Utopia, Nuclear War and Talking Elephants: 5 Sci-Fi Books Reviewed [100 Book Challenge #15-20]

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Outlaw Bookseller's most recent Silverberg video - there are many more and he does a great job describing Silverberg's talents and explaining his place in genre lit:
• EARLY ROBERT SILVERBER...
00:00 Downward to the Earth by Robert Silverberg
04:18 A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
09:07 The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
13:10 Past Master by R.A. Lafferty
21:03 Voyager in Night by C.J. Cherryh

[@ronaldwilliams2456]

Bradbury always considered himself a fantasy writer, who did use tropes of the SF genre. A lot of his favorite childhood reading was stuff like Burroughs, etc. Glad you read it. He's one of the first "science fiction" writers I ever read back in the 70s.

[@smokinmystic7363]

Cordwainer Smith,Gene Wolff, and Franz Kafka writing a sequel to Bill and Ted!!! That is too funny, Matt! I’ll have to get my hands on a copy asap!

[@8020Alive]

He's right though 😅 So true 😂

[@meesalikeu]

yeah that one made me lol 👍🏽

[@desfarrell909]

Very true!

[@rickkearn7100]

I've been diligently attempting to broaden my SF and Sci Fantasy reading landscape BP, for at least the past 10 years and your channel has been a godsend by saving me from the frustration of ill-advised choices bearing no fruit, and loss of valuable time in doing so. Your posts are extremely beneficial, as are those of that good fellow in the UK whom you responded to, below. I've got a fantastic TBR list for this winter thanks to you both. Great channel, great content and great presentation as usual. Thanks so much. Cheers.

[@Bookpilled]

Thank you, very much glad to be of service.

[@jumpingjohnflash]

Good thing about being in the UK, is that a lot of the classic SF paperbacks published in the 1970s and 1980s have amazing cover art by the likes of Chris Foss and Peter Elson.

[@rickkearn7100]

@@jumpingjohnflash I'm still looking for the definitive illustrated book history that documents them all. Let me know if you find one! Cheers.

[@davidmcnamara7489]

I’m a Bradbury fan. His stories seem to be short morality plays: like episodes of the Twilight Zone. They are often nostalgic and macabre. His writing style is poetic, visual, and evocative. The Martian Chronicles seems like a collection of unrelated short stories, with a Mars theme.

[@grene1955]

I am an avid science fiction reader, have been for over 50 years. I have hundreds of sci-fi books. You have turned me on to some I have not read, and made me rethink how I understood many I have read, with your very articulate and insightful reviews. Love your channel!

[@klstay]

For me Canticle is a must read piece. The beauty and pacing of the writing, even through the all important stage setting leading up to the final act, elevate it above what may be more engaging and involved tales.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

Nice one Matt- great to see you reacting to what are for me old (in some cases, like the Bradbury, very old) keynote books which I love. Cherryh would or me be the sore thumb here, but I am going to read more of her at some point, but she's never resonated with me. For me, 'Martian' outstrips '451' but it isn't really a novel as you suggest and I think that's its strength, ironically. Miller I've been thinking about a lot recently as his collection 'The Darfstellar' keeps popping into my head for some reason, I must re-read it - like you, I am slightly divided over 'Canticle' - I love the opening act, all the stuff about the illuminated manuscript of printed circuits, the shopping list, just beautiful- I'm less enamoured of the later parts and was unhappy with the recurrences of history, but I'm not a Christian either, so I think I was more down on it from a philosophical than a literary POV. As for Lafferty, I think you did a very, very fine job of describing a difficult but hugely stimulating work. He was sui generis, sometimes frustrating, always fascinating. As I've said before, great to see your taste developing -and many thanks for the Silverberg shout, more on Bob coming to my channel soon!

[@Bookpilled]

Thanks, Steve, very much appreciate it. Fragments of Canticle still stand out to me, I think we remember it in similar ways. I liked the elevated stakes and deeper character work of the final act but found its moral arithmetic faulty. Glad to hear I did Lafferty justice, certainly felt like a challenge.

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@Bookpilled RAL is challenging and I'll admit I think he sometimes went off the rails, but that's cognitive dissonance for you, an essential part of SF. It's years since I've read them, but Miller's short stories are good from what I recall. You are a man of taste and insight!

