What a solid list! Hyperion, (I only read the first one so far) is certainly going to be in my list of top five all time SF books. 🙌 I wonder if you’ve read Fire up on the deep by Vernon Vinge, Solaris by Lem, or House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. All are my faves. 🙂
Great list, but Dune will always be #1 in my science fiction heart (Dune is my other planet). Dan Simmons created a masterpiece with the Hyperion Cantos (he's written so many wonderful and varied books like Carrion Comfort, The Terror, and Summer of Night). I bought a copy of The Forever War and will read it soon.
Lots of people really love Dune, and I get why even though it misses that mark for me. I've got the Simmons Ilium/Olympos duology on my shelf and a handful of others on my Kindle so I really look forward to more Simmons after I finish the Hyperion Cantos.
Great video, David. I loved seeing how passionate you are for these books, and how you've developed such a love for science fiction over the last couple of years! I'm just at the beginning of a similar journey into the genre, I only really found science fiction in the last few months but I'm hooked already. So far I've mostly read contemporary/modern stuff, but next year I'll be embarking on a big old project to tackle some of the absolute classics of the genre, as well as some of the hidden gems. Can't wait! I'll be re-reading Fahrenheit 451 in December, as part of a stack of dystopias I've got on my TBR, and for the Remember December reading event. Has been over 20 years since I read it and I don't remember it all that well, other than I really liked it. I think it's probably gonna hit harder now that I'm in my 40s and have a bit more life experience and understanding of the world than when I was in my teens! Really looking forward to diving back in. And Hyperion I have on my wish-list for next year's reading - I'm a little daunted by it to be honest, but I see so many amazing reports of it that I need to just give it a go! Was really useful to hear that you don't need to know Keats or Chaucer to enjoy it - I don't know any Keats at all, and my knowledge of Chaucer is about three decades old when I studied it briefly in school. Thanks for a fab video, I'll look forward to hearing more about your science fiction reading experiences in the future!
Wonderful to hear from you! I'd love to chat about some of the books that you've read so far that have resonated well (and any that may not have), what all you think you might target to read in the next year, etc. I look forward to seeing what you end up thinking on F451 when you get to it in December!
@@DavidWiley7 In terms of next year's reading, I've got a whole plan for a monthly series on sci-fi - would you like a sneak peek? I can email you a link to the Google spreadsheet I've got for the project which will give you all 24 of the books I hope to get through in 2024 - there are some giants of the genre on there as well as some more contemporary works. A couple of books that I've read this year that really resonated for me: firstly, Harlan Ellison's I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream really floored me. I'm in awe of how Ellison managed to pack such a punch into such a short story. The writing was so affecting and darkly beautiful, and the themes are still relevant and extremely unsettling. Masterful work. Then on the other end of the spectrum entirely, I loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (2021) - a big warm hug of a book, but hit me quite emotionally in terms of its discussion around things like identity, fitting in and finding purpose and happiness in one's life. Lovely world building too. A beautiful little book, and one I can't wait to read the sequel to (it's on my Christmas list!). In terms of other stuff I've liked, I can't not mention Philip K Dick. I've read a few of his works, but A Scanner Darkly is my favourite so far. I love his imagination and the way he describes the bonkers concepts he came up with, his writing always produces wonderful visuals in my mind when I read it. Classics-wise, I've enjoyed what I've read of Jules Verne, but not so much of H G Wells - I like Wells' ideas and concepts but his writing style isn't necessarily my cup of tea. Same goes for Gibson's Neuromancer - love the concept, but I couldn't get into Gibson's style. There are a few other books I've really loved from contemporary science fiction, but in an effort to avoid writing an essay in your comments section I'll omit those for now! But if you ever fancy a chat via email, just let me know! Is always great to discuss these things, especially with someone who's a little further into their sci-fi adventures! Happy reading :-)
@@alex_unabridged please do send an email to david.wiley0@gmail.com and I'd love to continue to chat it over! Have you read anything else from Ellison yet? The man has some genuine GOLD in some of his short stories. I'll respond to MORE of this in our emails!
Great choices! Have you read Haldeman's novella "the Hemingway Hoax?" Also Bester's The Stars My Destination is a huge milestone in SF, if you have tried it yet, i think you'll get a kick out of it.
Hey this is a great video idea. Easy to make and all that. I think I can actually find 5 books I’ve enjoyed, even though I’ve not read nearly as much as you even. -T
Awesome list going to add these to my Amazon cart!
Hopefully there's some excellent reading in your future!
4 out of 5 of them are some of my favourite science fiction books too David - great video. I'm not a fan of Asimov but really love the others. :)
Asimov certainly is a strange one, as I've had plenty of his writing do nothing for me, while others turn out to be pretty good.
What a solid list! Hyperion, (I only read the first one so far) is certainly going to be in my list of top five all time SF books. 🙌
I wonder if you’ve read Fire up on the deep by Vernon Vinge, Solaris by Lem, or House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. All are my faves. 🙂
I haven't read any of those three, but I had them all on my radar and House of Suns is currently on my shelf!
