Looking forward to Shards of Earth. Also, I really appreciate you holding the books still so we can clearly see title and author AND for listing them in the description box. It really helps with taking notes. Thank you!
C. J. Cherryh is amazing Sci-fi political and social author! Her Foreigner series is one of my favorite. She can create tension while seemingly very little is happening. It is worth giving it a try!
Lensman - E. E. Doc Smith, Childe Cycle - Gordon R. Dickson, Galactic Center - Gregory Benford, Moties - Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, Heechee - Frederick Pohl, Iron Druid Chronicles (Fantasy) - Kevin Hearne, Honor Harrington - David Weber, Uplift - David Brin, Ringworld - Larry Niven, Eldren - Jack Williamson.
Greetings! I am getting book-pilled hardcore now, and am falling down the scifi BookTube rabbit hole. Your channel has a charm that keeps bringing me back, and getting me to go over your back catalog. For myself I haven't read too many series, but the ones I have I'd say my favorites are: the Dune Saga (original 6 books, I am two books in lol), The Hyperion Cantos, The Legacy of the Aldenata (the John Ringo military scifi series, where humans are recruited to fight an alien federation's war for them), Foundation, and that's about it for now. You, and other booktubers, are giving me lots of ideas for new series to try out. Thank you.
1) The Revelation Space books by Reynolds; 2 ) Hyperion series by Simmons 3) Zones of thoughts series by Vernor Vinge 4) Expanse serie and 5) Fondation trilogy by Asimov😀
I love it how you are now a loving literary baby with a really good literacy heart. As one reader to an other. I will say that without a deep, ...deepest code possible of presenting the truth, and with the infinite nature of Life itself, sci-fi literature might not rise up where it needs to have taken more profound plot lines forward.. In the past there was was no need to worry about cancellation to any artist who spoke an esoteric truth like the principle of the universe itself is forever operating according to the very nature of Spirit, Soul, Mind, Life, Love, Principle and divine Truth. Yet here all are making sense of it all. Thank you for all of your honest efforts speaking clearly!
Some good choices here. Of ones you haven't already mentioned: Vernor Vinge's Zones of Thought, Becky Chambers Wayfarers, Hannu Rajaniemi's Jean le Flambeur series are among my favorites, and, in terms of more under-the-radar ones I don't see a lot of people talking about, Nexus trilogy by Ramez Naam, and more recently Derek Kunksen's Quantum Evolution series and the White Space novels by Elizabeth Bear may not completely be in my top 10 yet but I could easily see them making it if they keep going.
I've only read the first book in Cherryh's Foreigner series, but I really liked it. This is a great list! I hate when a list is just the 10 most popular series 😂. Looking up all of these
Cherryh is #1 on my list so consider that when I say if you liked the Expanse you should try Heavy Time and Hellburner a duology set early in the Alliance/Union series. Leckie is also high on my list, might be a coincidence but she is a big Cherryh fan too
Cherryh is great. I loved the Downbelow books. Also thoroughly enjoyed the Chanur books. My all time favourites are the Morgaine Cycle, The Faded Sun books and the books about Tristan and Cefwyn ( my user name is from there.) Slowly making my way through Foreigner but there seems to be no end in sight!!
Interesting list and some nice suggestions - thanks! The Gene Wolf book I had to give up on as the story was all over the place. Some random event leading into another random event (ie the night at the Inn into duel challenge into the chariot race). Odd to me that it had such a cult following but entirely possible I missed something!
@@riminov Actually, you probably could skip it. The novels are set in the same universe, but are only linked slightly, some of the same aliens are in different novels and some space ships, and maybe a character from a previous novel may be mentioned, but doesn't play a major role .