[@Verlopil]

Cherryh has written some of the best aliens in sf, and writes them in a way to make you truly aware of how difficult it will be to understand those who didn't evolve on Earth. I also love the way she uses linguistics to add to her worlds.

[@jaffe28]

Aliens are Cherryh's best skill. She's amazing with creating an alien essence and extrapolating it into psychology and culture.

[@BellydancerMaliha]

I agree. I love how she did the aliens in Downbelow Station.

[@waltera13]

With your quiet and understated genius, this is *such* a good book review collection! Wonderful selection of books.

[@holydissolution85]

Walter Miller's short fiction is in "Dark Benediction" . Highly recommend, every story is great. The sequel ( St. L & Wild Horse Woman ) is fantastic book also, happens little bit after second story of first novel... It's very "either love or hate" kind of book. I thought it was great... Very good combo for depicting Lafferty ( Kafka, Wolfe, Cordweiner ) , plus you can add G.K. Chesterton as most similar to his prose... Lafferty kind of said so indirectly once....

[@ralphmarrone3130]

I also enjoyed the sequel to Canticle. I thought I was the only one😊

[@psikeyhackr6914]

There Will Come Soft Rains is really great. One of the stories in Martian Chronicles.

[@personmcpersonperson2893]

Your videos always make me want to read and I have found so many fascinating books thanks to you. Best channel on KZbin 🏆

[@klipkultur3680]

I'm here for the content, which you master perfectly, but mostly, I just love listening to you. Thanks again.

[@Doctor_Rockter]

Lafferty cult member here.😊 Love your review of Past Master! Had me laughing hard as always. Very much appreciate your honest love/hate response. "Primordial conservatism".😂 A brown slurry that still tastes like delicious strawberries, haha, nice. Going through another read now and, while he always makes me think of Chesterton and Twain time travelling to 1968 and shrooming or something (whilst being Ur-conservative!), I'd forgotten how many flavourings of his New Wave contemporaries he has - getting notes of Delany, Zelazny, Disch, etc. But your scenario's far crazier and funnier and weirdly on point - Cordwainer, Wolfe, and Kafka writing a sequel to Bill & Ted!!🤣🤣 I'm just so pleased you've clocked into how absolutely bizarre and un-summarizable it is. Rat Castle! No reviewer ever even mentions that! One of my fave (horrific) images in the novel. And yeah, I've always thought of it as philosophical science fantasy. "A New Wave book written by a right wing Catholic in Oklahoma" - cut to confused face.😆I really appreciate your handling of conservatism on this channel and your willingness to say the best of it must be engaged by the left. I think you'd enjoy Andrew Ferguson's blog Continued On Next Rock that writes about Lafferty from that leftist, progressive perspective (Ferguson wrote the intro to the Library of America edition of Past Master). That's my perspective on Lafferty too but unfortunately I'm woefully inadequate to discuss Marxism, etc. I mainly deal with ecocriticism and, to a lesser extent, post-colonialism. (Intersectionalism and all that, of course. But I'm mortal!) That Lafferty's portrayal of utopian consequences is "overstated to the point of silliness" is, alas, his Achilles' heel for me. He can be such an astute thinker and critic of society in certain respects, but he can at times really caricature his ideological enemies and it bums me out. Still, I think at moments in other works he handles these things better. Almost always, though, his sheer exuberance of wild storytelling gives me such readerly pleasure. Anyway, glad you're hooked! :)

[@JackMyersPhotography]

Your reviews are always spot on, concise and entertaining, Matt. I always look forward to them. That Silverberg edition is gorgeous. I’ve never read Laff, but you’ve made me curious about his work. I agree with you that Silverberg makes it look easy.

[@ryguyful]

Read "Downward to the Earth" over 30 years ago and loved it but I couldn't remember why. Started "Canticle" awhile back but only made it half way through before life intervened and forced me to abandon it prematurely. Thanks for the reminder to check these out again. Great channel.

[@claudiabottom4086]

Read the whole thing. It’s like the Martian chronicles a must qualitative thoughtful read

[@johnmartin4650]

I enjoy your episodes….your very good at what you do…..thank you…..all the best to you and yours.

[@penguinYT1]

I love the way you show the various covers as you discuss the books.

[@31LaschG]

I have just read the comic book adaption of The downward to the earth by Silverberg.

