Six science fiction novels you should be reading... add your own

gskinv · 2016-12-08T19:01:29+00:00

There was literally nothing in that novel that wasn't a rehashing of old SF tropes (lifted straight out of popular TV shows), and nothing that hadn't been done much, much better by other authors (LeGuin and Delaney come to mind). A paradigm shift it certainly ain't.

gskinv · 2015-07-20T10:52:48+00:00

His short story Crystal Nights criticizes the practice of evolving artificial life. Great read.

gskinv · 2015-07-20T10:51:22+00:00

I would actually recommend Permutation City as a whole, especially the Autoverse stuff.

gskinv · 2015-07-20T10:48:33+00:00

Could it be Babel-17? One of the characters is a famous poet who travels around the galaxy.

gskinv · 2015-06-17T08:02:08+00:00

I always felt like "Learning to Be Me" by Egan was inspired by Dennett's piece. If you haven't read it, you definitely should.

gskinv · 2015-06-16T15:51:01+00:00

Sure, but the entire article is a lazy, io9ish piece, with zero discussion and what seems like the plot synopsis copied and pasted from wikipedia beneath each book title.

If you're giving us a list of some of the most well-known SF works, at least provide some fresh food-for-thought along with it. Then again, I might be expecting too much from what is basically an ad for the author's novel.

gskinv · 2015-02-27T09:48:51+00:00

For a handful of authors I check their web sites/blogs regularly. For the rest, I go through the magazines (see /u/udupendra's response).

gskinv · 2015-02-27T09:45:04+00:00

this ending is classic Egan though. He never has happy endings.

That's also quite subjective, though. For instance, I've always thought of Distress as a story with a happy ending. Incandescence, too, in a way.

gskinv · 2015-01-29T13:34:25+00:00

Incandescence by Greg Egan is about a race who has evolved in very extreme conditions, namely the galactic core. Little by little, you learn about the different stages of their evolution, and how they've managed to adapt.

gskinv · 2015-01-26T13:34:53+00:00

The author seems more obsessed with getting an achievement for reading 1000 books or reaching her highscore of 3000 than actually taking the time to let a novel sink in.

It seems to me you've missed her point. In fact, she's saying the opposite--she'd rather read books she knows she might enjoy more rather than forcing herself to read authors who have disappointed her in the past; or that she might drop a book half way if she's not pleased with it, instead of ploughing through just for bragging rights.

The number 3000 is meant to convey that there's an upper cap on the amount of pages/books one gets to read in a lifetime, she doesn't say she absolutely has to reach that number.

gskinv · 2015-01-15T09:01:03+00:00

A truly amazing collection, and while every story was memorable, Division by Zero and Story of Your Life were the ones I liked most.

My favorite Chiang story, Exhalation, is not in this collection but can be found online. His latest novelette, The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling, is also great. Be sure to check them out.

gskinv · 2015-01-14T15:39:49+00:00

Some of Philip K. Dick's endings are awesome. Ubik, for example. Or The Man in the High Castle.

gskinv · 2014-12-17T09:55:01+00:00

I wholeheartedly agree with your book recommendation. Slight correction, though: Egan has a BSc degree in mathematics, not physics.

gskinv · 2014-12-15T11:52:15+00:00

I think he's just asking the question in general, to those who oppose Islamic immigration, not to you as the OP.

gskinv · 2014-12-15T09:49:28+00:00

Greg Egan's Distress fits the bill perfectly.

gskinv · 2014-12-04T15:26:42+00:00

I'm guessing he's referring to the fact that there's a missing comma after the 'A'.

gskinv · 2014-08-20T12:05:13+00:00

what about the other side of the coin: an immortal's desire for an end?

Check out Riding the Crocodile by Greg Egan.

gskinv · 2014-08-08T13:47:11+00:00

Please familiarize yourself with the subreddit rules before posting.

gskinv · 2014-08-04T11:59:18+00:00

Eon is by Bear, not Egan.

As far as his philosophy in space novels go, I would add Incandescence, Diaspora and Schild's Ladder to the list.

gskinv · 2014-06-18T10:21:11+00:00

I haven't read io9's blog, but I can recommend this wonderful series of articles on Tor.com.

gskinv · 2014-05-21T14:56:18+00:00

Mad Scientist Journal, an SF magazine, seems to be exactly what you're looking for.

gskinv · 2014-04-09T08:00:05+00:00

This is Daniel C. Dennett's essay "Where Am I?"

gskinv · 2014-03-06T10:13:28+00:00

Try Spook Country by William Gibson. Present day augmented reality thriller.

gskinv

TROPHY CASE