Reading 'Day of the Triffids' right now, in fact. It has a very memorable opening line, and in portions, seems utterly contemporary and not dated at all, which is part of what makes it a classic. Thanks for another great list, Bart.
Solaris was excellent, and I enjoyed the Bill Johnston translation I just read. I need to read more of these Golden Age gems. Thanks for this awesome list!
Thanks. I hope you like Lem. Like most authors, his work is not going to appeal to everyone, but it’s definitely worth trying. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
Yes. Thought-provoking, and also, for me, somewhat unexpected with the direction it went to. It’s one of those stories that I will remember for the rest of my life.
I have read most of those books when I grew up in my early teens because my older brother bought them and kept them in our shared room, some I read at school (1984, Farenheit 451) and they are great stories. I just saw your collaborative video with the Words In Time channel and I think that I have a copy of Way Station that you are searching for. I have so many books that I have to keep them in boxes. I subbed your channel and I will be checking out your other videos.
Thank you for subscribing and watching the video! Sounds like your brother not only had a positive influence on you, but also had good SF taste. 👍 I have been looking for Way Station for a long time, would you be willing to send it to me? How much would it be? Thank you for remembering that. I mentioned it in Jonathan’s video. 😀
Thanks! While, other than Wells and Verne, I have not read many books dating back to the '20s and before, The Golden Age has some of my favorite reads. In a few weeks, I'll look at the books from New Wave and put together a top 10 as well. There will be some hits there!
I was a teenager in the 60s and read some of these way back then. But my most recent first read among them was Solaris. I saw the movie many years ago (I've got all of Tarkovsky's movies here at home) and although I liked the movie it never drove me to read the book. However, that changed after hearing last year about a new translation. The widely known one was translated from a French translation and didn't have good reviews. The new translation was direct from Polish and Lem's family gave it their support. It's by Bill Johnston. Then I got out the movie to watch again. The book is a bit darker than the movie, I think because it makes us generate our own visual world which can allow us to leave more stuff in the shadows and to throw our inner images into the future. The movie traps us in a world of bygone fashion styles (lots of "thank God we don't wear that any more" crochet and fishnet clothing, lots of orange and brown clothes) and throws us into the past instead of into the future.
Great point about the trappings of a 1972 movie. Btw, I have to watch Stalker. I’m not sure how good either translation is as I was lucky to read the book the original Polish. Thank You for watching the video and commenting!
neither of the films portrayed the station atmosphere and magnified the appearance of the wife overmuch. there was a lot going on beyond the memory of a recently departed reappearing on a science station light years away. the ocean was boiling with mysteries the films ignored.
I have read all bar one on that list the one I have not was the second Stanislaw Lem, I did not do well with Solaris, so I never explored any more if his work. It has been so long since I read Flowers For Algenon that I am definitely due a re-read. Thank you for another good video.
If Solaris did not work for you I’m not sure if Return from the Stars would. Perhaps his more satirical works, like Cyberiad or Star Diaries might be worth trying. Thank You for watching!
Great list! I’ve only read a few of those you listed. Never read any Lem, but he’s on my radar now. Only person I’d add is Robert Heinlein. Loved Starship Troopers!
Thanks! I have to read Starship Troopers soon. I've been putting it off because when I read Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land his politics got in the way of me enjoying the read. I struggled with it... But I know that Starship Troopers has a different feel. 👍
@@bartsbookspace I read it such a long time ago, over 30 years, so I don't remember a lot of the details but I remember I liked it. His writing style changed in his later works, like Stranger in a strange land and The number of the beast and the Lazarus Long books but I enjoyed everything of his that I read.
Yes! Anyone who is well-read in SF should give Lem a shot. Solaris is a good place to start, but lighter books like Cyberiad, Star Diaries, or Fables for Robots are also excellent. Thanks for watching.
