The 15 Best Sci-Fi Books I've Ever Read [Updated Again]

[@Bookpilled]

Didn't mean to refer to Silverberg in the past tense. He is still alive and hopefully still writing.

[@rickintx1125]

Last release I'm aware of was Tales of Majipoor in 2013, a short story collection.

[@themojocorpse1290]

Star of the unborn , farewell earths bliss and ice I have not read but will hunt those 3 down .Some fantastic books there, I started reading malzberg last year and he is fast becoming a firm favourite along with Christopher priest I will be reading lots more of both this year.

[@kufujitsu]

He hasn't written SF in over a decade. It would be nice if he suddenly crops up with a new book, but it looks like his SF career is over - hopefully he's having a good retirement.

[@johnchristopher20]

His juvenile about a cadet traveling to Alpha Centauri and avoiding their dinosaurs during a revolution was fairly new when I read it about 1961.

[@TimothySchulz-fl5zn]

Silverberg has been retired yet again for some time now. Almost anything he wrote between 1966 to 1976 just burns with brilliance. "Dying Inside" may be the best SF novel I've ever read.

[@midrangemonroe1]

Can we take a minute to appreciate no riff-raff in the beginning and jumping straight into it. We read the video title. No need to spend 5 minutes restating it.

[@JCody-pt3th]

I’ll second that!

[@urbanexcursion]

Much appreciated 🙏🏻

[@ricky4898]

Like a breeze on a hot day.

[@marksandsmith6778]

​@@ricky4898you don't know what riff raff means

[@markuspaar6973]

Yes instant beginning very nice!

[@mormengil]

I keep forgetting to mention it, but having the titles in the description is a life saver for doing further research, saves me soo much time. The timestamps are also amazing and thank you for including both of these, the extra work they take is very much appreciated (and could well be the next dune.)

[@JerseyMiller]

Agree!

[@mutercim]

I just wanted to thank you for directly getting to the point as soon as the video starts, without wasting anyone's time with frivolities. Very much appreciated.

[@sigw7080]

I consider myself an avid sci-fi reader and you always come up with titles I’ve never heard of. Thank you for what you do!

[@Zach27182]

Thanks for this list! Your tastes don’t exactly align with mine, but I really appreciate how clear and consistent you are for why you like (or don’t like) a book.

[@titan6359]

I remember watching the Dune movie and just being so intrigued by the sci-fi genre that i went on a 4 hour binge on booktube. Your videos are truly amazing and just the way you explain the plot and the vibe of the book makes us understand exactly which book we would like which is unlike others. I hope you keep making such videos and spreading your knowledge

[@Bookpilled]

Thank you

[@Trollificusv2]

Would love to have heard you were so intrigued by the genre you actually went and read some of them. I know, it's 2024 and all. (Sorry if that sounded snarky or "you kids get off my lawn"ish. Culture and technology do move on...)

[@cloudbloom]

​@@norfsidejayy1223 what did you think of God Emperor? It blew my mind when I first read it in the 90s and even after six rereads of the series it remains my favorite (probably tied with the first novel, that one changed the way I viewed the world as a young teenager)

[@perseus9428]

So, did you read any?

[@maxjensen7029]

I read Blindsight because of your recommendation. It has been 3 months since I finished and I still can't stop thinking about it. Easily one of the greatest books I have or ever will read.

[@JakeFromMaine]

Blindsight without a doubt deserves as much praise as it can get. Watts is underrated in his writing ability, for clever sharp and effective prose. Absolutely deserves its spot on the list. Appreciated the video as always.

[@H457ur]

I think “this or that changed my life” is used too often by people to describe things that are cool or original, but not really life changing. This book, however, changed my life too. I learned or gained understanding so many words and concepts for the first time (and I was already almost 40). To say it’s astonishing is an understatement. Seriously, if you read one book on this list, it should be Blindsight - I’ve read almost all of the others and agree to some extent or other that they deserve to be considered great, but Blindsight… wow.

[@meesalikeu]

the writing is sharp as a tack. or a better word maybe is crisp, almost flinty even. i liked that a lot. it was just a cool style, but it fit the story.

[@Palmtreeshinobi]

Really cool book! But certainly errs on the more difficult side

[@paulfinneran4244]

Literally changed the way I perceived the world.

