I would highly recommend the Expanse series. It covers geo-politics (space-politics?), human nature, first contact, ancient civilization and just ... ugh, I love the characters and how it's developed. It's a 9-book series if you count the anthology of novellas (I do) and I couldn't put them down. Can't say enough about them. Additionally, I'd also have to say A Memory Called Empire is perhaps the best book I read in 2023. The weaving of Mayan mythos / Nahautl-inspired language into the culture in this series is astounding. I loved the characters, the use of poetry as plot device and overall, the general shape of the narrative. If you read nothing else, read this.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series is so foundational to who I am as a person, also very much loved that you called Ford a "bit" of an alien lol
Becky Chambers has one of the best sci fi books i have read in a while, each of her series is cozy in different way and she explores the sci-fi genre in different ways (To be taught if fortunate focuses on exploration of small life on different planets, while the Robot and Monk series is more like inner exploration and then my favorite Small Angry Planet explores the aliens and what are the differences and how to accept someone who is different) Small Angry Planet is definitely one of my favorite books ❤️
I love her writing so much! I feel people underestimate her stories because most do not have the traditional serious sci if tone but the way she explores different concepts in such a cozy, heartwarming way is something I love.
Let me tell you the human perspective on this issue. If we keep growing as a species at the rate we are growing in the last decade, let's say 1.4% (more or less) in 10.000 years every atom in the universe would be human biomass. Think about that there would literally be no room for anything else. 10.000 years cosmologically is a blink of an eye and we have been a civilization for 12.000 (I count since Gobleki Tepe) (There's a numberphile video about this calculation, I may not remember the exact numbers, but they are close)
I couldn’t make it through the Dark Forest. I stopped about midway through. I couldn’t understand anyone’s motives. The characters seemed to be reacting to situations in the strangest ways. I’ve tried twice.
Solaris, Flowers for Algernon, and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are all favorites of mine. Stanislaw Lem, who wrote Solaris, is also one of my favorite sci-fi humorists. My favorite sci-fi humor books by him are The Star Diaries and The Cyberiad. Each is a collection of very loosely connected stories featuring the same main characters on some very unusual sci-fi adventures. One thing I like about his stories is how deeply he will take whatever premises he is working with. Instead of being props for telling other stories, the sci-fi elements in his stories will take on a life that they wouldn't in the hands of other authors. In some ways, his stories remind me of those of Lord Dunsany, except that they are science fiction instead of fantasy. He also wrote a collection of introductions to books that don't exist (Imaginary Magnitude), a collection of speeches from a sentient AI (Golem XIV, included with IM) , and the first science fiction novel to include ereaders (Return from the Stars).
I have been reading sci-fi for over 60 years (hundreds of titles) and after reading dozens of comments I am stunned that no one has mentioned "The Mote in God's Eye" by Niven and Pournelle. I mainly read books checked out from the public library, but it is one of only 6 sci-fi titles I actually own.
I loved the Mote in God's Eye overall, have the hardback somewhere, but it is not one I recommend because it is such a thick book and the author excels in leading you to a point, then backing away. I don't know how many times I thought, ok, here is where the main characters discover the truth, only for them to fail to connect the dots. As a reader, this was so frustrating.
I have to recommend trying Ursula LeGuin. _The Left Hand of Darkness_ is such an epic and transformative experience. Also, her short stories and novellas will stay with you forever.
Le Guin is truly one of the greatest authors and poets in American literature canon. Earthsea, Left Hand, Dispossessed, her poetry and translation of Tao, transformative is the right word.
Your review of “Something wicked this way comes” perfectly mirrored my reaction to it so I have to recommend “The Martian Chronicles” also by Ray Bradbury. It’s a “fix up” or short story collection. The first story “Ylla” is just 13 pages but has more creative world building than most series I’ve read. Bradbury’s poetic writing works so well with short stories where he able to paint a picture in just a few sentences. Definitely one of the best books I read this year.
I adore Iain M Banks Culture series. The fact that there is no dark secret about The Culture, that it is ultimately a very moral society that wants what's best for everyone, is one of the most provocative ideas in fiction, and that's only the start of the sheer breadth of fascinating concepts he played with. The books are often meandering and can feel aimless and yet never boring, and his prose was beautiful, and suffused with wry comedy. Try The Player of Games or Use of Weapons.
can't recommend Banks highly enough. I think Player of Games is probably the best jumping off point. I view Banks' Culture Series the same way I do Firefly - A handful of the most brilliantly realized SF gems that exist in their respective genres.
If you had to take only one recommendation from this comment section, this would be it. These books can be funny, sad, lighthearted, incredibly dark, and often within the same book. They are incredibly imaginative, and ask lots of thought provoking questions on society, ideology, and what happens when civilizations with different technological and moral standards come head to head. Read these books!
Some others worth trying... - We Are Legion (We Are Bob). The Bobiverse books have sometimes been called "Dresden in Space." They work for some people and not for others. I personally really enjoyed them. - Dark Matter and other Blake Crouch books. Very sciency, but fast paced reading like a movie. - Project Hail Mary and The Martian by Andy Weir - The Silo Trilogy (Wool, Shift, Dust) - Hyperion - House of Suns - The Lathe of Heaven - Children of Time - Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead - The Chrysalids - Citizen of the Galaxy - The Gods Themselves - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
The Ambergris trilogy is actually my favorite Vandermeer. Plan on rereading it this year. He's one of my favorite authors in general. I also agree with you about Dawn, but I haven't gotten around to Kindred yet. It's on the list though
Science fiction is my primary genre and I have read A LOT of what the genre has to offer and two total standouts that I'm not seeing much of in the comment section are Blindsight by Peter Watts (the sequel Echopraxia is also great, but not necessary) and the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. These are my top 2 of all time and if I were to round out the list to 5 I would throw in Neuromancer by William Gibson, The Left Hand of Darkness/The Dispossessed (tied for me, the whole Hainish Cycle is great) by Ursula K. Le Guin, and the fairly obligatory Dune from mastermind Herbert. If I am being honest my top 5 is pretty fluid beyond Blindsight and Hyperion and I never throw in reads from my last year or so to avoid recency bias, even if I did have some spectacular books in the line up.
