In Hyperion, there is one really good part in the detective's tale; the foot chase through the farcaster network across several planets. It's been a long time since i read it, but I remember that part seemed pretty cool.
Just gotta say, I discovered your channel a couple weeks ago, and it's really re-ignited my my love of hunting for old sci-fi books. I've since found copies of The Boat of A Million Years, Hothouse and Stand on Zanzibar. Oh, and I already had a copy of A Fire Upon the Deep that had been sitting on my shelf for some time, but I'm now reading it on your recommendation. Only about half way through but am really enjoying it so far.
Also discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago and it’s helped rekindle my interest in classic SF, as has your recommendation of the excellent Outlaw Bookseller channel.
Hi there! Really love your videos :) For Ben Bova, I've only read one book but I was quite surprised at how much I ended up loving it, and that is Jupiter. A mission to plunge into the atmosphere/ocean of Jupiter, plus what life on that world could look like. And a hyper intelligent gorilla...
My impression of "City and the Stars" is that it is Clarke's re-interpretation of Plato's story of the cave, where people are chained to a wall and only see their shadows as reality, in this case, the wall is the city.
A great Larry Niven book is “Ringworld”. Terrific. And adjacent to it are the Man-Kzin Wars series of books. Very satisfying series, written through many years by pretty much everybody who is someone in the SciFi world.
Read a lot by Ben Bova. The Orion series is great with a fantastic concept. Hero is chosen to travel back in time to important periods to fight the Dark Lord, who is traveling in a linear fashion. When they first meet the Dark Lord hates Orion, but Orion has never met him before. I also loved his Mars series.
The Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C Clarke is superb, anyone who liked 2001 and the sequels would definitely like it. Gordon R Dickson wrote a lot of books of varying quality but I am finding that his output and prose improved in the 80s.
And Mike Oldfield wrote a “””soundtrack””” for this book. I think he asked Clarke’s permission. The album “The Songs of Distant Earth” is wonderful and goes very well as a background to read the book.
Well, darn. I just saw this video today, wonderful finds! Schmitz' "The Witches of Karres" and Keith Laumer's "A Plague of Demons" just blow "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" away. There were quite a few very good novels 1965/1966 that did not receive the recognition they deserved. A big topic in the SF magazines for several years during that time. USAF Captain Keith Laumer served with the US Diplomatic Corps in Burma during the 1950s. He wrote Retief from experience, and you will certainly note that experience in "A Plague of Demons," one of the greatest books of the genre. SF authors thought so much of Schmitz' "Witches" in 2004; Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Dave Freer wrote a sequel. Not bad. For a great introduction to Retief and bio of Keith Laumer, "Retief!," Baen books - edited by Eric Flint is very good.
I have Burning Chrome and Mirrorshades. I'll never get rid of them, especially Mirrorshades...the short stories "400 boys" and "Mozart in Mirrorshades" are *chef kiss*
The thumbnail was The Foundation, a physics student recommended it to me after I told her about the novel I'm writing. I think this is a sign I need to read it!!
The Witches of Karres kicked off my science fiction book reading binge about 35 years ago. It came highly recommended by a friend and I borrowed his copy. I know he loved it, and I remember liking it, but that's about as far as I can go. It's supposed to be his best novel.
He had a YA series centered around a psi called Telzey Amberdon. A few others in the same universe. And he wrote two in the Witches universe and his estate authorized two others.
I found out Frederick Pohl went to my high school. I have been reading science fiction (among other things) for 35 years and never tried Frederick Pohl, even though he’s a big name. So yeah, you’re not alone in not being familiar with everything.
No-one's read everything, except John Clute. Pohl is very hit and miss, I find. People rave about 'Gateway', but a man of your calibre needs 'Man Plus' as a first strike, I'd say. It's awesome.
Second the "Man Plus" rec. One of the books that really got me into sci-fi (somewhat more than 35 years ago, as my knees will unfortunately attest :). (I _think_ one of my own gaps is another biggie, EE 'Doc' Smith - _may_ have read one or two but if so they're lost to the mists)
Love your channel. It’s been a while since I’ve gone book hunting. My parents used to take me with the to a swap meet in Roseville, California. Used to find cool sci-if books, comics and albums. Good times.
I was in the third grade when I read Against the Fall of Night, which is what rewrote as the City and the Stars. It's what got me into science fiction. I'm a big Greg Bear fan; I told you before that Eon absolutely ROCKS. The Forge of God is the best end-of-the-world novel I ever read. Anvil of Stars is good although a bit tedious at times, as Bear can be. But it has an overall sort of grim, sometimes despairing aura that really sinks it's hooks in you. The Man-Kizin Wars is fun, it's interesting to see Ing's contribution. He doesn't write a lot of sci-fi, mostly thrillers with a definite aeronautical bent. Ransom of Black Stealth One is superb.
Thanks for recommending some authors and works I either did not know at all but had never gotten around to reading and for compelling me to go back to my very large sci-fi and fantasy collection for some enjoyable re-readings. -- In one of your videos you said that you had never heard of Ben Bova. Neither had I until I came across a wild book by him called "The Starcrossed." It is a funny work obviously patterned on a terrible experience that Harlan Ellison had trying to get a TV show called "The Starlost" that he had created on the air. It never made it. The cover shows a painting of Ellison holding a space gun.
"John Wayne movie set in space" is such an apt description of E.E. Doc Smith's writing. Not a fan myself either. This is a fun video. Makes me nostalgic for when I was a kid and would go to the old dusty used bookstore in my city and buy a dozen used SFF paperback based on the covers and blurbs alone.
He reminds me of Robert L. Forward. Both had a few misses, but wrote reasonably hard SF without sinking too deep into the science. I think Sheffield writes for a somewhat younger audience.
The Sun Eater series (Empire Of Silence) by Rucchio is more in the vein of something akin to Star Wars/Dune more than BOTNS. Rucchio draws a lot of concepts, ideas and inspiration from many different big name sci-fi and fantasy authors and mashes them into this sci fantasy space opera that’s executed very well. It’s my favorite series as of right now and I’m looking forward to the last book release coming sometime next year. I highly recommend it. It’s a good time.
