These are my favourite sci-fi books based on my enjoyment. There are other amazing books that deserve to be on a "greatest" list but I didn't want to recreate a list similar to many you've seen before. This list is just specific to my reading taste. Let me know some sci-fi books that you love!

Project Hail Mary is one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. I think readers from outside the sci-fi fandom would enjoy it.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Agreed! I’m glad you loved it too!

Cheers to Jonathan for going all the way to outer space to film this video for us!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha we went over budget on this one 🚀

Great list Jonathan! A lot of favourites for me in there, plus you've got me pumped for some TBR books I haven't got round to yet, like Flowers for Algernon, Spin and Ubik.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks! I hope you enjoy them!

It's great to see your list! And I'm excited that both Hyperion and Cat's Cradle are up for me soon!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I hope you like them as much as I did!

Wool hoooo!!!! I'm so glad you did this list. The video is so well made. The suit was a great idea and Charlie coming in was great too. I have to admit I've been waiting for this video since I found your channel and it didn't disappoint. I have already added a couple of books from it to my TBR. I can see me referring back to it several times so I'm saving it. Great job Jonathan. I hope it gets a million views

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks so much for all the awesome support Dale! I’m glad you enjoyed the video, I hope you like the books!

Love the suit! So many books I need to try out.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha glad you liked it!

Perfect timing! I will be going to the city tomorrow and do my usual weekend book shopping and I am trying to expand my SciFi library.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

That’s awesome, I hope you find some great books!

This gives me a lot of books to add to my TBR. 😅 Keep up the good work! The Road, Frankenstein, and 1984 are definitely among my favorites as well! I would also say that Starship Troopers, The Forever War, Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles are also among my favorites.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

The battle with the TBR continues! I really enjoyed The Forever War and Fahrenheit 451. Looking forward to The Martian Chronicles!

Awesome video Jonathan! I definitely need to read more PKD, and Childhood’s end is on my list too. I’m glad you had Hyperion on here, so that I could approve of the video. 😂

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha thanks! Glad I could deliver Chas!

Wow! What an interesting list! I loved the sheer scope of your selections (from 1818 to the present). Your selections cover the 40's. 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's 2000's, and 2010 to the present. It shows you've been reading a whole lot of books, and they're balanced between classical and modern sci-fi. My top 25 contains more classic sci-fi books, including Brave New World, The Left Hand of Darkness, Fahrenheit 451, Dune, and others. But I love the fact that you included More Than Human, one of my most beloved books. Good work!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the kind words! Some of the books you mentioned were closing to making my top 25. I’m glad you also loved More Than Human!

Thanks again for recommending House of Suns! I was pleased to see it made number 1 on this list.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

You’re welcome! I’m glad you loved it too!

You did a great job. Truly informative and insightful and entertaining. Thank you.

@WordsinTime

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for the kind words! I’m glad it was helpful!

My list would be so radically different. Which is awesome because it highlights just how much great sci fi is out there. I would have included Snow Crash, Altered Carbon, Red Mars, and maybe starship Troopers. And you mentioned a few I really need to put on my TBR. Wonderfully enjoyable video. Thanks so much!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’m glad you enjoyed it Paul! I really liked Snow Crash and I own copies of Altered Carbon and Red Mars so I’m looking forward to those!

so happy to hear and a little surprised you read the road one of my favs by that author who recently passed away have got blindsight and looking forward to reading it along with dying inside⚛

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

It was a heavy book! I hope you enjoy those two, although they are both somewhat bleak as well!

Lots of amazing books in your list!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed them too!

Great list! Greg Bears Eon,Aldiss Non Stop and Sherri Teppers Grass would be in my top 10 list.There are so many great books out there.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks! I own a copy of Non-Stop, which I’m looking forward to, and Bear is on my TBR. I’ll have to check out Grass!

Epic video! I’ve read a few of the most famous ones on here but can’t wait to get to the lesser known ones!!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks Benghis! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Wow, what a video! Excited to dive in!

@ianthereader

11 ай бұрын

Also, love the suit. 😂

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha thanks Ian, glad you enjoyed!

Woah! That outfit is makin me jealous! What a cute idea! Also couldnt have predicted some of these which made for a fun list!! I know how hard it is to make these and it turned out wonderful!!!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha I’m glad you enjoyed it Whitney! It was a big undertaking but a lot of fun! 🧑‍🚀

love the review orange space man

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha I appreciate it 🧡

Really good reviews! You are a man of taste

@WordsinTime

Ай бұрын

Haha I appreciate it, glad you enjoyed!

