10 Hyperion (Dan simmons) 9 Old Man's War (John Scalzi) 8 Cat's Cradle (Kurt Vonnegan) 7 Stories of your Life (ted Chiang) 6 A Canticle for Leibowitz (Walter M. Miller Jr) 5 Children of Time (Adrian Tchaikovsky) 4 Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card) 3 A Scanner Darkly (Philip K. Dick) 2 Masterpieces of Science-fiction (I. Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Gibson, Heinlein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Pohl) 1 The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin) Honorable mentions: Blindsight (Peter Watts) The Lathe of Heaven (Ursula K. Le Guin) The Sky Road (Ken McLeod)

@Bronte-on6tm

8 ай бұрын

Correction: Kurt Vonnegut

@Robles551

24 күн бұрын

Cixin Liu! I agree with Ursula K Le Guin being amazing 😇 Great list!

"Hyperion" is just mindblowing. The priest's tale is still the most terrifying thing I have ever read.

@carlosbranca8080

11 ай бұрын

And the Scholar's Tale is just heartbreaking. My favorite sci fi novel ever.

@blueberry212121

11 ай бұрын

@@carlosbranca8080 Agree. I bought it last year to have my own and have to read it again.

@andromedus1036

3 ай бұрын

Fax, same thing I feel of the novel

@DmitriiMaliukov_

3 ай бұрын

Yes, very good! Though I was so disappointed by second book I couldn't even finish it

@SI-vb7hd

2 ай бұрын

@@carlosbranca8080 Agreed on the scholars tale, once it clicks it was heartbreaking. What a book though, so good.

1977 Centerville MA, the oldest lending library in the USA. There is (was) a Kurt Vonnegut reading room. One day, summer 1977, I was looking for something to read and there was this hairy old rumpled man smoking cigarettes sitting at the table in the room... After sitting and talking with him for a while, he picked up the paperback he was reading, and held it up. His picture and bio on the back cover... Yes... There he was. After a while he said he had to get going. As he walked out, the fat little old lady librarian said, "Have a nice day Mr. Vonnegut". Confirming my jaw dropped stare. When I left, I asked the librarian if he came in frequently. She remarked, every once in a while, and she hated his chain smoking, but it IS his reading room, and he donated all the books in there, so...

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

The man himself! I would have loved to be at one of his talks. Might check out that library, I love close enough to it

@KandaJE

Жыл бұрын

But wait It gets better! I was already a massive Vonnegut fan and earlier that year My mother had taken me on a 1 month long tour of Australia. While there I had acquired a small library of paperbacks that I had not found in the US. Well about a week or so later, I once again found him in the Sturgis Library reading room and remarked on his books that I had found in the land down under. That I really loved the one called Welcome to the Monkey house because it referred to the speculative sewer systems under Cape Cod and resolved the joke about no word that rhymed with Orange... He looked at me with a frown when I mentioned the publisher. Apparently they didn't have a deal to pay him! I gladly handed him my collection of Australian Rip offs. A few weeks later, I found him yet again and I got a big smile a hand shake, and a hearty Thanks for bringing it to his attention. He also returned the books, Signed... Unfortunately, The books have been lost in multiple moves over the decades...

@KandaJE

Жыл бұрын

@@bookjack The Sturgis Library in Barnstable is the OG Longest Lasting. The One in Centerville is/was apparently a satellite Annex?. Of course, They didn't make that crystal clear to us as kids. But yeah, I found him in the one on Centerville Main St...

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

That's too bad. But a great memory and a great story!

I actually cheered when you revealed A Canticle for Leibowitz! My favourite sci-fi book of all time.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Woohoo! Great Book

@ritaparker478

10 ай бұрын

@@bookjack Me too! and my Mom.

@TheMisterGriswold

7 ай бұрын

Couldn't get into it in my 20s, will try again in my 60s.

@Vgallo

2 ай бұрын

its about epistemology, the philosophical content goes over the head of a lot of sci fi readers@@TheMisterGriswold

I’m glad to hear there’s another hard sci-fi fan that enjoyed Old Man’s War as much as I did. It’s fun.

