Good list, you well on your way in your experience with the genre. I hope you get around to reading the complete Dune series, Asimov, Clarke, LeGuin, Lieber, and Heinlein and so many others who laid the foundation for so much SF we read these days.
Kurt Vonnegut wrote two of my all-time favourite sci-fi based novels: Slaughterhouse Five and The Sirens Of Titan. Both use the conventions of the genre - time travel, space travel, extra-terrestrials, robotics etc - and are by turns profoundly moving, thought provoking and laugh-out-loud hilarious. Maybe in next years list?
I stopped reading for a pretty long time and just recently got back into it. The first book that I devoured was The Martian and dang, what a wild ride! It made me wonder about all the other great books I've missed while being away from reading for so long. Four of the books from your list sound like ones that I would really enjoy.
Really, really enjoyed this video. Great list. I’ve read and love Inverted World, Fahrenheit 451, The Martian, Jurassic Park, The Martian Chronicles and Blindsight. I’ve picked up three Stephenson books. As you’ve suggested previously, I plan to start with Seveneves. I would probably add The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham and Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke to my list.
I read a lot of Horror but you gave me some that will definitely be added to my TBR..My favorite books are supernatural and inside that genre my absolute favorites are Gothic Horror. Many people feel gothic is too slow but I personally love the writing style that is extremely descriptive and leans into the psychological ….Is it Supernatural or is it my imagination. Love that. It would be great to get a top ten Gothic Books video. Just a suggestion Rachel. Thanks.
I always end up adding more books to my wish list after watching your videos. And I'm going to try to reread Blindsight, which I really struggled with the first time. Thank you for your always interesting review videos. You're my favourite booktuber. 🙂
My favorite Bradbury would be "Something Wicked This Way Comes". I'd have LeGuin "Left Hand of Darkness", Dan Simmons "Hyperion", even though there are more, it's stand alone. If that doesn't count, then his "Terror" is my next favorite. Zelazny "Lord of Light". For Stephenson, I like "Diamond Age" and "Cryptonomicon" better actually. Bester's "Stars My Destination" is an oldy but goody. I would do "World War Z" instead of Jurassic Park. "Slaughterhouse Five". "The Road" for dystopia. "Cloud Atlas" or anything by Gene Wolfe.
Wow. Several books I've never heard of. Have you ever read Hyperion? Foundations Edge is another favorite of mine. One day I'll have to make a top ten, when I have a few more books under my belt
This was a very interesting list, thanks for sharing! I agree The Martian Chronicles is a wonderful read, it's my favourite thing that I've read this year so far. My list would definitely include works by Ursula K. Le Guin, Alastair Reynolds, Cordwainer Smith and Philip Jose Farmer. Thanks for bringing The Rig to my attention, first I've heard of it - will have to look out for that one! Also definitely want to give Blindsight a try, I love sci-fi horror.
Great list Rachel. I LOVE Anathem, it would be high on my top 10 as well I think. Such a clever, interesting, rich book. I preferred Echopraxia to Blindsight, but I can see how Blindsight might reward a re-read or two. Inverted World was a funny one, I thought it was very well written and I was continually thinking what the f is going on here, and didn't see the (in hindsight rather obvious) twist coming. I did think the ending was rather abrupt. Coincidentally, I have How High We Go In The Dark on my TBR for next month, I've heard good things so I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed it so much. I need to do a top 10 video like this. I've been wary of doing so as it's hard to be definitive but as you say, things change over time. 👍
The first thing I did after reading the Martian is reread it. Same for Project Hail Mary! You might want to Read Rainbow Mars by Larry Niven. Among other things, it has many classic Martians from many different authors!
I've heard of Farenheight actually. Ive read some of it before but you've absolutely convinced more into this book! Inverted world especially sounds like something. Would love to hear your thoughts and reviews actually of Anthem and The Legend of the Copper Cyborg. Anthem may not be a Sci-Fi but its definitely a dystopia, and chilling too. its way of life almost can be comparable to ours if you look deeply enough. the legend is also a good one, seems a bit simple on the surface but actually has a lot to cover along with its worldbuilding.
I do love hard scifi. The Martian prompted me to propose research to NASA. Worked on outer space mining until I started writing my own scifi books recently.
It’s fall sweater weather, I see. I want to check Under the Skin, and Inverted World (I may have read it already tho). I need to reread Fahrenheit 451. Read it way back in school (heard it got banned in schools in Florida now which is kinda ironic).
