35 Sci-Fi Books I'm Going to Read

[@dinocollins720]

Red Rising we just found out will have a 6th and 7th book. Excited to read them!

[@WordsinTime]

Woah, that’s big news! Thanks for sharing, I’ll have to look it up!

[@dinocollins720]

@@WordsinTime 6 is called Light Bringer and 7 is called Red God. Red God may be the coolest title ever haha

[@WordsinTime]

@@dinocollins720 Haha yes Red God goes hard

[@odmcclintic]

I’m so excited for you to read Hitchikers Guide for the first time!

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks Owen! I think I’ll have fun with it!

[@trevorveail]

The best introduction to Hitchikers Guide is to listen to a recording of the original BBC Radio broadcast.

[@mikesnyder1788]

Very ambitious TBR so good for you!!! 1. "The Demolished Man" sat on my shelf for over 40 years before I finally read it last year. Very much enjoyed it, especially the mindless ditties the main character used to clutter his mind so he couldn't be read by the espers. 2. I absolutely loved "To say nothing of the dog" by Connie Willis! So many twists and turns and I recommend it highly. 3. I met Ms. Vinge at a library conference back in the 90's and I still regret not having read "The Snow Queen." She was very nice and we had a lovely chat. Yes, one great cover!!! Regards...

[@WordsinTime]

That’s awesome that you met Joan Vinge! I have since read The Demolished Man and Snow Queen and quite enjoyed both. I look forward to Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog!

[@MediaDeathCult]

Amazing list, I hope you love all of them, DADOES is 1968 I think, sorry to be that guy

[@WordsinTime]

That’s what I get for using Goodreads! But thanks so much Moid, I’m looking forward to it!

[@dominicaudy8479]

The Expanse really sticked the landing nicely. The three last books read as a trilogy, and they really do justice to the characters as well as wrapping things up satisfyingly while leaving the future of the world open and intriguing enough to stimulate the imagination. Riverworld is a lot of old fashioned fun, perfect in between headier reads.

[@WordsinTime]

That's great to hear Dominic, thanks for the info!

[@mrgauth]

Read like a trilogy? Interesting. Does that mean you can just read them? After seeing the show I just can't read the whole series because the spoilers are ruined for me.

[@dominicaudy8479]

@@mrgauth they’re acts 1-2-3 of the conflict with Laconia, but it’s a direct continuation, after a significant time jump, of the first six books. There’s no major obstacle that would stop you from reading them with just the series as background, though personally I wouldn’t do that. The handful of really major plot points that matter were done the same in way the show, and reached the same stop points. The details of how they got there are often very different, so you’ve got to be ready for a lot of jarring moments, for characterizations that seem to have shifted (but it’s just differences between book and show versions of the characters), for events being referred to that you “remember” differently or have never heard of, etc. For e.g. Holden in the books was more political, while the show gave most of his connections to the OPA to Naomi, Alex didn’t die, remarried, got another kid, divorced again, Naomi and Drummer aren’t friends, Drummer is married but it wasn’t her in the books who was in a polyamorous union (it’s another character they merged with her for the show) nor was she anything but Tycho’s head of security before she was made President of the Transport Union (but she wasn’t the first one, it’s again another character they merged with her who was, but by the time of book 7 it is Drummer like on the show) etc. As far as exposition goes, the series always knew they’d stop at the sixth book and if they ever did the last arc it would be as a separate project. In that context, they did enough of the set up for the last arc for the storylines of s4-5-6 to make sense, but they skipped a lot of details they didn’t need for that part of the plot, mostly details and clues about the alien civilization. But it’s not quite enough that you wouldn’t be able to follow the developments in books 7-8-9, but the revelations might feel less fun and to come a bit more out of nowhere.

[@distantearth]

Love ‘The City and the Stars’.

[@WordsinTime]

Nice! I’m looking forward to that one soon!

[@callmeal4183]

Go for it Jonathan! On my TBR? Blindsight, The Snow Queen, Sea of Rust and the Uplift War novels. Androids is a bit special and Tau Zero is acccessible hard SF. I'm looking forward to reading the Terra Ignota tetrad! Keep doing what you do ...... !

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much! I’m looking forward to talking about those with you. Lots of great sci-fi ahead!

[@callmeal4183]

@@WordsinTime and, of course, A Desolation Called Peace.

