Hi Kenny!! I'm loving that 101 book I showed first, loads of books I've never heard of. Video forthcoming! I trust you're keeping well, thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger I'm at about 12 read and several others started on that list. The most recently finished was Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policeman's Union, which I recommend but didn't love as much as I expected to; there are better Chabon books to read, like Kavalier & Clay. Also, I think readers who say they love The Sparrow should read the entry on that book in this survey. I've asked many times "Why do you love this book?" and don't usually get a good answer, or any answer. It seems many of its proselytizers forget the trauma, ugliness, and extreme torture/rape in the story. I would better understand if they said they admired it for some reason, but love? Someone once recommended it as a beach read... Did they actually read it?
Great haul! Man, I'm such a newb when it comes to scifi. As soon as I read most of the major works I'll pick your brain for some of the better obscure (to me) things.
For non-UK viewers, an ojamaflip is a paranoun, one of a number of words brought into the normal world by Merlin, for when the eldritch powers block the recall of words. It has the interesting ability of allowing the listener to understand what the speaker means without him actually saying it. If you don't mind, I'm going to pass over the bit where you give the man in the charity shop the ojamaflip. Ohhhh MATRON!
I’m a List guy, so I bought Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels, 1985-2010 not long after it came out. I had previously enjoyed working my way through the titles listed in the book that inspired this guide, David Pringle’s similar book, covering 1949-1984. When I got the Broderick/Di Filippo book, I of course took a count, and discovered that I had read 13 of the books listed - up to this point, I have read 90 (when I get books like this, they don’t waste away; I rabidly go after the books suggested). The Broderick and Di Filippo picks for 101 Best provoked some reactions and deductions from me. First of all, of the 13 books listed that I had happened to read before ever owning this, a lot of them were books I loved: The Handmaid’s Tale, Brittle Innings, Neverness, The Sea and Summer, Ender’s Game, A Fire Upon the Deep, Under the Skin, Grass, Altered Carbon, and The Golden Age. This boded well for my tastes aligning, hopefully frequently, with the pair of list-makers. I will say, though, that in the end (or as close to wrapping things up with this book as I’ve come), not as many of the books selected impressed me as much as I thought would. I’m not for an instant trying to dissuade you from relying on this reading guide, and I certainly don’t regret for a moment buying and using this 101 Best list. Far from it. I just think a couple of factors come into play: Yes, I do think Broderick and Di Filippo differ from me in what they love about Science Fiction, 1985-2010, overall. Their tastes are obviously a bit different than mine. A few of the choices bored me, a few were confusing books (that may be me, not the book), and a heck of a lot of these books were enjoyable but average reads for me. And yet, as I said, many of the books listed that I read before this list existed are books I love. My conclusion from that is: I knew what SF novels to buy for myself, just while browsing the shelves and checking out back covers for plot synopsis that appealed to me. Of course I bought The Sea and Summer but ignored Synners. This list got me to check out some books that I knew probably were not my jam when they first came out…and finally getting to them because this reading guide ‘compelled’ me to, showed me that - especially from about 1990 to 2010 - a lot of SF that was popular, or even of a hidden gem nature, was not SF I loved as much as older stuff. Part of it is that I’ve never been a Hard SF guy, or even a Cyberpunk guy. So - I think Broderick and Di Filippo’s list is quite different than what I would come up with - I am quick to remove Cyteen and The Fortunate Fall, and easily put in Memories by McQuay, and The Color of Distance by Thomson, just for starters - but I also think that any expert’s list covering this tricky period in SF’s development would be full of books that I find merely okay, or just leave me cold. That said: This list made me read Blindsight, which I had not heard about or happened to notice at the bookstore…and it’s now my favourite SF novel, probably never to be displaced. This list also getting me to The Time Traveler’s Wife, a book I knew about but just ignored, is also a major deal in my life; I love that book. This list redeemed my Bruce Sterling experience, as I loved Holy Fire - having been most unenthusiastic about reading it after my Schismatrix and Difference Engine experiences. Other picks by Broderick and Di Filippo I very much enjoyed: The Cave of Stars, The Shore of Women, Parable of the Sower, The Sparrow, Steal Across the Sky, and Ventus. I disliked or was bored by: Cyteen, Light by Harrison, Headlong, and Counting Heads. And I won’t bother to list all the books that I enjoyed, and am glad I read as I filled in a lot of gaps from various years, but would not be on my personal 101 Best list. Good luck with the reading guide. It isn’t my most cherished list of recommended books I ever relied on, but it gave me Blindsight so it has a special place in my heart, and I think you will enjoy checking out a lot of the choices.
