The 15 Best Sci-Fi Books I've Ever Read 

Updated list is here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pP0XnfC1jVM.html

Dude, it was nice to sit here with you for forty minutes and talk about books, thanks! Very well done 👍

I am feeling really, really old right now. Most of your list wasn't around until my late 30s early 40s. I grew up on Heinlein and Asminov, EE Doc Smith, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, Ray Bradbury and that up and coming new writer Harlan Ellison.

I adore Hyperion, will always be my number one. Also even though it didn't make the list you did mention Flowers for Algernon which I think is one of the most criminally underrated sci fi's out there, a truly beautiful and tragic story. It doesn't have the flashy wars and galactic scope of so many sci fi's yet it has the heart of what sci fi is to me, the questioning of technology and it's moral and philosophical implications on humanity. I cannot recommended Flowers for Algernon enough.

Wow, man. Amazing list. I've never seen one of these lists mirror my own tastes so closely. Great breakdowns and descriptions.

Thanks for all your analysis. I stumbled upon your channel and am amazed at how many of these books I have read. Silverberg? Wow. I remember reading this so long ago. I was reading SF in the 60's and 70's. I still own most of them and feel it is time to revisit them. Thank you again for bringing these titles up.

The Dispossessed has a special place in my heart. It explored masculinity in a way that was almost 1:1 to what I was experiencing. Aside from the space travel.

Love your list, i think i have read almost half of them and there were almost a quarter i hadn't heard of. always nice to hear of things i had'nt.

I've seen alot of best sci fi lists and YOU are the first person to include The Time Machine.... thank you for that. It is one of my favorites too 🙂

Cugel the clever is probably my favorite character in all of sci-fi/fantasy.

For what it's worth, here's my top ten: 10. The Mote in God's Eye, 9. Gateway, 8. Ender's Game, 7. Hyperion, 6. Fahrenheit 451, 5. A Canticle for Leibowitz, 4. The Left Hand of Darkness, 3. Brave New World, 2. 1984, 1. Dune.

I'm immensely happy I clicked on your videa instead of one one of the 100k+ views ones. Great watch, well done! On to some reading now

Summed up my feelings about shadow of the torturer perfectly. It took me 2 reads and an audiobook listen to actually start to make sense of alot of what was going on, but there's just something so mystical and seemingly profound about that book that it just keeps me coming back for more. The cannabalistic feast scene is personally my most engrossed and intense moment of reading I think I've ever experienced.

Any book the piques your curiosity and interest is most definitely worth a mention. Nice picks, I've read a few, I'm rather late to the sci-fi genre , other than some of the big name authors / classics, I've got a lot of pleasant catching up to do.

Alan Dean Foster is always entertaining, very underrated author imo

Thank you Aaron Rodgers. Seriously, great list and well presented. Love your passion. I’ve read about half of these, most of the others are on my TBR.

Some great books here. I was most delighted to see “Midworld” and “The World Inside” on your list, they were both a favorites of mine as a teenager and helped stoke my appetite for science fiction.

So thrilled that you have The Mote In God’s Eye on your list! A first contact story where the world building is amazingly well developed on so many levels.

Love these lists. Great stuff! Keep on SFing.

The book that got me hooked on Science Fiction was Heinlien's "Have Space Suit,Will Travel". I've really dated myself!

Thanks for the great list. It feels a bit bad I didn't know (or realise) that The Forever War was a protest novel against the Vietnam war and learning about this extra dimension makes the book even more valuable and interesting. I'm glad you mentioned the time dilation in that work. It's one of the best books I know of that manages to depict the effects of time dilation on humans.

Great review, I've read and loved most of them, especially the Vinge duo and The Dispossessed, all favourites. Others I'd like to suggest are Brin's Uplift series, Benford's Galactic Centre series, Bear's Darwin's Radio (really good), Bujold's Vorkosigan series. I like some of Niven's stuff (I read Mote in God's Eye overnight when it first came out) but haven't been able to get into Ringworld at all. As an Aussie, I'd like to recommend Sean McMullen, especially for his Greatwinter series, Sean Williams for The Resurrected Man (a take on Star Trek's transporters, with a murder) and, for very hard sci-fi, Greg Egan. Keep up the great work!

One that isn't talked about too much is Ken Macleod. I really love his Engines of Light trilogy, which is a breathtaking mix of satire, political thriller, space road movie, and space opera. It sounds silly and eclectic and... It kind of is, but it works. Perhaps because the main story is interesting, imaginative, and gripping. Much recommended!

