MY TOP 10 SCI-FI BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS

[@nevaidos]

I think Octavia Butler's Kindred would also be a great introduction. It is short, reads like a thriller, discusses some great themes and has one of the best first lines to get you hooked.

[@WordsinTime]

That’s awesome! I have read Wild Seed by Butler but I need to read Kindred!

[@CD287-]

Great list - love the categories! Read 4 of these and they're all very unique but also, yeah, I'd say great start points.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it and I hope it helps!

[@avantgardenovelist]

late to the party but must say thank you. read dune and now I'm hooked. going with almost all of your recommendations and on my way to your classic sci fi beginner video. thanks much.

[@WordsinTime]

That’s awesome, I’m glad it was helpful! I hope you enjoy whatever you try next!

[@jonathanrichter4256]

I 'm amazed that sci-fi book reviewers never recommend Asimov, and in particular, the Robot novels. I would start with I, Robot, which immerses you in the 3 Laws of Robotics through a series of short stories which are all great and make you think. If you don't know, the stories in I, Robot are nothing like the Will Smith movie, which I liked, btw. Then go on to the first 3 Robot novels - The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, and The Robots of Dawn. There you'll meet detective Elijah Bailey and his robot partner R. Daneel Olivaw, two of the best characters Asimov has written. Way better than Hari Seldon or Gaal Dornick from the Foundation series. In my opinion, the Robot novels are way better than the Foundation novels, which take many improbable turns. The two detectives must solve a murder in each book, but need to figure out how it could happen within the constraints of the 3 Laws. The Earth's future worlds Asimov created in these book are totally believable, and the concepts surrounding how the creation of robots changes how we interact with each other are great.

[@WordsinTime]

That’s great to see you’re such a big fan of Asimov! I have read the original Foundation trilogy and plan to read the Robot books soon!

[@j.p.lovecraft1826]

I’ve seen this ‘sci-fi for beginners’ thing and no disrespect, it may be a good tool for some I guess but another angle of recommendation is to blow them away. My first was Pushing Ice. I was all horror before them but this book flipped my brain and sent me down a path. It might not work for everyone but for once I’d like to see a list of ‘sci-fi book to completely change your reading tastes.’ Love the channel man! Please keep it up, you’ve juiced me up about so many books and I hope I’m not coming across wrong here. Just another angle! Carry on!

[@j.p.lovecraft1826]

I think your the man for this job! A list of sci fi books that will change everything a reader thought they loved!

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the suggestion! I own Pushing Ice and haven’t read it yet, but House of Suns blew me away! I’ll have a think about different angles for getting people into sci-fi 👍

[@Nepiro7]

You deserve more subs man, great vid!! Can’t wait to start reading some of those books 🤟

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the kind words and welcome to the channel! Let me know your thoughts on them if you read any of these books!

[@Jane-w]

Tick, tick, tick - I've added most of these to my tbr, and am most anticipating Dark Matter, Ender's Game, Red Rising, Flowers of Algernon and Dune. I also really like how you've broken down the styles in the video - very funny and entertaining.

[@WordsinTime]

That’s great to hear! And thanks for the feedback! Let me know your thoughts on any of those books when you get around to them!

[@CircesBooked]

This is a great list! I've never heard of Flowers for Algernon but it sounds really interesting. Thanks for that recommendation!

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much! Flowers for Algernon has an intriguing premise, an interesting structure, and an emotional story. Let me know your thoughts if you read it! I hope you enjoy it!

[@CircesBooked]

@@WordsinTime absolutely, will do.

[@susansprague7304]

@@CircesBooked Be warned ... it may break your heart. An exceptional read though.

[@linesbyleon]

Great list! Vonnegut is one of my favorite authors. I enjoyed Dune (didn't like the newest movie), The Martian, Dark Matter, and Ender's Game. As a sci-fi reader, I don't like overly technical writing as a sci-fi author (hint, hint), I write that same way, so many readers have said even thought they don't read much sci-fi, they have enjoyed my books. (Did I say hint, hint?)

