My Top 10 Science-Fiction Books of All Time (As Of 2024)
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- čas přidán 22. 05. 2024
- Mike takes a look at 10 books in the science-fiction genre that he would call his favorites.
ℙ𝕦𝕣𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕤𝕖 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤 𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠:
Hyperion amzn.to/2QdKkgO
War of the Worlds amzn.to/3O1f3bq
The Time Machine amzn.to/4b0lGoj
Golden Son amzn.to/3jsB8Ut
Heir to the Empire amzn.to/3S0MOuF
The Martian Chronicles amzn.to/3SiKhNO
Frankenstein amzn.to/3S0GR0V
A Princess of Mars amzn.to/3NrkK0I
Ender's Game amzn.to/3zJ0IGO
Dune amzn.to/3m73XlI
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy amzn.to/3D1j2gb
Jurassic Park amzn.to/2ZeyjMf
Dark Matter amzn.to/3nlwSU5
Flowers for Algernon amzn.to/4aVGHRa
Empire of Silence amzn.to/33BUafL
Childhood's End amzn.to/3nTAjSE
Nemesis Games amzn.to/3RTFkd0
ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕝𝕤 𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕖𝕡𝕚𝕤𝕠𝕕𝕖:
𝕎𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕕 𝕄𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘? 𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕕𝕠 𝕤𝕠 𝕥𝕠 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕨 𝕒𝕕𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤:
Mike K.
15201 Mason Rd
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Cypress, TX 77433
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0:00 Introduction
0:21 Background and Prerequisites
1:35 Honorable Mentions
3:20 Top 10 SF Books
25:33 Final Thoughts
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#MikesBookReviews #top10 #ranking - Zábava
The thing with Douglas Adams is that he manages to put more ideas into a paragraph than many authors manage in a trilogy.
It is good, yes, and yet, it is much more stale that the original he plagiarized from.
@@nomadr1349 And that original would be.....? Title? Author? Century?
@@BrainWeevil Robert Sheckley "Dimension of Miracles".
You are welcome.
@@nomadr1349 Many Thanks, Good Human! It is quite astonishing for me to hear Douglas Adams described as "stale". But Sheckley is astonishing in his way. I will have to check this out.
I read Hyperion a long time ago, and the father's tale still moves me.
I love the SciFi classics. My all time favorite is the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. Highly recommended.
You should check out the future history series by Heinlein. Very comparable, and a fun read, in my opinion Heinlein was the better wordsmith. Also, if you haven't read the entire Asimov future history series starting with I robot and going to the galactic empire series you are missing out
@@jonathonschott Speaking of Heinlein, "Stranger in a Strange Land" shouldn't be left off the list either. Do you grok me?
@@SuperSushidog you would appreciate this. I can't stand Apple as a company, their active attempts at trying to kill right to repair has potentially taken jobs away from me as an electronics technician. But I gained a little respect for Steve Jobs when he used grok correctly in a quote once. Yes, you are right it should be included, but stranger and starship troopers are kind of low hanging fruit when it comes to suggestions for Heinlein and my reply was to a comment about the foundation series specifically so I countered with a series. But I mean Heinlein; the Green hills of earth, podkayne of Mars, starship troopers, stranger in a strange land, I don't think I ever read a Heinlein and thought 'this is not his best work' because he just had this way with wording that made them fun to read, allegory, the complete package. There is a reason Heinlein was asked to help commentate the Apollo 11 landing, a well earned reason.
I read a childhoods end from your recommendation and I agree, it’s the one book that continues to come back to mind!! It was mind blowing
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Heinlein
The Weapon Shops of Isher, Van Vogt
March Upcountry, Weber & Ringo
Ender's Game, Card
On Basilisk Station, Weber
Trading in Danger, Moon
Pandora's Planet, Anvil
The Warrior's Apprentice, Bujold
Flowers for Algernon, Keyes
Honorable Mentions
Dune, Herbert
Star Guard, Norton
Beastmaster, Norton
Podkayne of Mars, Heinlein
Grey Lensman, Smith - Not a book I would recommend now, but it hit me at exactly the right age.
Better list. Especially since it doesn't mention Foundation. I don't get the praise for that.
Really great video Mike! Thank you! Was a great introduction to the stories without going into spoilers. Really appreciate it! Some fab new ones for my tbr!
