You Send Me WEIRD Books to Read | SFF Book Reviews

[@TuftyMcTavish]

🪴 I loved “Semiosis” so I was like “OooOOOooOOo! 😯 when you lifted it up into view! My SF reading is often fairly pedestrian (I do like me some MilSF!), but this is a book I frequently recommend knowing it’s a bit out there. So I am often trepidatious on how it will go down. Delighted to find out you liked it here though 😍 Unfamiliar with the others - beyond the last which was 🥴😖 for me! - but I enjoyed how you embraced the weird!

[@Zivilin]

I picked up Semiosis a while back because the premise gave me similar vibes to one of my favourite strategy games, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Colonists from earth crash landing on an alien planet that discovers the planet is alive. Loved discovering the story/lore from small quotes given throughout playing the game.

[@secretsauceofstorycraft]

Wow LOVE that some of the books worked for you and this brings attention to some books I sent you…. 😂 way to call me out…. Hahah. is jinn-bot better than their past book (the city inside?)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Jinn Bot is different but I'm not sure I'm strongly recommend it to you

[@GentleReader01]

I’ve been assembling a loose 2024 TBR and appreciate the timely reminder that it needed some Hurley and some Emshwiller in it. Thanks!

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yes to Hurley!!

[@caitlinl2750]

I loved the paper menagerie by Ken Liu - collection of short sff stories which really make you think

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh yes I need to read that one!

[@dalejones4322]

Fantastic video Rachel. Semiosis was given to me by Whitney as well and I absolutely loved it. I haven't read a lot of books so this one was so unique. The ideas of storing memories and knowledge in roots and communication between different plants are brilliant. Also changing chemicals in their fruits to have different affects on the eaters was so imaginative. You have a lot of interesting books in this video. Thank you for all the great recommendations

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Whitney is pretty awesome

[@holydissolution85]

Emswhiller's " Mount" was a pleasant surprise for me . I'm glad you liked it too. 😁 There is a very unusual & unexpected way the story is resolved & I liked it...quite original ! I still haven't read it, but I have "The Secret City " by same author & collection of short stories, both of which I heard are great. Interesting author

[@tintenschreiberin4362]

The Jinn-bot of shantiport will be my next read, I'm already excited. Two weird books I really liked are harrow the ninth and the bone orchard.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope you enjoy it

[@lilybirdfly]

I loved the whole Locked Tomb series. Even better on reread.

[@stephenfisher3554]

God's War - one of the best opening paragraphs ever. You know in a few sentences it's going to be gritty and whether it's going to be your type of book.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Ooh yes. Such a strong start!

[@craigvancil4410]

"There is no antimemetics division" is a great weird sci-fi/horror you should check out.👍

[@Unpotted]

It’s sitting on my TBR, also. 😺✌️

[@GentleReader01]

It’s superb. The author really rides the implications of his premise further and further, with surprisingly strong characters at the heart of things.

[@Unpotted]

@@GentleReader01 Thanks for your observations. I’m looking forward to sitting down with it sometime soon. 😸✌️

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'll be starting that one tonight!

[@amyhawk2006]

I finished The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell a few weeks ago. I was going through some of my Kindle backlog and ran across it. I had no idea what it was about because I purchased it so long ago. I thought it had a unique concept with religion and space travel and enjoyed it. It’s a two part series and I haven’t started the 2nd yet as I’m restarting The Terror by Dan Simmons again (I had trouble getting into it a few years ago and had to put it down) I wouldn’t give The Sparrow 5 stars but I did like it and read through it pretty fast.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah I get that about the Sparrow

[@SciFiScavenger]

I'm a big fan of Semiosis, I thought the sentient plant aspect was excellent. Well worth getting hold of the sequel Interference, also a good read. Lovely set of books. I did a video a couple of months ago on sentient plants in SF. 👍

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Sentient plants are where it's at

[@epiphoney]

I picked up John R. Maxim's Platforms, an 80's horror novel with ghosts and psychics. The ebook has really bad formatting, but I like it anyway. Find Halloran. He can see them.

