Відео

The Neglected Bookshop...me thinks you doth protest too much, Jon. 😉😂🤣. That collection actually sounds pretty interesting... I've been busy. I've donated my time in the past to websites where I do proofreading and editing for translated Korean LITRPG stories. I don't do that anymore, but I still help a couple of self published authors by editing and proofreading their work. I don't get renumeration for that, I simply help these authors (on Royal Road, which is a site allowing prospective authors to post work for feedback) one of whom I've been helping all week. She's got a late December publishing date, so I'm helping her make her deadline.😉🤓🐶

Looking forward to the year-end wrap-up! I diverted from Sci-fi (temporarily) this past weekend to read James by Percival Everett. Mostly worth the awards hype; he has a very playful style despite the subject matter. Finished H.G. Wells' The Time Machine as well. It was very interesting, if dated. Hoping to finish book 3 of Butler's Xenogenesis series this weekend!

I read Crash by Ballard this week, expecting some cool science fiction and was immediately humbled. 😂

Children of Time is the only modern book I've read that rivals Dragon's Egg in concept.

Hello, Good luck with Boneshaker - but it bored me. I just finished reading The People of the Pole, by Charles Derennes - this is French proto-SF from 1907, so considering the plot stayed fairly simple, for a "lost world" novel that pre-dates Conan Doyle's The Lost World, it was pretty cool. Very bleak, by the finale. I read it in translation, and am used to the typos these Black Coat Press editions are loaded with (alas); this time they didn't kick in until around page 30, and then my hopes were dashed. I am nevertheless grateful for all the translated French SF of old that the publisher in question has provided; just not sure what the proof-reader situation is. Earlier. I had put the wraps on Menace of the Monster: Classic Tales of Creatures from Beyond, edited by Mike Ashley. Four out of Five stars, overall - appreciated the variety of creatures and scenarios. I had read 'Discord in Scarlet' by van Vogt, in The Voyage of the Space Beagle, but was up for a re-read of the tale that is supposed to aspects of the movie Alien. Anyway, it was supposed to be slightly different than what I read, in the fix-up novel; I think the ending was slightly different. The other entry in Menace of the Monster I had read, but only sort of, was the short, lesser known version of H.G. Wells's War of the Worlds...some quickie version cooked up to fit some illustrations, or something? Anyway, I vastly preferred the novel, and felt like I was being rushed through an alien invasion, cheated out of some carnage, that sort of thing. I should get to at least one SF book before New Year's - just a question of what. But I've diverted to a Christmas-setting Murder Mystery, called The Night of Fear, by Moray Dalton (mentioned in case anyone is stuck for an idea along those lines).

I just finished reading the novelization for Star Trek, the motion picture, and I really enjoyed it❤

I understand a lot of scifi has always been reflective and analytical about the era in which they are written, however concealed, but many of these books listed here seem more like woke polemics than actual stories with characters.

I had decided to put off getting Solomon Kane from Audible until next years Cimmerian September. That opened the way for me to get Helliconia Spring (following our exchange the other day, Jon). Unfortunately, it is not available in Canada. WTF?! Now I'm in limbo. As to Cordwainer Smith's collection, I do have audiobook. I think I have commented before that this is mind-f**kery, perhaps not to extent of PKD. At least, that is my opinion. YMMV.

Hello, my friend, I just finished reading A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, the last book in The Wheel of Time series. I also want to read the Pandominion series by M.R. Carey. I hope you have a nice weekend.

Thanks for the rundown, Jon. Happy Holidays to you and yours. I'm reading Altered Carbon now. My eyes are rolling a little from the dialogue, but I'll soldier on in the expectation that it gets better. Peace, Mike.

I came here to find a new sci-fi novel, I'm leaving with 1-2 options or yet another Tchaikovsky. The vast majority of these seem more like sociological fiction than science fiction.

The footage from that bookshop was cruel to watch. So much stuff and I can‘t get my hands on it, waaah! 😁 Regarding your copy of Nova: Would you mind having another look at it and telling me 1) if it has a price on it somewhere? 2) which printing it is (i.e. what‘s the numberline on the copyright page)? and finally 3) does it contain the introduction by Ken MacLeod? Thanks a lot!

