How Often is the Sequel BETTER? - 15 Sci-Fi Series Compared
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- čas přidán 21. 07. 2024
- In this video I compare book one versus book two from 15 different science fiction series in order to find out which is better - the original or the sequel?
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00:00 - Introduction
00:22 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
01:25 - Foundation
02:21 - Culture
03:19 - Red Rising
04:27 - Ender's Saga
05:51 - The Expanse
07:07 - The Dark Tower
08:38 - The Remembrance of Earth's Past
09:46 - Deathstalker
11:31 - Dune
13:41 - I Am Jet Lagged
14:20 - Revelation Space
15:39 - Sun Eater
17:02 - Teixcalaan
18:36 - Hyperion Cantos
20:34 - Jean le Flambeur
22:46 - Conclusion
24:16 - Italy Pictures
#ScienceFiction #Novels #Series
What a fabulous idea for a video! I really enjoyed this one.
I could not agree with you more regarding Dark Tower, Remembrance of, Expanse, and of course Hyperion. Spot on. Great video. 👏
Thanks Bart, glad you enjoyed this one!
You should make a video together about the Dark Tower series, it would be fun 😊
@@isam.2653 It’s a great idea Isa, you never know what is coming up on the Path of the Beam!
I probably enjoy The Gunslinger more than most Dark Tower fans. It prioritizes mood and atmosphere over substance, but that's largely why I enjoy it. It just has this strange X-factor that the rest of the books in the series never quite achieve again for me.
Interesting! I might have a different experience on a re-read.
Is better than The Song of Susannah without any doubt.
For me the 4th book was the best; which actually more a prequel. Wizard and Glass
Cool video idea! It makes me excited about getting to more series 🛸
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Great idea for a video and great execution!
I appreciate it!
Fun video! Of the series I’ve read I found myself agreeing with you. (Really need to get started on the Expanse, or at least watch the show). Thanks so much and hope you enjoyed Italy!
Thanks! The Expanse is a 4 star series for me with a few standout books. Hope you enjoy!
And yes, Italy was great! 🍕 🍝 🇮🇹
That's a cool idea for a video! Watching it now!
Thanks! Hope you enjoy!
“It’s a little dry… that was an Arrakis joke” 😂 I did actually need that explainer because I didn’t catch it the first time 😆
I’m often a book two boy because I’m more comfortable in the setting, I know who’s who, and what’s what. I’m currently reading a book with new made up words that I’m having to figure out from context. But today I discovered there’s a Glossary in the back of the book. That sort of thing is easier in later books for me. I’m already in and invested. But sure, it can vary.
Pun intended, haha
I like glossaries, but I think they should be at the front of the book as I’m always afraid to flip to the back of the book and accidentally see a spoiler 🤦♂️
I guess I'm slacking a bit on the sci-fi series, I've only read 5 of these:
HHGttG - Sequel
RoEP - Sequel
Dune - Original
RS - Sequel
Hyperion - Sequel
So I guess I'm team sequel. Looking through my Good Reads, I feel like a lot of the other sci-fi series I've read are too close to call. The exceptions being the Wayfarers series (sequel by a mile) and the Hainish Cycle (Original, but no one's really talking about Rocannon's World or Planet of Exile when they talk about the Hainish Cycle...). I also have an embarrassing amount of series I've only read book one of, and very few of those are ones I don't plan on continuing...
I’m looking forward to trying Wayfarers!
Enjoyed this quite a bit! Looking forward to the sequel. 😉
Haha fingers crossed it will be even better!
I love the Sun Eater series. By the time I was finishing Empire of Silence it felt like I'd been hit by a Mack Truck. And when I got to the really dangerous part towards the end of Howling Dark it was as if Ruocchio had said, "You thought Book #1 was like being hit by a truck? Here comes two trucks." I've just finished book #3 and once again a high moment climax, but not so many trucks.
Haha we’re gonna need highmatter swords to fight off all these trucks!
Oh, your trip looks gorgeous!
We felt very lucky! And ate way too much haha 🍕 🍝 🇮🇹
Agreed with Fall of Hyperion. I don't know how anyone could read the first book and then just be satisfied with the ending. The sequel is batshit insane and sooo much fun.
Love it! Welcome to Team Fall! 🤝
I love both of Hyperion, they are great 😊, great video ❤
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed the duology!
tooooootally agree on fall of hyperion and the drawing of the 3. like... NO CONTEST.
Haha glad to have you on the team 🤝
Almost finished with the second book of the Bobiverse trilogy, have to really think about which one I prefer… The first book was just devoured, but the second book lags in some parts… hmmmm maybe, I’ll be on team “book 3”. Time will tell.
