I mean in the books, of course . . . 😁

  • @esmayrosalyne
    @esmayrosalyne 18 дней назад +1

    First of all, really loving your intros recently, Brian! I love how you always keep innovating and refreshing 🤩
    Thanks for all of these recs, I looooove me a good weird book. I think Library at Mount Char is most up my alley, but I also really need to get back to the Dark Tower someday.
    Some of my favourite weird books are Vita Nostra by Sergei & Marina Dyachenko (characters & plot weird), Asunder by Kerstin Hall and The Storm Beneath the World by Michael R. Fletcher (worldbuilding weird), and The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (atmospheric weird, BIG Piransi vibes!!) ☺

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  18 дней назад +1

      Thanks, Esmay! I'm glad you notice the intros! They certainly do take more work than just filming thoughts. I'll check out The Starless Sea!

  • @Maeve_Ever_Books
    @Maeve_Ever_Books 16 дней назад +1

    Love the purple!!
    Adding Cloud Atlas to my future TBR.
    I have Piranesi and Book of the New Sun on my list already. 😊

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  16 дней назад +1

      Thanks, Maeve! Btw, loving your AMA. Only halfway through it but it’s great so far!

    • @Maeve_Ever_Books
      @Maeve_Ever_Books 16 дней назад

      @ Thank you so much!!

  • @RhysWritings
    @RhysWritings 19 дней назад +1

    Great video! These are all on my TBR except Piranesi which I loved!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  19 дней назад +1

      Thanks! I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

  • @Broon88
    @Broon88 17 дней назад

    Great video Brian. Made a note of everything I haven’t read to add to the TBR. Wasn’t able to catch the livestream for your 1 year but going to watch it back now!

  • @HakimALIGHT
    @HakimALIGHT 16 дней назад +1

    Love this format and the books you mentioned. Please make more!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  16 дней назад +1

      Absolutely! Thank you!

  • @pickleruby
    @pickleruby 18 дней назад

    You had me at the intro…so good. 💜

  • @danielsan99999
    @danielsan99999 19 дней назад +1

    Hi Brian! We want..., no, we demand a second part to this video! Your best one so far baby!!! I've read every one of the books you have mentioned and I agree on the level of weirness of every one of them! Me best to you from Argentina!!!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  19 дней назад +1

      Argentina representing!!! OK - I'll do a part 2!

    • @danielsan99999
      @danielsan99999 19 дней назад

      @@BrianBell7 That's the spirit!

  • @iSamwise
    @iSamwise 20 дней назад +3

    Hahah! I was waiting for some Gene Wolfe on this list!!!! Some of the elements in BOTNS are simply bizarre, and Urth of the New Sun is even more bonkers!!!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      Hahaha, Thanks, Sam! Yep, you knew it would make this list 100%

  • @AReadersJourney
    @AReadersJourney 20 дней назад +2

    Library at Mount Char sounds so interesting. And Piranesi is incredible!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      Glad you agree!!

    • @heahterranier6926
      @heahterranier6926 20 дней назад +1

      That’s the one I think I’ll be looking for as well. 😊

  • @dougsundseth6904
    @dougsundseth6904 19 дней назад

    Structurally, I'll mention Brunner's "Stand on Zanzibar", which is mostly told in news stories. When I first read it, I restarted it immediately after I finished it.
    World design/plot, Zelazny's "Chronicles of Amber", which is surrealist, modern. mixed with high fantasy, and really memorable characters.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  19 дней назад +1

      Thanks, Doug! Amber is on my 2025 list!

  • @TomOrange
    @TomOrange 18 дней назад

    Fun fact Mr Rogers and I were born in the same town in PA. Great video with some really solid picks!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  18 дней назад

      No way! That’s so cool. Thanks, Tom! There will be a part 2!

  • @BookishChas
    @BookishChas 18 дней назад

    Great video Brian! Glad to see the Dark Tower series on this list. It’s definitely a weird one lol.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  18 дней назад +1

      It sure is, Chas! And I love it!!

    • @BookishChas
      @BookishChas 18 дней назад

      @ me too! 😁

  • @gryftkin
    @gryftkin 16 дней назад

    Can't believe you didn't change into your sweater jacket at the end there ;)

  • @Thaurnol
    @Thaurnol 20 дней назад +1

    good selection, sir! and you look very dashing in purple, especially when you are out to get batman :) hyperion, cloud atlas and the dark tower are for sure on my tbr; also, childhood's end might be the one book that sticks with you for a long long time, after you've read it

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      Haha! Batman... wait'll he gets a load of me!

