The way I see it, Michael, you've only got one clear choice: Read them all - quit your job and read around the clock till you finish them all! Good luck!

I first read "Time Machine" in Grade School about 1969 (Christmas Present!)

Sheckley’s Mindswap is hilarious! A great book you will enjoy.

Love watching your channel! I learn something about vintage books from you all the time.

Excellent list of books. I'm not much of a fan of Heinlein's novels but I find his short stories and "Young Adult" books enjoyable

I can smell those old paperbacks through the screen. I worked in a second-hand store when I was younger and you could conceivably open a boutique stocked with nothing but Gardner Fox books. I was always curious, but never got around to reading all of the sleaze paperbacks he wrote under various pseudonyms, like the series about Cherry Delight or the Lady from L.U.S.T. If they'd been illustrated by Hawkman artist Murphy Anderson I probably would've been convinced.

I’ll be ready for rocket summer, so I can be a Rocket Man……………sword and sorcery and heavy metal yeah

Some great books there: I can recommend “The Super Barbarians”.

A lot to chew on and consider. My TBR list grows... and time speeds up.

So looking forward to this. My dad was a rocket scientist with the European Space Programme, if I didn’t take part he’d be turning in his grave!

Great list! I'm excited to hear your opinions on some of these as I have been contemplating reading a number of them myself. Rogue Moon I have read before, and it was indeed very good.

Great idea! I will read the first science fiction book that was ever written, Cyrano de Bergerac's voyage to the moon, written in the 17th century. I have been meaning to read this book for a long time. And then I will read the Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle.

It's interesting how old science fiction books were so short and then the trend moved to gigantic tomes. I wonder what changed and why.

@michaelk.vaughan8617

Ай бұрын

Good question.

_Pebble in the Sky_ has one of my favorite opening scenes in an Asimov novel. I read _Vor_ by James Blish a few years ago and liked it; quite an intimidating alien. I believe I read Simak’s _Time and Again_ many summers ago but I don’t remember much about it. I should reread it. For 1930s science fiction I will dip back into _Before the Golden Age,_ the anthology presented by Isaac Asimov.

What an event! This is a winner. The Asimov book is a sleeper. Really good.

Looks like a great bunch of books. I can personally recommend Pebble in the Sky and The Puppet Masters. For the other authors: my favorite book by John Taine is Men of Mathematics (non-fiction) by Eric Temple Bell (his real name). My favorite book by Henry Kuttner is Fury. Also love a ton of his short stories. Mutant is a fixup novel, that I have always heard great things about. I'll try to read that for Rocket Summer. With all the Westerns, and all this SF, it should be an awesome summer to be a reader!

Harry Harrison also wrote the 'Deathworld', books which were pretty good. A character in the first one carried a gun in a holster on his forearm that could propel said weapon into his hand in an instant, and I always wondered if that was where they got the idea for the similar device used by Travis Bickle in 'Taxi Driver'. There was a children's TV show in England in the 70's called 'The Tomorrow People', I wonder if there was any connection to that novel? Coincidentally, that series was also too terrible to remember. I really want to read 'Space Viking'.

I'm thinking of writing a sci-fi novel about a dangerous rocket journey from a Saturnian moon to the next planet out, titled "THE TITAN-URANUS RUN" . . .

Awesome possibilities. That Time Machine edition is great. I read the Green Brain in the 80s. I still have a copy.

I'm prepared for this one, topped up my oxygen canisters, patched my spacesuit, fuelled my rocketpack, have enough soylent nutrient waifers to last. I've got some Victorian science fiction by Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, probably just going concentrate on the 1930s, 40s, and 50s with The Best of CL Moore, and the Henry Kuttner Gateway Omnibus containing Fury, Mutant, and The Best of Henry Kuttner.

The whole year is going by!!!

I think "Mutant" is a fix-up of stories published in the Forties. (But they are good stories, about the "Baldies.") "Pebble in the Sky" was Asimov's first novel.

"Gullivar Of Mars" was adapted by Marvel in their Creatures On The Loose title, #16 to #21, in the 1970s with art by a number of greats including Gil Kane and Gray Morrow. And you're right about the fantastic Frazetta cover on your paperback, I have the same edition. Heinlein used to be well known and much read by everybody who read SF but he seems to have unfortunately fallen out of favour. I grew up reading his YA books and still have vivid memories of certain incidents from them.

@michaelk.vaughan8617

Ай бұрын

I had a couple of those Marvel issues of Creatures on the Loose. I was missing one of them and that greatly annoyed me because they were awesome.

Hey! I just finished _The Puppet Masters._ It was good.

For 1940s science fiction I always enjoy A. E. van Vogt. Wild plots that nearly go off the rails but lots of fun. That Shores of Space anthology is excellent. Asimov is always a great option. Great books you have to pick from.

Bill the Galactic Hero is great! (Not its sequels so much.)

Vor ... What is it good for? ... I'll show myself out.

Time to go raid my bookshelves and plan for Rocket Summer! 🤘😆🤘

R is for Rocket ... Summer.

"Berserker" is very good. But "Berserker Planet" is my favorite in the series.

I'd never heard of "Master Of The World."

@bonpourvous

29 күн бұрын

They made a movie out of it with Vincent Price.