New to the channel. Bradbury is my favorite author... Love that he was on the list twice!!! Looking forward to reading some of the other titles ive never heard of before. Great stuff! Thanks for posting!!
I loved Anathem! I have such a hard time describing it to people - “What is it about?” “Science monks discussing math and philosophy! It’s great!” “Okay…” 🛸
Thanks for doing this great list! I have not yet read Blindsight, but it sounds like I really need to! For my own favorites, one author that really stands out is Ursula K Leguin. If you haven't read The Left Hand of Darkness, I highly recommend it, as well as her short stories (in particular, I think everyone should read "A Fisherman of the Inland Sea" at least once, as well as "The Ones that Walk Away from Omelas", though that one is not sci-fi).
I just finished Atlas Alone (last in the Planetfall series, that is truly awesome) so this video came in perfect timing 😉 I decided to pick up Blindsight next following your recommendations, and added a couple more books to my TBR. Thanks, Rachel!
Fallen Dragon, by Peter Hamilton. Bones of the Earth, Michael Swanwick. 2 of my top ten. Vernor Vinge needs a place, and Kim Stanley Robinson... Shield by Poul Anderson shaped me politically. And can a top 10 list not include Asimov's I Robot? Or something from Clark, Niven, Norton, and Heinlien?
I read Clark for the first time this year so he didn't qualify for this list. Fire Upon the Deep & I Robot could easoly have had spots if I did a top 20. Like I said at the beginning, I'm still working through the classics so look forward to updating this list
my relationship to Fahrenheit 451 has evolved over the years and a constant favorite. More recent favorites are The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and the Red Rising series.
I am not a big fan of “book wavers”. Quite often your fingers obscure the title or the author. It makes it difficult to do a screen capture for future use. Please use the inset format if you are actually recommending the book.
Been a science fiction fan since the latter 1950s...I was born in 1949...May not take out a whole bunch of books she recommends BUT would certainly like to take her out...My favorite writers are Clarke and Serlinging-anything Twilight Zone...also Anderson, Asimov, Bracket, Bradbury, Clement, Hamilton, Heinlein, Niven, Pohl, Steele, Vance, Williamson and Zelazny...Shame on me if I forgot someone like Le Guin and Orwell...
Excellent list, I've only recently been reading more Science Fiction so this was very helpful. Ray Bradbury was a perfect place to start, one of my favorite authors.I would love to read The Martian at some stage. I was disappointed with Jurassic Park the movie and therefore have never read the book, thank you for changing my mind. The Martian Chronicles is on my tbr, only because of Ray Bradbury. I would recommend The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, not standalone but awesome and such an original idea. Thank you for the recommendations.
Really awesome list! I haven't even heard of a few of these, so thanks for expanding my TBR :) The only Stephenson I've read is "Snow Crash," and I really didn't like it that much. It felt pretty bloated, I didn't like the characters much, and I was kinda disturbed by the constant sexualization of the 15 year old YT. Would you say his other books (like "Anathem") are different/better?
I have too many Sci-fi favorites: Fahrenheit 451-Ray Bradbury A Memory Called Empire-Arkady Martine All Systems Red-Martha Wells The Space Between Worlds-Micaiah Johnson Sea of Rust- C Cargill Square^3-Mira Grant A Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet-Becky Chambers Psalm for the Wild-built-Becky Chambers I have a lot of longer sci-fi books and series I’m hoping to read next year. 😊
Wow! 2 Bradbury books in yr top ten 😊 ..and you remembered Weir's excellent novel - badly adapted movie - for which the author had to pay himself to get published if I'm not mistaken.. Good work ShadesofOrange (have you read Night Of Light?)
I think my top 5 right now (if Fahrenheit 451 is sci-fi, though I’m not sure I would class most dystopians like 451 or 1984 that way) would be: Hyperion 1984 Neuromancer The Martian The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Fahrenheit 451 Though I wouldn’t say that’s in any order. I’m surprised The Martian Chronicles is so high for you, I just read it and thought it was okay, maybe I’ll have to give it a reread next year. And yeah I know that was 6, but what can I do? Leave one off? Nah.
Nice job on your wonderful list. I'm currently reading blindsight. It's exciting following the thoughts of the brain-damaged savant "synthesist" Siri Keeton on his kamikaze mission to analyze the intentions of the aliens invading our solar system. I keep expecting Siri to start a conversation with Alexa, but it hasn't happened yet. It's interesting having a protagonist who is so alienated from humanity, that he finds he has more in common with actual aliens than he does with his fellow human beings.