[@reverse-grip]

Blindsight was a bit of a frustrating read for me. The technical jargon at the beginning was hard to understand, and made it difficult to have a mental model of what was going on physically during the book. Everything else, like the interactions between the characters, flashbacks to earlier events, the way the protagonist felt, and overall what was happening was masterfully written, but the details of what was going on were difficult to understand. I often had trouble really painting a mental picture of what was going on physically, and I had to update my mental model of the ship or of Rorshach because I had missed something or my mental model didn't fit what was happening. It kept taking me out of the experience instead of being gripped by what was happening and along for the ride. The ideas in the book definitely did have a big impact and it's something I bring up fairly often. I really enjoyed the ideas presented in the book, and it did feel huge and very interesting, but it just wasn't a fun read. But I find it hard to recommend the book due to it being frustrating for me to read. It especially feels ironic since the protagonist is supposed to be an expert at "synthesizing" difficult to understand information, and yet the technical jargon just got in the way far too often.

[@ralphmarrone3130]

I read Blindsight over the summer based on your review. I had, and still have, the same reaction that you describe. I can’t stop thinking about it. Every other thing I’ve read since that addresses human consciousness leads me back to Blindsight. I’m an old fart, and it’s been a long time since I read a book that wowed me like this one. It just, please forgive the cliche, blew my mind.

[@blindlama]

yeah same, it's been stuck in my head now for 2 years or so.

[@konman26]

why were the ideas in this book so fascinating?

[@ladyflimflam]

This list went far deeper into the history of this genre than most lists of this type I encounter. It’s nice to see considered analysis from someone who is clearly reading deeply and widely and not just all the newest releases and big hits.

[@indieeasmr7101]

Omg a video with no intro? Sub button SMASHED.

[@Jakobos123]

I'm sure you get this a lot but the lack of intro immediately made me subscribe and like. Very nice video and very respectful of my time.

[@jeremydelaporte3770]

I'm surprised that The Dispossessed was knocked off your list between the last video and this one given what you said about it before. I picked up that book on your previous recommendation (my first Le Guin) and I was absolutely blown away by it. What you said about reading something that "just sticks in your spinal column" -- 100% true, and I can't stop thinking about this book. I'm super excited to read more Le Guin. I have yet to read *any* of these other books you've recommended, so I'm not sure how closely our interests align, but if these others are really so good as to knock The Dispossessed off the list then I'm in for many treats. (Also, I just generally love listening to you talk about books, whether I've read them or ever plan to read them or not.)

[@jeremydelaporte3770]

Actually, I lied -- I have read Neuromancer. It was incredible. So, you're 2/2 for me so far haha.

[@brendilocks7666]

I agree! I loved the dispossessed based on his recommendation I also read roadside picnic but I ended up liking the dispossessed more. (Not to say roadside is bad it is also a fantastic read) I am going to try and read all of his top 15 this year and see what my opinion is at the end of it.

[@e.matthews]

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Roadside Picnic 🙂 That final monologue haunts me to this day...

[@sandwichbreath0]

Check out her short story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" too, if you haven't come across it already. That's one that stuck in my spinal column and is still there years later.

[@soffmusic9655]

The Dispossesed is AMAZING.

[@ryguyful]

Awesome list and much food for future reads. It's refreshing to see "best of" lists that don't include all the usual suspects.

[@austinquick6285]

But it’s also appropriate to say that the “usual suspects” are “usual suspects” for a reason. I was very surprised to not see a single one on a “best of all time” list. Makes me question the validity of this.

[@GrammaticusBooks]

And now I have to read Roadside Picnic! Great picks, thanks Bookpilled.

[@georginatoland]

Don’t tell my husband, but it was his enthusiastic appraisal of the works of Vernor Vinge that won my heart. ❤ That, and his skill at ballroom dancing. But mostly Vinge.

[@QED_]

props

[@MrLph427]

Let him know, communication is key

[@trickster3704]

R.I.P. Vernor

[@JerseyMiller]

Cheers to your husband. He sounds like a gem.

[@jamesdrew8222]

I love this list and I especially agree about Roadside Picnic! Even after reading hundreds of SF novels since I was a teenager, Roadside Picnic was a revelation when I read it a few years ago! I love these kinds of discussions and think it lifts the genre to a new level! Thanks for your very cogent reviews!