[@gearoidosullivan356]

I'm really looking forward to seeing what you make of SNOW QUEEN since I rarely hear anyone talk about it (but I remember loving it). I think you'll enjoy THE CITY AND THE STARS, as it's a very solid Clarke book with a few solid technology predictions. I've read the DOOMSDAY BOOK, by Connie Willis and did enjoy it for it's thoroughness, but it was a bit dry. Whereas her next time travel novel, TO SAY NOTHING OF THE DOG, was great fun and I loved it. Again, I'm curious how well STARTIDE RISING will hold up, as I loved it when I read it back in the 90's. I think there's enough of an info dump at the start of the novel to give you the overall premise, without requiring you to read SUNDIVER (though there is a potential hint at the larger mystery in that first novel if I remember right). But you could easily go back and read that novel afterwards if you find you're enjoying the rest of the books. I'm fairly certain you'll love ILLIUM if you like Dan Simmons' work. It has a few of his more beloved characterise in it. My vague memory of that duopoly was that I really enjoyed it, but ultimately, it didn't surpass HYPERION (which is a high bar I know). I've read several more, and a few of my own TBR pile are on the list too, so looking forward to the updates.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for all the awesome info Gearoid! I’m looking forward to discussing them more soon!

[@curtjarrell9710]

Your list is brimming with massive potential. I can never achieve the deadline of this tag because I'm over 30 and 35. Do Androids... is a good one, but be forewarned, it's nothing like the film it inspired. Earth by David Brin is also a good one to add later. Illium is on my list as are several books by China Mieville and Neal Stephenson. I read about a third of Mievilles' debut King Rat, but DNF'd it. Happy reading, Jonathan!

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much Curt! I appreciate the info. I’ll let you know what I think of Do Androids!

[@dinocollins720]

Tons of good books on the list here!!!

[@WordsinTime]

It will take me a while to get through, but it will be worth it!

[@dinocollins720]

@@WordsinTime got a couple years still! I believe in you haha

[@bonnieefird]

Love this video, love you and love Charlie!

[@WordsinTime]

Haha Charlie is a reader’s best friend!

[@thatsci-firogue]

I look forward to reading Pandora's Star, I put it off because after completing Malazan Book of The Fallen this year I wasn't in the mood to start another chunky series. But I'll happily make exceptions for standalones and duologies. Gunslinger was my intro to King and one of the books I've reread the most despite never actually continuing the series, I had to put down Book 2 because of something else going on, but I figured I'd read more of his other books first cuz they're standalones. Consider Phlebas is an odd one, it's fun but it'll never be a favourite of mine.

[@WordsinTime]

I bumped Pandora’s Star off my 2021 TBR but I’m committing to reading it this September! I don’t think Consider Phlebas is typically a favourite in the Culture series but I still see people speak highly of it.

[@dinocollins720]

Great video!!!

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much Dino, I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@dinocollins720]

@@WordsinTime love all your videos!!!

[@WordsinTime]

@@dinocollins720 That’s much appreciated Dino!

[@civoreb]

Just found you recently through Fit2B Read and I like your channel! Subscribed!!

[@WordsinTime]

Michael is great! Welcome to the channel!

[@JohnG225]

H2G2, Neverness, Do Androids Dream and Permutation City are some of my all time favourite. Just finished Upgrade. I enjoyed that, but probably not quite as much as Dark Matter and Recursion.

[@WordsinTime]

That’s great to hear some of those are your favourites! Dark Matter and Recursion set a high bar so I’m sure Upgrade is still worth the read. Thanks for the info!

[@JohnG225]

@@WordsinTime oh and Long Way to a Small Angry Planet was a great read. There's a lot on your TBR that are also on mine. So many books; so little time.

[@WordsinTime]

@@JohnG225 I’m glad I have someone to join me in the never ending battle with the TBR haha

[@JohnG225]

@@WordsinTime it's a good battle to have :)

[@jimparsons6803]

Good for you. Reading, for me, has always been enjoyable. I was encouraged to read fiction in grammar school. At that time, there was funding for a bookmobile. Sadly, public interest in such endeavors are no longer around in the US. Started reading S/F sort of by accident as there were more S/F books in that bookmobile, right by the door, than other sorts. And I sampled other genre' too, but came back to S/F. Reading fiction, what ever the genre', is like living another life for a while. You do that for a dozen or so times, you end up with a series of 'lenses' to look at your own life. What a gift, if you think about it. Again, 'good for you.'