[@robbiefrantz8170]

The World Inside is my Silverberg favorite, as well. I also read Downward to the Earth. Loved that also. Thanks for this. Brings back some good, good memories.

[@DamnableReverend]

I definitely appreciated re-reading Canticle. The first time I read it I was nineteen and very anti-christian, and so in a way I think I felt like I had to fight witht he author, whose beliefs were certainly on display. Ten years later I was a lot more mellow about tehse things and, i guess, receptive to the other things the book had to say. I do agree it's that second part that's kind of the hardest to get through. The prose really is great and the ending, I mean the last couple of paragraphs, are truly haunting stuff. Great review of past master, which I haven't read yet, but I really love lafferty's stuff. he was an interesting person, whose conservatism is clear, but also not typical. What's more, he's just so much fun to read. He wrote hundreds of amazingly weird and addictive short stories. It actually took me a while to sort of realise where he was coming from, ideologically. Once I did, i thought, Well, I disagree, but I love you anyway, you crazy old Irishman from the South.. Enjoy Dunsany!!

[@lisacole6037]

I think I've said this before, but I really enjoy your insightful and articulate reviews. Your channel is great! Bradbury is a favourite of mine; his writing is lovely and he does that aching melancholy very well. Something Wicked This Way Comes and October Country are excellent examples.

[@Kjt853]

My own favorite Bradbury is Dandelion Wine, October Country a close second.

[@PlaguedbyVisions]

Past Master is now on its way to me. It sounds like prose and ideas tempered way too uniquely to miss! Goddamn.

[@Doctor_Rockter]

Ahhhh! If you read (and even more. review) Lafferty that would be my two fave youtubers reading my fave author and I could just go ahead and die happy. In my experience, you have to find your own entry point (sometimes after several goes) into Lafferty. So I'm wary of making recommendations. That said, based on your channel's content, I wonder if, in addition to Past Master, you might get something out of Reefs of Earth, Not To Mention Camels, The Three Armageddons of Enniscorthy Sweeny, Fourth Mansions, or The Devil is Dead. No, I'm being too greedy. I'm just delighted you've ordered PM. :)

[@GypsyRoSesx]

Always enjoy your book reviews, Matt!

[@mikejcross]

Another fantastic review video! I enjoy your reviews even if I don't like the book you're talking about. I bounced off Downward to the Earth long long ago. I loved Canticle, again a long time ago. I found Martian Chronicles v uneven, and unengaging. I find Lafferty almost unreadable. Voyager in Night is one of the handful of Cherryh books that I really struggled with; Port Eternity, and Hunter of Worlds were 2 other SF books like that. I also struggle with much of her fantasy, but love The Paladin. What would I recommend next? Cuckoo's Egg, Faded Sun (originally 3 books, nowadays an omnibus), Chanur (5 books, but first can be read as a stand-alone to see if you like it), Merchanter's Luck, Morgaine (4 books), Serpent's Reach, Cyteen (v dense, originally 3 books, may be in omnibus form these days)

[@boromirjonah5774]

Bradbury is my favorite. Been plucking away at his short stories for years. I think my favorite is "the illustrated man". Looking forward to seeing the next 5 you read.

[@ronaldwilliams2456]

Dude your comparisons of Lafferty to those other authors is spot on. Very odd sui generis. By the way, as someone who considers themselves to be a center-right conservative, I really like your approach to works you don't agree with philosophically. I also like how you don't use the word conservative in a pejorative, absolute fashion. For the record, there is no longer an organized, unified right. We don't have the same opinions (I believe in science; I think Biden won fair and square. I guess I'm what they call a RINO). Keep up the good work. I'd also like to say that even thought I was reading sci-fi, fantasy, and horror way back when, you've also turned me onto some interesting stuff.

[@mike-williams]

There's a graphic novel version of "Downward to the Earth" too.

[@VangelVe]

Miller got to me. Each time I go back to the text, I see many new things and questions I have not thought much about. The book has much more depth than your typical science fiction, and the middle chunk, which you did not like, has some interesting meditations on the nature of science and morality. How the book is read has a much larger impact than it does on the books you and I usually like. The atheism part greatly impacts the enjoyment because it is hard for an atheist to understand some of the points. I have Catholic friends who missed the references more than I did because they never thought to reflect sufficiently on Miller's Catholicism. The question that you need to try to answer is, who is Rachel, and how should we see her?

