These are my absolute favorite SFF books!
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![Best Books of 2016 [The Science Fiction and Fantasy Category]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WjYKClxolnA/0.jpg "Best Books of 2016 [The Science Fiction and Fantasy Category]")
I’ve had Nod on my kindle for a while now. Definitely going to check it out now. You should try the Red Rising series. It’s really good!
Fahrenheit 451 is one of my favorite dystopian reads of all time. And THE TRAITOR BARU CORMORANT THANK YOU FOR INCLUDING IT. I love it so much. I can’t wait for the next one! Along that same vein, I’d recommend the usual suspects: 1984, Brave New World, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Oryx and Crake, etc. Some less common ones, but equally beloved: Dawn (by Octavia E. Butler), We (Yevgeny Zamyatin), “The Machine Stops” (E.M. Forster), The Martian Chronicles (Ray Bradbury) and The Windup Girl (by Paolo Bacigalupi). Thanks for the list! Definitely added Babel-17 and Nod to my TBR list. Have a great day & happy reading! 🙂
Great list! Just subscribed!
Piers Anthony is an awesome scifi/fantasy writer. I loved his Photon/Phaze series. Most people know his Xanth books, but his science fiction stuff is really good. I also found a new author that I really like named J.A. Brimnigham. He’s got a few stories out there, but I’d have to recommend Dylan’s Prize. If you aren’t familiar with him, check out his books. Really under the radar stuff, but a great read.
James, you’re the second person on Booktube to recommend Name of the Wind. So I will pick it up. Thank you for this great video.
I never like Fahrenheit 451. I don’t know why I didn’t like it either, i just couldn’t get into it.
The Stand, however, especially the uncut version (which I highly recommend), is an amazing novel. It’s probably one of the best post-apocalyptic pieces of media ever. That could just be me being a King fanboy too so 😛
I’ll have to check out some of the books on your list, a lot of them seem pretty interesting!
Foundation and Earth! All I gotta say is Foundation and Earth and foundation series—asimov.
I love Good Omens!!! May I recommend Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; don’t let that bad movie put you off. In fact, if you have seen the film try and wipe it from your memory.
Been looking for SFF recs for a while now and stumbled across this. And I love the list and all, but holy hell, I really love the Dear Hunter! So jealous of your shirt right now.
These favourite videos are so much fun to watch. I’m surprised ASOIAF hasn’t made more people’s lists. It’s definitely one of my favourites. I’m dying for Winds of Winter to come out. Supposedly it might come out at the end of this year, but I doubt it will happen.
F451 is also one of my favourite classics. I think it is so relevant in today’s world.
I’m hoping this is the year that I finally read both The Lies of Locke Lamora & The Name of the Wind. I’ve heard amazing things about both series, yet I’ve failed to actually read either of them!
My library request for the Fifth Season just came in today so I’m excited to finally try out the series for myself! I remember you talking about it in a previous video. I’m hoping to catch up so I can read the sequel for the SFF Awards.
Is that a B&N leatherbound Hitchhiker’s Guide up there?
(Also great list, thanks! 🙂 )
thank you for sharing with us, interesting list , i ‘ll reccomend 3 series in particular that i’ve not seen here quoted:
1. Foundation by I. Asimov, no need of presentations.
2. The revelation series by A. Reynolds, personally the best space opera of the 2000
3. The Thousand names (and following books) by D. Wexler, probably more steampunk, but unique.
i am black can i read science books
dude you need to read Eifelheim by Michael Flynn. it sounds like the kind of calibre book you’re into. it’s about the first alien contact… in the middle ages!
I knew your list would be interesting. I didn’t end up doing this video as I couldn’t narrow it down at all, 19 would of been an achievement. Always nice to see a mix of old and new books on lists of these sorts; it often seems to be newer things only.
thanks
You selection is on-point !! I can’t bear all the “best fantasy”‘ videos containing only YA anymore.
Love your work, I’m definitely following now.
3 recommandations from me : the Robin Hobb books, the Kingdom of Thorns and Bones series by Greg Keyes and Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay.
going through all your videos and adding to my Amazon shopping cart
I’ve watched alot of top fantasy and under appreciated fantasy lists and one author I never see get a mention is David Gemmell. Maybe it’s because his books are fairly short and not long series style stories. His stories are very to the point and he writes great heroes who are very likeable. His Drenai novels are great and his Jon Shannow trilogy is easily my favourite!
could you maybe do a video about warbreaker? It’s one of my favorite Sanderson books as well and there is almost nothing about it on booktube!