@bookjack

5 ай бұрын

It is a really fun book. For some reason people expect more from it and are disappointed

I love that you have The Count of Monte Cristo on your shelf. My favorite book of all time (even though I normally read more fantasy/sci fi books with the occasionally horror or mystery/thriller thrown in) :D

@bookjack

Ай бұрын

I love The Count of Monte Cristo. Going to make a top 10 Classics video soon. Will be in the top 3 for sure

Well....I'll just add these top favorites of mine. Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" William Gibson's "Neuromancer: Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash" Frank Herbert's "Dune" Also Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game"

@bookjack

7 ай бұрын

Snow Crash was a little long for me. Neuromancer I need to revisit. Hitchhikers Guide was awesome and probably deserved an honorable mention. Dune I haven't read (yet) 😅 And Enders Game is obviously top tier

@Abacae7

11 күн бұрын

Your list is also mine. Snow Crash is the best Steampunk/Cyberpunk genre. Better than Gibson and his own later novels

Great list! All solid choices. Hyperion and Left Hand of Darkness are also among my faves. You've got me pumped for Children of Time and Old Man's War, both in my TBR.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

I definitely included Lathe of Heaven after watching your top 15 list. Glad you enjoyed mine

You have convinced me to delve into the "Masterpieces" collection! I am new to Sci-Fi (more Fantasy to this point). Love the reveal cards - thanks for your channel.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Happy to hear that. Glad you enjoyed it :)

@stevenredpath9332

11 ай бұрын

Strong sci-fi can offer a different perspective that is different from fantasy. Asimov, Clarke and Herbert earned their audiences by writing great stories that challenge their readers.

Hyperion’s world is so rich and diverse. I enjoyed Fall even more so, just the idea of the Web and farcasters allowing you to travel to hundreds of world was captivating. The descriptive prose particularly when describing Hyperion (the planet) was very immersive.

@bookjack

6 сағат бұрын

Still looking for a copy of the sequel. I'd love to return to that world

I appreciate the video you shared on KZread that had great sci-fi recommendations. I like that most of the sci-fi books recommended were not of pop culture status, as it seems to be the case on KZread every time I search for the best sci-fi books. Dune always comes up, and although it's a great book, I'm sure there are other options. Thank you for providing detailed descriptions of each novel on your list. Your perspective is valuable, and I appreciate it.

@bookjack

24 күн бұрын

Thanks so much! I really do like sharing lesser known books. So many recommendations out there but sometimes it's fun to go blindly into an obscure book

Nice special effects. Excellent list. Great reviews. What's not to like? 👍 I looked and I have "Harrison Bergeron" in The World Treasury of Science Fiction, David Hartwell, ed. -- so I'll give that a read on your recommendation. Three cheers for jingles! "You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent!" So effective (the jingle, not the Pepsodent)

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

I've got that treasury as well 🙂 Thanks for watching

If you and Bookpilled get in a room together, I think a singularity might be generated

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Yeah 😅 We always seem to have similar viewpoints

I really like what you're doing here BJ, so I subscribed. Le Guin, Dick, Tchaikovsky, Vonnegut et al, wow. Great takes. All well-read by yours truly and coveted. Well done. Cheers.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much. Glad you enjoyed it

I have yet to find a book as complex and beautiful as Hyperion. It was my first foray into reading. it took me a year to read all 4 books. I now read one book a week.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

It does have a certain kind of magic to it

@etiennedevignolles7538

10 ай бұрын

@@bookjack I was at my Jazz Club in Paris a few years ago. There was a US-French Jazz collaboration, they'd composed 7 pieces in the 7 modes, with each piece representing a different character in Hyperion. Fab stuff.

As someone who literally spent the day sorting through flood damage, throwing away my lifetime library of everything I've ever read, including The Left Hand of Darkness (So Good), including the now mold-destroyed copy of the first book I ever read; Journey To The Center Of The Earth, cherish your library. You're obviously literate with great taste, so I'm sure you do already....but savor that connection. It's heartbreaking if you lose it. New subscriber BTW.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

So sorry to hear that man. I have a relative who lost everything to Katrina so I know how you must feel. Glad I can at least offer some distraction ❤️

@veo_

Жыл бұрын

This morning I threw away my English 1st edition of The Neverending Story by Ende. The entire book was printed in red and green ink. it was gorgeous. Such a waste. I'll ultimately get over it. Thanks for being a fellow book nerd.

Great selection for #1 ! The author needs more modern recognition, such excellent writing

The Hyperion Cantos is definitely one of my all time favourite sci fi series ever. Love it!

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

I'm wondering if I should add the sequels to my TBR

@Mister_Sosotris

Жыл бұрын

@@bookjack the origins of the Shrike and a lot of the mysteries surrounding the war are explained in later books. Basically elements from each of the six pilgrim’s tales eventually factor in to the big overall story. It’s really satisfying.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Interesting, that was the big letdown of Hyperion... the ending

@Scottlp2

11 ай бұрын

If I recall correctly it was meant as one large work in 4 parts. I really liked the 3/4 books but I gather many people didn’t. Simmons is great author but he is big on references which everyone might not know. Here eg details of Keat as a poet.

@John-tc9gp

11 ай бұрын

I liked it, but it was a bit pretentious at times. The weird simping for John Keats for example.

Love the practical number effects! Great video.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!

