Let me suggest that you read the DNA Cowboys trilogy by Mick Farren (If you can find a copy). He wrote 55 books in both fiction and non fiction during his lifetime and is underappreciated.
Good.... But not close to the best...John Varley's Steel Beach, from an author who's won numerous Hugs and Nebula's, opening line got me: "In five years, the penis will become obsolete."
I found reading all the comments very enjoyable!!! I began reading SF when I was 15 and am now 75. I must have read many many many sci-fi stories. The comments brought back remembrances of having read so many stories. It was also nice to know I was not the only Sci-Fi nerd.
I started out reading Zane Grey's westerns, then, in about '1953' I read Frederick Brown's, "The Lights in the Sky are Stars." From that point on, nothing but sci/fy could hold my attention....and, looking at fast upcoming 83, still doesn't.
'The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy' I first read the four part trilogy 35 years ago after having watched the British TV series. In all those years I don't think a week has gone by that some element within those books hasn't been analogous and relative to the reality of life, the universe and everything.
Every time use Google Translate I'm reminded of the following quote from the first book: "Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation." :-p
It is funny how certain aspects of modern everyday life were predicted in things like HHG but when you read it now you forget it was a prediction because they are just so normal.
I've only listened to the Dune audiobooks. The spellings of all the made up words would give me a brain aneurysm and I'm a Warhammer 40K fan! TBH 40K borrows SO much from Dune!
Ursula LeGuin's parents were Anthropologists. They met someone who was essentially an alien. He was a California Indian who was the last of his tribe. Her Mother, Theodora Kroeber wrote a YA and an adult book about him. They are Ishi, Last of his Tribe and Ishi in Two Worlds. The writing is luminous and immersive. Ursula's Mother was a marvelous writer who is not well enough known.
Considering my top 5 would include Dune (6 books, excluding the expanded universe stuff), Foundation (7 books, excluding Robots stuff), Rama (4 books) and Space Oddyssey (4 books), it's inconceivable to have less than 20 books in the top 5 list. :)
I read Rendezvous with Rama a long time ago and liked it as well as Ringworld. But the Foundation books, at least the first one, difficult to get into. This was all in middle school and may be easier now. Any thoughts on talking it up to readers like me?
So glad you mentioned The 3 Body Problem trilogy. I thought it was an incredible trilogy and a very interesting cultural vantage point. Lots of original ideas...atleast new to me.
What do you mean by "cultural vantage point"... Like everyone excuses the writers horribly written characters as "it's Chinese culture" no it's not. The remembrance of humanities past hd some great sci fi concepts. But as books? They were horribly written. In fact they were so bad I had to stop reading the second book when his self insert "genius writer" character had a fkn road trip with his imaginary gf. When he wrote book 2 he convinced himsfl he was a genius. But nowadays he admits he isn't a great writer. Doesn't care about characters, story or literature in general. He just likes sci fi and sci fi theories / concepts and the story is a means to talk about sci fi. But most importantly. The writer supports the Holocaust that the CCP is currently committing on the Uyghurs
@@godofchaoskhorne5043 I think this is matches a lot of my feelings on the series. I only read three body problem and liked it well enough, but couldn't be bothered to read more. The ideas contained within are fascinating and it's a book which really stuck with me as a really compelling solution to the fermi paradox, but as a story, I never felt it held up. I haven't gone back to it. That said, the translation is truly top notch. Whoever translated it did a great job. Some of the most interesting stuff in the book is in the annotations the translator has given to provide context.
@@superpowerdragon ho fk off I know countless innocent Uyghurs who's families are in concentration camps for no reason. The CCP is literally forcing Uyghur families to "host" Han Chinese men who on social media abuse Uygur women and children in their own homes using them as slaves treathening yo report and sent them to concentration camps as they've done to the man of the house. There are Uyghur professors in the camps who've gotten countless honors from the CCP for their teaching and academic efforts. Who are now being tortured for speaking Uyghur or having a Koran or refusing to eat pork People claiming the CCP and MAO were great during the cultural revolution too. China is a horrifically dystopian police state ruled by a quasi communist party dictatorship
@@godofchaoskhorne5043 just show me ONE verifiable evidence, just ONE is enough. I have countless uyghur friends in xinjiang too, and I have been to xinijang, its basically impossible that there are concentration camps without everyone knowing and videos and images on the internet. what? do you think Chinesestill live in the middle ages? there are mobile phones everywhere everyone has a tiktok account in china
@@_theoriginalb4handles_Genflag No, sadly. I'll confess I've lost most of my reading habits. It's a shame, I know... I think more and more to throw myself at some book in a near future, I quite miss it, but don't seem to find the time (or, to be honest, motivation)
Love the 4 books... my all time favorite series (I'm assuming you have read the following 2, Endimion and return to Endimion. They are part of the story).
So, just a insider point on 1Q84: the title is a pun. In Japanese, the number 9 in commonly pronounced kue (kyu in proper romaji). So, the pun is 1984, just in Japanese. Ichi, kyu, hachi, shi.
I've never read it, but wondered the same thing. Side note.... in the same way that the number 13 is considered unlucky in the west and we will skip the 13th floor of buildings etc, the number 4 is considered unlucky in Japan because it is pronounced "shi" which is also the Japanese word for death. They will often avoid the use of the number 4, and even created a different word for 4, "yõn", to be used when it couldn't be avoided. Thus the title would be, "Ichi que hachi yõn".
Yup, 四 and 士 do have a same pronunciation. 四 is both yon and shi though. It’s not so much that the new word was used for the character as the superstitious tend to avoid the kun pronunciation.
@@captaintortuga3191 The homonym derives from Chinese, and the Chinese also regard 4 as an unlucky number for the same reason. Vietnamese has its own number which sounds like "death" and is thus unlucky: 8
I read The Left Hand of Darkness when I was 16, and I still remember the lessons it taught me as a reader. That was 15 years ago, and it may be one of the more influential books I read in my teens. Also, I really love the Heinlein series. The way all of his books interact is always interesting and mind bending.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein | the Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov | Ringworld by David Niven | The Ship Who Sang series by Anne McCaffrey | Hammer's Slammers series by David Drake | Lensman series by E.E. "Doc" Smith | the Chanur series by C.J. Cherryh | the Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold | the Journal Entries series by Elf Sternberg | Neuromancer by William Gibson Limiting to a Top 5 is hard! Top 10 will have to do.
Ringworld is by Larry Niven, for anyone looking. The first sequel is quite good, the others not as much. But they all take place in a much larger universe and those books are generally quite good; several other commentors have mentioned them, including "Protector", and I quite enjoyed the newest addition, the "Fleet of Worlds" anthology.
That tickles me, as "Forever War" was written as an answer to Starship Trooper; so I guess your statement could have ended, "... Forever War will set you straight." :D
The Forever Peace is worth a look, too -- not a sequel exactly but still similar turf, didn't realize while reading it how many scenes & themes would affect me to this day.
I love, love, love that you included Left Hand of Darkness. Such an amazing book at any time but especially when it was written. Ursula for all the recognition she got is truly underated in my opinion.
The Lazarus Long novels by Robert Heinlein starting with Methuselah's Children The Rama trilogy by Arthur C. Clarke The Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov The Robot novels by Isaac Asimov The Lensman series by E.E. Smith The John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs West of Eden series by Harry Harrison
That trilogy legitimately changed my outlook on society and the future. His views and musings and portrayals of how societies and morals and movements change and revolve and repeat over time were beautiful and eye opening.
I completely agree. One of my Chinese colleagues recommended them to me and I've read them twice. This trilogy is the only one I've read on his list so it being 8th is surprising. I can't wait for the Netflix release.
1. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke 2. Dune (and sequels till Chapterhouse: Dune) Frank Herbert --> stay away from the crap by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson 3. Farmer in the Sky, Robert A. Heinlein 4. The Chronicles of Corum (1-3) Michael Moorcock
Just about every Robert Heinlein book from the short (Glory Road, Citizen of the Galaxy, etc) to the big hitters (To Sail Beyond the Sunset, Strange Land, Job) is what got me hooked on Sci-Fi as a small boy. And that start lead me to one of all-time favorites, Peace and War by Joe Haldeman along with Iain M Banks's Culture series. But Adam's initial comment is perfect: "This is a really really tough one - Simply because there are so many to choose from."
Haven't read any of these, probably because I'm older. I have way too many favorites, but 5 of them would be: Stranger in a Strange Land - Heinlien On Basilik Station - Weber The Mote in God's Eye - Niven / Pournelle Little Fuzzy - Piper The Illustrated Man - Bradbury
@@yodaandthebike5839 I am a huge Niven fan and Ringworld is an amazing exploration of something on the edge of possible, but I have to agree with Prowler Cam, Mote is a better book. In my opinion, Niven is always better when paired with another and his work with the late Jerry Pournelle was always top notch.
Just read Protector again and am halfway through World of Ptavvs for possibly the third or fourth read. Niven is one of the authors that really expanded my mind when I was young. I wish more people were familiar with his work.
Two books that were an absolute thrill to read (and had me re-reading parts just because they were so darn interesting): * Hyperion by Dan Simmons * A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
I respect your opinion but to me the foundation series is wildly overrated. If it were to come out in the past 20 years or so I feel like it would have been completely overlooked and met with a luke warm reception. I love anything Neal Stephenson burns will admit that he has difficulty ending his stories. The baroque cycle, snowcrash, and cryptonomicon were wonderful. Reamde, seveneves, and anathem were great but just kinda fizzled out for me.
Science fiction gained popularity in the pulp magazines of the 30's, 40's, and 50's. I recommend finding anthologies of short stories from the old mags so you can meet the authors who invented the science fiction we know and love.
An excellent thought. May I direct your attention to this. www.goodreads.com/book/show/141860.The_Science_Fiction_Hall_of_Fame?from_search=true&qid=ZGehjpJKgw&rank=3 There are more in the series, but this one is the first, and in my opinion the best.
" I recommend finding anthologies of short stories from the old mags so you can meet the authors who invented the science fiction we know and love." The large bulk of which is unmitigated garbage.
This. The pulps invented much of the jargon / slang we use today for SF, some of it crossing over from gangster pulp stories. The simple adventures then were hard to distinguish from western (like John Carter, which WAS a western until re-written to set it one Mars, as a romance between a white man and a red woman was too much for the publisher. A 'blaster' was any gun used by a gangster, then it was SF. The 'an attractor beam' 'warping' two ships together dates from the late 1920s. Though the expression 'to warp ship' is as old as sail and ropes. Saying 'An 'M'-class planet' derives from the Lensman books, where other peoples are defined by a series of letters beginning with the type of planet and the atmosphere; 'AAAAAA' of course meaning basic humans. Without them, nothing we know today as SF would exist. This was demonstrated in the 1990s by a story in the DS9 series, which may also have acted as an apology for the ideas that series' makers stole. If the station had been a hospital, it would have been Whites' 'Sector General' novels being stolen. The idea of the exotically-coloured princesses derives from this time as well, when desire for the 'other' races had to be coded. It's still present in Star Wars until today.
@Hamish Barker: Heinlein is too talky for current limited attention span generations. I mean, really. Can you imagine Justin Bieber trying to make sense of the discussion about the fallen caryatid in "Stranger in a Strange Land" (?) Inconceivable . . .
@@QED_ perhaps, but last time I read mistress I thought it was pretty easy going. I believe that it might emerge from scriptwriting hell one day and become a movie. Hopefully without too much butchering. I wonder if the marriage arrangements are part of the reason it has remained unfilled. If so, a shame. Ai and struggles against authority are classic themes. Add in a good moon and some celestial mechanics, what's not to like?
Definitely Dune, Snowcrash, Left Hand of Darkness, Neuromancer. Would add: New Sun series by Gene Wolfe; Eon series by Greg Bear; Brin's Uplift series.