Ben Bova's 'The Duelling Machine' was one of the first "adult" SF books I read as a pre-teen (previous to this it was Nicholas Fisk 'Space Hostages', 'Trillions', etc.), and it left quite an impression on me. I read one other book by Bova in later years, but it did nothing for me, so never went back to him.
Sorry, but I couldn't disagree more; I love Deathworld #1, & SSR #1 but found Bill to be almost unreadable. Like Matt, much humorous SF just doesn't do it for me, although I like Hitch-Hiker's Guide a lot..
Not sure if you'll see this, but I've made my way through most of your videos and have thoroughly enjoyed them. You've reminded me of books I haven't thought about in years and made some fantastic recommendations. I wanted to just offer a few recommendations too. In a previous video you'd mentioned your need to revisit Slaughter House Five, but I'd also highly recommend Sirens Of Titan. I love SH5, but I'd really love to hear your take on Sirens. Also, I've noticed that from time to time you run into a Philip Jose Farmer novel. I'm not sure if you're familiar with this, but Vonnegut wrote about a fictional sci-fi writer named Kilgore Trout. Trout wrote mountains of outlandish pulp sci-fi and sold the copy to pornographers to use as filler between the photos of dirty magazines. He's a great character that surfaces in many Vonnegut books. Apparently Philip Jose Farmer was the inspiration for this character on some level. I think partly (mostly?) due to his prolific nature and the fairly low quality of prose paired with very wild premises. This isn't an endorsement of Farmer, just an interesting literary fact. I'm not a huge Orson Scott Card fan, but I deeply deeply love Speaker For the Dead. Were I to assemble a top 15, it would definitely make the list. Definitely check out The World of Ptavvs if you haven't read it yet. Ptavvs and Protector and A World Out of Time are all really great "bad books". Definitely guilty pleasures. And on the other end of Niven's career is a book called Destiny's Road or Destiny Road. It's one of those sleeper books that seems like a waste of time at first, but eventually ties itself up in a nice bow. Highly recommend. Thanks for the content. I'm really enjoying it.
The Philip Jose Farmer thing may also be because Farmer actually wrote a couple of pornographic novels 'The Image of the Beast' and 'Blown' - what you might call speculative horror porn.
That looks like a beauteous haul, Matt! Poul Anderson is an author that I only recently started reading. His books I've read so far are fantastic. They're very interesting. The Rebel Worlds has a couple elements to it that show up in similar form in the film Avatar by James Cameron. I also highly recommend The People of the Wind.
People often miss Simao. City was a great one when I was young. In those days we all read the same sci-fi paperback books since the field was considered fringe (not hyper mainstream like now). What showed up on the revolving book tower rack hidden amidst all the other genres of paperbacks that became popular after the WW2 and the 50’s.
My favourite Simak's are, in no particular order, Time and Again, City, Time is the Simplest Thing, Way Station, Why Call Them Back from Heaven?, The Werewolf Principle, The Goblin Reservation. From 1970 onwards, his novels were less to my liking. A Heritage of Stars is 1977, and I thought it was fairly lightweight.
I used to love reading scifi but haven't read as much lately. Thanks to you my TBR list on Goodreads is now full of vintage scifi books. I'm now reading the Foundation series chronologically even though I've already read Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. This was prompted by the release of the new series.
Love your shirt dude, love The Thing! As always great video man, some really cool pick-ups here, most I have not read myself but love those covers! I recently picked up both Hothouse and Fire upon the Deep based on your recs from your top 15 list, really cannot wait to dive into both especially FUTD. A little side note but I really love that you give your thoughts on each book you show even the ones you have yet to read, it's nice to get a sense of what kind of SF clicks for you and always interesting to hear your perspective. Thanks again for sharing some awesome vintage Sci-fi with us Matt :)
RAH, Assignment in Eternity -- yes, read. ("Gulf" is background for his late novel "Friday" which is probably the one out of his final burst of novels I like best.) Clark,e "Songs of Distant Earth" -- Clarke's work past the 1960s for some reason falls very flat for me. "City and the Stars" I have somewhere. I remember thinking it was wonderful when I was 13. Now? It was intended as an update to "Against the Fall of Night". By now, both dated technologically. Schmitz, "Witches of Karres" -- read it long ago, thought it OK then, don't remember enough of it to comment. Not part of the same shared universe as the Telsey Amberdon stories, which is everything else of his you showed today. Simak -- "Time and Again" -- yes, read. Another one I thought was wonderful when I was young, and I suspect will hold up better on a re-read than the Clarke. This is early Simak. Towards the end of his life things were getting formulaic. Ditto, yes read "Why Call Them Back From Heaven". (Note that this is an "Ace Science Fiction Special" which was a series in (IRRC) the late '60s, early '70s.) Never got into Doc Smith. Avram Davidson -- Yes, read.
I'm probably going to read Emphyrio next month. Really looking forward to it. I've read a good amount of Vance 9he's definitely one of my favourite writers) but not this one, which I've been holding off as it seems to be highly regarded among fans and I wanted to savour the pleasure)... Poul Anderson is really great for the most part. And versatile. I read that whole Donaldson series that started with The Real Story 9The Gap, I think it's called). While I was intrigued by the first book and appreciated its kind of lonely and somewhat depraved atmosphere, most of the other books were just not very good for me. There were moments, and I can deal with unsympathetic characters 9which this series had in abundance, too), but these were ones were nearly unbearable.
I read James Schmitz many years ago when I first got into science fiction all I remember is that I enjoyed his stories but none really stuck in my memory. Regarding Niven and Pournelle, Footfall was ok but I prefer both Mote in God's Eye and Lucifer's Hammer. For Clarke may I suggest that you get Against the Fall of Night and then read City and the Stars which is the rewrite of Against the Fall of Night which was Clarke's first novel and he wasn't satisfied with it.
