Only 1 minute into the video, and I cut from "No reason to worry about any Robot uprising" into a harsd break for an advertisement. Great timing. Also, I cannot see what I'm typiing as I do so. Pretty sure that uprising has begun...
Worldbuilding alone makes _Teixcalaan_ more than worth reading. The crazy mixture of ancient Chinese and Japanese vibes with Mesoamerican ones is utterly fascinating - and it works!
@@bazoo513 Apparently she also has degrees in Armenian and Byzantine history. Her world is very creative and well thought out with historical influences.
@@WordsinTime Yes. BTW, have you read her wife's works? _Dr. Greta Helsing_ series by vivian Shaw. I _never_ thought I would enjoy, umm, paranormal cozy mystery, but those I did.
Thanks for these recommendations Jonathan! There need to be more duologies out there. I want to read more Dan Simmons, and the Ilium duology is on my list.
Hyperion is an all time favorite that haunts me to this day. I need to read more of his work. Thanks for all the recs. I've lately realized I haven't read much sci fi lately. I need to fix that. I'm also unable to commit to series. Standalones / duologies (and occasional trilogy) will have to do it for me. My brain is fried these days.
May I suggest : The Perihelion Duology by D M Wozniak (2018). It comes in single volume containing the books 'The Perihelion' and 'An Obliquity'. Excellent duology housed together in one big book (748 pages). Worth a look!
Chicken & Waffles? 😂 where have I been? I’ve never seen that combo on a menu. I always end up learning something new from your videos Johnathan! Thx 🙌🤣
I really enjoyed the Illium duology! I loved the use of hard scifi ideas mixed with ancient battles and chariots. Another great duology is Dogs of War + Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky! I think a third is on the way, but for now, it's a duo.
I really enjoyed the common wealth books. Early this year I read Ilium. I liked all the plot lines for the most part. One character I could not stand. I plan to read Olympos this year. The Daemon books sound really interesting. Thanks for the recommendation I will definitely be checking it out.
I Loved the Hamilton books. I know some think they are overly padded but it does allow for numerous (almost literally) characters who do develop over time, some of whom do that remarkably, from bimbo to kick ass, from soldier to psychopath, from hippie to errrrm I suppose he stays as a hippie.The first book also has a fantastic last paragraph, talk about a cliff hanger intro for the second book.
Great recommendations! The Commonwealth Saga is in my TBR for 2025. The size of the books is a little intimidating, but I am looking forward to it. I haven't read a lot of duologies, but one I can recommend is S. B. Divya's epic space opera Alloy Era (Meru/Loka), which I read this summer.
Oh yes, I kepps Olympus for a good time, because I enjoyed Ilium by Simmons so much and read it so quick like nothing before (and I loved Hyperion and enjoyed Endymion).
I LOVED Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. Absolutely loved the reveal in Pandora's Star! Unfortunately the following Void Trilogy I found profoundly disappointing I finally read Hyperion! I enjoyed it quite a bit. The priest being the first story was a bit disappointing because it was SO good that the rest just couldn't hold a torch. But still a solid 4 out of 5. Got Fall of Hyperion off Thriftbooks and its on my TBR. If I enjoy this one just as much once I finish the full cantos I'll check out that duology
@@thatfuzzypotato1877 Glad you enjoyed the Commonwealth Saga and Hyperion! The priest’s tale and the scholar’s tale are often the most popular. Hope you enjoy Fall!
Ok… bit freaky, I just picked up the Ilium duo-logy right before watching this, and I stopped by Powells a couple of days ago to get some Christmas presents. We are on the same wavelength!
Daemon/Suarez like Crichton! It's all making sense now. I have trouble reading Crichton because his books seem like all plot with stereotyped, 2D characters. A Memory Called Empire is on my list for this month, which I hope I like since A Desolation Called Peace awaits on my bookshelf also. I also have Connie Willis' Blackout/All Clear and Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower/Talents on my shelf.