Good to know! I liked book one but haven’t continued as of yet.
@@WordsinTime Book 5 comes out later this year (September?).
This was such a fun vid to watch! The Quantum Thief is now on my radar and I have a lot of encouragement to pick up Alastair Reynolds! Would House of Suns be a better starting place or Revelation Space?
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
If you only read one Reynolds book it should probably be House of Suns. Although then you’ll have read imo his best book first, and I know you’re not afraid of a series haha so give Revelation Space a try if you’re interested.
@@WordsinTime that sounds good!!
Definitely interested in your adventures in Italy!
Hm, I may have to read some Alastair Reynolds. Can you read Redemption Ark without the first one or no?
Haha we went to Rome, Tuscany, and the Amalfi Coast. It was amazing!
I wouldn’t recommend skipping Revelation Space to get to Redemption Ark. If you want to try a Reynolds standalone try House of Suns!
@@WordsinTime Ah, one of my dream locations to visit! And thanks for the rec. Will have to check my library.
Good video. For me the first book is usually the best because the idea is fresh. Sometimes the author's writing improves in later books though.
Thanks Jen! I've had similar reading experiences with those examples.
Three Body Problem loses only because Dark Forest is one of the greatest science fiction books ever written. Some interesting points on Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion. Fall stumbles a bit in the final quarter of the book, in my mind, but it's still hard to pick between the two . I'm definitely interested to hear your thoughts on Endymion and Rise! Also, I need to get around to reading Alistair Reynolds- I've heard many great things. Great video and I'm glad CZcams recommended it to me.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! I thought Endymion was a fun world hopping adventure and The Rise of Endymion was a bit too long, but I liked some of the philosophy. Overall, not quite as good as the Hyperion duology but I am higher on it than most.
Beautiful pictures! Hope you had a good trip. What are your feelings on Children of Time vs. Children of Ruin?
Thanks Cindy! Children of Time was a 9.5/10 for me. I haven’t read Children of Ruin as people seem mixed on it and I didn’t want to be disappointed as Children of Time set such a high bar. I will have to try it at some point eventually.
@@WordsinTime oh wow! That surprises me. I would have thought you read the entire trilogy! Did the first book leave off well enough that you could read it as a standalone? Or are there unsolved questions.
@@cindywingetbooks That was another reason I stopped, as I thought it ended perfectly. It felt like it could be read as a standalone.
Great video Jonathan! I liked Fall of Hyperion just as good as Hyperion. Both excellent books! I liked Dune and Dune Messiah equally as well.
Thanks Chas! I’m looking forward to reading more of the Dune books!
@@WordsinTime I am too. I’m hoping to finish the other 4 this year.
You will, I feel sure, have noticed that the second in the abominable trilogy involving a triple corpse conundrum, was translated by someone unrelated to the feted author. Given the syntax, tone and overall illiteracy of the first habeus corpus tome, the middle cadaver can only have been an improvement. This is pure conjecture. I wouldn't spend a nickel, dime, penny or (heaven forfend a £) on finding out the denouement of this grubby exercise in high school intrigue from this septic morgue of dead prose; that gives Sci-Fi its sadly deserved reputation for abject mediocrity....or worserer, innit?!?!!! Love the vids. Keep them coming.
Oh dear haha. Of the three books I liked the translation in the second book by Joel Martinsen the most.
Interesting idea.
Recently read Revelation Space and thought the end was incredibly rushed. I have since found out it was a book 1 so my opinion changed a little and will continue.
Would be in the 'didn't care for Fall of Hyperion' crowd. It had some good points but you will see why if you read on in Dune. Fall has basically the same story line.
I hope you like Redemption Ark. I’m looking forward to continuing with Dune.
Some great choices! It's interesting, there are a plenty of great sequels out there in sci-fi literature that surpass the original, but I can't think of any equivalents in the movie industry (I know you would make an exception for Blade Runner 2049 - but personally I prefer the original).
For me, one of the best sequels I've read in recent years is A Closed and Common Orbit, book 2 in the Wayfarers series and IMO the best of the 4.
Toy Story 3 is the best Toy Story haha
I’m hoping to get to Wayfarers later this year.
@@WordsinTime Haha, I was thinking specifically sci-fi movies. I can think of good examples in other genres but not so much sci-fi (no, I will not accept Terminator 2 or Aliens are better than the first films as some misguided people will claim!)