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much for sharing Jim! Everyone has a different journey with reading. I always enjoyed it but read more often at times than others. For me, it was discovering Kurt Vonnegut at university that sparked my love of sci-fi!

[@frankiesscifiobsession3660]

To your scattered bodies go was awesome and weird and a little preachy but still awesome. I binge read the whole ser6. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is hilarious

[@WordsinTime]

Awesome! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed those two Frankie!

[@lisacole6037]

That's a fantastic list. I've read a fair number of them (I loved Sea of Rust, Snowcrash, Wool, Iron Gold, the Dark Tower series and The Expanse series). I recently finished The City and the Stars and quite enjoyed it. Blindsight is on my tbr. I'm very curious to see how I like that. Hitchiker and Binti are as well. Becky Chambers didn't do it for me. But I know a lot of people love the Wayfarer series. You brought some other interesting sounding books to my attention. Thanks for that. ☺☺

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much Lisa! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed a number of books on the list. I’ll let you know which of those I enjoy as well!

[@michaeljdauben]

A great list of books to read. I've read a few of those (City and the Stars, Sphere, Snow Crash, Startide Rising) and others are on my own TBR list (Pandoras Star, Sea of Rust, Starship Mage, Wool), and at least one I think I'll add to my list (Illium). Thanks for another great hideo!

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much Michael, I hope you enjoyed the 4 you read!

[@kirihara120]

The Expanse does stick the landing. It’s not often that a long SFF series does, but I think the writers tie things up really well. The last 3 books are great, especially Tiamat’s Wrath.

[@WordsinTime]

That’s great to hear, thanks Lidens!

[@CHMichael]

One of a few books that are actually enhanced by the TV show. I was lacking some visuals in the book. On the other side the background knowledge and story are better. Read and watch it

[@kirihara120]

@@CHMichael agreed

[@deckiedeckie]

Demolished man?..damn good!!

[@WordsinTime]

I’m glad you liked that one, the ending was pretty crazy!

[@FuranzuDesu]

I read Pandoras Star and Judas Unchained this year, It’s totally worth it. Given your taste, or what I think your taste is, you’ll really enjoy it. Do androids dream of electric sheep is amazing, sad and deep. Love that you gave Detroit becoming human some love! I almost bought a PlayStation just for that one game!

[@WordsinTime]

Pandora’s Star is on my schedule for September. I can’t wait! I don’t think I’ve ever been emotionally invested in another video game storyline as much as Detroit: Become Human. I cared about those characters so much!

[@FuranzuDesu]

@@WordsinTime Exactly, and it has such replayability. A friend of mine played it herself first without me, then wanted to watch me play it and see what choices I made without her input. We ended up with totally different story lines. She took the peaceful route, me, not so much. Plus, I’m from Detroit so that made it just that much cooler.

[@WordsinTime]

@@FuranzuDesu That’s awesome! I was mostly pleased with my outcomes. I was talking to a friend and theirs sounded much more traumatic haha

[@fernbedek6302]

Santafyi sounds like an interesting genre. ✨ Also, a very fun mix of stories.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks!

[@LenoxSpartanFitness]

Wow! What a list! I’ve not read many of these but I will say if the ones I have. Consider Phlebas was my favorite. Wool second to that. Scattered Bodies was a bit of an odd read for me. Currently, reading 2010, have you read the entire Space Odyssey series?

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed Consider Phlebas and Wool. I really liked 2001: A Space Odyssey but haven’t read past that as I heard mixed things about the sequels. Are you enjoying 2010?

[@dqan7372]

An ambitious list! Half of mine would have been novellas and middle grade. I turn 50 in October. At my current reading rate I wouldn't even get thru 50 short stories. I'll cast my vote for Snow Crash. Glad to see Hitchhiker made the list; I think you'll like it.

[@WordsinTime]

It will take me a while to get through! Thanks for the recommendations, I’m glad you enjoyed Snow Crash and Hitchhiker’s Guide!

[@cindywingetbooks]

Thanks for adding to my tbr 😉 since this video is five months old this is probably irrelevant now, but I think spending $25 for a paperback is insane. If you are going to spend that kind of money, go for the hardback.

[@WordsinTime]

Haha the fight against the TBR is never ending! I did end up buying Upgrade but I think I got it for $15. I agree, $25 is a bit pricey for a paperback!

