TOP 10 Sci-Fi Books I Read in 2023
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- čas přidán 21. 07. 2024
- I read a lot of amazing science fiction novels in the last 12 months and these were my 10 favorites. Let me know the best sci-fi you read!
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00:00 - Introduction
00:23 - 10 The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
01:14 - 9 Dying Inside
02:11 - 8 Blindsight
03:03 - 7 The Children of Men
03:54 - 6 Ring
04:56 - 5 More Than Human
05:40 - 4 Redemption Ark
06:19 - 3 The Quantum Thief
07:10 - 2 Solaris
07:57 - 1 Frankenstein
09:15 - Patron Pick of the Month
#ScienceFiction #Books
"Am i wearing pants? Yes probably-"
Haha cufflinks too!
Wow! @@WordsinTime
I loved Solaris and The Congress of Futurology! You're content is great, awesome channel btw
Thanks for the kind words! I’m looking forward to reading more Lem!
Great video Jonathan. I look forward to all the new videos this year
Cheers Dale! Looking forward to a great year of reading! 🚀
Just discovered your channel today man and it's really just pleasant to hear you talk sci fi. I'm not entirely well versed in the genre but just recently finished 2001 A Space Odyssey which was frankly incredible. Solaris will be arriving in the mail tomorrow and also added Childhood's End to the list thanks to your recommendation.
Welcome to the channel! I also thought that 2001 was great andI hope you enjoy Solaris and Childhood’s End!
Frankenstein will always be a favorite. I feel like a missionary for the book, always trying to get people to come really learn who Frankenstein is.
I will follow your lead in this worthy mission haha
I read it for the first time this past year! Loved it so much that I even then listened to an audiobook. (And I'm generally not a fan of audiobooks.) If I didn't already have a pile of books I need to get to, I'd be tempted to start it all over yet again!
Speaking of Frankenstein, I just read Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane and it really gave me the Frankenstein vibe for a while. Excellent story.
Interesting! I remember liking one of his books years ago. Can't even remember which one. I always meant to read more by him but never did.@@stephenmorton8017
It's my book of shame not because I haven't read it, but because I did and didn't enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, the chapters where stuff happens are great. But that's half the chapters, maybe? Frankenstein is one of the most melodramatic characters I've ever read and his POV was exhausting. The bookending of his narrative didn't do anything for me. In fact the only part of the book I fully enjoyed was his monster's POV, but sadly it's only a few chapters. Maybe the book is worth reading just for that.
Excellent, I'm looking forward to reading Revelation Space and some PKD this year
Nice! Hope you enjoy them!
Yay for Frankenstein! I need to check some of these out
It’s so good! I hope you enjoy some of the others!
Great video, thank you.
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Some good ones there. Blind sight and echo praxia have been combined into firefall. So you might want to read the second book. Also the Futureological Congress just might be a little off-putting so early in your Lem reading. I would recommend books like the Investigation, the Cyberiad and the Star Diaries first. Lem can be horrifying and hilarious at once. The Congress is more of a satire on bureaucracy. Happy reading.
Thanks for the info!
good list the children of men has long been one of my fav dystopian novels surprising because almost all of her books were detective/suspense novels looking forward to reading blindsight just trying to get in the right mood as everyone says the first half is difficult haha solaris is a sf book that surpasses genres and frankenstein is maybe one of the very first sf books its theme is still very relevant today with the promise and fear of AI and am still of two minds as to whether I should pick up the quantum thief but your vids are very fun to watch keep up the good work!⚛😀
Thanks Frank! I’m glad you’re a fan of those as well!
I read House of Suns per your recommendation and thought it was so much fun! Definitely need to get to more Alastair Reynolds and the Revelation Space series!
Awesome! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Looking sharp!
Thank you! 'Tis the season (awards season).
I just started "Ring", my first read of the year.
I hope you enjoy it! There are some info dumps, but some awesome ideas!
Fabulous top 10! I’m particularly happy You enjoyed Solaris; one of my all time favorites. Btw, I recently read and loved Invincible by Lem.
Happy New Year!
Thanks Bart! I’m looking forward to reading more from Lem!
Happy New Year Jonathan! I'm glad Frankenstein topped your list, it's a timeless piece of great literature.