If you like blindsight, you must also be a fan of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick, and also the Neuromancer by William Gibson. Peter Watts gets much of his linguistic style from them. Also, there is a magisterial list of great Sci Fi titles from an elderly British guy who calls himself The Outlaw Bookseller that you might be interested in. He has an hour long podcast in two parts that is wonderful. Good luck with your future review of blindsight. --Andy
I have yet to read anything better than C.J. Cherryh’s “Cyteen” & Regenesis. It’s about the childhood and coming of age of a clone of a powerful, murdered woman, who’s life has been saved in recordings to see if they can make the clone as powerful as the original woman. It’s about a society who breeds clones into “types” to have a homogenous workforce. It’s about the question of the value of learning without stress and learning, or on the fly. It’s got multi star systems politics. I have read or listened to these two books on a yearly basis for over 30 years (along with my favorite nonfiction book, “The Guns of August”) It’s incredibly immersive and I love many of its characters. If you haven’t read it, you’re missing out.
My top ten SF books (so far): 1. War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells 2. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North 3. Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke 4. The Forever War - Joe Haldeman 5. Perdido Street Station - China Mieville 6. Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky 7. Way Station - Clifford D. Simak 8. Ubik - Philip K. Dick 9. Blood Music - Greg Bear 10. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
I tried reading Farenheit 451 but couldn't get through it. I tried the audiobook but the narrator's voice was too squeaky. So finally I got the graphic novel and burned through it in about an hour. Ironic? I still get frustrated thinking about the fate of the girl that he meets in the beginning. I couldn't get through Anathem, despite the fact that Neal Stephenson is one of my favorite authors. I quickly got lost and lost interest. If only there was a graphic novel version . . . . Curious to know your thoughts on Project Hail Mary. I'd say it's better than the Martian, but maybe just because I read it more recently. Probably 6s really. It's crazy (and cool) that you re-read your favorite books multiple times. I wish I could do that, but I read too slowly and my TBR list is too long. The only books I've reread in the last 20 years that I can remember are Foundation 1 2 & 3, Way of Kings, and Snowcrash. Aside from the Foundation trilogy (psycho-history and the mule's psychic emotional control are things I think about constantly) I don't think I could pick a favorite sci-fi book.
I don't typically like ranking my favorites in any particular order, it would change with my mood and how recently I reread, but perennial favorites in the 'more-or-less standalone' category (they may have sequels or other stuff in the same universe but IMHO you don't need to read them together): Blindsight by Peter Watts Lady of Mazes by Karl Schroeder A Fire Upon The Deep/A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge (treated each as standalone, though I'll usually wind up reading them together) Constellation Games by Leonard Richardson Afterparty by Daryl Gregory Glasshouse by Charles Stross The FIrst Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North The Fortunate Fall released under Raphael Carter (next year Tor plans to rerelease under the author's new name, Cameron Reed) Possibly "The Mountain In the Sea" will join the list, but I think I need a reread or two before I'm ready to commit. Of your list, I've read many, agree with some, disagree with others, but The Rig is the one which interests me the most but I haven't yet dipped into.
Any thoughts on 10 Billion Days and 100 Billion Nights by Mitsuse? Plato, Siddhartha and Jesus are among the characters. Pretty freaking bizarre, but compelling. Oh, and I just finished Blindsight yesterday. Amazing. Thanks!
I just finished reading The Martian, its a great read but Project Hail Mary is much better. actually I think authors writing improved in PHM, I'm new to sci-fi do you think Blindsight is accessible to a newbie?
The man who introduced me to Neal Stephenson was talking about the book in your top 10 list Anathem but i didn't take it.. Instead started Cryptonomicon 🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️ my taste varies from him i guess... But i remember he said it was debate between Formalism of plato and Nominalism i guess🤔🤔 i thought this cryptology history filled other book maybe apt for my taste....and i was also kind of aware of the baroque cycle... 🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️whatever if i had access to audible or something i would have try every single book of him anyway🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️
I am surprised Jurrassic Park is so high. It's actually the lowest rated book that I have read over the past year. I enjoyed it and I recommend it to most people. But it has alot of issues. Crichton seemed to struggle alot with describing what was happening and even has people doing things that make no sense. Like why are yall walking BACK towards the TRex that you just ran away from? And how does it not see you? They weren't even trying to be sneaky just walking and talking like it disappeared or something but it's still standing right there!. There is probably a dozen things like that which happen throughout the book. I wrote a whole review on it but haven't been able to transfer it to video yet.
