6 Future History Sci-Fi Books You Need to Read

Today, we're diving into the realm of 'Future History' within the sci-fi genre and bringing six books you need to read.
Thanks for watching and don't forget to check out my sci-fi books below.
#scifi #futurehistory #books
0:00 - Intro
0:18 - What is "future history"?
1:27 - The Past Through Tomorrow - Robert A. Heinlein
2:58 - The Last and First Men - Olaf Stapledon
5:04 - Mars Trilogy - Kim Stanley Robinson
6:38 - The Shape of Things to Come - HG Wells
8:16 - Instrumentality of Mankind - Cordwainer Smith
9:54 - Foundation Series - Isaac Asimov
11:30 - Honourable Mentions
___________________________________________________________________
MY STUFF
linktr.ee/scifiodyssey
____________________________________________________________________
vvv MORE vvv
MY SCI-FI NOVELS
www.amazon.co.uk/Darrel-Willi...
DELPHINE DESCENDS
After her family is killed and her homeworld occupied, young Kathreen Martin is sent to the distant world of Furoris for re-education. She will live the rest of her life as a serf - to be bought and sold as a commodity of the Imperial Network.
When her only chance of escape is ruined, a chance mistaken identity offers her a new life as the orphaned daughter of a First-Citizen Senator and heiress to a vast fortune.
She vows to claw her way into power to sit among the worlds’ elite. Then, with her own hands, she will reap bloody vengeance on them all.
But to beat them, she must play their game. And she must play it better than them all.
BLACK MILK
Prometheus has the chance to bring his wife back from the dead, but doing so will mean the destruction of Earth.
Spanning time, planets and dimensions, Black Milk draws to a climactic point in a post-apocalyptic future, where humanity, stranded with no planet to call home, fights to survive against a post-human digital entity that pursues them through the depths of space.
Five lives separated by aeons are inextricably linked by Prometheus’s actions:
Ystil.3 is an AI unit sent back in time from the distant future to investigate Prometheus’s discovery...
The mysterious Lydia has devoted her life to finding a planet that the last remaining humans can call home…
Tom Jones (he’s a HUGE fan!) is an AI trapped inside a digital subspace, lost and desperate to find his way back to his beloved in real-time…
Dr Norma Stanwyck is a neuroscientist from 24th Century Earth whose personal choices ripple throughout time...
Prometheus must learn the necessity of death or the entire universe will be swallowed by his grief.
____________________________________________________________________
GOODREADS
You can stalk me on Goodreads to see what I'm currently reading. bit.ly/3rrcByD
____________________________________________________________________
IMAGE USE
The images in my videos are mostly licensed stock photos. However, occasionally I will use images found online. I always seek to properly credit artists and offer a link back to their amazing work but sometimes it's hard to find the original source of the work. If I've used an image you own and I haven't credited you, please feel free to get in touch as I am always more than happy to do so.

[@BjarturMortensen]

As the resident Alastair Reynolds enjoyer I'm glad you squeezed Revelation Space in to the honorable mentions!

[@ac-gp3kz]

Glad to see Olaf Stapledon included. He is in a class of his own.

[@pfftpfftpfft]

One of my favourite authors. Starmaker, Sirius, Nebula maker and, of course, Last and First men, are all masterpieces of literature, Sci-Fi or otherwise. personally I would hold him up with Tolkien in terms of his imagination and penmanship. I'm very proud to own a first edition copy of Starmaker in hardback.

[@thecryptile]

It's always great to see Cordwainer Smith mentioned!

[@psikeyhackr6914]

*Daemon* and *Freedom* by Daniel Suarez *Voyage from Yesteryear* by James P Hogan

[@patriciaaturner289]

Hogan was an amazing person.