I love Edgar Rice Burroughs. Princess of Mars and Tarzan. Favorite classic writer. I agree that i thought he was ahead of his time and his adventures and writing style holds up well today
👍 👍
All of Red Rising, Dune, Hyperion and Empire of Silence are up there for me. Ender's Game waa nice but I had some struggles with it.
Childhoods End sounds like a top addition to my TBR
Great list Mike!
I remember pleading with you to read Hyperion, was so excited finding out you loved it as much as I did. Great list Mike
It was incredible and I knew it immediately.
I was so glad you included Hyperion in your list. Felt all that you mentioned although you described it much more eloquently. It also brought me to tears and the aha moments kept piling on as all the plots came to close and the trilogy culminated. This book made me a bookworm. Now I have to read it again… thank you!
Great video! As a father the scholars tale from Hyperion had me breaking down crying. And the Priests tale was 🤯 That book stayed with me for a long while.
I just read the Scholars tale this morning. Truly a heartbreaking story.
@@rvantong it’s such a great book and I love all the science fiction but it was the heartbreaking human element of the scholars tale that really made me fall in love with it.
I’m glad you enjoyed Childhood’s End. It’s also in my top 10 and I recently purchased the Folio edition, which will be a prized possession!
It's such a great book!
It’s one of my favorites. Probably why I was so disappointed with the tv adaptation I caught several years ago. If you’re going to have the audacity to film a book like Childhood’s End, then do the damn book!
Glad to see Hyperion near the top - what a great book ! The one book I would add to any top 10 list is "Fire Upon the Deep" by Vernor Vinge.
Our top three are the same, albeit in a different order. But we have the same thoughts on Childhood's End. Although it didn't make my list, it's one that I think about A LOT. Great video, Mike!
Great minds, amigo.
Great list. Read Childhood's End around '74 for a college class - blew me away. Dune I read before that and have read it more than 13 times. It feels fresh every time I read it. Thanks for a great video. Also, if you haven't, read Macroscope. Amazing story with some humor and a cool concept for traveling across time.
My top 10:
1. The Book of the New Sun (It's one book split into 4). My favorite book of all time.
2. Too Like the Lightning. The most philosophical scifi I've ever read.
3. Hyperion.
4. Dune.
5. Demon in White. Although Disquiet Gods might unseat it. Reading the ARC now and it's amazing so far.
6. Dark Age. Still the best, somewhat diminished by Light Bringer but still great.
7. Left Hand of Darkness.
8. The Dispossessed.
9. Eisenhorn Omnibus. I know, cheating but I read it as such.
10. Anathem.
Things may change of course except with New Sun(nothing comes close to it for me), but for now this is it.
Yeah I always think of Gene Wolfe immediately when I hear a Best Of list for sci-fi. His prose is amazing. Like embarassingly amazing😂 Neil Gaiman said once that Gene “was a much better novelist than he,” and I didnt feel quite so bad lol
That's a good list! 📚
So nice to see someone mentioning 'Too Like the Lighting' (or the whole series). 🤘
I'm going to start reading Book of the New Sun after finishing Disquiet Gods and Anathem at some point later in the year.
My number one is Book of the New Sun as well. I’ve read it four or five times now and always get something else out of it. Never read a book series with such great re-readability.
Gonna check out more from your list. Reading Hyperion now.
The thought that always springs to mind for me when I reference Book of the New Sun is dark poetry. It’s not what I would consider an easy read but it’s so rewarding.
Is Hyperion hard to read?
Found your channel recently, I dig your content. Seems like you're heavier into fantasy than sci-fi, so I can understand some of the omissions from your list. You still managed to put together a really great list though, we've got lots of overlap.
Mine would be:
Dune, Herbert (ofc)
Neuromancer, Gibson
Hyperion, Simmons
Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow and Speaker for the Dead, Scott Card
Player of Games, Iain M Banks
The Diamond Age, Stephenson (Snow Crash is great too)
Way Station, Simak
Lord of Light, Zelazny
Three-Body Problem, Liu
Starship Troopers, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, or Stranger in a Strange Land, Heinlein (hard to pick between these)
Honorable mentions:
Ben Bova in general, for getting me into space stories/space opera
Rendezvous with Rama, Clarke
Old Man's War, Scalzi
and (since you dropped a SW novel too) Darksabre, Anderson
I love hearing people talk about their favorite book, fills my bookish heart with joy. If you like a little humor with your scifi, and don't mind silliness, I recommend John Scalzi.