[@WordsinTime]

I’m glad you also enjoyed those books, and one my favourite writers in Vonnegut! Best of luck with your writing! That’s cool that you’re making sci-fi accessible to all readers!

[@ellenonoda]

I’m looking to get into sci fi so this video was so helpful! I’ve actually read Ender’s Game and Cat’s Cradle in college and really enjoyed it! I didn’t even know Cat’s Cradle was considered Sci Fi! I truly feel like Flowers for Algernon would destroy me! Super helpful video 👍

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much! If you enjoyed Cat’s Cradle I have a top 5 Kurt Vonnegut video that might help you decide what to try next. Flowers for Algernon destroyed me! Let me know if you pick it up, and I hope you enjoy it!

[@marinastrong7977]

Thanks. I will try these

[@WordsinTime]

Cheers Marina, let me know your thoughts if you read any of them!

[@AnEruditeAdventure]

Great video. So far the only one of these that I’ve read is Dune, but I also haven’t really started my journey into sci-fi yet. This is a great resource for me. -T

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much! Let me know if you pick up any of the books on the list. I hope you enjoy them!

[@trudymeans3520]

Great list and video! I think back to my time as a young reader discovering sci-fi and I remember all of the Ray Bradbury stories with such fondness. Why does he seem to never make these "best of" lists? "Fahrenheit 451" and "The Martian Chronicles" are simply classics and great places to start for anyone new to the genre.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks Trudy! I have talked about Fahrenheit 451 in some other videos and I own a copy of The Martian Chronicles. I look forward to reading it soon!

[@lisagulick4144]

Agreed. _I Sing the Body Electric_ and _The Machineries of Joy_ are two of my favorite Bradbury collections. _The Illustrated Man_ is also great, but most of those stories are more fantasy (or horror) than SF. (He often blurs the line between the three.)

[@terrivehrenkamp1124]

Kind of wish there was some Heinlein somewhere on here. He's got quite a few simple to read stories like Starship Troopers that make a good and thought provoking start to Sci-Fi. Obvioulsy I wouldn't reccomend Time Enough For Love or Stranger in a Strange Land to beginners but most of his "young adult" novels are suitable.

[@LiamsLyceum]

I’m jealous of your sci-fi expertise. I’ve read some of these; and honestly you make some really good recommendations. I enjoy The Spiral Wars by Joel Shepherd a lot, I suppose it’d be space opera. I enjoyed it more than Leviathan Wakes, read book 1 (Renegade) around the same time. I still need to read Caliban’s War, though I only have Qalea Drop for Spiral Wars, which is book 7 of 7 as of now (10 planned) left to go. You may like it, if you haven’t heard of it.

[@WordsinTime]

That’s much appreciated! Thanks for the Spiral Wars recommendation. I looked it up and it seems interesting so I added it to my list!

[@LiamsLyceum]

@@WordsinTime That Dune rec was amazing btw 😂, cheers!

[@oldforestroad]

Excellent list, spot on.

[@WordsinTime]

Thank you! I hope you enjoyed the video and found a book you might like to try. Welcome to the channel!

[@lisagulick4144]

Nice to see _Cat's Cradle_ get some love. Fun fact: Ambrosia wrote a prog song based on one of Bokonon's songs!

[@WordsinTime]

@@lisagulick4144 That’s awesome!

[@lisagulick4144]

@@WordsinTime It's called "Nice, Nice, Very Nice." Check it out!

[@JolienReads]

This list is exactlu what I was looking for, thanks Jonathan! And the first one is immediatly one that I already own, I'm glad the Martian is a beginner-proof book. 😄 Dark Matter sounds very interesting and I love Inception soooo it's on the list now haha. I didn't know that leviathan Wakes can be read as a standalone, that makes me less hesitant to pick it up.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks Jolien, I'm glad the list was helpful! If you read any of them, let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy them!

[@colin1818]

Another good one would have been John Wyndam's "The Chrysalids"

[@WordsinTime]

Nice! I have read The Day of the Triffids, I need to read The Chrysalids as well!