Sci-fi recc- Ted Chiang The Story of Your Life (and others) 10/10 It's a collection of shorts that, I know, a lot of people don't like collections but just read the titular story (that then became the film Arrival) and you'll definitely want to read the rest. He's the best. It's hard to describe how good he is. He's the most thoughtful writer. In 10 pages he can accomplish what most cannot in 100... He writes stories that make other writers jealous. Ken Liu inspired by him, enough so that he asked permission to write a story spinoff of one of his shorts! And if you ask people who know about him his best 5 books you'll get 5 different answers everytime. One of my favourites is division by zero, almost never gets mentioned but it's 20 pages of sheer genius.
Yes! Ted Chiang's Exhalation is really good too! You are so right about how hard it is to describe how good he is. I was blown away when I got Exhalation from the library and I immediately went and bought Stories of your Life and others. Definitely some of the best sci-fi out there!
Have you tried the Expanse series? It’s very popular, but for good reason, and I think you would enjoy it. It’s like Star Trek but grittier and more realistic? A real exploration of what would happen if humanity expanded to other planets: how would we travel? What political divisions would arise? How does living without sunlight affect our bodies? How do we grow food? And it’s all wrapped up in a compelling mystery in each book following multiple POVs.
I'll always recommend Cyteen by CJ Cherryh. It features some of the best worldbuilding I've ever read, along with a compelling central relationship and a fascinating antagonist.
I just picked up a couple of books from Yume Kitasei at the Columbus book festival and absolutely blew through them. Very solid sci-fi adventure with a knack for digging into deeper themes about identity and relationships.
Have you tried Adrian Tchaikovsky? Just started getting into his sci-fi stuff. I think if you like Annihilation you might like Alien Clay. Just started reading Service Model which I'm getting I, Robot vibes from
I was going to comment about Adrian Tchaikovsky but I'm glad someone already did. I loved the Children of... Series which is the most unique fiction I've ever read. I also loved Service Model, it's such a cute and surprisingly political journey that delves into AI in a really entertaining and thought provoking way. I, of course, also get I, Robot vibes from it as well haha
Currently rereading this in preparation to start the sequel! There's a lot I forgot but it is truly stunning. Each story is so different but completely engrossing.
Couldn’t agree more about 3 Body, VanderMeer, and Lady Trent (though I view these more as fantasy, but can understand the justification for them being here). For a recommendation from me, I’m halfway through Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer. It’s a sci-fi series (with some fantasy elements) set in the future where earth cultures and politics have changed drastically due to technological advancements. There’s been hundreds of years of peace but tensions are building. The world building is incredibly good and deep, with Palmer taking an Erikson style “dump you into it and let you figure it out” approach and it feels really satisfying to work it. It’s also got a cool framing with it being a historical recounting of these events written by one of the characters that was central to all the stuff. His voice is unique and really compelling (he’s also quite biased and can be unreliable so that’s also fun to figure out too). I’ve only read 50% of the series but if it maintains the level of quality the first 2 books have it’ll easily be one of my top series.
If you like Douglas Adams, read the novel Red Dwarf by Grant Naylor. It's from the TV show of the same name, and it's the exact same sense of humour. It's a rare scifi comedy, and I recommend everyone watch the show as well as read the books. More serious scifi trilogy that I enjoy is Troy Rising by John Ringo. It's also a first contact story, but it's more like Polynesian first contact with white people situation, where the aliens want what we have and are trading the equivalent of iron nails for pearls. Make sure you look up his other series before reading them to see if they're for you, though. They are very different from each other.
Possibly the closest I've got to VanderMeer was reading Stanislav Lem. You may have already read Solaris? If not... But also, Eden. Some great aliens, and this was written nearly 70 years ago. also, a book I've never seen recommended by any channel, but i adore, even if after 2 readings, I'm still not quite sure what it was about - Russell Hoban's Fremder. I adore this book. Thank you for your channel. You make me want to read all the books :)
The Red Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson is probably my favorite sci-fi series as a whole. I have others I've enjoyed, but not every book in the series like this one. Also, the Space Odyssey series by Arthur C. Clarke. The first book is really slow, but if you can get through it, the other books are much faster paced (and also really good).
I'd recommend The Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe. It's weird coz even though it's technically classed as Sci-fi it reads more like a fantasy series. Also Neuromancer by William Gibson is the peak of sci-fi writing. The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons is amazing as well. Oh and Flowers for Algernon as well, it'll make you cry.
Gene Wolfe was one of the most literate and talented writers in the English language period, not just in SciFi. He left his contemporaries in the genre in awe, especially in writing the Book of the New Sun. I saw Harlan Ellison treat this man with genuine respect and reverence, and that's not a thing Harlan Ellison was remembered for. It's something every Science Fiction reader needs to at least attempt to read, being one of the greatest works in contemporary science fiction. It's a book for the ages.
The Lady Trent series is for me what Vandermeer is to you. I discovered those books last year and devoured them! Instantly one of my top-five favourite series ever. I don't see them mentioned a lot so it was a good surprise to see them here!
I recently read Vermilion Flames by Adam Fernandez. Fantastic sci-fi read. The characters are great, the story compelling (post-Earth colonies on other planets), and the dude can write. There are multiple time I had to stop and think, "That was such a banger line."
I was scrolling through the comments looking for this. I read this probably 30 years ago, and it's stuck with me ever since. His writing style and the imagery is just amazing.
I just finished Lilith's Brood trilogy a few months ago. It's fantastic. And way too underrated. When I was done with the third book I was sad not to have more to read. I wanted to know what happens on Mars. I wanted to know what happens when they leave earth and its consequences. I wanted to know so much more... And Three Body Problem is what made me start to read SciFi and love the genre. It made me sleepless as I couldn't stop thinking about its ideas.
Thank you so much for mentioning Dawn. I recommend it to anyone who will listen. I love the series so much and would implore that you at least try book 2. Such a haunting but beautiful series. I would also recommend the left hand of darkness.
I know I'm late, but I highly recommend the Night's Dawn trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton. It's a massive space opera told from multiple points of view, but the main storyline/ antagonist strays over towards supernatural territory. The books are massive (the trilogy comes to around 1.25 million words) but this length gives Hamilton the opportunity to really flesh out the universe and different factions in it before the main plot messes everything up.
