Comment by wise_blood | Hacker News Reader

Comment by wise_blood | Hacker News Reader

20 years ago I read a The Guardian article about the "top geek novels". I immediately read a bunch of those.

Recently I managed to find the list again, and it's been endless pleasure:

- American Gods -- Neil Gaiman

- Brave New World -- Aldous Huxley

- The Colour of Magic -- Terry Pratchett

- Consider Phlebas -- Iain M Banks

- Cryptonomicon -- Neal Stephenson

- Cloud Atlas -- David Mitchell

- The Diamond Age -- Neal Stephenson

- The Dispossessed -- Ursula K Le Guin

- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? -- Philip Dick

- Dune -- Frank Herbert

- Foundation -- Isaac Asimov

- Giles Goat-Boy -- John Barth

- Gravity's Rainbow -- Thomas Pynchon

- The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy -- Douglas Adams

- I, Robot -- Isaac Asimov

- The Illuminatus! Trilogy -- Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson

- The Left Hand of Darkness -- Ursula K Le Guin

- The Man in the High Castle -- Philip K Dick

- Microserfs -- Douglas Coupland

- Neuromancer -- William Gibson

- Nineteen Eighty-Four -- George Orwell

- Orlando -- Virgina Woolf

- The Shockwave Rider -- John Brunner

- Snow Crash -- Neal Stephenson

- Stand on Zanzibar -- John Brunner

- Stranger in a Strange Land -- Robert Heinlein

- Trouble with lichen - John Wyndham

- UBIK -- Philip Dick

- Watchmen -- Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

- Woman on the Edge of Time -- Marge Piercy

(I am creatively interpreting "The Colour of Magic" as "all Discworld", "Dune" as "the six Dune books", etc.)

> Consider Phlebas -- Iain M Banks

I started The Culture series a while ago. I read both "The Player of Games" (amazing book), and "Use of Weapons". Also amazing, with a Memento-like storytelling that was also incredible. I did enjoy both books a lot for different reasons, I can't vouch for any over the other really.

I then moved to "Consider Phlebas" and honestly, got bored to death. So my recommendation is to go for these two as well.

I recently (This month, bought a recent "deluxe edition" of sorts [1]) re read Neuromancer, and then jumped to "Count Zero" but at some point got bored mid way with Gibson's endless descriptions of non things.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GGGZSNXQ

I agree! I read "Consider Phlebas" first and was turned off the series until I was recommended "The Player of Games" - much more compelling in my opinion.

Both Player of Games and Use of Weapons are incredible good books.

I was actually surprised when I finished UoW regarding how different it was from PoG, while maintaining the quality (If not better, but PoG IS THAT GOOD anyway).

For the record, the series was recommended to be by Claude of all things, and it told me that Phlebas was not up to quality but I gave it a shot just for the sake of completeness of the series. Nop, not worth it.

Wow; didn't know about this list but I've read quite a few of those on it. For sci-fi, Robert Heinlein and Ursula Le Guin are my absolute favorite authors. I've read all I could find of both authors. They have seen me through many train rides commuting to clients.

Read: American Gods, Consider Phlebas, Neuromancer, The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Dune 1, Nineteen Eighty-Four listened to Foundation and I definitely recommend all.

But for me Consider Phlebas is the best. Currently on 4th book in series, but cant get through it. Nineteen Eighty-Four doesnt feel geek novel, just political. Also great.

I keep reading outputs from LLMs all day and don't have energy to focus on Eng written books in the evening.

1984 and brave New world make a good duo read, presenting distopyian futures from very different causes. Until about 2016 it looked like Huxley was right, but Orwell has had a surge in the past 10 years!

The advancements in cameras behind the screen technology is amazing!

I have Brave New world by my bed. But last year i cannot pick up any book for more than 2-3 pages...

I would also recommend all of discworld but thought I'd throw in the standard warning that it really warms up after the first few books.

There are various online guides as to the best place to jump in if you start at the very beginning and wonder what all the fuss is about.

I've heard a recommendation that Guards, Guards! is one of the easiest books to enter the Discworld universe, although I haven't had the chance to read it yet.

Thanks, I've added them to my list. I've only read 9 of these!

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