I'm also hoping to read some more PKD this year, with Ubik high up the TBR list and Man in the High Castle not far behind.
Happy New Year! I hope you enjoy Ubik as much as I did!
Nice to see my tuxedo buddy's awards! (Mine should be out next week). A great year - on to 2024!
Haha cheers! Looking forward to it! 🤵
Great list Johnathan! Frankenstein wasn’t great for me, but I totally respect its stature in the history of literature. A lot of people love it. I remember how much you loved Solaris. It’s on my list.
Cheers Chas! Solaris is a great read and short too, which is nice haha
Great set of books.
Glad you enjoyed them Robert!
Aaaaaaaaahahahahahahaha
"Am I wearing pants?" - can't say I didn't think it was easy to just wear a top 😂😂😂😂
Haha I had to go all the way 🤵♂️
great list! I also read blindsight this year and I loved it. But Pushing Ice came it at number 1 this year, what a wild ride! :)
Thanks! And that’s great to hear because I own Pushing Ice but haven’t read it yet.
@@WordsinTime would love to hear what you think!
You will probably like Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick. It's not as good as Ubik but it is definitely worth reading. I read a bunch of Silverberg books this year. Dying Inside is my favorite but The Man in the Maze and Downward to the Earth were pretty good. I haven't read Nightwings yet. The Revelation Space books by Reynolds are great. I agree with you - Redemption Ark is the best one in that series. His Prefect Dreyfus books are excellent too. The third one, Machine Vendetta, is coming out this month. Of your top 10, I am most interested in reading The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. Thanks for your recommendations in this and other videos. I really enjoyed Sea of Rust by Cargill which you mentioned in another video.
Thanks for the helpful info Jen! And I’m glad you enjoyed Sea of Rust!
The fact that you took the time to suit up for us, ordinary SF readers, deserves subscription itself (we hope that you wear pants though). ^^
When it comes to Lem I highly recommend His Master's Voice, also an alien contact theme, although with different approach.
Haha that’s much appreciated! And thanks for the recommendation!
Hey Jonathan, I’ve gotten back into reading since Nov 2023 and your channel has been my favorite for SciFi recommendations!
For the end of 2023, I’ve been having fun with The Maze Runner novels (something easy to get me back into it and they’re fun schlock!)
Next up is The Terror by Dan Simmons, then I’m on to some of your recommendations, mainly Solaris, The Forever War, Sea of Rust and the Children of Time books.
Cheers and keep up the good work! I get excited whenever I get one of your notifications!
That’s great to hear Steven! Let me know your thoughts when you read them!
I had three of those in my 2023 list, The Three Stigmata, Ring, and The Quantum Thief. All of them super enjoyable and The Quantum Thief is my favorite book for a long time. Rajaniemi is relentless in telling a rollicking hard SciFi story without explaining a single 'behind the scenes' thing about what's going on. If you can't keep up with him you get left behind. I loved it so much that I started the next book in the trilogy immediately and quickly into the third (about half way through). I was already a fan of the Gentleman Thief character Flambeur and finding him reappear in this setting is part of my enjoyment.
I’m glad you enjoyed them! I slightly preferred the first book but really liked the sequels too!
Theodore Sturgeon wrote a boat-load of wonderful short stories, but only a handful of novels. After 'More Than Human' I would go with one of three:
'The Dreaming Jewels' - the carnival freak show is more than it appears
'Venus Plus X' - sort of a precursor to 'The Left Hand of Darkness'
and
'To Marry Medusa/The Cosmic Rape' - a truly unique alien invasion story.
Thanks for the recommendations!
@@WordsinTime I agree with @mondostrat that "Venus Plus X" is a sort of a precursor of "The left hand of darkness" and the reader is very much aware that this clever novel was written in the 1960s and not during the more enlightened 1970s and beyond. Sturgeon's short stories were varied and finely written. My favorite SF writer as you may have heard me say before, Jonathan!
Excellent taste. Sturgeon was a top-notch short story teller. SF, horror, fantasy...I liked the way his collections were a mix all 3 genres. I only read two of his novels : I was less impressed by his novel "The Dreaming Jewels", but his other novel, "Some of Your Blood", was brilliant.