  • @N.A.Summur
    @N.A.Summur 20 дней назад

    Very cool video. Piranesi is already in my TBR and I definitely want to get to it soon. I’m also in the middle of reading my first King in Pet Sematary and absolutely loving it so far. So I’m thinking The Dark Tower should totally be on my TBR as well. Along with some of these other books! Bring on the weird!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      Thanks, N.A. - Bring it!

  • @Johanna_reads
    @Johanna_reads 20 дней назад

    Love the weird list! So excited to read Cloud Atlas at some point. I also love the purple jacket and Mr. Rogers quote! 💜😊

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      Thanks! I was in a purple mood! I think you'll like that book :)

  • @KindlesandKicks
    @KindlesandKicks 19 дней назад

    Great idea for a vid Brian! Although now I don’t know what to do, because the first time you talked about Cloud Atlas, I removed it from my TBR, but you made it sound so intriguing here I want to add it back LOL. Love your One for the Road. I appreciate how they often tell me something I need to hear at the time.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  19 дней назад +1

      Haha I’m a mystery! Thanks Dark-O. Sometimes we get lucky and hear what we need to hear at the right time.

  • @Artoveli
    @Artoveli 5 часов назад

    Oh, I love this topic! I was so happy years ago when I found out there was actually a searchable term for the sorts of books I gravitate toward. And I actually just finished reading Piranesi last week!
    Okay, gotta drop a list of some of my own favorites:
    Someone else mentioned Senlin Ascends (and series). Absolutely! Look forward to those books.👍
    Heep House (trilogy) by Edward Carey. A Victorian fantasy about hoarders. SO weird, and I’ve never seen it mentioned anywhere.
    Gormenghast (trilogy). A classic about a sprawling cast of weird characters living in a crumbling, never-ending castle, filled with inscrutable traditions.
    Percy Gloom. The weirdest (in a delightful way) graphic novel I’ve ever encountered. Humorous, strange, dark, and touching.
    The Manual of Detection. Franz Kafka by way of Wes Anderson. Weird in a cozy way.
    Three Moments of an Explosion. A collection of short stories by China Mieville. I think short stories really lend themselves to weirdness anyway, so a collection from a confirmed New Weird author like him is the perfect storm. There are ideas in this book that I still think about regularly years after reading. The Dowager of Bees in particular is a concept I NEED more of!
    Momo, by Michal Ende, the author of The Never-Ending Story (another GREAT book, but not what I’d call Weird). A fable about time, but not time-travel… Ende’s father was a surrealist painter, and it really comes across in his son’s work.
    Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde. Everything by Jasper Fforde is fairly weird, but this one stands apart from the others! I always describe this one as ‘friendly weird.’ A dystopian society where a person’s social standing is determined by which color (singular) they can perceive, and how strongly. It’s 1984 by way of P. G. Wodehouse, set in a world where every living thing has a barcode for some reason, spoons are in short supply (though you can get them on the beige market), and the most common cause of death is something called ‘the mildew.’ It’s absolutely delightful. There was a sequel published this year, but I personally think it diminishes the joy of the first. The first is DEFINITELY worth a read!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  5 часов назад +1

      Thank you so much for all these recommendations! I'm adding them to my TBR Mountain as we speak. In fact, I have Senlin Ascends and Gormenghast already planned for 2025! Great stuff!

  • @thegreatwaugh
    @thegreatwaugh 19 дней назад

    Great suggestions! I want to read The Dark Tower, but want to read some of his other books first for the tie-ins.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  19 дней назад

      I "think" the only ones that might give you the tie-ins are "It", "Salem's Lot", and "The Stand". Maybe "Insomnia"

  • @Why_do_I_do_this.
    @Why_do_I_do_this. 20 дней назад

    I LOVED that intro 😂🔥🔥

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      Excellent! Thank you for noticing!

  • @marianneguevara8279
    @marianneguevara8279 20 дней назад +1

    I love me some weird! I’m currently in the middle of Piranesi! I’ve been reading sections before bed this past few days despite the fact that when I am reading it I go through it kind of fast. I knew I didn’t want to rush through this book so I’ve intentionally paced myself.
    I wonder if The Books of Babel will make it to your weird list whenever you get to it. Many readers have used that adjective to describe the series.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      Tori just read Senlin Ascends and we were just chatting that it's coming up on my TBR! (thanks to you!)

