Mike (from Mike’s Book Reviews) didn’t like it that much. He said he didn’t get it. I suspect Murderbot resonates more with people who are closer to the introvert side, and who have some form of social anxiety. Just a guess though.
Love this! Have been meaning to check out Courtney's video too. I've been on a bit of a short novel/novelette/read-in-a-day binge recently. Barry Malzberg - Galaxies (notes for a hard sci-fi novel, very readable despite itself) Michael Moorcock - Behold The Man (man travels back in time to meet Jesus, discovers he's an imbecile) Martha Wella - Artificial Condition (Murderbot #2) And reading The Martian Chronicles right now. Thanks for these suggestions, deffo gonna pick up a few.
Another great list. You've convinced me to add The Illustrated Man to my TBR! I also have Binti on my bookshelf for an upcoming read. In a similar vein I can recommend Pierre Boulle's Planet of the Apes as a great, thought-provoking short read. It was the quickest I got through a sci-fi book last year.
I love these types of recommendation videos! I just finished The Black God's Drums, which I think might be considered sci-fi? I read it within a 24-hour period. Great video, Michael!
" The Illistrated Man " was an easy read, along with " The Martain Chronicles ". Love Silverberge . Alas i must be one of the few who did not " get " Hitchhiker Guide . I finish in one sitting .Thanks for the list .
The Murderbot Diaries was one that I really wanted to read, but the only time I had the time to do so, I only found the box set and it was a bit much haha. And Since then, never got back to it, but I think I would really like it. And yes! Anything of Bradbury I have always loved. I am not sure if I could take a retelling of Atlas Shrugged haha. 😅
Murderbot is just fun and so well written. It's such a short time investment too. It was a perfect complement while starting Gravitys Rainbow to keep me from losing my mind..tho I imagine you probably have read GR and just blew right through it!
"The Illustrated Man" is what got me into SF, read it in jr. high school. Robert Silverberg wrote some lovely novellas, besides 'Sailing..." my favorites are 'Homefaring', 'The Secret Sharer' & 'Nightwings'. Ursula K. Le Guin has one day reads: 'Lathe of Heaven', and some of the Hanish Cycle books - Rocannon's World, Planet of Exile, City of Illusions, and The Word for World is Forest; are all fast paced & short enough. Great video! p.s. Hitchhikers is hilarious!
Great list. I've got several heavy tomes on Mount Unread. Having a few shorter works in the pile makes the mountain more approachable. It's easy to find older works that are short--good job getting a few contemporary authors on the list.
Nice! I'm always on the lookout for shorter books. Binti and All Systems Red already were on my TBR and I already read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but the others also sound interesting.
I would add Zelazny's Amber books. Each can be read over a long evening. However, while re-visiting them now I would recommend checking out the first book (Nine Princes in Amber) from your e-book library before plunking down for the ten-volume omnibus.
@@FIT2BREAD Not juvenile, just not as developed or as rich as you are now used to. Nevertheless, I think you should try the first book just because of your channel. It's page-turning adventuresome high fantasy but without the prose of Vance or the character development of what we look for as adults. The lead's character development consists of him finding out that he used to be very bad and now that he's suddenly nearly perfect he gets to impress people and places that used to hate or distrust him (there's a lot more to the series than that). Sounds like something a young teen would enjoy, right? It begins with some now-dated but then contemporary hip language and actions (this justifiably irritated Bookpilled) but that goes away after the first book. Overall, it's very similar to Farmer's World of Tiers series, which Zelazny must have liberally borrowed from. I think he may have also been inspired by Kirby's '60s Thor run (mortal finds out he is a god with repressed memories and spends his time adventuring through other worlds and against his god-like family). If it bombs with you, don't let it turn you off Zelazny. Lord of Light just got a re-read from me after over 40 years and it held up wonderfully.
Several Roger Zelazny novels are quick-but-good reads. Some of Robert Silverberg's early 70's books are also quick reads, and are part of what I consider the greatest streak by any SF writer. Andre Norton wrote YA novels before YA was a thing, and they're perfectly good reads for adults. A couple of (very) early Samuel Delany books are very short, too.
Thanks, John. I included Norton in a recent video and have included a bunch of Delany, including even some of his earlier pulpier (for him) fare. Im going to try and read more longer-form Silverberg by the end of the year.
@@FIT2BREAD I forgot to say "These are all great suggestions" before. It's interesting to see how many writers who came from the pulp era and succeeded in book publishing there were back then, i.e. Silverberg, James Blish, etc. They knew how to write efficiently.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is still the only book I've managed to read all in one day, but I'll definitely check out some more of these books and hopefully add a few more to the list
Great list, will be checking out a lot of these! Think I'll stear clear from Beggars however, as I have a burning hatred for Ayn Rand, her books and everything she stood for.😅
Have you read any other Silverberg? I picked up Dying Inside, and The World Inside but I haven't read them. I believe it was Bookpilled who turned me on to that author.
