Excellent list of novellas. Murderbot, Binto and Beggars in Spain are modern classics. Connie Willis is often overlooked these days, but the first two books in her Oxford Time Travel series, Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, are two of the best SF novels I've ever read. For older novellas, a terrific collection can be found in volumes 2 & 3 of The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, edited by Ben Bova. It's an anthology of the best novellas from the decades before the creation of the Nebula awards in the 1960s, as voted on by a who's who list of SF writers and publishers from that period. Volume 1, edited by Robert Silverberg, is an anthology of short stories from that same period, and it's perhaps the greatest SF short story collection of all time. P.S. Great channel name and artwork!
Oh my gosh!! I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL! I'm so honored you came to check out my video. Thank you! Also I got Doomsday Book in a recent bookhaul, now I will have to move it up in the list. I have never heard of SciFi Hall of Fame, but I will remedy that. Thank you for the suggestions. And please keep your wonderful content coming!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Thanks! Keep up the good work, yourself! 🙂 I started my channel last year because much of BookTube seemed to be an echo chamber, with many channels saying essentially the same things about the same, limited set of books and genres. I wanted to talk about different books (typically older classics) in different ways and to expand the broader BookTube conversation to include them (or so I hoped). In your SF novellas list, I like how you include a mix of older and newer works, and that you provide substantive reasons why you enjoy them. Also, your interview format (looking slightly off-camera, as if in an interview for a documentary film) is a unique wrinkle. I like it, although it might diminish the potential for a personal connection with your audience, if that's what you're looking for. You might try leaning into it a little more as an experiment--perhaps with a structured Q&A format. Also, here are links to the SF Hall of Fame books I mentioned: www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Fame-Vol/dp/0765305372/ www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Fame-Two-ebook/dp/B07RV3WBR8/ www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Fame-Two-B-ebook/dp/B086R4789T/ There are additional volumes in the anthology series that include the Nebula winners from later years. Finally, let me recommend another channel you might like, if you aren't already aware of it. @Words in Time is a terrific channel focused on classic and modern science fiction that you might find inspiration from. Jonathan has interesting things to say about a wide range of books in the genre.
I already subscribe to Words in Time and love Jonathan’s content. I am also very jealous of his connections as he seems to know lots of people in the booktube community. I have often wondered if there is some place to go to connect to other creators and if there isnt, there should be! I have so many questions, like how everyone keeps this up! Editing might have to take a hit to keep up the pace…. I also appreciate your critiques! Its so nice to get some feedback. I will have to play with that- i guess i could also try scripting. Will play with it.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft That's terrific that you already know how great Jonathan at Words in Time is. I was in essentially your situation about three months ago. I had made a small number of videos that were slowly generating positive feedback and subscribers (I was at about 100 subscribers at the time). At some point, one of the established booktubers (Jimmy Nutts at The Fantasy Nuttwork) happened to see one of my videos, liked it and shared it with his network of booktube friends on his Discord server (which I later learned is where a lot of the booktube community building really takes place). Within a couple of weeks, I'd been invited to join the Discord servers of several booktubers, including Your Brain on Books, Treebeard Book Reviews, Mike's Book Reviews, The Library of Allenxandria and Sarah Reads. Some of those are open to anyone, I think, while others might require a personal invitation. I'm not a very active participant on Discord (due to time constraints), but I contribute to conversations there every now and then. It's also useful for promoting your own videos or those of others to a built-in audience. I gave your channel a shoutout on some of those Discord servers a few days ago. I hope it helps you reach a wider audience.
“To Say Nothing of The Dog”was great fun. Doomsday Book is wildly different (as title suggests) though I was thrown because the beginning reminded me of the first book.
It’s Thanksgiving and in the spirit of the holiday I want to thank the Sci-Fi Alliance (and your part in it) for bringing you and your excellent peers into my life-with a special shout out to Moid and Bookpilled as my original points of contact. I’m enjoying my overdue trip through your archives!
Just watched your video and enjoyed it very much. I was pointed your way by Moid and his intro to the Alliance. I look forward to more. You are tied in with a good group of people.
Thanks! I have a video planned for fantasy novellas-- coming soon. You'll have to let me know which ones you enjoyed and if you find more please let me know!
