Star of the unborn , farewell earths bliss and ice I have not read but will hunt those 3 down .Some fantastic books there, I started reading malzberg last year and he is fast becoming a firm favourite along with Christopher priest I will be reading lots more of both this year.
He hasn't written SF in over a decade. It would be nice if he suddenly crops up with a new book, but it looks like his SF career is over - hopefully he's having a good retirement.
Silverberg has been retired yet again for some time now. Almost anything he wrote between 1966 to 1976 just burns with brilliance. "Dying Inside" may be the best SF novel I've ever read.
Can we take a minute to appreciate no riff-raff in the beginning and jumping straight into it. We read the video title. No need to spend 5 minutes restating it.
I keep forgetting to mention it, but having the titles in the description is a life saver for doing further research, saves me soo much time. The timestamps are also amazing and thank you for including both of these, the extra work they take is very much appreciated (and could well be the next dune.)
I just wanted to thank you for directly getting to the point as soon as the video starts, without wasting anyone's time with frivolities. Very much appreciated.
Thanks for this list! Your tastes don’t exactly align with mine, but I really appreciate how clear and consistent you are for why you like (or don’t like) a book.
I remember watching the Dune movie and just being so intrigued by the sci-fi genre that i went on a 4 hour binge on booktube. Your videos are truly amazing and just the way you explain the plot and the vibe of the book makes us understand exactly which book we would like which is unlike others. I hope you keep making such videos and spreading your knowledge
Would love to have heard you were so intrigued by the genre you actually went and read some of them. I know, it's 2024 and all. (Sorry if that sounded snarky or "you kids get off my lawn"ish. Culture and technology do move on...)
@@norfsidejayy1223 what did you think of God Emperor? It blew my mind when I first read it in the 90s and even after six rereads of the series it remains my favorite (probably tied with the first novel, that one changed the way I viewed the world as a young teenager)
I read Blindsight because of your recommendation. It has been 3 months since I finished and I still can't stop thinking about it. Easily one of the greatest books I have or ever will read.
This list went far deeper into the history of this genre than most lists of this type I encounter. It’s nice to see considered analysis from someone who is clearly reading deeply and widely and not just all the newest releases and big hits.
I'm surprised that The Dispossessed was knocked off your list between the last video and this one given what you said about it before. I picked up that book on your previous recommendation (my first Le Guin) and I was absolutely blown away by it. What you said about reading something that "just sticks in your spinal column" -- 100% true, and I can't stop thinking about this book. I'm super excited to read more Le Guin. I have yet to read *any* of these other books you've recommended, so I'm not sure how closely our interests align, but if these others are really so good as to knock The Dispossessed off the list then I'm in for many treats. (Also, I just generally love listening to you talk about books, whether I've read them or ever plan to read them or not.)
I agree! I loved the dispossessed based on his recommendation I also read roadside picnic but I ended up liking the dispossessed more. (Not to say roadside is bad it is also a fantastic read) I am going to try and read all of his top 15 this year and see what my opinion is at the end of it.
Check out her short story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" too, if you haven't come across it already. That's one that stuck in my spinal column and is still there years later.
I wanted to thank you for the Blindsight rec. I've been an avid SF reader for decades and somehow this slipped past my radar, but I just finished reading it, largely based on your frequent recommendations. The book is likely going to haunt me for the rest of my days. I had an aneurysm back in 2000 that initially left me largely paralyzed on my left side, with the worst of the effects trailing off to become bearable over the following couple of years. These days people hardly notice the effects. In any case, the description of the disorienting (to be kind) effects experienced by the crew in their excursions to the Rorschach are by far the best depiction of what it was like to be stuck in my head in those first few months after my head exploded I've ever come across. The depiction of the fragility of our perception of "reality" is just magnificent. Thank you again... And carry on, please. I don't always agree with your take (I'm a big Remembrance of Earth's Past fan), but I almost always enjoy the thoughtfulness and reasoning behind your opinions..
Blindsight without a doubt deserves as much praise as it can get. Watts is underrated in his writing ability, for clever sharp and effective prose. Absolutely deserves its spot on the list. Appreciated the video as always.
I think “this or that changed my life” is used too often by people to describe things that are cool or original, but not really life changing. This book, however, changed my life too. I learned or gained understanding so many words and concepts for the first time (and I was already almost 40). To say it’s astonishing is an understatement. Seriously, if you read one book on this list, it should be Blindsight - I’ve read almost all of the others and agree to some extent or other that they deserve to be considered great, but Blindsight… wow.
the writing is sharp as a tack. or a better word maybe is crisp, almost flinty even. i liked that a lot. it was just a cool style, but it fit the story.
Blindsight was a bit of a frustrating read for me. The technical jargon at the beginning was hard to understand, and made it difficult to have a mental model of what was going on physically during the book. Everything else, like the interactions between the characters, flashbacks to earlier events, the way the protagonist felt, and overall what was happening was masterfully written, but the details of what was going on were difficult to understand. I often had trouble really painting a mental picture of what was going on physically, and I had to update my mental model of the ship or of Rorshach because I had missed something or my mental model didn't fit what was happening. It kept taking me out of the experience instead of being gripped by what was happening and along for the ride. The ideas in the book definitely did have a big impact and it's something I bring up fairly often. I really enjoyed the ideas presented in the book, and it did feel huge and very interesting, but it just wasn't a fun read. But I find it hard to recommend the book due to it being frustrating for me to read. It especially feels ironic since the protagonist is supposed to be an expert at "synthesizing" difficult to understand information, and yet the technical jargon just got in the way far too often.
I love this list and I especially agree about Roadside Picnic! Even after reading hundreds of SF novels since I was a teenager, Roadside Picnic was a revelation when I read it a few years ago! I love these kinds of discussions and think it lifts the genre to a new level! Thanks for your very cogent reviews!
A great list! -- I discovered your channel a few months ago while doing "research" for a university class I have started teaching, "Philosophy and Science Fiction". Yes, I am a professor of philosophy. And based on your review and high praise of the novel, I read *Blindsight* for the first time in just the past month. And I thought it was fantastic. So, thanks for that. BTW, *Solaris* remains my all-time favorite for the same reasons you give, and I love *Roadside Picnic*, *Neuromancer* and *Ice*, too. I hope to work through the remaining novels on your list (which I don't know) before the next iteration of my philosophy class.