LeGuin is my favorite sci-fi author and probably in my top 3 authors overall. Her short fiction will stick with you for the rest of your life. And her novels are all great (even the ones people tend to ignore, like Roccanon's World and Planet of Exile). Since we have similar tastes, I highly recommend the following' _Wild Seed,_ by Octavia Butler The Imperial Radch Trilogy, by Anne Leckie (starting with _Ancillary Justice_ ). The Amaranthine Spectrum trilogy, by Tom Toner (starting with _Promise of the Child_ ... but don't let the surprise/ridiculous ending stop you from going on to book 2).

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the recommendations. I've read Ancillary Justice. Liked it but not enough to continue with the trilogy. That Butler book sounds interesting. I'll keep an eye out for it

@Vgallo

2 ай бұрын

how about the dispossessed

Thanks for the synopsis, it helped me choose which ones I should look for. Like your presenting style. Subscribing.

@bookjack

7 ай бұрын

Happy to help :)

I just read A Scanner Darkly a few weeks ago. Shook me to my core. I am in the Speaker for the Dead>>>Ender's Game camp. Awesome list, great stuff.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

PKD is good at that. Thanks for watching

Hyperion has a cool cover, from a time when covers drew readers into Genres.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

It drew me in for sure

'Winning Reading ' is a great phrase. Thanks for an interesting list. Top five are great. I like that your books are your biography.

@bookjack

9 ай бұрын

Glad you liked them. Just finished In Cold Blood. A dark point in my biography and my bookshelf. Amazing book though

Reading Vonnegut completely changed my world view and indeed my life. I discovered him by buying The Sirens of Titan off one of those spinning paperback book racks at a drugstore because the cover looked cool. I don't know why that book doesn't get much love. I heard that Jerry Garcia bought the movie rights so that's probably never going to happen. Great list btw. I'm working through Dan Simmons right now. The Terror is tremendous.

@bookjack

10 ай бұрын

Agreed. So glad I picked him up again. Read Sirens of Titan recently and it rivals Slaughterhouse 5. Am planning on ranking all the Vonnegut books I've read pretty soon. Jerry Garcia? The guy from the ice cream?

@WormholeUniverse

2 ай бұрын

​@@bookjackidk if you're joking but Jerry Garcia from the Grateful Dead band

@WormholeUniverse

2 ай бұрын

Also Sirens of Titan is a masterpiece. My personal favorite 📚

Great video Jack. All of this are great selections and I wouldn't disagree with any of them being in a top 10. Agree with you on Enders Game--Speaker for the Dead is probably even better. I haven't read The Sky Road, so that was interesting to hear about. The cover reveals are fun as well.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Thanks glad you agree. I'll get around to my top 210 someday :)

Thanks for the upload! Cool video!

Slauterhouse 5 is definitely the best sci-fi book ever written,based on his time in Dresden as a POW during the bombing,realising he had not enough material to write about the horrors of war he came up with this masterpiece.The films also worth a watch as well

@bookjack

8 ай бұрын

Films? Wow somehow I didn't know they made films. Would be really hard to do

@chaosordeal294

Ай бұрын

Loved it when I was a teen. Now I would find it irritatingly meandering.

yes! Harrison Bergeron is also a favorite of mine. I liked what they did with the film adaption too. That story lives in my head.

@bookjack

5 ай бұрын

Didn't know there was a film adaptation. Good to know :)

@the_eerie_faerie_tales

5 ай бұрын

@@bookjack yes think was a TV movie from mid 90s with Sean Astin but there's a free version here.. I re-watch it from time to time. amazing what they did with an 8 page story.

Subscribed after the #1 reveal. Le Guin is just phenomenal.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Glad you agree :) Thanks for watching

@lisagulick4144

Ай бұрын

Yes, I miss Ursula very much. Her willingness to allow a story to grow organically and move at a slower pace if needed, plus her absolutely beautifully-crafted prose, made her a star. And her championship of environmental issues, feminism, and freedom of artistic expression were inspiring!

When you said 'the book that got me into Sci-fi' I totally guessed Ender's Game. The ending blew my mind and literally made me gasp. So glad I read it as a teen. Great recommendations! Thank you

@bookjack

6 сағат бұрын

The ending totally got me too!

I agree that memories are connected to books. I have some books that I keep, not because they are worth rereading, but because of the feelings and memories attached. Love Ted Chiang, Dan Simmons and Walter M. Miller. Left Hand of Darkness is in my TBR. Not sure about Vonnegut and PKD. Will give them a try again some day.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

I'm holding onto a lot of books not worth rereading as well 😅

Nice list. If you haven't yet you might want to try The Forever War. A must read for anyone who likes military science fiction.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

I read that a little while ago. Classic stuff for sure. Not as smooth as Scalzi though imo

You are so right about Vonnegut. I read Slaughterhouse 5 in my 20s and it was so boring, then I read it again (in my...early 40s) after so many recommendations and was blown away by how profound it was. I think it may be in my top books I have ever read now. I will try Cat's Cradle now because I really liked his style, and on your recommendation. Thanks.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Yes I feel exactly the same. I'd also recommend Welcome to the Monkey House a book of short stories

@NiteOwl2000

Жыл бұрын

I can get bored very easily, but Slaughterhouse Five was an absolute blast when I read it in my freshman year of college at 18. To each their own ig lol

@stevenredpath9332

11 ай бұрын

It’s the you that you bring to a book that determines what you get of it. Great books give you more as you grow. Lesser books are those you outgrow.