The premise was a bit of 'head scratcher' for me. Except for Teixcalaan, maybe, all the books are part of at least a trilogy or larger series, so the second book, to my mind is really not a sequel/conclusion, so depending whether the books are stand alone stories of a series or part of a larger story arc, the second book can be deficient. Although you were mostly divided on the 1 vs 2. Anyway, enjoyed your video, I'll have to put 'Deathstalker' on my TBR list.
The premise was more about whether second books reach the bar set by the first book. If I wanted to compare the beginning and conclusion then I would make a video on first books versus last books. Glad you liked the video and hope you enjoy Deathstalker!
I'm finally reading Hyperion through for the first time, and dig it as much as anyone, but totally get the backstory vibes. The idea of the sequels having a different focus is exciting. If I'm enjoying these smaller character stories so much, I can't wait to see what else is going on out there in the wider universe it's putting together. Hyperion is, so far, everything that makes my brain tick when it comes to sci-fi. A true adventure into places unknown. Jazzed to get to the rest.
That’s awesome! I hope you enjoy the rest as much as I did!
I'll remember that dry Arrakis joke... hahaha
🤜 🤛
looking forward to reading the quantum thief and speaker for the dead soon but your comment about the latter's "slowness" has given me slight pause haha⚛😀
It's not super slow, just felt slow compared to Ender's Game. I hope you enjoy both!
@@WordsinTime Speaker for the Dead is legit though. It's in my Top 10 best SciFi books all time.
You have to realize that Card came up with the concept for Speaker first. It was a fully realized and fleshed out concept. Then he took an existing short story he had published years before called "Battle School" and did a major rewrite and expansion on it, converting it into a Speaker for the Dead prequel.
So while it's technically true to say that Speaker is the sequel to Ender's Game its plot and themes are much more developed than typical cash grab sequels. Card viewed them as akin to a duology.
I'd wonder what you thought of Frank Herbert's The Dosed Experiment. I found it fascinating world building, and it's unjustly neglected.
I’ll have to look it up!
The Dosadi Experiment. Autocorrect screwed you.
I absolutely adore this series! ❤
@@WordsinTimeThe Dosadi Experiment is part of a series. One that I happen to love. Very different from Dune. Still very much a Frank Herbert style dive into morality, repeated history, tyranny... ❤
@@andreamaronn4510 oh yes right!
Definitely agree on the Culture and the Dark Tower. I think the Culture series has like four books that are better than Player of Games (Use of Weapons, Excession, Look to Windward, and Surface Detail), but PoG is the best entry point for new readers. Whereas Consider Phlebas is a fun pulp adventure but completely skippable as it doesn't really represent the spirit of the series.
And the Drawing of the Three is just the best Dark Tower book. I like the whole series (except Wind Through the Keyhole, that one felt pointless), and I think I rank The Gunslinger a bit higher than a lot of people, but Dot3 is such a great thriller and such a great way to kick off a portal / multiverse fantasy.
Can't agree on Hyperion. I liked both books, and somewhat enjoyed the Endymion books as well, but to me the Priest's Tale from the first book is one of the first things that comes to mind when I hear the phrase "peak fiction." That story left me absolutely shook. And I don't think anything else in the series ever approached that same high. In fact, I think my opinion of the series as a whole might be higher if the Priest's Tale wasn't as good, because it felt like it just set too high a bar for everything after to live up to.
The Expanse is an interesting case to me because I feel like that series was fairly consistent in quality. I don't think it ever quite had a "peak fiction" moment, but I'd rate every single book as "pretty damn good." Which is kind of an impressive feat in its own right for a nine-book series. Giving Leviathan's Wake the point does make sense to me because it starts off the whole journey, and also because Miller brings a pretty fun perspective to that one. But I think every book after was just about as good as the first one. (Also, while on the topic of the Expanse and "peak fiction" I do want to point out that, if we're counting the accompanying short story collection Memory's Legion, there is one part of the series I would consider worthy of that accolade: Strange Dogs. I know that The Churn is the one everyone always talks about from Memory's Legion, but Strange Dogs resonated with me in a very special way. The Pet Sematary implications, the subversion of expectations, the whole angle of it being an immigrant kid's perspective, the way it sets up certain ideas going into the last couple of books in the series, I just loved everything about Strange Dogs. Probably a Top 10 short story for me.)
Thanks for all the great info! I might have to try Memory’s Legion.
@@WordsinTime I highly recommend it. Strange Dogs and The Churn were the standouts for me, but every story does something to make the Expanse just a little more expansive. You can find reading orders on the Expanse subreddit with advise on where to insert the Memory's Legion stories, but I think you'll get a lot out of it even if you've already finished the main series.