Another great video that had me counting hits on one hand and adding to the TBR with the other!! I've read 10 of the 25, and a lot of the others are on the TBR, largely because of your reviews. I have now read More Than Human by Sturgeon and was pleasantly surprised. I'm used to derogatory language, but it all felt contextually right in this story - reflecting the attitudes of characters rather than those of the author. I felt the resolution was a very interesting reflection on some current concepts in Disability Justice, particularly around interdependence. So I'm glad I tried it despite my hesitation! The writing is exquisite, and I felt that the author was genuinely trying to inhabit the experiences of characters utterly different to himself. And he did so with compassion and poetry. Gives me some confidence to tackle Flowers for Algenon and Blindsight now! Hope you get back to Earth soon, or that you find a new life on Charlie's planet! (I'm imagining him in the role of Rockey)

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’m glad you had a similar experience with More Than Human! And yes, Charlie is my Rocky haha 👐

Great list! Some I've read, some I haven't. Nice upload, well done. 👌

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed!

Only 2 of these books have I read all the way through, but it's super interesting to see which of these you recommended to me and where they place in accordance :D

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Let me know what you try next!

Thank you for your wonderfully enthusiastically delivered and clearly very knowledgeable SF recommendation video. Notes have been taken.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I appreciate the kind words!

Exciting, your definitive list!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks Menilik! I’ve been working towards this one for a while!

Did you know that Baxter and Reynolds have a collaboration? It is called "The Medusa Chronicles" and is the sequel to a short story by Clarke.

@robertjbroadhurst3860

11 ай бұрын

And I didn’t find it a match on the original. Ymmv

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’ve heard of it but haven’t read it. Hope you liked it!

@AndDiracisHisProphet

11 ай бұрын

@@robertjbroadhurst3860 yeah, it quite exceeds the original

Nice suit. Nice list. I just started The Dark Forest two days ago! Too much on the TBR. 😊

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha thanks Jeff! Happy to help wage the war on the never ending TBR!

Just started your video list - and you hit a home-run at the start! 'Way Station' it's a big favourite of mine (maybe should be higher i your list) - but great start! Additional - and you end (well, it came 2nd.) another fav of mine 'Permutation City' - plus quite a wide-ranging mix in between. , some which I've read. :-)

@WordsinTime

6 ай бұрын

Haha thanks! Way Station is great and a little bit under appreciated!

Fall of Hyperion (mild spoilers), my favorite chapter was when Gladstone goes for a walk around the Hegemony, visiting several planets and contemplating what's about to happen. In a sense, nothing happens, but it's written so beautifully

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Gladstone is a great character!

@BL-mf3jp

2 ай бұрын

And she ends up on the moon. Great chapter. My favorite is the one where Ummon kills Keats.

I love the list of (for me) new reads and needed rereads. Thanks for avoiding spoilers in both categories! I am new to your channel so apologies if you've addressed them but a few I would like to highlight are: Brin's Uplift Saga Hogan's Giants novels White's Sector General series. Possibly the most "humane" scifi I've read Foster's Humanx novels Final note: I've only read a couple Reynolds but am already a great fan. I look forward to House of Suns.

@WordsinTime

5 ай бұрын

I’m glad it was helpful! Welcome to the channel! I have read Startide Rising and will have to check out the other books you mentioned. Thanks for the recommendations!

I love seeing Solaris in the top 10, but I really love seeing you sweat in the astronaut suit! 😂 And hello, Charlie needs a spacesuit! Great list, I read Hyperion earlier this year and can’t wait to read The Fall of Hyperion, soon. I can’t argue with House of Suns, my top 3 SF, but where is Fire Upon the Deep!?

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha I was cooking 🥵 I hope you enjoy The Fall of Hyperion!

💫 “Ring”’s appearance on this list makes me grin broadly 😁 I’m going to have to do a re-read! great outfit though 😆

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha thanks! And I appreciate you recommending Ring!

I continue to have a hard time reconciling Ender's Game (and Speaker for the Dead) with the man who wrote them. It's like he didn't understand his own books. Love them both, but it's been a while since I read them. Also happy to see More than Human remembered. I love Theodore Sturgeon and that book in particular is lovely. My favorite Sturgeon is probably his short story, "Slow Sculpture," but you weren't doing short fiction. You might consider short fiction in the future.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Yes, it’s unfortunate when you enjoy a book but don’t support views expressed by the author. If those views were expressed in the book then I wouldn’t still be able to enjoy it, but I felt like the book itself emphasized empathy. Thanks for the story recommendation, I’ll look it up!