@@DavidWiley7 I think you’d enjoy them all. So many great books, so little time. 😀
Great list, but Dune will always be #1 in my science fiction heart (Dune is my other planet). Dan Simmons created a masterpiece with the Hyperion Cantos (he's written so many wonderful and varied books like Carrion Comfort, The Terror, and Summer of Night). I bought a copy of The Forever War and will read it soon.
Lots of people really love Dune, and I get why even though it misses that mark for me. I've got the Simmons Ilium/Olympos duology on my shelf and a handful of others on my Kindle so I really look forward to more Simmons after I finish the Hyperion Cantos.
Great video, David. I loved seeing how passionate you are for these books, and how you've developed such a love for science fiction over the last couple of years! I'm just at the beginning of a similar journey into the genre, I only really found science fiction in the last few months but I'm hooked already. So far I've mostly read contemporary/modern stuff, but next year I'll be embarking on a big old project to tackle some of the absolute classics of the genre, as well as some of the hidden gems. Can't wait!
I'll be re-reading Fahrenheit 451 in December, as part of a stack of dystopias I've got on my TBR, and for the Remember December reading event. Has been over 20 years since I read it and I don't remember it all that well, other than I really liked it. I think it's probably gonna hit harder now that I'm in my 40s and have a bit more life experience and understanding of the world than when I was in my teens! Really looking forward to diving back in. And Hyperion I have on my wish-list for next year's reading - I'm a little daunted by it to be honest, but I see so many amazing reports of it that I need to just give it a go! Was really useful to hear that you don't need to know Keats or Chaucer to enjoy it - I don't know any Keats at all, and my knowledge of Chaucer is about three decades old when I studied it briefly in school. Thanks for a fab video, I'll look forward to hearing more about your science fiction reading experiences in the future!
Wonderful to hear from you! I'd love to chat about some of the books that you've read so far that have resonated well (and any that may not have), what all you think you might target to read in the next year, etc. I look forward to seeing what you end up thinking on F451 when you get to it in December!
@@DavidWiley7 In terms of next year's reading, I've got a whole plan for a monthly series on sci-fi - would you like a sneak peek? I can email you a link to the Google spreadsheet I've got for the project which will give you all 24 of the books I hope to get through in 2024 - there are some giants of the genre on there as well as some more contemporary works.
A couple of books that I've read this year that really resonated for me: firstly, Harlan Ellison's I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream really floored me. I'm in awe of how Ellison managed to pack such a punch into such a short story. The writing was so affecting and darkly beautiful, and the themes are still relevant and extremely unsettling. Masterful work. Then on the other end of the spectrum entirely, I loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (2021) - a big warm hug of a book, but hit me quite emotionally in terms of its discussion around things like identity, fitting in and finding purpose and happiness in one's life. Lovely world building too. A beautiful little book, and one I can't wait to read the sequel to (it's on my Christmas list!).
In terms of other stuff I've liked, I can't not mention Philip K Dick. I've read a few of his works, but A Scanner Darkly is my favourite so far. I love his imagination and the way he describes the bonkers concepts he came up with, his writing always produces wonderful visuals in my mind when I read it. Classics-wise, I've enjoyed what I've read of Jules Verne, but not so much of H G Wells - I like Wells' ideas and concepts but his writing style isn't necessarily my cup of tea. Same goes for Gibson's Neuromancer - love the concept, but I couldn't get into Gibson's style. There are a few other books I've really loved from contemporary science fiction, but in an effort to avoid writing an essay in your comments section I'll omit those for now! But if you ever fancy a chat via email, just let me know! Is always great to discuss these things, especially with someone who's a little further into their sci-fi adventures! Happy reading :-)
@@alex_unabridged please do send an email to david.wiley0@gmail.com and I'd love to continue to chat it over! Have you read anything else from Ellison yet? The man has some genuine GOLD in some of his short stories. I'll respond to MORE of this in our emails!
I've read two on your list, The Stars, Like Dust and Fahrenheit 451. Both I enjoyed. I'd certainly like to read the others.
I imagine that you'd probably enjoy all three!
I read The Forever War for the first time last week. I agree it is a fantastic novel. Except the last two pages or so. After opening the package.
Ah yes, the convenient plot resolution on the personal level, yes?
@@DavidWiley7 Yep. I thought he could have made a more nuanced ending that fit with the rest of the story. But I frown upon happy endings.
Great choices!
Have you read Haldeman's novella "the Hemingway Hoax?"
Also Bester's The Stars My Destination is a huge milestone in SF, if you have tried it yet, i think you'll get a kick out of it.
No to the Haldeman novella, but I've read and loved The Stars My Destination - had I done another 5 that probably would have made it onto the list.
Hey this is a great video idea. Easy to make and all that. I think I can actually find 5 books I’ve enjoyed, even though I’ve not read nearly as much as you even.
-T
That was my thought, too! Fantasy will be harder since most I don't own currently.