[@erik_carter_art]

The Mars Trilogy will always be my #1 favorite science fiction story 😍

[@jasperdoornbos8989]

Mine too! I read it three times. Does that make me pathetic, I wonder…

[@subraxas]

@@jasperdoornbos8989 No, it DEFINITELY does not. I know people who re-read their top-favourite book(s) every two years or so. It is the same with films and TV shows, for example. Some people simply find one day 'stuff' that perfectly "clicks" with them and then they tend to coming back to it on a regular basis. I know a guy who is now around 50 and he periodically re-watches all of Star Trek about every five years, plus/minus one year. It is like ~800 episodes (!!!!) of all the TV/streaming shows combined, plus 13 feature-length films. Basically, when he manages to get through all of it, he re-starts all anew right from the beginning. Those are his personal "5-year missions", if you get the reference. 😀

[@BertLaverman]

I kind of expected the Lensman series of EE Doc Smith in here. Heinlein I used when I defended my PhD thesis (in the Netherlands it’s traditional to add a few light and totally unrelated propositions, my thesis itself was on programming language type systems) by stating that predictions on the future tend to miss not due to a lack of imagination on new inventions, but a by underestimating what technologies will become obsolete. Henlein’s earlier spacecarft tended to use analog computers with moving parts rather than electronics, with a whole discussion beteen Lazarus Long and Andy Libby about the cost of implementing some gimmick by estimating the number of parts needed to be machined for it.

[@dalejones100]

The Last and First Men, Instrumentality of Mankind, Revelation Space, and The Culture are all on my TBR this year. I'm excited to get to them all.

[@oquocharlz]

Had "The Past Through Tomorrow" by Robert A. Heinlein (both volumes) in my personal library back in Nigeria - couldn't take my novels with me when I moved to the UK. And I have the "Mars Trilogy" by Kim Stanley Robinson, the "Foundation" Series by Isaac Asimov as well as a couple of "Culture" novels in my current library. I have a friend who has written a trilogy on settling Mars as well but from a different point of view.

[@michaelmacdonell4834]

I'm familiar with Kim Stanley Robinson's story, so I would love to access this new one!

[@CortexNewsService]

Same. I've re-read the mars trilogy a few times and would love to see another perspective

[@lucidu4euh]

thank you for mentioning my favorite book, and author, Last & First Men by Olaf Stapledon. Star Maker is amazing as well

[@IainDelaney]

You missed the "Known Space" future history series by Larry Niven. It includes the "Ringworld" series of novels, as well as a number of other novels and short stories.

[@subraxas]

12:36 - I quite dig this additional relaxing music session at the end.... 🙂

[@DanSisken]

The illustrations are impressive.

[@TheNebulaNetwork-zi7jd]

I'm incredibly partial towards Stapledon. The man was ahead of his time as well as intelligent and wise

[@jasperdoornbos8989]

Thanks for discussing this topic, Darrel. I really enjoyed the Foundation series (14 books in totall, I believe) and the Mars Trilogy. I met Kim Stanley Robinson in Amsterdam, last november. He presented the dutch translation of his Ministery for the future. Clify, of which you are not a big fan, I happen to know, Darrel 😅. I loved it.

[@kigas24]

Great video. Future History is my favorite subgenre by far. Just ordered The Shape of Things to Come; looking forward to reading it!

[@jaimecastells9750]

This is a remarkable list. Usually such list amount to someone's opinions about material I know. This list includes several volumes I have not read, yet recognize that I should read, particularly the books by Heinlein and Smith. Thank you for calling them out!

[@njshore2239]

First - keep up the good work, enjoy your channel. Second - How could you not even mention Gregory Benford's Galactic Center series (6 books). These are among my lifetime favorites and have reread them multiple times.