I'm more practical about Heinlein. I grew up reading his juvenile books, which I still love to read. His highlight for me is Moon is a Harsh Mistress. After that he entered his dirty old man phase which produced books I find unreadable. Authors you might want to seek out are Lloyd Biggle Jr., The Stiil Small Voices of Trumpets, de Camp's Less Darkness Fall and my all time favorite, The Adventures of Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh by Brian Daley, a very tongue in cheek adventure.
I highly recommend James H. Schmitz. He was unusual when he was writing in that he had strong, intelligent female lead characters, sometimes two (when Telzey & Trigger got together). Highlights for me are The Witches of Karres, the Telzey Amberdon books (most of which you held up here), and The Demon Breed (aka The Tuvela). Baen re-issued all his books in a matching series in 2000/01; that may be why someone got rid of the older editions . Stay away from the Witches of Karres sequels by other hands, they are allegedly awful.
Glad to see another book haul. Very relaxing after a day at work. I'll try to pop in during the auction, though I have a shift that evening. Btw, Little Fuzzies was H. Beam Piper, the guy who wrote the classic isekai novel "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen."
I have a too large collection of older sci-fi that I often purchased because the cover art amused me - not in a condescending "what were they thinking" way but because the art was free-spirited and fun and maybe the book was the same. But, as you know, that's not always the case. Still, the fact that someone thought "Hmm, yep, a giant eye looking at a little green man is perfect for this space opera book" is cool.
Great channel. Your shirt says, The Thing, and Cameron, who filmed it. Cameron is true to John Campbell’s short story but have you seen the original movie from the ‘50’s? Not true to the short story but still frightening for its time and for a kid 7 years old. James Arnes (Matt Dillion in Gunsmoke) played the monster. That along with Forbidden Planet (staring Leslie Nielsen) were the scariest movies then and caused me many sleepless nights.
I've only started watching your channel. Have you ever mentioned "The Universe Between" by Alan E. Nourse? An early '60s classic about parallel universes.
The falling woman, that reminds me of a chapter in this neurology book I recently read. This Lady has a neurological disorder where there's a problem with her vestibular system and she perpetually perceives the sensation of losing her balance and yes, she does fall a lot. Pretty crappy.
i’ve recently gotten into vintage sci fi thanks to you, though i haven’t had any luck finding any in goodwills. i was wondering about your process and if you had any tips, thank you.
As I recall, Dickson won a Hugo and a Nebula? He and Laumer collaborated, but Laumer's stroke ended his career 20 years early. His writing reminds me just a bit of A.E. Van Vogt. Particularly Wolfling and The R Master. I wish I had known you had these, but I was not aware of the UA-cam SF resources yet. Groff Conklin produced really great anthologies. Great Stories of Space Travel is just outstanding. I have 5 of his.
I really liked ‘Enders Shadow’ back when I read it, but was so good (like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) that took the teeth out of Enders Game for me when I eventually read it. Have yet to read Speaker for the Dead.
I had the same experience with Avram Davidson as I did with Andre Norton, in that I read one book decades ago, didn't like it, and never bothered to try the author again. In both cases, I don't remember what book it was I read.
Amazing collection! The Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio feels like it was influenced by Dune, Hyperion and the Book of the New Sun. It has a bit of a Red Rising aesthetic but the writing style is quite different. Crichton and Simak are authors I want to read more from!
Dude, the comment section of your new top 15 video is insane. I’m glad the video is doing well for you though so I hope some of those mutants don’t deter you from doing one next year. As a side note, I’m the type of person who tends to push back when people shove things in my face, so I don’t think I’ll be reading Three Body Problem anytime soon hahah…
Yes, I will definitely be doing another one. The fuckery tends to stay quaratined on the videos that get pushed to a larger audience. That one was an extreme example. I'm going to read three body problem eventually so I can be publicly underwhelmed and have people neckbeard at me and be done with it.
@@Bookpilled Was underwhelmed enough with TTBP that though I bought the trilogy together, 4 years on I still haven't got around to the other two. Even lockdown wasn't enough to get me to read them.
I want that Vonnegut SH5! Oh, and, that Thing tee shirt as well. :) Have you seen the 1972 Slaughterhouse 5 movie?? It's well done. I'll definitely check out the auction Friday. Cheers.
Watched a few videos as I'm a avid Sci-Fi reader. Interestingly haven't seen any Iain M Banks book, someone I consider one of the best contemporary Sci-Fi and fiction writers. Excession is a must on the Sci-Fi side and The Bridge on the fiction/fantasy side
Schmitz was special. A bad writer but in my generation we all were amazed and impressed by his protagonist a teen girl Telzy Amberdon who truly was a pioneering character in SF - rare and almost breakthrough. - Poul Anderson was a great storyteller. - Doc Smith must be viewed as a contemporary of Lovecraft and Burroughs. Laumer was often very funny or else deeply moving... or tepidly zzzz. I have a very minority view toward OS Card, who is both brilliant and deeply hostile toward democracy, endlessly preaching we must bow before demigods. Brunner was during one decade the greatest SF author in history. .Groff Conklin was the great anthologizer after Judith Merrill. - David Brin
Thank you for shading in some detail for me. I may keep a Schmitz or two now. Your context for Smith makes sense. I responded poorly to the adulation of power and, to borrow your phrase, contempt for democracy. Card interests me as well. Ender's Game didn't grab me. But Card's ideological dispositions make him an outlier and therefore someone I'd like to read more from. Always a pleasure to see you in these comment sections.
New subscriber here. Ben Bova’s best work is within the Grand Tour series. Leviathans of Jupiter and/or Death Wave is a great place to start. Just found you and am starting to dig through your playlists. Great stuff. I’ve added a few titles to my reading list already.
The Gap series is on my list to read...I really liked the Covenant series (the first 6 books...not so much the last 3). I thought the world building of The Land was amazing and how he had it change so drastically throughout the series was very interesting. Definitely worth trying to get through all 6 IMO.
