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

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.

Another great video. You added a couple to my TBR, thank you sir.

Great video John! Love seeing such variety

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!!

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 😂

Cool list! Frankenstein, Sun Eater, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Hyperion are some of my all-time favourites too. I own Station Eleven but haven't read it yet, and I hadn't heard of Cloud Cuckoo Land but I just added it to my TBR. The description reminded me a little of Cloud Atlas so I thought it was funny that you also had that on your list.

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.

Refreshing list! Thank you.

The Sparrow is one I always recommend! You made such a great point about them not being found on Sci-fi shelves! I just hauled Cloud Atlas and am super stoked to read it!!! What a great list!! Of course it would be incomplete without Sun Eater 👍🏼😂

Another excellent video - you just blew up my TBR! Completely moved to read Cloud Atlas and Slaughterhouse Five after those reviews.

Excellent list! So many that I would’ve never thought to put on there but you’ve once again added to TBR Mountain! It’s true. So many amazing books, like some that you’ve highlighted, get lost to us SFF readers because they aren’t in the section we hang out in. Lesson learned for sure!

Great list! I've been meaning to read cloud atlas and hyperion soon, and I'm very happy to see Vonnegut on the list! I love all his books (sirens of titan is my personal favorite) and don't see him talked about very much. Thanks for sharing!

The passion you transmit in this video made me subscribe and like and want to read everything everywhere all at once

Other than Red Rising and Dune, I need to read all of these! Especially Empire of Silence. You have added a lot to my TBR...

Stellar list. Your tastes, like mine, are definitely literary leaning. So happy to see The Sparrow here. One of my favorite novels in any genre.

Love your enthusiasm... 🙂

Great list. According to your criteria i am surprised Childhood's End is not here. That book left me melancholic for many days. Hyperion would be my number one. Honorable mention Flowers for Algernon. Great video!

It’s awesome ruocchio is in your top 5 already two books deep. Demon in white and the following two are so insanely good I’d be stoked to see this last after you finish those

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!

I love the sigh you released after you said “This” to beginning talking about Sun Eater… Me too my friend, me too… Favorite series of all time.

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 KZfaq channels! Thanks John!!

This was such an interesting top 10, with a load of books I’ve NEVER heard on. I dropped Slaughterhouse 5 earlier this year - but your explanation has made me want to pick it back up and give it another go!

Wow, you have a lot of passionate words for these books. Glad to see some love being paid to Cloud Cuckoo Land. Very much enjoyed this. Thanks.

You are incredibly articulate when explaining why you appreciate these works. Your verbal prowess are impeccable, how did you become such a good communicator ?

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.

The Sparrow was a brilliant, and surprisingly powerful novel - I found it quite shocking near the end and I'll be reading more from Mary Doria Russell in the near future. Great list, personally I'd have Children of Time in there somewhere.

Great video and list! A few suggestions if you haven't considered or read them: The great dystopias (Nineteen Eighty-Four, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451, A Canticle for Leibowitz, The Road, The Handmaid's Tale); The Le Guin masterpieces (The Left hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, The Lathe of Heaven); Flowers for Algernon; A Case of Conscience; The Stars My Destination; Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead.

Such an awesome list John! Dune is my number one as well, and Hyperion is my number two. I still need to read so many on here like Vonnegut and Sun Eater. Cloud Atlas was a dnf for me unfortunately. I loved the movie though.

Wow - The Sparrow made your top 10! It is a fantastic book but oh my it was difficult to read after a certain point (you know). I read my first Vonnegut last year (Cat's Cradle) after years of avoiding/assuming I wouldn't like him only to find that I loved it and can't wait to read more.

You’ve convinced me to read Golden Son. I liked Red Rising but didn’t love it but I might go on. I’ve had The Sparrow on my list for a while so I’m going to pick that up. And oh Dune… tried to read it many years ago and gave up after about page 30. Didn’t like the “older” movie. But times have changed. Perhaps time to try again. And I loved Station 11. Good list!

I tell peoplei i dont read much sci fi but i have read a few of these! And now i really want to read the rest😂, already have a beautiful copy of cloud atlas on my tbr shelf! Hyperion is tempting me this past while too must look out for a copy. I vote with Jakob today cause u definately killed it, i felt that perfermance all the way over here in the emerald isle, wow did u blow my hair back!!!

This was a great list John. The only top 10 list I’ve encountered that has one of the best sci-fi books I’ve ever read and one of the most disappointing LOL. Love it!

I'm halfway into Sun Eater - up to #3 - and am backtracking through the filler novellas. It's an extraordinary work and I'm loving it.

Great top 10 love your descriptions! Got a lot more books added on my TBR after this video lol my list: 1. Solaris 2. Frankenstein 3. Dune 4. I am Legend 5. Ubik 6. Morning Star/Red Rising series (so far i've only got up to Iron age looking forward to moving onto the next books!) 7. Cloud Cuckoo Land 8. City of Illusions 9. Fahrenheit 451 10. The Martian Chronicles

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!