Whole heartedly agree with Fire Upon the Deep, absolutely a must read. Two other authors not on the list I'd recommend are David Brin and Greg Bear

I just found your channel and this was the first video that I watched and I Loved it…I am a big SciFi/Fantasy reader though I do read other genres as well but really liked your more in depth and concise reviews more so than many of the other dozen or so BookTubers I follow… Also liked that you were able to add to my TBR with a few SciFi books I hadn’t heard of before. Really enjoyed this list and I am now a subscriber and I am going to binge more of your past released videos and I am looking forward to more of your videos in the future… Keep up the good work and I wish you luck in all your future endeavors…

Haldeman has a lot of great books including Forever War. Glad to see him mentioned.

You have intrigued me! Glad you have The Dispossessed on your list - it's a fave of mine from way back. Looking forward to reading the rest. (My local library has a whole bunch of Jack London books, but not The Iron Heel.... hmmm, wonder why??)

Nice Laibach t-shirt! I love how you focus on sci-fi from previous decades.

Great list! I love several of these. I never have seen The world inside mentioned before! I absolutely love it

Hey, thanks man. You are really, good! - Did a great job articulating a summary of each and every book; (you’ve a fascinating memory! Truly!) ... Your descriptions of each writer’s attributes, style, story structure, plots, characters, and ‘vibe’ is full of detail! I think this video popped up for me because I’ve been listening to some audiobooks, lately. I know is NOT the same experience as reading, and the way my brain is wired I’m always happy when I find the ‘printed word’ or at least ‘closed captioning’ - but I kinda need both, the spoken word PLUS to ‘see the words’, (ideally.) - I’ve not the greatest eye-sight and the lighting in my room makes it virtually impossible to juggle pages/magnifiers/lights while trying to be comfortable, and turn pages- so, audio+visual - printed word - is my optimal way of capturing and comprehending stories. But anyway, didn’t mean to bore you with all this. I expect that this video popped-up because I’ve been looking for some Sci-Fi. I’ve only ever read a handful but I usually seem to enjoy what I choose - I’ve a knack for ‘picking books’ that I really enjoy and have learned to read others I’d not normally choose, and still end up getting something out of them, most of the time. - Learned that a few years back when I was part of a great ‘book club’, and often had to read selections made by others. Was good for me to be open-minded, and realize there’s almost always something I can learn from books I may not ‘like’ or may be outside of my personal preferences. So thank you so very much, I jotted down the titles and authors’ names of the books you reviewed. I think I was only familiar with two or three of the authors, maybe four. Again, sorry for running on, just wanted to compliment you and thank you for your generosity in giving your time, information, great insights & analysis of all your book recommendations. I appreciate it very much. I admire your “colorful, descriptive recall skills and your ability to relay everything back in a very compelling manner. Is good to know we haven’t all burn’t out too many of our brain cells! 😛 Dude! If I had your linguistic gifts, I’d be writing, for CERTAIN! Have always wanted to be able to write, but being clueless when it comes to knowing how to structure a story, how to compensate for my dyslexic issues and, lacking plain-old ‘grammar skills’; I’m happy to be able to read. You, on the other hand ... have a gift! Stay grateful, helpful & healthy. And, all you do will make your story(life), one of high Quality,Value.& Joy! 🙏 ☮️ 😊 Blessings! P.S. Your camera recording & editing skills are also a good skills - much success in all you do! 🌎✌️

I was just checking this to compare it to my own preferences (i like sci-fi, but i haven't read a ton). I was going to be passive but I had to smash the like button when you said The Stars, My Destination. I think this one tops my personal list.

Fire Upon the Deep is my all time fav. It holds up, i reread it every couple years and everyone I've recommended it too also loves it.

I was very surprised (and pleased) to see Expedition on this list. I am fascinated by extraterrestrial flora/fauna, and this book with all of it's excellent artwork and wild view of exoplanet creatures absolutely fascinated me. I agree, one of the top 15.

Was tempted to subscribe as soon as I saw Deepness at 5. I actually have more of an attachment to it than Fire Upon The Deep, but I can't argue with your ranking. Once I saw the rest of the top 5 I subbed, and I'm resolved to go back and read the ones I haven't yet. Your taste definitely appeals to me.

Huge fan of Vinge in general and Fire Upon the Deep/Deepness in the Sky in particular. Just by way of clarification--the Zones of Thought concept is based on the density of matter in a region of the galaxy. Near the center you have the Unthinking Depths, where sentience is not possible, next out is the Slowness, where humans live, and neither AI nor faster-than-light travel is possible, and every civilization tends to the Age of Failed Dreams. Then there is the Beyond, where AI and FTL is possible, and where most of the plot takes place, and finally, the Transcend--full of Powers that can wreak havoc and source of the Blight that forms the main plot. Absolutely fantastic book in every way!