@thefantasybaseballshow690

10 ай бұрын

I’m opposite, read it when I was 17 and loved it, read it again when I was a little older and it didn’t hit the same

Wow. Great video...great list. All strong titles, although I'd probably only consider Left Hand of Darkness and Canticle for Leibowitz for my own top ten. I'm actually reading Children of Time now, so we'll see. But more importantly, I love the numbered paper covers! Did you actually make those?

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Yes my wife and I spent a night doodling. Was relaxing :) Glad you enjoyed

@scottchristofersen2367

10 ай бұрын

I reread canticle for leibowitz recently because it makes so many top ten lists and I remembered being so bored with it I struggled to finish it in high school. I still found it to be a very slow plodding book without a real payoff. Maybe that’s the point.

@ericneff9908

10 ай бұрын

@@scottchristofersen2367 Yeah. I guess it's not what you'd call action packed. Sorry it didn't work for you.

Fantastic list! People seem never to claim Vonnegut as an SF author because he’s “literary,” as if those categories are exclusive.

Your reveal cards are awesome!

I am surprised to hear you couldn’t get into Dune; it’s certainly a LOT more politicking than I expected going in rather blind. Good picks though, I have not read many of these though I own A Canticle for Leibowitz and will be checking that out.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Hey Ryne thanks for watching. I tried Dune a very long time ago so I probably didn't have a lot of patience for all the diplomatic stuff. I'm sure I'll like it when I try again

@Bronte-on6tm

8 ай бұрын

@@bookjack One reason Dune impressed me so much is that Herbert pulled from many cultures/religions to create his world. Probably helped that I was raised Roman Catholic, so I really enjoyed the way the author used it for vocab/imagery.

I love his stories that he tells as he went through these books. Especially the proposal one. What a sequence of events

Well done, and will take some of your favorites as recommendations.

@bookjack

2 ай бұрын

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did :)

I've only read a few on your list, but they're on mine too: Ender, Scalzi and the Lathe of Heaven. I have Children of Time on my shelf waiting and I've restarted reading Blindsight. I've only read the Telling from Le Guin in addition to Lathe, but I know the the dispossessed and left hand still need to be read. Also, haven't dabbled with Dick yet, and Hyperion, Leibowitz are on to be read -list.

@bookjack

3 ай бұрын

You've got lots of masterpieces in your future. Hope you enjoy

I would vote for these 2 additions, both of which totally absorbed me: Asimov's "Foundation" trilogy, and Michael Crichton's "Andromeda Strain."

@NaughtyVampireGod

Ай бұрын

Foundation, yeah.

Nice list! Thank you.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching :)

Wonderful video, thank you.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

You're welcome. Glad you enjoyed it :)

Omg you have NO idea how much I appreciate the fact that you got into the video IMMEDIATELY. Instant like

@bookjack

24 күн бұрын

I watch enough KZread to know what the people want 😁

Really like the different book covers from around the world. I just can read with fully joy in my native language so I’m dependent on good translations specially in sci-fi.Many books won’t get a German translation non of them you mentioned here but in general.

@bookjack

7 ай бұрын

I bet Left Hand of Darkness has a good German translation. Probably Hyperion too

@michaelibk418

7 ай бұрын

@@bookjack Hyperion absolutely yes. one of my all time favourite and the best Simmons Book.

Great list! I have read all but a Canticle for Leibowitz I might give it a go based on your description! My favorites on your list would be Hyperion and Cat's Cradle. Only one I dislike (Strongly!) is Old Man's War.

@bookjack

Ай бұрын

Old Man's War was definitely an outlier. I hope you like Canticle for Leibowitz. Kind of slow at first but stick with it

Really great list with some of my favorites on it. I highly recommend House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. It’s my favorite standalone Sci Fi novel ever. Reynolds has so many incredible Sci Fi novels. He’s just not well known in the U.S yet.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

I've seen his name around but haven't picked up anything by him. Will check that one out

I've never heard "Colony Ship" used. Back in the 60's and 70's when I was reading a lot of SF I knew them as "Generation Ship" stories. "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" was a novel that still holds a place in my memory.