Well, seems like I have some reading to do because I've only read two of these Couldn't agree more on everything you said about Red Rising though, I am so nervously excited for that finale soonish!! Amazing list, hope you find many more new faves as you continue your sci-fi adventure ;)
several of these i hadn't heard of but seem like i would like to read, thanks !
I'm suprissed you didn't mention anything by Isaak asimov. I've read the Robots trilogy recentrly and i loved it, especially The caves of steel.
Yup to all these. Can also get behind some PKD, Orwell, Atwood, Le Guin, Vonnegut, Murakami, and Huxley.
Saw a Stargate shirt, and needed to check out your video!
Hay Mike, thanks so much for including John Carter of Mars, I love those books! For me they stand the test of time in that i only read them in this millennium! I also loved the movie, I laughed and laughed and enjoyed the action, romance and companion beast/dog ❤❤❤
I just started Dune a week ago, and I have trouble putting it down to do basic things like eat a meal, lol. I'm loving it so far!
I'm with you on Jurassic Park though. That was my first "adult" book that I read, when I was about 11. And I loved it. I particularly like how the creative choices in the book vary so wildly from the movie, in terms of characters, their deaths and which ones make it to the final pages. Really good stuff.
And I am certainly adding a lot of yours to my reading list. Great suggestions, thank you!!
But I have a question for you, and possibly an idea for another video: What is your top 5 (or 10) books that were spinoffs of an existing tv, movie or book franchise? I've been meaning to sink my teeth into something to start the gears turning for Battlestar, Babylon V or Stargate ... But I wouldn't even know where to start.
Interesting list. I haven't read any of the Red Rising, John Carter, or Hadrian Marlowe books yet and now I want to try them. My top ten would also include Hyperion, Ender's Game, and Childhood's End. I'm not sure about the rest of my list. The Road, The Handmaid's Tale, 1984, Brave New World, and Kindred made a big impact on me, but I don't want to reread them any time soon.
Great video :) always love the positive vibes on this channel.
Great list!! I really love Asimov's Foundation series. Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth being my two favorites.
Project Hail Mary and The Martian wouod be up there for me, and I read The Kaiju Preservation Society at the perfect time for me and loved it.
Speaker for the Dead is incredible. I highly recommend you read one book further in the Ender series.
agreed! thats like one of my favorite books all time. I can't believe he couldn't have read on given that he loves Ender's game so much.
This is one of the mind forming books of my lifetime.
Speaker for the dead was such an amazing, unique take on a very different alien species. One of the most alien in all of sci fi.
Not only that, but following Beans story back to earth was amazing!! Enders shadow is basically just Enders game again from Beans perspective.. but I followed both Enders story and Beans, and loved them both!
I will stan Speaker for the Dead until I myself am dead. Liked it more than Ender's Game, which I already loved. Damn book had me weeping in the end, it was so good.
Great shirt Mike!!! Thanks for sharing your top 10 Sci Fi books.
I just read Dune last December because of those damn good dune 2 trailers and I love it the first book I finished after 1 year plus of reading slump
Dune Messiah is so different. You must read Children of Dune for it to come full circle. Excellent trilogy.
Dune Messiah was embarrassingly bad. Herbert's lack of education really shows and it's unfortunate considering the first Dune was decent. Taking a basic 101 philosophy course could've spared him from so many of these embarrassing texts where he pretends he's saying something enlightening but instead sounds like a high school student who's had their first "complex," thought. Worse, is people really eating that shit up, really shows where we are as a society.
@@alb0zfinestWhat’s worse is all your rogue commas.
@@alb0zfinest Twas hard to follow at times, but it was still an alright read.
@@benmorgan9748 Idk, seems to me like not knowing elementary philosophy (esp at the age he wrote the books) is worse than a few misplaced commas.
Yes!!! Thank you Mike for the ERB love. A Princess of Mars was to me what Harry Potter was to my kids. I was so in love with Dejah Thoras!!!!!
I recently read Red Dwarf : Infinity Welcomes careful drivers/ Better Than Life, and I thought it was so funny, up there with Hitchiker's Guide. It was an old show on the BBC.
I had that moment that you were talking about when I was reading Howling Dark. Just realized that I was reading something very special and potentially the best of its kind
Interesting list. My introduction to Sci Fi books was Ursula K Le Guin's Hainish Cycle books like The Left Hand of Darkness. Later on many books in the Star Wars EU starting of course with Heir to the Empire series and Shadows of the Empire
I'm reading Pandora's Star from Peter F. Hamilton and I'm sure that it would click with you Mike, it is so good!