[@desfarrell909]

Outstanding work as usual and I am eternally grateful for your ability to describe the book without throwing spoilers. I’ve read 2 of these and will now read Lafferty, God forgive me!

[@fretmyster]

Great reviews of some interesting picks. Added Past Master to my TBR thanks

[@chrisw6164]

Piqued my interest with Lafferty. I have it in a Library of America collection, but I hit eBay for standalone edition after your review. I’m in the same place when it comes to Silverberg. I’ve read a half dozen or so in the last couple years. You never know what you’re going to get with him but they’re almost always great.

[@TheDMFW62]

Interesting and thoughtful reviews as ever. The only one of these I haven't read is the Lafferty, although it was only when you showed the second cover to the C.J. Cherryh that I not only remembered I definitely had read that one but also chunks of the plot structure came back to me, so some strange visual association thing going on there! The Martian Chronicles is the one that has stuck with me the most. Some beautiful writing and despite it being an obvious fixup the whole is still greater than the sum of the parts in the sense that the stories benefit from being read together. I'll have to try the Lafferty. I'll also have to re-read some Silverberg, an author I remember enjoying but then struggle to recall in detail. I need a refresher...

[@seano4977]

Excellent listing as always. In the vein of A canticle for Leibowitz you should try The book of Dave by Will Self. It's about a society in the future, set after a natural disaster who base their culture on the memoirs from the writings of a really unpleasant London cabbie. I'm not making that up, it's a real book lol.

[@jossaha]

Oooh I did not know - I will look this up, thanks. (Will Self is a huge advocate for another seminal post-apoc book, which I always beat the drum for - Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker)

[@outlawbookselleroriginal]

@@jossaha I included 'The Book of Dave' in my book '100 Must Read Books For Men' in 2008. But my first thought was Hoban - great minds and all that!

[@Toocoolforyhu]

love the way you described the martian chronicles … poetic mythos for sure

[@johnmahon5699]

You’ve sold me on Cordwainer Smith, and you’ve sold me on R.A. Lafferty!

[@bookspin]

Thanks for the reviews! I can't wait to read The Martian Chronicles. Bradbury is such an esteemed writer, I really need to check out his work. The King of Elfland's Daughter is a gem. It has a similar feel to William Hope Hodgson's classic science fantasy The Nightland, if you're familiar with that, but much better written in my opinion. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[@harryl2232]

Just started after having just finishing Robert holdstock where time winds blow which is Sci fi, now trying mythago wood, which is fantasy esque and “Jungian” as was the other one,

[@deanleslie3269]

I'm a bit late to viewing this podcast,but you mentioned wanting to read more Lafferty despite your reservations about some of his....thinking. I find his short stories more powerful and his concepts,especially the short stories,quite mind-blowing. Keep up the good work.

[@chuckbridgeland6181]

"entered a period of bloat" -- my impression of much of what I've read of Cherryh. I read the first three in high school 50ish years ago, late 60s, early 70s, in the pictured editions. I remember mostly just scenes and minor bits. Past Master sounds like fun, will watch for it.

[@buddyneher9359]

I tried to read Canticle for Leibowitz twice, don't think I finished it either time. I loved the beginning and dropped out somewhere during the second part. Don't recall getting to the third part and finding it exciting... maybe I should try it again sometime. Because you're right... it's kind of de rigeur to read this for sf cred. New subscriber, really loving your reviews!

[@SolarLabyrinth]

I commend you for not only taking chances on books that may not align with your personal views but also not writing them off for it. I am not some crazy right winger but I do lean more conservative. Most of the sci-fi I have found tends to lean more to the left but that doesn't mean I can't still enjoy it. Glad to see you popped your Cherryh too. I recently found a bunch of her old paperbacks and looking forward to going through them.

[@ChrisHoppe-wordmeme]

Good books in this haul. Glad you appreciated CANTICLE as much as you did. I find it excellent, ymmv. 😉 Please keep sharing reviews of your readings. Your views are top shelf. (Sic.)

[@TheWRYYYYYYY]

Well, now I really need to get a copy of Downward to the Earth (been meaning to read Silverberg anyway)

[@thekeywitness]

Highly recommend The Book of Skulls, A Time of Changes and Dying Inside.