My reading habit has been on hold for the past 9 months since the birth of our second kid. Your reviews inspired me to pick up the copy of Neuromancer that's been sitting on my shelf for years. It was amazing. I blew through it. I can't wait to hop into my next book. Thank you so much!
Don’t tell my husband, but it was his enthusiastic appraisal of the works of Vernor Vinge that won my heart. ❤ That, and his skill at ballroom dancing. But mostly Vinge.
I read Blindsight over the summer based on your review. I had, and still have, the same reaction that you describe. I can’t stop thinking about it. Every other thing I’ve read since that addresses human consciousness leads me back to Blindsight. I’m an old fart, and it’s been a long time since I read a book that wowed me like this one. It just, please forgive the cliche, blew my mind.
Just stumbled on to this channel. Really great content, insightful and interesting. I absolutely love the fact that you feature the novels discussed in their different editions.
I love the fact that I've only ever heard of two of these. Very much appreciate the deep cuts of the genre. Great breathe of fresh air to not see a list full of the pop culture picks. Subbed for sure.
Love Downward To The Earth and it has sent me down a whole Silverberg path. I will be checking out some of the books you have listed. I read Roadside Picnic last year off your list. It’s a book that stays with you.
You got me started in reading sci-fi and my little collection is almost all based on your reviews. From the things I have read so far, I really trust your judgement on the QUALITY of a book, whatever the style/vibe may be. You also led me over to Outlaw Bookseller and I revere his opinions as well. Thanks!
Could not agree more on Vinge. At times I felt like I was suffocating while reading about the mental tortures. And Gibson prose is as great as you say. I look forward to some on your list which I have not read. Thanks for your clear and intelligent capsule reviews.
I already knew you liked all these books, but knowing they reached your top 15 recontextualizes them. Books like Farewell Earth’s Bliss and Beyond Apollo have shot up my TBR. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for starting with Hothouse! Aldiss, along with JG Ballard, were my favourite authors growing up in the UK in the 60s and early 70s. The books meant a lot to me. Had the opportunity of meeting Aldiss's son a few years back - he was a customer at my little print shop, and I asked if he was aware of a writer with the same surname as him. I think he was a bit taken back by me suddenly gushing praise about his father when he told me who he was! (Brian W Aldiss was still alive at the time, but he died a short while later).
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel... And that's your ticket if you wish a ride into the world of Neuromancer. And what a hell of a ride it was the first time I read it, kudos to Gibson. Molly Millions...always will be my favorite razor girl.
Ahhh well said. I’m holding Neuromancer in my hand right now as I finish off the last 100 pages or so….love Molly’s vibe and prose…” wasting your time cowboy”
Is it Nuromancer where the lead character has an operation and questions the cleanliness of the 'operating theater'. The doc replies with something like, 'Don't worry. With the antibiotics I gave you, I could have sown a dead cat inside you and you'd be fine.' It's while since I read Gibson, so my quote might be a bit off the mark.
This was a fantastic list. Many of these books are already on my to read list. Feel proud my fellow Soviet Strugatski Brothers novel is your #1. Subscribed.
But it’s also appropriate to say that the “usual suspects” are “usual suspects” for a reason. I was very surprised to not see a single one on a “best of all time” list. Makes me question the validity of this.
None of these would be on my top 15, but that is what is great about SciFi. It is such a wide genre and has so many great novelists that have written over time. Most everyone's list will be different. Great video, you described each book and why it is on your list very well.
Thanks a lot. Been looking for some good sci-fi that I haven’t read yet, and picked a number of your suggestions. Looking forward to getting into them!!!
Fantastic, clear, and thoughtful as always. Love the channel and I feel like I get to vicariously live the dream of reading ludicrous amounts of science fiction through you.
What an eclectic list! Just hearing the descriptions is stirring, given the amazing imaginations of people in the sci fi world. I've read some of these, but am intrigued with many of the others, like Roadside Picnic. The book covers are insane, too.
Finally a sure source for masterful sf books to read. Thank you! After getting brain damage 4 or so years back, I read Blindsight and its sequel both twice and adored them- though hard to understand it all but resonated with it due to my situation. And it’s brilliance. Of course. Then a genius Dr. found the direction needed for my prolonged issues and with the right simple treatment on 2/5/2024 woke up from what felt like a half coma. (I still have issues but it was highly dramatic). One of the greatest things was rereading those two books and understating them so much more. Doubly getting them. Dying to have him finish the third book. Thanks, man!
Late bloomer to hard sci-fi. I was over 30 when I first read Neuromancer. Your observations are well captured. ....that first page; I knew I was experiencing something unique.
Roadside picnic book and Stalker movie (1979) inspired by this book are my absolutely favorite pieces of art. I am so glad to hear you rated it high on your list! I first read it when I was 11 and my mind was blown, now I am 37, I have read it so many times, and I enjoy it even more now. Highly recommend checking out other books by Strugatsky, like ugly swans and hard to be a god
Another great video, thank you! I've only read 3 on this list; Solaris, We Who Are About To and Roadside Picnic. The latter two I read directly off your recommendations. I must also thank you for opening the world of Samuel Delany to me - a real life-changer. Still looking for some of your highly recommended titles in accessible format - Star of the Unborn is on the Internet Archive, but I haven't gotten round to it yet as I have to read it using text-to-speech, which isn't ideal. I read all of We Who Are About To using TTS, but it's a shorter book. Will keep searching! Definitely need to dive into the Silverberg rabbithole... here I go!
I found a copy of the UK Modern SF Classics edition of Roadside Picnic in a bookshop while on holiday a couple of months ago and bought it based on your previous report - I absolutely loved it and as you noted about the other books on this video list - it was the writing quality and the sheer pleasure of reading in addition to the story itself. Thanks for the recommendation!
Just found this list and so glad it has so many authors I never heard about. Strugatsky brothers and Lem are insanely good so I'm looking forward to get familiarized with the others I don't know about. Thank you!