Good list.
Really liked the Ender's Shadow series.....
Great list. Have you ever read Ringworld? Rendezvous with Rama or my alll time favorite Sci Fi novel, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny?
My Grandpa read Dune back in 1965 and it became his favorite book. He got me to read it when I was young and it became an all time favorite for me as well! Very special book for me and my family!
New to the channel, I like your list. Read maybe a third of these, so I have some to look forward to now.
Did you ever read Stranger in a Strange Land? Heinlein's best for me.
Welcome! I haven't. Just Starship Troopers. But I'd like to eventually.
Thanks for throwing some love to John Carter. A greatly under-appreciated book by an underapprevuated author.
No doubt!
I'm actually a little surprised you have Frankenstein in your honorable mentions, I wasn't aware before that you had read it!
Absolutely love that book, and I'm really glad you at least got it mentioned on here!
The most important book to this genre.
I was also surprised! Frankenstein is actually my favorite book period, so it hurt just a little bit to see it in the honorable mentions. I'm also not an avid science-fiction reader, but gothic fiction is some of my favorite writing.
I feel like Frankenstein is barely scifi. Frankenstein monster could have been created with magic and the story doesn’t change
Former avid reader that just stopped a year or so ago and have made many attempts to get the ball rolling again, and thought I'd check out some sci fi book reviews to get inspired and hope something might stick. Had never heard of Ruocchio before and just started Empire of Silence because of this video and at 42 have the same excitement going into a series as I did at 15 with Lotr. Seriously, it's so good. And looking at Goodreads and just seeing the review rating going up and up and up as the series progresses has added a delightful sense of wonder to an otherwise wonder-less life.
I'm so glad you're liking it!
Hyperion changed everything for me in so many ways. It hadn’t touched Sci Fi until then and I was mesmerized from the get-go. It also led to reading Enders Game and I was off from there. BDalton books used to have these cards, If you like Dan Simmons try these authors and they were so spot on. I kind of miss those days of so much discovery.
Hey Mike, I know you loved Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams, but have you tried his sci-fi series, Otherland? I’m halfway through the first book, and I’m loving it.
Thank you for the list! I also have received great sci-fi book ideas from the channel, Book Pilled. He reads a massive amount of sci-fi and has a real dry sense of humor in his reviews. A couple other books that you may like: Roadside Picnic by Strugatsky and Neuromancer by Gibson, he being considered the creator of cyberpunk with this book.
Thanks for sharing!!
Burroughs' Mar series was my SF gateway drug, back when I was in high school in the 1970s. SF&F wasn't as big a thing back then. I think my dad must have read the Mars books when he was young, so he bought me one. I gobbled it up in an afternoon. I didn't have money to buy my own (and they didn't have them in the library), so I had to wait for my dad to dole them out to me, one at a time, over many weeks. I remember they had "temple step bouncer" (T&A) covers that would have stopped present me from ever cracking the cover.
I picked up the first back in high school because I saw the cover and thought it was a Conan book. Read it anyways and fell in love.
Gotta check out Book of the New Sun. I don’t exactly know how to explain it, but it feels similar to Sun Eater. Not really the same character depth from the POV or supporting cast but the themes/world kind of feel the same.
Christopher (Ruocchio) has been in my ear about it for 3 years ha ha, Wolfe is a huge influence on him.
“Book of the New Sun” is a must. Also Gene Wolfe’s “The fifth head of Cerberus”.
Many favourites of mine too (Frankenstein, Wells, The Expanse, Dune, etc.) and many I still need to read 😊
For me, I’d just add The Linesman trilogy by SK Dunstall, The Themis Files trilogy by Sylvain Neuvel, Arkady Martine’s duology Teixcalaan (and if you like this one, then go for Leckie’s Imperial Radch and CJ Cherry’s Foreigner series). Oh and John Wyndham’s Midwich Cuckoos and Trouble with Lichen.
Mike I think you should check out the novel series Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It's a legendary novel series from Japan that is completely ignored by the USA. It's one of the greatest stories you'll ever experience. So much political intrigue and bromance inspired by the European wars of the 19th century. One of the most fair and unbiased depictions of a Civil War on both sides I've ever experienced.