This video is amazing – tons of my favourite books are mentioned! I love the ‘Gentlemen Bastards’ books! And I’ve been meaning to get round to ‘Good Omens’ for so long!
And I’m SO happy to find someone else giving ‘The Traitor’ some love -it was my absolute favourite read of last year!
I wonder have you read any of Frank Herbert’s novels. They had a big impact on SF as a whole. Arlene in Texas
What a great list of books, thank you for making this video I really needed some good recommendations
“Valis” – Dick
“Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser” – Leiber
“2001” – Clarke
“The Hobbit” – Tolkien
“We Can Build You” – Dick
“Fahrenheit 451” –
“Cat’s Cradle” – Vonnegut
“Planet of the Apes” – Boulle
No Wheel of Time? 🙁
I love the Goblin Emperor! My only wish is that it was a series instead of a stand alone.
Wow, so our list is very, very similar. Fahrenheit 451 is a favourite of mine. I even have a graphic novel version of it, which is beautiful. I just added Nod to my list because that sounds really cool. N. K. Jemisin is literally one of my favourite authors. I just convinced my friend to buy The Goblin Emperor yesterday because I love it so much. I have Warbreaker waiting for me to buy, what I’ve read of it so far was lovely. I also just checked your Library Thing because I had no idea what that was, and I noticed that you reviewed China Mountain Zhang, which is definitely another of my favourites.
does James look more attractive in this particular video or is it just me?
Check out the new fantasy novel Kandor The Warrior by Leo. Great plot and absorbing story. Twists and turns and good characters. I could not put it down!
If i may make a recommendation, The Fireman by Joe Hill…..amazing concept.
My recommended fantasy…
A Song of Ice and Fire, by George RR Martin
The Wheel of Time, mostly by Robert Jordan
The Stormlight Archive, by Brandon Sanderson
The Riyria Revelations, by Michael J Sullivan
The Sarantine Mosaic, by Guy Gavriel Kay
Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay
A Song for Arbonne, by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Lions of Al-Rassan, by Guy Gavriel Kay
The Black Company series, by Glen Cook
The Malazan Book of the Fallen, by Steven Erikson
Deverry (books 1-8), by Katharine Kerr
The First Law trilogy, by Joe Abercrobie
Maia, by Richard Adams
A Prince of Nothing, by Scott Bakker
The Magic of Recluce, by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Sevenwaters, by Juliet Marillier
The Farseer + Liveship Traders, by Robin Hobb
The Lyonesse trilogy, by Jack Vance
Kushiel’s Legacy, by Jacqueline Carey
The Mistborn trilogy, by Brandon Sanderson
Science fiction…
The Foundation series, by Isaac Asimov
The Goblin Reservation, by Clifford D. Simak
The Long Tomorrow, by Leigh Brackett
A Canticle for Leibowitz, by Walter M Miller
Rite of Passage, by Alexei Panshin
The Rolling Stones, by Robert A Heinlein
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert A Heinlein
Starship Troopers, by Robert A Heinlein
All of the stories set in the Union-Alliance Universe, by C.J. Cherryh
Thanks for sharing this. I discovered your videos recently and I really enjoy them. You have a great taste in books and I can’t wait to see more from you.
Your list is awesome 🙂
I love when I come across a list that contains many of my favorites. It’s so sad when a movie is blah after a good book, that’s how I feel about Starship Troopers. Thanks for giving me ideas!
It’s been so long since I’ve read Arthur C. Clarke. Childhood’s End is one I missed. Will add to the list. Also, The Traitor Baru Cormorant. The Fifth Season is of course an excellent masterpiece.
Woah, incredible list! Some of them you mentioned are my all time faves or books that i really want to pick up. The Goblin Emperor also sounds very intriguing. Also, i heard “post-apocalyptic” and i’ll just do what i do when someone says “post-apocalyptic”. I’ll recommend Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky and take my leave.
Great video! I’ve read some of the books you recommended but I see there are more i need to add to my tbr 🙂
Where’s Robin Hobb??
This is awesome to get a guys P.O.V on books, thanks for the vid
Great list! LOTR, His Dark Materials, and Fahrenheit 451 are some of my favorites from when I was in High School too. Love your recommendations. I’ve really been wanting to read the ones by N.K. Jemisin. Nod sounds very interesting! And I reaaallly hope Patrick Rothfus releases his third book soon…
just found your channel, these were all great recommendations and I loved that you included Jonathan Strange, which really blew me away when I read it a few years back. it doesn’t get enough love I think. I’m reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen series right now, only on book 2 but it’s an amazing grimdark epic fantasy
It’s so hard when there are so many books you want to reread, so many new ones to read, and there’s only so much time.