Great list but the commentary is even better and super helpful. I know from previous videos you are not a fan of early Iain M. Banks (neither am I) but I can recommend “Look To Windward” as a mind blowing space opera that is tied with “A Fire Upon The Deep” in my own list.
As a newer Science Fiction reader (mostly read Fantasy in my earlier years), you have opened my eyes to some themes that I feel I have been looking for outside the mainstream writers that get more the attention these days. I very much appreciate your casual style of informing us of these hidden gems and I hope to find some of these books to dive in to. Thank you for this! Enjoy your day!
Thank you for putting together this list of thinking person's sci-fi - new books to explore! Have read Neuromancer & Blindsight but not the others. A Canticle for Liebowitz as runner up? I loved Robert Silverberg's Lord Valentine's Castle, pure 70s sci-fi bliss. Especially the copy with the lost Bee Gees member juggling in tights on the cover. 😅
Phenomenal recs. I had the same experience with A Fire Upon the Deep. The first hard sci fi book I read, my mind was completely blown and I couldn't put it down. Such a wonderous experience to have, and I've been chasing the same since
Great review. Of all the books in the list that I have not read and will give a try is Hothouse. The review reminded me of Roger Zelazny's Jack of Shadows. I have enjoyed some of Zelazny's fantasy and science fiction so I thought a try at science fantasy would be right up his alley but he failed to deliver. I think Aldiss nailed it. Star of the Unborn by Franz Werfel is one book I will also be looking for.
I just discovered your You Tube channel. I like it very much, I am a French science fiction reader and I am discovering with you works not yet translated into French. I hope that one day they will be because I am not yet able to read fluently in English. I give you all my encouragement to continue your very good work as a booktuber. Thx ! Yours faithfully, Roland.
I just found your channel, so please excuse this late comment. Why does youtube suck at recommending videos? This video is such a dense nugget of good commentary, i loved it. You strike the right balance of erudite literary context and the way a book makes you feel. I can tell we have similar but not identical taste in books, which makes me excited to see your other content. I usually don't rewatch videos, particularly right after i finish watching, but this video was fascinating and I'm going to enjoy it twice. And then I will probably binge some of your other videos. You've earned a subscriber this day.
Great video. Favorite books are obviously completely subjective, so anyone surprised a given book didn't make the list needs to remember that all of us have unique experiences that shape our preferences and aversions as we grow, and that that, more than anything else, decides what one's list will look like - not popularity, renown or reviews. For me, Dune reigns supreme, but that's largely down to how and when I discovered it, and who I was at the time. Another book at that time might just as easily imprinted as deeply on me had the circumstances and my personal past been even just a little different. I'll definitely be checking out several of the books on your list, beanie guy.
A very good perspective regarding when, where and who we were when we first discovered a certain work. I often make the same point about musical works and genres. People tell you their favorite music and you ask "How old were you when you first heard [X music]?" and it's almost always 14, 15, 16. With literary works its skews a little older.
Just finished Roadside Picnic based on your recommendation. I haven't been pulled into a world so much in a long time. Great characters, dialogue, and an eerieness that kept me turning pages. Thank you!
You explain so well what these books are about. Thank you for introducing us to these books I've not heard of a few of them. Keep up the good work. Lol...and you're not just "...some guy in a beanie."
Agree on Roadside Picnic. Thanks for the awesome recommendations. I mainly read Sci-Fi, but I haven't heard of some of these. Going to read them (if I can find some of them).
Thanks to you I started my Sci Fi journey with Fire Upon the Deep. It was a life changing experience to enjoy so many ideas about the future from the hand of Vinge. Thank you for the reviews my friend!
I am almost always left unsatisfied by list like these but when you started with Hothouse I knew I was going to see this vid through to the end, and this is a banger list. I'd probably put Solaris at #1, but I love Roadside Picnic too. This really made me want to jump on the few books in the list I haven't read yet... like Ice. Subscribed. Great work.
"Erudite", which you used to describe one of the authors, aptly describes how you come across. I read Blindsight after watching one of your previous videos and it completely blew my mind. Thanks for this.
This rocked ! Found a few novels and authors never heard of. Most vids of " my best sci fi " usually is a list of every reccomended " classic". All of wich i have read or is on my tbr list. Thanks
Solaris is one of the greatest works of literature ever written. It’s endlessly readable, with multiple psychological insights. Glad it was so high on the list. Fantastic video 👍
So glad to see a list that has some of the older sci-fi books from the classic era. Also glad that I only recognized a few of them, so that I'll have some new books to explore. Also appreciate how you showed multiple covers of the books. That made me realize that I actually had read Beyond Apollo!
Solaris, Blindsight, and Roadside Picnic are all fantastic. I haven’t read those Aldiss and Silverberg books but own others by them, so I’ll look forward to those two. And I’ll have to check out some of the others like Shaw and Russ.
If you like Lem, Jacek Dukaj is another Polish author (sometimes called Lem's succesor) with very unique hard sci-fi ideas and beatuiful style of writing. Not many of his books were translated into english but I can recomend one of his most recent ones - "The Old Axolotl". Very close thematically with Solaris is his "Cathedral" which some passages you can find on his wiki page to have a sense of his style ofc if you are interested.
Everybody does Dune. You explore old and largely forgotten SF stories. I grew up on Bester, Van Vogt, EF Russell, Niven and Lem. There are some amazing books that foreshadow so much coming out today, and it is awesome that someone is regularly covering Golden Age SF. Thank you.
If you're looking to recapture a similar vibe to Roadside Picnic (or Stalker), I recommend The Gateway by F. Pohl. By vibe, I don't just mean plot elements, but atmosphere and style as well. It's not the same book, but the resonance is certainly there. (I just finished it, book 70 of my own 100 book challenge)
Really appreciate these recommendations - I've got way more SF books than I'll ever have time to read in this lifetime, so anything that helps me prioritize is of real value. As it happens, I read Hothouse a few months ago, and have the Bob Shaw book #14 with the great cover, now next up on my reading pile.
