Hi, from jakesbuddie. Such a great video; another one. They’re all so great. Again, I love and totally enjoy the time and effort you put into editing: you make watching really fun - and that includes your great energy and interesting comments. A number of additions to my TBR list after watching this: Cage of Souls, A Darkling Sea and others…. Thanks !
taking note of every recommendation, thank you! I have one for you that you are going to enjoy, it´s a graphic novel from my country, Argentina. It is called "The Eternaut" and tells the story of an alien invation like you never read one before. You´ll love it. it´s available on english.
Infomacracy was one of the first newer modern SF books I ever put on my TBR list but I still haven't got around to it yet. You reminded me it involves a lot of politics themes... since Political Science was one of my majors it might have to get a little higher on my reading list. An intriguing series of videos could be around SF recommendations for people who have a degree (or just an interest in) certain fields and subfields. I guessing a marine biologist might like that Ray Nadler book and Starfish for example? Ymir is on my TBR too, I think because the author wrote a short story I liked and that book has some award nominations. Great video!
I didnt know Ymir was nominated! I will have to look that up. I will have to put some thought into subject based recommendation list 🧐 the hard part of that will b that once you are an expert in your field, it is unlikely a writer can tell you something you dont already know. Usually they explore ideas to make accessible to public or they ask “what if” … but i will think on it
Brand new subscriber here! Great list! I've read Ymir and Borne and loved them both. I have a few ot the others....The Outside, Seveneves and Cage of Souls and plan to read them soon. I've played the Metro video games so know the story. Thanks for the recommendations and your super descriptions of the books.
Ahhhhh!!!! Borne!! I just finished it for the 2nd time!! LOVE THAT BOOK!!!! It is so good. So much more character than Area X(I also loved) ... a completely different type of story altogether. One of my favorites!!
The best modern books review I've seen. Even as good as the first one was, this one is better. So many interesting books I haven't heard of. Great job Whitney
@secretsauceofstorycraft The only ones I've read are VanDermeer and Stephenson. And Tchaikovsky has been on my radar for a while. The rest are totally new to me. Can't wait to check them out.
Another one! I too love, love, loved SevenEves...totally agree with you that the last part was somewhat controversial...but I wish he would write a sequel, as the ending left me wanting much more...or even a development book that bridges parts 2 and 3.
Recently found your channel. Fun and entertaining, great analysis. As a lifelong SF reader (I’m in my 60s), I was a bit skeptical about finding anything new and different here. Wow was I wrong! I do have one complaint about your channel-you are causing me to add more and more titles to my “want to read list” than I could ever have time to actually read. That’s OK though, I like having choices and SF isn’t the only genre I read. Thanks for your superb channel!
Thank you for your kind words!! I hope you find a few here you really enjoy 😊 and feel free to chime in to those videos where I talk about the beloved SF books- as I am still making my way through the genre.
Oooh lots that sound so cool!! Particularly the darkling sea and cage of souls. Have you read Adrian Tchaikovsky's children of time trilogy? I just finished the third one and gush gush gush
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I got my dad to read them and he's like... you have to check, certainly there will be a fourth book! But I have heard anything, have you?
I have The Outside sat on my TBR shelves. A lot of the marketing I read for it pitched it as 'Lovecraft in space'...which is why I bought it :) Sounds interesting though... Seveneves, Cage of Souls and Ymir also on the TBR shelves.I nearly bought Stringers, but it worries me when books are compared to Hitchhiker's Guide...they can never live up to that comparison.
Haha! I feel the same way about book comparisons… so let me tell u- it doesnt live up to Hitchhikers. But if u can get over that and appreciate it for what it is- u might like it. I also have to break your heart and tell u i didnt find the outside horror or lovecraftian. If u go in with thise expectations you WILL b disappointed. I wosh they’d quit doing that
Cage of Souls: Forrest Gump in a swamp. Great ending. Borne: Very strange , but Vandermeer definitely puts you in that world. South Reach trilogy was great. Annihilation : how they got that movie from the book is beyond me. Great content. 4k subscribers can't arrive soon enough. Well deserved.
I'll try the Stephenson one, even though I couldn't finish Snowcrash. Delta-V sounds a little like The Martian, I'll check that out, too. Thanks for the reviews.