[@cindywingetbooks]

@@WordsinTime glad you found a cheaper copy

[@muttineni03]

I'll be eagerly waiting for your reviews of Snow Crash, Blade Runner and you should try Altered Carbon and Diamond Age please? I've been thinking about trying Cyberpunk as the concept sounds fantastic, I'm planning to read Neuromancer and Snow Crash but heard it's very dense so your review might give me a little push 😉

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks Krishna! I’ve read Neuromancer and it was a complex read. I’m looking forward to trying more cyberpunk!

[@muttineni03]

@@WordsinTime That's great to know, I'll be looking forward for your review of Snow Crash. Have you made review on Neuromancer?

[@WordsinTime]

@@muttineni03 l have talked about it in some videos but I haven’t recorded a full review as I read it a while ago. I found it a tough read but appreciated it as I read more about it afterwards. It’s quite hard to follow but there’s lots of interesting ideas.

[@vilstef6988]

The City and the Stars is the rewritten version of Against the Fall of Night. I like Fall of Night better. It is a novel with great sustained mood. I missed that in the newer version.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the info, it would be interesting to read both and compare!

[@LiamsLyceum]

21:14 Good man. I look forward to your thoughts on Eversion, it’s a little different. I enjoyed Tau Zero, Anderson is a good writer, and The Gods Themselves is pretty interesting. I’m planning to read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep soon

[@WordsinTime]

Cheers Liam! I’m excited for those, I’ll let you know what I think of them!

[@dr.nerdcraft8526]

Ilium is so good!! It makes me sad that no one ever talks about it.

[@WordsinTime]

That’s awesome to hear! I think Dan Simmons is fantastic so I have faith Ilium will be great too!

[@Joe-lb8qn]

I attempted it but it seemed to me unless you had a classical greek education it was deliberately very hard going. Too hard for me anyway im not sure if simmons was being clever and showing off or just thought of course everyone knows all the greek gods, their stories and classical greek literature. (I once took The Odyssey on a greek holiday but it didn't make it any easier to read unfortunately )

[@Scottlp2]

Simmons is a great writer, but a very literary one. I loved Hyperion cantos (all 4 books) but my classical education is not sufficient to understand all the parts about Keats in that series (book 2?). I felt my education even more lacking to sufficiently appreciate ilium/Olympos, though I did kinda like the first book.

[@Scottlp2]

@@Joe-lb8qn just the way he writes, doubt showing off.

[@richardfrankel2134]

You should do a video list about the best sci-fi detective fiction 😍

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the suggestion Richard! I’ll have a think about some of the best sci-fi detective novels I’ve read!

[@mathewguglielmi8451]

Peter Watts also wrote a short story which was adapted into a radio play, called Things, which is The Thing, but seen from the perspective of the alien's perspective. Reading Things enhances the appreciation of John Carpenter's film based on the short story Who Goes There? Snow Crash is great fun and unlike most cyberpunk fiction contains some humour and satire and not nihilistic in tone. Neal Stephenson 's next book is The Diamond Age which is another cyberpunk story mixed with a bit of Pygmalion. Neverness is a epic with some gorgeous prose and spiritual themes. David Zindell continues the story over three more books, in a saga called Reqiuem for Homo Sapiens.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for all the great info Mathew! I loved The Thing film so I will have to look up the short story! That’s an awesome description of Neverness, I can’t wait to read it!

[@xulshaenlightened5860]

Permutation City was good, but Quarantine: A Novel of Quantum Catastrophe (also by Greg Egan) is great. There was a period in between ebook publication and an eventual physical reprint where the mass market paperback was going for large sums of money. I’d buy underpriced copies when I found them so I could give them away.

[@WordsinTime]

Woah, you are a Greg Egan Robin Hood. Respect!

[@Kulthul]

I just turned 33 in June, I think I’ll do this too.

[@WordsinTime]

Nice, me too! Hopefully I helped add some books to your TBR!

[@richardkirke]

I find the Culture books very mixed. I absolutely hated Consider Phlebas and ended up not finishing it. I think the other two you mentioned (Use of Weapons and Player of Games) are the best of the ones I have read. I always worry about starting to read one as I am concerned I will get 200+ in and still not be having a good time.

[@WordsinTime]

I’ve heard mixed things about Consider Phlebas. I think I’ll try that one and Excession then decide whether to continue.

[@JohnG225]

I also DNF Consider Phlebas, but I might revisit at some point. Loved Players of Games, but didn't really enjoy Use of Weapons.