The Body Snatchers and The Puppet Masters really aren't all that similar.

Wow! That's a lot of old sci -fi for you to choose from! I'll need to rewatch this video and take notes!

Good evening Sir Michael Rogerr Mr Clock Congratulations on 21K subscribers. Is it rude to call you The best act on KZread. Cheers The Goldkeyfourcolorkidownunda (and also a huge Science Fiction Fan.)

@michaelk.vaughan8617

Ай бұрын

It’s not rude but probably inaccurate.

@alancarr7718

Ай бұрын

Not inaccurate, the best thing to happen to books for years. Ask Roger he knows. Cheers Al@@michaelk.vaughan8617

Great video! I loved the old Buck Rodgers movie/ tv show, so nostalgic, I will definitely read some sci-fi for Rocket Summer.

Great outline for Rocket Summer Michael! I'm very much looking forward to your take on Heinlein. Along with Rogue Moon. I just picked up that exact copy. It's high up on my TBR!

I love H. Beam Piper. I don't think he gets enough love.

I feel like Frank Herbert has a whole library of non-Dune books no one ever talks about. I particularly like Hellstrom's Hive -- very creepy SF. Enjoy your busy reading summer, Michael!

Brilliant!! Great books!

You're the Rocket Man!

Seems like a great excuse to break out the Vandermeer's 'Big Book of Science Fiction'. All bases are covered!

I'm looking forward to Rocket Summer!

Tons of great options!

Mindswap was a hoot. Sheckley’s funniest book. Bill the Gallactic Hero was pretty funny too; Harrison’s satirical anti-Starship Troopers. Don’t think you could go wrong with anything you’ve picked.

I'll just reiterate what I will be reading: Insatiability, by Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz (Polish dystopian SF from 1930) Slaves of Ijax, by John Russell Fearn (1945; very short) Sentinels from Space, by Eric Frank Russell (1953; I've generally enjoyed books from this author, especially the pulpy old thing called Sinister Barrier) Bug Jack Barron, by Norman Spinrad (this will be a re-read; I loved it the first time - a little leery of destroying good memories...) I recommend The Greatest Adventure, by John Taine - it's not a bad book at all. The woman on the cover looks like your standard terrified lady in distress...but the actual main woman character in this book is as brave as anyone else featured. I gave it 3 stars at Goodreads, but that's a round-down from 3.5 stars, and much of the book is very exciting. Master of the World by Verne is somewhat entertaining - but I would say that when push comes to shove, the Taine book is easier to recommend. The Puppet Masters is one of the terrific Heinleins - it is a bit like Body Snatchers - and that's a good one to consider. I highly recommend Rogue Moon!

Have you considered reading "Perry Rhodan" ? It's a german made pulp Sci Fi series (one continous story), made in the mid 1960s and is still going to this day. It consist of several thousands of booklets that are condensed into individual books.

@mrmicro22

Ай бұрын

My public library had these growing up. I should have been the target audience but the pacing and structure were very confusing to middle school me. Unsatisfying. They were a nope for me

@michaelk.vaughan8617

Ай бұрын

I have a couple paperbacks. I had no idea it has gone on so long.

@nealsterling8151

Ай бұрын

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 It is huge. They are at number 3000 i believe. But they have so called "silberbände" (idk how they are called in english, or if they even availlable in the US), Books where only the relevant booklets are combined. (around 160 iirc.)

Rogue Moon IS fantastic!

Yeh, prioritise the Matheson book AND.....A Fire Upon the Deep........the best scifi book you've NEVER read 😒

So excited for this! I was just about to message you to confirm whether it was July. There was some confusion about whether it was July or all summer 😂

@michaelk.vaughan8617

Ай бұрын

Just July…unless you WANT to do it all Summer!

Revised classic sci-fi: WHO GOES WHERE, a story of an alien with no sense of direction. FAREWELL TO THE MISTER, a story about an alien that had a sex change. THE MARTIAN CUTICLES, a story about an alien manicurist. PIDDLE IN THE SKY, a story about using an airplane bathroom.

July plans! Are we that far gone already 🫣

"Roger's cheap old book club"..... proceeds to pull out a $100 book (though to be fair it is half price on Amazon atm)

@michaelk.vaughan8617

Ай бұрын

I did manage to get the fanciest edition of that book.

Library of America's four volumes of American Science Fiction would be great for this, along with their volumes for Bradbury, Philip Dick and Le Guin. I've always felt the 90s Body Snatchers was a very underrated film.

Michael I love your videos but your ninetean seventies view point is always very oblivious.

@seandarbe2521

Ай бұрын

I suggest you stay away from Heinlein if you don't want to read bong water.

The Night Of The Judgment is not a good book, it is overrated, the kind of Book which can lead you to hate S.F.

@michaelk.vaughan8617

Ай бұрын

Not many seem to agree with you.

@mescalito

Ай бұрын

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 By these days, bad taste is so common everywhere.....

What possibilities! If anything, I'll probably use Rocket Summer as a reason to dip back into "Bradbury Stories". It won't all be sci-fi, but that's OK. Wishing you good luck in your readings! 📗🚀🛸👽🤖👾

Such a variety to choose from, wonderful stuff!