Funnily enough, I've read some of your metaphors but none of the books. I've read both Iliad and Odyssey, and Shakespeare way beyond Romeo and Juliet. From your recommendations I'll get the Dan Simmons and Teixcalaan pairs onto my TBR. Also, for the Teixcalaan name for Shakespeare I'd go for 154Sonnets. Also also, Odysseus goes into a dockside bar filled with half drunk sailors; "Men, listen to me. I'm looking for a crew to go on a great sailing adventure. It will last for ten years. It's called an Odyssey. Are you with me?" "Why is it called that?" "It's named after the only man who survives." " ...... "
Hamilton's other Commonwealth books are not as long as the first two, so no worries there. His stand-alone non-commonwealth novel The Great North Road was really good, too.
@WordsinTime I'm brazilian and it seems a little weird for my taste. But don't you worry, I'm sure some brazilian dishes would seem weird for you as well. 😆
Simmons is a great writer and I read and loved the 4 volume Hyperion cantos. There were not enough references in it that I didn’t understand to prevent me from enjoying it (really only details of a famous poet). However Ilium had wayyyy too many references that went way over my head. Proust? Obviously characters from Roman war and perhaps Grendel. Read the 1st volume and stopped.
I loved A Memory Called Empire and I’m currently finishing up Desolation. I do think it’s just as good as the first novel, but as a gay man I didn’t need all the information dumps concerning vaginas and their use.
I gave up 300 pages into Pandora's Star. Sadly just didn't hold my interest after a promising start. Had Daemon and Teixcalaan sat on the shelf for a few years and must get to them soon.
Always loved the Odyssey but found the Illiad a little boring even though it’s supposed to be the greater book but eager to give Daemon a second shot. Be well.⚛❤
It's an interesting read, but you eventually realise that there is some very disturbing subject matter towards the end of the book. Not sure that particular subject is one that could be seen as entertainment.
I don't care for the Illium/Olympos duo. Simmons was developing a bad tendency of using ALL of his research in his books at the time rather than submerging it under the story, which makes books like Drood and The Fifth Heart kind of a slog. Same with these two. I'm not entirely sure he knew where he was heading, either, which you pick up on here. I feel the same way about the Endymion books, too, so it's not new to Olympos. Plus, Simmons has turned into a fairly unpleasant crank in the last twenty years and it influences my opinion of his books. I love the Texcalan books. Haven't read the other two duos you mention, alas.
I read Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga after I read his Night's Dawn Trilogy. One of the things I liked is he toned down the icky sex scenes for the Commonwealth Saga. That's right, TONED DOWN. The sex scenes in Night's Dawn are longer and more graphic and thus even more annoying. I'm no prude, don't get me wrong. But, come on dude. That's not what I read these kinds of books for. However, don't let that put you off reading the Night's Dawn Trilogy. You will enjoy it just as much, possibly more, if you enjoyed the Commonwealth Saga. Hamilton is just as full of crazy sci-fi/fantasy ideas. There's even more "enzyme-bonded concrete" too, lol. Just skim through the sex stuff, you aren't missing anything important.
Chicken & Waffles eh? Is that a normal thing where you live? Is it normal in your country? Just your hometown? Maybe just you eat it in your room? Chicken & Waffles!
@@WordsinTime Well Americans eat Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches so I'm not surprised. How about a review of 'Marmite' SF books (Either passionately loved or greatly hated)?
Only 1 minute into the video, and I cut from "No reason to worry about any Robot uprising" into a harsd break for an advertisement. Great timing. Also, I cannot see what I'm typiing as I do so. Pretty sure that uprising has begun...
@@evanb6862 Haha, at least the robots have a sense of humor I guess
Worldbuilding alone makes _Teixcalaan_ more than worth reading. The crazy mixture of ancient Chinese and Japanese vibes with Mesoamerican ones is utterly fascinating - and it works!
@@bazoo513 Apparently she also has degrees in Armenian and Byzantine history. Her world is very creative and well thought out with historical influences.
@@WordsinTime Yes. BTW, have you read her wife's works? _Dr. Greta Helsing_ series by vivian Shaw. I _never_ thought I would enjoy, umm, paranormal cozy mystery, but those I did.
@ I haven’t, but glad you liked it!
Thanks for these recommendations Jonathan! There need to be more duologies out there. I want to read more Dan Simmons, and the Ilium duology is on my list.
It has some flaws but it’s very ambitious!
Your videos are really cool and fun. Looking forward to a second part of this one!
@@instanttaneas Thanks for the kind words! Glad you enjoyed!