@mikesnyder1788

11 ай бұрын

I totally agree with you on both counts: I cannot and will not spend a second of my time reading anything Card. And I absolutely love Theodore Sturgeon! More than human is one of my most favorite SF novels and I have read dozens of his short stories. Sturgeon could write about almost any aspect of the human and inhuman condition!!!

@newkkl

6 ай бұрын

Slow Sculpture is the perfect short story, you could not take a word away or add a word to it. Masterpiece!

The video I was waiting for...thank youuuuuuu

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha I’ve been working towards it for a while. Hope you enjoy it!

@ldp4250

11 ай бұрын

@@WordsinTime I really enjoy it, thank you, can't believe just got House of suns, really difficult to find here in LATAM, now can't wait to read it... big hug from 🇨🇴

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

@@ldp4250 That’s great, I hope you like House of Suns!

I read so many of the books on this list when I was a teen -quite some time ago now! Your take on them is right on the money. I also very much enjoy science fiction that brings into question what it is to be human, including authors Octavia Butler and Ursula K. LeGuin. I also thoroughly enjoyed the entire Expanse space opera series.

@WordsinTime

6 ай бұрын

I’m glad you also connected with these books! I’ve read one book each from Butler and Le Guin, and plan to read more. I also enjoyed The Expanse, with Leviathan Wakes and Tiamat’s Wrath being my favourites!

Awesome outfit. Man, you reminded me that I own house of suns. I really need to read that!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha thanks! 🧑‍🚀 I hope you enjoy House of Suns!

Great list! In a future video, can you discuss the popular books and authors that didn't make the list and explain why. For example Dune, A Fire Upon the Deep, Forever War, Isaac Asimov, Ursula Le Guin, Alfred Bester, etc.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks Don! Some of those were really close to making the list. Too many good sci-fi books, not enough spots!

@dmdanimal

6 ай бұрын

@@WordsinTime My list would be 50% Kurt Vonnegut lol. OSC is cancelled to me and Ender's Game was my fav book as a child.

Great list. I would have "A fire Upon the Deep" at no 1 and have "The Chrysalids" and "hitchers Guide-" in my top 10. Im reading The Rise of Endymion now, What a great series.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks Gerard! Hitchhiker’s is great, it almost made my top 25.

@newkkl

6 ай бұрын

Yes, A Fire Upon the Deep is an incredible book. As is A Deepness in the Sky.

Love your list! Whenever I list mine, I always specify "MY" favorites so it's not misinterpreted as me saying "these are the best ever and if you don't agree, you are dumb and wrong" 🤣 that being said I'd love to give you my top 5! 1) A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge 2) Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks 3) The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks 4) Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny 5) Earth Abides by George R. Stewart

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha I’m glad you enjoyed! The Player of Games is great and I need to read Earth Abides!

this was just a great list, old with new with popular with less so. i gotta check out ring for sure. and i never read reynolds so house of suns it is. gracias.

@WordsinTime

5 ай бұрын

Thanks! I hope you enjoy those two!

Glad to see _Ubik_ on your list. It was my first encounter with Philip K. Dick's work, and is still my favorite of his novels. Weird and wonderful!

@WordsinTime

Ай бұрын

I’ve read 6 of his books now and it’s still my number 1. It’s great!

I've read all of them, except for Demon in White, the Hyperion one, and House of Suns (or I read them but don't recall them now). Excellent choices, Jonathan. I like Rendezvous with Rama (Clark) as a classic SF. Don't know how it stands up to time, but when I read it I was a young teen and the story gripped me. A more recent favourite was Robots of Gotham. The author said he had sequels in mind, but nothing out yet except a title Ghosts of Navy Pier; and that was in 2018. His bio pic has him sporting a Patrick Rothfuss-style look, so I'm not eagerly awaiting the sequel in case he's emulating the Rothfuss writing schedule too. But I'll buy it soon as it comes out.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’m glad you also enjoyed these books! I’ll have to check out Robots of Gotham!

2001 started my journey through Clarke’s work and Sci Fi in general. Love that book!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I love 2001 as well!

@Yesica1993

11 ай бұрын

It may have been my start as well. I don't remember how old I was or where I was, physically, when I was reading it. But I still remember the shock I felt when I read the following phrase. It was like a physical kick in the gut, in the best way! It's one of those things where I wish I could erase it from my mind so I could experience it anew a second time. Semi, though not full spoilers: S P O I L E R S P A C E H E R E "My God, it's full of ________ !"