Nice list and agree with most of it. I read mostly science fiction but subscribe to your channel to hear about what is great in fantasy and sprinkle some of it in to my TBR list. For instance, Malice is on my list in so small part because of your videos about it. Glad to get a little science fiction sprinkled in on your channel. Thanks
John Gwynne is great.
@@mikesbookreviews If you haven't already read them you should find what I consider the 2 best book series of all time. EON by Greg Bear and RAMA by A. C. Clarke. EON is a 3 book arc and RAMA is a 4 book arc.
good choices, love the stargate tee too 😄
I never put together a top ten of Science fiction before, you have some interesting books there. I had to go to Wikipedia to look up Golden Son, and I just read the plot of Red Rising first. It's a good story and I'll read the plot of Golden Son after writing this comment. I loved all of Douglas Adams books, and I liked the newest movie adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide. Someday I'll make a top ten but there's so many stories that resonated with me so maybe I'll just do top ten authors instead.
Hi Mike been watching your awesome channel for over a year. Time to comment finally. I mostly agree with your opinions/reviews. Apart from Malazan (best fantasy series of all time and gets better with each reread). Also never understood the popularity of Stephen King. Since watching your content I have read and loved: First Law by Mr Abercrombie; Flowers for Algernon; Red Rising books 1 to 3; Hyperion and the sequels (currently on book 4 and liking it a lot).
Also currently reading We Are The Dead by Mike Shackle. Quite an impressive start enjoying so far. Keep up the good work and finish Toll the Hounds. I think you will like the ending though maybe not how long it takes to get there.
Cheers
I appreciate you watching & commenting!
Thank you Sir, for the recommendations. I've jotted down a few I haven't read (this A.C.Clarke book, and any Burroughs). Here's one in return: pick up a culture novel by Iain M. Banks.
Great video! Hopefully I can get to Dune in February!
Had to smile...Tim Zahn used to go to our SF meetings years ago. Nice man. And yes, those Star Wars books were really good. I made my own list - I really love Larry Niven's "World of Ptavvs."
I'm Australian and retired years ago so I'm from a different place and time from you. Your review of Ender's Game put me in mind of so much stuff from way back. In the 1970s I was an early manager for a US company that was moving into the Aussie market. My management training was Australian but suddenly we had a strongly American world view being presented. So in Ender's Game where you saw things like teamwork, overcome the odds, working hard, busting ass, getting to a higher goal, the world needs you, sacrifice yourself for the greater good, I remembered these themes being upheld in corporate management. When I read Ender's Game I saw manipulation and control, child abuse, narcissistic nationalism, using people up no matter the cost, xenophobia, more child abuse, and leaving people to rebuild themselves after their controllers have done their damage. So, age difference (I'm from the 40s) and opposite sides of the planet sure do make a difference.
And if you are a recent SciFi reader, wait until you discover Hannu Rajaniemi.
Interesting.
Ender's Game is #2 for me too. Instead of continuing the series, just read Ender's Shadow. It's Ender's Game timeline from a different view. I was blown away that something like that could be done and live up to the original. Ender's Shadow, just read it :)
I loved the Ender’s Shadow series.
For me speaker for the dead was soooo good.
I think following Beans story is the best part of the series! I read like 3 in total (I think) it’s been a while.
I haven't read anything by Michael Crichton but I like movies based on his works and, as someone who works in the sciences, am interested in reading him and seeing how well he does at depicting that stuff. Since you're into that king of thing, have you read Kim Stanley Robinson? I read one book by him called Aurora that I thought was incredible in how it wove scientific details into the narrative. He seems quite knowledgeable about multiple different fields (e.g. computer science, physics, ecology) but the details add to the narrative like writing about scenery or characterization, it doesn't come off as lecturing.
I definitely haven't read enough Sci-fi for a top 10(Fantasy is just too good) but so far if I had to pick one to be my fav, the best I've experienced.. it's definitely Hyperion. Which, of course, I did it bcs of you Mike.
Fav Sci-fi movie: Interstellar, no doubt about it.