A nice list. I've read all of these authors except for the Lady Trent series, which i do really want to pick up. I doing that in my 20s I slowly but surely moved away from fantasy books and more into scifi. Now it's my favourite genre by far. Picking favourite books is far too hard so I'll just say lately I've really been enjoying Alistair Reynolds and Susannah Clarke.
I was curious when I saw the title, wondering how many older books you would mention. I was a child of the 60's and 70's, and my favorite writers were Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, Norton, etc. I read three paperbacks a week back then, every sci fi book in the library. Then college took all my attention for four years and I had to forgo any casual reading, breaking my reading habit. Since graduation, I've only read four books, which is about one a decade, so I'm clueless as to who are the better storywriters today. It will be interesting to read the comments to see what people recommend. Thanks for the video.
Great series! I felt like both voices (Alma and Nicole) give interesting windows into the experience of women. It is one thing to be aware, it is another to get inside their heads. I particularly appreciated the perspective on disordered eating provided in Nicole's voice in The Relentless Moon. I'm really looking forward to The Martian Contingency.
I really need to read more of Octavia Butler. I read Wild Seed back in High School and it really struck me. It was so heavy maybe that's why I never went back. I think in hs maybe I wasn't as emotionally mature enough to handle that kind of depth. Also, in hs maybe even junior high, I fell down the rabbit hole of Hitchhikers. It fostered my love of British humor.
I remember reading the short story version of Flowers for Algernon in high school and not getting much out of it then, but it sort hit me later on in life when thinking about it. In a good way, I need to reread it. I think you have read one of them, but I can't remember which one and I haven't found a wiki of what reviews went with what videos LOL. But any of the Vorkosigan Saga books by Lois McMaster Bujold.
Kindred is one of the most intense books I've ever read. Also loved Dawn and the whole Xenogenesis series (adulthood rites being my favourite). If you haven't already, you should check out Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. If you like Three Body Problem you'll probably like Children of Time too.
I find it interesting you enjoyed the Three Body Problem series without understanding some elements. I haven't read it but I think it's a good sign if you can enjoy it even if some concepts aren't understood.
Peter F Hamilton was the first real Sci-Fi I read and it was amazing. Picked up the Night's Dawn Trilogy cheap when Borders was closing their stores. The Night's Dawn trilogy - The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God. The Salvation Sequence - Salvation, Salvation Lost, The Saints of Salvation
My top five sci-fi recs would be. The Expanse series The Revelation Space trilogy Frank Herbert's Dune is an obvious one Peter F Hamilton is author I would really recommend and Dan Simmons The Hyperion Cantos is one of my all time favourites.
I would recommend the interworld trilogy by Mallory and michael Reeves and Niel Gaiman. It is multiverse madness but in a fun way. It has a few deeper philosophical themes throughout and an overall great read
Thanks, MN I think you have done an excellent job of reviewing the positive bits without spoilers. Not an easy task. Your high ratings of these particular authors lead me to recommend Neal Stephenson. I might start with Seveneves. Merci, merci, merci TH
Technically sci-fi as Alternate History tend to be called such, but based on the last one, and not knowing what you have read, have you heard of the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik? Set during the Napoleonic Era, every major European nation has a draconic Air Force. The story follows a former sea captain and his dragon he found in the first book’s first act. The odd numbered books focus more on war (masculine) while the even ones tend to focus more on his crew (feminine). I have another, but it is teeth shattering hard sci-fi. The Golden Age (Oecumene) by John C Wright is set in the far future within our solar system. The protagonist discovers he and EVERYONE ELSE was given selective amnesia over something he said or did. Him trying to find out what serious crime he did is the main focus of the first plot twisting book. The primary form of communication is a mix of video phone, VR, and telepathy. A form of AI do most of the work while everyone else mostly peruse their own projects and arts. There is only one court, and the entire military/police is just one single individual who most already forgot about.
Yes! The Golden Oecumene! I read those last year and I still think about it often. Whenever I think about communication, AI, or our relationship with technology those books come to mind. I hope more people discover it while those topics are hot! I also really liked Temeraire a couple years ago. I hadn't noticed that change in perspective. Interesting. Maybe I missed it because I was mostly listening to the audiobooks while I did yard work.
I recommend the black ocean galaxy series by JS Morin. Firefly with wizards. Excellent world building and there are 4 16 book series. He is still writing and all of the characters are engaging. He is kick-starting a compendium and if you do audio you can get the primary series of 85 hours for one credit
As someone who has been reading SF for over 40 years, I have to say your taste in SF is phenomenal. This is a really solid list. The Liu trilogy is some of the best hard SF written in the past couple of decades. Butler's Dawn trilogy is some very uncomfortable, very confrontational, and very very important SF. A must read. And Hitchhiker's, of course. Utterly hilarious and groundbreaking. Looking forward to see what you pick up in the coming year!
Here's some recommendations from more Indie/Self Published authors: Glynn Stewart has The Starship's Mage, Duchy Of Terra, and Castle Federation series. Lindsay Buroker has the Star Kingdom series. And Terry Mixon has the Empire of Bones series.
Annihilation may have been inspired by Hothouse by Brian Aldiss, which is a Science Fiction classic. I have no idea, but there are some similarities. Aldiss is a rather huge figure in the genre.
Ahh Vandermeer is a fave of mine too! There’s something about his strange tales and overall storytelling that just get me I could write an essay about it haha Plus, I like that he writes female POVs well
Me before the video: Probably Hitchhiker's, something by Jeff VanderMeer, and something by Octavia Butler. Me after the video: I am a master detective. 😛 Book recommendations: Ursula Le Guin's Hainish series [or, if you don't want to read every single one, just The Left Hand of Darkness and The Telling], The Mountain in The Sea [curious to see if you'd like it or not], anything by Becky Chambers [I love her books so much], Anne Leckie's Ancillary Justice trilogy, The Raven Tower [not actually sci-fi, but one of my favourite books[, and Translation State, Carl Sagan's Contact, Elfelheim by Michael Flynn, and a recent debut release, The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard.
Need to mention Phillip K Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", "A Scanner Darkly", "The man in the High Castle" and many more, as long as there is a talk about sci-fi. That's truly unlike anything else there is to read.
Tea With The Black Dragon by RA MacAvoy. The Iron Dragon’s Daughter by Michael Swanwick. To Say Nothing Of The Dog by Connie Willis. Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny.
