Another one! I too love, love, loved SevenEves...totally agree with you that the last part was somewhat controversial...but I wish he would write a sequel, as the ending left me wanting much more...or even a development book that bridges parts 2 and 3.
Ahhhhh!!!! Borne!! I just finished it for the 2nd time!! LOVE THAT BOOK!!!! It is so good. So much more character than Area X(I also loved) ... a completely different type of story altogether. One of my favorites!!
Oooh lots that sound so cool!! Particularly the darkling sea and cage of souls. Have you read Adrian Tchaikovsky's children of time trilogy? I just finished the third one and gush gush gush
@@secretsauceofstorycraft I got my dad to read them and he's like... you have to check, certainly there will be a fourth book! But I have heard anything, have you?
I'll try the Stephenson one, even though I couldn't finish Snowcrash. Delta-V sounds a little like The Martian, I'll check that out, too. Thanks for the reviews.
@@secretsauceofstorycraft _Midworld_ is a novel by Alan Dean Foster. It was published in 1975 (at least that's what my edition says). It's about a world that is all kinds of hostile - one massive jungle where everything tries to eat everything else! There are seven layers in this jungle, each with its own dangers. There are some humans there, the survivors of a long-lost attempted colony; they live on the third layer of the jungle, in harmony with their environment (it would be a spoiler to tell how). But strangers crash in the humans' territory - they are scouts from a starship that has landed on the planet illegally. The starship is there to exploit the planet's resources, and they're not going to let a few "savages" get in their way. The strangers, however, are in for some highly unpleasant surprises! _Avatar_ totally stole from this book in many ways. If you decide to read it, you'll see what I mean.
Thanks. 1) Cage of Souls - Adrian Tchiakowsky - I've never heard of it. Thanks. Seveneves - Neal Stephenson - I own it, but have been intimidated by its size, but also...he's not been a writer that I've enjoyed much...from other reads. Might pick it up. Infomacracy - Malka Older - I love this series. It is heavy in the details, but that in and of itself makes the world (within the book) so textured and nuanced). A Darkling Sea - James L. Cambias - Never even heard of it. Thanks. Sounds very interesting. Borne - Jeff Vandermeer - Nature porn is what a friend told me his foundation for all his writings. Stringers - Chris Panatier - Not an absurdist lover, but glad that this book exists...may pick it up. Thanks for your non-spoiler thoughts. Might just have picqued my interest. YMIR - Rich Larson - cyberpunkie...hmmm. Very interesting. The Outside - Ada Hoffman - I'm going to be reading Ninefox Gambit in a day or two...so I'll see if this book (above) is my cup of tea. I'm also a weenie when it comes to Horror, so thank you for that. - ah, autism character. Thanks. - Thank you for your restraint of telling us more. Delta-V - Daniel Suarez - I've read all the books that I could get from Daniel Suarez. I have read this book and the sequel. All his books are engrossing and make you think of our own world and how this could possibly happen in the near future. Oof. - Oh, btw...the mashup of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk...was the EXACT same thought that I had. See, we think alike...or the author is really good at tapping into today's world...and extrapulating it into the future. - The Expanse by James S.A. Corey also has US mining the solar system for humanity. Metro-2033 by Dmitry Gulkhovsky - It seems like a version of Snowpiercer with each car representing a different class. Is that a fair assessment? That's what I thought of when you were telling us about the book. - the effects of this "message". Now I need to read. Thanks. Thanks for this summary of the best of Science Fiction.
What a thoughtful response!! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! I think you are right on with so many of these interpretations! Let me know your thoughts if you pickup any of these, i hope you find some that you enjoyed as much as I did.
24:58 - Only _one_ Russian writer ?!? I hope you mean SciFi writer, and even then I can think of at least two "obligatory" ones: Yevgeny Zamyatin ( _We_ - *the* grand-daddy of a whole sub-genre of SciFi on totalitarian regimes) and Strugatsky brothers (too many great works to enumerate; e.g. _The Final Circle of Paradise,_ _Hard to Be a God_ or _Roadside Picnic_ made into an absolutely fascinating file _Stalker_ by Tarkovsky; there is also a very dark film adaptation of _Hard to Be a God,_ but it is not easy to find.). And you _have_ to read at least Fyodor Dostoevsky and Anton Chekhov, however you prefer SciFi.