    • @marianneguevara8279
      @marianneguevara8279 20 дней назад

      @BrianBell7 Oh boy oh boy! Very excited to see what you make of it!

  • @tallaaron1115
    @tallaaron1115 20 дней назад

    Thank you, you reminded me of a few books I forgot that I had on my TBR. It makes me question if I should not lean more into that in the current series I am writing but at the same time, maybe the next series for the truly weird stuff right? Thanks for this amazing video, you were awesome in D&D the other day and keep reading and having fun.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      Thank you so much! I guess go with your gut when it comes to your creativity! D&D was too fun!

    • @tallaaron1115
      @tallaaron1115 20 дней назад

      @@BrianBell7 Your one shot adventures reminded me of all the fun I had running games back in the day. Try not to get too sucked into it because some of the newest writers are pulling in adventures like you had into their latest works.

  • @jeroenadmiraal8714
    @jeroenadmiraal8714 20 дней назад +1

    This is a great introduction to weird fiction, Brian, but also only casually dips a toe into the rabbit hole. I could outline some next steps. The New Weird movement of authors like Mieville, Vandermeer and M. John Harrison. Then older SF like Philip K Dick, R.A. Lafferty and Philip Jose Farmer. After that the real niche weird fiction authors like Michael Cisco, comedic weird fiction like Lee Martinez and bizarro fiction. After that come the really obscure novels like Zod Wallop and The Hearing Trumpet.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      Thanks, Jeroen! Yeah, this list is really intended for people that are interesting in expanding horizons without getting entirely in the weeds of it :)

    • @heahterranier6926
      @heahterranier6926 20 дней назад

      I love all A. Lee Martinez’s stuff!

  • @heahterranier6926
    @heahterranier6926 20 дней назад

    Suggestions:
    Richard Robert (anything) but especially Quite Contrary- not your typical re-imagined fairy tale. Dark and weird journey.
    Also, a book I completely stumbled upon on Audible when I didn’t have so many series and authors to keep up on- The Hike by Drew Magary. Surreal and twisting story of a man on a journey.
    Lighter but weird is “Hard Luck Hank” series- endlessly funny, best narrator, so weird! 😂

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      Awesome! Thank you so much. I'll look them up and add them to TBR Mountain! I like "lighter but weird!"

  • @Robatk-s8j
    @Robatk-s8j 13 дней назад

    Some great suggestions on this list! I'm desperate to read Piranesi again! Such an excellent book. One of my weirdest books I've read recently is the Fifth Season by NK Jemisin, from the world to the characters, it's bizarre, but phenomenal.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  13 дней назад

      I didn't love that book, but I have tons of friends who did, and still do!

    • @Robatk-s8j
      @Robatk-s8j 12 дней назад

      @@BrianBell7 I get that, I think just structurally and thematically it's not going to be for everyone.

  • @womenwotreads
    @womenwotreads 19 дней назад

    In Britain , many of us who did English literature olevel or a level had to study one at least of the Canterbury tales. So you may find many of your followers from across the pond are familiar with it. My favourite weird book [in fact one of my favourite books ever] is China Mieville 's Perdito Street Station. Have you tried that one ? It's amazing.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  19 дней назад

      That's really cool! I have Perdito Street Station scheduled for 2025!

  • @NicolesBookishNook
    @NicolesBookishNook 20 дней назад +1

    Wooohoo, I love weirdness! ❤ 💪🏻

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      Life would be SO boring without a taste of the weird!

  • @chadia25
    @chadia25 20 дней назад

    When you said Simon Jimenez, I thought you were going to say The Spear Cuts Through Water. Have you read it? I think you'll like it more than VB. (Manifesting my inner Evie, here. 😂) But yeah, Vanished Birds had a weird structure too.
    Thanks for the list. ❤ Childhood's End is added to the tbr and maybe I'm finally going try Hyperion.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      Please keep me posted what you think of those two books! I haven't read Spear yet. Probably in 2025!

  • @laurablakeauthor
    @laurablakeauthor 20 дней назад +2

    All hail the readers of The Canterbury Tales.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      SO funny. Literally, off the top of my head.

  • @valliyarnl
    @valliyarnl 20 дней назад

    May I suggest you try House of Leaves?

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      adding to TBR Mountain now! :)

  • @cabarnone
    @cabarnone 18 дней назад

    Loved Canterbury tales. Is Hyperion similar?? Never read Dan Simmons but would if it true.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  18 дней назад

      In structure, yes. Not in content as this is a a very epic, galaxy-sprawling sci fi story.