Enjoyed this! Was super excited to see a name that didn't ring a bell--Stephen Baxter. Went to AmazonUS and what a jumble! Went to buy a collection that had Ring and it said it was in Middle English(?). Then I went for a standalone copy and it was in German. Can't find the Middle English one now, so maybe I was just tired and hallucinating? :) Maybe he just never caught on in America? AmazonUK serves him a bit better.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’m glad you enjoyed it! That’s strange, I didn’t have too much trouble tracking down a copy of Ring. I hope you find one!

Just about to start your #1 pick, been loving Alastair Reynolds work

@WordsinTime

8 ай бұрын

Awesome! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

These type of lists are really hard to do but so useful for your viewers! You have several books I haven't read on your list which gives me some new stuff to add to my TBR. Thanks! It's your list so I cannot disagree with anything on it but if I was making my own list of science fiction books I enjoy reading I might include The Word for World is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin, Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, Who Goes There by John W. Campbell, The Chrysalids by John Wyndham, A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge, Hyperion by Dan Simmons, City by Clifford Simak, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North, Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty, Wool by Hugh Howey, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, Earth Abides by George R. Stewart, Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress, I am Legend by Richard Matheson, 11/22/63 by Stephen King, and Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle. I would also include House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys, The Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Ubik by Philip K. Dick, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Ender's Game would be at the top but I am not sure about the order of the other books. If I was allowed more than one book from each author I might add Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds and remove The Road. The Road is a great book but it is so bleak. Even though it is the book I think about the most of all the above books, I don't see myself rereading it anytime soon. So my list is the books I would reread and not necessarily the books with the greatest impact or best writing.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks Jen! The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Wool, and 11/22/63 are books I’m looking forward to!

@jenm8357

11 ай бұрын

@@WordsinTime I think you will really like these books. They are all easy reads. The Apple TV show Silo is based on Wool and I am really enjoying it. I haven't seen the 11/22/63 adaptation yet. I thought about adding Replay by Ken Grimwood instead of Harry August. It's also good.

Aweso list ❤

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’m glad you enjoyed it!

I so appreciate you creating a list based on your own reading enjoyment rather than the “greatest of all time” lists that mostly just annoy me and seem occasionally pretentious. Lots of crossover on your list to ones I also enjoyed. For myself I would have to include books by Lois McM Bujold, CJ Cherryh, Connie Willis, Charles Sheffield, Ann Leckie, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Andy Weir.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the kind words Valerie, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I own Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, which I’m looking forward to, and I’ll have to check out Charles Sheffield!

Three cheers for your including Theodore Sturgeon's "More than human" (9:18) in your listing of favorite SF books. Sturgeon excelled in writing short stories so those who read novels only are not likely to include him on their TBR's. "More than human" is fairly "soft" science fiction although he writes a delightful short scene (in the Fabulous Idiot third of the novel?) of the protagonist inventing a super gravity defying machine to extricate a farmer's tractor that is stuck in cement like mud. I really enjoyed that little scene!

@mikesnyder1788

11 ай бұрын

Correction: The anti gravity machine is featured in section three of the novel, "Morality."

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’m glad you enjoyed it too Mike! I really enjoyed the way it explored the social sciences but also gave us a few sci-fi nuggets as well!

I've watched quite a few of these "top ten, top twenty, etc." lists and I have to say that yours would more closely align with my own than any of the other lists I've seen. I would probably have 15 of your top books on my list. I'm surprised that you listed the Fall of Hyperion over Simmons first book. Also, I was very glad to see Clifford Simak and Phillip Jose Farmer on your list. Have you read 'City'? So good. Have a great day.

@WordsinTime

4 ай бұрын

I’m glad you also enjoyed a lot of these books! I have read City and enjoyed it almost as much as Way Station.

I have finished 3 sci-fi books just this year (truly not a great number of books), and have started about 5 others. Hopefully I can make my personal top 20 here within a couple years. I love the first 2 books in the Hyperion Cantos, and am an apologist for the "Fall of Hyperion". I know of the mixed opinions about this book as so many readers, and fans, of the series, believe the first to be the strongest and best. I applaud you for your choice in not having "Hyperion" itself on your list, but loving the "The Fall of Hyperion" more. While for now I don't hold it in the same esteem, I do love it. Sol's story is deeply bitter sweet. Finally meeting the Ousters and seeing their society was great. The plunge into the Technocore's world, while feeling derivative by today's standards, was a great place. The ending of the book felt like a TV series' season finale and with all of the changes in the galaxy at that point. I loved it, and can't wait to start "Endymion"

@WordsinTime

6 ай бұрын

I’m so glad you loved it too! I thought Sol’s encounter with the Shrike, and the void which binds were phenomenal! Endymion is a fun adventure and The Rise of Endymion is more slow and philosophical. I hope you enjoy them!

