Ranking Every Book I Read in 2022

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00:00 The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay
01:13 Galactic Patrol by E.E. “Doc” Smith
01:54 Weeping May Tarry by Raymond F. Jones and L. Sprague de Camp
02:19 Pandora’s Star by Peter F. Hamilton
02:50 This Fortress World by James Gunn
03:37 Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
04:03 Highway of Eternity by Clifford Simak
04:23 Orphans of the Sky by Robert Heinlein
06:24 Isle of the Dead by Roger Zelazny
07:31 Masters of Everon by Gordon R. Dickson
08:04 Ancient, My Enemy by Gordon R. Dickson
08:22 Voyager in Night by C.J. Cherryh
09:04 The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks
09:42 A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin
10:09 The Crystal World by J.G. Ballard
11:01 Deus X by Norman Spinrad
11:48 The Time Dweller by Michael Moorcock
12:12 Rhialto the Marvellous by Jack Vance
12:56 The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
13:40 Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer
14:11 Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber
14:41 Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny
15:02 Tono-Bungay by H.G. Wells
16:03 The Boat of a Million Years by Poul Anderson
16:56 Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock
17:41 Marooned in Realtime by Vernor Vinge
18:00 The Peace War by Vernor Vinge
18:59 Eon by Greg Bear
19:48 A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
20:17 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
20:33 Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
21:17 The Blue World by Jack Vance
21:58 Starfish by Peter Watts
22:43 Nova by Samuel Delany
23:36 The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
24:38 The Best of C.M. Kornbluth
25:54 The Genocides by Thomas M. Disch
26:38 The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
27:06 The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany
27:41 Cugel’s Saga by Jack Vance
28:38 Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner
29:24 The Dream Master by Roger Zelazny
30:02 Past Master by R.A. Lafferty
30:34 The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad
31:31 The Foundation Trilogy by Isaac Asimov
32:25 The Palace of Eternity by Bob Shaw
33:36 Downward to the Earth by Robert Silverberg
34:18 High-Rise by J.G. Ballard
35:03 A Case of Conscience by James Blish
35:48 Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith
36:17 Hothouse by Brian Aldiss
37:22 Black Easter by James Blish
38:18 Blood Music by Greg Bear
38:52 The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
40:11 The Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance
40:57 Neuromancer by William Gibson
41:50 Roadside Picnic by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
42:45 Solaris by Stanislaw Lem
43:51 Outtro

Thumbnail photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash

[pipo]

My science fiction top 7 this year: 1) Never Let me go, by Kazuo Ishiguro, 2) Solaris, by Stanislaw Lem, 3) Valis, by P K Dick, 4) Slaughterhouse 5, by Kurt Vonnegut, 5) The three body problem trilogy, by Liu Cixin, 6) Man in the high castle, by P K Dick, 7) The anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier. Thanks for your list!

[klipkultur]

Please continue with the golden age stuff, but don't tire yourself either. All that reading, and the work on this video... you're the best!!! Thank you so much and I wish you a happy 2023!!!

[aniketsanyal]

Love this channel, love your review style, something that is cemented for me after your Orphans of the Sky portion in this. Don't change this channel at all, you are a keen reader and an astute assessor of science fiction (and fantasy!) If those whose brains are poopoo and peepee don't get it, don't let 'em drag ya down!

[behr]

Finding this channel is like being reunited with a close old friend I haven't seen in decades.
Thanks!

[ThomasPalm-wy]

Black Easter is a great little book that I would nominate for the award of "Book with most unexpected sequel". Not that the sequel is nearly as good, but the mere fact that it exists given the ending of the first one is a miracle.

[sethball]

Great all-encompassing review of your year, and I look forward to all your videos of 2023.

10 Books I Hope You Get To, That Are By Authors You Read In 2022:

1. Jack of Shadows by Roger Zelazny
2. The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner
3. Ring Around The Sun by Clifford D. Simak
4. Concrete Island by J. G. Ballard
5. Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh
6. Bug Jack Barron by Norman Spinrad
7. Dancers At The End Of Time by Michael Moorcock
8. Orbitsville by Bob Shaw
9. On Wings Of Song by Thomas M. Disch
10. The Last Revolution by Lord Dunsany

I’m sure I missed something better than at least one of the books I mentioned, or maybe not. Whatever - can’t wait to see what you do read, or hear the reviews.

Happy New Year!

