25 ESSENTIAL Sci-Fi Books | How Many Have You Read?
For each of these 25 science fiction books you get 2 points for having read them and 1 point if you own but haven't read them yet. I share my thoughts on all the books I've read and let me know if you beat my score!
Source of list:
www.worldswithoutend.com/lists...
classicsofsciencefiction.com/
My links:
Patreon - / wordsintime
Discord Server - / discord
Amazon Wishlist - www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls...
00:00 - Intro
00:36 - 25 Gateway
01:50 - 24 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
02:49 - 23 Doomsday Book
03:34 - 22 The Time Machine
04:29 - 21 Red Mars
05:17 - 20 Fahrenheit 451
06:04 - 19 Rendezvous with Rama
07:00 - 18 The Forever War
07:48 - 17 Flowers for Algernon
08:56 - 16 Stranger in a Strange Land
09:32 - 15 Ender's Game
10:24 - 14 The Man in the High Castle
11:14 - 13 Hyperion
12:24 - 12 Ringworld
12:54 - 11 The Demolished Man
14:18 - 10 The Dispossessed
14:54 - 9 The Stars My Destination
15:38 - 8 Neuromancer
16:43 - 7 Foundation
17:58 - 6 The Martian Chronicles
18:40 - 5 1984
19:28 - 4 Childhood's End
20:30 - 3 The Left Hand of Darkness
21:18 - 2 A Canticle for Leibowitz
22:51 - 1 Dune
24:30 - Patron Pick of the Month
#ScienceFiction #Books
UPDATE (42/50) I have since: - Read Hitchhiker’s Guide and very much enjoyed it. - Read The Martian Chronicles and enjoyed it - Purchased Red Mars based on your recommendations.
No Iain M Banks?
@@DavidOfWhitehills Banks definitely deserves recognition. I have read 2 Culture books and plan to read more this year!
@@WordsinTime You are forgiven, go in peace
If you didn't know, the Rama series continues on for several books, but I don't feel that any of them really hold up to the first one.
@@marcusshaner7066 I haven’t heard the most positive things about the Rama sequels but some people might like them.
44/50. Because I'm old.
Haha not old, just well read!
I’ve been around for a while too and got the same score.
44/50. I'm also old.😢
We three are Methuselah's Children.
42/50. Could never get into Dune. Also old - 70.
Bradbury truly is a master writer. He could describe paint drying in real time and leave you feeling better for the experience.
Haha love it!
RE: Ray Bradbury: Stephen Baxter, Greg Egan, Terry Goodkind, Guy Gavriel Kay, Roger Zelazny, R A Salvatore, Gary Gygax, Stephen R Lawhead, Peter Hamilton, L. E. Modsitt Jr, Anne McCaffrey, Katherine Kurtz, Janny Wurts would all give Bradbury a run for his money. Especially Egan, Baxter, Lawhead, Kurtz and Modsitt.
FWIW, Bradbury does not consider The Martian Chronicles to be science fiction, with the notable exception of There Will Come Soft Rains. You will certainly appreciate reading it, but I'm not sure I could say I felt better after doing so.
Something Wicked made me want to be a kid again.
He is the reason I became a reader. His story Frost and Fire blew me away at the age of 9. I wrote him to thank him for his contribution to my life and got a reply from him.
I'm old and I started early so I've read them all and I own a lot of them, including several signed and first editions. I love Hyperion, it blew me away when it came out as did Neuromancer. I agree, Dune deserves to be at the top. I also recommend Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon and Ian Banks Culture Series, such as Algebraist. Everyone should listen to the audiobooks, it gives you a different experience and there are things that you miss when reading them.
That’s awesome Kym! It sounds like you have a great collection. I recently read Snow Crash and plan to read more Stephenson. I have also read 2 Culture books and will be reading more later this year. Thanks for the recommendations!
Your recommends are precisely in line with mine. Banks is a personal favorite and Cryptonomicon blew me away completely, so much so that I sucked it up in one day.
Working on Cryptonomicon right now. :) I'm old also so I actually would have recommended The Moon is a Harsh Mistress or The Roads Must Roll for Heinlein
It's certainly a fascinating classic. But even though I consider myself an intellectual, I didn't "get" either of the 1st 2 books.
I agree with Hyperion and am looking at Neuromancer, but I would put it well above Dune. For the record, I would put many books above Dune, even though I love Herbert. I am disappointed that so few commentators mention the fact that Brave New World and 1984 borrowed from Zemyatin's excellent book, We. By the way, most people who comment on Canticle for Liebowitz never actually read the book. They go over the words but cannot connect the underlying ideas that make the book so great. If you think you have read it, you can prove it by telling me who Rachel is and why what happens to the Old Jew, which is critical for understanding the book.
50/50 for me. Nice list, reminds me I'd like to re-read some of the favourites - there's so many books in the world that it sometimes feels like life is too short for repeating old material, but I have to remind myself that it's worth it. A really good book will have something more to offer every time you read it. Hyperion is definitely overdue for a re-read for me, I just realised it's over 30 years since I read it.
That’s impressive! I hope you enjoy Hyperion if you re-read it!
Impressive indeed! 🙂
Wow. Impressive is faint praise. I've been at this for more than 5 decades and I'm up to only 43. Red Mars and the Hyperion Cantos in particular are on my must list.
@@FletchforFreedom Same here. I'd have been higher if I enjoyed P K Dick & A Bester - I find it hard to stomach these two.
