The Lost Tapes #1: An SFF Starter Kit!

[@Geraldsbliss]

THE LIST: 1. Robert Silverberg -- Son of Man 2. David Brin -- Startide Rising 3. John Jakes -- Mention my Name in Atlantis 4. Frank Herbert -- Dune 5. J.R.R. Tolkien -- Lord of the Rings 6. James Tiptree Jr. -- Up the Walls of the World 7. Ursula le Guin -- The Lathe of Heaven 8. M. John Harrison -- Viriconium 9. China Mieville -- Perdido Street Station 10. Vernor Vinge -- A Fire Upon the Deep

[@tomlabooks3263]

Wow Son of Man! So much fun. This might possibly be the only youtube video that talks about it. Such a psychedelic trip. Silverberg said he would dream the main images in the early morning, wake up and rush to write them down. Also great to see Startide Rising, unbelievably good.

[@mementomoriadam]

That SUMMER GLOW! Fresh off the beach? The good ol' days of Stripped Cover Lit. A confusing but innocent time. -- I will re-reading Dune this Summer and tacking on the second book in the series. Looking forward to it!

[@michaelfeeney6108]

Love this one. I'm a hug SFF guy. Thanks Steve!

[@hellebartelsen8208]

A Starter Kit! What a lovely surprise! I am very glad you mentioned Ray Bradbury towards the end. You have dismantled a couple of my favourite authors and it's good to know that I won't have to watch you do that to Bradbury in the future.

[@tomdownlow]

I am happy that you found this video and posted it today. So many good books to explore. Thank You

[@crflamesfan]

This was awesome! You are so well read. I have no idea how you read so fast and so much and remember! I would love it if you could do more of this type of video. Starter kits for World War I or World War II or History or Literary talent.... I would love to be able to get access of that mind of yours on internet. You are a walking library and the only person I am aware of that knows so so much on books. So glad I found and follow you!

[@shelliek9264]

You're a treasure. Thanks for this.

[@brittabohlerthesecondshelf]

Ah, those were the days when Stripped Cover Lit was still around, as a duo, I mean.

[@lisasstitchingandsuch]

Wow John Jakes wrote SFF? Never would have known that. I read all his historical books when I was a teen - loved them.

[@tsundokubooks3605]

Now I need to search through that terrible section at HPB to find John Jakes. Thanks Steve Donoghue. Really thanks because I never find what I'm looking for but I always find something old and cool wrapped in plastic.

[@FinalBlowJoe]

This is definitely my kind of video, SFF talk. Silverberg I need to read more by, I've only read a few shorter stories by him but will get around to more. Just a case of finding copies. I read Startide Rising years ago and really liked it. I'm thinking of rereading it soon to see what I think of it now considering how much more SF I've read since then. Dune is definitely a favourite of mine, such an iconic book. I've read quite a few Le Guin now and didn't think as well of The Lathe Of Heaven compared to some of the others. All three of the Bas-Lag books by Mieville I love and rate very highly. The depth he goes to in his world building is remarkable.

[@jamesholder13]

Awesome recommendations! I love many of the books listed.

[@bookdisorders]

Loved it long overdue video

[@JenniMReads]

Thank you for the recommendations! I jus bought both Son of Man and Up the Walls of the World really cheaply as ebooks, thanks to the SF Gateway by Gollancz.

[@Matth3w2012]

For anyone, like me, watching this 9 months too late, Startide Rising is in print/available - it’s included in Uplift: the Complete Original Trilogy (Orbit, 2012).

[@Gary_M]

OMG look how young you were!

[@elenamakridina8196]

OMG I can't believe it the info box is full of info!:) And a video on SFF:) Is It Christmas? Did I slept through the entire two seasons? I wondered whether you read Vernor Vinge:) Please do more of these videos, part 2, part 3, part 2000:)

[@PicklesReads]

I regret not reading sff until I was an adult as I feel I missed out on building a foundation (although I have read the Asimov novels now). I'm now working on catching up and this helps immensely. I was wondering what you thought of Margaret Atwood's insistence that science fiction is no more than “talking squids in outer space"?

[@laracroft1829]

What a treat!

[@poseidons9986]

I would suggest to include or add after these The Dark Tower series, which I finished this week and love it as a whole :) Although the first or the 6th book wasn't one of my favorites

[@beckf1858]

John Jakes a hack??? Knife in my heart!