I'm curious. You add great supporting visuals for your criticisms, and I wonder where you find them. Probably too many to say. But maybe sometimes it's just panning shots off the book covers?
I absolutely love the Metro series. The descriptions of moving between stations honestly creeped me out so much. I refused to be alone in the house reading that book.
would you recommend 2034 and 2035 as well? Really liked 2033 (especially the ending) and thought it wrapped things up nicely, so I haven't gotten around to the other two yet, in part because I did not want to "ruin" my impression of the book if the other two did not hold up
@@michaelebenhoh6929 i did the same thing! I own 2034 but havent picked it up. It is a different character POV than artyom… i guess i will have to get on it and find out
@@michaelebenhoh6929 this was my review of the 2nd one: ‘This was definitley not as good as the first one. I didnt get any of the atmosphere that I loved before. This book seemed more a study of humanity and pushing people to their limits rather than a spooky dark tale.’ I will likely pick up the last one just to finish off the series but I’m in no real rush. I think the first book stands well enough on its own.
@@lesleyspear7933 Thanks that helps a lot, sounds like something that I would still be quite interested in. I do like explorations of human nature and I think the setting could provide an interesting backdrop for that. I guess I will read 34 and 35 at some point but with how full my TBR is, I am probably in no rush, especially considering how well 33 wrapped things up.
Wow! I haven't seen a video from you in a few months. Maybe that's my fault. I forgot how much I liked the information you present in your videos. Thank you.
Loved freeze frame revolution and blindsight. I have echopraxia but havent gotten to it yet. I will prioritize it next year. I was less excited by starfish. U?
@@secretsauceofstorycraft It seems that I haven't clicked "REply" last night, when replying to this. Anyway: I got hooked on _The Island,_ a story in the same "universe" as _The Freeze-frame Revolution_ (I don't remember where did I find in.) Then I saw Watt's marvelous (old) website with marketing material from a fictional company selling vampire genome, an introduction to _Blindsight_ which was also available there for free. After that I tried to amass everything he wrote, but, I agree, _Rifters_ series is a bil less, umm, intense than _Blindsight_ (still very engaging, though), and I am yet to read _Echopraxia._
I really enjoyed Cage of Souls too, but I still think Dogs of War is his best. Currently reading Shards of Earth and really enjoying that too. I have yet to read a Tchaikovsky book that I didn’t like.
Thanks for some great-sounding recommendations. I really enjoy your channel. I’ve read Cage of Souls and I agree it’s pretty interesting. Metro 2033 though, I only read a few chapters before chucking it aside - I was so disgusted at the lack of women characters of quality that I couldn’t stand to go on. Probably I overreacted, because the premise and setting was certainly intriguing.
Hey that is fair. There really arent any female characters in the metro book….. although i will also so even the male characters arent great. Its way more of an ideas book than decent characters.
I’ve been looking for sci-fi lists that aren’t the same authors over and over and over. Yes, Heinlein, LeGuin, Asimov, etc are all great. We know this lol. I want to find newer and lesser known books so thank you!
If you loved the Fuzzy series, you should read the Hoka stories by Gordon R. Dickson and Poul Anderson. They are a funny, satirical take on the "cute but intelligent" species. The Hoka are both...but with a truly wild twist!
I've read Seveneves several times and enjoyed it thoroughly. Other book on the list is Delta-V, took a bit for me to get into but once I was I was hooked. Thanks for the suggestions :)
Echopraxia is fantastic, more accessible and more "sci-fyiush" than Blindsight. Thanks for the Sparrow sequel update. Tried Ymir and just couldn't get into it, kept trying and finally called it quits. I've ordered Metro 2033 and can't wait to start. Glad you liked it. I've heard the translation is lacking but could not find it in the original Russian (advertised but none on hand in two places). Great Video today. By the way, I'm watching the "Three Body Problem" (the original 30 episode Chinese version on Prime) and it is beyond superb. Great acting, incredible directing, moody, great music and very faithful to the book. . The scenes in the book really come to life. I've ordered Metro 2033 - glad you liked it. I've heard the translation is lacking but could not find it in the original Russian so it will be the English version. Great Video today.