[@Octobig]

another great lineup!! ❤ the jinn-bot and semiosis sound fantastic. (also, i love trying to spot blindsight on the bookshelves in the background 🚀)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Blindsight is definitely lurking somewhere in most videos unless I'm rereading it

[@Darrkness]

Although i read them years ago, i think The Divine Cities Trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett would make a good addition to the weird sci-fi list. 🐉👽🛸

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Still need to read that one!

[@tcdewijk3511]

I have been hearing reviews that remind me of other books that I have read, or at least one of the themes of those books. One of your reviews today reminded me of books by Sheri S. Tepper. One of her books features humans as horses for others. But while she wrote a lot, two stick with me: Grass and Raising the Stones. You might enjoy them.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh yes a few of my friends really enjoyed Grass

[@Nixx0912]

We read "Semiosis" for our bookclub in the bookshop few years ago. I really liked the concept, the main problem most of our group had with the story was it switched to quick between generations so you couldn't really get attached to the characters. There is a follow which I should finally read. Still on my electronic equivalent of pile of shame

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah I know what you mean. It's my main challenge with generational stories. They never seem to be 5 star reads because I need characters

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Yeah I know what you mean. It's my main challenge with generational stories. They never seem to be 5 star reads because I need characters

[@ChristinaJenkins36]

Another excellent list that has added to my TBR list! 🐉 🛸

[@rocsimmons8535]

Thank you 🙏🏽

[@Unpotted]

You aren’t the only one who didn’t enjoy Red Mars. I started it in college and it’s one of only a few dnf books in my reading history. Semiosis is on top of my TBR, along with There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm. 😺✌️

[@TheShadesofOrange]

That's a relief. I get so much hate for not loving Red Mars

[@Unpotted]

@@TheShadesofOrange It’s really a pipe dream, anyway. Let Elon worry about occupying Mars. 🤣🤣 😸✌️

[@LaughingStockfarm1]

I just ordered “When Women Were Dragons” this morning! Sounds fascinating. And I suspect “Semiosis” will be next. Interesting that it reminds you a bit of “Annihilation” which I just picked up. If you haven’t read it yet, I’d strongly rec’d “When the Spirit Bares Its Teeth”, a Edwardian trans horror story that is just devastating in how well it conveys the horror of being male born in a female body and society’s expectations/enforcements of women’s roles.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks for the rec

[@zkinak2107]

I haven’t read The Mount but I have read the short story The Pelt by the same author. One of my absolute favorite SF short stories. It was quite literary in terms of the writing style.

[@fithfath3615]

Nice video. I suppose one person's weird is another's normal so it is kind of hard to suggest books that are 'weird', but I think this qualifies 'You Let Me In' by Camilla Bruce. Also some may consider 'Mythago Wood' by Robert Holdstock as heading into the weird and not traditional fantasy, but it is one of the best books I've ever read, defo in my top ten.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'll have to look up those books

[@lurchEbean]

A weird series that I just finished which I would highly recommend is the Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer (Book 1 is called Too Like the Lightning). It's a very jarring writing style at first, but the series as a whole is an amazing ride.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'm dying to read Ada Palmers series next year

[@zan8152]

A weird but excellent excellent excellent book I don't see talked about much is The Etched City by K J Bishop - It's in that China Mieville weird vein, but here it's like half western, half mobster, half post-apocalyse, about a hitman struggling not to be... but really it's about art and faith and a whole lot of other fun things. Definitely think you might enjoy that

[@TheShadesofOrange]

That sounds cool

[@Tetsujin-28]

Weird: besides The First Bad Man by Miranda July and BORNE by Jeff Vandermeer I can't think of anything else. Thought provoking. 🐉🐲👾🛸

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh yes Borne is definitely weird

[@travisporco]

I hope you check out _Expendable_ by Gardner, and some of the other League of Peoples books (Vigilant, Radiant, Ascendant, Hunted)! I read them 4 times during the pandemic.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Thanks for the rec

[@cmmosher8035]

I haven't read it but i have really good things about Kim Stanley Robinson's Ministry of the Future. Its one of those modern books i think i should read but i am too busy reading older books.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I'm hoping to get to Ministry next year. The premise sounds awesome

[@billkeon880]

Have you read Drowned World by JG Ballard? Premise is very like 2140. Excellent book. Also Red Mars was about a 3.5 for me, enjoyed it a fair bit but Green and Blue not as much. My favourite by KSR was Aurora, one of my top sci-fi books

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I read Crash by Ballard and really enjoyed it

[@fernbedek6302]

My one friend had just read Semiosis. (Sadly, my TBR list is too long, so I doubt I’ll get to it any time soon, even if she also had good things to say about it.)