Ive read about 5000+ science fiction books(similar amount of fantasy) so i sometimes have a hard time remembering what the hell ive read but Hyperion isn't one of them like Lord Of Light and Revelation Space its a book ive read many times
Only 13 points for me, but I read a ton of different genres. The Martian Chronicles is soooo good - made me cry. While it is short stories, they are loosely related, some more than others.
That’s still good! And I’m glad to hear you connected with The Martian Chronicles!
You should do a part two on this topic. Seems to be very popular and there are a lot of great books.
Thanks for the feedback Bill, people seem to be enjoying this one!
Besides “Foundation”, Asimov also wrote the excellent “Robot” series, the caves of steel, the naked sun, and the robots of dawn.
Yes! And I plan to read some of his other books like The Gods Themselves and The End of Eternity.
I really enjoyed The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun. Read and re read them years ago
Flowers For Alagernon is definitely one of those books that never really leaves you. I love it immensely. Enders Game is brilliant I especially appreciated the politicking in it an how it was approached. There are other books in the Ender series that are equally as powerful.
I’m glad you also connected with those! I have read Ender’s Game, Speaker for the Dead, and Ender’s Shadow and enjoyed all.
Flowers For Alagernon is a total gut punch. Love it, but probably wouldn't recommend it to most friends.
Cant read it. Can’t support a racist homophobe. When he dies I’ll read it. Side note I worked with him on a video game. Seemed nice to me.
@@WordsinTimeYou should really complete the quadrilogy and read "Xenocide" and "Children of the Mind."
Read the original novella for Flowers For Algernon. Started as a novella, and was expanded into a novel. Unnecessary if you ask me. The novella was fine on its own. Red Mars is a great read. Never got to Green or Blue Mars. The first one won the Nebula. The Forever War is one of the top five sci-fi novels ever. Read it. Read the comic book adaption of Fahrenheit 451. It was good. There is also a comic adaption of Forever War, with really good artwork. Both are found online. Rendezvous with Rama started out great. The last fourth of it fell flat. Ender's game was weak. Couldn't get through it. The movie was bad also. Read 1984, and saw both movie adaptions. All good stuff. Childhood's End was great. For some reason I put it down, about two thirds through it, and never finished. Maybe I will now. So I guess that's 15/50 ? Happy reading.
Several years ago, I assigned myself the task of reading all the Hugo Award winners, in order. I'm about 3/4 of the way through now and as a result I've read pretty much everything here, except Bester's other work and "Red Mars" which I haven't gotten to yet. Speaking of Bester, his "Demolished Man" was much better than I thought it would be going in. And "Doomsday Book" may be one of the best novels I have ever read.
That’s great Jeff! And I’m glad to hear you loved Doomsday Book!
I’m with you on Doomsday Book. The story has stayed with me for a long time
I’m on a similar quest myself. I’ve struggled with some of the older novels, such as Zelazny.
Hitchikers Guide is a quick and fun read so even if youre not super into it, its worth it. Dispossessed is a true classic and should not be missed, also a little more action in it than Left Hand. Red Mars is well worth it as a mostly realistic take on near future settling of Mars.
Thanks for the info Scott, they all sound interesting!
Isnt hitchhikers guide like 5 books?
44 out of 50 but being almost 61 years old and reading SF from my teen years, it is logical. Long Live Science Fiction and may we enjoy it for a long time.
Impressive score Nick! That’s awesome that you’ve enjoyed sci-fi for that long! 🚀
I really enjoy these lists that you find and cover. Keep it up. I remember you covered another list, but you cut it down to the top 40. I would like to see you cover the other books on that list. Maybe we will come across some other books that we don’t always hear about? Great content!
Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Jonathan. A fascinating list. My score is seventeen, but there's a caveat. I'm a senior citizen. Several of these books I owned but unhauled years ago as I adjusted my library according to my shifting tastes. There's still plenty of SFF on my TBR, only less than there was thirty years ago. Happy reading.
If you read it but don’t own it anymore that still counts as 2 points. I am still building out my library but if I ever move I might have to consider unhauling some books!
@@WordsinTime Oh, I did that as well. Awesome video and it might become a hard hitter for you over time, but I'm not doing it again. I arrived at 21/50 with 1 point for read, but not in the collection. And I might have lost count a few times...
31/50 Flowers for Algernon is one of my favourite books. Glad to see it on this list. Great book for all ages. Due for a reread.
It’s so good! 😭 Glad you loved it too!
I read the book decades ago, but it's one that still sticks with me, even after all this time. I may have to give it a reread.
Flowers is such a great book
30 points. I wasn't so keen for The Left Hand either but The Disspossed is one of my all time favorites. I would definitely recommend trying it. Your enthusiasm and your reservations about some of these are very similar to mine.
You reminded me that I still haven't read Flowers for Algeron.
That’s good to hear, I’ll have to try The Dispossessed! I hope you enjoy Flowers for Algernon as much as I did!
I've read Canticle three times in the last 50 years and find that lacking characters that readers can find an attachment to is advantageous to this story. It is about ideas and less about the cumulative fortune of a few individuals. If you get attached to any of the characters then the conclusion of the story really burns.
That’s an interesting perspective, I’m glad you connected with the book!
27 - Was glad to see some old favorites on the list. Hyperion / Forever War / Childhood's End / Martian Chroniles / etc. I liked Foundation - but I Robot left a much bigger impression on me - awesome book. Surprised that Brin's Up Lift trilogy didn't make the list - give it go! Good stuff!