That’s great to hear! I think Solaris works on many levels. There is the wonder of space exploration, first contact, unknowable consciousness, but it also touches on the human experience and how alone we are. Thanks for watching
Great video! Lem is one of my favourite SF writers, and writers in general. A jakie są te trzy ulubione Lemy, w których Powrót z gwiazd już się nie zmieścił? If I may ask, of course :). Moje top 3 to Solaris, Kongres futurologiczny i Cyberiada, ale Powrót byłby zaraz za podium. Mam nadzieję, że powstaną kolejne filmy na temat top 10 z kolejnych okresów historii sf. Pozdrawiam.
@@w_zaciszu_biblioteki Dziekuje! Jesli chodzi o Lema to Solaris, Cyberiada i może Dzienniki Gwiezdne - z racji poczucia humoru. Ale Kongres Futorologiczny (lepszy niż PKD) tez chyba bym wstawił przed Powrót z Gwiazd. Niezwyciężony ? Musiałbym pomyśleć. Tak za pare tygodni zrobię New Wave. 😀
I am embarrassingly under-read when it comes to Stanislaw Łem. But I have so many of his books in boxes now, I really should fill this gap in my education!
I'm pretty new to reading science fiction so I've only read 3 books on your list, 1984, Childhood's End and The Day of the Triffids. I thought they were all great reads. Really enjoyed your video.
There are so many fabulous, mind, expending, science-fiction books out there. There is always more to read! Is fantasy your go to? Thank you for watching and commenting!
@@bartsbookspace For many years horror has been my go to, a few years ago I started reading more fantasy and then last year I started reading more science fiction. I love how diverse the genre is, there have been a few occasions where I've had my mind blown, sometimes you just have to take a moment to contemplate what you've just read.
@@DisquietandDragons I think that is exactly the case. Many SF books are idea-driven and require a moment of contemplation to be fully appreciated. Fantasy is perhaps a bit more character-driven. And while I don't read much horror these days, King is still King. 😀
I really need to re-read Solaris, I read it a number of years ago, and I think I was just too inexperienced at the time as it didn't land with me at all.
Thanks! There are some big ones here; I’m not surprised you’ve read many. Asimov’s Foundation is… well foundational to SF and I recommend reading it, but I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorites. It has ideas that influenced many later authors and some of the ideas are mind blowing, but it lacks a soul. It’s no Dune or Lord of the Rings. But to be fair, it has been a while since I read it. Another one I need to re-read… 😬
Dune was another favorite of mine, although Frank Herbert jumped the shark in the last one or maybe two (3,4?) books in the series. Have you read Herbert's The White plague? Pretty interesting, considering today's technology. Perhaps more of a novel with technology rather than science fiction.
@@jimsmith7212 I have not read The White Plague, but have heard about the book. From what I know, it qualifies a science-fiction. There is bioterrorism and fictional science. So 👍
Childhood's end is a great read, as are so many Arthur C. Clarke books including Rendezvous with Rama and of course 2001 a space odyssey. A.C. Clarke is also credited as being the first to suggest geostationary satellite orbits, which revolutionized communications. He later joked about how he should have patented THAT idea.
I read Randezvous with Rama in the early 90’s and loved it. The follow-ups unfortunately, not as much as book one. I will want to re-read it soon. Definitely before the movie (whenever that may be) comes out. Clark was a fascinating man; I did hear about the geostationary satellite idea. And not many people know that he was also a fairly well know scuba diver.
From this era, I have not read beyond the 40s. My recommendations, that you did not have in your list: The World of Null-A, Lest Darness Fall, The Skylark of Space, Slan, Animal Farm.
All the above titles are great suggestions. I did read Animal Farm and at some point want to read the others as well. They are after all staples of early SF with Skylark credited for being the first space opera. Thanks!