[@mathewthomason8397]

I'm so impressed with you intelligent and straight forward review style. Very refreshing!

[@DejanOfRadic]

Just stumbled on to this channel. Really great content, insightful and interesting. I absolutely love the fact that you feature the novels discussed in their different editions.

[@pogonpop9575]

If you like Lem, Jacek Dukaj is another Polish author (sometimes called Lem's succesor) with very unique hard sci-fi ideas and beatuiful style of writing. Not many of his books were translated into english but I can recomend one of his most recent ones - "The Old Axolotl". Very close thematically with Solaris is his "Cathedral" which some passages you can find on his wiki page to have a sense of his style ofc if you are interested.

[@TheSleepLes]

Nah. Zajdel’s ‘Limes Inferior’.

[@joshsalwen]

Your description of your experience with Blightsight perfectly matches my own. I think of it once in a while and I’m still freaked out.

[@dustymadison]

My reading habit has been on hold for the past 9 months since the birth of our second kid. Your reviews inspired me to pick up the copy of Neuromancer that's been sitting on my shelf for years. It was amazing. I blew through it. I can't wait to hop into my next book. Thank you so much!

[@Hax523]

Hothouse was a weird one for sure but the sheer creativity of the world building makes me want to read Helliconia

[@brandonlook]

A great list! -- I discovered your channel a few months ago while doing "research" for a university class I have started teaching, "Philosophy and Science Fiction". Yes, I am a professor of philosophy. And based on your review and high praise of the novel, I read *Blindsight* for the first time in just the past month. And I thought it was fantastic. So, thanks for that. BTW, *Solaris* remains my all-time favorite for the same reasons you give, and I love *Roadside Picnic*, *Neuromancer* and *Ice*, too. I hope to work through the remaining novels on your list (which I don't know) before the next iteration of my philosophy class.

[@TyrantVirus3]

I love the fact that I've only ever heard of two of these. Very much appreciate the deep cuts of the genre. Great breathe of fresh air to not see a list full of the pop culture picks. Subbed for sure.

[@chrisstratton987]

best synopsis and "takes" I've seen and heard in a while. short, punchy and to the point. TY Bookpilled

[@ZachariahJ]

Thanks for starting with Hothouse! Aldiss, along with JG Ballard, were my favourite authors growing up in the UK in the 60s and early 70s. The books meant a lot to me. Had the opportunity of meeting Aldiss's son a few years back - he was a customer at my little print shop, and I asked if he was aware of a writer with the same surname as him. I think he was a bit taken back by me suddenly gushing praise about his father when he told me who he was! (Brian W Aldiss was still alive at the time, but he died a short while later).

[@kzinful]

The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel... And that's your ticket if you wish a ride into the world of Neuromancer. And what a hell of a ride it was the first time I read it, kudos to Gibson. Molly Millions...always will be my favorite razor girl.

[@tokenblack7983]

Ahhh well said. I’m holding Neuromancer in my hand right now as I finish off the last 100 pages or so….love Molly’s vibe and prose…” wasting your time cowboy”

[@christopherharter]

You are more than a dude in a beanie...this includes being my favorite book reviewer on The Tube...many thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, you have introduced me to new and meaningful ideas

[@RominaJones]

Love Downward To The Earth and it has sent me down a whole Silverberg path. I will be checking out some of the books you have listed. I read Roadside Picnic last year off your list. It’s a book that stays with you.

[@RichardClarkeJerk]

I wanted to thank you for the Blindsight rec. I've been an avid SF reader for decades and somehow this slipped past my radar, but I just finished reading it, largely based on your frequent recommendations. The book is likely going to haunt me for the rest of my days. I had an aneurysm back in 2000 that initially left me largely paralyzed on my left side, with the worst of the effects trailing off to become bearable over the following couple of years. These days people hardly notice the effects. In any case, the description of the disorienting (to be kind) effects experienced by the crew in their excursions to the Rorschach are by far the best depiction of what it was like to be stuck in my head in those first few months after my head exploded I've ever come across. The depiction of the fragility of our perception of "reality" is just magnificent. Thank you again... And carry on, please. I don't always agree with your take (I'm a big Remembrance of Earth's Past fan), but I almost always enjoy the thoughtfulness and reasoning behind your opinions..