Hyperion is an all time favorite that haunts me to this day. I need to read more of his work. Thanks for all the recs. I've lately realized I haven't read much sci fi lately. I need to fix that. I'm also unable to commit to series. Standalones / duologies (and occasional trilogy) will have to do it for me. My brain is fried these days.
It might not quite be on the same level but if you enjoyed Hyperion there’s a chance you’ll also enjoy Ilium!
Same same
4:05 Based on recent events I’d say that Luigi has surpassed Mario
@@TG-ld8hl Hahaha
Stop! You’re so freaking entertaining! Thank you for these videos.
@@ryanhiatt23 Haha you’re welcome (this is the original Jonathan)
@@WordsinTimehe forces you back into your room but you get to comment on TH-cam videos?
@ He says I’m better suited for work behind the camera
Daemon duology going to the top of my list!
May I suggest : The Perihelion Duology by D M Wozniak (2018). It comes in single volume containing the books 'The Perihelion' and 'An Obliquity'. Excellent duology housed together in one big book (748 pages). Worth a look!
@@JamesA-b8p I’ll have to look it up, thanks!
Glad they got the dubbing fixed. I'm a big fan of subtitle and dubbing options, but only when they work right.
@@dqan7372 It was a technological adventure haha
I am reading MR Carey's Infinity Gate right now and it is part of a duology, and it is really great.
@@jeroenadmiraal8714 Nice! I’ve heard good things!
Chicken & Waffles? 😂 where have I been? I’ve never seen that combo on a menu. I always end up learning something new from your videos Johnathan! Thx 🙌🤣
@@bartsbookspace Come to LA haha
I really enjoyed the Illium duology! I loved the use of hard scifi ideas mixed with ancient battles and chariots. Another great duology is Dogs of War + Bear Head by Adrian Tchaikovsky! I think a third is on the way, but for now, it's a duo.
@@ajaxdavis Yes, apparently there’s another coming called Bee Speaker 🐝
I just started Peter F Hamilton's newest duology with Exodus. Need to go back and read the Commonwealth duology eventually ...
@@Chloes_World_of_Books Nice! Hope you like it!
I really enjoyed the common wealth books. Early this year I read Ilium. I liked all the plot lines for the most part. One character I could not stand. I plan to read Olympos this year. The Daemon books sound really interesting. Thanks for the recommendation I will definitely be checking it out.
@@DanEllingson23 Hope you enjoy Daemon!
Hi Jonathan. I'm looking forward to eventually reading Illium and Olympos.
@@curtjarrell9710 Hope you enjoy!
More good recommendations, thank you. They only duology you mentioned here that I've read is the Hyperion/Fall of Hyperion one.
@@Spencer_Beard Hope you enjoy!
I Loved the Hamilton books. I know some think they are overly padded but it does allow for numerous (almost literally) characters who do develop over time, some of whom do that remarkably, from bimbo to kick ass, from soldier to psychopath, from hippie to errrrm I suppose he stays as a hippie.The first book also has a fantastic last paragraph, talk about a cliff hanger intro for the second book.
@@Joe-lb8qn Yes, all the characters do end up being relevant to the story!
@ yep I love the way they gradually intertwine and come together into a few key strands.
Great recommendations! The Commonwealth Saga is in my TBR for 2025. The size of the books is a little intimidating, but I am looking forward to it.
I haven't read a lot of duologies, but one I can recommend is S. B. Divya's epic space opera Alloy Era (Meru/Loka), which I read this summer.
@@bookspin Hope you enjoy it! And I’ll have to look that one up!
I find the audiobook is a good way to enjoy Hamilton
Oh yes, I kepps Olympus for a good time, because I enjoyed Ilium by Simmons so much and read it so quick like nothing before (and I loved Hyperion and enjoyed Endymion).
@@Kaolein Glad you enjoyed it!
It’s almost like he’s still with us😢😭 Rest In Peace Johnathan, you will be missed
@@Chaney_Johnson_Fan New Jonathan still lets me reply to TH-cam comments!
I've had Ilium sitting on my shelf for years. Gotta get to it someday. Loved Hyperion and The Terror so I should enjoy it.
@@douglasdea637 Hope you like it! I’ve heard good things about The Terror as well.
