

Ask HN: What's your favorite Science Fiction book? - architgupta

Which book is your favorite? Why? :)
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cryptoz
The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson. I think it paints the most
realistic idea of space travel, interplanetary society and Mars
colonization....just about the most exciting stuff ever. Also, it's pretty
hard sci fi and so the reader learns a lot about Martian geology and such
along the way.

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abosley
I'll have to say Neuromancer by William Gibson. Changed my worldview and what
I thought was possible. I'm a huge fan of Ian M Banks, Charlie Stross, Ian
MacDonald, Cory Doctorow, Peter Watts and older (90's) Stephen Baxter.
Baxter's Titan is a great piece of writing - makes you feel the isolation of
being millions of miles from humanity

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rendeiro
I will pick more than 1:

Ubik by Philip K. Dick (it's hard to cherry pick his best work though, ask me
a different day and I will choose The Three Stigmata or Do Androids Dream or
something else)

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (simply a good story and a great
background)

1984 by George Orwell.

What all these books share is the idea that sci-fi is about social, cultural
and economic dynamics, not ships or time travel.

That is my definition of sci-fi: An on-going essay about the evolution of the
dynamics of society, using exotic technology/science merely as a catalyst.

Runner up: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Could never finish (can't recommend): \- Neuromancer \- Cryptonomicon (Does
the author feel entitled to mock the homosexuality of Alan Turing? Found that
somewhat arrogant and in bad taste.)

~~~
_0ffh
Both Neuromancer and Cryptonomicon are about "social, cultural and economic
dynamics", and they are very good books to boot.

Try as I might, I can't remember any mocking of Turing in the Cryptonomicon.
I'm quite confident Neal Stephenson is not a homophobe.

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grey-area
Excession by Ian M Banks - sentient AIs managing an advanced civilisation run
into something they don't understand (an unusual occurrence which piques their
interest). Funny, subtle, and provocative by turns, it is one of his better
sci-fi novels, and far above much of the genre in plot and character.

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jcla1
Of course this isn't a science fiction book, it's all real ;-) But mine would
definitely be THHGTTG (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

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lsiebert
Hmm... Favorite is hard. Maybe Cryptonomicon Because it was funny, meditative,
and the research into WWII crypto was interesting. Or Maybe Stranger in a
Strange Land, for the insights into correct action, the nature of humor, love,
and understanding, and for giving us 'grok'. Or Maybe the Illuminatus Trilogy,
for crazy awesomeness insight into the 1970's. I've loaned out all three, and
I couldn't consider a book a favorite unless I'd tried to get people to read
it.

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bergdaemon
It's a tie between two strange books.

Alfred Bester's _The Stars My Destination_: It's deeply flawed, wackily 1950s,
has ridiculous tech, and is one of the most entertaining books I have read.

Stanislaw Lem's _Solaris_: Strange, dry, bordering on boring, breaks every
single law about overusing exposition I can think of...and somehow turns that
into a riveting meditation on the nature of guilt and consciousness.

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jfaucett
I like a lot of Philip K Dicks stuff, "Do androids dream of electric sheep?"
Also I really enjoy Jules Verne and H.G. Wells and dipping into the 19th
century industrial revolution scifi that their works entail. If I had to pick
a favorite though it would be Enders Game by Orsen Scott Card, although I
haven't read it since I was a kid but I remember then I found it amazing.

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Androgeny
This Island Earth - an early example of the use of a puzzle (meritocratic
choice)to determine an intelligent protagonist as well as a defense against
being mathematically expendable. Though the movie bombed, the book and its
themes still resonate.

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bdunbar
A Deepness in the Sky, Vernor Vinge.

Because 'unix epoch' is why. Also: it feels like a future where the details
are right, but largely hidden unless needed.

Star Fraction, Ken MacLeod.

A romping good read, is why.

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S4M
Thanks for posting this thread, I can see in the other comments lots of books
that I now want to read.

For me I don't have a one favorite book, but my take would be:

\- 1984 from Orwell

\- the Foundation series, from Isaac Asimov (and basically, in my taste any
book from Asimov has some good chances to be good)

\- Hyperion, from Dan Simmons (a good scifi writer as well).

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architgupta
I enjoyed reading "Rainbows End" by Vernor Vinge. Its exploration of evolution
of wearable devices is something I enjoyed a lot.

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aorshan
Ender's Shadow. Most people will tell you their favorite was Ender's Game, but
for some reason I've always had a much stronger attachment to Shadow. Maybe
it's because I read Shadow first, but more likely it's because I identify with
the protagonist Bean more than I do with Ender.

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nekopa
This may seem strange, but I have to recommend the baroque trilogy by Neal
Stephenson. It made me imagine how scifi would have looked like in the 1600s.

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Rust
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy first, and Nightfall (both the short story
and the later novelization) second.

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hiddenstage
Jurassic Park - Michael Crichton

Really, anything by Michael Crichton.

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google-1
Snow Crash, cyberpunk fun.

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lewisgodowski
Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson

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infinii
another vote for Snow Crash