[@williamduncan6149]

You got me started in reading sci-fi and my little collection is almost all based on your reviews. From the things I have read so far, I really trust your judgement on the QUALITY of a book, whatever the style/vibe may be. You also led me over to Outlaw Bookseller and I revere his opinions as well. Thanks!

[@ThomasGutierrez]

Fantastic, clear, and thoughtful as always. Love the channel and I feel like I get to vicariously live the dream of reading ludicrous amounts of science fiction through you.

[@brancellbooks]

I already knew you liked all these books, but knowing they reached your top 15 recontextualizes them. Books like Farewell Earth’s Bliss and Beyond Apollo have shot up my TBR. Thanks for the video!

[@FourthMatrix]

Thank you for re-kindling my interest in good ole sci fi. These are excellent reviews!

[@kbar4462]

Phenomenal recs. I had the same experience with A Fire Upon the Deep. The first hard sci fi book I read, my mind was completely blown and I couldn't put it down. Such a wonderous experience to have, and I've been chasing the same since

[@tomix3568]

You are the only scifi youtuber I trust. You've introduced me to most of my favorite scifi books. Thanks!

[@winc06]

Could not agree more on Vinge. At times I felt like I was suffocating while reading about the mental tortures. And Gibson prose is as great as you say. I look forward to some on your list which I have not read. Thanks for your clear and intelligent capsule reviews.

[@daveg4036]

Solaris is one of the greatest works of literature ever written. It’s endlessly readable, with multiple psychological insights. Glad it was so high on the list. Fantastic video 👍

[@kartezhnay]

Roadside picnic book and Stalker movie (1979) inspired by this book are my absolutely favorite pieces of art. I am so glad to hear you rated it high on your list! I first read it when I was 11 and my mind was blown, now I am 37, I have read it so many times, and I enjoy it even more now. Highly recommend checking out other books by Strugatsky, like ugly swans and hard to be a god

[@danielu1763]

Thanks a lot. Been looking for some good sci-fi that I haven’t read yet, and picked a number of your suggestions. Looking forward to getting into them!!!

[@guyfnord7743]

Thank you for your excellent reviews. You say enough to entice without spoiling anything. Very well done.

[@niyanlan8928]

Well done for mentioning Bob Shaw - I couldn’t agree more! One of the most underrated writers of science-fiction Britain has produced.

[@renatomorais8136]

Just found this list and so glad it has so many authors I never heard about. Strugatsky brothers and Lem are insanely good so I'm looking forward to get familiarized with the others I don't know about. Thank you!

[@reneenyberg4832]

I love this list. I’m new to your channel. I have a new list of books to read now. Thanks for your recommendations. To be honest with you, it was quite refreshing to not hear you talk about books like Dune and The Stand. It feels like everyone and their mothers place them on their top 10. It was refreshing. Checking out your other videos now.

[@vcash6014]

Late bloomer to hard sci-fi. I was over 30 when I first read Neuromancer. Your observations are well captured. ....that first page; I knew I was experiencing something unique.

[@tokenblack7983]

Pick a card any card

[@vcash6014]

@@tokenblack7983😎👌🏾

[@Tubesmaney]

You explain so well what these books are about. Thank you for introducing us to these books I've not heard of a few of them. Keep up the good work. Lol...and you're not just "...some guy in a beanie."

[@drakhir]

Everybody does Dune. You explore old and largely forgotten SF stories. I grew up on Bester, Van Vogt, EF Russell, Niven and Lem. There are some amazing books that foreshadow so much coming out today, and it is awesome that someone is regularly covering Golden Age SF. Thank you.

[@wtk6069]

I love the old stuff. I could have written your list of classic SF authors. I'd also add Edmond Hamilton and his wife, Leigh Brackett.

[@takenserious4554]

With regard to Blindsight's inclusion of a "vampire", I thought it was a really solid take on how such a thing might be a biologically feasible variant of past evolutionary lifeforms.