Only a few of these books sounds that interesting to me. I made it through Blindsight and found it arduous. The vampire wasn’t the problem though. I say this to setup, despite all that I wanted to compliment you on having an excellent presentation of what these books are about and how they impacted you. Very well done!
I really enjoyed this. This was my first Bookpilled and I’ll be back. As the video went on I realized how little sci-fi I’ve read. Then we got to the top 4 and I had read two Blindsight and Neuromancer. I enjoyed both immensely. I do have to go back and reread them as I felt well slightly overwhelmed and stupid while reading. Neuromancer has influenced so many of my favorite movies The Matrix, Jonny pneumonic and so many others. It’s part of a trilogy called the Sprawl. I didn’t know this till recently and I’ll be returning to finish it. Blindsight has two books in the firefall series. Echopraxia is the other. I haven’t read it but I’m completionest so I’ll have to go back read them together.
No time to listen at the moment, but I've skimmed your comments, found so much high praise for you to interest me, really liked how you hyphenated "sci -fi," and found myself subscribing and hitting the bell for all notifications, then downloading this video so I don't miss listening to it. The thing is, I don't care much for sci-fi. Just being here is a big step for me; we'll see if your recommendations convert me or confirm my suspected sci-fi allergy. To all you nerds and geeks who've left comments, you're why I've stopped. Thank you! ❤
I just 'discovered' your channel and like so many before me subscribed immediately. Thank you for all you suggestions. I read quite a few of the books on your list and I agree that those are great titles. It means also that there are a lot more for me to read! I read the book 'Roadside Picnic' after having seen the movie 'Stalker' by Tarkovski. A truly impressive movie for a truly impressive book.
You are more than a dude in a beanie...this includes being my favorite book reviewer on The Tube...many thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, you have introduced me to new and meaningful ideas
You’re a beast man. Read roadside picnic last month and is in my top 5 all time. You should make videos along the lines of ‘why you should read silverberg, asimov etc and deep dive your knowledge of authors books. Your well-spoken and articulate language goes a long way with me and other people formulating opinions
Great list. As someone who enjoys both some more "mainstream" sf books but also some more niche books this list will help me a lot. Like many other people said, there is no need to be angry about the fact you didn't include books such as Dune or Hyperion in your list, it is YOUR list! Thanks for the recommendations some really interest me :)
Gosh, I love every single sci-fi book review that you ever do. I am so thankful that I have found this channel. Wish you'd cover each book in a separate review: more videos & more reviews.
Wow. I considered myself fairly literate in the sci-fi realm, but there were a lot of books on this list I never heard of. Time to start diving into used bookstores again. Look forward to more videos.
Turned 60 this past November and had never heard of Brian Aldiss until you mentioned him. Finished Hothouse today. Mind blown - so much there, so ahead of his time, such a unique voice. On to The Palace of Eternity. Thanks!
Fifty years ago as a teenager and young man I read and loved a lot of these books, and have spent the last ten years on and off trying to remember their names. YT and you have made me very happy, as I want to read them again.
Thanks so much for this video. You've introduced me to so many intriguing works that I look forward to exploring. I was an avid reader of 'classic' sci-fi until about 30 years ago. I lost my appetite for it, but it's now coming back strong. So I have lots of catching up to do. This is the first of your offerings I've come across. I'll be looking through your others to see if you have opinions about some of my favorite classics, like LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness", Lessing's "The Sirian Experiments" or Anderson's "Brain Wave".
Just discovered your channel recently and I’m really glad I did. You’ve already put me on to a few gems I likely wouldn’t have found otherwise. Thank you for that!
Just finished ‘Ice’ by Anna Kavan. Despite 30 years of bookselling this title had passed me by until I saw your review of it. Everything you say about is true. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Keep up the good work!
Didn't mean to refer to Silverberg in the past tense. He is still alive and hopefully still writing.
Last release I'm aware of was Tales of Majipoor in 2013, a short story collection.
Star of the unborn , farewell earths bliss and ice I have not read but will hunt those 3 down .Some fantastic books there, I started reading malzberg last year and he is fast becoming a firm favourite along with Christopher priest I will be reading lots more of both this year.
He hasn't written SF in over a decade.
It would be nice if he suddenly crops up with a new book, but it looks like his SF career is over - hopefully he's having a good retirement.
His juvenile about a cadet traveling to Alpha Centauri and avoiding their dinosaurs during a revolution was fairly new when I read it about 1961.
Silverberg has been retired yet again for some time now. Almost anything he wrote between 1966 to 1976 just burns with brilliance. "Dying Inside" may be the best SF novel I've ever read.
Can we take a minute to appreciate no riff-raff in the beginning and jumping straight into it. We read the video title. No need to spend 5 minutes restating it.
I’ll second that!
Much appreciated 🙏🏻
Like a breeze on a hot day.
@@ricky4898you don't know what riff raff means
Yes instant beginning very nice!
I keep forgetting to mention it, but having the titles in the description is a life saver for doing further research, saves me soo much time. The timestamps are also amazing and thank you for including both of these, the extra work they take is very much appreciated (and could well be the next dune.)
Agree!
I just wanted to thank you for directly getting to the point as soon as the video starts, without wasting anyone's time with frivolities. Very much appreciated.
Thanks for this list! Your tastes don’t exactly align with mine, but I really appreciate how clear and consistent you are for why you like (or don’t like) a book.
I consider myself an avid sci-fi reader and you always come up with titles I’ve never heard of. Thank you for what you do!
I remember watching the Dune movie and just being so intrigued by the sci-fi genre that i went on a 4 hour binge on booktube. Your videos are truly amazing and just the way you explain the plot and the vibe of the book makes us understand exactly which book we would like which is unlike others. I hope you keep making such videos and spreading your knowledge
Thank you
Would love to have heard you were so intrigued by the genre you actually went and read some of them. I know, it's 2024 and all.
(Sorry if that sounded snarky or "you kids get off my lawn"ish. Culture and technology do move on...)
@@norfsidejayy1223 what did you think of God Emperor? It blew my mind when I first read it in the 90s and even after six rereads of the series it remains my favorite (probably tied with the first novel, that one changed the way I viewed the world as a young teenager)
So, did you read any?
