RANKING the 11 SCI FI books I read in November 2024.

[@IanBurke-f8n]

I give this video 10/10, a Galactic Gem.

[@SciFiScavenger]

Ha, thanks Ian, and thanks for watching 👀!

[@bazoo513]

1:45 - Not to mention Moon's own _The Serrano Legacy / Familias Regnant_ series.

[@bazoo513]

~ 2:00 - This sounds even more interesting than good old _Seedling Stars_ - thanks!

[@rafm3068]

China Mountain Zhang!! Underrated Sci Fi CLASSIC!! I don't fully understand how just a normal everyday story is so interesting??!! Must be the writing style and how she paints the world

[@SciFiScavenger]

Yes she casts a spell somehow. I liked it. Thanks for watching 👀!

[@DaBIONICLEFan]

I've come to realise that my taste is more skewed towards the slower-paced, contemplative SF books. 2 years ago I never would have thought that would be the case, but my standout reads from this month were Simak's City, Brunner's the Sheep Look Up, and Ballard's Empire of the Sun - none of which are particularly plot heavy or fast-paced 😂 I read May's the Many-Coloured Land recently as well and liked it more than I thought it would; I tend not to go for books with a humorous bent to them (I didn’t get on with Connie Willis for example), but I appreciated the imagination and scope of it. Have you read Downward to the Earth by Silverberg yet?

[@SciFiScavenger]

Hiya, no I haven't read Downward to the Earth, but I do now own a copy, so you know, progress. Thanks for watching 👀!

[@cj1986x]

Looks like you had a good reading month! Glad you liked Parable of the Sower. It's one of my all-time favs. Haven't had the chance to read China Mountain Zhang as I had hoped by now but I hope to get to it soon.

[@SciFiScavenger]

CMZ definitely worth your time I think. Thanks for watching 👀!

[@cannibalisticwolf3319]

Good reads! It's been a glorious reading month over on my end. Inverted world by Priest Farewell Earth's Bliss by Compton Books of Earthsea by Le Guin I'm currently sitting in to I am Lazarus by Anna Kavan, and the collection is cementing her in my all time favorite author list. ❤

[@SciFiScavenger]

Solid read there too. I haven't read anything by Compton or Kavan for that matter. Thanks for watching 👀!

[@morrisjensen1959]

Very much appreciated, several new authors for me here. Thanks.

[@SciFiScavenger]

@@morrisjensen1959 awesome, cheers Morris, thanks for watching 👀!

[@SamNot-so-wise]

Sounds like a cracking month. 11 books is impressive. I happened to read Earthseed in November and loved it, I think you’ll love Talents.

[@SciFiScavenger]

Jolly good, cheers Sam, thanks for watching 👀 !

[@kid5Media]

Justina Robson is one of the most underrated writers in SF. You don't do "Stuff" justice.

[@SciFiScavenger]

I'm looking forward to reading more of her work. 👍

[@SciFiFinds]

I was about to rage when you mentioned that The Man in the Maze didn't do it for you but then you gave it a 7/10 which is not far off where I'd put it 😅

[@SciFiScavenger]

Phew! Thanks for watching 👀!

[@thekeywitness]

“I’m giving it an extra point because it is Silverberg.” - that could be a by-law for all SF Booktubers. 😂

[@SciFiScavenger]

It's the law! Cheers Kris, thanks for watching 👀!

[@tiggerplaysguitar]

The Rift sounds interesting: references perhaps to Slaughterhouse-5 - was Billy Pilgrim kidnapped by aliens, or is it his way of dealing with his PTSD? Also to the novel and film K-PAX, where a patient in a mental hospital may be the amnesiac husband of a murdered wife, or actually, as he claims, an alien visitor to humanity. I too wasn't impressed with The Engines of God, and I think I've also read another of the series featuring Hutch, but the two blur in my mind - I won't bother with any others in the series. And I would also give Silverberg an extra point just for being Silverberg - his middling books are often more enjoyable than some other authors best works! Keep it up Jon, definitely a few new to me here that I'm going to check out.

[@SciFiScavenger]

The Rift is definitely worth a read. I haven't read SH5 but I do dimly recall KPAX. Thanks Tigger, thanks for watching 👀!

[@RR-gm1fp]

'The Wanderer' is a messy book but it's very memorable for the initial interaction between the Human and the Cat-Alien.

[@ChrisJohnson-pr9jq]

Read vatta's war series about 20 years ago and remember enjoying it tremendously. Still have them, so might have to re-read. Have you read the Serrano series? Always been tempted to pick that up. Nice to see someone reading the shadows of the Apt series also. Another great video btw 🤘

[@SciFiScavenger]

I do have the Serrano books but haven't read em. I hear theyre also good. The other Moon book I've read is Remnant Population, that was great too. Cheers Chris, thanks for watching 👀!

[@ChrisJohnson-pr9jq]

​@@SciFiScavengerWill have to check that out. Cheers 🤘

[@lauranielsen6378]

If you liked Parable, you really must read Dawn. I think Dawn is her best work - weird and wonderful with strange aliens and a protagonist you can’t help but root for. I had to read the other two books in the series immediately after because I didn’t want the story to end. I’ve read most of Butler’s works, she is one of my favourite authors.