Hi Mr Words, this is a good list, I have not read them all but it does contain a good blend of classic and modern SF. I'd say maybe 10 of these would make my top 100, To your scattered Bodies go, Project Hail Mary, Solaris, Frankenstein, Childhoods End, Children of Time are all favourites of mine - Fall of Hyperion, Cats Cradle, Permutation City, Spin & Dark Matter all sound good but I have not read them yet. Many people list's ignore either the classics or modern SF. On my list I would have Mote in Gods Eye, The Gods Themselves, 2001, more Clarke, more Asimov, Dune, Mission of Gravity, Battlefield Earth, SOS the Rope, more Clarke, more Asimov, Hyperion, Alistair Reynolds (Absolution Gap, Pushing Ice, Terminal World), Pandoras Star and something maybe by Iain M Banks, Player of Games maybe.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks Paul! I also really enjoyed 2001 and Player of Games. I’m looking forward to reading Mission of Gravity!

It wouldn't be a "Words in Time" video without a Permutation City reference :)

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Gotta rep Egan when I can 🇦🇺

@mondostrat

11 ай бұрын

or Hyperion

@colin1818

11 ай бұрын

@@mondostrat - Fall of Hyperion to be exact. Which is honestly something of a hot take. The first book (Hyperion) is almost always everybody's favorite. I know it's mine (although I enjoyed Fall also).

I don't know if you are into short stories at all but "The Golden Bugs" by Simak, and "Beyond Lies The Wub" by PKD are great stories. Also a story by Asimov called "Thiotimoline and the Space Age" which was a story that he wrote after publishing two spoof scientific papers while he was studying for his chemistry doctorate. They are about the ficticious chemical compound Thiotimoline. The chemistry papers ended up being shared around the university chemistry department and his examiners asked him about the chemical as a final question when telling him they had accepted his dissertation 😂

@WordsinTime

7 ай бұрын

Haha that’s a cool story. I am typically more drawn to novels than short stories, but I have enjoyed short stories from Vonnegut, Simak, Asimov etc. I plan to read Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang soon!

Wow...didn't see that coming for no.1 ;) Great to see Permutation City at no.2.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I do my best to spread the word about Egan haha

That is an awesome outfit lol I did a video review on Way Station. I didn't care for it enough to finish it.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha glad you liked the suit! No worries, hope you enjoy some of the other books.

Hey, 5 I’ve read, none on my tops list. A couple more obscure recommendations: Roadmarks by Roger Zelazny; The Iron Dragon’s Daughter by Michael Swanwick; To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis; Tea With The Black Dragon by RA MacAvoy. May be more genre bending and blending than strictly Sci-Fi, but all memorably good reads.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the recommendations!

@arimaboating5903

11 ай бұрын

I really like Roadmarks by Zelazny!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

@@arimaboating5903 I’ve only read Lord of Light, I’ll check out Roadmarks!

I adored Hyperion. I still think about it, years later. I want to say I may have read Fall of Hyperion. But... I'm not 100% sure. I vaguely remember being disappointed that the format was different? I don't remember much about it. I think my brain was still in the first book. I should have given it more time before I went on. I need to re-read both of them. I want SO MANY of these! But it seems every time I go to the library website to put a hold on something, it's not available. I've been waiting for The Children of Time for what feels like forever. I may end up just buying a cheap copy somewhere.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

The Fall of Hyperion has a different structure so some people are disappointed but I loved it. Hope you find a copy of Children of Time!

@eternal_napalm6442

6 ай бұрын

Fall of Hyperion is the continuation of the story from Hyperion. They are one story. The publisher made Dan Simmons split the novel.

I really like your list---happy to say I've read most of them(except for the most recent ones...) The only book I don't feel should be in is Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle; personally, I think it's a mess, a very unenjoyable read, for me, at least. It's supposed to be funny...ok, maybe I just didn't get the joke. I enjoyed his other books that you mentioned, as well as Galapagos, another of his 'sciencefictiony' works. One that I would've liked to see mentioned is Alfred Bester's Tiger!Tiger! It has its flaws, but definitely ahead of its time.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’m glad you enjoyed the video! I agree that Cat’s Cradle is messy but I think the themes and tone were what I connected with more than the plot. Tiger! Tiger! or The Stars My Destination has some great ideas and was highly influential!