I felt quite the opposite. The first book was really good and after that it just transforms into a family drama which I was not at all interested. I quit after the 6th book. I got bored with the authors mentioning the main story of the protomolecule only at the first and the last pages of the books as a cliffhanger.
@@starius16 Thanks for the info. While I loved the first three seasons, I hated seasons 5 and 6, didn't particularly like season 4 of the tv series for mostly the reasons you mention and was worried if the books reflected the last two seasons.
I have to take every opportunity to recommend the extremely underrated "Terra Ignota" series by Ada Palmer, starting with "Too Like The Lightning". Intriguing and epic and haven't completely left my consciousness since finishing them months ago.
I wildly agree with Kindred. Butler is an amazing writer. One of the things she is really good at doing si making you feel what the characters feel. This si actually why I was unable to finish Kindred, not because the book was not good, but rather the book was TOO GOOD and I couldn't handle it. I would also recommend her books Wild Seed and Mind of My Mind which was AMAZING they are part of the same series called Patternist (was not a fan of the whole series but these were great)
Currently reading "Mostly harmless" of Hitchhiker Series. These books made me laugh to my heart's content! Also , human tendencies are smartly depicted via machines and technologies!
Merphy, have you considered trying Iain M Banks' The Culture? Its my favourite SF series and its really more a shared universe of standalones so I'd recommend starting with either Player of Games or Use of Weapons as starting points. Inversions and Look to Windward are also some of my favourites.
Yeah, first book is very pedestrian, like, oh I’ll try sci-fi?! And then book two flips the script and the mind boggling writing carries on through the series!
LADY TRENT. I really don't get why that series isn't more popular. Pleasantly surprised I can say I've read touched on 4 of these, given I don't read much SF. Between you and Dark-O, I need to get to Kindred.
Here’s a couple for you….Raising the Stones by Sheri S. Tepper and 2 books from Niven, Pournelle and Barnes…The Legacy of Heorot and Beowulf’s Children.
I want to recommend The employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd centrury. It's very short and a good intro to sci fi if you like beautiful prose and not knowing what's going on for a while😂 It's comprised of employee statements that slowly uncover the plot.
You must read the 4th book. The fourth book in the "Three-Body Problem" series is called "The Redemption of Time." It's written by Baoshu and is an authorized extension of the original trilogy by Liu Cixin.
I actually didn't know Annihilation was based on a book, so after I saw you recommend it I picked up the Trilogy at the Library on Saturday and am going to be starting it tonight.
Not sure if you read a book from Becky Chambers yet. I think her style of writing is also something you would like! My fav series of her is the Monk and Robot novellas
She did read Monk and Robot. I think she was lukewarm if I remember correctly (which is too bad, I think they're incredible!). I don't remember her reading anything Wayfarer, though I could be wrong.
You need to read Timothy Zahn! I’ve listened through the Sibyl’s War trilogy and then read the Thrawn trilogy and the Hand of Thrawn doulogy (both Star Wars EU books, and both phenomenal!! That’s what got me into his work😁) I love that he keeps it clean, but also very deep and impactful and highly immersive stories that will probably stick with me the rest of my life!
Please Consider reading the Destiny’s Crucible series by Olan Thorensen. It’s a blend of Sci-Fi, historical fiction. A really cool thought experiment IMO. 7 or 8 books so far, including one novella. The story really branches out after book 4 and now the loose threads are being woven together. Book 1 is called Cast Under an Alien Sun.
For as dearly as Merphy seems to love both the Hitchhiker's series and the Jim Butcher Dresden Files , I am a little surprised that she hasn't started on Adams' Dirk Gently Books just yet.
![The 15 Best Sci-Fi Books I've Ever Read [Updated Again]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/k0H584ftkQU/mqdefault.jpg)
I would highly recommend the Expanse series. It covers geo-politics (space-politics?), human nature, first contact, ancient civilization and just ... ugh, I love the characters and how it's developed. It's a 9-book series if you count the anthology of novellas (I do) and I couldn't put them down. Can't say enough about them.
Additionally, I'd also have to say A Memory Called Empire is perhaps the best book I read in 2023. The weaving of Mayan mythos / Nahautl-inspired language into the culture in this series is astounding. I loved the characters, the use of poetry as plot device and overall, the general shape of the narrative. If you read nothing else, read this.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series is so foundational to who I am as a person, also very much loved that you called Ford a "bit" of an alien lol
Becky Chambers has one of the best sci fi books i have read in a while, each of her series is cozy in different way and she explores the sci-fi genre in different ways (To be taught if fortunate focuses on exploration of small life on different planets, while the Robot and Monk series is more like inner exploration and then my favorite Small Angry Planet explores the aliens and what are the differences and how to accept someone who is different) Small Angry Planet is definitely one of my favorite books ❤️
Good stories. Best sci-fi?...
Can't bet enough of her books.
I love her writing so much! I feel people underestimate her stories because most do not have the traditional serious sci if tone but the way she explores different concepts in such a cozy, heartwarming way is something I love.
A Canticle for Leibowitz was really good...I still find myself thinking of that book. Loved your recommendations. Thanks C
The Dark Forest changed the way I view space and the universe.
Let me tell you the human perspective on this issue. If we keep growing as a species at the rate we are growing in the last decade, let's say 1.4% (more or less) in 10.000 years every atom in the universe would be human biomass. Think about that there would literally be no room for anything else. 10.000 years cosmologically is a blink of an eye and we have been a civilization for 12.000 (I count since Gobleki Tepe)
(There's a numberphile video about this calculation, I may not remember the exact numbers, but they are close)
I couldn’t make it through the Dark Forest. I stopped about midway through. I couldn’t understand anyone’s motives. The characters seemed to be reacting to situations in the strangest ways. I’ve tried twice.
@@michaelme1548wallfacers are supposed to act that way 😅
I prefer the expanse novels myself
If you don't know what The Dark Forest Hypothesis is, look it up. It's scary AF.
