Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Recommend any good business/hacker fiction?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

1–10 of 47 posts

Ask HN: Recommend any good business/hacker fiction?

#1

Post by jskopek »

I just finished re-reading Neal Stevenson's Cryptonomicon for the third time today, and I cannot get enough of the modern part of the story.

It's basically about a very HN-ish nerd named Randy who gets embroiled in a huge international venture to create the world's first data haven, with plenty of in-depth discussion on technical topics like Van Eck Phreaking and more absurd ones like pantyhose fetishes.

Has anyone here read anything along the lines of this? A book about a hacker/entrepreneur who sets out to change the world and comes across all sorts of wacky scenarios?

Re: Ask HN: Recommend any good business/hacker fiction?

#3

Post by FiveFiftyOne »

Stephenson is in a league of his own when it comes to this kind of story. Snow Crash was a terrific piece of work, where the main protagonist :) was a hacker deeply lacking in entrepreneurial skills. Cryptonomicon had a ton of stuff in it, even down to Bobby Shaftoe getting cracked over the ear with an oar when he was reunited with his beloved Glory :-)

Re: Ask HN: Recommend any good business/hacker fiction?

#5

Post by tedshroyer »

FiveFiftyOne wrote: post #3

Stephenson is in a league of his own when it comes to this kind of story. Snow Crash was a terrific piece of work, where the main protagonist :) was a hacker deeply lacking in entrepreneurial skills. Cryptonomicon had a ton of stuff in it, even down to Bobby Shaftoe getting cracked over the ear with an oar when he was reunited with his beloved Glory :-)

Agreed Snow Crash is very good. It along with Diamond Age are my favorite of his works. The Baroque Cycle is too long for what it is and might have crushed my spirit to read his work any longer. I advise avoiding it unless you are an avid fan of his.

Re: Ask HN: Recommend any good business/hacker fiction?

#6

Post by ctkrohn »

I'm sure you'll get plenty of comments on hacker fiction, so here's some "business" fiction:

* "The Bonfire of the Vanities" by Tom Wolfe. The classic novel of 80s Wall Street at its peak.

* "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis. A pretty terrifying picture of greed and excess, again on 80s Wall Street. If you've seen the movie, you know what to expect -- only in greater detail.

* "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. Some people hate it, but others find it an inspirational novel. The heroes are driven, smart, competitive entrepreneurs; the antagonists are greedy, pilfering government regulators. Whether or not you like this will probably depend on your pre-existing ideological preference.

I'm sure there are others that I'm forgetting...

Re: Ask HN: Recommend any good business/hacker fiction?

#8

Post by grinich »

ctkrohn wrote: post #6

I'm sure you'll get plenty of comments on hacker fiction, so here's some "business" fiction: * "The Bonfire of the Vanities" by Tom Wolfe. The classic novel of 80s Wall Street at its peak. * "American Psycho" by Bret Easton Ellis. A pretty terrifying picture of greed and excess, again on 80s Wall Street. If you've seen the movie, you know what to expect -- only in greater detail. * "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. Some…

Second for Atlas Shrugged. It seems especially relevant right now.

Re: Ask HN: Recommend any good business/hacker fiction?

#9

Post by streblo »

I liked Cryptonomicon, but more for the WWII side of the story. If you liked that part, check out Colossus by Jack Copeland. The Randy Waterhouse side of the story actually reminded me a lot of Digital Fortress by Dan Brown. Say what you will about Dan Brown, but I thought Digital Fortress was great.
Post reply on HN