Le Guin did her own take on that Heinlen novella 's premise in Paradises Lost, which is in the Birthday Of The World collection. Really good. Most of the really good novellas I come across tend to be parts of other collections. The big one, probably my favourite, the title novella from Iain M Banks State Of The Art. Glass Canon from Yoon Ha Lee's Hexarchate Stories is great too, not just in itself but as the final capstone of the entire series it does a lot and does it well. Agreed, The God Engines is absolutely masterful. Properly Weird Fiction in that it has a bit of everything, Sci-fi, Fantasy and Horror. And no I do not think you're over thinking anything, it has a lot in it that is meant to resonate.
i really appreciate the modern author suggestions. the becky chambers choice is most intriguing as i am not looking for a series. i would just add a classic suggestion as its my fav scifi of all time and its a novella, roadside picnic.
Thanks Whitney. I'm working my way back through your earlier videos and really enjoyed this one. I haven't read a Novella since university (and that's a while ago) but I will definitely give Murderbot and Elder Race a try. With regard to Becky Chambers, I read an enjoyed 'To be taught if fortunate', read but didn't really enjoy 'A psalm for the wild built', but, for me, her definitive and best work (so far) is 'Long way to a small angry planet'. I just loved the interactions of the multi-species crew, and I was seriously disappointed when the sequel wasn't set of the Wayfarer. Perhaps she'll revisit it one day - I hope so. I will certainly look forward to your fantasy novella video.
Thank you! I loved to be taught if fortunate- and recommend it often. I was also disappointed in her “series” that wasnt in same place or same characters in subsequent books. But i still love her old stuff.
Great video. I like the idea of trying the novellas to see if I like the author. Thanks for the resources at the end. I've saved this video so I won't forget.
All of your recommendations sound great. The only two I have read were the older ones, _Orphans in the Sky_ and _Lathe of Heaven._ In the 60s and 70s I read a lot of SF/Fantasy mags, coming out either monthly of every other month. Magazines like _Galaxy,_ _Analog,_ and _The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction_ would tend to contain a novella every issue or so. I cannot remember all of them I read, but a lot of the stories are likely at the Hugo and Nebula award sites you mentioned.
A not so dark novella be Le Guin is "Planet of Exile". A bit elegiac, and the character portrayals are not too deep. This is more for those of you that are interested in "atmospheric" writing.
Gareth Powel's books aren't that long. Embers of War was fun (10 hours). I think it was pretty self contained. Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star is one of my favorites, but it's huge. I would almost skip the conclusion, Judas Unchained, since I think it's not as good.
Great video, I am a new comer, post-cult membership I will call it, a short novella I will add that I found pretty good is The Last Machine in the Solar System by Matthew Isaac Robin,
Really enjoying your channel and recommendations. Its not super hard to find out how to pronounce someone's name though (ua-cam.com/video/jHRMWc0w6BA/v-deo.html). Seems respectful to do so.
Happy you are liking my videos. Unfortunately pronounciations have been my personal achilles heel. Good news is I’m slowly learning and getting better!!
Excellent list of novellas. Murderbot, Binto and Beggars in Spain are modern classics. Connie Willis is often overlooked these days, but the first two books in her Oxford Time Travel series, Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog, are two of the best SF novels I've ever read.
For older novellas, a terrific collection can be found in volumes 2 & 3 of The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, edited by Ben Bova. It's an anthology of the best novellas from the decades before the creation of the Nebula awards in the 1960s, as voted on by a who's who list of SF writers and publishers from that period. Volume 1, edited by Robert Silverberg, is an anthology of short stories from that same period, and it's perhaps the greatest SF short story collection of all time.
P.S. Great channel name and artwork!
Oh my gosh!! I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL! I'm so honored you came to check out my video. Thank you!
Also I got Doomsday Book in a recent bookhaul, now I will have to move it up in the list. I have never heard of SciFi Hall of Fame, but I will remedy that. Thank you for the suggestions. And please keep your wonderful content coming!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft Thanks! Keep up the good work, yourself! 🙂
I started my channel last year because much of BookTube seemed to be an echo chamber, with many channels saying essentially the same things about the same, limited set of books and genres. I wanted to talk about different books (typically older classics) in different ways and to expand the broader BookTube conversation to include them (or so I hoped).