under the skin is a delicious combination of horror and sf sadly last I heard faber isn't going to write any more fiction neal stephenson is also one of my fav sf authors haven't read anthem yet a little scared by its length the martian and hail mary were great even though very different got blindsight recently and so looking forward to reading it recall reading jurassic park right after it came out malcolm does have the great line "I think extinct animals should REMAIN extinct"' haha⚛😀
Fair criticism. I'm still a relatively new sci fi reader. I like to do these videos to chronical my growth as a reader. I'll be interested what authors would make an updated list in a couple years
@@TheShadesofOrange Don't get me wrong: I like what you do and the fact that you provide me with new authors to look for. 'Top' or 'Best' is usually something in the mind of the reader and depends on what he/she has read. So don't feel discouraged 😀
Good list, you well on your way in your experience with the genre. I hope you get around to reading the complete Dune series, Asimov, Clarke, LeGuin, Lieber, and Heinlein and so many others who laid the foundation for so much SF we read these days.
Thanks! I can't wait to do an updated list
Rachel thank you I never miss your reviews and recommendations.
Oh thank you
I found your channel recently, nice different content from what I am used to! I'll definitely be including some of these in my TBR. Thanks!
Thanks... hopefully a good different
@@TheShadesofOrange for sure!
Kurt Vonnegut wrote two of my all-time favourite sci-fi based novels: Slaughterhouse Five and The Sirens Of Titan. Both use the conventions of the genre - time travel, space travel, extra-terrestrials, robotics etc - and are by turns profoundly moving, thought provoking and laugh-out-loud hilarious. Maybe in next years list?
I definitely need to read more Vonnegut
Listened to it read by Ethan Hawke, amazing.
I was just saying the other day that Vonnegut is criminally overlooked on sci fi book tube
I stopped reading for a pretty long time and just recently got back into it. The first book that I devoured was The Martian and dang, what a wild ride! It made me wonder about all the other great books I've missed while being away from reading for so long. Four of the books from your list sound like ones that I would really enjoy.
So glad you found something you might enjoy
Really, really enjoyed this video. Great list. I’ve read and love Inverted World, Fahrenheit 451, The Martian, Jurassic Park, The Martian Chronicles and Blindsight. I’ve picked up three Stephenson books. As you’ve suggested previously, I plan to start with Seveneves. I would probably add The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham and Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke to my list.
Thanks! Love reading what would make your list
Oh gosh, How High We Go In the Dark was amazing! I agree that it was incredibly emotional. I loved it.
So happy you also loved it
Of “newer” sci fi, I’d say Project Hail Mary and The Martian are favorites. Blindsight and a couple others you mentioned sound really good!
Oh yes, I read Project Hail Mary when I was really sick in 2021 and it had a big impact on me, loved it.
Oh yes Project Hail Mary is a popular one
False. Red Rising. All other suggestions are wrong.
I read a lot of Horror but you gave me some that will definitely be added to my TBR..My favorite books are supernatural and inside that genre my absolute favorites are Gothic Horror. Many people feel gothic is too slow but I personally love the writing style that is extremely descriptive and leans into the psychological ….Is it Supernatural or is it my imagination. Love that. It would be great to get a top ten Gothic Books video. Just a suggestion Rachel. Thanks.
Awesome
I always end up adding more books to my wish list after watching your videos. And I'm going to try to reread Blindsight, which I really struggled with the first time. Thank you for your always interesting review videos. You're my favourite booktuber. 🙂
Aw thanks
My favorite Bradbury would be "Something Wicked This Way Comes". I'd have LeGuin "Left Hand of Darkness", Dan Simmons "Hyperion", even though there are more, it's stand alone. If that doesn't count, then his "Terror" is my next favorite. Zelazny "Lord of Light". For Stephenson, I like "Diamond Age" and "Cryptonomicon" better actually. Bester's "Stars My Destination" is an oldy but goody. I would do "World War Z" instead of Jurassic Park. "Slaughterhouse Five". "The Road" for dystopia. "Cloud Atlas" or anything by Gene Wolfe.
Love reading your list... a lot of books I still need to read
New to the channel and I just wanted to say “thank you” for all the great recommendations. Much appreciated!
Yay!