[@subraxas]

Maybe he's not aware of this particular series. Y'know, Darrel is not omniscient after all. 🙂

[@subraxas]

Well, Star Trek is a series of historical documentaries transmitted to our present time from the future. 😀

[@michaelmacdonell4834]

The Shape of Things to Come. Well, that was a flashback I welcomed! HG Wells was one of the first authors I read, because of school. I rapidly hit the Heinlein, Vonnegut, Dick, Asimov books - before I was 12. The seventies were amazing. I think you hit on something when you mentioned "legacy" (about the 5 minute mark). I see that in many books and stories. Caves of Steel hit that spot ( I, Robot is a real five-course meal based on that) as did the Mars trilogy. Stranger in a Strange Land makes the point well, including community and acceptance. Once again you've revitalised my library, and will be re-reading them with new insights.

[@justinecooper9575]

I still have my Science Fiction Book Club edition of “The Past Through Tomorrow.”

[@terryloh8583]

Some great selections. Read several books I never heard of thanks to your lists! Looking forward to getting into some of these. I respectfully would like to suggest Larry Niven's Tales of Known Space stories/novels.

[@justinecooper9575]

Now we need a deep dive into alternate history.

[@schrodingerszombie2401]

Harry Turtledove the world war series!

[@patriciaaturner289]

THESE are the Crazy Years.

[@user-kq5zu2je1p]

Yup, ever since the late 1960s....

[@KingsleyLDennis]

Hi Darrel - first comment on your channel. I always tune in for your videos - I find you to be one of the most articulate, philosophical, and perceptive commentators in the sci-fi area. I respect your recommendations too. I've been wanting to ask you something (apologies if you have covered this somewhere previously) - what are your thoughts on the 'Canopus in Argos' quintet by Doris Lessing? Are you familiar with the first book, Shikasta? It is 'speculative fiction' part of sci-fi. I would deeply appreciate your take on 'Shikasta'. Thank you 🙏

[@beauthestdane]

I've already read most of those, and did enjoy them all.

[@russstorm4626]

Great video. A really good future history genre book I read recently was The mad emperors war. I love that combination of sci-fi and fantasy

[@carlrenzi]

Greetings; I've read Star Maker by Stapledon and I think it's fantastic. A high school friend of mine, Jeffery Sackett, wrote one called "Future History (Reflections on American History)", in which he managed to put me in. According to the introduction a descendent of mine found a way of sending objects back in time and sent this book to him. I've been looking for "Shape of Things to Come", but I've only found the movie.

[@AnonymousUser1776]

The Chung Kuo series by David Wingrove is criminally underrated.

[@ramonpizarro]

You're the only other person I've ever seen mention this, in the 20 years since I found one of his books in my high school library

[@AnonymousUser1776]

@@ramonpizarroI think the series isn’t as well known as it otherwise could have been because the publisher forced Wingrove to combine his final two books into one, and it really doesn’t work, so the ending is very unsatisfying.

[@eunicesimi3452]

Thanks for these suggestions. I view these works more as possibilities of the past than future history. I believe all of this happened in the past and we are hoping to relive in future generations.

[@John-tc9gp]

The aliens in Childhood's End are analogous to AI. Far advanced but lacking the 'soul'

[@Cinemology101]

For more information on Cordwainer Smith, we recently posted a feature-length documentary on our channel about Smith's life and work. We even dramatized some of the Instrumentality stories for the very first time. He's my favorite author, and his real life story is as jaw-dropping as his science fiction.

[@rodnarok5699]

"A Canticle for Liebowitz" by Walter M. Miller Jr. ranks among my favorite future histories. I was kind of surprised that it did appear on this otherwise excellent list.

[@vilstef6988]

Some really seminal and classic SF here!

[@holydissolution85]

Cordwainer, yeah ! Best of all !!!

[@ExecuMutant]

Really nice list, and I'm especially glad you included Cordwainer Smith who i believe has a singularly unique "voice". I would add The Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

[@mariozhivago]

Love your recommendations and didn't know you had two books 🎉 can't wait to read it

[@thomassmith6232]

The TerroHuman Future History stories by H. Beam Piper. It's a shame this man has largely been forgotten. He should be ranked alongside Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov. Many of the stories could easily be adapted to film and would make great movies.

