If you enjoy the 'cute bugs doing science' SF subgenre then his incandescence is definitely worth a look.
Permutation City (1994)
111–120 of 207 posts
Re: Permutation City (1994)
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've long wanted to read Charles Stross and somehow haven't. (Well, I read a few chapters of Accelerando years ago and never finished it, despiting liking it quite a bit.) Do you think Glasshouse is a good place to start with his writing and is representative of his style? I loved Permutation City, one of my favorite books. (I would've asked cstross himself but that would seem too awkward!)
I once commented on HN how much I loved Accelerando and Charles Stross responded suggesting I read his The Rapture of the Nerds . I read it soon after and loved it. I very much enjoy the genre of people living inside computers; I welcome recommendations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rapture_of_the_Nerds
> I very much enjoy the genre of people living inside computers; I welcome recommendations.
"Ra" by qntm: https://qntm.org/ra
Re: Permutation City (1994)
#113Just finished reading Exhalation by Ted Chiang, and can't recommend it enough. It's a collection of short stories - so easy entry point for beginners as well.
My all-time-favorite collection of short stories is The Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu. Highly recommend, whether or not you liked The Three Body Problem (trilogy)
Re: Permutation City (1994)
#114Greg Egan is an acquired taste of hard SF. I would highly recommend someone who wants to get in to start here - it is short stories and some of his very best. Also one of my best cover of sci fi books https://www.amazon.com/Best-Greg-Egan-Stories-Science/dp/194...
Agreed. He's strongest I'm his short stories. I have two collections of them.
Re: Permutation City (1994)
#115Pretty awesome book. Would be cool if someone could recommend sci-fi that equally good.
Let me share several books that brought me a similar level of awe, due to the scope and creativity of the world-building: 1. Accelerando by Charles Stross - for THE Scope. 2. Quantum Thief by Hanny Rajaniemi - for the similarly high entry threshold and rewarding experience when you cross it. 3. Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds - for a fascinating vision of future human societies. I'd be happy to find more books…
Accelerando is amazing; see it being recommended several times in this post!
Re: Permutation City (1994)
#116I would really like to see writers sell their work DRM free on their pages, or have an open and responsible platform that writers could use for that. I know it is a hassle to process anything finance-related, but in my region on amazon the book is unavailable and a hard copy isn't an option for me. It is virtually impossible for me to give money to the author for an e-reader version of the book.
Same. Not just for convenience of having drm-free ebooks but so I can have an AI read it to me. I don’t really have a preference for audiobook performers so hate having to buy ebook and audiobook. So I’m happy just feeding a text file into a reader and listening that way.
What AI do you use for that?
Re: Permutation City (1994)
#117Great book. I've read it through twice already! I always recommend it when talking about Sci Fi
Re: Permutation City (1994)
#118Pretty awesome book. Would be cool if someone could recommend sci-fi that equally good.
People have already mentioned qntm, but I’ll put another plug in for “Valuable Humans in Transit” https://qntm.org/vhitaos
Sol Quy with monthly short stories: https://solquy.substack.com/p/111123-the-gunslinger
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “Children of Time” series is fantastic.
Vernor Vinge can be a bit variable, but I would start with “A Fire Upon the Deep”
Re: Permutation City (1994)
#119Fun to see this on HN today; I just finished it last night, on a recommendation from a friend. It was great, and left me full of unfinished thoughts -- just what you want from a good SF yarn. For folks who enjoyed the ideas in it I can heartily recommend qntm's short story Lena ( https://qntm.org/lena ), which explores some of the same ideas but with a hefty dollop of (implied, but all the more intense for it) psycho…
Can confirm - I'm a huge fan of Greg Egan and specifically Permutation city, and also a huge fan of qntm's stories. Lena is probably the most famous, though not even the best ("I don't know Timmy" is better IMO). Also, I finally read qntm's Antimemetics division and, while it is a bit lacking in the end, it is one of the most "oh wow this is a crazy good idea" stories I've read in years.
Make sure to read Ra as well. One of my favorite webfics. https://qntm.org/ra
Re: Permutation City (1994)
#120Pretty awesome book. Would be cool if someone could recommend sci-fi that equally good.
It’s not an easy read, but Blindsight by Peter Watts has some equally unique and compelling synthesis of scientific concepts into a big concept plot.
Semi related: If you like The Thing (1982), Watts' The Things is pretty great: https://clarkesworldmagazine.com/watts_01_10/