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Ask HN: What are the best Sci-Fi books you've ever read?

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Ask HN: What are the best Sci-Fi books you've ever read?

#1

Post by rayalez »

I've been reading non-fiction almost exclusively, and now I'm looking to get into reading more fiction. Can you recommend something awesome?

I'd love to read something fun, lighthearted, and enjoyable (as opposed to gritty dystopias or super hardcore hard scifi). To relax, explore cool worlds and likable characters, and encounter some cool ideas. I'll be extra happy if it's available on audible.

Things I liked: Harry Potter and The Methods of Rationality, The Martian, Ready Player One, Mistborn.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best Sci-Fi books you've ever read?

#4

Post by gtdthrow »

marenkay wrote: post #2

Read "Neuromancer" by William Gibson, also "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson. Both offer something beyond just being Sci-Fi.

+1

Anything Gibson, especially Sprawl Trilogy Anything Stephenson, though I particularly liked Diamond Age, Cryptonomicon, and Snow Crash, In the beginning was the command line.. oh, I like everything by him.

Seriously though, In the beginning was the command line and Cryptonomicon are basically an ode to 90s hacker culture, the true neckbeard type of CS. Love that aesthetic, culture and ethics.

Re: Ask HN: What are the best Sci-Fi books you've ever read?

#6

Post by jger15 »

"Chocky" by John Wyndham was quick/fun. A little uneven but enjoyed "All Our Wrongs Today" by Elan Mastai. Tough to get thru for me but many seem high on "The Three Body Problem" books by Cixin Liu.

Some others that are not scifi but enjoyed this year:

"Trick" by Domenico Starnone

"Such Small Hands" by Andres Barba

"Convenience Store Woman" by Sayaka Murata

Re: Ask HN: What are the best Sci-Fi books you've ever read?

#9

Post by ArtWomb »

Just a short story, but Asimov's The Last Question keeps popping up. FermiLab Cosmologist Dan Hooper recently posted to Arxiv a few conjectures on what it would take to survive expansion. And I can't help but think that looking for signs of Dyson Spheres and other star harvesting mega-structures may be key in detecting signs of intelligent extra-terrestrial life ;)

Another thing that really holds up over time is the Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes screenplay to the hit 1980s movie War Games. Not only does it talk about meta-learning and game theory. Its just a really great script!

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