@@kufujitsu I read "Some of your blood" about 40 years ago and this is the first mention I have heard about this most intriguing novel. Sturgeon could write about almost any topic or aspect of the human condition.
@@mikesnyder1788 I came across "Some of your Blood" in one of the many Alfred Hitchcock anthologies which were popular at that time - it was the longest story in the book - I was so impressed by it that I kept it & put it on the shelf alongside my Theodore Sturgeon books - I've read scores of his short stories - "More the Human" contains his famous novella : "Baby is Three". Looking forward to reading it again, along with the two other novellas in the book, which I haven't read....
Hi Jonathan, Happy New Year! Frankenstein is in my top 25, Redemption Ark and Solaris are in my top 100, these are great picks. Three Stigmata I wasn't as impressed with although I read this a few decades ago! I am just starting to use Good Reads to organise my books, trouble is I cant remember half the books I have read after over 50years!
Happy New Year Paul! I’m glad you’re also a fan of those three. And cataloging 50 years of reading is impressive!
It's hard work. I can only remember standouts from 45-25 years ago like Childhoods End, Mission of Gravity, etc.@@WordsinTime
I managed 40xSF and 28xFantasy this year, but my SF highlight was finishing two separate very long running series that I’ve been reading for a decade or more: The Expanse and Frontlines.
That’s impressive Tufty!
Great video! Charlie is adorable- and should be included more often! I don't know why non-readers always think all readers are cat people. All the booklovers I know are dog people. My favorite book this year was Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Zevin. It's about a friendship between two people who design video games. It was incredibly moving and I was deeply invested in a way I haven't been for a while. It was not only a fav for this year- but made it to my All-Time Favs.
Thanks Tiffany! Charlie is the best haha
And that sounds like an interesting book, I’ll have to look it up!
Happy to see Children of Men. It was in my top 10 in 2023 as well.
Nice, I don’t hear it talked about that much so I’m glad you liked it too!
FRANKENSTEIN is amazing. And, for once in my life, I was able to see a certain plot point coming a mile away, and wanted to scream at the characters, "Can't you see what's going to happen here?! Come on!" (I'm usually clueless on stuff like that.)
And Charlie (sp?) is adorable!
I'm glad you enjoyed it too! And yes, Charlie is a good girl!
Happy New Year, Jonathan. I only read one SF novel in 2023, the disappointing 2061: Odyssey 3 by Arthur C Clarke. I read two fantasy books, Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee, and a re-read of The Hobbit. For 2024 I plan to read at least one volume of the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. PDK and a re-visit with Frankenstein is also part of my plans.
+1 for reading The Hobbit. This is my favorite book of all time. I've read it every year since 4th grade.
Happy New Year Curt! I hope you enjoy those!
I'm a huge fan of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Just reread it a few months ago. But I'm not sure if I ever read 2010 and 2061. I did rewatch the movie of 2010, which was okay. Not bad. Not great. Just okay.
@@Yesica1993 I enjoyed 2010 (novel) quite a bit.
Cool! I wonder if I might have it buried in the bookshelves somewhere...@@curtjarrell9710
Yay for more PKD! Enjoyed Three Stigmata and Flow My Tears... Hope you enjoy. Oh, and just to put my trademark controversial POV in...I read Solaris and hated it ;)
I’m looking forward to more PKD!
I didn’t find much to dislike in Solaris but that’s okay, it would be boring if we all had the same opinions haha
@@WordsinTime it certainly would be boring :)
Have you read Infinity Gate M R Carey? I've heard great things about it, thinking about buying it as it sounds interesting. Happy New Year!!
I haven’t read that one, I’ll look it up. Happy New Year!
I vaguely remember liking the movie of THE CHILDREN OF MEN. I was interested in the book, though I heard it was very different. I did not know the author was that age. I like to see older people doing cool things like writing successful/influential books. It gives me hope for when I am that age.
RING sounds cool, if I my puny brain can grasp it.
And I do want to read SOLARIS. Have always heard good things about it.
The book is quite different from the film, but I enjoyed it. I hope you like those other two as well!
I tried once to read Frankenstein but I didn't connect with the book. Maybe a poor translation. But I am willing to give it another try.
It took me about 30 or 40 pages to get into the writing style, but once I did I really enjoyed it.