I read Blindsight because of your recommendation. It has been 3 months since I finished and I still can't stop thinking about it. Easily one of the greatest books I have or ever will read.
Blindsight is one of the best novels i've ever read.
I'm sure you get this a lot but the lack of intro immediately made me subscribe and like. Very nice video and very respectful of my time.
This list went far deeper into the history of this genre than most lists of this type I encounter. It’s nice to see considered analysis from someone who is clearly reading deeply and widely and not just all the newest releases and big hits.
I'm surprised that The Dispossessed was knocked off your list between the last video and this one given what you said about it before. I picked up that book on your previous recommendation (my first Le Guin) and I was absolutely blown away by it. What you said about reading something that "just sticks in your spinal column" -- 100% true, and I can't stop thinking about this book. I'm super excited to read more Le Guin.
I have yet to read *any* of these other books you've recommended, so I'm not sure how closely our interests align, but if these others are really so good as to knock The Dispossessed off the list then I'm in for many treats.
(Also, I just generally love listening to you talk about books, whether I've read them or ever plan to read them or not.)
Actually, I lied -- I have read Neuromancer. It was incredible. So, you're 2/2 for me so far haha.
I agree! I loved the dispossessed based on his recommendation I also read roadside picnic but I ended up liking the dispossessed more. (Not to say roadside is bad it is also a fantastic read) I am going to try and read all of his top 15 this year and see what my opinion is at the end of it.
Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Roadside Picnic 🙂 That final monologue haunts me to this day...
Check out her short story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" too, if you haven't come across it already. That's one that stuck in my spinal column and is still there years later.
The Dispossesed is AMAZING.
I wanted to thank you for the Blindsight rec. I've been an avid SF reader for decades and somehow this slipped past my radar, but I just finished reading it, largely based on your frequent recommendations.
The book is likely going to haunt me for the rest of my days. I had an aneurysm back in 2000 that initially left me largely paralyzed on my left side, with the worst of the effects trailing off to become bearable over the following couple of years. These days people hardly notice the effects. In any case, the description of the disorienting (to be kind) effects experienced by the crew in their excursions to the Rorschach are by far the best depiction of what it was like to be stuck in my head in those first few months after my head exploded I've ever come across. The depiction of the fragility of our perception of "reality" is just magnificent.
Thank you again...
And carry on, please. I don't always agree with your take (I'm a big Remembrance of Earth's Past fan), but I almost always enjoy the thoughtfulness and reasoning behind your opinions..
Blindsight without a doubt deserves as much praise as it can get. Watts is underrated in his writing ability, for clever sharp and effective prose. Absolutely deserves its spot on the list. Appreciated the video as always.
I think “this or that changed my life” is used too often by people to describe things that are cool or original, but not really life changing. This book, however, changed my life too. I learned or gained understanding so many words and concepts for the first time (and I was already almost 40). To say it’s astonishing is an understatement. Seriously, if you read one book on this list, it should be Blindsight - I’ve read almost all of the others and agree to some extent or other that they deserve to be considered great, but Blindsight… wow.
the writing is sharp as a tack. or a better word maybe is crisp, almost flinty even. i liked that a lot. it was just a cool style, but it fit the story.
Really cool book! But certainly errs on the more difficult side
Literally changed the way I perceived the world.
Blindsight was a bit of a frustrating read for me. The technical jargon at the beginning was hard to understand, and made it difficult to have a mental model of what was going on physically during the book.
Everything else, like the interactions between the characters, flashbacks to earlier events, the way the protagonist felt, and overall what was happening was masterfully written, but the details of what was going on were difficult to understand. I often had trouble really painting a mental picture of what was going on physically, and I had to update my mental model of the ship or of Rorshach because I had missed something or my mental model didn't fit what was happening. It kept taking me out of the experience instead of being gripped by what was happening and along for the ride.
The ideas in the book definitely did have a big impact and it's something I bring up fairly often. I really enjoyed the ideas presented in the book, and it did feel huge and very interesting, but it just wasn't a fun read. But I find it hard to recommend the book due to it being frustrating for me to read. It especially feels ironic since the protagonist is supposed to be an expert at "synthesizing" difficult to understand information, and yet the technical jargon just got in the way far too often.
I love this list and I especially agree about Roadside Picnic! Even after reading hundreds of SF novels since I was a teenager, Roadside Picnic was a revelation when I read it a few years ago! I love these kinds of discussions and think it lifts the genre to a new level! Thanks for your very cogent reviews!
I'm so impressed with you intelligent and straight forward review style. Very refreshing!
A great list! -- I discovered your channel a few months ago while doing "research" for a university class I have started teaching, "Philosophy and Science Fiction". Yes, I am a professor of philosophy. And based on your review and high praise of the novel, I read *Blindsight* for the first time in just the past month. And I thought it was fantastic. So, thanks for that. BTW, *Solaris* remains my all-time favorite for the same reasons you give, and I love *Roadside Picnic*, *Neuromancer* and *Ice*, too. I hope to work through the remaining novels on your list (which I don't know) before the next iteration of my philosophy class.
My reading habit has been on hold for the past 9 months since the birth of our second kid. Your reviews inspired me to pick up the copy of Neuromancer that's been sitting on my shelf for years. It was amazing. I blew through it. I can't wait to hop into my next book. Thank you so much!
Don’t tell my husband, but it was his enthusiastic appraisal of the works of Vernor Vinge that won my heart. ❤ That, and his skill at ballroom dancing. But mostly Vinge.
props
Let him know, communication is key
R.I.P. Vernor
Cheers to your husband. He sounds like a gem.
I read Blindsight over the summer based on your review.
I had, and still have, the same reaction that you describe.
I can’t stop thinking about it. Every other thing I’ve read since that addresses human consciousness leads me back to Blindsight.
I’m an old fart, and it’s been a long time since I read a book that wowed me like this one.
It just, please forgive the cliche, blew my mind.
yeah same, it's been stuck in my head now for 2 years or so.
why were the ideas in this book so fascinating?
Just stumbled on to this channel. Really great content, insightful and interesting. I absolutely love the fact that you feature the novels discussed in their different editions.