The Covenant series is also better in many ways after the first book. For one thing, Donaldson abandons trying to have his characters speak in that poor adaptation of Old English. But I also take some exception to the claim that one of the things the first book is most "famous" for is the rape scene. It might be somewhat true for readers of a certain age, maybe mostly the under 40 crowd, but I think that most older readers are capable of understanding that scene with more nuance, in context. I first read the book when I was a teen and wasn't "horrified" by it even then, because I understood that Covenant was thoroughly convinced that he was dreaming, suffering a delusion, and that the rape was born of a rage he felt for what he believed was his unconscious/dreaming self trying to seduce him. But to each his, own, I'm fully aware that there are people out there who believe, rather foolishly in my opinion, that you are also fully accountable for the things you do in a dream.
That Lion Game cover actually is by Wayne Barlowe. (Full disclosure, I had to look it up) Looks like it might be cropped out on your copy, but some versions of the picture you can see his initials on the bottom right corner.
You should try Clifford D. Simak's Book "Way Station", I think it's even better than "City" , also "Ring Around The Sun" it's quite good, although I agree that some of his other novels are not so hot. I also thought his short stories "How-2 " and "Dusty Zebra" are excellent.
@@MrSinnerBOFH Agreed. I re-read Way Station every couple of years. Also on the Simak list; Time is the Simplest Thing and Heritage of Stars. He does a wonderful job of implying horror without grotesque imagery.
Back when I first read Virgin Planet, it would have been in an early 70s UK paperback. I thought it was ok. When I came to reread it decades later, I found the US edition I was reading had been slightly censored. I can't remember which US edition it was, nor any details of the cuts, but it may be worth researching if your copies are the same version, and which version.
Have you read Jack L. Chalker's Web of Soul series or Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series? I loved both of these. (The Stainless Steel Rat series is very funny).
Doc Smith I remember fondly not for his Lensmen cycle but for "The Skylark of Space" and subsequent continuations. This is a story of technological advancement. Humans are helped by aliens but play the pivotal role in the advancement. I liked that theme better. I always liked Jim di Griz, the stainless steel rat, humorous sf that is really humorous and not cheesy or cringy.
I haven't read a ton of scifi (I think only enders game, do androids dream,and children of time), but I want to get more into it! I found 3 that are free on Kindle unlimited: Blood music, way station, and city. Which should I read first? Or should I start somewhere else and work my way to them?
I don't think I've seen you with a John Varley book in your hands yet. I really enjoyed the Gaean Trilogy (Titan, Wizard, Demon) Despite the titles it is sci-fi.
Seriously have you read The Gap Cycle? Stephen R. Donaldson. The Real Story is the first book. Really friggin good series. It's not like Thomas Covenant. It's dark.
In defense of E. E. Smith, he never met a superlative he didn't employ. A unique and ultimate writing style. And the largest of possible plotlines, Arisians vs. Eddorians in a battle that spans galactic cycles.
I just did "Sprawl September" on my channel. If you didn't know, the 3 sprawl short stories in Burning Chrome are: Johnny Mnemonic, New Rose Hotel and Burning Chrome. I want to go back and read the non sprawl stories now. New Rose Hotel is now my favorite short story ever!
I really like the Rissa series by F.M. Busby. I also tend to like corporations as government type stories, like Aspirin's Cold Cash War. I agree about Thomas Covenant; I just couldn't get past the rape scene.
I love you doing your short review of science fiction. I will read a few during my three months vacation to the Philippines. I'm a little put off by your mild political take on some of the books, but overall, your videos are interesting.
![Boxes Upon Boxes Of Vintage Science Fiction & Fantasy Novels [Auctioning Books At $1]](/img/n.gif)
I started watching you a week ago and I’ve bought 7 sci fi books so far. Thanks for the recommendations reading hothouse now and I love it.
In Hyperion, there is one really good part in the detective's tale; the foot chase through the farcaster network across several planets. It's been a long time since i read it, but I remember that part seemed pretty cool.
Just gotta say, I discovered your channel a couple weeks ago, and it's really re-ignited my my love of hunting for old sci-fi books. I've since found copies of The Boat of A Million Years, Hothouse and Stand on Zanzibar. Oh, and I already had a copy of A Fire Upon the Deep that had been sitting on my shelf for some time, but I'm now reading it on your recommendation. Only about half way through but am really enjoying it so far.
Also discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago and it’s helped rekindle my interest in classic SF, as has your recommendation of the excellent Outlaw Bookseller channel.
I believe Way Station will not let you down.
Hi there! Really love your videos :) For Ben Bova, I've only read one book but I was quite surprised at how much I ended up loving it, and that is Jupiter. A mission to plunge into the atmosphere/ocean of Jupiter, plus what life on that world could look like. And a hyper intelligent gorilla...
That Brunner cover is amazing!!!! Great finds! Looking forward to the Whatnot on Friday.
Fuzzies were originally H. Beam Piper. Glad you're back.
Did you know that Simak wrote a final, ninth tale to The City in 1973? I only came across The Coda years after reading the original eight stories.
I thrifted a copy of The City and the Stars a few years back. It's a fun read.
My impression of "City and the Stars" is that it is Clarke's re-interpretation of Plato's story of the cave, where people are chained to a wall and only see their shadows as reality, in this case, the wall is the city.
A great Larry Niven book is “Ringworld”. Terrific. And adjacent to it are the Man-Kzin Wars series of books. Very satisfying series, written through many years by pretty much everybody who is someone in the SciFi world.
I found it a bit slow and boring despite the interesting premise. Couldn't finish it unfortunately.
@@Painter19 where did you stop? It has a satisfying ending. It’s worth it, really.
Read a lot by Ben Bova. The Orion series is great with a fantastic concept.
Hero is chosen to travel back in time to important periods to fight the Dark Lord, who is traveling in a linear fashion. When they first meet the Dark Lord hates Orion, but Orion has never met him before.
I also loved his Mars series.
The Songs of Distant Earth by Arthur C Clarke is superb, anyone who liked 2001 and the sequels would definitely like it.
Gordon R Dickson wrote a lot of books of varying quality but I am finding that his output and prose improved in the 80s.