I read his Hugo-winning "A Deepness in The Sky" a couple of years ago. Good stuff. I just started "A Fire Upon the Deep" a week ago. So far so good, although it's still early in the book and the action hasn't yet gotten underway.
I started with Startide Rising after it won the Hugo. But I prefer Sundiver. Now if he would just write another book, even if its not in the Uplift Saga.
Children of Time (Adrian Tchaikovsky) is an astounding novel - gets you thinking about what it means to exist. Three Body Problem series - tough but well worth the effort. Superb. Loved the Asimov Robot short stories and the Susan Calvin stuff. Does I am Legend count? Herbert's world building in Dune is the equal of Tolkein's Middle Earth.
I absolutely LOVE children of time, I've never sat down to make a top 5 list, but it and player of games by ian m banks are the only two I'm 100% sure get a spot. I recently found out this week there's a sequel (children of ruin) and I can't wait till I have some time to read that. Consensus seems to be that it's the rare breed where the sequel is of a similar quality. I also think the lensman series is criminally underrated and so foundational. Both the green lantern core and the Bene Gesserit idea of controlling a bloodline for generations in dune trace their origins back to it.
Love children of time. It’s my number one. Children of ruin was great as well. Had some very suspenseful moments. Not sure if you are into audiobooks but the narrator Mel Hudson was excellent as well.
love love loved old man's war. I don't read much as I have difficulty with some dyslexic/adhd problems...but those books kept me glued. Three body problem as mentioned ruined me for all the "foreign" narrative and particularly names.
@@KolbWorkshop imho they are all excellent. It gets both wider in scope yet deeper on various parts. Zoe's tale is one of the books repeated from another perspective.
I have read this book AT LEAST 25 times since it came out in paperback in 1974. On the one hand, I would love for The Forever War to be made into a movie, or even better, a miniseries. On the other hand I would hate to see someone fubar the thing...
Foundation series. It's an epic among epics, and there are sections that will likely make you want to stop, but it's another work that I think seriously stretched the envelope of science fiction's possibilities.
@@MatthewBunn I suppose it depends on whether you are a fan of the genre or not. The first book was published in 1951, so yes, it is all from 68 years ago. Dune, on this list, was from 1965, 54 years ago. But Dune, and the other books on this list would not likely even be around if it weren't for Asimov and Heinlein and their contemporaries proving, mainly in the 50s, that science fiction could be more than B movies, comic books, and pulp fiction for kids and teens. The Foundation series was a huge part of that.
@@backpacker3421 I'm so glad you explained that too me. I read a bunch of Asimov. Looking back I find repetitive and not very insightful. It was an interesting window to open, but I think a book or so really meets "foundational" knowledge requirements. I am not questioning his importance, but his relevance. One book and you have a pretty good handle on what he has to say.
Finally! Took awhile to find a Varley fan, but I knew I would. Excellent trilogy but The Ophiuchi Hotline is really good too. His short stories are great too!
1 Dune (series) by Frank Herbert. 2 The mote in God's eye (and following books) by Larry Niven and Jerrycan Pournelle 3 Foundation series and Robots series by Isaac Asimov 4 Rendez-vous with Rama (Rama series) by Arthur C. Clarke 5 books from Jack Vance 6 giant's star series by James Patrick Hogan
@@addsfour3499 Wikipedia is your friend for these questions. No, just these two but he wrote many other novels. Ringworld series, at least the first few, are a must.
@@palantir135 Thank you. I got all excited when i saw the “gripping hand” as I didn’t realise it was renamed for my country, so i had already read it. I did read ringworld, but only the first, so i might give the second one a go. Right after I finish the Rama series by Arthur c Clarke
@@addsfour3499 i’m sure you know the diskworld series by Terry Prattchett. Nul-A by Van Vogt. First novel is good. Babel 17 by Damuel Delaney Fantasy series: Earthsea by Ursula le Guin Shanara by Terry Brooks Sword and sorcery series by Fritz Leiber
Lots of early SciFi books listed here, but there are a number of really good ones published this century as well. Here are a few of my favs with newer ones first: 1. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) Trilogy by Taylor. (Human consciousness downloaded into space probes, which can replicate to map nearby star systems) 2. Flowers for Algernon by Keyes. (While not space-related SciFi, this is one of the most well-written, endearing, and emotionally-charged novels of recent memory) 3. The Martian by Wier. (One of the most engaging and well-written books in recent memory. Part journal, part stream-of-consciousness, about as rooted in realism as modern SF comes) 4. Beacon 23 by Howey. (Safe lanes of FTL travel are set up between beacons in space, but these tiny "lighthouses" often break and require maintenance. One man's story of his solo 2-year posting) 5. Tunnel in the Sky by Heinlein. (Coming-of-age book about a group of teens who are sent through a wormhole to an alien world for survival training, only to become stranded. Great for teens+). 6. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein. (Moon colony revolts against Earth's overbearance. Led by an AI, the technologically inferior lunar inhabitants struggle for rights) 7. The Foundation Trilogy by Asimov. (While the premise of being able to predict events centuries into the future via science may be a difficult one to overlook, this series is quintessential in its scope and effects on the genre) 8. From the Earth to the Moon by Verne. (Any book written in the 1860s that so accurately predicts the first moon mission 100 years later, and which gets a "thank you" from Neil Armstrong mid-mission for setting such an accurate blueprint for the first moon mission, is a must read)
In my opinion, Hyperion by Dan Simmons is the best novel ever! The Character and plot development is damn near perfect and it's very well paced. The shrike is my favorite character. A very riveting novel. I definitely recommend it.
It's a complete jumble of every single sci-fi and literary trope and it does it so well it's criminal how underrated it is also it unlike dune is perfect for visual adaptation live action or animated
I’m so glad you mentioned Hyperion! I read it in 2020 and I’m currently reading the last book “Rise of Endymion”. When the character Fedmahn Kassad recounts his encounter with the Shrike and the Ousters Hyperion instantly became one of my favorite sci-fi book series.
It would be impossible to say now good this book really is, adjectives fail. It prepared me to live a good life in face of adversity, and how to manage the insane challenges life lobs at you. The Scholars Tale stands out - just a stunning work
The Robot work posited by Asimov explored morality and control of behaviour of robots long before anyone else contemplated the implications of AI. It is a study in human psychology as much as it is science fiction.
The Culture series by Ian Banks, some of the best writing I've read in any genre. I've only read the first five but they've all been amazing and Use of Weapons has become one of my favorite books of all time.
If you like Iain M Banks, try Iain Banks. He published sci-fi with the 'M' and "mainstream" fiction without it and the latter is also brilliant (for the most part) - 'The Crow Road' or 'The Wasp Factory' are maybe a good place to start.
Maybe I'll give the series a run again. Thought the first book was ok but didn't get more than a chapter or two into Use of Weapons. If someone thinks it's THAT good then I feel I need to give it another chance
One of my favorites is Lord of Light by Rogers Zelazny. I know his Amber series gets a lot of readers and he has a lot of other good stuff, but I consider Lord of Light to be his masterwork.
I love books from Arthur C. Clarke, as they offer a great blend of real and fictional pieces, and have that optimistic tone I love about that era of sci-fi. I also like Cosmos by Carl Sagan, Weir's Martian, some stuff by the Pournelle/Niven duo or Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement.
I would add A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr., winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Also, 'Dorsai!' and 'The Spirit of Dorsai, two of several novels' in the Childe Cycle by Gordon R. Dickinson. I have made a to-read list of 6 of your 7 picks, since I have read Dune and sequels, but can't remember which Le Guin novels I have read.
I don't remember if I had a chance to read A Canticle for Leibowitz, but I can absolutely recommend the fifteen part radio serial that was adapted from the book in 1981.
Here's my pick of books that have impacted me over the years: Heinlein's 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress' Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Red Mars/Blue Mars/Green Mars' trilogy SM Stirling's Emberverse series that starts with 'Dies the Fire' (15 books -The last books aren't as good as the first five books) A. American's Survivalist Series that starts with 'Going Home' (12 books so far) Olan Thorensen's Destiny's Crucible Series that starts with 'Cast Under an Alien Sun' (8 books, so far) Harry Turtledove's 'Guns of the South' Anne McCaffry's 'Dragonriders of Pern' Series (3 books) 'Dragonsong' (3 books) Melanie Rawn's 'Dragon Prince' & 'Dragon Star' Series (6 books) Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's 'Lucifer's Hammer' Larry Niven's 'Ringworld' Roger Zelazny 'Chronicles of Amber' (10 books) Mary Stewart's Arthurian Saga, series that starts with 'The Crystal Cave' (4 books) *Enjoy !
You like the old school dont ya? The Clark was a pleasant surprise and I was already a fan. It's a real thinking persons conundrum. Hamilton and Reynolds consumed about a year of my life between them reading their vast collections and it changed the way I think about aliens, and AI. Hyperion is a modern Canterbury Tales.
Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan series start with "The Warriors Apprentice" of the 4 to 5000 science fiction books I've read over the last 50 years these are a joy to read.
@@tappajaav I think they actually get better as the series goes on. "Barrayar" next then "The Warriors Apprentice" by then you should be completely hooked. Enjoy☺
This is my favourite of Niven's books. [spoiler] I like how you only discover at the end who is really telling the story. And the last words stay with you because they now have layers of meaning. Also it is friggin ingenious: the battle between the Pak ship and Brennan while they whip around the neutron star is so clever. Also my introduction to Belter culture.
The War of the Worlds, HG Wells. One of the most prescient science fiction books ever written. This is the First World War imagined a decade before it actually began. Absolutely bone chilling to this day.
- Yes & "Forbidden Planet" & "When Worlds collide" & "After Worlds Collide" for the younger crowds before they become tech. savvy & want more compications. - But in today's space faring world.awashed in Sci-Fy, They probably won't have the impact as they originally had in the pe-Sputnik crowed thirsting to escape the chains of gravity & the perceived impossible.
@@GrayNeko It's worth looking up 'The Battle of Dorking', it's on project Gutenberg for free. This book started a series of 'England Invaded' stories that climaxed with 'The War of the Worlds'. He was thinking about what the British Empire had just finished doing in Tasmania, the island off the coast of Australia. It puts H.G. Wells in his period and Milieu, and shows he wasn't prescient, but did demonstrate it's not about where you're from that means you will survive a war.
Canticle, along with Davy by Pangborn and Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, are the Trilogy of great Post nuclear war novels that stretch hundreds of years after.
Snow Crash completely blew my mind when I read it as a teenager. Neal Stephenson's ideas about the Metaverse were groundbreaking for the time. This book came out in 1992, before we had anything like virtual reality. His exploration of the man / machine interface and that consequences of that were also truly amazing. I'm also a huge fan of The Diamond Age by him, which I feel is one of the best depictions of a post-scarcity nanotechnology-driven society.
My personal list 1. 2001: A Space Odyssey Saga 2. Dune 3. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep 4. Ringworld 5. 1984 Honorable Mentions (the eight in my top 5) 6. War of the Worlds 7. A Clockwork Orange 8. Fariegnhiet 451 Trust me I know this isnt the most original, but sometimes classics are classic for a reason.
Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks. The ships names are insight into Bank's wit. Eg. "Falling outside normal moral restraints" or something like that. The ship's avatars are an extension of this wit and storytelling. Absolutely remarkable writing.
I believe SpaceX use IMBanks spaceship names for their floating landing pads like "A Shortfall Of Gravitas", "Just Read The Instructions" and "Of Course I Still Love You"
Adam, Left Hand of Darkness is but a part of a larger whole, the Hainish Cycle, and from, admittedly limited experience I had with it, I can honestly recommend it. Ursula K. Le Guin was a terrific writer and her works are definitely worth everyones attention, especially since she somehow manages to write novels that are short and concise, yet somehow so amazingly full of details. Rocannon's World for example, which is the first book of the cycle and also Le Guin's debut novel, tells the story of a man who is send on a scouting mission to a planet inhabited by different medieval cultures of people who evolved into what we would most likely consider elves and dwarves. Also her famous fantasy cycle, The Earthsea comes greatly recommended. Another book I could recommend is The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge along with its continuations. Often overlooked truly epic stories that include concepts of environmental and sociological s-f.