Omg a video with no intro? Sub button SMASHED.
I love the fact that I've only ever heard of two of these. Very much appreciate the deep cuts of the genre. Great breathe of fresh air to not see a list full of the pop culture picks. Subbed for sure.
Love Downward To The Earth and it has sent me down a whole Silverberg path. I will be checking out some of the books you have listed. I read Roadside Picnic last year off your list. It’s a book that stays with you.
You got me started in reading sci-fi and my little collection is almost all based on your reviews. From the things I have read so far, I really trust your judgement on the QUALITY of a book, whatever the style/vibe may be. You also led me over to Outlaw Bookseller and I revere his opinions as well. Thanks!
And now I have to read Roadside Picnic! Great picks, thanks Bookpilled.
Could not agree more on Vinge. At times I felt like I was suffocating while reading about the mental tortures. And Gibson prose is as great as you say. I look forward to some on your list which I have not read. Thanks for your clear and intelligent capsule reviews.
I already knew you liked all these books, but knowing they reached your top 15 recontextualizes them. Books like Farewell Earth’s Bliss and Beyond Apollo have shot up my TBR. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for starting with Hothouse! Aldiss, along with JG Ballard, were my favourite authors growing up in the UK in the 60s and early 70s. The books meant a lot to me.
Had the opportunity of meeting Aldiss's son a few years back - he was a customer at my little print shop, and I asked if he was aware of a writer with the same surname as him. I think he was a bit taken back by me suddenly gushing praise about his father when he told me who he was! (Brian W Aldiss was still alive at the time, but he died a short while later).
The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel...
And that's your ticket if you wish a ride into the world of Neuromancer. And what a hell of a ride it was the first time I read it, kudos to Gibson.
Molly Millions...always will be my favorite razor girl.
Ahhh well said. I’m holding Neuromancer in my hand right now as I finish off the last 100 pages or so….love Molly’s vibe and prose…” wasting your time cowboy”
Yup, that quote just keeps moving around. Nice to see it still in motion.
Is it Nuromancer where the lead character has an operation and questions the cleanliness of the 'operating theater'. The doc replies with something like, 'Don't worry. With the antibiotics I gave you, I could have sown a dead cat inside you and you'd be fine.' It's while since I read Gibson, so my quote might be a bit off the mark.
What does "the color of television, tuned to a dead channel" mean to anyone born after Neuromancer was published?
@@ChrisPFDeVito Successful completion of one whole sentence of a novel.
This was a fantastic list. Many of these books are already on my to read list. Feel proud my fellow Soviet Strugatski Brothers novel is your #1. Subscribed.
Your description of your experience with Blightsight perfectly matches my own. I think of it once in a while and I’m still freaked out.
Awesome list and much food for future reads. It's refreshing to see "best of" lists that don't include all the usual suspects.
But it’s also appropriate to say that the “usual suspects” are “usual suspects” for a reason. I was very surprised to not see a single one on a “best of all time” list. Makes me question the validity of this.
None of these would be on my top 15, but that is what is great about SciFi. It is such a wide genre and has so many great novelists that have written over time. Most everyone's list will be different. Great video, you described each book and why it is on your list very well.
best synopsis and "takes" I've seen and heard in a while. short, punchy and to the point. TY Bookpilled
Thanks a lot. Been looking for some good sci-fi that I haven’t read yet, and picked a number of your suggestions. Looking forward to getting into them!!!
Fantastic, clear, and thoughtful as always. Love the channel and I feel like I get to vicariously live the dream of reading ludicrous amounts of science fiction through you.
What an eclectic list! Just hearing the descriptions is stirring, given the amazing imaginations of people in the sci fi world. I've read some of these, but am intrigued with many of the others, like Roadside Picnic. The book covers are insane, too.
Finally a sure source for masterful sf books to read. Thank you! After getting brain damage 4 or so years back, I read Blindsight and its sequel both twice and adored them- though hard to understand it all but resonated with it due to my situation. And it’s brilliance. Of course. Then a genius Dr. found the direction needed for my prolonged issues and with the right simple treatment on 2/5/2024 woke up from what felt like a half coma. (I still have issues but it was highly dramatic). One of the greatest things was rereading those two books and understating them so much more. Doubly getting them. Dying to have him finish the third book. Thanks, man!
Late bloomer to hard sci-fi. I was over 30 when I first read Neuromancer. Your observations are well captured. ....that first page; I knew I was experiencing something unique.
Pick a card any card
@@tokenblack7983😎👌🏾
Roadside picnic book and Stalker movie (1979) inspired by this book are my absolutely favorite pieces of art. I am so glad to hear you rated it high on your list! I first read it when I was 11 and my mind was blown, now I am 37, I have read it so many times, and I enjoy it even more now. Highly recommend checking out other books by Strugatsky, like ugly swans and hard to be a god
Another great video, thank you! I've only read 3 on this list; Solaris, We Who Are About To and Roadside Picnic. The latter two I read directly off your recommendations. I must also thank you for opening the world of Samuel Delany to me - a real life-changer. Still looking for some of your highly recommended titles in accessible format - Star of the Unborn is on the Internet Archive, but I haven't gotten round to it yet as I have to read it using text-to-speech, which isn't ideal. I read all of We Who Are About To using TTS, but it's a shorter book. Will keep searching! Definitely need to dive into the Silverberg rabbithole... here I go!
I found a copy of the UK Modern SF Classics edition of Roadside Picnic in a bookshop while on holiday a couple of months ago and bought it based on your previous report - I absolutely loved it and as you noted about the other books on this video list - it was the writing quality and the sheer pleasure of reading in addition to the story itself. Thanks for the recommendation!
Just found this list and so glad it has so many authors I never heard about. Strugatsky brothers and Lem are insanely good so I'm looking forward to get familiarized with the others I don't know about. Thank you!
Great list but the commentary is even better and super helpful. I know from previous videos you are not a fan of early Iain M. Banks (neither am I) but I can recommend “Look To Windward” as a mind blowing space opera that is tied with “A Fire Upon The Deep” in my own list.