And Mike Oldfield wrote a “””soundtrack””” for this book. I think he asked Clarke’s permission. The album “The Songs of Distant Earth” is wonderful and goes very well as a background to read the book.
Well, darn. I just saw this video today, wonderful finds!
Schmitz' "The Witches of Karres" and Keith Laumer's "A Plague of Demons" just blow "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" away. There were quite a few very good novels 1965/1966 that did not receive the recognition they deserved. A big topic in the SF magazines for several years during that time.
USAF Captain Keith Laumer served with the US Diplomatic Corps in Burma during the 1950s. He wrote Retief from experience, and you will certainly note that experience in "A Plague of Demons," one of the greatest books of the genre.
SF authors thought so much of Schmitz' "Witches" in 2004; Mercedes Lackey, Eric Flint, and Dave Freer wrote a sequel. Not bad.
For a great introduction to Retief and bio of Keith Laumer, "Retief!," Baen books - edited by Eric Flint is very good.
I have Burning Chrome and Mirrorshades. I'll never get rid of them, especially Mirrorshades...the short stories "400 boys" and "Mozart in Mirrorshades" are *chef kiss*
The thumbnail was The Foundation, a physics student recommended it to me after I told her about the novel I'm writing. I think this is a sign I need to read it!!
You must read it! Is nice and short.
The Witches of Karres kicked off my science fiction book reading binge about 35 years ago. It came highly recommended by a friend and I borrowed his copy. I know he loved it, and I remember liking it, but that's about as far as I can go. It's supposed to be his best novel.
He had a YA series centered around a psi called Telzey Amberdon.
A few others in the same universe. And he wrote two in the Witches universe and his estate authorized two others.
I found out Frederick Pohl went to my high school. I have been reading science fiction (among other things) for 35 years and never tried Frederick Pohl, even though he’s a big name. So yeah, you’re not alone in not being familiar with everything.
No-one's read everything, except John Clute. Pohl is very hit and miss, I find. People rave about 'Gateway', but a man of your calibre needs 'Man Plus' as a first strike, I'd say. It's awesome.
Second the "Man Plus" rec. One of the books that really got me into sci-fi (somewhat more than 35 years ago, as my knees will unfortunately attest :).
(I _think_ one of my own gaps is another biggie, EE 'Doc' Smith - _may_ have read one or two but if so they're lost to the mists)
Love your channel. It’s been a while since I’ve gone book hunting. My parents used to take me with the to a swap meet in Roseville, California. Used to find cool sci-if books, comics and albums. Good times.
I was in the third grade when I read Against the Fall of Night, which is what rewrote as the City and the Stars. It's what got me into science fiction. I'm a big Greg Bear fan; I told you before that Eon absolutely ROCKS. The Forge of God is the best end-of-the-world novel I ever read. Anvil of Stars is good although a bit tedious at times, as Bear can be. But it has an overall sort of grim, sometimes despairing aura that really sinks it's hooks in you. The Man-Kizin Wars is fun, it's interesting to see Ing's contribution. He doesn't write a lot of sci-fi, mostly thrillers with a definite aeronautical bent. Ransom of Black Stealth One is superb.
Big thumbs up for that T-shirt you're wearing! GREAT MOVIE!
it is, but i prefer the original movie version.
Thanks for recommending some authors and works I either did not know at all but had never gotten around to reading and for compelling me to go back to my very large sci-fi and fantasy collection for some enjoyable re-readings. -- In one of your videos you said that you had never heard of Ben Bova. Neither had I until I came across a wild book by him called "The Starcrossed." It is a funny work obviously patterned on a terrible experience that Harlan Ellison had trying to get a TV show called "The Starlost" that he had created on the air. It never made it. The cover shows a painting of Ellison holding a space gun.
"John Wayne movie set in space" is such an apt description of E.E. Doc Smith's writing. Not a fan myself either. This is a fun video. Makes me nostalgic for when I was a kid and would go to the old dusty used bookstore in my city and buy a dozen used SFF paperback based on the covers and blurbs alone.
Witches of Karres is a fine novel, and probably the most famous of Schmitz's, He was a competent writer.
Anything by Charles Sheffield is well worth a read. One of the best SF authors ever I think.
He reminds me of Robert L. Forward. Both had a few misses, but wrote reasonably hard SF without sinking too deep into the science. I think Sheffield writes for a somewhat younger audience.
Endorphins definitely surging. I love the book recs 🌈 vintage is ‘chefs kiss’
Wow I actually clicked right when my notification came on, gonna like first, now I’m gonna watch =) I ❤SciFi & Bookpilled
The Sun Eater series (Empire Of Silence) by Rucchio is more in the vein of something akin to Star Wars/Dune more than BOTNS. Rucchio draws a lot of concepts, ideas and inspiration from many different big name sci-fi and fantasy authors and mashes them into this sci fantasy space opera that’s executed very well. It’s my favorite series as of right now and I’m looking forward to the last book release coming sometime next year. I highly recommend it. It’s a good time.
I enjoy re-reading The Andromeda Strain occasionally just to get back to basics.
Ben Bova's 'The Duelling Machine' was one of the first "adult" SF books I read as a pre-teen (previous to this it was Nicholas Fisk 'Space Hostages', 'Trillions', etc.), and it left quite an impression on me. I read one other book by Bova in later years, but it did nothing for me, so never went back to him.
Bill The Galactic Hero is the Harry Harrison book you want to read (although Stainless Steel Rat is good too).
Sorry, but I couldn't disagree more; I love Deathworld #1, & SSR #1 but found Bill to be almost unreadable. Like Matt, much humorous SF just doesn't do it for me, although I like Hitch-Hiker's Guide a lot..
That noise you wonder about around 5:13 sounds suspiciously like the old (vintage) Maxwell House Coffee jingle.
Not sure if you'll see this, but I've made my way through most of your videos and have thoroughly enjoyed them. You've reminded me of books I haven't thought about in years and made some fantastic recommendations. I wanted to just offer a few recommendations too.