[@Zgembo121]

Great recommendations. Im looking forward to childhoods end as i loooooove apocalyptic stories especially with alians

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

[@williamstrickler1844]

Need Help. I read a sci-fi book about a way station with llama-like mother and 'son' who run an inn. there was sloth-like alien in a mechanical suit and several other folks who get stranded on the surface when satellites start crashing into each other and crashing onto the surface. Please tell the Title or Author, I can't remember. ps the name of author might have been Clegg.

[@WordsinTime]

Sorry William, I’m not familiar with that one. Perhaps try posting on the PrintSF subreddit. Someone there may recognize it for you.

[@Yesica1993]

This was so helpful, thanks. I love sci fi, but I'm always up for more. I'm almost done with my reread of Childhood's End. I adore his writing. Even though he's dead, I still find myself looking for something new. Sad. But you are so right that he's not into character building. All his books seem to be that way. The weird thing is I usually hate that. But the rest of what he does is so mind blowing that I am able to get past that and enjoy the worlds and ideas he presents. I read Recursion by Blake Crouch & loved it. I will definitely have to check out Dark Matter. I know I read Ender's Game but can't remember details. I always get that mixed up with Ready Player One. I want to read them both again. I've only ever heard of Flowers for Algernon through Book Tube. I don't remember even browsing through it in stores. Definitely need to try it. I've only ever heard raves. Replay is the one I'd not heard of at all. And I did try Dune years ago but didn't get far. Confused me at the time. But I can't stand being left out, so I will be giving it another shot.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much for your comment! I'm glad you connected with Childhood's End similarly as I did! I just finished Recursion and will post a review next week. They are different stories but have similar strengths. I think you will enjoy Dark Matter! Don't worry about feeling confused with Dune. I found it a little dry at first (pun intended) and it took me a while to get through. But it has a lot of depth, if you're interested in exploring that world again. I hope you enjoyed the video and I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@madiantin]

That last category and recommendation: 😘👌Perfection.

[@WordsinTime]

Haha “Okay, I’ll read it!”

[@vilstef6988]

Good list!

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks! I’m glad it was helpful!

[@vilstef6988]

@@WordsinTime I've read 8/10 of the books. Most classic books well known or obscure I will probably be familiar with, or know a bit about.

[@lucrativeibc3837]

is it neccery to read all dune series ?

[@WordsinTime]

The first book comes to a nice stopping point, so you don't have to commit to the whole series. I read the first one and stopped for a while, but I'm actually going to continue with the second book in May!

[@ivan5844]

Thanks for the video

[@WordsinTime]

You’re welcome! I’m glad it was helpful!

[@brendanoshaughnessy1483]

I would also add Old Man’s War by John Scalzi…

[@WordsinTime]

Good choice!

[@Infuzibil]

Number 10 really cracked me. (P.S. I read Dune and it IS an astounding book series).

[@WordsinTime]

Haha I’m glad you enjoyed it! I have only read Dune but plan to read the whole series next year.

[@Nxrth2001]

great video

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks Chirag, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Let me know if you pick up any of these books. Welcome to the channel!

[@JamesI88]

You've earned subscriber 71

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks so much James! Welcome to the channel!

[@linglingspacewhales1977]

Another really good one is the Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu. Humanity makes first contact with aliens and I believe humanity’s reaction to this revelation is pretty on par with how that would go down in reality. Also, I really need to read Dune

[@WordsinTime]

I love The Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy! And I plan to read the Dune sequels next year!

[@linglingspacewhales1977]

@@WordsinTime it’s so good! Just finished the trilogy a week ago!

[@matthewszasz1895]

The red rising series is awesome.

[@WordsinTime]

I enjoyed the original trilogy. I plan to catch up on the later books soon!

[@matthewszasz1895]

@@WordsinTime I'm on book 5, just waiting for 6 to be released on audiobook this year.