As a newer Science Fiction reader (mostly read Fantasy in my earlier years), you have opened my eyes to some themes that I feel I have been looking for outside the mainstream writers that get more the attention these days. I very much appreciate your casual style of informing us of these hidden gems and I hope to find some of these books to dive in to. Thank you for this! Enjoy your day!
Thank you for putting together this list of thinking person's sci-fi - new books to explore! Have read Neuromancer & Blindsight but not the others. A Canticle for Liebowitz as runner up?
I loved Robert Silverberg's Lord Valentine's Castle, pure 70s sci-fi bliss. Especially the copy with the lost Bee Gees member juggling in tights on the cover. 😅
I credit Lord Valentine’s Castle for my love of the genre, and that cover art to my love of juggling. 70s-era hair and all…! 😂
Lord valentine castle isn’t 70s. It’s 80s
@yelisieimurai That's true, published in 1980. But 1980 felt like the late 70s to me as a kid (and the book was likely written in late 70s).
Phenomenal recs. I had the same experience with A Fire Upon the Deep. The first hard sci fi book I read, my mind was completely blown and I couldn't put it down.
Such a wonderous experience to have, and I've been chasing the same since
OOOOH - thank you! A lot of these at the end of the list (I've read five of your first six) are new to me so I've got a lot of new things to read :)
Great review. Of all the books in the list that I have not read and will give a try is Hothouse. The review reminded me of Roger Zelazny's Jack of Shadows. I have enjoyed some of Zelazny's fantasy and science fiction so I thought a try at science fantasy would be right up his alley but he failed to deliver. I think Aldiss nailed it. Star of the Unborn by Franz Werfel is one book I will also be looking for.
Always excited to watch these. Your Blindsight recommendation last year is what ignited my interest in reading science fiction. Thanks for doing this!
I just discovered your You Tube channel.
I like it very much, I am a French science fiction reader and I am discovering with you works not yet translated into French. I hope that one day they will be because I am not yet able to read fluently in English.
I give you all my encouragement to continue your very good work as a booktuber. Thx ! Yours faithfully, Roland.
Solaris!!! I try to read all your top recommendations and am NEVER disappointed. Thank you so much.
Thank you for your excellent reviews. You say enough to entice without spoiling anything. Very well done.
I read Roadside Picnic because of you and I loved it. I'm going to start on Solaris next. Thanks for sharing your opinions.
Thank you for re-kindling my interest in good ole sci fi. These are excellent reviews!
Superb. Loved listening to your thoughts and recommendations. Ice just so happened to be the next book on my pile!
I just found your channel, so please excuse this late comment. Why does youtube suck at recommending videos? This video is such a dense nugget of good commentary, i loved it. You strike the right balance of erudite literary context and the way a book makes you feel. I can tell we have similar but not identical taste in books, which makes me excited to see your other content. I usually don't rewatch videos, particularly right after i finish watching, but this video was fascinating and I'm going to enjoy it twice. And then I will probably binge some of your other videos. You've earned a subscriber this day.
Thank you for sharing! Ive had A Fire Upon the Deep on my shelf for years but Ive never even tried it. Gonna crack it open tonight!
Two videos in two days! I agree about many of these books and I'm moving the others up on my TBR. Thanks, Matt.
You are the only scifi youtuber I trust. You've introduced me to most of my favorite scifi books. Thanks!
Great video. Favorite books are obviously completely subjective, so anyone surprised a given book didn't make the list needs to remember that all of us have unique experiences that shape our preferences and aversions as we grow, and that that, more than anything else, decides what one's list will look like - not popularity, renown or reviews. For me, Dune reigns supreme, but that's largely down to how and when I discovered it, and who I was at the time. Another book at that time might just as easily imprinted as deeply on me had the circumstances and my personal past been even just a little different.
I'll definitely be checking out several of the books on your list, beanie guy.
A very good perspective regarding when, where and who we were when we first discovered a certain work. I often make the same point about musical works and genres. People tell you their favorite music and you ask "How old were you when you first heard [X music]?" and it's almost always 14, 15, 16.
With literary works its skews a little older.
Thank you for the reading list this semester prof. Most titles I have never heard of before, so I look forward to reading them this year.
Just finished Roadside Picnic based on your recommendation. I haven't been pulled into a world so much in a long time. Great characters, dialogue, and an eerieness that kept me turning pages. Thank you!
You explain so well what these books are about. Thank you for introducing us to these books I've not heard of a few of them. Keep up the good work. Lol...and you're not just "...some guy in a beanie."
Agree on Roadside Picnic. Thanks for the awesome recommendations. I mainly read Sci-Fi, but I haven't heard of some of these. Going to read them (if I can find some of them).
Thanks to you I started my Sci Fi journey with Fire Upon the Deep. It was a life changing experience to enjoy so many ideas about the future from the hand of Vinge. Thank you for the reviews my friend!
I am almost always left unsatisfied by list like these but when you started with Hothouse I knew I was going to see this vid through to the end, and this is a banger list. I'd probably put Solaris at #1, but I love Roadside Picnic too. This really made me want to jump on the few books in the list I haven't read yet... like Ice. Subscribed. Great work.
Wow! Just seen your last video and move here. A tonne of new recommendations. Thanks so much!
"Erudite", which you used to describe one of the authors, aptly describes how you come across. I read Blindsight after watching one of your previous videos and it completely blew my mind. Thanks for this.
This rocked ! Found a few novels and authors never heard of. Most vids of " my best sci fi " usually is a list of every reccomended " classic". All of wich i have read or is on my tbr list. Thanks
Thanks for the video. Have read several of the classics on your list and will hunt the library for others now.
Solaris is one of the greatest works of literature ever written. It’s endlessly readable, with multiple psychological insights. Glad it was so high on the list. Fantastic video 👍
So glad to see a list that has some of the older sci-fi books from the classic era. Also glad that I only recognized a few of them, so that I'll have some new books to explore.
Also appreciate how you showed multiple covers of the books. That made me realize that I actually had read Beyond Apollo!
found your channel yesterday and binged a few vids so im glad to see this vid again so i can add even more to my reading list!
Thank you for this great list of suggestions. I'm currently re-reading Roadside Picnic. Such a brilliant, haunting work.
