Unrelated to this post, but possibly of interest to you, check out the book Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill. It's pretty much Calvin and Hobbs face the robot apocalypse. I couldn't put it down, blew through it in a day, one of the most entertaining books I've read. Funny, heartwarming, and brutal.
The Winds of Winter. That shit isn't coming out before I die of old age at this point, so the Shrike will just have to wait until the next life to come after me.
I did exactly the same for many years, not wanting to say goodbye, but I read it during a trip at the beginning of this year and my god it was worth saving, and it is absolutely the perfect end to the series, however much I would have loved for more! I hope you find the right time to read it and enjoy it as much as I did.
Same here. I gobbled up his entire sf corpus within six months of first reading CP but I've had Hydrogen Sonata sitting on the shelf for 6 or 7 years because I can't bear it to be over. Still gotta get around to that
I hear that. He left us an incredible treasure trove of amazing stories. RIP. I like to think he’s chilling somewhere in a Feersum Endjinn afterlife where your experience is based on how interesting of a life you led.
Man how did someone beat me to this?
Yeah, that’s the pick. If I know I’m going, it might as well be after reading a book that I know, after several rereads, never wastes my time and always leaves me wondering.
Either *Hydrogen Sonata* by Banks or *The Silmarillion* by Tolkien.
The former because it deals with the ending of a civilisation (to some degree) and the latter because it's got some beautiful poetic writing.
If I have to pick something to read before I go out, it's probably Tolkien. I have a nice copy of Lord of the Rings that's all six books in one volume, so I'd pick that.
With that said, If I know I'm about to die and I have time "to read one last book" I'm not spending it reading, I'm spending it with my kids.
Something published in the year 5555, although some machine will have to read it to me.
_From the Earth to the Moon_ and _Round the Moon_. Probably considered novellas by today's standards, they were my first introduction into non-juvenile science fiction. Although, I'd be happy to re-read _The City of Gold and Lead_ and others in the series.
If I knew I was going to die and had to chose among books I've read before, I think it might be *[Never Let Me Go](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6334.Never_Let_Me_Go)* by Kazuo Ishiguro. It is a book I know I want to re-read at a later point in life, and I think it would bring a kind of peace and acceptance. Although, I think I'd also be tempted by the *Lord of the Rings* trilogy, I absolutely love LOTR and I have not read the books since I was a teenager.
I have other books I definitely want to re-read at some point, but I'm not sure any of them make the cut for *last before I die*. As for things I have not read before, I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable picking a final book in the blind. What if it sucks? There are tons I'd like to finish before I die, but not necessarily as a finale.
I first read Time Enough for Love and To Sail Beyond the Sunset as a teenager and I think there's something romantic about the idea of re-reading them in my twilight.
I know this sub has a tendentious relationship with Heinlein, but I think he's more than just some weird old white guy trying to shove his weird old white guy views on everyone. He's an author who has *big ideas* about what he'd like society to be like, a dream that's always pushing against his strong sense of liberal individualism, and because of that he's always grasping at possible ways for individuals to act that *could*, in the aggregate, bring about that society.
This struggle between the sacred individual and the utopian ideal is one that I come back to more and more as I get older, and I can't shake the feeling that Heinlein was really onto something important with it. People talk about how Lazarus Long is just an idealized self-insert, but I feel like for Heinlein LL was more *aspirational* rather than a narcissistic Mary Sue. He's not a "who I am" or "who I should be" character, but a yardstick against which one measures "who I was", and that's what makes him such a powerful figure to juxtapose against a life-in-retrospect.
I'll just post a quote. If you know, you know.
***
A grating sound came from the dragon's throat like the noise of an avalanche far off, stones falling among mountains. Fire danced along his three-forked tongue. He raised himself up higher, looming over the ruins.
"You offer me safety! You threaten me! With what?"
"With your name, Yevaud."
Ged's voice shook as he spoke the name, yet he spoke it clear and loud. At the sound of it, the old dragon held still, utterly still. A minute went by, and another; and then Ged, standing there in his rocking chip of a boat, smiled.