Solid score Trey! Yes, this list has some great classics on it. I have read Startide Rising but not the whole trilogy. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
just realized that a part of flowers for Algernon is a passage they had us read in school at some point and i still remember it because of how sad it is.
It’s one of the most emotionally impactful books I’ve read!
Only 31 points for me. I really liked Red & Green Mars. Blue Mars left me scratching my head, as it kind of aimlessly trailed off. At least, that's how I took it. But I'd recommend the first two for sure. Heinlein is odd for me. I like his early stuff, especially his short stories and his "juvenile" books. But somewhere around Stranger in a Strange Land, he started going in a different direction that I don't like as much. I had a devil of a time reading Strange Land. I love Ringworld. Niven's Known Space stuff is generally pretty great. The sequels to Ringworld are weird. On the one hand, they introduce more and more cool and wild ideas, but on the other hand, they get less and less well written and fall into some weird patterns of pointless, sexless sex scenes. Protector and The Integral Trees are also good. I liked the follow-ups to Neuromancer more than the first one when I read them 30 years ago. Though a recent re-read raised my opinion of Neuromancer, too.
That’s a solid score! And thanks for all the helpful info
Having read more later stuff from Heinlein (The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Number of the Beast, Friday), he certainly doubles down on his sexual fantasy which is present in all of the above books. So if you don't like that, definitely avoid later Heinlein.
I too love Niven's "Protector "...
10. So many of these have been on my radar for a while now and I really need to get round to picking them up and reading them. Can't wait to read more of these
Nice! You’ve got some good books ahead of you. I hope you enjoy them!
36/50 I actually own all the books you mentioned, but what I need is more time :). The list is great and I can't wait to score 50 points eventually. Love your videos!
That’s an awesome collection Alice! And I’m glad you’re enjoying the channel!
27 points for me - I've read 13 of them. It sounds like we had a similar experience in reading A Canticle for Leibowitz. I may need to read that one again sometime with more accurate expectations. Great video!
Solid score Josh, especially because you also read a lot of fantasy! I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
You could also listen to Hitchhiker’s Guide, since it was first written as a radio show
I've been hearing good things about the radio show!
Score - 45 Red Mars is really good, one of the best books of this type! I understand the sub-genre Military Sci-Fi but to label The Forever war I think is a bit limiting. I read The forever War before Military SF was really a thing, it is brilliant and deserves to be read by anybody and certainly any SF fan not just military SF fans. Mote is better than Ringworld by a significant margin - Ringworld is great though. I have a slight advantage of reading science fiction for nearly 50 years.
Impressive score Paul! I’m glad you enjoyed Red Mars, I actually just picked up a copy this week!
@@WordsinTime Cheers. I really enjoyed how by the time of Blue Mars the original settlers had reached legendary status, they would walk in a room and you could just feel how starry eyed everyone was, very cool. I enjoyed the full trilogy.
Military sci-fi has existed long before The Forever War. Starship Troopers, for example.
42/50. Ringworld is one of my absolute favorites.
That’s a great score Hugh! And I’m glad to hear you enjoyed Ringworld!
29/50, better than I expected! I also plan to read a bunch more of these this year (and all are on my TBR) (also, do you have any videos reviewing your recent reads, I'm invested whenever I see your pick of the month and want to hear your views on them)
Nice score Dominic! In my second most recent video I discuss 7 recent reads. I planned to record another one this week but unfortunately I am a bit under the weather so that will come out next week!
18/50 for me. Look forward to reading much more sci fi this year. Great video!
Cheers David! I’m happy to be able help add to your sci-fi TBR!
I only got 4 little points for The Time Machine and The Left Hand of Darkness.. 😅 But I only started scifi recently and it took me a whole freaking year to read the Remebrance of earth's past trilogy because I can't stop thinking and wondering about stuff every few pages!! Amazing reads anyways. Going through the whole Hainish cycle now and loving it.
You’re off to a great start! Remembrance of Earth’s Past is awesome!
I surprised myself with 19/50 points 😂 I started reading more sci-fi by reading Dune before the movie came out, and I seem to be doing pretty well, if I may say so myself 😆
That’s awesome Marina! Glad to be a small part of your sci-fi journey!
Started re-reading all the Dune books so i'm ready for March 1st!!
5/50. Started reading sci-fi this year with Foundation Trilogy & 1984, planning to read Childhood's End soon. I'm eager to check out more books in the genre so thanks for this video!
Those are great books to start with! I hope I can help you find sci-fi books you enjoy!
After that, I'd recommend The Forever War, then Hyperion and Ender's Game. You're in for a great journey... Enjoy!
Dune. The Villeneuve movies do it justice but nothing comes near the book. I found the first few chapters hard work with unfamiliar concepts (what's the kwisatz haderach???) but when the Harkonnen trap was sprung and Paul and Jesica fled into the desert, it took me by the throat and I couldn't put it down.
I just started reading Gateway, because of this video. Enjoying it so far, so thanks Jonathan!
You’re welcome! Glad you’re enjoying it!
38 points for me. I haven’t read gateway, forever war, flowers for Algernon, ringworld, demolished man, and canticle for leibowitz. Red mars trilogy is really good but dense so best to read at a time when you can focus.
Thanks for the heads up on Red Mars, and I hope you enjoy Flowers for Algernon as much as I did!
48 everything except Neuromancer, most I read over 30 years ago. Good on you for including The Demolished Man!
That’s an impressive list of sci-fi that you’ve read!
Oooo, great interaction on this episode by gamifying the list. Definitely worth doing more of this! 31points for me. “Foundation” and “Dune” are on my own hall of shame. I do have “Dogs of War” but my reading month is rammed with a scheduled 3558 pages to be read, which is utterly impossible for me at the same time!
