Martha Wells' The Murderbot Diaries (a series of four novellas) was completed this year. It's about an AI which figures out how to break out of it's control module, and decides to not go on a stereotypical murderous rampage, and instead just do their job well enough that no one notices they're watching soap operas in their free time.
+1 Existential, thought provoking, yet fast-paced and a over far too soon. A must read for anyone interested in contemplating a near future where all the power of our smartphones is in our head, always available. Yes it’s about AI, but the humanity of the bot makes it easy to see we don’t need artificial general intelligence to start seeing a universe like this one.
Elevation by Stephen King. I'd count King among my favorite authors. I regularly go back to reread classics like Salem's Lot and The Stand. But I've fallen out of the habit of reading him lately because his output is so prodigious, and his books have taken on a sameness that I find wearying. In that context, Elevation, which is sweet-natured and short, is a refreshing change of pace and probably my favorite King book of the last 20 years.
And another vote for the Murderbot Diaries. Not groundbreaking, but fast and fun with an interesting POV character.
Kind of OT but since this is a thread about fiction books, I read a very interesting short story on HN but can't remember the author or the title. It was about a person who meets god and then finally realizes that every person he has met on earth is his past self (or incarnation?). Anyone know that one? Also any good recommendations for similar short scifi stories?
