Every Sci-Fi Series I Read This Year
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- čas přidán 21. 07. 2024
- In this video I share all of the science fiction book series that I started and/or completed this year. I let you know my thoughts on each of them and what types of readers might enjoy them.
Channels Mentioned:
@thefantasynuttwork
@TallGuyReads
My links:
Patreon - / wordsintime
Discord Server - / discord
Amazon Wishlist - www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls...
00:00 - Introduction
01:14 - The Expanse
02:54 - The Dark Tower
04:49 - Revelation Space
06:46 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
08:24 - Murderbot
10:19 - The Robot Series
11:31 - Terra Ignota
13:25 - Otherland
15:18 - Jean le Flambeur
16:52 - The Culture
21:21 - Patron Pick of the Month
#ScienceFiction #Books
"I only understood half of it, and I was lying about understanding half of it."
Pretty much my ongoing life experience.
Hahaha I feel you brother
Terra Ignota is one of the best book series I have read in the recent years. I enjoy when the sci-fi is challenging, in terms of the philosophy, world building and reading experience. It is a mental workout, but just like your body, your mind also needs a proper workout regularly.
That’s how I felt about The Quantum Thief. There were aspects about Too Like the Lightning that I enjoyed but I didn’t find it as entertaining.
I’ve been burned by Stephen King books before, and once I learnt what the Dark Tower was all about - and that it took seven books to get there, sealed the fact that I will burn all King books with fire.
Oh no haha. I have heard the ending is divisive. I’ll have to wait and see!
Wizard and Glass is my favorite of the Dark Tower books! It is basically a straight-up western with some magic elements, but the story is heartwrenching and superb, one of King's best. My favorite book of the last decade is Too Like The Lightning, however, so take that with a grain of salt.
That’s good to know, thanks!
Wizard and Glass is my favourite of the Dark Tower series. It has a slow start but it then becomes a frantic page-turner
That’s good to hear!
I think Caves of Steel and The Naked SUn as a dualogy are excellent. Asimove professed a deep love of mystery storied and those two are most definitely crime mystery tales that happen to include the robot motif in them. Very good books with very strong characters.
That sounds great!
Terra Ignota was superb. First two books are my favorites. I really loved the writing style, the text was flowing and enjoyable, I was completely immersed in the story. But I really hated TBOTNS, so I wouldn't recommend them as similar in any way.
That’s interesting! I liked Terra Ignota more than BOTNS but I didn’t love either as much as some people. I’m glad you liked Terra Ignota!
I’ve listened to all 7 of the Dark Tower books. I very much enjoyed the first 5, but thought King was struggling to find a way to bring the series to an end and thought the last two books were the weakest. King injected himself into book 6, which I thought was weak. I didn’t like the way he ended the series (I won’t spoil it for you) and have always wished he would go back a rewrite it. Enjoy!
Thanks for the heads up!
I agree with this and it's still one of my favorites.
@@WordsinTimethis is true, but it's still worth it
King is great at beginnings and not so great at endings.
I'm sure I'm that first person to ever have that hot take.
Great video! I'm currently reading The Expanse. Just starting #2 and enjoying it- glad to hear you did too. I'm interested in Alastair Reynolds now- thanks. The Revelation Space series is free right now with my Audible subscription- I think I'll give it a go! So many mixed opinions on the Dark Tower books- seems people either love them, or hate them. And most hate King's endings- I hear that a lot- and it makes me not want to delve in...
Thanks Tiffany! I hope you enjoy The Expanse and Revelation Space. I’ve heard The Dark Tower ending is divisive so I have my fingers crossed haha
Great video Jonathan! I’ve been wanting to read the Robot series, but I haven’t even finished the Foundation trilogy yet. 😂 I’m kind of like you with Hitchhikers Guide.
Thanks Chas! There’s always books to catch up on but at least those ones are short haha
I've gotten excited to see some people start discussing Pushing Ice, only to be disappointed after seeing that it's a negative review. I absolutely loved it. It definitely slowed down a bit in the middle, but that's all I found to be negative about it. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it. Great video!