I’m glad you enjoyed the video, and that’s a solid score Tufty! 3558 is a lot of pages haha
Great list! Some real classics coupled with a few newer titles. Looks like I scored 29. The good news is that the missing ones are already on my TBR. The bad news is that I need to buy a few of those right quick to get that extra point. :) Seriously, fun concept for the community to play along with...
Thanks David, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Let me know your thoughts if you pick any of the others up!
31 for me, I have several to go. The Dispossessed glares at me from the third row of my bookshelf. That copy has too many bitter memories attached to it, and I think I’ll need to get a new copy before I try reading it again. Dune and Hyperion are two of my all time favorites for any piece of media. Gateway feels like a personal letter presciently addressed to me. I’ll have more time in college to catch up on points. Good list!
That’s a great score! I’m glad you connected with Dune, Hyperion, and Gateway!
Nice list! I scored 31/50. I have A LOT of books in my library that I need to read.
Haha me too Mike! 📚
Thanks for the list and video WiT. After taking stock of community and individual reactions to different books, movies, games, shows, etc., I've observed it's been very common for people to walk away with different things for each person that engaged them. including the same person, and how their experience and engagement changes over time. There are of course a lot of sci-fi books that can't fit in a "25 Essential". But for me, any such list would have to include at least one Banks' Culture novel. Specifically for his exploration of, detailing of, and portrayal of how advanced civilization's deal with and develop an equilibrium with humanity's (or any equivalent similar species) future. This is both huge because it gives us the world building for a great whole standalone genre (a cousin similar to Star Trek The Next Generation), and even more so because it gives us an extensive roadmap of real world considerations for humanities practical future and development. But not the book _Inversions_ and probably not the book _Player Of Games_ (great book, and great intro to The Culture books), because both miss the bulk of Banks' exploration of general advanced species detail and equilibrium.
Yes, I’ve read 2 Culture books and plan to read more this year!
Wonderful video!! 49 out of 50 for me. I have a copy of Neuromancer but haven't read it yet. Where did you get this list?? It's a great one, and it's very similar to my own top 25. In place of The Hitchhiker's Guide, Doomsday Book and The Demolished Man, I'd substitute Brave New World, More Than Human, and Speaker for the Dead, but that's quibbling. Superb job!
That’s an impressive score! You can find the source of the list in the description. More Than Human is on my TBR, I’m looking forward to that one.
Great video! I got a 29/50, looks like I have some reading to do. For what it's worth Stranger in a Strange Land is in my top 3 books all time across all genres.
Thanks! And that’s good to hear!
I’m reading that now.
Yup, same here.
I scored 38/50 today. It was a fun and interesting video, and I enjoyed seeing what you and other viewers scored. Regarding your comment about Bradbury and his two books on the list, I agree he's a wonderful writer and his prose is a joy to read. I think I would disagree about your ranking, though, as I enjoyed The Martian Chronicles much more than Fahrenheit 451. Just my personal preference, though, and they've both great books. 😁
Great score Michael! And I’m glad to hear you speak so highly of Fahrenheit 451, in looking forward to it!
40/50 Not bad. Cool idea for a video. 🙂 I must be one of the few out there who was not moved by Flowers for Algernon. Plenty of other books have made me cry, but that one left me cold.
You beat me by 1! Well done haha. Flowers for Algernon really hit me, but sometimes it’s a case of being in the right mood at the right time.
This is a great list.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Pretty good list. I've read 1-7, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18-20, and 22-25. The entire Gateway series I found very enjoyable. I think comparing Ringworld and Mote in God's Eye (both good books, but Mote is better) is apples to oranges as they are very different. Dune is a very worthy #1!
I think that’s 38 points for the ones you’ve read, which is a great score. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the entire Gateway series!
Having read both Ringworld (and the sequels) and Mote in God's Eye (and the sequel), they don't compare well. RW is hard sci-fi that is based further in the future than MiGE which is softer sci-fi. RW is more character based than MiGE and RW has a "happier ending" than MiGE.
Agree. Mote is better
30/50. Great list and I want to read those I haven't read. I did take one liberty. Hyperion is a DNF book for me. I may get back to it someday, but it kinda dragged too much in the middle. I took one point for that because I am a current member of an author critique group here in Colorado of which Dan Simmons and Connie Willis are past members. If that extra point is a reach, then 29 it is!
I can understand that, due to the structure of Hyperion it’s possible to enjoy some parts more than others. That sounds like a cool author group!
If you have trouble reading Hyperion, skip to the next section. It is told in a manner similar to Canterbury Tales and there are seven tales which are different in characters, style, and story.
argh, I just wished you would show some of the cover pictures/variations as these instantly evoke thoughts and emotions. Nice vid.
Thanks for the suggestion, I love cover art as well.
I must profess that my score is a small 28/50. I have read and own several of the top ten, but there are names and books that I have never heard of before. So I thank you for educating me to the authors and stories that I am not aware of and I look forward to getting to know them. I found you purely by mistake, but what a good find you are! So I subscribed and like this post. I'm looking forward to viewing more of your videos with my thanks!
I’m glad the video was helpful Douglas! I appreciate the kind words, welcome to the channel!
Good list. IMO, The Hitchhiker's Guide is best in its original form, the BBC Radio Program! The book is well worth it as well. I've added a few books to my read list.
I’m glad the video was helpful! And I’ve heard good things about the BBC radio program!