Solaris, Flowers for Algernon, and the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are all favorites of mine. Stanislaw Lem, who wrote Solaris, is also one of my favorite sci-fi humorists. My favorite sci-fi humor books by him are The Star Diaries and The Cyberiad. Each is a collection of very loosely connected stories featuring the same main characters on some very unusual sci-fi adventures. One thing I like about his stories is how deeply he will take whatever premises he is working with. Instead of being props for telling other stories, the sci-fi elements in his stories will take on a life that they wouldn't in the hands of other authors. In some ways, his stories remind me of those of Lord Dunsany, except that they are science fiction instead of fantasy. He also wrote a collection of introductions to books that don't exist (Imaginary Magnitude), a collection of speeches from a sentient AI (Golem XIV, included with IM) , and the first science fiction novel to include ereaders (Return from the Stars).
A Sci-fi series I have read recent and highly recommend is Sun Eater by Christopher Ruocchio, the first book is Empire of Silence.
I have been reading sci-fi for over 60 years (hundreds of titles) and after reading dozens of comments I am stunned that no one has mentioned "The Mote in God's Eye" by Niven and Pournelle. I mainly read books checked out from the public library, but it is one of only 6 sci-fi titles I actually own.
I loved the Mote in God's Eye overall, have the hardback somewhere, but it is not one I recommend because it is such a thick book and the author excels in leading you to a point, then backing away. I don't know how many times I thought, ok, here is where the main characters discover the truth, only for them to fail to connect the dots. As a reader, this was so frustrating.
I have to recommend trying Ursula LeGuin. _The Left Hand of Darkness_ is such an epic and transformative experience. Also, her short stories and novellas will stay with you forever.
Le Guin is truly one of the greatest authors and poets in American literature canon. Earthsea, Left Hand, Dispossessed, her poetry and translation of Tao, transformative is the right word.
Your review of “Something wicked this way comes” perfectly mirrored my reaction to it so I have to recommend “The Martian Chronicles” also by Ray Bradbury. It’s a “fix up” or short story collection. The first story “Ylla” is just 13 pages but has more creative world building than most series I’ve read. Bradbury’s poetic writing works so well with short stories where he able to paint a picture in just a few sentences. Definitely one of the best books I read this year.
I adore Iain M Banks Culture series. The fact that there is no dark secret about The Culture, that it is ultimately a very moral society that wants what's best for everyone, is one of the most provocative ideas in fiction, and that's only the start of the sheer breadth of fascinating concepts he played with. The books are often meandering and can feel aimless and yet never boring, and his prose was beautiful, and suffused with wry comedy. Try The Player of Games or Use of Weapons.
You are correct. Banks - Culture is on the top with Asimov and Dune…
can't recommend Banks highly enough. I think Player of Games is probably the best jumping off point. I view Banks' Culture Series the same way I do Firefly - A handful of the most brilliantly realized SF gems that exist in their respective genres.
If you had to take only one recommendation from this comment section, this would be it. These books can be funny, sad, lighthearted, incredibly dark, and often within the same book. They are incredibly imaginative, and ask lots of thought provoking questions on society, ideology, and what happens when civilizations with different technological and moral standards come head to head. Read these books!
Some others worth trying...
- We Are Legion (We Are Bob). The Bobiverse books have sometimes been called "Dresden in Space." They work for some people and not for others. I personally really enjoyed them.
- Dark Matter and other Blake Crouch books. Very sciency, but fast paced reading like a movie.
- Project Hail Mary and The Martian by Andy Weir
- The Silo Trilogy (Wool, Shift, Dust)
- Hyperion
- House of Suns
- The Lathe of Heaven
- Children of Time
- Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead
- The Chrysalids
- Citizen of the Galaxy
- The Gods Themselves
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Hyperion is elite
Have you tried Dan Simmons' Hyperion?
Vandermeer’s highly varied worlds & stories is probably only matched by Adrian Tchaikovsky among current authors.
The Ambergris trilogy is actually my favorite Vandermeer. Plan on rereading it this year. He's one of my favorite authors in general. I also agree with you about Dawn, but I haven't gotten around to Kindred yet. It's on the list though
Science fiction is my primary genre and I have read A LOT of what the genre has to offer and two total standouts that I'm not seeing much of in the comment section are Blindsight by Peter Watts (the sequel Echopraxia is also great, but not necessary) and the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. These are my top 2 of all time and if I were to round out the list to 5 I would throw in Neuromancer by William Gibson, The Left Hand of Darkness/The Dispossessed (tied for me, the whole Hainish Cycle is great) by Ursula K. Le Guin, and the fairly obligatory Dune from mastermind Herbert. If I am being honest my top 5 is pretty fluid beyond Blindsight and Hyperion and I never throw in reads from my last year or so to avoid recency bias, even if I did have some spectacular books in the line up.
Sci-fi recc- Ted Chiang The Story of Your Life (and others) 10/10
It's a collection of shorts that, I know, a lot of people don't like collections but just read the titular story (that then became the film Arrival) and you'll definitely want to read the rest.
He's the best. It's hard to describe how good he is. He's the most thoughtful writer. In 10 pages he can accomplish what most cannot in 100... He writes stories that make other writers jealous. Ken Liu inspired by him, enough so that he asked permission to write a story spinoff of one of his shorts!
And if you ask people who know about him his best 5 books you'll get 5 different answers everytime. One of my favourites is division by zero, almost never gets mentioned but it's 20 pages of sheer genius.
Yes! Ted Chiang's Exhalation is really good too! You are so right about how hard it is to describe how good he is. I was blown away when I got Exhalation from the library and I immediately went and bought Stories of your Life and others. Definitely some of the best sci-fi out there!
Have you tried the Expanse series? It’s very popular, but for good reason, and I think you would enjoy it. It’s like Star Trek but grittier and more realistic? A real exploration of what would happen if humanity expanded to other planets: how would we travel? What political divisions would arise? How does living without sunlight affect our bodies? How do we grow food? And it’s all wrapped up in a compelling mystery in each book following multiple POVs.
BELTALOWDA!
I started Leviathan Wakes late last week and now I see a random UA-cam comment about it lol. I'm really enjoying it so far.
It’s way too hard of scifi for Merph. She’s into Brandon Sanderson and other super basic stuff.
@@Kujakuseki01tf you mean way too hard
@@Kujakuseki01 Super basic like the Southern Reach trilogy? The Expanse is excellent, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone.
I'll always recommend Cyteen by CJ Cherryh. It features some of the best worldbuilding I've ever read, along with a compelling central relationship and a fascinating antagonist.
