Top 10 Sci Fi Read in 2022 (Backlist Books)

[@glockensig]

Being a Mom is hard work! Bless you!! What a cool mom though!!❤

[@kevinsbookcase59]

I know C.J. and I would recommend any of her other titles. As I read her books, I would talk with her where she got ideas. Very knowledgeable. I was born in the middle of the "Golden Age" of scifi (62 now) and read and met a lot of authors all the way up to the Worldcon here in Spokane back in 2014. Now I read more horror than sci-fi, but your video might get me going back to combining the genres again. 😊

[@TheShadesofOrange]

So amazing that you know her! What a treat to be able to discuss her books with her

[@francoisbouchart4050]

Yes Kevin, CJ Cherryh is a great author that has been forgotten. I will be rereading her Chanur series next week. Just finished The Dreaming Tree; CJ Cherryh “paints” such beautiful and sometimes heartbreaking stories.

[@zachryder3150]

*This is what we've been waiting for!*

[@backawayfromthedonkey]

You were reading some classics this year. A Clockwork Orange for some strange reason doesn't seem to get much love on Booktube so great to see it mentioned. Gene Wolfe never wrote a bad book in my opinion, I've reread the book of the New Sun multiple times since the 1980's and I still discover new things. Inverted world still has one of the best opening lines ever "I had reached the age of six hundred and fifty miles,". Really interesting video and great to hear you views.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Love the opening to Inverted World... and Yes I never hear anyone on Booktube talk about A Clockwork Orange

[@CriminOllyBlog]

XX sounds absolutely fascinating. Books that play around with the form like that and do it with purpose are great. I really need to read Neal Stephenson but I’m daunted by him!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yes XX is great if you enjoy something different

[@mikesbookreviews]

XX is one I was interested in after I bought Ship of Theseus and wasn't sure if it was as time consuming. Really hoping Neal Stephenson clicks for me because a lot of folks recommend his stuff.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I think XX is more consumable than most of the other popular multimedia books. And I look forward to see what you think of Neal Stephenson. I'll be revisiting Snow Crash myself

[@mikeptheoldbookworm.4751]

Reading a book that will be my number 1 this year : Children of time by A. Tchaikovsky. Just a wow book...😀😀😀

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope it's a favourite on my 2023 list!

[@thefuzzybookdragon]

C J Cherryh is such a great author :) 'Cyteen', 'Cuckoo's Egg', and 'Forty Thousand in Gehenna' are some of my favourites.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I definitely want to read more by her

[@franciscomap75]

I fu@king love her, I have read most of her books

[@fiberartsyreads]

I need to get to these!! I’ve only read Clockwork Orange. So many books to read.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'll be excited to see which ones become favorites of yours

[@ewanstuart5521]

Glad you liked inverted world. Priest is a great author.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yes I'm really liking his stuff

[@shannonsullivan2051]

C.J. Cherryh is one of my favorite authors. One (set) I read every year is the Cyteen/Regenesis saga. If you like big ideas (your statement about Cryptonomicon), it’s a great ‘nature or nurture’ thought problem wrapped up in Cherryh’s best slightly paranoid style. It’s my fiction “home base” friend (Guns of August being my “home base” nonfiction friend). Good reading!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I definitely want to read more Cherryh!

[@ChristopherEvenstar]

Oooo, Maybe I should bump _Cryptonomicon_ up and read it soon. It's sitting, imposing, blocky, almost a cube, on my shelf. I read _Quicksilver_ , the one about Newton long ago. Very descriptive and informative. Thanks for the suggestions.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I really want to read Quicksilver

[@joinbookland]

I don't read a lot of sci-fi but I read Kindred this year which I really liked. I also enjoyed these stories: Emergency Skin by N. K. Jemisin, The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh yes Kindred is excellent

[@warrenbruhn5888]

My favorite C.J. Cherryh books are 'Finity's End and Rim Runners. I've read at least a dozen of her 50+ novels. She, along with Orson Scott Card, are two of the best sci-fi authors at psychology and character development.