Solaris is one of my favorite sci fi novels. Both films were also amazing.
I'm glad you loved it too! I need to watch the films.
I echo mondostrat, Sturgeon's The Dreaming Jewels is surprisingly good; he does more in 188 pages than many current authors do in 500+.
Nice! I’ll check it out!
I also read Frankenstein this year, among several others on your list. For me, I think Frankenstein would have been a better read if the POV has stayed with the monster. That interlude has some of the best writing and themes I've read. I was engaged from the first sentence. But then it goes back to Dr. Frankenstein, a character I never really connected with and the plot was repetitive.
I'm glad I read it, and I think everyone should, but I wouldn't call a favorite of mine.
I also thought the monster’s chapters were the highlights, but I enjoyed the combination of both perspectives.
I should re-read Frankenstein sometime. I read it in Grade 6. I suspect I might get more out of it on a re-read now!
Yes, that would be interesting to compare!
@@WordsinTime I also just happened to have bought a used copy Nightwings last week!
@@splifftachyon4420 Nice! Let me know if you enjoy it!
Flow my tears is gooooood
I’m looking forward to it!
This awards show is pretty low budget.
But it's still better than the Oscars.
I tried to keep the acceptance speeches short. Luckily I didn't have to play myself off.
Blindsight is one of those well crafted novels that should be a classic for how well neuroscience was weaved in to all of the plot elements to create a great mix of science and fiction.
Plus the scramblers are #2 or #3 on my list of scary-ass aliens, competing with the alien from Nod in Children of Ruin, and beaten by Giger's Alien.
It's stuck with me years after reading it in a way few novels have.
Yes, brilliant in a technical and thought-provoking way.
Solaris has been on my TBR since forever 😅 is 2024 going to be the year?
Haha hopefully!
You’re in for a treat with Flow My Tears. Easily one of Dick’s best!
That’s good to hear!
One of my best books of 2023 was The Holy Machine by Chris Beckett. An exploration into AI, virtual reality, religion and what it means to be sentient.
Sounds interesting, I’ll have to look it up!
The Futurilogical Congress was my first and only Lem that I read in 2023. I enjoyed it however (from my review), "I’m not exactly sure what I read. Simply “hold on” while reading this Kafkaesque story which is more of a list of absurdist ideas in a future where “brain potting” and pharmacologic behavioral are possible. Reader beware, it’s not a stylistic masterpiece, let the nonce-words flow over you."
Haha sounds unique!
An interesting question would be:
What's the worst SF book you've ever read (By a top author).
I have one somewhere written by, I think, Judith Merrill, In which she describes HELICOPTERS flying on the moon.
'Choppers' need something to chop' (Air)
Not much air on the moon.
D'oh!
Wouldn't part with that book - Just as you won't part...Oh, never mind.
Keep up the (Very) good work.
Haha that’s pretty funny
Hi Jonathon, a thank you for your videos and recommendations through 2023.
A few years ago I had an accident that resulted in very severe concussion. One result was that I lost the ability to concentrate while reading. For somebody who'd previously written books it was a hard loss. Then in December 2022 I had to have emergency brain surgery for a different issue. Within weeks of the surgery I was back reading. So I retired the old early issue grandfathered Kindle, bought a new eReader, and kicked it into gear. Books for 2023 total 36. Fifteen of those books come from your recommendations. To balance my brain after hard SciFi i read a Terry Pratchett book as a palate cleanser. I enjoy your reviews and your approachable style of presentation. Wishing you a great 2024.
From my writing days: czcams.com/video/z9rSIe6bd3s/video.html
That’s great to hear that you’ve been able to read more after the surgery! Hope all is well in 2024 and glad to have you as part of the channel!
Am i wearing pants... haha that was good
I promise haha
FRANKENSTEIN LET'S FREAKING GOOOOOOO
Let’s go indeed my friend 🤜 🤛
Read zero of these, of course I still plan on giving Frankenstein some time.
I hope you like it!
I recognize a lot of these titles, but have not read any.
If you pick any of them up I hope you enjoy them!
And a vampire…ugh. So tired of that trope.
Watts provides a hard sci-fi explanation of vampires that's a bit different to what I've seen before. But if it doesn't interest you that's fine.