Cyteen is my favorite novel ever. I did a video about it just last week.
I just picked up a couple of books from Yume Kitasei at the Columbus book festival and absolutely blew through them. Very solid sci-fi adventure with a knack for digging into deeper themes about identity and relationships.
Flowers for Algeron 😢
Recommendations: David Brin Kiln People; and Jasper Fforde; The Jane Eyre Affair
Have you tried Adrian Tchaikovsky? Just started getting into his sci-fi stuff. I think if you like Annihilation you might like Alien Clay. Just started reading Service Model which I'm getting I, Robot vibes from
I was going to comment about Adrian Tchaikovsky but I'm glad someone already did. I loved the Children of... Series which is the most unique fiction I've ever read. I also loved Service Model, it's such a cute and surprisingly political journey that delves into AI in a really entertaining and thought provoking way. I, of course, also get I, Robot vibes from it as well haha
I always recommend Hyperion by Dan Simmons. There is a wide variety of characters, each on different paths that are all headed to a similar point.
Currently rereading this in preparation to start the sequel! There's a lot I forgot but it is truly stunning. Each story is so different but completely engrossing.
Hyperion is a masterpiece. It needs to be read with The Fall of Hyperion... which may be even better.
I haven't read alot of scifi but my favorite is Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch trilogy)
Couldn’t agree more about 3 Body, VanderMeer, and Lady Trent (though I view these more as fantasy, but can understand the justification for them being here).
For a recommendation from me, I’m halfway through Terra Ignota by Ada Palmer. It’s a sci-fi series (with some fantasy elements) set in the future where earth cultures and politics have changed drastically due to technological advancements. There’s been hundreds of years of peace but tensions are building. The world building is incredibly good and deep, with Palmer taking an Erikson style “dump you into it and let you figure it out” approach and it feels really satisfying to work it. It’s also got a cool framing with it being a historical recounting of these events written by one of the characters that was central to all the stuff. His voice is unique and really compelling (he’s also quite biased and can be unreliable so that’s also fun to figure out too).
I’ve only read 50% of the series but if it maintains the level of quality the first 2 books have it’ll easily be one of my top series.
If you like Douglas Adams, read the novel Red Dwarf by Grant Naylor. It's from the TV show of the same name, and it's the exact same sense of humour. It's a rare scifi comedy, and I recommend everyone watch the show as well as read the books.
More serious scifi trilogy that I enjoy is Troy Rising by John Ringo. It's also a first contact story, but it's more like Polynesian first contact with white people situation, where the aliens want what we have and are trading the equivalent of iron nails for pearls. Make sure you look up his other series before reading them to see if they're for you, though. They are very different from each other.
Possibly the closest I've got to VanderMeer was reading Stanislav Lem. You may have already read Solaris? If not...
But also, Eden. Some great aliens, and this was written nearly 70 years ago.
also, a book I've never seen recommended by any channel, but i adore, even if after 2 readings, I'm still not quite sure what it was about - Russell Hoban's Fremder. I adore this book.
Thank you for your channel. You make me want to read all the books :)
The Red Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson is probably my favorite sci-fi series as a whole. I have others I've enjoyed, but not every book in the series like this one. Also, the Space Odyssey series by Arthur C. Clarke. The first book is really slow, but if you can get through it, the other books are much faster paced (and also really good).
I'd recommend The Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe. It's weird coz even though it's technically classed as Sci-fi it reads more like a fantasy series. Also Neuromancer by William Gibson is the peak of sci-fi writing. The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons is amazing as well. Oh and Flowers for Algernon as well, it'll make you cry.
Gene Wolfe was one of the most literate and talented writers in the English language period, not just in SciFi. He left his contemporaries in the genre in awe, especially in writing the Book of the New Sun. I saw Harlan Ellison treat this man with genuine respect and reverence, and that's not a thing Harlan Ellison was remembered for. It's something every Science Fiction reader needs to at least attempt to read, being one of the greatest works in contemporary science fiction. It's a book for the ages.
The expanse series and the sun eater series which is sci-fi fantasy are my favourite series
The Sun Eater series is remarkable
I’ve finished The Expanse, but still on book 3 of Suneater
I'm on book 3 of Sun Eater (and did read the novellas between) and Ruocchio is quickly becoming my favorite author. The series is incredible.
Sun eater is one of my all time favorites. A slooow burn but one of the best authors in terms of beautiful writing I've ever read
The Lady Trent series is for me what Vandermeer is to you. I discovered those books last year and devoured them! Instantly one of my top-five favourite series ever. I don't see them mentioned a lot so it was a good surprise to see them here!
I recently read Vermilion Flames by Adam Fernandez. Fantastic sci-fi read. The characters are great, the story compelling (post-Earth colonies on other planets), and the dude can write. There are multiple time I had to stop and think, "That was such a banger line."
Hyperion by Dan Simmons is amazing
This x 2.
I was scrolling through the comments looking for this. I read this probably 30 years ago, and it's stuck with me ever since. His writing style and the imagery is just amazing.
Currently rereading this in preparation for starting the sequel... I had forgotten so many details but it's truly fantastic
Absolutely. The Fall of Hyperion is essential and maybe even better.
Why do people consider Hyperion controversial?
“The Eyes Have It” by Philip K Dick is a super clever piece of flash fiction that might appeal to someone interested in sci fi.
So nice to meet you! Thank you for your reviews. Looking forward to reading your recommendations.
I just finished Lilith's Brood trilogy a few months ago. It's fantastic. And way too underrated. When I was done with the third book I was sad not to have more to read. I wanted to know what happens on Mars. I wanted to know what happens when they leave earth and its consequences. I wanted to know so much more... And Three Body Problem is what made me start to read SciFi and love the genre. It made me sleepless as I couldn't stop thinking about its ideas.
Thank you so much for mentioning Dawn. I recommend it to anyone who will listen.
I love the series so much and would implore that you at least try book 2.
Such a haunting but beautiful series.
I would also recommend the left hand of darkness.
I know I'm late, but I highly recommend the Night's Dawn trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton. It's a massive space opera told from multiple points of view, but the main storyline/ antagonist strays over towards supernatural territory. The books are massive (the trilogy comes to around 1.25 million words) but this length gives Hamilton the opportunity to really flesh out the universe and different factions in it before the main plot messes everything up.