I'm looking to dive into a new epic fantasy series and am torn between "The Licanius Trilogy" by James Islington and "The Faithful and the Fallen" series by John Gwynne. I enjoy rich world-building, complex characters, and intricate plots. Which series do you think I should buy, and why?

Good to see Dune & Hyperion where they should be. ♥️ And I expect Ruocchio to shake your list once you get through Howling Dark. 😉

Are you/have you read the expanse series? I just picked up the first three books and know people love that as well

As an archeology graduate student, I look forward to reading the sparrow since I love studying first contact between europeans and other cultures. Likewsie, I already have a copy of cloud cuckoo land and look forward to reading that as well.

Great list! I have all of Mitchells books on my shelf, but haven't gotten to them yet. There are too many awesome authors!!

I’m in the middle of Alastair Reynolds Revelation books right now, but tackling Suneater next! Really looking forward to it If you haven’t read the Culture books, please do, layers of wonderful characters and concepts, extraordinary stuff…

Great list. I have read a morjority of these books. I look forward to reading some that I haven't read. I have read "Dune" several times myself.

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

Glad to hear some love for the sparrow!!

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. 🙂

Great video and list! May I make 2 recommendations? These are 2 different series and they are the first entry in each series. The Shadow of the Torturer by Gene Wolfe The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker The Shadow of the Torturer (series is called The Book of the New Sun) is unlike anything I've ever read and it's beautiful. I'm hesitant to say too much about it because I think part of its charm is discovering it. The Darkness That Comes Before (series name is The Prince of Nothing) is also amazing. The first book alone is one of the best I've ever read. It appears on the surface to be more of a fantasy. However, as it progresses, sci-fi elements emerge and are hinted at. Also, it's often labeled as sci-fi and was in the sci-fi section at the library. I'm in the third book right now and I get the feeling that the series is more sci-fi than it appears at first glance. I wouldn't be surprised if more info is revealed in this regard.

Great list. I suggest you to try the "Four-BEE" duology by Tanith Lee, and/or "Fool's run" by Patricia McKillip. I love "Hyperion", but I prefer "Fall of Hyperion". Thank you

I have many 7 of your 10 Presently on Empire of Silence What gifts 🎁 Sci Fy and also huge Fan of Fantasy ! Thanks for an Excellent Soaring High Video on Your 10 Best of 2024 sci-fi ! !!!!! Agree on your assessment !

May I ask where you would rank Jurassic Park? I finally read it last year and it jumped up to the top of my list as not only one of my favorite sci fi, but also one of my favorite books. I knew I would probably love it as Michael Crichton is one of my favorite authors, but also because I loved the movie so much. I also saw below that the Expanse didn't connect with you, but you were willing to give it another try. I loved that series and if you do decide to go back and try again, I would look forward to seeing your thoughts.

Can't say enough about the Sun Eater and Red Rising sagas! They're my two favorite sci-fi series of all time, glad to see them on this list! Its not huge to the story/plot but i think Pierce Brown writes the best combat scenes I've ever read.

You should read Roadside Picnic by Boris & Arkady Strugatsky

Subscribed 👍

Dune has always been my favorite book since I read it as a teenager. I recently read the entire series (which I didn't as a kid) and I was blown away by book 4 - God Emperor of Dune. No book has made me think more philosophically about so many things. I was wondering if you have read that book, and if so, what are your thoughts on it?

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.

Emily St. John Mandel's books, all 4 that I've read anyway, really touch me. Have you read The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell? I think I love it more than Cloud Atlas. I am a sucker for those novels with separate yet interconnected stories. How High We Go in the Dark is another good one.

The Sparrow! So under read. Brutal and also hopeful. And Station Eleven (!) and Hyperion (!) and Cloud Atlas (!) AND Dune ! May have just found my new booktube man crush. Excellent stuff

Impeccable taste! I have a feeling Dark Matter by Blake Crouch might crack this list when you read it

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.

"Pierce Brown "wiill stick the landing" ... giggle ... as I glance at the TV and see Simone Viles do her thing. I'm multi-tasking.😎 Great list! 📖😃📚

Cloud Cuckoo Land was lovely!

I demand Frankenstein a higher placement on YOUR list. (1818 edition or bust.) Finally, someone else with the correct opinion: Hyperion IS better than The Fall of Hyperion! Every time I re-read Dune (and each of the books in the series), I fall in love with each book and the series all over again and that love grows even more.

Every time I watch the Cloud Atlas trailer I end up bawling. I would die for Frobisher and Sixsmith 💔💔💔

I’ve read them all. 1, 4 & 5 are also on my top ten sci-fi list. I loved Cloud Atlas when I read it a decade ago but never thought of it as sci-fi. Four I might replace with lesser known Cat’s Cradle, depends on the day.