I read Downward To The Earth in a day recently. It's around 250 pages so maybe 4hrs reading if you get in the flow. It follows a man who returns to an alien planet he used to rule over. Humans colonised it then left when liberal voices on Earth won enough influence to enact a treaty stating we won't settle on planets with native sentient beings. The sentient beings on this planet look very similar to elephants and undergo a spiritual pilgrimage that our protagonist wants to learn about and witness. It could be seen as an allegory for colonialism and the British Empire but in my opinion it does a lot more than that. I think it was 99p on Kindle or something silly like that.
On the power On El Shaddai Elohim Adoni Ahcad Shama Israel forever and ever Amen El Roi On the power On St Gabriel On the power On St Michael On the power On Virgin Mary All the bad gad and ufo witchcraft will be in the middle in volcano forever and ever Amen
A lot of these sound great. Hadn't heard of Saturn Game. Thanks Michael.
Thanks M. Saturn Game might be an interesting one for you...has that scifi/fantasy blend...
What a great video. Awesome work! You make such interesting content. Love Murderbot.
Thanks Craig. Murderbot is great
A great list of novellas. I must explore these. Thank you :)
Thanks Peter. Let me know if any are a hit for you
I introduced a good friend to Murderbot a couple weeks back. She loved it. She just finished the last book on the weekend, and is now sad it is over.
Oh nice. It's such an easy one to recommend...I dont think I've heard anyone say they didn't enjoy it
Mike (from Mike’s Book Reviews) didn’t like it that much. He said he didn’t get it. I suspect Murderbot resonates more with people who are closer to the introvert side, and who have some form of social anxiety. Just a guess though.
Love this! Have been meaning to check out Courtney's video too.
I've been on a bit of a short novel/novelette/read-in-a-day binge recently.
Barry Malzberg - Galaxies (notes for a hard sci-fi novel, very readable despite itself)
Michael Moorcock - Behold The Man (man travels back in time to meet Jesus, discovers he's an imbecile)
Martha Wella - Artificial Condition (Murderbot #2)
And reading The Martian Chronicles right now.
Thanks for these suggestions, deffo gonna pick up a few.
Thanks Kieran. Love Martian Chronicles. Also have a review of Murderbot up. I'll have to check out Malzberg
Another great list. You've convinced me to add The Illustrated Man to my TBR! I also have Binti on my bookshelf for an upcoming read.
In a similar vein I can recommend Pierre Boulle's Planet of the Apes as a great, thought-provoking short read. It was the quickest I got through a sci-fi book last year.
Thanks Robin. I saw the movies but never thought to read the book
I love these types of recommendation videos! I just finished The Black God's Drums, which I think might be considered sci-fi? I read it within a 24-hour period. Great video, Michael!
Really enjoyed black gods drums also
" The Illistrated Man " was an easy read, along with " The Martain Chronicles ". Love Silverberge . Alas i must be one of the few who did not " get " Hitchhiker Guide . I finish in one sitting .Thanks for the list .
I think Hitchhiker's is a great pallet cleanser between more serious reads...and of course...you can read it pretty fast
The Murderbot Diaries was one that I really wanted to read, but the only time I had the time to do so, I only found the box set and it was a bit much haha. And Since then, never got back to it, but I think I would really like it. And yes! Anything of Bradbury I have always loved. I am not sure if I could take a retelling of Atlas Shrugged haha. 😅
Murderbot is just fun and so well written. It's such a short time investment too. It was a perfect complement while starting Gravitys Rainbow to keep me from losing my mind..tho I imagine you probably have read GR and just blew right through it!
"The Illustrated Man" is what got me into SF, read it in jr. high school.
Robert Silverberg wrote some lovely novellas, besides 'Sailing..." my favorites are 'Homefaring', 'The Secret Sharer' & 'Nightwings'.
Ursula K. Le Guin has one day reads: 'Lathe of Heaven', and some of the Hanish Cycle books - Rocannon's World, Planet of Exile, City of Illusions, and The Word for World is Forest; are all fast paced & short enough.
Great video!
p.s.
Hitchhikers is hilarious!
Great asldditions. The illustrated Man stories are so underrated
Great list. I've got several heavy tomes on Mount Unread. Having a few shorter works in the pile makes the mountain more approachable. It's easy to find older works that are short--good job getting a few contemporary authors on the list.
I hear that. I've got some doorstoppers I'm working through and will also need to work more short reads in too
What a great idea for a video- Thank You!
Thanks. I have to give much of the credit on the idea to Whitney at Secret Sauce
@@FIT2BREAD Because you're just that swell! Thanks Whitney!
Nice! I'm always on the lookout for shorter books. Binti and All Systems Red already were on my TBR and I already read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but the others also sound interesting.