In a previous video you'd mentioned your need to revisit Slaughter House Five, but I'd also highly recommend Sirens Of Titan. I love SH5, but I'd really love to hear your take on Sirens.
Also, I've noticed that from time to time you run into a Philip Jose Farmer novel. I'm not sure if you're familiar with this, but Vonnegut wrote about a fictional sci-fi writer named Kilgore Trout. Trout wrote mountains of outlandish pulp sci-fi and sold the copy to pornographers to use as filler between the photos of dirty magazines. He's a great character that surfaces in many Vonnegut books. Apparently Philip Jose Farmer was the inspiration for this character on some level. I think partly (mostly?) due to his prolific nature and the fairly low quality of prose paired with very wild premises. This isn't an endorsement of Farmer, just an interesting literary fact.
I'm not a huge Orson Scott Card fan, but I deeply deeply love Speaker For the Dead. Were I to assemble a top 15, it would definitely make the list.
Definitely check out The World of Ptavvs if you haven't read it yet. Ptavvs and Protector and A World Out of Time are all really great "bad books". Definitely guilty pleasures. And on the other end of Niven's career is a book called Destiny's Road or Destiny Road. It's one of those sleeper books that seems like a waste of time at first, but eventually ties itself up in a nice bow. Highly recommend.
Thanks for the content. I'm really enjoying it.
The Philip Jose Farmer thing may also be because Farmer actually wrote a couple of pornographic novels 'The Image of the Beast' and 'Blown' - what you might call speculative horror porn.
@@thescrewfly Very cool. I had no idea that he'd actually written stuff like that.
That looks like a beauteous haul, Matt! Poul Anderson is an author that I only recently started reading. His books I've read so far are fantastic. They're very interesting. The Rebel Worlds has a couple elements to it that show up in similar form in the film Avatar by James Cameron. I also highly recommend The People of the Wind.
People often miss Simao. City was a great one when I was young. In those days we all read the same sci-fi paperback books since the field was considered fringe (not hyper mainstream like now). What showed up on the revolving book tower rack hidden amidst all the other genres of paperbacks that became popular after the WW2 and the 50’s.
Another delve in to the unknown (mostly) for me & the pot luck of the boxes. Thanks for the video & thoughts.
My favourite Simak's are, in no particular order, Time and Again, City, Time is the Simplest Thing, Way Station, Why Call Them Back from Heaven?, The Werewolf Principle, The Goblin Reservation. From 1970 onwards, his novels were less to my liking. A Heritage of Stars is 1977, and I thought it was fairly lightweight.
Very much agree (apart from The Goblin Reservation, which I haven't read) but I would add All Flesh is Grass to that list.
Pretty sure The Lion Game cover art was done by Michael Whelan.
I used to love reading scifi but haven't read as much lately. Thanks to you my TBR list on Goodreads is now full of vintage scifi books. I'm now reading the Foundation series chronologically even though I've already read Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation. This was prompted by the release of the new series.
Love your shirt dude, love The Thing! As always great video man, some really cool pick-ups here, most I have not read myself but love those covers! I recently picked up both Hothouse and Fire upon the Deep based on your recs from your top 15 list, really cannot wait to dive into both especially FUTD. A little side note but I really love that you give your thoughts on each book you show even the ones you have yet to read, it's nice to get a sense of what kind of SF clicks for you and always interesting to hear your perspective. Thanks again for sharing some awesome vintage Sci-fi with us Matt :)
RAH, Assignment in Eternity -- yes, read. ("Gulf" is background for his late novel "Friday" which is probably the one out of his final burst of novels I like best.)
Clark,e "Songs of Distant Earth" -- Clarke's work past the 1960s for some reason falls very flat for me. "City and the Stars" I have somewhere. I remember thinking it was wonderful when I was 13. Now? It was intended as an update to "Against the Fall of Night". By now, both dated technologically.
Schmitz, "Witches of Karres" -- read it long ago, thought it OK then, don't remember enough of it to comment. Not part of the same shared universe as the Telsey Amberdon stories, which is everything else of his you showed today.
Simak -- "Time and Again" -- yes, read. Another one I thought was wonderful when I was young, and I suspect will hold up better on a re-read than the Clarke. This is early Simak. Towards the end of his life things were getting formulaic. Ditto, yes read "Why Call Them Back From Heaven". (Note that this is an "Ace Science Fiction Special" which was a series in (IRRC) the late '60s, early '70s.)
Never got into Doc Smith.
Avram Davidson -- Yes, read.
I'm probably going to read Emphyrio next month. Really looking forward to it. I've read a good amount of Vance 9he's definitely one of my favourite writers) but not this one, which I've been holding off as it seems to be highly regarded among fans and I wanted to savour the pleasure)...
Poul Anderson is really great for the most part. And versatile.
I read that whole Donaldson series that started with The Real Story 9The Gap, I think it's called). While I was intrigued by the first book and appreciated its kind of lonely and somewhat depraved atmosphere, most of the other books were just not very good for me. There were moments, and I can deal with unsympathetic characters 9which this series had in abundance, too), but these were ones were nearly unbearable.
I had that City when I was a kid but lost it somehow. Always looking for that copy
I read James Schmitz many years ago when I first got into science fiction all I remember is that I enjoyed his stories but none really stuck in my memory. Regarding Niven and Pournelle, Footfall was ok but I prefer both Mote in God's Eye and Lucifer's Hammer. For Clarke may I suggest that you get Against the Fall of Night and then read City and the Stars which is the rewrite of Against the Fall of Night which was Clarke's first novel and he wasn't satisfied with it.
I'm more practical about Heinlein. I grew up reading his juvenile books, which I still love to read. His highlight for me is Moon is a Harsh Mistress. After that he entered his dirty old man phase which produced books I find unreadable. Authors you might want to seek out are Lloyd Biggle Jr., The Stiil Small Voices of Trumpets, de Camp's Less Darkness Fall and my all time favorite, The Adventures of Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh by Brian Daley, a very tongue in cheek adventure.