Absolutely! The book is also good, but the film is a dud.
18/50, I only counted the physical books that I own instead of the uncounted e-books that get overlooked easily. I was surprised that I never even heard of some of these titles, I'd definitely like to check them out. I especially like old sci-fi, that's why the Time Machine fascinated me so much
Solid score Lucia! I’m glad you enjoyed The Time Machine. I also enjoy old sci-fi with Frankenstein being one of my favourites.
23/50 A lot of these are on my TBR and some of them are on the short list. Some really great reads for the ones I have read and really excited for the rest!
Solid score! Let me know your thoughts on whichever you read next. I hope you enjoy them!
Solid score! Let me know your thoughts on whichever you read next. I hope you enjoy them!
Scored 23 - surprised not to see 2001 in the top few - also loved Asimov and of course Hitchhikers is iconic.
Solid score Rich! I’m a big fan of 2001 as well. I have since read Hitchhiker’s and very much enjoyed it!
I read Hitchhikers Guide before it technically made it to the Us. A sister came home from a trip to England with the book, having heard the BBC radio broadcast. Which I also have on cassette tape. Douglas Adams conceded that Hitchhiker was “a work in progress”that got rewritten and updated with every iteration. It’s been fun going through seeing the changes.
That’s cool Maggi! I have since read it and very much enjoyed it!
@@WordsinTime The important thing to remember about Hitchhikers is that it exists in several different forms. The original (IIRC) was written as a radio series; it was later produced as a TV series (far superior to the movie, IMHO); it was also released on LP record; and of course there are the books and the movie. All of them are somewhat different. I think a lot of people who were already familiar with Hitchhikers were disappointed by the movie - which suggests that the movie is not the best product to judge the story from. I'm glad you red the book; I would also say if you can track down a copy of the TV show it is worth your time to watch.
Ignore the movie . As a Brit i wounder if some of it gets lost in traslation crossing the pond
@@rudewalrus5636 there was also a computer game. Text based and it can still be found online.
40 and i will buy and read the 5 missing books. This is a great list even if some of very good books are not in. My favorite on your list are the Hyperion Cantos. This universe and the story are powerful. Reading it is like watching a movie in my head, no other books had this impact on my imagination
That’s an impressive score! I’m glad to hear you also loved the Hyperion Cantos. I hope you enjoy the remaining 5 books!
I've read all of those, several of them more than once. Nice list!
That’s amazing Barry, I’m glad you enjoyed!
17 for me. A newbie to SF although I was a fan long ago. Now an old man finding a new appreciation. Good video/Channel ✌️
Glad I can help you find more sci-fi to read Bill!
37/50. Been meaning to read my copy of Red Mars for quite some time. Missing is one that not everyone considers it to be sci-fi but Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut is truly one of the all time greats. I would also include A Fire Upon The Deep by Vernor Vinge and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
Great score! Vonnegut is one of my favourite writers and Frankenstein is one of my favourite books!
Totally second your Vernor Vinge recommendation! a freakin amazing book!
Even though I'm 71 years old, and my time of greatest enthusiasm for reading SF was in the 1960s, when I was a teenager (I'll never forget the allure of the yellow-backed Gollancz hardbacks in the local library), I read "A Fire Upon the Deep" in later life, and it immediately jumped to the top of my list of favourite SF novels, later to be rivalled only by its prequel, "A Deepness in the Sky", which is possibly even better. (I look forward to re-reading them both, and trying to decide.) 43/50 (which is not a high score for someone of my age).
Highly recommend you move KSR's Mars trilogy up your TBR. For what it's worth it is my favourite work. Period. If you are concerned about it being too much of an investment, Red Mars stands strong on it's own.
That’s great to hear, thanks for sharing!
Good list: been at it for a while, 44/50 Some of my personal favourites were missing: A Fire Upon the Deep, Speaker for the Dead, and more recently, Project Hail Mary
Impressive score! And Project Hail Mary is one of my favourites as well!
48/50. IMO a brilliant breakdown of strengths and weaknesses of these classics. Thanks so much.
Very impressive score! And thanks for the kind words, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
By way of introduction, I am 80 years old and read my first Heinlein and Asimov 68 years ago. Lists are very subjective and this was no exception. I scored 42/50 which surprised me. Most lists recently have far too many "new" books which I will never buy or read. There were only two on this list. There were only five others that i found questionable and would not make my list. I recommend ALL of the books you have not read. They all have something to offer. I understand Dune being number one, though I didn't like it even on the third reading, Thanks for an interesting video. Oh, and reread Canticle for Leibowitz in another year and see if it doesn't get better.
That is awesome that you have enjoyed science fiction over the years! I’m glad you enjoyed the ones that I have not read yet. I have since read Hitchhiker’s Guide and very much enjoyed it!
5 points for me. The Forever War is the only one I've read. Then I own three others. Looks like I need to do some more sci-fi reading!! :)
I’m happy to be of help! Let me know if you have any sci-fi questions!
Its just a matter of time the older you get the more you read...theres a lot on the list though i`d recommend especially Way station The Dispossessed Hyperion and The Stars My Destination ..
37 for me! Just discovered your channel. New subscriber!
Great score Scott! Welcome to the channel!
Doomsday Book is absolutely awesome. I think Gateway is awesome, too. You can picture it as kind of a comic movie with all the humor left in, or you could take that humor out and have a terrifying drama. The Time Machine is haunting. The Mars trilogy has a lot going for it. The longevity treatment enables the characters to experience the long terraforming of Mars and gives it a satisfying narrative thread. I've read them all except for Ender's Game and Hitch Hiker's Guide. They are all classics.