Yes! I love Joan D. Vinge, and I love the Snow Queen universe! I read those books starting in middle school and remember they had such an impact on my thinking about the interconnection between humanity and the environment!
I thought rainbows end was nothing short of masterpiece. I wanted a fire upon the deep to give me that same wonder, but after reading I couldn't really see why people held it in such high regard. I mean it's a good book. But it didnt have me up at night thinking about its concepts like rainbows end did.
I loved Dune and Left Hand of Darkness, which I read in high school over 45 years ago; Dune had the most lasting imagery for me, and I was so excited by the new movie because it matches my mind's images! The Foundation trilogy also was an important read in my high school years, as was The Crystal Cave. And then there was the Lord of the Rings trilogy; I don't think my friends or parents saw me for two full weeks while I was engrossed by them. So there's my Top 5. :) Great question, Cody, and I agree with Adam that you have a great name for a character, either in a fictional or real world setting!
Let's list my favorites since everyone else is doing it 1. I have no Mouth and I must Scream 2. The War of the Worlds 3. The Commissar Cain series 4. H.P. Lovecraft anything if you consider it Sci Fi 5. The Land Ironclads Bit more obscure books, but I enjoy them
I am currently reading the third book from Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy (The Three Body Problem is book 1) by Cixin Liu. It is phenomenal. I am a very slow reader but I think I am absorbing the book better than if I whizzed through it. I am a little disappointed that I am nearly done with it. Read it slowly and enjoy it.
I wish we had seen more of Luo Ji (whose name sounds the same as the Chinese word for logic) in the third part. I don't find Liu Cixin always very good at creating convincing characters (Shi Qiang comes across as a comic-book character, for example), but Luo Ji was special.
I read the first book and was not impressed. The only thing that really surprised me was that the author was "allowed" to write about the reality/failure of Mao's Cultural Revolution. But then I've only been reading sci-fi for 60 years.
Larry Niven, I like a lot of him for example Ringworld. For that matter, I like all of the stories playing in that setting "Known Space" (IIRC). But also works like "The Mote in God's eye", with Jerry Pournelle.
Haha ya the watchmakers certainly know how to use a head. Will be a shockingly memorable scene when they eventually make the movie, scifi/horror boundary crossed.
I love Seveneves So many to mention, here are two I don't see mentioned in the comments 1. Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge 2. Eifelheim by Michael F. Flynn
"Snow Crash" blew my mind as a first "cyberpunk" read. And "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick. Perhaps a list of your favorite fantasy books, if you're into them. Cheers!
My top 5: 1. Neuromancer (trilogy), William Gibson 2. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester 3. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov 4. The Player of Games, Iain M Banks (or Consider Phlebus or Use of Weapons) 5. Axiomatic, Greg Egan (short story collection - hey, it just says "books" in the question ;) 6. War of the Worlds, H G Wells 7. Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut 8. The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson (or Snowcrash) Only not necessarily in that order and it'll likely change tomorrow ;).
@@AnthonyBowman That's a shame if newer fans aren't reading him, they're definitely missing out. Gully Foyle as an example is one of the great sci-fi characters IMO.
I appreciate that you included Ursula Leguin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" and - even moreso - Doris Lessings "Shikasta" series, because I see it acknowledged so rarely for the absolute top-shelf sci-fi that it is. Of the series, my favorite in the 3rd volume, "The Sirian Experiments", by the way. But to add something to your list, let me suggest "Tau Zero", the amazing hard science novel by Poul Anderson that poses the question, "What might happen if a space craft travelling at hyper speed couldn't slow down?" Equally brilliant is Anderson's "Brainwave" in which the question posed is, "Suppose every creature on earth experienced an instantaneous multiplying of its intelligence? Poul Anderson's work is among the very best at living up to the promise of speculative fiction: to explore all the possibilities and potentialities of Life and the Universe.
My collection contains about 3000 titles. My first book was Eric Frank Russell's The Junk Yard Planet.I have these series in toto, David Brin's Uplift series,both Herbert's Dune series,David Weber's Honor Harrington series, John Ringo's Gust Front series. All of Robert Heinlein's novels, all of A.E. Von Vogt I can find. Leguin ,and Tiptree the more impressive of the women's writers. Unfortunately 10 years ago I became disabled ,this curtailed my buying of new titles. So I haven't kept up.
@@MatthewBunn Too old??? Using statistics to predict the future? Using religion to control the population? (especially if you don't consider just religion, but social groups) If anything it's more relevant now...
It's the first time I've heard about it, yet after a bit of research the story seemed familiar, and it turns out it was later adopted to be one of my favourite films "stalker" (so tarkovsky wasn't that much of a genius..)
@@terfaniabdou5908 Tarkovsky was a genius moviemaker, but yes, there was a shared genius of his and of Strugatsky's brothers behind the movie. The script in stalker is substantially different from the original book though. As a fun fact, Tarkovsky worked with the authors of "roadside picnic " to make the script, and they later recalled that it was one of the hardest things they've ever done.
Arisen. The 25 books in the bestselling, top-ranked, and fan-favorite ARISEN series have repeatedly been ranked Amazon #1 bestsellers in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction, #1 in Dystopian Science Fiction, #1 in Military Science Fiction, #1 in War Fiction, and #1 in War & Military Action Fiction, as well as Amazon overall Top 100 bestsellers. The series as a whole has sold nearly a million copies. The audiobook editions, performed by the legendary R.C. Bray, have generated $5 million in gross sales.
I'm surprised we didn't get any Asimov or Heinlein or Dick or Clarke or Ellison, considering their huge impact on the genre. I'm also a bit sad to hear Left Hand of Darkness again for Le Guin. Its all I ever seem to hear about her in terms of scifi when she has a lot of other great works. I particularly like "The Lathe of Heaven". If people want some suggestions: *The Killing Star* by Charles R. Pellegrino (A very different take on a first contact incident) *The Lathe of Heaven* by Le Guin (About a man who can change the world with his dreams but desperately wishes he couldn't) *Childhood's End* by Clarke (An interesting re-imagining of a "Peaceful Alien Invasion" and the changes that happen afterwards. Quintessential of the pseudo-spiritualism found in many books of the time like Stranger in a Strange Land) *The Moon is a Harsh Mistress* by Heinlein (About a sapient AI, a moon colony revolution, mutually assured destruction, and economics) *Mote in the Eye of God* by Niven (Humans encounter aliens that have a very strange form of society and hugely divergent evolutionary paths) *The Forever War* by by Haldeman (A realistic take on interstellar war in which hundreds of years or more pass between battles and soldiers see the world drastically changed around them.) *Roadside Picnic* by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (An unknowable alien encounter leaves otherworldly "Zones" scattered around the world and the book examines the lives of people connected to the Zone. Inspiration behind the STALKER video game series and, to my mind, far better than the games) *Windup Girl* by Paolo Bacigalupi (A VERY different take on what some might consider "Steampunk", a world in which things like genetic engineering is common but there are no fossil fuels, resulting in the use of mechanically coiled high tech springs as a major power source.) *MaddAddam Trilogy* by Atwood (Environmentalism via genetic terrorism and other very interesting things) *Rendezvous with Rama* by Clarke (Exploring a giant alien craft that is passing through the solar system on its way to a distant star.) *Foundation Series* by Asimov (A speculative future of humanity spanning hundreds of thousands of years or more) *Gateway* by Pohl (Follows the life of a man aboard an alien space station discovered by humans. There they take preprogrammed shuttles to unknown locations in search of wealth.) *The Andromeda Strain* by Crichton (A methodical and intelligent exploration of what happens when a highly deadly pathogen comes to earth from outer space. Good movie too. )
Neal Stephenson is interesting for me. I generally like more plot in my books, or at least more active plots, but I have liked every book I've read. They are slow burns, and almost more about world building than characters and plot, but they just work for me. I don't go out of my way to read his books, but when I come across them, I usually give them a read.
@Ben Lutz yes, they were really different but indeed really good. I kept hating exactlt how useless the mains were in garden in some situations and i still really cared how things went and i really how consitently Lee wrote the characters. He waxes a little ham fistedly in parts but all in all the books are great. Lee actually wrote two other at least books in the rama universe totally on his own that were also pretty damn good as far as the story goes which explain the baby coming to be in the octospider zoo in garden of rama and rama revealed. There was another advanced entity in that universe rivaling the 'ramans' that had encountered humans. The books are bright messengers and double full moon night. They are worth a read though Lee's writing is a little syrupy at times. There is another book he wrote that in set in the same universe that to some degree mentions the rama events but briefly. Additionally there is another collab with Clarke and Lee that i dont think they ever directly said was related to rama but its called Cradle and it has some thematic elements suggesting that Lee may have meant to have a connection or decided to reuse some concepts. Its a strange novel but also not bad.
I’m currently reading SeveNeves and it’s absolutely fascinating. The encyclopedic approach to the story is something I can’t wait to explore in other Stephenson novels!
Dune is absolutely amazing, I've read the trilogy more often than can remember, and Left Hand of Darkness is one of my favorite LeGuin books (of which there are several favorites) and have also read several times. Will have to check out the few of these I have not read
Make your way through God Emperor and the rest are just as good as the first three. Chapterhouse let Herbert’s humanity (and love for his wife) really shine through!
I would add Asimov's "Foundation" trilogy, almost anything by Arthur C. Clarke, and I'm very much a fan of Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars" trilogy. Thanks for your reviews, Adam! Love your work.
Mike Salsgiver red Mars was great but green and blue were strange for me lots of dragging and no since , no events. Do you agree or am I missing something ?
@@magedsyehia I think you have to go on Mars time to get the full effect. Yes there are areas where nothing much seems to be going on but something always is.
"Stranger In A Strange Land" by Heinlein, one of the few books I have read several times. It influenced the counter culture movement of the 60's and is one of the most important Sci-Fi books ever written. I grok it.
I still chuckled thinking about the droves of hippies who embraced this book and took pilgrimages to Heinlein's house, which he found to be very unwanted attention, so he erected a tall fence.
@@swordblaster2596 The Number of the Beast was where he completely lost it, or perhaps became powerful enough to stop editors making changes. It would be vastly improved by removing the middle third and making the necessary minor tweaks to the first and last thirds so they fit together smoothly.
Terrific reads. I always felt Bester was a big influence on Philip K Dick and wrote books that laid the foundations for cyberpunk tropes. If you haven’t read the Demolished Man yet, check that out. Real exciting page turner!
5 is difficult. If I could choose my favorite in a series I listed that. Otherwise I listed entire series. 1. Dune 2. Player of Games 3. Signal to Noise/Signal Shattered 4. Foundation 5. Enders Game
Player of Games was my introduction to Iain M Banks thanks to the novel appearing in a random Loot Crate. Highly recommend the Culture series to any Sci-fi fans.
Dig this at 8:18 a digital computer that computes using air . th-cam.com/video/5qgxsJp8MZk/w-d-xo.html If Babbage had this tech the pipe organ guys could have built his computer and Lovelace would have invented COBAL.
A Canticle of Leibowitz by Walter Miller, Gather Darkness by Fritz Lieber, Star Man's Son by Andre Norton, the Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, Foundation by Asimov.
Herbert - Dune the first 3 novels. Heinlein - Time enough for love being my favorite. Asimov - The original foundation trilogy. Later additions are not that great. Niven - The ringworld novels. McCaffery - The Dragon riders of Pern (all of them). To many others to list.