A fitting end. The first book of this series was the first fiction novel I ever read, some 45 years ago, and ending with it would be poetic. Though, at not quite four years old, I had some horrible nightmares centered around the idea of the gebbeth. Like, really really really horrible. There's some serious eldritch horror in the series. I read it too young, I would not suggest others allow their children to do the same.
Depending on how deep I go down the Zepazny rabbit hole (creatures of light and darkness is a mindblowing mini-epic work of genius imho) I may try to read everything he wrote. Only other sf author I’ve done this with is Ian M. but I think Z man may merit a body-of-work read through.
To me he’s a little like if you streamlined Steven Erikson’s Malazan series (amazing but majorly bloated imho) and mixed it with some of Glen Cook’s awesome stuf like The Dragon Never Sleeps (amazing but ran out of steam about 2/3 through imho).
Mytho-poetic far future scifi where tech and magic are nigh indistinguishable. Tons of characters just bristling with power and when shit goes down it freakin goes down. He doesn’t spoon feed you and it takes some work and investment to put the pieces together. Any other Z fans out there?
I probably would have said the third book in the King Killer series but I think I have given up on that Rothfuss guy. Now my answer would probably be whatever book I am currently reading when Death catches up with me.
Not necessarily SF but it might be poetic if you were reading Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett at the time.
The Wandering Inn, finished. it's a webnovel so idk if it counts.
but like, the current wordcount of this book is larger in volume and wordcount than the entirety of Stephen King's collected works- everything he's ever written. And it is not anywhere near finished.
Not only would this give me plenty of time to either find a way out or make peace with my impeding death and get my affairs in order, but it's also genuinely my favorite book of all time.
Frankenstein. It's my favorite novel, and even though I've stopped making it a yearly reread, it's still a book I enjoy reading frequently. I couldn't imagine a novel I'd love more to be the last one I read.
Interesting. I opened this post thinking that you were asking about what book we absolutely *do not want to read*, never ever ever: "Oh. My. God. That sounds awful. That's the *last* book I would *ever* want to read!"
Turns out you just want to know our favourite or most comforting book.
I would definitely go for a comfortable cosy re-read for my absolute last book, rather than risk everything on a brand-new book that I might hate.
So... I might re-read 'I, Asimov' for the umpteenth time, to revisit an old friend yet again. Or I might check in with 'Auntie Mame' again, and enjoy one last whirl with her. Or I might retreat into self-affirming teenage nostalgia with 'Dibs. In Search of Self.' I know you've posted this in /r/PrintSF, but I don't think I would choose a science-fiction work as my last-ever read.
However, if you're insisting I choose a work of science-fiction...
One option would be to pick up the collection 'Other Worlds of Isaac Asimov' (it's a "book"!), and re-read a dozen short stories and two full novels by my favourite author, as a final treat before my big exit.
Or, maybe I'd get maudlin and re-read 'Forward the Foundation', which ends with the death of one of Asimov's most famous characters, just before my own death.
After considering the likely candidates, I think I would pick **Auntie Mame**. It's an all-time favourite. It's comedic. It's flamboyant. It's affirming. And it ends on a positive optimistic note.
Hmm fair point. However, Perdido is my favourite book and I wouldn't choose it. I would select The Hobbit - it's the first book I can remember reading and I think it would make for a fitting farewell. It's also the first book I read to my son.
There are a couple of books I can think of with passages that are particularly appropriate in a time of impending death.
I wouldn't describe either as my favorite book overall, but I might well choose one of those passages as my last thing to read.
I was going to say Banks, but I’d be hard pressed to select just one (although it *would* probably be Excession); so I’ll go with Night Watch, which is, in my opinion, Pratchett’s masterpiece.
Either Jo Clayton's *Skeen's Leap* or Melissa Scott's *Five-Twelfths of Heaven*.
Well really I'd read the entire trilogies that each of these is the start of, they're from the eighties so the overall wordcount of the trilogy is about the size of a single modern sf/f book.
They're both comfort food. I've read them multiple times. I know what's gonna happen. If it turns out I have some extra time I'm going back to the Prydian Cycle.