That’s great to hear Cory! I recently purchased Red Mars so I am looking forward to that and Doomsday Book!
I love Doomsday Book too!
46, I haven’t read and don’t own “Red Mars” or “The Martian Chronicles “. A really good list. I highly recommend “Doomsday Book” and “Ringworld “. I think “Hitchhikers “ is better if you read it for the first time when you are young. Ringworld and Mote are both great books if you like one you’ll probably like the other. Doomsday Book is very good. Lots of humor and emotion which is uncommon in sci fi. Like you the Hyperion Cantos is my favorite series.
Impressive! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed those books and that you also love Hyperion!
Very useful video! Have you read "The Membranes" by Chi Ta-wei?
Thanks! I haven’t read that book, I’ll look it up!
I scored only 12 but I’ve just recently started to seriously read sci-fi. I appreciate your videos because I always find a new book to try.
That’s great to hear Sari! I’m glad they’ve been helpful. Thanks for being a part of the channel!
Interesting list, I didn't keep track of my score but it's probably similar to yours. Interestingly, though, I don't think there was any overlap between us on the books we haven't read yet. I'm not a big fan of time travel stories in general, but I like the Connie Willis books a lot. Doomsday Book may have been the first one I read, I loved it but it's not exactly a fun read as it's a rather dire situation that the protagonist is in. (That's true of most of Connie Willis' time travel books, but I think most true of Doomsday Book.) To Say Nothing of the Dog, on the other hand, is great fun. Just in case you don't know, the title of To Say Nothing of the Dog comes from the subtitle of a classic comedy book from the late 1800's titled Three Men in a Boat. I don't know that it's really necessary, but if you haven't already I would suggest reading Three Men in a Boat before reading To Say Nothing of the Dog. It's pretty short and well worth reading, and it will probably enhance your enjoyment of To Say Nothing of the Dog at least a little bit in a few places. You should definitely read Hitchhiker's Guide, the book is much better than the movie. So much of the humor comes from narrator explanations or peoples thoughts which aren't easily translated to a movie.
I have since read Hitchhiker’s and very much enjoyed it! And thanks for the info on Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog!
27/50. Too bad I don't get extra points for having read any of those books more than once. I'm reading Dune for the 26th time right now, and I still find new things to discover and enjoy. That books has so many layers. I hope you had fun reading Dogs of War. It's on my to-read list as well. And Earth Abides definitely deserves a second chance.
26 reads is impressive! Yes, I did enjoy Dogs of War and Earth Abides is on my TBR.
A worthy list that intersects well with my own.
I’m glad you enjoyed it Kim!
As soon as you said Pohl and then Immediately Willis, I knew this was going to be a great list! You've got a new subscriber, bud!!!
Haha I appreciate it Marcus, welcome to the channel!
@@WordsinTime seriously. I never hear anyone talk about them. It's nice to know they still have new readers. I'm anxious to finish the video to see if you mention Clifford Simak at all!!!!
@@marcusshaner7066 I actually just talked about Simak in the new video I posted yesterday!
@@WordsinTime I'll check it out! ( sidenote: I was born and raised in Kinsman, Ohio; so I cut my scifi teeth on Edmond Hamilton and Leigh Brackett! )
Really fantastic list! The only really noteworthy absence is the Culture novels e.g. The Player of Games, Use of Weapons. Maybe BOTNS. I love these kinds of lists because it highlights for me the fact that I am just happy to be part of the SF reader community. I feel I don't meet many people irl who read SF
There are more classic books than modern books in the top 25, but I enjoy modern and classic sci-fi equally. It’s been great to meet other sci-fi fans through the channel!
Just commented something similar before I read your comment redfoot2. And you mention Use of Weapons, which I actually forgot on the spur of the moment.
Yeah, the list favours classics (which is fine). Also, it may depend on where the list compiler is from - Banks seems to be much less of a thing in the US as far as I can tell whereas I suspect at least one Culture book would appear on many UK sci-fi fans' "25 essentials".
49 out of 50. The only one I haven't read is Hitchhikers guide , which I do own as well as the movie. Most of them are Hugo and Nebula award winners , which I make my business to keep up with.
Very impressive! I’ll be reading Hitchhiker’s in June if you want to join me and complete the list!
What’s your opinion of Red Mars? What would you compare it to? The reviews on it are very mixed. I haven’t read anything by the author.
@@jerryB75 Read it!
I guess maybe 3 years ago I decided to read all hugo winners as well which I completed last year. now kinda reading nebula award winners, but not going hardcore, only 34 of 59 (to date). I'll eventually read all of them as well, and same for locus award winners (40 of 96 to-date)
29/50 i liked the interactivity. Maybe could do more videos that does the scoring thing again for say golden age sf, new age sf, cyberpunk sf, pre goldenage sf, etc?
Nice score! And thanks for the feedback, I’ll have a think about how to incorporate different interactive ideas for future videos.
I'm absolutely flabbergasted that the first four books of Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom Series didn't make the list. They were some of the earliest science fiction (along with Verne) and were foundational to the later Masters like Bradbury, Heinlein, and Clarke.
Yes, very influential!
I've read all 25, so 50 points! It's a good list and I really can't fault it at all, but then it's obviously to my reading tastes haha.
Haha I’m impressed!