  • @ithrahmunchswallow468
    @ithrahmunchswallow468 20 дней назад

    Both Atlas and Birds are on my TBL 🙌🏻
    I was wondering if David would get a mention 😈🖤🤪
    Took a break from Hyperion to watch this video 🤭😜
    Childhood's End is on the list too 🙌🏻
    Reading large print Piranesi slowly...🤓
    Bumping New Sun up the list 🙌🏻
    Dark Tower ❤❤❤
    Hitchhiker's Guide is at the top of my fun list.
    Have you read The Majestic 311?
    Fun video and I'm weird by nature and that's just fine 😜🎉🙌🏻

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      Thanks Sinna! I really am happy with the small, but potent, list of books here!

    • @ithrahmunchswallow468
      @ithrahmunchswallow468 20 дней назад

      @BrianBell7 Good stuff 😜

  • @momo_genX
    @momo_genX 20 дней назад

    Lol. I read the Caterbury Tales when I was in High School. I had this one woman say that a lot of my work is like Flannery O'Conner mixed with Geoffrey Chaucer. Having read about every Mad Magazine that came out when I was younger, and also getting into the box of my father's National Lampoons magazines in the attic, I was primed at an early age to gravitate to the weird and crude and offensive humor. "Weird" is one of those words I don't like to use anymore because it has been used to attack me. It is a cool sounding word, though. Normal is too boring and I never conformed anyhow. At my age, I have completely abandoned trying to look and act normal. Sometimes, I can be offputting. Maybe that's some sort of defense mechanism to ensure my status as a weird loner.
    Stay weird, Brian! Satire!

  • @jcmberne
    @jcmberne 20 дней назад

    LOL I've read The Canterbury Tales. I mean, it was a long time ago. I also liked Hyperion (though I did not in fact name my character after the Dan Simmons book). Still think China Mieville should have more entries on this list!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      I haven't read any... yet!

    • @jcmberne
      @jcmberne 20 дней назад

      @@BrianBell7 they will redefine what you think 'weird' means.

  • @heidi6281
    @heidi6281 20 дней назад

    I am reading Electric Forest by Tanitha Lee! It is deliciously weird, a dystopian society with a Frankenstein/Pygmalion mash up. I am absolutely loving it!
    Childhood’s End is the bomb! I think it’s theme is ironically, the foundation for most fantasy novels!!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      Cool! Adding to TBR Mountain!

    • @heidi6281
      @heidi6281 20 дней назад

      @@BrianBell7
      Look up the Don Maitz cover art, it’s superb!

    • @Johanna_reads
      @Johanna_reads 20 дней назад +1

      Heidi! Electric Forest!!! I love that book! 💜

    • @heidi6281
      @heidi6281 20 дней назад

      @
      I know and after Niko Book Reviews loved it too I picked it up, I knew you both could not be wrong. This book brought me in from the first scene, old school dystopian with a “ strong voice” female protagonist.❤️❤️❤️

  • @chellyfishing
    @chellyfishing 20 дней назад +1

    Just watched a video by Rammel Broadcasting about five books that are unadaptable and Dark Tower and Book of the New Sun were at the top of the list. It just tickled me seeing them back to back like that.

    • @heidi6281
      @heidi6281 20 дней назад

      The Dark Tower can definitely be adapted for a tv show by a top notch show runner! You can get all unknown actors and with CGI all is possible. I would just adapt Dark Towers Beginnings comic books and end it with Wizard & Glass and forget about all the rest! They probably can shoot the whole series in the California desert too.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      Wow, what a coincidence! Cool!

  • @RedFuryBooks
    @RedFuryBooks 19 дней назад

    WEIRD. I guess I like weird books as many of these are favorites - the Dark Tower, Hyperion... and I really need to reread Cloud Atlas!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  19 дней назад +1

      You like them and you can't deny!!

  • @Zivilin
    @Zivilin 20 дней назад

    I thought for sure you'd mention The Worm Ouroboros on your weird list. 😂

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      Oh, you haven't heard the last of that book still this year!! Stay Tuned!

  • @OnlyTheBestFantasyNovels
    @OnlyTheBestFantasyNovels 20 дней назад

    I have yet to meet anyone who was prepared for the ending of Childhood's End. Great list!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      Thank you!!

    • @Fianna1775
      @Fianna1775 20 дней назад

      Phenomenal book....the ending is spectacular!