Hi again Seth. i think my score is similar to yours, less possibly, so I have plenty of books to discover. I don't mind a bit of hard SF and the cyberpunk I've read (not much) has been interesting to me. The most interesting thing to me is there are books, lots of them, on this list I've never even heard of - i do love a bit of unexplored territory! Any "best of" list is going to be subjective, of course, to be taken with a pinch of salt but it's as good a starting point as any and I think I'm going to enjoy myself working through it. As soon as I realised Pringle had written a similar, earlier guide I ordered that too, should arrive in a couple of days, so I will have two lists of books to acquire and work my way through, the work of a few years I expect. Let the explorations begin! thanks for your excellent comment, I appreciate you taking the time to write at length. and of course, thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger I won't go on too long in reply - but the David Pringle 100 Best SF Novels reading guide changed my life, all those years ago. I saw it, said to myself "if this Pringle fellow has put Orbitsville on his List, I'll buy it...if not, I won't" (I had just read Orbitsville the year before, as a 16 year old, and was very high on it). Pringle had picked it, so I bought his book, read off his list, and have since read all the books. The first thing I go after are the books I have not heard of. It's just so much fun to see a book on a "100 Best" genre list that I have not managed to hear about before that. Something "Minor Paradox" about it. Anyway, Pringle put out a similar book of "100 Best" Fantasy Books not long after, H.R. F. Keating did one for Crime & Mystery, there was an alternate Fantasy list book from Moocrock & Cawthorn, a Horror Reading guide....Fantasy and Horror lists were reluctant commitments for me, because I did not read those genres near as much, but then I thought that was the precise reason to rely most of all on a top tier list if I was ready to get to know the genres better. And Pringle had made me a List guy, he kind of changed my reading life. Sorry - a little long - but okay.
I agree entirely, I've just ordered my first "unknown" book off the Broderick list. no time like the present, although having said that, I already own 37 of the books on the list and I've only read 10 of those....
Hey, Jon! I love Bxter´s Voyage. Actually the first by Baxter I´ve ever read. The Cordwainer Smith novelette is part of the German "Instrumentality" collection I´ve mentioned couple of months ago. I´m glad I got it because I enjoy his style very much. The KSR novel is part of a trilogy but every book is a different story with a different setting. They´re all seperate standalone in some way. I´ve also got a question, were those Robotech books in the stores mangas or novels because I didn´t know there were any novelizations of them. Have a good week!
I liked the Noumenon trilogy. The first book is set on a generation ship on the way to study an irregularly dimming star. They use cloning to keep the crew going and the journey is told vignette style over the course of the book.
@@tomoser1284 OK cool, if I'd known that I might have included them in the generation starship video I did the other day. Cheers Tom, thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger It depends on your own philosophy but if their mission: "We won't stop until all business is a force for good." doesn't ring any alarm bells for you then...
I guess it depends on your definition of "force for good". Tbh I'm less worried about that than I am about their propensity to screw up an order in creative ways! 🤷♂️
Hi Jon- I'm following your video while I reflect on what I've read. I've got the Pan "Second Trip". I think it's better than "Stochastic Man" which I re-read recently. I've only read Baxter 's books with Pratchett, but I shd try him solo. I read Priest's "Fugue" recently, but it was a revised version- I lost my original copy which I gather was slightly different. I'm just finishing Hamilton's "Reality Dysfunction" which I've really enjoyed. I got a cheap hardback of all Adam's HH books which I might re-read sometime. Bank's "Dead Air" and "Quarry" aren't great. "Transition" is definitely SF despite the omission of the M in Bank's name. I read "Babel" a few months ago and it's interesting. I wish my local charity shop had that much SF!
HI David! Baxter is definitely worth a read solo, generally rock hard science fiction. Yes I'm quite lucky that my local-ish Oxfam Bookshop has quite an extensive SFF.section. it's rare I come away without something interesting. Thanks for watching 👀!
I know you’re buying physical books, but I’ve run into an Amazon published writer named JN Cheney who collaborates with others to write multiples series. One in particular I’ve enjoyed is Backyard Starship. I’m an old guy (71) but I’ve found myself highly entertained. Characters are funny and the plots are readable.
