My Top 10 SCI-FI BOOKS of All Time - 2024 List

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CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
02:59 - Number 10
05:51 - Number 9
09:50 - Number 8
12:50 - Number 7
16:12 - Number 6
19:15 - Number 5
23:15 - Number 4
26:08 - Number 3
29:30 - Number 2
33:44 - Number 1
38:15 - Overall Thoughts

[johankoreviews]

Man this is why I’m subscribed you, you just know how to talk about a book like no one else I want to read all these right now all at once because the way you sell them is amazing! All the literature ones excite me a lot I’ll see if can read any of them this summer

[michelleizoco]

I'm taking this as my sign to re-read Slaughterhouse Five and since I watched not one, not TWO but THREE people TODAY recommend Suneater - I'll start that series today. Jakob is right btw - you're REALLY selling these books with the love that you obviously have for them and the way you speak on them.

[austinquick]

Subscribed my friend! When it comes to reviews, I rarely put value to them, because I simply don’t trust that the person reviewing them shares the same interests as I do, or they may not critique it in the same light as I do. But if I know who the critic is, and I know what they like, then I tend to value and trust their opinion on matters much more. I’ve read a few books on your top 10, and most of them would be on mine as well, for the very same reasons you mentioned. I judged you in many ways, including your bookshelf feng shui lol. Your taste and elaborate passionate breakdowns have earned you a new faithful subscriber! Thankyou 😂

[kaki]

Just finished Hyperion yesterday and I already want to re-read it. What a masterpiece

[esmayrosalyne]

Not gonna lie, I was nervous how you were going to keep upping the excitement and gushing after you started off so strong with number 10, but I should never have worried, haha. So much passion in this video, I love it! I will definitely have to pick up Hyperion, Cloud Atlas and Sun Eater sooner rather than later. With Sun Eater though... I am almost nervous I won't enjoy it because I have a sneaking suspicion that 99% of the deeper references will go straight over my head, lol.
Anyway, thanks for sharing this epic list! Hope you find many more faves over the years here on booktube!!

[allysonmcgrory]

Man, I LOVE your passion for books! Especially your reviews!😊
You've just expanded my TBR list big time
Cheers!🍻

[jdtusler]

I was a voracious reader as a child and teenager. However, I've been in a reading slump for almost a decade now. Between my children who I adore and my demanding work schedule, my mind just shuts down when I finally have time and peace. I did manage to finish The Icarus Hunt and The Mountain in the Sea last month, which felt really great.

I love your passion for these books, and it's really lighting that fire again after watching a few of these videos now. I have been super curious about the Sun Eater series. I think I will definitely go for it and find a copy to read after hearing your thoughts on it. Thank you for sharing your passion for story with us.

[Spencer_Beard]

"Hyperion" has become my #1, re-read it this Spring, caught on to way more the second time around and cried even harder during Sol's and Rachel's story, I have 4 kids myself so I felt Sol's pain as his daughter aged backwards and couldn't remember anything from her older years, just heartbreaking

[officialnoahg]

Currently reading City of Thieves based on your review and it’s awesome! My first historical fiction book. I’m new to your channel and I really like it.

[someokiedude]

I'm telling you John, in another life you would have been a magnificent salesman. You're getting me to want to drop everything and get all these books. I don't even like Dune, and you're getting me excited about it! Keep up the great work uncle!

[HeroOfTheDay]

Excellent list, and I echo all other comments that your passion for these novels is infectious. Subscribed. Here is my top ten list:

1. Blindsight by Peter Watts
2. Dune by Frank Herbert
3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
4. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
5. Hyperion by Dan Simmons
6. Neuromancer by William Gibson
7. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
8. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
9. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
10. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

[edelkebap]

Wow now THAT'S how you sell books and stories, incredible. Half of the list I have never heard of - onto my reading list they go. Subbed immediately. 🙂

[makitajazzqueen]

I like your style! Subscribed :)

Thanks also for some very unique recommentations!

[heidi]

Forget Foundation, I think Clarke’s Childhood’s End is the foundational science fiction novel of that Golden Age. I see it’s main theme in most fantasy novels too just presented more realistically in Clarke’s novel. The Light needs the Dark, Good needs Evil, blah, blah, blah…or humanity needs suffering in order to thrive, that is the ticket.