Thanks! I’m looking forward to Pushing Ice!
I love the Hitchhiker's Guide, Robot, and Murderbot books. I have first reads for the Culture and Revelation Space books waiting for me, but after a long list of other books.
Nice! I hope you enjoy them when you get to them!
I'm glad the Dark Tower is an ongoing priority for you! Wizard and Glass is a bit divisive, but is my favorite of the series. The Asimov Robot novels are definitely a cut below the Foundation novels, but I think are still worth it. (Not so much with the three "Empire" novels). I hope these series and more land for you next year!
Oh, and I need to reread Contact - it's been 25 years I think!
Nice! I look forward to being able to talk with you about The Dark Tower!
Ooh. I'm tempted to reread the Hitchhiker series now. (I could use an occasional chuckle this week.) I recall liking the first three pretty equally with the fourth being ok. But with the way you described it I can see how different people would respond differently. I've only read the first two Murderbot books, but I'd say book 2 is different enough to merit a read. Happy reading. 👽💫🐙🚀🌒📡📚
Nice! I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Don’t forget to read the sixth book! For anyone who doesn’t know, it’s an official book, but written by Eoin Colfer. It’s very much in the same style but doesn’t really have that downcast feel to it.
Seven Surrenders is definitely worth a go, as it ends on a natural stopping point and 1+2 were originally intended to be published as one book. Perhaps the Stars is my book of the year! I was very satisfied with the ending! It was a challenging read to be sure.
Nice! I'm glad the series came together for you!
You are the best. thank you
Haha you’re welcome!
Interesting series collection! I read “All Systems Red” and immediately started buying the hardback novellas, though a couple are currently unavailable over here 🇬🇧 And I also swooped on the “Terra Ignota” quadrilogy, though I admit I have yet to try any of it - I got rolled up in some hype as per usual 🤭 And I also have a large stack of works by Iain M. Banks arriving tomorrow 😱 which I know I’m taking a bit of a punt on, but I was convinced to try them by the SciFi Odyssey channel. We shall see…
Haha I like the enthusiasm. I hope you like them!
Caves of Steel and the Naked Sun are my favorite Asimov books. The Naked Sun in particular is an interesting read in our current internet age (especially since the pandemic) because of the society it depicts, for mildly spoilerish reasons.
Nice! I’m looking forward to them.
I think you'll enjoy Pushing Ice. I have read that and the original Revelation Space Trilogy and Pushing Ice is my favorite. House of Suns is next so we'll see if that dethrones it.
I’m looking forward to Pushing Ice. I hope you enjoy House of Suns!
I wasn't going to read the next two books in the la Flambeur trilogy (even though I enjoyed the first one), but your last two videos are making me reconsider.
Finished Caves of Steel last week: started off well, but kind of fell flat for me. I haven't read I Robot, so I'd be interested to hear what you think of Caves of Steel having that starting point.
The Quantum Thief was my favourite but I think the other two are still worth reading. That’s interesting about Caves of Steel, I’ll let you know my thoughts when I read it.
Great list! If you haven't yet, you should check out the Vorkosigan Saga. It's a big favorite among many authors and a really really fantastic sci-fi series.
Thanks! I’ve just read The Vor Game. I was told you could start anywhere but I think it might be better starting at the beginning.
@@WordsinTimelol, Vor Game was where I started too, weirdly enough! But I’m glad I did. Most of the series follows Miles, but the first book follows his mother. Starting with Vor Game assured me that I’d enjoy the rest of the series.
@@Artoveli Nice! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
If you haven’t already read them, I found the following comic relief palate cleansers to be especially helpful in providing intermissions during long series:
1) The Douglas Adams trilogy Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency,
2) Grant Naylor’s duology Red Dwarf, and
3) Any of the Alien novels that take place outside the movie series.
Thank you for the informative video and good luck!
😺✌️
Thanks for the recommendations!