[@drnaturalist]

Great list. I should have DNF''d Tau Zero. It is quite dated. He goes on and on about shallow romatic relationships. Its only saving grace is that it's short. I read it around the time I read the Forever War and I found that the topic of time dilation was handled better by Joe Haldeman. For reference my top SF books are, 3BP, House of Suns, Dune 1-4 , and The Foundation.

[@WordsinTime]

I’m glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for the heads up on Tau Zero. That’s a great list, House of Suns and Remembrance of Earth’s Past are also favourites of mine and Dune and Foundation are deserved classics.

[@Joe-lb8qn]

IMO To Your Scattered Bodies Go is one of the most underappreciated SF series though it could have been done a bit tighter. I'm so old i read it as it came out one book at a time with sometimes years between releases including the horror that when i made a trip to London to buy the third book in the trilogy i found that it was actually not the end of the series but another book to come and iMO there may have been 5 in the series. But what other SF book has , among others, an alien humanoid, the girl who was the model for Alice in Wonderland, Richard Burton, Herman Goering and a caveman from maybe 500,000 BC among its characters? Plus of course every other person who ever lived on Earth.!

[@WordsinTime]

Haha it sounds bizarre in the best way!

[@riggs8006]

look to windward is Banks best culture novel, you should really try it

[@WordsinTime]

I’ll be reading more of the Culture series soon. I’m looking forward to Look to Windward!

[@espiritussanctusdominus7031]

sry to keep commenting - 23 The Gods Themselves by Azimov - id say its one of the 1st to tackle seeing different species from their own perspective. Id go as far as saying its the direct inspiration for Adrien Tchaikovsky, Children of Time. High praise i know

[@espiritussanctusdominus7031]

addendum - the section is part 2 of the Asimov book. Doesn't startout form an alien standpoint.

[@WordsinTime]

That sounds very good indeed haha. Can’t wait!

[@andreaslermen2008]

Besters "Demolished Man" gave Straczynski the idea for the Psi Corp in Babylon 5. One of the main character was also named Bester. Use of Weapon is the far better book then Phlebas, if you get used to the way the story is told. Still, Phlebas is very good. Doomsday Book is one of the best time travel stories. She also wrote very good short stories. Another interesting one for the list would be The Forge of God. As for the Hitchhiker, you should watch the BBC series, it's much closer to teh book then the movie.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for all the great info Andreas! I’m especially looking forward to Doomsday Book!

[@andreaslermen2008]

@@WordsinTime It's something for the patiently read. If people complain about the book, it's that the sory starts later for their tast. Lot's of world building happen till then. And showing how difficult time travel would be, even if you prepare yourself.

[@theepicraccoon4589]

I can't seem to find Neverness on goodreads

[@WordsinTime]

It is on there but I had the same trouble as for some reason it doesn’t come up in the search bar. Try Googling it, or just searching for the author David Zindell.

[@Scottlp2]

Tau zero brings back memories: as hard as hard SF gets. Good book. Doomsday book--it starts like one of her funnier books, but ain't (obvious I know).

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the helpful info, looking forward to those two!

[@Scottlp2]

@@WordsinTime at some point read Connie Willis “To say Nothing of the Dog”. A silly/very funny book.

[@mattf.3365]

I loved Pandora’s Star and it’s sequel. I think it’ll live up to the hype for you. I’m iffy on Culture. Consider Phlebas was OK, Player of Games was great and I DNFd Use of Weapons. Seems like a hit or miss series.

[@WordsinTime]

Pandora’s Star is the next book I’m reading! Can’t wait for it! The Culture does seem a bit hit or miss for some people. I also enjoyed The Player of Games and was mixed on Use of Weapons. I plan on reading Consider Phlebas and Excession and then I’ll decide whether to continue.

[@DJYoue]

Just wanted to comment (as I'm commenting on all your videos), working my way through all your videos and loving them, my favourite sci-fi book tuber! I'm always shocked when you mention that you haven't read Hitchhikers, I think it was the first sci-fi I ever read and I've re-read it so many times over the years. Also, Arthur C. Clarke went to my college (the British kind of college, not university) and our library was named after him, also got me into sci-fi as I felt I had to read some.

[@WordsinTime]

Haha it is number 1 on my list of shame. I own a copy and will be reading it in the next couple of months. And that’s cool that you went to the same college as Clarke!