I’ve read both the strugatsky brother and zamyatin! Phew! Saved! Both were fantastic. So that makes 3! Haha. But as for non scifi, maybe not for a long while…
Hi, from jakesbuddie. Such a great video; another one. They’re all so great. Again, I love and totally enjoy the time and effort you put into editing: you make watching really fun - and that includes your great energy and interesting comments. A number of additions to my TBR list after watching this: Cage of Souls, A Darkling Sea and others…. Thanks !
taking note of every recommendation, thank you! I have one for you that you are going to enjoy, it´s a graphic novel from my country, Argentina. It is called "The Eternaut" and tells the story of an alien invation like you never read one before. You´ll love it. it´s available on english.
The best modern books review I've seen. Even as good as the first one was, this one is better. So many interesting books I haven't heard of. Great job Whitney
@secretsauceofstorycraft The only ones I've read are VanDermeer and Stephenson. And Tchaikovsky has been on my radar for a while. The rest are totally new to me. Can't wait to check them out.
Thanks for some great-sounding recommendations. I really enjoy your channel. I’ve read Cage of Souls and I agree it’s pretty interesting. Metro 2033 though, I only read a few chapters before chucking it aside - I was so disgusted at the lack of women characters of quality that I couldn’t stand to go on. Probably I overreacted, because the premise and setting was certainly intriguing.
Hey that is fair. There really arent any female characters in the metro book….. although i will also so even the male characters arent great. Its way more of an ideas book than decent characters.
Recently found your channel. Fun and entertaining, great analysis. As a lifelong SF reader (I’m in my 60s), I was a bit skeptical about finding anything new and different here. Wow was I wrong! I do have one complaint about your channel-you are causing me to add more and more titles to my “want to read list” than I could ever have time to actually read. That’s OK though, I like having choices and SF isn’t the only genre I read. Thanks for your superb channel!
Thank you for your kind words!! I hope you find a few here you really enjoy 😊 and feel free to chime in to those videos where I talk about the beloved SF books- as I am still making my way through the genre.
Brand new subscriber here! Great list! I've read Ymir and Borne and loved them both. I have a few ot the others....The Outside, Seveneves and Cage of Souls and plan to read them soon. I've played the Metro video games so know the story. Thanks for the recommendations and your super descriptions of the books.
I have The Outside sat on my TBR shelves. A lot of the marketing I read for it pitched it as 'Lovecraft in space'...which is why I bought it :) Sounds interesting though... Seveneves, Cage of Souls and Ymir also on the TBR shelves.I nearly bought Stringers, but it worries me when books are compared to Hitchhiker's Guide...they can never live up to that comparison.
Haha! I feel the same way about book comparisons… so let me tell u- it doesnt live up to Hitchhikers. But if u can get over that and appreciate it for what it is- u might like it. I also have to break your heart and tell u i didnt find the outside horror or lovecraftian. If u go in with thise expectations you WILL b disappointed. I wosh they’d quit doing that
Infomacracy was one of the first newer modern SF books I ever put on my TBR list but I still haven't got around to it yet. You reminded me it involves a lot of politics themes... since Political Science was one of my majors it might have to get a little higher on my reading list. An intriguing series of videos could be around SF recommendations for people who have a degree (or just an interest in) certain fields and subfields. I guessing a marine biologist might like that Ray Nadler book and Starfish for example? Ymir is on my TBR too, I think because the author wrote a short story I liked and that book has some award nominations. Great video!
I didnt know Ymir was nominated! I will have to look that up. I will have to put some thought into subject based recommendation list 🧐 the hard part of that will b that once you are an expert in your field, it is unlikely a writer can tell you something you dont already know. Usually they explore ideas to make accessible to public or they ask “what if” … but i will think on it
Yeah…Vandemeer is very polarizing- i will have to read annihilation and see if i jive with him or not. But I do hope you find a few others that you enjoy!
Cage of Souls: Forrest Gump in a swamp. Great ending. Borne: Very strange , but Vandermeer definitely puts you in that world. South Reach trilogy was great. Annihilation : how they got that movie from the book is beyond me. Great content. 4k subscribers can't arrive soon enough. Well deserved.
I really enjoyed Cage of Souls too, but I still think Dogs of War is his best. Currently reading Shards of Earth and really enjoying that too. I have yet to read a Tchaikovsky book that I didn’t like.