In Starship troopers (1959), I think, by Robert A. Heinlein, far in the future an interstellar spaceship drops out of hyperspace near a far away star, and the captain orders the navigator to calculate an orbit around an orbiting planet. The navigator pulls out his slide rule.......... 😳
Flowers of Algernon I saw the play first. One of the have to do school activities. So from the very beginning I was ready to suffer through and run home... I am personally responsible for changing the mind of a person who allready forged a note from parents permitting him to avoid it. 😊
No, the one that I saw was a one - person theater A guy set by tgd table and dictated journal entries to a taoe-recorder. Chilling. Especially because we used to have an autistic girl in our class at the beginning of the year. Some of his mannerisms were exactly like hers.
The only book I read by Stapledon was StarMaker (I think) in the early ‘90s. I need to reread it as I don’t remember anything. But, I have a feeling it would’ve made this list. Have you read Star Maker? I have not heard much about Sirius, other than seeing a review on Goodreads. I will look for it and other Stapledon book. He was highly influential to Lem, Clark and many others.
Yes. I’m seeing different time ranges, not sure if there is total consensus. But, I should have done more research before posting. Thanks for watching.
Sorry Bart, it has to be said you are completely wrong on your statement that 'most scholars' think the Golden Age ended circa 1963 - the Golden Age has long (and I mean many. many decades- at least fifty plus years) been used to cover the period 1939 to 1946 or to early 1950s latest. Look it up in the 'Encyclopedia of Science Fiction' (3rd Edition Clute & Nichols, now a website)- this is the long established critical authority on SF. 'Ages' in SF are defined by the influence of certain editors and magazines until the end of the 1960s. The 1950s was the age of social and satirical SF fostered by 'The Magazine of Fantasy and SF' and 'Galaxy'. Robert Silverberg has been quoted as saying that the 1950s was a true golden age, as it was better than what is called the golden age- and he'd know. 'Golden Age' refers to 1939-1946 because of John W Campbell's dominance and steering of the field in the USA through his editorial standards and philosophy in 'Astounding'. Anyone who likes Lem is a good guy in my book, but I'm afraid to say my friend, your critical standard in this one re the historical perspective and agreed terminology is way off. Best of luck, otherwise.
Thanks for watching and commenting. 🙌 I’m sure you’re right on this. However, the articles I have read point, roughly, to the dates I included. Anyway, I didn’t make this video to be a definitive golden age overview, just a way to organize some of my favorite reads from a certain time period. Thanks again.
@@bartsbookspace Fair enough, but I'd say do some more serious research from reliable sources, as the misuse of accepted terminology muddies the waters and can make it harder to communicate specific points- I suspect the articles you refer to are online sources? Either way, some nice choices 🙂
I’ve read and enjoyed all of these except for Return From the Stars. I’ll have to add it to my TBR!
You have my permission to add all the LEM books to your TBR! 😂
Reading 'Day of the Triffids' right now, in fact. It has a very memorable opening line, and in portions, seems utterly contemporary and not dated at all, which is part of what makes it a classic. Thanks for another great list, Bart.
Thank you!
Yes, great point, Day of the Triffids is a book that -unlike many from those days- has aged well.
Solaris was excellent, and I enjoyed the Bill Johnston translation I just read. I need to read more of these Golden Age gems. Thanks for this awesome list!
Thank You for watching Johanna, I’m glad you’re enjoying your SF jaunt and super happy that you liked Solaris!
Nice list, I've read them all except for the Lem's, but I will be rectifying that soon. All classic science fiction reads IMO. Cheers.
Thanks. I hope you like Lem. Like most authors, his work is not going to appeal to everyone, but it’s definitely worth trying. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
I loved “Flowers for Algernon”! What a story- so thought provoking!
Yes. Thought-provoking, and also, for me, somewhat unexpected with the direction it went to. It’s one of those stories that I will remember for the rest of my life.