Wow. Several books I've never heard of. Have you ever read Hyperion? Foundations Edge is another favorite of mine. One day I'll have to make a top ten, when I have a few more books under my belt
I'm planning to read Hyperion this winter I hope it'll make a future list of sci fi series
This was a very interesting list, thanks for sharing! I agree The Martian Chronicles is a wonderful read, it's my favourite thing that I've read this year so far.
My list would definitely include works by Ursula K. Le Guin, Alastair Reynolds, Cordwainer Smith and Philip Jose Farmer.
Thanks for bringing The Rig to my attention, first I've heard of it - will have to look out for that one! Also definitely want to give Blindsight a try, I love sci-fi horror.
Love reading your list
This is such a great list!!! Lots I added to my TBR!!!🚀
Yay!
Great list Rachel. I LOVE Anathem, it would be high on my top 10 as well I think. Such a clever, interesting, rich book. I preferred Echopraxia to Blindsight, but I can see how Blindsight might reward a re-read or two. Inverted World was a funny one, I thought it was very well written and I was continually thinking what the f is going on here, and didn't see the (in hindsight rather obvious) twist coming. I did think the ending was rather abrupt. Coincidentally, I have How High We Go In The Dark on my TBR for next month, I've heard good things so I'm pleased to hear you enjoyed it so much. I need to do a top 10 video like this. I've been wary of doing so as it's hard to be definitive but as you say, things change over time. 👍
I thought Echopraxia so universally disliked but you make me want to reread it
@@TheShadesofOrange oh wow, OK, I was ignorant of that prevailing view. Maybe I just had my Watts "ear" in by then. 👍
The first thing I did after reading the Martian is reread it. Same for Project Hail Mary!
You might want to Read Rainbow Mars by Larry Niven. Among other things, it has many classic Martians from many different authors!
I appreciate the rec
Thanks for the recommendations.
I've heard of Farenheight actually. Ive read some of it before but you've absolutely convinced more into this book! Inverted world especially sounds like something. Would love to hear your thoughts and reviews actually of Anthem and The Legend of the Copper Cyborg. Anthem may not be a Sci-Fi but its definitely a dystopia, and chilling too. its way of life almost can be comparable to ours if you look deeply enough. the legend is also a good one, seems a bit simple on the surface but actually has a lot to cover along with its worldbuilding.
I do love hard scifi. The Martian prompted me to propose research to NASA. Worked on outer space mining until I started writing my own scifi books recently.
Very cool
Your channel is really good and unique
Fahrenheit 451 was interesting in the writing. Bradbury wrote it in the UCLA library, on a typewriter which he rented for 15 cents an hour.
I have not read any of those books (yet).
Also, I just want to say that I really like the music you have playing for your outro, sounds mysterious.
Thanks!
Blindsight sounds really interesting since three youtuber including you recommended it... Definitely my next book.... I have high hopes for this one
It's worth it!
I did read half the list. I will look into 'Inverted World', 'Anatham', 'The Rig', 'How High We Go in the Dark' and 'Blindsight'.
Anathem sounds intriguing, will very likely be my next read. Thanks for the list!
I hope you enjoy it!
I finally found my copy of Anathem- in an obscure box. I’m excited to finally read it
I hope you love it
Anathem is really hard to get into, but when it takes off....man is it worth it.
Hard agree, fab book.
I was hooked from the start but I can understand that
It’s fall sweater weather, I see.
I want to check Under the Skin, and Inverted World (I may have read it already tho). I need to reread Fahrenheit 451. Read it way back in school (heard it got banned in schools in Florida now which is kinda ironic).
Yes it's getting cold here!
New to the channel. Bradbury is my favorite author... Love that he was on the list twice!!!
Looking forward to reading some of the other titles ive never heard of before. Great stuff! Thanks for posting!!
Thanks
I loved Anathem! I have such a hard time describing it to people - “What is it about?” “Science monks discussing math and philosophy! It’s great!” “Okay…” 🛸
Oh I know! It's so hard to pitch
Thanks for doing this great list! I have not yet read Blindsight, but it sounds like I really need to! For my own favorites, one author that really stands out is Ursula K Leguin. If you haven't read The Left Hand of Darkness, I highly recommend it, as well as her short stories (in particular, I think everyone should read "A Fisherman of the Inland Sea" at least once, as well as "The Ones that Walk Away from Omelas", though that one is not sci-fi).
Oh, and, if you like the dystopia/utopia tropes, "The Dispossessed" is another classic by Leguin.
Oh yes I read Left Hand but still need to read the Dispossessed
Very cool list.