  • @MacScarfield
    @MacScarfield 20 дней назад

    Greetings from Brussels, Brian! 🇧🇪
    I think you maybe mentioned, but «Weird» do come from «Wyrd», approx. «one’s fate»: As such it points to something outside of your own will, Deus Ex Machina’s outside of rational thought and calculation, where God, gods or the Universe DO seem to playing dice (to paraphrase Einstein) with us humble mortals, but also rising to become something greater, something worth to be remembered, that is as you say, outside of rutine and the ordinary.
    Can definitely vouch for the weirdness of «Cloud Atlas» and «Childhood’s End» (man, it is really good, but also so so heartbreakingly bleak, not gonna lie!), and hope to get to «Hyperion» and «Book of the New Sun» in my not to distant future! I am myself about to read «Lord of Light» by Roger Zelazny after my Belgian Holiday!
    As always good food for thought before we hit the road Brian! Cheers!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      Thanks, Mac! Roger Zelazny is coming up on my TBR! That's an interesting thought you put in the first part of your comment.

  • @TF-lk6co
    @TF-lk6co 20 дней назад

    House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski. So weird it can't be properly read via ebook or audiobook. This is the second time one of your videos compelled me to mention it. If it happens a third time, the book will magically appear and haunt you until it's been read.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      YES! I have several ghosts that moved in with me from the nightclub so that would be par for the course over here at stately Bell Manor!

  • @callinicobo5991
    @callinicobo5991 20 дней назад

    Interesting list. The werdiest book I've ever read is "The Long Afternoon of Earth" by Brian W Aldiss, wich I suggest. Tank you.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      Cool, thank you! I'll check it out!

  • @Fianna1775
    @Fianna1775 20 дней назад

    Excellent list my man! Childhood's End is a wonderful book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a thought provoking tale.
    My list might include off the top of my head.....
    Lord of the World
    Animal Farm
    anything by James Joyce really he's so bloody weird
    If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
    Wicked
    Xenocide (Ender's Game book #3)
    Have a great day friends and happy reading!

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад

      Thank you! Happy reading back atcha!

  • @Novastar.SaberCombat
    @Novastar.SaberCombat 13 дней назад

    Hey, enjoy!
    🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
    "Before I start, I must see my end. Destination known, my mind’s journey now begins. Upon my chariot, heart and soul’s fate revealed. In time, all points converge, hope’s strength resteeled. But to earn final peace at the universe’s endless refrain, we must see all in nothingness... before we start again."
    🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
    --Diamond Dragons (series)

  • @Chance.Dillon
    @Chance.Dillon 19 дней назад

    If Snacky Jason recommends cloud atlas-I will submit

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  19 дней назад

      haha, your mileage may vary! but bring snacks.

  • @cabarnone
    @cabarnone 18 дней назад

    Weird? House of leaves. Book structure and format is out of this world

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  18 дней назад

      That title has come up quite often recently! Adding it to TBR Mountain!

  • @Talking_Story
    @Talking_Story 20 дней назад +1

    Ok you put out a weird list and I have read all but 2. What does that say about me?

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      Hahaha it means you have two new books for your TBR

    • @Talking_Story
      @Talking_Story 20 дней назад

      @ 1 is coming up in 25 in a buddy read. So that only leaves 1.

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      @@Talking_Story I wish I had the time to reread it. I NEVER reread, but I would reread that.

  • @mndrew1
    @mndrew1 11 дней назад

    Weirdest read in the last few years had to be "This is how you lose the time war".

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  11 дней назад

      I've heard about that one!

  • @FierroSev
    @FierroSev 20 дней назад

    Piranesi is terrible, the characters were so unlikable. Couldnt finish it

    • @BrianBell7
      @BrianBell7  20 дней назад +1

      well, not every book is for everyone!

    • @Novastar.SaberCombat
      @Novastar.SaberCombat 13 дней назад

      Exactly. Besides, only the wealthiest can market their work. No exceptions. But that doesn't mean it holds much in the way of dramatic structure, character arcs, literary techniques, thematic underpinnings, relevant world-building, etc.
      🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
      "Before I start, I must see my end. Destination known, my mind’s journey now begins. Upon my chariot, heart and soul’s fate revealed. In time, all points converge, hope’s strength resteeled. But to earn final peace at the universe’s endless refrain, we must see all in nothingness... before we start again."
      🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨
      --Diamond Dragons (series)