[@kimesch9698]

That’s a compliment from Steve.

[@KathleenAnnBooks]

I never knew John Jakes wrote SF. I read his historical fiction in my twenties. It was terrible and wonderful at the same time. I appreciate this primer because out of all types of literature, SFF is the one type I have read the least.

[@BiographiaLiteraria]

Oh man, I had forgotten about your computer with the awfully loud fan! Uh, this is a cool video though. I'm happy to see your recommend _The Lathe of Heaven_ because it's actually my favorite Le Guin. Earthsea I didn't think too highly of, but I generally don't like reading about wizards getting into scrapes. The _Left Hand_ left little impression. I do plan to give _The Dispossessed_ another whirl soon, as I wasn't up for it last time I tried it. Silverbob! Gosh, I read _Dying Inside_ last year and loved it. Like if Philip Roth grew up on Van Vogt and Heinlein instead of Malamud and Henry James. _The Book of Skulls_ had its charms too. 60s SF did seem to have a bit of a boner for sexual themes - like, omg, adult themes, dogg! I'm just now reading Moorcock's _Behold the Man_, which has surprisingly much space devoted to our man's sexual conquests, considering it's a tiny novel about a man who goes back in time to bro out with John the Baptist. I really like the Speculative Fiction tag, since I totally agree that the science fiction / fantasy divide is a lot less clear than a lot of people make it out to be. Funnily, my dad says he doesn't like fantasy because it's all about these goofy other worlds with weird fantastical creatures and a lot of politics and religious power dynamics etc. His favorite SF novel is _Dune_... And what the hell is STAR WARS? Wizards! In! Spaaace!

[@shawnlowry5896]

Dude! You popped into my search results because I didn’t want to waste time if the book stinks, not because I know the ending! I’m sitting here with Mention My Name in my hand while I type this! How about a freakin’ “spoiler alert” next time?!

[@someonerandom8552]

I dunno, I like both, but I wouldn't put them into the same category. At its base level of course yeah they both share the same bones. But you could say the same about horror (or really all the genre fiction categories out there.) I doubt Vampires exist, but they stay consistent within their own universes. Sci Fi, I would argue is more speculative fiction. What could happen based on where we take certain things. Space travel is fast becoming a viable option. Perhaps more so for the rich and affluent, for now at least. But I don't doubt that within maybe five or so generations it could become as common as flying. Which again, was first seen as nothing but fantasy for the daydreamers. Okay, Aliens might be a bit of an "in between." But it's still based on the potential of what we could find if we explore the outer reaches of the galaxy. Man landing on the moon started out as nothing but a fantastical thing only seen in pulp comics. And yet. Rocket Ships were once only seen as fantastical and out of our reach forever. And yet. Hi there NASA. Sci Fi really did inspire a lot of our technological advancements, for better or worse. Because a lot of what they presented were ultimately achievable with the right minds behind them (and the right technology.) But can you really say the same about say Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings? 1984 and Brave New World (which were both eerily accurate in their predictions) are both categorized as Sci Fi. But both are able to be looked at as something achievable within our own world (again, for better or worse.). I get that there's overlap (Star Wars for example, or dystopia/utopia being more subcategories of Sci Fi) or really fantastical things which are just fiction. Frankenstein's Monster, and even then, it's more unethical really. But I have to side with Stripped Cover Lit on this one. Albeit not as strongly. They are two different genres often with completely different implications for our real world. But I see them as fraternal twins, rather than ordinary siblings. Sci Fi is based on some half truth, or at least based on some conclusion that is a half truth (if the future has common space travel, space operas would be an agreed upon conclusion of that truth, if still entirely fictional either way.) Fantasy is just balls to the wall all out.....well fantastical. It can literally do whatever it wants, because it can make up its own truth. I see fiction as more like the Tree of Life scenario. Yes, they have similarities once you reduce them to their bare bones, but that's because they share common ancestors. And just like organisms that have had to adapt to survive, so too did fiction. Branching out into all sorts of different areas, either through pressure to conform to societal expectations or even shaping the environment themselves for others to survive in. (Wow, that was a really stretched thin metaphor lol!)

[@CurtisBooksandFilms]

There are no spaceships in the real world? (edit: spelling)

[@someonerandom8552]

Lol my first reaction was, really Steve? Really?