[@JaredJohnsonRocketMan]

I would add Eon/Eternity and possibly Moving Mars both by Greg Bear. Eon/Eternity was written in the 80's but takes place in the late 90's to early 2000's. Bear tries to project what might happen if the Cold War never ended and a Rama like event happened. A very interesting story, one of my favorites. Moving Mars has similarities with the Expanse novels but was published in 1993. I thought it was really good. Interestingly Bear wrote 2 other novels in the Moving Mars universe. Queen of Angels, a psycho-cyberpunk murder mystery which I didn't care for. And Slant which was another cyberpunk murder mystery which I liked.

[@craigiedema1707]

KSR does future history brilliantly for the most part.

[@joebrooks4448]

Great presentation. Thanks for the mention of "The Past Through Tomorrow," one of RAH's most impressive works. I have had the first edition in hardbound since 1967, but I have read it so many times that it is falling apart. I gathered some estimates to repair it 😬, but just bought the 1980s copy in fine condition last year! I have The Foundation Trilogy and thought that was great. I did not continue with the later novels, just not enough time, by then. I recall reading "The Last And First Men", roughly 1970. Pretty faded now, I need to look at it again. I did read just about everything Linebarger wrote and was a little weirded out, but found them interesting. "The Shape of Things To Come" and just about everything from Wells is reliably great work. I have been rereading Wells a lot for the last year. I guess it is time to acquire the Robinson Mars trilogy. "Nineteen Eighty-Four" and "The World of Null A" are both Future Histories, as well.

[@neonWHALE002]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm primarily a fantasy reader but dip my toe into sci-fi such as Dune. I'm curious where you stand on Book of the New Sun, does that count as a future history sci-fi?

[@benjaminbrown682]

Hey Darrel, any high-tech short story collections or anthologies with the subject matter of high-tech, that you recommend that I should read?

[@jasong9207]

A good list and a couple that I'll have to read. City by C Simak always seems to get left out but would/should/could fit in to any self respecting future history list.

[@jeffreysommer3292]

One correction: Cordwainer Smith died in 1966, so his works may have been published later, but there were obviously now new stories. His works in the collection The Rediscovery of Man is my favorite, going from 1945 to 14,000 years in the future. Also, where is Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles? It really should be there somewhere...

[@DevonExplorer]

I've just recently re-read The Martian Chronicles. Brilliant book. :)

[@cgautz]

Thanks!

[@Sci-FiOdyssey]

Thanks again Chris!🖖

[@clancykelly5508]

Radix Tetralogy by AA Attanasio. Might be worth a video.

[@wakayakmike]

Maybe I'm old but I really would have to add "City" by Clfford D. Simak

[@WinterEC]

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson would have fit well on this list

[@charlesspringer4709]

The Lensman series by E E Smith (and a woman co-writer who did not want to be listed) from early spaceflight to multiple galaxies at war. And something that probably inspired The Force.

[@petergeorge3574]

I would add Ken MacLeod's Fall Revolution series and his Engines of Light series.

[@johnhunt3071]

I would like to add Jerry Pournelle to the list. His series (I'm not sure it has a name) from 'High Justice' through Falkenberg to 'The mote in God'sEye' (co-written with Larry Niven). There are multiple cross references between books to maintain a continuous history.

[@JosephKeenanisme]

he Mars trilogy was mostly in line with the science of the time. There are some series I view as retro-scifi or alternative sci fi... same difference. It's like Asimov's stuff where people are flying in space ships without computers. They're smoking a cigarette or pipe while going hyperspace calculation longhand with pen and paper. Than again if you're also into the alternative history sub genre the retro and outdated (Jules Verne or Mary Shelly for example) can usually apply the same PoD. I remember in a bunch of Larry Niven's stories the idea was that Venus had a thick atmosphere because it didn't have a moon. Mars didn't have enough atmosphere because it had two moon. However Goldi-Earth was just right with one moon. You have to give some suspension of disbelief in works of fiction otherwise it isn't fiction. :) You had some good picks on here. The Expanse. If you've already watched the TV series you have to at least give a listen to the audiobooks. Things play out differently in the books. I hate using the bible as a reference but the two are the comparing two gospels. The gist of the story is the same it's just told differently. So the books are worth checking. The scene when Amos gets pulled out line before hitting customs and is in Avasarala's office... that conversation alone is worth reading the books for.... I used to have an hour each way commute to work so it was a perfect time for me to play audiobooks.

