My 10 Favorite Sci-Fi Books of All Time

This list subject to change (hopefully)

For anyone wondering, I tried reading Dune a long time ago and couldn't get through it. Planning to try again soon.

00:00 #10
01:38 #9
03:19 #8
05:52 #7
07:27 #6
10:02 #5
12:22 #4
13:38 #3
15:30 #2
18:37 #1
23:04 Honorable Mentions

[InXLsisDeo]

10 Hyperion (Dan simmons)
9 Old Man's War (John Scalzi)
8 Cat's Cradle (Kurt Vonnegan)
7 Stories of your Life (ted Chiang)
6 A Canticle for Leibowitz (Walter M. Miller Jr)
5 Children of Time (Adrian Tchaikovsky)
4 Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
3 A Scanner Darkly (Philip K. Dick)
2 Masterpieces of Science-fiction (I. Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Gibson, Heinlein, Ursula K. Le Guin, Pohl)
1 The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin)

Honorable mentions:
Blindsight (Peter Watts)
The Lathe of Heaven (Ursula K. Le Guin)
The Sky Road (Ken McLeod)

[jamesdylandean]

Okay, here goes: I am only eighty years old and and was reading sic fi when I first learned to read. I am a mediocre, but prolific author myself of thirty volumes at the present. Included are sci fi short stories. Here is my top ten, that number twelve because of the inflation that is effecting almost everything these days. hehehehehehehe. Dune, no.1, but the rest in no particular order: Dragon Flight, Rendezvous with Rama, Eon, Ringworld, Looper, Lefthand of Darkness, Time Machine, A Princess of Mars, Norstrilia, A Fire in the Deep, Ender's Game. If you haven't read all of these, your sci fi PHD is still in progress.

[gryftkin]

I love that you have The Count of Monte Cristo on your shelf. My favorite book of all time (even though I normally read more fantasy/sci fi books with the occasionally horror or mystery/thriller thrown in) :D

[blueberry]

"Hyperion" is just mindblowing. The priest's tale is still the most terrifying thing I have ever read.

[KevinsDisobedience]

I’m glad to hear there’s another hard sci-fi fan that enjoyed Old Man’s War as much as I did. It’s fun.

[KandaJE]

1977 Centerville MA, the oldest lending library in the USA. There is (was) a Kurt Vonnegut reading room. One day, summer 1977, I was looking for something to read and there was this hairy old rumpled man smoking cigarettes sitting at the table in the room...
After sitting and talking with him for a while, he picked up the paperback he was reading, and held it up. His picture and bio on the back cover...
Yes... There he was. After a while he said he had to get going. As he walked out, the fat little old lady librarian said, "Have a nice day Mr. Vonnegut". Confirming my jaw dropped stare. When I left, I asked the librarian if he came in frequently. She remarked, every once in a while, and she hated his chain smoking, but it IS his reading room, and he donated all the books in there, so...

[snowysnowyriver]

I actually cheered when you revealed A Canticle for Leibowitz! My favourite sci-fi book of all time.

[robslack]

Great selection for #1 ! The author needs more modern recognition, such excellent writing

[margarethaines]

You have convinced me to delve into the "Masterpieces" collection! I am new to Sci-Fi (more Fantasy to this point). Love the reveal cards - thanks for your channel.

[gregjacob]

I'm a lifetime SF junkie (65 yrs old)who absolutely loved your list. I would probably have five or six of these novels on my own top ten list. It's really refreshing to see a young person enjoying the classic SF that I grew up with. If I could, I would suggest that you check out Clifford Simak, especially 'City' & 'Way Station's. I think you would like both of them. Keep the videos coming.

[playblox]

I appreciate how honest you are about yourself, even the parts of your life that you’re not proud of. This is what made me sub.

[undeniableparadox]

Hyperion’s world is so rich and diverse. I enjoyed Fall even more so, just the idea of the Web and farcasters allowing you to travel to hundreds of world was captivating. The descriptive prose particularly when describing Hyperion (the planet) was very immersive.

[SirPaulMuaddib]

Well....I'll just add these top favorites of mine.
Douglas Adams' "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy"
William Gibson's "Neuromancer:
Neal Stephenson's "Snow Crash"
Frank Herbert's "Dune"
Also Orson Scott Card's "Ender's Game"

[Caliburnius]

Nice special effects. Excellent list. Great reviews. What's not to like? 👍

I looked and I have "Harrison Bergeron" in The World Treasury of Science Fiction, David Hartwell, ed. -- so I'll give that a read on your recommendation.

Three cheers for jingles! "You'll wonder where the yellow went, when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent!" So effective (the jingle, not the Pepsodent)

[Mister_Sosotris]

The Hyperion Cantos is definitely one of my all time favourite sci fi series ever. Love it!

[bookspin]

Great list! All solid choices. Hyperion and Left Hand of Darkness are also among my faves. You've got me pumped for Children of Time and Old Man's War, both in my TBR.

[rickkearn]

I really like what you're doing here BJ, so I subscribed. Le Guin, Dick, Tchaikovsky, Vonnegut et al, wow. Great takes. All well-read by yours truly and coveted. Well done. Cheers.

[andrewjames]

Slauterhouse 5 is definitely the best sci-fi book ever written, based on his time in Dresden as a POW during the bombing, realising he had not enough material to write about the horrors of war he came up with this masterpiece.The films also worth a watch as well

[rickloftus]

Fantastic list! People seem never to claim Vonnegut as an SF author because he’s “literary, ” as if those categories are exclusive.

[reynardthefox]

I have yet to find a book as complex and beautiful as Hyperion. It was my first foray into reading. it took me a year to read all 4 books. I now read one book a week.