[chs_ambs]

I'm glad you came up in my recommended feed. There are several books on this list I'm going to have to check out. I love that all your books are character-driven-I feel a lot of science fiction fails to give us characters that we actually want to care about.

Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion are both incredible novels, and I would give a slight edge to the first book; however, I did not like Endymion or Rise.

[CombativeRoboGuy]

Funny Story: This comment was sent straight to the most random youtube short ever instead of on this video.

Cloud Cuckoo Land- added to my list (you convinced me, the first time I had heard of it was when someone I know took it from the library and was talking about it with an old history teacher of mine)

Frankenstein- Already on my list, so many friends have told me to read it and one of my favorite English teachers told me I would love it, I know I need to get to it. The way you phrased it convinces me that I will love it. I love stories about parents and their children and hearing such a… I guess horrific might be the right word for it, twist on that base premise.

Cloud Atlas- You convinced me to read months ago but I can’t remember where though. This makes me very excited to check it out, AND YOU KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT IN A WAY THAT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE I’M MISSING OUT. THERE IS TOO MUCH TO READ! I’ll find a place for it this year, I think. I hope. I already know I need to read Malazan, more Hobb, and Dandelion Dynasty.

Station Eleven- You had me at post apocalypse. I don’t read enough of that genre, I have high expectations now. Have you read Annihilation? It has a sort of Eldritch Post apocalypse feel to it.

Slaughterhouse Five- Wow, I remember hearing “it’s a really good book” about Slaughterhouse from my 8th grade English teacher, but you just made me want to read it badly. Any art that acts in the way you so perfectly described is a piece of art I want to have in my noggin.

Red Rising- I know I will love this series, but I am knee deep in so many series. I just started Wars of Light and Shadow (9 more books to go, I am counting ships of merior as one), I will be starting Dandelion Dynasty, Malazan, I have about 7 more books in Realm of the Elderlings and I’m not even caught up on Suneater, which is my priority.

Suneater- My favorite Sci-if series of all time. Easily because it is the only piece of media to make me cry in my entire life. And so much about it that I love.

Dune- I love Dune, it is probably my third favorite sci fi book/series (2 being Project Hail Mary). I can’t describe my feelings for it. It’s just great. What are your thoughts on the later books? My favorite was God Emperor but I know most people dislike Heretics and Chapterhouse.

Hyperion- that’s number four for me. I love it and I don’t and I love it, mostly because I think some of the stories told are some of my favorite ever, like the consul’s and the priest’s tale and Rachel (God that one broke me). While others I found oddly forgettable like the investigation one but it is great nonetheless. Just some of the tales were not my taste. I read Fall and liked it, should I continue on to Endymion? Anyways, down with my rambling, I hope you have a great day. Wonderful video.

[genestacy]

John, first off, that list sounds daunting, but knowing you, I think you will be able to complete the list with no problem! Secondly, I have finished the first volume in the Mistborn series, which is, of course, “Final Empire”. Mr. Sanderson is already blowing my mind, and I’ve got six more of these behemoths to go (though I am working my way through “The Well of Ascension” currently)! What a masterpiece of a work by a wordsmith that obviously knows his craft. I cannot wait to continue this series! Thank you for putting this on my radar, as did so many other YouTube channels! Thanks John!!

[tiffanygodwin]

I have just found your channel last week! Thank you for not spoiling any of these books but making someone who reads nonfiction and fiction with history and some fantasy make me want to read sci fi. Your enthusiasm is unmatched and very much appreciated in this space. I think after seeing both Dune movies I will pick up Dune! Thanks again.

[-Gramps]

Thanks for sharing your list! I’m obviously an OG scifi fan & I haven’t read racchio yet. Thanks for the suggestion. Been reading sci-fi since introduction to Heinlein in 1965, at 9 yrs old.

[megaluria]

Joining the long list of recommendations. Schismatrix Plus by Bruce Sterling is a very often overlooked classic work from the 80s that defined the scifi/cyberpunk genre . But It's not just pure cyberpunk because of its vast world, politics and complexity compared to Neuromancer. This work predates Gibson's book and was infuential for younger authors like Alastair Reynolds. I think you might enjoy it. Cheers!