You are correct about the cover art for The Lion Game, Wayne Barlow
I highly recommend James H. Schmitz. He was unusual when he was writing in that he had strong, intelligent female lead characters, sometimes two (when Telzey & Trigger got together). Highlights for me are The Witches of Karres, the Telzey Amberdon books (most of which you held up here), and The Demon Breed (aka The Tuvela). Baen re-issued all his books in a matching series in 2000/01; that may be why someone got rid of the older editions . Stay away from the Witches of Karres sequels by other hands, they are allegedly awful.
Glad to see another book haul. Very relaxing after a day at work. I'll try to pop in during the auction, though I have a shift that evening.
Btw, Little Fuzzies was H. Beam Piper, the guy who wrote the classic isekai novel "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen."
He made me look that up too ! (Fuzzies)
Favourite line from a Kzin asked why it had killed the smiling human child "It bared it's teeth at me"
I have a too large collection of older sci-fi that I often purchased because the cover art amused me - not in a condescending "what were they thinking" way but because the art was free-spirited and fun and maybe the book was the same. But, as you know, that's not always the case. Still, the fact that someone thought "Hmm, yep, a giant eye looking at a little green man is perfect for this space opera book" is cool.
Great channel. Your shirt says, The Thing, and Cameron, who filmed it. Cameron is true to John Campbell’s short story but have you seen the original movie from the ‘50’s? Not true to the short story but still frightening for its time and for a kid 7 years old. James Arnes (Matt Dillion in Gunsmoke) played the monster. That along with Forbidden Planet (staring Leslie Nielsen) were the scariest movies then and caused me many sleepless nights.
I've only started watching your channel. Have you ever mentioned "The Universe Between" by Alan E. Nourse? An early '60s classic about parallel universes.
The falling woman, that reminds me of a chapter in this neurology book I recently read. This Lady has a neurological disorder where there's a problem with her vestibular system and she perpetually perceives the sensation of losing her balance and yes, she does fall a lot. Pretty crappy.
Have you read A Canticle for Leibowitz? Would love to hear your take on it
i’ve recently gotten into vintage sci fi thanks to you, though i haven’t had any luck finding any in goodwills. i was wondering about your process and if you had any tips, thank you.
As I recall, Dickson won a Hugo and a Nebula? He and Laumer collaborated, but Laumer's stroke ended his career 20 years early. His writing reminds me just a bit of A.E. Van Vogt. Particularly Wolfling and The R Master. I wish I had known you had these, but I was not aware of the UA-cam SF resources yet.
Groff Conklin produced really great anthologies. Great Stories of Space Travel is just outstanding. I have 5 of his.
Oops, 6 anthologies by Conklin. The Witches of Karres is hard to come by. Hope you got a few dollars for it. My copy is from 1966.
I really liked ‘Enders Shadow’ back when I read it, but was so good (like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead) that took the teeth out of Enders Game for me when I eventually read it. Have yet to read Speaker for the Dead.
I had the same experience with Avram Davidson as I did with Andre Norton, in that I read one book decades ago, didn't like it, and never bothered to try the author again. In both cases, I don't remember what book it was I read.
Amazing collection!
The Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio feels like it was influenced by Dune, Hyperion and the Book of the New Sun. It has a bit of a Red Rising aesthetic but the writing style is quite different.
Crichton and Simak are authors I want to read more from!
I should probably read a Crichton at some point
Dude, the comment section of your new top 15 video is insane. I’m glad the video is doing well for you though so I hope some of those mutants don’t deter you from doing one next year.
As a side note, I’m the type of person who tends to push back when people shove things in my face, so I don’t think I’ll be reading Three Body Problem anytime soon hahah…
Yes, I will definitely be doing another one. The fuckery tends to stay quaratined on the videos that get pushed to a larger audience. That one was an extreme example. I'm going to read three body problem eventually so I can be publicly underwhelmed and have people neckbeard at me and be done with it.
@@Bookpilled I hope you are underwhelmed by _The Three Body Problem._ I'd like some company there.
@@Bookpilled Was underwhelmed enough with TTBP that though I bought the trilogy together, 4 years on I still haven't got around to the other two. Even lockdown wasn't enough to get me to read them.
I want that Vonnegut SH5! Oh, and, that Thing tee shirt as well. :) Have you seen the 1972 Slaughterhouse 5 movie?? It's well done. I'll definitely check out the auction Friday. Cheers.
I have not seen it, but recall loving the book.
Fred Saberhagen is an author you should look for. His Beserker series has a lot of cool ideas.
Watched a few videos as I'm a avid Sci-Fi reader. Interestingly haven't seen any Iain M Banks book, someone I consider one of the best contemporary Sci-Fi and fiction writers. Excession is a must on the Sci-Fi side and The Bridge on the fiction/fantasy side
Schmitz was special. A bad writer but in my generation we all were amazed and impressed by his protagonist a teen girl Telzy Amberdon who truly was a pioneering character in SF - rare and almost breakthrough. - Poul Anderson was a great storyteller. - Doc Smith must be viewed as a contemporary of Lovecraft and Burroughs. Laumer was often very funny or else deeply moving... or tepidly zzzz. I have a very minority view toward OS Card, who is both brilliant and deeply hostile toward democracy, endlessly preaching we must bow before demigods. Brunner was during one decade the greatest SF author in history. .Groff Conklin was the great anthologizer after Judith Merrill. - David Brin
Thank you for shading in some detail for me. I may keep a Schmitz or two now. Your context for Smith makes sense. I responded poorly to the adulation of power and, to borrow your phrase, contempt for democracy. Card interests me as well. Ender's Game didn't grab me. But Card's ideological dispositions make him an outlier and therefore someone I'd like to read more from.
Always a pleasure to see you in these comment sections.
New subscriber here.
Ben Bova’s best work is within the Grand Tour series. Leviathans of Jupiter and/or Death Wave is a great place to start.
Just found you and am starting to dig through your playlists. Great stuff. I’ve added a few titles to my reading list already.
Nice stuff, Matt. I will be sending that book to you as soon as I can find five minutes...take care, my man!