[@themagiciansmanse]

Awesome video. I love how the opening line was "At #15 we have.." & immediately started talking about a Dying-Earth-adjacent book. I just nabbed a "Tales from the Flat Earth" omnibus pair by Tanith Lee, very similar feeling to Vance & TDE

[@Bookpilled]

Night's Master rules

[@sirvazo1633]

Hothouse is a fave re-read of mine. First read it in the late 70’s in my early teens - such a great read 👍

[@catsinq5726]

OOOOH - thank you! A lot of these at the end of the list (I've read five of your first six) are new to me so I've got a lot of new things to read :)

[@Seven-Planets-Sci-Fi-Tuber]

I couldn't help admiring the expensive executive chair and the luxurious wainscoting. Nice setting!

[@isabellascarpone4557]

Roadside picnic is my favourite too!

[@avantgardenovelist]

a "crowd displeaser" with an intro by Delany? SOLD.

[@YourQueerGreatAuntie]

Another great video, thank you! I've only read 3 on this list; Solaris, We Who Are About To and Roadside Picnic. The latter two I read directly off your recommendations. I must also thank you for opening the world of Samuel Delany to me - a real life-changer. Still looking for some of your highly recommended titles in accessible format - Star of the Unborn is on the Internet Archive, but I haven't gotten round to it yet as I have to read it using text-to-speech, which isn't ideal. I read all of We Who Are About To using TTS, but it's a shorter book. Will keep searching! Definitely need to dive into the Silverberg rabbithole... here I go!

[@nathancroft]

Superb. Loved listening to your thoughts and recommendations. Ice just so happened to be the next book on my pile!

[@TriangleMan3]

Thanks for the video. Have read several of the classics on your list and will hunt the library for others now.

[@DaVinciwithaphaser]

Thank you, I needed this video today. I could watch these for hours.

[@b0tterman]

Agree on Roadside Picnic. Thanks for the awesome recommendations. I mainly read Sci-Fi, but I haven't heard of some of these. Going to read them (if I can find some of them).

[@thekeywitness]

Two videos in two days! I agree about many of these books and I'm moving the others up on my TBR. Thanks, Matt.

[@jumpingjohnflash]

I found a copy of the UK Modern SF Classics edition of Roadside Picnic in a bookshop while on holiday a couple of months ago and bought it based on your previous report - I absolutely loved it and as you noted about the other books on this video list - it was the writing quality and the sheer pleasure of reading in addition to the story itself. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@GABHU]

Always excited to watch these. Your Blindsight recommendation last year is what ignited my interest in reading science fiction. Thanks for doing this!

[@bobwatson957]

Looks as though I've got my winter reading. I read a lot of these early authors in the 70s and 80s when I was a kid, when Heinleinn was still alive and publishing. Its was great, all from my local library. Its really unusual to see somebody speak about these works, particularly Bob Shaw and Silverberg and James Blish. Great to see it. Did a recognize a couple and read most of these authors apart from a couple newer ones. Buts it's great to see new undiscovered stuff.

[@davidaldinger3666]

It’s nice to see guys like Delany and Aldiss getting some love. These were big names when I started reading Sci-fi in the early 80’s.

[@voiceover2191]

Thank you for the list, I knew only the Jack Vance novel, Solaris and Roadside Picnick, but none of the others, though I've read other works by some of the writers, namely Shaw, Silverberg, Aldiss. My top 15 in no particular order: Niven/Pournelle: The Mote in God's Eye (best first contact novel) Poul Anderson: Any of the Merchant van Rijn stories really Asimov: Foundation Trilogy (only the original trilogy, not the later ones) Clarke: The End of Eternity Heinlein: Stranger in a Strange Land Cixin Liu: The Three Body Problem Jack Vance: The Demon Princes Frederick Pohl: Heechee Saga (Gateway Series) Ray Bradburry: The Illustrated Man Brian Aldis: Heliconia series Bob Shaw: Orbittsville Tad Williams: Otherland series Fritz Leiber: Sword series Robert Shea/Robert Anton Wilson: The Illuminatus! trilogy Philip K. Dick: Do Androids dream of Electric Sheep Bonus: Zamyatin: We Orwell: 1984 Huxley: Brave New World Butler: Erewhon Herbert: Dune/Dune Messiah Bradbury: Fahrenheit 451 Simmons: Hyperion Corey: The Expanse series Simak: Way Station Robinson: Mars Trilogy

[@grainny4397]

I really enjoyed this. This was my first Bookpilled and I’ll be back. As the video went on I realized how little sci-fi I’ve read. Then we got to the top 4 and I had read two Blindsight and Neuromancer. I enjoyed both immensely. I do have to go back and reread them as I felt well slightly overwhelmed and stupid while reading. Neuromancer has influenced so many of my favorite movies The Matrix, Jonny pneumonic and so many others. It’s part of a trilogy called the Sprawl. I didn’t know this till recently and I’ll be returning to finish it. Blindsight has two books in the firefall series. Echopraxia is the other. I haven’t read it but I’m completionest so I’ll have to go back read them together.