@bookjack

10 ай бұрын

I have heard generation ship before. Not sure why I said colony? Do people call them colony ships too? 😅

@lisagulick4144

Ай бұрын

@@bookjack I think "colony ship" would be the set of all ships carrying people (or whatever) to make their home on a new world; "generation ship" would be the (slow-moving, by outer space standards) subset. So, all generation ships would be colony ships, but not vice-versa.

I can't argue with any of your choices. I have read most of them. I would only add Martian Chronicles from Ray Bradbury because so many of the stories can still ring true today (There will come soft rains). One other short story that has been with me for 60 years is Surface Tension by James Blish. Worth a quick read.

@bookjack

24 күн бұрын

Thanks for the recommendations. Martian Chronicles was a great read

Thx - good talk. Still not thinking of Sci-Fi when I read Vonnegut. Same goes for "A Scanner Darkly" . Ender's Game - ok, but very repetitious. I hope Card's next is better, as you indicated. Suggestion for you, Cixin Liu's "The Wandering Earth" if you haven't read it. A good starter for Liu's books as "The Three Body Problem" series isn't for everyone. (Which I think is his greatest.) Liu is Chinese, as opposed to Ted Chiang who now thx to you, is on my TBR list.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

I loved 3 Body Problem but felt the trilogy got a little too dense for me as it went on. Still great stuff though. Thanks for watching

1. 'Resurrection' Van Vogt. 2. 'Ender's Game' Card. 3. 'Foundation' Asimov. 4. 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' Finney. 5. '2nd Foundation' Asimov. 6. 'The Currents of Space' Asimov. 7. 'Childhood's End' Clarke. 8. 'World Without Men' Maine. 9. ' Labyrinth of Evil' Luceno 10. 'Pawns of Null-A' Van Vogt

@bookjack

10 ай бұрын

I've been wanting to read something from Van Vogt. I'll keep an eye out for that one. Thanks :)

@TheTidalwaves

9 ай бұрын

@@bookjackst. Resurrection is free on the net. The Pawns aka Players of Null-A can be picked up used. Read The World of Null-A 1rst

@lisagulick4144

Ай бұрын

@@bookjack I would strongly advise reading _The World of Null-A_ first - _Pawns [Players] of Null-A_ is the sequel. Get the 1970 revised edition; it's clearer. And get ready to be a bit confused until you find the novel's rhythm (dreamlike, but that's just Van Vogt's style).

did you get to Mayflies, by Kevin O'Donnell Jr. (1979) on your colony ship binge? It is defs my favourite in that theme.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

No, I didn't! Thanks for the recommendation

Jack Vance's "Demon Princes" series - "Star King", The Killing Machine", "The Face", "The Palace of Love" and "The Book of Dreams". He's created a full universe, with complex societies histories and institutions -the IPCC - an interplanetary "police force", the Institute, a quasi-religious group throughout the whole oikumene (civilised space) dedicated to opposing progress. Sarkovy - a planet of poisoners - it's endless. Oh, and Frank Herbert's books "Whipping Star" (one of the two best stories I've ever read that really get across just *how* alien aliens are likely to be and the follow-up book "The Dosadi Experiment".

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the recommendations. I read The Dying Earth recently. I know Jack Vance expanded on that world a lot too

I would recommend a few that unfortunately fell between the cracks. 1) Radix - A.A. Attanasio ( not a very prolific writer, but one of Science Fictions greatest stylists. The way he verbalizes nouns will take your breath. An amazing novel, nominated for Best Novel Hugo. 2) Godbody - Theodore Sturgeon. Posthumously published novel, but probably his greatest literary work. 3) The Man In The Tree - Damon Knight. Very beautiful writer, was the main instructor at Clarion Writer's Workshop. 4) Rendezvous With Rama. Arthur Clarke's prophetic speculation about Mankind landing on an Oumuamua like object. 5) Dhalgren - Ssmuel Delaney. A tour de force. Tough to make it through the first hundred pages, but so worth it if you stick with it. 6) The Gaian Trilogy (Titan, Wizard, Demon) - John Varley. Science Fiction speculation at its most impressive.

@bookjack

7 ай бұрын

Thanks for the recommendations. Most do seem like buried gems because I've never heard about them. Raddix sounds particularly interesting

@charlessomerset9754

7 ай бұрын

@@bookjack Yes, Radix should have won the Hugo the year it was nominated. I'm 58, so a reading generation behind you. I was actually part of Orson Scott Card's Confederation workshop in 86 and me and the other students screamed our lungs out when he won the Hugo for Ender. But he really deserved it for Speaker. I quit SF a long time ago, and glad I did. The new woke awards politics are a disgrace to the genre. Asimov and Heinlein are probably spinning in their graves.