I have read most of those books when I grew up in my early teens because my older brother bought them and kept them in our shared room, some I read at school (1984, Farenheit 451) and they are great stories. I just saw your collaborative video with the Words In Time channel and I think that I have a copy of Way Station that you are searching for. I have so many books that I have to keep them in boxes. I subbed your channel and I will be checking out your other videos.
Thank you for subscribing and watching the video! Sounds like your brother not only had a positive influence on you, but also had good SF taste. 👍
I have been looking for Way Station for a long time, would you be willing to send it to me? How much would it be? Thank you for remembering that. I mentioned it in Jonathan’s video. 😀
Great picks! Greatly enjoyed the ones that I've read and look forward to the rest.
Thanks! While, other than Wells and Verne, I have not read many books dating back to the '20s and before, The Golden Age has some of my favorite reads. In a few weeks, I'll look at the books from New Wave and put together a top 10 as well. There will be some hits there!
I was a teenager in the 60s and read some of these way back then. But my most recent first read among them was Solaris. I saw the movie many years ago (I've got all of Tarkovsky's movies here at home) and although I liked the movie it never drove me to read the book. However, that changed after hearing last year about a new translation. The widely known one was translated from a French translation and didn't have good reviews. The new translation was direct from Polish and Lem's family gave it their support. It's by Bill Johnston. Then I got out the movie to watch again. The book is a bit darker than the movie, I think because it makes us generate our own visual world which can allow us to leave more stuff in the shadows and to throw our inner images into the future. The movie traps us in a world of bygone fashion styles (lots of "thank God we don't wear that any more" crochet and fishnet clothing, lots of orange and brown clothes) and throws us into the past instead of into the future.
Great point about the trappings of a 1972 movie. Btw, I have to watch Stalker.
I’m not sure how good either translation is as I was lucky to read the book the original Polish.
Thank You for watching the video and commenting!
neither of the films portrayed the station atmosphere and magnified the appearance of the wife overmuch. there was a lot going on beyond the memory of a recently departed reappearing on a science station light years away. the ocean was boiling with mysteries the films ignored.
I have read all bar one on that list the one I have not was the second Stanislaw Lem, I did not do well with Solaris, so I never explored any more if his work. It has been so long since I read Flowers For Algenon that I am definitely due a re-read. Thank you for another good video.
If Solaris did not work for you I’m not sure if Return from the Stars would. Perhaps his more satirical works, like Cyberiad or Star Diaries might be worth trying.
Thank You for watching!
This video just increased the size of my TBR list significantly. 😅Good work Bart and I'm glad to see 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 getting some love!
Thanks! 😂
Great list! I’ve only read a few of those you listed. Never read any Lem, but he’s on my radar now. Only person I’d add is Robert Heinlein. Loved Starship Troopers!
Thanks! I have to read Starship Troopers soon. I've been putting it off because when I read Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land his politics got in the way of me enjoying the read. I struggled with it... But I know that Starship Troopers has a different feel. 👍
Heinlein is great.
One of the first sci fi books I read, at about 12 years old, was Have spacesuit - will travel (1958).
Great kids book.
@@jimsmith7212 I want to read The Moon is a harsh Mistress at some point. Have you read it? If yes, what did you think of it?
@@bartsbookspace
I read it such a long time ago, over 30 years, so I don't remember a lot of the details but I remember I liked it.
His writing style changed in his later works, like Stranger in a strange land and The number of the beast and the Lazarus Long books but I enjoyed everything of his that I read.
Clearly I need to give Stanislaw Lem a shot. 🇵🇱 Especially since it looks like he writes short books! 🎉
Yes! Anyone who is well-read in SF should give Lem a shot. Solaris is a good place to start, but lighter books like Cyberiad, Star Diaries, or Fables for Robots are also excellent. Thanks for watching.
Great pick with Solaris as your #1. It's one of my favourite novels of all time.
That’s great to hear! I think Solaris works on many levels. There is the wonder of space exploration, first contact, unknowable consciousness, but it also touches on the human experience and how alone we are. Thanks for watching
Read all but Return From the Stars. I will have to read this one.