[@michaelconnor1542]

Creighton's most harrowing book was State Of Fear. It nearly destroyed his career and the backlash caused him to pull back from most media. He had started out with an industrialist being the villain and global warming activist being the heroes. However, as he researched the science and those involved on both sides. He had to flip the protagonist and antagonist. Just to cover his bases, the last 100 pages is filled with science and charts and his research conclusions.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the info! I’ll look that one up!

[@insu_na]

Terra Ignota is a bit high on its own supply. It's a good series, but it deliberately makes things complicated for the sake of making things complicated and at some point it gets a bit tiresome. Spiral Wars is a series I thoroughly enjoy, but you have to read it with the fact that it is a bit arcady fun in mind. It sticks to the rules of its universe, but these rules are pretty loose. Still, I'm always very excited when a new one of the series comes out and finish it within the day, so I can't complain with what I'm getting there. What I absolutely, unequivocally recommend: The Broken Earth series by N.K. Jemisin and the Inheritance series also by N.K. Jemisin, the former mixes fantasy and scifi while the latter is mostly fantasy, so if that's not your cup of tea fair enough. Can't recommend these books enough. (Tho I know you read the Broken Earth series, not sure if you read the Inheritance one)

[@WordsinTime]

I have heard that Terra Ignota is dense. I hope it is rewarding. Spiral Wars sounds a bit like Deathstalker in that if you buy into it you will have fun. I read The Fifth Season and was mixed on it but I see the appeal. I might try The Inheritance Cycle at some point.

[@Kenji-Tsuyoi]

Highly recommend Peter F Hamilton , only author who I have currently finished off all his published work

[@WordsinTime]

That’s high praise! Can’t wait to dive into it!

[@Kenji-Tsuyoi]

@@WordsinTime The Expanse is good as well started reading them all this year got only book 9 and a couple novellas to finish now . Would agree with you about book 1 defiantly the strongest tightest story but with book 8 we start getting some physic bending stuff in it so will be interesting to see were book 9 concludes it

[@WordsinTime]

@@Kenji-Tsuyoi That sounds cool! I like the series when it’s more ambitious with its sci-fi concepts.

[@demidrek-heyward]

Neverness was a DNF for me. I may return to it. Gene Wolfe was quoted on the cover so I started it and the there were so many things were pissing me off about the book through 300 pages I just could not

[@WordsinTime]

Sorry to hear it didn’t work for you Mathias. It sounds cool but it may or may not work for me as well.

[@demidrek-heyward]

However Doomsday Book was amazing :), hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

[@Artoveli]

Ah! Otherland (City of Golden Shadows) is SO GOOD! No one ever talks about it, but seeing its spine in your thumbnail is what made me click on this video. 😄 It’s such a fantastic take on the concept of a VR world, and the whole time my sister and I were reading it we kept saying ‘Why did they have to choose Ready Player One to be the VR story to bring to the masses, when THIS existed!’ TT_TT Something else that’s pretty neat about Otherland is that a large part of the real-world stuff takes place in South Africa. One of the main characters is even a Bushman. Ugh, the movie for Hitchhiker’s Guide is NOT a good indication of what the books are like. I’ve never been more embarrassed to take non-fan friends to a movie premier than I was for that movie. XD The book has a lot of absurdity, using Sci-fi trappings to comment on how ridiculous actual human society can be, but I’d say at least 80% of the humour comes from the way Adams narrates the story. And while there’s a bit of that in the movie (in the guide entries), most of the best stuff is just gone. Please don’t judge the book by its adaptation!😅

[@WordsinTime]

Haha you have a good eye spotting the spine in the thumbnail! I will be reading Otherland fairly soon and Hitchhiker’s Guide is on my TBR as well. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed them so much!

[@SIXPACFISH]

Read On Basilisk Station by David Weber.

[@WordsinTime]

That is on my TBR so I’m glad to hear you think highly of it. I might have to bump it higher up the list!

[@SIXPACFISH]

@@WordsinTime I really suggested this book because I'm an arsehole. It is the best military Sci-fi series ever written, but it is so good you will want to read all 30 books in the series. They average 650 pages long.

[@WordsinTime]

@@SIXPACFISH Wow, that’s an epic series!

[@andreaslermen2008]

I read through the first 6 or so. Good main character and, let's say, interesting challenges she has to face. You may like the Ian Cormac series from Neal Asher. A kind of "How James Bond works in a ultra hightech society"

[@WordsinTime]

@@andreaslermen2008 That sounds pretty cool, I’ll check it out!