I DNF'd Speaker For The Dead because it was so different to Ender's Game, maybe I'll try again or go the Ender's Shadow route. I read Revelation Space a long time ago and I've got Redemption Ark on my TBR so I'm optimistic about that, but as for Suneater I was a little underwhelmed by Empire Of Silence so its reassuring that Howling Dark is held in a higher regard.
If you liked Ender’s Game you might like Ender’s Shadow as it is more similar. I hope you enjoy Redemption Ark and Howling Dark!
You missed out with Speaker. Definitely a completely different book from Ender's Game. But it's so very very good.
A Memory Called Empire ...... Tedium Distilled.The follow up cannot possibly be more tedious surely? ... OMG apparently it is 🤣 Anyway great idea for this vid.
Only read a few of these so no real disagreements. Just surprised you stayed awake to read Desolation.
Quantum Thief i fall into the 50% that hate it and I loved Accelerando and Schilds ladder so its not the Hard SF aspect. I believe (It was some while ago) it was a rare DNF for me.
Haha I didn’t find it tedious but I know it doesn’t work for everyone. I liked Accelerando but liked The Quantum Thief more. Glad you enjoyed the video!
For both The Deathstalker books and Hyperion books, I'm not sure I could really pick a winner or a loser as I enjoyed the originals and the sequels pretty much equally.
That’s a good outcome!
Loved the Revelation Space series for the first two and saw Redemption Arc as a great sequel. Absolution Gap was a little bit more iffy but still pretty good. Inhibitor Phase was a real let down for me though, just went a bit odd.
I had a similar reaction to the first three. That a bummer to hear about Inhibitor Phase, I haven’t read it yet.
@@WordsinTime I mean, its not necessarily bad per-se (might just be my tastes) but definitely very different from the others. It's a shame he didn't use the book to answer some more questions on how the war plays out or make a book on the fall of the glitter band!
In either case, worth a read but with caveats aha
Great video! Would want to hear your thoughts for Children of Time vs Children of Ruin as well!
Thanks Harry! I loved Children of Time but haven’t read the sequels yet.
Hyperion : I'm totally on Team Original here. And actually, not even because I compare the two, but because this first book is at the same time a standalone. A collection of absolutely brilliant sf novellas, but organized in a consistent way that calls for the sequel. Note : comparing Hyperions and Endymions could have been an option...
Dune : I didn't like much Messiah, even when I re-read it recently (the desert mystique and the coming-of-age story of the first book make it a more memorable reading experience imho), and I am a bit struggling through Children now. Question : wouldn't it make sense too, to compare rather "Paul's books" and "Leto's books" ?
I just kept it simple across the board with book 1 v book 2, but you could compare sub-series within series, as that would be interesting too!
Speaker for the Dead > Ender's Game
I like Ender’s Game but there are qualities about Speaker where I can see why people like that one more.
I don't know, I tend to agree with the minority of people who say Dune is more fantasy than sci-fi. The only reason I think it gets classified as sci-fi is that it involves a universe that spans beyond a single planet. Other than that, there really isn't any more "science" present in the story. Don't get me wrong, I thought it was a great book, just heavier on the lore and world-building that one typically finds in a fantasy novel rather than a sci-fi one.
I think there are stylistic differences between sci-fi and fantasy and there are also technical differences between sci-fi and fantasy. I think stylistic differences affect the reading experience, but the technical differences are what define the genres because they’re slightly less subjective. Something that focuses more on characters and world building and lore might read more like fantasy, but if all of the speculative aspects of the book are explained through technology as opposed to magic, then I think it would technically be sci-fi. I think Dune lands somewhere in the middle haha
I may not be science fiction in the purest sense of the term but it’s definitely space opera.
“Dune” should have been a single book. It is perfect as a stand-alone, but the sequels are terrible.
@@Whalesong7 I think it works as a standalone, but some people also like the sequels.
I loved DUNE so much that when I got to the end, I went back to read a bit of the first chapter just to get more clarity now that I knew the whole story. Before I knew it, I'd read through it a second time! That NEVER happens. I'm a big re-reader. But not right after I finish a book the first time!
Then I read DUNE MESSIAH.
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I felt SO CHEATED by the time skip that I honestly can't even remember the rest of the story! I wanted to go on the journey with Paul, like we did in the first book, not be told about stuff that happened and we never got to see! I'm telling you, if it hadn't been a library book, I would have thrown it across the room in a rage.
I have read a graphic novel twice in a row but never a book.
I had been given a heads up about the time jump in Messiah, but I agree, if that was what you were hoping to see it might have been disappointing what you got instead.
@@WordsinTime I may have to go back to it just to finish the series.