You’re the reason I picked up Heir to the Empire because I always thought the Star Wars EU was “less than” to the movies, but boy was I wrong! Can’t wait to continue the series
Enjoy that ride!
red rising was the first sci fi series i ever read and they’re really the books that got me to start reading again when i was younger, golden son absolutely blew me away i was floored for the entire book. Great to see it included herez
I started Dune recently and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The first is something special, but my personal favorite was God Emperor of Dune. Leto II's story, coupled with his journal entries, ruminating on his loss of humanity in his quest to preserve it via The Golden Path, was just incredibly compelling and thought-provoking for me. I could see why it would be divisive as it's more of a character study, but what a character indeed. I'm almost hesitant to finish the Frank Herbert original six because of how GEoD left me.
That said, great list!
Love most of these books. Not sure why, but Hyperion didn’t click with me. Might try it again. Currently loving the Murderbot books…. Also read Old Man’s War last year and loved it. Funny my bookstore had Skyward in the adult sci-fi section and so I bought it (it’s YA)… liked it a lot. Will read at least the next book in the series.
My top 10 wouldn't be too dissimilar at the top end ... I'd include one of Iain Banks' Culture series, Peter Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy ( The Reality Dysfunction ), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick, The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin , 1984 by George Orwell and Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. From your picks I'd add Dune, Childhood's End, Golden Son and Hyperion.
Going over my read science fiction books, I compiled this list in no particular order. I initially got ten in one pass, but I made some substitutions for a couple books whose titles were hard to read in the thumbnail images of the book covers I was looking at. Where applicable, I included only one per series,. Also, I stuck to more standard science fiction instead of including the superhero genre, and I limited myself to novels.
The Positronic Man by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg
Celestial Mechanics by Richard Garfinkel
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells
Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
We are Legion (We are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Here are some honorable mentions:
1984 by George Orwell
The Humans by Matt Haig
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
The Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tik-Tok by John Sladek
Crazy Foolish Robots by Adeena Mignogna
I loved Speaker For the Dead. It hit hard in a way that still sticks with me. The two Orson Scott Card books after that? Not so much. At some point I do plan to read the books he put out after that, though (Ender's Shadow, following Bean's POV).
Don’t waste any time on the others it’s dribble spend the time on other books
I loved Enders shadow and Beans story!
Have you read any Asimov? It’s not all great, but Foundation is definitely worth a read. I just finished the three Empire books and I feel like the best was The Stars like Dust, which explains some things that happen later in the Foundation series
I burned through Leviathan Wakes (Thank you). Extremely enjoyable. You mentioned John Carter of Mars. I was always afraid it would be dated but I really would like to go for it. I finished 2 books in the Red Rising series and while they are obviously good I am not as excited as I am for continuing the Expanse series. With that in mind maybe you have another recommendation that stands out.
The Expanse is consistently great.
@@mikesbookreviews Thanks. That will keep me busy for at least a year. The first book lets me explore a plausible future in space. While I loved Hail Mary, the realism of Leviathan is what I love.
Favorite Star Wars books, just edging out Heir of the Empire for me, is the Darth Bane trilogy. Read several times...will read again. Thanks for all your Booktubing work Mike!
Mike,
You should check out Matthew Reilly's "The Great Zoo Of China" Book, def a nod to Chriton, as the author states.. one of his favourite writers aswell.
Favourites: "The Han Solo Adventures" by Brian Daley, "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" by Alan Dean Foster, "Lasher" and "Taltos" by Anne Rice, "X-Files: Fight the Future" and "X-Files: I Want to Believe" novelizations.
Hi! I love the dinos on the Jurassic Park edition you shared. Do you know where it's from?
That's the Folio Society edition.
Oh.... You did it... Save this for my walk later today. Can't wait. TY sir!
Thanks for watching!
Great selection Mike. I am not a big sci-fi person but I would like to try Dune again. When I started it, I could not get into it. I may not have been ready for it. Glad you enjoyed every one of them. Catch you on the flip side.
It wasn't until my 3rd try that Dune really clicked for me. It's a timing thing, I believe.
@@mikesbookreviews it’s like music. People tell you an album is amazing and you just can’t get it. Then one day…boom!
My favorite book of all time is the Foundation trilogy. I'm amazed every time I read it. Yeah, I know it's technically 3 books, but I bought a volume of the trilogy as a teenager and always consider them in one fell swoop. Big fan of John Carter, as well as the Thrawn trilogy. I've seen a few people recommend Hyperion lately and it sounds fascinating, so that's on my to read list now. However, I'm one of those people who can't agree with you on Dune. My wife loves it, so I gave it a try last year. I found it to be incredibly tedious. I had a hard time getting through it. Good video, though. Thoughtful comments. Thanks.