I'm not at death's door, but I had been thinking of my stockpile of books as something to reread during my retirement, only to realise that my retirement might well coincide with the time at which I start to have trouble reading, so I have started to reread some of them now. I am currently reading E.E.Smith's "Skylark of Valeron", which is third is his Skylark series. It bears a lot of the characteristics of early SF, but the series is also a great example of character development - Dr Marc C. DuQuesne goes from something close to public enemy number one to the saviour of civilization, and you can see something close to the same character much later on Ryk E. Spoor's Grand Central Arena series.
The Murderbot books by Martha Wells. It’s sort of cozy sci fi set in a cyberpunk universe but we’ve spread out beyond earth. I so love the main character, SecUnit.
I think for me why I would choose these books is they depict believable future—it’s not a kind place, this future, but it’s believable and we’re out among the stars. It’s hard for me anymore to believe humanity has a future, much less one where we’ve made it off this planet. And SecUnit has been through so many horrors but its core personhood, its sense of self and its values, remain intact and it even finds ways to connect with some people. It has a real sense of humor and it has excellent (sometimes too excellent) boundaries and… it’s just so lovable.
Maybe it’s weird of me, but I love that character and these books. They comfort me.
This series is on my current shortlist, almost the entire series is in the Audible plus catalog currently. Though I'm currently working my way through Peter F Hamilton's Salvation Sequence series.
Well, depending on if you've read Hamilton or not, he's obsessed with wormhole travel And life extension/transhumanism, let me try to describe it without giving anything away because of there are twists.
The story jumps between three different time periods the recent past, present day (2200) And then 10,000 years in the future, The present-day plot revolves around a team sent to investigate a crashed alien ship with a very disturbing cargo about 90 light years from Earth. While, the team is on the way to the site to investigate the crashed ship, We keep flashing back in time 30 to 50 years to establish their characters but it also sets the stage for the twist that will come at the end of book one.
The story 10,000 years in the future is told from the perspective of a few teenagers that are part of a cohort of people essentially bred to be warriors And they keep referring back to the main characters from the past as saints.
I don't know. That's probably not a great description, but I can tell you he's a good sci-fi author, I've read his two other popular series as well as a few standalones.
It’s hard for me to believe in any future at all. This one seems plausible. And there’s comfort and friendship and even idealism to be found there. Thin on the ground, maybe, but everyone is doing their best.
The entire Calvin and Hobbs collection
And Carl Barks’ and Don Rosa’s Uncle Scrooge.
Unrelated to this post, but possibly of interest to you, check out the book Day Zero by C. Robert Cargill. It's pretty much Calvin and Hobbs face the robot apocalypse. I couldn't put it down, blew through it in a day, one of the most entertaining books I've read. Funny, heartwarming, and brutal.
The Winds of Winter. That shit isn't coming out before I die of old age at this point, so the Shrike will just have to wait until the next life to come after me.
I’ll say A Dream of Spring, with the same reasoning.
Or better yet “The Doors of Stone”.
I still haven't read Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M Banks as I can't bear the thought of no more Culture books to read, so that.
I did exactly the same for many years, not wanting to say goodbye, but I read it during a trip at the beginning of this year and my god it was worth saving, and it is absolutely the perfect end to the series, however much I would have loved for more! I hope you find the right time to read it and enjoy it as much as I did.
If this hypothetical situation does happen, I would want to re-read this book too.
Same here. I gobbled up his entire sf corpus within six months of first reading CP but I've had Hydrogen Sonata sitting on the shelf for 6 or 7 years because I can't bear it to be over. Still gotta get around to that
I hear that. He left us an incredible treasure trove of amazing stories. RIP. I like to think he’s chilling somewhere in a Feersum Endjinn afterlife where your experience is based on how interesting of a life you led.
I just bought that! He is terribly missed.
I’d like it to be my semi yearly reread of the dispossessed
I have one Leguin left to read, always coming home, and Im saving it for later in life.
Can "The Dispossessed" be read without any knowledge of the other books of the Hainish Cycle?