I'm now reading the 7th and last part of The Dark Tower. I didn't like Wizard and Glass very much but I'm glad I've suffered through 😅 because the following books were awesome again.
And I'm also pro Consider Phlebas, I think it was a good book, it definitely threw me into the series. I'm reading them in publication order, Player of Games next.
Haha I’m glad it ended up being worth it. Hope you enjoy The Player of Games!
Tad Williams actually wrote all four books as one uber long book so it basically was act 1 I have read Other land and the pay off is definitely worth it
I’m glad you thought it paid off!
Same thoughts on Use of Weapons. Couldn't get as into it as I'd liked, maybe it was because I didn't read it as attentively as I should have. I really liked Player of Games probably my favorite Culture book up to now (exactly half way through). I actually liked Consider Phlebas and started the series with it as opposed to many people's advice.
I love the Revelation Space series, really need to get the latest novels in the universe.
I’m glad you also liked Consider Phlebas and The Player of Games!
Murderbot: (First book) I agree with you about the "personality", but by the time we get to ORANGE GREEN BLUE RED scene and the reveal I just thought that was poorly done.
That’s a fair assessment.
Only a couple of the Culture books are top tier for me, but overall the series IS. It's a matter of universe building and the ambience that the stories have which makes every read a pleasure.
That’s a good perspective!
Excession is one of my favourite Culture books for the humour between the Ship Minds
I'm an unbelivable fan of the RS universe - cant wait for the new Inspector Dreyfus book as well!
As one point though, Chasm City isnt quite prequal is it? It seems to take place about midway through the first book considering its mainly about the post fall of Chasm City to the Melding plague
I’m glad you like Revelation Space! Yes, Chasm City is a prequel. There is a timeline for all the stories available on the RS Wikipedia page.
I loved Otherland, but given how slow going I am tackling his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series, I can fully understand how the length/payoff aspect is a detractor
Part of me would like to continue but the books are so long and slow that it would take up a big chunk of my reading schedule haha
I’m not the sharpest spoon, but I’m not a dullard either. The Quantum Thief was so freaking hard to get into. I tried three times over the last decade or so. It sits on my shelf, mocking me…. Glad to hear someone understood it and felt great about it. I tried
I don’t blame you. I have struggled to get into other complex sci-fi books, but for some reason this one clicked for me!
I've read the Murderbot Diaries series 4 times (except the newest release, which I've only read once so far). I'll probably reread it again next year. Have you tried the audiobook? Kevin R. Free captures Murderbot's personality perfectly.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I haven’t tried the audiobook, but maybe I’ll check that out if I come back to the series.
I tried to finish several science fiction series this year because I have the bad habit of not finishing them. I finished the following series: Dune by Frank Herbert, Ender by Orson Scott Card, Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky, the Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie, the Southern Reach by Jeff Vandermeer, Spin by Robert Charles Wilson, and Teixcalaan by Arkady Martine. In every case, the first book was much better than the other books in the series. I finished the first book in the Otherland series. I also felt it was too long. I will finish that series eventually but I did not like it enough to make it a priority. I didn't finish Excession by Ian M. Banks. I may force myself to return to the Culture series at some point. I find it hard to get into his books. I liked Caves of Steel by Asimov, so I will definitely try the next book in his Robot series. I didn't get to the sequels to Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.
I enjoyed Pushing Ice by Alastair Reynolds but not as much as House of Suns. I also like The Prefect and Elysium Fire in the Prefect Dreyfus Emergencies books by Reynolds. They are set in the Revelation Space universe.
Thanks for all the great info Jen! Jeff VanderMeer is an author I want to try next year. I’m glad you liked Caves of Steel and Pushing Ice!
Terra Ignota is one of my favorites
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I also finished the Expanse this year and totally agree on Tiamat’s Wrath being the epitome of everything the series does well.
I’m interested to see what I make of Terra Ignota, Dark Tower, and the Culture-thanks for the tip about starting with Consider Phlebas, which just appeals to me on a pub order level.