I just finished Atlas Alone (last in the Planetfall series, that is truly awesome) so this video came in perfect timing 😉 I decided to pick up Blindsight next following your recommendations, and added a couple more books to my TBR. Thanks, Rachel!
Oo I love the Planetfall series
Fallen Dragon, by Peter Hamilton. Bones of the Earth, Michael Swanwick. 2 of my top ten. Vernor Vinge needs a place, and Kim Stanley Robinson... Shield by Poul Anderson shaped me politically. And can a top 10 list not include Asimov's I Robot? Or something from Clark, Niven, Norton, and Heinlien?
I read Clark for the first time this year so he didn't qualify for this list. Fire Upon the Deep & I Robot could easoly have had spots if I did a top 20. Like I said at the beginning, I'm still working through the classics so look forward to updating this list
I have Fahrenheit in my house. I can read that! Glad to see it has your positive opinion.
I hope you enjoy it
my relationship to Fahrenheit 451 has evolved over the years and a constant favorite. More recent favorites are The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and the Red Rising series.
Yeah Fahrenheit has meant different things to me at different times
Just started The Long way…so far so good! And I’ve only read the first book in the Red Rising series. Need to get going. Lol
If you like Michael Crichton, try the Andromeda Strain
Oh yes that's a good one
Good List!
I am not a big fan of “book wavers”. Quite often your fingers obscure the title or the author. It makes it difficult to do a screen capture for future use. Please use the inset format if you are actually recommending the book.
Jurassic Park was good, but I liked The Andromeda Strain even more.
Been a science fiction fan since the latter 1950s...I was born in 1949...May not take out a whole bunch of books she recommends BUT would certainly like to take her out...My favorite writers are Clarke and Serlinging-anything Twilight Zone...also Anderson, Asimov, Bracket, Bradbury, Clement, Hamilton, Heinlein, Niven, Pohl, Steele, Vance, Williamson and Zelazny...Shame on me if I forgot someone like Le Guin and Orwell...
Great list. I've ignored Michael Crichton as too mainstream, but on your recommendation I may have to read Jurassic Park.
Yeah he's definitely a more "obvious" pick but I love the book
Read it when I was fourteen and reread it two times - a really good read and one of my favorites.
Kurt vonnegut has some good ones missing from this list - namely, Sirens of Titan and Slaughterhouse Five
Yeah I hadn't read Slaughter House when I made this list
I am sooooo excited 😆 for this list!!! I’ve been lookin forward to it! I didnt know u liked inverted world so much! 😂 we will have to chat
Yes we do!
Excellent list, I've only recently been reading more Science Fiction so this was very helpful. Ray Bradbury was a perfect place to start, one of my favorite authors.I would love to read The Martian at some stage. I was disappointed with Jurassic Park the movie and therefore have never read the book, thank you for changing my mind. The Martian Chronicles is on my tbr, only because of Ray Bradbury. I would recommend The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, not standalone but awesome and such an original idea. Thank you for the recommendations.
Thanks for weighing in. Bradbury is such a great author
Really awesome list! I haven't even heard of a few of these, so thanks for expanding my TBR :)
The only Stephenson I've read is "Snow Crash," and I really didn't like it that much. It felt pretty bloated, I didn't like the characters much, and I was kinda disturbed by the constant sexualization of the 15 year old YT. Would you say his other books (like "Anathem") are different/better?
Stephenson has a pretty wide range to his stories. I'd personally recommend Seveneves as his most mainstream book
I have too many Sci-fi favorites:
Fahrenheit 451-Ray Bradbury
A Memory Called Empire-Arkady Martine
All Systems Red-Martha Wells
The Space Between Worlds-Micaiah Johnson
Sea of Rust- C Cargill
Square^3-Mira Grant
A Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet-Becky Chambers
Psalm for the Wild-built-Becky Chambers
I have a lot of longer sci-fi books and series I’m hoping to read next year. 😊
Love reading your list
That's six added to my TRB, thanks for that. :)
Wow! 2 Bradbury books in yr top ten 😊 ..and you remembered Weir's excellent novel - badly adapted movie - for which the author had to pay himself to get published if I'm not mistaken.. Good work ShadesofOrange (have you read Night Of Light?)
Yeah I had no idea it would work out with 2 Bradburys until I started compiling the list
I think my top 5 right now (if Fahrenheit 451 is sci-fi, though I’m not sure I would class most dystopians like 451 or 1984 that way) would be:
Hyperion
1984
Neuromancer
The Martian
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Fahrenheit 451
Though I wouldn’t say that’s in any order. I’m surprised The Martian Chronicles is so high for you, I just read it and thought it was okay, maybe I’ll have to give it a reread next year.