Larry Niven was the first adult Sci-Fi I read as a boy, and he became one of my favorite authors back then when my parents unearthed their box of Sci-Fi from their hippy days in the late 60's/early 70's. I guess Sci-Fi was pretty popular with the hippies. I recently reread the Heorot/Avalon books that Niven wrote with Jerry Pournelle and Stephen Barnes when I discovered that they had written a third book in the series in 2020. I had taken a break from Sci-Fi for many years, but rereading those books got me right back into it. I was doing some googling and came across an article at The Daily Beast called "The Sci-Fi Roots of the Far Right". I thought I was reading The Onion as the "journalist" postulated that Pournelle and Niven were the roots of far-right extremism. Hippies loved Lucifer's Hammer when it was published because it spoke to their beliefs that self-sufficiency was a righteous path. Now here we are in 2021 and a fairly prominent media outlet is pointing to the fact the self-sufficient rural people are the heroes and survivors in Lucifer's Hammer as evidence that it is a "far-right" manifesto, which leads me to the only plausible conclusion: We are currently in a farcical Sci-Fi simulation.
@@andydouglass1374 Yeah, if Niven and Pournelle were secretly trying to convert people into far right thinkers, they failed miserably with me! I will read Lucifers Hammer again, (it’s been decades on that one) but I am thinking that the author of that article was off base on that premise. 🤔😳😀
ICYMI, here's Adam and Will discussing another favorite book of Adam's: Seveneves: www.tested.com/science/space/536338-seveneves-spoilercast-8112015/
Reading the comments I think you were right. Waaaay too many good sci fi books to pick a top 5.
Let me suggest that you read the DNA Cowboys trilogy by Mick Farren (If you can find a copy).
He wrote 55 books in both fiction and non fiction during his lifetime and is underappreciated.
I d add 'forever war' J. Hademan, 'the disspossesed' U.K. le Guine, 'dark side of the sun' T. Pratchett and about everything by S. Lem
Just watched that, that was great! Did the discussion about part 3 ever happen?
I strongly disliked the HRC based character and the feeling of impending doom she brought with her.
_Neuromancer_ has one of the best opening lines in SF Literature:
"The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel."
Good.... But not close to the best...John Varley's Steel Beach, from an author who's won numerous Hugs and Nebula's, opening line got me: "In five years, the penis will become obsolete."
Neil Gaimen later paraphrases this line in Neverwhere: "The sky was the perfect untroubled blue of a television screen, tuned to a dead channel."
Just started reading it for the first time and that line stuck out to me and propelled me to read through half of it in a day.
Unfortunately, "colour of a dead channel" and 'tuning' are references that don't age well.
@@stormveil true.
Also, it’s a great sign of a true sci-fi fan when their top 5 list has way more than 5 books on it.
Also that your top five is basically just a list of #1 entries.
@@kevinkorenke3569 too true. I couldn’t come up with a top 5 Philip k dick list, let alone a top sci-fi list
Hahaha.
My favorite and most relatable part was the “totally reasonable 8” at the end. There are just too many greats and all for different reasons.
Still no Expanse on it tho :(
I found reading all the comments very enjoyable!!! I began reading SF when I was 15 and am now 75. I must have read many many many sci-fi stories. The comments brought back remembrances of having read so many stories. It was also nice to know I was not the only Sci-Fi nerd.
What’s your top 5?
In your 60 years of sci-fi, I must know what you consider to be the best?
I started out reading Zane Grey's westerns, then, in about '1953' I read Frederick Brown's, "The Lights in the Sky are Stars." From that point on, nothing but sci/fy could hold my attention....and, looking at fast upcoming 83, still doesn't.
'The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy' I first read the four part trilogy 35 years ago after having watched the British TV series. In all those years I don't think a week has gone by that some element within those books hasn't been analogous and relative to the reality of life, the universe and everything.
Every time use Google Translate I'm reminded of the following quote from the first book: "Meanwhile, the poor Babel fish, by effectively removing all barriers to communication between different races and cultures, has caused more and bloodier wars than anything else in the history of creation." :-p
@@johnmagnestubsveen8211 Oops said god, I hadn't thought of that
It is funny how certain aspects of modern everyday life were predicted in things like HHG but when you read it now you forget it was a prediction because they are just so normal.
Anyone who wants political power should automatically be disqualified for holding any office. Douglas Adams was a genius.
The 5 books of this trilogy have their own category in my mind (and in my heart), imcomparable - like Monty Python.
“Tell me of the waters of your homeworld, Muad’dib.”
procrastinator99 to be that guy she call him Usul
Those of arrakis could not comprehend the waters of caladan... Not until the golden path
usul*
I've only listened to the Dune audiobooks. The spellings of all the made up words would give me a brain aneurysm and I'm a Warhammer 40K fan! TBH 40K borrows SO much from Dune!
@@matthewcorya7514 Yeah, it's been a little while since I read this........
Ursula LeGuin's parents were Anthropologists. They met someone who was essentially an alien. He was a California Indian who was the last of his tribe. Her Mother, Theodora Kroeber wrote a YA and an adult book about him. They are Ishi, Last of his Tribe and Ishi in Two Worlds. The writing is luminous and immersive. Ursula's Mother was a marvelous writer who is not well enough known.
Wow, I had no idea! That's really fascinating.
There are only Indians in India.
How does any top 5 list have less then 20 books in it?
Any of those Graphic Novels?
Exactly!
Because; Book Lover;
Considering my top 5 would include Dune (6 books, excluding the expanded universe stuff), Foundation (7 books, excluding Robots stuff), Rama (4 books) and Space Oddyssey (4 books), it's inconceivable to have less than 20 books in the top 5 list. :)
@@MravacKid Yeah, any top sci-fi lists that don't include at least Clarke and one Asimov are invalid.
3 classics not mentioned: Rendezvous with Rama (Arthur C. Clark), The Foundation Series (Isaac Asimov), and Ringworld (Larry Niven).
The Foundation Series as well as the Robot Stories...
Now your talking. All really good
The whole "Known Universe " story line is so much fun. Such a freaking good yarn!
I read Rendezvous with Rama a long time ago and liked it as well as Ringworld. But the Foundation books, at least the first one, difficult to get into. This was all in middle school and may be easier now. Any thoughts on talking it up to readers like me?
Ooh, I loved Ringworld!
So glad you mentioned The 3 Body Problem trilogy. I thought it was an incredible trilogy and a very interesting cultural vantage point. Lots of original ideas...atleast new to me.
What do you mean by "cultural vantage point"... Like everyone excuses the writers horribly written characters as "it's Chinese culture" no it's not.
The remembrance of humanities past hd some great sci fi concepts. But as books? They were horribly written.
In fact they were so bad I had to stop reading the second book when his self insert "genius writer" character had a fkn road trip with his imaginary gf. When he wrote book 2 he convinced himsfl he was a genius. But nowadays he admits he isn't a great writer. Doesn't care about characters, story or literature in general. He just likes sci fi and sci fi theories / concepts and the story is a means to talk about sci fi.
But most importantly. The writer supports the Holocaust that the CCP is currently committing on the Uyghurs
@@godofchaoskhorne5043 I think this is matches a lot of my feelings on the series. I only read three body problem and liked it well enough, but couldn't be bothered to read more. The ideas contained within are fascinating and it's a book which really stuck with me as a really compelling solution to the fermi paradox, but as a story, I never felt it held up. I haven't gone back to it.
That said, the translation is truly top notch. Whoever translated it did a great job. Some of the most interesting stuff in the book is in the annotations the translator has given to provide context.
@@godofchaoskhorne5043 your last sentence shows your knowledge in china, go visit china before making such claims
@@superpowerdragon ho fk off I know countless innocent Uyghurs who's families are in concentration camps for no reason.
The CCP is literally forcing Uyghur families to "host" Han Chinese men who on social media abuse Uygur women and children in their own homes using them as slaves treathening yo report and sent them to concentration camps as they've done to the man of the house.
There are Uyghur professors in the camps who've gotten countless honors from the CCP for their teaching and academic efforts. Who are now being tortured for speaking Uyghur or having a Koran or refusing to eat pork
People claiming the CCP and MAO were great during the cultural revolution too. China is a horrifically dystopian police state ruled by a quasi communist party dictatorship
@@godofchaoskhorne5043 just show me ONE verifiable evidence, just ONE is enough. I have countless uyghur friends in xinjiang too, and I have been to xinijang, its basically impossible that there are concentration camps without everyone knowing and videos and images on the internet. what? do you think Chinesestill live in the middle ages? there are mobile phones everywhere everyone has a tiktok account in china
The Hyperion Cantos. Shuch masterpieces. Those have changed my views of Science Fiction and left deep memories!
@@_theoriginalb4handles_Genflag No, sadly. I'll confess I've lost most of my reading habits. It's a shame, I know... I think more and more to throw myself at some book in a near future, I quite miss it, but don't seem to find the time (or, to be honest, motivation)
Such good memories reading hyperion
Mark A. Dodd - Wish Simmons wrote more SF. Loved all 6 of those books.
Love the 4 books... my all time favorite series (I'm assuming you have read the following 2, Endimion and return to Endimion. They are part of the story).
God I loved Hyperion...such fantastical ideas.
So, just a insider point on 1Q84: the title is a pun. In Japanese, the number 9 in commonly pronounced kue (kyu in proper romaji). So, the pun is 1984, just in Japanese. Ichi, kyu, hachi, shi.
I've never read it, but wondered the same thing. Side note.... in the same way that the number 13 is considered unlucky in the west and we will skip the 13th floor of buildings etc, the number 4 is considered unlucky in Japan because it is pronounced "shi" which is also the Japanese word for death. They will often avoid the use of the number 4, and even created a different word for 4, "yõn", to be used when it couldn't be avoided. Thus the title would be, "Ichi que hachi yõn".
Yup, 四 and 士 do have a same pronunciation. 四 is both yon and shi though. It’s not so much that the new word was used for the character as the superstitious tend to avoid the kun pronunciation.
@@captaintortuga3191 The homonym derives from Chinese, and the Chinese also regard 4 as an unlucky number for the same reason. Vietnamese has its own number which sounds like "death" and is thus unlucky: 8
Learn something new everyday.
@@MsDemzon l
I read The Left Hand of Darkness when I was 16, and I still remember the lessons it taught me as a reader. That was 15 years ago, and it may be one of the more influential books I read in my teens.
Also, I really love the Heinlein series. The way all of his books interact is always interesting and mind bending.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein | the Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov | Ringworld by David Niven | The Ship Who Sang series by Anne McCaffrey | Hammer's Slammers series by David Drake | Lensman series by E.E. "Doc" Smith | the Chanur series by C.J. Cherryh | the Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold | the Journal Entries series by Elf Sternberg | Neuromancer by William Gibson
Limiting to a Top 5 is hard! Top 10 will have to do.
Ringworld is by Larry Niven, for anyone looking. The first sequel is quite good, the others not as much. But they all take place in a much larger universe and those books are generally quite good; several other commentors have mentioned them, including "Protector", and I quite enjoyed the newest addition, the "Fleet of Worlds" anthology.
Yay! Heinlein and Smith FTW.
@@belg4mit You have to read Protector then read the Ringworld series. Time Enough For Love should be read after you read Methuselah 's Children
Falbert Forester I literally just finished reading the ship who sang and I enjoyed it.
Please try saga of the Pliocene exiles by Julian May
An under looked gem is Forever War by Joe Haldeman. If you liked Starship Troopers.
Absolutely! First book I ever read in one sitting. Blew my mind at 11 yrs old and still love it at 52.
That tickles me, as "Forever War" was written as an answer to Starship Trooper; so I guess your statement could have ended, "... Forever War will set you straight." :D
Forever War was one of my favorite books! It would make an awesome movie!
Loved that book!