Have you read Alien from Earth by Sobers Rodrigues. Its very original story in sci-fi.

Ok John, where did that shirt come from?

I've read 4 of those. It's very difficult to make a top 10 and not include some books I love. Here's mine. 01. Dune 02. House of Suns 03. I Am Legend 04. The Robots of Dawn 05. The Stars My Destination 06. Hyperion 07. The Naked Sun 08. Nineteen Eighty-Four 09. Foundation and Earth 10. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep

So Cloud Cuckoo Land and Cloud Atlas both on my list, Dune in my top three, I loathe Kurt Vonnegut to the ends of the earth, but you and I both make what, IMO, is a mistake in our lists. I have noticed this recently and, for me, I feel like I probably need to adjust accordingly. All the books in both our lists are deep think books. I feel like I fail to value fun and humor enough. Something like Floating Hotel or *facepalm* ANY Discworld book. Or maybe the power of a gentle book like A Psalm for the Wildbuilt. Anyway, just something I’m considering I thought I would pass along. Oh! And I didn’t say so earlier but sans Vonnegut (we have to agree to disagree on him) your list is great. I would slot in Shadows of the Apt instead of Red Rising but no one goes wrong with Emily St John Mandel.

Slaughterhouse Five is book three in my best war trilogy of all time?!… Ender’s Game, The Forever War and Slaughterhouse Five… The child, the man and the veteran…

I've not read a single one of them lol. Red rising and sun eater I'll start when they're all out and available. I WILL be finishing book 4 of expanse today, I have 2 chapters left, so I'm thrilled I'm getting closer to being back on schedule. I'm hoping to keep that death speed I had going through book 4 for the rest of the series, helped having time off though.

Sun eater did not agree with me. I will have to check out sparrow. The rest I have read and agree with you. Great video

If you have never read Dan Simmons' Summer of Night, it is absolutely fantastic. Coming of age horror, reminiscent of IT in many ways.

Hmm, someday I'll have read enough Sci-fi to make a list this long. LOL, I want to read all of these someday, but I'm just too hooked on fantasy TBRs, even though I love Sci-fi films/TV. I really gotta read Cloud Atlas, cause the film just sweeps me into the Epic human story and makes the tears flow like the spice must. At least we can agree on how mind blowing Dune and Frankenstein are, however I haven't read the later since 10th grade English. Surely I'd get way more from it now - and I can try the 1819 first edition that many say is better. I've had really good thriller reads from Michael Crichton's Andromeda Strain, Congo, Jurassic Park, and especially Sphere. Sphere stayed with me the most as a mind blowing plot wondering WTF is going on - maybe helped that there was no movie for it yet at that time. But when it comes to WTF sci-fi, I think my most surreal amazing read was PK Dick's "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?". Blade Runner is an amazing gem of a film (both of them actually), and the book is kinda similar but so, _so different,_ where the whole world reads like an Alice and Wonderland dream that's only sort of half explained. It just fires the neurons hard on what society becomes when basic human truths like empathy are subverted, put on a pedestal and still willingly overridden. It's a total trip man! I need to read more PKD, while being a little scared to. So, that gets me to seven novels anyway...and two novellas; the Time Machine and I am Legend, which were both pretty good, so nine maybe? Getting there...and I've done short SF, so better then I thought. As always, love the passion, best book person!

Read Octavia Butler's Parable duology.

Would Dune be a good sci-fi book to start out on. I have never read any sci-fi never even gave it a thought . Until you just gave one heck of a seals pitch on all 10 books I'm in WOW!!!🤯🤯

Damn KZfaq throttling down this channel hard. Should easily have 100k subscribers. This is the 3rd time I’ve been auto unsubscribed.

You should check out Stormfuhrer. Obscure and excellent sci fi.

Yessssss suneater is so good!

My favourite SF series are Iain M Banks' The Culture which is my number one, followed by Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos, Frank Herbert's Dune Saga and Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun.

I have a thing where I can't bring myself to read Cloud CCL because the premise is so simular to Cloud Atlas? And both books have Cloud in the title? It's jarring to me idk

Also, no books from POC? I thought youd have an Octavia Butler or Samuel Delany book in your top 10 based on your interest in literate scifi

Never even heard of the Sparrow

There goes my TBR again. ugh. For me though, Station Eleven didn't work.

It's _his_ blue button, Jacob. Geez.

I found dune to be quiet boring, I read half the book, put it down and felt frustrated for reading about a messiah that's going on a holy war. I then went back to the lord of the rings, Sanderson books and such

😁

Empire of Silence is not better than Howling Dark first shit take I've seen you make.

lol I really disliked Frankenstein

You realize how much shorter and , to the point, these videos would be if you punted the father/son comedy schtick?