My favourite Sci-Fi book is "The Adolescence of P1" a 1977 novel by Thomas J Ryan because it was the first Sci-Fi book I ever read (1978). It is about a computer and would be seriously out of date now, but it was to me at that time, terrifying. It hooked me on Sci-Fi.
"Earth Abides" by George R. Stewart
"I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson
"The Xeelee Sequence" and "The Time Ships" by Stephen Baxter
"Quarantine", "Diaspora", "Permutation City" and "Schild's Ladder" by Greg Egan
"The Prestige" by Christopher Priest
"Tower of Glass" by Robert Silverberg
"Only Forward" by Michael Marshall Smith
"Emphyrio" by Jack Vance
I keep thinking about my list and I love I am Legend.. but then I keep reminding myself he’s talking space ships and lasers. I was also wondering why John Varleys not on the list.. but that’s more fantasy than sci-fi lasers. Same with ready player one.. etc..
I agree that beyond the Ender quadrilogy there isn’t much that compares to Enders Game, BUT please give Speaker for the Dead a try. It was so different that at first I didn’t know how I felt about it. But now , after a re-read, Speaker surpasses Enders Game for me, and like you, it’s one of my all-time favorites.
Great list. My number 1 favorite of all is Jurassic Park. I have read it 4 times and am about to make it 5. 2nd and 3rd would have to be Dark Matter and Project Hail Mary. Two other book that just blew me away. 4th and 5th would be 2001 and Rendezvous with Rama. Unbelievably great books. My only grip with those is they are written in that old style writing that makes me nod off at time. As far as Jurassic Park I quote Louis L'Amour "Once you have read a book you care about, some part of it is always with you."
Great list. I just combed through my shelves and found a battered copy of Childhood's End which I never read. It sounds intriguing.
Hi! 3 questions - Trying till find your other videos about 1) Hyperion - worth reading book 2-4?
2) And about Enders game did you read all of them? I’m trying to get into it aswell not sure just to read the first or all of them?
3) did you read Asimov foundation 1-7? Your thoughts?
1) only read the first 2. I was mixed on the 2nd one.
2) I say in this video I never read the sequels
3) I have not read any Asimov yet.
I’ve read all of Enders game.. there’s also the story of Enders shadow, following the character Bean, and all the kids who go back to Earth after Enders Game.. or you can follow ender and stick with him. I’ve read and loved them all! Def recommend!!
Great list! I’d go with;
Martian Chronicles
Contact
Nemesis Games
Stranger In a Strange Land
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Frankenstein
The Callahan Chronicals
Dune
Lord of Light
Lord of Light is an incredible book. Up there with The Stars my Destination.
I’ve yet to read dune so my opinion my change but the “Children of time” series is my current favorite Sifi
I know this series isn’t for everyone, but the first 4 books in the Horus Heresy series are top notch! Galaxy in Flames (3) and Flight of the Eisenstein (4) were tied as my favorites. Give them a try
If you want to try them I can loan you the ebooks. This series is out of print at the moment…
I collected at least 58 ebooks in the series, but haven't started reading it yet though.
@@vermadheeraj29, start with the first 4 when you’re ready. I know that’s not a small commitment, but those 4 books are the full road map of what the series is about, and a complete introduction to the world of the series as a whole.
@@richosburn I’ve been wanting to get into the 40k universe and got the first few Horus Heresy books. Definitely excited to start hopefully this year!
I've heard great things!
I don't really read a lot of science fiction. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is definitely an exception, I have read that series several times over the years. I loved Old Man's War and Red Shirts by John Scalzi. I did like Red Rising but haven't read the rest of the series yet.
Absolutely agree with your top 3!
Where did you get your mug??!!? I wanna look but I’m not finished with the series yet and am afraid of spoilers lol
Creative Leigh Crafts on Etsy. She does amazing work.
@@mikesbookreviews thank you! Love your videos and loving Red Rising trilogy
This list is going to change a LOT when you get to some of those books on your Sci-Fi TBR list. I envy you that experience.
I’m hoping so!
DUNE. Easy. Same experience, I read it about 13, started it, and didn't get past the first few chapters. A year later, at age 14, I made myself sit down and READ the book, and finished and loved it! Childhood's End might be second, and Songs of Distant Earth enthralled me when I read it. I need to read more...been a while! Great list! Enjoyed the video!