Oooh. You chose some good ones. I'd add Connie Willis' Oxford time travel series (Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog, Blackout, All Clear.) Doomsday Book is a terrifying look into the Black Plague, TSNOTD is hilarious but also really smart extrapolation of time travel, and Blackout/All Clear are just a tour de force WW2 narrative on the British home front (with some very cool payoffs for how time travel actually works vs. how you think it works)
@@TheShadesofOrange "To say nothing of the dog" is an absolute blast! Time travel meets a bit of a mystery with a dash of unexpected romance set against the backdrop of the Nazi bombing of Coventry England on November 14-15, 1940. This great novel has everything!
You should definitely read Dune saga and Foundation saga to decide on your definitive Sf top 10. I am still missing on Ender ‘s saga but the above 2 are a must
Still new to the realm of Sci-fi however Hyperion (the only completed Sci-fi series under my belt) was quite a ride. I did, however, just finish Empire of Silence of the Sun Eater series, and I had a blast with that one. I definitely look forward to continuing that one. 🚀
Glad you mentioned Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. I actually have that series (all four books). I tried it years ago but was put off for whatever reason (unreliable narrator?) and only got through 50 or so pages of the first book. I will give it another "stab" 😎
Just bought Ninefox Gambit based on your review. And also gonna give Shards of the Earth another go. I'm more of a straight up fantasy person who dabbles in scifi every now and again. Speaking of which i don't recall if I got the review from your youtube but Christopher Ruocchio's Sun Eater series is fantastic.
I might have to give Ninefox Gambit a re-read. It was kinda confusing for me but I only read the first one years ago. I also read all of The Expanse and loved it but I feel you with the ending. I recently bought Shards of the Earth off your recommendation but haven't gotten to it yet and I guess this could be sci-fi but I also got How High We Go In The Dark from one of your rec-vids and it still impacts me. Thanks! 🛸🚀
So glad you loved How High! And with Ninefox, I honestly had to read book 2 in order to process book 1. And I'm sorry you had a similar experience with book 9 of the Expanse. It just not what I wanted for an ending
I recommend 'Finity's End and Rim Runners as two of the best of C.J. Cherryh's many novels. Those two are set in her merchanter/union/alliance war, but they are each stand alone stories with their own interesting psychology and character development. While the setting involves her take on hard sci-fi, her writing is really about the people and relationships.
I recommend reading only part of the Expanse series. No need to read the last 3 novels. Stop at book 3 or 4 or 6, depending on taste. The first 6 are pretty good.
I'm re-reading the first book of the Wayfarer series because I missed a lot. When I understood the scope of the story, which in engineering means the contents and boundaries of a project, a re-read brings clarity to the world and characters. That being said I'm wanting to get the next 3 books because the first one really set up things and then kind of ended. Please tell me the next books won't disappoint. The top 10 operas you listed left me alienated. I had not heard of any of them except maybe Alastair Reynolds which I have a copy of House of Suns to look at.
I liked book 2 of the Wayfarers moe than the first. As for my list, I was hoping people would enjoy hearing about some underhyped lists. I actually don't have any series by Alastair Reynolds on this list
@@TheShadesofOrange Oops! Come to think of it I have heard of 'Gambit'. I increased reading drastically in 2022, a set goal of 16 novels. At 11 now plus one that I quit at 80% due to loss of interest...The midnight Library, Most of my book collection is Sci-fi, but older works.
🚀🪐What a great list! The ones I haven't read are all on my tbr. My top five as of this moment would be The Expanse Old Man's War The Machineries of Empire Southern Reach trilogy The Book of the New Sun
My TBR gets longer every time I watch one of your videos! I’m looking forward to Shards of Earth. Trouble is that I just started The Expanse. I don’t know if you’ve read Sun Eater but that’d probably be #1 for me, although it’s not finished.
The Expanse definitely dropped down my list with the last book as well. It might not have completely soured it for you but kind of did for me. Up to that point it was absolutely amazing and then it just dropped the ball.
It’s cool to see the Planetfall series on your list, I believe Emma Newman had one more book planned to tie everything up but got dropped by her publisher, so who knows if we’ll ever get it. Would love to see how it ties up. Good list! Made me feel validated, and added to my TBR.