Just in eBook? I don't have a suitable reader, apart from my phone, and I hate reading books on my phone. Shame, always interesting to hear about new authors. Cheers Steve thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger I honestly don’t know if there are physical books being published. I read on an IPad. I’ve reached the age where I never have enough light so I must have a backlit screen.
@@SciFiScavenger I bought my latest one used. Devices here in US are plentiful for $150. I imagine that translates to 180 pounds. Sorry my keyboard doesn’t have the symbol. 😂
@@User_Un_Friendly Watchmen is the best graphic novel ever, imo. But having already seen the movie will probably affect the reading experience, even though there are significante differences.
Baxter's novels are all five stars reads, especially Voyage, the best in the NASA trilogy, and for me, top five of all Baxter novels. Wow, I haven't read Bujold since my teens. I was crazy about them. Vor Game was excellent. Needful Things is a masterpiece, King's most underrated book, just like superb Dead Air is Banks's underapreciatted masterwork. You still haven't read Cordwainer Smith? Well, you are in for a treat. His prose is pure magic. Robinson's Three Californias are all singeltons, more thematically linked than sequentially. Just like Baxter's NASA trilogy. As for Eric Brown, his true forte are his short stories, but his novels are also very good. Interestinglly, he did a collaboration with Stephen Baxter, a slim collection of three short stories called Space Time Pit Times Two. Watchmen is a classic, A must read. Film adaptation is terrific, even though it diverges a bit from the graphic novel. There is also a tv series, that while not bad, is, in my opinion pretty overrated. It serves as a sequel to graphic novel, not the movie. Great video, as usual.
@@miljenkoskreblin165 fab, thanks for all the tips! I haven't read any baxter for ages so I'm looking forward to renewing my acquaintance. Thanks for watching 👀!
Despite being DECADES since sitting down and seriously reading Cordweiner Smith, I still find snatches of his prose running through my head. No higher praise is possible. 🎉❤
I've read one of his short story collections, the one that included the story that became the movie Arrival. I remember there being some cracking stories in there, including one involving angels gone bad.
I won't tell you what the story is but before it was Watchmen it was going to be a main-universe DC Comics story. But the powers that be thought it too much of a change so it was written as a separate universe. When people make top ten lists of the best or greatest comics stories of all time this is always on the list. Noumenon I liked but did not continue when the sequels came along. Windup Girl was decent but didn't blow me away.
@@Montie-Adkins interesting re Watchmen. I've never been big on comics or graphic novels so it's a bit of a departure for me. Cheers Montie thanks for watching 👀!
If you’ve read The Wild Shore you’ve already done the best of the Three Californias Triptych. The Gold Coast is the second best, with Pacific Edge being kinda boring. Not a sequential trilogy, but thematically linked; three possible futures for California, from a post-apocalyptic wasteland, to a hyper-corporate megalopolis, to an eco-utopian vision. An interesting series, I enjoyed it overall but Pacific Edge was something of a let down to cap it off.
It is most likely fiction. There's always been doubts concerning the existence of "Don Juan". 😮😡. I really loved his books back in college. And nearly hurt myself practicing the Gait of Power. 😂
Carlos Castaneda's work is quite fascinating, but I wonder what those books were doing in the SF section... Definitely not your cup of tea, though. "Scarlett somebody"!?!?? Seriously!?!?
I may be the only one, but that strange zooming in and out in (only recent?) videos is a bit distracting. More positively, I've been using Pringle's Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels for a few months now, and I've so far got through 25% of the list. I can see myself getting Broderick and di Filippo's successor volume at some point.
Thanks for the feedback, it's an attempt to make the jump cuts less jarring (where I need to remove bits for whatever reason) but perhaps it's not having the desired effect. I ordered the Pringle book as soon as I got the Broderick! I'm both excited and intimidated to find I've read less than 10% of the later one. Thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger Ah, that makes sense. I expect you'll find that you've read more of the books in the Pringle one, as they are on the whole better known and more widely read. There are a few surprising curveballs also, though...