I got 35! I enjoyed Ringworld more than A Mote in God's Eye. Definitely one to be on the tbr for the world building and hard sci-fi description on a "ringworld". The characters, though, are meh. What you expect for the times, I guess
Nice! Ringworld sounds like it has some interesting concepts, I’ll have to get to it at some point!
25. Great video, I always see "Red Mars" on lists but have never actually heard anyone talk about them, a hidden gem in plane sight maybe? Lol
Haha it does seem to be quite well respected but perhaps not that widely read nowadays.
Kim Stanley Robinson is a real duck out of water in the SF world, for me. I came to his Mars books truly excited, and found them sort of disappointing. In the end, I think it's because he's quite a realist stylistically. I was looking for the good old SF romantic notion of space travel, terraforming, etc., and instead found an intensely political book with a bunch of neither "good" nor "bad" characters...just a bunch of "real" people working within realistic factions. All that is an amazing accomplishment, but wasn't the (literally) fantastic read I thought I was looking for.
@@dirtsheep557 wow thanks for the honest review, honest you make it sound even more intriguing to me lol
@@PoorPersonsBookReviewer Sweet! Hope you enjoy it!
Only 17 points. But i'm new to Sci fi/reading more books in general. So hopefully my score will go up! But great video with a load of great recommendations I've never heard before.
I’m glad you enjoyed the video and some of the books sounded interesting to try next!
I need to tackle Neuromancer again. I listen to most of my books as audiobooks these days, and I typically listen while driving. I could not do this with Neuromancer because it required too much attention. (I managed Snowcrash just fine though. Make of that what you will... 🙂) Edit: 30 points. And most of the ones I've read before, I want to read again.
Neuromancer required all of my attention as well. Great score!
29/50. Impressive and bold to put together that list! I miss some of my favorites on the list, but that is obvious, Frankenstein (Shelley), 20.000 leagues under the sea (Verne), Aniara (Martinsson), The Salamander War (Capek), Solaris, (Lem), The Dark Cloud (Hoyle), Brave new world (Huxley), Contact (Sagan) ......
Great score! Some of those are on the list but didn’t make the top 25. Frankenstein and Solaris are 2 of my personal favourites!
45 - I haven’t read any Bester, have to check those out! Also haven’t read Gateway, and have Hyperion but haven’t read it. Fun list!
That’s an impressive score! I hope you enjoy Hyperion as much as I did!
Thanks for the list! My summary own & read: 4 own but not read: 12 don't own but heard of: 5 not heard of: 4
Nice! You’ve got some good books to look forward to!
21/50, but many of these are on my wishlist :) And funny, you seemed to like the first half of Left Hand of Darkness and not so much the second half. With me it was the other way round, I almost dnf'd it but then around the middle it grabbed me and I really liked it towards the ending. Aaaaand the film of The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy is nowhere near as good as the book! Read it!
The wishlist grows ever longer! And I’m glad you enjoyed Hitchhiker’s, I’m looking forward to it!
@@WordsinTime super fast read as well!
32. I mostly buy ebooks these days, or I'd have at least three more points. Looking forward to your thoughts on Hitchhiker. Wish I could delete your memory of the movie. Heck, I wish I could delete MY memory of the movie.
Haha I’m sure I’ll enjoy the book more!
I actually liked the movie. Alan Rickman did a great job as Marvin. I also know a movie has to chop off a lot of the book to a screen play of about 100 pages of big print, so some favorite parts of a book may just not make it, characters dropped or combined, etc. I thought it maintained the spirit of the book as well. But I read the books back in my college years now 30 years ago, so some fuzziness is to be expected about the books!
27/50 and most of these are already on my list to read. Good list!
Solid score Jason, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
40/50. Sounds like I need to check out Alfred Bester. I notice that some of the books on this list that were written earlier were exploring a single concept that later became more commonplace. A person could read one of those and anticipate the ending based on their familiarity with the concept. This probably makes a book more influential, but less fun to read. That's why I enjoy books with an interesting plot twist at the end which is not an obvious outgrowth of the essential sci-fi question at hand. I suppose this is often done through character development, or, more rarely, the development of a philosophy.
Great score Dave! And that’s an interesting observation. I think that’s why I appreciate and respect some of those books more than I actually enjoyed them.
44/50 for me. I haven't read 1) Doomsday book - 90s were a hard time in my country, so SF publications dropped significantly, import of books also. 2) Forever war & Canticle for Leibowitz - somehow, there was always something more interesting to read, or there was no time, or I wasn't in mood, so they skipped below the radar.
That’s an impressive score Zoran! I hope you enjoy those 3 if you read them!
Red Mars is one of the most impressive SF books I have ever read. Hard SF absolutely - you feel like you are THERE on Mars as they begin making a life there. But at the same time, the characters are unforgettable, some even lovable. John Boone the charismatic, idealistic one, Arkady the anarchist, Ann and Sax the dueling scientists, Maya the dramatic, Hiroko the mysterious, the Coyote, and of course Frank the schemer. The genius of the book is that it all seems like it MUST have happened that way. KSR weaves the people and the science and a good deal of politics together into the best Mars story ever written. (And by politics I don't mean polemics - he's not taking a side, but he develops the characters' own political ideas.) There are funny scenes, exciting scenes, amazing scenes (the long walk after the elevator comes down especially), heartbreaking scenes, and thought-provoking scenes. People who consider it "dry" are probably referring to KSR's weakness for exposition. He's been asked about this and explicitly says he likes exposition and won't cut down on it. But IMO it's less noticeable in this book than in the other two of the trilogy, maybe because the ideas are new here, but also because they're just better done. I absolutely love this book. We probably won't go to Mars in my lifetime, but if we did I'd be watching to see how closely we follow KSR's plot! Edited to add: You mentioned the impressive world-building of Dune. IMHO KSR's world-building in Red Mars is the equal of that. I'm not sure how you'll feel about The Martian Chronicles, I think of that book as kind of lightweight. If you didn't care for The Left Hand of Darkness, you might like The Dispossessed better. It's another case of Le Guin exploring different cultures but perhaps more in-depth than LHD (also, the main character is a physicist and he does talk some physics, lol). I read Hyperion but was turned off by the horror aspect of the Shrike. But in general, this is a very good list.