You’re really not gonna be missing out on much with the later Murderbot books. The series has been spinning its wheels with the most recent 3 books, and it’s losing my interest for someone who really got into the first 4 novellas. I have no clue how or why the original hype train for the series tried to persuade everyone that it’s so funny, since it’s just not at all. I’ve always found Murderbot’s POV to be on the sad side like you did engendering pity and compassion more than laughs.
Sounds like we had a similar reaction Benghis! I hope you enjoy those series when you start them!
Double-plus-agree on starting with 'Consider Phlebas'. Also include 'The Algegraist' - it's not quite Culture but almost. In my view, 'Inversions' is best avoided.
I’ve heard good things about The Algebraist.
Hi, I've just finished Revelation Space but to be honest found it a bit hard for about three quarters of the book, it was only towards the end when elements of the story came together that it became more interesting and in the end I was wanting more so I may go on to the second book in the series.
The Expanse I have read and thoroughly enjoyed and again I'm likely to continue with the next book in the series.
I have read Asimov Robot Series of books, a few time over the years and will probably read them again as Asimov is one of my favourite writers, while the H2G2 is by far my favourite Sci-Fi stories but as I mentioned in a previous comment the original Radio series is by far the best version, with elements of the series, including the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, being in a different order to that of the later books. I will certainly have a look at one of two other in you list. In the meantime I don't know if you've read the Bobiverse books by Dennis E. Taylor, starting with 'We are Legion (We are Bob)' , but I can highly recommend them as they can be very funny and are very entertaining.
The other long series of Sci-Fi books that I have recently finished are the 'Expeditionary Force' books by Craig Alanson. The first book I took a bit of time to get interested in but it was when one particular character got introduced into the story that I became very engrossed and did keep me reading until the current end to the series (A new book is due out in a week or so). I admit that sometimes the different parts of the stories can be a bit repetitive, (seemingly impossible objectives being repeatedly solved by very imaginative and complex series of actions), as can the dialogue between the two main characters which sometimes seems to be put in the pad out the story line. But it's not too heavy and it's the solutions to the near impossible which I've very much enjoyed. For a humorous read I can recommend this also.
Thanks for all the great info! I too found that Revelation Space got better towards the end. I’m glad you liked the Robot series. I enjoyed the first Bobiverse book but haven’t continued.
I'm planning on reading the Dark Tower series next year. But I'm going full multiverse, so there's something like 24 books in total. 😅 I might do it one book per month.
I actually read Caves of Steel before I, Robot. Like... 20 years before. But I actually remember it better than I Robot. Possibly because it was brand new stuff for teenage me, and also it was a locked room mystery. And those are always cool. I've read one Culture book - Use of Weapons. I should probably not have started with that one. 😂 Otherland I put on pause over a decade ago, after the first book, and I still kinda mean to get back to it but at this point I'll have to re-read the first book first and... yeah.
Speaking of re-reads, I am reading the whole Hitchhiker's Guide series to my kid. Re-read for me, first read for him. We're on book four now. Yeah, they're pretty bleak. But also laugh out loud funny. I'm with you on Murderbot, I only read one and wanted to adopt Murderbot. But I didn't laugh.
That’s an epic undertaking haha
I’m looking forward to Caves of Steel. It sounds like we had similar experiences with some of the other series!
Regarding Revelation Space, my favorite series ever, don’t forget to read Inhibitor Phase!! The fourth novel after the main trilogy. It’s a treat!
Nice! I’m glad you liked it!
You're joking! It's dreadful. RS and CC are brilliant - and can be read as stand-alones in the same universe. RA and AG are both good, but inherently suffer from being part of a series insofar as they're not as "tight" as the other 2. Of the Dreyfus mysteries the first is great. Reynolds' shorter fiction is always excellent, so any of the shorter stand-alone stories in the RS Universe are very good - particularly Diamond Dogs / Turquoise Days. BUT! Inhibitor Phase is really disappointing. It does have bravura Reynolds' opening and closing sections (he's the absolute master of conveying sheer scale and also alienness) but, apart from a gothic interlude with Nostalgia for Infinity, the bulk of the book is made up of trite, irritating characters - absent the conjoiner assassin - trying to out-hug each other. It's like he spent time with Chambers, Martine and Leckie and caught a bout of insipiditis. Eversion (not a RS Universe book I know) was thankfully somewhat of a return to form. This all said I'll obviously be in line in the rain for a 1st edition of Machine Vendetta when it's released early next year...