@lisagulick4144

Ай бұрын

@@charlessomerset9754 "Woke awards politics"? When a lady named Alice Sheldon wanted to break into SF, she took the pseudonym James Tiptree, Jr. "He" was lauded and celebrated by all and sundry...but when Ms. Sheldon finally revealed her true identity, many fans abandoned her, even though her writing was the same. In fact, she herself complained that nobody wanted to talk about the stories anymore. Now, my point is: Would the editors of the SF magazines of the 1960's have given "Tiptree" a chance if his stories had come in under the name "Alice Sheldon"? (Nota bene: during the 1970's, she took on a second pen name, "Raccoona Sheldon", under which she wrote the terrifying "The Screwfly Solution". All of this is to explain why some "woke" is needed in the science-fiction field. There are lots of other talented voices out there, and their viewpoints are every bit as valid as those dead white men from the John W. Campbell age. I for one am glad to see those voices being given a live mike...as themselves, not a pseudonym.

Many good titles, especially Ms.Leguin. I have a single recommendation for you, EMPHYRIO by Jack Vance. Most copies out there have an editor's typo which occurred in the 70s and has been perpetuated ever since. It is more relevant today than in the day it was originally published. The theme of puppetry is ongoing as story progresses, and I have to stop there. I urge you and anyone reading this comment to find a copy and read it with an open mind. Nice to see that people are still reading Vonnegut's stuff, I liked his story TANGO, it's kind of like a Peter Cook & Dudley Moore sketch and that's just great. Thanks for the video, and I gotta say again, read EMPHYRIO.

@bookjack

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the recommendation. Haven't seen that one around, but I'll keep an eye out

I had no idea Hyperion was a fix up novel! I have yet to read it. Had planned to last summer but never did. Children of Time was my favorite book of the year when I read it. I agree Children of Ruin was not quite as good, but I still loved it. Have you checked out Children of Memory? I’m going to start that very soon.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Wasn't planning on reading Children of Memory, but that's probably not fair of me. Still great books even though they're not as good as the first one

My favorite all time SF series (which is never mentioned in any lists) is Simon R Green’s Deathstalker series. 8 books overall some are better than others. But I highly recommend the first three novels: 1) Deathstalker, 2) Deathstalker Rebellion, 3) Deathstalker War!

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

I've heard of that series. Will keep an eye out

A Fire Upon the Deep should be in every sf list. Nothing compares.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Will look for that one. Thanks for the recommendation

@cosmicjustice4139

Жыл бұрын

@@bookjack Wow~ if you've not read it, you're in for a treat! I guess it comes under hard sci-fi, but it's not too difficult to follow and has some really unique qualities in terms of alien races and galaxy structure.

@stovic1442

11 ай бұрын

Also the sequel is good and apparently has some distinct similarities to Children of Time.

@cosmicjustice4139

11 ай бұрын

@@stovic1442 That's definitely on my TR list 👍

Hey BookJack this was really an amazing video. Do you have a goodreads to follow your reading lists? Also, do you have a list of favorite post-cyberpunk or cyberprep books?

@bookjack

5 ай бұрын

Thanks. I don't have a goodreads and have only read a few cyberpunk novels but am hoping to make some more list videos

@ejvonrhein

5 ай бұрын

Awesome, would you recommend any off the bat?

@bookjack

4 ай бұрын

Id recommend Neuromancer even though it was hard to get through at times. Gibson also wrote a short story called Dogfight which I loved. Snow Crash was far too long for me and read like an 80s action movie

Thanks for mentioning call me joe, I read this in a science fiction magazine years ago and have never been able to remember the author or title. I’ve often thought it must have been inspiration for avatar. P.S. he’s on a Jupiter a heavy gravity planet.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Awesome! Happy to bridge that gap. I've never heard that story talked about on here otherwise

Thanks for the video. The world building in Children of Time is jaw dropping.

Have you read Eumenides in the Fourth Floor Lavatory by Orson by Orson Scott Card? It might turn out to be your 4th (........5th?) favorite short story ever. Stories of Your Life. I'll check to see if the library has that. Children of Memory/Time/Ruin. I have all 3 staring back at me on my TBR, but Uncreation comes out in 5 days so that'll be first.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

I have not read that but am always looking for more favorite short stories of all time 😅 Thanks for the recommendation

great bunch of classics here

Too many comments for me to know if anyone mentioned this, but the parrot story is "The Great Silence" which is in his second collection EXHALATION. For somewhat comparable short fiction collections, I suggest Greg Egan's AXIOMATIC as well as his other collections, John Varley's THE PERSISTENCE OF VISION, Barrington J. Bayley's THE KNIGHT OF THE LIMITS, and - so as not to overstay my welcome, I'll limit things - Terrence Holt's IN THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS.

@bookjack

6 сағат бұрын

Someone did mention that 😅 my bad. And thanks for the recommendations

Old Man's War was pretty awesome. I just read it, not long ago.

Jack have you ever read the 224-Verse by Jason Russell? Just recently discovered it, very good stuff. Would love your opinion if you get to it.