Watchmen is on sale, on Kindle. Later today, I'm going to think long and hard about actually getting it. I actually think I have it on hard copy somewhere...🤔 Thank you for sparing us from a view of your butt crack, Jon, while puttering about your shelves. May I suggest some spritely Benny Hill theme music next time? 😂🤣 Good haul. We all recognize your attempt to hide that Hoarder's self-satisfied smirk of acquisition. You're among friends, Jon. Smirk away. 😉🫡 😛🐶
I'd like to think my Needful Things comment was an inspiration.
Great haul!
Ha, maybe! Cheers Jerry thanks for watching 👀!
Hi Jon. Yep, good move relieving the shop of The Windup Girl. Good read, thoroughly enjoyed it. Nice Lozenge pickup as well.
Hi Kenny!! I'm loving that 101 book I showed first, loads of books I've never heard of. Video forthcoming! I trust you're keeping well, thanks for watching 👀!
Awesome haul ❤❤❤❤
Thanks! Next installment (or insthaulment) coming this Sunday. Thanks for watching 👀!
Vast is an incredible novel - bump that to the top of your list straight away! The windup girl is also very fine
Excellent! Thanks for watching 👀!
Oooh that 101 Science Fiction reference book is a must have for me!
I'm both excited and intimidated to find I have read less than 10% of them! Thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger I'm at about 12 read and several others started on that list. The most recently finished was Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policeman's Union, which I recommend but didn't love as much as I expected to; there are better Chabon books to read, like Kavalier & Clay.
Also, I think readers who say they love The Sparrow should read the entry on that book in this survey. I've asked many times "Why do you love this book?" and don't usually get a good answer, or any answer. It seems many of its proselytizers forget the trauma, ugliness, and extreme torture/rape in the story. I would better understand if they said they admired it for some reason, but love? Someone once recommended it as a beach read... Did they actually read it?
@@marsrock316 I have Sparrow, not read it yet. I have been reading through the 101 book and am excited to get stuck in. I feel a video coming on....
@@SciFiScavenger I look forward to it...
Great haul! Man, I'm such a newb when it comes to scifi. As soon as I read most of the major works I'll pick your brain for some of the better obscure (to me) things.
No romantasy here! 😀 very happy to chat sci fi anytime. Thanks for watching 👀!
I am so glad I could put a smile on your face😊. But the way Dead astronauts by Jeff Vandermeer is book 2 of the Borne series.
Thanks, yes but I think Dead Astronauts can be read standalone. Cheers Andrei, and thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger I really didn't know
For non-UK viewers, an ojamaflip is a paranoun, one of a number of words brought into the normal world by Merlin, for when the eldritch powers block the recall of words. It has the interesting ability of allowing the listener to understand what the speaker means without him actually saying it.
If you don't mind, I'm going to pass over the bit where you give the man in the charity shop the ojamaflip. Ohhhh MATRON!
😀
Linda Nagata's Vast is straight up your alley, I think. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on that one.
Excellent! Cheers Matty thanks for watching 👀!
I’m a List guy, so I bought Science Fiction: The 101 Best Novels, 1985-2010 not long after it came out. I had previously enjoyed working my way through the titles listed in the book that inspired this guide, David Pringle’s similar book, covering 1949-1984. When I got the Broderick/Di Filippo book, I of course took a count, and discovered that I had read 13 of the books listed - up to this point, I have read 90 (when I get books like this, they don’t waste away; I rabidly go after the books suggested).
The Broderick and Di Filippo picks for 101 Best provoked some reactions and deductions from me. First of all, of the 13 books listed that I had happened to read before ever owning this, a lot of them were books I loved: The Handmaid’s Tale, Brittle Innings, Neverness, The Sea and Summer, Ender’s Game, A Fire Upon the Deep, Under the Skin, Grass, Altered Carbon, and The Golden Age. This boded well for my tastes aligning, hopefully frequently, with the pair of list-makers. I will say, though, that in the end (or as close to wrapping things up with this book as I’ve come), not as many of the books selected impressed me as much as I thought would. I’m not for an instant trying to dissuade you from relying on this reading guide, and I certainly don’t regret for a moment buying and using this 101 Best list. Far from it.