[SirStuckey]

Hey man, just want to say I really love the channel. You review style is great and I like the way you just batch them. I also enjoy that you aren't afraid to read and talk about lesser known titles. You've given me so many titles to add to the TBR I don't know whether to curse you or bless you.

Hope you have a great year

[beethoven]

This is one of the best and most profound reviews I've ever seen on YouTube. Congratulations on the breadth and depth of your commentary. I enjoyed every minute of it. It doesn't mean I agreed with everything you said, but that's probably why I enjoyed it so much. Keep up the great work!

[PsychoholicSlag]

I read Neuromancer for the first time in my mid-thirties and I was "okay, this was a very influential book, everyone and their mother stole from here, so I probably won't be surprised... but I'll read anyway because it's a classic"... How wrong I was, I wasn't able to put it down; so atmosferic, so vivid, amazing book!
Re read it last month and enjoyed it just as much, I can't begin to fathom how it was almost 40 years ago, when this was brand new, leaving aside things like 4mb of RAM being something impressive it still feels like a future world

[patrickoleary]

Really appreciate your reviews. Especially the way you reveal your experience as a reader. Love your insights into genre and literature. Stay well.

[garynied]

After I finished preparing for my comprehensive finals for my PhD in literature, I went back to sf and read 100 novels over the course of three years. I ranked them along the way. My #1 book was Lem’s His Master’s Voice.

[waltera]

This was a great run through, and an IMPRESSIVE showing for the 100 book challenge. Thanks for an accessible mini review and great feedback on all of these books conveniently in one place!

[ryanthornton]

For Christmas I got a gift card to a fantastic bookstore down the road from me. (If you’re ever in the Jacksonville area in Florida: Chamblin’s Book Mine)

I was able to find Blindsight, The Dream Master, A Case of Conscience, and Darwin’s Radio by Greg Bear. They didn’t have Blood Music in stock, unfortunately. Your short summary of the book in the top 15 video had me hooked, and I’m excited to find and read it.

I picked up The Stars My Destination a few months ago after watching a video of yours and absolutely loved it. It’s remarkable how fast paced that book is. Like a blockbuster film, but without many of the tropes that go along with that style.

Thanks for all of the great recommendations!

[barbararowley]

I’m new to the channel and am going to say something shocking for the internet: it’s OK that you don’t like some of the books that I love. Everyone is different and has different likes and dislikes in art - plus there are works that you need to encounter at certain set stages of development to love. If you come across them later in life they can seem trite, tired, or light weight: certainly not the seminal works they are to the less experienced.
If you haven’t tried James White yet you might enjoy his work. He was a Golden Age author who turned his back on the aggressive aliens trope, reasoning that any lifeform that survived long enough to develop interstellar travel would likely be peaceable. So he wrote about alien cultures brought together by one shared constant - caring for the ill and injured. So the setting is a massive, multi species, multi environment, hospital space station.
(I adore Cordwainer Smith’s style and am very happy to see you enjoyed Norstlrilia!)
May I also recommend Walter Moers? He writes comic, absurdist, whimsical, and often quite deep, fantasy, and isn’t particularly well known outside mainland Europe, even though the English translations of his work are excellent.

[rsia]

Just added Solaris and Roadside Picnic to my reading list for next year. Looking forward to hearing your top 2023 reads!

[AllisonRoadWest]

Aldiss Hot House - sucks everyone in. I've loaned that book out to so many peeps - everyone always keeping it. I'm on my 5th copy.

Legit dark creative space haunted (not the haunted you might think) house fun. If anyone is interested - buy it cheap and don't read too many Goodreads or Amazon reviews, too many spoilers.

[space_patrolman]

I just finished Solaris for the first time a few days ago! Also my #1 this year, and a great way to finish off 2022. Thanks for the list and for your wonderful videos as always!

[davea]

I am adding "spanding" to my vocabulary as a portmanteau of "spanning" and "expanding". It works brilliantly!

[jackiegerarde]

I knew about Master and Margarita before I read it and I was apprehensive because I was afraid it would be over my head. I read it very slowly and stretched it out. I loved the book and the experience of reading it. It stayed in my head for a very long time. I think I'll read it again. Same speed. It's so beautifully written.

[kubluu]

Great, really enjoyed this. I will take your recommendation of Jack Vance, Brian Aldiss and Roadside Picnic. I feel like your sense of "boring" is the same as mine. I am a slow reader so I have to pick my reads carefully. These reviews will save valuable time.