I really love your recommendations but I'm afraid I cant agree with you on Seveneves. I agree that part 3 is really imaginative (and would love to read more of that world) but I'm afraid I found the fact that we did survive parts 1 and 2 (given all the tings that go wrong) to be unbelievable and that spoilt the book. Loved the rest of the reviews though - thank you.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft _Midworld_ is a novel by Alan Dean Foster. It was published in 1975 (at least that's what my edition says). It's about a world that is all kinds of hostile - one massive jungle where everything tries to eat everything else! There are seven layers in this jungle, each with its own dangers. There are some humans there, the survivors of a long-lost attempted colony; they live on the third layer of the jungle, in harmony with their environment (it would be a spoiler to tell how). But strangers crash in the humans' territory - they are scouts from a starship that has landed on the planet illegally. The starship is there to exploit the planet's resources, and they're not going to let a few "savages" get in their way. The strangers, however, are in for some highly unpleasant surprises! _Avatar_ totally stole from this book in many ways. If you decide to read it, you'll see what I mean.
Thanks. 1) Cage of Souls - Adrian Tchiakowsky - I've never heard of it. Thanks. Seveneves - Neal Stephenson - I own it, but have been intimidated by its size, but also...he's not been a writer that I've enjoyed much...from other reads. Might pick it up. Infomacracy - Malka Older - I love this series. It is heavy in the details, but that in and of itself makes the world (within the book) so textured and nuanced). A Darkling Sea - James L. Cambias - Never even heard of it. Thanks. Sounds very interesting. Borne - Jeff Vandermeer - Nature porn is what a friend told me his foundation for all his writings. Stringers - Chris Panatier - Not an absurdist lover, but glad that this book exists...may pick it up. Thanks for your non-spoiler thoughts. Might just have picqued my interest. YMIR - Rich Larson - cyberpunkie...hmmm. Very interesting. The Outside - Ada Hoffman - I'm going to be reading Ninefox Gambit in a day or two...so I'll see if this book (above) is my cup of tea. I'm also a weenie when it comes to Horror, so thank you for that. - ah, autism character. Thanks. - Thank you for your restraint of telling us more. Delta-V - Daniel Suarez - I've read all the books that I could get from Daniel Suarez. I have read this book and the sequel. All his books are engrossing and make you think of our own world and how this could possibly happen in the near future. Oof. - Oh, btw...the mashup of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk...was the EXACT same thought that I had. See, we think alike...or the author is really good at tapping into today's world...and extrapulating it into the future. - The Expanse by James S.A. Corey also has US mining the solar system for humanity. Metro-2033 by Dmitry Gulkhovsky - It seems like a version of Snowpiercer with each car representing a different class. Is that a fair assessment? That's what I thought of when you were telling us about the book. - the effects of this "message". Now I need to read. Thanks. Thanks for this summary of the best of Science Fiction.
What a thoughtful response!! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! I think you are right on with so many of these interpretations! Let me know your thoughts if you pickup any of these, i hope you find some that you enjoyed as much as I did.
Fun fact Metro 2033 took a lot of inspiration from a similar genre Called Roadside Picnic and the Soviet 70's Movie the Stalker. I recommend reading Roadside Picnic it's the best.
Yeah…Vandemeer is very polarizing- i will have to read annihilation and see if i jive with him or not. But I do hope you find a few others that you enjoy!
24:58 - Only _one_ Russian writer ?!? I hope you mean SciFi writer, and even then I can think of at least two "obligatory" ones: Yevgeny Zamyatin ( _We_ - *the* grand-daddy of a whole sub-genre of SciFi on totalitarian regimes) and Strugatsky brothers (too many great works to enumerate; e.g. _The Final Circle of Paradise,_ _Hard to Be a God_ or _Roadside Picnic_ made into an absolutely fascinating file _Stalker_ by Tarkovsky; there is also a very dark film adaptation of _Hard to Be a God,_ but it is not easy to find.). And you _have_ to read at least Fyodor Dostoevsky and Anton Chekhov, however you prefer SciFi.