The Forever Peace is worth a look, too -- not a sequel exactly but still similar turf, didn't realize while reading it how many scenes & themes would affect me to this day.
I love, love, love that you included Left Hand of Darkness. Such an amazing book at any time but especially when it was written. Ursula for all the recognition she got is truly underated in my opinion.
Torturous verbose sociology, not science fiction.
@@MrSyntheticSmile - *NOT AT All!* You are welcome to your opinion, but I'm telling you it is completely off base. Sorry, but it's true.
@@MossyMozart Left Hand of Darkness is one of the worst books I've ever read.
Isaac asimov's foundation...and all the robots stories from mr. Asimov
Foundation: the first time I was exposed to the Idea of economic warfare.
Amen.
"The Gods Themselves." Best SF book I've read.
Thanks, no one has ever heard about those.
Anything by Asimov be it SF, Sfact,or any other description
The Lazarus Long novels by Robert Heinlein starting with Methuselah's Children
The Rama trilogy by Arthur C. Clarke
The Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov
The Robot novels by Isaac Asimov
The Lensman series by E.E. Smith
The John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs
West of Eden series by Harry Harrison
I see nothing wrong in any of your picks. We think the same language. But I must admit I've only touched on the Rama and the West of Eden series.
@@mass4552 I should have included Frank Herbert's Dune series (but not any by his son), I loved the incredible detail given to Herbert's worlds...
I still tear up thinking of how beautiful she looked wearing her emeralds and nothing else. And a special tear for "BUCK".
I’ve read them all except the West of Eden series. Since we’re simpatico on the rest I’ll have to check them out. Thanks
The Three-Body Problem trilogy changed my life. Eastern Sci-fi is so different and has so many new ideas!
You should check out the ancient Vedic texts of you have never.
@@MaynardsSpaceshipwhy? I have but what’s the point?
@@MaynardsSpaceshipwhat a weirdo??
That trilogy legitimately changed my outlook on society and the future. His views and musings and portrayals of how societies and morals and movements change and revolve and repeat over time were beautiful and eye opening.
I completely agree. One of my Chinese colleagues recommended them to me and I've read them twice. This trilogy is the only one I've read on his list so it being 8th is surprising. I can't wait for the Netflix release.
1. Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
2. Dune (and sequels till Chapterhouse: Dune) Frank Herbert --> stay away from the crap by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
3. Farmer in the Sky, Robert A. Heinlein
4. The Chronicles of Corum (1-3) Michael Moorcock
That's almost my list. Lol
Childhood's End .. one of my Fav's. But no list is complete without including some Isaac Asimov...in particular, the Foundation Trilogy
@@yodaandthebike5839 Childhood's End still resonates with me after all these years and I only read it once (25 years ago).
Loved Childhoods End
I disagree, I found the Non Herbert books readable, maybe not as good, but ok.
"The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" - Robert Heinlein
Another Heilein. 🤩
man so true what a book
ANY Heinlein. Love that man!
That is my all time favorite sci-fi novel.
So do I. Lazarus Long, what a character.
Just about every Robert Heinlein book from the short (Glory Road, Citizen of the Galaxy, etc) to the big hitters (To Sail Beyond the Sunset, Strange Land, Job) is what got me hooked on Sci-Fi as a small boy. And that start lead me to one of all-time favorites, Peace and War by Joe Haldeman along with Iain M Banks's Culture series. But Adam's initial comment is perfect: "This is a really really tough one - Simply because there are so many to choose from."
Haven't read any of these, probably because I'm older. I have way too many favorites, but 5 of them would be:
Stranger in a Strange Land - Heinlien
On Basilik Station - Weber
The Mote in God's Eye - Niven / Pournelle
Little Fuzzy - Piper
The Illustrated Man - Bradbury
Stranger In a Strange Land should be required reading in school.
If you've not read it, "Outies" by Pournelle's daughter is an interesting third entry to the Motie universe.
I do not say that On Basilik Station - Weber is a bad book, I personaly did enjoy it, and the rest of the books in "honerverse" but in the top 5?
I came here to say that the lack of Heinlien is almost criminal. lol
Aa, I’d completely forgotten about the Fuzzy series! Definitely a favorite!
Probably the best 'First Contact' story ever, "The Mote in God's Eye" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.
Ringworld is my favourite Larry Niven book
@@yodaandthebike5839 I am a huge Niven fan and Ringworld is an amazing exploration of something on the edge of possible, but I have to agree with Prowler Cam, Mote is a better book. In my opinion, Niven is always better when paired with another and his work with the late Jerry Pournelle was always top notch.
Anything Niven is a good bet
@@lonjohnson5161
I never heard Jerry Pournelle had passed!
Just read Protector again and am halfway through World of Ptavvs for possibly the third or fourth read. Niven is one of the authors that really expanded my mind when I was young. I wish more people were familiar with his work.
Two books that were an absolute thrill to read (and had me re-reading parts just because they were so darn interesting):
* Hyperion by Dan Simmons
* A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
Rendezvous With Rama, The Invincible, The Foundation Trilogy, Dune, The Martian Chronicles
more people should read The Invincible. Lem wrote about Drone swarms with emergent behavior and group intelligence back in the 60's.
melkins551 - Excellent choices!
I respect your opinion but to me the foundation series is wildly overrated. If it were to come out in the past 20 years or so I feel like it would have been completely overlooked and met with a luke warm reception. I love anything Neal Stephenson burns will admit that he has difficulty ending his stories. The baroque cycle, snowcrash, and cryptonomicon were wonderful. Reamde, seveneves, and anathem were great but just kinda fizzled out for me.
Thanks, but those are like the books almost everyone read anyway since so many people universally liked them.
What did you like about The Foundation Trilogy?
Science fiction gained popularity in the pulp magazines of the 30's, 40's, and 50's. I recommend finding anthologies of short stories from the old mags so you can meet the authors who invented the science fiction we know and love.
An excellent thought. May I direct your attention to this.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/141860.The_Science_Fiction_Hall_of_Fame?from_search=true&qid=ZGehjpJKgw&rank=3
There are more in the series, but this one is the first, and in my opinion the best.
" I recommend finding anthologies of short stories from the old mags so you can meet the authors who invented the science fiction we know and love."
The large bulk of which is unmitigated garbage.
This. The pulps invented much of the jargon / slang we use today for SF, some of it crossing over from gangster pulp stories. The simple adventures then were hard to distinguish from western (like John Carter, which WAS a western until re-written to set it one Mars, as a romance between a white man and a red woman was too much for the publisher.
A 'blaster' was any gun used by a gangster, then it was SF.
The 'an attractor beam' 'warping' two ships together dates from the late 1920s. Though the expression 'to warp ship' is as old as sail and ropes.
Saying 'An 'M'-class planet' derives from the Lensman books, where other peoples are defined by a series of letters beginning with the type of planet and the atmosphere; 'AAAAAA' of course meaning basic humans.
Without them, nothing we know today as SF would exist. This was demonstrated in the 1990s by a story in the DS9 series, which may also have acted as an apology for the ideas that series' makers stole.
If the station had been a hospital, it would have been Whites' 'Sector General' novels being stolen.
The idea of the exotically-coloured princesses derives from this time as well, when desire for the 'other' races had to be coded. It's still present in Star Wars until today.
Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Heinlein's "the moon is a harsh mistress"!
throwing big rocks down a gravity well.
@Hamish Barker: Heinlein is too talky for current limited attention span generations. I mean, really. Can you imagine Justin Bieber trying to make sense of the discussion about the fallen caryatid in "Stranger in a Strange Land" (?) Inconceivable . . .
@@QED_ perhaps, but last time I read mistress I thought it was pretty easy going. I believe that it might emerge from scriptwriting hell one day and become a movie. Hopefully without too much butchering. I wonder if the marriage arrangements are part of the reason it has remained unfilled. If so, a shame. Ai and struggles against authority are classic themes. Add in a good moon and some celestial mechanics, what's not to like?
Tmiahm is a good book.
Jubal Harshaw is the only man I'd leave my Husband for.
Definitely Dune, Snowcrash, Left Hand of Darkness, Neuromancer. Would add: New Sun series by Gene Wolfe; Eon series by Greg Bear; Brin's Uplift series.
Was searching a mention of Gene Wolfe, finally found it. Guess he's not to popular, but those books were amazing
Love the Son series .
Startide rising is superb...
At least the first 3 dune books
Vonnegut wrote Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle, and a short story collection Welcome to the Monkey House.
Asimov wrote a great novella Nightfall.
For fans of Dune, or space opera in general, check out A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge. Truly amazing writing. Best space opera ever.
I read his Hugo-winning "A Deepness in The Sky" a couple of years ago. Good stuff. I just started "A Fire Upon the Deep" a week ago. So far so good, although it's still early in the book and the action hasn't yet gotten underway.
Not very nice storytelling, but some nice ideas in it. Doggy planet is not so interesting :)
Just bought AFUtD on a whim at a used bookstore yesterday. Love Dune and about 80 pages into AFUtD and I’m loving it as well. LOVE SCI FI
You mentioned dune so now I will have to check it out....
Hell yeah! Vernor Vinge is fantastic.
The premise in David Brin's Uplift trilogy was really compelling to me. It begins with Sundiver, but lots of people start with Startide Rising.
Startide Rising is one of my favorite books.
I started with Startide Rising after it won the Hugo. But I prefer Sundiver.
Now if he would just write another book, even if its not in the Uplift Saga.
I began with Brightness Reef. I loved that a large part of the story was about schoolchildren of multiple alien species.
I started reading Sundiver and lost it somewhere. Need to get another copy.
@@jaysonraphaelmurdock8812
Libraries often have it. E-book version should be easy to get. Dr. Brin has links on his website.
Children of Time (Adrian Tchaikovsky) is an astounding novel - gets you thinking about what it means to exist. Three Body Problem series - tough but well worth the effort. Superb. Loved the Asimov Robot short stories and the Susan Calvin stuff. Does I am Legend count? Herbert's world building in Dune is the equal of Tolkein's Middle Earth.
I absolutely LOVE children of time, I've never sat down to make a top 5 list, but it and player of games by ian m banks are the only two I'm 100% sure get a spot. I recently found out this week there's a sequel (children of ruin) and I can't wait till I have some time to read that. Consensus seems to be that it's the rare breed where the sequel is of a similar quality.
I also think the lensman series is criminally underrated and so foundational. Both the green lantern core and the Bene Gesserit idea of controlling a bloodline for generations in dune trace their origins back to it.
Dito on the Irobot short stories. They were very funny. I laughed so hard.
Love children of time. It’s my number one. Children of ruin was great as well. Had some very suspenseful moments. Not sure if you are into audiobooks but the narrator Mel Hudson was excellent as well.
@@jeffsanders7691 Love the idea of audiobooks - but they send me to sleep!!! Something about a voice just sends me off.
I met this chap once. Who’d’a thunk it.
Old Man's War series by John Scalzi is up near the top of my list. I love the humor and the science that is put into those books.
love love loved old man's war. I don't read much as I have difficulty with some dyslexic/adhd problems...but those books kept me glued. Three body problem as mentioned ruined me for all the "foreign" narrative and particularly names.
i just read the first book and was wondering if the rest of the books were worth it. It sounds like you are suggesting they are....
@@KolbWorkshop yea definitely I would recommend "The Ghost Brigades" and "The Last Colony" from the series as well.
@@KolbWorkshop imho they are all excellent. It gets both wider in scope yet deeper on various parts. Zoe's tale is one of the books repeated from another perspective.
Very very very good series. Captures a lot of the feeling of being at war, especially one that feels endless.
"The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman altered my mind.
Gregory Dworak - me too.
I love this book.
Definitely one of my favorites as well.
Follow it up with Forever Free, it’s even better and finishes up the story.