[@TallGuyReads]

Incredible video Jonathan! There are many many books on this list that I hope to read soon and I’m very excited to read Eversion when it comes out and I can get to it! Blade Runner is one of my favorite sci-fi movies and I haven’t read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep yet even though I’ve owned it for years lol that needs to change asap…I’m excited to hear your thoughts on all of these!

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much Alex! I'm pumped for DADOES? so I'll let you know what I think of it!

[@TuftyMcTavish]

🚀 Funnily enough I was organising my Peter F. Hamilton shelf in my Library to get his books in the roughly ‘correct’ order. He gets an entire 80cm wide shelf to himself, as does Alastair Reynolds, which should be enough to tell you how highly I rate them when I’ve been reading them for 20+ years.🕷 So I share your love for “Children of Time” and I will be waiting for the paperback of “Children of Memory” so that they match on my Library shelves. This, I think, tells you what I would do regarding “Upgrade”… 😉

[@WordsinTime]

Haha those are quite the collections! My wife and I recently moved and I am looking forward to getting a new bookshelf and organizing it!

[@8BitNaptime]

Cities in Flight - James Blish

[@WordsinTime]

I hear great things about Blish. Looking forward to reading him!

[@OurRawHeart]

I wouldn't base your interpretation of King solely based on The Gunslinger. Not sure if I'd regard it as a go-to to start your King journey at all tbh.

[@WordsinTime]

I will read the first two books in The Dark Tower then decide whether to continue. I’m also interested in 11/22/63 and The Stand.

[@OurRawHeart]

@@WordsinTime 11/22/63 is a great read, lauded as one of his best in the last decade or so. The Stand is great, and long of course. IT and Pet Sematary are my favourites. And a short read, The Long Walk (on The Bachman Books) captures what's great about his storytelling I feel. Cheers, and hello from Galway, Ireland. Love the channel!!

[@WordsinTime]

@@OurRawHeart Thanks for the recommendations! I grew up in Australia but live in the US now. I appreciate you watching in Ireland!

[@OurRawHeart]

Yourself, Moid and Fit 2B Read utterly rekindled my love of sci-fi during the lockdowns. I now have a science fiction pile in the sitting room akin to Bookpilled's! 🤣

[@WordsinTime]

@@OurRawHeart That’s awesome! A goal of the channel was to find readers to discuss books with and inspire people to read more sci-fi books. I’m glad you’re enjoying my videos and those other great channels too!

[@Patrick.__]

Your dog has good taste.

[@WordsinTime]

Haha I agree, I think Charlie chose well!

[@stephenmorton8017]

i would not rec Consider Phlebas as an entry point for Banks. Try the Player of Games or Excession first. then maybe Use of Weapons. i would rec the Reality Dysfunction. also: if you read Blindsight, you must be aware that one of the crew, Susan, has had her brain sectioned into four distinct personalities and one of them is male! i bet that confused a lot of people. if any book needed a list of dramatis personae it's Blindsight.

[@WordsinTime]

I have read The Player of Games and Use of Weapons. Perhaps I should read Excession before Consider Phlebas. Blindsight sounds pretty out there in a good way!

[@stephenmorton8017]

@@WordsinTime yea, the thing about the Culture is it's subtlety. he shifts the vantage point in different novels. i loved Excession but wanted much more. there is another one 'Inversions' that is case in point. if you read it you will see what i mean. i would read Solaris before Watts just to adhere to history of publication and they need to be read carefully. Blindsight is told by the vantage point of the 'Synthesist' which , as you will see accounts for the vivid prose. this is not a spoiler.

[@JohnG225]

The people that said the Hitchhikers Guide is not funny are...wrong. Simple as that :)

[@WordsinTime]

Haha I hope I feel the same way!

[@JohnG225]

@@WordsinTime if you post a bad review I'll be unsubscribing ;)

[@Cal97g]

I really thought consider phlebas was the best culture novel so far and I've read like 7

[@WordsinTime]

Nice! I’m looking forward to continuing the series with Consider Phlebas!

[@williamnolantabor8809]

Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000 by L Ron Hubbard , its a thick one about earth after Alien Invasion the main character is a young man who only knows legends about Monsters down in the lowlands, he and a small band of humans living in the mountains where they have to live on the edge of starvation and the protagonist is has to go exploring , He gets captured by a 9 foot tall clawed and fanged creature that is flying a battle plane. It does get to huge world building and Galaxy spreading empire with several different alien species and matter transportation on a wholesale scale. L Ron Hubbard was the founder of Scientology , not that it pertains to the story at all.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the info William!