Very few SF fans appreciate In Ascension, I do NOT get it. It’s absolutely stunning ⭐️

Got to this one late….great job! I’ve only read 14, not too happy with that. I’ll be reading House of Suns in January though and very much looking forward to it. The First 15 Lives of Harry August is one of my favourite reads of this year. And of course, always happy to see Banks on there.

As an American it's fascinating to see these Pan editions. Regarding "perennial obsession in SF", that reminds me of talking to a huge SF fan older than me back in the 1990s. We were talking about Stranger in a Strange land and she laughed and said "Some SF writers really think they invented writing about sex in fiction!"

Great finds John I also seem to be collecting those black SF masterworks I agree that they look much nicer than the yellow ones

🛒 When you’re pulling out candidates from the shop shelves, do you aim to rapidly go back over them lest an enthusiastic punter comes in after you and gets a bit cheeky…? Quite some items of interest in this yuge haul 😮 I cannot read all of these books 😭

I remember being profoundly moved by the old Midwich Cuckoos movie, and became an ardent reader of sci-fi shortly after. Thank you John Wyndham for changing my life.

Why the heck does red fade faster than other colours?

Great finds Jon. I did a lot of November scavenging myself, a large book haul now polished and added to my shelves.

A Maze of Death- one of my favourite PKDs. I used to have the Pan, but I lost it and replaced it with the Sf Masterworks (black) edition. I haven't got the Pan Dream of Wessex, but I've got the Pan Infinite Summer. BTW, I got a vg condition copy of Beckett's Dark Eden from a charity shop which was signed by Chris- Great. Just £3! Four Becketts in my library now. Re your charity run, I Hope to Arrive Soon is Dick's last collection- worth reading. Herbert's The Dorsadi Experiment is really good- also recommended. Van Vogt's Null-A is crazy, not well written, but worth reading due to its importance to SF.

Hello! new subscriber here. Love this video so so much. Thanks for this GREAT list 🥰

Ian McDonald's Kirinya took a while to get going - so much so, that I almost DNF 'ed it a third of the way through - something I almost never do - but I stayed with it, & the 2nd part of the book turned out to be really intriguing IMO. I liked McDonald's 1st short story collection - Empire Dreams - as well. The collection that you bought - Speaking in Tongues - was McDonald's 2nd collection of short stories, which I haven't read, but I'm tipping it'll be every bit as good as his 1st collection was...

A Memory Called Empire was an odd one for me. I loved it, but after I finished, I felt the world building was a bit flat, but the ideas were grand. I do recommend, though

This was definitely was your most cynical and grumpy(as you stated you are)episode. I’ve view almost all your offerings and don’t think I’ve ever noticed you being so skeptical. Best to not let that happen in the future where potential new young, impressionable, sensitive subs are turned off. 😅

Out of your beloved Pan Lozenges, I'm recommending "Door into Summer". Quite simply excellent, and as far as I'm aware, the very first use of time travel to redo the events in the traveler's own life. I'm also seriously recommending Dragon in the Sea, which along with the Dorsadi Experiment, are the best non-Dune books by Herbert. Do be warned, the plot of the Dorsadi Experiment will make less sense unless you read Whipping Star first, which isn't that great of a book. But necessary to understand the ConSentiency, which is where the Dorsadi Experiment takes place.😉. There are also a few short stories by Herbert on the ConSentiency, which are helpful to understand the incredible world building by Herbert. The Tactful Saboteur is very very helpful in understanding the incredibly weird life cycle of the Pan-Spechi. By the way, Dorsadi Experiment is not technically First Contact. The multiple species inhabiting the Experiment are not biologically different than the members of the ConSentiency...however the pressures inside the Experiment have radically changed their intellect, and personalities...in a fundamental way. 🤓

Reamde is superb novel. It's not really sf, but more of a techno thriller/chase novel. There is about 150 pages long action scene in there. The whole thing moves like a bullet train. The sequel, Fall, Or Dodge in Hell is the worst thing that Stephenson has ever written. Eater by Benford is pretty good. Rudy Rucker is the guy who coined the word cyberpunk. I read Lady of Mazes by didn't really liked it. I think it's set in the same universe as Ventus. Great video.