[@rolpaw4371]

I just discovered your You Tube channel. I like it very much, I am a French science fiction reader and I am discovering with you works not yet translated into French. I hope that one day they will be because I am not yet able to read fluently in English. I give you all my encouragement to continue your very good work as a booktuber. Thx ! Yours faithfully, Roland.

[@gagslovedotcom]

So glad to see a list that has some of the older sci-fi books from the classic era. Also glad that I only recognized a few of them, so that I'll have some new books to explore. Also appreciate how you showed multiple covers of the books. That made me realize that I actually had read Beyond Apollo!

[@paulh7751]

The KZbin algorithms suggested this video and I'm very happy it did. Thank you for this very insightful list. I stopped reading Sci-Fi for a number of years and have only recently got back into it after a friend suggested that I might enjoy "Book of the New Sun" (I did!) This collection has some fascinating sounding books a number of which I will certainly enjoy!!

[@sabatheus]

23:00 I'm sorry, but this part had me absolutely laughing my ass off. Also, thank you for including Neuromancer, which is my favorite novel!

[@seannyhan2254]

Good to see Blindsight on the list. Peter Watts is a writer I've really come to enjoy. If you like Blindsight, I highly recommend Echopraxia, it's a sort of sequel. I also recommend Watts' short fiction, particularly "Things" - it's a telling of the story of John Carpenter's "The Thing" from the alien's perspective.

[@starwarstimeline]

This was a fantastic list. Many of these books are already on my to read list. Feel proud my fellow Soviet Strugatski Brothers novel is your #1. Subscribed.

[@PasseScience]

If you're looking to recapture a similar vibe to Roadside Picnic (or Stalker), I recommend The Gateway by F. Pohl. By vibe, I don't just mean plot elements, but atmosphere and style as well. It's not the same book, but the resonance is certainly there. (I just finished it, book 70 of my own 100 book challenge)

[@andreasboe4509]

Perfect reviews. Explaining without spoiling.

[@doubledoorsd4]

My man, thank you for getting straight into it. Subscribed.

[@grozzmancometh1977]

As a newer Science Fiction reader (mostly read Fantasy in my earlier years), you have opened my eyes to some themes that I feel I have been looking for outside the mainstream writers that get more the attention these days. I very much appreciate your casual style of informing us of these hidden gems and I hope to find some of these books to dive in to. Thank you for this! Enjoy your day!

[@Vazhaspa]

No. 15, Roadside Picnic is adapted by Andrey Tarkovsky in the movie Stalker (1979) He also made the movie Solaris, 7 years earlier (1972)

[@greysonpreedy8015]

found your channel yesterday and binged a few vids so im glad to see this vid again so i can add even more to my reading list!

[@FrostSpike]

It's not on the list, but Bob Shaw's "NIght Walk" was one of the first science fiction books I read when I was young and it really captured my imagination and instilled a lifelong love of the genre. I still have it in my collection.

[@negativ3dB]

Just finished Roadside Picnic based on your recommendation. I haven't been pulled into a world so much in a long time. Great characters, dialogue, and an eerieness that kept me turning pages. Thank you!

[@RobertWF42]

Thank you for putting together this list of thinking person's sci-fi - new books to explore! Have read Neuromancer & Blindsight but not the others. A Canticle for Liebowitz as runner up? I loved Robert Silverberg's Lord Valentine's Castle, pure 70s sci-fi bliss. Especially the copy with the lost Bee Gees member juggling in tights on the cover. 😅

[@georginatoland]

I credit Lord Valentine’s Castle for my love of the genre, and that cover art to my love of juggling. 70s-era hair and all…! 😂

[@yelisieimurai]

Lord valentine castle isn’t 70s. It’s 80s

[@RobertWF42]

​@yelisieimurai That's true, published in 1980. But 1980 felt like the late 70s to me as a kid (and the book was likely written in late 70s).