Nice! 🙌 Return from the Stars is not my favorite Lem, not even top 3, but it is well worth the read.
Great video! Lem is one of my favourite SF writers, and writers in general. A jakie są te trzy ulubione Lemy, w których Powrót z gwiazd już się nie zmieścił? If I may ask, of course :). Moje top 3 to Solaris, Kongres futurologiczny i Cyberiada, ale Powrót byłby zaraz za podium. Mam nadzieję, że powstaną kolejne filmy na temat top 10 z kolejnych okresów historii sf. Pozdrawiam.
@@w_zaciszu_biblioteki Dziekuje! Jesli chodzi o Lema to Solaris, Cyberiada i może Dzienniki Gwiezdne - z racji poczucia humoru. Ale Kongres Futorologiczny (lepszy niż PKD) tez chyba bym wstawił przed Powrót z Gwiazd. Niezwyciężony ? Musiałbym pomyśleć.
Tak za pare tygodni zrobię New Wave. 😀
I am embarrassingly under-read when it comes to Stanislaw Łem. But I have so many of his books in boxes now, I really should fill this gap in my education!
That is a good problem to have! Hope you enjoy the journey and thank you for watch Int the video.
I'm pretty new to reading science fiction so I've only read 3 books on your list, 1984, Childhood's End and The Day of the Triffids. I thought they were all great reads.
Really enjoyed your video.
There are so many fabulous, mind, expending, science-fiction books out there. There is always more to read!
Is fantasy your go to?
Thank you for watching and commenting!
@@bartsbookspace For many years horror has been my go to, a few years ago I started reading more fantasy and then last year I started reading more science fiction. I love how diverse the genre is, there have been a few occasions where I've had my mind blown, sometimes you just have to take a moment to contemplate what you've just read.
@@DisquietandDragons I think that is exactly the case. Many SF books are idea-driven and require a moment of contemplation to be fully appreciated. Fantasy is perhaps a bit more character-driven. And while I don't read much horror these days, King is still King. 😀
I really need to re-read Solaris, I read it a number of years ago, and I think I was just too inexperienced at the time as it didn't land with me at all.
That might do the trick. I liked it the first time I read it, but loved it on the re-read.
Thanks for watching. 😀
Great list! Glad I can say I have read a decent amount of these. Some how I have still yet to read Foundation however.
Thanks! There are some big ones here; I’m not surprised you’ve read many.
Asimov’s Foundation is… well foundational to SF and I recommend reading it, but I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorites. It has ideas that influenced many later authors and some of the ideas are mind blowing, but it lacks a soul. It’s no Dune or Lord of the Rings. But to be fair, it has been a while since I read it. Another one I need to re-read… 😬
Dune was another favorite of mine, although Frank Herbert jumped the shark in the last one or maybe two (3,4?) books in the series.
Have you read Herbert's The White plague?
Pretty interesting, considering today's technology.
Perhaps more of a novel with technology rather than science fiction.
@@jimsmith7212 I have not read The White Plague, but have heard about the book. From what I know, it qualifies a science-fiction. There is bioterrorism and fictional science. So 👍
@@jimsmith7212 I have only read the firs Dune book
@@TomOrange
I only read the first four.
Dune (1965)
Dune Messiah (1969)
Children of Dune (1976)
God Emperor of Dune (1981)
Childhood's end is a great read, as are so many Arthur C. Clarke books including Rendezvous with Rama and of course 2001 a space odyssey.
A.C. Clarke is also credited as being the first to suggest geostationary satellite orbits, which revolutionized communications.
He later joked about how he should have patented THAT idea.
I read Randezvous with Rama in the early 90’s and loved it. The follow-ups unfortunately, not as much as book one. I will want to re-read it soon. Definitely before the movie (whenever that may be) comes out.