I’ve read both the strugatsky brother and zamyatin! Phew! Saved! Both were fantastic. So that makes 3! Haha. But as for non scifi, maybe not for a long while…
@@secretsauceofstorycraft the only reason i know about those 2 books is because of the micky 17 mini advert on youtube. forbidden planet, waterstone and Foyle's didn't have the book. i had to buy them from amazon [sad face]
I read Seveneves several years ago and I still can’t look at the moon without imagining it breaking apart. Loved it.
Soo glad u did! It was an impactful book (haha) thank u for commenting
More additions to the TBR. Always enjoy the vids and recommendations.
Awesome, thank you!
Nice work! I put a few of these on my TBR.
Awesome! Thank you!
great video. great selections...love the thumbnail
Thanks so much!
I just adored Borne! Thanks for reviewing this one. All of us gigantic, floating annihilation bears thank you.
That sounds truly terrifying…. 🫣
Hi, from jakesbuddie. Such a great video; another one. They’re all so great. Again, I love and totally enjoy the time and effort you put into editing: you make watching really fun - and that includes your great energy and interesting comments. A number of additions to my TBR list after watching this: Cage of Souls, A Darkling Sea and others…. Thanks !
Hullo! And thanks! I hope u love them, and i have more videos like this coming! See u on discord!
"I'm a sucker for underwater aliens." I see what you did there.
Yay!!! Ur the only one who noticed so far 😜
taking note of every recommendation, thank you! I have one for you that you are going to enjoy, it´s a graphic novel from my country, Argentina. It is called "The Eternaut" and tells the story of an alien invation like you never read one before. You´ll love it. it´s available on english.
Wow that sounds great!!! Ill go see if i can find it
Infomacracy was one of the first newer modern SF books I ever put on my TBR list but I still haven't got around to it yet. You reminded me it involves a lot of politics themes... since Political Science was one of my majors it might have to get a little higher on my reading list. An intriguing series of videos could be around SF recommendations for people who have a degree (or just an interest in) certain fields and subfields. I guessing a marine biologist might like that Ray Nadler book and Starfish for example? Ymir is on my TBR too, I think because the author wrote a short story I liked and that book has some award nominations. Great video!
I didnt know Ymir was nominated! I will have to look that up. I will have to put some thought into subject based recommendation list 🧐 the hard part of that will b that once you are an expert in your field, it is unlikely a writer can tell you something you dont already know. Usually they explore ideas to make accessible to public or they ask “what if” … but i will think on it
Brand new subscriber here! Great list! I've read Ymir and Borne and loved them both. I have a few ot the others....The Outside, Seveneves and Cage of Souls and plan to read them soon.
I've played the Metro video games so know the story.
Thanks for the recommendations and your super descriptions of the books.
Thank you 🙏 and welcome!!
I had seen some of those books, but they didn’t caught my attention… until you convinced me!
Ooh 😲 high praise!! 🙏 thank you!!
Ahhhhh!!!! Borne!! I just finished it for the 2nd time!! LOVE THAT BOOK!!!! It is so good. So much more character than Area X(I also loved) ... a completely different type of story altogether. One of my favorites!!
Awesome!!! So glad u loved it!
So glad you loved Ymir. I really need to try Metro soon next year
It's so good!
So so happy your channel came up on my recommended list. I need more female sci-fi loving booktubers! Loving the content 😁
Yay! Thank you!
The best modern books review I've seen. Even as good as the first one was, this one is better. So many interesting books I haven't heard of. Great job Whitney
Are u brown nosing dale?? Hahah
@@secretsauceofstorycraft by far this is my favorite modern books video and one of my favorite videos of all time. These books may all go on my TBR
Great vid, with several authors that are totally new to me, all of which sound worth checking out.
Which ones? I hope you find at least one!!
@secretsauceofstorycraft The only ones I've read are VanDermeer and Stephenson. And Tchaikovsky has been on my radar for a while. The rest are totally new to me. Can't wait to check them out.
Very cool video! Have not heard of most of the books, but they sound very intriguing.
Glad you like them! If u check em out let me know what u think!
Another one! I too love, love, loved SevenEves...totally agree with you that the last part was somewhat controversial...but I wish he would write a sequel, as the ending left me wanting much more...or even a development book that bridges parts 2 and 3.