And yeah I know that was 6, but what can I do? Leave one off? Nah.
Love seeing your list. I might try separating out dystopians on my next updated list
Nice job on your wonderful list. I'm currently reading blindsight. It's exciting following the thoughts of the brain-damaged savant "synthesist" Siri Keeton
on his kamikaze mission to analyze the intentions of the aliens invading our solar system. I keep expecting Siri to start a conversation with Alexa,
but it hasn't happened yet. It's interesting having a protagonist who is so alienated from humanity, that he finds he has more in common with actual
aliens than he does with his fellow human beings.
I'd love to due a full length review but I need to reread it at least once more before I can put coherent thoughts together
If you like blindsight, you must also
be a fan of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick,
and also the Neuromancer by
William Gibson. Peter Watts gets
much of his linguistic style from them. Also, there is a magisterial list of great Sci Fi titles from an elderly
British guy who calls himself The
Outlaw Bookseller that you might be interested in. He has an hour long podcast in two parts that is wonderful. Good luck with your future review of blindsight.
--Andy
I have yet to read anything better than C.J. Cherryh’s “Cyteen” & Regenesis. It’s about the childhood and coming of age of a clone of a powerful, murdered woman, who’s life has been saved in recordings to see if they can make the clone as powerful as the original woman. It’s about a society who breeds clones into “types” to have a homogenous workforce. It’s about the question of the value of learning without stress and learning, or on the fly. It’s got multi star systems politics.
I have read or listened to these two books on a yearly basis for over 30 years (along with my favorite nonfiction book, “The Guns of August”) It’s incredibly immersive and I love many of its characters. If you haven’t read it, you’re missing out.
I really want to read Cytwen. I've heard such good things
Blindsight and its sequel are on my tbr for my vampire mood 🧛♂️
I hope you enjoy them
My top ten SF books (so far):
1. War of the Worlds - H.G. Wells
2. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North
3. Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke
4. The Forever War - Joe Haldeman
5. Perdido Street Station - China Mieville
6. Roadside Picnic - Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
7. Way Station - Clifford D. Simak
8. Ubik - Philip K. Dick
9. Blood Music - Greg Bear
10. The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin
Love reading your list!
I tried reading Farenheit 451 but couldn't get through it. I tried the audiobook but the narrator's voice was too squeaky. So finally I got the graphic novel and burned through it in about an hour. Ironic? I still get frustrated thinking about the fate of the girl that he meets in the beginning.
I couldn't get through Anathem, despite the fact that Neal Stephenson is one of my favorite authors. I quickly got lost and lost interest. If only there was a graphic novel version . . . .
Curious to know your thoughts on Project Hail Mary. I'd say it's better than the Martian, but maybe just because I read it more recently. Probably 6s really.
It's crazy (and cool) that you re-read your favorite books multiple times. I wish I could do that, but I read too slowly and my TBR list is too long. The only books I've reread in the last 20 years that I can remember are Foundation 1 2 & 3, Way of Kings, and Snowcrash.
Aside from the Foundation trilogy (psycho-history and the mule's psychic emotional control are things I think about constantly) I don't think I could pick a favorite sci-fi book.
I didn't love Project Hail Mary as much as most people but it was still fun.
And yes Inlove to reread but understand it's a luxury
I don't typically like ranking my favorites in any particular order, it would change with my mood and how recently I reread, but perennial favorites in the 'more-or-less standalone' category (they may have sequels or other stuff in the same universe but IMHO you don't need to read them together):
Blindsight by Peter Watts
Lady of Mazes by Karl Schroeder
A Fire Upon The Deep/A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge (treated each as standalone, though I'll usually wind up reading them together)
Constellation Games by Leonard Richardson
Afterparty by Daryl Gregory
Glasshouse by Charles Stross
The FIrst Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North
The Fortunate Fall released under Raphael Carter (next year Tor plans to rerelease under the author's new name, Cameron Reed)
Possibly "The Mountain In the Sea" will join the list, but I think I need a reread or two before I'm ready to commit.
Of your list, I've read many, agree with some, disagree with others, but The Rig is the one which interests me the most but I haven't yet dipped into.
Love reading about your favourites
I'm reading The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton, it feels like a movie is playing in my head
I remember the same experience
Have you read Split Infinity by Piers Anthony ?