[@tokenblack7983]

Downward to the Earth is so so good. Just like Matt says there’s this effortless talent with Silverberg

[@BellydancerMaliha]

Thank you for this review! I love your thoughtful comments. If this was your first Cherryh and you’d like to try more, I’d recommend Downbelow Station, probably her best, though Cyteen is also superior.

[@keithdavis9889]

4 of these 5 are among my all time favorite SF novels. Have to agree with you about Canticle. I believe most of the praise for the book is about the third section; I can barely remember what the second part was about. Martian Chronicles is very hit and miss, but I would still rank it higher than Fahrenheit 451. Silverberg's psychological SF novels from the 60's and 70's don't get enough attention. I am definitely a member of the Lafferty cult, I highly recommend Annals of Klepsis, Fourth Mansions, and any of his short story collections you can find. Also, reading the Best of Cordwainer Smith collection was one of the highlights of my life as a reader.

[@Doctor_Rockter]

Annals of Klepsis, yes! *Possibly* my fave Lafferty novel - or fave overtly s.f. novel by him. "It is too late for you to withdraw... That faintly odd taste in your mouth, that smallest of tingles which you feel, they signal the snake-death. Die a little . There is reason for it." (Sorry, indulging a little cult member chatter.)

[@noahmatuszewski8085]

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on The King of Elflands Daughter. Dunsany is a favorite of mine and that one in particular is very near & dear to my heart! I'm curious what other fantasy you might review.

[@Bookpilled]

I am finding it absolutely beautiful, one of the few truly great fantasies I've read. Haven't decided entirely what is to follow.

[@delwynklassen3644]

Ooh, it’s very lyrical. I read it on recommendation from a LeGuin essay. 😅

[@meesalikeu]

dunsany is so famous, but i’ve never read any thx for the reminder! 👍🏽

[@koomo801]

I didn't care for A Canticle for Leibowitz but I appreciated what he was trying to do. Not mentioned in the video was the historical precedent that Miller likely drew from, of monks and clerics preserving the antiquities from all over the known world for over a millennium after the collapse of the Roman Empire, and how it led to the Renaissance. I don't know what his sequel would have been but I can make an educated guess...it would probably have been a very different future Earth having to reconcile with the discovered documents (i.e. Augustine with the Romans, and Aquinas with the Greeks).

[@donaldb1]

It's not actually a sequel in that sense. It's another story set in the same world, during the time period that _Canticle_ covers. As far as I recall it echos the story of the papal exile to Avignon and the western schism and it explores the theme of sacred versus secular rule.

[@koomo801]

@@donaldb1 Makes sense. I was jumping ahead in time way too far! Thank you.

[@EdwardRLyons]

Voyager in Night was one of my first C J Cherryh reads, many, many years ago. Good choice! I'd recommend her Morgaine chronicles. Very compelling, and real page turners. Could be taken to be fantasy, but with a SF grounding where advanced technology can appear to be magic.

[@StElna]

For science fiction horror I would recommend Unto Leviathon (aka Ship of Fools) by Richard Paul Russo. It's pretty obscure. I read it around 20 years ago, and then again last year. It's excellent. And Unto Leviathon is one of my favourite book titles.

[@Bookpilled]

It's been on my radar for a long time. Really uncommon book, have never run across it.

[@StElna]

@@Bookpilled I initially got it from my local library. Then I picked it up at a second hand bookstore in Bangkok about 10 years ago

[@mikejcross]

@@Bookpilled It's also known as 'Ship of Fools', that's how I have it. Maybe it's less rare under that title?

[@WordsinTime]

I recently bought Dying Inside and am looking forward to reading my first Silverberg book. I didn't really connect with A Canticle For Leibowitz myself but see why others might. The Martian Chronicles is another book I bought recently and am looking forward to!

[@Bookpilled]

I think you'll like both.

[@AStrang3r]

Really love your thoughtful, concise and informative reviews. Past Master and Voyager in the Night are new to me. Now on my TBR.. If you want to read more Cherryh, perhaps try Downbelow Station.

[@asusminor]

I just clicked this video, out of my history, of yours because I wanted to subscribe. Keep it interesting. 💯

[@TheSpanishInquisition87]

Ray Bradbury is a truly great writer. If you haven't read "the Illustrated Man," I can't recommend it enough. I'm really enjoying this series. Thanks.