[@mattikuokkanen]

Make a video about Aeon 14. Author is M. D. Cooper

[@WarDog793]

Cordwainter Smith's Instrumentality of Mankind entire series can be found in two volumes: _We the Underpeople_ and _When the People Fell._

[@DevonExplorer]

I found that really interesting, not least because I've only just realised that even though I have a large collection of Sci-fi, I barely have any future history books. I did buy the first three of the Foundation series some 50 odd years ago, and loved them at the time, but I re-read them (the very same books, lol) a few years ago and absolutely hated the first one. Apparently men were born by osmosis as it was one man after another having one son & heir, ad infinitum, with no wives, mothers, daughters or any other women involved at all, lol...and was really boring; not because of the lack of women but because it was just the same thing over and over again! The other two were better though. Anyway, I've just learned what I'm not so keen on now, which is nice. :)

[@subraxas]

Thanks a LOT, Darrel, for making all these videos!!! 🙂 ❤ 👍 🤖 🚀 🪐 👾 👽

[@GeoffCanyon]

No love for the Eight Worlds future history by John Varley? It should be on everyone's list!

[@rosesareredbutzerglingssti9290]

I would like to live in the world of The Culture.

[@subraxas]

You can find many cultures in yogurts. 🙂

[@rosesareredbutzerglingssti9290]

@@subraxasLOL! 🤣

[@subraxas]

@@rosesareredbutzerglingssti9290 😀

[@BlueArcStreaming]

Where's the Dune series?

[@stevieroach]

Dune has been pretty thoroughly covered by this channel and others. Besides, I don't think it belongs here. While it does present an expansive history, it offers no real explanation of how humanity got there. Actually, by the same logic, I wouldn't have included the Foundation series here. To be a true future history, it isn't enough for a story to take place in the future, it needs to explain the intervening years in some way.

[@Emdee5632]

Well... When you read ALL the Dune novels - the prequels, inquels and sequels - quite a history timeline appears. But yes, not in depth starting from the present.

[@subraxas]

It's not here because of the MASSIVE timeline disconnect between today and the future history fleshed out within the Dune novels. I mean, it would not even cross my mind.... that it should be included on a list like the one above. EDIT: And as Stevie Roach above here stated within their comment, I would also not place Foundation on the given list for the same reason. But . . . . whatever....

[@traveler263]

how come you've missed Three Body Problem ? :)

[@Shelbyproductions]

C.m Kosemen couldn't find it online anywhere

[@alanforrester]

You should look into the Xeelee Sequence by Stephen Baxter

[@subraxas]

He knows the series. Discussed it or referred to it on several of his videos. Last time only three videos ago.

[@keith0363]

I love your videos! Maybe saying this will bump you back onto my main KZbin page!

[@charlesspringer4709]

C J Cherryh the Hinder stars and Cyteen and all that.

[@rondemkiw4492]

THE CANOPY OF TIME by Brian W Aldiss

[@berwynofgreyhawk5525]

Lazarus Long

[@pencilpauli9442]

I'd recommend Alistair Reynolds' Redemption Space series, especially if you a a prog rock fan, for the musical references. That he managed to weave, "Shining, flying, purple wolfhound" into the narrative was impressive! lol I've got the Culture series in my wishlist.

[@patriciaaturner289]

I like Alastair Reynolds, but I’m a much bigger fan of Mack Reynolds.