I have read this book AT LEAST 25 times since it came out in paperback in 1974. On the one hand, I would love for The Forever War to be made into a movie, or even better, a miniseries. On the other hand I would hate to see someone fubar the thing...
Fred Pohl’s Heechee saga is also one of the best sci fi series ever.
Foundation series. It's an epic among epics, and there are sections that will likely make you want to stop, but it's another work that I think seriously stretched the envelope of science fiction's possibilities.
Christopher Cornette I really remember the time scale the story spans. No book before that I had read had told a story in that scale.
@@MusicBent I'm not sure any since have either, really. At least none that I've read.
Read one. After that it is tired old ideas from 80 years ago. Mr. Savage's list had much more to say about the time we live in.
@@MatthewBunn I suppose it depends on whether you are a fan of the genre or not. The first book was published in 1951, so yes, it is all from 68 years ago. Dune, on this list, was from 1965, 54 years ago. But Dune, and the other books on this list would not likely even be around if it weren't for Asimov and Heinlein and their contemporaries proving, mainly in the 50s, that science fiction could be more than B movies, comic books, and pulp fiction for kids and teens. The Foundation series was a huge part of that.
@@backpacker3421 I'm so glad you explained that too me. I read a bunch of Asimov. Looking back I find repetitive and not very insightful. It was an interesting window to open, but I think a book or so really meets "foundational" knowledge requirements. I am not questioning his importance, but his relevance. One book and you have a pretty good handle on what he has to say.
Roger Zelazny's _Lord of Light_ ... reads like fantasy but at heart it's science fiction ...
I adored Zalany
Read it a dozen times. Wished he had done a prequel.
Almost forgot about Zelazny.
Nine Princes in Amber
Just re-read the entire Amber series.
Amazing tour-de-force.
John Varley - Titan, Wizard, Demon
Hands down one of the best trilogies ever
Finally! Took awhile to find a Varley fan, but I knew I would. Excellent trilogy but The Ophiuchi Hotline is really good too. His short stories are great too!
1 Dune (series) by Frank Herbert.
2 The mote in God's eye (and following books) by Larry Niven and Jerrycan Pournelle
3 Foundation series and Robots series by Isaac Asimov
4 Rendez-vous with Rama (Rama series) by Arthur C. Clarke
5 books from Jack Vance
6 giant's star series by James Patrick Hogan
Is there more than 2 books in the mote series? I read 2 and would love to read more
@@addsfour3499 Wikipedia is your friend for these questions. No, just these two but he wrote many other novels. Ringworld series, at least the first few, are a must.
@@palantir135 Thank you. I got all excited when i saw the “gripping hand” as I didn’t realise it was renamed for my country, so i had already read it. I did read ringworld, but only the first, so i might give the second one a go. Right after I finish the Rama series by Arthur c Clarke
@@addsfour3499 i’m sure you know the diskworld series by Terry Prattchett.
Nul-A by Van Vogt. First novel is good.
Babel 17 by Damuel Delaney
Fantasy series:
Earthsea by Ursula le Guin
Shanara by Terry Brooks
Sword and sorcery series by Fritz Leiber
@@palantir135 ive got every discworld book and good omens. Dont know the other two but will give them a go. Thanks for the recommendation
Lots of early SciFi books listed here, but there are a number of really good ones published this century as well. Here are a few of my favs with newer ones first:
1. We Are Legion (We Are Bob) Trilogy by Taylor. (Human consciousness downloaded into space probes, which can replicate to map nearby star systems)
2. Flowers for Algernon by Keyes. (While not space-related SciFi, this is one of the most well-written, endearing, and emotionally-charged novels of recent memory)
3. The Martian by Wier. (One of the most engaging and well-written books in recent memory. Part journal, part stream-of-consciousness, about as rooted in realism as modern SF comes)
4. Beacon 23 by Howey. (Safe lanes of FTL travel are set up between beacons in space, but these tiny "lighthouses" often break and require maintenance. One man's story of his solo 2-year posting)
5. Tunnel in the Sky by Heinlein. (Coming-of-age book about a group of teens who are sent through a wormhole to an alien world for survival training, only to become stranded. Great for teens+).
6. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Heinlein. (Moon colony revolts against Earth's overbearance. Led by an AI, the technologically inferior lunar inhabitants struggle for rights)
7. The Foundation Trilogy by Asimov. (While the premise of being able to predict events centuries into the future via science may be a difficult one to overlook, this series is quintessential in its scope and effects on the genre)
8. From the Earth to the Moon by Verne. (Any book written in the 1860s that so accurately predicts the first moon mission 100 years later, and which gets a "thank you" from Neil Armstrong mid-mission for setting such an accurate blueprint for the first moon mission, is a must read)
In my opinion, Hyperion by Dan Simmons is the best novel ever! The Character and plot development is damn near perfect and it's very well paced. The shrike is my favorite character. A very riveting novel. I definitely recommend it.
agree 100%, politics, love, war, science, religion, tech, etc, all included, great reads for sure
It's a complete jumble of every single sci-fi and literary trope and it does it so well it's criminal how underrated it is
also it unlike dune is perfect for visual adaptation live action or animated
I’m so glad you mentioned Hyperion! I read it in 2020 and I’m currently reading the last book “Rise of Endymion”. When the character Fedmahn Kassad recounts his encounter with the Shrike and the Ousters Hyperion instantly became one of my favorite sci-fi book series.
It would be impossible to say now good this book really is, adjectives fail. It prepared me to live a good life in face of adversity, and how to manage the insane challenges life lobs at you.
The Scholars Tale stands out - just a stunning work
Yes the first book is brilliant, unlike anything I've read before
Isaac Asimov, Robot / Foundation series are one of the best books Ive read
Robots!!! I didn't care too much for the Foundation stuff.
They're good. Very good.
Was gonna recommend these myself, good shout!
The Robot work posited by Asimov explored morality and control of behaviour of robots long before anyone else contemplated the implications of AI. It is a study in human psychology as much as it is science fiction.
The Culture series by Ian Banks, some of the best writing I've read in any genre. I've only read the first five but they've all been amazing and Use of Weapons has become one of my favorite books of all time.
If you like Ian m banks try Peter f Hamilton.
If you like Iain M Banks, try Iain Banks. He published sci-fi with the 'M' and "mainstream" fiction without it and the latter is also brilliant (for the most part) - 'The Crow Road' or 'The Wasp Factory' are maybe a good place to start.
Maybe I'll give the series a run again. Thought the first book was ok but didn't get more than a chapter or two into Use of Weapons. If someone thinks it's THAT good then I feel I need to give it another chance
@@RaidsEpicly
Use of Weapons is probably the best piece of science fiction I've ever read.
Use of Weapons
Permutation City
Lord of Light
@@nishita3084 +1 Use of Weapons was an amazing novel. Blew my mind as a teenager and still held up reading as an adult.
One of my favorites is Lord of Light by Rogers Zelazny. I know his Amber series gets a lot of readers and he has a lot of other good stuff, but I consider Lord of Light to be his masterwork.
Lord of Light, yes! Creatures of Light and Darkness as well. Though the Amber series deserves the credit it gets.
Named my son after the protagonist of Amber, but I re-read Lord of Night at least once every year or two. It never gets old.
Bigups Lord of Light, absolute banger!
I really enjoyed that book
Really enjoying the The Expanse books as well.
Kurt Vonnegut Cat's Cradle, The Sirens of Titan, Slaughterhouse 5. Russell Hoban Riddley Walker
His short story on what we now call Woke Culture is amazing, I cant recall the title of it, but it is so relevant to the world today.
@@annenominous7220 "Harrison Bergeron" is the story I suspect you're referring to.
I love books from Arthur C. Clarke, as they offer a great blend of real and fictional pieces, and have that optimistic tone I love about that era of sci-fi. I also like Cosmos by Carl Sagan, Weir's Martian, some stuff by the Pournelle/Niven duo or Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement.
I never rated Pournelle, I far preferred Niven’s solo work. Protector, especially.
I love seeing Snow Crash get the love it deserves!
Snow Crash is great.
Yep. Just a fun ride. Not every book has to be a deep examination of ontological questions.
Love the weird Bible stuff he gets into. I love it when a story rewrites history and makes you wonder.
I would add A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr., winner of the 1961 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Also, 'Dorsai!' and 'The Spirit of Dorsai, two of several novels' in the Childe Cycle by Gordon R. Dickinson.
I have made a to-read list of 6 of your 7 picks, since I have read Dune and sequels, but can't remember which Le Guin novels I have read.
Ooooo! Dickson's Dorsai series! Let's not forget Tactics of Mistake. It's what made me want to study military deception.
I don't remember if I had a chance to read A Canticle for Leibowitz, but I can absolutely recommend the fifteen part radio serial that was adapted from the book in 1981.
@@stevekemble8911 I have read the book three times at least. In my opinion, it's one of the best SF stories ever.
Here's my pick of books that have impacted me over the years:
Heinlein's 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress'
Kim Stanley Robinson's 'Red Mars/Blue Mars/Green Mars' trilogy
SM Stirling's Emberverse series that starts with 'Dies the Fire' (15 books -The last books aren't as good as the first five books)
A. American's Survivalist Series that starts with 'Going Home' (12 books so far)
Olan Thorensen's Destiny's Crucible Series that starts with 'Cast Under an Alien Sun' (8 books, so far)
Harry Turtledove's 'Guns of the South'
Anne McCaffry's 'Dragonriders of Pern' Series (3 books) 'Dragonsong' (3 books)
Melanie Rawn's 'Dragon Prince' & 'Dragon Star' Series (6 books)
Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's 'Lucifer's Hammer'
Larry Niven's 'Ringworld'
Roger Zelazny 'Chronicles of Amber' (10 books)
Mary Stewart's Arthurian Saga, series that starts with 'The Crystal Cave' (4 books)
*Enjoy !
I would buy you a drink! Excellent choices. Add 1632 by Eric Flint. And The Destroyermen series.
A C CLark: Rendez-vous with Rama / Dan Simmons: Hyperion / Alastair Reynolds The Inhibitors+Janus / Greg Bear: Eon / Peter F. Hamilton: Pandora's Star
I burned so fast through the Hyperion books, finished the first one in a day. Good books.
You like the old school dont ya? The Clark was a pleasant surprise and I was already a fan. It's a real thinking persons conundrum. Hamilton and Reynolds consumed about a year of my life between them reading their vast collections and it changed the way I think about aliens, and AI. Hyperion is a modern Canterbury Tales.
Hyperion and Endymion, yes!
Glad someone mentioned Alastair Reynolds. Some of the best "hard" sci fi i've read.
@@timothymarchant9079 So true. Picked up Revelation Space when I was in Liverpool in 2004 and have devoured everything by him since.
Lois McMaster Bujold - Vorkosigan series start with "The Warriors Apprentice" of the 4 to 5000 science fiction books I've read over the last 50 years these are a joy to read.
That saves me typing it out, thanks. Every book of the series is a delight. Characters, themes and plots are so well done and fresh.
cannot like this enough
I read Shards of honor recently(and was pleasant surprise as it was blind pick from library shelf), are all the books written by Lois equally good?
@@tappajaav I think they actually get better as the series goes on. "Barrayar" next then "The Warriors Apprentice" by then you should be completely hooked. Enjoy☺
@@petermoore9504 Thanks!
The Forever War is one of my favorites. Also The Warlock In Spite of Himself - a funny blend of SF and Fantasy.
Protector, 1973, written by Larry Niven. One of my earliest, and favorite Sci Fi books.
A Johnson Didn’t a movie with same name just come out?
Edit: Never mind, I was thinking of Prospect by Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell.
What a great, and overlooked, novel!
This is my favourite of Niven's books. [spoiler] I like how you only discover at the end who is really telling the story. And the last words stay with you because they now have layers of meaning. Also it is friggin ingenious: the battle between the Pak ship and Brennan while they whip around the neutron star is so clever. Also my introduction to Belter culture.