I just started reading The Left Hand of Darkness. It's my first LeGuin novel, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit so far
I thought the Blake Crouch book you mentioned was superb! Not only is the science interesting but it carries a real emotional wallop too. That can't be an easy thing to do.
Hyperion Cantos is so good, love seeing any mention of it
What do you think is the best Star Wars book if not Heir to the Empire. I'm thinking of getting into the books.
Recommended Science Fiction SINGLE volume novels: Hellspark & Mirable by Janet Kagan; The Byworlder & The Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson; Jack of Eagles by James Blish; Cuckoo's Egg by C.J.Cherryh; The Whole Man & The Shockwave Rider by John Brunner; Shockwave by Walt Richmond; The Power by Frank M. Robinson; Waystation by Clifford D. Simak; The Humanoids by Jack Williamson; Lord of Light, Doorways in the Sand, Creatures of Light and Darkness, & The Dream Master by Roger Zelazny; The Loafers of Refuge by Joseph L.Green; The Galaxy Primes by Edward E. "Doc" Smith; Syzygy by Michael G. Coney; Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein; Mirror Friend, Mirror Foe by George Takai;
The thing about Micheal Crichton is that I believe he relies a little heavily on deux ex machina solutions. I have that same "First Five" Baroom collection that is your #10 and I agree it belongs on your list. Got to love Adams and the reputation of Vogon poetry. I would like to recommend "A Case of Conscience" by James K Blish as a book that will make you REALLY ponder what actually happened. It treads the tightrope between religion and science in a way that will make you test your own beliefs. Ender's Game ends up with a really good moral question regarding how the kids had to become adults all too soon - and what happens when you WIN a battle. I'm a bit surprised that Heinlein's books didn't find their way into the list.
Thanks for making the list, Mike! I'd recommend a few to you - Blindsight by Peter Watts, Solaris by Stanislaw Lem, A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge, and The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu.
My pleasure!
Two of your honourable mentions would be in my top 10 list, possibly top 5 - Frankenstein and Flowers for Algernon. Dune would be in top 10.
Not sure I have loved enough SF to have a top 10 but let me try (1 book/author rule and I didn't include postapocalyptic/dystopian e.g. The Road, The Handmaid's Tale, Fahrenheit 451)
1. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
2. Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
3. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
4. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin
5. Flow My Tears The Policeman Said by Philip K Dick
6. Mockingbird by Walter Tevis
7. Embassytown by China Mieville
8. Dune by Frank Herbert
9. Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
10. Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
I haven't read Jurassic Park 😱.
Very nice list.
I was born in 1950 and discovered Asimov, Heinlein, and Clarke early on. I understand why some younger readers don’t see their appeal but they were the giants of their time. Other than the ones written before 1960, I read most of the books on this list shortly after original publication and I think that explains some of my tastes.
I discovered Burroughs and HG Wells in my later teens, enjoyed both.
Never liked Lovecraft.
Douglas Adams is in a class by himself.
I’ve read all the Ender books, including the Bean spin-offs several times. Love love love it.
Loved Dune, but rapid downhill slide in the sequels.
Another fave: Pretty much anything by John Scalzi. It’s a guilty pleasure. I like space opera and he has a wild sense of humor.
I was also born in 1950. Absolutely agree about Heinlein, Asimov, and Clark. Also, Ray Bradbury, Theodor Sturgeon, Pohl Anderson, E.E. “Doc” Smith, A.E. Van Vogt, Murray Leinster, Andre Norton, Phillip K. Dick, Lester Del Rey, etc. We truly grew up in the golden age of Science Fiction.
@@JBass33 Oh my yes! All of those.
Don't forget Robert Silverberg's work. He has lots of great stuff, but my fave was "The World Inside." If anthologies are under consideration, Harlan Ellison's Dangerous Visions and Again Dangerous visions top the list of provocative SF that really gets you looking at things in an entirely different light. "A boy and His Dog" and the movie based on the same, gives us an insight into his unusual way of thinking. Frederik Pohl's Gateway series ranks near the top too. There was even a classic 1992 PC game based on the series that brings back memories. Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Left Hand of Darkness" was a ground breaker too from a sexual perspective. Gee, there are so many: Van Voight's, Weapon Shops novels, Kurt Vonnegut's several books (all are great, but "Sirens of Titan" is my fave), Heinlein's, "Stranger in a Strange Land" and "Starship Troopers" (lose the film) inspire profound thought too. How can one choose?