In your SF novellas list, I like how you include a mix of older and newer works, and that you provide substantive reasons why you enjoy them. Also, your interview format (looking slightly off-camera, as if in an interview for a documentary film) is a unique wrinkle. I like it, although it might diminish the potential for a personal connection with your audience, if that's what you're looking for. You might try leaning into it a little more as an experiment--perhaps with a structured Q&A format.
Also, here are links to the SF Hall of Fame books I mentioned:
www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Fame-Vol/dp/0765305372/
www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Fame-Two-ebook/dp/B07RV3WBR8/
www.amazon.com/Science-Fiction-Hall-Fame-Two-B-ebook/dp/B086R4789T/
There are additional volumes in the anthology series that include the Nebula winners from later years.
Finally, let me recommend another channel you might like, if you aren't already aware of it. @Words in Time is a terrific channel focused on classic and modern science fiction that you might find inspiration from. Jonathan has interesting things to say about a wide range of books in the genre.
I already subscribe to Words in Time and love Jonathan’s content. I am also very jealous of his connections as he seems to know lots of people in the booktube community. I have often wondered if there is some place to go to connect to other creators and if there isnt, there should be! I have so many questions, like how everyone keeps this up! Editing might have to take a hit to keep up the pace….
I also appreciate your critiques! Its so nice to get some feedback. I will have to play with that- i guess i could also try scripting. Will play with it.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft That's terrific that you already know how great Jonathan at Words in Time is.
I was in essentially your situation about three months ago. I had made a small number of videos that were slowly generating positive feedback and subscribers (I was at about 100 subscribers at the time). At some point, one of the established booktubers (Jimmy Nutts at The Fantasy Nuttwork) happened to see one of my videos, liked it and shared it with his network of booktube friends on his Discord server (which I later learned is where a lot of the booktube community building really takes place).
Within a couple of weeks, I'd been invited to join the Discord servers of several booktubers, including Your Brain on Books, Treebeard Book Reviews, Mike's Book Reviews, The Library of Allenxandria and Sarah Reads. Some of those are open to anyone, I think, while others might require a personal invitation.
I'm not a very active participant on Discord (due to time constraints), but I contribute to conversations there every now and then. It's also useful for promoting your own videos or those of others to a built-in audience. I gave your channel a shoutout on some of those Discord servers a few days ago. I hope it helps you reach a wider audience.
“To Say Nothing of The Dog”was great fun. Doomsday Book is wildly different (as title suggests) though I was thrown because the beginning reminded me of the first book.
I would also like to mention "Behold The Man" by Michael Moorcock, enjoyed that one quite a bit.
ooh, I will have to check that out!!
It’s Thanksgiving and in the spirit of the holiday I want to thank the Sci-Fi Alliance (and your part in it) for bringing you and your excellent peers into my life-with a special shout out to Moid and Bookpilled as my original points of contact. I’m enjoying my overdue trip through your archives!
Thank you for coming!!
Just watched your video and enjoyed it very much. I was pointed your way by Moid and his intro to the Alliance. I look forward to more. You are tied in with a good group of people.
Thank you, I think so too!
I loved this. Its often difficult to get recommendations for novellas. Now I've got an absolute stack of 'em. Loving the channel and the edits. :)
Thanks! I have a video planned for fantasy novellas-- coming soon. You'll have to let me know which ones you enjoyed and if you find more please let me know!
great list. glad to hear more about Elder Race. love your editing too
Wow thanks for continuing to go through my content!!
@@secretsauceofstorycraft duh! I'm a fan! :)
Adrian Tchaikovsky is addictive! I just finished Elder Race, and now I bought Children of Time. Thanks for the recs!
Absolutely!!
Thank you for posting these!! ❤
You're so welcome!
Le Guin did her own take on that Heinlen novella 's premise in Paradises Lost, which is in the Birthday Of The World collection. Really good. Most of the really good novellas I come across tend to be parts of other collections. The big one, probably my favourite, the title novella from Iain M Banks State Of The Art. Glass Canon from Yoon Ha Lee's Hexarchate Stories is great too, not just in itself but as the final capstone of the entire series it does a lot and does it well.
