Adam Savage's Top 5 Science Fiction Books
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 มิ.ย. 2024
- In this episode of Ask Adam Savage, Adam answers this question from fan Cody Limber: "I've read and loved nearly everything you've mentioned on the Still Untitled podcast, but I need recommendations for sci-fi books. What are your top 5 favorite sci-fi books?" Side note: Adam could not stop at just five!
Buy Adam's recommendations here:
1. Neuromancer Trilogy, by William Gibson: amzn.to/2VrqOOA
2. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson: amzn.to/2XMaSDP
3. Dune, by Frank Herbert: amzn.to/2XFtHZo
4. 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami: amzn.to/2XQBhAF
5. Girl in Landscape, by Jonathan Lethem: amzn.to/2Vyc8No
6. Shikasta: Re, Colonised Planet 5, by Doris Lessing: amzn.to/2IY9R7x
7. The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin:
amzn.to/2GJSAgW
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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.
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 :(
_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.
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.
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.
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?
'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.
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
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.
“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.
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."
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!
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.
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.
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.
@@Itsunclegabbywhy? I have but what’s the point?
@@Itsunclegabbywhat 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.
"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...
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
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.
Vonnegut wrote Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle, and a short story collection Welcome to the Monkey House.
Asimov wrote a great novella Nightfall.
Really enjoying the The Expanse books as well.
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.
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
The Forever War is one of my favorites. Also The Warlock In Spite of Himself - a funny blend of SF and Fantasy.
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.
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
*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.
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!
I guessed a couple ahead of time :).
My faves: Dune, Downbelow Station, Neuromancer, the Dorsai series, and A Canticle for Leibowitz.
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.
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.
Such a great list, so happy to see “The Left Hand of Darkness” on the list, it’s an astonishing book and highly recommended.
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
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.
Thanks Adam. Reading the first Shikasta book on your recommendation and loving it. She had passed me by and i feel that you may just have opened up a whole new world for me! How did i not know about Doris Lessing!
Love and appreciation. Keep up the good work.
X
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"
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.
"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.
I've been getting into science fiction and excited to see the ones I've read getting recommended here and in the comments. Remembrance of Earth's Past or the Three-Body Problem trilogy (favorite), Dune, Neuromancer, and Red Mars. Started Hyperion and have Foundation in my queue as well as the remaining Dune, Mars, and Neuromancer books. Curious about the others he lists as I hadn't even heard about them. So many good sci-fi books, so little time!
SO GLAD you mentioned Seveneves! Stephenson's first foray into straight up sci-fi. Love all his stuff, but definitely my favorite of his. Hoping there might be another book, concerning 'the agent'
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.
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.
Im currently reading "The Tenth Planet" by Edmund Cooper. It is incredibly deep, in my opinion. The way that the main character, Idris Hamilton, deals with extraordinarily incomprehensible traumas is a whole philosophical conundrum and just such an enjoyable read. I absolutely recommend it. There were moments that were uncomfortable, but merely because of how raw they were.
Thanks to all respondents Adam, and cool question and name guy....my list just grew again. So many awesome authors; thank you all the most.
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".
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.
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.
Asked for 5 books - got half a library of answers. Love it :D
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
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
"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!
John Varley - Titan, Wizard, Demon
Hands down one of the best trilogies ever
Deamon classic:
_" what this you outsourced too? "_
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!
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.
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.
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
Frakkin YES! To hear such a man as Adam recommend Doris Lessing!!!
More people need to read her series. Mostly known as a poet and essayist her imagination let rip on such a grand scale is astonishingly refreshing.
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".
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.
A book I've read twice and listened in audio format is The World at the End of Time by Frederik Pohl (1990) and just recently finished Tau Zero by Poul Anderson (1970), both with a coincidentally similar theme of time advancement and death of the universe.
Fred Pohl’s Heechee saga is also one of the best sci fi series ever.
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!
David Brin's Uplift series has been a long favourite of mine
I looked at the list in the description and thought "The Three Body Problem should be in there"! Was so happy he listed it at no. 8. 🙏 Should be in the descriptions as well.
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
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!
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.
Thanks for posting Adam, and all the best :) Greetings from Finland!
My book list:
-Ender´s game
-Roadside Picnic
-Dune
-The Tripods trilogy
-Barsoom series.
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.
Good call on Seveneves by Neal Stephenson. It's gigantic and bold, and a bit emotional. Really great.
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 was extremely impressed with Vernor Vinge's "A Deepness in the Sky" and "Fire upon the Deep". I also really enjoyed Kim Stanley Robinson's trilogy "Red Mars", "Blue Mars" and "Green Mars".
I tried but couldn't get into Red Mars.
always love to hear mentions of Neuromancer, Snow Crash and Seveneves! Love those books
also the Left Hand of Darkness is incredible!
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.
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.
Great picks--never heard of Shikasta but it sounds really interesting! My only book series to add would be Gene Wolfe's 4-part The Book of the New Sun.
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)
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
Larry Niven's Ringworld series, Known Space and Gil Hamilton books are my favorites.
Mote in God's Eye is better than Ringworld. Ringworld is a truly wonderful concept (which, when I read it, I'd never encountered before) and he EXPANDS on it in "The Integral Trees" and "The Smoke Ring", which is a 3D version of a Dyson ring, created by a unique bi-solar system. Also better than Ringworld.
Neuromancer is my favorite sci-fi book of all time, I'm glad to hear someone else appreciate it.
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.
I read Left Hand Of Darkness in highschool but I completely forgot the name so thanks for bringing it up.
I would like to know your next 5 favorite sci-fi books please.
You have perfect taste in 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!
@@rickmorris8290"I have loved you for five thousand years"
@@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 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.
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.
Amazing to hear Girl in Landscape mentioned! Loved that book, so strange and beautiful!
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.
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!
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 !
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!
Thanks for the suggestions. I totally agreed on the ones that I had already read.
Neuromancer and The Forever War are two of my all-time favorite Sci-fi books.
Dune Series, Ringworld Series, The More than Complete Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, H.G. Wells Time Machine, John Christophers The Tripods Series
Totally agree with Neuromancer and Murakami's 1Q84. I've read Neuromancer for the first time in the 90s and have re-read the whole trilogy multiple times since. I have read 1Q84 for the first time in January 2021 and I expect it to be my favourite book of 2021 by the end of the year.
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. 🤔😳😀
If you haven't read Octavia Butler's series Lillith's Brood (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, and Imago) then do so. Very clever!
Hey Adam, if you like HUGE ideas in sci-fi, try Steven Baxter's Xeelee Sequence. He's not as lyrical as the writers you've named, but his work is more about the scale of scientific concepts, and truly grand theories.
Thanks Adam! A new inspiration - All in on the first 4, which I have read, but it is now time to tackle a literary giant - Doris Lessing - I'm in!
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
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?!
@@robertkingsnorth9903 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.