A nice list. I've read all of these authors except for the Lady Trent series, which i do really want to pick up.
I doing that in my 20s I slowly but surely moved away from fantasy books and more into scifi. Now it's my favourite genre by far. Picking favourite books is far too hard so I'll just say lately I've really been enjoying Alistair Reynolds and Susannah Clarke.
I was curious when I saw the title, wondering how many older books you would mention. I was a child of the 60's and 70's, and my favorite writers were Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, Norton, etc. I read three paperbacks a week back then, every sci fi book in the library. Then college took all my attention for four years and I had to forgo any casual reading, breaking my reading habit. Since graduation, I've only read four books, which is about one a decade, so I'm clueless as to who are the better storywriters today. It will be interesting to read the comments to see what people recommend. Thanks for the video.
Calculating Stars Series is my all time favourite Sci-Fi series
Great series! I felt like both voices (Alma and Nicole) give interesting windows into the experience of women. It is one thing to be aware, it is another to get inside their heads. I particularly appreciated the perspective on disordered eating provided in Nicole's voice in The Relentless Moon. I'm really looking forward to The Martian Contingency.
I really need to read more of Octavia Butler. I read Wild Seed back in High School and it really struck me. It was so heavy maybe that's why I never went back. I think in hs maybe I wasn't as emotionally mature enough to handle that kind of depth. Also, in hs maybe even junior high, I fell down the rabbit hole of Hitchhikers. It fostered my love of British humor.
I'm REALLY curious about the Area X series because of you. I think I'll try to get to it soon
Martha Well's Murderbot diaries
I love that serie ! Murderbot is one of my favorite characters ever ! I re read all the books at least once a year. ❤
I remember reading the short story version of Flowers for Algernon in high school and not getting much out of it then, but it sort hit me later on in life when thinking about it. In a good way, I need to reread it.
I think you have read one of them, but I can't remember which one and I haven't found a wiki of what reviews went with what videos LOL.
But any of the Vorkosigan Saga books by Lois McMaster Bujold.
Pierce Brown' Red Rising series is top tier
Kindred is one of the most intense books I've ever read. Also loved Dawn and the whole Xenogenesis series (adulthood rites being my favourite). If you haven't already, you should check out Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. If you like Three Body Problem you'll probably like Children of Time too.
Another day, another video of Merphy ignoring Ursula K. le Guin's literary genius.
I find it interesting you enjoyed the Three Body Problem series without understanding some elements. I haven't read it but I think it's a good sign if you can enjoy it even if some concepts aren't understood.
Not seen a mention of Hyperion here yet. The Dan Simmons series is an accomplishment.
Peter F Hamilton was the first real Sci-Fi I read and it was amazing. Picked up the Night's Dawn Trilogy cheap when Borders was closing their stores.
The Night's Dawn trilogy - The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, The Naked God.
The Salvation Sequence - Salvation, Salvation Lost, The Saints of Salvation
My top five sci-fi recs would be.
The Expanse series
The Revelation Space trilogy
Frank Herbert's Dune is an obvious one
Peter F Hamilton is author I would really recommend and Dan Simmons The Hyperion Cantos is one of my all time favourites.
I feel like I need to give Three Body another try, it really wasn't for me the first time around but I'll give it another go someday
Right, that much passion for sci-fi is great (and I loved Annihilation too), I subscribed :)
I would recommend the interworld trilogy by Mallory and michael Reeves and Niel Gaiman. It is multiverse madness but in a fun way. It has a few deeper philosophical themes throughout and an overall great read
Thanks, MN
I think you have done an excellent job of reviewing the positive bits without spoilers. Not an easy task.
Your high ratings of these particular authors lead me to recommend Neal Stephenson. I might start with Seveneves.
Merci, merci, merci
TH
Technically sci-fi as Alternate History tend to be called such, but based on the last one, and not knowing what you have read, have you heard of the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik? Set during the Napoleonic Era, every major European nation has a draconic Air Force. The story follows a former sea captain and his dragon he found in the first book’s first act. The odd numbered books focus more on war (masculine) while the even ones tend to focus more on his crew (feminine).
I have another, but it is teeth shattering hard sci-fi. The Golden Age (Oecumene) by John C Wright is set in the far future within our solar system. The protagonist discovers he and EVERYONE ELSE was given selective amnesia over something he said or did. Him trying to find out what serious crime he did is the main focus of the first plot twisting book. The primary form of communication is a mix of video phone, VR, and telepathy. A form of AI do most of the work while everyone else mostly peruse their own projects and arts. There is only one court, and the entire military/police is just one single individual who most already forgot about.
Yes! The Golden Oecumene! I read those last year and I still think about it often. Whenever I think about communication, AI, or our relationship with technology those books come to mind. I hope more people discover it while those topics are hot!
I also really liked Temeraire a couple years ago. I hadn't noticed that change in perspective. Interesting. Maybe I missed it because I was mostly listening to the audiobooks while I did yard work.
I recommend the black ocean galaxy series by JS Morin. Firefly with wizards. Excellent world building and there are 4 16 book series. He is still writing and all of the characters are engaging. He is kick-starting a compendium and if you do audio you can get the primary series of 85 hours for one credit
Michael Anderle ------- Start with 'Death Becomes Her' I loved it!
As someone who has been reading SF for over 40 years, I have to say your taste in SF is phenomenal. This is a really solid list. The Liu trilogy is some of the best hard SF written in the past couple of decades. Butler's Dawn trilogy is some very uncomfortable, very confrontational, and very very important SF. A must read. And Hitchhiker's, of course. Utterly hilarious and groundbreaking. Looking forward to see what you pick up in the coming year!
Love your content thus far
Both KINDRED and DAWN are fantastic. Butler was an extraordinary writer.
They made a movie based on Annihilation
It was good, what do you think?
Here's some recommendations from more Indie/Self Published authors: Glynn Stewart has The Starship's Mage, Duchy Of Terra, and Castle Federation series. Lindsay Buroker has the Star Kingdom series. And Terry Mixon has the Empire of Bones series.
Annihilation may have been inspired by Hothouse by Brian Aldiss, which is a Science Fiction classic. I have no idea, but there are some similarities. Aldiss is a rather huge figure in the genre.