This is my first visit to your channel. I've read nine of the 16 books on your list and agree that it's a great list, although i'd probably essentially change the order of your list -- which is no insult considering the number of SF books we've both apparently read. The Dispossed may be my favorite novel in any genre (although I hate the one footnote in the novel; novels shouldn't contain footnotes!), and Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun (you can't stop at The Shadow of the Torturer; it's a single novel told over four books) is high up there. As is Hyperion; I'll read the phone book if Dan Simmons writes it. I recently reread The Stars My Destination and recently read The Forever War for the first time. Both are classics. It's amazing how many older -- meaning pre-1985 -- books made both our lists.

I love how passionately you describe your favorite books. Thank you for these reviews.

Great suggestions! A handfull I havent read, but now will. I also love shorter, tighter sci-fi novels, now that many seems like trilogies, 800 pages pr. book. Picnic at the roadside and Gateway to recommend two ...

Nice list, old favourites and some surprises I've noted TBR

Just randomly came across this video and what a great watch. I watched hoping some of my favorite s would come up, what I got instead was a passionate endorsement of some books I feel I need to go read right now.

Startide Rising by David Brin is an epic story on a galactic scale. A stand alone, but it's also the start of an astonishing series. The Plioscene Saga by Julian May is another sweeping epic. Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear is worth your time. There's just so much out there...!

Great recs. The Dying Earth is going straight on my tbr. 👍

Bold selection for your top pick, but yes possibly the best Sci-Fi book I've read. Ty for your content. Keep going pls.

I do a lot of driving for my job (up to 4 or 5 hours a day) so thanks for the recommendations!

Very interesting list. The Dying Earth and The Stars My Destination are two of my favourite books. I saw the Bester book also as a rendition of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Wow! Great list! Especially gratified to see The Shadow of the Torturer.

Love the vid. Your enthusiasm for books/ this genre shines through in the way you can summarise these selections. I also love the fact that your list includes much older works like Wells' "The Time Machine". Have you read much Ray Bradbury? His "Martian Chronicles" has got to be a classic of the genre... Also, I was wondering what you thought of Philip K Dick's work? Not sure how popular they are in the US but a couple of British writers you might like to check out are John Wyndham and Michael Moorcock. The latter is probably most famous for his fantasy novels (The Eternal Champion / Elric of Melnibone series) but he is also a prolific sci-fi writer. Then, of course, you have Edgar Rice Burroughs. Everyone knows he wrote Tarzan but few know he also wrote sci-fi based on Mars and Venus... Pulp fiction maybe, but he knows how to write a good story!

Kudos for including The Iron Heel. Always loved Jack London's stuff. I've probably read half the books on your list. Collected a lot of Jack Vance as a kid.

I'm re-reading Deepness in the Sky right now. I usually read the entire Hyperion series every other winter or thereabouts. Agree that Fire Upon the Deep is a masterpiece. Benford, Brin , and Bear wrote some excellent books as well.

Just finished Mid World. I really loved the last two pages of the book. The way he illustrates the idea of the underlying connection of living things is quite beautiful. I like big ideas. The big ideas in The Iron Heel are also amazing. The struggle of mankind to grow out of exploitative and self predatory modes of behavior towards cooperation and a universal loyalty towards humanity.

My book list keeps growing when I watch this channel.

A Canticle For Leibowitz (Walter Miller). Beautifully written, funny, humane and despairing.

Nice list. I have never heard of the Iron Heel but it sounds like my cup of tea so I'll be looking for a copy.

Thanks for your review of The Worlds Inside. I found a mint brand new book printed in 1971 on ebay which I received today, can't wait to read it tonight!

You have totally sold me on The Iron Heel... 💯 Ordering it now ... Thanks

Thanks for this interesting list. I'm planning on starting The Dying Earth next.

You have an exquisite taste in science fiction. A good mix of well-known to lesser known books. Read almost all the well-known ones. Time to read the others. 🙂🤟

12:17 that’s a great summary of Gene Wolfe 😁

Young man, I am impressed! This is a great overview of many generations of SCIFI. Thanks.

One of my all-time favorite stand-alone novels is Isaac Asimov & Robert Silverberg's Nightfall. This is a full novel based on Asimov's earlier short story of the same name. It's just wonderful, and I keep re-reading it every few years.

I watch quite a few book reviews on youtube looking for potential new reads. I think yours are among the most clear and well-spoken.

cannot freakin wait to read a fire upon the deep and a few of the others you mentioned now. thanks for this man. much appreciated.