Peter f Hamilton commemwealth saga is pretty epic, taken me 6 months so far, but my god, these are very detailed but so so very good.
@@kevrunsascott True!
I LOVED Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained. Absolutely loved the reveal in Pandora's Star! Unfortunately the following Void Trilogy I found profoundly disappointing
I finally read Hyperion! I enjoyed it quite a bit. The priest being the first story was a bit disappointing because it was SO good that the rest just couldn't hold a torch. But still a solid 4 out of 5. Got Fall of Hyperion off Thriftbooks and its on my TBR. If I enjoy this one just as much once I finish the full cantos I'll check out that duology
@@thatfuzzypotato1877 Glad you enjoyed the Commonwealth Saga and Hyperion! The priest’s tale and the scholar’s tale are often the most popular. Hope you enjoy Fall!
Scott Westerfeld's The Risen Empire duology was also pretty great.
@@TravisJohnsonncc1701 I’ll have to look it up!
Ok… bit freaky, I just picked up the Ilium duo-logy right before watching this, and I stopped by Powells a couple of days ago to get some Christmas presents. We are on the same wavelength!
Haha nice timing!
Daemon/Suarez like Crichton! It's all making sense now. I have trouble reading Crichton because his books seem like all plot with stereotyped, 2D characters. A Memory Called Empire is on my list for this month, which I hope I like since A Desolation Called Peace awaits on my bookshelf also. I also have Connie Willis' Blackout/All Clear and Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower/Talents on my shelf.
@@cherylmccutchan1282 Nice picks! I think you might like Teixcalaan but it takes a little while to get a hang of the terms and names.
Funnily enough, I've read some of your metaphors but none of the books. I've read both Iliad and Odyssey, and Shakespeare way beyond Romeo and Juliet. From your recommendations I'll get the Dan Simmons and Teixcalaan pairs onto my TBR.
Also, for the Teixcalaan name for Shakespeare I'd go for 154Sonnets.
Also also,
Odysseus goes into a dockside bar filled with half drunk sailors;
"Men, listen to me. I'm looking for a crew to go on a great sailing adventure. It will last for ten years. It's called an Odyssey. Are you with me?"
"Why is it called that?"
"It's named after the only man who survives."
" ...... "
@@Kim_Miller Haha 154 Sonnets is a good one! Hope you enjoy Ilium and Teixcalaan!
Hamilton's other Commonwealth books are not as long as the first two, so no worries there. His stand-alone non-commonwealth novel The Great North Road was really good, too.
@@Rogue_VI I’ve heard good things about that one!
I would recommend Great North Road not just for SF fans but also for fans of detective/police procedural novels.
I really liked all Hamilton series, I read them all. For me the slow pace was an advantage, maybe because English is not my mother tongue.
@@peterbaranyi2803 I’m glad you enjoyed them!
He's been cloned!
@@Yesica1993 I’m the original!
@@WordsinTime I would like to see all the clones show up for a review of the Sun Eater series. 😉😉😉😉😉😉😉
Chicken and waffles!!!! 😳
@@mariosalerno8766 A real treat haha
@WordsinTime I'm brazilian and it seems a little weird for my taste. But don't you worry, I'm sure some brazilian dishes would seem weird for you as well. 😆
William "5 foot" Shakespeare (from his use of iambic pentameter).
@@Twirlip2 Well played haha
Simmons is a great writer and I read and loved the 4 volume Hyperion cantos. There were not enough references in it that I didn’t understand to prevent me from enjoying it (really only details of a famous poet). However Ilium had wayyyy too many references that went way over my head. Proust? Obviously characters from Roman war and perhaps Grendel. Read the 1st volume and stopped.
@@Scottlp2 I don’t think you need to know all the references to enjoy the book, but there are indeed a lot of references.
Commonwealth added to TBR.
@@leonardadams5633 Hope you enjoy!
Can I start reading Dan Simmons with Illium? Do you suggest anyother book?
@@muttineni03 Yes, you can start there if you like. Hyperion is his most well known but you can start with either.