This is a favorite of mine. It's not a "best", but definitely a "favorite".
The War of the Worlds, HG Wells. One of the most prescient science fiction books ever written. This is the First World War imagined a decade before it actually began. Absolutely bone chilling to this day.
- Yes & "Forbidden Planet" & "When Worlds collide" & "After Worlds Collide" for the younger crowds before they become tech. savvy & want more compications.
- But in today's space faring world.awashed in Sci-Fy, They probably won't have the impact as they originally had in the pe-Sputnik crowed thirsting to escape the chains of gravity & the perceived impossible.
It was actually about colonialism with us un the role of oppressed natives.
@@christopherbacon1077 Excellent point, sir! Hadn't thought about it from that perspective. Thank you! ^_^
@@GrayNeko It's worth looking up 'The Battle of Dorking', it's on project Gutenberg for free.
This book started a series of 'England Invaded' stories that climaxed with 'The War of the Worlds'.
He was thinking about what the British Empire had just finished doing in Tasmania, the island off the coast of Australia.
It puts H.G. Wells in his period and Milieu, and shows he wasn't prescient, but did demonstrate it's not about where you're from that means you will survive a war.
*Thank you* for mentioning Snow Crash! One of my favorites and I feel like not nearly enough people have read it or Stephenson in general.
Anathem is very good too.
@@roblangada4516 Yes, it is. Also one of my favorites.
I’m reading Snow Crashnow. My first Stephenson book , def plan on diving into more of his works.
Mine has to be “The Chrysalids” by John Wyndham, followed closely by “A Canticle For Leibowitz” by Walter M. Miller. Amazing books!
Absolutely love Canticle for Leibowitz, an often overlooked classic
John Wyndham.. well done you for that mention.
Try Doris Lessing, Briefing for a Descent into Hell.
Ah, the classics. Can't go wrong there.
Canticle, along with Davy by Pangborn and Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban, are the Trilogy of great Post nuclear war novels that stretch hundreds of years after.
Snow Crash completely blew my mind when I read it as a teenager. Neal Stephenson's ideas about the Metaverse were groundbreaking for the time. This book came out in 1992, before we had anything like virtual reality. His exploration of the man / machine interface and that consequences of that were also truly amazing.
I'm also a huge fan of The Diamond Age by him, which I feel is one of the best depictions of a post-scarcity nanotechnology-driven society.
Jonathan Rogers Then you should read Pat Cadigan's "Synners" from 1991 about the birth of human to machine interface. You might enjoy it.
I recommend the “Murderbot Diaries” by Martha Wells.
very much agree. Wells did a lot to get AIs and artificial life forms out of the swamp of stupid and fear so many other writers had put them in
Not read it but it goes on the list. Thank you.
My personal list
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey Saga
2. Dune
3. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
4. Ringworld
5. 1984
Honorable Mentions (the eight in my top 5)
6. War of the Worlds
7. A Clockwork Orange
8. Fariegnhiet 451
Trust me I know this isnt the most original, but sometimes classics are classic for a reason.
This is a VASTLY better list
Surface Detail by Iain M. Banks. The ships names are insight into Bank's wit. Eg. "Falling outside normal moral restraints" or something like that. The ship's avatars are an extension of this wit and storytelling. Absolutely remarkable writing.
Excession was my favourite until I read Surface Detail.
@@PhilHibbs now i got to read surface detail, excession is my favorite
@@tiesergrote They are very different so YMMV
sure @@PhilHibbs
I believe SpaceX use IMBanks spaceship names for their floating landing pads like "A Shortfall Of Gravitas", "Just Read The Instructions" and "Of Course I Still Love You"
Lucifer's Hammer, The Mote in God's Eye, The Forever War, Starship Troopers and everything Edgar Rice Burroughs ever wrote.
Don't know what's better.... Mote in God's Eye, or The Gripping Hand.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - RAH
Adam, Left Hand of Darkness is but a part of a larger whole, the Hainish Cycle, and from, admittedly limited experience I had with it, I can honestly recommend it. Ursula K. Le Guin was a terrific writer and her works are definitely worth everyones attention, especially since she somehow manages to write novels that are short and concise, yet somehow so amazingly full of details. Rocannon's World for example, which is the first book of the cycle and also Le Guin's debut novel, tells the story of a man who is send on a scouting mission to a planet inhabited by different medieval cultures of people who evolved into what we would most likely consider elves and dwarves.
Also her famous fantasy cycle, The Earthsea comes greatly recommended.
Another book I could recommend is The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge along with its continuations. Often overlooked truly epic stories that include concepts of environmental and sociological s-f.
Yes! I love Joan D. Vinge, and I love the Snow Queen universe! I read those books starting in middle school and remember they had such an impact on my thinking about the interconnection between humanity and the environment!
Vernor Vinge deserves more attention: Marooned in Realtime, Rainbows' End, A Fire upon the Deep, all excellent books.
Rainbows End was good, but pales in comparison to the earlier short story version, Fast Times at Fairmont High.
A Fire Upon the Deep is an excellent read.
I thought rainbows end was nothing short of masterpiece.
I wanted a fire upon the deep to give me that same wonder, but after reading I couldn't really see why people held it in such high regard. I mean it's a good book. But it didnt have me up at night thinking about its concepts like rainbows end did.
+1 though my favorite is A Deepness in the Sky.
In my opinion A Deepness in The Sky beats fire, though both were very good reads.
I loved Dune and Left Hand of Darkness, which I read in high school over 45 years ago; Dune had the most lasting imagery for me, and I was so excited by the new movie because it matches my mind's images! The Foundation trilogy also was an important read in my high school years, as was The Crystal Cave. And then there was the Lord of the Rings trilogy; I don't think my friends or parents saw me for two full weeks while I was engrossed by them. So there's my Top 5. :) Great question, Cody, and I agree with Adam that you have a great name for a character, either in a fictional or real world setting!
Dune Series, Ringworld Series, The More than Complete Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, H.G. Wells Time Machine, John Christophers The Tripods Series
Let's list my favorites since everyone else is doing it
1. I have no Mouth and I must Scream
2. The War of the Worlds
3. The Commissar Cain series
4. H.P. Lovecraft anything if you consider it Sci Fi
5. The Land Ironclads
Bit more obscure books, but I enjoy them
Harlan Ellison's "I have no mouth and must scream" left a lasting impression on me. It is a very haunting tale.
I am currently reading the third book from Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy (The Three Body Problem is book 1) by Cixin Liu. It is phenomenal. I am a very slow reader but I think I am absorbing the book better than if I whizzed through it. I am a little disappointed that I am nearly done with it. Read it slowly and enjoy it.
I wish we had seen more of Luo Ji (whose name sounds the same as the Chinese word for logic) in the third part. I don't find Liu Cixin always very good at creating convincing characters (Shi Qiang comes across as a comic-book character, for example), but Luo Ji was special.
@tsundoku5733 i thought the love story part was pretty outlandish, but overall, the trilogy was quite awesome.
@@ElrondHubbard_1 and separating xin, tianming was just too cruel. for me the ending didnt sit well
I read the first book and was not impressed. The only thing that really surprised me was that the author was "allowed" to write about the reality/failure of Mao's Cultural Revolution. But then I've only been reading sci-fi for 60 years.
Larry Niven, I like a lot of him for example Ringworld. For that matter, I like all of the stories playing in that setting "Known Space" (IIRC). But also works like "The Mote in God's eye", with Jerry Pournelle.
Moties rule!
Gawd - that bit with the spacesuit filled with moties!! Yikes!
Haha ya the watchmakers certainly know how to use a head. Will be a shockingly memorable scene when they eventually make the movie, scifi/horror boundary crossed.
@@slavesdetach we can but pray they make the movie.
Possibly an animated movie. Moties modelled on minions (theme in book is how much the moties crack the crew up). Def would sell.
I love Seveneves
So many to mention, here are two I don't see mentioned in the comments
1. Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge
2. Eifelheim by Michael F. Flynn
Fire upon the deep is awesome, those creatures like raccoons eh?!
@@Kingomonkey They had name too! Tines =P
Damn... how could I forget? "Eifelheim" has to be one of the most brilliant efforts ever. Thanks for the reminder.
"Snow Crash" blew my mind as a first "cyberpunk" read. And "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick. Perhaps a list of your favorite fantasy books, if you're into them. Cheers!
My top 5:
1. Neuromancer (trilogy), William Gibson
2. The Stars My Destination, Alfred Bester
3. The Foundation Trilogy, Isaac Asimov
4. The Player of Games, Iain M Banks (or Consider Phlebus or Use of Weapons)
5. Axiomatic, Greg Egan (short story collection - hey, it just says "books" in the question ;)
6. War of the Worlds, H G Wells
7. Slaughterhouse 5, Kurt Vonnegut
8. The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson (or Snowcrash)
Only not necessarily in that order and it'll likely change tomorrow ;).
@@AnthonyBowman That's a shame if newer fans aren't reading him, they're definitely missing out. Gully Foyle as an example is one of the great sci-fi characters IMO.
War of the worlds, yes, I hadn't added that, but it is a great book and has a lot of historical significance.
I was definitely thinking Sirens of Titan or Cat's Cradle, definitely something by Vonnegut though.
Came looking for Bester. Love that book.
1. Neuromancer
2. Watchmen
3. Stories of Your Life and Others
4. The Stars My Destination
5. Dune
I appreciate that you included Ursula Leguin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" and - even moreso - Doris Lessings "Shikasta" series, because I see it acknowledged so rarely for the absolute top-shelf sci-fi that it is. Of the series, my favorite in the 3rd volume, "The Sirian Experiments", by the way.
But to add something to your list, let me suggest "Tau Zero", the amazing hard science novel by Poul Anderson that poses the question, "What might happen if a space craft travelling at hyper speed couldn't slow down?" Equally brilliant is Anderson's "Brainwave" in which the question posed is, "Suppose every creature on earth experienced an instantaneous multiplying of its intelligence?
Poul Anderson's work is among the very best at living up to the promise of speculative fiction: to explore all the possibilities and potentialities of Life and the Universe.
I picked up "The Left Hand of Darkness" about 25 years ago, merely because of the coolness of the title. What an amazing book.
i liked the enemy stars more than tau zero, both are great, same author and similar theme/ subjects
Oh my God, Tau Zero, probably in my top twelve.
My collection contains about 3000 titles. My first book was Eric Frank Russell's The Junk Yard Planet.I have these series in toto, David Brin's Uplift series,both Herbert's Dune series,David Weber's Honor Harrington series, John Ringo's Gust Front series. All of Robert Heinlein's novels, all of A.E. Von Vogt I can find. Leguin ,and Tiptree the more impressive of the women's writers. Unfortunately 10 years ago I became disabled ,this curtailed my buying of new titles. So I haven't kept up.
The Martian Chronicles by Bradbury is a great read. I agree with other commenters that The Foundation trilogy is also an important sci-fi series.
Ray Bradbury was my gateway drug.
I was just about to comment about The Martian Chronicles. Probably my favorite sci-fo book
Read one of the Asminov books then jump to something more relevant. They're just too darn old.
@@MatthewBunn Too old??? Using statistics to predict the future? Using religion to control the population? (especially if you don't consider just religion, but social groups) If anything it's more relevant now...
@@rmeden1 Too old. Compare Snow Crash or Diamond Age to The Foundation. You're trying to look up the future in an Encyclopedia Britannica.
Roadside Picnic is brilliant: "Happiness, free, for everyone! And may no one be left behind!"
It's the first time I've heard about it, yet after a bit of research the story seemed familiar, and it turns out it was later adopted to be one of my favourite films "stalker" (so tarkovsky wasn't that much of a genius..)