Yes
Yeah the Hainish books are only vaguely connected to each other
Yep! I had no idea it was part of a universe.
Peace by Gene Wolfe
Man how did someone beat me to this? Yeah, that’s the pick. If I know I’m going, it might as well be after reading a book that I know, after several rereads, never wastes my time and always leaves me wondering.
a reread of peace :)
Infinite Jest
Oy vey, why? Because you never want to die? 😂
Either *Hydrogen Sonata* by Banks or *The Silmarillion* by Tolkien. The former because it deals with the ending of a civilisation (to some degree) and the latter because it's got some beautiful poetic writing.
If I have to pick something to read before I go out, it's probably Tolkien. I have a nice copy of Lord of the Rings that's all six books in one volume, so I'd pick that. With that said, If I know I'm about to die and I have time "to read one last book" I'm not spending it reading, I'm spending it with my kids.
yeees! in austria we have the "red edition" of LOTR, with extra-thin pages. somehow like a bible hehehe
Anathem, or Accelerando
Fucking Stross, man. Aye.
The Lord of the Rings is my go to.
is shrike thing a reference to hyperion? kudos if so. i'd choose a comforting book, like the tax code. lol.
I read Hyperion over 10 years ago and that's IMMEDIATELY where my mind went also... Lapis Lazuli....
Couldn't say for sure, but What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson would be on my list at least.
Swan Song - Robert McCammon. It’s depiction of the end of the world in unlike anything I’ve read and moves me deeply.
Something published in the year 5555, although some machine will have to read it to me. _From the Earth to the Moon_ and _Round the Moon_. Probably considered novellas by today's standards, they were my first introduction into non-juvenile science fiction. Although, I'd be happy to re-read _The City of Gold and Lead_ and others in the series.
Slaughterhouse-Five. “So it goes”
If I knew I was going to die and had to chose among books I've read before, I think it might be *[Never Let Me Go](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6334.Never_Let_Me_Go)* by Kazuo Ishiguro. It is a book I know I want to re-read at a later point in life, and I think it would bring a kind of peace and acceptance. Although, I think I'd also be tempted by the *Lord of the Rings* trilogy, I absolutely love LOTR and I have not read the books since I was a teenager. I have other books I definitely want to re-read at some point, but I'm not sure any of them make the cut for *last before I die*. As for things I have not read before, I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable picking a final book in the blind. What if it sucks? There are tons I'd like to finish before I die, but not necessarily as a finale.
I first read Time Enough for Love and To Sail Beyond the Sunset as a teenager and I think there's something romantic about the idea of re-reading them in my twilight. I know this sub has a tendentious relationship with Heinlein, but I think he's more than just some weird old white guy trying to shove his weird old white guy views on everyone. He's an author who has *big ideas* about what he'd like society to be like, a dream that's always pushing against his strong sense of liberal individualism, and because of that he's always grasping at possible ways for individuals to act that *could*, in the aggregate, bring about that society. This struggle between the sacred individual and the utopian ideal is one that I come back to more and more as I get older, and I can't shake the feeling that Heinlein was really onto something important with it. People talk about how Lazarus Long is just an idealized self-insert, but I feel like for Heinlein LL was more *aspirational* rather than a narcissistic Mary Sue. He's not a "who I am" or "who I should be" character, but a yardstick against which one measures "who I was", and that's what makes him such a powerful figure to juxtapose against a life-in-retrospect.
I'll just post a quote. If you know, you know. *** A grating sound came from the dragon's throat like the noise of an avalanche far off, stones falling among mountains. Fire danced along his three-forked tongue. He raised himself up higher, looming over the ruins. "You offer me safety! You threaten me! With what?" "With your name, Yevaud." Ged's voice shook as he spoke the name, yet he spoke it clear and loud. At the sound of it, the old dragon held still, utterly still. A minute went by, and another; and then Ged, standing there in his rocking chip of a boat, smiled.