[@moderskeppets]

Great vid as always!

[@jumpingjohnflash]

Walter Millar - if he saw the firebombing of a monastery, it may well have been the Battle of Monte Cassino. There is a sequel to 'Canticle" too, which I've read but don't remember anything about. I think your review of the 'Canticle' is pretty much spot on though - I read it as a teenager and that moral centre you discuss was quite a revelation to me as my first exposure to "great" SF and I think it is really the heart of the story. 'The Martian Chronicles" I truly love, such a pleasure to read. I think your point about the "planetary romances is a good one, given it was written in the late 40s. early 50s, - so in that sense the book is a product of its time. The other Bradbury stories I've read are also "of their time" but transcend it I think. There is a comic book series of adaptions of some of his short stories and they read very much like very well written versions of the EC pulp comics of the 1950s. Mytho-poetic is a wonderful description. I've not read any Lafferty, and apparently his works are difficult to find - Martin Crookall's blog mbc1955.wordpress.com/ has a very good overview of all his Lafferty reading - this is where I first heard of Lafferty. Cherryh is probably one of the best SF writers I've found for writing aliens that feel alien rather than Star Trek-like humanoids with different facial bumps.

[@davidevans1667]

I've only read Nightwings and The World Inside but Silverburg is already one of my favorite writers. I have Book of Skulls and Dying Inside on the shelf. Now I have another Silverburg to go out and look for.

[@Warstub]

A Time of Changes is worth it too.

[@davidevans1667]

I've been watching your channel for a while but I don't recall if you've ever mentioned A. E. Van Vogt. I just finished The World of Null-A and Slan and I liked them both. I'd be curious to see your review of those.

[@jumpingjohnflash]

He has mentioned A.E Van Vogt previously, but not read him yet I think. I read Van Vogt as a teenager (my parents owned a store, so we could buy books at wholesale prices) amongst a huge number of other SF and fantasy books - My recollection is Van Vogt is rather quirky, but very readable, and definitely didn't seem out of place quality wise next to Asimov, Silverberg, Brunner, Dickson, Poul Anderson etc. I still have the original 70s paperbacks so I obviously liked him enough to keep for 40 years :-).

[@31LaschG]

My real introduction when it comes to science fiction was MartianChronicles and there was The illustrated man.

[@31LaschG]

and then

[@tammyschilling5362]

Ok, thank you for the Lafferty recommendation. I haven't heard of him and am going to find this book immediately. If you want more insight into the book, you might want to learn about the real Thomas More's life (a quickie version would be watching either version of A Man for All Seasons). You might also then want to go get Thomas More's book - Utopia (no joke).

[@charlespolk5221]

Past Master sounds like a response to Robert Wise's film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" which itself is based on the short story "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates. The theme is of robots policing the planet or else the earth will be reduced to a "burnt out cinder" to establish a utopian world free of violence.

[@rangerartemis9579]

Absolutely random: love this shirt and wish it was mine! And thanks as always for the insightful reviews: my favorite videos of yours :)

[@ljdellar]

Each one of these brief analyses is a treat. Perfect format for a video. My favourite Clifford Simak is "Way Station", and I cannot explain exactly why. Have you read that one?

[@Bookpilled]

Thanks. I haven't read it but it's on the list.

[@StillSplinter]

New to the channel. Absolutely love the videos

[@zardoz_the_great]

Great video! It's true what they say, the modern world will never stop wrestling with the ghost of Thomas Moore

[@sailorjbn]

5:32 Monte Cassino perhaps? The irony is the Wehrmacht didnt use the abbey tacticly before it was in ruins ...

[@michaelsamerdyke108]

I had read a couple of Lafferty short stories that I really liked, and then I read "The Best of R. A. Lafferty" this summer. I found that I only liked the two stories I had previously read. To me, Lafferty was the embodiment of "the idea as hero." There were no characters in most of his stories. It was all about "what a neat idea this is." Silverberg is terrific. I read his multi-volume "Collected Short Stories" a couple years ago, and i came away truly impressed. What an imagination he had.

[@Bookpilled]

I don't recall the name of it, but his short story about sentient lobsters is I think my favorite SF short story.