[@pixelwash9707]

Fifty years ago as a teenager and young man I read and loved a lot of these books, and have spent the last ten years on and off trying to remember their names. YT and you have made me very happy, as I want to read them again.

[@centurionstrengthandfitnes3694]

Great video. Favorite books are obviously completely subjective, so anyone surprised a given book didn't make the list needs to remember that all of us have unique experiences that shape our preferences and aversions as we grow, and that that, more than anything else, decides what one's list will look like - not popularity, renown or reviews. For me, Dune reigns supreme, but that's largely down to how and when I discovered it, and who I was at the time. Another book at that time might just as easily imprinted as deeply on me had the circumstances and my personal past been even just a little different. I'll definitely be checking out several of the books on your list, beanie guy.

[@Trollificusv2]

A very good perspective regarding when, where and who we were when we first discovered a certain work. I often make the same point about musical works and genres. People tell you their favorite music and you ask "How old were you when you first heard [X music]?" and it's almost always 14, 15, 16. With literary works its skews a little older.

[@Usrbinry4n]

Thank you for the reading list this semester prof. Most titles I have never heard of before, so I look forward to reading them this year.

[@Wild_Buggy]

Thank you very much for this list, I recently re-discovered Sci Fi and didn't know what to start reading :)

[@paulcooper8818]

Anna Kavan's *_Ice_* was one of my favorite finds at the used bookstore back in the 1970s. An unreliable narrator with an unreliable everything, yet unbelievably well written.

[@michaeljohnson3383]

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on Ian M Banks. Great video - thanks!

[@chrisw6164]

Trying to wrap my head around “A Fire Upon the Deep” being somebody’s intro to SF.

[@benriley6716]

Hothouse and Palace of Eternity...you got me! You got me! I'm in.

[@judithtrail7079]

These are the best short reviews I have found. I also love Solaris!

[@eloquentsarcasm]

As an old Army grunt, Armor by John Steakley has been one of my favorite books for ages. Excellent treatise on PTSD, splitting the psyche, and coming to terms with the insanity of war.

[@seannyhan2254]

Vance is an amazing talent. The Dying Earth is good. I recommend Blue World, Emphyrio, Big Planet, Araminta Station, and To Live Forever.

[@darklingeraeld-ridge7946]

So direct, engaging and helpful … in itself a masterpiece of a video of its kind. Many thanks

[@thewillwilliams]

Just finished ‘Ice’ by Anna Kavan. Despite 30 years of bookselling this title had passed me by until I saw your review of it. Everything you say about is true. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Keep up the good work!

[@hawk66100]

Then why do you not break bread?

[@PasseScience]

Thank you for this very "connoisseur" list of sci-fi books. Do you maintain a list of what you've read somewhere that we can check before suggesting something? Perhaps something like a Goodreads list?

[@Bookpilled]

It’s all between my ears

[@PasseScience]

@@Bookpilled:) So I'd like to query your between-ear space: I am looking for "rogue automation" thematics, the factory must grow! A good idea of the atmosphere I am looking for is well illustrated by the 10min short film "solstice 5" here on youtube (I do not share links to avoid my comment being filtered), if you have anything that comes to mind that could have the same thematic of vibe, that would be great :) It seems there is a Philip K. D autofab, autofac, I'll try to see that.

[@just_kos99]

I shared an elevator with Robert Silverburg, just him and me, at a sci-fi con once and I was too shy to tell him he was one of my top 5 favorite authors (one of the other top 5, Anne McCaffery, was there too). He leaned down to see my "fan name" on my badge and complimented me on it. Needless to say, I was tickled to death! (It was Helene Breccadelphine if anyone cares.) If you like time travel stories and Robert Silverburg, I'd recommend the short story "Hawksbill Station" and the novel "Up the Line." Both have great surprise endings, don't peek!

[@Bookpilled]

My skeleton would turn to jam if I were in an elevator with him.

[@debraboldan7372]

Love sci-fi! I also love how you just get into it without all the talk in the beginning

[@peterlacey4773]

Great list but the commentary is even better and super helpful. I know from previous videos you are not a fan of early Iain M. Banks (neither am I) but I can recommend “Look To Windward” as a mind blowing space opera that is tied with “A Fire Upon The Deep” in my own list.