@@gordonkent5371 okay. But imagine a world (an alien planet if you must) where its inhabitants had their own likes and opinions and they weren’t rebutted by others who knocked them as jokes. Would make a killer sci-fi story. 😁
For 2023, my hits & misses were:
Hits: The Final Architecture - Adrian Tchaikovsky, and The Broken Earth - NK Jemisin
Misses: The Three-Body Problem - Cixin Liu (my goodness, what's the fuss about?), Southern Reach (Annihilation) - Jeff Vandermeer (similar reaction, but at least it was short).
I have read all of those except for Jeff VanderMeer who is on my TBR. Hopefully I like him more than you did haha
The first book is the weakest concerning the Three Body Problem. It's almost all setup. You should definitely reconsider not reading The Dark Forest. It makes you feel tiny in the best way. Life-changing stuff for some...
@@grafja In my case, I highly doubt it. I found the writing style (yes, I know it's a translation) weak, the premise ridiculous, and the characters uninteresting. Those things could improve, as you say, but I've got zero "want to" to continue.
Not particular relevant to the "series" topic, but you mentioned a couple of times about a story, or parts there of as being funny . . . the funniest SF book I've ever read was "Zodiac" by Neal Stephenson. And I don't mean funny as in, "3 Stooges" trying to be funny and/or silly (Harry Harrison's "Bill the Galactic Hero" series comes to mind, or his "Stainless Steel Rat" series as well) but just that the story elements of Zodiac come together, and the way that the story is told is funny! There were points where I had to put the book down because I was laughing too hard at the way the situation was being described! And it is a serious story! Even the second read several years later had me chuckling through out. A very good read IMO anyway. I haven't heard it talked about much, so it would be interesting to hear others' opinions on it.
Haha that sounds like a fun experience. I’ve only read Snow Crash by Stephenson, so I’ll look up Zodiac!
I think you definitely should read at least one of the Expanse novellas. I would definitely read "The Churn". It is Amos's backstory. It covers what he doesn't talk about in the novels. I think the novellas that I enjoyed were the background stories, Butcher of Anderson Station and Gods of Risk (Bobbie) are the 2 that I remember. The others... meh.
Thanks for the info, I’ll look that one up!
'Pushing Ice' didn't strike me as up to par for Reynolds.
Thanks for the feedback. Hopefully I find something to like about it.
I read caves of steel recently. It's a detective story with an interesting twist. I won't spoil it for you but I think you will like it if you can ignore some of the author's 1950s sounding dialogues and attitudes.
That’s good to know, thanks Rachel!
Would you consider mentioning on your community channel that your friend Whitney is releasing a fantastic video about Octavia Butler today at 12:30. She has put months of work into it and having your support would mean so much to her. Thanks for considering it
Thanks for letting me know Dale, I’ll check it out and share it!
@@WordsinTime thank you so much
Contact is an amazing novel!!
Nice! I’m excited for it!
@@WordsinTime great film too.
Of the Asimov's robot novels I thought Caves of Steel and Naked Sun were great, the others were meh. They're both quick reads, detective stories. One explores a high population density urban environment, the other a ultra-low density environment. They're a good pair.
Thanks for the info, those two sound pretty interesting!
Interestingly, we have almost exactly opposite taste, with the exception of Iain M. Banks. I did not like Revelation Space much but I absolutely loved Pushing Ice. I’m a huge fan of Murderbot, too. Whoever told you it was laugh out loud funny did you a disservice. There are humorous moments in each book, but they aren’t comedies.