[@bjlowe85]

You always have such unique books so many of these I had not even heard of before. Thanks for the recomendations!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Happy to hear that

[@khomo12]

I am always up for a good space opera😊 downbelow station is going on my tbr📚

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Woo hoo!

[@playsintraffic2]

Backlist SF - definitely anything by David Weber. I don't think I've read any Neal Stephenson, so I'll definitely check him out.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I've been enjoying getting into David Webers books

[@GuiltyNoticer]

always make sure to check for social media accounts before wasting time watching, so glad I did, and my expectation hits the jackpot again lol

[@TheShadesofOrange]

What do you mean?

[@mattkean1128]

I read the first in Cherryh's Foreigner series and liked it a lot.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I look forward to reading that series

[@bookspin]

Some great books in this list, thanks for sharing! I read A Fire Upon the Deep this summer and loved it. Also looking forward to reading Inverted World

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope you enjoy the Inverted World!

[@sociallyhawkword]

i always thought i'd read Cryptonomicon when I got around to neal Stephenson, but this has kinda sold me on anathem!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah I liked Cryptonomicon, but Anathem is one of my personal favs

[@armstronghawkins9183]

I admire Clockwork Orange. Torn between liking it and not. Definitely admire the writing (same issue with Nabokov's "Lolita"). But I do like, dark, serious subjects/dramas. "...enjoy reading really dark fiction..." (1:56) Have you read any "Hubert Selby Jr."? Read him after HS. Shocked and blown away. ---...will have to pick up "XX"

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I've been told to read Shelby by a few people

[@candicebarbata5028]

I’ve been wondering where to start with C.J. Cherryh, so excited to try this author in 2023!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'd definitely recommend Downbelow Station

[@josephlindsey3062]

More great recommendations, thank you! I had not heard of “XX” it sounds like a really unique take on first contact.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope you enjoy it. It's certainly unique

[@ubxs113]

Some great books on here and picked up a few TBR but OMG, I hated the slang in Clockwork Orange, could barely get through it, lol!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

That's totally allowed. I have a feeling it's a polarizing book among readers 😄

[@DuckRon626]

A Fire Upon the Deep is rising to the top of my TBR. Looking forward to reading it. Have heard/read a lot of good thing about it from many KZbin reviewers. My personal all time favorite SF novel is Dune. Until I read anything better it will stay that way.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh yes Dune is an excellent pick. And yes A Fire Upon the Deep was worth the hype

[@angelamccollister]

I love Elizabeth Moon's fantasy. I need to check out her scifi.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

And I still need to check out her fantasy

[@WordsinTime]

Awesome list Rachel! A Clockwork Orange is a dark read but a great one. Neal Stephenson and Peter Watts are authors I plan to get to very soon, and The Speed of Dark sounds very intriguing despite the ending haha. And congrats on 20k!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thank you ... and I'll be so interested to see what you think of Watts & Stephenson

[@ZenonMcRae]

Great list. Thx.

[@Shelbyproductions]

I enjoyed the Gene Wolfe series. I may re read this summer

[@TheShadesofOrange]

His books definitely get better with rereading!

[@myrarucker7953]

Thoroughly enjoyed!! Thank you!!

[@chones_]

Love the chapters!

[@monilily]

I don't read a lot of SciFi, but I'll be adding The Inverted World to my TBR. I've previously read one of his books, The Prestige, which looks like we both really enjoyed. Thanks for the recc.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh yes... you may see The Prestige somewhere in my end content 🙂

[@doandroidsdream1748]

Cherryh is great. I liked Downbelow Station enough but found i couldn’t really get into any of her others as much until i read Cyteen so if you do get around to reading it, i would love a review. It’s one of my faves.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

A few people have recommended Cyteen. I will try to track it down

[@danazanna]

I s3cond the recommendation of Cyteen. It is the book that made me a Cherryh fan.