I just think a couple of factors come into play:
Yes, I do think Broderick and Di Filippo differ from me in what they love about Science Fiction, 1985-2010, overall. Their tastes are obviously a bit different than mine. A few of the choices bored me, a few were confusing books (that may be me, not the book), and a heck of a lot of these books were enjoyable but average reads for me. And yet, as I said, many of the books listed that I read before this list existed are books I love. My conclusion from that is: I knew what SF novels to buy for myself, just while browsing the shelves and checking out back covers for plot synopsis that appealed to me. Of course I bought The Sea and Summer but ignored Synners. This list got me to check out some books that I knew probably were not my jam when they first came out…and finally getting to them because this reading guide ‘compelled’ me to, showed me that - especially from about 1990 to 2010 - a lot of SF that was popular, or even of a hidden gem nature, was not SF I loved as much as older stuff. Part of it is that I’ve never been a Hard SF guy, or even a Cyberpunk guy. So - I think Broderick and Di Filippo’s list is quite different than what I would come up with - I am quick to remove Cyteen and The Fortunate Fall, and easily put in Memories by McQuay, and The Color of Distance by Thomson, just for starters - but I also think that any expert’s list covering this tricky period in SF’s development would be full of books that I find merely okay, or just leave me cold.
That said:
This list made me read Blindsight, which I had not heard about or happened to notice at the bookstore…and it’s now my favourite SF novel, probably never to be displaced. This list also getting me to The Time Traveler’s Wife, a book I knew about but just ignored, is also a major deal in my life; I love that book. This list redeemed my Bruce Sterling experience, as I loved Holy Fire - having been most unenthusiastic about reading it after my Schismatrix and Difference Engine experiences. Other picks by Broderick and Di Filippo I very much enjoyed: The Cave of Stars, The Shore of Women, Parable of the Sower, The Sparrow, Steal Across the Sky, and Ventus.
I disliked or was bored by: Cyteen, Light by Harrison, Headlong, and Counting Heads. And I won’t bother to list all the books that I enjoyed, and am glad I read as I filled in a lot of gaps from various years, but would not be on my personal 101 Best list.
Good luck with the reading guide. It isn’t my most cherished list of recommended books I ever relied on, but it gave me Blindsight so it has a special place in my heart, and I think you will enjoy checking out a lot of the choices.
Mega comment! I will reply properly tomorrow when I'm at my laptop, too big for my phone! I too like a good list.
Hi again Seth. i think my score is similar to yours, less possibly, so I have plenty of books to discover. I don't mind a bit of hard SF and the cyberpunk I've read (not much) has been interesting to me. The most interesting thing to me is there are books, lots of them, on this list I've never even heard of - i do love a bit of unexplored territory! Any "best of" list is going to be subjective, of course, to be taken with a pinch of salt but it's as good a starting point as any and I think I'm going to enjoy myself working through it. As soon as I realised Pringle had written a similar, earlier guide I ordered that too, should arrive in a couple of days, so I will have two lists of books to acquire and work my way through, the work of a few years I expect. Let the explorations begin!
thanks for your excellent comment, I appreciate you taking the time to write at length. and of course, thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger I won't go on too long in reply - but the David Pringle 100 Best SF Novels reading guide changed my life, all those years ago. I saw it, said to myself "if this Pringle fellow has put Orbitsville on his List, I'll buy it...if not, I won't" (I had just read Orbitsville the year before, as a 16 year old, and was very high on it). Pringle had picked it, so I bought his book, read off his list, and have since read all the books. The first thing I go after are the books I have not heard of. It's just so much fun to see a book on a "100 Best" genre list that I have not managed to hear about before that. Something "Minor Paradox" about it. Anyway, Pringle put out a similar book of "100 Best" Fantasy Books not long after, H.R. F. Keating did one for Crime & Mystery, there was an alternate Fantasy list book from Moocrock & Cawthorn, a Horror Reading guide....Fantasy and Horror lists were reluctant commitments for me, because I did not read those genres near as much, but then I thought that was the precise reason to rely most of all on a top tier list if I was ready to get to know the genres better. And Pringle had made me a List guy, he kind of changed my reading life.
Sorry - a little long - but okay.
I agree entirely, I've just ordered my first "unknown" book off the Broderick list. no time like the present, although having said that, I already own 37 of the books on the list and I've only read 10 of those....
Hey, Jon! I love Bxter´s Voyage. Actually the first by Baxter I´ve ever read. The Cordwainer Smith novelette is part of the German "Instrumentality" collection I´ve mentioned couple of months ago. I´m glad I got it because I enjoy his style very much.
The KSR novel is part of a trilogy but every book is a different story with a different setting. They´re all seperate standalone in some way.