Solaris, Blindsight, and Roadside Picnic are all fantastic.
I haven’t read those Aldiss and Silverberg books but own others by them, so I’ll look forward to those two.
And I’ll have to check out some of the others like Shaw and Russ.
If you like Lem, Jacek Dukaj is another Polish author (sometimes called Lem's succesor) with very unique hard sci-fi ideas and beatuiful style of writing. Not many of his books were translated into english but I can recomend one of his most recent ones - "The Old Axolotl". Very close thematically with Solaris is his "Cathedral" which some passages you can find on his wiki page to have a sense of his style ofc if you are interested.
Nah. Zajdel’s ‘Limes Inferior’.
Everybody does Dune. You explore old and largely forgotten SF stories. I grew up on Bester, Van Vogt, EF Russell, Niven and Lem. There are some amazing books that foreshadow so much coming out today, and it is awesome that someone is regularly covering Golden Age SF. Thank you.
I love the old stuff. I could have written your list of classic SF authors. I'd also add Edmond Hamilton and his wife, Leigh Brackett.
If you're looking to recapture a similar vibe to Roadside Picnic (or Stalker), I recommend The Gateway by F. Pohl. By vibe, I don't just mean plot elements, but atmosphere and style as well. It's not the same book, but the resonance is certainly there. (I just finished it, book 70 of my own 100 book challenge)
Really appreciate these recommendations - I've got way more SF books than I'll ever have time to read in this lifetime, so anything that helps me prioritize is of real value. As it happens, I read Hothouse a few months ago, and have the Bob Shaw book #14 with the great cover, now next up on my reading pile.
Only a few of these books sounds that interesting to me. I made it through Blindsight and found it arduous. The vampire wasn’t the problem though. I say this to setup, despite all that I wanted to compliment you on having an excellent presentation of what these books are about and how they impacted you. Very well done!
I really enjoyed this. This was my first Bookpilled and I’ll be back. As the video went on I realized how little sci-fi I’ve read. Then we got to the top 4 and I had read two Blindsight and Neuromancer. I enjoyed both immensely. I do have to go back and reread them as I felt well slightly overwhelmed and stupid while reading. Neuromancer has influenced so many of my favorite movies The Matrix, Jonny pneumonic and so many others. It’s part of a trilogy called the Sprawl. I didn’t know this till recently and I’ll be returning to finish it.
Blindsight has two books in the firefall series. Echopraxia is the other. I haven’t read it but I’m completionest so I’ll have to go back read them together.
Hothouse was a weird one for sure but the sheer creativity of the world building makes me want to read Helliconia
No time to listen at the moment, but I've skimmed your comments, found so much high praise for you to interest me, really liked how you hyphenated "sci -fi," and found myself subscribing and hitting the bell for all notifications, then downloading this video so I don't miss listening to it.
The thing is, I don't care much for sci-fi. Just being here is a big step for me; we'll see if your recommendations convert me or confirm my suspected sci-fi allergy.
To all you nerds and geeks who've left comments, you're why I've stopped. Thank you! ❤
I just 'discovered' your channel and like so many before me subscribed immediately. Thank you for all you suggestions. I read quite a few of the books on your list and I agree that those are great titles. It means also that there are a lot more for me to read!
I read the book 'Roadside Picnic' after having seen the movie 'Stalker' by Tarkovski. A truly impressive movie for a truly impressive book.
You are more than a dude in a beanie...this includes being my favorite book reviewer on The Tube...many thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, you have introduced me to new and meaningful ideas
You’re a beast man. Read roadside picnic last month and is in my top 5 all time. You should make videos along the lines of ‘why you should read silverberg, asimov etc and deep dive your knowledge of authors books. Your well-spoken and articulate language goes a long way with me and other people formulating opinions
Great list. As someone who enjoys both some more "mainstream" sf books but also some more niche books this list will help me a lot. Like many other people said, there is no need to be angry about the fact you didn't include books such as Dune or Hyperion in your list, it is YOUR list! Thanks for the recommendations some really interest me :)
Gosh, I love every single sci-fi book review that you ever do. I am so thankful that I have found this channel. Wish you'd cover each book in a separate review: more videos & more reviews.
That would be his Patreon...
I upload longform review vids for each new book I read on my Patreon. There’s at least one free one over there if you want to try it out
Great hints on books I have seldom heard about. And some beautiful eulogy about some I do know.
Wow. I considered myself fairly literate in the sci-fi realm, but there were a lot of books on this list I never heard of. Time to start diving into used bookstores again. Look forward to more videos.
Amazing as always. You've introduced me to many science fiction books that I've never heard off and I(We) thank you for that. Thank you.
Hothouse is a fave re-read of mine. First read it in the late 70’s in my early teens - such a great read 👍
Turned 60 this past November and had never heard of Brian Aldiss until you mentioned him. Finished Hothouse today. Mind blown - so much there, so ahead of his time, such a unique voice. On to The Palace of Eternity. Thanks!
Fifty years ago as a teenager and young man I read and loved a lot of these books, and have spent the last ten years on and off trying to remember their names. YT and you have made me very happy, as I want to read them again.
Well done for mentioning Bob Shaw - I couldn’t agree more! One of the most underrated writers of science-fiction Britain has produced.
Thanks so much for this video. You've introduced me to so many intriguing works that I look forward to exploring.
I was an avid reader of 'classic' sci-fi until about 30 years ago. I lost my appetite for it, but it's now coming back strong. So I have lots of catching up to do. This is the first of your offerings I've come across. I'll be looking through your others to see if you have opinions about some of my favorite classics, like LeGuin's "The Left Hand of Darkness", Lessing's "The Sirian Experiments" or Anderson's "Brain Wave".
Just discovered your channel recently and I’m really glad I did. You’ve already put me on to a few gems I likely wouldn’t have found otherwise. Thank you for that!
Just finished ‘Ice’ by Anna Kavan. Despite 30 years of bookselling this title had passed me by until I saw your review of it. Everything you say about is true. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Keep up the good work!
Then why do you not break bread?
Thank you, I needed this video today. I could watch these for hours.