My Top 5 Classic Sci Fi (As of 2023) + A Surprise TBR

Hello there!
General Kenooobi.
I've been waiting to talk about science fiction on the channel, so here we go! I wanted to start out by making a "foundation" series of videos of my favourites as of right now, in the early days of the channel.
And in future, this list can evolve, expand and inlcude more undiscovered gems. Yes, there may be some glaring omissions, but this list be mine. With interaction and recommendations from you guys, you can help me discover more great classic science fiction!

0:00 Intro & Honourable Mention
3:23 Number 5
4:41 Number 4
6:29 Number 3
8:44 Number 2
9:53 Number 1
13:16 Classic Sci-Fi TBR
17:24 Outro

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Music Courtesy of Epidemic Sound.

#booktube #scifi #classicsciencefiction

[blacknbluecollarreader]

I'm sold on PKD now. Thanks for the recommendation C. They have all three books you mentioned in my library and they have now been placed on hold. Great video brother.

[thelibraryladder]

I have a strong feeling your top 5 will change once you finish those TBR books. :)

[boromirjonah]

My top 5 are:

5. Waystation Simak
4. 11/22/63 King
3. The Illustrated Man Bradbury
2. The Door into Summer Heinlein
1. Dune Herbert
I have read a lot of Clarke, so it's almost a travesty not to have him on here. King's 11.22.63 is time travel and you just have to keep reading to see if he saves Kennedy.
So an honorable mention would be Rendezvous with Rama.
Also, thanks for the honesty about foundation. I have read the first three and a bunch of his short stories. He is great but his work is definitely more about ideas than characters. Thanks for the video

[FallenAdam]

That's a great list! For character driven classic sci-fi, I have to recommend Robert Silverberg. Dude was instrumental in pushing the genre to a more character driven direction in the 60s. My personal favourites so far are Man in the Maze and Downwards to the Earth, and those are the ones I'm recommending to you.
From his wikipedia page
"In the mid-1960s, many writers in science fiction were moving away from the adventure, hard science fiction and space opera themes that often characterized the early years of the genre, and writing stories with greater literary ambitions, psychological sophistication and experimental methods (see New Wave science fiction). Frederik Pohl, then editing three science fiction magazines, offered Silverberg creative freedom in writing for them.[10] Thus inspired, Silverberg returned to the field that gave him his start, paying far more attention to depth of character development and social background than he had in the past and mixing in elements of the modernist literature he had studied at Columbia."

[angeloashikafratti]

The whole of Ender’s saga is a masterpiece Imo ❤

[EricMcLuen]

Canticle for Liebowitz has been sitting on my shelf for a while for another 'classic'.
Currently reading Dispossed. But Left Hand and Lathe of Heaven were very good.
There is a lot of social commentary in sci fi of the 60s and early 70s.

[ColinsCornerYT]

Great video, Carlos! I really need to get to some more sci-fi and this has given me some amazing jumping in points. I really appreciate it!

[BookishChas]

Awesome video mo chara! Dune is my number one favorite as well. I highly recommend both Do Androids Dream and Hyperion. Left Hand of Darkness is on my list to be read also.

[BooksWithBenghisKahn]

Loved the vid! I’m not well read in classic sci-fi, but I have read the first 5 Foundation novels a bunch of years ago, and they left very little impression of any kind. For ideas-based sci-fi, they were pretty lacking in actually intriguing ideas.

I enjoyed Ender’s Game a lot but never continued, and same for Dune. Definitely want to try Philip K DIck, Childhood’s End, and Virkosigan! In terms of classic golden age sf my favs would probably be Rendezvous with Rama by Clarke and the Gods Themselves by Asimov. Also liked Hyperion and the sequel book!

Some of your other tbr books are on my shelf as well, I hope we both love them!

[verosnotebook]

Nice list! I loved Bujold’s and about to re-read Dune. As for your TBR, Algernon is beautiful and Wyndham is a favourite author of mine. Chrysalids and Midwich Cuckoos are connected - you’ll see. Triffids is great but more for the social comment / experiment. Interested to see what you think. As for me, I’m slowly reading everything he ever wrote 😊

[timburbagereads]

Nice list. I was expecting some kind of representation from old "Science Romances" such as HG Wells or Jules Verne. I love that era of storytelling where the comprehension of science is pure fantasy

[sasapejcin]

New sub here!The longer video the better! Your videos are such a joy to watch!😛😁😄

[namas]

Have you read a "Red Rising" saga? I've read a lot of books in my life - well-known and lesser-known classics in other languages.

Give it a try. It's marked as YA and that held me back from reading it. That and also some complaints about the language not being extraordinary. The language didn't bother me, but I read a French translation and the translator was very talented, so... YA - I don't know who can objectively classify it as such (maybe people who've only read the first book or 1/2 of it).
Give it a try. I bet you'll enjoy it.
Personally, I look forward for 2 remaining books.

[punkrockcerealbowl]

Nice nice nice. Love the Vorkosigan Saga stuff I’ve read (I think 5-6?) and I need to finish the series at some point. Dune is great and I need to reread it cause it’s been 15+ years. Also due for a reread of Ender’s Game cause I do that every couple years.

[bardsandbooks]

I have Hyperion on my TBR as well! Not sure when I’ll get to it either 😅 potential buddy read in the future 🤘🏽

[safinan]

Hi 👋 sorry not Sci-Fi book reader… happy reading to u! 🎉

[NICKREADSFANTASY]

Oof. Starting off with a book toss. Literally hurts me lol.

[TheEricthefruitbat]

I found Bujold okay, but not engaging. I have no desire to read more, but wouldn't try to talk someone out of reading her. I found Foundation to be the thing I was most engaged in, the most invested in, and had the most interesting characters.
I enjoyed Childhood's End, but wouldn't re-read it.
Of course, Dune is the greatest sci-fi novel ever. I found the series wanting, but the first book - chef's kiss.

[Rogue_VI]

I refuse to believe books released when I was in jr high or high school are classics. Bujold and Card haven't been out long enough to be classics. MAYBE when I hit my 60's or 70's then I will consider them classics.

[novelideea]

Dune is my favorite sci-fi too. 🏜️
I could do without all the Locke and Demosthenes events in Enders but it is a fave as well.
Ted Chiang’s short stories would also rank in my top. I want to read a Memory Called Empire, Leviathan Wakes, Ancillary Justice, & Berger’s First Light.