@bookjack

10 ай бұрын

Haven't heard of that one but I'll add it to the list Thanks :)

Check out Greg Bear (Eon, Eternity, Legacy and Moving Mars). Also how about Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash, Diamond Age, etc). Also check out the free audiobooks by author/narrator Nathan Lowell "A Trader's Tale from the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series... Quarter Share, Half Share, etc.)

My three guilty pleasures: _Sinister Barrier_ (Eric Frank Russell) _We All Died at Breakaway Station_ (Richard C. Meredith) _Sleeping Planet_ (William R. Burkett, Jr.)

As the kid I once was long ago, Non-Stop by Brian Aldiss was the one that really turned me onto how wonderful SF could be! Much later, I still read the Hyperion books every decade or so, once I've forgotten most of the whole plot. I sort of Live books as I read them, so I don't sit down to analyze them afterwards, and thus I can re-read my favorites every so often and still love them. I find something new to read instead of taking more than the joy-of-reading out of the last one. I guess I'll never be a professor or a teacher, or have a KZread channel... Sorry... 🧐

Allen Steele wrote a book that, for me, became the bar for hard sci-fi. Nothing I’ve read since has surpassed it although there are many near to, or as good as. The book is Orbital Decay, and it is followed by Lunar Descent, and then Clarke County, Space. An absolutely solid story all through. Arthur C. Clarke’s Rama series was the one for me before that. I’m kinda grooving on The Expanse right now! :)

@bookjack

Ай бұрын

Rama was a fun read. He manages to build a lot of suspense inside that ship

@HannahSegullah

Ай бұрын

@@bookjack yes, and did an amazing job at building an alien environment.

Left hand of Darkness is a solid choice. I recently read it.

Awesome video my dude

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Thanks, I appreciate that :)

Thanks for the Masterpieces recommendation, just got my copy in. Love it. But as I’m reading ‘All You Zombies’ I’m like, I know this story. I saw the movie years ago, Predestination. Man, they need to use more of these fantastic stories for movies. Or maybe I should read more classics. 😂 Either way, thanks again.

@bookjack

6 сағат бұрын

Lol the same thing happened to me with that story. Glad you liked the anthology 😀

I struggled to enjoy Vonnegut in high school and college too. I might have started to come around at the end but I haven’t read him since so I should probably give him another look.

@bookjack

5 ай бұрын

You definitely should. Amazing author. Amazing ideas

John Scalzi's has an excellent series of books and the Old Man's War is great. He's really built a great universe here that rivals anything Larry Niven has done.

@bookjack

11 ай бұрын

Haven't read any Niven yet but he's on my TBR

my bookshelf is my memory palace... if I lose a copy, I end up trying to find an exact replica (same cover at least, if not same printing) for it. leGuin, Zelazny, Niven, pkDick, James Tiptree jr, jgBallard, Tolkein, asimov, Heinlein, Saberhagen, etc... every old paperback I find and place on the shelf; old files, old memories are accessed. finding copies of my grade school textbooks was stunning!!! hold onto those books... I am damn near 60 and the detail recall is remarkable...

@bookjack

Ай бұрын

My memory needs that physical spark too. Plot, characters, ideas all come back to me once I pull the book from the shelf

Leviathan Wakes remains one of the best introductions to a new sci-fi world for me. It's not too far fetched that they have to info dump like most sci-fi novels. And the scope just expands and expands into this massive expanse.

@bookjack

Ай бұрын

I did really get into the first book. You're right the world was really easy to get into. Not sure why I didn't pick up the second book though 🤔

Try out The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds by Scott Westerfeld if you want a big space opera with hard scifi. The coolest space battle I've ever read in it too.

@bookjack

7 ай бұрын

Awesome. Thanks for the recommendations

If you like philosophical SF, try anything by Robert Silverberg from his key era (late 60s-late 70s). Dying Inside, Downward to the Earth, etc.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

I've only read The World Inside but I did really enjoy it. Thanks for the recomendation

@thekeywitness

Жыл бұрын

@@bookjack The World Inside is a good one. I'm currently reading the very surreal Son of Man and will read Man in a Maze next.

Hyperion is still one of the best for me - read it when I was young and it has just stuck with me ever since.

wow good list Canticle is amazing!

Well done. Thank you.

@bookjack

9 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching :)

Ender's Game series is incredible!

It's a respectable list with which I have some disagreements because our tastes are different. My #1 is probably Dune. The Hyperion/Endemion series is spectacularly good and well written, glad to see it included. A competitor for Dune as my #1 might be David Brin's Startide Rising. He has created a truly amazing universe in that series of books (the Uplift Universe), but Startide Rising may be the best of them. For something quite different, try "A Color of Distance" by Amy Thompson - it's such a good story in such an alien environment. There was a sequel, but it was disappointing by comparison. I'm also a big fan of Jack McDevitt, who I recognize is not for everyone, but I'm a sucker for interstellar archaeology, which features in many of his works. Perhaps his best is "The Engines of God".