[@lisacole6037]

Super list. I'm actually reading Inverted World right now and finding it very interesting. I love A Clockwork Orange as well. A Fire Upon the Deep is one I need to read again. Looking forward to my own attempt at Gene Wolfe and much more Neal Stephenson.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

So glad your enjoying Inverted World... I had so much fun book

[@ttues]

Just finding your channel now.. Really great to find you! Nice presentation here, describing recommended book summary without ruining the plot. Reading "roadside picnic" and "lord of light" now... trying to catch up with this amazing community of booklovers))

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh thanks so much! And both of those are on my tbr... hopefully next year!

[@marleens]

I think my fave scifi backlist title this year was The Book of M by Peng Shepherd.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Nice! That one is on my tbr

[@saucebot7214]

Great video. New subscriber here. What an awesome list of books 🎉

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks

[@gregarchipow7643]

Neal Stephensons best sci-fi book (in my view) is Seveneves

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'm going to reread that one this summer and see how it stacks up

[@alf.2929]

I know most of the books you mentioned and have some of them. The two that I haven't heard about is XX by Rian Hughes and The Speed of Dark both of which I've reserved at the library.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Happy to hear that I put a few new ones on your radar

[@izabelakujawska5245]

Great recomendations!

[@amosfamous5836]

Great 👍 wrap up Rachel! Two Stevensons!! Excellent.👏 Fave ScienceFiction book is Embassytown by China Mieville. Great 👍 concept! 🤔 Cheers!😃

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Looking forward to reading Embassytown soon!

[@phduffy]

This is a great list - I'm excited to look into the cherryh and priest novels. Thank you

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope you enjoy them

[@raymondstiehl6769]

Best of series! Best time of the year!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks Raymond 🙂

[@thetheatrezoo3603]

This is a really intriguing Top 10. I completely relate to your experience with A Clockwork Orange. Anathem has been on my TBR (I think because of your previous review), but now I definitely am interested in adding to it from your list.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Nice to hear that you had a similar experience with A Clockwork Orange... I hope you enjoy Anathem

[@Oilbleak5453]

If you like Gene Wolfe, have you read C.S. Friedman's Black Sun Rising trilogy? It's another regressed fantasy with a really interesting dynamic between the two main characters.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

It's on my tbr... hopefully for next year... it sounds great

[@brooke5258]

Hi! Is there a playlist with your best of videos? That would make them easily accessible 😁

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Just add a playlist in the description box!

[@brooke5258]

@@TheShadesofOrange thanks so much! ❤️

[@RAHowes]

As usual my TBR has grown after watching your video. I tried reading Stephenson when I was much younger, but I don't think I was a mature enough reader to get it. I will have to go back and try their works again. Altered Carbon is a favourite back list of mine, I recently started rereading Neuromancer but have put it down until I can do a true emmerisve read of it. Another all time fav is Dune. I do recall enjoying a book called V... I don't know if it was based of the TV miniseries or the miniseries was based of it (original) but I do want to find it again to reread.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope to read Altered Carbon nect year. And hopefully Stephenson works for you this time... but I also know some authors click better with different readers, which is OK too

[@RAHowes]

@@TheShadesofOrange of definitely. I remember enjoying it, just being very confused. 🤣

[@cindywingetbooks]

I am ashamed to say that I think I have only read two sci-fi books this year, which are actually sci-fi horror and that is Dead Silence and Black Tide. Every time I watch one of your videos it makes me long for a good space opera and I start buying books but then I don't read them! Lol

[@TheShadesofOrange]

No shame! And I'd love hear what space opera you end up trying out

[@MrAlsachti]

My favourite science-fiction book is Solaris, by Stanisław Lem.

[@holydissolution85]

Have you read Fiasco ? As good as Solaris... maybe better...

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'm hoping to get to that one next year

[@thetheatrezoo3603]

@@TheShadesofOrange I read Solaris a couple of months ago and really liked it. I feel Good Morning, Midnight could actually serve as a companion piece because they both kind of deal with a similar theme. I think I actually enjoyed it more.