Thanks, Steve. No rush on my end. Hope you're well.
The Gap series is on my list to read...I really liked the Covenant series (the first 6 books...not so much the last 3). I thought the world building of The Land was amazing and how he had it change so drastically throughout the series was very interesting. Definitely worth trying to get through all 6 IMO.
The Covenant series is also better in many ways after the first book. For one thing, Donaldson abandons trying to have his characters speak in that poor adaptation of Old English. But I also take some exception to the claim that one of the things the first book is most "famous" for is the rape scene. It might be somewhat true for readers of a certain age, maybe mostly the under 40 crowd, but I think that most older readers are capable of understanding that scene with more nuance, in context. I first read the book when I was a teen and wasn't "horrified" by it even then, because I understood that Covenant was thoroughly convinced that he was dreaming, suffering a delusion, and that the rape was born of a rage he felt for what he believed was his unconscious/dreaming self trying to seduce him. But to each his, own, I'm fully aware that there are people out there who believe, rather foolishly in my opinion, that you are also fully accountable for the things you do in a dream.
I have read some Poul Anderson, but the must read to me is The High Crusade. Spielburg could have made a very big blockbuster out of this.
Don't is it.
I loved Eon. Haven't read the other two yet but I've started reading Eon again so I can read the other two. :)
the old mans series is modern classic....
That Lion Game cover actually is by Wayne Barlowe. (Full disclosure, I had to look it up)
Looks like it might be cropped out on your copy, but some versions of the picture you can see his initials on the bottom right corner.
Awesome, thank you
Emma Bull and Will Shetterly (husband and wife) have written some kick ass books. You should check them out.
You need to find a copy of Battle Circle on one of your book buys. You look like Sos the Rope on the cover.
You should try Clifford D. Simak's Book "Way Station", I think it's even better than "City" , also "Ring Around The Sun" it's quite good, although I agree that some of his other novels are not so hot. I also thought his short stories "How-2 " and "Dusty Zebra" are excellent.
Agreed. Way Station is a great book. So worth it!
@@MrSinnerBOFH Agreed. I re-read Way Station every couple of years. Also on the Simak list; Time is the Simplest Thing and Heritage of Stars. He does a wonderful job of implying horror without grotesque imagery.
Way Station!
Dan Simmons wrote a great novelette called 'On K2 with Kanakaredes' that has the most thrilling mountain climbing I've read in science fiction.
I love the James white Sector General books.
Any favorites? I read they can be read out of order. Correct?
@@8020Alive I love them all from start to Final Diagnosis. But I would recommend Mind Changer as an out of order read.
Back when I first read Virgin Planet, it would have been in an early 70s UK paperback. I thought it was ok. When I came to reread it decades later, I found the US edition I was reading had been slightly censored. I can't remember which US edition it was, nor any details of the cuts, but it may be worth researching if your copies are the same version, and which version.
Have you read Jack L. Chalker's Web of Soul series or Jack Campbell's Lost Fleet series? I loved both of these. (The Stainless Steel Rat series is very funny).
Yep 'Boat of a Million Years' great SF
Doc Smith I remember fondly not for his Lensmen cycle but for "The Skylark of Space" and subsequent continuations. This is a story of technological advancement. Humans are helped by aliens but play the pivotal role in the advancement. I liked that theme better. I always liked Jim di Griz, the stainless steel rat, humorous sf that is really humorous and not cheesy or cringy.
I wouldnt let go of the Jack Vance books either. I never find them in the wild.
The trouble with getting so many books is finding the time to read them in cos you want to go looking for books again.
I haven't read a ton of scifi (I think only enders game, do androids dream,and children of time), but I want to get more into it! I found 3 that are free on Kindle unlimited: Blood music, way station, and city. Which should I read first? Or should I start somewhere else and work my way to them?
I can already hear the Enya playing. Catch you on Friday
I don't think I've seen you with a John Varley book in your hands yet. I really enjoyed the Gaean Trilogy (Titan, Wizard, Demon) Despite the titles it is sci-fi.
For some reason unknown to me a couple of these titles caused me to think of Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan
I hate to tell you this but the Fuzzies wasH. Beam Piper and part of his Terro human federation history series
Ben Bova = Jupiter is a fantastic book
Seriously have you read The Gap Cycle? Stephen R. Donaldson. The Real Story is the first book. Really friggin good series. It's not like Thomas Covenant. It's dark.
Unrelated to the video, but have you ever reviewed Bloodchild by Octavia E Butler, or anything else by her?
Great story! Great author!
No, need to read Butler. Her books are scarce.
Glad your back at it.
Thank you!
In defense of E. E. Smith, he never met a superlative he didn't employ. A unique and ultimate writing style. And the largest of possible plotlines, Arisians vs. Eddorians in a battle that spans galactic cycles.
Hood babe, perhaps beaver n’babe?
Cakeybara
Always good to see some covers and hear your thoughts on a few good books.
Does the Fireplace work?
Haven't tried it, too hot here
I just did "Sprawl September" on my channel. If you didn't know, the 3 sprawl short stories in Burning Chrome are: Johnny Mnemonic, New Rose Hotel and Burning Chrome. I want to go back and read the non sprawl stories now. New Rose Hotel is now my favorite short story ever!
subbed - great channel. GO GO GO! .
@@8020Alive 👊
I really like the Rissa series by F.M. Busby. I also tend to like corporations as government type stories, like Aspirin's Cold Cash War. I agree about Thomas Covenant; I just couldn't get past the rape scene.
Old Man's War and the series are excellent. Have you read 'The Forever War' by Joe Haldeman?
Yes, love it
Just found songs of distant earth in hardback my self.
I love you doing your short review of science fiction. I will read a few during my three months vacation to the Philippines. I'm a little put off by your mild political take on some of the books, but overall, your videos are interesting.
Loooove you channel so much! I am brand new here. Was wondering if you have done any reviews on Strugatsky brothers?
Roadside Picnic is coming up in the next review video. It will be a glowing review.