Oh man I need to read Revenant Gun. Was really surprised by Ninefox gambit and it's sequel. I forgot how good they were. I'm glad you like the New Sun books! Make sure you read Urth of the New Sun because it's basically part 5 of the series and answers a lot of questions while giving you new questions to scratch your head over. The other Solar books (Long Sun and Short Sun) are also really good! I like Short Sun almost as much as New Sun. Have you ever read Light by M. John Harrison? You might like it. It's pretty weird and has horror like elements to it, and he's just such a great writer.
I feel the same way about the Ancillary series. I really enjoyed the first book, the second was OK, and the third bored me and I could barely finish. The Expanse is great and I think anything Adrian Tchaikovsky writes is wonderful. Children of Time is in my top ten. I'm very much looking forward to reading The Final Architecture. Revelation Space and Red Rising and The Southern Reach Trilogy are favorites as well. I have Planetfall and Book of the New Sun and hope to get to them soon. Great list!
I have a tendency to drop series for no good reason (probably my low attention span) so I haven't really completed that many but out of those that I have my top 5 would probably be 1) Animorphs just because I enjoyed them as a child and appreciated them a lot as an adult 2) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy as an exercise in absurdism 3) The Expanse as a solid space opera with an ending which neatly wraps up the character stories while leaving the world open to the imagination 4) The Culture each book is self contained and always delivers an interesting tale in the universe 5) The Hyperion Cantos great balance of character and world. I should also mention that I've never turned off a series harder than the Rama series. Rendevous was fantastic Rama II was great but Garden was mind numbing and Revealed was just eh. Its interesting how you can take 2 good authors but still end up with something mediocre.
You've got a lot of good series on your list. I especially agree with Radch, Book of the New Sun, Expanse, and Machineries of Empire. With Tchaikovsky, I prefer his Children books. With Cherryh, it's Foreigner and The Faded Sun. A few more favorites: Luna by Ian McDonald Wild Cards edited by George R.R. Martin Xenogenesis by Octavia E. Butler Three-Body Trilogy by Cixin Liu The Tower Series by Anne McCaffrey Hyperion by Dan Simmons (first two)
Loved the video and will definitely add a couple of my TBR. As for other series, I think you would like the Revelation Space series. Yes there is hard sci-fi in them, but at their heart they have a lot of thriller and gothic horror elements. Reynolds purposely doesn't resolve all of the big picture issues in his stories, so that's something I had to learn to deal with. I would also highly recommend his Chasm City and House of Suns novels - both excellent.
@@TheShadesofOrange 😀👍 Great. It's a classic, but one particular story-line stood out. I will wait until you read it and then maybe we can see if we have similar thoughts on that!
My favorite science fiction top uhh... 3! 1. The Three-Body Problem series - Absolutely phenomenal hard sci-fi where I was surprised to find vibes of classics such as Arthur C Clarke books. 2. Hyperion Duologu - Stay out of the Endymion series though 3. The Expanse - Just finished book 7, excited to find out what the ending of the series is like, since it looks to be a bit polarizing.
The trilogy of novels that begins with Altered Carbon is a favourite of mine (by Ricard Morgan). I'm a huge fan of the original Dune series (try Frank Herbert). The subsequent sequels and prequels by Kevin J Anderson and Brian Herbert are a stain on the memory of the originals. There are some other ones which aren't strictly series, but more set in the same universe like, Iain M Banks' Culture novels, or Alaistair Reynolds Revelation Space books, or Neal Asher's Polity books. There are so many others, but I see several have been already mentioned by others.
You've given me something to look forward to. I am an odd one out I feel because I really didn't care for Ancillary Justice and didn't pursue later books. I'm curious what you think about the Murder Bot series and Becky Chambers Far From a Small Angry Planet (I can't remember the actual series name - Wayfarers?) books. I was really into the first one, but have had a hard time finding the other ones at the library.