Whenever I see Songs of Earth and Power by Greg Bear I think of the album Song of Earth and Sky by Bill Douglas. You skipped right past Lord Dunsany and Alan Dean Foster (that was Founding of Commonwealth vol.3).

Aside from the Number 20 on the list, I can't say any of those floated my space capsule, and I admit I kinda nodded off toward the end of the list, I may have to re-cap that. There seems to be a lot of stretched allegory posing as Sci-Fi in 2024, with stories that would possibly be better of re-worked as modern day fiction.

2061 is a very good hard scifi book that was briefly considered for the big screen with Tom Hanks in a role. Heywood Floyd's son crash lands on Europa and he goes off to the rescue. Lady Of Mazes, I quite the book a long time ago because I did not understand what was supposed to be virtual and real and how they were getting around. I wonder how I would see it now. I intend to read those Stableford Millenium books next year, I just have not ordered them yet. Wikipedia has a reading order though I am not sure I'll for the last YA book: The Cassandra Complex (Tor March 2001); revised and expanded from: Inherit the Earth (Tor September 1998); revised and expanded from: Dark Ararat (Tor March 2002) Architects of Emortality (Tor September 1999) The Fountains of Youth (Tor May 2000) The Omega Expedition (Tor December 2002 The Dragon Man: A Novel of the Future (Borgo Press 2009); a stand-alone "Young Adult" novel; also available as an e-book, listed at 65,401 words

Very nice finds! Thanks for showing them. 😺✌️

Really enjoyed this haul, Jon! I may not read a whole lot of SF these days, but I like seeing all those 'vintage' books on the shelves. We really don't have that kind of bookstore in these backwaters, unfortunately... Those NEL books with the beatiful Pennington covers remind me of that old, large format Science Fiction magazine. Had lots of their posters hanging on the walls of my room as a teenager. Jon, which Pan Lozenges are you missing? I have a few of those, might have one you need for your collection...

Your oxfam is way way better than what we have in Cambridge! Very envious. I haven't even found one with that kind of range when I've scouted around in London.

I’m a shelf browsing enjoyer for what it’s worth. It’s like a small dopamine rush. Great haul video as always!

You must have one of those Big American Gas Guzzling Pickup Trucks to haul your books around. 😂

I really like seeing UK bookshops because all the stuff I recognize has covers I've never seen before and you get a lot more of writers that are harder to find out here, Wyndham, for instance! I was sad to see you leave the Lord Dunsany Ballantine's behind!

This was a proper bookpilled beginning 😄

Just finished The Cassandra Complex. Loved Stableford's Hooded Swan series. But Cassandra Complex was dull, dull, dull. Hope you like it better.

Sometimes I wish I could reach through the screen when you're doing your shelf-browsing 😆 I'm inclined to agree with you about the newer yellow Masterworks; they are a bit garish I find. I'm currently in the process of swapping out the ones I have for more vintage copies. The typesetting in some of them can be a bit strange too.

A bit of an abrupt beginning… but like with a good book, you‘re thrown right in … 😉 Great finds. I still wish I could read as much as you do.

You probably are knowledgeable enough by now to not come across too many blind buys, but do you ever still pick up a book anymore just based on title and cover art?

I haven't experienced a lot of PKD, but I think his short stories are more tractable/enjoyable/something else than his longer works.

A great Sci-fi book is Ariya Kai the Secret of Colony L.I.F.E. by F. Z. Zach. Well worth checking out.

Jon, barely Sci-Fi. Not many float my boat. The Kitasei book might be interesting and maybe Corey. We at least get some interstellar stuff. Hopefully I won’t be triggered by it 😂 (that was a joke).

🔟 Before I discovered BookTube I used to haul the top ten SF books from the GR Choice Awards every year. This top 20 is a bit 🫣 because I have read none of them, own just one of them, and am only familiar with another three. So 16 of these are utterly unfamiliar to me 🫣 Goodness me.