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

Accelerando (2005)

antipope.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 88 posts

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#71

Post by KineticLensman »

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #50
pinewurst wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stross has explicitly written that he will not write a sequel to those two books.

IIRC, Because he realized he made a crucial mistake in the second one and it's too late to unpublish and rewrite it. Which I might understand from most authors, but it seems oddly faint-hearted from Stross. Fuckin' retcon it, dude. Push updates for the ebooks, start the third book with a forward saying "the book you thought you read was a lie, here's what really happened." If any writer on Earth could get away with t…

> Fuckin' retcon it, dude. Push updates for the ebooks

Not going to happen. Stross has a significant workload to deliver other anticipated books (e.g. to complete the Laundry and New Management series) and has blogged about the difficulties and undesirability of revisiting older stories. He has also abandoned other promising sequences (e.g. Halting State) when real-world events overtake his own near-future universes.

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#72

Post by harperlee »

loxias wrote: post #57
radarsat1 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> his book should not be taken as a manual for the future, and rather as a cautionary tale and fantastically creative techno future Frankly a lot of sci-fi that is intended as the latter is often taken as the former. I feel like there is some kind of lesson there: if you create it, expect someone to take it the wrong way. If you are depicting a dystopia, be aware that there is a selection of people out there that wil…

I think you are (depressingly?) correct. c.f. Xi's China. I had no idea... In stories after stories I've heard from friends who escaped I kept thinking "this is just a cheap rip off of 1984". Of course, none of them had read 1984... Edit: With apologies for a lack of citation, there is a growing problem in the functional design and layout of government and law enforcement command offices. Upper management had brought…

Mind you that showcasing that to potential clients, as sad as it is, might well make up in marketing for the lost efficiencies.

Edit: just saw this is not a private company, but you get the idea: the room is effective in selling an image of spectacular efficiency and oversight.

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#73

Post by helloworld11 »

Probably been recommended here many times before, but for fans of these, I'd recommend Permutation City, by Greg Egan too. It's one of the most existentially depressing sci fi (or any kind) of books I know of, but it's damn good.

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#74

Post by mindcrime »

loxias wrote: post #46
mindcrime wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have yet to read Accelerando , but Glasshouse was amazing. It definitely gets my endorsement. I would further suggest that anyone who likes Glasshouse might like Permutation City by Greg Egan.

I have never read Glasshouse but I loved Permutation City (though I think Diaspora and Schild's Ladder were even better . Luminous/Dark Integers and Palimpsest are tied in my mind for "best short story") I would posit that since you like Greg Egan, I consider Egan one of my 3 fav. authors, and Accelerando was the book that...well... got me to read books! That it's reasonable to suspect you would strongly like it as w…

I do expect to like Accelerando when I finally get to it. Stross is one of my favorite authors as it is. Beyond the aforementioned Glasshouse, I've also read and enjoyed Halting State and almost all of the titles in his "Laundry Files" series. I have copies of Rule 34, Accelerando, and Singularity Sky here waiting to be read. Just need to find time to get to them all. :-)

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#75

Post by Communitivity »

I can't recommend this enough. Stross predicted DAOs, and if you look between the lines you can see hints of cryptocurrency, if I remember right (it's been years since I read it - it's time for another read). The book also explores what it means to be human in an age of Centaur systems combining man and machine, and when people can upload their minds then then download into different bodies.

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#76

Post by Communitivity »

cstross wrote: post #63

/me: waves Be aware that this novel is a cautionary tale, not some kind of technological utopia. And for a contrarian take, I co-wrote another novel with Cory Doctorow, "The Rapture of the Nerds", which is also a free download here: https://craphound.com/rotn/download/ (I'm currently working on another singularity-themed SF novel, this time a far future space opera, but there's no ETA to publication—it won't be ready…

Thank you sir for books that are captivating, thrilling, and make me think (I've read and loved Rule 34, Glasshouse, Accelerando, Singularity Sky, Halting State, and all the Laundry files).

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#77

Post by ZeroGravitas »

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #68
gpderetta wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Greg Egan even his name? Does anybody have met him IRL? edit: also his short stories are excellent.

I also enjoy Thomas Pynchon, who has a similar void presence on the internet

Apart from those guest appearances on the Simpsons.

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#78

Post by HyperSane »

gpderetta wrote: post #58
HyperSane wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've read almost all of his books and short stories. Quarantine, Permutation City, and Diaspora are my faves. Go find Egan and get a picture of him. There doesn't seem to be any on the Internet, which is pretty strange.

Is Greg Egan even his name? Does anybody have met him IRL? edit: also his short stories are excellent.

He could be several different people for all anyone really knows.

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#79

Post by shadowofneptune »

cstross wrote: post #63

/me: waves Be aware that this novel is a cautionary tale, not some kind of technological utopia. And for a contrarian take, I co-wrote another novel with Cory Doctorow, "The Rapture of the Nerds", which is also a free download here: https://craphound.com/rotn/download/ (I'm currently working on another singularity-themed SF novel, this time a far future space opera, but there's no ETA to publication—it won't be ready…

What is the best way to compensate you for this wonderful book I stumbled upon here? I do not know how much authors actually get for books after the initial printings.

Re: Accelerando (2005)

#80

Post by lxgr »

Communitivity wrote: post #76
cstross wrote: post #63

/me: waves Be aware that this novel is a cautionary tale, not some kind of technological utopia. And for a contrarian take, I co-wrote another novel with Cory Doctorow, "The Rapture of the Nerds", which is also a free download here: https://craphound.com/rotn/download/ (I'm currently working on another singularity-themed SF novel, this time a far future space opera, but there's no ETA to publication—it won't be ready…

Thank you sir for books that are captivating, thrilling, and make me think (I've read and loved Rule 34, Glasshouse, Accelerando, Singularity Sky, Halting State, and all the Laundry files).

And thank you for experimenting with Creative Commons e-books! Accelerando was one of the first e-books I ever read as a result.
Post reply on HN