[@eddiepalmer5740]

Wow! First time I'm #1 to like a video.

[@JohnG225]

Great list. Have to confess I gave up with Cryptonomicon. I got so bored with the rabbit holes he kept going down.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Totally understandable. I loved it a lot but it wasn't even top of my list

[@JohnG225]

@@TheShadesofOrange I'm sure there is a really good novel buried in there, and I will give it another go at some point. I'm better at skim reading stuff that doesn't interest me these days.

[@kovenant7]

Anathem seems really interesting! I haven't been into Scifi books (mainly fantasy) but have recently been wanting to get more into Scifi lately mainly bcause of the fact that so many writers have philosophy in mind. Where do you get most of your Sci fi books from local stores or online?

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I live in rural Canada so I don't really have local bookstores so I usually order books online unless I'm driving into a city.

[@kovenant7]

@@TheShadesofOrange I've been searching for a book that is somewhat similar to the 2020 Sci fi film "Coma". It would be mind blowing to see something that deals with how a person coming out of a coma would guage what type of general perspective he should strive to attain without being entirely arbitrary along the way, and of course in a sci fi format with some interesting world building. I thought the film was going to be about that but it wasnt so much but I still liked the film.

[@warrenbruhn5888]

Overthink Podcast is a great KZbin channel for short introductions to philosophy.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks for the rec

[@millymollymrst3537]

Thank you for another great video. When I was younger I used to read John Wyndham and Albert finney. I'm finding it hard to get back into science fiction. Have you got a recommendation for a book to start with. I like horror. I like the sound of the speed of dark. My son is autistic so i would find this interesting.😊

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Honestly Speed of Dark might be a good one. It's very character focused so it doesn't have any techno jargen

[@richardbrown8966]

Do you mean JACK Finney? Albert is an acclaimed English actor.

[@millymollymrst3537]

@@richardbrown8966 ha ha of course I do, a bit of brain fog which I suffer from.

[@millymollymrst3537]

@@TheShadesofOrange thank you

[@AvanToor]

If you like Stephenson, give The Baroque Cycle a try. I think it's his best. edit: my fav this year is Death's End by Liu Cixin

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Sounds good! I definitely want to check it out... and finish Liu Cixin's trilogy

[@holydissolution85]

Wolfe is meant to be reread multiple times ( with increased enjoyment each time )... There are some things that I discovered upon 4th reread last year ( like , why did averns gone crazy during duel ! 😁 ) .. Cyteen by C.J. Cherryh should be next on your list... looooong, but very special novel ( you will like this one Rachel , right in your alley, psychology & intrigue & manipulation & politics )...unique atmosphere.... Also isn't Starfish only the first in Watts trilogy ? There's also Maelstrom & Behemot ...( Lenny Clarke story continues ).. very dark world, that one.... Great choices all in all, I already got XX thanks to you..... 👠 😁

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I didn't love the Starfish sequels as much so they didn't make my favourites as a trilogy. I will definitely try to track down cyteen. And yes I can see myself rereading Gene Wolf many times

[@gregarchipow7643]

the slang in A Clockwork Orange was based on Russian

[@TheShadesofOrange]

That's so cool!

[@redfoot2]

"So many people told me I would love this book and, well, you were right." 😭

[@TheShadesofOrange]

You were definitely the biggest advocate for me reading it... so thank you

[@travisporco]

Fire upon the Deep is _so_good_!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Agreed!

[@PhreakPhantom]

Watch some Neil Stephenson interviews. You won't be disappointed ;)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh that'd be fun!

[@katharynbaker5592]

📚🚀

[@Melissa19f]

👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🙂

[@negi8028]

📚🌸👍

[@lda1737]

🍊

[@flippydippy3054]

😎🤠

[@lauraesposito9209]

🛸

[@aliciacampos5789]

👽

[@jamesbaird1342]

🐱🐱🐧