My 10 Favorite Sci-Fi Books of All Time

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)

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

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...

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.

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

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.

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.

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

If you and Bookpilled get in a room together, I think a singularity might be generated

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

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.

OMG! You are the first person who has ever picked the same favourite book as me. Most people just look at me like 'huh?". Yes, it changed my life too. No other piece of literature has ever managed to get that close to explaining what love is. Le Guin is a genius.

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)

As someone who literally spent the day sorting through flood damage, throwing away my lifetime library of everything I've ever read, including The Left Hand of Darkness (So Good), including the now mold-destroyed copy of the first book I ever read; Journey To The Center Of The Earth, cherish your library. You're obviously literate with great taste, so I'm sure you do already....but savor that connection. It's heartbreaking if you lose it. New subscriber BTW.

LeGuin is my favorite sci-fi author and probably in my top 3 authors overall. Her short fiction will stick with you for the rest of your life. And her novels are all great (even the ones people tend to ignore, like Roccanon's World and Planet of Exile). Since we have similar tastes, I highly recommend the following' Wild Seed, by Octavia Butler The Imperial Radch Trilogy, by Anne Leckie (starting with Ancillary Justice ). The Amaranthine Spectrum trilogy, by Tom Toner (starting with Promise of the Child ... but don't let the surprise/ridiculous ending stop you from going on to book 2).

Reading Vonnegut completely changed my world view and indeed my life. I discovered him by buying The Sirens of Titan off one of those spinning paperback book racks at a drugstore because the cover looked cool. I don't know why that book doesn't get much love. I heard that Jerry Garcia bought the movie rights so that's probably never going to happen. Great list btw. I'm working through Dan Simmons right now. The Terror is tremendous.

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"

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.

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

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