Thanks for making this list!

And my tbr piles up even more thank you sir subscribed

This is an excellent list. Some of those on your list would be on mine. As to "Hyperion", the first two books are excellent, the others not so much. Thanks for doing this.

That t-shirt. Gold. One of my favs.

As a long time lover of Gene Wolfe's work, your review is an almost perfect capturing of rhe experience.

Very kino list, need to check out some of these. Nicely done.

Hyperion is awesome, I'm glad to see it getting some love. And, altough I agree that the first book is better than the second, I think the second expands on the universe in an AMAZING way, and I actually like it a lot (except for 2 things near the end). I just found the video and the channel, and I'm glad I did, because I have added a few of the books in my list, so, thanks!

"The Forever War" was the best book find of my life, and I do mean find. Someone left it in a hotel lobby where I worked; I hope whoever it was finished it. I picked it up and starting reading. It won all the standard SF awards, and deservedly so.

I loved Midworld! Never heard anyone else mention it before! I remember thinking it was very like Hothouse, by Brian Aldiss and another novel by Brian M Stableford whose title I forget, but I enjoyed it more than either of those. I love Vernor Vinge too, but my favourite of his books is Across Realtime, whose simple concept is both incredible and incredibly well done. Excellent list, though!

Just popping in to say, love your content. Way back in the late 1980's, I was dating a guy who was into sci fi and had about 200 paperbacks. Over the course of our several year relationship, I worked my way through most of them. Became a huge fan of Larry Niven at that time (I still think about Lucifer's Hammer to this day). And of course all of the Foundation Asimov books. I read the Martian Chronicles as part of a literature class in high school (along with Andromeda Strain and Stranger in a Strange Land). Whenever I am looking for something new to read, I look up the Hugo/Nebula list and work my way through it. I've read most of what you've reviewed, but you've given me a few to seek out. I believe that books are meant to be read, so I don't tend to hoard them on a shelf, believing they should be out in the world finding other hands and minds. But I have a copy of Hyperion on my shelf to this day. Just a stunning book. Oh, and 100% in agreement on Robert Heinlein. I may have thrown Friday across the room in a fit when reading it while traveling in Mexico, desperate for something in English. An old white guys masturbation fantasy. Just yuck. Though to this day I think about the main character in Tunnel in the Sky, who chose NOT to bring a weapon on his adventure, because he believed he would lead him to let his guard down with the false sense of safety it provided. Keep the reviews coming.

Peter F. Hamilton, my favorite SF author. Perhaps as prophetic as HG Wells. We'll see. I grew up reading HG Wells, Jules Verne Conan Doyle, Azimov, Heinlein, Clarke, Bova, Niven (Ringworld, all of them) and most of the ones you mention. Now days, Hamilton often blends fantasy and SF space opera. His sci fi is spectacular, the smooth transition into fantasy in the same books is handled gracefully. The Night's Dawn Trilogy, Pandora's Star, Judas Unchained, The Evolutionary Void trilogy, the Salvation Trilogy. All lot's of fun.

Excellent list of suggestions here.

Great list! A fire upon the deep was my favorite book for many years, up until I read martians go home by Fredric Brown. Today I would put a deepness in the sky ahead of a fire upon the deep, but still it's up there together with other masterpieces like spin, mother of demons and the ragged astronauts

A strong list, all very worthy. I read a lot of these some years ago, but I found myself leaning more towards more modern space opera/harder sci-fi of writers like Peter F. Hamilton, Alistar Reynolds and Iain M. Banks (RIP) these days. Always love looking at other people's opinions. A book/short story I think you'll like is The Black Corridor by Michael Moorcock, a sci-fi/thriller/psychological treatment. Vastly underrated.

Hey, I just discovered your channel and I look forward to some of your other contents in the future. I love booktubes that don't only recommend YA for once so I get a lot of good recommendations. Thanks!

Great list. I urge you to finish Book of the new sun as I feel you do get answers in the end of what was going on and can see the puzzle pieces. People tend to revel in the style of how obtuse and mysterious it can be overselling the fact it’s beyond understanding and not knowing what happened when really it’s not some finnegans wake gibberish and has quite discernible answers.

Hey! RU-vid algorithm just recommended this video to me, and I've now subscribed to your channel! That was a great list. I've read several of the entries here, but not all of them. It especially seems that Verner Vinge is a significant lack in my SF reading. Fire upon the Deep sound so intriguing! GOod call on Silverberg, Clarke, Le Guin, Simmons, Bester, and especailly (from my personaly perspective anyway), Vance. I think the Dying Earth changed my life. I actually think I jumped in surprise when you mentioned this book as I really wasn't expecting it. If you want to see Vance operating in a much more SF-oriented mould (but maintaining that use of language and high prose that he's got), I definitely suggest checking out the series The Demon Princes. Five short books, that become increasingly immersive and anthropologically/psychologically fascinating as they go on.