I’m glad you enjoyed Pushing Ice and Murderbot. Yes, I definitely had different expectations.
Are you planning on reading James S.A. Correys new book when it comes out in 2024? Its title "The Mercy of Gods" and is the start of a new trilogy
Yes, it sounds pretty good!
As a Culture fan, I especially enjoyed Matter and Surface Detail. I think the folks that say to skip Consider Phlebas really don't understand it. They treat it like a basic space opera and miss the way it challenges transhumanist bias in the reader.
That’s a good perspective!
😊👍
🚀
I liked Contact. Book and movie.
Awesome, I’m looking forward to it!
Murderbot Diaries - I also read book one this year and had the same take. I've constantly heard how great this series is and....I just don't see it.
Hitchhiker's Guide - I also finished this series this year (after having read book one a half dozen times, but going no further). The sequels are almost entirely forgettable. However, there is the periodic moment where it was worth it. For instance, I've always felt that the sport of Cricket was the most dreadful thing on the planet. Little did I know it was actually an intergalactic war crime.
Terra Ignota - Never read this, but I've heard great things on Moid's channel.
The Culture - I'm also currently reading this series. I actually went in order though. Read Consider Phlebas late last year and struggled with it. Player of Games was tremendously better and Use of Weapons had difficult moments but a nice twist ending. I also read State of the Art (book 4) and it's forgettable. I hear really good things about Inversions (Book 6) however.
I read a lot of other things but the series I just finished yesterday is the Hyperion Cantos. I finally knocked off the Endymion duology and it was excellent. It bogs in places but that entire 4 book sequence is just so good.
It sounds like we had similar experiences Colin. I’m glad you enjoyed the Hyperion Cantos!
What do you think of the Bobiverse books?
I have read the first one and enjoyed it, but haven’t felt inclined to continue the series yet.
Cool. I have really enjoyed most of them@@WordsinTime
I’m REALLY picky on books and regularly DNF after one or two hundred pages. PUSHING ICE is a fantastic book, please let us know what you think when done.
I rarely DNF individual books but I don’t feel inclined to finish whole series unless I’m enjoying them. I’m looking forward to Pushing Ice!
@@WordsinTime Pushing Ice is excellent; almost as good as House of Suns.
Yay! Contact! - also first!
Haha congrats!
Read Alastair Reynolds' The Prefect next. Cops in space.
Sounds good to me!
Murderbot is such a fun series. Too bad you didn't enjoy it.
I’m glad you liked it.
I agree that Murderbot was not as funny as we were led to believe. It wasn't bad, but it was not great, either. If they weren't so expensive, I'd probably buy them.
I loved Otherland. I read it a long time ago and it was probably one of my first exposures to VR in my reading so I was pretty enthralled by it.
The Culture... Consider Phlebas was fine. I loved The Player of Games. Excession was a chore and it felt kind of pointless. Not sure if I will continue with The Culture.
You’re right that the Murderbot novellas are surprising expensive. I got the first one on sale.
yeah look like they are price like full length books and is "hard" to spend credit on 3h audiobook but now first 4 are included, and yes there are not "funny" book there are books with humor (think some people they treat it interchangeably) I fell in love with series around book 3 and 4 @@WordsinTime
I really really recommend Isaac Asimov Robot series. It is fantastic and not that long. You will thank me later. I refer to the 4 books, not the short stories
I’m looking forward to it!
The most sublime and subtle Culture novel is Inversions, in my opinion. It is a most un-Culture book, Deceptively simple and deceptive. You have to read it to understand my meaning !
Intriguing! I’ll have to check it out in the future!
I read a few books this year her some of the best and some of the worst . Dark matter , Recursion and Upgrade all by Blake Crouch loved them I think recursion is the best . The red rising series all 5 of them my fav is Dark age all by pierce brown and my favorite new series .To fall asleep in a sea of stars by Christopher Paolin It was ok .These two are just awful , The space between world by Michaiah johnson ,burn this one . Do you dream of terra two by OH- Temi . a space adventure that never goes anywhere .