I kid you not, at about the 1 min mark when he said there is no reason to fear a robot uprising, I got a ChatGPT ad straight up, then he said anyway 😂
@@DecayTheDemon Oh no haha 🤖
I loved A Memory Called Empire and I’m currently finishing up Desolation. I do think it’s just as good as the first novel, but as a gay man I didn’t need all the information dumps concerning vaginas and their use.
@@chrisduran The second book does get a bit spicy haha
Also I was like, shouldn’t you be working on Alien translation right now rather than fisting.
I feel like I might have to read them all
@@rachelthompson9324 Haha nice! Hope you like them!
Out of interest, do you also (occasionally) read mainstream literary fiction as well as sf?
@@philbc3 I have read some literary fiction but at the moment I’m only reading science fiction.
Everyone wants to be Luigi now
@@VorosMedve Haha
OK, so far I’ve read and liked the Arkady Martine pair but not the others.
@@jonathan.palfrey I’m glad you liked it too!
Daemon doulogy is great!!! I recommend
@@Seth6097 Glad you enjoyed it too!
I gave up 300 pages into Pandora's Star. Sadly just didn't hold my interest after a promising start. Had Daemon and Teixcalaan sat on the shelf for a few years and must get to them soon.
@@JohnG225 It does take a while to get going. Hope you enjoy the other two!
I had to give up too. I followed a couple of character groups to the end of the book, and I'm done.
Great review of Daemon.
I don't watch basketball. 😂
@@psikeyhackr6914 You’ll just have to trust the analogies were impeccable haha
The greatest duo ever is peanut butter and jelly.
@@EricShreve Unless you’re allergic haha
Always loved the Odyssey but found the Illiad a little boring even though it’s supposed to be the greater book but eager to give Daemon a second shot. Be well.⚛❤
@@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd Hope you enjoy Daemon!
I think Shakespeare would be called 2Be but then again maybe not...
@@AlexStaunton-jf2xz Haha love it 👏
An excellent duo worth reading is The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell. Great writing and very hard hitting ideas.
@@richardbrown8966 I recently bought The Sparrow!
It's an interesting read, but you eventually realise that there is some very disturbing subject matter towards the end of the book. Not sure that particular subject is one that could be seen as entertainment.
Yes! Excellent pair.
I don't care for the Illium/Olympos duo. Simmons was developing a bad tendency of using ALL of his research in his books at the time rather than submerging it under the story, which makes books like Drood and The Fifth Heart kind of a slog. Same with these two. I'm not entirely sure he knew where he was heading, either, which you pick up on here. I feel the same way about the Endymion books, too, so it's not new to Olympos. Plus, Simmons has turned into a fairly unpleasant crank in the last twenty years and it influences my opinion of his books.
I love the Texcalan books. Haven't read the other two duos you mention, alas.
@@doctormorbuis I liked Ilium and Endymion but I understand those criticisms. Glad you enjoyed Teixcalaan!
I read Peter F. Hamilton's Commonwealth Saga after I read his Night's Dawn Trilogy. One of the things I liked is he toned down the icky sex scenes for the Commonwealth Saga. That's right, TONED DOWN. The sex scenes in Night's Dawn are longer and more graphic and thus even more annoying. I'm no prude, don't get me wrong. But, come on dude. That's not what I read these kinds of books for. However, don't let that put you off reading the Night's Dawn Trilogy. You will enjoy it just as much, possibly more, if you enjoyed the Commonwealth Saga. Hamilton is just as full of crazy sci-fi/fantasy ideas. There's even more "enzyme-bonded concrete" too, lol. Just skim through the sex stuff, you aren't missing anything important.
@@Duncan_Idaho_Potato Haha that’s wild
Chicken & Waffles eh?
Is that a normal thing where you live?
Is it normal in your country?
Just your hometown?
Maybe just you eat it in your room?
Chicken & Waffles!
@@PaulSaether Haha it’s not common in Australia but it is popular in America!
@@WordsinTime
Well Americans eat Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches so I'm not surprised.
How about a review of 'Marmite' SF books
(Either passionately loved or greatly hated)?
@ Haha I’m allergic to peanuts myself.
I made a video a while back about polarizing books, which you could describe as marmite haha
I must disagree about Hamilton.
After the Commonwealth, I read his entire catalog.
@@Arational Glad you loved it!
Firsties!!!!!
@@Spencer_Beard Well done 🤜🤛