I've read some of the books on your list. Only a few would make it on mine. Here are a bunch of my favorites. The top 5 would be on my list no matter what. The rest are a wide selection in no particular order. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress--Heinlein Dune--Herbert Ringworld--Niven Foundation Trilogy--Asimov Ender's Game--Card The Tactics of Mistake--Dickson The Martian--Weir (probably the only book from the 21st century on my list) Mission of Gravity--Clement Sundiver--Brin Childhood's End--Clarke The Demolished Man--Bester The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--Adams Emergence--Palmer The Space Merchants--Pohl/Kornbluth In the Country of the Blind--Flynn Titan--Varley True Names--Vinge Trample an Empire Down--Reynolds If not limited to one per author, there would be more Heinlein and Niven, my two favorite authors.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! A couple of these were close to making my list and I will have to check out some of the others. Mission of Gravity is high on my TBR!

My list includes: Stranger in a strange land, Dune, Rendezvous with Rama, Solaris and finally, Roadside picnic.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Great choices Mario!

Cool. Now I want a space suit!

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha it was fun (but hot)!

I love that you enjoy Permutation City, but have you read Diaspora, or Schlid's ladder? Diaspora specifically seems like an Ian M. Bank's Culture-like extension of permutation city to the ends of the universe. Mind BLOWN. The same with schlid's ladder but it has more to do with dissecting the standard module of particle physics. I also just read his novella SCALE which Also blew my mind. Egan is absolutely the hardest of the hard. To your scattered bodies go, and the entire river world series was one of the first bits of sci-fi I ever read. I have much fonder memories of the later novels such as magic labyrinth and The dark Tower, also the gods of riverworld, but I appreciate the you recognize such an oldie but a goody. assignment for you: John varley's Titan, Wizard, Demon. + Ophiuchi Hotline and Steel beach. David Brin: Earthclan. Vernor Vinge: A fire upon the deep, A Deepness in the sky. + Marooned in Realtime.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’m glad you also enjoy Egan and Farmer! I have not read Diaspora but I own a copy so I’m looking forward to it. Thanks for the recommendations, I have read A Fire Upon the Deep but need to check out the others!

Your obsessive Baxter fan here to squeal with delight at how much you enjoyed Ring. I LOVE this book, top 5 for me easy. I just love the ideas with the photino birds, and the Xeelee (vague to avoid spoilers for those perusing the comments) I need to track down more of the Xeelee books past Vacuume Diagrams. Flowers for Algernon: required reading in highschool, and I remember really enjoying it. Everything about it was fascinating and heart breaking. Dark Forest: My favorite in the Rememberence trilogy, so I'm badly hoping either the Netflix adaptation goes well to get season 2, or the Chinese adaptation decides to now do Dark Forest. I know there's an anime, and I plan to check that out too. I normally strongly dislike philosophy, which this trilogy is HEAVY in. But the concepts and plot were captivating enough to keep me enthralled in spite of this. Dark Matter: This one felt like a junk food book, but I mean that in a good way. I devoured the book in like 2 sittings. I loved it, I got sucked in immediately and badly wanted the MC to acheive his goal. It feels like something that in the right hands could make a damn good TV show. Ender's Game: That ending. I shan't say more. 1984: Stresses me TF out, but I guess that means it did its job. Project Hail Mary: I think the best way to enjoy this book is to go in 100% blind. Know NOTHING so you start the story the same as the main character does and learn while he does. Also, because of one specific thing the audiobook is IMO the superior version. I loved this book, it was a ton of fun, and kept me on the edge of my seat like the Martian did. It wasn't as grounded in science, but I still gave it a 5/5 My top sci fi books: Ring, The Manifold Trilogy by Baxter, Helix and Helix War by Eric Brown, Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained by Hamilton (still mad at how bad the Void Trilogy is by comparison. Even skipping the Edeard sections completely) The Spatterjay Trilogy by Neal Asher, Ender's Game (but not the following books unfortunately), The Andromeda Strain and Sphere by Michael Crichton, and I feel like The Waste Land by Stephen King can count even if its blurs with fantasy. I'm sure this list would grow if I dug through my bookshelf more. I think I'll give Reynolds another shot. I think the fact that I was recommended Chasm City first, when big-aweful-city is a setting I personally despise, put me on the wrong foot. But that ending was grand, and reminded me of why I love Baxter. If you made it through such a long rambly comment, is there a better starting point for Reynolds you would recommend?