Thanks for the reviews! I’m glad you also enjoyed Blake Crouch and Pierce Brown!
I like contact i read when it first came out in the 80s . I really liked it . The movie not so much.
I’m looking forward to the book!
well this year read a kind of quantum worlds thriller that's been out for a while by crouch can't bring up his first name or the title but liked it so may pick up some of his other books truthfully I'm a just a LITTLE bit down cause of this fit2beread thing it looks like he's gotten himself into some DEEP SPACE kind of trouble which is going to be next to impossible to get out of anyway doubt u have any big skeletons in your closet u just don't look like the kind of guy who carries around bodies in his car trunk haha⚛😀
l
Are you referring to Dark Matter by Blake Crouch? I really enjoyed that book.
And yes, horrific news. Absolutely disgusting.
And thank you for the vote of confidence haha. At the moment I think I’ve just got boxes of golf balls in my car trunk haha
Finally someone speaks the truth about Consider Phelbas. It is a good book nothing spectacular, nothing horrible. To me far more interesting story than other culture books. Plus, I don't think you are supposed to like the MC.
Quantum Thief is gonna be a ongoing leisure series for me. I also think Muderbot is good only in small doses.
Haha happy to be of service! 🫡
RatEotU is the worst of the lot. (That Eoin Colfer thing doesn't really count.) Can't really skip it if you're going to read the rest. It's sort of a thing to be gotten over before things get good again.
Glad you liked the others more.
I love the dark tower ending, closure is overrated
Haha fair enough!
Hit: Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir. It's very similar to the Martian, really just another re-working of his Robinson Crusoe in space conceit. But it is very entertaining, engaging, and this time even has a Man Friday of sorts.
Miss: The Doors of Eden, by Adrain Tchaikovsky. Disappointed by this. Really impressed by other books of his that I've read, Dogs of War, for example. But this one just seemed bloated, lots of action that meant nothing, and some sort of gender statements thrown in too. It never really came together, even though there were some interesting ideas. Pity.
Project Hail Mary was great! Doors of Eden sounds interesting but I’ve seen mixed reactions so I’m not sure whether to try it.
@@WordsinTime It's just okay. Nothing special. It's not that bad, as such. I think I had expectations that were just too high. However, it's fairly long, and in my opinion just not worth the effort. If there's anything else on your TBR list, then go for that instead over this any day.
personally, I disliked use of weapons, found player of games dull and LOVED consider phlebas. my fav is EXCESSION. best overall view of what the culture is.
Interesting, I’m glad you enjoyed Excession!
@@WordsinTime for me the banter between the AI is totally remniscent of how people used to converse on USENET and bulletin boards and i guess facebook and even youtube comments these days. it felt really novel to me that banks took that "medium" to use it as part of the narrative. for me, it's the best world building book that gives the full outline of what the culture is and how it actually works. i can't be sure of course but i think if you stick with it, you'll find it pays off.
I personally think Excession is the poorest book of the culture series
What would you recommend I try next if I enjoyed The Player of Games and Consider Phlebas, and was mixed on Use of Weapons and Excession?
I'm really disappointed with the Culture. Feel I should love it. Player of Games was a good 4/5. Got really bogged down with Use of Weapons and really didn't enjoy it. DNFed Consider Phlebas and Excession.
That’s okay. I liked Consider Phlebas more than you did but also struggled with Use of Weapons and Excession.
@@WordsinTime I'm tempted to given Consider Phlebas another go and some point, but tried Excession 3 times already. I've come to realise I struggle with modern space opera. Not entirely sure why.
Otherland just keeps foing and going. Williams seems like he included every idea he had for virtual reality scenes that really added nothing to the story except a few hundred pages. The real life part was mostly interesting but the ending was simply horrible.
Thanks for the heads up. It seems like not enough of a payoff for the time investment.
I loved the murderbot series so do not agree with your soft dnf at all.
I’m glad you liked it!