[@holymolythejabroni9040]

As a fan of Red Rising, only the first book (slightly) resembles Hunger Games. From there, it becomes a big huge massive space opera with some of the most epic battles and action scenes in all of sci fi. Darrow is an absolute beast of a protagonist, and the pacing of these books really grabs a hold of you.

[@WordsinTime]

Yes, it really becomes it’s own thing in book 2!

[@JLchevz]

Excellent

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks! I’m glad it was helpful!

[@sew_gal7340]

Thank you so much for recommending vintage books too as I tend to avoid all modern novels for "modern" audiences. I am 17 and having discovered classic literature i am completely spoiled by the quality of works written by people that lived way before i was born. I don't know how anyone can possibly read "the martian" after being exposed to amazing works of written art by master story tellers. It's like eating canned ham when you can enjoy filet mignon at any given time. How can you possibly sit through a modern novel????!

[@WordsinTime]

Haha I enjoy both modern and classic sci-fi, but I’m glad you’re enjoying some classic filet mignon. I’m currently reading Solaris by Stanislaw Lem and it’s phenomenal!

[@sew_gal7340]

@@WordsinTime OMG I LOVE Solaris, please pretty please tell me your thoughts on it when you are done...your views are so nuanced and well thought out. Solaris was the reason why i got into sci fi and am now discovering all the classics for the first time. Also have you read House on the Borderland by William Hodgson? It is a terrifying thriller sci fi that i think you will enjoy!

[@WordsinTime]

@@sew_gal7340 I look forward to talking about Solaris in a future video. I’m glad you connected with it. I haven’t read House on the Borderland. I’ll check it out, thanks!

[@joebrooks4448]

Great suggestions with one possible exception, thank you. Childhood's End.. A rather casual and not well thought out destruction and enslavement of the entire human race by Satanic appearing aliens may not appeal to new readers? No matter how clumsily disguised as a benevolent event. I'm just thinking out loud. For a coming of age SF story, I would also suggest reading Citizen Of The Galaxy by RAH. Another really good time travel book to consider is Dinosaur Beach by Keith Laumer. Cat's Cradle is fine. Keith Laumer's The Monitors is much funnier, with quite a bit of social commentary.

[@WordsinTime]

Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll check them out.

[@cavendar24]

I finally picked up Flowers for Algernon, despite the fact that everyone who's read it says they cry at the end, so it's more of a "challenge accepted" pickup. To describe Charlie as "low IQ" is to kind of miss the point. He's actually retarded, not just bad at math or something. The style is a bit interesting, and I find it can be a bit of a drag, because there's no clean chapter breaks, but the pacing is good, and (so far) I find him to be very likeable. I loved the Martian, hated Leviathan Wakes, and wouldn't recommend either of them without the caveat that you're going to be hit with a lot of profanity. Personally, I find profanity to be overused and extremely distracting, but for whatever reason, it works perfectly in the Martian. Probably because it's barely sci-fi, more of a modern astronaut in a well-that-really-sucks kind of situation (except of course he would never say sucks when another very similar word is available).

[@WordsinTime]

Interesting points.

[@Infuzibil]

Not exactly a list for beginners. Also, Ender's saga should be in the ”Big ideas” category because after "Ender's game" there are many more books and their scope is well beyond simple military Sci-Fi. Speaking of military Sci-Fi, while Heinlein is the master of the genre, for new readers I would recommend "Old Man's War" by John Scalzi, which is easy, fun and macabre, all at the same time. It also has its share of smart kids. Impossible not to enjoy it.

[@WordsinTime]

I agree with your recommendation of Old Man’s War!

[@ayanokoujikiyotaka1942]

Sometimes i just do not understand the scenes

[@WordsinTime]

That’s okay, these are some books that might be easier to understand.

[@flyingbeingvibes7069]

The Martian Dark matter Ender's game Replay Leviathan waves Dune

[@WordsinTime]

👍

[@TrevorJarred]

I think Octavia Butler's Kindred would also be a great introduction. It is short, reads like a thriller, discusses some great themes and has one of the best first lines to get you hooked.

[@WordsinTime]

I’ve read Wild Seed. I need to read Kindred too!