[@SciFiScavenger]

That would be my challenge I think, I only have Dawn, and I may well want to read the others fast. I'll have to wait till I get hold of books 2 and 3 I think. I've only read two of her books but I've enjoyed them both very much. Cheers Laura, thanks for watching 👀!

[@herzbube102]

Parable of the Sower is an important read, and I remember how I particularly liked the basic thought how change is fundamental and needs to be embraced, although less so the religious stuff surrounding it. Parable of the Talents then was too negative for my taste, especially because some things I thought were written just for the sake of being negative and less so out of a comprehensible reason. Will be interesting to hear your thoughts about it.

[@SciFiScavenger]

Ok sounds interesting! Not sure when I'll get to it. Thanks for watching 👀!

[@bazoo513]

I have a strong _déjà vu_ feeling about most of this episode. Did we have an opportunity to see some of these segments?

[@luiznogueira1579]

Same here!

[@SciFiScavenger]

If you watch the weekly updates I cover some of the same ground on a subset of the same books, the ones I read during the week. The monthly recap is a bit of a repeat of that, so might well seem familiar. Thanks for watching 👀!

[@SciFiScavenger]

See reply...

[@bazoo513]

@@SciFiScavenger Ahhh, yes, this is a _monthly_ recap. Didn't read the title... 🤦‍♂

[@SlowDazzle11]

I read some Julian May back in the day, but I can't remember anything about them. I must re-read Silverberg's "MITM" and the Simak fable on immortality isn't bad if I remember rightly. My recollection is that Butler is like an SF Toni Morrison (themes of slavery etc) who I've also read back in the 80s. "China Mountain Zhang" might go down well with the "Three Body Problem" which is on my TBR.

[@SciFiScavenger]

yes 3BP could be a good companion read to CMZ. very different books, of course. cheers David, thanks for watching 👀!

[@talhaahmad6427]

China Moutain Zhang has the same alternate history vibes as The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson. They're very different books, but both have a "China is the world superpower" theme.

[@SciFiScavenger]

Yes, good point, although as you say, quite different. A good companion read, I'd say. Been a while since I read that KSR. Thanks for watching 👀!

[@User_Un_Friendly]

I bought the Martian Race a while back...I see it as Benford's prequel to his Galactic Core saga. Hoping you would do a review on it. Oh well, I guess I can wait til you do your December reviews, Jon. I've been binging on LitRPGs recently. Literary junk food, full of saturated fat, high Fructose Corn syrup, and over salted...but tasty. 🤤😋 I was reminded recently that I bought both of Deborah Blum's books on the FDA recently.in the early 1900s, to increase profits, foods were chock full of any cheap junk they thought they could get away with...not just stuff like adulterating coffee with coal dust, but actual poisons...like the food dye Arsenic Green. 😳😳😱😱🤯🤯. The us Food and Drug Administration and other agencies created worldwide came down hard on these people, who were deliberately targeted the poor and destitute. Makes for fascinating reading. Blum is an accomplished author. There's a PBS special on her books. Recommended! 😉😉

[@SciFiScavenger]

If you watch the weekly update this Friday I will speak about the Benford a bit then. what is litrpg? Is that like those Fighting Fantasy books I liked as a kid? Thanks for watching 👀!

[@User_Un_Friendly]

@ Yep. Literature based on Role Playing Games. 🐶

[@LeopoldNZ]

Man in the Maze is the only Silverberg I've read. I really liked it but that was many years ago. It's time I read one of his better rated ones.

[@SciFiScavenger]

Oh definitely. I you liked man in the maze there are some much better ones (in my humble opinion!). A Time of Changes and Up The Line are my favourites so far. Thanks for watching 👀!

[@luiznogueira1579]

Dying Inside is also very good.

[@Montie-Adkins]

I would have already started Natural History but too much work has altered my reading rate.

[@SciFiScavenger]

Excuses excuses. I am contemplating applying for a new job just now. Great opportunity but, will it interfere with my reading? A dilemma... thanks for watching 👀!

[@miljenkoskreblin165]

I read three of those. The Man in the Maze is pretty overrated Silverberg. It's not bad, but upon finishing it my reaction was, "is that it?". Mchugh's and Allan's novels are both masterpieces. Fantastic stuff.

[@SciFiScavenger]

Agree on all fronts, 100%. Thanks for watching 👀!

[@kid5Media]

I wouldn't put China Mountain Zhang anywhere near the Robson. I found it dull and unimaginative.

[@SciFiScavenger]

No? I thought it was pretty imaginative. She built a whole new world, gave it a quite different complexion to ours. It's true that it is light on the plot front. Thanks for watching 👀!

[@TuftyMcTavish]

👽🗿 Xenoarchaeology is a favourite SF trope, so I was particularly struck to hear about McDevitt’s “The Engines of God” which is a long book series already sat on my shelves (unread, as per 😚). But what is the prequel that you mentioned? 😯 You said ‘including’, so I must have it, but I wasn’t sure which-is-which, and didn’t want to read the back of the books because spoilers 🫣

[@SciFiScavenger]

Starhawk hawk is the prequel! Hope you enjoy it, it was fine. Not great, but fine. Thanks for watching 👀!