I agree!! It would also make for a great tv mini series
Recently found your channel. Fun and entertaining, great analysis. As a lifelong SF reader (I’m in my 60s), I was a bit skeptical about finding anything new and different here. Wow was I wrong! I do have one complaint about your channel-you are causing me to add more and more titles to my “want to read list” than I could ever have time to actually read. That’s OK though, I like having choices and SF isn’t the only genre I read. Thanks for your superb channel!
Thank you for your kind words!! I hope you find a few here you really enjoy 😊 and feel free to chime in to those videos where I talk about the beloved SF books- as I am still making my way through the genre.
Oooh lots that sound so cool!! Particularly the darkling sea and cage of souls. Have you read Adrian Tchaikovsky's children of time trilogy? I just finished the third one and gush gush gush
Yes!! I loved 🥰 them!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I got my dad to read them and he's like... you have to check, certainly there will be a fourth book! But I have heard anything, have you?
I have The Outside sat on my TBR shelves. A lot of the marketing I read for it pitched it as 'Lovecraft in space'...which is why I bought it :) Sounds interesting though... Seveneves, Cage of Souls and Ymir also on the TBR shelves.I nearly bought Stringers, but it worries me when books are compared to Hitchhiker's Guide...they can never live up to that comparison.
Haha! I feel the same way about book comparisons… so let me tell u- it doesnt live up to Hitchhikers. But if u can get over that and appreciate it for what it is- u might like it.
I also have to break your heart and tell u i didnt find the outside horror or lovecraftian. If u go in with thise expectations you WILL b disappointed. I wosh they’d quit doing that
Cage of Souls: Forrest Gump in a swamp. Great ending.
Borne: Very strange , but Vandermeer definitely puts you in that world.
South Reach trilogy was great. Annihilation : how they got that movie from the book is beyond me.
Great content. 4k subscribers can't arrive soon enough. Well deserved.
Thank you!!! Heres hopin!!
Is "Forest Gump in a swamp" a compliment??
@@aleonard8272 I'll just say that every event that takes place in the book involves Stefan Advani.
Thanks for putting Infomocracy and Metro 2033 on my radar! I'm looking forward to checking those out.
You bet! Let me know what you think!
Seveneves is magnificent. The final section is astonishing.
🔥 🚀
Great video and lots of good recommendations, I jut checked Ymir is part of a series, can we read it as standalone?
Yes you can!
I'll try the Stephenson one, even though I couldn't finish Snowcrash. Delta-V sounds a little like The Martian, I'll check that out, too. Thanks for the reviews.
Let me know how it goes!
Bravo!! Thank you for talking about these books! It's refreshing to hear someone pushing modern scifi! Thank you! (also - STRINGERS!!!!)
Glad you enjoyed it! Also 💚STRINGERS💚!!!!!!
Thank you. I read none of those, although three or four are already on my TBR list.
Hope you enjoy them! There are some good ones in there…..
I'm curious. You add great supporting visuals for your criticisms, and I wonder where you find them. Probably too many to say. But maybe sometimes it's just panning shots off the book covers?
Sometimes i get lots ofv visuals from adobe stock (paid site) or a few other stock sites like storyblocks
I absolutely love the Metro series. The descriptions of moving between stations honestly creeped me out so much. I refused to be alone in the house reading that book.
I dont blame u at all!! Haha, i kept waiting for something to jump out
would you recommend 2034 and 2035 as well? Really liked 2033 (especially the ending) and thought it wrapped things up nicely, so I haven't gotten around to the other two yet, in part because I did not want to "ruin" my impression of the book if the other two did not hold up
@@michaelebenhoh6929 i did the same thing! I own 2034 but havent picked it up. It is a different character POV than artyom… i guess i will have to get on it and find out
@@michaelebenhoh6929 this was my review of the 2nd one: ‘This was definitley not as good as the first one. I didnt get any of the atmosphere that I loved before. This book seemed more a study of humanity and pushing people to their limits rather than a spooky dark tale.’
I will likely pick up the last one just to finish off the series but I’m in no real rush. I think the first book stands well enough on its own.
@@lesleyspear7933 Thanks that helps a lot, sounds like something that I would still be quite interested in. I do like explorations of human nature and I think the setting could provide an interesting backdrop for that.
I guess I will read 34 and 35 at some point but with how full my TBR is, I am probably in no rush, especially considering how well 33 wrapped things up.