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the recommendations. I will be trying Dune again soon

@jsbrads1

8 ай бұрын

I haven’t been able to read Dune, tried a few times. Brin is great. Rutledge Etheridge and The Duelist come to mind.

I never read The Lathe of Heaven but I saw the movie a couple times on PBS and it moved me like a lot of the old classic SF books that I read growing up. I also read some of the books in your list like A Canticle For Leibowitz, Ender's Game, and most of the short stories in Masterpieces of SF. Also I've read other stories by Kurt Vonnegut, Orson Scott Card, the authors in Masterpieces, and many many others. I carry the plots of dozens of SF books in my head because I chose not to read the "classics" promoted by the schools. SF is the best genre to me.

@bookjack

Ай бұрын

Agreed. They stick with you

Sci Fi lends it self to short stories because it is predominately based in Ideas rather than character or plot development. The heavy use of slang made A Clockwork Orange a tough read for me, although the story was really good.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

The slang did take awhile to get used to but really gave the book a unique feel. Still waiting on the right opportunity to call someone a prestoopnik

Awesome video! I have read 8 of your top 10 (the 2 I’m missing are the 2 short story collections). I enjoyed Old Man’s War and A Scanner Darkly, and particularly loved Cat’s Cradle, Children of Time, Ender’s Game, and Hyperion (although I loved The Fall of Hyperion even more!)

@bookjack

11 ай бұрын

We've got a lot in common so I'm sure you'd love Ted Chiang as well Interesting to hear that about The Fall of Hyperion. I've been turned away from it for some reason

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

@@bookjack Ted Chiang is on my TBR, I’m looking forward to it! The change in structure and slow first 100 pages turns some people away from The Fall of Hyperion but I thought it built to some amazing moments.

Breakfast of Champions was a high school choice. I read it and Cather's "O Pioneers."

glad to see Vonnegut making the list

It's good to see someone of your generation who can handle older, more complex sci fi. You'd love Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. Be warned though: it's demanding and at first seems like fantasy.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the recommendation. Gene Wolfe has been on my list for awhile

You didn't mention any Gene Wolfe, so I assume you haven't read him yet(?). Book of the New Sun is fantastic, but I bring him up because The Book of the Long Sun is a Generation Ship story unlike any other. It's in the middle of his "Solar Sequence" but you don't have to read Book of the New Sun (although you should) to enjoy it.

@bookjack

9 ай бұрын

Correct I haven't read him but I want to so thanks for the recommendation :)

James P Hogan's Inherit the stars should be high on anyone's list. A story so clever, i'm amazed it was never picked up by Hollywood.

@prenticehammond2003

10 ай бұрын

I was pulled in by the cover. And read a bunch more Hogan after that.

Wait, regarding Hyperion: isn't the part about the impending Invasion (the way he worded it) a major spoiler?

@bookjack

6 сағат бұрын

Maybe kind of but you're the first to mention it

You’re missing out if you haven’t read “Project Hail Mary”, by Andy Weir of “The Martian”. One of the best books I’ve ever read.

New to sci fi reading. I have been interested in Sci Fi since watching 3 body problems on Netflix. Of course I have watched many SCI fi films but clearly I am missing out on many stories and philosophies. I now am starting to understand that Sci FI is a incredibly broad genre that has so much to offer for anyone who is willing to endure the nuances and fiction of "Sci FI" I hope this list can lead me in the correct direction with my readings.

@bookjack

24 күн бұрын

Glad to hear that :) I just started watching 3 Body too. Was really interested in how they would do the VR scenes. Those were my favorite parts in the book

Some good choices, not sure how you left out Caves of Steel by Azimov, Ringworld by Niven, The Forever War by Haldeman, But as I look back I realize I enjoyed SciFi short Story collections far more than any one book. Niven, Anderson, Azimov

@bookjack

11 ай бұрын

I'm due for another short story collection. Novels get all the buzz so they are often overlooked

@davidcashin1894

11 ай бұрын

@@bookjack And it is often easier to make a quick science point in a short story, see Azimov and Arthur C Clarke, because once you go to novel length or even novella your need to extrapolate much more subtle societal impacts etc.

I keep going back to Jack McDevott's "A Talent For War". Dunno why, but somehow it really gets to me.

@bookjack

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the recommendation. I haven't heard of that one

Left hand of darkness is a masterpiece…

You should try to find the short story Cadillac Farm by John Campbell in Astounding Sci Fi

@bookjack

8 ай бұрын

Looks like it's in a few best of collections. I'll keep an eye out for it. Thanks