Ahh Vandermeer is a fave of mine too! There’s something about his strange tales and overall storytelling that just get me I could write an essay about it haha Plus, I like that he writes female POVs well
I'd love to hear your thoughts on some Classic Sci-fi: Clarke, Wells, CS Lewis, Asimov, Bradbury..
Love the love for Butler's Dawn!
Me before the video: Probably Hitchhiker's, something by Jeff VanderMeer, and something by Octavia Butler.
Me after the video: I am a master detective. 😛
Book recommendations: Ursula Le Guin's Hainish series [or, if you don't want to read every single one, just The Left Hand of Darkness and The Telling], The Mountain in The Sea [curious to see if you'd like it or not], anything by Becky Chambers [I love her books so much], Anne Leckie's Ancillary Justice trilogy, The Raven Tower [not actually sci-fi, but one of my favourite books[, and Translation State, Carl Sagan's Contact, Elfelheim by Michael Flynn, and a recent debut release, The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard.
Need to mention Phillip K Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", "A Scanner Darkly", "The man in the High Castle" and many more, as long as there is a talk about sci-fi. That's truly unlike anything else there is to read.
Added some to my TBR. Thanks!
Tea With The Black Dragon by RA MacAvoy. The Iron Dragon’s Daughter by Michael Swanwick. To Say Nothing Of The Dog by Connie Willis. Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny.
I really like the Expanse. I think the first few books are good but not amazing then the series just keeps picking up steam as it goes.
I felt quite the opposite. The first book was really good and after that it just transforms into a family drama which I was not at all interested. I quit after the 6th book. I got bored with the authors mentioning the main story of the protomolecule only at the first and the last pages of the books as a cliffhanger.
@@starius16 Thanks for the info. While I loved the first three seasons, I hated seasons 5 and 6, didn't particularly like season 4 of the tv series for mostly the reasons you mention and was worried if the books reflected the last two seasons.
I would recommend: Hail Mary by Andy Weir, also by Andy Weir, and also The Ferryman by Juston Cronin :)
Always love how you share and recommend books. Excited to check out VanderMeer
I have to take every opportunity to recommend the extremely underrated "Terra Ignota" series by Ada Palmer, starting with "Too Like The Lightning". Intriguing and epic and haven't completely left my consciousness since finishing them months ago.
I'd recommend The Paper Menagerie as a fantastic sci-fi short story collection :)
You should read Sun Eater. You will like it.
Red Rising!!!
Can recommend because my little sister also loved it after me cajoling her into it 😂
I wildly agree with Kindred. Butler is an amazing writer. One of the things she is really good at doing si making you feel what the characters feel. This si actually why I was unable to finish Kindred, not because the book was not good, but rather the book was TOO GOOD and I couldn't handle it. I would also recommend her books Wild Seed and Mind of My Mind which was AMAZING they are part of the same series called Patternist (was not a fan of the whole series but these were great)
Currently reading "Mostly harmless" of Hitchhiker Series. These books made me laugh to my heart's content! Also , human tendencies are smartly depicted via machines and technologies!
Merphy, have you considered trying Iain M Banks' The Culture? Its my favourite SF series and its really more a shared universe of standalones so I'd recommend starting with either Player of Games or Use of Weapons as starting points. Inversions and Look to Windward are also some of my favourites.
Yeah, first book is very pedestrian, like, oh I’ll try sci-fi?! And then book two flips the script and the mind boggling writing carries on through the series!
LADY TRENT. I really don't get why that series isn't more popular.
Pleasantly surprised I can say I've read touched on 4 of these, given I don't read much SF. Between you and Dark-O, I need to get to Kindred.
Here’s a couple for you….Raising the Stones by Sheri S. Tepper and 2 books from Niven, Pournelle and Barnes…The Legacy of Heorot and Beowulf’s Children.
To round out your scifi experience, you may want to read a space opera or some military scifi. I recommend "Old Man's War" by John Scalzi.
I want to recommend The employees: A workplace novel of the 22nd centrury. It's very short and a good intro to sci fi if you like beautiful prose and not knowing what's going on for a while😂 It's comprised of employee statements that slowly uncover the plot.
have you read Butler's Earthseed duology? Thats my personal fav, followed closely by Kindred.
Sun Eater is must-read sci fi. A classic in the making.
The title to this video is the reason I watched it. Borne series-check, I loved it too.
You must read the 4th book.
The fourth book in the "Three-Body Problem" series is called "The Redemption of Time." It's written by Baoshu and is an authorized extension of the original trilogy by Liu Cixin.
This list is super solid. I haven't read all the series completely here. But I agree wholeheartedly.
I actually didn't know Annihilation was based on a book, so after I saw you recommend it I picked up the Trilogy at the Library on Saturday and am going to be starting it tonight.
Not sure if you read a book from Becky Chambers yet. I think her style of writing is also something you would like! My fav series of her is the Monk and Robot novellas
She did read Monk and Robot. I think she was lukewarm if I remember correctly (which is too bad, I think they're incredible!). I don't remember her reading anything Wayfarer, though I could be wrong.
You need to read Timothy Zahn! I’ve listened through the Sibyl’s War trilogy and then read the Thrawn trilogy and the Hand of Thrawn doulogy (both Star Wars EU books, and both phenomenal!! That’s what got me into his work😁) I love that he keeps it clean, but also very deep and impactful and highly immersive stories that will probably stick with me the rest of my life!
If you’re looking for authors who write ‘out there’ stuff that’s different each time, I’d recommend Adrian Tchaikovsky and China Mieville.
Please Consider reading the Destiny’s Crucible series by Olan Thorensen. It’s a blend of Sci-Fi, historical fiction. A really cool thought experiment IMO. 7 or 8 books so far, including one novella. The story really branches out after book 4 and now the loose threads are being woven together. Book 1 is called Cast Under an Alien Sun.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is my favorite scifi book, it's about spiders thst evolve to gain sentience, empathy, and humanity itself
The three body problem sounds so good!
I just read it last month, haven't read the rest yet, but book 1 was awesome, although somewhat strange. Eager to read book 2 and 3.
For as dearly as Merphy seems to love both the Hitchhiker's series and the Jim Butcher Dresden Files , I am a little surprised that she hasn't started on Adams' Dirk Gently Books just yet.
Merphy should read The Broken Empire, Prince Of Nothing and Berserk