Wow! I haven't seen a video from you in a few months. Maybe that's my fault. I forgot how much I liked the information you present in your videos. Thank you.
Wow, thanks for coming back! I do have more content coming….
I read Daniel Suarez Daemon and Freedom many years ago...I might take a look at Delta-V series.
Please do. I have been trying to get ahold of daemon- so i dont know how it compares yet
Infomocracy sounds so good that I just bought the entire trilogy. Thanks for the recommendation!
Hope you enjoy it! But fair warning- second book is a bit of middle book syndrome…
Great list! Thank you!👍👍👍📚🤖🚀
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks 🙏 😊 🔥 🚀
Loved this video! I really want more recommendation videos like this! New sub from me.
Thanks for subbing! And i plan to have more like this coming soon
What other "second contact" books do you recommend? That sounds really cool
Speaker for dead is my favorite…. But there are other that are good including a darkling sea and grass
Fun fact. Daemon is just an archaic spelling of demon. Both should be pronounced the same with the strong E sound.
That is a fun fact! Thank you!
That's true, when talking about lower planes dwellers, But the computer process is pronounced day-mon , and that's what the novel is about
Re: absurdism, as in _Stringers,_ I just noticed the Dali-esque melted clock on yout shelf 😀
BTW, have you read any Peter Watts? Thoughts?
Loved freeze frame revolution and blindsight. I have echopraxia but havent gotten to it yet. I will prioritize it next year. I was less excited by starfish. U?
@@secretsauceofstorycraft It seems that I haven't clicked "REply" last night, when replying to this.
Anyway: I got hooked on _The Island,_ a story in the same "universe" as _The Freeze-frame Revolution_ (I don't remember where did I find in.) Then I saw Watt's marvelous (old) website with marketing material from a fictional company selling vampire genome, an introduction to _Blindsight_ which was also available there for free. After that I tried to amass everything he wrote, but, I agree, _Rifters_ series is a bil less, umm, intense than _Blindsight_ (still very engaging, though), and I am yet to read _Echopraxia._
I really enjoyed Cage of Souls too, but I still think Dogs of War is his best. Currently reading Shards of Earth and really enjoying that too. I have yet to read a Tchaikovsky book that I didn’t like.
I agree!! I plan to start shards next yr
Seveneves.. You are so right about that opening line. Lived the book and read at least four other titles by Mr Stephenson immediately afterwards.
🔥🔥 im still working through his work but trying to savor it….
There is no such thing as "problematic thinking", just problematic action.
👍🏻
I could think of a few thoughts that would be problematic
@@101ablerudeboy Somebody call the Thought Police!
Yeeeessssssss to Cage of Souls! I loved this book and no one has talked about it much. The cover art is on my wall I loved it so much ❤
Infomocracy is going on my list, love politics.
My library doesn’t have A Darkling Sea 🙁
Sorry, I’m commenting as watching. Your bookshelf, your Children of Time series aren’t all together 😮
Hahah correct!!! My bookshelf is soo disorganized- its why i havent done a library tour. Too many ppl would burn me at the steak 🙈
Oh no!! Well abe books (dot) com does.
So many of these sound good I can't get to them al but I do have cage of souls on the shelf. I 'm a big fan of Tchaikovsky.
Yay!!!! 💜 tchaikovsky. Hope u love it!
Thanks for some great-sounding recommendations. I really enjoy your channel. I’ve read Cage of Souls and I agree it’s pretty interesting. Metro 2033 though, I only read a few chapters before chucking it aside - I was so disgusted at the lack of women characters of quality that I couldn’t stand to go on. Probably I overreacted, because the premise and setting was certainly intriguing.
Hey that is fair. There really arent any female characters in the metro book….. although i will also so even the male characters arent great. Its way more of an ideas book than decent characters.
Hi 🙋🏼♀️ as I learned, "Ymir" isn't a stand alone, but book two of the The Violet Wars series.
Do I have to read book one?
Nope you dont!!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft 🤗 thx 💞
I’ve been looking for sci-fi lists that aren’t the same authors over and over and over. Yes, Heinlein, LeGuin, Asimov, etc are all great. We know this lol. I want to find newer and lesser known books so thank you!