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you enjoyed many of these books, I’ll have to check out some of your other favourites, I started with House of Suns so perhaps that’s a good place to start because I loved it haha

@thatfuzzypotato1877

11 ай бұрын

@@WordsinTime I happen to have thriftbooks open in a tab, I'll add it to my shopping cart

The Dark Forest has a different translator. I think that's why it's better. The first two books in that series are really one book in two parts; the third is the sequel. And I love that you preferred The Fall of Hyperion to the first book. I totally agree.

@WordsinTime

7 ай бұрын

Yes, I think the translation might have helped my enjoyment of The Dark Forest, and there’s some great story ideas too. And I’m glad you also enjoyed The Fall of Hyperion!

The original Dune, is, IMO,the greatest sci fi book of all time. It is complex, incorporating elements of politics, sociology, religion, ecology, and competition over a scarce but valuable resource.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

That’s a great description of Dune!

You should read the Bobiverse or Murderbot Diaries. I think you´ll like them.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’ve read the first Bobiverse book and own the first Murderbot book, but haven’t read it yet. Looking forward to it!

Recommend some books from the subgenre diamond (ultra) hard sci fi.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’ve only read a few really hard sci-fi books from Forward, Baxter, and Egan. I’ll have to read more!

I also love Ender's Game. I own House of Sons and Children of Time. I need to get to them!

@WordsinTime

9 ай бұрын

I’m glad you loved Ender’s Game! I hope you enjoy those two as much as I did!

Great to see Vonnegut in that list. I feel like slaughterhouse 5 should be on more lists

@WordsinTime

3 ай бұрын

I’m glad you love him too! Slaughterhouse-Five is also one of my favourites!

what? no Frank Herbert or Azimov? hehe personal preferences aside great list. suggestion for a most disturbing list of sci-fi "Hellstroms Hive" by Frank Herbert. the word stump is changed for ever lol.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Dune and Foundation were just outside my top 25, and would definitely be at the top for most influential sci-fi. I’ll check out Hellstroms Hive!

Finally, someone mentioned a Fall of Hyperion as the best in the series.

@WordsinTime

3 ай бұрын

Haha yes! Glad someone else is on Team Fall! 🤝

Algernon is based on a PKU patient - it is a dietary disorder that all children are now tested for at birth. Uncontrolled (by diet) it can lead to mental retardation. There is no surgery, really. My son was born with it, and has led a perfectly normal life, he is intelligent and kind with a son of his own. It is a disorder caused by the inability to digest Phenylalanine, an amino acid, and part of protein. This, it's name (phenylketonuria - PKU_) Paying attention and mainaiting a low-protein diet can control it.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing! I’m glad to hear your son is doing well❣️

Ender's Game is my #1, followed very closely by The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

@WordsinTime

6 ай бұрын

I’m glad you loved it as well!

How about 'realistic possibilities' for the near future? Daemon & Freedom by Daniel Suarez

@WordsinTime

6 ай бұрын

I recently purchased Daemon. I’m looking forward to it!

@psikeyhackr6914

6 ай бұрын

@@WordsinTime Get all of the computers out of your house. 😆

FANTASTIC video. I have so many things to read. Someone help me.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks! I’m glad I could help add to the never ending TBR list haha

Not many of my favorites on your list. Here are a few I would recommend. Lucifer's Hammer, Thrice Upon a Time by James P Hogan, The Emperor's Songbird, The Witches of Karres, By James H. Schmitz The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A Heinlien, Rite of Passage, In Fury Born by David Weber The Forest of the Night, by Matti Stucci, Dorsai By Gordon R Dickinson, Lord Kalvin of Otherwhen by H. Beam Piper Sundiver by David Brin Sorry I don't remember a;ll the Authors. I don't know whether to classify this as Science Fiction but Feed by Mira Grant

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the recommendations Gordon!

Long wait for the first Sun Eater book at my library… rest of the series seems easy to get, though.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I hope you enjoy it if you can get your hands on it!

@fernbedek6302

11 ай бұрын

@@WordsinTime It shouldn’t take *too* long. In the mean time, I can re-read some of the Alastair Reynolds books I own. (Including House of Suns.)

Rolf: "What are you sure of?". Theo: "That once I was not and that now I am. That one day I shall no longer be". The Children Of Men is a fantastic read. Thank you for recommending it. Great as it is, it isn't science fiction IMHO.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’m glad you enjoyed it!