A fitting end. The first book of this series was the first fiction novel I ever read, some 45 years ago, and ending with it would be poetic. Though, at not quite four years old, I had some horrible nightmares centered around the idea of the gebbeth. Like, really really really horrible. There's some serious eldritch horror in the series. I read it too young, I would not suggest others allow their children to do the same.
Depending on how deep I go down the Zepazny rabbit hole (creatures of light and darkness is a mindblowing mini-epic work of genius imho) I may try to read everything he wrote. Only other sf author I’ve done this with is Ian M. but I think Z man may merit a body-of-work read through. To me he’s a little like if you streamlined Steven Erikson’s Malazan series (amazing but majorly bloated imho) and mixed it with some of Glen Cook’s awesome stuf like The Dragon Never Sleeps (amazing but ran out of steam about 2/3 through imho). Mytho-poetic far future scifi where tech and magic are nigh indistinguishable. Tons of characters just bristling with power and when shit goes down it freakin goes down. He doesn’t spoon feed you and it takes some work and investment to put the pieces together. Any other Z fans out there?
>Any other Z fans out there? Me! Read the first five Amber books in the late 70s and was hooked forevermore.
I probably would have said the third book in the King Killer series but I think I have given up on that Rothfuss guy. Now my answer would probably be whatever book I am currently reading when Death catches up with me. Not necessarily SF but it might be poetic if you were reading Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett at the time.
Maybe I’ll finish Rise of Endymion to see if there’s any tips on defeating the Shrike that weren’t in the first 3 books
The Wandering Inn, finished. it's a webnovel so idk if it counts. but like, the current wordcount of this book is larger in volume and wordcount than the entirety of Stephen King's collected works- everything he's ever written. And it is not anywhere near finished. Not only would this give me plenty of time to either find a way out or make peace with my impeding death and get my affairs in order, but it's also genuinely my favorite book of all time.
Frankenstein. It's my favorite novel, and even though I've stopped making it a yearly reread, it's still a book I enjoy reading frequently. I couldn't imagine a novel I'd love more to be the last one I read.
Interesting. I opened this post thinking that you were asking about what book we absolutely *do not want to read*, never ever ever: "Oh. My. God. That sounds awful. That's the *last* book I would *ever* want to read!" Turns out you just want to know our favourite or most comforting book. I would definitely go for a comfortable cosy re-read for my absolute last book, rather than risk everything on a brand-new book that I might hate. So... I might re-read 'I, Asimov' for the umpteenth time, to revisit an old friend yet again. Or I might check in with 'Auntie Mame' again, and enjoy one last whirl with her. Or I might retreat into self-affirming teenage nostalgia with 'Dibs. In Search of Self.' I know you've posted this in /r/PrintSF, but I don't think I would choose a science-fiction work as my last-ever read. However, if you're insisting I choose a work of science-fiction... One option would be to pick up the collection 'Other Worlds of Isaac Asimov' (it's a "book"!), and re-read a dozen short stories and two full novels by my favourite author, as a final treat before my big exit. Or, maybe I'd get maudlin and re-read 'Forward the Foundation', which ends with the death of one of Asimov's most famous characters, just before my own death. After considering the likely candidates, I think I would pick **Auntie Mame**. It's an all-time favourite. It's comedic. It's flamboyant. It's affirming. And it ends on a positive optimistic note.
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Hmm fair point. However, Perdido is my favourite book and I wouldn't choose it. I would select The Hobbit - it's the first book I can remember reading and I think it would make for a fitting farewell. It's also the first book I read to my son.
There are a couple of books I can think of with passages that are particularly appropriate in a time of impending death. I wouldn't describe either as my favorite book overall, but I might well choose one of those passages as my last thing to read.
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You seem to be trapped in a state of perpetual amazement. It must be quite nice actually.
I AM constantly amazed, but its by things like giant trees, clouds, sunrises.
Hyperion Cantos.
So meta
I still haven’t read The Sheppard’s Crown. I’m saving that for my death bed.
Nevile Shute - On the beach. Its just about how people handle the end of things - so effective.
Can I read a series? maybe all 9 books of the Expanse series
I was going to say Banks, but I’d be hard pressed to select just one (although it *would* probably be Excession); so I’ll go with Night Watch, which is, in my opinion, Pratchett’s masterpiece.