That’s great to hear Gail! I have since purchased Red Mars and look forward to reading it!
I kinda liked how Sax became in a way the mane character towards the end. the stuff that guy gets up to is just strait legend.
36/50. That's a pretty good list. To my surprise, there are several books in the list that I had never heard of.
Great score Alex, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
@@WordsinTime thanks! Glad you read Hitchhiker in the meantime. I strongly recommend Red Mars and its sequels if you like hard SF. I read To Say Nothing Of The Dog instead of Doomsday Book and I enjoyed it very much.
@@alexdevisscher6784 A lot of commenters recommended Red Mars so I picked up a copy. Looking forward to it!
18/50 ooft. Good to have some titles to add to my list though! I'd highly recommend 'The Dispossessed'; I think it's more prescient than 'Left Hand of Darkness', and the characters are far more interesting! Le Guin's sci-fi is top tier imo
Solid score! Thanks for the info on The Dispossessed, I will try it at some point!
all of HG Wells books depends on which version you read, the very early ones (I have an early hardback collection) have very 'Victorian' language and can struggle to get the meaning across, but I believe there are latter re-prints where they have been re-worded to come more into modern ways of saying things....this is my hypothesis anyway, I've never actually read the same story from two time periods
Interesting! I wasn’t aware of the different printings so I will have to look that up!
@@WordsinTime the hard back series I have is from 1930 12 Volume Odhams set - I also have a collected stories version which would be at least 50 years later. But then of course the original story is from 1895 so of course how it was written back then (like War of the worlds...so different as it progresses through the years) is very Victorian in language
I got 17/50. So plenty of potential for diving into influential classic SF!
Solid score Max! I hope the channel is helpful for sci-fi recommendations!
Don't forget to read the other two books in William Gibsons Sprawl Trilogy: 2. Count Zero and 3. Mona Lisa Overdrive.
I’ve heard good things!
Im just getting started! I got 24, but thats mainly because im a collector lol. Ive only read 5 of them. Always working on the list now though. Incredible stuff on here!
Yes, lots of books to look forward to! Let me know which ones you enjoy!
@Words in Time my favorite scifi book so far probably has to be Revolation Space or We. I read through the bug distopians and now I'm working through some space operas with a little PKD and classics sprinkled in between.
@@Dylan13Collins Nice! I just read Revelation Space and I’m looking forward to Redemption Ark next month. We is great and somewhat under appreciated!
@Words in Time I've taken a few classes on Gothic literature so Revolation Space felt right at home for me. We was the first distopian I read so I may be biased, but I think it's my favorite of all the dystopians. 1984 comes close but the ending of We has never left my brain.
Awesome video Jonathan!!! I scored a 16. I'm reading the dark forest now. I may check out dogs of war after i finish this series. Thanks for the great content
Thanks so much Dale! I hope you enjoy The Dark Forest as much as I did, and I’m looking forward to Dogs of War!
I do need to finish Death's end and dark forest as well! Those two books are staring at me now, read me! patience, I will get to you... ;-)
@@marctowersap8018 it is a really good series. Each book gets a little longer but I really loved them. Like most people say, I thought the second book was the best but the third was nearly that good.
I only scored 26/50. However, of the books you mentioned, I scored just about all of them. That’s because I tend to read horizontally. If I read one Clark, Asimov or Herbert, I’ve read them all; plus prequels and sequels by themselves and others.
That’s cool! I like to read a mix but sometimes I will binge an author or series.
Read most of these, but I have only re-read a few. I guess that means I like them the best. Those are: the Foundation series, the Martian Chronicles, and the Time Machine.
37/50 not too bad. Not read Gateway, Doomsday Book, Red Mars, Rendezvous with Rama, Canticle for Leibonitz, TBR is the Bester and Le Guin books. Would be good to see the same with popular newish books in the future. Great video BTW
Nice Martin! And yes, I like to read an equal amount of modern and classic sci-fi.
Great video again! One note, in the description it now reads '14 The Main in the High Castle' instead of '14 The Man in the High Castle'.
Thanks! I corrected it! 🤝
I like this kind of stuff. 29/50 for me. What about Solaris, Brave new world any Silverberg, Vernon Vinge or Iain Banks ? Waiting part 2
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed the video! And that’s a solid score. I’ve read all of those authors except Lem, and I am actually starting Solaris tomorrow! All worthy picks!
I loved A Deepness in the Sky.
I think Silverberg is underrated; however, his best work was in the novella and can be hard to find. My favorite novel of his is Hawksbill Station, a time travel story. Probably his Majipoor Chronicles are better known.
@@gaileverett Thanks for the recommendations Gail! I thought Dying Inside was excellent, I’m looking forward to trying more!
@@gaileverett I now have A time of changes and Lord Valentine's Castle on my TBR list. was thinking of reading ATFC as my 2nd to next book to read (Mira Grant's blackout is on deck after I finish David Brin's Brightness Reef.