Murderbot and Binti are very different, so I'll be interested to hear how each of those works for you
I would add Zelazny's Amber books. Each can be read over a long evening. However, while re-visiting them now I would recommend checking out the first book (Nine Princes in Amber) from your e-book library before plunking down for the ten-volume omnibus.
Thanks. I've not read any of the Amber books
@@FIT2BREAD You would have loved them when you were 14, like I did. With Emerson, Lake and Palmer continuously in the background. 🧙♂
@koomo801 too juvenile now..or I should still give em a go?
@@FIT2BREAD Not juvenile, just not as developed or as rich as you are now used to. Nevertheless, I think you should try the first book just because of your channel. It's page-turning adventuresome high fantasy but without the prose of Vance or the character development of what we look for as adults. The lead's character development consists of him finding out that he used to be very bad and now that he's suddenly nearly perfect he gets to impress people and places that used to hate or distrust him (there's a lot more to the series than that). Sounds like something a young teen would enjoy, right? It begins with some now-dated but then contemporary hip language and actions (this justifiably irritated Bookpilled) but that goes away after the first book. Overall, it's very similar to Farmer's World of Tiers series, which Zelazny must have liberally borrowed from. I think he may have also been inspired by Kirby's '60s Thor run (mortal finds out he is a god with repressed memories and spends his time adventuring through other worlds and against his god-like family). If it bombs with you, don't let it turn you off Zelazny. Lord of Light just got a re-read from me after over 40 years and it held up wonderfully.
Several Roger Zelazny novels are quick-but-good reads.
Some of Robert Silverberg's early 70's books are also quick reads, and are part of what I consider the greatest streak by any SF writer.
Andre Norton wrote YA novels before YA was a thing, and they're perfectly good reads for adults.
A couple of (very) early Samuel Delany books are very short, too.
Thanks, John. I included Norton in a recent video and have included a bunch of Delany, including even some of his earlier pulpier (for him) fare. Im going to try and read more longer-form Silverberg by the end of the year.
@@FIT2BREAD I forgot to say "These are all great suggestions" before. It's interesting to see how many writers who came from the pulp era and succeeded in book publishing there were back then, i.e. Silverberg, James Blish, etc. They knew how to write efficiently.
@@JohnInTheShelter thanks John. What do you think of Blish? I was never a big fan of his work/writing...
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is still the only book I've managed to read all in one day, but I'll definitely check out some more of these books and hopefully add a few more to the list
I hope one of them connects for you Michael
Beggars in Spain is also a (rather long) novel. I would some them up as exploring the ideas of atlas shrugged but the author is not a sycopath.
Ha. She was def a nut job
I read Network Effect in the Murderbot series by Martha Wells. Thoroughly enjoyable, but I should probably have started with Book One.
Nice...well at least you can go back and start from the beginning
Murderbot is a winner.
The Martha Wells Murderbot series is amazing The title can be a bit off putting but it's not reflective of the wonderful story's.
Agree. I should have a full length Murderbot review up in another week or so
Yeah, the Illustrated Man and the Martian Chronicles were my old work out mix, haha. That's what a nerd I am.
Thats good stuff
Wow
Great list, will be checking out a lot of these! Think I'll stear clear from Beggars however, as I have a burning hatred for Ayn Rand, her books and everything she stood for.😅
Thanks Michael.
The politics of Beggars in Spain is nothing like Ayn Rand. It’s a shame to miss the trilogy
Have you read any other Silverberg? I picked up Dying Inside, and The World Inside but I haven't read them. I believe it was Bookpilled who turned me on to that author.
Yes, I've got Dying Inside and a few others. Dying Inside is on my TBR for this year. I've read a few Silverberg novels but mostly his short stories
I read Downward To The Earth in a day recently. It's around 250 pages so maybe 4hrs reading if you get in the flow.
It follows a man who returns to an alien planet he used to rule over. Humans colonised it then left when liberal voices on Earth won enough influence to enact a treaty stating we won't settle on planets with native sentient beings. The sentient beings on this planet look very similar to elephants and undergo a spiritual pilgrimage that our protagonist wants to learn about and witness.
It could be seen as an allegory for colonialism and the British Empire but in my opinion it does a lot more than that.
I think it was 99p on Kindle or something silly like that.
Beggars was originally a long short story, and was better in that form.
Good to know...ill probably try this author again in the future as I've heard rave reviews of some of her other work
@@FIT2BREAD she's great.
@@FIT2BREAD I don’t recall the name of her other series but it was a great read!
On the power On El Shaddai Elohim Adoni Ahcad Shama Israel forever and ever Amen
El Roi
On the power On St Gabriel
On the power On St Michael
On the power On Virgin Mary
All the bad gad and ufo witchcraft will be in the middle in volcano forever and ever Amen
unclear