Way Station! Love that book. I, too threw in my lot with Humanity, as it were, in moving away from organized religion at a certain point in my life. The book gave me a good way to think about it.

@WordsinTime

9 ай бұрын

I’m glad you enjoyed it Moe!

Hyperion Cantos and Sun Eater are musts.

@WordsinTime

6 ай бұрын

Glad you love them too!

Childhood's End is the most beautiful metaphor about the younger generation moving past their parents. Feels so timely.

@WordsinTime

6 ай бұрын

I’m glad you connected with it as well!

No mention of Accelerando, by Charles Stross?

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I own it but haven’t read it yet.

@Siderite

11 ай бұрын

@@WordsinTime You're in for a treat

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I liked Speaker for the Dead even more than Ender's Game. A litttle slower, but i really stuck with me. Speaking of books that stuck with me, did you ever read The Carpet Makers?

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I enjoyed Speaker for the Dead. It’s quite different but I can see why some people might like it even more. I haven’t read Carpet Makers yet but it’s on my TBR!

@GarinSavage

11 ай бұрын

@@WordsinTime It's very good, but I'd say it's one you have to sit in and absorb rather than be swept up in a gripping narrative. More a lake than a river.

Great list! But no Asimov or Neal Stephenson?

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks! Foundation and Snow Crash just missed the top 25.

@NevsBookChannel

11 ай бұрын

@@WordsinTime have you read Anathem?

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

@@NevsBookChannel Not yet, but I plan to read more Stephenson.

Everyone seems to love Dying Inside. Blindsight tick. Spin tick. Fall of Hyperion tick

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Nice! 🤜 🤛

I always give an extra star to reviewers who include Frankenstein in their top 10.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Haha I like that system Susan!

No Keith Laumer? Try The Long Twilight.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for the recommendation!

House of Suns is INCREDIBLE

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’m glad you loved it too! ☀️

I didn't know the Always sunny episode was based on a book

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Yes! It’s such a funny episode haha

Off subject. A short novel that grabbed me...Echo around his bones. Disch.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I’m glad you enjoyed it, I’ll have to look it up!

@user-zo7mr3op8i

11 ай бұрын

With a cup of cocoa and hot buttered toast .@@WordsinTime

@user-zo7mr3op8i

11 ай бұрын

With Marmite.

Not that any of these books doesn't deserve a place on "Top nnn" lists, but no Ursula K. Le Guin, Octavia E. Butler, Iain M. Banks ?!? Connie Willis? No, say, _A Canticle for Leibowitz_ ? Vernor Vinge (speaking of spiders), Gene Wolfe...?

@WordsinTime

4 ай бұрын

That is the difficult nature of lists haha. I’ve read and liked books from all these authors. If I included every sci-fi book I liked it would end up being a top 100 or more haha

Frankenstein is historically important but a very difficult book to read since the pace is pretty bad.

@WordsinTime

3 ай бұрын

I got used to the pacing but it took me a few chapters to adjust to the writing style.

@robertrochester403

3 ай бұрын

Especially the roundabout beginning is a little offsetting.Apparently few critics have actually read it because I weirded out that the doctor never describes the origin.No lightning or gravedigging!Probably a chemical experiment I guess!

No Dune?! I'm shook lol

@WordsinTime

8 ай бұрын

Haha Dune is great. It’s just one notch below all-time favourite for me, which I know is sacrilegious haha

Hmm, didn't see Dune, unless I missed it.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

Dune just missed out on the top 25. It would definitely be higher if I was doing a list of the most influential sci-fi books.

Where does "nationalism" come in to Orwell's 1984? I was puzzled by your reference. I suppose the awful regime in it is anti-nationalist (like the Soviet Union which inspired it) - for instance Great Britain referred to in it as "airstrip one"

@WordsinTime

6 ай бұрын

That’s fair, they’re superstates not nations, but I think thematically it addresses nationalism.

There's quite a few great reads (imo anyway) that were undeservably left out. Hitchhikers Guide series DA, dune FH, war of the worlds HGW, and a lesser known the Tripods (original trilogy- white mountains, city of gold and lead, pool of fire AND the prequel- when the tripods came) by John Christopher aka Samuel Youd. Highly recommend.

@WordsinTime

11 ай бұрын

I very much enjoyed Hitchhiker’s and Dune. I’ll check out Tripods.

The Tripod Trilogy

@WordsinTime

2 ай бұрын

I’ll look it up!