[@subraxas]

Isn't it rather called 'Revelation Space'? 🙂 Plus, Darrel talks about the series quite periodically on this channel.

[@pencilpauli9442]

@@subraxas Boomer memory lapse Thanks Will try and watch the videos

[@o-wolf]

Çrypto-Histograohy

[@sullyway51]

You left out H. Beam Piper.

[@kid5Media]

Banks really isn't relevant (as far as I'm concerned the whole point of the genre is to produce the Culture novels) because it isn't humanity's future being portrayed at all. Indeed, in the novella "State of the Art" the Culture is surveying 20th century earth.

[@Dra3000]

How the culture books are explained it makes me think of this movie made in the 70s called Logan's Run where the society is free of certain things like war, greed, etc but the thing is you can only live to a certain age.. the movie is currently on Tubi

[@marciosalerno9835]

Future is scary. Take religion, of any trend, out if it, and a silver lining might appear. Take political trends off, and things will get even better. We are the problem, we and our twisted beliefs, unfortunately...

[@warthog45]

We are living with religion out, how's that going?

[@garyspence2128]

If you think that religious zealotry is not a factor in our current state of affairs, you're not paying attention. Or you are just another one of the zealots. Think about it, if you can still think independently...

[@marciosalerno9835]

@@garyspence2128 I can think independently, sir. I respect your point of view, but I say there is no god, it's a legend. One that turns people against each other, unfortunately. Well, I don't wanna' have nothing to do with it, nor politics, so I'll bury deep in my cave...the best of luck, sir...

[@marciosalerno9835]

@@warthog45 Well, no religion, no gods,nothing of the sort. At least, that's the way I see it...

[@memphiskong8868]

The Heinlein book is $102! yikes

[@jays2551]

every book on libgen is absolutely free. only downside is you need an ebook for them. I suppose you could dload and read these books on your phone, laptop, tablet, pc, etc., too though. I prefer the whole sensory experience of real books (tactile, the way new and old books smell etc) but yeah for books I can't afford or just deem to expensive for the content within, I use libgen dload them and then calibre to put them on my kindle

[@timmysmith9991]

Did North Face pay you?

[@IRosamelia]

They certainly should!

[@adamnesico]

Uf, Shape of things to come is sooo outdated and failed so much in its predictions. Stapledon is incredible. Id add to the list the 6 books of Dune. Is too a quite convincing future history, quite reminiscent of theOswald Spegler theiries of civilisation cycles.

[@estut]

Unfortunately, Asimov's Foundation is boring.

[@bradhansen2065]

I tried to read Green Mars, which was awful, how this book could be considered Science Fiction is beyond me. It was the story of a Jewish village, with a head Yenta and everybody pickering around her. If this is a view of the future than everybody going there should kill themselves before they arrive. Future? Every character was a cut out of the 1930’s! I’m sure you a nice person, but if this is your idea of Science Fiction, little a lone good Science Fiction, you are lost.

[@subraxas]

Are you sure you're not confusing different books here? Green Mars is set during an expedition on Olympus Mons, the tallest mountain in the Solar System. P.S. - " Green Mars was placed third in the Locus Award for Best Novella in 1986. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novella, and it was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novella in that year. "

[@bradhansen2065]

@@subraxas Author is Kim Stanley Robinson.

[@bradhansen2065]

@@subraxas A description of every neurotic character trait is not my idea of good writing. And I’m a published writer.

[@subraxas]

@@bradhansen2065 Every schmo can get "published" these days. Certain Chuck Tingle sells his long series of "novels" at places such as Amazon and one of his most (in-)famous "masterworks" is titled 'Pounded in the Butt by My Own Butt'. For real!!! Or I was unfortunate enough to stumble on the Net upon one piece of trash (no longer remember the name; thankfully) who has somehow managed to sell a few thousand copies of his 'white-power-themed' sword&sorcery comicbook.