I'm curious. You add great supporting visuals for your criticisms, and I wonder where you find them. Probably too many to say. But maybe sometimes it's just panning shots off the book covers?
I really love your recommendations but I'm afraid I cant agree with you on Seveneves. I agree that part 3 is really imaginative (and would love to read more of that world) but I'm afraid I found the fact that we did survive parts 1 and 2 (given all the tings that go wrong) to be unbelievable and that spoilt the book. Loved the rest of the reviews though - thank you.
Wow! I haven't seen a video from you in a few months. Maybe that's my fault. I forgot how much I liked the information you present in your videos. Thank you.
Loved freeze frame revolution and blindsight. I have echopraxia but havent gotten to it yet. I will prioritize it next year. I was less excited by starfish. U?
@@secretsauceofstorycraft It seems that I haven't clicked "REply" last night, when replying to this. Anyway: I got hooked on _The Island,_ a story in the same "universe" as _The Freeze-frame Revolution_ (I don't remember where did I find in.) Then I saw Watt's marvelous (old) website with marketing material from a fictional company selling vampire genome, an introduction to _Blindsight_ which was also available there for free. After that I tried to amass everything he wrote, but, I agree, _Rifters_ series is a bil less, umm, intense than _Blindsight_ (still very engaging, though), and I am yet to read _Echopraxia._
I absolutely love the Metro series. The descriptions of moving between stations honestly creeped me out so much. I refused to be alone in the house reading that book.
would you recommend 2034 and 2035 as well? Really liked 2033 (especially the ending) and thought it wrapped things up nicely, so I haven't gotten around to the other two yet, in part because I did not want to "ruin" my impression of the book if the other two did not hold up
@@michaelebenhoh6929 i did the same thing! I own 2034 but havent picked it up. It is a different character POV than artyom… i guess i will have to get on it and find out
@@michaelebenhoh6929 this was my review of the 2nd one: ‘This was definitley not as good as the first one. I didnt get any of the atmosphere that I loved before. This book seemed more a study of humanity and pushing people to their limits rather than a spooky dark tale.’ I will likely pick up the last one just to finish off the series but I’m in no real rush. I think the first book stands well enough on its own.
@@lesleyspear7933 Thanks that helps a lot, sounds like something that I would still be quite interested in. I do like explorations of human nature and I think the setting could provide an interesting backdrop for that. I guess I will read 34 and 35 at some point but with how full my TBR is, I am probably in no rush, especially considering how well 33 wrapped things up.
If you loved the Fuzzy series, you should read the Hoka stories by Gordon R. Dickson and Poul Anderson. They are a funny, satirical take on the "cute but intelligent" species. The Hoka are both...but with a truly wild twist!
Echopraxia is fantastic, more accessible and more "sci-fyiush" than Blindsight. Thanks for the Sparrow sequel update. Tried Ymir and just couldn't get into it, kept trying and finally called it quits. I've ordered Metro 2033 and can't wait to start. Glad you liked it. I've heard the translation is lacking but could not find it in the original Russian (advertised but none on hand in two places). Great Video today. By the way, I'm watching the "Three Body Problem" (the original 30 episode Chinese version on Prime) and it is beyond superb. Great acting, incredible directing, moody, great music and very faithful to the book. . The scenes in the book really come to life. I've ordered Metro 2033 - glad you liked it. I've heard the translation is lacking but could not find it in the original Russian so it will be the English version. Great Video today.
I’ve been looking for sci-fi lists that aren’t the same authors over and over and over. Yes, Heinlein, LeGuin, Asimov, etc are all great. We know this lol. I want to find newer and lesser known books so thank you!
I've read Seveneves several times and enjoyed it thoroughly. Other book on the list is Delta-V, took a bit for me to get into but once I was I was hooked. Thanks for the suggestions :)
@@secretsauceofstorycraft the only reason i know about those 2 books is because of the micky 17 mini advert on youtube. forbidden planet, waterstone and Foyle's didn't have the book. i had to buy them from amazon [sad face]
Fun fact Metro 2033 took a lot of inspiration from a similar genre Called Roadside Picnic and the Soviet 70's Movie the Stalker. I recommend reading Roadside Picnic it's the best.