Glad it was helpful! I try to have a good mix of old and new for just that reason!
If you loved the Fuzzy series, you should read the Hoka stories by Gordon R. Dickson and Poul Anderson. They are a funny, satirical take on the "cute but intelligent" species. The Hoka are both...but with a truly wild twist!
Ooh thanks…. Ill look into it
The metro 2033 video games were amazing and made me want to read the books.
Did you?? They are great
I finished the little fuzzy series. It was a nice story. The john scalzi fuzzy nation was very good but read the original trilogy to enjoy more.
I agree with u. But I give Scalzi kudos because i wouldnt have found the fuzzy trilogy without him.
I've read Seveneves several times and enjoyed it thoroughly. Other book on the list is Delta-V, took a bit for me to get into but once I was I was hooked. Thanks for the suggestions :)
Thanks for sharing! Glad u liked!
Ooh, forgot to mention. Fall; or, Dodge in Hell: A Novel By: Neal Stephenson is another book that really got me thinking and can't recommend it enough
I've read the sequel and it is worth the time.
Great List! thank you.
Anytime!!
Echopraxia is fantastic, more accessible and more "sci-fyiush" than Blindsight. Thanks for the Sparrow sequel update. Tried Ymir and just couldn't get into it, kept trying and finally called it quits. I've ordered Metro 2033 and can't wait to start. Glad you liked it. I've heard the translation is lacking but could not find it in the original Russian (advertised but none on hand in two places). Great Video today.
By the way, I'm watching the "Three Body Problem" (the original 30 episode Chinese version on Prime) and it is beyond superb. Great acting, incredible directing, moody, great music and very faithful to the book. . The scenes in the book really come to life. I've ordered Metro 2033 - glad you liked it. I've heard the translation is lacking but could not find it in the original Russian so it will be the English version. Great Video today.
Thanks!! Im excited you tried a few of these and hope you like Metro2033!!
I’ll b interested in hearing your thoughts on 3BP show is. Let me know!
I just saw this video and several of your recommendations are free on Audible rn. I'm autistic so looking forward to The Outside!
I hope u enjoy it!! And if they are free snag them!! Thanks for letting others know
I enjoyed the Outside,the sequel develops the main character in an interesting way.
Ooh… exciting!! Now i wanna go pick it up
I'm just finishing the Ferryman by Justin Cronin it's a real mind bender.@@secretsauceofstorycraft
I need to watch your videos more frequently.
Please do! 😃
I really love your recommendations but I'm afraid I cant agree with you on Seveneves. I agree that part 3 is really imaginative (and would love to read more of that world) but I'm afraid I found the fact that we did survive parts 1 and 2 (given all the tings that go wrong) to be unbelievable and that spoilt the book. Loved the rest of the reviews though - thank you.
Thanks for letting me know, what you dont like is just as impoartant as what you do!
_Cage of Souls_ sounds like it takes place on Midworld!
What is Midworld??
@@secretsauceofstorycraft _Midworld_ is a novel by Alan Dean Foster. It was published in 1975 (at least that's what my edition says). It's about a world that is all kinds of hostile - one massive jungle where everything tries to eat everything else! There are seven layers in this jungle, each with its own dangers. There are some humans there, the survivors of a long-lost attempted colony; they live on the third layer of the jungle, in harmony with their environment (it would be a spoiler to tell how). But strangers crash in the humans' territory - they are scouts from a starship that has landed on the planet illegally. The starship is there to exploit the planet's resources, and they're not going to let a few "savages" get in their way. The strangers, however, are in for some highly unpleasant surprises!
_Avatar_ totally stole from this book in many ways. If you decide to read it, you'll see what I mean.
I really love listening to you (and watching, to be honest). Regardless of the topic, haha.
Uh, thanks! I think… 😂
@@secretsauceofstorycraftNow that I've re-read my comment, it does sound creepy. :D I did not mean it like that.
Thanks.
1) Cage of Souls - Adrian Tchiakowsky
- I've never heard of it. Thanks.
Seveneves - Neal Stephenson
- I own it, but have been intimidated by its size, but also...he's not been a writer that I've enjoyed much...from other reads. Might pick it up.
Infomacracy - Malka Older
- I love this series. It is heavy in the details, but that in and of itself makes the world (within the book) so textured and nuanced).