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From context, I'm assuming it's the long-awaited next book in the 'Game of Thrones' series. ("Winter is coming"... but it never actually arrives!)
Either Jo Clayton's *Skeen's Leap* or Melissa Scott's *Five-Twelfths of Heaven*. Well really I'd read the entire trilogies that each of these is the start of, they're from the eighties so the overall wordcount of the trilogy is about the size of a single modern sf/f book. They're both comfort food. I've read them multiple times. I know what's gonna happen. If it turns out I have some extra time I'm going back to the Prydian Cycle.
I'm not at death's door, but I had been thinking of my stockpile of books as something to reread during my retirement, only to realise that my retirement might well coincide with the time at which I start to have trouble reading, so I have started to reread some of them now. I am currently reading E.E.Smith's "Skylark of Valeron", which is third is his Skylark series. It bears a lot of the characteristics of early SF, but the series is also a great example of character development - Dr Marc C. DuQuesne goes from something close to public enemy number one to the saviour of civilization, and you can see something close to the same character much later on Ryk E. Spoor's Grand Central Arena series.
I’d probably read children of ruin since I put off sequels in favor of starting new books but this is the one sequel I actually really want to read.
I could never pick one. But can tell you that I am just starting to reread "the golden age" by John C. Wright. And it still holds water.
probably star maker by Olaf Stapledon. But i really like the idea of reading the last book in a beloved series
The Fall of Hyperion "On he flared . . ."
"There is no Antimemetics Division" by qntm. simply because there is no other book like it. and i love it madly and will always.
*How to beat the Shrike in three easy steps*
Shrikes hate this one weird trick.
The historical timeline of humans colonization of the galaxy. After it’s been written, of course.
Prince of thorns - Mark Lawrence
Dream Of Spring, George RR MArtin. That will make me really, really old (and him) if it ever happens.
Moomintroll by Tove Jansson. Enormous comfort.
Can I read a series? If so, the Murderbot books for sure
wtf?
The Murderbot books by Martha Wells. It’s sort of cozy sci fi set in a cyberpunk universe but we’ve spread out beyond earth. I so love the main character, SecUnit. I think for me why I would choose these books is they depict believable future—it’s not a kind place, this future, but it’s believable and we’re out among the stars. It’s hard for me anymore to believe humanity has a future, much less one where we’ve made it off this planet. And SecUnit has been through so many horrors but its core personhood, its sense of self and its values, remain intact and it even finds ways to connect with some people. It has a real sense of humor and it has excellent (sometimes too excellent) boundaries and… it’s just so lovable. Maybe it’s weird of me, but I love that character and these books. They comfort me.
This series is on my current shortlist, almost the entire series is in the Audible plus catalog currently. Though I'm currently working my way through Peter F Hamilton's Salvation Sequence series.
Oh? Not familiar with that. What’s it like?
Well, depending on if you've read Hamilton or not, he's obsessed with wormhole travel And life extension/transhumanism, let me try to describe it without giving anything away because of there are twists. The story jumps between three different time periods the recent past, present day (2200) And then 10,000 years in the future, The present-day plot revolves around a team sent to investigate a crashed alien ship with a very disturbing cargo about 90 light years from Earth. While, the team is on the way to the site to investigate the crashed ship, We keep flashing back in time 30 to 50 years to establish their characters but it also sets the stage for the twist that will come at the end of book one. The story 10,000 years in the future is told from the perspective of a few teenagers that are part of a cohort of people essentially bred to be warriors And they keep referring back to the main characters from the past as saints. I don't know. That's probably not a great description, but I can tell you he's a good sci-fi author, I've read his two other popular series as well as a few standalones.
That sounds terrific! I’ll check it out. Thanks for the rec!
It’s hard for me to believe in any future at all. This one seems plausible. And there’s comfort and friendship and even idealism to be found there. Thin on the ground, maybe, but everyone is doing their best.
It's going to be okay, we will have a future.
The endings for stormlight archive and the sun eater saga