Agreed, The God Engines is absolutely masterful. Properly Weird Fiction in that it has a bit of everything, Sci-fi, Fantasy and Horror. And no I do not think you're over thinking anything, it has a lot in it that is meant to resonate.
I need to read more collections but havrnt been as good about it as I should. Thanks for the reccs
i really appreciate the modern author suggestions. the becky chambers choice is most intriguing as i am not looking for a series. i would just add a classic suggestion as its my fav scifi of all time and its a novella, roadside picnic.
I love roadside picnic!! Good choice
Thanks Whitney. I'm working my way back through your earlier videos and really enjoyed this one. I haven't read a Novella since university (and that's a while ago) but I will definitely give Murderbot and Elder Race a try. With regard to Becky Chambers, I read an enjoyed 'To be taught if fortunate', read but didn't really enjoy 'A psalm for the wild built', but, for me, her definitive and best work (so far) is 'Long way to a small angry planet'. I just loved the interactions of the multi-species crew, and I was seriously disappointed when the sequel wasn't set of the Wayfarer. Perhaps she'll revisit it one day - I hope so. I will certainly look forward to your fantasy novella video.
Thank you! I loved to be taught if fortunate- and recommend it often. I was also disappointed in her “series” that wasnt in same place or same characters in subsequent books. But i still love her old stuff.
Great video. I like the idea of trying the novellas to see if I like the author. Thanks for the resources at the end. I've saved this video so I won't forget.
Glad it was helpful! Let me know if you find anything else you find.
Never been a Becky Chambers or novella girl…but your description of To Be Taught If Fortunate has peaked my interest!
You should consider it, its different than her usual fare! But it is a devicive ending, fair warning!
All of your recommendations sound great. The only two I have read were the older ones, _Orphans in the Sky_ and _Lathe of Heaven._ In the 60s and 70s I read a lot of SF/Fantasy mags, coming out either monthly of every other month. Magazines like _Galaxy,_ _Analog,_ and _The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction_ would tend to contain a novella every issue or so. I cannot remember all of them I read, but a lot of the stories are likely at the Hugo and Nebula award sites you mentioned.
You are probably right. I am sad I wasnt around for the hayday of the scifi mags but several are still around!
A not so dark novella be Le Guin is "Planet of Exile". A bit elegiac, and the character portrayals are not too deep. This is more for those of you that are interested in "atmospheric" writing.
Thank you for your recommendation. I havent read this one
I just went to my local library website and placed a hold on "Elder Race". I'm looking forward to the read.
Yay
I'm reading murderbot... Very entertaining and short
Yay!! Last book comes out in october!
Thank you for this!
Glad it was helpful!
It is useful to compare and contrast Plato's Allegory of the Cave with Aristotle's rebuttal.
I really enjoyed Elder Race
Sylvain Neuvel's The Test is also a great novella but it's more speculative fiction
I read it- it had so many fun plot twists. I hadnt read it until after the video was made tho. Will add it if I do another! Good suggestion!!!
You should try Heinlein's The Past Through Tomorrow.
I will!
Gareth Powel's books aren't that long. Embers of War was fun (10 hours). I think it was pretty self contained. Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star is one of my favorites, but it's huge. I would almost skip the conclusion, Judas Unchained, since I think it's not as good.
I have not yet read pandoras star or any hamilton……
@@secretsauceofstorycraft If you saw the first episode of Love Death + Robots, that's based on his short story Sonny's Edge.
Great video, I am a new comer, post-cult membership I will call it, a short novella I will add that I found pretty good is The Last Machine in the Solar System by Matthew Isaac Robin,
Welcome! And i havent heard of it but will add it. Looks interesting.
Really enjoying your channel and recommendations. Its not super hard to find out how to pronounce someone's name though (ua-cam.com/video/jHRMWc0w6BA/v-deo.html). Seems respectful to do so.
Happy you are liking my videos. Unfortunately pronounciations have been my personal achilles heel. Good news is I’m slowly learning and getting better!!