A Darkling Sea - James L. Cambias
- Never even heard of it. Thanks. Sounds very interesting.
Borne - Jeff Vandermeer
- Nature porn is what a friend told me his foundation for all his writings.
Stringers - Chris Panatier
- Not an absurdist lover, but glad that this book exists...may pick it up. Thanks for your non-spoiler thoughts. Might just have picqued my interest.
YMIR - Rich Larson
- cyberpunkie...hmmm. Very interesting.
The Outside - Ada Hoffman
- I'm going to be reading Ninefox Gambit in a day or two...so I'll see if this book (above) is my cup of tea. I'm also a weenie when it comes to Horror, so thank you for that.
- ah, autism character. Thanks.
- Thank you for your restraint of telling us more.
Delta-V - Daniel Suarez
- I've read all the books that I could get from Daniel Suarez. I have read this book and the sequel. All his books are engrossing and make you think of our own world and how this could possibly happen in the near future. Oof.
- Oh, btw...the mashup of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk...was the EXACT same thought that I had. See, we think alike...or the author is really good at tapping into today's world...and extrapulating it into the future.
- The Expanse by James S.A. Corey also has US mining the solar system for humanity.
Metro-2033 by Dmitry Gulkhovsky
- It seems like a version of Snowpiercer with each car representing a different class. Is that a fair assessment? That's what I thought of when you were telling us about the book.
- the effects of this "message". Now I need to read. Thanks.
Thanks for this summary of the best of Science Fiction.
What a thoughtful response!! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! I think you are right on with so many of these interpretations!
Let me know your thoughts if you pickup any of these, i hope you find some that you enjoyed as much as I did.
Fun fact Metro 2033 took a lot of inspiration from a similar genre Called Roadside Picnic and the Soviet 70's Movie the Stalker. I recommend reading Roadside Picnic it's the best.
I loved roadside picnic! Good taste
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I also watch the 70's Sci-fi Soviet Movie the Stalker. It's really good and well written.
Borne by Jef Vandermee. Oh, it was on the list lol.
🔥 💜
While Delta V is a good novel, Daemon & Freedom(tm) is the one we want more of
That is true! Cant beat freedon(tm)
@@secretsauceofstorycraft they were his first books, and probably the best
Absolutely none of those were on my radar. Some might get on my reading lists. Vandemeer won't be on the list, annihilation was not good for me.
Yeah…Vandemeer is very polarizing- i will have to read annihilation and see if i jive with him or not. But I do hope you find a few others that you enjoy!
Loved Seveneves.... I struggled with Metro 2033
Fair! I guess cant win them all
Seveneves - sold!
💥 🔥 hope u love it!
Is it possible to read the outside as a stand alone?
Yes 👍🏻 but wont be 100% resolution at the end…
@@secretsauceofstorycraft thank you :)
Metro 2033 a damn good book!!
Agreed!! 🥂
24:58 - Only _one_ Russian writer ?!? I hope you mean SciFi writer, and even then I can think of at least two "obligatory" ones: Yevgeny Zamyatin ( _We_ - *the* grand-daddy of a whole sub-genre of SciFi on totalitarian regimes) and Strugatsky brothers (too many great works to enumerate; e.g. _The Final Circle of Paradise,_ _Hard to Be a God_ or _Roadside Picnic_ made into an absolutely fascinating file _Stalker_ by Tarkovsky; there is also a very dark film adaptation of _Hard to Be a God,_ but it is not easy to find.).
And you _have_ to read at least Fyodor Dostoevsky and Anton Chekhov, however you prefer SciFi.
I’ve read both the strugatsky brother and zamyatin! Phew! Saved! Both were fantastic. So that makes 3! Haha. But as for non scifi, maybe not for a long while…
what about micky 7?
Had t read it until recently!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft the only reason i know about those 2 books is because of the micky 17 mini advert on youtube. forbidden planet, waterstone and Foyle's didn't have the book. i had to buy them from amazon [sad face]
Have you read Red Rising?
Yep 👍🏻
LOL I can't stop watching you
Awwww thats so kind!!!
AT is great.
🔥
I liked Infomocracy, but I don't think this political system could be implemented.
You might be right….