[@michaelsamerdyke108]

@@Bookpilled Robert Silverberg wrote a brilliant story about sentient lobsters. It is called "Homefaring."

[@Bookpilled]

@@michaelsamerdyke108 That's the one.

[@meltecal]

I would suggest Fourth Mansions. Its Saint Theresa of Avilla meets invasion of the body snatches. On acid.

[@dimitrispapadimitriou5622]

Besides Martian Chronicles ( a wonderful collection of related short stories about Mars colonization), Bradbury has other famous novels like Fahrenheit 451, and some great short stories like Frost and Fire, Skeleton, the Long Rain, a Sound of Thunder...He had a very distinct, personal style .His stories were like fables or allegories, closer to fantasy than pure SF.

[@johnriley4320]

I had the same surprised reaction to “Martian Chronicles,” that it seemed to be mostly a pretty pointed societal critique of America at that time, not a speculative book about the future of Earth and Mars.

[@SirStuckey]

Parasite by Darcy Coates is a pretty fun alien body horror novel. It's a fairly easy read and can be a nice palate cleanser. It is a bit derivative of The Thing. They aren't exactly the same alien creature but there is a lot of parallels and I found I enjoyed it more when I just considered it the alien from the Thing just in a different time and place.

[@LomLaLay]

Try to find this (Kallocain) if you have a chance. Written in 1940. Karin Boye. Kallocain has been translated into more than 10 languages; English-language translations include those by Gustaf Lannestock (2002, University of Wisconsin Press)[1] and David McDuff (2019, Penguin Classics).[2] It was adapted into a television miniseries in 1981 by Hans Abramson. In 2016, the novel was nominated for the Retro-Hugo award for the best science fiction novel of 1941.

[@ewanstuart5521]

Really think Silverberg should be more talked about , a time of changes, thorns, nightwings, vornan 19 (masks of time), stochastic man and up the line are just some great works. Alongside the more famous works.

[@Warstub]

A Time of Changes is my all-time favourite Silverberg, but I gave The Masks of Time 2 out of 5 stars and my Goodreads review says "boring [but might have been] better as a novella." I also seem to differ on my opinions about Downward To the Earth which I found to be under-developed as though it was mostly just an outline or draft for a far better (and bigger) novel - I really believe this one could have been a lot better with more time and development. He is such a great writer though, and I agree with your sentiment. Also, The World Inside I thoroughly enjoyed and inspired me to title a rock instrumental I wrote "Butterflies over Urban Monad 116"

[@chromabotia]

Great! Thanks!

[@gon8go]

I'm reading my first CJ Cherry now. It's called gate of ivrel, definitely a sci-fantasy with a stargate on a midevil world. I think she may have been ripped off a lot.

[@delwynklassen3644]

My fav of hers is Wave Without a Shore, but I have a soft spot for artist protagonists.

[@d3mist0clesgee12]

Do you read series like the Sten Chronicles? did you do a review on series?

[@uncannyvalleywoods7248]

Dang it. Now Imma have to make a video woodworking one handed with a bourbon in the other just to round out the Silverberg metaphor.

[@thekeywitness]

Downward to the Earth is tremendous. I also recommend A Time of Changes and The Book of Skulls. Silverberg gold.

[@emsleywyatt3400]

Talking about "post-nuke" stories, have you read "The Long Tomorrow" by Leigh Bracket (1955)?

[@unstopitable]

I didn't dislike Downward, I enjoyed it, but I just really like Nightwings more, a novel written in novellas. You really hit the nail on the head when you describe how effortlessly the story flows (like all of S.'s work), just as you say, as if he's wetting his whistle one hand, while his other types away. I really wish Miller hadn't killed himself. But as I've gotten older, I've learned never to judge another's suffering. I just selfishly wish he'd finished the sequel. As for The Martian Chron., I once in a while find himself drinking it in. A weapon that shoots bees? A book whose pages when caressed sing? Martians who murder you in the middle of the night by making you see them as your lost loved ones? It's like a drug I can't kick.

[@feelswriter]

Is there an index to the books you've reviewed?

[@ByronLina]

I had that cover edition of Voyager in Night, passed it on years ago which I now regret.