I admire this list. I agree about A Fire Upon the Deep. I have barely been able to read any Science Fiction since I first read the novel in the 1990s. Great top choice!

Great that you include 'A Fire Upon the Deep' and 'A Deepness in the Sky'. Those are my favorites. The world(s) of those books were so unique. I like other sci-fi, but sometimes the books/series blend together due to similar aspects of the stories. E.g. Hyperion and Revelation Space (both of which I enjoyed, but didn't read past the 1st books). Fire and Deepness are distinct and memorable. Funny that you found Fire better than Deepness. It seems that fan opinions are divided on which is better. And it's confusing that the 2nd book is a prequel, but so much earlier in timeframe that it's almost, but not quite, a separate, standalone book and universe. Personally, I think Deepness is even better than Fire. When I started it after Fire, I was extremely doubtful about the fact that it abandons the mind-bending, galaxy-wide scope of the first book and the mind-bending faaaarr future ideas and technologies of Fire, and centers on a (relatively) more prosaic story in a relatively small corner of the galaxy with a comparatively primative set of technologies. But I found it more human and the story more riveting. It was somehow even more epic.

Nice to see a fan of Alan Dean Foster. I loved his 'Icerigger' books.

I stood up and saluted when you included The Shadow of the Torturer. Really!

Great list, and a tasty similar to mine. I've read 9 of these, and 8 of them would make my top 20 list. Two more from Vinge would be up there (The Peace War and Marooned in Real Time), plus two each from David Brin (Startide Rising and The Practice Effect), Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game and The Worthing Saga) and John Wyndham (Day of the Triffids and The Crysalids).

Loved your list,thank you. Agree with your views on A Fire Upo The Deep . Oddly enough though I enjoyed Fall of Hyperion and the Endymion books more than Hyperion.

Just finished “The Stars My Destination”. What an awesome book! Wildly imaginative, fast-paced, funny, even philosophical. Amazing.

I think I enjoy listening to you talk about the books rather than the actual reading! I'm going to read Fire Upon the Deep before pronouncing you all-knowing master of the genre.

Hyperion is a masterpiece. Dan Simmons is one of the most intelligent authors in Sci-Fi. I enjoyed books 2-4 immensely, as well. Never understood why some people didn’t like them as much- but those are a small minority. The entire Hyperion Cantos is outstanding.

I think you are the first person I have ever met(?) who has read “the world inside”. When I first read it I was probably too young so of course I was fascinated by it and was focused on things other than the world building or social commentary lol but upon re-reading years later I appreciated it on a whole new level.

I have been reading SF for more than 50 years and for a long time I did not have the amazing experience of reading Octavia E. Butler´s books. They are amazing and completely original, not all of them, but I am refering to her series Patternists and the Xenogenesis Trilogy. HIGHLY RECOMEND and inmy opinion MUST READ. Try them !!!

One of Allen Dean Fosters best was the ice World Series of two or three books.( I forget which ). Very clever and exciting combination of shipwreck and alien culture meet. With the twist of a frozen world. Two of the titles were Icerigger and Mission to Moulikan

Really engaging discussion, thanks

Your list is profoundly excellent. My hypthetical version of this video would have lined the books in the same order and described them the same way. I am so glad I watched this. Very cool. Also, 'boring the way Le Guin is, sorry'. Best line in your video! I love Le Guin and have since I was a kid. She is also truely boring! That is how you know she is good cuz you don't feel pain from her boringness. Hilarious statement.

Interesting choices! You know your sci-fi. I've read most of the authors you named but there are titles I've only heard of and not investigated. Yet. Thanks.

You convinced me on Vernor Vinge. Great list!!!

Wonderful list, especially for someone new to the genre.

I picked up and enjoyed reading Fire Upon the Deep. I'll reread after I process the idea of vindictive butterflies for a bit. Thanks for your listing.

I just stumbled across your channel. As a fellow book lover, I'm looking forward to your recommendations.

Not on very many top lists, but should be, is "Lurking Near The Oregon Coast." It's at Amazon.

Dude I love your background! 😂 It’s such a contrast to the RU-vid channels that have the borglike sameness. Same mic, same “cinematic” lighting, etc. blah blah blah. Maybe a happy medium as a suggestion…😂