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hear ya with the tbr!

[@phduffy]

I read the mount last year. It is certainly strange - I agree that it's worth reading but not a 5 star

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Very strange 😅

[@RidleyJones]

Have you read much Borges? He, too, has a way of being very matter-of-fact and almost pedantically dry when describing extremely weird and inventive scenarios and phenomena.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

No I haven't

[@RidleyJones]

@@TheShadesofOrange Ooh, then you're in for quite an unusual treat when and if you decide to. He was a really influential 20th century writer of magical realism (mostly short stories), and his approach to it was very peculiar in a way that I, at least, really like.

[@887frodo]

I’m midway through Perdido Street Station so… yeah, talk about weird

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh yes definitely counts

[@JohnSaxon-vw5vi]

I think I might give illborn a go

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I hope you enjoy it!

[@JohnSaxon-vw5vi]

@@TheShadesofOrange so do I

[@edwardsjarje]

I loved When Women Were Dragons.

[@lilybirdfly]

Me too! One of my favs

[@corruptauthor]

I dont do scifi but I do weird very well. ❤❤❤ love the channel just sibscribed

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Oh yay!

[@MrAlsachti]

I have begun to read Stranger in a Strange Land. This is a rather weird story, a bit like the 5th Element. I have read 30% of it. My e-book says that I have still 20 hours of reading. I don't know if I'll have the strength to read it entirely.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

I still need to read that one. Hopefully this coming year

[@Selinalinaly]

🚀

[@angreehulk]

🤘

[@starpilotsix]

So far for me, of Kameron Hurley's work, surprisingly I think the God's War series is my favorite... surprising because generally I'm not a fan of magic/SF blends and I almost bounced hard off the whole 'shifters' concept as 'too much fantasy in my SF' (later books do explain a LITTLE more about the setting background and in the process attempt to give things like that bit more of a SF basis, IIRC, it's still pretty handwavy but I appreciated the effort), but... I just got to love the characters so much I even bought a collection that was just a compilations of shorter stories featuring Nyx, one of my favorite unlikable-but-compelling protagonists. As for weird books I'd recommend... the only one that jumps to mind a bit is The Devil's Alphabet by Daryl Gregory, which is not just a bit weird in premise, but also in that it's kinda weird to recommend considering I wasn't entirely satisfied with it and wanted more from it. I am a big Daryl Gregory fan in general, and I still like The Devil's Alphabet, but, like... I'd recommend Pandemonium or especially Afterparty just in terms of being better books you might want to check out, but specifically for weird I think Devil's Alphabet takes it.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

That's awesome that you love God's War so much. Not my favourite but still a good one

[@devlyn873]

🚀

[@roanokebrooks]

👽👾🛸🚀🛰

[@jrson5000]

Haunted - Chuck Palahniuk. Have u read?

[@TheShadesofOrange]

No I haven't

[@samfowler2073]

🐉

[@alt9977]

👾👽 Kim Stanley Robinson has been on my radar a long time. I think I tried to read 'Red Mars' many years ago, but didn't get through it. I need to try him again.

[@TheShadesofOrange]

As someone who didn't love Red Mars I would definitely recommend trying another one

[@aleidadiaz2261]

Have you read Between Two Fires?

[@TheShadesofOrange]

No I haven't

[@aleidadiaz2261]

@@TheShadesofOrange ok, this is a must read for you. You love catholic horror and demons and the main character may not be what she seems. It set in medieval France and has really grotesque scenes particularly regarding the clergy. Imagine a Bosch painting in book form.

[@zubaerchaudhari8267]

Hello there hey

[@shawntellylace5570]

Liarmouth by John waters

[@candicebarbata5028]

✨🐉✨

[@lauraesposito9209]

🐉🛸

[@katharynbaker5592]

🚀📚🐉

[@melaniechristina7361]

🐉🚀🧡

[@cakecogito]

🧜‍♂

[@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd]

whatever u do please don't turn into a dragon⚛😀

[@TheShadesofOrange]

Haha no promises 🐉