@@TheShadesofOrange Sounds good. I always felt George RR Martin borrowed heavily from Moorcock 🤔. BTW, thanks Rachel for answering my comments/questions. 😀
It's worth it. I just finished book 9 and wasn't at all disappointed. In fact the authors were able to surprise me at the end in a way I found delightful!
My top three science fiction book series are Dune, Ender's Game, and The Lunar Chronicles. I don't think the last series is for you because it's YA and blends science fiction with fairy tales 😂 and of course you already know the first two. I will say though that you should read the prequels to Dune written by his son, starting with The Butlerian Jihad. They are all fantastic! I bought both the Expanse and the Scott Westerfield duology because of you, so thanks! The Calculating Stars sounds a lot like the movie Hidden Figures 😃
I think speaker for the dead (sequel to enders game) is superior to ender game. I heard it was the novel the author originally wanted to write but there was too much lore so he wrote enders game and dumped the worldbuilding into that so he could focus on the plot for speaker for the dead
I'm on the side of - if I had to choose on - 'book of the new sun is fantasy, not sci-fi', but it's very much both in a brilliant blend. Sad we don't see more like it. Love this list - lots of great stuff, and lots of totally new stuff to me I've not seen anywhere else... and those are the exciting ones :D
I haven’t read Yoon Ha Lee yet, nor Machine Dynasty. I know I have Ninefox Gambit but not sure about the dynasty ones. On my list I’d have Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe trilogy (Alex White), and The Protectorate trilogy (Megan O’Keefe). I like that phrase “lot of tea drinking” as an evaluation of a book. :)
I downloaded the Machine Dynasty ones now, as well as some of the first Cherryh books (had Downbelow Station already). And turns out I already have the Yoon Ha Lee books; downloaded Nov 2021 (sigh). My tbr is getting out of control now. o/t: started Daisy Darker (not sci-fi; not horror--or not yet anyway). Enjoying the atmosphere and the setting. First few chapters are hitting the 4-5 star vibe for me.
I will be so interested to hear what you think of Yoon Ha Lee's... I think I love them because they are so different. When you read them, I might join you for a reread
Daisy Darker pretty good. I guessed half of the mystery, missed the other half, and completely missed the big reveal. A good Halloween read (as the setting is Halloween night).
Machine Dynasty Check Loved Javier's story almost as much as Amy's CJ Cherryh Check though I would probably rate Chronicles of Morgaine or Chanur Series ahead of Company/Alliance but any Cherryh is Good Imperial Radch Check Have just re-read Justice and was a bit surprised how well it held up. Maybe because being used to the gender language stuff I was more able to concentrate on the story. Should re-read the other two as I remember them being different in tone from Justice but not being bad. Planetfall Have only read the first book which was great. Have After Atlas in the current pile but may have to send it back to the library and get the series in the correct order. Scott Westerfeld Haven't heard of him, so there is another search to start New Sun Have only read the second book (the one that won the Hugo or Nebula, whichever) was a struggle. Did however enjoy The Long Sun Tchaikovsky Haven't read ANY of his work, need to remedy that though the size of many tends to put me off Lady Astronaut series Check though I did find some aspects of how easily the racism and sexism was overcome to be a tad unrealistic. The 3rd book was just outstanding imo Expanse Check. though the series for dropped off about the arrival f the Laconian Empire. What I did like about Falls was the fact that the crew were old and tired and largely behaved that way which while it may not have made for the most satifying or daramatic conclusion did feel realistic to me. Machineries of Empire Check. Outstanding writing by Yoon Ha Lee. Yes Calendrical weapons were hard to grasp as was was the Terao/Cheris meld (for want of a more accurate phrase) Other to replace the one I don't know The Shoal Sequence Gary Gibson Murderbot The Lost Fleet Jack Campbell very good milsf Luna trilogy Paul MacAuley