[@YourQueerGreatAuntie]

Can't help but count only 5 female authors out of 35... I've recently discovered some of my favourite ever sci-fi authors as women writing in the 80s and 90s, and feeling "why did nobody tell me about this?!" Be interested to hear what you make of Nnede Okorofor. Haven't read Binti, think it's in the YA category, but Lagoon is my favourite superhero novel.

[@WordsinTime]

I agree it is important to read a diverse range of writers. Arkady Martine is one of my favourites and I’d like to add more female sci-fi writers to my TBR. The Divide by J.S. Dewes is another series I want to read.

[@Yesica1993]

HOLD UP! Alfred Bester is a character on Babylon 5 and it's involving telepathy. He's a real life author?! Now I wonder if they based the character on this book. It's too weird to be a coincidence!

[@WordsinTime]

Haha I haven’t seen it but it does sound like they based the character on the author!

[@Yesica1993]

@@WordsinTime Best scifi show EVER. I promise.

[@demidrek-heyward]

where is gene wolfe tho

[@WordsinTime]

I read The Shadow of the Torturer and it didn’t work for me, but I see the appeal. It’s definitely unique.

[@espiritussanctusdominus7031]

best will be Neverness

[@espiritussanctusdominus7031]

will make u want to read the follow up series - Requiem for Homo Sapiens

[@WordsinTime]

Awesome, it sounds cool!

[@WaywardWhiteWalker]

I liked "Blindsight". I thought it was fun vampires were in it.

[@WordsinTime]

Nice! It does sound like an interesting mix of genres!

[@johnpaulcolthrust8207]

The hitchhiker’s guide is a superlative book; the movie was much less good

[@WordsinTime]

That’s good to know, thanks John!

[@johnpaulcolthrust8207]

@@WordsinTime Humour is British though, so whether it funny or not is heavily dependent on the reader’s background. My spelling of the first word here says about me all that’s needed: Caribbean native, post-colonial British education, so I found Hitchhiker’s a riot.

[@WordsinTime]

@@johnpaulcolthrust8207 I am Australian, my parents are British, and I live in America, so I’m used to different types of humour!

[@insu_na]

Oh god I tried to read Consider Phlebas. I really, really, really tried. Supposedly it gets really good and the rest of the Culture series is supposedly amazing, but aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh it was so painful to read. So boring and lifeless. I only got a third of the way through after giving up and retrying many times, where I finally gave up completely... Don't let my bad experience color yours tho, I'm just not the right kind of reader for that book and maybe you are

[@WordsinTime]

No worries, thanks for sharing! It might not work for me either but hopefully it does!

[@andreaslermen2008]

The only book iI have ever gave up was Gene Wolfe's "Book of the New Sun". Phlebas is very hard if you hav no idea how the Culture works. That's why people usually recommend reading Player of Games and Use of Weapon first.

[@WordsinTime]

@@andreaslermen2008 I read The Shadow of the Torturer but decided not to continue as it just wasn’t for me. Hopefully I have better luck with the rest of the Culture series!

[@kniknayme9865]

City and the City was not his best book imo. I thought Perdido, Embassytown ,Kraken were better

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the info! My friend Baron from Your Brain on Books was a big fan of Perdido. At least The City & the City is short, so I’ll get a quick taste for Mieville.

[@distantearth]

Loathed ‘Blindsight’. Personally I feel it is full of meaningless, unlikeable characters. A weird and implausible mix of vampires (why?) and space/sci-fi/cyberpunk. And is packed with showy technobabble that feels fake and contrived.

[@WordsinTime]

Bummer! Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it!

[@rubenreyes3871]

I watched your video and ran out and got Binti. It is truly just OK. There's no background to the story when you read it

[@WordsinTime]

That’s a bummer! I haven’t read it yet. Hopefully I find something to enjoy in it.

[@michaelconnor1542]

Those that don't find Hitchhiker's funny, do not understand humor.

[@WordsinTime]

I recently bought it and will be reading it in 2023!

[@Ceyx1265]

the hitchhikers movie was shit compared to the books and the bbc tv series

[@WordsinTime]

Hopefully I like the books more!

[@havocmaverick]

I did not care for the culture series. too slow and the characters were not developed.

[@WordsinTime]

I have heard mixed things. I will try 1 or 2 more books and find out whether the series works for me.