I´ve also got a question, were those Robotech books in the stores mangas or novels because I didn´t know there were any novelizations of them.
Have a good week!
Hi Thorsten, I didn't look at the Robotech books, just what you saw in the video. They may have been manga. Thanks for watching 👀!
I like those first 5 well world books, the next 5 are only if you really love that setting
4 lords of the diamond tetralogy are chalkers other good series, I’d skip the rest
There are another 5!? Blimey. Thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavengeryeah he came back later and did a trilogy and then a duology
@@dug3569 Yes! Though, if you can find it, the War of Shadows was good, though I can't remember the plot. 😂😛
@@SciFiScavenger They're not as good. The first five are good...though I've always found Chalker's body mutations distressing to read. 😮🙄
I liked the Noumenon trilogy. The first book is set on a generation ship on the way to study an irregularly dimming star. They use cloning to keep the crew going and the journey is told vignette style over the course of the book.
@@tomoser1284 OK cool, if I'd known that I might have included them in the generation starship video I did the other day. Cheers Tom, thanks for watching 👀!
World of Books is a 'b-corp' company. You may want to check what that entails.
Yes, from a quick glance via Google, that seems like a good thing. What am I missing?
@@SciFiScavenger It depends on your own philosophy but if their mission: "We won't stop until all business is a force for good." doesn't ring any alarm bells for you then...
I guess it depends on your definition of "force for good". Tbh I'm less worried about that than I am about their propensity to screw up an order in creative ways! 🤷♂️
@@SciFiScavenger "Trust me, I'm from the government and I'm here to help!".
Hi Jon- I'm following your video while I reflect on what I've read. I've got the Pan "Second Trip". I think it's better than "Stochastic Man" which I re-read recently. I've only read Baxter 's books with Pratchett, but I shd try him solo. I read Priest's "Fugue" recently, but it was a revised version- I lost my original copy which I gather was slightly different. I'm just finishing Hamilton's "Reality Dysfunction" which I've really enjoyed. I got a cheap hardback of all Adam's HH books which I might re-read sometime. Bank's "Dead Air" and "Quarry" aren't great. "Transition" is definitely SF despite the omission of the M in Bank's name. I read "Babel" a few months ago and it's interesting. I wish my local charity shop had that much SF!
HI David! Baxter is definitely worth a read solo, generally rock hard science fiction. Yes I'm quite lucky that my local-ish Oxfam Bookshop has quite an extensive SFF.section. it's rare I come away without something interesting. Thanks for watching 👀!
I know you’re buying physical books, but I’ve run into an Amazon published writer named JN Cheney who collaborates with others to write multiples series. One in particular I’ve enjoyed is Backyard Starship. I’m an old guy (71) but I’ve found myself highly entertained. Characters are funny and the plots are readable.
Just in eBook? I don't have a suitable reader, apart from my phone, and I hate reading books on my phone. Shame, always interesting to hear about new authors. Cheers Steve thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger I honestly don’t know if there are physical books being published. I read on an IPad. I’ve reached the age where I never have enough light so I must have a backlit screen.
I think an iPad would be pretty good actually.
@@SciFiScavenger I bought my latest one used. Devices here in US are plentiful for $150. I imagine that translates to 180 pounds. Sorry my keyboard doesn’t have the symbol. 😂
I like the American covers for Well of Souls books much better.
Each to their own! They're quite nice too, but I'm unlikely to find those as easily here in the UK. Cheers Lissa, thanks for watching 👀!
I think you will really enjoy Watchmen. Its incredibly layered with theme and subtext. Definitely for adults only.
Duly noted thanks Luke.
@@SciFiScavengerYou never read Watchmen?!??😮
@@luiznogueira1579 Neither have I. I just watched the movie. 😛🐶
@@User_Un_Friendly Watchmen is the best graphic novel ever, imo. But having already seen the movie will probably affect the reading experience, even though there are significante differences.
Taking notes 😅
@@bookswithabel cheers Abel, thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavengerme too. 😛🐶😂
Baxter's novels are all five stars reads, especially Voyage, the best in the NASA trilogy, and for me, top five of all Baxter novels. Wow, I haven't read Bujold since my teens. I was crazy about them. Vor Game was excellent. Needful Things is a masterpiece, King's most underrated book, just like superb Dead Air is Banks's underapreciatted masterwork.