Clark was a fascinating man; I did hear about the geostationary satellite idea. And not many people know that he was also a fairly well know scuba diver.
From this era, I have not read beyond the 40s. My recommendations, that you did not have in your list: The World of Null-A, Lest Darness Fall, The Skylark of Space, Slan, Animal Farm.
All the above titles are great suggestions. I did read Animal Farm and at some point want to read the others as well. They are after all staples of early SF with Skylark credited for being the first space opera. Thanks!
In Starship troopers (1959), I think, by Robert A. Heinlein, far in the future an interstellar spaceship drops out of hyperspace near a far away star, and the captain orders the navigator to calculate an orbit around an orbiting planet.
The navigator pulls out his slide rule.......... 😳
😂 In one of the books I read recently, I think it was Lem, one of the protagonists packed a typewriter with him on his spaceship.
Flowers of Algernon I saw the play first. One of the have to do school activities. So from the very beginning I was ready to suffer through and run home... I am personally responsible for changing the mind of a person who allready forged a note from parents permitting him to avoid it. 😊
😂 That's a good story. I wonder how faithful the play is to the book. I think it was a musical?
thx for watching and for the comment.
No, the one that I saw was a one - person theater
A guy set by tgd table and dictated journal entries to a taoe-recorder. Chilling. Especially because we used to have an autistic girl in our class at the beginning of the year. Some of his mannerisms were exactly like hers.
Interesting. I can see how that would be a powerful way to tell this story.
Saved by the bell!
Thanks for watching. 🙌
I read Flowers for Algernon in 1959 or 60.
That’s great! You must have read the short story just as it came out in 1959. It won Hugo in 1960. Have you read it -the full novel- since?
Curious if you read Sirius by Olaf Stapledon? Another book from a dogs perspective with extraordinary intelligence
The only book I read by Stapledon was StarMaker (I think) in the early ‘90s. I need to reread it as I don’t remember anything.
But, I have a feeling it would’ve made this list. Have you read Star Maker?
I have not heard much about Sirius, other than seeing a review on Goodreads. I will look for it and other Stapledon book. He was highly influential to Lem, Clark and many others.
IMHO, SF's golden age was 1930-1959.
Yes. I’m seeing different time ranges, not sure if there is total consensus. But, I should have done more research before posting. Thanks for watching.
There is really no wrong answer here.
Sorry Bart, it has to be said you are completely wrong on your statement that 'most scholars' think the Golden Age ended circa 1963 - the Golden Age has long (and I mean many. many decades- at least fifty plus years) been used to cover the period 1939 to 1946 or to early 1950s latest. Look it up in the 'Encyclopedia of Science Fiction' (3rd Edition Clute & Nichols, now a website)- this is the long established critical authority on SF. 'Ages' in SF are defined by the influence of certain editors and magazines until the end of the 1960s. The 1950s was the age of social and satirical SF fostered by 'The Magazine of Fantasy and SF' and 'Galaxy'. Robert Silverberg has been quoted as saying that the 1950s was a true golden age, as it was better than what is called the golden age- and he'd know. 'Golden Age' refers to 1939-1946 because of John W Campbell's dominance and steering of the field in the USA through his editorial standards and philosophy in 'Astounding'. Anyone who likes Lem is a good guy in my book, but I'm afraid to say my friend, your critical standard in this one re the historical perspective and agreed terminology is way off. Best of luck, otherwise.
You have no social skills.
Thanks for watching and commenting. 🙌 I’m sure you’re right on this. However, the articles I have read point, roughly, to the dates I included. Anyway, I didn’t make this video to be a definitive golden age overview, just a way to organize some of my favorite reads from a certain time period. Thanks again.
@@bartsbookspace Fair enough, but I'd say do some more serious research from reliable sources, as the misuse of accepted terminology muddies the waters and can make it harder to communicate specific points- I suspect the articles you refer to are online sources? Either way, some nice choices 🙂