[@meesalikeu]

downward and past master sound most readable to me. i agree bradbury writes so well, elegiacally i think us a goid term, but i just never got into him. i think of him whenever im in los angeles and go by the old cliftons cafeteria downtown where he used to meet regularly with heinlein, l. ron hubbard and the rest of the 50s-60s scifi writers gang.

[@cmunoz187]

I would really like to know what your day job is, how do you find the time to read so many books. Can you review and analyze a non-fiction book? How about Carnage and Culture by Victor Davis Hanson or The Gods of Eden by Bramley?

[@sgs6991]

12:23 I have Something wicked this way comes exactly the same edition as the one he's showing there

[@paulallison6418]

I really enjoyed Voyager in Night but the real star here for me is the Silverberg

[@mrwizardalien]

If you want Cherryh without the bloat (in my opinion) the Chanur books are some of the best paced books I've ever read

[@waverlyking6045]

I noticed you compared Downward to Earth to Heart of Darkness. Silverberg is a huge fan of Joseph Conrad.

[@SisterBlake]

Have you read Fiasco by Lem? Quit similar in a lot of ways to Blindsight

[@christopherwoods5150]

I'm curious if you follow up with some of the TV or movie media, like for Martian Chronicles, or the 1981 Hitchhiker's. I'm sure most are mangled in translation, but I get the impression that some are made more palatable. I'm still hoping for a Neuromancer in some form; even a cgi cartoon of some properties might be interesting. One of those, if I had a billion dollars, I would make a studio that could crank out an animated movie every 4-8 weeks for about 1$ milllion. But I'm describing Netflix, lol.

[@Bookpilled]

I think a Neuromancer movie's been in the works forever

[@jumpingjohnflash]

There is a Neuromancer graphic novel, but I think it was only part one of an uncompleted series, that doesn't finish the book.

[@jeroenadmiraal8714]

I'm a left-leaning nonreligious guy but I love Lafferty. Within a few months he became one of my favourite authors. When you raised the book and gave a smile I knew exactly why.

[@jossaha]

I love CJ Cherryh on a good day, but not all of her prolific output to the same degree. For Union/Alliance, the first in the in universe timeline is Heavy Time - really good. She gets quite a lot of love from filk-singers. This one is for one of my absolute faves - 40 000 In Gehenna. Beware some broad spoilers... kzbin.info/www/bejne/h4Kwkn6Ag7CFns0

[@mkhdg7774]

I'm not sure where to post this, but have you ever read any books in the 'BILL THE GALACTIC HERO' series? I couldn't remember the name of this book I read back when I was a kid and it was hilarious and crazy and so my wife took to reddit to track it down for me. It was great when I was a kid and I see a few on ebay and goodreads... has anyone read these books lately?

[@EricMcLuen]

Not lately but yes as well as several Stainless Steel Rat books. I didn't realize they were written that long ago. Phule's Company?

[@carlgranados7106]

I think the Martian Chronicles are just short stories that take place in Mars. The same for the Illustrated Man by him. To me he was more of a short story master although in my view most of his stories are very dated now. I'm 68 and I loved him as a teenager but can't get into them now because they feel so dated.

[@krjames203]

This guy, in both his manner of speaking and appearance, reminds me of a young Dan O'Bannon.

[@Tetsujin-28]

Great content. Found a 1st edition of Chthon (the one in your video) and I'm reading it now. 1975 Ballantine Books copy of Norstrilia will be started in a week.

[@bazoo513]

Yeah, _Canticle..._ (which I like) joins the legion of works where a religion (usually Christianity) claims a kind of monopoly on morality and ethics. In the eye of the author it might be so, but the reality is quite different.

[@CODENAMEDERPY]

This is probably very annoying to see but I'm going to type it anyhow. If you haven't read it yet, Starmaker by Olaf Stapledon is a must-read.

[@arekkrolak6320]

Heart of Darkness is a great book and you can read it in half an hour

[@HuplesCat]

Going up river is essential to many subsequent sci fi novels

[@johnrobinson4445]

I read "Downward to the Earth" decades ago. Silverberg is often very downbeat, as he is here. But he is always literate. Good story but not one I am eager to re-read. "Canticle" is definitely re-readable, at least for me. I love history and, heck, it's a good, human story.

[@leematthews6812]

List of shame 😊😊😊I've read most of mine....but then I do turn 60 next month!