@@terfaniabdou5908 Tarkovsky was a genius moviemaker, but yes, there was a shared genius of his and of Strugatsky's brothers behind the movie.
The script in stalker is substantially different from the original book though.
As a fun fact, Tarkovsky worked with the authors of "roadside picnic " to make the script, and they later recalled that it was one of the hardest things they've ever done.
@@terfaniabdou5908 I found three of my favorite authors through Tarkovsky: The Strugatzki Brothers (Roadside Picnic) and Stanislaw Lem (Solaris).
If you haven't read Octavia Butler's series Lillith's Brood (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago) then do so. Very clever!
The Color of Distance - Amy Thomson
Dragon's Egg - Robert L. Forward
Flood - Stephen Baxter
The Sheep Look Up - John Brunner
Ahh, the real stuff.
"Stand on Zanzibar" by Brunner precedes "Sheep" and is a better book, IMO.
Arisen. The 25 books in the bestselling, top-ranked, and fan-favorite ARISEN series have repeatedly been ranked Amazon #1 bestsellers in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction, #1 in Dystopian Science Fiction, #1 in Military Science Fiction, #1 in War Fiction, and #1 in War & Military Action Fiction, as well as Amazon overall Top 100 bestsellers. The series as a whole has sold nearly a million copies. The audiobook editions, performed by the legendary R.C. Bray, have generated $5 million in gross sales.
I'm surprised we didn't get any Asimov or Heinlein or Dick or Clarke or Ellison, considering their huge impact on the genre. I'm also a bit sad to hear Left Hand of Darkness again for Le Guin. Its all I ever seem to hear about her in terms of scifi when she has a lot of other great works. I particularly like "The Lathe of Heaven".
If people want some suggestions:
*The Killing Star* by Charles R. Pellegrino (A very different take on a first contact incident)
*The Lathe of Heaven* by Le Guin (About a man who can change the world with his dreams but desperately wishes he couldn't)
*Childhood's End* by Clarke (An interesting re-imagining of a "Peaceful Alien Invasion" and the changes that happen afterwards. Quintessential of the pseudo-spiritualism found in many books of the time like Stranger in a Strange Land)
*The Moon is a Harsh Mistress* by Heinlein (About a sapient AI, a moon colony revolution, mutually assured destruction, and economics)
*Mote in the Eye of God* by Niven (Humans encounter aliens that have a very strange form of society and hugely divergent evolutionary paths)
*The Forever War* by by Haldeman (A realistic take on interstellar war in which hundreds of years or more pass between battles and soldiers see the world drastically changed around them.)
*Roadside Picnic* by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (An unknowable alien encounter leaves otherworldly "Zones" scattered around the world and the book examines the lives of people connected to the Zone. Inspiration behind the STALKER video game series and, to my mind, far better than the games)
*Windup Girl* by Paolo Bacigalupi (A VERY different take on what some might consider "Steampunk", a world in which things like genetic engineering is common but there are no fossil fuels, resulting in the use of mechanically coiled high tech springs as a major power source.)
*MaddAddam Trilogy* by Atwood (Environmentalism via genetic terrorism and other very interesting things)
*Rendezvous with Rama* by Clarke (Exploring a giant alien craft that is passing through the solar system on its way to a distant star.)
*Foundation Series* by Asimov (A speculative future of humanity spanning hundreds of thousands of years or more)
*Gateway* by Pohl (Follows the life of a man aboard an alien space station discovered by humans. There they take preprogrammed shuttles to unknown locations in search of wealth.)
*The Andromeda Strain* by Crichton (A methodical and intelligent exploration of what happens when a highly deadly pathogen comes to earth from outer space. Good movie too. )
IKR? Where's "Starship Troopers" or "Stranger In A Strange Land"?
Forever War is the one to read if you want to know the SF genre in one book
Amen to The Forever War! Compare and contrast to Heinlein's Starship Trooper . . . .
"The Lathe of Heaven" is my favourite of hers, too. Love the Churchil reference - "jaw, jaw...".
I've not read "The Killing Star". How does it compare to C. J. Cherryh's The Cockoo's Egg? (both are about first contact)
The Culture series by Iain M Banks is brilliant.
Lee Harrington yes!
Player of Games. Classic
Lee Harrington use of weapons is the best in the entire series, after use of weapons I felt the other books are just eh
Nah, Excession was gold!
@@Snowy123 I haven't read it but really liked Player of Games.
Neal Stephenson is interesting for me. I generally like more plot in my books, or at least more active plots, but I have liked every book I've read. They are slow burns, and almost more about world building than characters and plot, but they just work for me. I don't go out of my way to read his books, but when I come across them, I usually give them a read.
The Rama Series by A.C.Clarke is possibly one of the best pieces of SciFi ever.
The first book, that was actually written by Clarke anyway.
Absolutely
@animarcus It's by Frederik Pohl and really is an awesome book.
The Ship Who Sing.
@Ben Lutz yes, they were really different but indeed really good. I kept hating exactlt how useless the mains were in garden in some situations and i still really cared how things went and i really how consitently Lee wrote the characters. He waxes a little ham fistedly in parts but all in all the books are great. Lee actually wrote two other at least books in the rama universe totally on his own that were also pretty damn good as far as the story goes which explain the baby coming to be in the octospider zoo in garden of rama and rama revealed. There was another advanced entity in that universe rivaling the 'ramans' that had encountered humans. The books are bright messengers and double full moon night.
They are worth a read though Lee's writing is a little syrupy at times. There is another book he wrote that in set in the same universe that to some degree mentions the rama events but briefly. Additionally there is another collab with Clarke and Lee that i dont think they ever directly said was related to rama but its called Cradle and it has some thematic elements suggesting that Lee may have meant to have a connection or decided to reuse some concepts. Its a strange novel but also not bad.
I guessed a couple ahead of time :).
My faves: Dune, Downbelow Station, Neuromancer, the Dorsai series, and A Canticle for Leibowitz.
I’m currently reading SeveNeves and it’s absolutely fascinating. The encyclopedic approach to the story is something I can’t wait to explore in other Stephenson novels!
Neuromancer and The Forever War are two of my all-time favorite Sci-fi books.
Dune is absolutely amazing, I've read the trilogy more often than can remember, and Left Hand of Darkness is one of my favorite LeGuin books (of which there are several favorites) and have also read several times. Will have to check out the few of these I have not read
Make your way through God Emperor and the rest are just as good as the first three. Chapterhouse let Herbert’s humanity (and love for his wife) really shine through!
@@rickmorris8290make your way? Are you implying God Emperor is a chore? Its the best sci-fi book in the series.
@@d00mf00d it’s the best philosophical book of the series, just not the best read in my opinion. I think this opinion is not that uncommon.
I would add Asimov's "Foundation" trilogy, almost anything by Arthur C. Clarke, and I'm very much a fan of Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars" trilogy. Thanks for your reviews, Adam! Love your work.
Mike Salsgiver red Mars was great but green and blue were strange for me lots of dragging and no since , no events. Do you agree or am I missing something ?
@@magedsyehia I think you have to go on Mars time to get the full effect. Yes there are areas where nothing much seems to be going on but something always is.
I thought Glide Path by A. Clarke was rather dull.
Thank GOD somebody mentioned Foundation - THANK YOU!
SIX Foundation books !
"Stranger In A Strange Land" by Heinlein, one of the few books I have read several times. It influenced the counter culture movement of the 60's and is one of the most important Sci-Fi books ever written. I grok it.
Not quite Heinlein's absolute worst book, but very nearly.
I still chuckled thinking about the droves of hippies who embraced this book and took pilgrimages to Heinlein's house, which he found to be very unwanted attention, so he erected a tall fence.
Yup, changed my world view. Fantastic.
If nothing else, it put a new word in our vocabulary.
@@swordblaster2596 The Number of the Beast was where he completely lost it, or perhaps became powerful enough to stop editors making changes. It would be vastly improved by removing the middle third and making the necessary minor tweaks to the first and last thirds so they fit together smoothly.
The Forever War, The Stars My Destination,, two great classics that got me into sci-fi in a serious way.
Terrific reads. I always felt Bester was a big influence on Philip K Dick and wrote books that laid the foundations for cyberpunk tropes. If you haven’t read the Demolished Man yet, check that out. Real exciting page turner!
@@chrismooney8275 Both of those are great books
5 is difficult. If I could choose my favorite in a series I listed that. Otherwise I listed entire series.
1. Dune
2. Player of Games
3. Signal to Noise/Signal Shattered
4. Foundation
5. Enders Game
Player of Games was my introduction to Iain M Banks thanks to the novel appearing in a random Loot Crate. Highly recommend the Culture series to any Sci-fi fans.
The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling surely was the seedling for the Steampunk movement and the Clacker workers union
Dig this at 8:18 a digital computer that computes using air . th-cam.com/video/5qgxsJp8MZk/w-d-xo.html If Babbage had this tech the pipe organ guys could have built his computer and Lovelace would have invented COBAL.
A Canticle of Leibowitz by Walter Miller, Gather Darkness by Fritz Lieber, Star Man's Son by Andre Norton, the Mars Trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, Foundation by Asimov.
Also by LeGuin: The Dispossessed.
And also, anything by LeGuin
Yes, very good book as was Lathe of Heaven!!!
Left Hand of Darkness is great
rocannons world!!!!!
As a child she read the Tao Te Ching in her father's library, was a lifelong Taoist, and wrote her own wonderful, graceful version, still available
Starship Troopers...changed my life, ended up a retired soldier.
You get to vote!
That book...definitely a top5 pick. Influenced my world view......movie sucked
@@robbates3309 Agreed - on both points!!
Thank you for your service from a Marine Corp Dad.
Have you ever read the book SNOW CRASH? awesome awesome awesome check it out amzn.to/37byV3q By far my favorite!!
Herbert - Dune the first 3 novels.
Heinlein - Time enough for love being my favorite.
Asimov - The original foundation trilogy. Later additions are not that great.
Niven - The ringworld novels.
McCaffery - The Dragon riders of Pern (all of them).
To many others to list.
Later additions were amazing. Hold the most real truth in the series.
Ha Ha - we may be roughly the same age (Early sixties here), because all of those I would have to agree with.
Scrolling through the comments it is gratifying to see so many fellow Larry Niven enthusiasts represented! 😀
I like his short stories, I mean, what CAN you say about chocolate covered man hole covers? In "All the Myriad Ways"
Dan Herman “The American Dental Association declares they are bad for children’s teeth.”
The late Isaac Asimov's favorite sci fi writer too.
Larry Niven was the first adult Sci-Fi I read as a boy, and he became one of my favorite authors back then when my parents unearthed their box of Sci-Fi from their hippy days in the late 60's/early 70's. I guess Sci-Fi was pretty popular with the hippies. I recently reread the Heorot/Avalon books that Niven wrote with Jerry Pournelle and Stephen Barnes when I discovered that they had written a third book in the series in 2020. I had taken a break from Sci-Fi for many years, but rereading those books got me right back into it. I was doing some googling and came across an article at The Daily Beast called "The Sci-Fi Roots of the Far Right". I thought I was reading The Onion as the "journalist" postulated that Pournelle and Niven were the roots of far-right extremism. Hippies loved Lucifer's Hammer when it was published because it spoke to their beliefs that self-sufficiency was a righteous path. Now here we are in 2021 and a fairly prominent media outlet is pointing to the fact the self-sufficient rural people are the heroes and survivors in Lucifer's Hammer as evidence that it is a "far-right" manifesto, which leads me to the only plausible conclusion: We are currently in a farcical Sci-Fi simulation.
@@andydouglass1374 Yeah, if Niven and Pournelle were secretly trying to convert people into far right thinkers, they failed miserably with me! I will read Lucifers Hammer again, (it’s been decades on that one) but I am thinking that the author of that article was off base on that premise. 🤔😳😀