You still haven't read Cordwainer Smith?
Well, you are in for a treat. His prose is pure magic. Robinson's Three Californias are all singeltons, more thematically linked than sequentially. Just like Baxter's NASA trilogy. As for Eric Brown, his true forte are his short stories, but his novels are also very good. Interestinglly, he did a collaboration with Stephen Baxter, a slim collection of three short stories called Space Time Pit Times Two. Watchmen is a classic, A must read. Film adaptation is terrific, even though it diverges a bit from the graphic novel. There is also a tv series, that while not bad, is, in my opinion pretty overrated. It serves as a sequel to graphic novel, not the movie.
Great video, as usual.
@@miljenkoskreblin165 fab, thanks for all the tips! I haven't read any baxter for ages so I'm looking forward to renewing my acquaintance. Thanks for watching 👀!
Despite being DECADES since sitting down and seriously reading Cordweiner Smith, I still find snatches of his prose running through my head. No higher praise is possible. 🎉❤
Have you read Ted Chiang? He writes the way Cordweiner Smith would write if he were alive today. Highly recommended!😉
I've read one of his short story collections, the one that included the story that became the movie Arrival. I remember there being some cracking stories in there, including one involving angels gone bad.
@@SciFiScavenger He is actually BETTER than the hype. 😳🤯
I won't tell you what the story is but before it was Watchmen it was going to be a main-universe DC Comics story. But the powers that be thought it too much of a change so it was written as a separate universe. When people make top ten lists of the best or greatest comics stories of all time this is always on the list.
Noumenon I liked but did not continue when the sequels came along.
Windup Girl was decent but didn't blow me away.
@@Montie-Adkins interesting re Watchmen. I've never been big on comics or graphic novels so it's a bit of a departure for me. Cheers Montie thanks for watching 👀!
If you’ve read The Wild Shore you’ve already done the best of the Three Californias Triptych. The Gold Coast is the second best, with Pacific Edge being kinda boring. Not a sequential trilogy, but thematically linked; three possible futures for California, from a post-apocalyptic wasteland, to a hyper-corporate megalopolis, to an eco-utopian vision. An interesting series, I enjoyed it overall but Pacific Edge was something of a let down to cap it off.
Ah I see, got it. I don't remember much about Wild Shore. Thanks for the info, and thanks for watching 👀!
Interesting that Castaneda was on that shelf. Definitely not fiction. But you missed out.
It is most likely fiction. There's always been doubts concerning the existence of "Don Juan". 😮😡. I really loved his books back in college. And nearly hurt myself practicing the Gait of Power. 😂
@@AlienBigCat23 sounds more like I had a lucky escape! Thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger You can't handle a little true Sorcery? Pity.
Carlos Castaneda's work is quite fascinating, but I wonder what those books were doing in the SF section... Definitely not your cup of tea, though.
"Scarlett somebody"!?!?? Seriously!?!?
Got it, glad i left Carlos behind then. And I was half right on Scarlett! Cheers Luiz, thanks for watching 👀!
I may be the only one, but that strange zooming in and out in (only recent?) videos is a bit distracting. More positively, I've been using Pringle's Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels for a few months now, and I've so far got through 25% of the list. I can see myself getting Broderick and di Filippo's successor volume at some point.
Thanks for the feedback, it's an attempt to make the jump cuts less jarring (where I need to remove bits for whatever reason) but perhaps it's not having the desired effect. I ordered the Pringle book as soon as I got the Broderick! I'm both excited and intimidated to find I've read less than 10% of the later one. Thanks for watching 👀!
@@SciFiScavenger Ah, that makes sense. I expect you'll find that you've read more of the books in the Pringle one, as they are on the whole better known and more widely read. There are a few surprising curveballs also, though...
Watchmen is on sale, on Kindle. Later today, I'm going to think long and hard about actually getting it. I actually think I have it on hard copy somewhere...🤔
Thank you for sparing us from a view of your butt crack, Jon, while puttering about your shelves. May I suggest some spritely Benny Hill theme music next time? 😂🤣
Good haul. We all recognize your attempt to hide that Hoarder's self-satisfied smirk of acquisition. You're among friends, Jon. Smirk away. 😉🫡
😛🐶
I reserve my smirk for private book fondling sessions! Thanks for watching 👀!