No I haven't. I'll look that up
I love Bradbury! 🚀
You should read Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke.
I really need to!
@@TheShadesofOrange You really should, I think you'd really enjoy it! 😊
My husband has recommended Blindsight to me. Guess he’s on to something…😊
Sounds like he has good tastes!
Anathem is my favorite book of all time.
Such a good one
Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner.
Any thoughts on 10 Billion Days and 100 Billion Nights by Mitsuse? Plato, Siddhartha and Jesus are among the characters. Pretty freaking bizarre, but compelling. Oh, and I just finished Blindsight yesterday. Amazing. Thanks!
Not familiar with that one
Just ordered a copy of Anathem. Sounds intriguing.
Ah great, you won't regret it.
I hope you enjoy it
🚀 How High We go in the Dark is so good! Definitely in my top 5. Can’t wait to read the Martian Chronicles.
So good! Glad someone else agrees
I LOVE Fahrenheit 451!!
Highschool English teacher vibes
Definitely not a teacher but respect to those who do that work.
How come no one is setting themselves on fire over Recursion by Blake Crouch, 2019?
Probably because I read Dark Matter first and they are awfully similar
I just finished reading The Martian, its a great read but Project Hail Mary is much better. actually I think authors writing improved in PHM, I'm new to sci-fi do you think Blindsight is accessible to a newbie?
I love Blindsight but I wouldn't recommend it for beginners
Might pick up blindsight soon rather than later
Do it!
I wish there was an audiobook version of The Rig 😔
I agree! I loved to reread via audio
You should check out The Deep Man by Michael Mersault. I keep recommending it to all of my fellow sci fi/fantasy nerds 🙂 super fun newer book
Thanks for the rec
Late to the party but Hail Mary is better than The Martian (which i really liked BTW)
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I loved seveneves by Neal Stevenson!! I will now try anatem
It's a different one. I hope you like it
Ray Bradbury is an awesome writer glad he is on the list twice.
Yeah he's pretty great
The man who introduced me to Neal Stephenson was talking about the book in your top 10 list Anathem but i didn't take it.. Instead started Cryptonomicon 🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️ my taste varies from him i guess... But i remember he said it was debate between Formalism of plato and Nominalism i guess🤔🤔 i thought this cryptology history filled other book maybe apt for my taste....and i was also kind of aware of the baroque cycle... 🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️whatever if i had access to audible or something i would have try every single book of him anyway🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️🤷🏽♂️
I hope you enjoy Anathem if you try it
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Hello there
The Martian
when you said audio book knew, you haven`t read enough. like Bradbury, Heinlein, Assimov, Clarke, LeGuin so many other greats.
I have two Bradburys on this list?
Shut up!
Love your list!!! 🎉
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I ❤ science
I am surprised Jurrassic Park is so high. It's actually the lowest rated book that I have read over the past year. I enjoyed it and I recommend it to most people. But it has alot of issues. Crichton seemed to struggle alot with describing what was happening and even has people doing things that make no sense. Like why are yall walking BACK towards the TRex that you just ran away from? And how does it not see you? They weren't even trying to be sneaky just walking and talking like it disappeared or something but it's still standing right there!. There is probably a dozen things like that which happen throughout the book. I wrote a whole review on it but haven't been able to transfer it to video yet.
I could see the ranking change quite a bit on reread.
under the skin is a delicious combination of horror and sf sadly last I heard faber isn't going to write any more fiction neal stephenson is also one of my fav sf authors haven't read anthem yet a little scared by its length the martian and hail mary were great even though very different got blindsight recently and so looking forward to reading it recall reading jurassic park right after it came out malcolm does have the great line "I think extinct animals should REMAIN extinct"' haha⚛😀
Glad you also love Stephenson. And yes I also heard Faber was done writing science fiction
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No Philip Dick? No Ursula Le Guin? No Stanislaw Lem? No Kurt Vonnegut? - weird. Bradbury? agree with you all the way 👍
Fair criticism. I'm still a relatively new sci fi reader. I like to do these videos to chronical my growth as a reader. I'll be interested what authors would make an updated list in a couple years
@@TheShadesofOrange Don't get me wrong: I like what you do and the fact that you provide me with new authors to look for. 'Top' or 'Best' is usually something in the mind of the reader and depends on what he/she has read. So don't feel discouraged 😀
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Rachel? 😃💕💕💕 your reviews and likes are great thanks.
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